Thank You.

I do not have the words to express how thankful I am that you have put on a uniform,

taken up a weapon and in many cases died for MY FREEDOM.

THANK YOU.

Thank you to the soldier, the wife or husband left at home and the children who may not understand why Mommy or Daddy is not there to tuck them in at night.

THANK YOU.

Another school year has come and gone...

Another school year has come and gone. My Oldest is officially a 7th grader and my Youngest will be a Kindergartner next year. This morning my Youngest had his Promotion ceremony in his class where his Pre-K class went through their calender routine, received their certificates and finished their Pre-K year.

His class sings for everything...here they're doing the ABC song with hand gestures.

His homework bag...

His certificate read: "---- is a deeply sensitive, caring, compassionate person. He extends a hand in friendship to everyone he meets." His teacher went on to say that my Youngest never meets a stranger...he is willing to talk to everyone!

I'm sad. :-( and happy :-) I can't believe he is old enough to be a Kindergartner. Next year he will attend school all day and I will have to find something to do with myself. On the other hand, I love seeing him bloom and learn. Congratulations Cuddlebug!

* * * * *

My Oldest also finished his 1st year of Middle school! He will be in 7th grade next year and he has matured so much in the last year. He isn't a little boy anymore. It hit me that he was growing up and saddened me a little bit that my Husband and I had to sit down with him last night and discuss the importance of grades in the years to come and the difference between his younger years and his permanent record. We had to decide last night if he was mature enough to take Algebra I next year as a 7th grader...Algebra I is a permanent record class. He has the brains for it...math and science are easy for him...it's just that he makes bad decisions sometimes. If he starts having problems in class, he doesn't bring it to anyone's attention so we can help him...7th grade will be scary for him and me, since I will have to ween him off his dependence of me in solving his problems. :-(

* * * * *

His school celebrates the end of their year by sending them to the city pool. He had a great time at the pool today...temperatures were perfect for the pool at 90 degrees F...and he came home sunburned!

* * * * *

Summer has begun!

Robbers Cave Family & Scout Campout

My Oldest son's Scout Troop decided to go horseback riding and camping at Robbers Cave state park this weekend and they decided to invite parents and siblings along. After a winter locked in the house with shortened tempers, we decided we needed to get out and back to nature. My Youngest and I haven't been camping in 2 yrs, so it was nice to get back out and have some fun.

Our Scoutmaster brought his family, my Youngest and his Youngest hit it off.

Our Campsite.

Along the river.

My husband and his now infamous camp hat.

The other father's teased us all weekend about the "Taj Mahal of Tents" that we set up. I made no apologies. I like my big tent and as long as I am willing to set it up then I can take it anywhere I want! My husband found the yellow and blue awning at a scout sale for $9. It was nice to have.

This is the only picture I have of my Oldest on the camp trip. He spent all of his time with the Troop. They spent most of their free time playing cards or "skipping rocks" on the river. When the rocks are bigger than softballs, they weren't really skipping rocks!

My Youngest always finds a rock to stand on when we go camping.

Look a picture of me! He was sitting on a wall with a drop off and so a bit scared.

Entrance to Robbers Cave and trail.

At the bottom of the mountain. See the cave to the right?

Not Robbers cave but fun to walk through.

My mountain goat bounding up the mountain.





I'm down here panting!

Entrance to the actual cave.

The cave doesn't look like a great hideout to me, but I'm not an Outlaw.

The view from the cave was spectacular!

We arrived after rain storms on Friday evening and left Saturday evening before the expected midnight rain moved in. It was a great time and I hope to go again soon.

A Belated Mother's Day Poem

The Warrior

This morning my thoughts traveled along
To a place in my life where days have since gone
Beholding an image of what I used to be
As visions were stirred and God spoke to me.

He showed me a Warrior, a soldier in place
Positioned by Heaven, yet I saw no face
I watched as the Warrior fought enemies
That came from the darkness with destruction for me.

I saw as the Warrior would dry away tears
As all of Heaven’s angels hovered so near
I saw many wounds on the Warrior’s face
Yet weapons of warfare were firmly in place.

I felt my heart weeping, my eyes held so much
As God let me feel the Warrior’s prayer touch
I thought, "how familiar", the words that were prayed
The prayers were like lightning that never would fade.

I said to God, "Please, tell me the Warrior’s name.
"He gave no reply, He chose to refrain
I asked, "Lord, who is broken that they need such prayer?"
He showed me an image of myself standing there.

Bound by confusion, lost and alone
I felt the prayers of the Warrior carry me home
I asked, “Please show me, Lord, this Warrior so true.”
I watched and I wept,

FOR MOTHER.....THE WARRIOR WAS YOU!

By Larry S. Clark

I meant to post this poem on Mother's Day, but time slipped away from me. This is one of my favorite poems ever. I hope you enjoy it and Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there.

My Sister-in Law's Graduation Party...

I was never blessed with a sister in my life, so when I started dating my husband 20+ yrs ago, I was lucky enough to inherit a few of them. They are all great ladies, but the one I am closest to is Aunty S. She is an amazing person in many ways...graduating from college is one of them. For her it has been a 13 yr. journey that came to a joyous end this last Friday when she crossed the stage and received her diploma. In those 13 yrs, she has attended at least 4 different colleges, gotten married to an Army Officer, and moved...over and over and over and over again...base after base after base...and she has had 3 children (and she homeschools her oldest!). I don't think I would have the perseverance to get my diploma like she did.

Congratulations Aunty S!!!

(She reads my blog :-)

This is Aunty S. and our youngest nephew...the Cowboy! Isn't he adorable and only 11 weeks old!

Aunty S. and my boys...they love spending time with their Aunt, Uncle and Cousins.

My Hubby even likes his Brother-in-Law! This is at his parent's house, about 2 hrs. south of us. We spent Mother's day there...talking, catching up, and enjoying each other's company.

My Oldest played some ball with his cousin's cousins! He didn't realize until later that they weren't actually HIS cousins. He was outside with them all day!

He really had alot of fun...it's nice when the Pre-teen finds something that he enjoys.

Of course the Coach came out for a little bit...I had to laugh! Told him the Oldest was playing and not in need of any help on his batting.

This is Chiquita...she is only about 5 months younger than my Youngest. They played together all afternoon in the dirt pile...

This is the youngest Niece...isn't she adorable. This is the first we've gotten to see her and she seems to have taken a shine to her Uncle.

Hubby trying to steal Chiquita's nose. She wasn't having any of it.

Brother and Sister...they look more alike every time I see them together.

My SIL actually got a picture of me with my Husband.

And of course, the boys had to ride the 4-wheelers before we left for the trip home. My Oldest is riding with his Dad and my Youngest is having fun with his Uncle J.

Gotta love Tornado Weather!

I live in tornado alley. We have actually had a quiet season so far this spring until....wait for it....wait for it....TONIGHT!!! This is the one that hit about 5 miles from my house and about 1 from my Mother's house.
The media hasn't reported any casualties (Thank Goodness!), but it was scary for about an hour this evening. Mom is okay, just sitting at home without electricity right now. Our scout meeting was cancelled tonight and so we are getting an unplanned evening at home.

Prayers are being said here for those still in the path of these storms as they head north and east of here this evening. I hope everyone is safe tonight.

IT'S BEGUN!!!!

That's right folks, baseball and t-ball has begun! Both boys had games on Tuesday and now the long evenings spent at the ball fields is in full swing...that's every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday!

My little FIREBALL!!!

My experienced CARDINAL!!!

The Cardinal and the Fireball!
They haven't even made it to the ball fields yet and they are already having fun!

Isn't it great?

My Fireball's 1st hit...EVER!!!

The correct way to play the outfield.

The incorrect way to field a ball!

We are out at the ball field again tonight to watch the Fireballs! This time Dad and big brother will get to attend since they don't play on Fridays...Yeah!

Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo!!! I meant to post this yesterday, but the day just kinda gotta away from me! It was a quiet one here...no baseball games, no baseball practice, no scouts...Very Quiet! But it did give me a chance to do some cooking. I made 2 dishes: beef enchilada casserole (which I invented one of those times I was throwing things in a pot and hoping they would be edible) and Southwestern Egg Rolls (which was invented by Jackie on http://www.allrecipes.com/, my all time favorite recipe site!).

My Beef Enchilada Casserole:

1 1/2 lb. hamburger, browned
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 packets taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
1 box Rice-a-roni cheesy rice mix
1 can enchilada sauce
1 pkg. corn tortillas
2 c. monterey-jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Brown hamburger and onion in lg. skillet. Drain grease and add taco seasoning, 1/2 c. water, and refried beans. Mix and put aside.

In a pot, prepare rice mix according to directions. (I like the cheesy rice mix, but almost any type of boxed rice will work. The cheesy just makes it more Mexican to me)

Take a 9 x 11 glass casserole dish and pour a little of the enchilada sauce on the bottom until it covers (or you can spray with Oil). Tear 3-4 corn tortillas into bite size pieces and layer on bottom. On top of tortillas, spread rice mix out evenly. The hamburger/bean mixture is layered on top of that and then another layer of torn tortillas. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas (you can put several layers of tortillas down, just make sure you pour enchilada sauce over each layer). Top with cheese.

Bake 30-35 minutes in 350 degree oven. Serve.

Southwestern Egg Rolls


2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast or 1 can diced chicken, drained
2 tbsp. minced green onion or shallot
2 tbsp. red bell pepper
1/3 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 c. black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tbsp. dice jalapeno peppers
1/2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/3 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
3/4 c. shredded Monterey jack cheese
5 flour tortillas (or about 15 egg roll wrappers)
1 qt. oil for deep frying

• Cook chicken in oil, remove from heat and set aside (or I used 1 can already cooked chicken from Walmart and skipped this part)
• Heat oil. Saute onion and bell pepper about 5 min. Add diced chicken (or canned from the grocery store), mix in corn, black beans, spinach (I skipped the spinach and jalapeno peppers), jalapeno pepper, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook another 5 minutes until blended together and veggies are tender. Remove from heat and add cheese.
• Option 1: Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth and microwave for 1 minute until hot and pliable. Spoon even amounts of mixture in tortillas, roll tightly, and secure with toothpick. Fry in heated oil about 10 minutes each or until golden brown or you can bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
• Option 2: Wrap egg rolls according to the directions on the egg roll wrapper and set aside until oil is heated. Fry egg rolls the same way as option 1. Drain on paper towel before serving.

• Spicy Sour Cream Sauce: Mix 1 c. light sour cream with 1/4 to 1/2 c. hot sauce of choice. Great for dipping egg rolls in or on top of enchilada casserole.

We really enjoy our Tex-Mex food in this house and I had enough left that we can have left-overs on Friday (T-ball game night), which I will probably serve with a salad. Yumm-O (to quote Rachel Ray).