At forty-six.....

Don'tcha know now, today we hit forty-six.....
So to honor the occasion-- a poem, just for kicks:

At forty-six,
life's not all that bad,
we still have our looks, and can still read books (without bi-focals),
though some things have started to sag.

Those flaps of skin we used to call breasts,
have drooped to the waist where they now rest.

Our hair (without dye) is an interesting color-
a sort of dish-water gray/blonde,
the likes of which I am not fond.

But about our hair, it's still thick as can be,
quite amazing really-
we have teenagers, you see.

Wait, yours is not gray- it's still a nice brown-
sister, you don't color it, do you?? frown!
This isn't fair, people will compare,
and think you are younger than me.
I can't afford to keep coloring-
so just let it be!

Let it be.....let it be-ee....let it be, yeah....let it be.....
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.............

Speaking of wisdom, now that's something we've got-
we have learned some stuff in our forty-six years, have we not??

Yes, at forty-six, we've got some smarts,
though occasionally we might forget some parts.
Don'tcha hate those momentary lapses in memory,
a.k.a. brain farts?

Life's been good to us, these forty-six years,
you certainly must agree-
we have husbands who love us,
and darling children- you two, me three.

Beautiful creatures, they are-
although sometimes annoying,
raising them up we are truly enjoying.

We may not be spring chickens,
but neither are we old hens-
well, maybe we do peck, waddle, and "buck, buck, buck-ock" now and then. :)

We've come a long ways, baby,
through blood, sweat and tears-
but I have a feeling from here on out will be our best years!

Let's live it up, sis, live it up good-
for soon we'll be joining the geriatric neighborhood!

But no need to fret what's ahead or we've missed-
we'll just keep crossing things off our bucket list!

So, cheers to me, and cheers to you, sis,
cuz this is as good as it gets-
at forty-six.

Love you, Linda Rae!
From your sis, Laurie Kae!

1977! Serving punch at our parent's 25th anniversary,

that's our Dad behind me.

Boys will be boys

Or grown men will be boys, I should say.  Here's some shots of a couple weeks ago when Bill went with some guy friends to a cabin up nort for a weekend.  Four-wheelers, mud, steak, cards, sauna, fartin' and giggling.  It just doesn't get any better than this, I guess.

The sign on the outhouse.......

I'm pretty certain they had a great time, wish I could have been there actually, sounds like more fun than shopping or painting my toenails.  I am so glad Bill has such awesome friends that he spends time with in Bible study and out being boys, even though some of the things they do are potentially hazardous, dangerous and risky-- good thing two of the guys in the group are doctors!

  

18 years ago today.....

With much effort, and I am talking MUCH effort,

Brian Jeffrey Oakes was born 18 years ago today.........

He was amazing of course.  And adorable. 

Just look at those cheeks and that cute smile, and those eyes, and that neck....

But he didn't stay all cute and pudgey (sp?), he kept growing and the birthday parties kept happening......

I seem to have misplaced a photo from birthday #1.  Was there one??

But here is #2-

we had a family party this summer so Brian had two candles and Landon had four on their Ernie and Bert cake which I made myself if you can believe that.  Wish I had a better picture of it!  It was awesome. :)

For some reason I couldn't find birthday #3 either (?) but here is 4......

When Brian was four, he asked Jesus into his heart with Landon's help-

so we had a treat to celebrate this BIRTHday!

Birthday #5.........

notice his spiderman shirt-he was VERY into spiderman at that age. 

And ANY other sort of creepy, crawly, slimy thing he could find!  Thus, the worms and frogs on the cake.....

Birthday #7..........can't seem to find #6 either !? 

This cake had at least one snake on it.

Birthday #8...............

And #9..................

And #10..............

And #10 again??  I count 10 candles.  I am confused at this point. 

That's what happens when you don't write on the back of your photos!

Birthday #12.....this was the last of the official birthday parties.

He's a big boy now, an adult.  Ruler over the wind and waves.....

the flames..........

the waters.......

 

Able to leap tall cliffs........... 

A creator......

 

A dude............

A man.....

 We thank God for Brian, he's cool, he's funny, he's thoughtful, he's deliberate, he's talented, he's kind, he's disciplined, he's loyal, he's smart, he's a jolly good fellow which nobody can deny!  He's 18!!!! 
Love you, Brian!

Misc. Sunday Sightings

They're ba-ack!

And a few other shots from my walk today......

Here's the mosquito hatchery to the north of our house,

it does dry up by late spring.

One of the first things we did after we moved here was put up the tree swing in the old oak tree-

 and it has provided tons of fun and not a one broken bone!

Had to bring some fragrant blossoms inside to enjoy. 

Mmm-mmm.

That's all she wrote!

Wow!

I had the privilege this last year of being a small group leader in our youth group and I just have to say they are such a great group of girls.  They impressed my socks off.   Such maturity and insight for their age (15-16) and a real desire to seek God and His will for them.  They are WAY beyond where I was at that age.  Some good parenting is being reflected.   I'm not sure what they learned from me if anything, but it was fun to get to know them and tell them some of my experiences as a teen.  We had some really good discussions on lots of important topics.  And they giggled a lot.  :-)

This is a card they made for me on the last night.  Isn't it odd that my own daughter who is the same age doesn't think I am as amazing and inspiring and full of wisdom as these girls do??

She'll realize it someday, right?  Right?

The ups and downs of Mother's Day

When I looked out the window on Mother's Day and saw the frost on the car, I gasped --nooooooooooo! I have three hanging flower baskets and took them outside yesterday for a little sunshine and FORGOT to bring them in !#$*.  Not sure how cold it got but it must have been below 30.  BUMMER!  I had a fuchsia that was going to be big and beautiful and now it is dead and ugly.  :(    Sniff.

But the day got better.  I think the other two plants (the ones from Kmart!) might survive.  : )  Bill went grocery shopping for me as my gift and whenever he does that it is VERY MUCH appreciated.

Landon made my favorite- Angel Food cake and I don't mind if I DO have a huge piece, thank you. 

With strawberries and ice cream thank you!

After that, we definitely had to go for a walk, a looong walk.  Leanne and I and R.J. who LOVES to go for walks.

We had to say hello to our neighbors across the road....

R. J. led the way...

The Necktie River that winds near our house...

R.J. treed a porcupine.....

Thankfully, the porcupine stayed in the tree.  And of course the dog has to check out every culvert for skunks....

thankfully he didn't find any of those today!  Did I mention he LOVES to go for walks?

The sun setting over the pasture....

And now we are watching Extreme Makeover, which is one of my favorite shows and after that a game of Settlers of Catan and then a sauna and thus ends a good day. 

Thank you, Lord, for my family, for the ups and downs, for all You have given to me.  Amen

P.S.  It was Bill's birthday today too, but instead of sharing, it's all about him tomorrow.  :-)

Here's to Mean Moms!

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:
I loved you enough . . . . . enough to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.


I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.


I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.


I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.


I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.


But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it.


Those were the most difficult battles of all.  I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.


And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.


Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.


When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.


Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.


We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.


She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!


Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.


Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.


Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms!



A Very Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful, dear, sweet, loving, mean moms!!