Jack's Lake

So we have a little friend named Jack.

He has a lake.

And a boat.

And an awesome lake house.

And quite possibly more toy tractors than we do.

(Unbeknownst to my little boy, Jack's parents are some of the hardest working people I know that sacrifice every single day so that Jack can have all of these awesome boats, houses and lakes)


I think Matthew has a little man crush on Jack..and his lake..and the boat is just fuel to the proverbial fire.

Some snaps of our trips to Jack's lake...and please, I know Kimber is terribly sunburnt, we learned our lesson about reapplying under the eyes.

DOUGHNUTS

To brag a little, I make a mean homemade biscuit!  They are absolutely awesome and it took a good 20 or so tries to get them right.  Well, while perusing Pinterest a while back I saw a recipe for making doughnuts out of canned biscuits and thought hmmmm....maybe we should give that a try.

Well we did....and they absolutely ROCKED!

And yes, 

that is a CRAP-TON of sugar 

but if you are going to fry white flour you might as well continue

the downhill progression and douse it in sugar..a CRAP-TON of it, right?

Village

So, my dear friend Anita stole the title of this post right out of my wee little brain.


We are blessed, incredibly blessed, by our "village" that surrounds, supports and loves us no matter how crazy~dysfunctional~nuts we may be.  I don't think we were meant to be on our own in this crazy world and the people that love us prove that theory time and again.

The invite for a girls night...even when I can't warms my heart.

Letting the dogs out for a run when we are away.

Watching the littlest Riggle while big brother spends the evening in the ER.

Guarding our humble abode (and rescuing escaped canines) while alerting us to things that don't seem right.

Meals delivered, shared or made for or with us.

Projects finished...well closer at least.

Recipes shared or tried out on us.

Pulling weeds, sewing, cleaning...some things most friends would not help with our village is right there with a smile on (at least on the outside) ready to help.
 
 People who make my kids feel their love make my heart happy and there are a lot of you so
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
from my happy little heart!!

Matthew is 5

I am not sure how 5 whole years have passed since we met this little man but boy have we had a great time.


Today you turn 5 my little man!

I remember this day

 like it was yesterday.

I had waited and prayed and prayed and waited for you and those first moments with you were incredible.  To be honest, life changed in so many wonderful ways once you came into my world.

You are such a sweet boy and make this mama job pretty darn fun.

Right now you are super crazy into Star Wars and all that entails.  You have also recently discovered Legos and spend hours creating ships, buildings, boats, forts and towers.  You are very determined to do things yourself most of the time but tend to get frustrated pretty easily when you can't.  You love helping Papa on a project and enjoy helping me too, as long as I truly give you a way to contribute.  You are slowly coming out of your shell a bit and it is good to see.    More to come........

14 YEARS!

14 years ago today I said I DO.

I was a young girl, in love with a crazy red-headed boy who made me laugh.

It has not been easy, but it has been great.

It has flown by, being married 14 years somehow seems to make me feel like we really are grown ups because we weren't that young when we married.

I would not trade any of the laughs, tears, bruises, poison ivy, sheetrock dust or general calamity that seems to be wherever we are.

It has not been as expected, it has been better.

The adventures we have had, just to name a few;
                                          Tarleton State and The Great Divide
                                          Getting "buzzed" driving to Bovina.
                                          Papaw putting you in the trunk, not so innocently.
                                          Our first little home in Rio Vista
                                          Crested Butte, CO - the skiing and that wine bar!
                                          Adventures in Elgin and Austin
                                          The emergency room trip in lieu of a traditional bachelor party
                                          A surprise trip to Atlanta for my birthday.
                                          Posionous "steaks" at Big Bend National Park
                                          Two black eyes
                                          Fajitas on the chiminea on our new back porch
                                          Our first marathons and triathlons, after you said what, I am not doing THAT!
                                          Watching our first little colt take his first steps (free horse, hah!)
                                          You, me and the La Leche League girl all piled up in our bed with our newborn.
                                          Shoulder, hernia, elbow, eyes....oh the surgeries!
                                          Me "trapping" you, 9 years in.
                                          Skunk killing
                                          Tank moss fights
                                          42...lots of 42...until we had babies.
                                          South Fork, CO - the skiing and butterscotch schnapps!
                                          Luther, our first calf
                                          Remodeling...and more remodeling
                                          Joe T. Garcia's
                                          Fenway Park
                                          Getting inked
                                          Discovering hard cider in New England
                                          Charlie Dog
                                          The seemingly indestructible Toyota trucks
                                          Shooting up a circus sign, my first time shooting with you.
                                          Pond-seaweed wig
                                         
                                          
                                          
                                          
Today I am a 30-something year old girl, still very much in love with a crazy red-headed boy, who is helping me parent two more little souls that bring a smile to my face EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Happy 14th baby!!

Us....ready to celebrate!