With Friends

A bit of sweet
A simple treat
Fun to share
and fun to eat.








We went to visit friends and brought some Pink Lemonade Cupcakes.  My 5 year old decided to draw a picture of one of them.  It is my artwork today.

However I must say- the best part of the cupcake was the frosting:  1 package of cream cheese, half a package of Kool-Aid Pink Lemonade, 1 TBSP cream, and about 3 cups of powered sugar.  After I mixed it together, I put it in a baggie and squeezed it onto the cupcakes. 

The cupcakes themselves came from a box mix- Pink Lemonade cake mix- made with milk instead of water, butter instead of oil, and 3 whole eggs.  The milk and butter make the box mix taste a bit more homemade.   

The girls put on the sprinkles. 

The actual cupcake.  Nothing spectacular- but still fun.

Sunday Rain Storm

The rain is soft this morning, landing lightly on the field of weedy wildflowers, fence posts and granite soil.  It is ushering in an chilly blue breeze.  One that is suppose to linger for a while.  It will feel like winter.

I dig into the closet and bring out the rain coats.





..

A child's wildflower

My 5 year old came running inside holding these plants, excited to show me her wildflowers and leaf.   I love that in her eyes, they are so beautiful and worthy of attention.

Her little hand is covered in dirt. Evidence of her outdoor adventure today.  She was happy to find really tiny buds.  This white flower was a great discovery she was proud to share.

If I could open my eyes to such discoveries and acceptance.  How beautiful the world would always be!

Seeing a Child

Beauty is the eyes of a small child- seeking her mother,

Knowing she is safe.  Tears finding their target.

Precious is the babbling of first sounds

Copies of parent's tones, children's whispers.

Love is the action, the binding, the hope.

Memories of first smiles, fat cheeks, lumpy legs

The splashing of bath water

The smearing of first foods

The bumps and bruises of awkward movements

first rolling over, then onto the knees

The wobbling legs and too soft of feet.  

Beauty is the endearment of small things.

Eyes changing to view a child.

Seeing a bit like God.















..

Farm Cat

Our cat is named Nala.  She came with that name.  We adopted her from a military family that was moving that got her from a Humane Society.  She was about 1 year old, spayed and definitely liked the outdoors.  She spends most of her time outside on our property.  She hunts everything!  She leaves us presents of mice, voles, birds, lizards, snakes, insects, bats and even bunnies.  I wish she would just stick to mice, but how can we train her to know that??

Nala likes attention and she likes to sleep on our couch and beds during the daytime.  Especially in the hot summers.  She would like to be on my lap more, but I'm usually tied up with 3 kiddos and she doesn't get her way all that often.  Still, she has learned that my young kiddos can still be nice to brush up against and get her ears rubbed.  It is the sweetest thing to see her plop down on my 3 year old's lap and purr.  She even lays next to my 10 month old baby and lets her rip her fur and pull her tail.  Just for a minute or two.  Then she is done with that and will seek safety on the top of the couch. and just "watch" the kids.

Come dark however, she does not like being indoors.  She will cry at the back door and disappear into the night and we will not see her again until morning.  She likes spending time near the chicken coops, and with the rodent population- it is no wonder.  In the early mornings it is fun to see her following my husband around the yard as he tends to his birds.  She is just like a dog in that regard- always underfoot and sometimes getting cooped up accidentally.  Yet with all her hunting, she has NEVER hurt one of our chickens or chicks.  Amazing.

I know outside cats tend to have shorter lifespans then indoor pampered cats, but she is happy.  Locking her in would be mean in my opinion.  She is a cat.  Cats naturally like to hunt.  We love her and want her to be her natural self.  We hope she has a long lifespan and we keep her current on her vet check-ups, vaccinations and worming.  But if she perishes prematurely due to her outside exposure, well we at least will know that she lived happy and we did right by her.

Selling a Home in Texas

Our home is up for sale here in Texas.  Why?  Because we were told to sale it...through inspiration.  We have a nice home on 2 acres.  We have no idea where we are going to move.  We only hope we move somewhere we can take our chickens and cat.  Definitely our cat, re homing her is out of the question.  But raising chickens is a hobby we don't want to stop, but are willing to if absolutely necessary.

We have approached this decision to sale our home with much prayer, fasting and a whole lot of faith that our answer is indeed what the Lord wants us to do.  We don't go into our decision thinking that our future is going to be all roses.. but we do have faith that it will be in line with what and where the Lord wants us to be.

Here is what our home looks like from the back field.  I always wanted to get a goat or two to put in the back field- but they would have eaten all my bluebonnets.

My garden- right before planting.

Pink Gecko

Geckos stick upon my wall.  

Eating bugs that creep and crawl.  

Take a stick and make them fall.  

Poor, poor gecko.

Geckos look like slimy things

Lizard like but they can sing

Attracting bats with flighty wings  

Poor, poor gecko.

Falling prey to cats and coons

Geckos hide all afternoon

But come out in evenings.. sometimes too soon

Poor, poor gecko.

Poem by Jane Hale, age 5, with a little help from her mother :)

We took a picture of a couple of these guys last night on the front porch of my house.  They are there each night.  Sometimes eight or more can be found at one time.  We leave them alone for the most part.