Kisses goodbye and all tucked in

Winter has arrived here in The Creek.  The plastic has gone up on the old farmhouse windows, making the view outside as hazy as the snowfalls that will follow. 

The past two nights our temp has dropped considerably and with no heat upstairs in our home, we pile on the blankets and I sleep in layers.  Socks being one of these layers, which the husband thinks is craziness, but I love. 

Unfortunately, Lincoln had a romp around the farmyard this past weekend when it was quite muddy before the cold crept in.  Larry, the farmer, has been spreading manure on the fields in our backyard and Lincoln just loves him some manure.  It was a messy mess.  Before we could give him a bath, our pup had been on every blanket in the house.  Jumping, napping, giving his hugs and all along spreading his stinky manure scent.  We've lived in this house on the farm for three and a half years now and I grew up with farms in every direction at my parents' house, so I've grown to welcome the sweet, springy smell - OUTSIDE the house.  Bedtime just wasn't so pleasant as Andrew and I climbed into bed, pulled the covers up, and got cozy with the cows.



Cow Kisses
my future brother-in-law



Lincoln got his tubby.  Comforters and quilts were tossed into the wash.  My house lost its farm fumes for now.

 This meant that we had to pile on extra quilts, homemade by my momma, while our big comforter spent the night in the dryer. 
Each morning before my man heads off to the mill, before the early morning light has made an appearance, he leaves me with a kiss goodbye and tucks me in from the cold.  This morning, with his wifey in mind, he warmed up the big comforter and brought it to me in bed.

mmmm....laundry warm from the dryer is one of

my favorite things.  Many a winter's day, before

folding, I can be found sitting on the laundry room

floor covered in a pile of toasty cloth. 

My husband may not always think of the sweetest words to say.  He may not make romantic gestures often. But he knows his wife.  She fancies warm laundry.  So this is what he gave me.  It's simple.  It's love.

Visit her, gentle Sleep! with wings of healing, And may this storm be but a mountain-birth, May all the stars hang bright above her dwelling, Silent as though they watched the sleeping Earth!
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Warm winter wishes.
<3- Sarah

Red's Story

Back to work tomorrow for me.  I do sense a bit of jealousy from those around me when I am at the beginning or end of one of my vacations from school.  "You lucky b*, you get the whole week off!"  "Oh, you had the whoooole week off and you have to go back to work on Tuesday. Boo Hoo!"  I know, I know, school vacations are a perk, BUT so
are the comedic happenings in the classroom.  Kids say the darndest things!

To get myself pumped up to head back in tomorrow....I will leave you with a quick post.  A story from my pre-k classroom my second year of teaching.

This story stars one of my students, we will call him Red.  Picture a boy, really one of those ALL-boy kind of boys, with a mop of rust-colored hair on his head and a spray of freckles covering his cheeks and nose.  A friend's mother once said, "A face without freckles, is like a night without stars."  In that case, Red's face was like a country night in the Creek.  He often wore jeans that were faded at the knee and stopped an inch or so above is untied sneakers.

Red, with all his freckles, sat at a round table in the classroom with two other little boys in my class.  They had just arrived at school, so the brains were buzzing, hands were busy, and conversation was high.  It was a spring day and, as the school year came to a close, "the big school" was a favored topic of conversation. 

As I took a seat in a child-sized chair at Red's table, its highest point hitting my knee, I realized the chatter happening between these boys had ventured even futher into the future than "the big school."  One of the boys said with pride, when I graduate I'm gonna go to college."  Another boy nodded his head at this idea and they both looked to me for approval.  I nodded along and continued listening, unlike me, but so glad I did.  This is when Red spoke up.  Red had a different plan in mind.  He was not going to college.

Wide eyes.  Loud voice.  Nose scrunched.  Red-head tilted.
Red said,
"When I graduate, I'm going to Kindergarten!!!"

<3-Sarah

Twenty Twelve

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

January 1, 2012.  I leave 2011 with mixed feelings.  Emotions are running wild and aimlessly in this girl.  Pure joy leads to tears in an instant.  Why?  I have no answer.  A phase, the weather, just a crazy girl thing I suppose. 



In need of repair, but beautiful all the same.  Leaving the past behind, carrying a piece of it with us always.

 A new year looks, to most, like an opportunity for change.  A reason to start again, try a little harder this time, and possibly succeed.  If not, 2013 will soon approach and with it another chance to resolve.  I haven't heard of many people being all too uspet with failing at a resolution in the new year.  These things seem to be set up for failure in most cases.  I don't think I have ever completely followed through with a resolution I've set for myself.  But then again, I don't seem to choose resolutions that are all too pressing.  Exercise, less swearing, the usuals. 

This year I would like to wake up to more weekend mornings craving coffee instead of red Gatorade...if confused see http://applepiespice.blogspot.com/2011/12/cake-batter-6-am.html.  Settling down.  Staying in.  I'll keep it in mind.  It is something I want. 

She says, "I wanna do right, but not right now."  - Miranda Lambert



Waking up at home.

Realistically, making a life change on January 1st is silly.  A day on the calendar will never decide a person is ready for change.  Looking ahead to an entire year can be overwhelming and seem impossible.  I will take it day by day (or, in my resolution's case, weekend by weekend).  I will choose what's right for me. 
I will change in 2012 and the beauty of it is that I won't always have control over how or when it happens.  I can plan my resolution and I can give it a whirl, but it's what has not yet been planned and is on the way that makes the new year so momentus.  It is why we gather to celebrate.  In hope of happy days ahead.

Right now, GrayC and Annabelle are curled up on me.  This is something I can count on from January to June.  The coldest months bring the kitties close.  Lincoln is stretched out on the couch next to us.  His dog dreams making him twitch.  And so 2012 begins...

<3- Sarah

Run, run as fast as you can....no wait, walk! You're in school!

The Gingerbread Man....one of my favorite units to teach each year.  We spend the week reading the different versions of the story, completing gingerbread man projects, and this year, we even sent paper gingerbread men to family and friends throughout the U.S. and received postcards back from our traveling cookies!

But the most important part of the gingerbread man unit, is the hunt at the end of the week.  Now my friend, Mr. G, has been hanging out in my classroom one week in December for three years now.  And each year he manages to sneak away and leave behind clues throughout the school that lead my class and I on an unforgettable hunt.  These clues say things like, "Run, run as fast as you can.  Go to room 13 + 3, that's where I am!" or "Run, run as fast as you can.  Go to where you eat, that's where I am!"

We travel to classrooms, offices, even the cafeteria, before we finally find him hidden in my ceramic apple where class treats are kept.  And so the story goes...

It was Friday afternoon.  Due to rainy weather during an unseasonably warm December, my class was having indoor recess.  If not for the piles of papers that get organized, desk that reappears, hallway window that gets redecorated, or papers that get corrected, indoor recess would be despised by me and my colleagues.  Let 'em play in the rain!  There is never enough space, never enough toys and games, never a proper clean up, and noise to make your head pound til dinner time.  This indoor recess soon became the noisiest yet.  Emma came up to me with a brown strip of paper in hand and said, "Mrs. Bushey, I like this note you put where the gingerbread man was."  Looking confused, I asked, "What's this?"  I read it and asked where she had found the curious rhyme.  She pointed to the pocket where our friend, the gingerbread man, had been sitting earlier and was now gone.  I turned off the lights and made an announcement to the class that our little friend was missing and that he had left behind some sort of clue.  I had Emma read the clue aloud.  Cue children screaming!  Bodies bounced like Pop Rocks!  I reminded the class that we had a Mystery Reader joining us after recess and the hunt would just have to wait.  No excitement diminished at this announcement.  I've never seen my class so eager for recess to end. 

Clean up consisted of hopping, skipping, hand holding, screeching, and a promptness that had yet to be seen.  The Mystery Reader arrived.  I must say, my class kept their composure well through the stories that were read.  Even amidst the excitement of an upcoming hunt, the magic of picture books can capture children's attention.

The hunt began by deciphering the first clue.  Room 13 + 3?  What could this mean?  To first graders, just beginning their exploration of addition, discovering the answer took some time.  Room 16 it was, but a few behavior reminders before we all poured out into the silent hallways.  "If we are too loud, the gingerbread man will hear us.  He could run away again.  Make sure you are very quiet and sneaky."  I tiptoed out of the room, with 21 tiny toes following suit.  In Room 16 we found yet another clue.  This one led us to the office where a clue had been left on the secretary's desk.  Then the nurses office.  The nurse had been so busy that she saw something brown quickly run through, but had no time to stop.  Band aids and thermometers trumped a tricky cookie.  We then made our way to the reading teachers' room.  A stuffed snowman held the clue for our ginger guy.  He was getting friends in on the act!  Upon reading, we made our way to the cafeteria.  Uh oh!  The recently mopped floor, left me to be the one to find what would be our last clue from Mr. G.  The clue that would lead us right back to where we began.  Our classroom and the candy-filled apple on my desk!  As I lifted the apple, it suddenly jumped from my hands and I screamed!  This in turn caused the children in the room to scream as well.  The apple mysteriously moved again and I tightened my grip.  When I was sure that all 21 kids had a view of the apple's lid, I removed it and inside we found our gingerbread man.  Of course a gingerbread cookie would have a sweet tooth!

The DumDums were gone, but inside he had left each child there very own gingerbread man cookie to celebrate the successful unriddling of clues.  Naughty but nice!  This cookie knew a cookie jar when he saw one.  Our new-found friend was passed around for hugs and then placed back into his pocket for safe-keeping.  This time we would keep our eyes on him!



That weekend, while perusing the children's section of Barnes and Noble, I came across a book entitled, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School.  In this story, the students bake a gingerbread man at school then leave him to cool during recess.  Our main character is not so happy to be left behind by his friends and sets out to find the kids who made him.  Adorable!  This book had to be read to my class!  I bought it and brought it to school the next week.  Our gingerbread man was visiting the first grade class across the hall.  He was becoming a very popular guy in our elementary school.  And wouldn't you know it, he led Mrs. Glover's class on a similar hunt!  Bradley talked about it the rest of the day!  He could be heard down the hall after dismissal, telling his dad about his friend, the gingerbread man, and the day he ran away.  Creating school memories....one cookie at a time!

<3- Sarah

walking the dog

Walking the dog.......lots of people do it.  For some it is a necessity due to nature calling, high energy pups, or daily routine.  For others it is pure pleasure.  Peace of mind.  A time to gather thoughts and bond with the one or two creatures (or more....I mean have you met my sister) who love you most.  For me, it is necessity one day and pleasure the next.  Usually depending on the weather, the motivation, or just the mood of the day. 

Lincoln started out as a puppy who just wouldn't walk.  When he joined our family in July, he was almost 3 months old, and hadn't seen much of a leash in his short life.  He came from a breeder in Manchester, VT, where he ran with his brother, Milkshake (love it!), in the back yard of a family with a half a dozen children.  Free to roam with a pair of eyes to watch at all times.  Those first few weeks, a walk with Lincoln would last less than a minute before he would be belly down, usually in the shadiest spot he could find. 

Now being a 20-something girl, who really wanted a baby but settled for a puppy, I bought The Dog Whisperer's book, How To Raise the Perfect Dog.  From the time Lincoln, formerly known as Charlie, came home from the breeder, Andrew and I followed everthing The Whisperer told us to do.  We even chose him from the two puppies who were left the way the book told us to.  We were told not to choose a puppy with high energy or the pack leader, because these types of dogs would be harder to train and less likely to be "calm, submissive."  Well...we only had two to choose from, so Charlie it was.  We asked many questions and it sounded like Milkshake, who broke out of the pen first and laid Charlie flat in the grass while playing, was not the one for us.  Good ole Charlie, calm, submissive, crying the entire ride home! 

Anyway...Charlie became Lincoln.  Named after our road and his very first home away from home.  The Whisperer made it very clear two walks everyday were important in the bonding, training, and tiring out of our pup.  But I just couldn't seem to find a solution in this book for a dog who literally wouldn't walk.  Apparently he may be uncomfortable with the area.  So we took little walks at first, very frustrating little walks.  After about a month of walking the same road over and over, I knew this was no longer the case.  There isn't much that changes on roads out in the Creek.  He had to be getting used to it.  I began bringing cat food, his most favorite thing on the planet, and tempting him to move ahead with it.  Swiping it in front of his nose til he caught the scent and jumped up toward me.  As he got used to the swipe and move forward routine, I started to just use my hand without the cat food and that seemed to keep him going a tad bit longer.  To say the least....the first walks with Lincoln included no peace of mind, birds chirping, thoughts running free kind of feelings.  I was just glad it was summer and I was home from work to.....yes.....TEACH this dog how to take a walk. 

Fall came and Lincoln got bigger, much bigger!  And, I can't tell you when or how it happened, but that dog, he started walking.  We would go farther and farther on Waites Hill.  He did find some things along the way that would make us have to turn back every now and then.  For example, cars, cows, ducks, road signs, pieces of plastic laying on the side of the road.....you know....very frightening things!  He seems to gain energy (in other words pulling-power)  as we get closer and closer to home.  There's many a time when Andrew or I end up running with him the last few yards to the house.  There's no place like home.

Today, Lincoln loves a good walk with his two favorite people in the world.  We are able to take different routes, with very frightening things along the way, and our calm, submissive boy fights through and keeps trudging on.  He still loves the walk home more than venturing out and picks up speed as the scent of the farmhouse draws him near.  On walks with Lincoln I have learned more about my surroundings, grown closer to my husband, gained patience, ran into family traveling back roads, met my neighbors and learned their dog stories, cleared my mind, written parts of songs that will probably never be finished, taken pictures of farmlife and small town happenings, watched snow sparkle like glitter as it fell, listened to favorite tunes, and bonded with my dog.

Lincoln and I are due for a walk later....but to Tractory Supply with my dad first.

Happy feelings!

<3-Sarah

On and On

Two years ago, on Christmas morning, my husband proposed to me. 

As stated before, I am truly a Christmas spirit and have always begun celebrating the holiday long before my parents (as a child) or husband (as an adult) would want to hear Bing Crosby ringing through the car stereos.  I remember one year, as I placed a Christmas tape in the car's tape player, my dad saying, "Aw, come on, it's way too early for this."  My response was, "NOOO, Halloween is over, it's Christmas time!"  To say the least, an engagement on Christmas morning made perfect sense for this girl.



Our tree that Christmas....the scrapbook page is propped to the right.



That Christmas Eve, my husband had stayed up much later than me....wrapping presents and setting up the TV I had asked for in the kitchen.  When we woke up the next morning, I was not surprised to see the TV there.  I was surprised that it had been completely hooked up and was turned on.  I thought to myself, "I really made out well this year!"  We opened our other gifts and took a breather on the couch before the day of  being bounced around from family to family began...or in other words "family foosball."

This is where my morning becomes something like a scene from A Christmas Story.  My husband said, "Hey, what's that up there on the bookcase?"  Was it an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle?  No...I'd shoot my eye out!  It was a wrapped gift, looking much like the shape of a calendar, something that just happened to be on my list every year.  I grabbed the gift and brought it back to the couch to open it.  As I pulled the paper away, my breath was caught in my chest.  It was a scrapbook page...THAT MY HUSBAND HAD MADE!  Now after dating a guy for 11 years...this can really only mean one thing.  While I am an avid scrapbooker, my husband was not one to craft.  This page had two pictures on it, one of us from our high school graduation and another from our college years.  There was a poem written in his handwriting that he had copied from a page I had made of the two of us years before.  And at the bottom of the page, there was a little pocket that had letter stickers written out to say, "Will you marry me"  He had forgotten the question mark, but hey let's give the man some credit...he was scrapbooking!  Inside the pocket was my engagement ring, tied to a piece of gray yarn.  This is where the hands begin to shake and all breath is gone.  Andrew got down on one knee and put the ring on my finger.  Then he said, "Sooo?"  And I said, "Yes!"  I hugged him, kissed him, and tears came. 

My hands shook for the remainder of the morning.  Shaking as I called and texted everyone, who already knew and were waiting anxiously!!!  Shaking as I finished up craft gifts for his parents.  Shaking as I got myself ready to show off that ring.  Christmas morning will always be even more special to me....I didn't think that was possible.

Now 4 days ago, on December 22nd, my sister's boyfriend proposed to her.  Similar to my husband and I, they were at home.  Her boyfriend pulled out a yellow box that had been hidden behind their tiny apartment-sized Christmas tree.  He got down on one knee and the rest is history.  I am so happy for the two of them and I know they will share years of happiness together.  The large box of wedding magazines that I had been hoarding for years now, has been passed along to my little sister.  It doesn't make me sad to pass them along.  When asked how I felt after my wedding, was I sad or happy it was over?  I felt neither.  It felt perfect...I didn't want to plan anymore, but I hadn't felt overwhelmed by the experience.  I am hoping this same feeling for Shannon as she plans and eventually ties the knot.  I am hoping she will pass these magazines onto some other new bride-to-be with joy some day.  She deserves it.

Shannon and Nick at my wedding.

We can go on and on

Won't ever feel too long

I'll always call you home

And we'll go on and on

-Miranda Lambert

Hoping your Christmas was as full of love as ours.

<3- Sarah

Cake batter @ 6 am...

Your 20's...it's a decade full of many life changes.  You start out as a college student, concerned mostly with yourself, your classes, your friends, your parties, your way-too-far-away 21st birthday.  This usually leads into a career of sorts....possibly not the one that college degree wes supposed to get for you, but a job none-the-less.  As the years continue on, bridal showers, weddings, and baby showers begin to dictate your summer weekends.  You tend to see less of your friends and more of your family.  In my opinion...life gets better with each passing day. 

Saturdays evolve from gatorade and hangovers to coffee and quiet to cereal and cartoons.  This Saturday, I woke up at 6 am and began baking cupcakes for my husband and sister-in-law's birthday party that night.  Licking Funfetti batter from a rubber spatula and wrapping gifts, so meticulously, as if the wrapping was the gift itself.  The funny thing about your late 20's is that, in the same weekend,  Saturday morning might involve an early rise for baking and wrapping and Sunday morning you're sleeping-in to recover from a late-night birthday bash!  At the same party, one friend may be taking their 2nd shot while another friend is showing you pictures of their son's 2nd birthday party.  You are stuck somewhere between bars and bibs. 

I believe there really is no other decade quite like your 20's.  It seems that everything your life once was and everything your life will become, collides.  You move on, leaving behind some passtimes and replacing them with others.  "Settling down" they often call it. 

As our wild weekends begin to slow down, the activities I get most excited about have changed.  I enjoy sitting on the couch with Lincoln and getting his hugs.  I enjoy a cup of coffee or tea early in the morning and sometimes at night too.  I enjoy watching a movie with Andrew, while GrayC curls up on me.  I enjoy a clean house....now I didn't say cleaning the house....just a clean house!  I enjoy baking.  I enjoy reading novels and Country Sampler magazine.  I enjoy seeing my friends' babies, admiring at what amazing mothers they have become and how adorable those kids are.  I still enjoy nights out with friends, drinks, dancing, wild nights.  Probably always will...I'd just rather spend MOST of my time doing those other things I've come to enjoy. 

I always get the first photo with the babies!

<3- Sarah