I Love This Kid...

I love this kid

He is so stinkin' cute!

Proverbs 31 Lady

The past month has been challenging for my family & I. My dear sweet Grandmother's health started declining. Although she was in her late 80's she was active & appeared healthy. I visited her this summer and she was going strong. Very independent with a busy schedule that included meeting friends for breakfast & lunch, attending church and sunday school, visiting friends, and shopping.

This past weekend I attended her funeral.

In the process of preparing for her funeral we discovered a book my young niece had given to her several years ago. The idea of the book was that my grandmother answer one question per day for a year about her life & childhood. Much to our delight we discovered that she took the challenge.

We discovered things like the worst thing she ever did was each morning on her way to school she would take off black stockings her step mother made her wear & hide them under a bridge. She then picked them up on her way home.

I knew her mother passed away when she was only 4 years old. It broke my heart to read her answer to the question "Tell me a favorite memory of you mother". Her reply... I was only 4 years only when my mother died. I don't remember much about her but I remember enough to know that I still miss her.

Grandma & I sometime in the 1960's

This treasure meant so much to my family. I encourage you to document your life for your family.

A couple of ideas...

• Take Cathy Zielske's Me The Abridged Version at Big Picture Classes - whether you have scrapbooked in the past this class is for you. I have taken it & loved it.
• Order a book like this & give it to a Mother, Father, Grandmother, Favorite Aunt, etc. to complete.

The preacher concluded his sermon with Proverbs 31: 10 - 31

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverb 31:30 NIV

I miss you Grandma!

Dama Mama

This morning I was working in my flowerbeds. The temperature was in the low 60's & I was enjoying being outside. When I discovered this....

A baby Dama Gazelle less than an hour old. He (or she) was just learning to walk. When we first started raising them my Father-in-Law called me Dama Mama. They are one of my favorite animals on the ranch.

Below is Proud Papa....

Love,

Dama Mama

Whitetail Birth

Even though I have lots of Whitetail Deer right outside my backdoor, it is still unusual to see the birth of whitetail babies. Somehow I never manage to be home.

Mostly, Whitetails have their babies in May & June. This past June I was lucky enough to be home on the weekend & notice that a Doe was about to give birth.

I waited around a few minutes & things seemed to be moving slow so I decided to jump in the shower then come back outside to watch the birth.

A quick shower later one baby was already born. So I grabbed the camera & headed out to take pictures of Mom & Baby.

Then...

What is this??? Another baby is on the way!!!

Momma removing the sack as sister takes it all in.

Now its time to get cleaned up

An hour later Momma & twins are doing fine.

Dog Days of Summer

A year or so of having a blog named after me & I finally get a picture posted!

10 Random Things about Gypsy

1. My new favorite thing this summer is chasing Rabbits & Frogs.
2. I was touring the country with a homeless man before I moved in at the ranch. Hence the name Gypsy.
3. I have a love hate relationship with Miss Kitty the Cat.
4. I get to visit Browning Trophies & Awards every Wednesday because the cleaning lady comes to my house & I bark at the vacuum cleaner.
5. My best friend at Browning Trophies is Ruben.
6. I am buddies with a whitetail deer named Bonnie who has a brother Clyde.
7. I bark at Thunder.
8. I get excited when Nanny is mentioned. I love for her to visit! She lives a half mile down the road.
9. I love to sneak into the barn and eat deer pellets if my Dad leaves them on the ground.
10. I love peanuts & cashews. Really I love to eat just about anything.

My Buddy Ruben & I

Thanksgiving Favorites

This weekend I started thinking about my Thanksgiving grocery list & preparations.... hard to believe it is almost here. It was in the mid 70's in North Texas today.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving here are a couple of my family favorites.

First is my Grandma Jo's Cherry Pie. I love the fact that my recipe is written in my Mother's handwriting. It is one of my hubby's favorite deserts. As an added bonus it is super easy!

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons Flour

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 16 oz. cans of Cherries (in water; not heavy syrup) drain & reserve

1 cup cherry juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

red food coloring

2 unbaked 9 inch pie shells

Mix sugar, flour, & cornstarch and set aside. Heat cherry juice over medium heat and slowly stir in sugar, flour & cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat and add drained cherries, almond extract & food coloring. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Place top crust to cover filling & slit to allow for escape of steam. I prefer to add a lattice top. Brush with butter or margarin and sprinkle wit sugar. Bake in 400 degree oven about 30 minutes.

My second recipe, Corn Casserole, is a family favorite. I don't have a picture of it... Pioneer Woman I am not.

1/4 cup butter

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese

1/4 cup milk

1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies

2 cans of corn, drained

Tobasco Sauce, dash

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Melt butter in saucepan and blend in cream cheese. Add milk and mix together. Add green chilies, corn, and Tabasco sauce. Put mixture in baking dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Important note: The recipe calls for a dash of Tobasco but we are from Texas. This means I use a heck of a lot more than a dash (I use Choulula). But then again we have salsa or hot sauce or jalapeno peppers on the table at almost every meal including breakfast. So bottom line season to your own taste.

Enjoy!

Elephants

More pictures from Tommy's trip.

Lynsey wanted to see Elephant pictures so....

And my favorite of the two....

Goodnight All

Lion, Cubs and the Wildebeest Tail

After missed connections, lost luggage, two aborted take-offs going full speed down the runway (separate airlines), and an unexpected stop in Istanbul the Hubby has returned safely from Masai Mara in Kenya.

My favorite pictures so far are shots of a male lion playing with a couple of the cubs in his pride.

After snacking on a Wildebeest he brought the tail home for a couple of the cubs in his pride.

Some after dinner tug-of-war between dad & cub #1.

Now two cubs get in on the action.

Finally Dad lets the two have the tail to chew on.

I am off to look at the other 4000 plus photos. Will post more later.

Last Weeks Surpirse

Many of you are wondering what my surprise was last week (ok, 1 person asked) so here it is....

When I drove in from work Beisa Oryx were standing at my front gate as if to greet me. Tommy had told me I had a surprise. I thought it was a baby Dama gazelle (we are expecting) but much to my surprise it was a trio (1 male & 2 female - on the ranch we call that a trio) of Beisa Oryx that he purchased.

Now actually this is not one of the trio. After purchasing the trio he purchase this mature female at the YO Ranch last weekend. It was just easier to get a picture of her since I was home when they let her out of the trailer. I havn't been able to get close enough to the other 3 to take a picture. Hoping she is pregnant! The babies will be cute, for sure!

Not only is it Tax Day, its.....

...Grandma Dorothy's Birthday

A birthday wish for my Grandmother. Because she lives 6 hours away, we will not get to spend the day with her. So what better way to send a birthday wish than via the internet.

Warning: It is hard to star in a movie & be the camera man too. Julia Roberts probably does not have to do both.

OK, I didn't sing Happy Birthday because I am holding a 25lb dog. I had to cut it short!

Happy Birthday,
We Love You Grandma!

New Scripture Verse for April 1st

Here is the verse I picked for April 1st. I know, I have not posted my March verses. I will try today that today in between.... laundry, dishes, paying bills, bathing gypsy, watching Jeff Gordan win at Texas Motor Speedway, & more laundry.


Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Happy Sunday!

Meet Hartford

Meet Hartford our Red Deer Stag.....

He had 20 points this year. Hartford sheds his antlers every year on March 1st.... always.

A little triva.... Do you know the difference between a horn & antler? If the horns are shed every year they are called "antlers".... if they never shed they are called "horns".

Hartford starts growing his new set of antlers about 2 weeks after they shed. He is in velvet until about September.... when he sheds his velvet. Same cycle ever year.

Hartford soaking up the sun in the mud.

More triva.... If a Male Red Deer is a Stag, what is a female? Give Up? A Hines.

Twitter

It is official I now Twitter! I have no idea why... but everyone is talking about it so I thought I would check it out.

Check back for some interesting Tweets... have no idea if that is official language or not!

Love is Patient...

In honor of Valentine's Day my scripture verse for the 2nd half of February...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

Whew... my longest scripture memorization so far. I have some work to do better get busy.

FUNNY....

If you have been listening to the doom & gloom on the news lately, here is something to make you laugh...

1st Scripture Verse

Well it is time for the 1st scripture verse (on my blog that is... my 3rd verse to memorize in 2009).

The verse I chose is Psalm 26:6 from The Message translation. This is not the verse I had in mind. I was setting in Sunday School yesterday when Celeste, our wonderful Sunday School teacher, read this translation & I decided right there it was going to be my latest memory verse. So here it is...

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life. Psalm 23:6 (MSG)

Actually, Celeste was reading from Max Lucado's Traveling Light which said YAHWEH instead of GOD. I just might say it both ways as YAHWEH was one of the words that caught my attention. The words to catch my eye... beauty & love in place of goodness & mercy.

For me learning a new version sheds new light on the verse.

In case you are having trouble remembering the King James Version goes...

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalm 23:6 (KJM)

I hope you have decided to participate with me! If so, post your... memory verse, first name only, city, state, verse & translation.

Scripture Memory

Scripture Memory is something I have wanted to do for some time So when I read Beth Moore’s post asking her blog readers to sign up to memorize 24 scriptures in 2009 I quickly signed up… along with about 2400 other women… and maybe a few guys.


So here is how it works…. Get some note cards. I personally chose spiral index card in assorted colors purchased at Staples. I chose the spiral bound so they would be easy to carry with me.













Let me know that you are going to participate by posting a comment. Include your 1st name, city, & state.

On the 1st & 15th of every month you pick out a scripture verse to memorize. Everyone picks out their own… a verse that means something to you.

Come back to my blog on the 1st & 15th of every month to see what verse I am memorizing & post the verse that you have chosen.

Write the verse on your index cards. Carry the index cards with you & begin to memorize your verse. Recite your verse out loud whenever you get the chance.

I know you have missed January but it is not too late to start!

Check back tomorrow & I will tell you what verses I chose in January.

Welcome!

I have wanted a blog for some time now & have finally taken the time to enter the blogging world. Check back in as it is my intent to post a couple of times a week the happenings here on the ranch & in our lives. I work full time as a project manager, help my husband on our ranch, keep up with normal household stuff, & occasionally carve some time out for me. So I imagine most of you will not be surprised when I do not post as frequently as I intend.