The Wildlife Bar

And here - is where we all ended up Saturday after they came in from hunting. We're at the WildLife. It's a great little bar in Stuttgart, David & his dad know the owner Kenny. It's a nice place to just sit down, enjoy a beer or two & visit & hang out. And that's exactly what we did Saturday afternoon. Until it was time for the boys to go home & go back out to the blind!

The Boys Go Hunting

And here are some random pictures of Saturday morning. It is 4 a.m. Yes, I said 4 a.m. Notice the wonderful healthy breakfast they're all eating? You're welcome! I actually enjoy getting up & fixing breakfast for a bunch of hungry guys getting ready to head out to the duck blind. And I know David appreciates it. I also put on a HUGE pot of stew for when they got back in later that day. And for dinner? I made fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, coleslaw...the works! Everyone seemed to have a really good time. There was SO much water there....they've had the worst flooding down in that part of Arkansas in history. So the ducks had A LOT of water to choose from. The ducks were scarce. But other than that...it was a great trip.

The Duck Blind 2009

Wednesday before last, David, Boogie & me headed out at noon to go to Stuttgart. This was to be the last "big" duck hunt of 2009. We also hadn't spent Christmas with Big David yet.

I can't remember if I blogged about our 1st duck hunt together. But I DO remember emphatically saying that I would NOT do that again...EVER....wrong... I lied.

We set the alarm for 3:45 Thursday morning. I woke up & fixed David breakfast. And as I was sitting there having my coffee, minding my own business (daydreaming about going back to bed), my sweet sweet husband invited me to go along with him - again. And try as I might to come up with any & every excuse not to go, I actually kinda felt a little bit bad that on that particular morning, he didn't have anyone to go with him. And I know how much he LOVES duck hunting & working Boogie. AND - I know how important it is to him to have a few pictures of each hunt.

So, without further ado, I went back to the bedroom, put on 15 layers of clothes, and announced I would be tagging along again.

The smile on his face was almost worth the boat rideout to the duck blind in the dark, crawling back in the duck blind through that little bitty door, freezing my ass off & getting my picture taken in this hideous outfit you see above....A-L-M-O-S-T! me

Cancelling the Kansas Trip

I guess it's officially "official" and we are NOT going to Kansas to visit the kids this weekend. Sad doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about that. BUT - we truly don't have the money for a trip like that right now, the weather is HORRIBLE, and - Desiree's dad & step mom are going. With all that being said...we'll be postponing our trip. I'd like to shoot for NEXT weekend, but who knows. So for now, I'll just keep on missing them, talking to them 50 times a day on the phone, and pray next week will be good. me

Happy 22nd Birthday Eddy!!!

Today is our son's 22 birthday! Happy Birthday Eddy! We wish so bad we could spend it with you, Dez & Hunter. Now that you have a son of your own, you can understand how YOUR birthday, just doesn't seem as important now as it used to. And I can say this only because, guess what? Today is my 40th birthday. And for the past 22 years, it hasn't been all about me me me, like it used to be! I can't imagine anything more beautiful than sharing my birthday with you son. I wish you the happiest birthday ever. Love, me

My Hunter

Since I'm going to be out of town until Sunday and won't be blogging for a few days (no internet or computer in Stuttgart, AR) I wanted to make sure I documented exactly what makes my heart happy right now. This is it! Hunter does! Even though he's in Manhattan Kansas right now - just seeing these pictures make me smile.

If I close my eyes & try really really hard, I can smell his little baby scent, and feel his sweet soft touch. Oh my, how I miss this wonderful miracle grandson of mine! me

It's Over

Well, it's over. Christmas I mean. And if that didn't mean that the kids had to go back to Kansas, and Brittni had to go back to work & her own life-I'd be happy that it's done with this year. Nothing seemed to "feel" right about Christmas this year. There was just so much going on. Barbara Lee passing away, my grandma being diagnosed with colon cancer, the Christmas party that was supposed to be at my house with my mom, sister, dad, step mom, nieces was cancelled, Hunter spending 24 hours in the ICU at Northwest...it was just too much for one month! There are many many wonderful things about December 2009 also though, HUNTER LEE coming early - meeting Brittni's new boyfriend & seeing her so happy, spending extra time with my dad, grandma, mom showing off pictures of the new baby, David getting to put in several days of work right before Christmas... it's one of those times where if I just remind myself of all the blessings, it's not so bad! And hey, Tammy - it's NOT SO BAD! I'm just really missing the kids right now. Especially Hunter. I got to spend so much time with him the 2 weeks they were here, that now I think I'm having withdrawals! But as usual, it's David to the rescue. Tomorrow after work we are driving down to Stuttgart. We haven't had Christmas with his dad yet. And of course duck season re-opened the day after Christmas, so David can get in 4 days of duck hunting while we're there. He's got a couple of friends from up here that are driving down for the weekend to hunt, so that should be fun. And for some reason this year, he's talking about going out on New Year's Eve. "Out" in Stuttgart means going to the Wildlife, it's a bar that a friend of his & his dad's owns. Not sure if we'll actually go out, or go to bed at 8 or 8:30 like we usually do down there.We really don't drink much at all anymore, and NEVER do we go out & drink. There's just something about getting old(er) that makes all those thoughts run through your head about how stupid it is to have even one drink & then get out on the road-with all those other people that have had God knows how many drinks! Also, remember, to duck hunt you have to get up at 3:30 or 4 in the morning! So I doubt we'd even make it til midnight to ring in the new year! Either way, a visit to his dad's means relaxation. No worries, no running around trying to get everything done in a hurry, none of the hassles of every day life. It is awesome. And peaceful. And just what I need right now. And as usual, David knows that! me