May Flowers Covered in Snow

We thought spring had finally come. Dogwoods were late, strawberries were late, everything seemed to want to sleep just a little bit longer. The weather was lovely, but the weatherman kept forecasting snow. We thought...snow in may...never. I had to got to Little Rock for a conference on Friday but knew that with the temperatures hovering above freezing, there would not be snow. Friday morning we woke up, early, to snow. I headed out at 5 AM to drive to Little Rock and on the way out of town there were at least 4 cars that had slid off of the road. I was a tad nervous about driving, but proceeded slowly. I ended up late to the conference but it ended up a good day.

Welcome James Barrington Wall!

Barry and I both left our phones at home today. I am almost never without it but today we both happened to leave for church without them. I arrived home after a particularly wonderful meeting to find a complete surprise! There was a text and photo of our new grandson, James Barrington Wall, Brandon and Audra's newest son. He was born at 6:35 am and weighed a whopping 9 lbs 15 oz and was 21 inches long. My goodness, how did he fit in Audra's tiny little body? He has a copper top just like Brandon so we are all excited about this big boy having some of Brandon's features.

Audra wanted a home birth and Brandon was excited to be a big part of the birth as well. He would need to be very involved to make it all go smoothly and support Audra in a non-medicated experience. They purchased a birthing tub (swimming pool) and had it ready to go. James was born after about 4 hours of labor so we all know that this momma was made for having babies!

We are thrilled to see pictures!

Cristopher was there for the birth and was cheering Audra on and was so excited to see his little baby brother when he emerged from the water.

Easter sabbath 2013

I've felt the need to connect and remain better connected to my family: living and dead. Those feelings are intensified around the holidays when we consider the things of greater significance, things beyond this life. My sister and her husband shared some tender stories about the angels among us in relation to their accident. Truly we do not walk this mortal journey alone and our footsteps often have several sets as angels surround us to bear us up.

It was with this in mind that I approached this Easter Sabbath. We don't do anything secular on the Sabbath, but we do have an egg hunt on Monday. We planned a dinner with historical and symbolic foods: lamb shank, barley, lentils, bulgar wheat salad, goat cheese, olives, bitter herbs, flatbread, grapes.

We sat on cushions on the floor and ate our simple meal after learning about the significance of what we would eat. Then we ate. We sang. We visited grandma Werner and sang to her as well. I wish we lived closer to family but since we don't, we give our love and helping hands to those within our reach.

I sure love my children, grandson Cristopher, parents, grandparents and ancestors that I am coming to love more each day.

I Swore this would never happen

Barry bought a motorcycle. It's not that I am against motorcycles. I'm just against anyone I love owning one. Clearly, I love Barry and now he has one, so what does that mean?

He has always wanted one. I was actually the one that found it on one of my daily trips to Pea Ridge. I snapped a photo and he got so excited about it that we had to go look it over. Just to look though.

I was at his office one day not long after and there was an 8x10 of the picture I had sent. It was on his desk right below his keyboard. In other words it was never out of sight. It was there, on his desk for 5 months.

I finally suggested that if he really wanted it, he should just do it.

Today was the day. We discussed the price and before we had a chance to dicker on the price the owner took 200 off and threw in a helmet and new brake pads. Not bad for not haggling.

Barry said that after he drove it 5 months ago he grinned for 2 weeks straight. How could I say no!

He promises to be careful.

I landscape first

I got a note from a fellow master gardener that she had plant material to move and get rid of. Free plants? I'm there! It was raining so we are all going home wet muddy and cold. Ahhh hot shower.

We should have a well in 2 weeks and will get all fences checked before we head out to the auction for cows.

A first for me - seeing the MoTab in person!

I have never heard the Tabernacle Choir sing in real life. They are doing a special event for the Roots Tech conference. We are in the Tabernacle, a place if great history and significance to our family and the church. I love knowing my ancestors walked these streets and their eyes beheld the beauty and majesty of the SLC temple.

Gentry Safari - NWArkansas' Very Own Zoo

I hate to admit this, but I went to the Gentry Safari for the very first time today. I feel horrible that it was 30 minutes away and I never took the kids but they went with their school groups so I did not feel the need. Don't tell anyone this but I thought it would be a cheesy little place with a few animals.

I could not have been more wrong. This place was not only a beautiful example of the stunning landscapes we have here in the Ozarks but it was filled with various interesting creatures.

We enjoyed the petting zoo where chickens, roosters, pigs, goats, bunnies, ducks, geese, kangaroos and Llama's roamed. We then went on to visit the exotic creatures and got to HOLD and PLAY with 10 week old tigers!!!

Shanan's goal for the day was to see and possibly pet the baby giraffes. She was not only able to see and pet them, but got to go inside of their pen and FEED them! She bottle fed a young giraffe! It is a good thing she has some height because the 5 month old female giraffe was already much taller than she was.

The driving part was not just a quick boring loop trough the woods. We drove past herds of deer, zebras, buffalo, different horned creatures and passed by springs, lakes and through ravines and caves.

This was by far one of the nicest places to take the family. Thanks to the Gentry Safari we have another spectacular memory with the kids.

Movies in the woods

Our little Honda generator is a wonder. It is so quiet we can watch a movie with it running right behind the screen and it powers the projector, laptop and sound system... Awesome fun times!

Burning can be a good thing

It was the perfect day for a controlled burn. It had rained and cooled somewhat but the leaf litter was very easy to catch on fire. There are lots of invasive honeysuckle and this helps clean things up significantly. We should have lots if green grass sprouting up in the coming weeks. The kids get to have a camp out and we get to sleep in our beds after washing all of the smoke in a nice warm shower.

The 4 wheeler has been a blast. It used to be so thick here we could not get a tractor through and now we easily stroll through the trees. We imagine that we can hear them breathing a sigh of relief because they have room to spread their branches.

The trees are spiritual. They were created in spirit before they were created here. I love knowing that. I love being out here. It's my little corner of heaven, even though we hear the pack of coyotes yipping and howling as the sun goes down.

Let the water flow...

Ok this is the spot. We will drill the well here. The house will have the feel of growing out of the hillside.

Picking a spot to drill the well

We have long dreamed of building and are just so slow to make any decisions! Today we are going to steak out the place to drill a well. Water is the key to everything, including having animals up here. Once we have access to water, we can start on the other projects.

So, the boys will be boys and Barry and I will do the fun work of making long held dreams come true.