Birthday Wishes, Funny Nicknames, and The Stronger of the Two

Today is my youngest Sister's birthday.  Happy Birthday Nora!  My little Sis, although starting out life as the quiet one ( or so we thought), has in her time done some quite remarkable things.  Getting stuck with the cutest of nicknames, which I refuse to share at this time, for fear of retaliation, on her part. All the same... It was cute. I can tell you it was due to the fact that my Sis spent the first 2 years of her life... well... upside down, actually.  She was fascinated more with the world as it looked bent over, butt in the air, looking through her legs, which must have been incredible. I could often picture her seeing fairies on the ceiling, or maybe she thought if she bent over and looked at the world from this vantage, she could walk on the ceiling?

Nora seen here dive bombing the bean bag

Nora and my middle sister, Joylyn, were inseparable. Very close in age, they would often go on adventures together. Once I saw my very tiny Nora tell Joylyn to climb on her shoulders, because she was sure the cookies, just out of reach, could be snatched from the cupboard with a little sweat and ingenuity. Whose Idea we may never know, but it worked. Wish I'd been able to take a picture of them, I always wondered why tiny little Nora thought it was a good idea to have Joylyn on HER shoulders, when it made much more sense the other way around. I suppose as long as it worked in their minds... it would work period. Guess Nora thought she was the stronger of the two.

Nora and Joylyn Cruisin' The Block

My Nora is grown now, married, with a baby of her own, who is not so baby anymore. She still has that same beautiful smile she had as a youngin', and still gets into mischeviousness with Joylyn... EVERY chance they get!  I'm sure our Mother never knows what will take place when we are all together, for as we've grown older, the age gaps have disappeared, and now we are just 3 adults, up for anything that will bring a smile to someones face, all the time hoping we dont get busted for it. Which usually happens when Mom walks in the room a little too early.

I love you Nora, your sense of humor, your love of the Lord, and seeing you be a Mom. It's been a blessed thing to watch.  I will NOT remind you that things will start falling apart, and heading south, as youth fades and gravity takes over. Ughhh..  I will remind you that I love you, that I am so happy to have you as my Sister, and that next time you are down I've got a great one we can pull on Joylyn!

Nora trying out for American Idol  YES She sings!

                             Happy Birthday, Sweet Cheeks!

                    All My Love, Auntie Aimes/AKA Your Big Sis

An Early Valentine's Day Has Gone To The Dogs

Here are my Babies. Not very happy with their new Valentine Hanky's, although I am thrilled! Chilli still looks at me like he did something wrong, and Harley is like "Yo... MA... NOT very many dude!" Oh well... I love them anyway.

                                          Chilli and Harley

Plastic Bubbles, Butter/Sugar Sandwiches, and Tardis

Busy is an understatement of what my life has been like these past few weeks. Seems it is taking its toll on my blog life. So I promised myself I would get something posted TODAY! My middle Sis recommended several options, one of which was Plastic Bubbles and butter sugar sandwiches. It is always amazing to have a memory pop into your head you've not thought of for years. Sweet to have a Sister bring it to mind.

Raised in a small community in East Texas, no stop light, One Baptist Church and one Southern Baptist Church. ( I always joked was "one church for the people that liked to dance, and one church for the ones that didn't") I suppose I fell into the "not sure" category, for I attended both churches.  Our town had one tiny post office, almost so small you had to take turns going in to get your mail. One general store, ( Newly built back in the 80's because someone had driven into the old general store and knocked it off of it's foundation into the pasture behind the structure) Which was BIG news in our tiny little community. Everyone knew everyone. Everyone knew about everyone. The local men met at the store for cards, checkers, and of course an enormous amount of Texas size tales. The ones you never knew if they were true, or just well invented stories to get snared into and then at the end rewarded with a rather hilarious punch line.  We'd walk to that store for candy, or an old glass bottle of Dr. Pepper.  We thought we had it made.

Times were tight for everyone back then. Jobs were scarce in our area, as well as the rest of the country. Neighbors helped out neighbors, and families were there for one another. My sister reminded me that no matter how rough things got in our household our Mother always had a special treat for us.  If we wanted dessert, but there weren't enough groceries to invent even the skimpiest of cookie, Mom made us butter-sugar sandwiches. To this day I can remember the taste of this delicious treat, but don't think I could eat one. There was also special occasions when Mom had made a little extra that week at work and she would bring home the ultimate in kids play things.... Colored Plastic Bubbles.  They smelled funny, but once you got past the odor, you had hours of bubble fun! Squeeze a dab out of the tube onto a straw and blow. The bubbles were red, blue, green, or yellow. They could be held, bounced, and sometimes popped and re-blown ( if done fast enough) The drawback was they dried up quick if you lost the lid to the tube.  Even when I got older and Mom brought them for my smaller Sisters I couldn't wait until they went to bed, just so I could blow up one or two. Which Mom must have figured out, because she later started buying them for me again.

Those times are long gone. Most of the men that filled the local store have gone on to their heavenly homes. The newer group isn't the same for us, but they do still know how to spin a tale. You can still pick up that old Dr. Pepper in the bottle, and a chick-o-stick to go with it if you feel the need. Now, as my Sister said.... "If we could just borrow the Tardis, and go back in time to when we blew those bubbles, ate those sandwiches, and enjoyed tales of Texas sized proportion", we'd have it made.

I'm Turning Into My Mother

Yes, I know, we've all been there. We vow as children, no matter what may come our way, we will NEVER turn into our mothers. NEVER!  I've written on this subject before, but yesterday, this topic became a WHOLE LOT MORE INTERESTING!



I received a call from my first born daughter. (Now a full grown 24 years old) Who starting telling me about this wonderful t-shirt she had found. It was white with lettering on the front. Although the letters were sort of out of order and a bit jumbled, you could still read that the shirt said "I'm turning into my Mother".   We had a good laugh, but I couldn't help but feel there was more to this. She finally started with.... "and.... that's not all."  ......

While at work in a local grocery store, she was behind the customer service desk, as usual, and just beyond the desk was a display.  There were people standing in line. Waiting their turn to discuss whatever had brought them in that day. She couldn't help but notice a gentleman standing in the back, close to the display, who kept stepping back to let people go by. Busy with something in his hands, unaware of the rack just behind him.  My daughter would take care of the next customer, all the time eyeing the man and his rather uncomfortable closeness to the display at this point. Finally, he began to take one more step back, she saw just in time to point and yell out.... "OH! OH! OH! OH!! OH! OH!"   Which of course immediatley stopped everyone in their tracks.

 >>>> Let's stop right there; For at this point in the story I am so overcome by fits of hilarity, my legs are crossed, for fear that the laughter will soon be running down my leg like the tears streaming down my painfully red and dampened face.   We will go back in time, oh say.. 15 years... to a house in Florida, where I am standing near the open dining room window. Close to dusk, on a quiet  Saturday evening, as I notice movement and see a young man leaving our garage with my daughter's ( who was 12 at the time ) bicycle. He was stealing it from our opened garage. Right in front of me, and all I could do was point my finger, and yell.. "OH! OH! OH! OH! OH!"<<<<<

Back to NOW.... My daughter finishes the story by saying that all was quiet until she apologized to the man, and explained he was fixing to fall over the display rack.  He answered, " It's quite alright, and I would have stopped myself sooner, but I was trying to figure out what  OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! meant!"   Which brought on much laughter from surrounding customers who where there to witness the event.

So my precious family, friends, and readers.  NEVER say NEVER!

God Bless You All,
Auntie Aimes

NCIS Head Slappers, Yard Brawlers....Sisters

Sisters............. Three of them. Trouble makers? YES!... Instigators?? YOU BET!  Yard Brawls? Oh, HECK YEAH!

Sisters, you love them, and sometimes want to punch them in the face. You occasionally disagree with one another, but come together. You can say anything you want about each other, but better NOT hear anyone else say a thing about one of them.. or it's on!

We grew up in the back woods of East Texas. Me.. the oldest, but like to be referred to as "The Jokester".  Actually Mom calls me "The Baby". No, Mom doesn't have a favorite, but it is great for jabbin' my Sisters with occasionally. I joke that when I am dead and gone the next Sis in line can fight over the title. The middle child.. who Is referred to as the "Smart One", which is an inside joke. YES, she is smart... but our Grandmother, God bless her, said the youngest was beautiful, and I was artistic. To which my middle sister replied, "Dang Grandma, what does that make me?" Grandma commented to her, "Well, you can spell!"  Of course we remind her of this often! So now the youngest Sis is referred to as "The Pretty One".

We've had our share of incidents. I once came over to visit. Newly married, I didn't get by often. When I happened to notice feet, or an occasional arm, fly past the front window. When I went to investigate I found two kids, sprawled out in the dirt, then dust flying and fists everywhere as they beat the mess out of one another. I called Mom to the window to ask if she was aware of the fight that ensued in the front yard. She remarked  "They do that about once every few months, and then they get along just fine." If she wasn't concerned, then why should I be. Then there was the time I'd been over for the day, and upon returning home I received a phone call from my mother, who was laughing so hysterically I couldn't understand her. After getting her to BREATHE, she explained that my baby sister wanted to know who the girl was that used to stay with them. Mom, curious at this point, asked "Which Girl?". The youngest added that she was talking about the girl that had just left.  Mom answered" You mean YOUR SISTER?"  Turns out after 12 years of her young life, she thought I was just someone who lived with them.  Which is still talked about to this day.

We are all grown up now. We each have children of our own. They are learning the same things we did, in a much different world. We've loved and lost, sang, rejoiced, and mourned a time or two.  We've enjoyed remembering funny things that have happened as sisters in our tiny Texas town. We've been there for one another, laughed, cried, and shared. We've done stupid things and laughed at one another. There have even been a few NCIS head slap moments, but one thing remains the same....

 We are Sisters.

Child Birth, Writer's BloGck, and Happy Rubber Ducks

Yes, I know.. It's a long title. It is a title befitting of my day. "THIS is a day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!" I've chanted it all day. It still found me unappreciative toward my cable company when I discovered that the holiday music had ended. Yeah, Christmas is over. Time to take down the tree. Pack up the gift wrap. Discover small forgotten trinkets that missed being placed in their appropriate stockings on Christmas Eve, and decide whether it stays with me now, or gets shipped off in the "you left these things at my house" package.

I usually don't dislike putting away Christmas things. This year I find myself not wanting to part with my yule tide merriment.  Oh well, it's got to go, don't want to be tacky and have that 10 foot blow up Santa with his feet stuck out the top of the Chimney in the yard for all the world to see come, oh, I don't know.. June?  I forget, do I keep the tinsel, or chuck it and start over next year?

I've had writer's BloGck for days. I think it was that bad business with the coffee. That I have been forbidden by family to EVER do again. ( and the dogs aren't real happy either )  Turns out bath time at 2 am isn't as much fun to them as I thought it would be.  The rubber duck didn't complain! I've been on the down side of that coffee for days. I thought once I'd just drink more and maybe that would help, but unlike childbirth, where you have hours of agonizing, sometimes torturous labor pains, ending with a beautiful bundle of joy that IMMEDIATELY makes you forget all about what you just experienced, and magically months later, when baby is losing his baby-ness, are most surely ready to do again, another cup of regular coffee will NOT leave me with any happy repeatable memories.

So, Dear Friends and Family, just getting around to de-Christmasing your abode, please remember... Rome wasn't built in a day. You want to be able to make SOME since of what the Christmas deco-rama is next year when you take it out of its container. So, treat it lovingly, and put it in its appropriate box or bin, smile as you safely stash away the last stocking, and enjoy your new clean space... Then think to yourselves... THERE"S JUST ......

NON-DECAF APOLOGIES

     Oh My, WHAT a night. STRICTLY Decaf for me from now on.... I promise. If I do mess up and go for the heavy stuff, I will NOT post afterward! I've reedited the blah blah blah out of the last post, for easier reading. <big grin>
     The post may have been long, BUT.. the house is clean, the dogs are bathed, I caught up on all my laundry, finished all my sewing, polished the silverware, made a slip cover for the couch, ticked off the dogs (by waking them at 2 am for a bath), organized my books on organization, and made a list of things NOT to do next time I drink REGULAR COFFEE!   I'm still going strong, when I finally crash I should sleep for days!

God Bless,  
 Auntie Aims

I'm Hyped Up More Than a Squirrel on Meth!

Yes, it's my own fault. I drank coffee! I know better. It's just that my hubby was drinking a cup, and it smelled sooo gooood. I can't drink regular coffee, it makes me more hyped up than a squirrel on meth!  It is now 12:25.............. My hubby sleeps soundly in our bed. Here I am staring at the walls shaking my feet back and forth in my nice warm pink cowboy boot house shoes. Wanting to go run a marathon, but it's too cold outside. 

Everything here is quiet, except for the wood stove fan that kicks on from time to time. The sound of the dogs asleep in their beds. Chili barking in his sleep, which he does often, no doubt dreaming of chasing squirrels. Harley, of course, is snoring away, totally unaware of the squirrel chasing going on in the bed next to him.  

I'm sure the Cows are toasty warm in the barn. The chickens are bedded down for the night, and the rabbits.... well, they are rabbits, so I am sure they are finding ways to stay warm.  

I haven't given an update on our livestock in a while... Calves are doing great, growing like crazy and the rabbits are fat as "all get-out", no babies yet....thinkin' we might have a male populated problem there. However, the chicken's have not fared so well. Several are in our freezer. A few have already been crock-potted and eaten, and we've lost several, (cow got one, we think a raccoon got another one, and two others will forever be a mystery. Started out with 13, we are down to 5. Will be down to 4 tomorrow, a rather mean rooster is fixin' to find himself in the pot as well. Dumplings tomorrow!   

OK, Have a good night everyone, what's left of it. I'm going to go find a constructive way to work off this coffee high I'm on!   

God Bless You All,

Auntie Aimes

Lit Up Like A Christmas Tree

      No, I've not been sippin' on the eggnog.... I am just Holy Ghost filled, and therefore my light is shining bright! I listen to Dr. Charles Stanley every morning via his web site.. www.intouch.org  Have I always? No. I let this world get up in my head. I let the things of this world cloud me, to the point where I couldn't see or hear.  Here's a bit of what I learned this morning.

   

 Did you know that as a believer, if you shy away from God you can lose your light?

     Revelations 2:5 says: ⁵ Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

     Sometimes, we get busy. Things get in the way. Hey.. Life happens!  Where are you in your christian walk? Do you have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior? Are you a believer, but have let the hectic things of this world make you so fogged up you can't see? God wants us to be close to him. He needs to hear from us. He wants to talk to you daily. He wants us to crave digging into his word to have a better relationship with him, to be closer to him. Sometimes when we allow things around us to get in the way of our relationship with God we end up looking like a black smokey burned out bulb, instead of the bright shiny light he wants us to be! So how do we get our light back? By asking for forgiveness ( repenting ). God will never put more on us than we can bare. The same is true of our walk with him, in that he will not put a schedule on us so heavy that we don't have time with him. Time to get into his word and know him better. If you have a schedule that doesn't allow time for God, know that isn't his will for your life.  You also need to REMEMBER.. Do you remember when you were first saved? That spark you had. That need to get into his word and learn more. That time where you couldn't stand to miss church, cause you just KNEW that days message was going to be just for YOU!  Jesus Christ was your first love! Go back to him.  He misses you.

     I promised God last year I would spend the rest of my days getting to know him better, and have a closer relationship with him. I do this by listening to Dr. Charles Stanley in the morning and reading my bible at night before bed.  This is my time with Him. Have I missed some time. YES.. I am by no means perfect. I found that kneeling down to pray and telling God about my promise to know him better helped. It helped me feel more responsible for keeping that promise. God knows we will fall down, but he expects us to get back up.  I rarely ever miss my morning time, it is something I've made into a habit, so it is routine, and I yearn for this time! I am still tweaking my bedtime bible study to a time that is more quiet, where I wont be interrupted or have things going on around me that will remove my focus off of Him. The point is I am reaching out to my Lord and Savior, yearning to know him better.

God knows our needs. FOCUS your eye upon Him, and let him handle the rest!

God Bless You,
Auntie Aimes
   

Brad Paisley May Have Said It Best

Brad Paisley may have said it best...
 “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” - Brad Paisley

I totally agree! So... What will your book be titled?

I decided some years ago there would be no more new year resolutions. There have been too many broken ones, and why hang that over your head every year?  Right? Right!  So instead I sit down and ask myself what new habits I want to pick up this year, and what old habits do I want to let go of. This year I will do one thing everyday that is constructive. Wether it be for my "self", a craft project (in a cabinet full of idea's), or a DIY house concuring/cleaning project. Ok, so "Self" gets Yoga this year. I'm unable to go full blast with the exercise routine, but I will start doing things that will help strengthen me physically and mentally. Hello Yoga Pants!  Craft projects I've put on the back burner (or just started and didn't get around to finishing) will be pulled out, finished, and gifted, BEFORE pulling out any new ones!  The DIY you may ask? I live in an old garage turned apartment. It is a work in progress. This year, it will become my DIY on a budget "idea" house! Why not.. let's see how creative I can get with an empty pallet!  Guess I'll have to put a timer on Pinterest. This new year is about eating healthier, for myself and family, making better choices for my body, and being there..more often...for others. These past few years, being ill, and stuck in my home have left me feeling like I've not been able to be there for people as much as I wanted. I am so thankful to my family, for being there for me through this "interesting" journey. I want 2013 to be a year of healing! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE LORD!   

So no matter what your New Years promises are, chose some things you know need to be done, let go of some things you know should to be left behind with 2012, and start writing your book now!  Don't forget to give it a title matching your personallity!  Mine would read something like "Do It Your-SELF Redo"  or "Crazy in Carolina".   

God Bless you ALL and Happy New Year!

Auntie Aimes