The Gift

A special Gift, a starry night,
a chill is in the air,
friends new and old come gather 'round,
a joyful time to share.
Melodies dance on open hearts
as we celebrate the Life,
remembering the promised One
born in a manger that night.
Our Saviour, Messiah,
the Prince of Peace,
took on human flesh
to wrap 'round Diety.
This little Child,
He gave me hope,
and now I want the world to know...

For Him we sing,
To Him we pray,
Remembering the Gift this Christmas Day.

A Picture's Worth... Felony Charges?

Note: This is not a paid advertisement. :-)

I found this great new photographer in town, a gal I've actually known for several years now. Her name is Dawn Shields. Write that down. A few years ago she got into photography and now it's pretty much her thing. So this past October we actually organized a real sitting at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetary out near Springfield Lake. We showed up right at 6pm to get the perfect light and she went right to work. We had to trespass onto private property in order to get to this really cool bridge, but getting this awesome shot is worth being a perp. Ahh, but trespassing on private property isn't the only trouble we got into that evening. Read on...

We finished all the pictures at about 6:40pm, we stood around and chatted for a few minutes, then we all piled in our cars to leave the park. The sun is now setting, and we pull up to the gate only to find it LOCKED. Yes, we are now LOCKED inside a cemetary during the last week before Halloween. Not good. The kids thought it was really fun at first, till Daddy had to call 911 to come get us. Fortuantely, the 911 people called the Sherriff, who called somebody, who called somebody, who finally came to unlock the gate and gave us all a good talkin' to. I thought our photographer would die of embarrassment, but it all turned out fine.

Back to that photographer, I think she did a great job and I wanted to tell you all about her. Go to Dawnshields.com and check her out. She's traveled all over the place now and learned from some incredible teachers. Thanks Dawn, and I hope you don't get me in trouble for scanning this image in order to brag on you! :-)

The Roy Rap sheet now includes:
Trespassing onto private property
Being in a Public Park after it's closed and locked up like Fort Knox
Not stopping to pray for the soldiers who have passed on to Heaven
Copyright infringement

A great portrait IS worth it, unless this blog gets me into trouble now. 

The Falling Ice Story

Many, many thanks to these guys for literally bailing us out of a tough situation.

May I explain? Greg's Mom (who will remain nameless for privacy sake) has had a few bad turn of events lately. First she took a faceplant on some concrete a day before Thanksgiving. Now that she's all healed up from that nasty fall, we thought we'd keep things interesting for her.
This past Sunday, Greg got up early to go to the office and try to shovel the melting ice off the roof. The workspaces below were quickly turning into a scene from the Titanic with a steady stream of water filling trashcans and ceiling tiles falling down with the water. OK, so it wasn't quite like the Titanic, but it was bad and needed some immediate attention. So, Greg loaded up the ladder and a shovel and went to work. Later that morning, his Mom stopped by to make a few calls to see if we could get someone there ASAP. Ice was melting fast, computers below, not a good thing. They talked inside the office first, then Greg said, "I'm getting back to work." He goes up to the roof to keep shoveling, and his Mom continues to work the phone. Or so he thought. For only moments later, he sends a shovel full of ice over the side of the building, right on top of her head! She had stepped out at just the right(wrong) time, at just the right(wrong) spot to be on the recieving end of a hunk of ice. She yelled and ran in the office, blood all over, and began to worry about her suede coat. Greg called 911 who came and took her to the ER, and 7 STAPLES and a CT scan later, she was released to go home.
During all this, I'm taking the kids to their band and piano recitals, Lulu, the other Mom, is coming into town, and the office is STILL CAVING IN. That's when these guys showed up. They brought their shovels and a willingness to give up their Sunday afternoon at the busiest time of the year. I'm sure they all had somewhere else they'd rather be, but instead chose to shovel ice off the nasty, flat roof of an office building. It was hard work, but they got it done, and seriously came to our rescue that day.
The office is drying out and Betty (oops) is healing up nicely. She is amazing, by the way. Took those staples in the scalp without painkiller or even tears. She has not complained or even accused my husband of attempted murder. :-) For that I am grateful. For EVERYTHING we are grateful!

Guys, I publicly say THANK YOU:
HILLENBLOG ( no suprise, headed it all up and made the calls)
HILLENBLOG JR
MATT B. (Do you have a code name??)
NICK BURNS
JEFF B. (I know you have a code name, but I forgot it)

And to my husband... You are such a hard worker, diligent, and dependable. When something is wrong you fix it right away. Thank you for sticking with your job all these years and placing your family first in your life. Our family is reaping the rewards of having you be the one in charge of our home. Thanks for never letting your kids win at the board games because you want to teach them that life is not fair, putting the real score up in the basketball game even when we're losing by 35 pnts, driving faster on the curvy roads when I'm nauseated, and basically just putting up with me. I love you more today than yesterday, and just wanted to let everyone know it. :-) 

Bambie...

Here we are, our whole family gathered around the kitchen having lunch, when out of nowhere Lauren starts screaming unintelligible words that eventually sounded something like... "Deer, deer!!!" We all ran to the front windows and stood in speechless awe at the little herd of 6 deer making their way across our front field.

That night Nick Burns came over with Venison chili and even though it was quite yummy, I could barely choke it down. 

On being "Wordy"

I am so excited for the holidays, OK, I'll be specific, and say that I am so excited for Thanksgiving and I am so excited for CHRISTmas!!!! I sooooo wanted to beat out Jen for having my decorations up first this year. At least the inside will be all finished and done before Thanksgiving!! Our oldest is being a bit of a scrooge because she thinks I'm pushing the seasons along. These are the same kids that cry when they see a new subdivision going in because it's not natural. So the house is all lit up in November, so what?? They'll be thanking me next week, when instead of hanging garland, we can play a rousing game of phase 10 by the fire.
So now we head to Lulu's in OK for a feast... Our traveling entourage will consist of my husband, commonly known around here as "Helter- Shelter," me, obviously I am "Roywife," 3 kids, 2 four wheelers, Nana, only one specific Westie that doesn't run off, one big black Lab, and a ham. That should be interesting! Our feast menu will be:


No, that would be too verbose.


:-) :-) :-)

Afterschool snack!

It's 3:30pm. The kids walk in the house after a long day at school, drop their load of books, purses, backpacks, and coats in the entryway. Nice. Now I gotta step all over it to get through the door (we're working on this little habit). After breaking through the barrier of stuff, I find the kids getting out all kinds of food in the kitchen. Their ravenous appetite came up with an interesting mix of "nutrients." This is what they came up with:

Egg nog

chocolate cake

popcorn

and dill pickles.

You know you're a redneck...

... when the house is packed for Donkey Basketball!!!


Yes, these are grown men wearing women's undergarments, attempting to ride donkeys, and shoot hoops. There was pulling, and pushing, and after the crowd groaned in disgust, there was a cleaning, riders falling, some holding on for dear life, a sold out crowd, a concerned fire marshall, and jump to your feet cheering like when the football team scores a touchdown. Actually, we're not sure what that would sound like in Rogersville. At least it was all for a good cause. 15 Grand was raised for one of Lauren's teachers who is battling cancer. It's awesome to see how God can bring a community together, much like we are to do as a church. 

High King Peter of Narnia

This will be Nathan's all time favorite costume. It better be, I dropped some change for it! I've just never been one for storebought costumes, though. One year, he wanted to be an astronaut... he wore blue sweats with a downloaded flight patch taped to the sleeve and a trash can on his head so he could breathe some oxygen. I think that one cost about 5 bucks. I know, you can't believe it.

Our pretty little southern belle was so elegant in a floor length red ball gown that she stepped on all night. But boy, did her hair look great after 45 minutes of enduring the curling iron and piling it all on top of her head!

Lauren didn't dress up this year. Now, I will cry. She opted instead for hanging back at the house with her other non-costumed friends because they're much too old for that sort of thing. I think next year she will just have to be Queen Lucy...

Discover Bennet Springs!

There's so much to do there:

* Gather as much "dry " firewood as possible.

*Roast marshmallow over the fire and make s'mores.

*Cram 5 people and an 85lb Lab into a teeny tiny camper and attempt to sleep.

*Visit the fake copperhead and all the other live, but non-venomous snakes at the little nature center.

* Squish 7 kids around a laptop and watch "Nacho Libre."

*Play a nail biting game of "Clue."

* Enjoy a pre-buffet card game and watered down hot chocolate at the dining lodge.

*Pack up and leave just before the sun comes out and miss the most incredible day of hiking ever.

Seriously, we had a great time and made some great memories. I will definitely want to go back there for a second try. Shout out to the Breaux's for letting us borrow their camper and to the Reynolds for letting us borrow everything else we forgot.

Look around you!

If you live here in the Ozarks, you no doubt love this time of year. This is what I see as I drive into town every day! The colors all around us are simply amazing. This year I have been very aware of the beauty. I thinks it's because I must be getting older and learning to appreciate it when things are good, because so often times things may not be so good. I just had to go around and take pictures this year - I've got some great ones for that HSBC photo contest! And yes, I can enter because I'm not judging.

So I just have to share this thought for you, a little more on the serious side...

Why did God make the trees turn color?

There is a scientific process that occurs, I know, but I am asking why did He do that? God could have simplified things a bit and just made the leaves go from bright, summer green to all dried up and falling off the trees. I don't really have THE answer, and I think there may be many. But this year, for me, it's just beauty. God creates beauty. Look at us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. No, we're not perfect now due to sin, but he restores us and creates that beauty again and again, just like those leaves. So, look around you and remember who you are, who God is, and what we're here for. Heavy, but that's what's in my head this week.


We're going camping tonight in the rain, 7 kids, possibly 3 dogs, and 2 campers (not tents). I'll let you know how that goes...

Rockbridge Adventure

I call this an adventure, because we were charting new territory. New to us, that is...
I think the kids will always remember the day we spent in the car when they were really hoping to go camping in the wilderness somewhere far away from a toilet.
Instead, we drove down through Ava, MO, but not quite to Gainesville, where I once played basketball. Glendale against Gainsville?? What were they thinking?? We shut them out, with the final score being something like 60 - 2. We also yelled, "Go, Go, Goat-ropers!" in the huddle to start the game. Now that's high class for ya. I digress...

Rockbridge, MO is a beautiful place with an old grist mill and a restaurant, and a humidor??? Oh well, here are a few thoughts about our day:


*Don't tell the kids you might camp there, simply nothing less will do.

*NEVER skip rocks with an eager Lab by your side. Poor thing just couldn't stay out of the water. At one point, Nathan hurled a crabapple into the river to see how far he could throw it, when out of nowhere - there goes Duke, flying over the bank and into 5 ft? deep water after that "ball." He finally gave up and tried to swim back to the edge, only to find he could not climb up the steep bank at that spot. Emma cried and we all got a little nervous, but he made it on down the river. I think he's still looking for that crabapple.

*Make RESERVATIONS at the restaurant. We didn't, but I hear it's amazing...

*35 mm camera's actually take film...

*Beware of large dogs with behemoth heads from the movie, "SandLot." 

Birthday Tribute

I miss my Sister so much my stomach hurts. She is so far away, seemingly happy and content with her little and not so little ones all around her. Her friend, Tami, lives with them and I check her blog daily for small glimpses of her life. It may just be that big Sis thing where I think she can do no wrong. But seriously, there's not much wrong she can do. She is smart, funny, devoted to her family, godly, and she can preach better than anyone I know (no offence to my pastor!), but she would never take the pulpit, unless it was totally appropriate. Best of all, she's really, really fun. She knows every song ever written. Back in Junior High, she created a list of song titles with actual names in the title for a KTTS radio contest - she came up with hundreds!. My sister loves to dance, and even tried to teach me the Texas 2 step in our backyard because she was preparing for a barn dance. She is an amazing cook, and even willing to take up snow skiing at age 41 ( although she's as bad as I am). She is raising 7 incredible kids and loves her husband dearly. She is strong willed, though, and Mom has always said she had to spank her alot. Somehow, that makes me feel better. But strong she is, now and always. I still look up to her, my wonderful sister.

Happy Birthday, Sa.

[OK, she may be great and all, but I can probably kick her tail in basketball. And there was that time when I was about 5 yrs old, my sister and my cousin, Gina, and their 2 dogs got "stuck" in the tree and sent me running for help through fields and mountains, over rocks and streams, tears streaming down my face because I thought she and my cousin were gonna die??!! Yeah, when my Dad got to them, they really thought they were gonna die. Guess I still haven't got over that one.]

Yes, those Pumpkin Spice Lattes are amazing. But I must confess, I have another addiction.

Running.

I know, I know. Sounds like a blast, doesn't it?! But I am growing to love it. I am still only doing 4 miles at a time, but I want to do a half marathon in November, if my body can handle it. Greg, pictured here, might go for the big one: 26.2 miles. Yikes. Every time I run I fight some sort of pain, and I just get so winded that I involuntarily yawn all the time while running! Plus, I'm by myself (for all you internet wierdo's out there: I take my killer dog with me), so I wear this radio earphone to keep my mind off the pain. I'm just not cool enough for the ipod. You see, I want this new gadget from Nike and Ipod where the shoe has a brain in it that sends messages to the Ipod! Tells ya stuff like how many miles you've run, calories burned, etc... I just wanted to hear the voice of Lance Armstrong come over the earplugs and tell me how awesome I am for just completing 5 miles!!
Yep, that'd be sweet.
So here I go, limping, yawning, listing to KLFJ, wearing my husbands sunglasses and a ponytail. It's quite a site, I know, but I think I'll keep going... 

The Enemy Is Here

For the first time in my life, I have an enemy. A tangible one, that is. There is a woman who was working the counter at a local Starbucks in a grocery store where I was buying a nice little giftcard for my niece. She must have seen the glint in my eye that flashed as I noticed the poster declaring the return of their beloved "Pumpkin Spice Latte." For the very moment I finished my transaction she added, "would you like one... free?" How could I resist? I'm a sucker for a bargain, but for me to like anything containing coffee or anything that tastes remotely like coffee would be a miracle of God. I have always hated the morning addiction and swore I would never fall prey. But here I am, I said "yes," to that woman.

Now, I must clarify, SHE is not my enemy. That would be unChristian-like. That unbelievably wonderful latte IS. All those delicious spices virtually cover up any molecule of coffee flavor in there. Although I seem to have just entered the world of "coffee" lovers, I must fight this battle looming ahead. A tall Pumpkin Spice Latte is a whopping 370 calories when ordered with whole milk and yummy whipped cream. That's enough to kill my 1/2 Marathon efforts coming in approx 8 weeks. Maybe I could have a friend stationed throughout the race to supply me with a P.S. Latte at various mile markers. Better yet, maybe it could be THAT woman from behind the counter.

Lost Sunglasses

To whom do these lovely shades belong???
I'll give a day old Bratwurst to the first person who comes forward and rightfully identifies the owner...

Labor Day?

Labor means "work," right? I don't think so.... Here we are having FUN, an absolute blast!












Here's what we did:

*College Class Activity at our house on Sat.

*4 Wheelin' at Mineral Springs on Sun. (Thanks Joe and Shannon!)

*Hillen Taco's, swimmin', horse ridin', 4 wheelin', dust makin', and adventure hikin' on Monday at our house.

WHEW! Now that's work, huh? And for all you you who are just hungry for some trivial knowledge, and want to know the true meaning of Labor Day (It's not quite as good as Christmas, though)... go to www.DOL.gov
I'll let them tell you all about it.

Bovines

OK, this photo just made me laugh. Why exactly, I'm not sure. 

Weight Loss Program for Dogs

I'm not kidding, my dog has lost a lot of weight this summer! All due to chasing around the pool cleaner, Steve. Maddie, the dog, thinks that "Steve," the robotic pool cleaner, is ALIVE. It's great entertainment for us all to watch her whine, bark, and even get sprayed by the moving "tail" which Steve likes to swing back and forth. Steve even climbs the walls and enjoys the deep end, eating bugs and debris from where I cannot (choose not) to go. This weight loss program simply includes running around and around and around and around... all day. I am trying this program, too, and have lost 5 lbs myself. You know, maybe Steve really is alive. 

Cousins

My big Sis is now Stateside to help out my Mom, and she extended her stay so she could roadtrip to Detroit to watch 2 of her boys compete in the Little League World Series!!! How awesome is that??!! The best part of it is that I got to see her and hug on her little girls 2 times already.


Hey! I finally figured out this picture grid thing. Many thanks to Rachel B. and Picasa. I love that program, I will have to add it to my grateful list this Fall.


My kids started back to school today. August 16th is a little early, don't you think?! We had a time of grieving and mourning last night as we put the backpacks together, followed by a night of the throw ups via Emma. BUMMER, she missed the first day of school! The first and the last days are the only 2 good ones all year, right? 

Sooners go to Texas

This Sooner loving family, who happen to live in MO, took a roadtrip to San Antonio,Texas. Here are some moments to remember:

First stop, Lulu's house...

Princess dress up
homegrown food, specifically, fried ocra
pickin peaches off the trees
frozen banana slices (try it, it's very good)
frizzy pigtails
big Aunt Teri hugs
fairy dust ( chalk dust)


On to Texas:
I-35 TRAFFIC
This is our room? Next time we need to try Hotels.com
Alamo - the shrine. Take that OU hat off, Nathan.
Rivercenter Mall - Imax, Starbucks
Riverwalk floating taxi - very cool
Mi Tierra's - authentic texmex, even down to the $5.00 song at your table
Cartoon likeness of the kids
Market center
Tower of America's , the fanciest meal the kids have EVER eaten, the floor rotated so we could watch a 360* view of San Antonio
finding the location of every bathroom downtown.

Sea World:
Shamu (he really is dead you know)
Dining with "Shamu"
Feeding the dolphins
Mom getting kissed by the mime
Mortified kids
"Lost lagoon", which smelled like it was everyone's first bath of the summer.
234 - average weight of women who wore their string bikini tops to show off their new tatoos.
Dressin' Sexy at Sea World is alot like the Ozarks Empire Fair, I'm guessin'.

Shlitterbahn:
Yeah, it's real river water. (on the old part of the park)
65 acres of lines, 4 hour waits, people, people, people everywhere.
Not your average "Lazy" river.... 2 lives lost and my big toe stabbed a guy in the neck.

Austin:
Lunch with the Gotcher's in his own home town, how cool is that?

Last Stop- Lulu's house:
cheese fondue that stunk up the house, but was amazingly delicious
planting peach trees (it's the pits)
swimming at the cousin reunion
watching the "Doodlebops" in the morning

We had fun, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun...

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!


...except Daniel who must have slept through it.

Irony

You Know You're in the Ozarks When...

Life is good, may I explain?

Friday: I kiss my Mom and head home again, leaving Lulu at her house with a fridge full of groceries, friends who I know will check on her all the time, and Mom being in relatively good health now. We are over the worst of it for awhile, I am quite confident about that. What can I say? God answers prayers. Thanks to all of you who took it to the Throne with me. It is an awesome feeling to know that there is a huge family out there who rally behind you when you need it. Thanks to everyone who watched my kids, prayed, or simply asked how things were going. It just said to me that you cared.

OK - so I get home and try out that new place... "San Francisco Oven"?? I think that's the name. If you've been there, tell me what you think. So far the reviews are mixed.

Saturday: My Birthday. These aren't as exciting as they used to be, I'll admit. But I have decided that I won't have a problem with turning 40 in A FEW YEARS as long as I am in the best shape of my life and have made those major healthy changes to get that way. So here goes...

In the afternoon we saw "Nacho Libre." Very stupidly funny in a Napoleon Dyn. kind of way. For the record, I did laugh, even hard at one point. It was just the sheer ridiculousness. Spend your money at your own risk on that one.
Later, some friends came over, we ate BBQ and the kids swam, swum, swimmed? I have never figured that out. Also, poor Maura got kicked in the stomach by Charlie. I mean she went flying backwards. That horse is history! (Charlie is NOT the one that knocked me off.) Maura is a tough little girl, though, and she is OK.Thanks for all the fun cards and presents... Now I have to learn to TANGO! Let's just hope Antonio Banderas is my instructor.

Now for today, Sunday, FATHER'S DAY, which isn't even over, yet: We got up and went to church, heard an awesome message to Dads by Pastor Eddie, and came home to a crock pot full of Robert Roast. Greg opened his things from the kids and asked to saddle up the horses. After his quick tour around the 10, I took the girls around. Sophie, the big white mare, never gives us any problem. She is great. Amigo is the one that can get a little fiesty. Well, today he was fine! Not a problem. We just have to keep working with them, and they will get better and better. Although, I don't think I'll ever stop praying before I hop on a horse's back.
Now, on to the Reynold's for a chinese buffet...

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND!

Lulu Update

For those of you who are wondering...

Mom is doing pretty well right now, there are good days and not so good days. Good moments and not so good moments. The big operation actually happened last Wednesday morning at 7:45am. It lasted for about 6 HOURS. The other surgeons must have had assembly lines set up, they were knockin' them out like flies. Here comes one doctor to talk to the family, then another, then that first one again.... Some volunteer drill sergeant was in charge of the desk and kept yellin' out the family names, and once he came by with hard little apples of which I am still carrying one around in my purse to use as a weapon if I need it on my long drives to OK. Back to Mom - She came through the surgery with flying colors, and went to her own room a day later. They had her up walking around the floor doing laps, and I still can't seem to get on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day. All was going well, but now we are seeing signs of infection settling in and that isn't good. The symptoms actually could be signs of rejection, which is easier to handle, believe it or not. So, keep praying us through this time. I go down again tomorrow and hopefully she will come home from the hospital very soon.
That's all for now!

Roy Roamings

Hey, like the new title? Don't know how long I can keep up the RR thing, but I am no longer wanting to admit that coming out to the office for hours on end to blog and surf is really a big waste of time. I like having a pictoral journal of our happenings, sure beats scrapbooking.

GIVE ME YOUR INPUT and cure yourself of NCS: answer this question...

Where is the best place to take a cheap, fun, family friendly roadtrip this summer?

(Be advised it cannot include purchasing a set of mouse ears. )

The Horse + the Post = One badly bruised hip bone and a possible cracked rib...

Who wants to come ride a pony???



Mom update: THANK YOU to all of you who have checked this blog and prayed for my Mom. They have postponed her surgery until June 6 or 7??? This is a transplant surgeon so his schedule has to be flexible. Of course his office could use a little desk help in communicating with the patients and their families, that would be nice. Just so you all know, if you ever want to get anything done and you keep hitting a brick wall, call my husband. He'll take care of it. After a day and a half of me trying to get some info about rescheduling the surgery, Greg got the number and talked to the surgeon himself within 30 minutes. He was even nice, too. It must be a special gift to be able to work with people so well. Almost 16 years ago, he pulled that on me and I married him! Go Greg. You're the hero.

The Waiting Game

8:30am Ready to walk out the door after a sleepless night, Mom has fasted, the bags packed and everything ready.

8:31am The phone rings, it's the hospital. SURGERY POSTPONED.
The surgeon had to perform emergency surgery on someone else and we don't want a tired doctor cutting on my Mom. OK, we'll wait. Just let us know when he's good and ready. Hopefully Tuesday?

8:45am Out the door, we want some breakfast! So we went to Cracker Barrell and came right back home. So now we are sitting by the phone, anxiously waiting the call that will tell Mom when it's time for her big dance. Don't you hate that "Don't call us, we'll call you" scenario?!?!?

For all of you who read this blog and still suffer from NCS (No Comment Syndrome), I am very thankful you are here and now I need to make a request. It is time to take a momentary break from my usual sarcasm and/or fluffy stuff of life type entry, so here goes:

Please pray for my Mom. She goes in for sugery this coming Monday at Noon. I couldn't possibly make an accurate description of what they will do to her, but to make a short summary, I'll do my best... (If you aren't into details you can skip the next paragraph)

She recieved a liver transplant a little over one year ago, and her recovery went better than we could even hope for at first. She did not reject the liver, and adjusted her lifestyle to match the many needs of a transplant recipient. However, since Christmas she has had a difficult time. The liver has not been functioning properly mainly due to the bilary tree not draining well, this is the place where all the ducts come from the liver and move into the small intestine. She also has a very uncomfortable incisional hernia that is causing all kinds of problems, too. After some pretty severe pain, she finally cries out for help and spends a week in the hospital trying to get better. They sent her home for a week to regain some strength and now we are slated for surgery on MONDAY AT NOON. As I understand it, the doctor's will actually remove this "bilary tree" and somehow connect the small intestine to the liver... didn't know you could do that. There is still a lot I don't know, but I will ask many more questions to better grasp what is happening. They are saying, though, that this will be "even more extensive" of a surgery than the transplant was, and to expect her recovery to be the same: approx 3 months?? Well, she was Wonder Woman a year ago, so I am hoping and praying for the best.

If you have EVER even met this precious woman, then you know what a jewel she is. Proverbs 31 in the flesh. I keep trying to put into words how amazing she is... but they don't seem to make it into any one complete sentence. She is calm through all of this, and encourages me through scripture when it should be the other way around.

So, I ask you, my faithful bloggers, family, and friends... if you talk to God, please talk to Him about my Mom. I sure am, our kids are, I hope you'll do the same. I will be in OK for the big event, and will try to post from my Mom's computer so you can all have an update.

AS FOR MEMORIAL DAY: If all goes well, I will try to be back home, but I can make no guarantee and so bummer, we cannot plan a big blowout pool party here at the Roy Ranch. Maybe we can aim for Flag Day or something! We'll keep you posted on that as well!

THANK YOU!!!!

Pony Rides!

This lovely Spring afternoon was the best day I've had in a long time. Great friends, lots of food, fellowship, laughter, all topped off with our Bibles open and even a time of prayer together. Wow, I sure needed a party like that.

By the way, this is Sophie. She's the big, white animal on which the kids are riding. She is a wonderful, gentle, 11 year old mare (that's a female horse that is a mother, for all you DTBer's). She is NOT the one that knocked me into a post last Wednesday, possibly cracking a rib or two and leaving me with a nicely bruised ego and hip bone. Yeah, you'll hear more about that beast later.
This is just more of that dream being fulfilled. But most importantly, the relationships that continue to grow and the memories we make are really what is driving me these days. We just have to make the most of each day, people. They are numbered, you know.

VAIL, CO

Moments to remember...

*Mini- Ha Ha

*Club "Med"

*Roses' lovely shorts

*Day 1 = 10 wipeouts

*Day2= only 3 wipe outs

*I need more practice before I can do those bowls with everyone else...

*Luggage that went on to Idaho?

*My own personal thumb injury, which pales in comparison to all the others we heard about: the broken leg on the other side of the curtain, the head that hit the rock, broken back, broken wrist, and of course, the torn ACL...

*If you go skiing on the last weekend of the season, be prepared for the icey slopes and great sales on equipment!

*Ginger iced tea

*4 at 4 - good thing we missed that one.

*Already decorated Christmas trees

*George, the white- haired ski instructor who is a horse trainer from Texas. No wonder she got hurt!

Hiking Fox Acres

It was time once again for our quarterly hike to the big tree where all the snakes and crawling things like to hide. I always prefer doing this in the winter when everything is dead or sleeping, but now it is Spring and I could not justify keeping these kids holed up in the house when green grass, cow patties, and walking sticks were calling out to us. For your Fox family trivia knowledge, this is the lake in which my Dad threw my cousin's dog, Tramp, assuring us that ALL dogs can swim. He was wrong.

Meet "Charlie"

And No, to all my Fox family members, I did NOT name her. She is nothing like anyone in this family, immediate OR extended, living OR those with our Lord.... :-) This little Charlie likes to roll in her own manure, and kick at me if I have no grain in my hand. She is a bit like a spoiled toddler living in a child centered family. She has been by her Momma's side now for almost 1 1/2 years, and it shows. She is slowly learning, though, mainly because I am slowly learning how to teach her. And so far, she is settling in nicely. Her Momma, Sophie (pic will come later), went away for awhile, so I am the one she is learning to trust. She looks a bit like a mule, Greg says. And I agree for now, but just wait. If she is anything like Sophie, she will be beautiful!

National Holiday: "JUNE BUG DAY" April 12th

This morning I saw my first "June Bug" of the year, and here it is, April. Poor thing was doing what all June Bugs do, fighting for it's life on it's back. This sighting brings back to me all the memories of summer. It's my own little reminder that warm weather has arrived again, and with it all of summer's little pleasures like steaks on the grill, itchy mosquito bites, and running barefoot on the hot concrete. Even Nathan noticed the difference in the air this morning, he said it smelled like summer. So, what exactly does the return of this June Bug mean? Is it likened to groundhog day? If the brown little beetle actually flips over to it's feet, does summer come early?

OPENING DAY!

It's that time of year, folks. Dig out that sunscreen and lather it on thick, 'cause we're gettin' in the pool! Better find the nice, big beach towel while you're at it. There has to be some sort of physiological phenomenon in children under the age of 12 where they have a layer under their epidermis called the "wetsuit" layer. They might actually notice the cold water, but do they care? Oh no, not on your life.

After the fun, we opted for some blood warming hot chocolate!