Handsome!

I stopped on the way home from Landon's haircut today and took a couple more pics. I loved this one.

My Therapy...

Grabbing my camera and heading out to take pictures of this little guy is the best therapy I've found! Not only am I outdoors in this beautiful weather, but we get to discover lots of new places. And, I get memories that will last a lifetime. Best kind of therapy I've found.









I love how serious he was in this one. Several people were passing and stopped to watch him so he put on a show for them. He done all kinds of serious poses for me!


Now, off to get his hair cut and then on to more therapy. It's a beautiful day here and I need some sunshine!!

If I wasn't so tired and stressed...

I would have found it all very funny!

Actually, that's a lie...I found it funny anyway.

I was tending to my daily chores and such when Landon came running in and told me, "Mom, I really, really like that toddler paint and paint brush that you bought for me. It's the perfect size for my hands."

HUH??? I was confused, until he took me and showed me his creation.

WHITE PAINT was everywhere...all over my washer, dryer, my beautiful shelf, and yes, he had even painted on of my crystal vases for me.

Only...it. wasn't. paint.


It was...







Needless to say, we no longer have 'toddler paint' in our house. It's history. But, I did save the crystal vase he painted for me. I'm sure I will look back on it one day and smile and laugh...but not today. It was one of my favorite vases that I use to put fresh flowers in.

My two boys...

Sometimes you just gotta let the house and all your duties go for a while and go outside for some fresh air!




YEP...the slide was wet! Of course I knew it was wet, but I wasn't going to tell him that and ruin a good picture moment!



Even Landon thought it was funny...





Once you're wet...you might as well go ahead and have a little fun...



Nothing like getting stuck on the slide...



Fun times...now we're headed out again to enjoy this beautiful weather for yet another day.

Back in the land of the living...

We drove to the beach Saturday because the weather was perfect here and because my husband knew I so needed to get out of the house. I had spent most of the week indoors because I had been having problems with asthma and allergies and seizures. Trust me, those three are not a good combination. My husband had to leave church early with me Sunday night because I was so sick and passing out. When I get extremely exhausted I start having these spells and then the seizures start. I was in bed for a few days and just feeling better when the asthma started bothering me. I think I enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather much more than he and Landon did, because I had been indoors for so long.



Landon was in a posing little mood...and I took advantage of it! My husband said he knew I was sick because the battery on my camera was dead and I hadn't bothered to charge it until I knew we were going somewhere Saturday morning. The battery on my camera always stays charged and ready.





It felt so good to be outdoors! On our ride back home, we found a house that we thought we might be able to get pretty cheap. It needs a little work, but it's hard to find a house with a pond in the front yard.




We almost put a bid in on the house, but this guy that we found a little further down from it changed out mind!!! I just don't think he'd make a good neighbor.

Home again...

We made it home late Saturday from Texas. My grandmothers funeral was simply beautiful. I had planned to stay with my mom and not come home till sometime this week, but decided to head back home around noon on Saturday. I will be going back next week to help go through some of my grandmothers things. What a collector she was! When we opened the doors to one of the storage buildings in her back yard, we got a surprise! Hundreds, and I mean HUNDREDS of porcelain dolls and thousands of S&P shakers were in there also. At this time we know that there are over 10,000 sets of S&P shakers. (No that's not a typo...I meant to type 10,000 sets.) We knew she was a collector, we had seen all the things she had in her home on a regular basis, but what we didn't know was that she never threw anything out! We knew there were collections in the three buildings in the back yard, we just didn't know how much.

I brought home a lot of the chef S&P shaker sets for my cabinet in my kitchen that has all my chef collections. I found several of them that my grandfather brought home from Germany when they first married 67 years ago. I also got their wedding china. I have looked at it a hundred times and cried and cried to think that I have something so precious. When my aunt Pam told me to pack up my grandmothers wedding china I couldn't stop crying or smiling. I never thought I'd get something as precious as that. I also got my great grandmothers china...it's missing a few pieces, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

As if that wasn't enough, as I was walking out the door, my aunt handed me their family Bible. WOW...all the writings and memories and pictures that were inside! It now has a special home in a curio cabinet in my husbands office. The curio cabinet in my husbands office was hand made by his grandfather and given to him for his office when we moved here. These are some priceless items and we get to enjoy them every day since we spend so much time at the church and in the office. I can't help but smile when I look at that cabinet. I place several other items that were given to us of my grandparents and his in it, so we'd have some special memories.

I have been told that I can have anything in the house and storage buildings I want, because there is simply so much stuff that they just don't know what to do with it all. I told my husband that I now know where I get all my 'collecting' genes from. Actually, I knew it all along. I remember admiring all my grandmothers collections as a kid, and thinking someday that I would have collections too when I got married. I remember many times when she would come to my house for something, and her saying, "Carolyn, honey, you come by this collecting honestly. I love collecting stuff. You get this from me cause your momma sure don't have it in her."

Grandma...you would be proud of the way your collectibles look in my home...you'd be so proud! I'm running out of room to put them, but that's okay because we're about to move into a much bigger house, so I'll put them up till then and when I bring them out in the new place I'll be able to smile and reminisce about you yet again.

Oh, and that candy dish that I used to always sneak candy out of...yeah, I got it too! I know you'll be looking down and smiling the first time Landon sneaks a piece of candy from it.