Where to begin??????

THERE'S really  no point in trying to keep events in order as so much happened in such a short amount of time that unless I tried to keep notes (which I didn't) there would be no way to remember them as they unfolded. In all we had a most wonderful visit and Christmas wouldn't have been the same without everyone here.

As you know I worked just a half day on Tuesday of last week. Don't think it wasn't busy though. After my regular work day was done, then the real work began. I shouldn't say "work" because it was really all fun since it was in preparation of the holiday to come. First I met Wally for lunch at Snappy's Pizza in Fairview. While I waited for him to get there I listened to the other patrons talk about what they had gotten for their loved ones for Christmas. The kids were getting bikes, video games, dolls and toy trucks. The wives were getting gift cards (uh!), clothes and jewelry. There weren't any wives in Snappy's having lunch that day so I don't know what the husbands were getting. There were some women in there but they had come in from the veterinary office next door and I couldn't hear what they were saying. I could tell, however, that it was their Christmas lunch as it were. There were 5 women all dressed in scrubs and one man. I take it he was the vet and they were all manner of assistants. While they were there, he handed out envelopes to each of them which they then opened. They didn't sound very surprised or even the least bit excited but they did thank him and say that it was really nice of him to do that. hmmmm maybe it wasn't quite the bonus they were hoping for?? These days we should be grateful just to have jobs...:)

I didn't need anything from the store so after we ate our pizza, we headed for home. I started making the dough for the cookies I was giving out to our friends here as Christmas presents. The one batch made 5 dozen cookies so it wasn't so much the mixing but more so of the spooning it out, baking them off, cooling them down and packing them in the tins.  It took a little longer than I expected to say the least. I think it was 9:00 before we hit the sack and I was tired of being on my feet, tired of setting and resetting the timer, tired of smelling but not eating any of those darn pecan shortbread cookies that were coated in powdered sugar! I was glad to have them all packed up and ready to go far away from us. Okay, I did eat one but it was only to make sure they were decent enough to give away - yes, they were! omg they were wonderful.

I haven't heard from any one of the people to whom they were delivered so I have no idea if they even ate them or not. I guess we'll have to wait until we see them again at Pee Wee's to know if they even tried them. LOL

Wednesday we went to Centerville to pay the taxes on our Hidden Valley Lakes properties and we took care of some other business while we were in town. Of course we stopped by to see Darryl and Pee Wee and wish them a Merry Christmas. We left all the cookies there so Darryl could hand them out as the others stopped by. After an hour or so we were on our way back home. I was tired from the night before and I was beginning to feel just a slight little tickle in the back of my throat...oh no, you know what that means...dang it.

I slept fitfully that night. I'm sure it was mostly in anticipation of my guests arriving but either way, I think I kept Wally awake with my tossing and turning. We wouldn't get caught up on our sleep for days to come...

I drove off to the airport without a clue how to get there. Sure I'd been there before, many times throughout the years, but I never drove there myself. It's different. There was construction. It was a little confusing. But, I made it with about 10 minutes to spare. I did have to circle around one time but then Mom and Neccy were there waiting for me. It didn't take much to get them loaded into the car since Jack had their luggage in the truck with him and the kids. They weren't far behind...

I drove us safely home and introduced them to the roosters, the dogs and the new puppies. The horses were waiting to be fed so we somehow managed to load Mom on the 4 wheeler and I drove her over there to witness the event. Smokey put on his usual show and Rebel came right up and let her pet his nose. Of course he thought she had food but by then she had already pet him. I gathered their feed buckets and scooped out the feed. Mom said the horses looked much bigger in person than they do on the blog. I guess I'll have to get a picture of me standing by them so you can see how big they really are. Neccy declined coming to pet them. She said they weren't "people" horses. I'm not sure what that means exactly but it definitely meant she wasn't going to pet them... not that day anyway.

She spent all her time petting the puppies. Literally. She was out there with them for a good 2, 2 and a half hours. She was on the ground, in the straw, climbing in and out of the dog house and playing with them the whole time. They still didn't have names yet so I'm not sure what she called them but they loved playing with her and running all over the yard. Until now, they weren't fond of leaving the dog house. After playing with Neccy they were off and running! Now, it's hard to catch one of them without a treat in your hand...lol

They are some cute puppies and they are true to their breed. They have been herding the roosters since Thursday of last week and they are darn good at it too. They can't quite get Roo in the mix, he's too smart for that, but those other roosters don't stand a chance against the puppies. It's funny to watch the little guys go chasing after the roosters. One stays put and the other one rounds them up. They really just want to play but the roosters really just want to eat. The puppies always win. LOL    Roo? Well, he gets away before the puppies get to him. He'll be out by the horses or over by the outhouse or even up by the house under the deck. He'll hide behind the 4 wheelers or fly up in the tree. He's not going to be herded no matter what...ha ha ha that may change when those puppies get to be 100 lb dogs! We'll see...

They do have names now - they are officially Colt and Ruger. While all the suggestions you sent in were taken to heart, Colt and Ruger were the end result. You'll see a bunch of new pictures of them on the flickr account that I updated today.

Wally took Neccy in the black truck and went down to the barn through the holler. She loved the ride and enjoyed seeing the place again. Not much has changed since she was last here but it's been a few years and we've made some progress outside.

After Mom's ride on the 4 wheeler, which she says she'll never do again..., we took her back inside and showed her around the cabin. Right around noon time I went and met Jack and the kids at the bank. They all started talking at once just as soon as my window was rolled down. Poor Jack. He had been with them for 12 hours and I'm sure he was tired of listening to them but he smiled and followed me to the cabin without complaining at all.

By the time we got back to the cabin, Neccy and Wally were leaving on the 4 wheelers. He showed her the trails and apparently left her to die on one of the steeper hills...lol at least that's how she described it...!! Gosh, I guess I'm used to it because I didn't think they were that steep... to hear Neccy tell it is hilarious!

So, with the kids in tow, Neccy and I insisted Mom go upstairs to see our room, the loft and the deck. There's nothing quite like the view from the deck and she really wanted to go see it. The problem was her knees and back weren't quite as willing as her mind was.

We pushed and pulled and prodded her up the spiral staircase and before too long, we had her at the top. She promptly layed down on the waterbed and threatened to never get up... lol The kids were laying there too and only then did they notice the painting on the ceiling... you'll have to come visit to see what it is :)

We got Mom out to the deck and seated in a chair and the kids went wild taking pictures. Between the three of them there should be a complete panoramic view of the property. I'll get Rebecca to send the pictures to me so I can post them.  Mom said she was glad she went up there even if it was hard on her to do so. Like the ride on the 4 wheeler, she says she'll never go up there again...lol

While Jack and Wally cooked the ribs on the smoker, I took the kids on the 4 wheelers and showed them the trails. They too thought the hills were pretty steep. I had Jarrett on the back with me and we could have sworn we heard Rebecca and Kain squealing like little girls as they made their way, bug eyed, down the hill...LOL   Jarrett quickly caught on to how the trails run, with the fence to his left, and he was ready to be set free.

They rode those things more than they visited with their mama but that's exactly what Wally said they would do. They had their orange hats on, their helmets and their gloves. They had their coats on and they were gone! They took pictures of themselves out on the property all along the way. If you haven't already seen the pictures on Rebecca's FB, you'll see them here soon. She did a very good job.

The ribs were steaming hot and fresh off the smoker and we all dug in like we hadn't eaten in months. With bbq rub all over our faces and hands we chowed until we could chow no more. Talk about quiet... all you could hear was the mmm, mmmm, mmmms and the occasional "oh how good," or "I was so hungry." With bellies all filled to the brim and the mess in the kitchen all cleaned up, each of us realized how tired we were - some from anticipation, others weary from travel. It was still daylight as we snuggled into our beds for a night of deep sleep.

Friday dawned and the kids were up and antsy to be on the 4 wheelers again. I made them all breakfast of venison and pork sausage and pancakes hot enough to melt the butter that was spread on top of them. They cover the pancakes with syrup or honey or both and somehow between the 8 of us we managed to eat about 20 pancakes in all. We were out of syrup by the time it was over. lol I think Jarrett had at least 8 pancakes himself - must have been a while since he had them.  I thought...my child is growing like a weed. He is 6 feet tall and just 13 years old. No wonder he could eat 8 pancakes... I'll cook them for him anytime he wants...:)

We all visited while the kids were out exploring. Wally worked on the tractor so he could get the new gravel spread out before the weather set in and I had chicken & dumplins on the menu. Mom and I fed the horses but this time she took her walker instead of riding the 4 wheeler and then the kids and I fed the roosters. Jack put some sort of part on his truck while Neccy, of course, played with the puppies and the day passed in record time. What is it with vacation days that they go by so quickly? When we're working, the days just seem to drag on and on but let it be a vacation day and you have no idea where the time went or how it went so fast... that's how Friday was for us.

With hot, bubbly bowls of dumplins warming their hands and tummies, the kids made trips for seconds and thirds and I thought they would never fill up. We all sipped the gravy-like juice and slurped the dumplins up like they were going out of style and when it was all over and done with there was only a small bit left and I hid it away for my lunch today :)  LOL  Bedtime on Friday, oh say about 6:30-7:00. They were amazed at how sleepy they were so early in the day. Even when we considered FL time, it would only have been 7:30-8:00. I know they all stay up later than that...lol  There's just something about being here that makes you want to go to bed early. You'll have to come visit and see for yourself. Maybe you can figure it out?

If we were all dreaming of a white Christmas then all of our dreams came true for sure enough, come Christmas morning, the snow was on the ground and still coming down... it was a perfect Christmas morning. I woke up beside my honey, my family was all safely warm and snug in their cabin beds and snow was drifting slowly to the ground for our first white Christmas together - ever.

You might be asking yourself how I could ever top breakfast from the day before but trust me, I had a plan. We opened gifts first and everyone laughed and took pictures and threw wrapping paper everywhere. We didn't do a big Christmas as you know - it was more important to be together - but everyone had at least one thing to open. Rebecca got a set of pots and pans (non-stick) and some rubbermaid utensils to use with them. Jarrett and Kain got socks and underwear and they were actually excited that they were the right size and everything. The boys also got McDonald's gift cards and have probably already used them up by now...lol They all got candy and their stockings were stuffed with all manner of toiletries.

Back to breakfast... I thawed out some of the tenderized pork tenderloin that we got from the meat place (the best you've ever had...ask Dizzy Debbie) and Mom promised to help me make the gravy from the pan drippings. I made biscuits and scrambled eggs and best of all - I managed to get it all done at the same time!! The crew gobbled it up faster than you can say cock-a-doodle-do and before I knew it, the kids were off on the 4 wheelers and Darryl, Jack and Wally were getting the burn pile fired up. It was about 8 feet in diameter and probably 12 feet tall. Mom and I watched as everyone stood along side and warmed themselves by the fire. It was a little later when I finally convinced her to get her walker and come join the fun.

The kids had snowball fights and ran round playing until their noses were red and their lips were getting numb then they too joined us around the fire. Before too long the fire began to dwindle and we were ready to get back inside where it was warm and cozy. That big old ham had been in the oven for about 3 hours and Wally had started slicing it up. The cabin smelled like smoked pork and all of our mouths were watering as we came through the back door. I made mashed potatoes and green beans and we ate and ate and ate... Me and Kain were tied for who could eat the most ham. I'm pretty sure Mom won the prize for who could eat the most mashed potatoes. As always the talk turned to tales of yester-years and we were all laughing and cutting up remember the funny things the kids said when they were little. We told about how Rebecca cried until she finally learned to talk and hasn't stopped since... We told about how Jarrett cursed like a construction worker and about how Kain learned all his 4 letter words from Uncle Dee. I think we stayed up until 9:00 Christmas night. To have all those special people in my home warmed me more than any heater in the world could have.

Sunday we were slow to get about. Staying up that late really took it out of us. Neccy and Jack had gone to the store for coffee as our coffee maker crapped out and while they were out they decided it would be better for Jack and the kids to leave early and try to miss some of the bad weather that was headed toward Atlanta. While I didn't want to see them go, I knew it was best they got an early start. Jack made breakfast while I gathered up their clean laundry. The kids started packing and Neccy made sure they weren't forgetting anything.

Before long, they had showered, packed their bags and were ready to begin loading the truck. I wasn't ready to being saying good bye so soon but what choice was there? Jack had everything organized in the back of the truck and the kids were packed in the front with pillows and blankets and warm clothes.  They were on their way home. :(  :(  :(  I still had Mom and Neccy but the house was immediately 100 times quieter with no kids in it. Have you ever noticed how that happens?

We weren't up late that night. But come Monday we were all in better spirits, Jack had some car problems on the way home but they made it safely. Wally went into town (Centerville) to get sweet feed for the horses and I took Mom and Neccy into town (Dickson) to pick up a prescription and get them some coffee...I'm so glad I'm not addicted to that stuff. Some people can be so grumpy without it... not them, just saying...lol!!

They ended up getting Dunkin' Donuts coffee and claimed it to be the very best in the world. Whew! Thank goodness. I finally managed to find the Dickson Food Lion (I've only been there a couple times and both times Wally drove so leave me alone...) and we picked up a couple things there before going back home. I made spaghetti for those of us who were left and we spent the time hanging out in the kitchen. Neccy and Mom showed me how to get the pictures from the camera Ernie & Britney gave me and then I watched a movie with Wally. It was called "The Condemned" and it was pretty good. For someone who never, ever watches movies, I really enjoyed this one. It had it's hokey moments but all movies do... it was nice to just sit for an hour or so after all those days of being on my feet.

Well folks, this is by no means the end but it's time for me to pack up for the day. I'll have to finish updating when I return on Monday. I hope this tides you over til then.... Happy New Year to all of you. Drive safe, call a cab, just don't drink and drive!

"New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." ~Mark Twain