Big Kids, Jewels, Visiting Lillian and We are Back in the COUNTRY!!! Wednesday and Thursday

I love Mother/Daughter Days!

Wednesday I spent the day with Amber and it was wonderful!!

I got over to her house before noon and we had three glorious hours of just the two of us!

We ate lunch, had real conversation, watched a movie and reconnected.

You know how much I loved this time. I think both of our hearts were full by the time we did the school pick up. Now I love these grands more than my own life - but I have to be honest - I loved their mother FIRST! That will never change.

The kids love it that I always have a special treat in their car seats when they get out of school. 

I can't even remember when this tradition started but it is so much fun to keep it going.

I noticed how they wiped out a container of candy corn when they were at the house celebrating September First with me. So I bought more and filled a small bag for each of them.....remembering to put the same number of corns and pumpkins in each one.

Can you believe how BIG they are now???

We went back to Quadville and another fun thing we do is when they empty their lunch boxes - I eat their leftovers. Or at least share in eating them! Amber told them I would be there when they got our of school so Trystan - being the super sweet girl she is - said, "Oh, I will make sure I don't eat ALL of my lunch!" Her mom assured her this was just a fun thing we do so imagine my shock when I go in the kitchen and Trystan unthinkingly emptied her lunch leftovers into the trash! I gasped! Cubed avocado and rotisserie chicken......Amber makes gourmet lunches for the kids and they have such variety. She features her school lunches on Instagram but I'm not smart enough to know how to share that link.

After school snacks were done and it was time for homework. I helped a little. Second grade math can be intimidating. Just saying. It's the way it's worded and the drawings. I was confused at first but figured it out.

Then it was reading time. All four love to read. I think that is amazing. ALL four!

I listened first to Trystan read for 20 minutes and then it was Kailey's turn. She wears a hearing aid in her right ear and does so well with that. She suggested we go in the guest room to read where we would not be 'distracted.' Her words. She read to me for 35 minutes.

I had meant to go home right after we picked them up from school and I had visited with them a little while. But grandchildren are addicting. I could not tear myself away.

I had brought a needlework of a Trick or Treat banner featuring pumpkins and cobwebs.

It was embellished using sequins and beads. 

The last time we worked on it together we did the cobwebs with white sequins.

This time we sewed orange sequins on the pumpkins.

While we did that, Amber was preparing dinner and it smelled delicious - so I decided to stay a little longer. They watch America's Got Talent as a family together so I joined them in seeing the finals that had been recorded. It was amazing!!! I learned from Lillian today who won.....

From now on I am going to be watching AGT!!!

It was 9:00 when I headed home but my heart was full and I was so happy that I was able to spend some quality time with Amber, Mike, Trystan, Kailey, Harrison and Logan.

Louis Dean had been home alone and, of course, he cooked!!

Hamburgers! Are you surprised? He said he ate FOUR!

However, he cleaned up pretty well and I was able to go in and make up the bed ( I had put the sheets in the washer and he finished them up for me by putting them in the dryer) and do a little damage control and go to bed.

This morning I noticed a package on the kitchen counter from Deanie......

It was a beautiful collage of all things feminine that Deanie had designed and created herself.

I love it!! I knew where it would live - in the pretty secretary Lillian gave me where I have evening bags and jewelry displayed.

I also noticed that Louis Dean had been up early. He had made hot cakes. So I did a little more damage control when I heard he call from the den, "I made just enough for me and you. Would you like me to cook yours?" See, I would have thought he cooked them all and saved some for me.

He believes in FRESH! I believe in cooking it all up.

That's why when I packed up the fridge this morning to go to the ranch, there were two small handfuls of hamburger meat. In separate small bags. I packed them in the coolers and will give them to Rufus for treats. Not enough for even a good sized patty. Why not just cook them and make one patty a tiny bit bigger?? No, they all have to be the same size. According to Louis Dean.

He is so much fun!

Never a dull moment with him.

We finally got everything packed and loaded.

I went out to water the new plants in the back yard before we left and noticed the AC making a different sound. I walked over and saw that the fan was not turning but the motor was still going.

And it smelled like it was burning. Not good. I went inside and turned it off. It was still 74 degrees in the house so it had just happened. God's timing is perfect - other wise it would have burned completely up while we were gone. I had intended to leave it on and set the thermostat to 80.

We left Irving and stopped by the post office to mail off some birthday presents to friends and then drove to Fort Worth to Hobby Lobby to get some fresh canvases for my art projects. Next I stopped at Walmart to pick up some groceries for Lillian. I had called her and she said she didn't need anything but I told her it would be two weeks before we would be back. Milk, lunch meat and a few things were on her list and our last stop was to pick up a pizza for a late lunch.

She had not seen Louis Dean in several weeks so she asked him when he was coming to play some music. That made him smile! I took her laundry back to her and we shared the pizza with her room mate and visited for a little while. We had two pieces of pizza left and she insisted we take them with us. I gave them to a gentleman in a wheelchair as we were leaving. Last time I was there I gave him an extra malt I had. I really need to know his name.

It was getting late when we were finally on the road to Waco.

We had meant to meet up with Roy and Ruth Ann at the Cracker Barrel.

Dean and Sherry were going to meet up as well and we could all visit.

I sent them a text saying to go ahead without us - we were going to arrive too late.

I love it when the scenery changes to country.....

But I was shocked to see TRAFFIC shortly after the country scene.

Thankfully we turned off on Hwy 6 and we were headed to the ranch!

That's our turn right there by the lone tree and the silo.

We were beginning to relax.....

I love the roads that lead to the ranch.

When we passed the harvested cotton field, Louis Dean stopped to pick me a bouquet!

True love! I was wearing sandals and could not do it myself.

We arrived, unloaded and put up, settled in and breathed a sigh of contentment!

We are HERE!

The storm clouds had gathered and rain is in the forecast.

I am so fine with that!

So I bid you goodnight from my Happy Place.

Dean and Sherry won't leave until in the morning so our Critter Chores won't start until tomorrow evening. Except for Rufus. He's going to stay here with us so Louis Dean will go up to the house and bring him down here with us.

It's good to be back in the COUNTRY!!