We are Home!! From the Ranch and From the ER!

We all had such a good time at the ranch that Amber and Mike decided to stay an extra day!

That gave us all of Monday to explore and do more things!

The chickens and critters in general seemed to generate more interest for them than anything else.

The first morning they woke up in the tents - the geese were honking and it was only 8:00 - and after a late night - that was TOO early. Apparently the geese knew they were there so they did not come calling nearly as early and it was well after 9:00 when I heard the kids down in the front room. They were very polite and did not come in to wake us up but waited patiently until we emerged with our coffee. They wanted to go off and feed the animals right away. I said, "Coffee first!"

It did my heart good to see them all gallivanting around.

I was 'off duty' but it was still fun to do the chores. I didn't take the goats out, though. We took them some table scraps and fed the corn cobs to the horses, fed and watered most of the chickens, let them out of one hen house and fed and let the ducks out.

Then we explored some in the meadow and the girls looked for four leaf clovers.

Mike made breakfast that Monday morning - tortillas with sausage, cheese and eggs. We also had lots of fruit - watermelon, oranges, strawberries and sliced apples.

Granddad stayed busy in his work room but the rest of us went for a hike to the back of the property.

It didn't rain but there was a heavy mist at times.

We were good with that and enjoyed exploring and looking at the animal tracks, interesting plants and trees.

What a lovely family right here!!!

Jersey Girl loved being in the country!

LOVE this pic!!!

Most of us found a walking stick.

I'm going to ask Louis Dean to sand mine down and maybe stain it for me.

Walking sticks are handy things.

We spied a cage/pen/trap for wild hogs.

It was special to be back there where not many people have walked in a very long time.

The upper right photo in the collage shows a broken down gate with hinges that is just as it fell who knows how long ago. It was between two stretches of fencing so we thought that was the maybe the border to Dean and Sherry's property. It wasn't. Come to find out, we could have walked on and still be on their land.

It was so beautiful back there.

I rode the four wheeler here a couple of years ago in the fall and the whole acreage was covered with the most gorgeous wildflowers! I hope we have a lot of them again this year.

2018 was mostly a year of drought and fire bans.

We got back to the camper and everyone got a bite of lunch before we loaded up to go to 'town.'

I decided Groesbeck might be a better choice than Mart since it's a little bigger and nothing is open in Mart on Monday except the Dollar Store and Read's Grocery.

So that's where we went and discovered that Diamonds and Dust - the place I wanted to take them - is closed on Monday. The quaint cafe where we were going to get pie - closed at 3:00. It was 3:30 when we got there.

So where did we go??

The Dollar store!

While not a normal favorite with Amber and her girls - she was a bit impressed at some of the cool brands they carried.

I so should have purchased this cup instead of just taking a photo of it!

But I have hundreds of cups already! Seriously! Counting tea cups and cups that go with some of my dishes - I have well over 200. So I just left with a photo. And some cool stuff like hair products, facial masks, grilling baskets, and so on and so forth.....

When we got back to the ranch, Mike built a good campfire.

Life is short! Eat dessert first and that's what we did!

Mike manned the fire and the making of S'mores.

Amber and I made dinner.....I fixed the baked beans and had them in the oven when she came in and started the BBQ chicken plus she grilled some chicken breasts so I could take them home and not have to cook the next day. I made a big garden salad - not 'garland' salad like I said in my last post -and garlic bread!

It was a truly delicious meal!

After wards, Amber finished reading The Boxcar Children to us.

What a good book! All four kids said they want more Boxcar Children books!!

We loved every minute of our time with the kids but the most special were the mornings when their parents were still sleeping out in the tent.

There was a time when Granddad could hold all four of them at the same time.

Not anymore!

See where Kailey is snuggled up on Granddad's chest?

That's been her very favorite spot since the first time he held her. Even as a tiny preemie she knew exactly where that sweet spot was and would squirm around until she found it.

Louis Dean has worn overalls for a long long time and back then, he would lay a soft blanket over his chest so it would be more comfortable. It made me smile to see them all cuddled up around him on the camper couch. He's doing his best to hold them all. I love their expressions! From Trystan's happy face to Kailey's contented look to Little Logan clutching her can of Texas Trash - a bonus since we are just about out! - to Harrison's laughing eyes and sweet smile.

That moment - frozen in time by this photo - is what the Spring Break Days were all about to us.

Did I mention this is the third year Amber and Mike have planned, packed, hauled, unpacked, set up, took down, packed again, and loaded and hauled away - hours and hours of hard work - for a few simple days in the country with us?

The perk this year was a little extra time with Uncle Dean and Aunt 'Cherry'.

Kailey is working on her 'S's' in speech therapy - and I for one will be a tiny bit sad when she can say 'Sherry.' They dearly love them and Dean and Sherry spent some good quality time with the kids. We never forget how blessed we are that Dean and Sherry make this possible for all of us.

On this last morning at the ranch, the kids wanted me to go with them to gather eggs and do Critter Chores. By this time, my legs were tired, my knees and ankles were hurting and my feet were sore.

We compromised by feeding the horses who had been standing watch over the whole taking the tent down process. Of the four of them, Logan has the biggest love for the horses.......

right after her Mama! 

Amber has loved horses all her life!

She spent many a happy afternoon and weekend at Camp El Har in Dallas.

I looked them up and was sad to see the camp is for sale.

It was then that I realized I had been halfway expecting at least one of the quads would follow their mother's passion for horses and her love for the camp.

It's always a wee bit sad to come to the end of such a good time.

They were all loaded up and heading out to Waco where they hit up The Silos and Magnolia Market.....and HEB!!! 

We love the traditional GOODBYE!!!!

Louis Dean and I were in no hurry to leave so we visited with Dean and Sherry.

He had mentioned to Sherry he would love to have some sandy loam soil in front of the deck.

No sooner said than DONE!!!

Looking over the calendar, we had decided that we wouldn't be back until that first weekend in April.

Dean and Sherry have a couple of trips planned that month so this will give us three weeks at home to get some things done before we come back for hopefully three weeks in the country. I'm excited about the bees coming around the 15th! Plus we love to see spring blossom before our very eyes when we are here!

We enjoyed one last meal together and then set about the task of closing up the camper and front room- which the quads call 'downstairs.'  That works. By the way - they LOVED the wooden stairs which replaced the noisy metal camper steps! We do, too!

Louis Dean had the honor of driving us home since I have night blindness which has grown steadily worse as I have aged. It was after midnight when we got home Tuesday.

The only reason we even came home was his stress test was scheduled for Wednesday morning.

I set my alarm and woke him up - and promptly went back to sleep.

I was enormously tired all day Wednesday.

I felt like a lump of grey lead.

Louis Dean was already back from the doctor when I got up and he proceeded to do his music and watch several episodes of The Virginian. Most of you are probably too young to have ever even heard of that old western TV show.....

I spent the day doing laundry and rearranging our bedroom to accommodate the new secretary and chair from Lillian.

I really love the way this looks!

It opened up a bit more floor area.

Moving things around makes everything look new again......

Okay....it was at this point last night....shortly before midnight and I was in a hurry to try and publish before the clock struck 12.....when Louis Dean came in the bedroom ......I was propped up in bed with my laptop and a tacky nightgown on with no makeup and a bad hair day.....and said, "Linda, I need to talk to you about something."

Bottom line, I threw on some clothes and took him to the ER.

We arrived shortly before midnight and stayed for 12 hours.

They did numerous blood tests and EKGs and all is well.

We came home this afternoon and I made breakfast and we went to bed!

Ever since I got up, I have had a compulsive urge to clean and organize.

So..... both bathrooms, the hall linen closet, the guest room and our bedroom are spic and span.

It's a good form of therapy and I needed it today.

I am so grateful to be writing this tonight .....with a very happy heart.....