Crazy Hair, Or Just Crazy?

My hair already has a natural wave to it. Add in this damp, dreary weather and you've got something borderline scary! We've had about 2-2.5 sunny days in what feels like forever. Yesterday, Nana and I took the boys to the playground to run off some energy and have fun before the rain came again last night. We were there for two hours! Gump came by after work. The boys had a blast! Big Boy's favorite thing was to climb up in the tunnel to go down the slide. Little Boy's favorite was the gravel pit and trucks (....as if he didn't have that at home....?) Anyway, it was great and we all had fun!
     Yesterday I also made pumpkin doughnuts. I ran out of Bakewell cream, but the recipe already had baking powder and baking soda in it. So I increased the amount of each a little and went with it. (You mean to tell me that people actually check for ingredients before mixing up their goodies? Pfft. No sense of adventure!) They are good, especially with coffee, but just not quite the same without the good ol' Bakewell cream.  Besides keeping the little people alive, today's goals are to finish all the laundry and maybe scrub the kitchen floor (the good ol' fashioned way-bucket+rag+old cloth diapers). Along with all the usual cooking and dishes and diapers and squabble solving and reading of the same stories over and over and all things related. We'll see how far we get!
      I would imagine Darlin is getting tired by now, being up from 3am to 8/9pm and driving all that way to work and back. I'm glad he rides with a work buddy of his to take turns driving and keep him awake-I worry about him falling asleep while driving. I don't also have to drive, and I'm sure tired by the end of the day!  Why is it that from 4-7 in the morning the time flies right by, but then from 7-nap time it drags on? LOL. Well friends, keep on the sunny side of life and stay dry today!

~Drinking Heavy-And A Surprise reveal~

Keenan, Big Boy and Little Boy got into the good stuff this past Saturday! Auntie Kaelie left her cans by the front door and they had so much fun pretending to drink Mountain Dew!

All dressed up for Easter Sunday! Someone didn't want his picture taken...

 And the surprise is.... I asked my Grandmother to label my spice jars for me! I think it is so awesome to have part of her in my kitchen! She encouraged me on baking homemade bread, and I was able to make my first loaf at 9 years old! If I have any cooking questions, I will usually call her. She tells me what she has tried and found to work, and what doesn't. I didn't come up with this idea of the old style canning jars,masking tape labels, or even having my Grandmother write on them! I got the idea from Alejandra Costello (you can find her on YouTube.com her channel is HomeOrganizing) and there is a link to her website on the left sidebar on my blog. I owe her thanks for this treasure I now have in my kitchen!

 Had the wood cook stove going,so I thought I'd throw in some potatoes for breakfast hash.

 I could hear some birds singing early this morning, but was puzzled as to why they weren't at the feeder. Then, as I sat down with a cup of coffee, I saw this little guy sitting in the ash tree outside my kitchen! Not exactly sure what kind he is, but he is some sort of hawk. He isn't very big either. He sure is pretty though.

The boys were up at 5:30 this morning. Ugh! They will be ready for an early nap today! 

Here I am, thinking about my garden, chomping at the bit to get to plantin', and it snowed last night! Oh well. Have a great day! 

~A New Spring~

Slowly, we have been watching the snow disappear more and more from the fields through our bedroom window.
     All around it seems as though Spring were holding its breath, waiting for Winter to be truly over. Ever so slowly, nature is creeping to life once more. Each day the sun grows a little warmer, touching the cold Earth with its life-giving rays of hope. Seeds, holding the promise of new life, wait patiently below the frigid soil for the day when they can stretch out in flashes of pale green after months of waiting.
     The song birds are returning once more, bringing with them their sweet melodies, filling the fresh, Spring air with songs of praise. A thick blanket of fog spills gracefully down the mountain and settles into the valley below.
     The arrival of a new Spring will soon be complete. I will know it has arrived as I lay on my bed at night. It will be that first night, when the cool, still, night air carries on it the chirping sound of pond peepers to my bedroom window as I drift off to sleep.

~Let's Talk~

There is a trait in the human race, which I fear has succumbed to an endangered state. Oh, it is still out there; I've seen it. But, much to the sorrow of this country and our individual souls, it appears to have gotten harder to come by. Folks, I'm talking about INTEGRITY. If you look up the definition, it means "the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness" and "the state of being whole and undivided". With that thought in mind I ask you, who are you when no one is looking? When you find $50 laying in the parking lot, do you take it to the customer service desk? How about $20?  $5? $1? Or how about when you stop at a gas station and the cashier rings up your total. You realize she didn't charge you for your pack of gum. What do you do?
     Or, if  you are slighted in public, do you brush it off, but then "lay into" family members at home for an equal or lesser offense? Are you "divided" or are you the same person "out there" as you are in your home? Do you put on a facade in public then take it off coming through your front door? Or are you the same ''across the board"? Are you as patient with family as with friends? Ouch, that last one hurt. C.H. Spurgeon said:

"You must know that it is at home that you are what you really are."

The idea of integrity goes to the very heart of a person. What is right, and what is wrong? Is wrong to you wrong, or just a little wrong? What do you believe in? What do you stand for? Do you only stand for "right" when it is easy? Do you back down, fold, give in, or join in when standing for what is true and right means you will be the only one standing?

   I don't know about you, but I'm sick of cheap imitations. Imitations in many respects, but most grievous to me is fake integrity. "Fake" people. Let's all hang onto being real, true, honest and reliable people. There was a time when a man would shake on a deal, and then bend over backwards to keep his word, because his word had more worth than a carefully drawn up contract. Let's all look into the mirror, ask ourselves the hard questions, and let's get real.

I thought it fitting to post this song here. If you've never heard it, it is definitely worth listening to!