Breakfast with my little King... and his parents ... and his dog

Parents of my Little King...
Their chickens were safe and secure in the backyard - and they were still happy and prolific.. (I'm talking about the chickens here!)Yep, you're seeing correctly. They're a little green... but oh, their yolks are incredibly yellow and RICH!I thought I'd just show you a close up of a good ole fresh egg... before it's washed. In Safeway, you see the Disney version of eggs... all nice, clean, white, and perfectly shaped, but not near as rich and tasty.Emily was hard at work cracking those eggs. You may notice our little King... he's about 26 weeks old.Biscuit was hoping for a handout... egg, bacon... doesn't matter.

After the bacon was cooked, I asked Gabe what to do with the grease...First I couldn't believe what he was doing... then I told him to stop so I could grab my camera. I think this makes the chickens happy... or maybe Biscuit likes it... or any other number of varmints!Gabe laughed at me.

Unfortunately, my camera battery started going out...so all the hundreds of photos of my little King didn't get taken. I did get some of his mama and poppa, but not as many as this blogging Mimi likes!

26 weeks... oh boy!!!

Lindsey and Donnie

Six years ago...

Lindsey married her best friend, Donnie...
I remember hearing about Donnie... Donnie this and Donnie that. I finally met him on a trip to San Luis Obispo. I told my friend, Mickie, "that's the kind of guy I'd love for her to marry." I would ask about Donnie... "Oh, we're just friends," she'd say. I remember when they were finally 'officially' dating, thinking how they 'played'... they had fun... not that we all don't do that, but they were different. Games, walks, running after each other... just playing around. January, 2003, came and we trekked down to San Luis for the festivities. Our family met Donnie's, hit it off, and had a great time, a fun time, together. Their wedding was wonderful... beautiful...God centered... the beginning of a season of weddings for our family. Nearly 6 weeks later, Gabe and Emily would be getting married.
They had a crossword puzzle in their program. Look at #5 down:
Do you see it? It has 6 letters... one (3), two (3), four (4), five (4), six (3), seven (5), eight (5), nine (4), ten (3), eleven (6), twelve (6)... must be 11 or 12!

Well, it hasn't been achieved yet... but the first one is on its way.

Here's Linz at 19 weeks...
Here she is at about 19 minutes... with her brothers checking her out... Gabe checking to see if she has feet. This was on February 19th... nearly 28 years ago.

My baby girl, a precious child of God... Joshua and Gabrial's baby sister... now she's a wife of 6 years, a mother-to-be...

Happy 6th anniversary, Lindsey and Donnie. I love you both so very much!

A legacy

May 24, 1923...this sweetheart of a man was born...

He was raised on the farm...

He loved sports, playing basketball for Trinity University...

He was a member of the Merchant Marines from 1942-47...
Then he met the love of his life... JoAnn...On December 31, 1951, he sent this 'check' to ...
Now how sweet is this?

I can't speak for all his sons, but I know the kindness, the gentleness, and the love of this man, certainly made an impact on his middle son, my guy...

and for that, I'm eternally grateful.

December 18, 2008, he left us... we're incredibly saddened, but we're all better from the impact, from the legacy, he left on each of us.

hanging out

Gabe gives his baby sister, Linz, a smooch on the forehead.

Hanging out... just being together... that's probably what I love most when I have my family with me.

My guy loves it too. He usually has a long list of projects that never get done. But that's OK. He probably enjoys thinking up the list as much as he does checking things off the list. Well, that's probably not exactly the truth.

Sitting around, catching up on everything that's going on...Erica, Emily...and Biscuit - just hanging out.
Saddie certainly doesn't want to miss any of the talk. Everyone likes to hang out around Saddie, too!
Even Biscuit...

Lindsey and Emily both have taken up knitting! I was surprised when both of them pulled out their knitting needles. A bit domestic, don't you think?

Donnie is our historian, well, actually, he and Linz are both historians. Donnie was reading up on the history of our county. Linz, the knitter, and Donnie, the readerWonder what Linz is knitting? Maybe a scarf for her mom? Maybe Linz is knitting a scarf for her Saddie?Who knows? (Lindsey probably does, but I don't.)Momma Emily has been feeling the little guy kicking around. It's pretty exciting, unless he becomes a brute like his dad and kicks and kicks and kicks. Gabe said all that kicking he did made him strong.Here we are ... just spread out, visiting...Thalia just loves Biscuit...and, of course, Biscuit loves Thalia!

Back to the knitting, different location, but the same project...LindseyEmilyBack to the family room to knit
Not all of us are knitters.We had been lounging around, being lazy, and Erica thought she'd just close her eyes for a minute.
Gabe and Thalia shut their eyes for more than a minute... shoot, it might have been for more than an hour.Erica had the grand plan ... to make a cup of coffee... Good choice, Erica.

That prompted a move to the kitchen...
Saddie decided to peel some sweet potatoes...

Look at that speed! No peeler for Saddie...no sirree, she uses a knife.
Lindsey, the master chef, decided to make some vegetable soup.My guy heard food being prepared, so in he came... to see what he could find.Donnie and Emily were enjoying a little snack.Joshua decided it would be a great time to do a little studying.Biscuit was wanting to practice being Santa, so Emily put on his Santa Suit...And off went Thalia, Biscuit, and Emily for a stroll around the block.

Just hanging out... it makes me happy!