Fun Filled Photos

Andrew works his magic:

Fizzles Love Fritos:




Nieces Hailey and Kiley love to swim:







Andrew swims like Phelps:




And Kiley Bug ... well, she lives up to her nickname:





~Brenda

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

In an attempt to keep things light around here, and to remind myself that life is not all trouble and woes, I want to list a few of my favorite things. Things that make life ...

Pleasant.

Meaningful.

Enriched.

Fun.

Blessed.

Get the idea?

Alrighty then! Pull up a chair, grab some cool lemonade, iced tea, or chilled soda, and think about these blessings with me:

• Hand-written letters. I know ... they're a rare commodity now days. Do you even remember the last time you received something handwritten? Or the last time you hand wrote a card or letter and gave it to someone? I personally love receiving cards and letters via snail mail. Old fashioned style. Where someone has put pen to paper, simply to bless me. Or vice versa, me writing a hand written letter to bless a friend, struggling relative, or missionary. Best feeling in the world.
• Afternoon thundershowers. Is there anything better than when the sun shines all morning and early afternoon. Then evening rolls around, along with the storm clouds and the thunder, effectively cleaning the air - and my mind - with the fresh scent of rain. Bliss, I tell ya'. Pure bliss.
• Cat nips naps. Whether it's me or the kitty taking one, they're nearly as refreshing as a full night's rest.

See? Here's a pro cat napper:

By the way, that picture in the background is of my girls when they were about two and three. It's my favorite, so I framed it and put it on that grand piano I'm itching to get rid of. And see that chipped piece of wood right behind the kitty's behind? That happened right after I wrote this post, while leaning up against the piano to take a picture of Andrew.

I never claimed to be anything but a soup sandwich.

Woopsie. Rabbit trail!

We have a lot of those out here on the Prairie.

• A good story. I don't care what form it's in. A movie, book, or someone simply telling me a story of their childhood. I'm a sucker for good stories. Ones that portray real life, and ones that have happy endings. Like Sound of Music. And Anne of Green Gables. And Christy.
• Brown paper packages tied up with string. Ok, I confess. That's plagiarism. But my point is that gifts are truly one of my favorite things. Not just receiving gifts, but giving gifts ... to new mommies, birthday boys and girls, those celebrating anniversaries, or for no other reason than "just because."

And last (for now), but certainly not least:

• Bible pages. I recently read a bit of my grandpa's Bible. I loved reading the little handwritten notes in the margins, and seeing what he thought was important enough to underline, knowing that he had hidden so many of those underlined verses in his heart. One of my most vivid memories of him was to walk by his bedroom, and see him with one leg hung over the bed, one on the bed, glasses perched on the end of his nose, reading the Word of God. He loved it, and I love it too. I do feel somewhat bad for all the time I interrupted his reading to ask him for a lemon drop. But I'm thinking he must not have minded too much, because he continued to keep a fresh supply of lemon drops on his dresser for any grandchild who might ask.

Thanks, Grandpa. I can't wait to ask you for another lemon drop.

I'd love to hear a few of your favorite things, and you can do that by simply clicking that little word comment, right below this post.

~Brenda

A Plea For Prayer

Shortly after I wrote of my excessive elation about the upcoming arrival of two babies, I read this email from my Dad:

Last Monday, Rhonda had a car accident. She has a severe spinal injury to the neck area. She had surgery and that went well, but she may end up partially paralized.

I am requesting your prayers and your churches prayers for her complete recovery according to the Father's will.

After visiting with Rhonda (Dad's wife) and Dad yesterday, I sent this email out to my church family as a follow up:

Please continue to pray for my Dad's wife, Rhonda. Rhonda and two of her children were traveling after a full day and night without any sleep. Rhonda was driving and fell asleep at the wheel. Her son has some minor bangs, but her daughter walked away without a scratch. Rhonda is, at this time, paralyzed from her shoulders down, although she has some very limited movement in her right arm, and she can feel sensation in her legs. Only time will tell how far her recovery will extend, although the doctors said if she doesn't regain the ability to move fairly quickly, a full recovery is unlikely.

I'm amazed at how God put her so close (geographically) to us through all of this. Her and Dad live in Michigan, but she will recover here, clear through her rehab. She has two aunts that live nearby also, and her kids live five hours away. I had never met Rhonda before yesterday, and this was my own choice. I regret it now, and as you can imagine, yesterday's visit was rather awkward. However, she was very receptive to me, and seems very open to a relationship.

I don't know what's going to happen relationship wise in all of this. But I know God has a plan. On the way back home from the hospital yesterday, I thought of all the reasons why I shouldn't get involved emotionally. Then Luke 17:33 came to mind:

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

As usual ... it's really not about me. :-) Pray that I will remember that. Pray that I will have a servan't heart, and not simply seek to protect my own wellbeing.

I wanted to share all of that with my Lovely Lurkers, because I know several of you are pray-ers, and I'm asking you now to pray with me for a full recovery for Rhonda. And more importantly, we need to pray for broken relationships to be restored. Not just where I am concerned, but where Rhonda and her family are concerned, as there is also plenty of family feuding between her and her close relatives.

Sometimes it takes circumstances like this to unite souls that are at odds with one another. My prayer is that this sorrow will not be wasted.

~Brenda

Two Babies!!

No, I'm not pregnant with twins.

Heck, I'm not even pregnant with one baby (in my dreams, right?)!

But I am excessively excited about the next two weeks.

Why?

Because Shaun's sister (Hannah) is having her baby on Tuesday, the 16th, and I can't wait to hold said baby girl in my arms. If there's anything on earth that is so blatantly a gift from God ... it's newborns.

If it's ok with Hannah, I'll post some pictures of her next week. So stick around, Lovely Lurkers.

What does that have to do with two babies?

Just hold on to yer Prairie Skirts ... I'm gettin' to it.

Hannah also provides daycare to a seven month old little girl (I'll call her Baby J for now). So I'll be the back-up provider for a couple of weeks while she is recovering. I have met Baby J before, but her and her Mama just came over to get acquainted with me, my kids, the house, etc.

And we're a perfect fit.

Baby J is adorable, and has such a sweet, mild temperament. Just makes me want to gobble her up.

And I will. In the form of snapshots.

And if it's ok with Baby J's Mama, I'll post the snapshots of her also.

Two babies. That's what I call a double whammy blessing!!

Somebody pinch me. This is almost too good to be true.

~Brenda, the babysittin', picture takin' little housewife on the Prairie who is so far out of the baby stage she hopes she remembers whether the "tape" goes on the bottom or the top of the diapers

Summer To Do's

I've got a list of to do's that measures approximately 1.34561 miles long. However, I'm only going to cover what I want to accomplish for the summer. Mostly because I will feel overwhelmed if I look too far into the future.

And then I'll be itching for more Dove bars.

First, I'd like to get rid of my baby grand piano.

Why?

Well, because the sound board is broken. Cracked. No good. Cody, the piano tuner lady, told me the ol' thing is good for nothing but a planter. As in, plant your flowers in it, babe.

No thanks.

I'd rather give it to someone who is up for the challenge of repairing it, a task too expensive for me. It's a very handsome, older Baldwin piano and I can't bear to casually drop it off at the dump, out on yonder Prairie, where those ivory keys will forever be silent.

It also much too large for my living room, and I will never have (or even want) a big enough house for it to sit perty in. No, this Prairie Mama's piano would most assuredly be happier in a home where it can be properly admired, with little children pounding tickling it's ivories on a daily basis.

Think about it. If you were made to make beautiful tunes, would you be happy housing a plant?

Me either.

Second, I'd like to finish Jessica's quilt (I'm sure the feeling is mutual for Jessica, since it's been well over a year since I began working on it):





I do have the quilt top sewn together, and the borders on it. Now I just have to piece together all the layers, and put the binding on ... and of course, quilt it.

Third, finish memorizing Psalm 1! I have verses 1-4 down pat. Two more!!

Can I get a woot woot!?

What's that? You don't think that will take me the whole summer? Yeah, maybe you're right. In that case, I'll add several more verses to hide in my heart. Stay tuned, and you can join me if that tickles your fancy!

Fourth, I'd like to possess more fruit of the Spirit.

Which fruit?

All of them.

Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control.

How exactly do I plan to possess each of those fruits by the end of summer?

Ahem!

I don't! It's a lifelong journey that God has promised to help me with. And I trust Him to do just that.

Amen?

Amen.

And last, I'd like to have the garage cleaned out, the boxes in the basement sorted through, and the office moved downstairs to the spare bedroom.

That's all I'm going to say about that. Makes me tired just ponderin' it.

What about all my Lovely Lurkers? What do you want to accomplish this summer?

~Brenda

Good News and Bad News

Okay, so here's what I found out concerning my blog title copyright (or lack thereof). This is from the U.S. Copyright website, so I think it's accurate. It was in their FAQ's:

How do I copyright a name, title, slogan or logo?

Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 800-786-9199, for further information. However, copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark.

You want the good news, or the bad news first?

Ok, we'll go with the bad news. I like to end on good news.

The bad news is that, obviously, Melissa Gilbert can use the title Prairie Tale if her little heart so chooses. That's not really bad ... it simply leaves me a bit edgy and tryin' to resist the urge to to chow down on a bag of Dove chocolates.

And I mean a bag ... not a piece.

The good news is that, obviously, I can use the title too! I don't mean here on the blog, because, if anything, it would be Melissa G. who violated copyright laws, and would therefore be the one who was consuming large amounts of wine chocolate to appease her frazzled nerves. My main concern was whether I would be able to use the title in the future for a compilation book, and that concern has been all washed away at this point.

Say it with me:

Whew!!!

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And on a lighter (aka chocolate free) note ... my post about title rights has generated a good dose of (very kind and gracious) comments and new Lovely Lurkers, leaving this Prairie Mama ...

Pleased. As. Punch.

I don't know if you noticed, but I have two options for "joining" my blog. There's the BlogFrog widget that shows Lovely Lurkers if you click on "See all 25 Lovely Lurkers." That's the place you want to join if you'd like to participate in having a little Prairie tea time together at the Prairie Tales Community forum. It also shows if you or someone else has visited via your blog, possibly generating more readers for you.

Nifty, huh?

Of course, you need to have the BlogFrog widget on your blog in order take advantage of said priveledges. But that's easy peanuts. Just go here, and the nice folks at the BlogFrog will walk you through it.

The other way to join is to simple become a follower (below the BlogFrog news feed). If it were me, I'd be like the kid on the movie Radio when asked which type of pie he'd like. He said, "I'll take both."

"Taking both" would allow me to keep track of who has joined, and it allows you to get the possible readership that all bloggers would die for cherish.

This is, of course a free country blog, and therefore, your wish is my command. I'm just here to help lay out options.

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And on that final note, I would like to wish my Lovely Lurkers a fantastical, sweet, and not-so-chocolate-free day, coupled with a keen sense of God's presence and love in your life.

It can happen ya' know.


~Brenda

Prairie Tale

Looks like Melissa Gilbert and I have a little something in common.

Like choosing titles.

Perhaps she's a little more entitled to this title than I am, although I must say, I'm disappointed. I like my blog title, and am not feeling like sharing it.

So sue me.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I do love the show Little House on the Prairie, and I of course live on the Prairie. And I am a little housewife. Hence the title Prairie Tales, True Stories by a Little Housewife on the Prairie.

It's ok. I'm still a Little House fan and always will be. But if Melissa G. were my real sister, there might be a bit o' bonnet tearin', hair pullin', sisterly slappin' goin' on about now.

Good thing I never had a sister, huh?

~Brenda, the foot stompin', fit throwin', little housewife on the Prairie who started telling lots of Prairie Tales first.

First, I tell ya'.

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In all seriousness, I'm going to look into whether or not her book title being the same as my blog title is an issue. Not sure what the copyright laws are where titles are concerned. It wouldn't be too much of a big deal if I had not been (from the start of this blog, a little over a year and a half ago) pondering ways to eventually make this blog into a book someday.

Just one more reason to stay tuned. ;-)