In A Nutshell... :-)

Oh my goodness..... I've been away for far too long.

I've missed all of you so much!

But, I've been one busy girlie....

First of all, that sweet little cup in the middle of the stack? That's the darling gift Marydon brought to me when she came to visit in August. Isn't it just adorable?

Thank you so much, Marydon. It would be lovely if everyone got an opportunity to meet this wonderful girl. She's just the sweetest 'lil thing evah!

Can't wait to spend some REAL time with her... our visit was way too short.

As I've told you all many times, my VERY favorite thing to do is to spend lots and lots of time with my grandson. :-)

He's 11 now and time is going by way too quickly. He comes to our house for the summer.... well, mostly. His Mum comes to pick him up on the weekends, and sometimes in-between.

I so look forward to having time with him. What a great boy he is.

I've mentioned before that he has Asperger's Syndrome. His particular area of interest is animals. I'm not kidding, this boy lives and breathes animals and has since he was a little, bitty guy.

He learned to read by looking them up on the computer. He'd find the animal he was interested in by looking it up in a book so he'd know how to spell it.... then he'd type it into the search box and go to virtual zoos all over the world. Many have live cams and he'd be fascinated for hours watching them.... :-)

So we spent many days going to feed stores to see the baby chickies and ducks. Oh my.... I've been to a LOT of feed stores. A LOT!

To the small fair in our area....

He's the little guy in the middle looking at the owls and eagles.

This is a really rural fair, so lots of 4H kids and loads of animals. :-)

And, to the big fair .... he loves chickens. He's determined to have lots of them.....and knows so many different varieties. He studies the Murray McMurray catalog like it's a textbook.

Yep, in his glory!

And, for the third year I made the 90,000 (ok, not realllly 90.000) mile trek to The Olympic Game Farm in Sequim.

He'd really like to camp out and stay for days.

Those little prairie dogs are hilarious.

It's a drive through zoo of sorts. The bears really don't look all that fierce.... they're sort of lazy, actually. I wasn't going to hop out and go pet them though.

Aren't they pretty? They say not to feed them though.... they bite. YIKES!

And, the llamas. See my rear view mirror there? Yeah, they surrounded the car and would NOT let us pass. It took about ten minutes to get through the herd. They're so funny.... you're allowed to feed them wheat bread and they know you have treats for them..... they won't let you by until you feed them.

I spent quite a few afternoons lunching with the family....

And, a wonderful afternoon with my BFF.... she has the most beautiful home in the country. It's so peaceful there, I never want to leave. This little bird let her pick it up... it kept falling out of that little "nest".... So cute!

We went to the orthodontist to talk about getting braces.

We painted pottery.

I am crazy about his boy's artwork. It's so much fun to watch him create.

Just look at this treasure. :-)

It's on top of my fridge and makes me smile.

Went back to the orthodontist to actually GET the braces. He has lots of stuff in there you can't see. Poor kid. He's one big canker sore.

We went to his favorite pet store. Now, this place is really interesting.

There are lots of cats and chickens walking around.

Poor kitty's looking for LUNCH!

And, turtles and ducks too.

And, while I really did miss blogging, I LOVE spending time with this kid. It's time I can never make up. I'll only ever have one grandchild and I want to make sure I don't miss a thing.

And now..... he's back in school.... regular blogging can resume!

I have stalked many times, but mostly on my i-touch... it's had to leave messages though. I get so frustrated with how slowly I can type on the darn thing. It really pays to be young, right? Those kids can text a message in two seconds flat.

I'm happy to be "back in the saddle"... :-)

Much love and blessings to all!

xoxoxox

Spence

My Boy, Cabela's Visit and Back To "Normal".....

Oh my dear girlies! Whew...........I'm hoping you're all settled after enjoying a fabulous holiday season.....I feel like I've been moving at "zoom" since Halloween. Things are returning to "normal", what ever that is, around the cottage.

All of the decorations are down and packed away. I always wonder why I pack everything up so nicely; I always find loads of good junk after Christmas that needs to be added to the packages.

And, this year is no exception! I can't wait to show you what I've found at the 'Ol Thrift Stores.......it's been a bonanza!

I've missed you. Thank you so much for all of your heartwarming messages of encouragement. Gosh you girlies are WONDERFUL! I appreciate your comfort more than I can say.

I love you.

Ahhhhhhhhh..........Cabela's...... :-) Have you ever been to one? They are quite the place to visit. More like a destination visit than just a shopping trip.

My little grandson.........well, not so little, he's nearly as tall as I am now, but he'll always be my "little" fella..........anyway, as I've said.......he is simply the BEST.......I ADORE him and will pretty much do ANYTHING for him.

He LOVES animals. I mean REALLY LOVES them. I swear, he constantly tells me about animals I've never even heard of before. Seriously!

Well, in his little world it's all about zoos and places like Cabela's. They even have a restaurant there. It serves things like venison quiche and bear in a bowl......ok, maybe not those exact dishes, but stuff like that!

Ahhhhhh...........there he is..........I love him sooooo much.

Isn't he cute? Yep, I do see braces in his future. Our family has little mouths (I KNOW, hard to believe, right???).....and lots of teeth.

Animals, animals EVERYWHERE!

I think the "WILD" shirt suits him well. :-)

They're stuffed, but he'd stand there allllllllll day! I'm not kidding.

Checking out EVERY tent.

Several months ago I said that something had knocked my socks off........I wasn't ready to talk to you sweet Girlies about it yet.........

That little boy? We had just learned that he has Asperger's Syndrome. Just in case you're not familiar with it....it's on the Autism Spectrum..........and he is on the low end of the syndrome.

It was both good and bad news getting the report. It explained a lot and is leading us in the right direction to get help for him.

Since he was just a little, bitty guy he's loved animals.......that's how he learned to use the computer when he was about three and a half. If he wanted to learn more about an animal, he'd go find a book with his subject in it so he'd know how to spell it in the search box. I've read with him since he was born, but I think putting all of the letters together with something that was familiar to him pushed him along. He could read long before he started kindergarten.......and read, in first grade, at fifth grade level.

The single minded attention to animals was the first clue. He has never played with cars, trains, trucks or anything else other than art. He LOVES art and is soooo good at it.

The other clue was his wanting to play alone. His mother is VERY outgoing, so it was hard to see him doing solitary things. All we ever wanted for him was to have loving, long lasting relationships. But, we've come to understand that's what WE want. It isn't necessarily what HE wants.

And, he spent many days, in his first two years of school, in the principal's office. I think they had my daughter on speed dial. (That has improved so much in the past two years)....

He refuses to ride a bike. We've discovered that that is common with Asperger's. He has a scooter and took a VERY bad fall in late summer. We bought him a new battery model for Christmas......and naturally he was a bit afraid to get on it......but he did.

When he got back he said "Hemma, I was a little bit afraid to ride it..........but I DID........and I felt such FREEDOM............it was sooooo freeing..............and I felt so confident"............It just cracked me up.....

What a treasure and a gift from God he has been. We adore him. His journey has been tough. He lost his daddy when he was 2 1/2 and has ADD and Asperger's. What a little trooper he is though. His brain functions differently. He doesn't process things like other children do and sometimes just doesn't "get it".....

He is ever entertaining........Hilariously funny, and smarter than a whip. We're constantly amazed by the things he knows and can't figure where he learns all this stuff. He tested in the 95 percentile for intelligence............whew, what a smartie!

He has the kindest heart ever. Ever the optimist, and always cheery.


So, there it is sweet Girlies. Sharing from my heart about the love of my heart.





Whew..........long and wordy today, but it was important to me to share ALL of this little guy.


Praying a fabulously blessed New Year for each and every one of you!


Lovies and Huggies,
Spence

AKA...........Hemma