are ya wondering where I've been?

well, it hasn't been here for a long while now...

but we did get the oldest son moved out this week...

and its going to take some time to get this back into shape...

but, I have spent an evening in there now...

and really have missed my own space...

been sorting through some old photos...

and I have a couple of brand new (at least 4 years old now) scrap books that I want to use...

so I am thinking that can be my winter project...

as I reclaim this for me again...

and I can start planning the work outside for spring...

while they forecast 2"-4" of snow for this weekend...

and we need to get the Christmas stuff down...

I know...

but we wanted to get the kid out first...

cuz the totes are in that closet...

and that needs to be stored away first before I start moving things around in there...

because the futon is gone and I have gained space...

but not for long...

have plenty to fill it up with...

;0)

ya know how it goes...

 I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon in Paris...

I have been having some major shoulder pain...

for the past few weeks...

and there are a couple of lumps there...

so going to go get it checked, probably x-rayed and some new muscle relaxers for sure...

mine are over 2 years old and are just not working anymore...

so making the old man stop and get me a whopper for supper and we are stopping at Kroger...

for sure...

unless they throw my sorry butt in the hospital...

then I will have pizza delivered...

;0)

even though  its a very nice hospital...

its the last place I want to spend my weekend...

for those of you yet to do yours...

happy grocery shopping!

and shoveling...

and sliding...

let the winter games begin...

;0)

did ya ever wonder?

the story that happened under a roof?

how many it took to build that and how long?

way back when...

or how many butts have sat on those old steps?

how many fires in the stove to cook or heat the home?

what the crickets sounded like coming through those windows on a hot summer night?

how many years did that old roof protect its family inside?

or how loved this old place once was?

still is...

who planted the yucca?

or laid the stone in place?

so many stories...

how many bedtime prayers?

how many dreams?

I have been told that the ones who lived here...

were a couple named...

Everett and Lily...

and that later in life, they moved to town...

and every now and then, they ventured back...

and just sat on the front porch in the evenings...

;)

watching the old pick ups drive by...

waving at old neighbors...

generations later...

she still stands...

to remind all of those gone on...

of days of hard work...

family...

I hope you have a wonderful Monday...

;0)

and take just a moment to wave back at your grandparents and great grandparents...

I'll bet there are old front porches in Heaven...

;0)

and we're off...

into a brand new year...

a year that can be anything we chose to make it...

its time to pick a word for the year, too...

and I am not sure about it this year...

but I think I will go with hope...

HOPE

that there is still hope for me yet...

that there is hope for this world...

that hope will keep us moving forward...

with a better plan...

we rocked our new year's in on gravel roads and the oldies playing...

and taking photos and just enjoying the way God makes things..

He does such an awesome job...

Happy New Year!

another year has come and gone...

and it was mostly good...

got some things figured out...

a few things done...

a few other things we  just lived through...

we are really blessed...

there were so many things we didn't have to do...

no surgeries or hospital rooms...

we have had both kids here with us through the holidays...

and for the most part, its been nice...

being the family here...

made some new friends and said goodbye to some old ones...

we did have to say goodbye to our sister in law...

that was probably the hardest thing this year...

her passing really hits close to home...

all in all, it really wasn't a bad year here...

we have had better, but we have had so much worse years...

the guys are working...

the bills are paid...

the lights are on...

and the fridge is full...

what else do you really need?

I guess I am looking forward to 2016...

my one regret is that I have been a bad blogger this year...

really bad...

and I do care about you all...

its just...

I am living my life for the first time in years...

I am doing things...

not just sitting here trying to find things to pass the time...

I am able to do things on my own more...

and trying to do more, keep up here...

housework waits for no one...

just being able to have things done and pretty when the guys come home...

that the days aren't wasted...

that I didn't lose all that time...

this is what I do in my down time...

;0)

I need to work on a compromise on that this year...

I miss you and your humor and your ideas...

so here  is to us...

may this be our best year yet...

;0)

thinking of building an ark...

we have gotten somewhere between 7.5 and 8.5 inches of rain in 72 hours...

roads were closed and things washed away...

homes and businesses flooded...

there was a stiff wind yesterday, too, as Craig ventured out on foot to grab some photos of what was happening around us...

its turned much cooler now and feels more like winter, even though it looks like spring here...

friends of ours, and others like them, have lost their home...

one that took him 2 years to re-do from the ground up...

for his family...

he was in tears yesterday...

wondering what will be now...

where they will end up...

prayers for this family and others would be appreciated...

they are staying with family now...

FEMA is coming in...

and I know they do help...

pretty quickly...

life can change so fast sometimes...

but God has a plan for them...

a bigger plan than they can ever imagine...

and they will get through it...

just really hard to imagine everything being ok again right now for them...

hope you are all safe and doing ok...

we are fine...

and Doug is getting his apartment next Monday...

yeah...

been with us for two and a half months now...

we are all ready for moving day!

;0)

 I am ready for some slow down time...

just to not think or do anything for a week or so...

no holidays...

no shopping...

no planning or decorating...

just hanging out in my jammies as winter floats on by...

maybe literally...

water is going down in the yard slowly..

and it is so full of corn stalks...

glad we have a couple months to get it all cleaned up...

going to be a fun spring...

;0)