Christmas Goodness...

It has felt so warm and cozy decorating for Christmas~! 

 

Tuesday

Buff Puff tonight at the HS! Man , I love our people!!

These kids make these events so much fun!! 

Today has been so cold! The frost never really cleared - there was freezing fog as I took Hazel to cheer this morning.  

The coyotes are getting closer and more brazen. They're inching their way to the barn and the shop. We lost a really great barn cat, (she sort of had our hearts) I am sure it was a coyote. 

We need a good mouser at our barn but to have them get eaten is no fun at all. Vance even put a cat door to lead into the heated tack room - this has helped but this is the time of year coyotes are hungry and it's cold.... 

We keep on keepin' on - I decorated for Christmas and we are loving it. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

 

Having all four of these kids home is the best! It is so good!! 

Merit's perspective is welcomed! 

Lots of laughter here! 

This guy brings us a lot of joy! He is stubborn and gentle!

I subbed 5th grade two days this week and it was the perfect way to start our Thanksgiving festivities! I am so blessed! Teaching is challenging and really a lot of fun. 

Today and every day I am so so grateful for our teachers! 

Oh! It is certainly basketball season! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

It is a gorgeous sunny day. We are able to join some of Vance's family at John and Katie's for dinner! I am so glad to have our family of 6 together! 

A Tuesday update

 Our good buddy 

a windmill in Lynden

It's Tuesday! 

These critters sure bring us joy. Bootstraps is stubborn and gentle. It is a battle of wills with this guy and he is teaching me SO MUCH about myself. Who knew? But I really appreciate it. 

Second day of basketball try outs for Will - the program has lost some seniors.

We will see what this week holds, I am a huge fan of Wild Will! He is doing great in school and is having a lot of fun, it seems. 

Merit got to Cali and he fell in love the with beaches and the pace. He was also very excited to play for the coach who had signed him, an older gentleman. 

Before arriving there was a full team zoom letting the athletes know that Westcliff was having a tough time getting practice fields. When Merit got there, workouts began on the beach - not all bad - and they eventually were able to use a softball filed. Those terrible California fires have discontinued the use of the softball filed. But before that, Westcliff's head coach resigned. A hard pill to swallow. The man who stepped up is doing a great job. But the whole team has had to roll with the punches.

The school is not what Merit expected but he strives to have a good attitude. He is meetings some good dudes. An answer to prayer. 

Hazel is cheering tonight! Middle school basketball is underway! She is a sharp cheerleader with smile and spunk! She does a terrific job! 

Oren is doing well in school and this kid's art! Oh! His art! It is so creative, so fun! He had Owen over this afternoon! They just finished brownies and ice cream. 

Happy Sunday

 This weekend has been wildly busy and now this afternoon and evening... A little down time. It feels amazing. 

Hazel had a very fun sleep over at a good friends Thursday night and they hit the holiday show I was a part of, Piper Barn, Favored Farmhouse, and Goodwill! 

Vance hunted in North Dakota for a few days! 

Willem has been busy! He took on four games yesterday - as a referee for basketball. Try outs for him begin Monday night. 

Oren has had a fun weekend. Basketball at the shop, downtime, and helping a bit at Linda's sale. 

I sold some cards at the fun holiday show I was a part of over the weekend. 

And now I am working on a "barn collection" for my photos on cards! 

I am excited! 

Holiday Show!

For the past three days I have been sorting, pricing, and displaying all of these FUN things for a holiday show happening right now! I have vintage, Christmas, handmade soaps (Hazel's work) and cards with my photography! 

I also have childrens' clothing - gently used -

This sale is a very fun creative outlet for me! 

I have lots of hours into it. Displaying it has been so fun! And the people I get to work with and see at the sale make my heart smile!!

10-6 today 

10-3 tomorrow

Dunn Street! 

 

Karen Edwards

 Karen Edwards is a legend around these parts, especially if you enjoy horticulture and gardening. 

Before I really knew her I loved it when our local newspaper would share an article featuring Karen and her plant knowledge. 

I have taken my kids on "field trips" to Karen Edwards nursery -it was an overgrown paradise off of Nelson -  several times over the years. Plants and trees grown and over, trees growing through the roofs of greenhouses. Blooms that would take your breath away...

One year ago, about this time,  my dear friend Marilyn and I took a "field trip" there, something the two of us also loved to do. It  was supposed to get very cold that night. The first hard frost was predicted for that night. Karen told us that she planned to get many of the plants in the greenhouses before it froze. We imagined she stayed up half the night doing this. 

A few weeks later, she came down with pneumonia and got pretty sick. She ended up in the ICU - in the coming days there was a large liquidation sale at her nursery. 

I drove by with sort of a lump in my throat. 

Marilyn and I have thought of her many times since! I learned this summer that our neighbors have visited with her occasionally and recently Marilyn contacted Karen and asked if she would be up for a visit. She was!

Marilyn and I went to see her last week. 

This woman, nearly 80, is tough as nails. She has a work ethic that is rare and also admirable.  Last year in November/ December, we actually did not know if she was going to make it,  as her nursery was liquidated and her land was sold. But to our pleasant surprise, she is doing well. Really well. She was so fun to visit with and was able to share with us important parts of her past - of her history - that we found to be interesting and inspiring. 

Her father had a nursery after his time in World War II and after working at Boeing.  She shared with us the start up stories of that process.  Karen is one of five children and her father shared his love for plants and his work ethic with his kids. Karen and her siblings would sell pansies that they grew, 10 cents each or 12 for a dollar. 

She taught at Big Bend Community College and subbed for the Moses Lake School District. I am not sure when Karen purchased the land off of Nelson and had her nursery dream come true, but so many know this hard working, knowledgeable woman -a special addition to Moses Lake's history.

Last week when we visited with Karen, she said things like "eventually..." and "I hope to..." I shared this with Merit and he said he appreciates the fact that someone who is almost 80 still has a lot to look forward to. 

More than just trudging...

 

Look at this beauty!

I am so grateful that there are five great things even in every crumby day. And if we shared only the five blessings, the five moments of goodness, the five little moments that kept us going, it might sound to everyone else that our life is without struggle. 

No one's life is without struggle. 

Social media is a dangerous thing. 

One could post a great meal, an encounter with friends... a gift from a friend, an accomplishment at work, but still feel a lot of adversity, hardship, and pain.... it does not mean they are "faking" a great life. I believe it simply means they are finding JOY within or aside from the pain. 

Yesterday that was my day. The day had some hardship. I was criticized in several moments. I worried about family struggling, out of town. I felt concern for people I know and love who are sick.... but without ignoring that concern, I found ten moments in my day that I could be grateful for. 

I trudge through some days. I -and all of you- are certainly worth more than just trudging! I need to embrace life. I need to reach out to others, I need to care about myself. 

I am so excited for this weekend. I am not sure exactly what I have to be excited about, but if I anticipate good things, if I find little ways to bless people, if I turn to my Bible, if I turn to the Lord, it will be a good weekend.

Some days it feels like we have two choices, HOPE or DESPAIR 

I will choose HOPE every time. 

Thankful -

These two were SO much fun to trick or treat with last night! 

Oren and Ingrid

Lynden Beauty

 

Natasha! 

Feeling thankful, 

feeling grateful, 

feeling blessed