Sana, Sana........

I mentioned last week that we had a bit of an accident on the beloved "Rhino."

If you were wondering, it was ALL of The Farmer's fault.....TOTALLY!

Thankfully, it ended well and our bruising is begining to fade. The Farmer's stiches were lovingly removed by The Boy....as we all stood around as spectators!

You know that you live in a small town when removing stiches is an event.

Anyway, I was telling The Darlings that after everything I had been through with them in their short lifetimes (wrecks, trips to the hospital, trips to the Dr. casts, surgery.......) I really had thought that they were going to show overwhelming empathy toward me....

their BELOVED MOTHER........

Not so much!

They just wanted to be sure that dinner would be served at the same time as before "the accident" and that their lives wouldn't be affected in any way because of my injuries.

Upon expressing my feelings,

The Boy very carefully lifed my badly bruised arm

and began to carefully rub it while saying.....

"Sana, sana....colita de Rana. Si no sanas hoy, sanaras manana!"

Translation......

"Health, health! Tail of a frog. If you don't get better today, you will by tomorrow!"

This little phrase is one I used on The Darlings during the time they were little. When they were really little they loved it .....and it worked! It comforted them. As they have grown, it hasn't been as effective;)

It is a well know healing tradition in the country of Mexico, one that was brought into our home by a dear lady who worked with us when The Darlings were toddlers. Oh how we loved her.

For a moment....I imagined the day that The Boy, would be rubbing the bumped head of one of his children, lovingly repeating

"Sana, sana.....colita de Rana. Si no sanas hoy, sanaras manana!"

and I wanted to cry.

It Flips....Yes It Does!!

Remember this.....the beloved Rhino???

The one that The Rooster worked for??

Well, turns out that they have been recalled. Turns out that they can flip over.

Well, it has been proven.

IT FLIPS!

Trust me....I know....I have the bruises to prove it.

And, The Farmer has the stiches, and the hospital bill to prove it too!

No one to blame but....

THE FARMER!

The lesson learned.....if "they" say it can flip.....

BELIEVE "THEM"!!!!

*luckily our injuries will heal....all is well!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...................

That was a long, long sigh......

after a long, long weekend.

And here is the weekend in review.

The Farmer and I were expecting guests this past weekend. I love it when guests come....it is motivation to get things done around the house!

We have been doing some landscaping and decided that some large rocks were needed. So we went rock hunting. Hand picked the rocks. And had them delivered. It all sounds to simple doesn't it??;)

It took chains, forklifts, men and more men. And Finally the rocks were in place. And I love them!

Next.....The Boy became the starting quarterback quite suddenly this past weekend. Sure he had practiced a little,

The key word is a LITTLE!

He was great! We were amazed and who knew that The Boy

could throw a ball like that!
(We thought he had been bred for basketball!)

They lost their game....but they did a great job!



Coach S. and The Boy

Tradition is that the teams sings

"The Army of Helaman"

after each game....win or loose. It is a tender thing to watch.

How grateful we are to coaches who understand that they are shaping and forming future missionaries.

The weekend continued with two sessions of Stake Conference....a wonderful visitor who we now call "friend." A prayer and a promise that angels would surround our home and that our children would be protected. A lovely dinner to complete all of the meetings, and at the end of the day....

The Farmer found himself with his favorite.....

our Sunday night tradition,

A big bowl of popcorn!

Tuesday......

This is where Kitty Meow Meow, sits hoping and waiting for a lovely little

Humming Bird to swoop low enough that he might catch it.

He sits for hours!

This is what he is hoping for.

We are hosting literally hundreds of Humming Birds at our house

these days. We fill our feeders twice daily, and when the little beauties have to wait,

they get upset and have been known to be quite agressive with PreShie,

who keeps them all fed. The Farmer told The Darlings, the other day, he

thought that the Humming Birds were preparing to leave our area, to migrate, and that

they were building up their strength for their journey. The Darlings, almost

in unison said.....AWWWWWWWW.......

and suggested that we add 10-15 more feeders in our yard to help them prepare

to migrate.

I don't think so.

Meet Don Hector. This kind and gentle man arrived at our home yesterday to do

a little art work on the house. When he came, he carefully set up his painters table,

mixed the paint colors until just right and then painted this,

(below)

He is a wonderful man. He filled my morning with inspiring thoughts of Christ and

left a peaceful feeling when he left.

A few weeks ago I began the seach for just the right artist to help me with this project.

I contacted a few friends and low and behold, two painters

showed up the same day, that was yesterday. Highly unusal in the land which I live!

I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't want anyone to feel bad and certainly I wanted the

best guy to do the job. So I was in my kitchen discussing this with our Rosa, who helps keep

us all afloat around here. And this is what she said, "My mother-in-law once told me, you should never keep two boyfriends at once....and this is exactly why......They are likely to both show up

at the same time." Just as the two painters did yesterday.

So there is your advice for the day......from Dona Rosa!

p.s. The Farmer took me rock hunting yesterday afternoon, boy was it fun! Seriously!

We are adding some large rocks to our yard, we marked the ones we wanted, and

they should arrive later today!

An Evening At The Farm

The Rooster had been asking to go to The Farm, to check on his pumpkins....yes...he is growing them again this year....and so after a long hard day at school, The Farmer, The Rooster, PreShie and myself headed out to The Farm.

Oh, was The Rooster happy! He found just what he had been hoping to find.

New varieties were planted this year.

PreShie had a great time too, searching for "ready to pick" squash to fill a bowl at home.

Every one is unique and really beautiful.


The Rooster filled his shirt, thinking that his teachers might like one or two for their desks!

Good thinking Rooster!!!

The Farmer checked the beans.....

And they look great!

We found a few of these.....and now they are sitting on my porch.

It was a lovely evening at The Farm!!

*Thanks to all who made yesterday such a great day for me! Lunch with the women in the family is ALWAYS a great time! Thank you!!!

I'm Thinking.....

Just thinking.....

I have seen this alot lately and I really like it.

A chalkboard wall!


The Farmer is quite an artist and

I have visions of his drawings on the family chalkboard.

I know there are pressing issues in the world...but for now

a chalkboard wall seems pretty great!

The Harvest....Continued

During the first day of harvest....six rattlesnakes were killed.

Dangerous....yes.....wasted.... NO!

They were saved by the workers, for a little treat later on that night.


Potatoes freshly pulled from the ground.

The women gather the potatoes and the men load them onto the trailers.





Loading....trailer after trailer. At the time we were in the fields, they had been working for

fourteen hours, and had several hours still ahead.

Waiting for the next section of potatoes to be dug up, so they could gather.

I thought they were beautiful ladies.

And finally, The Farmer, The Boy and Uncle Pinguino,

Enjoying the harvest!

Got Taters.....???

Harvest has begun!

Yesterday I took a little trip with The Farmer, The Boy and Rooster to watch the potatoes being harvested. It was so much fun and it was a new experience for me.

It was a beautiful afternoon, full of excitement for a harvest much anticipated.

This is the first year that The Farmer and his youngest brother, Uncle Penguin, grew potatoes. They learned alot.

This is just a little preview....I took soooo many pictures and am editing them right now. I will post the process of the potato harvest....with pictures....a little later today.

I love that Farmer of mine! (in the red shirt). I am so grateful that he is willing to do the right thing, because it is the "right thing." Even if others around him don't like it. Totally unrelated to the potates....

Not A Bad Thing......Right????

This when I need a little reassurance.....right about now!

THE DARLINGS are back to school,

and

I can't say that I am all that happy about it. You can call me a bad Mom...that's okay with me,

BUT

I just didn't get enough summer. It was to dang short!

and I miss those Darlings when they are gone all day. I am feeling like I want to keep them home all day, where I can see them. If I could I would probably wish for school again, but for now.....

I MISS THEM!

PreShie....she is a Freshman....she can look me directly in the eye, and

her Mother thinks she is beautiful!

She has become very health conscious this year...that is rough on a sack lunch!

Oh....The Rooster...he is in high school now. This is him sitting on the ditch bank putting his shoes on, waiting for the bus to come. He is adjusting well. Not to sure I am, but he is.

The Boy. A Junior, and I am seriously sheding tears as I type that word.

He just has two years until he goes on his mission.

Where did the time go??????

He is working on playing quarterback this year.

And there they go! And I sadly return to my home to prepare for my day.

This is right outside my kitchen window. One of the first sounds I hear each moring is the sound of the hummingbirds beginning to feed.

Today we have a "swarm" of hummingbirds and I LOVE IT!!!

I fill our feeders atleast once a day and they promptly empty it.

They are a complete joy to watch.

Kitty Meow Meow, actually caught one they other day and it nearly broke the heart of

The Rooster. The cat sat for days and days hoping to catch another, but lucky for us

he hasn't been able to.

The Farmer's Mother came by last night. We really like that lady! She is a favorite around here.

Even the dogs know and love her. She came during dinner, and we invited her to join us, she announced that she had just eaten. When we offered her a little chocolate pie.....she quickly found that she was not as full as she had previously thought!

Oh we love her!!!

She brought with her a few of her organic yummy pears, that were grown in her own yard.

I had big plans for those pears.......

but so did The Darlings....and they are nearly gone. What a treat for us!

Life is pretty darn good around her.....but.......

I MISS THOSE DARLINGS OF MINE!!!!

I Love This Place!

It really is one of my favorite cities ever!

CHICAGO

This is the view from our window,

The sheets are beyond wonderful!

(I have a thing for sheets)

This is The Farmer's breakfast....he thought it was pretty great,

me on the other hand

had a lovely plate of fruit.


The streets are lined with the most beautiful flowers.

Each year, when we return to this city

I am reminded again, why I love it so much!

Sad....but.....True!

I am fully aware that we here in Mexico have issues of our own....

BUT,

I thought these cartoons were pretty great!

I think this one (above) is my favorite!