SOOO proud of that new mama!

My sweet daughter in law, mom to baby austin, had to go back to work this morning...:(.  She is such a trooper and has had this big ol' smile on her face but inside....that heart was bleeding just a bit.  That lil boy loooooves his mama.  Loves his daddy big time too but when he looks at her, well, there is just a beam of joy on his face.  She's taken to motherhood so naturally and made all of us so proud of her.
But as we all know too well..........that day does eventually come.  When work calls and daycare beckons. They have got him in a wonderful place with Ms. Betty who will be loving on him and today was SUPPOSED to be his first day.  But this ol' yaya drove over yesterday and it was decided that the precious babee could stay home another day while mom gets adjusted to the routine of up and at 'em to get out of the house again.  This way I can send her pics all day long to reassure her that he will do just fine at "school'!!  He is the BEST baby......never fusses unless he's hungry or has a burp that won't come up.  So.....this morning, we've had our coffee and we've gone outside to look at dad's pretty flowers he planted and now he's napping.  When he gets up??   PHOTO SHOOTS!!!!!

A little shindig that I am SO excited about!

Just had to share....and since the payments have been made, it seems all of a sudden so real...........

soon.  very very soon.  Sept of 2012.  I will be traveling to Italy for an extended stay!!!!!!!!!!

My boyfriend offered me the trip of a lifetime.  A time to travel by myself.  To explore.  To learn.  To spiritually learn all about ME!!  To go outside my box and face things that would normally scare me to death.  Call it what you may but I will never forget the moment he came to me while sitting on our deck at the lakehouse on a Saturday morning and told me............."If you really want to travel thru Italy...just do it.  Go. Learn everything you want to learn.  You know you'll have much more fun doing that on your own." (and for all  of you reading this who are my age or who really know our family...........you know that to be true!)

You see???  He and I went to Italy in 2005 on one of my photography jaunts....and had a blast. He really really liked it.  But it's one of those "been there, done that" kinda things for him.  And my love of Italy goes waaay beyond a bucket list thing!

So.............................I will begin my trip as a participant in a Women's Retreat trip. 10 women from across the US traveling, laughing, discovering, eating, drinking and learning about a completely different culture than we know as our own. http://italyretreatforwomen.com/italyretreat2012/ The only thing that could make this part better is to share it with a girlfriend.  Well........guess what?  My crazy internet BFF from Washington state...the one who flew down here to share my babyboy's wedding with me....will be joining me on this part of the trip!! HOW MUCH MORE FUN CAN ONE HOPE FOR?????

And after the retreat??  Well.............I will just have to keep you updated on that!  I plan to find an apt to rent as a homebase and spend the next month traveling all thru the country at my own pace.

Am I the luckiest gal in the world??  I think so!!

the Mayhaw and the Mayhaw collector!!

Mayhaw is the name given to the fruit of the species of Crataegus series Aestivales[1] that are common in wetlands throughout the southern United States. The principal species are C. aestivalis, the eastern Mayhaw, and C. opaca, the western mayhaw.[1]
Mayhaws grow in moist soil in river and creek bottoms under hardwood trees. The fruit ripens in late April through May, thus the name mayhaw. The fruit is also found in bayous surrounding lakes, such as Caddo Lake on the Texas/Louisiana border. Mayhaws are often collected out of the water from boats to be used to make jelly.
Families used to go on outings to collect mayhaws and create stockpiles of the jelly to last throughout the year, but the tradition has declined with the increasing urbanization of the South and the destruction of the mayhaw's native habitat. The fruit has also been cultivated to grow outside of wetlands and this is increasing the source of the jelly.  (source:Wikipedia)

they hang from branches on trees and you can pick them from the tree or from the ground after they've fallen. I grew up with my daddy mashing mayhaws thru cheesecloth and he and my mom making pints and pints of mayhaw jelly. He loved that jelly! So, how surprised I was to find out my boyfriend also loves that jelly. He has been known to pick enough mayhaws to make jelly for everyone in the family. A few yrs back he made it all by himself, along with labels for the jars!!  So, since it's the last of April/beginning of May, which is when they are at their peak, he decided he would go "hunting" for a new crop.  Only it was raining and he couldn't find alot of full trees this yr........and was sad.....

Oh well.......he was a sweetie to try......maybe next year!!

As today is Earth Day, I thought it appropriate to talk of things that have come from the earth.....to satiate and fulfill us.  We should take care of this earth ..as it has taken care of us.

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money."

- Cree Indian Proverb

How Will My Garden Grow???

Heheh!!  I don't really think you can call me a vegetable gardener!!  Love my fleurs but the veggies? Not so good at it.  BUT....I do love me up some herbs and fresh tomatoes and since last summer, I think I may have only had 2 fresh tomatoes, I've decided to grow my own! Heheh. Well......that would be ONE tomato plant!  That way I can really dedicate myself to my ONE tomato plant and hope for the best.  And my ONE basil plant and my ONE dill plant and my ONE oregano plant!  And really? Since the house is kinda empty these days, it really only takes one plant of each to garnish my dishes and make my recipes taste yummy!

And while I watch my garden grow, I love to watch my fleur garden grow.  Nothing quite gives me pleasure like a stroll thru the yard!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day around here so I plan to plant even more color into that garden and dig in my dirt until my hands are grimy and my heart is content!  What do YOU plan to do this weekend?

Lilli.....meet Austin!!!

Easter weekend was  the first time that the cousins got to meet each other!!  Ms. Lilli was very excited and was so sweet with him.....I see many fun times ahead with these two!

but really?  he's just a baby that lies around the house......what she really liked was doing this......!

Aunts and Uncles.......poodle palooza circling Brom in his kennel while recovering from surgery....

and the little bunny who, with his cousin Lilli, were the stars of this Easter Bunny weekend!!

Scratch n' Sniff!

Oh, how I wish you could scratch n' sniff this post!! .the white jasmine on my pergola is bursting with blooms and immediately when you walk out the door ..............the sweetest smells on earth hit you right square in the face!!!  Pure heaven!!

Will get a better pic in the morning of the pergola! And by the way, I've fallen way behind on picture taking of all things 'crazy chick'..,...plan to change that immediately!!

Da Egg Hunt!!

.....and our story continues.   It's tradition. It's hilarious. It's fun!  My little boys have hunted Easter Eggs since they were 2 yrs old......does it matter that they are now 30 and 20 somethings?  Nah....Nada.....Not in the least!  As they grew, the surprises inside the eggs became a little more valuable; hence, they really really wanna find that golden egg!!!  OMG........it is SO hilarious to me and to the wives, who patiently wait on the swing for the games to begin.  Meanwhile, I am running after them with the camera, while Cap'n chases them around with the broom!

I will let the pictures tell the story.  Highlarious, I tell ya!!!!

all sweet and ready for the "GO"! (notice broom in cap'n's arms)

notice the one on the right breaking off over the rail behind cap'n's back......hence, the need for the broom!

cheaters never lead.....notice who is in front!!

the "hunt" begins to get a leetle physical!!

they separate themselves from each other while looking thru their eggs!

He only found 7 of the 24 eggs but he DID find the golden egg!!

I do know that when the grandkids get older, we'll prolly have to focus more on THEIR egg hunts but my, oh my........it has been such a hoot thru the years watching their shenanigans on Easter morning!!

I love my boys everso!!

Happy Easter to all!!

Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.  ~S.D. Gordon~

Easter means re-birth!  The renewal of our faith and the beginning of spring each year. How surprised was I when I looked out my kitchen window this Easter morn and saw this magnificent re-birth of a flower that a friend gave me several yrs ago!! thank you, kristen.....I always smile when I actually see our friendship continue to bloom with each new season and each new bloom!

And speaking of birth..............................................!!!

My grandchildren on Easter morning 2012!!

He loved da Easta Bunny!!

(soon to follow.....pics from the annual Egg Hunt for 30 yr olds!!!)

A rose to carry...

...as you make your way thru heaven's gates and into the arms of our Savior.
My sister's son, my nephew, met an untimely fate on sunday as he suffered a bleed in his brain, which has taken him away from his family here on earth and  into the waiting arms of his grandparents.....who, by the way, I'm sure.....all those brown's and eskews and marye's are welcoming him with a party in his honor tonight!  He was only 30 yrs old..........much too young to leave a life unlived......God bless his family.

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone