Christmas Highlights

Today was our first day back in the swing of things. David is back at school after his Christmas break was extended by a couple of well timed snow days. Wednesday's are also when I go to work each week for the day in a little church office, which means Fordycakes spent the day with his babysitter/adopted grandmother. We were all back at it.

Can I be honest with you? I was a little ready. I like the tiniest hint of a routine. I'm the type of person who needs motivation to put on real clothes. Left to my own devices I'd just be in my pajamas all the time.

I so throughouly enjoyed Christmas, though. Having David home and spending time with family is such a treat. Let's close out Christmas break with a little recap of Christmas highlights, shall we?

We took Ford to see Santa Clause. I had taught him all about Santa and upon seeing his likeness he would proudly yell, "Ho, ho, ho!" It is adorable. Naturally. Santa in person, however, was a different story. He didn't cry, but he did give Santa a very serious and skeptical stare down.

Christmas was much more exciting with Ford this year because he understood that things were different and special and he could participate in some of the traditional kid festivities of the season.

Look at this little baby last year during his first Christmas. 

Now direct your addition to this giant toddler. Where did my baby go? 

A seasoned Christmas veteran, he's actually a little Christmas ham. He thinks he is the funniest person around. 

This year we spent Christmas with my parents at the farm. It's a very restful place to be. We all took many many naps. Ford slept in the bed with my parents and was praised for being such a good eater each time he polished off another cookie. But whose to complain when Mommy and Daddy are getting to nap? 

As Christmas day drew closer, David and I (and everyone else, really) had a great time playing Santa. I was working on making Ford a teepee and on Christmas eve David and Jonathon and my dad all worked late into the night in the freezing cold to put together the rest of his toys. 

There was one among us, though who could not wait until Christmas morning to give little Fordy his gift. Uncle Jon Jon was so excited to give Ford his present that he gave it to him the day before. He couldn't stand to wait any longer. How sweet is that, I ask you?

But Ford did not complain because his present was AWESOME! It's a little jeep that's like a big wheel and Ford can drive it himself when he's bigger but for now it operates by remote control. 

Ford thinks that it is amazing and that he is an exceptionally skillful driver. 

All he wanted to do everyday was ride in his little jeep. Thanks Uncle Jon Jon for loving this little guy so much and for such a fun gift. 

Here are my two fellas on Christmas eve. This is just after my family's annual snack supper, which is one of David's favorite traditions and maybe now one of Ford's . He ran around all night using his charm and good looks to con people out of the food on their plates. Few can resist him. 

This is what Santa had ready for Ford on Christmas morning. I was so excited about how well his teepee turned out. I'll do a separate blog post with the details about it.

We had to wake the sleepy head up on Christmas morning. We were much more excited than he was.

But it did not take long for him to wake up and realize there were new things to play with!

He really liked opening presents this year. He couldn't quite understand why he needed to stop playing with one present to open another, though. I'm sure if we dwelled on that for long we could draw some good metaphors or life lessons from it, but let's just keep opening presents for the time being, ok? 

After opening gifts inside, there was still a present from Papa and Mema for this outside loving little boy- A big play set. 

You'll notice that Ford is dressed for success in his Christmas long all, bear hat, camo jacket, and John Deere boots. He's very fashion forward. 

One thing that is not forward is his slide technique.

It's the way all the cool kids are doing it these days. 

Besides Ford's antics, the thing that kept us most entertained during Christmas was my Dad's new cows. 

There was even a baby born on Christmas eve!

Sweet sleepy girl. Being born is rough stuff. Every time Ford saw the calves he said "Awwwwww." 

Hey, Mama.

Cow whisperers. 

Ford also says, "boo" instead of "moo." It's funny every single time. 

We had a great Christmas. We got a lot of fun stuff, but more importantly we enjoyed being together. I'm thankful for our little family. I'm thankful for the Christmas season and the freshness that Ford brings to our traditions.

As we move into the season of Epiphany, I have taken our Christmas decorations down but have also encountered a slight problem. The baby Jesus from our "Little People" nativity scene is MIA.

"You will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manager…" or perhaps we will find him covered in goldfish crumbs stuffed in the couch cushions.

May we all seek and find Him this year.
Blessings to you in this new year.
Melissa

All You Single Ladies

Jon Jon just got a new truck...a bright, shiny, red, truck.

I feel it's my duty to inform the single women of the world that, in addition to being a builder of chicken coops and mudroom lockers, expert fisherman, and an excellent cook,...

...that John's got himself a sweet ride.

Also, keep in mind what you'd gain in terms of a sister-in-law.

We could be best-ies.

mel

PS: This ad is not endorsed by Jon Jon.

PSS: Please don't tell him about it.

PSSS: Email me if you want to marry him...I'll be handling the initial screening process.

PSSSS: After he washed his new truck, he washed my station wagon...he's quality ladies.

Fitzgerald Farm House Update

Last week, I headed down to Fitzgerald to help my Mama make some decisions about stuff for the farm house. They are making some serious progress on the outside and it's time to start making decisions about the interior- tile, flooring, light fixtures, faucets, cabinets, etc. Anyone who's ever built a house knows that there are one million decisions to make about every little thing and those decisions have to be made sometimes quickly because of contractors' schedules. Anyway, Mama is trying to get a jump start on things so that she'll be ready when they call her up from the bull pen.

Anyway, I thought you might like to take a look-see at the progress that's been made to the outside of the house thus far. Right now, builders are putting up the siding all around the house.

The 'rents decided to go with a board and batten exterior- boards running vertically, rather than the traditional horizontal approach. Their thought was that it would make the very long and wide front of the house seem a little taller. I think they made a good choice. The vertical lines definitely give the house a little more height.

Now, check out all of the amazing stone work around the base of the house, on the stairs, and finally on the gigantic fireplace!

Here's the back of the house. Daddy decided to add a big porch all the way across the back because we all love to spend time outside together. Now there's plenty of room for a table and chairs and a big fire pit. I can't wait for our first fiesta out there!

There's going to be wrought iron porch railings between those stone columns.

On the side of the porch, you'll see the retaining wall moving out from the side of the porch that is necessary to retain something...I don't know what. I think Mama is going to make it into a flower bed. Then it will retain flowers.

 

Now that the outside of the house is near completion, it's time to choose an exterior paint color. Mama really wants a little yellow farm house, so these are the yellows we are choosing from:

Believe it or not (and despite what Daddy and David think), those are all different shades of yellow.We're leaning toward the bottom left color, which is Benjamin Moore Fresh Butter. Doesn't that sound farm-y? The darker colors are shutter options and all of the trim is going to be white. I like the bottom brown-ish gray for shutters, but the jury's still out.

Now inside, about the only thing that is done is the fireplace...but baby is it ever a fireplace. It are big.

Here's the bottom hearth area. Ignore the saw. Please. Or pretend it's a yule log.

It goes way up to the tip top of the cathedral ceiling. I couldn't even get the whole thing in the picture.

And look at these giant screws...this is where the giant mantle will go.



Doesn't it look great? Hopefully it won't be too long before we're all sitting in the house with a big fire blazing.

mel

Fitzgerald Farm House Phase III

David went on a 4 day field trip with 8th graders.

I slept at my house alone one night. I was scared. Our house is creaky.

I let Jack sleep on David's side. He is a bed hog and he snores.

I went to Fitzgerald for the duration of the 8th grade field trip.

It was like a business trip, anyway... I knew that you guys needed to see the progress on the Farm House.

So here it is...Fitzgerald Farm House Phase III.

 Shingles...check.
Windows...check.
Doors...check.
Insulation...check.

A pretty view through the dining room windows.

This is the back of the house and the future home of a big deck.

 

  

This is the side of the house and the future home of a stone fireplace.

These are the footprints of the current tenant.

It's a raccoon and I've named him Bandit.

Mel

A Public Apology

I have a brother. He is two years younger and two feet taller than I am.

His name is Jonathon, but you can call him Big Country, Jon Jon, John Henry, or J-Money. I do.

I love him dearly, but I did him wrong. Really really low down wrong.

I am here today to remedy that.

You see, John Henry has helped with each and every project that I've told you my Daddy built. Daddy does not work alone. John Henry is his right hand man, partner in production, and collaborator.

He helped build the dock that we fish off of.

He helped build these chairs in my back yard and our deck.

He helped build the screens that we have yet to install on my upstairs windows.

He was number one nail gunner on my beautiful mudroom lockers and he even helped me finish painting it when I was looking tired and pitiful toward the end of the process.

He most recently helped me hang a shelf in my guest bedroom closet.

And I gave him ZERO credit.

That's the kind of person I am. I wear ridiculously huge sunglasses and fail to give credit where it is surely due. I have no excuse.

I am sorry, Jon Jon. I truly am.

And I can't end this without a shout out...Ladies, this man is handy, handsome, and single. What more could you want? 

I'm just sayin'.

I told him he was free to build me a coffee table so I could properly highlight his mad skillz on the blog.

Apologetically,
Melissa

Fitzgerald Farm House Phase II

I went to Fitzgerald yesterday to see these people. Well, these people and Nana.

These are my parentals, Mark and Pam. Mama and Daddy. Pay and Reggie. Call 'em what you want.

They are building a house at our family farm and we are all very excited about it. I drove down yesterday to visit and to take a look at all the progress that I had heard about on the house. It was sort of a yucky rainy day, but it cleared up enough for me to get the grand tour and take a few pictures.

Before you see the new pictures, let's remember what the house looked like last time.



So, a little less than a month ago, the Farm House looked like this:

Hang on to your drawers folks,

because now it looks like THIS:

Pretty good, huh? We are all really impressed with how fast the house is going up.

Here's the front view from the road that you drive in on.

And here's the side.

It's fun to walk around the house and see how all the rooms are laid out now. We've been looking at the building plans and the little drawn picture of what the house is suppose to look like for so long that it is hard to believe that it's actually going to be a real live house. 

But here she sits.

The house is perfect for my family because it has lots and lots of porches. One third of the house is porch. We all love to sit outside and the farm is a good place for sitting.

From various porches on the house, you will be able to see this...

Bovine of the field...

Fishes of the sea...err...pond...

The road less traveled...

...Fruit of the Vine.

These are actually gourds. Are gourds fruits or vegetables? I don't think you eat gourds...but maybe they are squash?

A great place to sit on the porch, right? Markus and Pamela think so, and I think so, too.

Until those porches are finished, though, Daddy will sit here, on his backhoe.

The back hoe is also a good place for sitting. It's one of many backhoe benefits.



Melissa