21 years...

It's so hard to believe.

I'm not 20 anymore;

and I won't ever be 20 again.

Time just never stops, does it?

Every long once in awhile I find myself wishing that there was

a pause button, or even just a slow motion button,

somewhere.

Actually, I'll be truthful;

I find myself wishing that more and more.

I was thinking about those silly dandelions again,

and how the breezes of life and time come and scatter

the delicate little parachutes of my days, months, and years.

They aren't wasted, they have their purposes,

but they won't be back again.

A vapor, a flower that fades,

this life goes oh so quick.

21 years were just a blink.

I don't even want to consider how quickly the next 21 years

could come and go, if the Lord grants them to me.

I so badly want to make them count.

It's only by God's grace that we can find any meaning in life,

that anything about this short journey can be truly worthwhile.

Truly Eternal.

My prayer in this season continues to be:

that when my moments here are gone -

that I will have held back nothing.

That there will be

nothing left,

that I wished I'd done, or given up, 

in pursuit of the Lord's perfect will for my life. 

That it will all be poured out -

for the glory of Christ.

Thanking Him for 21 years.

Cheeez :D

You know those once in a lifetime shots that just happen?

My nephews and I were out visiting the sheep dog "Barclay"

yesterday morning; and I got one. 

Wes was smiling for the camera,

and I was trying to get the big silly puppy's attention,

when all of the sudden he looked right at the camera

and flashed the cheesiest grin.

Of course I immediately toppled over, laughing,

and it wasn't long before two little boys took a look and joined me.

What's especially hilarious 

is that this dog is almost harder to photograph than Spencer;

he just won't sit still.

So to have him suddenly pose so perfectly

was incredibly funny.

It looks so fake.

I think I have a new favorite photo. :)

a dairy, a bottle calf.

My niece and nephews will be headed home soon.

(Does it bug anyone else that their isn't a plural word for niece

and nephew such as "siblings," etc. ? 

"Nieces and Nephews" can be a mouthful.)

((And there aren't gender distinctive words for "cousins";

that bugs me too...))

Moving on.

One day last week, we were able to take the kids to a dairy

run by a farmer friend of ours.

He has a new batch of baby cows.

And most wonderful of all,

they are bottle calves.

One in particular is so very tame.

Having had lots of bottle babies of different species

in seasons past, I wouldn't ask for such a responsibility -

but the kids were absolutely delighted to have a short visit.

You should have seen this girl eat.

She chugged her breakfast down almost faster

than I could get pictures.

And for the remainder of our visit,

she drooled sticky, milky, calf slobber all over us. :) 

It dried pretty fast though...

When I got back to the van,

and pulled out the hand sanitizer...

Advice:

if you ever find your hands coated in dried calf drool,

and you are far from running water and soap -

skip the hand sanitizer. :)

It brings the icky-stickiness right back to life,

and that's about all...

Just view the trip to Wal*Mart afterwards 

(smelling like a herd of cows)

as a memorable moment in history;

in a good and humorous way of course.

The other highlight of our trip...

Visiting "Spot" -

known to us as "Buster Jr.".

He really is Buster Jr. too.

His momma was a Great Pyrenees that lived about a mile from us.

I'll never forget the day we drove by and saw all of those

black and white pups rolling around the yard...  

When we met Spot a few years later,

we thought we knew where he was from;

and we were right. :)

It's so sweet to see Buster's brown eyes again.

Yay for dairies, and cows, and unplanned pups.

and Niechews. ;)

The latest...

The garden decided to grow all of the sudden.

It has gone from this:

To this: 

We added the gravel paths too.

Boy, don't want to do that job again... 

And I guess you know by now that every post must be

interspersed with the faces of adorable dogs...

So here you go.

The potatoes looked good like this:

 But they've pretty much taken over at this point...

We've been picking peas too.

I always end up wondering if they're worth it...

Oh. Another dog.

Weeding goes so much quicker with all these little

helpers around! 

(And Spencer doesn't count...)

Want a glimpse of my next daunting project?

We have to convert this:

into a potting shed of sorts.

For 12 years, it was the goat shed,

and it has seen a lot of wear.

That's it for now!

a Girl and a Kitty

Yesterday,

a little girl I know discovered a wonderful thing;

a fuzzy, friendly, orange ball of fluffiness.

Who needs a baby doll when you've got one of these?

Our little Squirrely cat has been waiting all of his life

for a little girl like this one...

I know it looks sort of painful,

but trust me on this one.

He's eating it up.

Sometimes I wonder if God didn't create happy

orange kitties just for the sake of little girls.

There's something about a teddy bear that 

purrs back at you.

They helped make my girlhood a happy thing,

and I think my niece would agree -

they're pretty amazingly wonderful.

Even if you're just five years old,

there's a little mother in you.

And every once in awhile,

you just need something cuddly to lug around.

Something that loves you back.

Something that's not too breakable. 

That's why I think little girls and orange kitties are

a match made in heaven.

When God made the world;

He thought of everything.

To be a kid again.

My sister's kids are visiting us here on the farm

for the first time in a long, long, while.

Having three kids in the house has been a sweet reminder

of how wonderful childhood really is;

and for two weeks - I get to relive it.

Day One: The Creek. 

My brother and I almost grew up in this creek. 

Picnics, "fishing," rock collecting, "panning for gold"...

I still make frequent visits to the creek,

but I hadn't truly been in it for awhile... 

There's something about being between five and ten years old

that makes the world so wonderful,

little adventures so thrilling,

nature's wonders so enthralling,

and God so infinite and utterly in control.

I wish that wasn't all so easily lost.

One day you grow up and think you know everything,

and sometimes you never realize just how much

you've managed to forget.

So, today we waded,

we wondered,

and let ourselves be astounded by nothing much at all.

We laughed uproariously at a crazy dog.

We got wet.

We sniffed flowers,

and then we picked them and put them in our hair.

(Well, at least the ladies did.)

Even Huck had an afternoon to remember what

being young felt like. 

We imagined snakes in every bush,

and crayfish under every rock;

'cause every adventure needs a touch of peril.

Then we headed home,

wet, tired, and already plotting tomorrow's escapades.

It's always good to be a kid again.