Spying on the Amish

Our family spent Memorial Day weekend in Missouri visiting Grammy and Papa! We had so much fun! One of the things that we did was to visit an Amish town. The Amish people are very fascinating. The live very simply with no electricity, no cars, nothing flashy. They seem like really neat people. I had fun going to a furniture shop, a grocery store, a quilting store, a harness/saddle shop that sells carriages and a plant nursery that the Amish run and shop at. I bought some nuts and candy and I bought a cool little contraption that holds a dish towel. I had so much fun. To top it off, the weather was cool and beautiful. Which always add joy to the day.

Every Day Is An Egg Hunt

Sarger continues to love to get the eggs, as you can see by these pictures. We have always enjoyed having chickens. They are pretty, give us eggs and probably best of all, spend their entire day hunting and eating bugs. (They even eat small frogs and snakes.) This last week, one of our sweet chickens, Lucy, died. Lucy was given to us by the local feed mill. She was not the prettiest bird, she was quite clumsy. She would trip over her own feet. She tried to fit in with the other chicks, but they shunned her. It was so sad to see. Little Lucy would wander around all by herself while the other girls were paling around together. It made me sad for those people out there that might be a little bit, or a lot, different. Everyone needs to feel acceptance and a part of the group, even with all of our imperfections. We are not sure why she died. She just stopped walking and using her legs. We set her by the food and water and hoped for a recovery. It did not happen. We still have four chickens and are looking to buy about four more. Our hope is to have plenty to share with friends and neighbors.

Piper , Sarger and Mommy go to the ZOO!

The two little kids and I went to the zoo on Monday with some friends. We had a great time seeing the animals, but what it seemed like the kids REALLY liked was climbing. If there was a rock ,fence or bench around, they were climbing on it. The weather was just great and it was fun to get out. (I even managed to still get my laundry done that day, which I felt accomplished to do.) At the zoo, they had the elephant exhibit blocked off. We were bummed about that because it is a fun attraction. That night on the news they announced that an elephant had died while we were at the zoo. Sad! The Dallas Zoo has hit some hard times because in the last few months their only lion has died, a giraffe and now an elephant. Hmmmm, I'm sure they are trying their best.

I love Mother's Day

 
Mother's Day is a big bonus. Daddy and the kids always do a great job making me feel special. This year was no exception. Taggart installed two new, much needed, ceiling fans in our living room. Also, last Saturday Daddy took the kids to Home Depot and they made wooden flowers for me for M. D. That was cute. The kids also all made me cards and I got "the coupon book" full of.... I will clean my room, I will do the dishes, etc. (I am determined to use all the coupons.) Daddy made a wonderful breakfast and lunch. He also got me a dozen roses and a corsage to wear to church. I felt special. It was a wonderful day. I look forward to Father's Day and have several plans in the works. He will love it.

Backyard Copperhead Snake

I was peacefully watching my PBS show about travel one evening and my husband walked into the room and put this shovel with a beheaded, bloody snake it in my face. Ahhhh! He was just so proud of himself (as you can tell by the look on his face) for killing this copperhead snake in our backyard. I WAS proud that he killed it, but bringing it into our room was a little much. Quincey screamed and got mad at her parents because one, Daddy killed it and two, Mommy took a picture of it. She was just disgusted with the both of us. Funny.

Boston's latest craze

Boston loves to play Monopoly. The boy is a numbers person. He begs everybody in our family to play with him. No one wants to (except Daddy) because it takes forever to get through a game and he blows us all away. Often I will see Boston playing with Briggs or Sarger or Piper and then when they are bored with it they will run away and Boston yells at them to "GET BACK HERE!" It's quite funny.

I'm ready Mommy!

This is Sarger's answer to getting ready. I had to capture it. I love little boys.

Wood anyone?

We have an abundance of wood at our house. Each spring we pile up a huge mound of sticks and logs from clearing out any dead branches or trees. My husband loves to get out his chain saw and add to the pile. Tag and I spent one whole day working hard and non stop burning sticks and cutting up logs for next winters wood pile. I haven't worked that hard in a long time (if ever!). It felt good to see the huge pile go away and to clean up the area. I love it that my husband can work so hard and I love to work along side him. Good times. People often ask me if I'm sick of all our land yet. To tell the truth, taking care of our land is one of the things that Tag and I enjoy the most. We are supposed to learn how to work hard in this life and if you think about it, anything that is special or worth while takes work.

Flower Mound, Texas?

My first thought when I heard of the town Flower Mound was, that's a dumb name. As I have learned why it is called Flower Mound, I have a new appreciation for it. Long ago in this area there was a small hill (or mound) that poked out above of the woods and trees. This hill was a burial ground for an American Indian tribe, the Clovis Indians. It was a strange hill because no trees grew on the hill and in the spring, it was covered in wild flowers. No one has ever lived on the mound. Before roads were brought out to this area, the flower mound was used as a land mark because it stood out above the trees. A small church was built down the road from the mound in the 1800's and took on the name of the Flower Mound Presbyterian Church. It is still there today with an old cemetery next to it. That is how the town of Flower Mound was started.

Mother's Day Sunrise

On the morning of Mother's Day Quincey, Piper and I woke up before the sun and drove to the Flower Mound and hiked to the top to watch the sun come up. It was so much fun. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of us. It was a wonderful girl moment. Then we took lots of pictures of the wild flowers covering the flower mound. There were lots of varieties. A beautiful way to start off a Mother's Day.

Wow! I'm exotic! (who'd a thought!)

I took this little quiz that determined which Disney princess I was most like. I was shocked to find out that I am Pocahontas! Never entered my mind. But now that I took the test, yes, I AM Pocahontas! Sweet!


You Are Pocahontas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

A Great Time in my Life

This is my bridal picture. I designed my own wedding dress by piecing together other dresses that I saw in magazines. I chose for the skirt to be white velvet. The seamstress that made the dress had been sewing wedding dresses for 30 years had never made one with velvet in it. I felt special and different. I designed Pipers blessing dress to be similar to mine in that I made the skirt white velvet too. It was fun. I loved my wedding dress and felt that it was "me". My wedding and reception was great. I did not do anything expensive or extravagant. I did not get my hair or my nails done. I did not buy a new dress for the luncheon. I got by with as little "extras" as possible. It was not about the way it all looked, it was just about marrying Tag. It was a wonderful time in my life. I truly was the luckiest girl in the world and still am.

John Ensign Sarager

My Grandfather was (and is) an amazing person. He grew up with his Mom and two sisters. He was a very friendly person. He cared about people in general. He was tall and handsome. He was a great athlete. He played football, was a diver, did the pole vault in track. He was a singer. If I remember right, he could dance. He was a hard worker. The Father of 9 children. He always had a wonderful testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am his second grandchild and feel so privileged to have known him. He died when I was 11. It was one of the hardest days of my life. I think of him often and am excited to see him again. I do know that he is one of my guardian angels and that he loves me and cares about what happens to me and my family. He gives me inspiration to keep trying to choose the right.

Our one .....and only dog- DEACON

This is the one dog that we have had in our married life. All right, I am about to say it. Here goes.... I don't like dogs. I'm sure that some people might think that I have just spoken words that will take away any hopes for me to ever go to heaven. I will take that chance. I never had a dog growing up. My husband had many. He tried for years convincing me that we needed one. I finally backed down and was truly open to see if I would like/love a dog. I was open to the possibilities. We found this beautiful male beagle at the Humane Society. He could not have been cuter. We named him Deacon. My one rule was that he must stay out in the backyard. The challenge started when I was the only one who would enforce this rule. Deacon would do anything to get into the house. Then we learned that Beagles like to run away. More like-they are obsessed with it! Any time he could, he would dart and be gone in seconds. His collar with our phone number saved him many times. He also had a way of ruining anything of value on our backyard. At the time we had some pet chickens and he would eye them every now and then when we were in the backyard. Then one day, we were gone and we came home to find all of our chickens massacred, laying all over the yard. It was a sad day. Then we started getting complaints from the neighbors on how loud he was. This was all that I needed. We put an add in the paper and he was gone within days. All in all we had Deacon for just over a year. I gave it a good go. That was the one time that we owned a dog. We are going to stick with the goats, chickens and cats (three animals that dogs like to attack). I truly love those animals. They are sweet and easy. That was my two cents about dogs.

Briggs can take the heat.

Briggs has been a chef since birth. Every time he hears the sound of a pan hitting to stove, he comes running. He climbs into position, on top of the counter, and is totally into what I am cooking. He has helped me with dinner every night since he was a toddler. He knows all of the spices and gets them for me. He opens cans, stirs, tells me when things are boiling and tests if the noodles are al dente! It's fun to have a buddy who appreciates what I make and he gobbles it up like there is no tomorrow. Always eating a second heaping plate full. Briggs is cute.

Newport Newlyweds

This is T and P back when we were young (just yesterday!). We took a trip to Newport Beach, CA and got these pictures in a photo booth. I love these pictures. I feel so blessed to be best friends with my husband. He and I prefer to hang out with just the two of us. Our "one on one" dates take preference over anything else. We always have a good time and enjoy talking to each other. We like a lot of the same things. He is truly my NUMBER ONE and always will be. (Isn't he cute.)(Hey! This is my blog, I can be cheesy if I want too!)

Mother, Daughter Weekend! It's all about the girls!

One of my very favorite things is about to happen.....Fathers and Sons! That means that Quincey, Piper and I have some girl time with out the boys! I look forward to this weekend all year long. We usually eat out, go to the mall (a rare event for us.)and buy stuff. Eat ice cream at home and watch a fun movie. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have Quincey and Piper as my girls. YEE HAAAA! We have so much fun together. This is Sarger's first time camping with the guys. He will have a blast. I hope that they all come home in one piece. ;)