Cleaning the Gutters

I have a quick question for everyone. Nothing hard....I just want you to think back to what your husband looked like after he cleaned the gutters.
I remember my husband cleaning the gutters last year. I remember him climbing up on the roof with gloves on and taking all the gunk out of the gutters by hand and throwing it on the ground. I remember it was kind of messy but nothing terrible. But this time my husband asked to borrow something from our neighbors to clean our gutters. It made it so my husband didn't have to use a ladder or get on the roof. But it sure did cause a mess. He realized afterwards that he probably shouldn't of used the machine right after it rained, but he noticed our neighbor watching him so he felt like he should keep going despite the mud spraying falling all over him.

One amazing thing about this hubby of mine is he can still smile even when something doesn't quite go his way. He makes life so much fun.

Little House on the Prairie

Is anybody else a huge "Little House on the Prairie" fan like me? I have always enjoyed watching and reading all about Laura Ingalls Wilder and my interest in the show has grown with age. I love the simple life style and the strong family bonds. Everybody has a faith in God to some degree and they all work together. It is like a little piece of heaven. Well, Mr. G and I were blessed to have a chance to visit the real little house on the prairie and all the buildings that Laura lived near. My brother who just moved to Kansas was our tour guide. The bad part was we went on a Sunday so all the buildings were closed but we still enjoyed what we saw.

This is Sunny Side School house and what was used for the church building on Sundays. Unfortunately, the front door was locked so we were unable to see inside.

But my crafty husband found that the back door was unlocked so we slipped inside and took a few pictures. I know what your thinking......first you go to church in the morning and then commit a crime in the afternoon. I admit we are hypocrites but I am glad we did it. The school room was absolutely amazing.

This was the post office. We couldn't find any unlocked doors to it, so we just took a quick picture and moved on. One thing that was really neat about the area was the open plains. There was one hill off in the distance but other than that it was pretty flat. And my brother reminded me that we are seeing the exact same landscape that Laura saw growing up. How neat is that?

Now, I am not for sure if this is the real wagon that Charles Ingalls rode on, but it was similar. I can't imagine the aches and pains you would get from riding on one of these for a couple hours. But, it was fun to look at.

I found it important to take a picture of the outhouse. What you can't see in this picture is the brand new bathrooms in the brick building right next to it.

This well is very special because it is the actual well that Charles Ingalls built and almost died while building when Laura was a lil girl. It talks about this well in one of her books.

This was a house but I don't know what it was from or who lived there. I am thinking it is the house for the people who own the land now and work it.

This was where Laura Ingalls lived. This was the house that Charles Ingalls built for his family. I would've loved to seen inside.

And here is the person that caused the whole trip, my brother. This was Sunday morning after he finished preaching. We chose to go visit him this particular weekend so we could hear him preach and he did a great job. There was actually a line waiting to talk to him after he spoke, but I got a picture of the last couple. Unfortunately, the picture was blurry.

I Wanna Go Home

I remember when this man in the picture up above was sitting with me in the back of a mini van on the way back from vacation. The funny thing is I don't remember much about the vacation or what we did but I do remember that ride home and the phrase that my brother kept saying over and over again.

"I wanna go home"

Now my oldest brother usually tuned us out at that time because I am sure we were pretty annoying. I can't blame him there. For at least 10 minutes my brother continued to say, "I wanna go home," and I followed every time by saying, "We ARE going home."

"I wanna go home"
"We ARE going home."
"I wanna go home."
"We ARE going home."

It didn't take us long to find our little game funny and we both couldn't help smiling every time we said it.
Well I can't help but think of that memory now that my brother has moved to Kansas, around 8 hours away from "home." I didn't think I would ever see the day. Our whole family has always stayed close together. Nobody went far away to college and we get together often for a dinner and evening together. I just never imagined anyone moving away, especially the one who couldn't stop saying, "I wanna go home."
I must admit, though, he had no other choice. The Lord was obviously pulling him to Tyro to preach and since he has been there he has already done amazing things. The Lord is working through him and my brother is enjoying every minute of it.
Each time we talk or text I can tell that he is happy doing the Lord's work right where the Lord has called him. I do hope that every now and again he will still feel the pull in his heart to "wanna come home," because we sure do miss him.

One Special Lil Boy

Meet my first nephew...which makes him my favorite and number 1 nephew. He has already won over my heart. Isn't it amazing how you can love someone before you even meet them. Once my sister-in-law's belly started growing I was already in love with this lil boy.

His Nana and Gampa were the same way. Nana was busy around the house but I was able to snap a few photos with Gampa and his lil man.

Um....I know this thing I keep flashing in your face is a bit weird but you will get used to it....you are just too cute not to take pictures. Look at those big confused blue eyes....Precious.

Aw....now you are happy. It is probably that prickly feeling you are getting on your face from Gampa's beard. The kiddos always love that beard.

Uh...Aunt RoRo...would you mind leaving me and Gampa alone...we are trying to talk baseball here.

And here is Grandma with her great grandson. You can tell she has raised 5 kids because he was perfectly content in her arms.


There is something special about a great grandma...and I think this lil guy is learning that early on. If this lil guy gets any bigger he might be too much for grandma to hold. Before we know it he will be graduating high school and going off to college. That is 18 years away and my eyes are already watering just from the thought of it.

Hey....it's the lil man here....before you go I just wanted to make a silly face to make you laugh...I have been practicing this face since this morning, which is basically most of my life.

Have I said lately just how much I love being an aunt......God is good!!!

Picnic with Hubby

"So...Mom...this little road trip you said we were going on...it is really fun so far. I get to sit on your lap and stare out the window. Sometimes you even roll down the window so I can stick my head out and smell the fresh air. I really like road trips."

"Duh, Marley...road trips are the best, don't you know. Hey, Mom, would you care if I grow up to be like Dad. I want to be just like him...wouldn't that be fun."

"Mom, I just want to say thanks again for this road trip. I know you act like you don't like my kisses on your face but I think you actually do....you are just playing hard to get."

This is where we chose to have our picnic. This is a special place because it is the place where everything has happened for Mr. G and I. This is where he first said he loved me...this is where he even proposed...and this is where we went for our little road trip and picnic. Mr. G and I fixed our supper and packed it up for the road. We took Mr. G's truck so we could sit on the tail gait and watch the sun set while we ate. We had hoped it would be romantic, but the boys kept that from happening.

But the sunset was still beautiful. God did it right...didn't he. We couldn't take our eyes off the sky because he was constantly changing with the clouds and different colors. I loved it.

Unfortunately, Marley hated it. He was terrified the whole time. He was so cared that at one point he jumped out of my arms and took off running with his tail between his legs. We both chased after him and by the time we caught him we realized that he had led us to a really cool beach. It was somewhere we had never been before. It had soft sand and need stumps laying around to sit on. Somebody else must have been there recently because there was an old campfire there too. It was perfect. Mr. G and I just stared at the water and the sunset and watched Mickey as he hunted around.

I honestly don't know what Mickey would do if he ever actually found something. He is such a scaredy cat most of the time, but he does like a little adventure now and again.



Marley, on the other hand, wanted no part of it. He would hide his head under my arm as a way to protect himself. Poor Marley.

And then there is this guy. I wonder what he is thinking. It is weird that we have been married almost a year and a half and just the thought of him can bring a smile to my face. He is one special guy and even though he has his head up in the clouds sometimes (haha - get it), he will always be my sweetheart.

I think one reason that Marley was a bit scared......actually terrified, was because of these big birds flying around the water. I am guessing that before we adopted Marley he had a bad encounter with a bird...just a wild guess.

"Yepee...we are headed back toward the truck which means we are getting out of this place. That is the best news I've heard all night."

"Hey...when did that amazing sunset get there. I just now noticed it."

And then we were off on our way home...unfortunately our ride home was interrupted by some road construction...joy joy.

We had gone about 5 miles per hour for 10 minutes when we both decided we should just exit at the next exit and take HWY 37 home. As soon as we exited we realized that the construction ended probably 20 yards in front of us. So we quickly turned onto the on ram and hopped back on the interstate for home.

Now...I had told you about how scared Marley was, well, I took a video of him panicking when we wouldn't let him up on the truck bed with us. He was very VERY upset and you can tell that Mickey is loving it all. Watch and see for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8RkYcUyFuk

Floor Troubles

Well...most of you know that we have been working on a home renovation since June. You also know how long we waited to get our floors put in and how dramatic I was once they were finally in. I even have a blog dedicated to all the exciting things that will someday happen on our new floors. Well, we just found out that our new floors are defective and the company is going to send us a new floor.
All that work, all that time is gone, but there is a bright side. We enjoyed putting the floors in even if we will never use them. Also, the floor color that we had chosen is darker than we really like. It is beautiful but it shows too much dirt so we are getting a second chance to get the color right, and we are going to go lighter this time.
I am talking as if everything is already decided, when actually it isn't. The company is suppose to be sending a man out to look at our floors to make sure we aren't lying to them. He called me last Tuesday and left a message. I called him and left a message and haven't heard from him since. So, until he comes to our house to inspect the floors they won't order the new floors. Basically, we have a lot of waiting to do. I am hoping that in a month we will have all the floors done, but when we first started this project my dad jokingly said that we would be done by Christmas, and now I am starting to wonder if he will be right.

So that you have a chance to say a proper good bye to our floors I am leaving you with a video of Mr. G rolling the floors the first night we got them. You will also see our painted fireplace in the video and hear our crazy dogs in the background. It isn't a very interesting video...but it is appropriate for our good bye. Just in case, grab a Kleenex because good bye's are never easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wCX4VXe76k

Cone Heads

I was beginning to worry that by reading all the posts on my blog you would think that I have a normal family, and you would be very wrong. We are no where near normal and I am reminded of that every day with my darling husband. Here he is with our brother-in-law last Christmas. Now most men probably discuss sports or politics or food at Christmas time, but not my family. Just imagine the conversation before this picture was taken.
"Hey man, look at those silver cones."
"Yeah...those look funny."
"I wonder if it will fit on my head."
"I don't know, maybe we should try them on."
"Cool...Mine fits perfect."
"Heeeyyyy, I can't see.....Who turned out the lights?"
"Haha...we look funny! Someone take our picture."

Both of these men are very smart and work at very important jobs. They have been through college and passed with flying colors. They understand the most complicated things about cars, televisions, and cell phones. They both have even installed new light fixtures and have attempted ceiling fans (Note: One caught the ceiling on fire while trying). They are very smart but what catches their eye is the shiny silver cones and they feel they have no choice but to try it on for a hat.

I suppose we should look at them as God looks at them...Special. They are both God-fearing, Bible-reading, church-going, disciples of God and that truly does make them special and I am proud to call them family even though they aren't exactly normal.