Corydon

Freckles has mastered "heart and soul" on Appa's piano. It is super fun. Today she directed an Easter show starring the other four grandchildren. It was great: Gabe dressed as father time, Mollie was adorable with poppa's socks taped to a headband to look like rabbit ears, a solo was written and performed by Amelia, and chuck went between the stage and mommy's lap the whole show. A hoot. We did some shopping in Downtown Corydon. I found a few must-haves and the little one found a wonderful bench to share with this other baby. Cookie is really getting big. It looks like she is 50% off in the photo--- some days she might be. Not today though.

We miss you, Daddy.

good times

I went to Eric's restaurant last night with Lesley and the kiddos. We had a great meal and enjoyed seeing "Our Best." It was good old fashioned home cookin'. My favorite was the fried green tomato and the fresh rolls.

I love seeing the G, M and A. Love those kids.

Afterward, I headed out to see Des at her mom's house in Corydon. I got to meet her husband. donnie ( love him). and visit with her for a few minutes. It is great to connect.

Today was a cloudy day in Corydon. I enjoyed a Vanilla Latte with Des at the Coffeshop down on the town square. She is such a lovely girl inside and out. We loved the live music.

Perfectly 3

We are in Kentucky. I love the green green grass and the flowering trees and the rain. (It is supposed to snow a bunch in Colorado today). I am not super excited about my hair here-- curly and big. I don't even try to straighten it. I am looking forward to visiting friends, drinking coffee at Heine Bros. Coffee and enjoying my family. Today I am enjoying my youngest niece, Amelia while everyone else is working or at school. We are going to lunch at her mommy's restaurant.

Amelia, is a precious breath of fresh air. She is quick to smile and soft to hug. She is my favorite age- 3. Three is a magical age-- you can dress yourself, express yourself, imagine, dream, have preferences, play and just be cute. Amelia is a perfect three year old. Her choice of outfit today made me smile. a brown dress with pink and red patterns with silver snowflakes and awesome rainbow tights. she has a headband of a different color altogether. Perfectly perfect. She flits from activity to activity and immerses herself in her play. I love to watch her with her babies and "reading" to her stuffed animals. She is teaching little Cookie how to play.

letters

Dear Sickness,
I am not sure why you have pestered us this winter. You are a stalker. It is bad enough that D had to miss work because of you, but now you are after my baby. She has a fever and feels ucky. this is unacceptable. Please leave us alone, or steps will be taken.
hate you,
Melodie the Nurse

Dear Friend who is moving across town,
I love love your new appartment, but hate that you are even further away. I miss the days when we saw each other every day. We just can't seem to get it together to be on the same page. I love you still. I am praying that this move will be a good one and that your home will be peaceful and safe. Love the shoe closet.
your long distance friend,
Melodie the cross-town driver.

Dear office in my house,
I hate you. I have spent too much time trying to get you into shape. You appear to love clutter and thrive on disorganization. I cannot continue to live with you. Please change. Clean up your act or I shall be forced to deal with you.
drowning in stuff,
Melodie, the organizationally challenged

Dear People I love in Kentuckiana,
I am visiting you soon. Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying time with you. I am hoping for an occasion to bring out the red peep-toe pumps.
Packing,
Melodie, the anxious traveler

Dear chocolate malt from sonic,
I love you. I miss you. It has been far too long. I am coming for you soon.
Love you and have the fat rolls to prove it,
Melodie,the chocoholic

the ranch

Even though I grew up in Indiana, I wasn't really a farm girl. Going to the Ranch with D was quite an experience for me 8 years ago. He took the simpson girls home with him for Easter to meet the family. D says "the place has gotten a little run down over the years", but it still has a step-back-in-time beauty that is quite peaceful. We like to walk the prairie, but lately haven't gotten to do much except what his mother needs done. My big girl loves the ranch and has fun exloring. I wish sometimes that she was able to ride horses, play in the haystacks and swing on the tire-swing at our house. (she is a ride horse, haystack, tire-swing kind of girl). She spends hours looking for old treasures, watching and adopting calves, digging in the dirt and walking around in sort of a melancholy dreaminess. I think she imagines living here 100 years ago-- milking cows and having to walk to the well for water. It does have a romantic quality to it.

This is the scrapmetal graveyard on the way to the hay bales. there's a Model T there that I like to look at, and tons of farm equipment that went there to die and rust. In the summer the grass is green and the sky is so blue and vast that you think you could never leave. In winter, it is dry and brown. You hear the squeeky turning of the windmill by the well. You smell the wood burning stoves and the smell of cows. Yet still there is beauty and simplicity. I like not seeing any other houses in any direction.

This is the south fence post. Someone made a little bird out of a shovel and I love it. I love walking out here. I spent most of the day ( when I wasn't cleaning) wishing I had a better camera. "mom!" She screamed "I saw a Coyote!" this is what she saw down by the barn. I am not sure if this is a warning to other hungry coyotes who were eyeing the livestock or if it was just convenient to hang them by the barn. It was oddly fascinating to M and me to see then hanging there dead. we had to get a picture. I hope to get some more ( better) pics when I get a new nicer camera-one day.

p.s. notice that I intentionally left out the details of taking Mary home. It is better that way. thanks for the prayers.

This guy

he drives me crazy
he thinks like a man
he often eats fried food
he works stupid shifts
he is losing his hair
he sometimes takes me for granted
he hogs the covers
he hogs the computer
he is stubborn
he watches court TV shows
he turns every game of tennis with me into a lesson
he has stupid health problems
he has a mother with issues



BUT

he loves me unconditionally
he dances with me in the kitchen
he makes killer breakfast burritos ( among other things)
he takes his girls out on dates-- all of us
he likes girly romance movies
he makes me laugh until diet coke comes out my nose
he does laundry on his days off
he tells me I am a good mom
he asks me to marry him everytime we see anyone get engaged on TV
he surprises me with starbucks skinny vanilla lattes in the morning
he prays with me
he loves our girls unconditionally
he waits for me to come to bed to watch our favorite tivo shows
he always takes out the trash and pays the bills
he makes lists and spreadsheets


I love this guy.

For those of you who know my situation with my Mother- in -law, you can appreciate the fact that we are taking her back home tomorrow to cheyenne. for a while anyway. She has been in Colorado Springs with us off and on for eight months. It is rough here for everyone. I am asking for prayers for our family through this transistion. She is elderly and has a hard time accepting the fact that D has other women in his life.

Artsy-Fartsy

Well, today we experimented with finger paints. It was a huge success ( if you measure artistic success by the amount of color on your hands and face.). cookie was reluctant at first to really get in the paint, but by the end of it all the paper was covered with paint... so was the table, the face, the chair, the floor...

Steph- notice the artist smock-- it is from you. This is from a few weeks ago, Freckles did a watercolor interpretation of the temple of Heaven in the Forbidden city during our China unit in home school. this masterpiece will soon be showing in the children's section of the library.

Here is the barrette hanger that I made today with my glue gun. It wasn't exactly what I had planned, but it will get the job done and it matches C's room. It felt to work on ( and complete) a project today.

Looking forward to 70 degree weather tomorrow. Hoping to head out for a hike at Palmer park...