Once back at the farm, we woke up to a house full of smoke are oldest was 4 and we had a 2 yr old at the time. We grabbed the kids put them out in the car backed it up to the end of the driveway and called 911.
My husband went back in to try and figure out what was causing all the smoke which was so thick you couldn't see but we saw no flames.
He came out as the volunteer fire trucks arrived grabbed a stick out of the yard and went right back in then came walking out as the firemen were opening the door with a t-shirt in flames at the end of the stick. Threw it down in the drive way and the firemen stomped it out.
They teased him because they went to school together (small town) and said it was the easiest fire they ever put out. Then they went through the house to make sure that was it.
What happened was the 4 yr old went down to the bathroom during the night and thought the light was to bright it was a bare bulb because I had broken the cover changing it that day so he threw dad's
t-shirt from the hamper over the light then proceeded back to bed and left the light on. Scorched the wall a little but no real damage. Crazy huh.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Texas Gardening
Here we are planting our first garden in Texas. What an adventure. I had bought some tomato plants about a week ago, just couldn't resist. Then this morning my husband brought my two very sad looking tomato plants inside and said, "Dear did you forget about something?" I felt horrible. Since we had both finished are school semesters yesterday, it was time to get the garden planted.
I finished cleaning up from our usual Sunday brunch and my husband started working up the garden. A little while after I went out then our oldest daughter came out to pitch in. Finally, when we were nearly done for the day our youngest daughter also came out to help a bit.
I'm not one to force anyone into helping me with the garden, I was forced when I was young and I hated it. So, if they want to help fine, if they don't that is fine too. I like picking it and eating it myself way more than working the soil and planting it, but all in time. The wind was blowing like 40 to 50 mile an hour gusts today too. The temperature was a fabulous 87 degrees. We all got sunburns and enjoyed a job well done.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Band Secrets
This simple family story is just a cute little incident involving a secret.
My oldest daughter is finally in band for the first time and she is so excited and happy. Since we don't have a lot of money and certainly no extra money for a new instrument she took up clarinet and borrowed her big brother's old clarinet to play.
I usually pick her up from school on Friday afternoons because the student council sells concessions (candy and pop) after school on Fridays and the line is so long she'd miss the bus if she went. So on this particular day she comes to van walking quickly and smiling from ear to ear. A sure sign that something went right during the school day.
So, being the curious mom that I am, I ventured a guess and said,"So, looks like you had a good day today, what happened?"
She was more than willing to share that her band teacher had said that she was one of the best sight readers in the band and doing fabulous for a first year musician. He had invited her to stay after school and practice with the intermediate band and to go to contest and play with both the beginner and intermediate bands. She was bubbling over with pride and joy to be so honored.
My response was just, "Wow, that is great! He really thinks your a great player! Did you tell him that you had three years of piano lessons, so you know how to read music?"
My darling little daughter turned and looked at me with a huge grin and glimmer in her eye as she said, "No way mom! What he don't know won't hurt him!" and then started to laugh with me.
I had to agree it wasn't hurting anyone for him not to know and it sure made her feel special that he thought she was such a great beginner. :-)
My oldest daughter is finally in band for the first time and she is so excited and happy. Since we don't have a lot of money and certainly no extra money for a new instrument she took up clarinet and borrowed her big brother's old clarinet to play.
I usually pick her up from school on Friday afternoons because the student council sells concessions (candy and pop) after school on Fridays and the line is so long she'd miss the bus if she went. So on this particular day she comes to van walking quickly and smiling from ear to ear. A sure sign that something went right during the school day.
So, being the curious mom that I am, I ventured a guess and said,"So, looks like you had a good day today, what happened?"
She was more than willing to share that her band teacher had said that she was one of the best sight readers in the band and doing fabulous for a first year musician. He had invited her to stay after school and practice with the intermediate band and to go to contest and play with both the beginner and intermediate bands. She was bubbling over with pride and joy to be so honored.
My response was just, "Wow, that is great! He really thinks your a great player! Did you tell him that you had three years of piano lessons, so you know how to read music?"
My darling little daughter turned and looked at me with a huge grin and glimmer in her eye as she said, "No way mom! What he don't know won't hurt him!" and then started to laugh with me.
I had to agree it wasn't hurting anyone for him not to know and it sure made her feel special that he thought she was such a great beginner. :-)
No thanks
This simple little family story is one that really warmed my heart.
I set my mind on opening my own store and after a year of researching and convincing crafters to sign leases for a store that I didn’t have an address for yet. I finally found a building with gracious owners who were willing to let me buy on a land contract and to allow me to set the monthly payments for what would fit our budget. My little family story starts inside the store as we were tearing out the layers of old walls.
The girls and I were at the store and were working on tearing the drywall down. My oldest daughter received a phone call from a friend that didn’t live far away asking her to come over and play. She politely refused the offer and then starting ripping drywall off the walls again.
A few minutes later the same girl and her mom (a friend of mine) knocked at the door of the store. We let them in and they again invited her over to play. She again refused politely saying that she wanted to stay and help. Then the mom asked her why she would rather work at the store tearing down the drywall than go play with her daughter.
I’ll never forget her answer; it brought tears to my eyes. My daughter responded to her by saying “I want to stay here and help my mom. This is her dream to have this store; she has been working on it and planning it for a long time. I want to help my mom make her dream come true.”
Those were the words spoken by my eight year old daughter who would rather work with her mom than go play and have fun with a friend. Those moments, they are the ones that I cherish.
I set my mind on opening my own store and after a year of researching and convincing crafters to sign leases for a store that I didn’t have an address for yet. I finally found a building with gracious owners who were willing to let me buy on a land contract and to allow me to set the monthly payments for what would fit our budget. My little family story starts inside the store as we were tearing out the layers of old walls.
The girls and I were at the store and were working on tearing the drywall down. My oldest daughter received a phone call from a friend that didn’t live far away asking her to come over and play. She politely refused the offer and then starting ripping drywall off the walls again.
A few minutes later the same girl and her mom (a friend of mine) knocked at the door of the store. We let them in and they again invited her over to play. She again refused politely saying that she wanted to stay and help. Then the mom asked her why she would rather work at the store tearing down the drywall than go play with her daughter.
I’ll never forget her answer; it brought tears to my eyes. My daughter responded to her by saying “I want to stay here and help my mom. This is her dream to have this store; she has been working on it and planning it for a long time. I want to help my mom make her dream come true.”
Those were the words spoken by my eight year old daughter who would rather work with her mom than go play and have fun with a friend. Those moments, they are the ones that I cherish.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
No Order
Just so that anyone knows reading these Simple Family Stories, they are not going to be in order. I am going to write things just as they happen to come to memory. I think it would be very boring to just start at the beginning of my 20 years of being a mom and give a history. So, as I think of a particularly funny, moving, emotional, romantic, horrific or interesting story, I will share. I am going to attempt three per week, we will soon see how realistic that is. Thanks for reading and please take just a moment and leave me a comment when you read a story to let me know that you were here and what you thought. God bless.
First Fears a Young Mom's Terror
Imagine being just twenty years old and head over heels in love. That's not hard to imagine or remember. Now add to that being a newly wed and finding out your pregnant. Wow! What a great story we have all heard it a hundred times young lovers starting their family, it is an exciting fabulous experience. Many family stories start out just that way.
This one takes a turn. The very first trip to the doctor, confirms pregnancy and more. The doctor was concerned and says he is going to run a test and he will let me know the results. Life goes on because I feel fine and I'm young and happy; whatever he was worried about couldn't be that big of a deal.
Then the doctor's office called and they didn't want to discuss the test results with me over the phone they wanted me to come in to discuss it. My thought was okay, it was a privacy issue, no big deal and I set up the appointment for the next day. My husband was working so I went alone.
Still not to worried, call it young love's ignorance, or just chalk it up to blindness. I walked into the doctor's office and couldn't wait to get it over with to get back home and make supper for my husband. Then the doctor came into the room.
"I'm sorry," he says, "you have cervical cancer and may have to give up this baby to save your own life." I was dumbfounded, tears started to come into my eyes. This wasn't real, this isn't happening, he didn't just say cancer and give up the baby.
"I'd like to set up an appointment for you with a specialist as soon as possible. He will do a biopsy and let you know more about your options but I don't want you to get your hopes up." Really, hope, I think he pretty much ripped out my heart, threw it on the floor and stomped on it, hope wasn't going to be a problem. I just wanted to concentrate on breathing and not turning into a complete puddle of emotions in front of this doctor who seemed to be devoid of anything resembling concern or kindness.
It was only a ten minute drive from the doctor's office to my house but that day it took me nearly an hour to make it back home. I stopped twice to just let the sobs take over and get them out before starting to drive again. In a single moment I went from joyous newlywed bliss to my first experience with terror.
Of course when my husband came home, all he had to do was walk through the door for me to lose it and start sobbing all over again. Then came the retelling of the story and telling him about the new doctor's appointment. Always the optimist, through his own tears, he said the doctor didn't know anything, that was why he was sending me to a specialist.
It was a long two weeks before the two hour drive to the specialist and then another long two weeks before we would go back to find out more. Remember, I am pregnant and the baby is growing in me all this time. By the time we went back to the specialist I was five months along.
At that point I had pretty much made up my mind that no matter what else happened my baby was going to be born healthy. If that meant I was giving up my life for my baby's then so be it.
Well, I am very glad to announce that yes, I did have cervical cancer but my specialist said that I would be fine to have my baby and then come back and see him for surgery afterward. He couldn't promise me how that would go or if I would be able to have more but I would not need to give up my beautiful bundle of love growing inside of me.
He was born healthy and strong and now he is 19 years old, handsome, smart and wonderful. We have always been very close as I truly appreciate the fact that he is here with me at all. My first fears as a young mom quickly turned to terror but that would not stop this mother's love for her son. I had the surgery and three more children and I'm still cancer free.
This one takes a turn. The very first trip to the doctor, confirms pregnancy and more. The doctor was concerned and says he is going to run a test and he will let me know the results. Life goes on because I feel fine and I'm young and happy; whatever he was worried about couldn't be that big of a deal.
Then the doctor's office called and they didn't want to discuss the test results with me over the phone they wanted me to come in to discuss it. My thought was okay, it was a privacy issue, no big deal and I set up the appointment for the next day. My husband was working so I went alone.
Still not to worried, call it young love's ignorance, or just chalk it up to blindness. I walked into the doctor's office and couldn't wait to get it over with to get back home and make supper for my husband. Then the doctor came into the room.
"I'm sorry," he says, "you have cervical cancer and may have to give up this baby to save your own life." I was dumbfounded, tears started to come into my eyes. This wasn't real, this isn't happening, he didn't just say cancer and give up the baby.
"I'd like to set up an appointment for you with a specialist as soon as possible. He will do a biopsy and let you know more about your options but I don't want you to get your hopes up." Really, hope, I think he pretty much ripped out my heart, threw it on the floor and stomped on it, hope wasn't going to be a problem. I just wanted to concentrate on breathing and not turning into a complete puddle of emotions in front of this doctor who seemed to be devoid of anything resembling concern or kindness.
It was only a ten minute drive from the doctor's office to my house but that day it took me nearly an hour to make it back home. I stopped twice to just let the sobs take over and get them out before starting to drive again. In a single moment I went from joyous newlywed bliss to my first experience with terror.
Of course when my husband came home, all he had to do was walk through the door for me to lose it and start sobbing all over again. Then came the retelling of the story and telling him about the new doctor's appointment. Always the optimist, through his own tears, he said the doctor didn't know anything, that was why he was sending me to a specialist.
It was a long two weeks before the two hour drive to the specialist and then another long two weeks before we would go back to find out more. Remember, I am pregnant and the baby is growing in me all this time. By the time we went back to the specialist I was five months along.
At that point I had pretty much made up my mind that no matter what else happened my baby was going to be born healthy. If that meant I was giving up my life for my baby's then so be it.
Well, I am very glad to announce that yes, I did have cervical cancer but my specialist said that I would be fine to have my baby and then come back and see him for surgery afterward. He couldn't promise me how that would go or if I would be able to have more but I would not need to give up my beautiful bundle of love growing inside of me.
He was born healthy and strong and now he is 19 years old, handsome, smart and wonderful. We have always been very close as I truly appreciate the fact that he is here with me at all. My first fears as a young mom quickly turned to terror but that would not stop this mother's love for her son. I had the surgery and three more children and I'm still cancer free.
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