a knot that rang the bell

'Want to hear something funny?'
'Is it a hunting story?'
'No'
'O.K. then sure.....'

This was the conversation between Matt and I early last week-
He the story teller and I the listener.......

Matt needed to do something up at the horse barn and I had decided to tag along....
There are several barns here at the ranch- A cow barn that is shelter for many a cow and calf all winter, an abandoned cow barn that used to shelter many a cow/calf, and the horse barn....

Technically, I would venture a guess that horse barn is not the correct term- barn sounds so.....so...cringe worthy- someplace you need to wear waders because the cow poop is so deep....where the smell of cow sweat is so think you are holding your coat over your nose and your eyes are watering- I would say the correct description for the horse barn that has an indoor arena and 20 horse stalls would be..... A HORSE RESORT!

Matt needed to do something up at the horse resort early last week and I had decided to tag along :)

We were sitting on the 4 wheeler just inside the long bay where all 20 of the horse stalls are located when Matt asked me if I wanted to hear something funny- Once I said 'sure' he pointed to a rope with a knot on the end of it hanging down from the rafter in the ceiling.  The knot on this rope would get a horse leash (line, tether, not a halter but the rope that comes off of a halter so you can lead the horse around) clipped on to it ensuring that the horse would stay put when it was being washed.  The knotted rope hung smack in the middle of the ally towards the end of the long bay- It was raised high enough that one would not hit their head on it (even when on the 4 wheeler) but low enough that you could easily reach up and access it.

'See the knot on the end of the rope that is hanging from the rafter?'
'Yeah'
'I hit my head on it so hard yesterday I thought I was going to pass out'

I really thought my Matt was joking when he told me so I asked the obvious next question....

'How did you hit your head on it?'

Matt is a very practical man- His brain works things through methodically never giving way to perceivably foolish impulses (he was never one to dive if there is the possibility of doing a belly flop- I would do a belly flop every time.... He has the self discipline to save that dollar in his pocket while I would have spent it the second I got it probably buying myself and all my friends something fun)......so the next part of the story caught me by surprise and by the time he was finished I was laughing so hard I had tears smearing the mascara right down my face....

'I was feeding the horses and the rope caught my eye....I wondered to myself what it would feel like to let the rope brush against the top of my head when I rode by on the 4-wheeler'
A very impractical thought for my very practical man....
'I was going about 40 miles an hour down the ally and stood up on the 4-wheeler just before I got to the hanging rope'
Expecting it to gently graze against the top of his head, Matt was shocked when the knot on the end of the rope landed HARD against his head
'It about knocked me off of the 4-wheeler- instead of falling back I fell forward in pain and complete shock'
He started seeing stars and was sure that he would be found by one of us knocked out on the ground under the swinging rope......
He grabbed my hand and had me feel the damage done
The knot on the side of his head was that of a medium size potato.......
We laughed and laughed......usually the stupidly hilarious things are done by me......
Maybe after 20 years of marriage I am finally starting to rub off on this practical man of mine....
Maybe next he will be joining facebook and starting a blog......hee hee hee hee!!!

I was taking Ellie for a stroll this afternoon around the lake and ended up bringing her to the horse barn- As we rode down the ally I told her the story about how the knot rang her daddy's bell....After telling her I promptly came home, grabbed my camera, and headed back up to take some pictures!!

can you....?

Just wondering...
can you

• tap your head with your left hand and make a circular motion on your stomach with your right hand at the same time
• say flip spud 7 times in a row really fast
• sneeze with your eyes open
• lick your elbow
• raise one eyebrow

Now to score yourself
1/5= F (where I scored- I can rub my stomach and pat my head)
2/5=D
3/5=C
4/5=B
5/5=Impossible.......supposedly if you sneeze with your eyes open they will pop right out of your head............hum......next time I have to sneeze I am going to try to hold my eyes open- If the next time you see me I am missing both my eyes you know what happened :) :)

Happy Saturday to you!!

 



the movie title.....'woodstove and the geese'

Aaaaahhhhh Fall, I love you.........your very presence brings out the cozy in most of us (except my Matt....he swears that 'he's freezing'....to which I always reply the same....'your not freezing-your fine!')
pumpkins
corn stalks
digging out the jeans from the top of the closet and praying they will still fit
socks and slippers
falling leaves
the smell of rain

Matt has been getting our woodstove ready for the winter- our house is outfitted with a brass door Avalon that has a very loud fan on it...last winter we used it as the primary source of heat and will do the same this winter- The fan will start making a rattle sound (usually it saves this special feature for the hours between midnight and five a.m.) that requires a moderate tap to the plating on the front of the stove (which is housing the fan).....
I was new to this wood stove country life last winter and found myself getting an average of 5 hours of sleep most nights- this was putting nasty black circles and a funky sag to the bottom of my eyes....Had the lack of sleep not been affecting my make up routine (Bobbi Brown concealer having to be applied both morning and afternoon and still not covering all the dark) I probably would not have taken it so seriously....I started paying attention each time I would wake up.....

A flock of Honker Geese (thank you Heather W. for informing me they are geese and not ducks- I have not forgotten) land on the lake each fall and stay until late spring- They honk all night....
Our bedroom sits on the second story of the house and has a panoramic view of floor to ceiling windows looking out over the lake (the lake sits 20 steps from our house)- The lake is 70 acres and the honkers decided on just below our bedroom window as their place of noisy chatter all night long...

You already know about the woodstove fan that missed the memo of quiet hours being 10 p.m. until 7:00 a.m.

Between the woodstove and the geese- doesn't that kind of sound like a movie title
NOW PLAYING.....WOODSTOVE AND THE GEESE
It even rhymes with Beauty and the Beast......hee hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeee!!

re-focusing after taking the movie title rabbit trail
Between the woodstove and the geese it was apparent that something needed to be done-
Our room (thanks to Target) was adorned in curtains which helped with the noise- we keep all the windows shut and run a fan every night so the honking can only be heard faintly...the type of faintly that you can tune out..
Going back to Matt getting the woodstove ready for winter-
A new fan is a couple hundred dollars....
I don't see it in the pile of 'stuff' that he has sitting by the stove
there is stuff like fire bricks and converters
but no fan

DARN!

Maybe that will be on the 'fix it' list for the winter of 2015

Newly added to my make up bag is under eye whitener- It's supposed to whiten even the darkest circles :)

Ellie is napping on the couch as I am typing this blog post.....she is so cute!

the birth announcement behind the note...

I am in the process of cleaning out an area that we use for a desk and came across a binder that we stored important adoption papers in while we were going through our Ellie's adoption process (2011).  The binder is a standard 3 inch white with clear face cover.  As the binder came out of the cubby it was being stored in, something on the clear face cover caught my eye....
It was a busy time at the hospital after Ellie was born- Lots of paper work to fill out...lots of all the things that go on in the behind the scenes at an adoption.....not much time to process all that is going on- The Lord had surrounded Heather, Ellie, Matt, and I with so many amazing nurses and doctors during the time we were in the Hospital...so many professionals that believe in the miracle of adoption...
I remember a precious nurse leaving a note for us (K. you are such a blessing that God used in a mighty way and is continuing to use mightily).....I also remember glancing at it and being thankful for her willingness to reach out....The clear faced binder went everywhere with us during our adoption process so it was instinctive that this note be placed in it- It was something that we wanted to save and show Ellie when she is old enough.
As the binder came out of the cubby and the hand written note caught my eye this afternoon, I could not help but take it out and read......Just behind the note was the birth announcement that the hospital gave us.....

Ellie Marie was born to our birth mother Heather Marie Hill...
Ellie's last name stayed 'Hill' until her adoption was finalized on December 28, 2011
A new birth certificate was issued with our families last name
Although a new last name was issued it did not change Ellie's God given biological heritage- The Lord choose for Elle's to be born by Heather.....The Lord also choose Matt and I to raise her- Two families forever bonded by a 5 pound 3 ounce baby girl born June 18, 2011.
We love you Heather!

Adoption is such a blessing

We have stayed in contact :)

Ellie's first foot prints were just under 3 inches long....SO SMALL!!

pinterest cupcake idea

cleaning ponder time and a 90th birthday family pic

When the flu visits ones home you find yourself thinking about how best to sanitize.....
Thinking of sanitizing then leads to thoughts of cleaning......
When you have been home for 2 days straight it gives you lots of 'cleaning ponder' time....
'should I wipe every door knob, light switch, toilet bowl with bleach? 'should I spray Clorox into the air randomly throughout the day just in case it's airborne.....'

If your looking for a boost in your cleaning self esteem than stay tuned my friend-

Following the 'what should I clean and how should I sanitize my house' thoughts was when the dirty grungy truth struck me (I was sitting in the tub at the time)...

I have not cleaned the bathtub in our bedroom (the one I was sitting in) since last Thanksgiving (which was not even me cleaning but a housecleaner)......Our bathtub/Shower combo is comprised of 3inch x3inch brown and orange tile that has brown grout and is 6ft long, 4 foot wide, and 3.5 feet deep- It is really a small swimming pool with 2 shower heads on each end and it's own hot water heater.  Being a visual person this bathtub/shower/small swimming pool is unrewarding to clean (I figured this out within a month of living here) because the brown and orange tile hide all the grunge so no one would know if it were clean or not.......10 months of everyday baths for this gal...Think of it as an immune builder as one is sitting in a bed of germs and Dove soap wash off....at least that's what I tell myself :)

I wonder if I should shut down my computer....go grab a chisel and some comet cleanser and get to work....

Nah...Maybe Thanksgiving of 15' I will rethink cleaning the bathtub

:) :) :)

a fun pic from my Nana's 90th Birthday party this past Thursday night (9/11)....a party that will go down as 'unforgettable' in the record books (will blog more about that later)
please excuse my family members that did not make a 'crazy' face....(except my dad, he is exempt because he is holding baby Jett and Becca is exempt because she is a classy lady from the South and they just don't do that sort of stuff......my cousin Luke, bro in law Gage, and Uncle Reid have no excuse....I know they got a crazy face in there somewhere!!)
I went with the flamingo leg/showing off the dentures look and my sis in law Erika who is just beside me had smelled my B.O. just before the pic was snapped.....hee hee hee hee

collectively loosing marbles and national days

I'm sitting on one couch in our living room and Ry is laying on the other- He with the stomach flu and I as the giver.....at least I hope I am the giver because if this is a different strain than what I had last Sunday and Monday and what Matt had on Thursday than Matt and I may collectively loose our marbles....
Can you imagine getting the stomach flu two times in a week.....
That's worse than driving the 4-wheeler by your car and hearing a scraping sound and realizing that somebody had laid a shovel on the back of the 4-wheeler horizontal.....I think a good wax and buffing will help hide the bright white streak running down the side of my car....
or worse than realizing that your daughter is holding up the back of your dress for everyone in the sanctuary at church to see....
or worse than....just kidding, I think you've got the point....smile :)

I've got to go refill a cup with 7-UP and then offer up mommy support to my sick boy- Just wanted to pop on over to my blog and say 'hey'- hope you all are having a fantastic Saturday!

P.S. A BIG HAPPY 35th  BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER CHRIS!!

In honor of 'National show all of your enamel' day



I totally made that up but I wonder if there is such a day :)