Increasing the barnyard...

I hope no one has missed me too much. :-)
Actually I have found myself insanely busy... that happens when your husband gets laid off and is home all the time. I find that I am chasing him around everywhere. Can't hardly stand to be away from him. We work outside, garden, do odd jobs for neighbors, go places and life is good!And in the meantime, we have started raising chickens, bought a goat and increased our dog litter by one. For a very long time, Casey was our only pet. She is having a hard time adjusting. How dare we ration out our attentions to others!! Casey is a 9 year old boxer that I got for Valentine's day from my children in 2001. She has truly been a part of our family and thinks she is human at times.Poor Casey is really not sure how to take all the new family members.
First came the chickens. They have been great fun. An experiment in trial and error if there ever was one! Casey never even looks their way...
unless we go inside! Twice I have caught her with tail feathers in her mouth. Darn Chicken Eater! We learned. Never trust a born predator. Since she and I have come to an understanding, things are better. She is only allowed out and off her chain if I am outside with her.That's when we decide a goat might be fun. Meet Beelzebub! The king of annoyance. We love him. He is constantly in the way, chewing on our jeans (sometimes catching a piece of leg as well), butting when he doesn't get is way and generally just a feeding nuisance!
Surely this would provide company for Casey, a playmate for our 9 year old son and entertainment in life. He has definitely done all that and more.
We tried taking in an adult black lab that my father had but that was a disaster. Doyle needed a "man's" dog! Casey is too sissy for him. She hates to ride in the truck. She can't be persuaded to fetch or play anymore because her arthritis is getting too severe. But bringing in another adult dog was disaster. Casey fought tooth and nail to protect her territory. She has always been as docile as you could imagine... Not when Riddick wanted to eat dog food out of the same bag! Heaven forbid. Riddick went back to live with Dad. He headed for the hills and turned up at the folks house a few hours later.
And so for father's day, Gavin and I decided to find the perfect dog. I think we may have done it! A gorgeous Lab mix adopted from the pound. He is only 4-5 months old. Casey loves him. Beelzebub thinks he's just another goat. And Doyle's not sure one way or 'tother. So... maybe father's day isn't about fathers afterall!

Fresh new start in 2010

When Doyle and I got married in 2004, I was happy with myself for the most part.

I weighed around 145 and looked and felt great. I did, however, have a smoking habit. Being a single working mom, I spent days living on cigarettes and Dr. Pepper.

I had a few lower back problems but nothing serious. I was confident with myself, secure in my health, and comfortable in my body.

Well...
I quit smoking. Suddenly I ballooned. I gained over 40 pounds! and quickly!

Saying gooodbye to cigarettes was one of my proudest moments but the weight gain was certainly NOT! Along with the extra pounds came some serious back problems. I spent close to 5 months almost entirely laid up; using a cane and barely moving from the bed to the living room. This was our 2nd year of marriage.

Piano playing, which I have done my entire life, became very, very painful. I could not sit at the bench for more than five minutes.

At the time of my marriage I had a 3 year old, Gavin. He is the love of my life. Now at 8 years of age I know it frustrates him that his mother cannot participate in all the fun things he wants to do. When we play basketball, it is h-o-r-s-e and he has to bend down and retrieve the ball off the ground for me. The act of repetitive bending is absolute posterior~suicide! Too much of that leaves me unable to do even the smallest things; like walking!!

Gavin is incredible. He knows that there are things I must be very careful about and he never complains. He just jumps in and helps me.

But for 2010 I have made up my mind! Enough! I am determined to get back into shape. I want to be healthy. I want to feel good. I am tired of putting on 3 or 4 outfits
before deciding on the one I think looks the "least fat". Tired of the muffin top on my jeans. Want to be able to run again.

I got a new start when I dumped the smoking habit. I traded it in for obesity. Now I want to start new once again. The next time you see me, I will not look like this:

For support and tips I have started a facebook group to get fit and thin in 2010. To join go to

http://www.facebook.com/dlsully?v=info&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=428102365485&ref=mf

Halloween Fun!

Halloween was great fun this year! We went to the church for the annual "Trunk or Treat".

Before going, Doyle decided he needed to dress up somehow but wasn't sure what to do. Quickly donning long hair, taped glasses and sporting a John Deere cap; he instantly transformed into the local Nerdy-Redneck-Hippy-Biker dude! Doesn't he look pleased? His sullen face was just part of the act. He really had as much fun as anyone.

Gavin had talked for months about being a vampire. So...
Gavin was a vampire!! And surprisingly I don't remember any others.

One of the funniest was Mom and Dad. Dad was a punk rocker and he wore it well! Mom was Maxine; the real Maxine. She was adorable. I don't think Mom could find it in herself to be as brusque or frank as Maxine but she looked wonderful! They were an absolutely great couple. Halloween at it's best.



I had worked hard to make my costume. Bought felt for my shoes and hat but found out that elf shoes take much more felt than I had figured... Therefore, my hat was crocheted. It was cute enough that someone actually told me she would love to have a hat like mine. Guess I should have taken orders and crocheted while passing out the treats! Topped that off with a green "elf" tunic made out of fleece. And WaaLaa! Santa's Helper!


Usually costumes around our house are whatever we can come up with. (Lots of hobos and pirates when my kids were young.) *smile
But it was so much fun making my costume this year, I think I will do it again.

There were so many more creative and inspired costumes. I can't remember a "Trunk or Treat" where I have had as much fun!



It was nice to spend the evening with my favorite guys. And in case you wondered: If you cross Santa's helper with a Nerdy-Redneck-Hippy-Biker dude, you will get an adorable Vampire!


Can't wait to see what we come up with for next year!

Rebel with NO Cause!

See that cutie with his Dad; all dressed up in his Sunday best? Have you ever laid eyes on a more innocent, sweet, naive lad?

Let's be honest, his father and I have created a monster! this little man has the spirit of a Tiger. He has the heart of a Trojan. He is as lovable as a teddy bear! BUT he is truly his Father's son. In every way he aspires to be "just like Dad". They are like twinkies of a different size...packaged together!

Recently Gavin set some goals. There were things he wanted and he determined to have them at any cost. For several weeks Gavin saved every penny. He worked hard around the house and stowed away every cent that he could. Every day he would pull out the piggy bank and recount. He kept telling everyone about the MP3 player that he had seen. Just a tad longer and it was his! Every chore that he performed brought him a little closer to the goal. It was gratifying to watch. I was amazed at his perseverance. He worked untiring and his little 8 year old spirit never ceased. I couldn't help but think there are adults that could learn from him!

Just a few months ago he would have taken that money to town and bought the latest bakugan or a water gun or maybe even new bike accessories. An MP3 player was merely a step up. I smiled as I thought about "boys and their toys".

But guess what? All of a sudden my sweet son decided to assert his manliness! And

overnight everything changed. The money he saved did not buy a MP3 player. He became an

instant rebel.

I think I will blame this on his father. Afterall, rebellion is certainly NOT in my nature! :-)

First of all the music player became a BB gun! This with the understanding that he needed to keep the birds out of our fruit trees. And no shooting with other children there. Along with a list of safety rules he readily accepted. Just look at that smile. He was very agreeable and complying.

The innocent face remained!

....at least for a few days.

Now you need to understand the "father-son" relationship shared between this boy and his father. When they have nothing to do they watch the knife channel!! Do you know about the knife channel? It is nothing more than a shopping channel for knives. They can sit and admire those silly knives for hours on end. Sometimes they just mute the television and watch like a couple of redneck insurgents on the revolt. Gavin has become so adept that he can tell you an approximate cost before they put it on the screen...and he is only 8!

My husband has a special drawer where his knife arsenal is kept. Knifes of every kind. And this is like a playhouse for my son. He will take out every knife; and there are MANY, and lay them out on the table and drool!

So it was no surprise when he decided that he needed to spend money on a machete.

So now my pure and spotless child has become somewhat of a rebel; albeit an adorable one. He has no cause. He just loves the man his father is. Fortunately so do I.

Pictures of Gavin with his weapons require a practiced look of dissent. It's a guy thing!

But I must say, I certainly hope this new look is only a phase!

In our footsteps...

This is my incredible son and his incredible sons. I remember like yesterday the day Pete was born. He was my first. Since as far back as I can remember all I wanted was to be a mother and so when they put him in my arms the first time...I was in paradise!
Unfortunately for Pete, I was young and pretty hard on him. He survived my trial-and-error-lack-of-guidebook parenting. He also survived the tumultous and sometimes nasty fighting that went on between his father and me. Things were quite often wild, outlandish, and difficult. There was a picture of my husband and me next to the word dysfunction in the dictionary.
Don't misunderstand...we had good times too. The fights, however, were extreme. And often. I remember Pete having lots of nightmares when he was very little. My father in law told me they probably occurred because he witnessed his dad and I fighting alot. Perhaps he was right.
We divorced when Pete was twelve. By that time there were three other children. They all adjusted positively and became healthy adults and members of society. I am very proud of them.
Before Pete got married he expressed a concern that his marriage could end up like mine. I assured him that divorce was not genetic! He could make it work. We talked at length about marriage, responsibility, about putting God into the relationship; about give and take, about learning from the mistakes of our own parents.
Nonetheless, today my heart is aching for my son. My heart is sad for two little boys and their dad. My concerns involve a son who is getting divorced.
I think of all the times I could cover his boo boos with bandaids. I recall a five year old coming home from Kindergarten upset that some other children made fun of him. I could fix it with homemade cookies. When he was six he woke me one morning singing in my ear, "My buddy, my buddy and me..." We made it through Jr. High and puberty...together. Even when he was nineteen he emailed "Mom" with a serious concern. Together we found reassurance and peace.
But once again Satan's ploys and tactics have destroyed one of our greatest assets. The family. And it is my son's. No amount of bandaids, cookies or singing will fix it. And while his heart aches, mine does too. A mother's heartache is quite often not her own. I would speculate that the pain our children go through is harder on us than our own. Much much harder.
Fortunately, I also believe in a loving Heavenly Father that can heal and mend our broken hearts, that hears and answers our heartfelt prayers and that will be there for my son, Pete, when I cannot. Whoever said once "Life is a long lesson in humility" was so right.

Great chance at Free Give-Away

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A season of Love

This morning after stretching, then carefully undoing the charlie's in my leg...I rose. It's an age thing. You'll see. It happens after years of self-inflicted body torture. The torture is done but the consequences of negligence continue.

It's going to be a beautiful day. The evidence is ALL over my refrigerator. There are as many weddings to attend this summer as I have toenails!

Just lots and lots of weddings. I'm happy.

It convinces me that the sacred bond and trust of marriage is still alive; that the establishment that has existed since the dawn of ages is still valid. That people still believe in a sacred commitment of marriage to their one and only. I'm delighted, thankful and relieved that it is still so.

I am reminded of the very moment I fell in love for the last time. We were on his Harley headed home from Pinos Altos.

He reached back and softly touched my leg. I knew I loved him. The feeling went ALL over me. I knew that very moment. I knew I could not live without him. I knew we would marry...

And we did.

It is truly a remarkable marriage. Not the first for either of us but the first time either of us have loved so completely. This is indeed my season of love; my season of love for eternity.

And now...