Guest Room Done! From Snyder to Breckenridge to HOME Sweet HOME!

By Saturday afternoon the guest room was a done deal!

I loved how the headboard turned out!

The next time we visit I am going to buy two more of the long white framed mirrors and stagger them on the wall, moving the black photo display to the other side of the window.

Chandy later added a garland of white faux roses to the headboard.

A strand of fairy lights would be pretty, too.

When I was all done, I lit the Mahogany Coconut candle!

My work here was done so now I went outside to see what I could see.

Chris has a salsa garden and then some.

He had a pack of seeds that featured all the plants you would need in order to make salsa.

Pretty cool idea! He also added pumpkins and okra and a few other veggies.

Next year I'm planting pumpkins!

Imagine having your very own pumpkin patch!

Just a man out in his garden.

While he was in the hospital (he lost his right index finger in a freak power washer accident) , the weeds tried to take over but he's back now!

Such a pretty little kitty!

The seasons are slowly changing.

There was just something about this scene - the drying sunflowers and the wall - that seemed to say 'August' to me.

Chandy has lots and lots of chickens!!!

Chris let them out and it was so much fun to see all of them running around and then running after him!

Late in the afternoon, Chris grilled burgers and hot dogs as we celebrated Jaxon's first birthday!

He's such a sweet happy baby boy!

There's that big water tank Chris fills with water from his well that is two miles down the road!

The guys prepared the smoker for the bisket that would cook all night and we sat out and watched them shoot off fireworks! It was a wonderful evening!

Sunday morning we all had scrambled eggs and that delicious brisket from the smoker!

Louis Dean and I watched Fellowhip church online in the guest room and Chris and the family was watching their church servise online in the living room.

And then, just like that, it was time to leave!

We could not have had a better time!!

I love this family and it was a joy to spend these few days with them.

The Johnson home is a busy place and I was impressed with the way Chris and Chandy parent.

I didn't hear one cross word between the two of them and even the children all played well together.

Kaitlyn is a beautiful sweet soon- to- be 17 year old while Piercyn is 8, Bella will be 4 in September and now Jaxon is one. I love how they all love one another!

All of them hugged and kissed us goodbye and we promised to be back in December to celebrate Kaitlyn's birthday!

Even this pretty rooster came over to the truck to see us off!

We drove the 3 hours or more from Snyder to Breckenridge, stopping to stretch our legs a time or two.

Ruth Ann had dinner in the oven when we arrived!

Louis Dean took a long hot soaking bath and then I took a nice shower before we all settled down in the living room to visit for a little while before we went to bed.

I cried Uncle first and went in and went right to sleep - only to wake up around midnight!

I finally got up and started loading and editing my photos and then finally got sleepy again.

Ruth Ann is such a good cook. She made waffles and bacon and sausage for our farewell breakfast.

We managed to get a selfie in with Louis Dean holding the phone and Ruth Ann pushing the button!

Their hospitality coming and going made such a difference to our trip.

We would have been worn out of we had not cut the trip into two segments.

I guess our age is catching up with us and long road trips take a lot our of us.

We stopped at Walmart in Weatherford to pick up a few things for Lillian and when we got into Fort Worth, Louis Dean and I ate at Jason's Deli and ordered a sandwich to take to Lillian.

Turns out she wasn't in her room when we got there - the nurse said she was down at the nurses station with her friends ordering pizza! And so she was! She has two new ladies who are really good company for her. I told her I had left drinks and snacks in her room and to stay with her friends since we were pretty tired and needed to get on home.

It was right at 5:00 when we got in and it was SO good to BE home!

We were thrilled to see all that had been accomplished while we were gone.

Summer had hired a couple of day laborers and practically moved every bit of Sanford and Son OUT of the back yard!! The stone mason had finished the repairs and the lawn guy had come so the whole place looked so much better! There's more to be done but it will take some time and I am so encouraged!

This was my 'Ah' moment!

My feet are propped up on the repaired stone wall and I opened a bottle of my all time favorite wine - Sunshine Bay's Sauvignon Blanc.

Here's to HOME!!

You can see the lighter colored grout on the porch - it will darken up with age.

While I am the Queen of Cover Up - it makes me so happy to NOT have the porch covered in welcome mats to cover UP the broken and loose stones!

Last night was 'Meet the Teacher' at Piercyn's school.

He asked his mommy to send both of his grandmas these two pics.

And this morning Amber sent me a pic of the fab four on their first day of 4th grade!!

"The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back!"