Hatfield House (in the city)

4th of July!!!

Happy birthday America!!!!
What a grand place to live!!!


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We had a pitch in last night at work, which was fun.. we all ate until we thought we would pop from gluttony! LOL!
I do love my co workers, and I do love my job, but I miss being at home so very much. Being at home for my children and grandchildren. DH and I discussed it, and after this year, we are both slowing down. Taking time to "smell the roses" per say. I have absolutely NO free time this summer, due to school, work and other obligations, and DH has been trying to work extra to keep the house going, prepare for winter, and work a bit of overtime himself to get us out of a financial bind we've gotten ourselves into....
One exciting breakthrough is that...... although the financial *crash* time is almost here, we have enough money to pay the bill that is owed and we won't be garnisheed! YIPEE!  God is soooo good.....

He does certainly provide us with what we need whenever the time arises, and we also have to trust in Him to provide understanding in yet another delimma. (We're full of 'em here!)

A friend of the family (friend... I use that term loosely) decided last night to verbally attack our daughter and son in law. Simply because our son in law did not agree with this person's political views.
I have personally been attacked twice by this person, and choose not to have any further dealings with him based on this fact, but now to have my child attacked too? I am angry to say the least, and wonder what kind of venom is going to be spewed forth this time? How long until he comes crawling back begging forgiveness and promising to never do it again this time? Will our daughter accept an apology (I don't think so)? Will this person MEAN it IF he does apologize?
Isn't there a verse, "For out of the mouth the heart speaketh?"

Here it is... I found it:
Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Huh.

Guess now we know how he really feels (and has felt) about us all the while..... but that's ok.  We still have each other, and always will. We're a family. A true family.

And again..... as we celebrate the unity of America on this day (One nation, under GOD, indivisible).... we can also celebrate the unity of a family (One nation, under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.)
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic
for which it stands,
one nation
under God
indivisible
with liberty
and justice for all....

3 July 2009.

June 2, 2009

July 2nd, 2009

Had my yearly eval today...

and I got a raise! Yipee!
Talked to my boss also about school hours and she's gonna fix it for me to not have to come in till 10p on Thursday nights, so I don't do something stupid with my lack of sleep. If not, I would be up at 6a, school from 9a- 4p, then be to work 6p-6a. I cannot feasibly do that. Just can't. So my boss is helping me out. Cool.

I'm going to use PTO hours to make up the difference when I don't get a full week, so that'll help too.

Last night was a busy one, of course I was on a hall I'm not used to, so that made a difference, but I muddled through alright, I think.
Had to call the doc about midnight for one of my patients who isn't doing well. He seems like a nice man, but his family needs to be locked up somewhere! Haha! (Sorry, couldn't help that one...) And I am surely glad I'm NOT on that hall again this evening! *Blech!* Back to what I'm used to tonight!

We called about our friend, and apparently she's in ICU, has a left side stroke and is unable to talk and can only move two fingers on her right hand. *sigh* Some of the gals went to see her today, and I sent my love.
Just kind of makes you think, doesn't it?

Had my 1st test of the semester today....

June 16, 2009

June 14, 2009

Just returned from a delicious breakfast with my husband, my dearest friend of all time.
How blessed am I to have him? He is wonderful as a provider, helper, comforter, and soul mate.
I know if I am lonely, I can just reach out and he is there. If I am scared, he uplifts me, if ill, he takes care of me.
He has helped me to raise our children with an iron fist and a gentle hand, one in the same. Wonderful children, who have grown up to be wonderful adults (well... mostly! Haha!)
He tends our garden and usually doesn't complain when I need help in the kitchen....
I am proud to call you, my husband, my love, my best friend....
Thank you for always being there, Dennis...
even if we don't speak, as long as I am in the same room with you, I feel a comfort and a love that I would have never known otherwise.
Now I truly understand the meaning of happiness.
And it is... being married to you.
I love you.

June 9th, 2009

June 3, 2009

Life at Hatfield House is never dull....

Logan has went to Colorado for the summer, (and maybe more), I have been battling the never ending battle with Financial Aid at school, putting foods up has begun, and teenage girls in the house for the summer.... nah... never dull....

Logan is having a blast there with his Mom and brother. I think this may just be the break that our daughter needs and that Logan needs. They need each other, and the timing is perfect... but we shall see....

Financial Aid has become the proverbial thorn in my side.  It's an ongoing battle to try and get all this paperwork figured out! I thought it to be finally complete, and today, I get my deferrment for my school loans in the mail, stating that I had to "sign here and fill out this section..." All this would have been done if they had left it alone in the first place and let me fill it out and fax it the way the loan place told me to do.... now I have to sign here and fill out there, and take it back to them... again.

I put up 24 pints of strawberry jam today.

Then with supper tonight, we ate almost 1 pint with our warm biscuits! Yummy!

The girls are home for the summer. They don't really want to help with the housework or with cooking, but I figure it don't hurt em none....

We had a dickens of a hail storm here yesterday. HAIL! In June.. in Indiana! Geezy Petes!

I took a video of that... let's see if I can get that up here.

Hailstorm on June 2nd

New things around here include teaching the girls how to shoot. I want them to learn. Dad knows how, I know how, and it's time they learned how. As much as we're out and about, you just never know what you'll encounter! (I'm sure I'll be flamed for that one...yes, it's legal WHERE we were shooting, yes, the gun is legal, and yes, both parents are legal. Oh.. and the gun that is being shot is mine...)

Before anyone questions... no, we DO NOT condone violence, and we DO expect safety, which is why we are TEACHING the girls....

Target practice

The garden is coming along nicely (except for the hail storm damage), and the laundry is done yet one more time.....

So life is good.....

~Blessings~

May 24, 2009

Today I took my grandson to the airport and put him on a plane.

He has lived with us the past 6 years, and we have custody of him. He calls us Mom and Dad. He has been held when crying, been raised in church, praised for things learned and taught how to ride a bike....

We think he needed a break from us and needed to get to know his Mom. Our daughter. She had a few rough years, and we're hoping and praying that it is all behind her now. She has a decent man in her life, and appears to have straightened up enough to have a summers visit with her son she has been away from for most of his life.

It's hard, but they need each other. Please pray.

Then we come home and napped and spent the afternoon together as a family. Resting and watching movies.

And tomorrow will be a new day.....

May 17, 2009

Menu planning is coming along nicely. I need to be a bit more proactive in that department though. Still not quite where I want to be.

At least we aren't going out as much! LOL! (Can't afford it, for one thing! LOL!)

Today, dh cooked up some turnip greens and we had those with tuna salad sandwiches... pretty darn good, if I do say so myself! :)

I've gotten back to my breadmaking, although it is difficult when I work 12 hour night shifts. I plan on making another batch tomorrow. Isn't it funny though how the children fuss and moan about homemade bread until it's made, then that seems to be all they eat until it's gone? :)

I plan on taking some time here soon, and sewing. I miss that. I wanted to do more than what I have done while on break from school, but time has not allowed. Or is it just me and I haven't allowed myself the time? I see myself changing a bit more than I like, so as a dear friend told me.... "Need to go slower..." I do agree that I need to go slower. With myself and my life. I don't like the change I see.

On the other side of the spectrum, we're having a major life change soon... our grandson who has lived with us for the past 6 years is going to visit his Mom (our daughter) this summer. First time in as many years, and I am already sad and lonely. I hope and pray things work out for the both of them. He needs his Mom, and she needs her son. Please help me pray for their relationship, and that dh and I are doing the right thing...

~Blessings~

May 13, 2009

Been reading over some of the blogs here, and I am seeing a common theme. Saving money and going green.

Something I like the sound of... both of them!

Today I am going to get at least one weeks worth of menus done, because one of our horrible habits is to spend money on going out to eat, and when I don't have a menu in place, that's exactly what we do. That needs to stop. We have plenty of food here in this house, and I can make a few adjustments to my schedule to use some of it! Heaven's sake... I still have shelves full of foods that we've preserved the past couple of years!

So if anyone knows of some good websites for menu making, please don't hesitate in letting me know....

and I'll let you know how we turn out on this end.

May 6th, 2009

We had a productive day around here day BEFORE yesterday!

We built an addition to our garden.

 We figured that the children don't spend much time in the backyard anymore, so we're going to use some of that space and have more veggies growing! Yea!

It's not a bad size. And in addition to the rest of our garden spaces, we have a pretty good size garden!

Gotta get everyone involved with the building. Our son dug the top layer of grass up (we had to change methods many times...)

And here's the final product.... ready to plant! Yahoo!

Today we'll need to get a bit more soil, but we already have our plants ready to go in the ground. I imagine today we'll try and get that done. I'm excited, and can't wait! I love this time of year...

29 April 2009

Happy birthday to my Daddy. I miss him so...... Today he would have been a whopping 68 years old, if that ****ed cancer hadn't have gotten him first.

Daddy, I love and miss you.

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Today, I'm noticing I am getting W-A-Y off the path where I am supposed to be. Life has gotten out of hand and out of control. I need to get back to where I was and stop thinking such frivolous silly thoughts. So I need to get back to basics with my life, and deal with outstanding influences in a different manner. My husband and family need to be first and foremost, only after God, who I have also been neglecting. My manner of life this past month has been me, me, me... and I simply cannot do this anymore. I've come to a realization. Not to allow outside influences enter your life, cause Satan will surely get you and drag you under if you do.

Guard your family with everything you've got. They are the most important thing you have. You can do without washers and dryers, and cell phones. You can even live with out vehicles or owning your own home, but you cannot live without family and those that love you as much as you love them.

Guard the precious ones withyour life. Guard your relationship with them as you would your own body and soul.

Without your family, you are nothing but a shell, a mere existence in this world.

Note to MY family:

I promise and intend to guard you with everything I have. To love you and teach you and grow with you. I love and cherish you.

My family.

Good morning.

Days like this deserve to be pondered upon and enjoyed with a steaming cuppa coffee, and a rocking chair, contemplating on the days events after sunrise.

I am sending this thought to those of you with rushed lives and days ahead.

Just take a few minutes to yourself, have a cuppa coffee, tea, or whatever it is you like, and enjoy the serene beauty and stillness.

Don't we deserve at least that uch before beginning our day?

Peace and blessings be your today and every day.

25 April 2009

I'm coming today with a bit of a heavy heart. I had to more or less "lay down the law" with someone very near and dear to me this morning. It hurt my heart to say the things I had to say, but I think in the end, it may make things work for the better. At least I hope so. I only hope and pray he reads his email, cause we cannot get him to answer phone calls or even his door when someone is knocking.

On the other side of life, spring is in bloom finally around here.... when I walk out my front door, I can smell the beautiful lilac bushes that are almost in full bloom. Delicious.... simply delicious.

From the cherry tree in the front yard...

To the apple tree in the back yard....

At the side of our home is a single yellow flower. We wish Mom was still here to tell us what it is. It has tulip leaves, but it sure doesn't look like a tulip. It keeps getting larger and opens wider each day, blessing us with it's sunshine color.

All these things are so lovely and heart warming. I only can pray that my dear one will soften his heart and let us in. Pray with me, won't you?

Today's agenda is to wash laundry and get it hung out, maybe mow the yard, and be outside tending to the yard a bit. Do a little spring time spruce up while dh is at work. He wants to go get a load of wood this afternoon when he gets home, so I imagine we'll do that too.

I was contemplating seeing if our gd could stay the night tonight, but me with no sleep today, I'm not quite sure I would be in "Grandma-style" for an almost 2 year old. I'm afraid I may be a bit cranky. I may just clean the house... do a bit of spring cleaning around here.... I already have all the windows open and a lovely breeze is blowing through.

Yes, I think spring cleaning is on the agenda also. It will keep my mind off the issues at hand.

~Blessings~

Gabby

Here she is... the little Princess that waltzed into Grandma's heart almost 2 years ago, and finally got to come back today.

18 April 2009

Well, we had an interesting happening here today....

DH and DD went to the store to buy some things, and here comes DH back carrying our granddaughter we haven't seen in almost a year! The reason being that there was a large "family fall out" and our son thought he knew better than parents. He ended up having some trouble with the law and life has just not done him a bit of justice, one might say....

Anyway, he thought that he would hold it over our head to get his way, and not allow contact with our grandchild. Yes, it hurt, and yes, he was wrong, but there was nothing we could do.

Today, in the grocery store, DH ran into him, his wife and our gd. DS apologized and said that he owed all of us an apology. DH accepted his, and ended up getting to bring the little one home with him! He brought her in, and told me, "I found a heck of a deal at the store today!" and handed me the baby (almost 2 now...). She's a blond haired, blue eyed, little dimpled ball of energy.... and is absolutely beautiful!

I'm trying to get a pic to post, but she's too busy exploring and seeing and talking to the dogs to notice Grandma! LOL!

I did get one of the back of her as she was darting off again into the kitchen in search of whatever it is that almost 2 year old search for! LOL!

What a blessing to happen today!

The Lord is bringing them back....

April 17, 2009

From my house to yours.....

a visit.

And a talk.

Let me tell you about my day.

Just worked again last night. It was ok. I'm tired of working. I want a rich man to sweep me off my feet and let me NOT work! (Like I could stand that for more than 2 months...) LOL!

I finally got my discs in  the mail that I need for my video camera and to be able to post videos online for my grandson, Jacen. I want to read him books and talk to him. That way he can see me, and he'll know Grandma is always there with her "very favorite Jacen".

Now, I just have to find the time to read a book for him! See? There's that work thing interrupting again!

The children have a half day of school today. Why, I have no idea..... but DH can go pick them up at 11a, cause I plan on sleeping and dreaming. Dreaming has become an important part of my day lately. Seems to be the only way I can live and be what and where I want. I expect that though, and maybe someday.....

I really need to get off my duff and get some bread made around here. And cook some meals. I'm getting hungry for a meatloaf. Doesn't that sound good? Maybe this coming next few days (after tonight) I'll be able to.

Right now though, I am getting tired, and I have to be up again to be back at work by 6p. So I guess I'll close this for now, sending peace and love to all that visit.