Sweetie the sheep dog...

Sweetie the Sheep Dog!  We have a new addition to the funny farm...SWEETIE!!  (Doesn't that name just make you want to retreat and avoid any contact with sheep...yet somehow with her sweet face the name fits!) So you may be wondering how we came upon Sweetie since we have not had a sheep dog on the farm before.   But it turns out that my hubby has found a new hobby...CRAIGS LIST!   For a guy who loves the classifieds, the "Swap Shop" (local radio show where people sell their ju...I mean treasures) this is like the ultimate treat!  Anyway while on Craigs List the other day he comes across this sheep dog.   An Akbash/Anatolian cross (a big white short haired sheep dog).   I haven't got a picture of her yet!   Soooo anyway Tim has me send an e-mail and ask how much they want for the dog...to which they reply a good home and they want the dog to keep working as they have sold their livestock that she was looking over.   So Friday night we load the whole gang up (Firecracker included) and road trip to Peyton, Colorado.  The next day Sweetie is turned out with the sheep and she just starts paroling the perimeter.  Although, the sheep were not sure why there was a dog in their pen.   So I was laughing telling Lance that the sheep would run from her.   And he says that her nature tells her  that she is one of the sheep.   However, the sheep do not know that she is one of them...so they will take off running--to which Sweetie says what are we running from!!   And she runs with them only to make the sheep think she is chasing them instead of just running with them. . Then this morning at my kitchen table,  I look out and the sheep are staring at the house...which makes me suspect.   I get up and look out and there is Sweetie up by the house (not where she is supposed to be)...but sniffing around up close to the porch where Bo likes to keep his bone stash.   Well my first thought was that her and Bo might get into a fight.   But she seems to respect that this is Bo's territory.   I think she was hungry because she won't eat out of her dog food container yet and so I coax her back to the pen with some leftover Thanksgiving rolls.  After returning, she immediately patrols while I head back to the house--only to watch her crawl through the panel gate.   As I watch her,  I see her find a dead bird to which she sneaks off as though she is hiding from Bo.   Upon checking things out a little more she heads back to the pen to watch over the sheep that she is supposed to be taking care of.    She was afraid the other day when there was some shooting going on...and so I think about how she shares some of the things that we battle every day...hunger and fear.   Oh our hunger might not be for food but we hunger sometimes for things we cannot or should not have.  A hunger that sometimes takes us away from where we should be.  Other times we lose our way because of fear.  Fear of things that we do not understand...or sometimes fear of things that we understand too well.   But living with hunger and fear is not the life our Master wants for us! Anyway I think Sweetie will add some new adventure to the Pfeiff's Funny Farm... lyp

My Baby...

Today my baby boy turned 25.   I am not sure where the time has gone...but it has gone!    He has teased others about being half way to AARP when they hit 25 and now he is there.  In fact they even sent him an AARP card.   I think back of when I was 25 (yes I can remember that far) and while I think of it as young...he thinks of it as getting old!

I am so blessed to have the kids that I do and so proud of them in their own unique individual ways.   I miss getting to see Lance for his birthday but I tried to contact him at least 25 times today with different modes of communication...so I am sure he is thankful that I am not there in person as well!

We celebrated his birthday over the weekend...but still doesn't seem like it has been 25 years since he was born!    Thanks for the journey son!   I love you!

Happy Birthday Lance!

lym

And I tuck it in my heart...

There are days and then there are days.   Yesterday I was on vacation from the ole AVRP and was on Firecracker duty!   One of my favorite jobs I must confess...though I try to make them all think that I am sacrificing--you know going above and beyond.   But that time with that precious little girl makes my heart jump with joy!

And you might be wondering what could they have done that could be so spectacular--so joyful.   But you know we just LIVED!    The morning started later as she slept in being tired from her big weekend to Fort Collins.  It was all I could do to keep from waking her up and saying "Izzy it's Grandma--I love you!"

 But when her daddy brought her downstairs and she came to me...my heart began to sing!  We got dressed, and got around so that we could go along with "Dada" and meet "Mama" for lunch.  And it is as though she just gets bigger and bigger as we ate at Ruby's and she socialized with the next table.   The Firecracker is not a shy one...she loves people.   However, it is funny some of the people she chooses to make up to and then other times when you would like her to give a simple wave to someone she knows--no can do!  

Well there is a new dollar store in Limon that I wanted to check out so off we went to see what they had.   We started out riding along in the cart and would take the items we were buying and throw them in the cart.   But as time went on we decided we should go to Grandma.   Only a stepping stone to where we were ultimately planning on going.   Because sometimes with Grandma--Izzy helps push the cart.   So yesterday was no different and so there we went with her pushing right in front of me acting as though she was as big as anyone.   I think we only got one extra item...it was so fun putting the dollar scotch tape in the cart--we surely needed one more!    And checkout was again time for socializing.  She found the older woman waiting to return the key to the bathroom (now you don't see that all the time).   Anyway there was also a little girl behind us and so we of course needed to visit with her.  

We finally get it all paid for and off we go for the truck.  Needless to say if you are not familiar with Limon, the wind can blow.   So there we are with our cart trying to keep it from blowing into the vehicle next to us while we are parked on a hill.   I get Izzy in the truck and she is sitting on the seat when I tell her that she needs to stand because we got too much stuff for Grandma to unload with her sitting there.  Well the look she gave me was priceless and as we one armed stood up she just watched me.   But by this time she just needed a drink of the Sprite we got and so I hand it to her (NO I DIDN'T OPEN IT) but she holds it while I unload our treasures.  

We then have to return the cart back into the store so I tell her to come to Grandma...well she is ready to be in the truck and have a drink of the Sprite.   Remember this is going on while I am trying to keep the cart from rolling away down the hill.   So finally I convince her to come to Grandma and we run the cart in and get ready to load up in our seat.   Of course, we still haven't had our drink.   So I put her in the truck and put her in her seat and proceed to open up the Sprite without thinking about the adventures that the Sprite has been through on its own.    Soooo--yes you guessed it a little explosion all over the seat all the while she sits there watching me as though all of this is normal and doesn't seem to make comment of how Grandma doesn't quite do all of this as easily as her Mama.   But all is well as Grandma gives her one of P-Pa's chocolate chip cookies and we are homeward bound.

Back at the ranch...well there are goats and chickens and now pigeons there at the Sheridan Ranch!   So Grandma and a tired little girl get our items unloaded and by now it is time to "by by" (that is how she says Rocky By).   And as we have a cookie and a book to read we begin rocking and in a matter of minutes I have a sleeping angel.   She must be an angel as I look at that perfect little nose, that sweet little mouth, and those precious little hands.   And while I think she cannot look anymore angelic she puts her hands together as though she is praying in her sleep.   I do not see how anyone who holds a sleeping baby in their arms and look at the miracle in their arms cannot believe there is a God.   I just sit there rocking and looking in amazement and just breathe in this time and know it is one that I want to take in and tuck away in my heart.

We awaken from our nap and are playing with our new ball when Mom gets home.    So after time of Mom chasing Izzy and her running to the safety of Grandma's arms (how I love that game) Mom begins supper and Grandma says she should probably get going to go see P-Pa.   Well these words seem to make one little girl think that she needs to go with Grandma.    While it was offered for her to come that really wasn't the plan.  Her mom is thinking she won't go along with it and tells Firecracker that she doesn't have her bags packed.   Well off she goes to her room.   Her mom and I peek around the corner and there is one tiny little girl throwing all of her clothes out of her cupboard out on the floor (yes she must be related to her mom as much as she is packing).   So we watch and she is pulling some items out and putting some back in when she is there holding a pair of pants.  Her mom tells her, "those need to be in the bag Grandma can't just take your bedroom floor."   Well off for the bathroom she goes and throws them in the tub.   Obviously she thought her mom said bath--so she was putting them into one of her favorite places. 

It is hard indeed when a little girl cries that she wants to go with you.   But we sat on the stairs and I told her Grandad (Jay's dad) would be there tomorrow.   Then she began standing on her head and somewhat like her Grandma she was distracted and ready to move on to something else...so with a kiss goodbye I headed home and seen a sweet little angel watching me out the window as I pulled off and I took that moment and held in my heart...because I know that these days pass so quickly and you can't get them back!

But tomorrow--she really gets to come home with me.   Her mom will be coming later--but all the same it will be Izzy and Grandma on a roadtrip!!

As I reflect on this special day at my kitchen table I realize how blessed I am.   I am thankful that my daughter and her husband live close enough and also allow me to share in their daughter's life.    And as I think of them,  I also think about all the young mom's (and dad's) and how they have to juggle working and time with their little ones.   How I wish they could all have more time but then no matter how much time you have...you always wonder what you could do with MORE time.

So I pass on this life lesson I have learned perhaps it comes with this gray stuff showing up in my hair.   But I look back growing up and I know my parents didn't do everything perfect--but I feel they did the best they could with what they knew.   And so it is my prayer that my children come to that realization of me...and though I didn't do everything right...they were loved.     Maybe time with grandchildren is a chance to give us some extra TIME.    All I know is Life is Good!

Thank you Lord for this day!

lyp

Take yourself with you...

This morning at my kitchen table was a good one...There was a sort of foggy haze that filled the air that almost made one think that snow could be near by.    You know those days that you look outside and you just snuggle down in  your chair, take a deep slow sip of your hot tea with honey and lemon, and then dig your feet deeper into your furry slippers...okay it wasn't that cold out but if you looked out the window or watched the windmill spin you could convince yourself it was!

Anyway I am working on a different post that is one that I just keep putting on the shelf.   But for that particular post I was looking for an old poem I had written.   Well I found this old book I had put together of some of my poems...most of them over 30 years old.    And as I looked through those I wondered where that girl was...and it was as though she said I'm here.   While I sat there I realized yes she is still there.   Some days she is more apparent than others but she is there.  I look back in my journal and I had written "those poems written by a young woman and yet she is still in there I can feel her energy her passion and I tell her to stay with me!"

Then as quickly as I had stopped there, I soon moved on and  began going down my prayer list.   On my list are several names, but as I hit upon one someone special to me they just seemed to hold my attention.  This person is going through some changes and I so hope that they are postitive changes--changes for joy--changes for peace!   But I was also thinking that I hope that this person finds what they are looking for...that they come to realize that the peace we strive for comes from within...comes from God...not from persons, places, or things (isn't that a noun?)   

And as I left my kitchen table I clicked on the television and came across the country video countdown.  (yes I am making a point:)     I am an American Idol watcher and I was a fan of Bo Bice.   So when I seen his song made #2,  I decided to pause and watch.   Little did I know that this was the music to my theme of the day.   I love music and how a song can take so many thoughts and put them to a melody that seems to summarize exactly what you were thinking...a coincidence that this song happened to catch my attention--I don't think so.    The song is titled "You take yourself with you".    I love the meaning of this because it seemed to say to me that wherever you go...there you are...

"You can climb the highest mountain, go where no one's ever gone
On a crowded city sidewalk, you might find yourself alone
In the middle of the desert, anywhere the wind blows
Son you take yourself with you, wherever you go"
You take yourself with you by Bo Bice

And I stopped and thought of all the Penny's that are traveling with me...making me who I am.   Then I finished getting around and me and all "myselves" enjoyed lunch out with "Mom and Dad" Pfeiff and then took in a 3 year olds birthday party...and as I observed a wide span of ages at so many different stages...one thing was consistent in all--they all were taking themselves with them wherever they go.

Here's to hoping we love who we take with us...

lyp

BOARDS

So this morning I am sitting at my kitchen table minding my own business...because that's what I do...that's how I roll :)   OKAY MAYBE NOT!    Anyway as I sit there I am reading and going over the words FAITH AND FAITHFUL...I am sure those are coming to a blog near you soon.   But for some reason this morning I hop on my bike and start reading something I had written in my journal a while back.   And it was as though I needed to share this.   SOOOO because that is what this journey is about I came here and started typing.   I had written...(Reader: Please hold on tight as sometimes I make sharp turns on this bike I ride!)

From my kitchen table I look out my kitchen window and the leaves on the old cottonwood seem to tremble in the glistening of the morning sun as they know that their days are numbered--and the seasons of time and the winds of change will cause this season to end...

And a man who is in fear of what is going on in his life cries out "WHAT ABOUT ME?" and God says, "What about you!   Haven't I been there through so many trials--won't I continue to be there!"   Let us not get caught up in our selves--I am talking of my own board here as well--let us be thankful for what we have!"

And in case you wonder about the BOARD here that is not really one of my favorite scriptures but it seems to be one that comes to me way too often!!  Luke 6: 41-42 in my Living Bible goes like this:

"And why quibble about the speck in someone else's eye--his little fault--when a board is in your own?  How can you think of saying to him, 'Brother let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can't see past the board in yours?  Hypocrite!  First get rid of the board, and then perhaps you can see well enough  to deal with his speck!"

Here is hoping you have an awesome day!   God be with you and bless you and keep you!

lyp

Saturday Mornings...

This morning at my kitchen table I was a little nostalgic about Saturday mornings.  Thinking back in my childhood...I remember Saturday mornings as "sleeping in",  "cleaning" house with my Grandma Bessie because Saturday was house cleaning day OR...watching cartoons some mornings with my Dad and discussing important things like PePe LaPue  (not sure how you spell that) being a skunk, "Tawt I saw a Putty Tat",  watching to see if the Coyote might actually get one over on the Roadrunner, looking for that "Waskly Wabbit",  and oh ya we loved Speedy Gonzales...the funniest little mouse.  

Then before I know it, I am a young mother who is the wife of a dairyman and Saturday mornings brought my family down to visit.   And my Dad would come and relieve me of milking duties, my Mom would usually take on some "baby" time and if my brother came we just did "stuff".   After my Dad died, Saturday mornings were hard for me as I would catch myself looking out the window to see if that old "Hoop" might be pulling in.   (The "Hoop" was an old van bread truck kind of deal that he worked out of which got him his name Grandpa Hoopee.  Heather would watch for it and as my Dad called it the Hoop or Hoopee, she decided in her wisdom t hat only little ones can...he was Hoopee...a name he carried with great pride).

Heather and Hoopee



Down the road a little further is my daughter who loved sports!   So Saturday mornings usually revolved around a little ball or perhaps some other activity that was school related.   And now sometimes Saturday means a chance to spend time with Firecracker and her mom and dad.   Or Lance will be home checking on sheep...

And now I come back from my trip down memory lane and there out my kitchen window is my son following behind his dad.  I can tell that they are not just doing chores...there is some sort of problem...and it looks like maybe electric.   So perhaps I should just stay in at my table--sometimes too many questions when these two are on missions--isn't always the best thing (not that I always choose the BEST path).



So anyway as I watch this young man following his father all of a sudden I am back 20 years when a 30 year old man breaks his hand because he fell over his 4 year old son who was "helping" his dad grind hay.   Here we are 20 years later and the dad walks a little different step that 20 years can do to a body that has been on the go.   But the son still has a skip in his step as he follows along with the dog just soaking in his time on the farm.   Only now he really is "helping" his dad.    And I wonder what this will look like in 20 more years?    The dad will be 70 with a son who will soon be 45.   Will there be a younger one following behind "helping"?    





Pfeiff's Fine Flock (that's what I call them:) Board of Directors Meeting

As I talk about this with these two when they come in for breakfast...I say what about the next 20 and my husband says I hope I am not still here when I am 90.   But he knows it really isn't up to him.    I tell them in 20 more years our little Firecracker will be 21.   



So much can change in such a short time...I really am not sure where the time goes so quickly but I know that I am thankful for the time I have had.    Guess I better get busy...clean some house, watch some cartoons, or maybe take on some other project!   It's SATURDAY MORNING...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!    Oh ya Life is Good!!

lyp









Windows...

At my kitchen table... I am surrounded by windows.   If you look out my south window, you can see the tall old cottonwood trees that I would love to know the history of all  that they have known.  In the background of the trees, a little further to the south, lays the dirt road that goes by our house.  The road that takes us out into the world beyond...or leads those from the outside world to our home.

Right in front of me looking to the east, I have three windows that make a bay window of sorts.   From these windows one can look out at the barn, the grain bins, the sheep, and more importantly the sunrise!   Some might not think this is an awesome view--but it is my view and it gives me comfort and peace and helps remind me to give thanks for a new day!

  

Many mornings I look to the east and the cottonwoods that are almost a half mile down the way line up along "lover's lane" (as the old timers called it) and seem to almost stand at attention.   The trees provide a border that accents the glorious sunrise.   Some days I wonder if that very sunrise was put there just for me.

I think one of my favorite views out this window is in the summertime to see the corn in the field with the cottonwoods standing up in the background all seeming to sillouette the glow of the  morning sun.  However, I love to see the year round scene changes such as in the fall when the "harvest moon" comes up in the evening in all its majesty...sites to behold indeed!

Well I tend to get sidetracked as many of you know.   For some reason my focus button short circuits at times.   There is a joke that I tell because it seems to address my attention span.   The joke goes...How many people who cannot focus (I changed this from A.D.D. because I really do not know if I have that but wonder if I do:) ANYWAY "How many people who cannot focus does it take to change a light bulb...wanna rida a bike?"  {Note to reader: if this makes absolutely no sense to you at all or you don't get it...give thanks}

When I start going several directions at one time (even if it is just in my mind) I sometimes refer to these as "bike rides".   So when I mention a "bike ride", I am not actually taking off on a two wheeler down the country lane.   Not that I wouldn't love to have me a Schwinn Cruiser with a bell OF COURSE...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM1hQHAzG20&feature=related...okay that's another story...

But back to my windows!   Like I said, I tend to get sidetracked and mornings at my kitchen table are no different.  I might get distracted by just the beauty, or someone driving by, what the sheep are up to, or the cows out in the field, or sometimes probably nothing at all just depending on the day that awaits out my kitchen window.  

Most mornings our dog, Bocephus,  (my son's dog but he claims me when Lance is not home) likes to come and peek in the window and watch me as I am sure he wonders what is it exactly that she is doing?   Just the same as I watch him and wonder why that crazy dog is circling a piece of paper that has blown in...or some equal fascinating thing.  But nonetheless, "Bo" looks in and checks on me and gives me what I think of  as a smile and so I automatically smile back.   Then he usually lays on the front porch and rests while I write and read unless he has his own bike ride to go on!

So last week I decided that if I didn't get any other project done--I would wash my windows.  I tend to sit there and look at them and get distracted by the dirt and spots they seem to accumulate and then I am looking at that and not the things that I would rather be looking at. 

With that said, last weekend I cleaned windows.   I must say (although not perfect by any means) I have enjoyed having my windows clean...a clearer view of my surroundings.  Sometimes we probably need to have our "inner windows clean"!   To take a little time and clean out some things that are clouding our view...the things that seem to distract us from the things we should be looking at.   So perhaps I will continue on this "window" journey and take on more than just those around my kitchen table!

lyp

Thank you for this day...

So I survived Firecracker Flex Friday and can't believe how much joy one little girl can bring.   Here she was watching the birds...We should all be in such awe of what we see around us everyday. 

Balance...Harmony

BALANCE....I have been thinking about balance in my life and how I need balance and as many of you  know how unbalanced I am:)   However, in my readings the other day I came across HARMONY!   Being a lover of music--HARMONY just seems more like my word.   So I want to be in harmony more!  Balance seems to bring to mind that I am walking a tight rope and one thing out of balance and I fall.   But I was reminded that one does not HARMONIZE alone!     So I ask the Lord to sing loudly so that I may sing a long so when I am off key....He will still make my song beautiful!

I wrote this awhile back and I am still on this journey but it seemed as though I was letting the worries of life "change my song"--my harmony.    I asked for words...words to help me.   And so I have been reading in my Living Bible everyday and have been going through the New Testament.   I was in Luke but then for "some reason" skipped and read Romans for 6 days.  However, I had went back to Luke soooo on this very day at the very time that I was asking for words (Yes this would be my point!   I love it when these little "coincidences" seem to happen:)....  ANYWAY I read the following in Luke 8:5-15, and living in the country around farms...these words touched me even more.

"A farmer went out to his field to sow grain.   As he scattered the seed on the ground, some of it fell on a footpath and was trampled on; and the birds came and ate it as it lay exposed.  Other seed fell on shallow soil with rock beneath.  This seed began to grow, but soon withered and died for lack of moisture.  Other seed landed in thistle patches, and the young grain stalks were soon choked out.  Still other fell on fertile soil; this seed grew and produced a crop one hundred times as large as he had planted." (As he was giving this illustration, he said, "If anyone has listening ears, use them now!")

His apostles asked him what the story meant.

He replied, God has granted you to know the meaning of these parables, for they tell a great deal about the Kingdom of God.  But these crowds hear the words and do not understand, just as the ancient prophets predicted.

This is its meaning: The seed is God's message to men.  The hard path where some seed  fell represents the hard hearts of those who hear the words of God, but then the devil comes and steals the words away and prevents people from believing and being saved.  The stony ground represents those who enjoy listening to sermons, but somehow the message never really gets through to them and doesn't take root and grow.   They know the message is true, and sort of believe for awhile, but when the hot winds of persecution blow, they lose interest.  The seed among the thorns represent those who listen and believe God's words but whose faith afterwards is choked out by worry and riches and the responsibilities and pleasures of life.  And so they are never able to help anyone else to believe the Good News.

But the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people.  They listen to God's words and cling to them and steadily spread them to others who also soon believe."

How I love parables and stories as they seem to be how I learn best--how I think.  So I think how I would like to be in the good soil.   But I see myself sometimes with the harsh winds and the thorns.   Being around farming and agriculture, I think of times during the hard winds...BUT even these "crops" are given water and rains to BALANCE to HARMONIZE to overcome the harsh winds.   And the one that seemed to talk to me the "thorns"...But I know God can take care of my thorns and so even if my soil isn't how it should be...I think the Great Farmer is helping my"land" be able to produce the "crop" that He planted in me.   And with any harvest...the more you put into your crop...the more it grows!

May today you have harmony in your life and as my friend shared with me not just harmony but HOLY HARMONY!

lyp

Grandma...

I can remember when I was a little girl I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up...A GRANDMA!   Not a doctor, lawyer, or mom...but a Grandma.

To me they were the ones that had the better "gig".    My Grandma Bessie would dance with me on Saturday mornings while we cleaned her house or maybe just hung out.    The record player on her stereo would be blasting polkas or some other favorite music...she showed me the Charleston, how to two step, waltz, as well as other dances.   Grandma's if they chose to could wear their jammies or their lounging clothes all day.   When you went shopping I can remember going with my Grandma and her sister Reedie and laughing so hard as my great aunt sprayed me with men's cologne and said "smell like a man."   Such little things that seemed to bring home the fact that they seemed to have more time to have more fun than mom's.   And as I have now become a Grandma...I think that little girl knew what she was saying about the whole grandma thing.

I watched my own daughter bond with her Granny and now that very daughter has shared her precious little Isabel Marie with me...My Firecracker--Izzy!   Don't get me wrong I love being a mother and I love my kids so very very much but maybe it is because I just get to do the fun stuff being Grandma.   I am not the one who misses out on sleep, who when you have had a long day have to deal with a toddler who in a matter of minutes can pour water on a laptop, dump a trash can, color the kitchen cabinets all while other responsibilities seem to continue piling up.

But maybe being a Grandma just allows one the opportunity to pull up memories of the past while at the same time cherishing the present.   Taking those precious moments and tucking them away in your heart.  Knowing that taking that extra time with rocky-bye is much more important than the dishes or some other chore.   However, like I said, mom's have certain responsibilities that they are not always allowed the luxury of rocking a little longer of just sitting still and soaking it all in.   But somehow being a Grandma frees you from certain responsibilities and perhaps that is why God made Grandma's (and Grandpa's)...to help mom's (and dad's).  So with that I say hang in there...your day is coming!  Because in a blink of an eye your little ones are grown and you are getting to wear my shoes.   And what fun shoes they are...these shoes aren't made for work--they are made for play!

One of my favorite things is to "rocky-bye" a sleeping little baby girl.   And while those times don't seem to come around as often when she was just a little babe, we are moving on to new places--new chapters--that are just as special.   Now instead of just patting her heart three times from when we would sing Izzy Izzy Izzy and Grandma Grandma Grandma...she now is saying Grandma bye bye for rocky-bye.    She holds my hand and leads me to what she wants and before long she will just tell me.   And before I know it I might be riding with her while she learns to drive because she seems to be more okay with the fact that one certain granddaughter drove through her flowerbed and ran over her tree.   You know little things!

I am so thankful that Isabel has two parents who love her, four grandparents as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and even great-grandparents that seem to adore her.  I am also thankful that tomorrow is my Firecracker Flex Friday!    Since little Izzy seems to have decided to be extra bIZZY...her mama says "bring your A-Game"!   But A-Game or not...this Grandma gig is GOOD!
lyp

Who am I...

This blog had a section to talk "About Me".   That is an interesting thought as I have the words from Who Am I by Casting Crowns playing on my computer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjhxOv9YDag  How do I describe who I am in such a short space actually in any space for that matter.   I think I ask daily who am I...what am I going to be when I grow up...what is my reason for being here...you know the questions!


My dad would always say with pride that he was a "plumber by trade".   It was as though his profession was how he could easily describe himself.   (Well that is maybe until he became a Grandpa "Hoopee":).   So professionally part of my title includes COORDINATOR...that is an interesting description and in many ways it fits.  But while that may be who I am by "trade"...It really doesn't completely describe who I am.


I think a big part of who I am is a child of God but I am also a wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, friend, and this new phase in my life GRANDMOTHER!!    But I am not just Izzy's Grandma, Tim's wife, Heather and Lance's mom, Shane's sister, Jim and Peg's daughter, Bessie's granddaughter...you get the idea.   However, so many of these special people are part of who make me--me!


My husband of almost 30 years--Tim is my "shepherd".   He is just that type of personality...maybe I'll go into that in more detail some other time but I must say that we have been on quite a journey together.


My daughter Heather, a very special person in my life, is married to my "Favorite Son-in-Law" Jay and they have the most adoreable little girl, Isabel Marie, who was born June 27, 2009.   Before she was born--(because none of the rest BUT ME knew she was a girl)...I called her Firecracker because she was supposed to join us around the 4th of July.   And while her Daddy calls her Peanut and we call her Izzy most of the time...she definitely is a Firecracker!


My baby boy (okay he is working on being half way to AARP), Lance, is also a pride and joy to my life.  He works for Otterbox and I must say I am so fascinated that he could have such an awesome job he enjoys just dealing with "smart phone" covers.  But although he is an "accountant" by trade--he loves raising and showing sheep and cattle.   I think he works to support his livestock "habit".   Those in agriculture know what I am saying!!


I have some very special nieces and nephews and adopted "kids" that bring me such joy!  My brother who I adore also married well and gave me the "sister" I never had.   I also have more "brothers and sisters" and another special sister from Tim's family as well as his folks.   I have lots of FAMILY that is very important to me and a big part of who I am.   Then there are FRIENDS...I guess I just have to say my cup runneth over.


So depending on the day...who I am can be hard to say...but every day I am thankful for the blessings in my life and continuing on this journey of the woman I hope to be....so with that said I will just end on "Life is good" even if I don't know exactly who I am!   But if you figure it out...please let me know!


lyp