handsful

Thanks so much for all the kind words about the post for my Grandmom.  She was laid to rest on Saturday, and it was a gorgeous, warm sunny day.  It reminded me of her.  Her service was beautiful, and the testimony that her care giver shared brought me to tears.  And, just as the pastor finished at the graveside, the church bells starting ringing.  That made me smile!

I’m not certain that God speaks through shoes, but in this case…let me back up.  I bought a pair of Clark’s Springers mules online YEARS ago.  They are my absolute favorite shoes to wear in the fall/winter.  They aren’t the most beautiful pair of shoes, but they are to me.

Today, as I was dropping off some items at our local kid’s consignment store, I was browsing in the $2 bins outside.  Nothing arranged by size, type, etc….just stuffed in bins.  I came across these shoes and nearly fell out.  Clarks Springers, in my size.  Not the mules, but just as comfortable.  I think they’re super cute, too.  And, did I mention they were $2?  I came home and checked on Ebay.  There’s a pair exactly like them for $43.50.  Score!!  I love a deal, especially when it’s SO meant for me to find… :)

My Grandmom, Dorothy West Hamilton, went home to be with the Lord yesterday morning.  She’d been suffering from mouth cancer for quite a while, went through one surgery and other cancer treatments.  It seemed the tumor was shrinking, but then came back with a vengeance.  Within just a few short days, she went from talking over old memories with my parents, to bedridden and unable to eat.  When given the choice, she refused IV fluids…telling my dad that she was ready to go Home.  Two days later, she was there.

I’m so thankful that we had the chance to visit her, one last time, on Monday.  She was sleeping heavily, morphine doses every 2 hours, and was basically unresponsive.  But, I choose to believe that she knew we were there, and heard me telling her how much I loved her, and what an amazing Grandma she’d been to me.  I will always treasure that, like I’ll treasure the wonderful memories I have with her.

Like…

She called all of her Grandkids “tootsie”.  I loved that.

From the time I was 4, we lived down the street from Grandma.  In fact, we lived in 3 different houses on the SAME street during my childhood.  But, that’s another story.  So, I spent a lot of time up at her house.  What a blessing.

I loved her house.  It was small, with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath.  Down the very small hall was a huge grate that brought in heat (coal?  I’m not sure…), and when you looked down, it was glowing bright red.  As a child, that was very mysterious to me.

I remember spending nights with her as a child.  She’d always let me sleep with her, in her bed.  And the best part was her letting me wear her silky nightgowns…which she always safety-pinned to fit.

Her house backed up to the local little league field, with a fence between.  Her yard was elevated from it, and there was a tree right at the fence.  Us kids (me and my cousins) would climb the tree and watch whatever game was going on.  We felt like we had the best seats in the house.

Grandma was the best cook.  Ever.  My favorites being her green beans (I can’t cook them like she did…), chicken pastry (think dumplings, only they’re large, flat noodles), and her homemade chocolate pie.  I’ve almost got the last one down.  I remember the first time I tried it, the filling didn’t get thick enough.  She told me to cook and stir it longer.  She was right.

I have a sweet tooth, and I’m sure I got it from Grandma.  She LOVED her sweets, any and every kind.  Especially pie.  Meals to her were a vehicle to get to the dessert.  I totally get that.

As you can see in the pic, she had beautiful, soft white hair.  I want HER hair when mine goes gray.  For years she fought it, though, and died it jet black!  As a kid, I remember watching her at her kitchen sink, squirting what looked like black ink all over her head.  The stuff stained whatever it touched, it was quite a sight!  We finally talked her into going “natural” and she never looked better.

Grandma had a dog years ago, named Tippy.  He was a black and white mutt, and cute as could be.  I didn’t have a dog, so it was fun to play with him.  I remember how sad we were when he died.

Grandma’s house was always the meeting point for parades downtown.  She lived within walking distance, so everyone parked their cars there and walked down to main street.

In fact, her house was always bustling with family and friends.  She was very social, and loved being busy.  She also loved talking on the phone.  My parents would get irritated at her…her phone was ALWAYS busy, it was impossible to get a hold of her.  Sometimes we’d have to walk up the street and knock on her door :)

I loved hearing stories of Grandma’s life.  She married my dad’s dad at the age of 15.  She had 5 children, and they lived on a farm.  She married my granddad, and he died when my dad was 18.  She re-married after 7 years, only to have him pass away 5 months later.  From then on, she lived alone.

Grandma did have a “boyfriend” for many years.  I remember Jimmy as the tall, skinny man who always greeted me with whatever change he had in his pocket.  He was a very sweet man, and was a blessing to Grandma.

In later years, after Randy and I were married, we started a tradition of having a casual get-together at our house on Christmas eve.  It was always my parents, Randy’s mom and step-dad, and Grandma.  Once the kids were born, it was a kid-fest…holding babies and watching them be silly as they anticipated the next morning.  Lots of laughter, lots of food, and many memories.

As our kids got older, and we visited her, she would NOT let them leave without something sweet (remember the sweet tooth?).  Candy for each one, packs of cookies, etc.  There was always a “going away” present.

I hope Grandma knew just how much I loved her.  How much we all did.  She was the sweetest (I keep using that word, sweet…) woman and everyone adored her.  Remembering her will be easy, and I’ll continue to share these memories and more with my kids so that they can always remember, too.

Having both “bigs” and “littles” makes for interesting costumes this time of year.  Thankfully, Lainey and Dylan are still happy to be cartoon characters and sweet little fairies.  The other kids are….interesting.

We’ll begin with the cute.

Sticking with his superhero theme (Spidey last year), Dylan was the big, bad Batman.

I told him to give me his best Superhero pose :)

Lainey went with Silvermist, one of Tinkerbell’s fairy friends…and, she was adamant that she was NOT Tinkerbell.

The big kids were a little different.

Marley actually found what she wanted to be on an internet video last year.  It took Randy quite a bit of planning and building to make it happen, and then the girls got busy with fabric and sewing.

Any ideas on what this will be?  Give up, you won’t guess.

The Superhero is SUPERvising…see what I did there?

Finishing touches…I’m still not sure what “it” is, but it turned out exactly like she wanted.

Abbey wanted to be a zombie princess Belle.  She designed her dress out of yellow t-shirts.  The fairy is helping her with her fingernails.

The whole crew.  Ethan had the help of his friend, Kailee…they both went goth, with black hair, makeup, etc.  Kylie was Marley’s “assistant”, since it was hard to walk up to the houses on those stilts!  And, Payton?  He just couldn’t come up with anything he wanted to be, so we stopped by Target on the way to our friend’s neighborhood and picked up a white sheet.  Old school dress-up.

After a night of candy-hunting, we headed home for the tradition of trading for favorites.  The kids are already talking about what they might be next year.  We’re thinking of throwing a party for the big kids, since they’re nearing the age of being too old to T or T.  Whatever we do, it’ll be fun.

This is our dog. His full name is Jackaroo – which is the Aussie term for a cowboy in training. He’s an Australian Shepherd mix, afterall.

He’s always been a very healthy dog, hardly any issues at all. Jack turned 10 last month, and very soon after tore his left, back ACL. Grand.

He had surgery two days ago, and it went very well. According to the nurse, he was a star patient and we’re thankful he’s leaving the bandage alone. No need for a cone so far! We’ve got bandage checks, stitch removals, and a series of glucosamine shots ahead of us.

Never a dull moment around here.

It’s October, and you know what THAT means? NC State Fair time! We dropped the dog at the vet, and we hit the road with our friends Ed, Kelley, Kylie, and Kailee following behind.

The fair is all about tradition. Randy and I have been going to the fair since we were kids (with the exception of a few years while we were in Florida), and there are certain things ya’ just have to do.

We always eat lunch at the same booth. Dylan finished every bit of his first foot-long hot dog. We might make a change next year since we saw that the local Shriner’s have a booth there, too. Gotta back the Shriner’s, they’ve done so much for Dylan.

The big kids (and Randy) rode the crazy rides. The littles rode a few, too. We took in the pig races, petting zoo (twice), and posed for pics in front of the fountain. We went to all the animal exhibits, ran into friends and family we don’t get to see often enough, and ate. Oh yes, we ate. That’s one of the very best parts of the fair.

Before they big kids took off on their own, I made them pose for pics. I’m such a mom.

The trips and their friends.

We decided to attempt a family shot. Enjoy the progression.

Not bad!

The kids running around by themselves, we took the littles for a few rides just for them. Well, Randy joined in on this one. Mama doesn’t spin. It would have made for a miserable rest of the day if I had!

The tube ride on water. They were really looking forward to this one.

Lainey did most of the work, while Dylan tumbled.

Abbey hung out with us more than the other kids did, which was nice for us.

There was one area that was growing local crops as an exhibit. The kids got to feel real cotton, right off the plant. We took one home…it was lying on the ground already, we didn’t pluck it!

In the chicken exhibit. Looks like we’re skipping through!

Randy made a friend. This rooster didn’t know what to think…

Weird robot-guy wandered around the fair, with loud music blaring. The lady in the white shirt is Randy’s aunt, we usually only see her at Christmas and were excited to run into her!

We also found Jayden and his family…another one of Dylan’s Luoyang orphanage buddies!

Tradition dictates that you MUST wear stickers. And, all of the exhibits give them out. Randy and I wore our stickers proudly. Can you guess which ones WE wore?

The petting zoo…goats, calves, camels, llamas, etc. They sold bags of sliced carrots to feed them.

And, then there was the food.

One of Marley’s favs. As well as roasted corn and cotton candy.

Lainey cleaned that cob perfectly.

If it can be deep fried, it’s at the fair. Abbey loved the Reese’s cups, and Ethan the Oreo’s. Payton enjoyed his old fashioned apple pie, hold the deep frying.

My favorites? One of the exhibits had cupcakes. I had the Smore’s, with toasted marshmallow on top. And, the handmade soft pretzel booth. Oh, and the french fry stand that we ALWAYS stop by. Nothing deep fried for me, though.

Given that the fairgrounds are very close to NC State University, you won’t find anything with UNC-CH on it!

The fair at night…

We did what we always do. Stayed till the very end. Randy drove home, while the rest of us snoozed away. Home by 1am, we fell into bed. Happy…and, very full.

Okay, I just thought I’d jump over here and share a few things that have nothing to do with each other. But, that’s life.

First off, about a week ago Nana and Paw-Paw stopped by while they were in Charlotte for a wedding. We hung out at the house and talked (while Lainey and Dylan entertained them with constant cartwheels and flips), and then headed out to lunch at a local spot. Nana posed everyone for pics…

I managed to start AND finish a project recently. Only took me 3 days even! When we were looking for houses, I’d hoped to find part of a wall in the kitchen to paint with chalkboard paint. Initially, I couldn’t find any spot that would work, and then started looking outside the kitchen. This is the short hallway between the kitchen and door to the garage. The laundry room is on the left.

I bought my supplies and went to work.

First coat.

Second and third coats.

Randy and Abbey photo-bomb my shot. They think they’re so cute.

Decided to use the kitchen wall color to make a subtle edge around the board.

This view doesn’t show it well.

See?

All six of the kids are taking classes at a local gym called Acrofitness. There are only two of these in the country, one in Connecticut and one 10 minutes from our house. They combine acrobatics with fitness…hence, the name. I love that the emphasis really is on fitness, and giving kids a way to be active and have fun.

Lainey and Dylan take a basic class for 5-7 year olds. Marley is in advanced tumbling. Abbey is taking a fitness hip-hop class. And, the boys are in AFFR…a free running class. They’re all making quick progress in their skills. Marley did her first (and several other) un-spotted back handspring last week. The boys did theirs today, though a tad less gracefully. :)

Dylan made it on the “Splits Board” tonight. If you can do all three splits (straddle, left foot front, and right foot front), you get your name and pic on the board. There are only about 10 up there total, and Dylan’s pic will be up there next week! Lainey is getting close to being able to do her back handspring, and Abbey is able to use what she learns in her hip-hop class to help her with her dances in Testify.

A few parting thoughts…

Is anyone else feeling like the holidays are sneaking up? The farther into Fall we get, the more crowded my calendar seems to get. Oy.

If you’ve not tried the Addicting Chicken recipe on Pin*terest yet…what are ya waiting for? Seriously, try it. You’ll be glad.

Jack has his torn ACL surgery a week from today. I’m so anxious for the poor guy to get his groove back.

We leave tomorrow morning for the NC State Fair! I’m gonna go walk on the treadmill tonight, so I can indulge a little tomorrow. :)

So, after my last post where I indulged in a little “whine” about whether people actually stop by our blog, I’ve gotten some sweet comments from quite a few readers. Thanks a ton, ya’ll.

This post will be a “this and that” kinda thing. Just randomness about life here in the country :)

And, yes, we do now live in the country. We’ve been in our new house for about 6 months and I love it more and more each day. We’re just northeast of our quaint, little downtown, off an old road that all used to be farmland..and a lot still is. Our neighbors across the street used to own the land we’re on, and the neighbors on the left owned it at some time as well. She came by not too long ago and told me stories of living here as a child, and farming this land. I LOVE that.

Sign at the kids tumbling gym…I must get these words up on our walls somehow. And, recite it daily. Hourly?

We’re a good month into our homeschooling year. With some of our curriculum being new this year (we seem to change something every year…), it’s taking some getting used to, but we’re just about there. And, I’m pretty sure I’m liking everything so far. After finishing history last year up to the present, we’re back in Egypt and a lot of our history text is straight from the bible. Gotta love that.

I’ve finally found a way (that works for me) of being in the bible everyday. I came across a program that I can access from my computer or Iphone called “Project 345”. Reading a minimum of 5 days/week, it’ll get me through the New Testament in a year. I read about a chapter a day, so it’s not a huge, daily time investment. Which, at this stage of my life, is just perfect for me. If you’re interested, check it on on the “YouVersion” app or online.

Last month, or dog Jack turned 10. A few weeks later, he decided it was time to tear the ACL in his knee. Nice, Jack. He was running outside and just fell our, yelping his head off. He was on pain meds for a few days, and not getting much better, so we took him in this week. Surgery will be coming up within the month.

What are these, you ask? One of my latest Pinterest projects. My boards are over-flowing and I could seriously be in the kitchen for a month with all the recipes I want to try. (the pizza casserole was a huge hit last week…)

These are laundry balls. Take wool yarn, wrap into tight balls, tuck extra yarn under. Wash in HOTTEST setting on washer, dry on HOTTEST setting on dryer (I did that last part twice) and then you get this.

See how the yarn is now “felted” together. Now, instead of spending money on dryer sheets, I just throw these balls in the dryer with the wet clothes. The balls travel in and around the clothes, helping them to dry faster and the friction of the wool against the clothes softens them. I hear the balls last “years”, but do get smaller and smaller as they’re used. I sometimes put a few drops of essential oil on them for scent. Love this!

More Pinterest. Cheap beads from craft store (the kind designed for kids, not jewelry). Layer in a cake pan, bake in the oven till melted (can’t recall temp). It cools quickly, you pop it out, drill a hole in the top, and…

Sun catcher :) (this is a different one from the pan pictured above). I also made smaller ones in muffin tins, and they’re lined up in the window above my kitchen sink.

Let’s see, what else…

Should have my new wedding/engagement ring next week. I’ll post before and after pics. I’m excited.

I’m trying to eat better these days, drinking a lot of water, cutting back on snacks, sodas, etc. Upped my exercise as well….feels great, but when my stress increases I could eat a whole tube of cookie dough. But, I don’t!

I’m so excited about Fall, it’s my favorite season. We’ve got our plans nailed down for the NC State Fair, and a mountain festival in October. It’s been getting cooler at night, and some of our leaves are already changing. There’s not much better than NC in the Fall.

Work day tomorrow. Randy is beginning to get our shop (building behind our house) in order to host a youth bible study on Friday nights, and I think I might tackle one of the garages.

Well, those are my ramblings. Guess I better get some sleep. G’night.