looking at my garden upside down

Wow! I am actually going to try catching up!!!

Good grief! I had to go back and see when I last blogged!! Much too long ago. So much has been going on, now we are waiting for the new grandson to arrive, Jack Francisco Almaguer is not due to arrive until January 16th, but, we know he is too cute and is too wanted to wait. LOL.
The Dr. wants to bring him into the world a little earlier, so we just wait,,,,,,,,,and wait! Surprise is better I guess.... however, 2 hours away, is too far. We sure hope they will be able to come down for Christmas, if not we will go there. It depends on theDr.'s opinion.
Sarah and the baby are doing just fine, thank God, just being cautious.
In between last post and this, we had some good beneficial rain! It did wonders for the yard, plants that showed the strain of a long drought and heat, started blooming again (see pics). Now, Carol is faced with lots of leaves to rake and of course cutting back shrubs and canna's that were frozen this week. Endless yard work! I can't even sit out to supervise-too darn cold and windy----Texas weather!

Today is our 53rd wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe the years have gone by so quickly. It seems love just gets deeper! I know the apprecation of each other certainly has grown. We've learned that skills that haven't been used before, have been a life saving, if not a special blessing.
With the upcoming grandbaby, being so anticipated, as well as another gr. grand on the way in the spring, our family just seems to get surrounded in love, we hope that the love we have for each other will continue to bless each!
Just a short note this time, celebrating our good years together.

Where did the time go?

I guess it's never too late, but I am getting very close! We had a wonderful 4th of July. Just family and next door neighbors (which are like family) and grandsons room mate who again, is like family. We had it later this year, eating about 5pm. This gave time for the gr.grands to nap and the shade to be deeper. Sarah and Cipriano gave us a misting system for our patio and even installed it. I was able to cook the brisket on my own, just needed help putting it on the grill and turning it the 1st time.......quite proud of myself too! Cipriano grilled the sausage, bless his heart......it had gotten too hot for me in the sun hovering around 100 degrees.

We did all sit out and pigged out on all the good food. Best part was having the g.grands there! What cuties..........Of course, as usual, I only took just a few... I guess I was being too busy. Hopefully some of the others there got more than I did. Posting a few, hope you will enjoy.

Top; Jennifer with Gracie : Shelby and Annalise, who moved around so much it was hard to catch a good shot: Bottom 2, Uncle Adam showing off his skills with Gracie: Proud Great Grandmother holding Gracie. While this 4th is looking to be our last here.........Fun! but a tremendous amount of work. And this years heat spell has really done damage to the yard, we water nearly every day trying to keep shrubs and lawn halfway decent... Having a cool spell(under 100 degrees) just hovering near 98 right now.

Happy Fathers Day

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, who became an extra special father and grand father, and gr. grandfather! Word cannot express my gratitude. He has stepped up to the plate in so many ways. Kind hearted, a push over, and an extremely hard worker.

I believe our kids would call him strict, (even mean) but never an absent dad. The few times the Army sent him away, he still was there in our hearts. Never being selfish of time and of being so very proud of accomplishments of his kids.

He hates having his picture taken, so we sneak up on him. I went through our pictures, and selected a few that we caught, that he actually wasn't trying to hide his face. I wanted to show you all what Sarah had made for her Dad. She gave it to him in May, we framed the mini quilt of his Army patches and one she had made for our anniversary, also included one of his passions, Fishing! And one of his proudest moments, The wedding of our daughter, Sarah.

We are so blessed..........Thanks for being a special DAD.

PICTURES FOR THE PREVIOUS POST

bottom pics, me with Gracie.........top 2, our garden, caladiums.....1st water lilly blossom

Middle 2; farmers market, myself with Adam

Too long to wait!!!

Sorry about the long delay between blogs. Been experiencing computer problems, now fixed, and laziness/face book games etc. I guess that those excuses will have to do, don't want to bore you with other lame details.
We have a new gr. granddaughter!!! Gracie Nicole Griffith and of course a real beauty!! She came into this world while we were in Dallas/Ft. Worth. We got to see her the next day..........See pictures here...some where in this blog.
I will begin with a wonderful day with our kids at the Dallas Farmers Market. That is one place we wish we lived closer too. But once or twice a year will have to suffice. We got some new Caladiums for our shade garden and tons of vegetables (a little less than that.....a whole lot less........) Our favorite, elotes or corn in a cup, Yummy!!! we can get it other places, but at the market tastes better!!! After the market, we went back to Ft. Worth for a late lunch with Adam, our son.
I guess we upset Sarah and her hubby, not intentionally of course, by not staying at the market to have lunch with them, but we weren't hungry at that time. I hope she didn' stay upset for long! (Bye the way, she didn't.) The next day Carol planted the caladiums and they really look wonderful. Also see pics of them here.
I am going to try 'borrowing'some of the pictures from Adam he had taken at the marekt......he got all 'artsy' on us, nice pics. Those will appear on the next blog, (I still have to move the pics from one place to another then post!!WHEW) Now having problems bringing up pictures,,,,,,,,,,Rats!!!

busy, but wet Saturday

Saturday, we went to the LILY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL in Cedar Park. The Hill Country Water Gardens has it every year. We became fans last year! They really do a bang up job. Big sales, good food and entertainment. This year we looked forward to it even more. Instead we woke up to drizzle and drove down during a driving rain. It eased off quite a bit and we were relieved, even stopping off at a few garage sales on the way. We arrived just as it opened, and quickly found some bog plants we wanted, buy one, get one free! Just as we started to the cash register, it started to rain, then pour down rain! Ugh!!!! I had gotten one of the wheeled walkers with a built in seat, (which I had resisted, but now love) so I could get around easier with out feeling I would trip or stumble, so was looking forward to the whole day.. After an hour of rain, both heavy and light, we gave up! Terribly dissappointed to be sure. I was looking forward to taking picture of the place but got just 2. Beautiful ponds, fountains, containers of all sizes and shapes (and i wanted them all) Hubby surprised me with an orange hibiscus, Mohers day gift he says.

Hope you can see in the pics. This week is supposed to rain most of the days this week, the yard will love it, so will the water bill! So we have some indoor projects in mind, just in case...........Texas weather is so darn unpredictable!! Even the forcasters don't know for sure