You make me feel safe just by being here...

it doesn't take anything more than just your presence, my sweet Rob.

I have grown dependent on having my spouse, and just recently became aware of it.  I always knew that I loved the comfort of having him here, but didn't know how much I NEEDED it!  Well, it dawned on me as I went to crawl in my empty bed last night.  And beside the ruffle of my pillow I noticed my new pocket knife tucked so sweetly by a big pile of books.  Pulling out my phone I snapped a picture of the moment that spoke so loudly to me.  

This image tells me that without my husband it takes forever to fall asleep, as I must read myself to sleep.  It tells me that without him here, I sleep with the lamp on beside my bed.  It tells me that my safety blanket is gone when he is away, as I feel the need to sleep with my pocket knife & phone beside my head.  This image tells me that without my husband, my house is not a Home... I no longer have a comfy bed to crawl into, I no longer feel safe, I do not feel like me.  

So, as I count down the days until his return & I cuss at the thought of hunting trips,  just remember that the things we have among us daily are the things we miss the most when they are gone.  Hurry Home, my Rob.. I sure do miss & l♥ve ya :) 

Oh my, what a day....

it is hard to believe that one little day I can do so much!  (especially running on as little as 3.5 hours of sleep)

It's almost 5pm now & I've been up and at em' since 6am (with a bedtime last night of 2:30am..due to work).   We started our day off by taking Tater bug to school.  And on our way back Lyla says to me "Mom that cloud is a boot."  I agreed and believe it or not, it was in a perfect shape of a boot, then she continues her sentence with "Nah, it really is a Snail carrying a boot."  Hee, hee.. she is such a mess & even at 7:45am.

Once Ly and I returned home I started in on some much needed laundry, when all of the sudden I remember the Homing Pigeon we were keeping safe.. he had to be set loose at 7:30 ~ oops!  So, we freed the pigeon, who story I will tell at the end of this post.  Well we only thought we freed him.. he kept coming back!  Finally I went inside & forgot about it all, thinking he'd leave.  Then my sweet Gal, Casey came by to pick up some clothing, etc.  I told her of my game plan to tackle the laundry room today & then get a nap with Lyla.  (yeah right.. that was a joke)  Instead we were drawn outside by our neighbor, John who was bringing me a really pretty vine to wonder up the bunny fencing.  So, that meant I needed to plant it.. so forgetting the laundry, I started digging.  That chore brought on the chore of letting the chickens roam.. and now days that is not an easy task.  I have to guard them from sooo many predators, so I can't leave them for a minute!  While watching them, I thought well let's multitask & get the bunny fence complete.. Getting my wire cutters & wire I got busy!  Lyla brought all three bunnies into the run & they played their little hearts out.  After maybe 10 minutes of playing the bunnies created another job for me.. they were able to slip through the fencing.. so, I set to fix it!  Meanwhile, the chickens are in the garden pecking around.. and what do I see ~ the darn Homing Pigeon.. he's back & perched on the porch!  So, I pretend he isn't there & continue with my work.  A few minute later I hear the chickens going crazy and I start running to see what the cackle is about ~ only to find a huge hawk circling the sky waiting for the perfect moment.  So without thinking I grab the water hose (which is always my weapon against animals) and go to spraying & screaming toward the sky!  Well I'm gonna blame it on lack of sleep, but what goes up must come down.. and I'm now soaking wet!  I do have to say that I would pay to be my neighbor.. I'd prop a nice comfy chair at the edge of the property line & just wait.. knowing there'd soon be a show ;)
So, by the time I get the hawk away, the chickens back to the coop, the bunnies back to their hutch, myself changed, Lyla cleaned from the dirt mound she seemed to roll in, and the homing pigeon safely back to his cage it is time to hit the road to get Tate again!  So, what did I get done during this oh so productive day... not a thing!   I just love how I can spend all day going in circles trying to get one thing done & end up doing a million things and nothing at all ;)  

Homing Pigeon:  She's our gal, named Sal.  ;)   The story of Sal is kinda crazy.  As Rob was cooking on the grill he noticed a sweet little pigeon walking into the screened porch.... noticing her tagged foot he caught her so she could be returned home.  The owners told us to give her food & water for several days & release her at 7:30 am and she would make the 500 mile flight back home.   Sal had other plans, she chose us.. we released her & she just wouldn't leave.  The known fact about pigeons is that it can take several years to re-home them.. and sometimes you never can!  So, with that known we opened our home to Sal, she likes it here so why make her leave.  We enjoy watching her fly around the yard during the day & at night she fly back to her lil home.  Pictured is our gal, Sal.

Welcome to first grade Mr. Tate!

My boy is a 1st Grader. Wow, seems a bit crazy.. but it is here.  Tate is no longer a kindergardener, no longer a preschooler, or a head starter ;) He is officially a BIG boy!  There was not a kiss for Mommy as he left me on the first day, there was not a tear shed (from his eyes), not so much as a hesitation.  What does this tell me??  It is a sign that my son is growing up.  I could sit and mope about it, and think of how much I want him to smell like a sweet lil baby again, or how I wish he'd lay in my arms as I rock him to sleep.. but I won't do it!  I said years ago, when I made up my mind to have my tubes tied... I said I would live in the here & now.  I would also love the stage of life that we are in, and always be proud of my past times with my children.  So, I'm putting my big girl panties on & sucking it up!  ;)

So, now that Tate is getting to be a true blue boy, he had to go and break his arm.. just to prove that he could I guess?!?!  And leave it up to my stunt master to do it the day before school starts!

So, that is how we spent our very last day of summer break ~ at the Doctor.

All I can say is that I'm paying for my raising!  We'll hope he doesn't fill my shoes ~ I broke one arm in Kindergarden, both wrist in 3rd grade & cut my pinky off in 6th grade.  (and those are just the stunts that required mom taking me to the hospital;)

Here is my cute lil Tate with his super sweet 1st Grade Teacher, Ms. Karrie Sanford.   How is it that we just keep getting blessed with such wonderful teachers?  I thank God for wonderful women & men who truly enjoy their jobs & understand how much these lil people mean to us mommas!  I couldn't be happier with how things are starting off this year.  SO BLESSED.

Below is Tater bug walking out from his very first day, head still held high.. just the way I left him that morning.  Had I not been yacking with the other teachers I could've got him giving high fives to Mr. Brian... but I missed it ;)  

So here's to the school year of 2010-2011... let it be a fun year for my boy, and let him remember as he goes through this year that he may outgrow my lap, but never my heart.  

what's been happening with The Engle Family?

We've been spending most of our time here at home.  We've swam every swimming hole we know of... so here we are at the last week before school is in session and spending these moments at the best place I know, HOME.Lyla & Tate have really enjoyed the chickens this summer.. first thing Lyla says as she crawls in my bed at 7am "It's a bight sunshiny day, get up Mom" Then the next sentence is always "you better get up and get me a drink, and the chickens a drink too!"  So, I scramble out of bed and make the princess her drink & then fill a large pitcher with ice & water for the chickens.. Lyla starts everyday the same way ~ with her feet running & without stop!  After the chicken care, we are off to feed and water the bunnies.. then off to feed ourselves ;) and all of this happens before I'm even able to brush my teeth!!!  Our oldest hen Mary Jane is our Easter Egg layer.. she lays the prettiest blue eggs.  We are currently letting her sit on her eggs in hope for hatchlings for Nana.  Wish us luck, as I'm new to it all and have yet to hatch lil chickies ~ hope it all goes well & we get several hens.. I'd cry if we end up with all Roosters! ;)

 

Our Summer of 2010:  All summer long we have hopped from creek bed to creek bed.  We've explored all the old places I swam at as kid.  My goal this summer was to take my kiddos back a few steps & spend our days doing what I did as a kid.  We have mixed countless gallons of Kool-aid and hit the creek full blast!  My kids have learned so much about being outside, and loving the simple things life has to offer.

  This summer my children have wrapped their small fingers around hundreds of lighting bugs, placed em' in my special screened mason jar & watched them lighting the glass with their magical glow.  My children have ran bare foot through the yard in just their underwear. They've road in the truck with the windows down, hair blowing, radio going.  They've learned how to can crops that we grew with our own two hands.  They've watched their Dad pack his bags, as he worked out of town to provide for our family.  They've eaten at least 20 boxes of popsicles.  They have been to the endless ocean.  They've said goodbye to two of their Great Grandparents.  They've collected 38 eggs from the hen box.  They've taken their bunnies to Walmart, the dollar store, the creek, the pond, the Apple House restaurant, the petting zoo, the thrift store, Target, and the park.  They've watched the night sky while laying in the grass beside Mommy and Lucky.  They've rode roller coasters.  They've worn winter clothes during summer, on days they were aloud to dress themselves.  They've made a million wishes on dandelion peddles.  They've played red light green light on a daily basis.  They've laid under the clothes line in the grass with their bunny.  They've skipped baths.  They've cried and laughed all at the same time.  They've collected money from the tooth fairy.  They've rode horses until they can't walk.  They've rode bikes up and down the gravel drive a million times. They've been hen pecked. They've picked hundreds of grape tomatoes.  They've smiled so much their faces hurt.  They've gotten butterflies in excitement for the upcoming events. They've waded through brush all for the blackberry pickin'.  They've aided in making 4 pound cakes to hand out as gifts.  They've watched almost every episode of Scooby Doo.  They've played in the sprinkler. They've been covered in dirt while carrying weeds to the compost bin.. so much that you could only see the whites of their eyes.  They've shucked corn.  They've fished.  They've went to hunting auctions with Daddy.  They've visited 2 flea markets.  They've went school shopping.  They've kissed Nana & hugged her neck.  They've made new neighborhood friends for life.They've roasted hotdogs.  They've watched fireworks light the sky.  They've felt the rain drops on their faces.  They've Skipped, Jumped, & Danced.  

They've accomplished countless amounts of fun!  I can list them all as the memories stick out like frozen moments.  Moments I've made sure to hit the pause button on, so that I could recall them as many times as I wanted.  I remember all the little things this summer held.  Like the smell of kid sweat.. it's the smell of outdoors sticking to their bodies after playing with the puppy & rolling in the grass.  I remember all the tugs on my apron from Lyla as I canned our vegies.  I remember sitting with Tate for hours and stringing beans and peeling peaches ~ such sweet talks came from doing so!  This summer was one of the best yet!  It was a hot one, but a good one!

 The summer of 2010 will forever hold
a sweet spot in my heart.  I hope the kids enjoyed our first summer on Sunlight as much as I did.  And a big THANKS to Daddy for allowing us to be at home enjoying life.  You've worked so hard this summer & spent so many nights away from home just so that all these memories were possible.  Your children will forever know the sacrifices you have made, as I will continually remind them of the reason you are away.

 

If you step back and look, you may notice that time doesn't stop..

That's what happened to me.  As I was having a creative block while editing, I decided to hop around online.. well I ended up here.  I instantly had tears streaming from my face.  If you think I'm crazy, just take a peek at the post below this... my lil Lyla has grown so much in the past 2 years!  And where has the time went??  While I have timeless photographs to look through, I do not have the detailed blog of our sweet lil days between then & now.  So, with that said... I'm gonna bring the old blog back to life.

I will journal for myself & my family of our everyday life and journeys!  It may at times seem boring to you readers but to me this is what makes me tick, what makes me, me.  So, read along if you wish ~ but I have to explain in the beginning, this blog is simply a selfish blog so that I can remember the memories we've made here at home.. our sweet home on Sunlight Road.

Baby...Baby...Baby

Lyla's favorite things in the whole wide world are her baby dolls. She rocks them, kisses them, puts them to bed, etc. If you see Lyla then you see a baby! Normally as I hold Lyla I am also holding atleast one other baby. We have to feed the babies, bathe the babies, rock the babies, etc. So in the end it is like I'm raising a set of twins ;)




This is Lyla's little Cabbage Patch Baby that she cried for at a recycle store....It has turned out to be one of her favorite Little Babies~ I had searched high & low for Bailey a disigner doll with the stamp of 2008 on the back of her neck. I finally found her on vacation, she was going to be the baby that I put up for Lyla as her first baby doll ~ Well she hates that baby, she would rather play with her $1 baby. That's the best things about kiddos, they could care less about what you pay, or what the baby wears, as long as it is able hold hugs from her, accept her kisses, and sleep with her at night. So in the end, this old wore out baby will be the baby I put away for her to keep forever.
If you look way down below~ you will notice her Baby laying on the ground below....she had just tossed it from the deck~ I promise she doesn't get her Mothering Skills from me ;)


I'm loving this picture, (although Lyla is a big motion of blur) It shows her daily life....Babies & playing Mommy. She loves to help me clean & be the little momma hen, as I call her.

Here is Lyla playing peek-a-boo with her baby...she says "Where's Baby?" And then jumps up with a big "Beeeee" (which means boo, in Lyla talk)

Spaghetti Night @ the Engles!

It is a weekly tradition to slurp Spaghetti Noodles during dinner @ the Engles...if you are afraid of getting alittle messy during dinner then make sure it's not on the menu when you visit! Rob still holds the title to THE FASTEST SLURPER IN THE SOUTH!

These boots are made for walking......

Little Lyla loves SHOES! Everyday, Allday she has to have on her shoes....it's a wonder she doesn't sleep in them. We found Lyla the cutest pair of squeaky shoes, they squeak with her every step! Needless to say, everywhere we go she gets noticed ♥

I'm so proud of my Lyleeeee~ she's only 1 & already she has a shoe fetish!

"One day your gonna miss this"

It's not always PEACHIE in the Engle Household. And today was one of those days.....

7 am I woke to a five year old begging me to play his Playstation (which is only played as a reward) so when he was told "no" what did I get CRYING! Which is nothing out of the norm, but then Lyla started in, before I could even make breakfast. She stayed at my feet crying during the prep of Breakfast, then in my lap crying during breakfast, then trailing not a foot behind me while I cleaned, did some laundry & she was still there when I threw my hands in the air and gave up! I knew the only thing that could stop the screaming & crying was to leave....so with out a shower & with crying kids I threw some clothes on to go to the park.

Once at the park we were happy. We'd adventured to Ball Ground to a new little peaceful park (where I didn't know anyone, due to my dirty hair & no makeup) It was just what we needed, a breathe of fresh air. Once we played for a bit & drove by the train yard, Tate was content to go home. On the way home he started asking over and over and over to go to his Grandma's house. So this turned into a fit of crying....then Lyla started in, cause she was tired & here we were again.....the same place we started! I knew it wouldn't be long & Rob would be home to help me with my crazy kiddos. Once he arrived home I knew things weren't looking any better. It seemed as if he & Tate couldn't be in the same room together~ as I sat on the kitchen floor (holding Lyla) I watched Tate go to the corner time after time. Rob was is the same mood the kids had been in?!?! So I decided after dinner, I would go grocery shopping & take Tate to Deena's. That way I could be out of the house, Tate would be away from the corner & Rob could hopefully take a nap with Lyla.

After dropping Tate off with Deena, I went in Walmart~ with my head pounding! Two hours later & way over my budget $243.07 for one week of groceries~~~ could this day get any worse?!?! As I drove to drop off a Birthday gift to a friend of mine I broke down in tears. A song that I've heard numerous times came on the radio it was titled "your gonna miss this" As I listened to the words I realized how true it was & just how much it fit my day today. Because with all the fussing, crying, headache, & money spent this was part of my life. My kids will grow one day and not need Mommy & I will miss them crying for me to hold them. I will miss Tate begging me for his childish games or begging to spend the day with his Grandma, or the cookies, or to skip a nap, or popcicles, or to go stay a few minutes longer at the park. I will miss it all. I'm not sure if I'll miss Rob sending him to the corner for no reason at all, but you get the idea. Anyway, this big long story boils down to one simple thing. Although life does not always seem wonderful or perfect.....it is life & it's your life, live each day and enjoy each and every part of your day~ good or bad. Because you can't go back & things change so fast. And one day you too are gonna miss this time in your life.

Photography, Photography, & more Photography!

Incase you've been wondering what I've been up to lately~ It seems like overnight everyone has wanted photos taken. I have been so booked up these last few months. Though, I'm not complaining~ we need the work......but at the same time I miss my easy going life style of Momma. The way I have been weighing it out is by knowing that I'm with my children about 90% of the day, and the other 10% is quality time with Daddy. So in the end, it works out great. So here are a few pictures of me for a change.......doing what I do best, well second to being a Mom ;)

Sticker Sneeze!

We got bored one night & this is what happens when you combine boredom, a five year old & a book of stickers!

A Date with Tate

It was much needed! I haven't been out with just my boy in what seems like forever. It's crazy to think of how well he has adjusted to not having all my time these days ~ and it's days like this one that I really realize what a change he has went through over the last year, with Lyla becoming his Sister & Mommy working more & starting school. Tate is a stronge, loving little boy & has dealt with everything so well. I can see at times that he strives for all of my attention ~ So I'm writing mainly to say how proud I am of my little Turkey. He makes my heart tick~ Let this be a reminder to everyone, myself included. When our little children are changing, having a tough time here and there...take time aside for them~ after all they are just children & our love & laughter is the best gift we can give to them.