Blogger's Block

I haven’t posted in weeks and yet I find myself not even knowing what to post about. I guess I feel the need to give my readers (all 4 of them…..thanks mom☺) something.

But, I got nothing. I think it would be referred to as blogger’s block.

By the way, I predict that in a few years the word ‘blog’ will be recognized by whomever adds words to dictionaries so that it no longer flashes bright red at me every single time I type the word ‘blog’. See there is goes again…..red.

My uber cool Mac spell checks everything you type whether it is on your personal e-mail account or blogging comments. Everything! See, Mac owners really aren’t a group of elitist geniuses like many perceive them to be. They just have spell check on EVERY SINGLE thing that they type to make you think that they are in the smarty pants category. Sorry Mac users. The secrets out!

Is ‘blog’ an acronym for something? What does it even mean? Come on smart people, help a sista’ out. Remember, I’m not smart. I just have a Mac. Oh, that’s good. That should be the new Mac slogan.

Speaking of inventing slogans, today I invented a new phrase. It goes like this…..

Heck-to-tha-naw.

Instead of saying ‘heck no’ you could say ‘heck to tha naw’. It makes it seam less harsh this way for some reason and is super fun to say! You should give it a try.

I’ve got to have a little ghetto in the Yonder Way terminology.

Well, there you have it. Blogger’s block gone bad.

Jason and I had a conversation the other day about the stats of our blog. They are dwindling before our very eyes. I think it is partly to do with the fact that this blog is titled ‘Yonder Way Farm’ and yet I fill it with non-farm related things. So maybe our former readers were confused and couldn’t deal with it.

The other reason could be because of this very post. I go weeks without a post and still…..nothing. Just a long post about nothing. Pathetic.

As a result of this conversation, Jason is now venturing into the world of blogging and starting his own blog filled with farm facts. Isn’t that EXCITING!!! The things he is going to bring to the blogging world wouldn’t have the same effect coming from me. He is immersed in the farm daily toiling along with his hands and hard work. I can’t wait. It will be filled tons of neat info and give you a better glimpse into the vision of Yonder Way Farm. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Heavenly

Yesterday my imaginative 3 year old, KK, said a funny thing. She has the biggest imagination and is always pretending something.

Kaylyn was pretending to be a chef and was 'preparing a dish'. It consisted of a plate and a scarf on top.

When she finished plating the dish, she said,"This dish is HEAVENLY. Coming right up God!"

She lifted her plate to the heavens on her tip-toes and walked right out of the room.

I love her creative little brain. There are always plenty of funny things to laugh about.

7 months and sitting up!

I'm a little behind on posting Laney Rae's 7 month old pictures. That's because I just took them tonight! And she is now 7 1/2 months. We are livin' la vida loca right now.

But, again, this is a way that I can keep up with my family and when it comes time to compile a nice and neat photobook at the end of the year, I will have everything in one place. And that makes me smile!

Laney Rae is such a happy bouncing baby. She smiles every single time someone locks eyes with her. Her new trick is growling. I think I make her do it a little too much. Another funny thing that she does is nod with her pelvis instead of her head when I nod at her! This is my favorite thing that she does.

She is eating all sorts of stuff and drinking from a sippy cup.

Laney Rae is now vertical. She is sitting up and has been sturdy for about a week now.

As for sleeping, she is a pro! We have her on 2 naps a day for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours each. Then she sleeps at night from 8pm until 8:30am! She is amazing and her mommy is so thankful she is a GREAT sleeper.

Today, I was in another room cleaning. I left Laney Rae on her play mat and Kaylyn playing with her. I heard footsteps come around the corner and then KK announces to me as she is walking in the room, "Momma, look what I can do now. It is alright. Don't be afraid."

This is what she was doing!!!



She was carrying her sister that is almost as big as she is! I did nothing but laugh and rush over and save Laney Rae from a fractured rib. Kaylyn and I had a long talk about picking up the baby and walking around with her. She is such a little momma. KK even offered to change a poop diaper today that was pretty terrible. Is she amazing or what??? Of course I didn't let her do it ALL by herself, but it was a step in the right direction.

Here are some precious pictures of Laney Rae at bath time tonight.

Andy G. and Almost There

We are in the final week of remodeling. This whole process has taught me more than I could possibly even touch on in this post. I would definitely have some snoozers on that one.

I am grateful, humbled, exhausted, and still trying to learn patience. What is it about myself that makes me lose self control during the 'patience exams'? I flunk every time. I am sick of flunking.

There has been a lot done in the kitchen over the last few weeks. Here is a glimpse of the new paint job to the cabinets and the island in the center. The rest of the house just needs the finishing touches (oh, and countertops) and we are moving in.







So what does all of this have to do with Andy Griffith? Nothing.

But, I would like to share a newly acquired love of Kaylyn's.

It is no mystery that my husband is old fashioned......for a 27 year old. At least once a day, he daydreams of living life in the pioneer days. This is where I usually say 'Peace Out'.

He has a strong love for the Andy Griffith show. LOVE. He watches it on t.v. and laughs hysterically at the hillbilly jokes that Andy G. throws down. He also has this phenomenon on CD so that he can listen to it in the car.

We have been driving 'his' (formerly 'hers' circa high school) car around because gas is redonkulous for us diesel drivers. Our non-green friendly Excursion is non-wallet friendly right now. Which is another reason why my genius husband is researching how to make his own diesel!

We have been driving his car around instead. With his car comes the Andy G. CD. It is a package deal. Kaylyn not only loves listening to ole' Andy now, she is requesting him the minute she gets in the car. She asks 'Dada, turn on Andy please.' How funny is that? Jason beams from ear to ear every time she asks. Oh, the glow of a proud father. Our DVD player in the Excursion has NOTHING on Andy. She is a different child in the car. She is actually quiet, calm, and attentive.

I wish they had Andy G. reading bible verses for Cubbies. Or Andy G. and 'Everything you need to know before you get to kindergarten' on CD. That would be terrific. I would have a genius on my hands. For sure.

I love my girls.....

We have had some fun things happening around here.

My girls are so much fun. I can't tell you how many times we laugh throughout the day at something silly or outrageous. I have a blast being their mommy.

Kaylyn was a Cheerleader for Halloween. Excuse me. She was a 'Brenham Cub Cheerleader'. That is what she told everyone on the night of Halloween. She wasn't just any old (or young with great legs) cheerleader. Now, I'm well aware that she had on waaaayy to much make-up that night and looked like a pageant child. But, I figured that all of these other kiddos will be walking around with blood and guts hanging from their face, why not throw on a little make-up for the fun of it.







We Kramers have taken a liking to going to the Brenham football games on Friday night. We have the best time. Jason and I sit and watch the Cubs win their victories and our blond-haired bombshell watches intently as the cheerleaders do their stunts and cheers. By the end of the game, the entire section around us is usually glued to Kaylyn watching her every move as she mimics the cheerleader's.

It is insanely funny.

Her face.....so serious. Her precious non-coordination.....all over the place. And do girls just know how to shake what their mommas gave them automatically???? I know I've never shaken my hind end in front of her. I save those moments for my club outings.......sike!

Brenham has a Brenham store that actually sells these miniature cheer leading uniforms. Kaylyn wears hers to the games which makes the cheerleader reenactment much more hilarious.





Laney Rae wore a poodle skirt. It was so sweet because Kaylyn wore this her first Halloween. I'm all about recycling.



Kaylyn's friend, Reese, was a cheerleader also. They were so precious.

We also had crazy hair night in Awana's a few weeks back. Kaylyn talked about this night for many weeks. She would come and find me out of the blue and start talking about what her hair would look like and the color it would be. And then she would giggle and laugh at herself after she unveiled her creation through words.





We came up with this style. She didn't want it to be too crazy that it didn't make any sense. She does do the 'not making sense' styles very well. But, she did opt for a 'fairy princess' style. Her color of choice was purple. This is only because they were out of pink.



Kaylyn also has a kitty named 'Dolly'. This is pretty much the best cat ever. She lets Kaylyn throw her in her stroller, feed her pretend bottles, and put clothes on her. She sits still through all of this.

Side note: We have 3 kittens if anyone is interested! They make great snake and mice ninjas.

Insert picture of Laney Rae here.....Coming Soon!

Laney Rae is sitting up! All by herself. It took her a little longer than it did Kaylyn, but I attribute that to her lovely rolls that I'm crazy about. But, as far as food goes, she is eating all sorts of things and definitely not behind in that area. Today she had stew, yesterday spaghetti, and the other night Jason took us girls out on a date to a fine diner called, Cici's Pizza. Laney Rae had all sorts of things there.

As I was doing laundry today, I realized something. I almost ALWAYS have one load of pink clothes. I don't purposely sort them into this pile because they are pink. My sorting goes a little bit like this.

-Whites
-Jeans
-Darks (blacks, navy, red, green, etc)
-Lights
-Towels

It just usually ends up that my 'lights' pile is mostly PINK! I love my pink pile of clothes.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard things like 'girls are harder to raise than boys are' or 'girls are so difficult' or 'I want only boys, my whole life, ever' or or how about 'I'm so thankful I don't have girls these days' or 'girls are drama queens'. My all-time favorite has to be 'girls are mean-spirited'. Really???

People mean well when they say these things....I suppose if you can mean well saying something like that as my 3 year old diva has a hissy fit over the shoes I chose for her to wear that day. Actually, what do people even mean when they say things like this to a mother of two girls?

I'm not here to plead my case on why I think girls are better/easier to raise than boys.

While I do believe that girls have a little bit (or a lot in some cases) of drama, I don't know if these statements are 100% accurate. I think there could be difficult things about each of them. One thing I do know with certainty is that girls are emotional. However, I think this could be a beautiful thing if disciplined correctly. I believe it is how the Lord designed us to be as women, as wives, and as mothers. It is what separates us from men......that and their ridiculous strength abilities.

Don't get me started here. Guys are just stronger than girls.....period. I would not want to leave it up to fellow firefighter woman to pull my firefighter husband out of a burning building if something should happen to him. It just wouldn't happen. That's another show folks.

I think it is the 'emotional' part of girls that scares people. The Lord has been teaching me a lot about raising girls lately. Especially in a world like today where so much is focused outwardly instead of inwardly.

I look forward to the day that my girls can call me their friend instead of just their mom. The tender moments of conversations on the phone about 'girl stuff', the annual shopping trips, baking Christmas dishes in the kitchen together, seeing them become mommies and helping them nurse their babies for the first time make me glad that we share the common bond of being women together.

I do hope that one day the Lord blesses us with a son. Jason needs a burly boy running around here as his little sidekick. Hopefully, one day that will happen. If not, I will still be thankful for my girls.

I wouldn't trade the pink pile of laundry for anything in the world.



p.s. There is an amazing family that I love keeping up with. It is pastor C.J. Mahaney's wife and daughters. They have four girls all grown up with families of their own and one boy. The mom and daughters have a blog called GIRL TALK.

My love

Today, November 4th, is a special day.

It is the day that we said 'I do' 7 years ago. I can't believe I have been married to such an incredible man for 7 years.

In the course of our 7 year marriage we have been.....

-a land surveyor, a vet tech, students, a pressure washer, a pro-life ministry worker, a firefighter, a photographer, a farmer, a husband, a wife, a father, a stay-at-home-mommy.

-moved 7 times. Can you believe it? We were real live gypsies living in a travel trailer and all!

-become parents of one and then parents of two.

Through all of these journeys we have remained best friends. Jason, I still look forward to seeing you every second of the day. When you walk into the room, I'm at peace. I enjoy every waking moment with you. It is warmth to my soul and laughter to my heart.

The Lord blessed my socks off when He placed you into my life. I didn't know what I needed in a husband, but you exceed every thought, dream, and hope.

The way that you love me and the girls is incredible. We feel like a queen and little princesses. Your love has no stipulations or strings attached. You give it freely and wholly to us.

Your hands tell so much about your character and who you are. They are worn, rough, and used. Yet tender and ever reaching out to show us your love and affection.

Thank you for the way that you lead our family being sensitive to the Lord's guidance. You are the most amazing man that I've ever met. I'm thankful that I get to call you husband and friend and that I get to go through life here on earth by your side.

I love you.