Winter Arrived After All

    Is this really news?  No, but with so many 72 degree days in January who knew a cold hard winter awaited to pounce on us right around the corner?  I absolutely love being quarantined to the house, oldest to youngest, not a place to go or a thing to do.  We watched the weather forecasts and loaded for bear, fridge full, meals planned, movies picked out, Daddy home building roaring fires, even Curtis Wade tucked in safe and sound by the time we finally all turned in, no late shift at Fuzzy's.  SO. MUCH. FUN. 

(Photos courtesy of my camera happy girls, Maggie and Milly.)

    Broody hens produce chicks, but in the middle of 20 degree weather? 

These girls are pros! 

Hens are still laying, too!

    We went round and round about our 22nd Anniversary.  It was hard to come up with a plan to beat the romance still lingering after an entire year of traveling together....alone.  We looked at cabins in east Texas, some by the lake, all with hot tubs.  We looked at fabulous restaurants, some an hour or so away, to which we haven't been yet.  We thought about the Hilton in Southlake that has never let us down, always luxurious and close.  Finally, we decided we didn't want to be away from the kids yet again, so we booked reservations at the new Del Frisco's in Southlake, and a movie afterward.  But, Friday night, the snow was too thick and the ice too dangerous to leave, so the plans were postponed one more day.  Saturday, we were off, barely. 
    The restaurant was packed, though the parking lot was still icy in spots.  The downtown Fort Worth Del Frisco's has a dress code, but apparently not the suburban sister establishment.   I've never been surrounded by so many 20-35 year old yuppies in my life.  Though they all dressed in jeans and casual sweaters, they were saturated in wealth and fashion.  Everybody carried an aura of importance, and it seemed as if we had entered a country club to which we didn't belong. 
    The staff were pleasant and friendly, certainly not snooty, yet we still felt out of place.  We've been to quite a few very fancy restaurants, and never have I felt like I did that night.  It actually became hilarious, as we were served something we didn't recognize for an appetizer. They kindly took it back and brought us salads instead.  Our booth was next to the upstairs bar, and that crowd was quite astonishing.  As I looked around, I knew no one would understand our lives.  I was pretty sure that no one there had more than two children, as they could not afford to put both through their ivy league alma maters and keep their 16,000 square foot homes, club memberships, and Maserati parked in the five car garage for weekends.  If they didn't come from that address, they were doing everything within their power to be well on their way.  I should have known after pulling up to the complimentary valet parking in our 15 passenger van, and having the attendant wait for the rest of our party to exit the van, explaining to him that this is our family vehicle because of our 11 children and that it was just the two of us, and watching him search for the words with which to reply, we were on another planet.  We were truly oddballs, from Curtis' tie and dress coat to my curls. 
    The food was okay, but did not hold to the illustrious downtown reputation.  That food was incredible!  Curtis had me laughing out loud on several occasions, and I felt the treasure, once again, that we held so secretly that night, so foreign to the way this world does things.  We had chosen a different kind of wealth to amass.  We were going home to a house full of wealth, ages 19 to 2 1/2 years old.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy nice things, thus the reason for our visit to this place, and I don't condemn anyone who owns little luxuries.  I have myself, from a Louis Vuitton that was stolen, to a diamond bracelet that fell off, but these things cannot and do not bring the sense of self-worth that seemed to be demanded of them from this crowd.  As I've said before, sometimes I feel like I've been handed the world on a silver platter inside our sacred four walls, home. 
    Across the table sat the love of my life, the one who "gets" me, the one whom I get, my best friend and coworker on this journey, whose goals are my own, whose jokes keep me laughing....hard, who runs off the bad guys and sorts through the good guys to welcome some amazing people into our lives and the lives of our children.  We had a blast in the end, as usual, which goes without saying if we're together. 
    The next week, the roads were clear and the bad weather subsided long enough for Curtis to make the Houston trip.  This time, I brought candles....lots of them, and coconut oil.  Ahem.  Good trip.





    Speaking of the bad guys:  Remember the asphalt driveway that I had these guys pour?  Upon further investigation, they were fraudulent "gypsies" as I've heard them called.  They had traveled from North Dakota to go door to door swindling the likes of me with sub-standard product and work, charging a few thousand.  But, as I do before any decision like this, I had prayed.  That is one reason I was initially so disillusioned.  I had asked the Lord for wisdom, and He always answers, so how did I miss Him this time?  Thankfully, I had not paid the guy anything before Curtis got ahold of him.  And from Georgia, Curtis ran him off never to return!  We didn't lose a dime, and have a decent, though not perfect (too thin) asphalt drive that hopefully will last us until we're ready to pour the circular driveway and redo this one in cement.  I have them on video, even discernible license plate numbers, and they were not in any hurry or of any determination to collect their fees.  I asked the Lord when it was all said and done what had just happened, and He explained that I needed to learn a lesson that will come in handy in our not too distant future.
    Curtis and I need to agree on any purchases over $500.  Soon, it won't be a few thousand at stake, it could be more, and I need his leadership as much as he needs my input.  The Bible says that it is God who makes one wealthy and adds no sorrow to it.  He's training me in the "no sorrow" principle.  And, I had violated an age old warning flag: if it is a now or never deal, it is no deal at all.  I like happy endings.

    Charles took fire building lessons from Daddy and started his share of blazes.  A hot fire is hard to leave, even to get something to eat! 

 I'm almost worthless when that thing is lit. 

 

    This little girl is picking up her sisters' knack for tickling the ivories.  As long as those headphones are on her head, I don't mind however long she wants to "play."

    Begging or bonding?  Sometimes the floor is just too far away from her boy.

She's so politely pushy.