Treasured Moments

Sadly, my Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer this past November after months of feeling very poorly with no answer as to why.  When we finally got the sad news, we thought it may only be a matter of days we would have left with him but thankfully the Lord has given us some unexpected and wonderful time with him.  He decided soon after his diagnosis that he didn't want invasive treatment or chemotherapy and initially he wasn't strong enough to even try chemotherapy.  He is currently under the care of hospice and the wonderful nurses have been coming to my grandparents home to check in on him.

We all have been stopping in to visit as often as we can to spend time with them.  In fact, I had a wonderful, rare conversation with Grandpa about a week ago and he told me all about his 20's and how he met my Grandma.  I sadly wondered why I never attempted to have these conversations with him before now.  But I'm also so very grateful for the time we have with him and for his sweet spirit.  I'm thankful for time without the effects of chemo drugs or wires and monitors connected to him.  We can spend time with him just as he is, as the person we know him to be.

This past weekend unfortunately brought with it some unexpected complications that brought with it an admission to the hospice center.  The blessing in this was that the center is also located in the same town my family lives in, so my mom was close by and it also provided me with the opportunity to stop by more than once.  My amazing mom took her office work in with her Monday so she could be there with them.  She has gone above and beyond in caring for them both and I know they are both so grateful for the care they've received from all of their kids.  Thankfully the plan is for them to discharge my Grandpa home again tomorrow where he will continue to be followed by hospice.

Since he was only a short drive away I asked if I could bring my nieces in to see him today, hoping it would brighten their day.  He was happy to see them and they soon made themselves at home with Grandma's goody bag of snacks...and she was more than happy to feed them, something she does best.  But we had a wonderful time visiting and I promised to stop back later when the adults would be there.

And my visit paid off!  I not only got to see my grandparents again but their whole gang happened to be there, spouses and all.  And being ever mindful of a photo-op I couldn't resist this one and I'm so glad I did.  I think the picture below is one of my all time favorites.  What a blessing family is and although the situation is a sad one and we are treasuring the moments we have, we also have many blessings to be thankful for as well as the reassurance that one day we will all be reunited together in heaven.  I'm so thankful for the blessing of grandparents and the strong heritage they've passed along.  We have no idea the time we have left with one another but we cherish each day we are blessed with.  To those who have been praying, encouraging, and supporting our entire family through this, our deepest thanks and appreciation goes out to you.

I couldn't end this post without mentioning another special person...here's a special shout out to my uncle Kenny (the one in the blue shirt), who turned 50 today...Happy Birthday, Ken!  We love you!

A Man and His Chickens

As we begin to continue settling to life here on the farm, it's been essential that we act like proper farm folk and so a few months ago Papa Smurf blessed us...I really mean Jamie here...with the gift of chickens.  Now you have to understand that Papa Smurf himself has become somewhat of a chicken connoisseur.  The butcher shop is located on a property with an old chicken house but seeing that we never do things the normal way, he converted that into storage bays and built himself a chicken tractor so that he could have some free range chickens.  (Plus PS HATES mice and chicken coups are known to have them.)  Seeing that while we lived in PA my hubby and PS were almost inseparable, I should have guessed that when we did settle somewhere, the chickens would soon bless our home.  And they have!

These crazy chickens are housed in what was once an old grain bin that Jamie has restored into what I call a chicken's luxury hotel.  I'm surprised he doesn't leave mints in the laying boxes for them!  This winter he put up tarps all around the outside to keep them warm, they've got homemade laying boxes, plenty of food and water and the best thing, they get to roam about freely during the day.  And every evening since these feathered creatures have come to the farm, this is routine, "I gotta go put my chickens away."  He has even scheduled for our wonderful neighbors to help with this when he happens to be away on an overnight trip.  What a life!  (I'm slightly intrigued by the fact that they all know that's it's time for bed and all he really needs to do is close the door to the coup.)

Jamie has a routine down for collecting and washing his eggs.  He even has a refrigerator in the garage and the neighbors stop by whenever eggs are needed, place their money in his collection box and off they go on their merry way.  He even built a special room for the egg refrigerator.  This guy means business!!

He not only has a system for housing the chickens and collecting the eggs, but he's got it down for his customers too.  They pay their fee, write down how many they took, and take their eggs.  We have phenomenal neighbors...the best actually...and they are just about as excited about this egg business as Jamie is.  They have even been getting eggs for their family and friends.  Jamie also has some bigger clients like the pizza shop just down the road and even a chef from Baltimore is interested in his farm fresh eggs...uh, Huney, we may need more chickens soon.

Which means more chickens running around the yard...if your ever here visiting, you're gonna wanna be on the lookout for "land mines"...these chickens roam everywhere...

...and I do mean everywhere!  The driveway, barns, my patio, the garage...

...they've learned to steer clear of the dog pen though seeing as one of their friends became a tasty snack one day.  

And we've got the mack daddy who runs the show.  Yep, he goes around herding his girls and keeping them in line.  I also call him my "watch rooster" as he seems to always have something to say whenever someone pulls in, even if it's me at 4am.

And there you have it, the latest addition to what I'm sure is only just the beginning of what may some day actually be the funny farm.  Hope you enjoyed your little visit to the Inn...stop again soon!

Monkee Beach Week 2011

To all my Monkee friends, I'm so sorry it has taken me months to get these photos to all of you.  With well over 1,000 pictures to pick through and determine what needed to "stay at the beach", well it needed a few months of consideration.  And what better way to ward off the chills of winter than with some fun beach photos?!?  So without any more gibberish, let the memories begin!  The above photo was taken with by far, the coolest waiter we had all week!  Not only did he clear the table and hop up for this grand photo, but his name tag also won coolest of the week as well...his name was Bear...he was from The Forest...like I said, the coolest!!

The best part of our small 1 bedroom apartment for 3 couples was it's location...not The Forest, but almost as cool...The Beach!  We were front and center along the boardwalk and the beach.  Which not only provided a great view like the picture below (the tent and umbrella in the middle of the photo was our spot on the beach for the week), but it also brought with it many of those air rats we all love.  And of course, my Jamous had the bright idea to try and feed them alkaselzter and Amos thought this was also a great idea...why am I not surprised.

These 3 get along amazingly well considering we forced them together since Sonya, KK and I are all friends...yep, didn't give them a choice...you will like each other, you will get along and we don't wanna hear any whining..and so they did.

Ahhh, there is nothing greater than a good book, some sun on your back and great friend to share it with!

And then she left me to sleep on her beach chair...but hey, the girl rocks knows how to rock a beach chair...

...and so does KK.  For some reason I was never one who enjoyed sleeping on the beach.  I can't even enjoy reading because there are WAY too many interesting people to watch.

And then there was this...the skinniest dude in the bunch...not only did the waves take him a few times, but his shorts became an issue...maybe try eating a few french fries before going to the beach next time, D. Duck.  (That's right, I plan on holding your fry run against you for a while...seriously, McD's before our Christmas party??)

Jamous purchased a boogie board soon after we arrived and had a great time riding waves all week, Amos chose to ride them bare back or bare front...and paid the price a few times with some "road rash".  But it was sure fun to watch them!

Look out, Jamous!

We also brought along a few games just in case we got rained in.  We broke out the domino's and I have to admit I think I was more interested in playing with my camera than I was in playing the game.  We also played the game of Things, but that goes into the category of "things that stay at the beach".

Me and my girls!!

And then we all got tired of the road rash and sharing Jamie's board, so we marched up to the boardwalk and purchased some cheap inner tubes...which provided us with some quality entertainment.  That would be me in the middle of all those tubes and NO, I didn't ask for this!!

Once again, one of the finest looking beach bums!  (The Duck and I were enjoying a little photo creativity with his binoculars)

Remember I mentioned that D. Duck was too skinny...well his skinny butt needed a little assistance from Amos to get back out there after riding in a wave.

Our 3 sparkling gems enjoying a little inner tube time on the water...just want you to know, ya'll look like little girls!

And then there were the nights out on the town.  We decided to head over to ride go-carts after dinner one evening.  After arriving in the parking lot, which was no where near a grocery store, we found a shopping cart parked... and we just couldn't help ourselves!

And apparently these folk couldn't either and nor can they afford a stroller.  We laughed until it hurt when we walked past these folks a little later in the evening...who does this?!?

The go-carts were a blast, except that KK wasn't keen on joining in, but she was happy to take the photos which gave me an evening off to enjoy some fun around the track and I got some great photos out of the deal.

It was back to the water each day to enjoy more sun, sand, and waves...

Look out lady!

After sunning ourselves daily and enjoying the fact that we didn't have to answer any call bells, clean up placenta's or go through the motions of a c-section, we had plans to head out to a new place each evening for dinner.  Our itinerary was written (and frequently changed) on our white board...which also included the cereal of the day.  (A little joke that Amos (who else) started...instead of saying seriously, he says cereal, to which the reply is, the name of a cereal, i.e. "Captain Crunch"...but each day brings about a new cereal, according to Amos's rules, which we had to wait for Amos to write down each morning.)

Our little apartment was located next to a saloon/restaurant and we decided to change things up from the white board and enjoy a dinner there one evening.  They had the Brass Ball Challenge which the Amos/Jamous duo couldn't pass up...you had to eat a very large burger and all the contents on the plate and you'd receive a free t-shirt (which ultimately was included in the price of the burger so really it wasn't free) and your picture would be placed on their wall of fame (which really isn't that famous, at least not like putting your handprint in Hollywood).  And so with a free t-shirt, a picture, and the title of champion ball buster, they eagerly ordered their dinner.

And so the fun began...

...they both dug in, anxious to see who would finish first.  Amos decided on the eating each piece separately method, while Jamous decided to go all in (Baby, I can't say this is your sexiest look)...

...in true champion form, water dunking the bread was also part of Amos's plan...

...and then things took a turn for the worst...

...the charbroiled smell became just about more than Amos could take and the burger that once looked so appetizing and scrumptious was beginning to churn and fight back...

...his body language said it all...

...and so the winner was Jamous coming at 23 min...

...while Amos continued to fight back the evil demon that was once his dinner, but he finished just a few min later coming in at 49 min.  They are now proud owners of ball buster t-shirts (which have ended up in the bottom drawer of their dressers I'm sure) and a prized picture on the wall of fame (to which they must have lost Jamie's as it wasn't there when Sonya visited a few weeks later).  The moral...resist the ball buster!

All-in-all, we enjoyed some beautiful sunsets together...

...moon light walks along the beach...

...I of course enjoyed time with my hubby...

...the famous sights and sounds...

...of the boardwalk...

...laughing and sharing some unique moments (that really if you knew Amos, you'd realize those moments quickly move from unique to just an every day affair)...

...and some great times spent with the friends we should now call family since we lived close enough that week.

These are my girls and I'm sooo blessed to have such wonderful women who I can truly call my friends.  They've stuck by me thru the good and back, the ugly and the beautiful and yet still remain closer than ever.  I wouldn't know what I'd do without you both!!  

Last, I'll leave you with Stanley, the one legged seagull we befriended on our deck.  He only hung around for a short while and refused to eat the cracker in Amos's hand (I can't imagine why), but he will forever remain in hearts.  Till next year Stanley...