We Will Miss You, Grandma

Denise’s stepmom, Connie, died this past week. It appears that she died suddenly and peacefully in her sleep, which we praise God for. We were close to her, even though she lived many miles away in Oregon. Denise will be flying out there with her sister this week to help with the funeral arrangements and other things that have to be sorted out. We wanted to let everyone know this so that they can be praying for Denise and the rest of the family, as it will be a difficult week.

Connie was very special to us. As Denise and I have been talking about her and recalling special memories, one word in particular keep coming up: Perserverance. Life has not always been easy on Connie. She moved back to Oregon a few years ago to take care of her elderly parents and the last two years have seen her mother succumb to Alzeihmer’s and placed in a nursing home and the death of her father. Yet she perservered. We know this in many ways, but especially in the fact that she continued to take care of the family farm and document her everyday life in letters to her grandchildren on a weekly basis. Every week Molly, Katie, and Lucy would get letters addressed to them from Grandma telling them about how the horses were doing, or how the apples trees were blooming, or what vegetables she planted that day, or what her dogs were chasing after. Just day to day stuff that made the girls feel like they were a part of her life… which is difficult when you’re so far away. But it made a difference. Everyday when we check the mail they ask “Is there a letter from Grandma?”… and usually there were – 3 or 4 pages, with plenty of stickers. Me? I just looked forward to the delicious jams she would send us that she had made from her own garden.

The legacy she leaves behind is a unique one, and full of faith. While we will always have the letters she wrote, the recipes she shared with us, the quilts she made us, and the pictures of our time together, I pray that in our life, and in our children’s lives especially, we can follow her example of perserverance and to show other’s that love is active, whether it’s in the ink of a thoughtful letter, the stitch of a quilt, meeting the physical needs of another, or loving someone as if they were you’re own. We miss you, Grandma, but we know we will see you again. Praise the Lord.

I’ve Been Had

I hate that feeling. It’s sort of liked being robbed, I suppose, except that I handed the money to the thief out of my own free will. We went to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival today. We thought it would be a fun experience and the girls would get a kick out of it. The advertisements made it seem like there would be all sorts of great things to do – sort of like a state fair, but with knights and princesses. Well, not quite.

First of all, the cost was $18 per adult. Thankfully the children were free. I went ahead and paid the price, though, because of all the cool stuff that I thought would be included in the price. Wrong. $18 just got you in the door and then they nickel and dimed – well dollar and five dollared – you the rest of the time. Every ride the girls wanted to ride – $5. I let them ride the camel and that was it. The girls wanted their face painted – the cheapest one was $2 and it was the worst butterfly I had ever seen. The good ones – no joke – cost $10. Thirsty? A bottle of water – $2. Hungry? Fried Corn – $3. Even the “free” entertainment cost us. We saw a pretty amusing comedy routine with knife throwers and jugglers. When it was over they mentioned- a number of times – how our donations were how they made their living, and then they stood at the exit with their hats sticking in your face. Of course you’re going to give them a buck or two. We finally made our way to the human chess match with promises of realistic sword duels whenever one side’s player took out the other. Ummmm, no. Instead, it looked like this. But with two of ‘em. I mean, for $18, at least practice once or twice.

Oh, and speaking of dorks, it felt like we were at a Star Trek convention. You know, where everyone dresses up like Klingons or with Spock ears. How in the world are there that many people in Tennessee with Robin Hood outfits? I mean, is this what you do when you outgrow Dungeons and Dragons? This part didn’t bother me as bad as you would think, though. In fact, the best part of the event was the people watching. But there were sooooo many of them. I was constantly getting poked by someone’s sword…. I hope.

Finally, the one reason I wanted to go was to see the castle – supposedly a full-fledged castle. Of course, it was no where to be seen. You had to take a 5 minute bus ride (yeah, right… I want to spend 5 minutes on a bus with the Purple Knight and his, uh, ministrel), and the wait for the bus was – drum roll please – 30 minutes. Survey says, “brrrrrrrnttttt.”

So we left after two and a half hours. We got some excellent bar-b-que from Whitt’s for less than $10 and then went to the park and played…. for free.

A Must See!

Hello there! Long time no see!  I know, I know.  Dial up is no excuse.  I’ll be glad to continue on some of our family happenings here.  First, I want to mention a very important contest that has started today!  I own two of these baby slings and would recommend you check out this contest today to try and win one!  If you have not started baby wearing yet, you are missing out! Lucy falls into a coma when she sits in mine. Love that!  Check out BohoBaby and then post your favorite on the blog below to be eligible to win!

Musings of a Housewife

Not to mention, that my sisterfriend is the one making the slings! Love you Wondergirl!

In the mean time will this picture hold you? Lucy is 6 months old and one of the happiest babies I have ever met!