365

Miah learns the benefits/folly of animal labor.

10/26/2008  Fort Campbell.  Miah and Dobby

Dobby and Miah playing with the blocks.  The dog got a huge kick out of helping Miah tear the buildings apart.  The problem Miah found, was keeping Dobby from knocking it all down before she was supposed to.  Absolutely hysterical to watch.

Idle Wednesday

Light bulb bud vase

I got the idea from www.readymade.com  my now **favorite** website.  Check it out!

365

Something that shouldn't be.

Jefferson Davis State Historic Site

I just can't figure out why the heck this guy gets such an extravagant monument. I used to pass this every time I drove home to Edmonton.  I always frowned at it, and pondered it's existence.  It struck me as one of those nasty southern things, the old south still telling the north to kiss it's ass. Learning about history is one thing, but this history hardly deserves the third largest monument in the United States.

365

Family

Miah was just a couple of days old.  Jay couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

365

I got inspired to look through old photos this morning, and I came across a whole lot of Miah dancing videos.  The kid is hilarious!  I think I'm going to post some more here and there.  I laughed so hard...

First Day of School

First Day of High School

Never Grow Up lyrics
Songwriters: Swift, Taylor;



Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off
At 14, there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots

But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she's getting older, too
And don't lose the way that you dance around
In your PJs getting ready for school

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

No one's ever burned you
Nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs

I just realized everything I have
Is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder than I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up

Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
Could still be little
Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even through to you want to
Please try to never grow up

Don't you ever grow up
(Never grow up)
Just never grow up
**********************************************************************************

listening to this song,
i feel my heart crack a little.
i'm not ready for this
experience.
high school!
wasn't i just there?

wasn't i just hiding from my daddy,
under the covers,
waiting to jump out and finally get him?

and wasn't laurel just
doing the same?


high school!


how did the years
fly by so fast?  -S.
**********************************************************************************



Fifteen lyrics
Songwriters: Swift, Taylor Alison;

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
And you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know, I haven't seen you around before"

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
We'll be outta here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And you're momma's waiting up and you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
But in your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind and we both cried

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors
***********************************************************************************
too many lessons left to tell
mind spinning like hell
all i know
is i did my best
its up to her to do the rest -S.
***********************************************************************************

i dread that first heartbreak
the day she comes home crying
how do i keep from taking off and kicking his ass? -S.

365

Stop and smell the flowers.

North Pole Alaska, July, 2010

365

The little Monkeys.

Gatlinburg, July 31, 2005 at 5:13 pm 
Mom, me, Jay, and the girls all went camping in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. This is on top of a mountain on one of the driving trails.  This is one of my favorite places in the world to be.

365

History

The girls and I took BF Sheila, and her husband to the 101st museum on Fort Campbell.  Jay was deployed, so it's easy to see why this display, and especially this letter held my attention longer than the rest.  The museum is named the Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum. More info about him can be found here.
I'm not sure how well you can read the letter, so I will transcribe it to the best of my ability.  Miah found it especially eerie that the letter was written on her birthday.
***********************************************************************************

 Supreme Headquarters  

Allied Expeditionary Force

Office of the Supreme Commander

June 23, (1944)

My Dear Mrs Pratt:

It is with great sadness that I try to explain to you my sympathy in the loss of your husband. He was a gallant and valuable officer-we could not afford to loose him.

I hope you will remember, with great pride, that he made the final sacrifice for his country and for a noble cause, and did so unflinchingly. May a mercifal God help you to bear this great burden.

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Mrs. Don F. Pratt

**********************************************************************************


He is respectfully buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but you can see his history, and his gravestone here.

He is still remembered, here.

And also here.

What is sad is that I cannot find any solid information about his wife, Martha.  There is a rude joke I've heard a million times, "If the Army wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one."  It seems that history feels the same way.  The only information I've found is her birth date, death date, and where she is buried.
The Wikipedia page mentions that Saving Private Ryan refers to Pratt's situation.  I recently watched that movie with Jay, but I don't remember the scene they are talking about.  I may talk Jay into watching it with me again, just to check it out.
Sorry if I bored you with this one, but I find the history fascinating.  Especially with my "soldier's wife" perspective. I empathize with Martha.  When I was reading the letter, standing in the museum surrounded my the history of the 101st and the wars they have participated in, sterilized and compartmentalized, this display pulled me into the reality of it.  I used to think that the Army, it's history, and the wars, were romantic history.  Having now lived (some of) the future's "War on Terror" history, I  have rethought that idiotic idea. 

365

LaUrEl a year later!

Good Grief!  Put a brick, or better yet, a box of bricks on their heads, and make them stop growing!  I am now officially the mother of a 14 year old HIGH SCHOOLER and an 11 year old Fifth grader.  Gulp.

Idle Wednesday

The entire wind chime.

The handle of a spoon becomes the hook for the top.

Hematite beads hold the "string" in place. This means that the spoons, forks, and butter knife's height can be adjusted to fit the space you place it in.

Sheila's house warming gift!
It's incredibly simple to do, with the right tools, some patience, and time.  I have a couple more of these mugs, so if you want one, let me know!

365

A whole year gone by

I can't believe how much Miah has grown in a year!

365

Rain!

It's rained every single night.  Not that I mind the thunder and lightening...actually I love it...but it really needs to start actually cooling the temperature down !  Usually rain makes it drop a couple of degrees, but not here.  As soon as it started raining Miah ran out to the back porch to get cooled off, but she ran back in yelling that the rain was hot!  What the heck?  I miss Kentucky!

365

Squirrel!  -purely for Jay, and Harley

I remember spending an hour and a half crawling on my stomach and waiting for this squirrel to trust me enough to get this close.  Miah was so excited about it she actually help still for quite a while too.  This is a great accomplishment for a little girl who never stops moving.

365

Just like Daddy!

Jay was getting his gear together for yet another deployment. This means that my front room is a sea of green and desert tan (this was before the "new" uniforms.) The girls both begged to try on his Kevlar...Don't you just love the mix and match cammo?  Now of course, everything matches, but the first two deployments all of the soldiers looked like they bought their gear at an army surplus store.  I thought this was too cute not to share. 

365

Looking Back at Me.

That would be me, a couple of days old, in Indy.  That's my mom holding me.

365

Sunrise

I don't usually get to be outside for the sunrise, but things all came together for this to happen.  The kids slept in, Jay was gone, and I woke up early.  Sitting in the hammock, reading my book, and drinking coffee from my Sara cup.  I love those kind of mornings.  This picture was taken in Fort Campbell, by the way.  It's already so hot and humid by the time the sun is coming up that you can't really enjoy it much here.  Not to mention the incessant attacks from the mosquitoes. They're the size of a Volkswagen down here. 

365

Fence Post -Suggestion by Kathy Smith (I don't remember why?)

This is a lovely field in Nashville, Tennessee.

Idle Wednesday

Carve soapstone.

Melt and pour pewter.

Finished pendant.