Anniversary Tree 2014

Every year, around this time, I get out the tri-pod, set the timer on my camera, and we snap a family picture in front of our Anniversary Tree, documenting the changes in our family as well as the growth of our tree.

This tree was chosen by us on the first anniversary of our first date, which also happened to be a month after we got married. So watching its growth has been a special and fun tradition.

I love to look back over all of the photos to also see how the landscape has changed. From a tree surrounded by field to the development of flower beds and fencing, the addition of greenhouse and kennel, the move of the vegetable garden from the South side of the house to the North side of the house, growth of surrounding bushes, addition and sad subtraction of pet family members. Even seeing the varying shades of color change in the tree itself has been fun, indicating either tardiness of photo taking or unusually mild seasons.

Our photo was snapped 9 days late this year (goal is always October 10), and still the color is just beginning to change. But my heart is full when I look at this image, because the happiest moments of my life are when I'm surrounded by these three people, the very dearest gifts to my heart.

Anniversary Tree 2015

We waited just a tad bit too long this year to capture our yearly photo with the Anniversary Tree... those top leaves just couldn't hold on any longer. A little like the fleeting thoughts and reminders that I don't *quite* get written down, and therefore disappear into the nether.

This family of mine just makes my little heart so full and warm and happy in every way. We are growing and becoming more entwined as the years pass. The littles getting so much taller and more grown up and the things they say just astounds me sometimes.

I learn from them almost as much as they learn from me, I think.

Click here to walk back through our Anniversary Tree timeline.

Our Anniversary Tree

Each year, we take a photo in front of our Anniversary Tree, a Northern Red Oak that we planted 11 years ago in the front yard. To see previous posts regarding this tree that is so special to us, click here.

Anniversary Tree 2010

Usually, we try to get this yearly photo as close to October 10th as possible, that being the day we planted this tree (to commemorate our first date!). But this year, the weather has been so different from most years, that it took an extra few weeks before the leaves started to turn.

If you are new to this blog, or are curious about our Anniversary Tree, click here to read through a collection of posts.

Anniversary Tree 2013

Some of us are growing, some of us have a few more grey hairs, one of us is substantially smaller, thanks to the long illness of last winter, but all of us are more connected, more in love with each other, and can't imagine a better little family to be blessed with.

To read more about our Anniversary Tree, click here.

Anniversary Tree 2011

Previous Anniversary Tree posts can be seen here.

Anniversary Tree 2016

If you've been hanging out here on my blog for more than a year, you know that we have a special tree in our front yard. Purchased with wedding money and planted on the first anniversary of our first date, I decided way back then that we should have a picture done every year to commemorate both the growth of the tree and the (hopeful at the time) growth of our family.

This year, the vertical growth in our family is quite apparent. I think that either I'm standing in a hole or my ten year old is way too tall for his age. Most likely the latter. I predict that he will match my height by the time he's 12 and that he'll eventually outgrow his 6'3" Daddy. And the little girl is no slouch either; I just might end up being the short one by the time she's done.

Our Anniversary Tree

Matt and I had our first real date on October 10, 1998. We spent one incredible day talking non-stop and falling in love with each other. To commemorate that date, we purchased a Northern Red Oak tree with some wedding money and planted it October 10, 1999. We now have a tradition of getting our photo taken by that tree each year. Here are some examples:

1999, with Barron, our German Shepherd

2004, with Bailey, our Chocolate Lab

This year:


It is so fun to look back in our albums to compare not only the size of our tree, but the growth in our family and the changes to the front yard!

Well Hello There...

Is the real world still in place?

This post is brought to you by determination, grit, and a 5000 watt generator.

Since I last posted, we went from this...

to this...

That is greenhouse you see in the background, housing our generator, with the spotlight shining from the front of the kennel. If you look closely, under the weighed down branches of our Anniversary Tree, you can see the two foot deep deep pathway trampled by a thousand treks.

Is it any wonder a giant Douglas Fir tree snapped in half and took out a whole section of power lines and poles?

We have been on around-the-clock gas-up-the-generator-every-two-hours shifts to keep the puppies warm and alive.

We have extension cords snaked all over this house, and have to take turns plugging in the electrical devices that need to be used.

It now looks like this out there...

Roads are clear, rain is quickly melting away the two feet of snow that accumulated.

The power company got an earful this morning, due to the fact that their crew made a small repair yesterday afternoon at the end of the road, then apparently went home, leaving the majority of the damage untouched. They could give us no indication as to just how much longer we will have to wait, but from our appraisal of the damage, it might be quite a while. Big sigh.

It has been nearly two days of interrupted sleep, dirty bodies, dirty dishes, and general inconvenience. We are all learning to be very grateful for the blessing of electricity.

The romance and excitement of being snowed in and having the power go out was immediately erased by the stress and concern of keeping those puppies warm and alive. We are more than ready for normalcy to return.

And I can't stop thinking about how good a hot shower is going to feel.

Better Late

... than Never.

Our tradition says that each year on October 10th, we take a picture with our Anniversary Tree.

Well, this year we were in Arizona on that day, and once we returned home, it was either raining or dark when we were all at home at the same time. But at last, we caught a break in the weather before all the leaves fell off the tree, and here we are:

Two of us are taller, one of us isn't as big around, one of us has more facial hair, one of us has longer branches and more leaves... and all of our roots are stretched deeper into this soil.

Anniversary Tree 2017

This tradition has been going on in our front yard since 1999. Click here to see the progression of changes in our little family (and yard and pets) over that time.

What 10 Years Did to Us

Our 2008 Anniversary Tree picture.

I Just Can't Wait One More Second... 2 New Releases for You!

I wasn't planning to announce these new releases until tomorrow, but I just can't handle the wait, silly me...

You all remember "Constance Sullivan", right? Well, she is ready now (but won't be listed in my etsy shop until tomorrow- contact me directly if you want to pre-order):

Retail Price: $10.00 (includes shipping)

And BRAND brand new, inspired by the acorns growing on our Anniversary Tree, "Emily Acorn's Pinkeep" (won't be listed in my etsy shop until tomorrow- contact me directly if you want to pre-order)...



Retail Price: $10.00 (includes shipping)

For the Birds

Instead of rushing to dismantle our vegetable garden this year, we chose to leave it in place for the benefit of the birds. Most days, all it takes is the opening of the door, and there is a rustling of wings and various chirping voices as they feast on overripe corn and sunflower seeds.

Despite the mouldering leaves and long-wilted plants, I find the garden still a thing of beauty.

And this is why we chose the Northern Red Oak to be our Anniversary Tree- Even in stormy weather it glows with Autumn color!

In the Dark

Hello my lovelies. I'm so very sorry I've been away for so many days in a row. I fully realize that your day does not HAVE to have me in it, but I try to be present most days of the week just as a matter of being fully engaged.

But I've allowed myself to become overwhelmed with little and big things, and somehow the blogging has fallen by the wayside. And it may remain spotty for the remainder of this year... or at least until puppies have grown and gone to their forever homes, and the festivities of the Christmas season have been fully enjoyed.

Here I offer a glimpse of what my world looks like in the wee hours of the morning. What I see each night around 1:30 or 2:00 am as I take my one shift to check on welfare of Mama and pups.

Bright stars some nights (Orion! there you are... shoot that arrow far), with frosty crunchy grass underfoot, bare branches of our Anniversary Tree seen silhouetted against the dark, pale glowing window from a nightlight inside.

And on my return trek, with motion-sensored brightness at my back, bed calling loudly.

I haven't posted many puppy pictures, as this has been a challenging litter to raise. Born early, and lots of them, we lost a few too small, too fragile, too underdeveloped. And the clumsy Mama, despite our around the clock vigilance has accidentally been the cause of a few more lost lives. So hard, this part of what we do.

But the remaining puppies are getting stronger by the day, and have begun to romp and play in such an endearing way. Practicing their fierce growls and barking so suddenly, so loudly, that they knock themselves off of unsteady feet. We will welcome the first of their families as they come visit this weekend. We look forward to meeting these people for whom we have put in the mid-night hours.

And I look forward to your Hellos, left in the comments and my email box. Always so happy to know that you're out there.

Goings On

In the midst of the cold,

the snow,

the frost,

determined Spring is showing her face.

The first of our seasonal Bird friends have returned... Mr. Robin Redbreast was spotted a few times this week, fat and sassy, scouting the landscape for a home for his sweetheart. See him there, perched in our Anniversary Tree?

In the meantime, my Dearest is hard at work on this President's Day, putting the final pieces together so we can move our new Dog Family in by sundown.

Nice door, eh? Yes, the man can build just about anything. No time-travelling machine as of yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if the prototype was in the thought process as I type this.

Yep, today is the day. For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, our lives will be bound to 6 Labrador Retrievers and their offspring. The adventure of finding families for our puppies and building upon a community will be irreversibly started.

I am most excited about the lessons these two will learn from caring for animals as a way of life.

But I think that they will be a *weensy* bit sad, in the beginning, about giving up their new playhouse.

Anyone else think the next building project should be a fort for the kids?