The Story of My Life

Hello and welcome. They say home is where the heart is- well I discovered that some of my heart remains here. This land has been in my maternal grandfather's family for, well back to my great-great grandfather's time. In fact, this house sat at the back of the acres that I spent an amazing day exploring. My grandfather is one of the lads on the front porch of this house, which sat above the creek and the family mill. HIS grandfather is the oldest man in the black suit and hat. His father is somewhere in the porch shadows. Not sure if the house was crooked or the photographer was drunk, but a very cool picture indeed. Zooming in when I scanned it at high resolution affords many heart warming details of the life they lived. The land remains with a very special couple who have made the place a country paradise. I call her Aunt Mary George. Technically, she is not my aunt. But in the South, does that matter? She is a cousin to my grandfather, I believe, but they all grew up to

Like the moon is an imperceptible force Drawing the tides to and fro Creating harmony in the world My soul is drawn Constantly Steadily To the shore Driven by the orbit of You Searching for balance Like the wanderer searching for Home A heart is traveling to an unknown destination Which, when found, Becomes clearly the Arrival it was looking for. Many unknowns exist in the heavens, which are driving the tides And many paths are crossed by the wanderer, which He does not choose But all things come together At a given time And place Creating harmony in the universe Balance in the world A peaceful, complete destination that was ordained Forseen somehow- to be from the Journey’s Beginning-- Controlled by something imperceptible But constantly working... For Perfection. ~cj

My camera had been in the shop for 4 horrible weeks! I got it back yesterday, so in it's honor, I gave Baby Girl a manicure, pedicure and we hit Old Town Helena for some fun around sundown. That is such a great place for pictures! If you wanna do some summertime fun with your kiddos, email me and we can meet- Old town, Sunset-- Pefrect!

Speak to Us of Children: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you they belong not to you. You may give them your love, but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You my house their bodies, but not their souls. For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His migh that HIS arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness. For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves the bow that is stable. ~Kahil Gibran, The Prophet

(((First of all-----Hello Blogging World. My mind his not been here- I have had a writer's block of sorts- my life has been a whirlwind and my blog, well, has had to be on hold for a bit. I am trying to get my head on straight- and my words back to flowing.))) T- Shirt Confessions: I have had some recent surgery with a long recovery period- so I have been sitting- reading.....listening to music. I do not watch TV - so I have been trying to stay busy. Up until today- I have been content to rest and do nothing much but keep facebook and twitter busy. Today, I felt good enough to do something.... I have not been in charge of laundry for several weeks. I know, tragedy!!!! But I CAN'T seem to find anything. I decided that my dresser drawers needed reorganizing. I say reorganizing because I have a hard time throwing shirts away. So I had dumped all the drawers on the bed- which seemed like a good idea at the time. And I SORTED. Pile 1- Tank tops Pile 2- Hooters Shirts Pile 3- Ha

Each Summer I do my Little Man a poster for his bedroom. Above are 2007- his Black Belt Portrait on the beach the day he was awarded it- the day we got on the plane to move from Florida. The next one, 2008, is the RipStik craze in our hood. ((And before you dis my photos, MY CAMERA IS IN THE SHOP FOR 4 WEEKS! I do not even know how to take a photo with a view-finder.)) Here is the 2009 version..... I call it the Riverwoods Terrorists- Paintball is the current craze- and they go through thousands of balls a week....! All 20X30....All so cool if I do say so myself! Anyone want to order one? I need more money for paintballs. Hmmm......what will next year's be! Hello blogging world.... I Am Back!!!

The Birthday Girl- Jessica, turns 17 this week and this was her choice for her lunch treat! Cade is my cheese lover- he spit the muenster out PROMPTLY and impolitely in the fancy place! (I had to admit we all laughed....) 964 Airport Rd SW # 3 Huntsville , AL 35802 (256) 880-9920 ‎ Well, we did eat REAL food, but we were all so carried away sharing the goods, that I only got pictures of the cheese and fruit appetizer and the desserts---which were, of course the best part. We all ordered something different, wiener schnitzel, Chicken Schnitzel Cordon Bleu, Schnitzel Cordon Blue (veal) and the house steak. Along with that were 4 potato choices, boiled, Au Grautin, German Potato Salad, and fried. They were all amazing. I think I will just order a potatoe sampler next time.....me and my starches, LOVE EM. But the kicker was the homemade dessert counter, which we cleaned out. For authentic german food, fancy atmosphere and a wonderful change of pace- TRY German cuisine. My son, who id ve

The waterfall is what drew me to Helena. I love the Old Town area- one of my favorite spots on earth. The Buck Creek Festival was a great community event. A beautiful way to spend a breathtaking spring day. The duck race was so much fun for the children. A surprise Sweet Home Alabama from Bo Bice was the perfect ending to the night! Me taking a picture of Hewy taking a picture. Thanks for keeping us in the loop, my dear blogger friend!