Lots of happenings since my last post....
February 13, 2009
Randy & I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary. I came home from work and dropping off kids to this....a candlelight dinner complete with tablesettings and wine beside the fireplace!!!
And just to tell you how well my hubby knows me, of course my first expression was, "Wow, how nice! Did you take a picture yet?" to which he replied, "No, where is the camera?" to which I replied, "It's in the office. I'll get it." And there, instead of my Kodak Easyshare was a Nikon D100 with a 2.8-300 mm lens!!!! BIG difference. He purchased the camera from a professional photographer friend of mine and scripted the perfect drama to give it to me!! How's that for knowing each other well after 21 years? And for a husband that pays attention to what his wife really loves.....so to all of you married less than 21 years...hang in there....there is hope!!!
Of course I had to take a photo of him with his much less exciting anniversary gift....a guitar amp...and I think I missed the amp completely but here he is playing the guitar plugged into it.
I am really excited to have the new camera but I admit I am very intimidated by it. I've forgotten lots of important photography lessons since college. Luckily, it has a point and shoot mode (auto) so I don't completely have to rely on my own abilities just yet. I am studying again to refresh my knowledge but the best thing is practice. I can't wait for Spring to come so I can get outside and photograph the new life....photographing nature, documenting travels/events and snapping my own family is my only real interest in photography.
Shortly after our anniversary, Randy got a new car, a Pontiac G-6. Madison is excited since it is the "coolest" car in the family. She likes to drive it too. She actually qualifies to get her license in April, but has decided to wait to get a car until December 2010 so that it will still feel new when she goes to college. She has always been this mature!!! Let's hope it continues!!!!
Our whole family along with my parents took a short trip to Nashville at the beginning of March to see my favorite group, Selah. I took my new camera along only to find out how much I didn't know about using it. I'm only posting one of the bad photos.
We enjoyed the concert, good food and a bit of shopping in the monsoon rain which turned to snow!!
Other interesting happenings have included the finishing of our barn and fence construction. Anyone with an interest in painting can come on over....there's hundreds of boards and posts to paint!!!
And a couple of Saturdays ago, dad called to say he had a resident for our new barn stall. Meet Kiya.
Kiya's mom died two days after giving birth to him. We found him in the saddest circumstance, lying curled up next to his expired mother, all alone in a great big world. At first he was a little frightened (confirmed by the amount of pee he soaked Randy in) but Randy carried him across the field and we transported him home without incident due to his weak condition. Mom and I spent a couple of hours locating milk replacer and by 5 p.m., we were feeding Kiya via a calf nursing bottle. It only took showing him one time. Every feeding since, we can't get the bottle in his mouth fast enough. He is doing great and is beginning to chew on the new blades of grass springing up as the weather warms.
The girls are busy. McKenzie and McKayla have been trying to decide which camp to attend this summer. McKayla has a "boyfriend" as of Valentine's day. He's a real romantic. He bought her a silk rose at the school dance which she has enclosed in a recycled acrylic case in her room. He calls her every night without fail. It is really sweet. She sits next to him at the lunch table most every day.
McKenzie has several admirers, but she really isn't interested in any of them. At least three boys continue to tell her friends they like her, but she doesn't really care. She says they are all weird...including McKayla's friend!! Needless to say, she reminds McKayla often.
Madison is extremely busy with school, music, pageants, and her social calendar. Of late, she and John Matt have "broken it off" yet they still plan to attend prom together and still talk/text too much on the cell phone. She has spent more time with several friends lately and I am happy that she has a good network of people to enjoy her (little) spare time with.
As I end tonight, I am thinking of many friends and family members and mentioning how thankful I am for all of you in my prayers.
Love and blessings to all,
Kim
(above....they borrowed Nana's shoes)
Madison got her intermediate driver's license. She was selected as Governor's Scholar. She went on a trip with the band to Virginia Beach. She attended orientation for the Kentucky State Outstanding Teen Pageant and she is preparing to participate in the Junior Miss Program.
Oh...and she went to prom last weekend. Now I know that only looks like three sentences but if you can only imagine how much preparation, time, energy, money and DRAMA went into ALL of these events.....well, I guess you all know since you all know Madison (and me...I admit it).
(I think I am learning to use the new camera...a little better...)
While Madison was gone to Virginia Beach, we let McKenzie and McKayla decide what they wanted to do. They chose to go to the farm, spend the night at the cabin, go fishing and then the next day go to the lake. What a pair of SMART girls!
When we spent the night at the farm, Randy and I got up early and hid out in my dad's hunting blind where I got to take some photos of wild turkeys.
In the thick of all this, we lost Benji. He was killed by a car last Saturday night. 
We've all cried until we can't anymore. We buried him in the back yard at 2:00 a.m. in the morning in the rain. We plan to plant a weeping willow tree beside him. McKayla made a sweet memorial for him with rocks, shells and twigs. Everyone misses him including Kiya, Lady Maye and Crystal.
In closing, I hope all of you are doing well. With summer coming, I plan to see some of you soon and I can't wait. I wish we could all get together soon. The things I cherish most in life are memories of good times with my friends and family...and I thank all of you for those. I pray God gives us all time to love and forgive all we are capable of.
Love,
Kim
Tracks they made...
Tranquility....
Birdwatchers Cafe' empty today...
This would be a sweet picture if I wrote how the girls came in for a hot chocolate warm-up, but actually it just shows AGAIN how they never put anything away when they are finished!
McKayla has decided to let her hair grow out and go curly. 
And the more things change, the more they stay the same (and comforting). What's better on a cold, snowy day off from school????
Monkey Bread - a favorite of Madison's.
Dad...
Megan, McKayla...
Tyrell, John Matt...
Ashley, Chelsey...
Caleb...
& Delilah...
Megan, McKayla, McKenzie & McKenzie...
