Friday, December 7, 2012

Seven House Showings and Zero Offers!

Well, our home has been "shown" seven times in the past 2.5 months, and not a single offer.  The feedback is always the same:  The buyer loves the house, but is just starting to look...the buyer loves the house, but it is too big...the buyer loves the house, but they have to sell their house first...the buyer loves the house, but not the yard...I am ready to throw in the towel!  It is such hard work getting the house ready to show.  Yes, we have a lot of things in storage, but we still usually have 7 or 8 baskets of laundry (whether clean or dirty) that have to lugged out to the car, boxes full of papers and stuff that gets laid around, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing, staging, getting all the kids and the dog out of the house....very stressful!!!!!  Have you ever heard the saying, "location, location, location?"  Hopefully someone will want to buy this big beautiful house on the hill soon before I lose my sanity!!!!
Blessings, and if you are selling a house, I feel your pain!
The Queen Mama

Thursday, October 18, 2012

New Home Signed Sealed But Not Yet Delivered!

So, we signed our new home contract last week.  We picked out our brick, siding, shutters, and all the extra options we felt were necessary.  Luckily, with Big Daddy being a veteran, we were able to qualify for a VA Loan.  The main perk was, we only had to pay a fraction of the hand money that non-veterans have to pay to secure our lot and house. VA savings loan We feel truly blessed that we were able to choose a flat lot containing one acre of ground!  That may not seem like much to a lot of you, but to us, it's like 50 acres of paradise!  It was the biggest lot in the plan.  We were offered many incentives being one of the first homes to be built.  Now, we must focus on selling our current house.  We had an agent open house this week, and our realtor said it went well.  Everyone loved the house.  Now we hope that one of them will encounter a family that needs our house.  We pray that our house can be a blessing to someone else as it has been a blessing for us. 
Blessings to you,
The Queen Mama

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The For Sale Sign is in the Front Yard!

Well, dear readers, the For Sale sign is officially in the front yard as of two weeks ago!  Yes, we have decided to go ahead with the selling of our home.  You thought I was at my wit's end and staying put, right?  Well, I was, until we came across a new housing plan about 3 minutes away from our small town.  What?  We are moving away from our small town, hence the name of my blog?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, we will not be directly in town, but no, we are still in a small town, even more rural.  Right across from a farm, actually, and surrounded by farmland.  So, we will still be able to enjoy all the amenities of small town living, but living in a brand new home.
We have our plans picked and the building is starting in December. With mortgage interest rates as low as they are now, we couldn't pass up the deal. Now, we just have to sell our home before the new home is finished.  Please keep us in your prayers that it does! I hope our current home can be a blessing to a family as it has been to us.  We put our heart and soul into remodeling it, (and are still finishing up trim and adding those last minute extras like decking) and I hope it can be a comfortable, happy home for the new owners!
As always, Many Blessings to you and your Family, wherever you may be,
The Queen Mama
Check out rates at www.mortgagerefinancerates.org

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Back to School Family Traditions

School starts next week!  Are any of you with children returning to school ready?  Back to school time is always bittersweet for me.  Though I enjoy the quieter days, structure, and fall weather, I miss my children when they are in school.  Some of my friends call me crazy, but I know there are others that feel the same way.  I enjoy  my children, and I can't wait for them to walk in the door at the end of the school day! What am I going to do when they are in college?!!!  Anyway, one of my kids' favorite family back to school tradition is our back to school brownies.  A simple, yet memorable treat to look forward to when they walk in the door.  They get to choose either brownies with vanilla icing and sprinkles, brownies with powdered sugar, or just plain brownies!

                                                  
Another tradition they are not fond of is "practicing getting up early 3-4 days before school starts to get back into routine.  My teenagers who like to sleep until 1 or 2 pm have to get up for school at 6 a.m., so this tradition is very important so they make it through the first day of school without falling asleep!  If any of you have favorite back to school traditions, please post or email me!  I would love to hear them!
Many Blessings to you and your family!
The Queen Mama
PS-The Gooseberry Patch CookBooks and Christmas Books are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES!!!  I collect them and have TONS!!!!
                                            

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

What a Beautiful Family You Have!

My husband and I took our children and foster baby girl to the river for the weekend.  Dear friends of ours have a beautiful vacation home right on the river, and offered it to us, free of charge.  They knew we had not been able to take a vacation this summer because we had been caring for Cutie Patootie and Sweet Pea.  Since Cutie Patootie was sent to live with her grandparents, we jumped at the chance to go. (much less chaos in the group.)  Anyway, we had a great time.  Saturday, Big Daddy and the boys went down the river in big inter tubes.  They had a blast.  Princess, Sweet Pea and I waited on the shore for them, and a light rain had started.
 They all showered, and we headed out to dinner at a local restaurant.  It was crowded, but we managed to get a table for 7 fairly quickly.  I noticed what looked like a wealthier retired couple sitting next to us.  They were dressed very nicely, and drinking wine from fancy glasses.  Here sat me, with my frizzy hair from the rain, no makeup, and my crew~all of us in "play clothes" because we were at the river.  The couple kept looking at us and talking in low voices.  I cringed to myself, thinking they probably wished all these children were not seated right next to them.
So, to my surprise, when we left, the couple stopped me (everyone had gone ahead of me).  The wife said, "Excuse me.  What a beautiful family you have."  "Thank you.", I told her, waiting for the BUT part to come.  It never came-she went on to say how impressed she was with our children, that they were so well behaved, and how you don't see big families anymore, and how much she loved seeing big families.  I told her thank you again and how blessed we feel to have a big family as well.  I did not go into the "We are foster parents shpiel (is that even a word?)"  or that we adopted through foster care.  I simply grinned from ear to ear as we walked to the car, happy that our family looked like it belonged together, knowing that we do. 
Now, Queen Mama is a BIG advocate of foster care and adoption through foster care and usually always tell curious people our story.  But, for this weekend, I just relished being a family...not a foster family, not an adoptive family, just a beautiful family...
Blessings to you and your beautiful family,
The Queen Mama
http://www.soylicious.com/candlequeen

Candles, Anyone? My New Moms Work From Home Business!

Well dear readers, The Queen Mama has added another business to her plate.  I love the blessing of being a stay at home Mama, but living on one income with many children does have it's setbacks.  I am an entrepreneur at heart, having worked transcription, data entry, sales, and customer service for the past several years.  However, with the addition of our new baby, the foster kids that come and go, being on the phone, or transcribing with little ones has become next to impossible.  So, I have found a wonderful business called Soylicious that sells yummy scented soy candles, soaps, and sprays.  They burn clean and best yet, are made in the good ole' USA!!  I always burn scented candles to help my home be welcoming and hospitable.  Check out my website: http://www.soylicious.com/candlequeen (like my name? Thought I would stick with the Queen theme)  You may find something you just love-great for your home or gifts for any occasion ~CHRISTMAS~ will be here before you know it!  OR, if you've always wanted to work from home, visit the OPPORTUNITY page on my site.  You can sell strictly online!  It's that easy! Blessings! The Queen Mama

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Small Town 4th of July Traditions!

Fresh corn from our local farm just a few blocks away!


I hope you are enjoying your July 4th Celebrations!  Big family celebrated with just us today and our two foster children, ages 7 months and 2, both girls. It was so hot, we spent most of the day inside just watching movies.   The two little ones are in bed, and Big Daddy took the other 4 kids to the fireworks in our neighboring small town.  So, I thought I would share a favorite July 4th Big Family traditional meal with you.  This tradition comes from my husband's side of the family, and has been passed down for at least 6 generations! Corn on the Cob smothered in homemade Elderberry Jelly on bread.

The Elderberry Jelly was a gift from my wonderful Mother-in-Law.

So here's how you do it~Start by buttering a piece of white bread, and spreading with Elderberry jelly.  Then wrap the bread around the ear of corn, and rub up and down, turning the corn so all sides are covered.  Yes, that looks like ketchup on the corn, but it's really Elderberry jelly!

Then, you dig in!  The Rock Star eating his Elderberry Jelly Corn-on-the-Cob. My husband's Grandmama says that the bitterness of the Elderberry Jelly brings out the sweetness of the corn.  I thought they were all crazy when I first saw them eat this 16 years ago!


Don't forget to eat the bread! 
I love family traditions!  So thankful for the many blessings and freedoms we have!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Making Memorial Day Memories

Do you have big plans this Memorial Day Weekend?  Big Family is taking this long weekend to spruce up the outside of our home and property (to get ready for the house listing).  Still a ton of stuff that needs done on the inside, but we are getting a little stir crazy and figured since it will be nice and hot, we will take a break on the inside stuff and get outside to work!  Yes, we still have to squeeze in a baseball game and run our two oldest to their grandparents' camp, but we can do it!  Oh, AND, Big Daddy's car bit the dust two days ago-the mechanic said it was not worth fixing-repairs outweigh the worth-so we also need to find Big Daddy a new vehicle.  Okay, maybe we won't get as much done as we want to, but we sure will try! We will cook out on the grill, squirt water guns, and play with the little ones in the yard.  We will all have a blast, I am sure.

 Our small town hosts an annual tribute to Veterans at our local cemetery with the elementary school band playing music, a guest speaker, and an honor to veterans.  Big Daddy is a Navy vet and we are so proud of him for serving.  He is so shy and humble, though, that he refuses to stand up and be recognized, so we bestow tons of hugs and kisses and salutes to him at home.  My stepfather is a Vietnam veteran, my deceased grandfather is a Korean war vet who was also in captivity for 5 months, Big Daddy's deceased grandfather was a veteran, and my brother-in-law is an Iraq war veteran (unfortunately wounded and permanently disabled). We are so proud of all of them and so thankful for every person who serves this wonderful country!
Many Blessings to you, and may you remember, honor, and thank a Veteran!
The Queen Mama

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Moving Schmoving. I'm Close to Giving Up!

A beautiful weekend spent running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  I feel like we are getting nowhere fast.  A storage unit almost full and it seems like the house is nowhere near being ready to list.  With two mini tornadoes, two teenage boys, and an infant living here, it seems like every time we are finally making progress, another mess is made somewhere else.  OR we have to stop to run to baseball games or dance class.  Taking care of the baby (Whom I absolutely LOVE and wouldn't trade for ANYTHING) makes spare time a hot commodity in this house. I am so ready to give up and just stay put.   I'm NOT complaining.  Okay, I AM complaining, but truly, my family and their needs/activities come first. AND, I am happy to be able to do those things for them. The house will get on the market eventually, though probably not in the prime selling season.
  The most productive thing I got done this weekend was planting half of my annuals in the front of the house.  The flowers for the backyard will have to wait.  We also bought new bicycles for The Champ (birthday present) and The Rock Star(desperately needed a new bike-was riding the Champ's old one for the past  years.), bought the Princess and Sweet Pea a kiddie pool, and promised Little Big Man a new bicycle helmet he had been wanting. (The store was out of the design he wanted, so Queen Mama told him she would order it.)

Well, I hope you enjoyed your weekend!
Blessings,
The Queen Mama

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

This is an older picture (a little over a year ago), but it's one of my favorites!

It's Mother's Day.  A day to honor the one you call Mom.  I love Mother's Day, because it gives me a chance not only to honor my Mom, but to pause..to reflect on my family, my babies, the ones God has chosen to place in my care, in my heart.  I'm so happy to be a Mommy. 
We aren't doing anything super special today.  Big Daddy is still remodeling, and I am still packing.  We may take flowers to Grandma Grace as Big Daddy's Mother is out of town.  But, super special my day will be anyway, because I will be surrounded by my children,(including Sweet Pea) by all the laughter, noise, and activity that comes with a big family, and I will LOVE every minute of it!
Big Daddy just surprised me with a Mother's Day card as I was typing this (which he made sure to tell me he bought a week ago-impressive!), and Princess B just woke up and came down the stairs hooting "It's Valentine's Day!!". Hahaha!  I love my kids!
Happiest of Mother's Days to you!
The Queen Mama

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Share the Prayer Kids! Sibling Rivalry


Now do these two look like they would ever not get along or compete with each other? Sibling rivalry rears its natural but ugly head frequently between Little Big Man and Little Princess.  Granted they are 4 1/2 years apart in age and different sexes, but they must always outdo one another in many different circumstances.  I had to laugh to myself this morning, when it was time for our morning prayer on the drive to school -and it was Little Big Man's turn to say it-the Princess insisted it was her turn (which she insists almost daily).  So, Little Big Man so eloquently said the morning prayer with such patience while the Princess was howling the whole time in her car seat that it was her turn.  Rivalry over saying the PRAYER for goodness sake!  This also happens at mealtime.  Luckily, at bedtime, I say prayers with each child separately, so they have private time with me, and with God.

Help! I Think I'm a Hoarder!

We are still in the process of moving unnecessary items to a storage locker before we list our house for sale.  Actually, we already filled up a 10 x 10 storage, and had to move everything from it to a bigger 10 x 25 storage unit.  Thank goodness Big Daddy has a wonderful sense of humor and is a good organizer.  He insists I'm a hoarder.  I insist I'm not....but after seeing all of our "stuff", and knowing we still have more "stuff" to put in it...well, okay, maybe an organized hoarder.  Really, a lot of it is clothing.  With a big family, I save the kiddos' clothing to be passed down to the younger ones to save money.  But, I'm really not saving money now that I have to pay for storage.  Hope it's a good motivator to get this house ready to sell!

                                                    

Monday, May 7, 2012

Small Town Coca Cola Advertisement and Antique Street Clock

This painted Coca Cola ad has been on the side of this building for many many years! Isn't it wonderful?


I found this great looking Coca Cola train for all you collectors!


      

  And this Coca-Cola Tee!
                                               


Isn't this antique clock wonderful?

Even More Beautiful Old Fashioned Houses from My Small Town

I think I was born in a different era.  The Colonial or Victorian era.  The architecture of "period" homes just calls out to me when I drive by.  I always think of the families that lived in them in their "heyday", when they were first built.  How glorious they must have been, especially the Victorian homes, as homes were decorated with such rich fabrics, wallpaper, and ornate furniture!
I absolutely love this house!  The Champ so kindly took the picture out of our car window for me, but apologized for getting the wrong angle (with the tree hiding my favorite window on the house).  Of course, I told him it was fine-to have an almost 15 year old boy interested in and excited to help Mama take pictures of old houses for her blog was more than I could ask!)  So, he insisted we drive by another day and let him get a better picture, so look for it in a future post!

This was a hard picture to get, driving down the road.  This is a wonderful Victorian home that sits high on a hill with a beautiful barn on the property.  I so love this house, because my dream is to purchase a farm where I can hold weddings/wedding showers, parties, etc. in the barn, and have an outbuilding for an antique shop, and Big Daddy wants to have his own baseball field.  Dream on Queen Mama, dream on!

Look at this adorable playhouse I found online at Sams Club.  If we move to a home with a bigger yard, this is one of my dreams for my little Princesses also!  Blessings, my dear readers!

More Wonderful Houses in Small Town USA

Here are some more pictures of beautiful turn of the century homes in our neighboring small town, just a few miles away.
This home is one of my very favorites! It is on a beautiful tree lined street. I always make sure we pass it when we go through this town.
This house is so adorable~so welcoming and inviting! Always a manicured lawn and gorgeous flowers. I wish I would have taken a picture of the side of the house as it extends back with added rooms, just as pretty.  Really much larger than it appears.

A stately brick Victorian-probably built at the very end of the Victorian period as it is not as ornate and flat.  This picture doesn't do it justice, however.  It is quite appealing to the eye in person with a slightly weathered brown brick, but a wonderful wrap around porch!

Victorian Houses in My Small Town

I'm sharing some of my favorite houses from my small town and surrounding small towns. 

What a beautiful Victorian home in lavender and purple! I love thinking about what the families must have been like that lived in these majestic homes when they were first built over 100 years ago!


This is the most ornate and beautiful Victorian home in my town.  At one time, with a house full of teenagers, it boasted a basketball court on the third floor! 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

My Small Town Porch View

This is the view of my small town from my front porch.  We live high on a hill and have a good view of a lot of our small town.  This was a hazy early evening shot I took. This picture consists of the side of my neighbor's beautiful pink and green Victorian home, and the beautiful tree-lined mountain tops.  If you look closely in the center of the picture, you will see a brown building with a sort of copula on the top.  It is now a garage, but back about 100 years ago, it was a crematorium.  This was told to me by talking with one of our town's locals who grew up here.  I love history and living in a small town!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Is Buying a House in our Near Future?


Well, STILL packing up the house in order to get it ready to put on the market.  We have lots of little remodeling projects to complete.  I am just hoping to have the house on the market by the end of May, as we are in the busiest buying/selling season.  I am so excited at the prospect of buying a new home and moving.  I  traveled to six open houses this past weekend.  I wanted to see what type of houses were being offered on the market in our price range.  At the lower end of our range, the houses seemed to need a lot of updating.  At the high end of our range, most of the houses were updated, but seemed small.  I am wondering if it would be wiser to stay in our already large home and refinance? 
Blessings,
The Queen Mama


Thursday, April 12, 2012

Big Family is Packing, Cleaning & Remodeling

You never realize how much stuff you have until you go to sell your house...or move...For the past two months, we have been going through closets, under beds, in the attic, and the basement.  I have found that we have entirely too much stuff.  Stuff we didn't even know we had.  Big Daddy has been finishing up small remodeling jobs that never were finished in our 12 years of living in this small town.

Grandma Grace came down and helped me go through the kitchen cupboards.  We spent about 6 hours organizing and packing and aren't done yet!  I'm ready to throw in the towel and stay where we are.  It's so much work!  Not that I don't like to work and love a clean home, but the thoughts of keeping it that way while it's on the market with 5 children creating mini-tornadoes everywhere they go, is a daunting thought!

Well, please say a prayer for The Queen Mama to stick it out and that we are able to list our house shortly!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Football Sign-ups Today

Wow! Even though baseball practice is just starting, Football sign-ups are already here in our neck of the woods for Little Big Man.  The Queen Mama does not want him to play because I cringe every time he makes a tackle or gets tackled!!!  BUT, Big Daddy says let him cause he loves it and he's good at it.  Word is that he is going to be the quarterback this year!  Yep, that's my boy!
                                                      Little Big Man after a game last year.

                                           Little Big Man has this Nike football and loves it!!!                                                    

Monday, March 19, 2012

Check Out Foster Adoption Mommy



                                        Visit my new blog:  www.fosteradoptionmommy.blogspot.com



Sunday, March 11, 2012

Moving Madness

Well, we have decided to do it.  Sell our home, that is.  We have been working fiercely trying to get extra things packed away and finish our attic into a bedroom.  We were planning on doing it anyway for The Rock Star, and the realtor said it would help sell the house.  It's one of the highest priced in the neighborhood, so we have to do everything we can to make it sell.  We are still finishing up from our remodel and we have to have the house ready to list by May 1st.  Can you say stressful?    We are hoping to move from our small town to another small town, but we will see what happens.  I do enjoy being able to sit down at the computer at the end of a busy day and writing to all of you.  It helps keep things in perspective.
Blessings to you,
The Queen Mama

Friday, March 9, 2012

The Champ Didn't Make the Team

The Champ didn't make his high school baseball team, along with 39 other kids.  He's disappointed but not too upset, thank goodness.  Baseball is his life, though, and I'm wondering if he's not hiding his feelings from us. This is our son who we have carted and flown to 7 different states to play in tournaments on super competitive teams that he had to try out for.   55 kids tried out.  Seems crazy to me.  Why not make two teams or separate grades? We know most of the kids from him playing in this area since he was 4.  Some great kids on team.  However, have been told about 7 out of the 16 made it because of sports "politics".   Oh well, who am I to say?  Just a protective Mama Bear who can't stand to see her son suffer. How to deal with these kinds of things are not in the baby books.
So, I made him a special dinner and apple pie and ice cream, and let him play his favorite video game that I despise.  These teenage years can be heart wrenching!
Blessings,
The Queen Mama

Monday, March 5, 2012

Can I Please Have a Refrigerator, Bathroom, and Bed in my Car?

So today was one of those crazy days where I spent more time in my vehicle than I did anywhere else.  My Mom had invited me and my two youngest to breakfast at a restaurant we love, and I was looking forward to enjoying a Belgian waffle and a cup of hot tea AND having someone make and bring me breakfast for a change.  I should have known that Murphy would raise his hand and say, "I don't think so, sister!"

The Champ came to me last night and said "Mom, I think I'm wheezing.  I have guck".  Great.  He was wheezing, so after we dropped Little Big Man off at school the next morning, off to the Doctor we went.  Yep, wheezing.  Asthma treatments every 4 hours.  Well, the prescription would take awhile to electronically get to the pharmacy and be filled, so I totally took advantage of having my big strapping boy and took him to the grocery store.  He pushed the cart with food while I pushed the cart with the babies.  Then, off to the pharmacy.  Then home to unload groceries.  Then to the school to pick up Little Big Man.  Then took Little Big Man 1/2 hour away to the orthodontist while Big Daddy took the Princess to dance class.  Then had to hit a drive-thru on the way home since I was basically never home to prepare dinner.

It is times like these where I wish my already monstrous vehicle was equipped with a refrigerator, a bathroom, and a bed.  And, as I plop into my seat in front of the computer, I realize baseball season is only a couple months away, and I will be living in my car daily.  Perhaps I should rent or buy a Winnebago for the summer?  At least I could relax between stops!!!!

Kid Sleepovers~Why Do We Torture Ourselves?



Well, The Rock Star had a sleepover last night for his 13th birthday.  The Champ went to a friend's house for a sleepover, so that left us with 7 tween/teenage boys, one Little Big Man who thought he should be able to hang out with the tween/teenage boys, one Little Princess who thinks she is a boy and didn't understand why she couldn't hang out with them (and showed us by kicking, screaming, and crying), and one sweet baby who didn't like all the noise from the tween/teenage boys, Little Big Man, and the screaming Princess.

We tried to talk The Rock Star out of having a sleepover for exactly those reasons, but he wouldn't waiver.  We offered a skating party, bowling party, laser tag party, shopping, turning our attic into his own bedroom, BUT all to no avail.  Nope, he was bound and determined to have a sleepover.  "Mom, it's the only thing that will make me happy, and you said you just wanted me to be happy, and I could choose anything for my birthday party."

Which is why I had to laugh when a half hour after the party started, he came upstairs and said "Mom, can I open my presents now?"  NO, I said.  We do that later when it's time for cake.  "But MOM, everyone is kind of wild and they don't want to play video games, and Little Big Man and Little Princess won't leave us alone, and I need something for everyone to do to calm them down!"  After that statement, as I was beaming with pride that I actually instilled my dislike of loud, wild acting children into my teenage son, I let him open his presents.  Of course I had to add, "Do you see why we didn't want you to have a sleepover?"  Yes, Mom.....

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Check out my Foster Adoption Blog!

Hey everybody~thought I would give a shout out to my other blog- Foster Adoption Mommy  www.fosteradoptionmommy.blogspot.com.  For those of you who may be interested in adopting through foster care, but aren't sure what to expect, you can follow our journey through the process.  It is a roller coaster experience, but I would do it all over again for my daughter~and I am!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

More Christmas Happenings

The Queen Mama ventured to preschool with the Little Princess to make a gingerbread house.  We had so much fun icing and decorating.  We snuck a few of the goodies into our mouths when no one was looking, tee hee!

                                                      How sweeeeet is this picture?!!!



I love the look on Little Big Man's face, like "Did he just tell me I'm on the naughty list???"

My Sweet Princess at her Preschool Christmas Program in front of the Church Altar.  I am so thankful a Christian Preschool is available in my small town!



Miss B and I at her Preschool Christmas Program Celebration Reception.


We traveled to a store that puts on wonderful Christmas displays.  It was so crowded, this was the only picture I managed to get.


Christmas in Our Small Town

I hope you all had a Blessed Christmas.  We certainly did!  Our small town gathers around the Christmas tree in our tiny town square and celebrates the arrival of Santa Claus. He arrived this year in his new sleigh which was atop a flat bed truck! He got a police escort with sirens blaring and lights flaring.  The children were overcome with awe and joy!  Santa lit the town tree and then we followed him half a block to the fire station where the kids sat on his knee and whispered their Christmas wishes to him.  Everyone was given a special ornament commemorating the town for their tree.


Love these pictures~can't believe how fast time has flown and that The Champ and The Rock Star no longer sit on Santa's lap. Brings a tear to my eye!
Many blessings to you,
The Queen Mama

More Fall Small Town Living Fun

These are some great pics of the kids at another pumpkin patch, picking their pumpkins, going in a corn maze, and playing in the leaves at Grandma's house.  What a fun family day we had!

 These lovely flowers are from Princess B's field trip.  I love that farm!
 Look at the Pure JOY on their faces! Anticipating their jumping into the leaves at Grandma's!
 Forever a ham, The Rock Star!
 Go Little Big Man!
 My sweet oldest boy~Always meticulous at finding just the right pumpkin!
 Little Big Man could barely pick up his pumpkin, but he insisted on carrying it himself!
My favorite bunch of cuties at the end of the maze.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

More Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Look at the fabulous antique wagon Princess is standing beside.  What a great display!
 Grandma and Little Princess walking through the corn maze.  This picture softens my heart every time I look at it.  They love each other so much!
 What a wonderful little country store they have for their patrons right on the farm! Look at all the fall goodies!  PS-I LOVE twinkle lights any time of the year!  They add that special something to nooks and crannies!
 Princess B playing in the kids' grain house.  She's right at home with the trucks~she's always playing with her brothers' toys at home!
 Yes, I let her pet the donkey, and Yes, we doused her with hand sanitizer as soon as she walked away!

Is that Princess B milking a real cow?  Nope, just looks that way!  How cute is that?!!!
And finally, a hay ride around the farm with lots of kid friendly Halloween displays along the way.  What a perfect ending to a perfect day! I LOVE small town living!
I hope you enjoyed your fall season, and if you don't have a change of seasons where you live, I hope you enjoyed my day on the farm!
Blessings to you and yours,
The Queen Mama

Fall Fun at the Pumpkin Patch Farm

Little Princess had a preschool field trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  It's located on a wonderful family owned farm about 25 minutes from our home.  My Mom and I took her and had a fantastic time! Enjoy the pictures of our small town day trip!
 Princess B~always happy to pose for the camera!
And me, The Queen Mama, loving some Fall Small Town Fun!

  Grandma even got in on the fun!