Really! It’s Already Over? (part 1)

Hadn’t realized it had been 6 months since the last time I posted. This will hopefully be another change in the NEW YEAR!

Where did the time go?

More like, where did we go? Or what did we do? 

Anywhere we possibly could, and anything we wanted, or didn’t, or needed to do or do!

I had wanted to write a post before we got too far into the fall and Christmas season, but that didn’t happen. We only went from busy to busier and didn’t slow down till the week of Christmas. (Yes, I typed that correctly, I had spare time the week of Christmas, and I’ll tell you all about it, later though!)

The last time I posted, it was of the wonderful trip our daughter gave us. I completely forgot to post the finished collage of pictures.

Remember I had this blank section…

I LOVE this updated version of a tradition that just kinda happened…

I’m sure you have seen these benches outside the parks. Love them! They are perfect for climbing on and photo ops. I hope they never take them away.

Little man got his picture taken as well, and a new tradition continues!

June

Our 6th Grader graduated and is onto Junior High!

Of course, we had to throw an End Of Elementary School Party to celebrate!

We combined it with a Birthday Party for his brother who turned 3!

Combining parties is a win-win!

What a wonderful day it was with everyone having a perfect time!

July

We got a new neighbor on The Funny Farm!

Her name is 4X, because she crawls over everything like a 4 wheel truck!

Grandpa loves giving forklift rides.

August

I decided to build a Gnome Garden at the entrance to the “Grand” Beach. Which included redoing the path around the tree, then moving the hopscotch and widening the beach, PHEW! Thank God I now have a young man who comes to help me with these type projects. Which is why hubby found him because I can’t keep up with it all anymore. Progression on the IBM Journey has forced us to regroup, adapt, and overcome another step of this journey. August showed us how quick one test can change everything. As if we didn’t already know it could or would! We were just content in the world we had created not worrying about the could’s or would’s, as if those are real words, but then we don’t think this world is real at times either! One appointment brought great new, while another, not so much. We’ll focus on the great part, give the not so much stuff to God, and continue working on that path God has planned for us…

By mid-month part of the path had been entirely transformed.

And the beach was widened…

And the hopscotch was raised and leveled.

Come spring it will be ready for another super sack of sand.

Then on our way home from an appointment, we found something we hadn’t really been looking for. I mean, we look at them all the time. My girl was 20 years old, in great shape with great memories, but was getting tired. So with the good news we received, we decided to check out Camping World in Avondale to see what they had. Just a lot of the same stuff we had seen, but there, off to the side was this sweet looking girl…

I loved her at first sight! Even without seeing the inside!

But she wasn’t listed for sale yet! Someone had just traded her in, and the keys weren’t available. The blinds didn’t allow us to see in the windows. The salesman would let us know what was going on with it by our return the following week.

With that in mind, we made an extra effort to be sure we had found a good deal. Searched online for information and we were liking what we saw. We also looked at a couple others, and by the time we returned the next week 2 other units were in the running. I couldn't decide on which one until I saw the inside of that one! I hadn’t heard from the salesman by the day we were back in town, but I still had one more unit I wanted to see, so before we headed out I shot him an email.

By the time we got out of our appointment, which had some PERFECT results, I had heard back from him. He had the KEY! Hmmm, God’s putting things in our path?
Have faith  Don’t question!

The minute he opened her door, the second I stepped into her, took another step and sat on the sofa, I just went, “This is it!” I didn’t need to see anymore. Oh, and he thought he was going to have an easy sale from there! Oh, no! Just because I LOVED her didn’t mean I didn’t want a GREAT deal also.

After a bit of figuring back and forth, I got her for what I wanted to spend and a SOLD sign was put in the window. One thing I learned when buying an RV, you don’t just drive off with them. In our case, there were a few things that needed attention, and we had to bring them our trailer as a trade in.

In the meantime, we had a birthday to celebrate and on the way we found an RV park just minutes from our son.

After cake and presents, nothing was more fun than a family game of croquette! Ok, maybe there are somethings that could be more fun, but for today, at that moment, it was the funniest thing to be doing and enjoyed each and every laugh and giggle!

And then the following week we got our move-in date….

I wish I could write it was a dream from that moment on, but that was not the case! Even being understanding of the heat and the two monsoons that blew through, I was disappointed in how it was handled from the first. After getting a bit pushy, the owner stepped up and made everything right, just as it should have been. However, that required us having to take her back over where it took almost 2 weeks to get her back!

September

Yep, another Birthday!

She’s HERE!

                It took ten days, a new AC unit installed, drawers fixed and some other electrical thingy replaced, but she’s back home!

They delivered her instead of us having to drive the 3 hours back. We also got so more new things to sweeten the deal along with cash for the gas we wasted. Though I will never take my unit to be serviced at this location, the salespeople and the store managers are fantastic. We saw them 2 months later at the NASCAR races and had some great laughs and vents. Now all I do is enjoy her. In fact, it took me a week to pack her up, and her maiden voyage was to Chula Vista, CA, with an ocean and sunset view!

And a NEW Journey Through LIFE has begun!

A lot of changes over the last 6 months and more to come.

Stay tuned for part two…

and WARM hugs!

Humming Along!

Prior to that glorious vacation, the little hummer’s were getting bigger.

By two weeks, they were completely covered in pin feathers and are starting to grow real feathers. Their beaks are looking much longer and are starting to look much darker too. They are beginning to look like real birds. I even got to watch her feed them.

 

As they approached the three week mark, it was getting really interesting. They’ll be getting ready to leave the nest as we get back from vacation. I got to see them testing out their wings in preparation for their first flight. Each day I would ask them to slow down, don’t grow up so fast or I won’t see you again! In the next few days, these little baby hummingbirds will fly away as real adult hummingbirds, never to return back to the nest.

Will they be there when we get home?

The first thing I did when we got home was to go out and see is they were still there…well after spending a good half hour with Bella!

Look how big they are!

As I was up capturing this great photo of them, I was startled by the momma coming back. As I jumped down (not an easy thing for me to do) I hit the branch which made one fly off and the other hanging from the nest by it’s feet. Didn’t take long for it to regain it’s bearings and climb back in, then the other returned for the night.

The next day, they were gone.

 

I felt so blessed that they hung out for me to get home.

Oh, but they didn’t go far…

Everyday they come and drink from the feeder. It’s getting harder to tell them apart from their mother. One, which was the littlest, must have fallen out or not made it back after a test a flight that first day. I kept hearing this odd chirp sound, so after bit I explored looking for it’s location. As I approached the old cast iron tub below their nest, all of a sudden it flew up toward me. Jumping back, it landed under the chair. It was obvious it was having a hard time. Each time it tried to fly up it would hit the bottom of the chair and land on the ground again. Finally by stepping behind, my movement made it take another shot at the flying and was out from under the chair. Only it didn’t get far.

Now what?

First thought was to help it back to the nest, but how?

As I stood there observing the situation, I took another step out from behind the chair and it flew up on top of the garden cabinet. There it was in a ray of sunshine and began to perk up. A few minutes later, after a song of chirping, it flew off.

Just a day later, as I sat outside watching for them, all three eventually came to the feeder. The funny thing is, the little one that had a tough go of flying, still makes that sounds when it comes to the feeder, as if it’s saying hi! They are not startled by our presence and will fly up, over and around us, as they buzz toward the feeder.

What an unbelievable experience for “Our Journey Through LIFE!” to get to capture. Enjoyed every moment of it!

The BEST Mother’s Day, EVER!

 

Though a month ago, it still seems like yesterday. Just like it seams like yesterday I first became a mother, and that was actually 35 years ago.

Time.

How fast it goes by!

In that time I have had some wonderful Mother’s Day’s, all special in their own way each year. But this year, with all the changes happening, with all the milestones we’ve reach, and with all the investments we made in our children, our oldest put together a trip of a lifetime!

No, it wasn’t to Paris or any other exotic destination that most might dream about.

Where else is there?

How about…

“The Happiest Place on Earth!”

4 Glorious, wonderful, fun filled days!

She did a great job of scheduling, keeping track of fast passes, capturing it with their photo-pass option, and ending it all with a character breakfast, I can’t think of one thing she forgot!

                    

I think this will be my favorite Mother’s Day Generation Photo for a long time. As “Our Journey Through LIFE!” continues on, one never know if something better down this road will top this, but I’m sure they will try!

All those years that I did the packing, the schedule plans, waking up before them each day, making sure our vacations are as awesome as they can be, has paid off. All 3 of my kids have developed a lot of my parenting talents, among other’s, and being the best parent they can be, well that is a blessing I will never dismiss. They all go over and beyond in their duties as parents to assure their children have the most wonderful and memorable childhood possible. They know these years are the most precious but also the most important. They are building on a strong foundation and have as they always will, rise above any of the challenges put in front of them. How they parent, will impact how their children will parent, resulting in some incredible adults!

Blessing, always blessing to be their mom, a part of their and their children’s life, touching their hearts in so many ways that the stories will be told for generations to come.

I hope each and everyone of you had a wonderful Mother’s Day as well.

Hummmm…

 

The sound is very distinctive, the fluttering wings of a hummingbird!

Last month while our grandson was on the back porch watching his baseball game, he got startled by a hummingbird. It even flew around him checking him out. When I came out to see what he was bothered by, to my surprise it just happened to be a hummingbird. As I sat with him it flew off, and a few minutes later it came back, zipping around us. Having Asperger's the quick moving bird had him squirming as if it was a bee. It didn’t take long to help him understand just what it was and why it was being so active in our outdoor living space.

She was building a nest!

Over the next few days we got to watch her build this tiny little nest. How amazing! We learned that she uses spider webs to hold her home together. I can honestly say that I have never experienced such a wonder, watching this amazing bird build such a strong home.

I can’t help but feel God has placed her in our surroundings for a reason. He is good at doing this type of things.

Besides roadrunners my MIL loved Hummingbirds. I inherited a few of her favorite items and to this day, they still make me think of her. We have had some strange visitors since her passing that further prove God is awesome…

First was a roadrunner who hung out while the FIL was with us during hospice. He would talk to it but would be calling it mom. I would say, “Are you talking about or to the roadrunner on the brick wall?” and he would say “no, mom, she’s right outside the window.” What was always there was this roadrunner. It hung around for quite some time, even after dads passing. Then it was gone, until one morning. I was making a new porch landing and had been working on it for days. As hard as it was for me to accomplish this I stuck it out and after having to cave into accepting help to finish it, we got the last stone in. I was so happy with the job I had done. The next morning as I walked into the living room, I could see out the window to the new porch and guess who was checking out my work. Yep, that roadrunner! Thanks mom!

So how could I not see this as a sign from God too! With new directions being mapped out, is it her way of saying we can do this too! We had received similar signs when we began this journey to here 20 years ago. God kept putting people and experiences in front of us that lead us to open a door to a whole new life. Now, we are seeing signs to take another leap of faith. We know the signs. We know how to accept them. We know to be patient as we wait out what wonders will be ahead and look forward to adding this next chapter to Our Journey Through LIFE!

I just love how God works.

Over the last year, new roads, possibly a new home, and even the potential for a new career have been fluttering around our heads and hearts for a while now. It’s not leaving one place for another, but adding another place for our family to gather, grow, and enjoy while on this journey. A place where my talents can been put to work. Not to mention a better directory of doctors. Watching and waiting to see what will come our way is exciting.

God is surely working here!

It took a hummingbird to remind me that I too had built a strong home for my children. Like her, I didn’t like others interrupting the important task of making sure they were raised in the way God had planned. Like her we had to watch out for predator's who tried to destroy our nest or our young ones.

We worked hard to overcome some of this worlds struggles, learning and growing every step of the way. And like her, our nest was built strong and held up to some pretty strong storms. And like her, we too had the most fragile little ones to tend.

In our reading about these tiny little beauties, we learned they DO NOT like to be watched. I have removed a screen from the kitchen window so to have a better view. I can now sneak out the back door quietly and she won’t fly off, so long as I stay by the door. One step though and she’ll fly. So I have learned to be patient and stand still to watch the her work. 

I wait for her to fly off a few evenings ago, so I rushed to take a peek. Everything we read said they would hatch in 14 – 23 days. It had been 18. I began to feel like a mother waiting for the birth of her first grandchild!  I was ecstatically happy to see one had hatched. Then the next morning the other. So both are now in the world. From here out I am not sure if I’ll be able, or of she would like it, if I took pictures. The last thing I want to do is scare her off. From the kitchen window I should be able to see little heads eventually. We thought of putting a mirror above the nest but thought she might not like seeing her reflection and would abandon the nest. Also read some hummingbirds come back to the same nest so we’ll see. We won’t disturb the branch she used and have figured out how to trim the tree so it remains as long as she does.

Never a dull moment on Our Journey Through LIFE!

Hippity Hoppity, Easter’s Here!

Spring is in the air!

Grass basket were growing…

So we planted jelly beans to see what would grow….

…she was so surprised to see lollipops the next morning!

Since she wasn’t going to be with us for Easter we had our own little Spring Fling Thing! The week we get every other month goes by so fast. However, when she is here, it’s like she has never been gone. She calls the guest room her bedroom. Loves to sit in there and play like it’s an every day thing.

After she left, we left on a road trip. Headed north to see where God is taking us. Making that first appointment to see our future was scary and exciting at the same time. Hey, I’ve done this before! However, as the day got closer we still hadn’t had a confirmation on a time. Knowing pictures can be deceiving, the lack of communication, we already had the mindset that this one might not be the one, but what the heck, it wouldn’t hurt to continue on and see it for ourselves without the realtor.

The plan was to be in that area by the Friday, with a one day stop in Napa to test water at a spec house for his brother and at a friends who just had a well put in. Saturday my niece was to be having a birthday party (so I thought) for her two children who are a year apart by a day. With that in mind we would visit at the party for a while then head out to look at the property. Well, I am such a blond at times! I heard Saturday when it was actually Sunday! Imagine her surprise when we walked up with gifts in hand a day early! Unfortunately there was no way we could make it on Sunday since we had to head home. We did have a great time visiting. Taught her kids a bit about baseball. The man created a hopscotch game out of the tissue from the bag. My heart was heavy with what she has on her plate but feel God is guiding her properly. She means the world to me and hope everything works out as He plans for her. She is surely putting His steps in motion and assure her that it only gets better each day!

The property we were looking at was about 20 minutes away. And as expected it was not for us. Just as suspected the picture didn’t show that this land was behind 2 other homes, making them right in the front yard of this parcel. Step hill made up part of it as well. I will not buy land that has no purpose. That hill meant problems! So we went up to make a u-turn and head back to town.

God! You are awesome! The place we turned around at had a For Sale sign hanging on the fence. The house was empty so we we explored…

Contacting the realtor we learned it had just gone to auction but did not meet the reserve. Unfortunately the home is not financeable, meaning CASH only! Not really a problem as God would bring a solution if it is the right one for us. However, I DID fall in love with it and just tuned out the guys comments of “this will need done” and “you will have to do this.” What they don’t understand is this place, or one like it, is what my dreams have been showing me! In fact, the minute we walked up and around the garage to the quad area, my first response was, “oh my God!, this is exactly what I dream about!” Chills went down my back after a breath across my neck. Could it be!  Will it be? It’s a see how it goes thing right now. In the meantime, one of two things could happen. It sells or it doesn’t. Price might get better down the way. Some might jump at the first thing they see, but not us. We constantly review it, adding in many scenario's of this or that’s. After all, it took us 4 years to find where we are now. 4 years to find the business that brought us here. We want what ever we find to fulfill another 20 years too, so if it takes 4 years to find this next place, so be it. I am patient!

But I do LOVE IT!

I must add I can’t stop thinking about this place though. I totally understood all the work it would need, but I can so see myself living there.

The next morning before we got on the road, we found 3 more places to view first. Sure, why not! You’re not going to get my mind off the first one we saw, by chance, by GOD!

Then right up the road from our friends, our first stop, we see this…

6+ acres!

With it’s own creek and a knoll…

I pictured the grand’s running down the hill, with kites in tow. Catching pollywogs and lizards. I see a tree house. I see, I see, I see!

The guys surveyed the knoll…perfect location for a house!

The other side of the knoll looks about the same. It’s a big half circle overlooking a meadow that the creek runs through. Great views! More land! No house! We got to meet the neighbors which was very encouraging. We hiked around checking it out for almost an hour. I loved how they would say, “We can build this knoll to look like the one you love, only better!”

Wow, I came home with so much to think about! If either or both of these sell before we are ready, there are others out there we haven’t seen yet. It’s all about God’s plan. He knows we are waiting for those I’s to be dotted and T’s crossed before starting this new journey. Keeping it in pray!

In the mean time, I needed to Hippity Hoppity onto making some Easter Baskets…

My table needed to get ready…

Then the man decided to run a new water line to my garden the day before! Oh, I am thankful for the water. It’s been so needed, but I think a better day might have been available. I just “Let it Go!” and work with it.

As he said, the hole was filled in by the end of the day and our Easter Egg Hunt was ON! In case you wonder why I am always so skeptical of things. Sometimes his time line for projects aren’t quite on the dot or even close at times. Knowing this, I create a contingency plan just in case. In this case, it didn’t matter. Sun and Easter eggs are not friends. I had already planned for the hunt area to be around the porch area, and in the shade. So no problem, give me water!

The man cooked our Easter dinner, which turned out awesome! It allowed me to enjoy the kids and keep healing. In the middle of this wonderful stuff going on, I fell in and land on the edge of the tub, broke a rib, and strained what muscles actually work properly. It’s been challenging having had a 3 year old just 2 days later, but her little face was worth each and every ouch! With 4-6 weeks of healing ahead, the family is doing what ever they can so I won’t. I’m so blessed!

Actually they want me to be ready for my Mother’s Day Adventure,….

As a gift from our daughter and her hubby, she has made all the necessary arrangement to assure we all are happy at “The Happiest Place on Earth!”  I am so excited! And to think I get to do it all over again this fall! Different grand but grand it too will be.

Our Journey Through LIFE wouldn’t be what it is without the love and support of all our family and friends. Please continue praying for us that this agreement meets everyone’s needs and allow us to begin this new direction of His plan for us. I can’t wait to see what is ahead!