Little Acts of Kindness

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. This camper clean up is not a job for the weak in spirit, that's for sure. Add to that HUGE job the normal routines and responsibilities of life - well, let's just say YOU have probably 'Been There/ Done That' so you know what I mean!

Yesterday I took the day off and spent it in Fort Worth visiting family. I first went to my sister's house (Deanie) bearing Diet Cokes from Sonic. It has been SO long since we had even seen each other save for the Quad Party here on March 3rd - and that doesn't really count since there were so many people and we couldn't TALK! She is a Grandmother like few others I have ever met! She is truly the GRAND in the word! In 1998 she bought a pack and play to have at her house for all the little babies that have come along since then. Yesterday she handed off the torch baby bed to me for the upcoming adventures with the quads. It was still in EXCELLENT condition - which is not surprising if you know my sister!

Next I picked up my mother at the beauty shop and we had lunch at Chili's. She LOVES their loaded baked potato soup! I had soup and salad which is exactly what I ordered LAST Friday when Amber and I ate out. We hit up Tuesday morning on a Friday afternoon and made out with some good buys.

THIS is what I brought home with me - gifted by another sister, Nita!

(She is the one with the beautiful Watt Pottery collection!)

I had never had Pork Rinds with Picante Sauce before!

It is DELICIOUS!!! Deanie says cream cheese mixed with the picante sauce is good, too!

I stopped to visit with the three oldest grandchildren on my way home.

The water balloons and pump I bought for them was a huge success!

We played games and had contests......

......and Faith ALWAYS grabs my camera and shoots away!

She may be a famous photographer some day!

I came home to find this lovely care package waiting for me!

It is from one of my favorite in all the world blogger friends!

Dawn and Aggie! 

She is a character and Louis Dean loves her as much as I do!

So I went to bed encouraged by all the acts of kindness yesterday!

And I needed them to reflect on TODAY as I once again ventured out to the camper - cleaning supplies in hand!

While I cleaned the kitchen area Louis Dean started taking up the carpet.

It was REALLY nasty!!!

Fortunately there is vinyl underneath......although we will most likely put new flooring over it. Maybe.

This section of flooring must be replaced. It is in front of the fridge.

I love the expression on Louis Dean's face as he shows me some other damaged places! Thankfully I have never seen anything he cannot fix!

(This is part of the slide out extra room - where the table and benches go.)

We only spent a couple of hours out there this time. He has to think about the next moves and all that will entail. He doesn't want to start anything until he has a whole week to work on it.

SO.....we retired to the BACK yard to do a little damage control.

This is his work bench. Yes. It IS under there somewhere!

I think we have done our due today. It's time to clean up and head to church.

Tomorrow is another day and we still have the yard to do!

Thank goodness we will be gone next week and can rest up!

Suzie Homemaker!

That's ME today! And I love it! I have filled bird feeders and bird baths. Done laundry, bought groceries, cleaned the fridge, made the bed, dusted, mopped the kitchen - you get the idea!

Washed and dried the latest crib quilt for a soon to be mama. Lisa went to Texas State with Amber so I thought her baby boy should have a 'Texas' quilt.

I used this sheet as a backing.

While it is not a real 'baby' looking quilt - front OR back -

it DID provide some pretty interesting reading!

I found this lemon oil furniture polish when I cleaned out the camper this week.

No telling how OLD it is! It says 'patent pending' on the label.

I am here to tell you that is a REALLY great polish!

It is not as oily as some and I would buy more of this if it were still available.

I was surprised Louis Dean HAD any cleaning agents in that camper!

I have a peach cobbler in the oven and BBQ brisket in the crock pot and potatoes to mash on the stove.

I love these 'Suzie Homemaker' kind of days!

Camper Clean OUT!!

It has been a job that has loomed over our heads for months! YEARS, actually!

He lived in this camper for 4 years after his beloved Ellen died in 2000.

In the nearly 7 years we've been married it has served as his 'storage place.'

Now with Amber expecting quadruplets - we need to use it as a home away from home so we can go down and help her and Mike. But to USE it - we had to clean it OUT!!!

And that's were I come in!!! It was such a Hodge podge MESS!! LD would go in and start to work on it but couldn't figure where or what to do!

EXIT Louis Dean! ENTER Linda!!

If there is one thing I know how to do - it is cleaning and organizing.

Bless his heart!! He had thrown all manner of stuff in here!

I bought the beige fabric pieces at Garden Ridge Pottery recently and put them on the sofa so I would have a 'clean' place to sit!

I first took all the flimsy little curtains down and raised the blinds so I could see what I am dealing with. I found all sorts of interesting things in there!

Slowly but surely I got it ALL cleared out in one day!

I made this my command post keeping my phone at hand and my book and tea for when I needed a break! It WAS a bit overwhelming!

Meanwhile Louis Dean took care of preparing the meals that day.

He can make a mean ham and cheese with fresh veggies!

Along about this time - as if we didn't have ENOUGH to do!!!

The big honeysuckle bush fell over. It had become so heavy that one new little leaf must have sent it over the edge! The trellis we had it on simply snapped off at the concrete where LD THOUGHT it would hold forever!!

So after lifting it back UP and propping it from the other side, LD dug a bigger better hole and set 2 landscaping timbers bolted together in it and filled it with super rich concrete! I always think of how good God is when I look at this honeysuckle bush. I had tried to plant one and they died every time......until God sent a little bird who planted this one! It shelters a TON of birds as they flit around the feeder these spring days!

NOW! It's back up where it belongs!!

Instead of laying down across the flower bed and stone walk!

Then LD was able to go BACK to work on the camper.

There was a leak - of COURSE!! - but he can fix just about anything in this whole wide world!

Bedroom - ALL clear!

I'm thinking of hanging a four seasons quilt on the wall there.

There is still some very serious CLEANING to do!

We have to take up the carpet and put down new tile. I may use carpet rugs and cut to fit where the carpet is now.

It's really pretty spacious.

Now he is sorting and storing stuff!

He is perched up in the storage area he built........and YES!

He DID sort and store the whole shebang!!

I'll close this with some of the mementos I discovered.

His granddaughter playing the auto harp brings good memories of happier times.

And his beloved first wife, Ellen.

There was also an American flag that had been given to him when his dad died and a pair of earrings that had been Ellen's as well as a pair of her glasses. All these things have been added to the collection in the doll cases.

There was even a Jenny Lindy doll! 'Eleanor' - still in the box!

I suppose this has closed out a chapter in the life of this camper and it is now ready for new ventures! Kids love campers and I bet my little grand kids would love to crawl back in those deep bunks. I can see Levi and Sam, Faith and Raynie now!!! I am hoping we will have lots of fun and happy family times once we get the camper road ready! That has to be SOON! Those baby quads will be here before you know it!

So Phase #1 has been accomplished!

The camper is cleaned OUT!

Now comes Phase #2.........

I need to CLEAN it out!

And I will! But not today. I am tired.

Dressed for SPRING!

My bedroom is all dressed up for the spring/summer season!

I added a TON of white lace!

The little Easter tree is wearing a bridal veil of tulle.

Lace is hanging under the mirror in place of a headboard and the bow from the veil is pinned in the middle.

Doesn't everyone have a lighted wreath in their bedroom?

Summer gave me this cute little Easter ornament......

makes me hungry for some S'Mores!

So now that our bedroom is dressed for spring I need to see about changing out my wardrobe. I plan to do just that this very afternoon.

And we may treat ourselves to some S'Mores tonight!

We love sitting in the gazebo in the evenings and I have a wood fire all ready to light.

Today we will take the rest of the houseplants outside and I'll spruce things up a bit in there. That gazebo has been one of the best things we have ever done. It's like having another living room - only it's outside! It's our favorite place to read and have coffee in the mornings and then cheese and crackers with a glass of wine in the evenings.

I just talked to Amber on the phone - she saw her doctor this morning and he told her she's home for at least another week. She and all four babies are looking good.

Next week she will have another anatomy scan where they will 'grow the babies.'

It will show them exactly how much each one of them weighs and how much they have grown. She will be at nearly 22 weeks at that time. She has gained 4 pounds in the last few days so hopefully that will also be reflected in the babies' growth as well. The doctor is starting her on a prescription to keep contractions at bay. She also has two nurse home visits each week. Having quads is a complicated venture!

I'm looking forward to seeing these little ones.

This photo is of Baby C - the boy baby - from last week's scan.

This is one of the babies they thought were identical twins.

I love looking at these 'pictures.'

 I want to thank each and every one of you for each and every prayer offered for my daughter and her husband and these babies.

I am very grateful!

"Grow flowers of gratitude in the soil of prayer."

~Terri Guillemets

Sunday

Today has been a good Sunday. How could a Sunday NOT be good? Louis Dean and I have been taking it a bit easy today. We lingered over our morning coffee.......

........little Maggie staying right there between us.

And Lucy lying at my feet. Lucy is such a strange creature. All the time I was gone she and LD were best buds. He didn't even use the leash much at all.......just calling her name was all he needed to get her in the kennel. Not that he put her in there much. She slept on the floor beside his bed. Never ONCE did she bark at him the entire time I was gone. HOWEVER!! Life reverted back to 'normal' when I returned. She barks when he stands up.......just as she did before. I suppose I am the key ingredient here. At least she does well when I am gone and that is something!

LD made some peach turnovers earlier in the week......making enough to eat several by himself and then freeze a few for later. This morning we split one for breakfast and that CRUST.!!!! Forget the filling - as tasty as it was! I loved that fluffy pastry!

We did our reading in the gazebo and enjoyed our 'guilt free' Sunday.

(We went to church last night.)

I even squeezed in a nap this afternoon before I started dressing the bedrooms for spring. I took out all the winter bedding and dark fabrics and hung up a TON of white lace, covered the beds with duvets, satin coverlets and - of course - several white satin pillows. NOT LD's favorite! He cannot understand WHY I pile so many pillows on the bed! As I was hanging the curtains I noticed the window A/C unit had slipped forward a bit so he has been in there addressing the problem. Just a bit more cleaning and fluffing and the back part of the house is ready for the spring/summer seasons!

I think it's time to pour up a pitcher of fresh tea and enjoy the cool breezes blowing through the gazebo. I am in the middle of a good book so I'll just enjoy a bit of a read while waiting for Louis Dean. I may take Lucy for a little walk. I love walking through the neighborhood on a Sunday night. Everyone is winding down from the weekend. You can smell the fresh laundry smell - I guess it's dryer sheets. Hear the children playing and the parents calling them to come in......'school tomorrow' they call.

I do so love a Sunday!

A Bright Sun Shiny Day!!

Amber and I have had the BEST Friday! Blue skies, warm temps and a bit of being out and about!!

First of all we hit up the nail salon where Amber got a head to toe massage and I had a mani/pedi. Amber loves this because she can recline and have a massage that relaxes her as well as stimulates all the muscles she NORMALLY uses but currently is NOT due to doctor's orders! I even managed one last stroll through HEB - my last visit for 2 weeks.

After a great lunch at one of our favorite places - Chili's - we headed back home stopping for an iced tea and a wee bit of a 'sit in the sun!' Amber LOVES the sun and has not had many opportunities to enjoy it lately!

She had the green tea and I had the Passion!

Doesn't take much to make her happy these days!

We do love our Starbucks!

Thanks, Summer, for all the gift cards!

We came home and decided to take advantage of this beautiful Texas afternoon!

I finished my tea on the patio and caught up on my journal while Amber browsed some magazines. Life IS sweet!!!

This is what we see to our left into Lucy's yard.

Thank you, Lucy, for the beautiful view!!

Reese's Pieces!!! A loving and energetic dog!!

You may remember the story of Shiner - the white lab - when he ATE part of their BBQ grill!! Mike gives the dogs 2X4's to play with......and they eventually eat THOSE!!!

You must NOT leave ANYTHING outside because they WILL eat it!!

As can be seen by their latest score which Mike brought in tonight from the back yard.

He said, "We may have a problem!"  I have an ATT phone and we thought SURE this was MINE!!! LD and I are not fancy cell phone users. We just want one that will call and I use a FEW text messages. (LD does NOT so don't even TRY!)

I could NOT believe the dogs I had fed bananas to would EAT my phone!!!

I ran into the office and sure enough - THERE was MY phone!!

Thank God! I am already on my cheap back up since the 'new' one got wet when I accidentally dipped it in the bath water! I took LD's and HE took an even older one.....since everyone knows I am the one who talks the most and needs the better phone!! WHEW!!! So whose phone IS this???

My week here is over and I am packing up for my trip home.

I hope to leave really early in the morning so Louis Dean and I will have most of Saturday together. Funny how quickly time slips away. This week has FLOWN by!! 

“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”

Irish Blessing