Wow three months go by fast. Well it is spring in Oklahoma. They trees have all leafed out. The daffodils have already bloomed and faded. It would seem that the most notable sign of spring here is the wind. There is rarely a day that passes without the wind. We are not just talking warm gentle breezes here. Oh no, it is more in the neighborhood of 40-50 mile an hour gales. The wind whistles around corners and into cracks. It is no wonder the pioneers moved west. They wanted to get away from the wind. I don't even think we have entered the thunderstorm and tornado season just yet. I believe that comes in a few weeks but we have already had a couple brief thunderstorms and some tornado activity east of here.
The other sure sign of spring here seems to be ticks. It is pretty much a daily routine to check the dogs, the kids and ourselves for the annoying creatures that want to suck our blood. Ok I have even got in on the act by pulling them off or out of the dogs. It is rather gross to say the least. So far, none on me. Thank goodness.
We are all alive and well. Josh and Kendrie were here for a visit and little Laila is now three months old. She is beautiful and we are enjoying her so much.
Jeremy is hard at work as per the usual. He is due to have a surgery done on his chronically sprained ankle. The ligaments are all stretched out and he hopes to get a good result from this procedure so that he can go on more road marches or whatever the Army has planned for him next. Lisa is continuing to homeschool the munchkins. Kyran recently lost his two top front teeth, bring his total loss now to 6. Kegan of course is still waiting for his first loss. Kaylin is just the little princess and trying to keep pace with the boys, although in the running department I think she is faster than the boys.
I am still working daily for the hospital and spending time with the family. When time allows Lisa and I manage to do a little quilting as well. Now that spring I think has finally come, we will also be tending to a garden and enjoying some good tomatoes and other veggies. I recently "adopted" or captured a barn kitty to be compnay for my aging Bitty. It is amazing to see how she has come to life, chasing the little dickens around the house. Little kitty, Patches, was pretty wild for the first week or so but she has settled right in and has turned out to be a very nice addition. There is a whole bunch of cats, all wild that live in the barn down the road from my apartment and I began to feed the little ones once in awhile and one day, when my door was ajar, the little kitty walked in and now she is spoiled and enjoying the good life of three squares a day.
So that is what is going on in our life right now Oklahoma style.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Laila Celine
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I haven't seen this baby in person yet but I can hardly wait. Until then, here is just an appetizer.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Yule Baby
Welcome to the world little one. Laila Celine was born today weighing in at 6lb 13oz and 19 1/2 inches long. The proud parents, Kendrie and Josh are doing good and all is well.
It is hard to believe I have five grandchildren and I wish I could be with them all. Children are truly a gift from God and I love each one of these precious children. I feel so blessed. I hope to be able to see her soon.
There always seem to be this issue with having a birthday around Christmas time but what a great time to be born! It is the season for joy and happiness and what better time is there to celebrate the birth of a new baby? After one has waited for nine long months to finally meet this new little person, any time is a good time.
Welcome Laila!
It is hard to believe I have five grandchildren and I wish I could be with them all. Children are truly a gift from God and I love each one of these precious children. I feel so blessed. I hope to be able to see her soon.
There always seem to be this issue with having a birthday around Christmas time but what a great time to be born! It is the season for joy and happiness and what better time is there to celebrate the birth of a new baby? After one has waited for nine long months to finally meet this new little person, any time is a good time.
Welcome Laila!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Moving On
For those who may not know, I have moved from Kansas to Oklahoma (where the wind blows....) Yes it is true. I am finding out that home is where the Army sends you. Now I am not directly in the military but when the family received orders for Fort Sill OK, I saw no real purpose in staying in Kansas, so I moved on with the family.
We are about 5 hours due south of where we lived and things are pretty much the same as in Kansas, flat. There are some "mountains" not too far away called the Witchita Mountains, but of course not mountains in the strictest sense of the word. We have chosen to live in a small community outside the city called Fletcher, once home of Frank James (that would be Jesse James' brother). There are a number of churches and businesses, school, a gas station/quick mart, a bank and post office. Four miles away is another small town, Elgin in which there are even more shopping opportunities including a grocery store. We still go to the city for most shopping but at least one doesn't have to run all the way in for a gallon of milk. For the most part, I usually go in on Saturdays to attend garage sales and do any shopping or meandering.
As of late, in our search for a new church, we have also been driving in on Sunday to attend a church called Dayspring. It is fairly new, I think around 10 years old or so, and has contemporary worship and a pretty good kids program. This Sunday was our third Sunday so it may be a go. We have attended another church in Fletcher but it didn't really offer all that we wanted in a church although we have continued to attend on Wednesday night for now.
It is always a little difficult for me to move to a new community and church. Meeting new people has never been my strong point. My days are mostly spent with work followed by spending the evening with the kids. Not too exciting but ok. We are actually closer here to Josh and Kendrie in Memphis so that is nice. They have been over once and I have gone there once as well. It does appear with a new baby coming in December, that I may be going to Memphis more frequently. Love those grandbabies.
Jeremy and Lisa bought a house three miles down the road in the "country" with about 2.5 acreas. It is a lot of room for the dogs and kids. I keep teasing Jeremy that he needs to get a little petting zoo going with some goats and minature donkeys. Well who knows. Stranger things have happened. I am living in a four-plex apartment which is a change for me but I am adjusting. Again, living in Oklahoma means less rain by a mile. In fact it seems we may get one rainy day a month so far. It is now cool in the mornings but warms up to around the 60 degree mark, making it quite pleasant during the day. The downfall is that the wind blows most days so forget any kind of hairdo, kind of like Ketchikan in a way.
Well, that pretty much sums up my life since August. We miss our church in Junction City and the people there and now we find ourselves in a new place with new faces starting all over again. I guess there is something to be said for fresh starts and when I get it all figured out, maybe I could write a book.
We are about 5 hours due south of where we lived and things are pretty much the same as in Kansas, flat. There are some "mountains" not too far away called the Witchita Mountains, but of course not mountains in the strictest sense of the word. We have chosen to live in a small community outside the city called Fletcher, once home of Frank James (that would be Jesse James' brother). There are a number of churches and businesses, school, a gas station/quick mart, a bank and post office. Four miles away is another small town, Elgin in which there are even more shopping opportunities including a grocery store. We still go to the city for most shopping but at least one doesn't have to run all the way in for a gallon of milk. For the most part, I usually go in on Saturdays to attend garage sales and do any shopping or meandering.
As of late, in our search for a new church, we have also been driving in on Sunday to attend a church called Dayspring. It is fairly new, I think around 10 years old or so, and has contemporary worship and a pretty good kids program. This Sunday was our third Sunday so it may be a go. We have attended another church in Fletcher but it didn't really offer all that we wanted in a church although we have continued to attend on Wednesday night for now.
It is always a little difficult for me to move to a new community and church. Meeting new people has never been my strong point. My days are mostly spent with work followed by spending the evening with the kids. Not too exciting but ok. We are actually closer here to Josh and Kendrie in Memphis so that is nice. They have been over once and I have gone there once as well. It does appear with a new baby coming in December, that I may be going to Memphis more frequently. Love those grandbabies.
Jeremy and Lisa bought a house three miles down the road in the "country" with about 2.5 acreas. It is a lot of room for the dogs and kids. I keep teasing Jeremy that he needs to get a little petting zoo going with some goats and minature donkeys. Well who knows. Stranger things have happened. I am living in a four-plex apartment which is a change for me but I am adjusting. Again, living in Oklahoma means less rain by a mile. In fact it seems we may get one rainy day a month so far. It is now cool in the mornings but warms up to around the 60 degree mark, making it quite pleasant during the day. The downfall is that the wind blows most days so forget any kind of hairdo, kind of like Ketchikan in a way.
Well, that pretty much sums up my life since August. We miss our church in Junction City and the people there and now we find ourselves in a new place with new faces starting all over again. I guess there is something to be said for fresh starts and when I get it all figured out, maybe I could write a book.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Missed Connections
On my recent trip to Ketchikan, I had quite an interesting time. A series of "missed connections". My airport shuttle to Kansas City was uneventful but it went downhill from there. We boarded the plane bound for Chicago on time, only to find out that the radar was down in Chicago so we waited. While my connections were not terribly close, losing time, even minutes, can change everything. We finally departed and arrived in Chicago, even later and I missed my flight by a mere couple of minutes. I mean the plane was still at the gate but they had closed the flight, meaning, they filled all the seats. I was told to go to rebooking a couple of aisles over. If you are familiar with Chicago airport, the distance is quite long. After talking with the agent my choices were to wait until the following morning for the next Alaska Airline flight or book on American for a flight that left in three hours to Seattle. Well, of course I opted for the earlier flight. While waiting I chatted with a family (turns out the father is a Nazarene Paster from Seattle) and they were just returning from a missions trip in Russia. In the course of the conversation, a few names were dropped and to my surprise, they knew our pastor's (in Junction City) father who lives in Denver. Wow! Small world.
I arrived in Seattle very late and surprisingly, so did my checked bag. I tried to find a cheap hotel for a few hours of sleep and found no rooms at the inns. In desperation, I called one more only to find out on arrival that the rooms were $135 a night for a single. Too rich for my blood, seeing as I was only going to be there for about 5 to 6 hours so I started to leave and a young woman with a three year old daughter approached my and asked if I would be willing to split a room. Now let me say that I have never done anything like that in my entire life but at 2:30 in the morning my time, I threw caution to the wind and agreed. It turns out she grew up in Sitka. We got a room with two queen beds and basically dropped because we were so tired.
The next morning, or I should say later in the morning, we had continental breakfast together and went our separate ways.
I rented a car and drove to Portland and surprised my sister with a visit. She had no idea I was coming and it turned out to be a pleasant day and I was also able to see my nephew as well. I then drove to Washington and spent Friday night and all day Saturday with my cousin out on his little farm. He has 5 miniature donkeys, one a brand new baby that was sooooo cute, nine cows and some chickens. It was a great visit and I left Sunday morning to finish my trip to Ketchikan which went smoothly.
There is a second chapter to this little tale but I will save it for later. The trip home was also a series of missed connections.
Now onward to Oklahoma!!
I arrived in Seattle very late and surprisingly, so did my checked bag. I tried to find a cheap hotel for a few hours of sleep and found no rooms at the inns. In desperation, I called one more only to find out on arrival that the rooms were $135 a night for a single. Too rich for my blood, seeing as I was only going to be there for about 5 to 6 hours so I started to leave and a young woman with a three year old daughter approached my and asked if I would be willing to split a room. Now let me say that I have never done anything like that in my entire life but at 2:30 in the morning my time, I threw caution to the wind and agreed. It turns out she grew up in Sitka. We got a room with two queen beds and basically dropped because we were so tired.
The next morning, or I should say later in the morning, we had continental breakfast together and went our separate ways.
I rented a car and drove to Portland and surprised my sister with a visit. She had no idea I was coming and it turned out to be a pleasant day and I was also able to see my nephew as well. I then drove to Washington and spent Friday night and all day Saturday with my cousin out on his little farm. He has 5 miniature donkeys, one a brand new baby that was sooooo cute, nine cows and some chickens. It was a great visit and I left Sunday morning to finish my trip to Ketchikan which went smoothly.
There is a second chapter to this little tale but I will save it for later. The trip home was also a series of missed connections.
Now onward to Oklahoma!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
On the move again
Well, the Mutart family in "on the move again".
Jeremy finally received his orders and it "appears" that our get out of town date is September 1st. Wow! This is all great except that I am leaving for K town and will be gone for three weeks during which time the Army movers come to pack and load. I am running around like a wild banshee trying to pack my house in order to have it done before I leave tomorrow in addition to attempting to put in an eight hour work day. If that were not enough, it is hot, hot, hot and no one really wants to work. We would rather be at the pool cooling off. My house has no air conditioning except for a window cooler which does keep my bedroom/office comfortable, but hardly does anything for the rest of the house. Jeremy comes in last night to take a load of boxes to his garage and he exclaimed, "Mom it is hotter than blazes in here". Well duh!!! I live and work here everyday. I guess I have adjusted as I don't seem to notice it as much. I hear Oklahoma is a tad warmer than here so we will see how we adjust.
Other Mutart news reports that Josh and Kendrie are having a girl! The ultrasound lady said she hasn't been wrong in thirty years so I guess I will have to believe her. We are excited of course. It looks like I will be doing a little more traveling. Thank goodness Tennessee is a little closer to Oklahoma than Kansas.
I must get back to work so I will have time to pack my bags for Ktown as well as a few more boxes.
Jeremy finally received his orders and it "appears" that our get out of town date is September 1st. Wow! This is all great except that I am leaving for K town and will be gone for three weeks during which time the Army movers come to pack and load. I am running around like a wild banshee trying to pack my house in order to have it done before I leave tomorrow in addition to attempting to put in an eight hour work day. If that were not enough, it is hot, hot, hot and no one really wants to work. We would rather be at the pool cooling off. My house has no air conditioning except for a window cooler which does keep my bedroom/office comfortable, but hardly does anything for the rest of the house. Jeremy comes in last night to take a load of boxes to his garage and he exclaimed, "Mom it is hotter than blazes in here". Well duh!!! I live and work here everyday. I guess I have adjusted as I don't seem to notice it as much. I hear Oklahoma is a tad warmer than here so we will see how we adjust.
Other Mutart news reports that Josh and Kendrie are having a girl! The ultrasound lady said she hasn't been wrong in thirty years so I guess I will have to believe her. We are excited of course. It looks like I will be doing a little more traveling. Thank goodness Tennessee is a little closer to Oklahoma than Kansas.
I must get back to work so I will have time to pack my bags for Ktown as well as a few more boxes.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Updates
My how time flies when you are busy! We just finished Vacation Bible School. A week of craziness for sure. I took on the task of crafts which is always a bit of a challenge to come up with things that are appropriate for all ages when the groups are mixed. I had six great helpers which was wonderful and made the job so much easier. We finished Saturday with a big bash, hot dogs, salads, chips and of course lots of water. The church has a nice hill in the back which makes for a great water slide when water and a little soap are added. There were also lots of water balloons and when those ran out, everyone resorted to just buckets and yes I got a bucket on me too. Thank you Jeremy. A good time was had by all but I am so glad it is done for another year.
I am just working, spending time with the kids and helping with the gardening. The gardens is growing and we have already harvested our first zucchini of the season with more to come. The tomatoes are coming on and will be ripe soon. The cucumber plants are looking great with many babies. We also tried broccoli this year and have had one head already with another soon to be cut. The fresh lettuce and veggies are so good. We harvested quite a few strawberries as well from all the plants we put in last year.
The weather has been pretty warm as of late with a number of severe thunder storms. We actually had a tornado that touched down in a small town not far from here and it destroyed about 65% of the buildings and homes. There is a lot of cleanup going on there and in fact our Bible School offering is going to help in that community. It is a town of about 1300, just a bit larger than our own community and quite a few people from our church know people there and even some people from there, attend our church so it is for a good cause.
In late May, we took a week vacation to Branson MO which is in the Ozark Mountains (hills for those of us who know mountains). It is a town with lots of touristy stuff, entertainment, shows, theme parks, water parks etc. We had a nice time with miniature golfing, go carts, the waterpark and a theme park, a little fishing, pedal boats and swimming. Josh and Kendrie came and joined us for about three of the days so it was nice to all get together. Last weekend, we went camping at a state campground a few miles down the lake. It was nice. Very pleasant weather, and the kids played in the lake and Jeremy fished. We cooked over the fire and ate smores. The bugs were bad and in spite of spraying we still managed to get bitten. I can tell you from personal experience, you don't want chigger bites. If you don't know what they are look them up. Painful I say and very itchy. We still plan to do some more camping this summer and hope to actually get out on the lake.
Well that should be enough for now. The move to Oklahoma is....I don't know when. I will be in K town in July for three weeks to cover a co-worker's vacation so hope to see some Ktowners while there.
I am just working, spending time with the kids and helping with the gardening. The gardens is growing and we have already harvested our first zucchini of the season with more to come. The tomatoes are coming on and will be ripe soon. The cucumber plants are looking great with many babies. We also tried broccoli this year and have had one head already with another soon to be cut. The fresh lettuce and veggies are so good. We harvested quite a few strawberries as well from all the plants we put in last year.
The weather has been pretty warm as of late with a number of severe thunder storms. We actually had a tornado that touched down in a small town not far from here and it destroyed about 65% of the buildings and homes. There is a lot of cleanup going on there and in fact our Bible School offering is going to help in that community. It is a town of about 1300, just a bit larger than our own community and quite a few people from our church know people there and even some people from there, attend our church so it is for a good cause.
In late May, we took a week vacation to Branson MO which is in the Ozark Mountains (hills for those of us who know mountains). It is a town with lots of touristy stuff, entertainment, shows, theme parks, water parks etc. We had a nice time with miniature golfing, go carts, the waterpark and a theme park, a little fishing, pedal boats and swimming. Josh and Kendrie came and joined us for about three of the days so it was nice to all get together. Last weekend, we went camping at a state campground a few miles down the lake. It was nice. Very pleasant weather, and the kids played in the lake and Jeremy fished. We cooked over the fire and ate smores. The bugs were bad and in spite of spraying we still managed to get bitten. I can tell you from personal experience, you don't want chigger bites. If you don't know what they are look them up. Painful I say and very itchy. We still plan to do some more camping this summer and hope to actually get out on the lake.
Well that should be enough for now. The move to Oklahoma is....I don't know when. I will be in K town in July for three weeks to cover a co-worker's vacation so hope to see some Ktowners while there.
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