wild horses! yikes!

Sometimes life can get a little boring around here, with just me and grandpa hanging around the house.
Then something happens, like this afternoon, to get the adrenalin going again.  wild horses!

I thought I had secured the gate, but the horses (2 of them) got out! That's what you get for living in the wild west.  I was out "visting teaching"(our church's program of church ladies ministering to other church ladies). 

When my compainion and I arrived at our first lady's house, she had taken her horses out of their pasture,and they were munching grass in the front yard, which was surrounded by a fence.  While us ladies were having a nice little visit, those darned horses had escaped! 

 Luckily, with the help of a cowboy on a bike, the horses were shooed back home. My and my sweet little companion, who's almost 80 and frail (She won't see this. She doesn't know how to use a computer), stood in the middle of the street by the open gate. With the horses approaching us at a gallop, we put our lives on the line and stood there, hollering and frantically waving our arms. Instead of plowing us down, the horses put on their brakes and did a right turn into their own yard.

Big sigh of relief and enough action for one day!

start of a New Year -- 2011

I woke up New Year's morning to this. Eight of the grandkids stayed overnight New Year's Eve (a tradition) and had so much fun playing with each other.

We spent New Year's Day afternoon at Brazos Bend Park -- the alligator park. The kids were amazed to see a 16 foot alligator sunning itself on the shore.

Doing a head count to make sure all the kiddos are still here!

And of course, they're all accounted for! Their Grammy kept a close eye on them, and was ready to wrestle an alligator or two if needed.
A great start to a New Year. And here's a great quote to keep in mind as we journey through this new year.
(wish I had written down who said it)

"The lives of men without goals and plans slip by like shadows, leaving no trace, no legacy, and taking away no learning, no growth.  Other lives, blueprint-built rather than random-spent, leave traces in time and carry away light and power for the journey into the next world."           

cute cousins together for Christmas



Kyla, Evan, and Colby enjoying a warm Texas winter day



cousins making Christmas cookies

Saige bonding with Kyla

yummy!



                       

babies feeding babies




JOY! JOY! and more joy

         the joy of celebrating Mark's birthday when he and his family drove in from Minnesota.

                  the joy of having baby Saige in our home for her first Christmas.

the joy of warm days before Christmas to enjoy a day in the park



...and to enjoy a day at the beach just before the weather gets colder

                  the pure joy of running through the water with a grandchild

the joy of loved ones reunited (Walter home from the Carribean!)

                                    the joy of making gingerbread houses

...and seeing Andy and KayLynn celebrate their first Christmas as newly weds

the joy of our traditional Christmas Eve dinner (soup and rolls by candlelight)

the joy of Christmas morning when little ones are there

These are the things that fill my heart with joy as we celebrate the birth of our Savior through whom all  good things come.

and so the Christmas celebrations begin....



We  met at Sharon and Bill's home for the annual party for the children of Maxine and Art. 



Carl and a his Texas siblings (one is in heaven, one is in Pennsylvania, one is in Utah -- for a total of 8 children of Maxine and Art



a few of the cousins (I claim the one on the far left. The rest are nieces and a nephew.)

After Carl gave a presentation on family history, we did our traditional "White Elephant" gift exchange.

Bill is totally thrilled with his "White Elephant" gifts, especially with the hamburger patty maker. He can barbeque those hamburgers in style, wtih his new redneck hat and sunglasses.



the chemist in my kitchen

Yesterday, my favorite chemist had a wonderful birthday suprise for me. He stayed home from church, recovering from a bad cold, and when I came home and walked into the kitchen, the smell was heavenly.
My dear husband had baked a cake from scratch for me. He had never baked anything in his whole life.  A previous attempt at making something had to be thrown out when he used a cup of salt instead of a teaspoon. But, this time, a miracle happened. With the help of a recipe he found online, the cake was edible, and in fact, quite good. He even made a glaze--from scratch-- to go on top.

Besides making this cake, this weekend, my chemist helped with  the rocket science of using a pressure cooker canner. (Steam comes out of a vent as pressure builds up inside and then a little thingy-majiggit on top of the lid starts madly rocking, as the pointer on a guage inches ominously upward -- and all you can imagine is the contents of the canner spewing all over your kitchen and the thingy-majiggit blasting a hole through your ceiling as it takes off for outer space.)
I hadn't used this canner for more than ten years, and was very nervous.  So dear hubby read all the directions, while I made the applesauce. He was in charge of operating the potentially explosive canner, so, as you can see, things turned out great.

This weekend, we also enjoyed the first harvest of broccoli from our garden. I planted it, but my science guy concocted the compost that helped it grow so well.

All this blogging about food has made me hungry.  I think I'll grab a piece of that cake.....

Giving Thanks, Part 2...

Some (ten) of our children and grandchildren were celebrating Thanksgiving in Utah, others (four) were in Minnesota, one was in the Carribean ...
But, thankfully, a few were still in Texas, far away from the snow, and happily gave thanks.
                     

We were very thankful that a few of our precious grandchildren (and children) were here to liven up our empty nest.

 These two pretty princesses posed so sweetly while their brothers were getting boxing lessons from their Uncle TaTa, home from Texas Tech.

 Thanksgiving weekend also marked the 2nd birthday of grandson Colby, whose arrival sent his mother to the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. It was the most exciting Thankgiving ever.

look at this little guy, minutes old, and looking around so alertly.

From sweet baby to sweet little boy in just 2 years!

                                                       
Grandpa had a Thanksgiving surprise for me. He spent some time researching my family line and was able to come up with a Pilgrim ancestor on my side. I've been bragging about his Pilgrim ancestors. Now I can brag about one of my very own (official and solidly researched and documented!). This Pilgrim comes through my 3rd great grandmother, Margaret (Peggy) M. Freeman, the wife of Paul Nye.  I am so thankful to know that my 9th great grandfather is William Brewster.

William Brewster, along with my husband's Pilgrim grandparents, came to America on the Mayflower. He was Patriarch and the ruling Elder of the group and kept them together in good times and bad.  He played a major role in planning and organizing the trip to America and the escape from religious persecution which they suffered in England.  He remained ruling Elder until his death in 1644. We have reason to believe that William took in my husband's grandmother, Mary Chilton, after her father and mother both died soon after landing in America.

 P.S. While researching my "Freeman" ancestors, my husband came up with another surprise. Not only are we husband and wife, but cousins!!!!  We are 7th cousins, 1 time removed. Our common ancestors are our great grandparents -- Edmond Freeman (born 1683 in Sandwich, Mass.) and his wife, Keziah Pressbury (born 1687, Mass.)