Reenacting Summer 2011

Beware!  There are lots of pictures taken of the cutest little girls in the world and their auntie!  Just to warn you a head of time in case the shock of it is too much for you!  :-)  

My family and I spent a wonderful weekend at a Civil War reenactment and since I took hundreds of pictures I thought I really should post some on my long forgotten blog.

 Lydia helping Nathaniel 

 My sweet sister!  She's 5 1/2 now and growing like a weed!

 I love camp fire scenes!  

Emma held by Grace H.  Two such pretty girls!

 Sarah, Emma and Lydia watching the soldiers march by

Such cuties!!!!

Our "neighbors" camp.

 Molly happily snuggled in her grandpa's arms.

 Faith and Lydia playing checkers

Frocks, frills and little girl's toes!

 Molly likes her mama!  Aw! (Molly is wearing a dress I made for Lydia when she was a baby!  It's wonderful to see the dresses being used again!)

 Lydia having tea with her friends

 Heather peeling potatoes for dinner.  They were sooooo yummy cooked over an open fire.

Emma slept in my dad's arms for over an hour and a half!  He tried to lay her down but she cried and said "Grandpa!" and jumped back into his arms and promptly fell asleep once again.  She likes her grandpa!

 Eating dinner

Our soldier boys tending the fire....or waiting for it to get going so they can tend it!

 In the cool of the evening the battle begins!   Brother against brother!  The big brother won but it did take a while!  David and Taylor were hard at it.

 Bath time for 2 dirty girls!  They had so much fun in the tub and smelled so nice and sweet when they were done!

 The guys played Town Ball in the evening and us girls cheered whoever was batting or running!  

 Me with Emma!  

 "Awww!"

 Our first family picture since Molly was born!

 David and his growing family!

 Our soldiers are firing their muskets at once!

 Taylor is in the blue kepi left of the center

 David and his friend were in the hospital demonstration.  They both did a great job and it was really touching to see Thomas worrying about David and David writhing in pain.

His hand....yikes!

 They couldn't save his hand and it was amputated....

 Now for the boys wrestling match!

 Hands and feet!  Who will get the stick???

 Lovely ladies talking in the cool of the shade tree.

Molly fell asleep in her Auntie Gracie's arms!  Oh what bliss it is to hold a sleeping baby!

Ben, Nathaniel and Joshua watching the soldiers march off to battle.

 Molly sporting her grandpa's kepi!  She looks rather proud of herself, doesn't she?  I do believe she has the cutest little face ever!

 The long weekend wore her out and now she's happily sleeping in her mama's arms.  

Before and After Antique Buffet!

Heather has been working hard this last month getting furniture ready for a show.  Here is my favorite of her recent projects!  

It's a Thomasville andVERY heavy and VERY solid! 

Ta DA!!!  It's done and looking lovely!  We sold it at the show which is good since we had no where to store it since hauling it up 2 flights of stairs didn't sound fun!   Good job Heather!  

To see more of our furniture check out Huckleberry Lane

Lovely Spring of 2011

Sarah on Easter morning, and yes, all the girls in our family wore hats to church as did some other ladies and girls at church.  It was so fun we decided to do it again.

 A charming house down the road from us.

 The "parents" of these eggs lay their eggs right on the edge of our road each year and each year we look forward to seeing the nest and watching the parent birds acting wounded to draw us away from their young.  

 Can you spot the nest?  See at the top of the photo, the road is right there!

Lovely, right down the road....

 Here she comes!

 Mom's birthday tulips from David and Keslie.  What a joy to see their cheerful colors!

 Camry snoozing in the warm sunshine!

 Pansies poking out their colorful faces!

 :happiness:  

 Blueberries to plant!

Apple trees, a plum tree, lilac bushes,  snowball bushes and a red twig  dogwood.

 Our yard is taking shape!  

 The chicken coop has a roof and it's almost ready for our chicks to take over!  We can't wait for yummy fresh eggs!

 :-)

 Heidi my 17 year old cat.  Dad built her a cat house to keep her warm this winter since she is so old.  She loves her little house and looks like a little queen as she steps out and stretches.

 The hostas are popping up!

 The potting bench.

 Dad, Taylor and Gracie planted the fruit trees!  

 Planting the lilac

 The back of our house.  The garden is off to the right.

 It was a perfect day to play with dolls outside in the sun, do you see all 3 of them? 

Ben planting boxwoods with Prince just begging him to throw the ball.

Camry nabs the ball before Prince can get there.

Ready? Set?  Jump!

Who's the winner....

My nieces are growing!

Darling Emma Christine 23 months old.  She wanted to talk to me on the phone today so Keslie gave her the phone and we had quite the conversation as she jabbered in her sweet little voice about all sorts of things.  I didn't know what she was talking about but it was a delight to hear her little voice happy and cheerful talking about happy things in her life.  When I asked her questions she said: "Yeah!" and then proceeded to tell me all about it!  She is a dear!

Sweet Molly Sophia is 6 months old now.  She has such a dear personality and smiles very quickly at her family.  Her beautiful eyes sparkle and her face lights up with her smile.  She loves to be talked to and has to see what is going on around her; she certainly is a social little thing!  Her and Emma get along very well and it's fun to see these 2 little sisters together.  Molly's little cheeks are just begging to be kissed!  

Auntie-hood is splendid and I love these two girls dearly!  We are truly blessed having them and their mommy in our family!  

Winter/Spring Weather

We seldom get large hail here and this was largest we'd ever seen.  The children were VERY excited as the soft hail quickly covered the ground making our spring day into a winter wonder land!  

The size compared to a penny.  

Thankfully the hail was rather soft and didn't hurt the anything or the children as the ran around in it!  

Welcome to....

our blooming family business called

(click image above to go to Huckleberry Lane)

When I say family business, that is just what I mean. We all have a part in the affair but some have a bigger part than others. Mom is the shopper. She finds great deals on Craig's List or at garage sales and has the wonderful eye for being able to spot an ugly piece of furniture and visualizing what could be done with it. Dad builds pieces and fixes others. He has an amazing ability to see an antique piece of furniture, disappear into his shop and come back in with a jaw-dropping piece of art work! Now it's Heather's turn! She then takes the unfinished wood and makes it come alive with a little paint, stain, sandpaper, polyurethane, chains and elbow grease. Okay, a LOT of elbow grease! Then comes my turn to take the finished pieces, decorate them and post pictures on the blog and our Facebook Page. (Head on over there to "like" us and for updates and Before and After pictures!) Taylor and Ben work very hard carrying the pieces up and down between the shop and attic where Heather has her painting studio and loading and unloading at shows. Hauling furniture up 2 flights of stairs is no easy job, let me tell you! Gracie and Sarah help me cover for the others in house cleaning and cooking when they are up able to help and Lydia is delighted to help with the sanding and distressing of the furniture! We've begun to take our pieces of furniture to antique/vintage craft sales.

Hummm... =-)

Without looking at the bowl of...food Sarah is working with...what on earth do you think she is doing!?!?!?!? lol

:sniff: :cry: I think I'll have to to go now.... :sniff: