~Cody Johnson

I had the littles, today. They got here around 9:15, this morning. We played and had fun. We ate lunch, and then I laid them down for naps. I had to wake the girls up, when it was time to be picked up. Everybody was real good for me, today!

It’s sooo hot outside, today! I washed all our bedding and towels, and hung them out to dry. Our deck was burning my bare feet, when I went out to grab everything that had dried. I’d hoped to take Oliver for a walk, after the littles left, but I was afraid the pavement would be too hot for his paws. So, I found something for him, and ordered it!

On a completely different topic, I put one of our cameras inside Adam and my closet. I did this, because I’ve had a child keep getting into it and stealing things from the extra snack box I store in there. Every week, I refill our kids’ snack boxes. I put 10 things inside, and that just has to last them one week. So, there’s even some extras. I knew it was Wyatt, sneaking things from my stash, but he wouldn’t admit to it. I busted him, last weekend. Anyhow, this camera also caught Adam, as he was getting dressed for work. My GOSH, my husband is sexy as hell!

It seriously makes me wet, just looking at that! He and Justin have been consistently working out for over a year, now. They’re looking great!

I’m fixing meatball subs, for supper tonight. It’s easy to make, and my family love them. I need to go vacuum the carpets, and finish folding some laundry. It’s been a good, productive day.

We were just talking about all the memories we’ve already made, in the few years we’ve lived in our new house. I remember, when we first moved in, being so excited to make memories here, and for this to feel like home. It wasn’t easy to leave our old home. It was the only one Mj ever knew. It wasn’t a conscious thing, and I couldn’t guess when it actually happened, but this most certainly does feel like home, now. Our kids are doing amazing. I’ve got my favorite people close by. We’re consistently adding new memories to our home. It’s such a happy place to be in. I’m genuinely happy to call this our home.

Six in the mornin’, hands are shakin’
Half ready, half scared to death
Hand me the world, wrapped in a pink blanket
The world falls asleep on my chest

I’m so in love even though we just met
Got no clue what I should do next

We’ll get it wrong, we’ll get it right
Whole lotta tears we both have to cry
You’ll learn to run, I’ll learn to let go
Years’ll go fast, nights’ll go slow
Lord knows the best thing that I’ll ever do
Will be growin’ up raisin’ you

You’ll crawl ’til you run and you’ll run ’til you drive
And your drivin’ will drive us both crazy
Wherever you go and whatever you do
Just know you’ll never not be my baby

~Gabby Barrett

Adam and I went to bed around 10:30pm, last night. We were both awake by 6:30am, but we laid in bed for another hour. It felt so good just to stay in our bed and snuggle, as we listened to the birds singing through our window. The chill of the Spring morning air felt amazing, too. We got up, made our obligatory cups of coffee, and lazily enjoyed the chance to spend a quiet morning slowly waking up. Later, we got dressed, and ready for the trip we’d planned with Justin and Jackie, to Costco. Mikayla, her boyfriend, Wyatt, and Mj were all making a big breakfast, in the kitchen, when we left. We stocked up on the usual items we like to get at Costco, and found a few other things, too. After we had all checked out, everyone was starving. Justin suggested a restaurant, where they served authentic Mexican food. It’s a very unassuming place, but we were not disappointed!

When we got back home, all the kids were in our driveway, helping Mikayla to clean her car. They vacuumed, shampooed, and scrubbed that car inside and out. It looks great! A little while later, Mj came running down the stairs, to find me in the kitchen. She told me, “Mama…I think I started my period.” We’ve had plenty of conversations about the changes her body would go through, so she was very aware this would one day happen. I hugged her tightly, and reminded her how incredible our bodies are, and that this is one of the ways she’s growing up. She started to cry, and complained that it isn’t fair, and she doesn’t want to do this every month! I was reminded of an episode of Roseanne, where her daughter, Darlene had started her period. Darlene was not excited about it, either. She had asked her mom (Roseanne) to name ONE good thing about having periods. Roseanne tells Darlene that she can name three, and gives the names of all her children. So, I told Mj that story, and then she smiled and seemed a little bit more at ease. It’s really emotional, for me, too! My baby is growing up! I’ve watched as her body has seemed to suddenly be morphing into a much more feminine, womanly shape. It’s happening so damn fast, these days.

Tonight, we’re all just hanging around the house. The kids are all upstairs. Adam’s watching TV, in the living room. I came down, to the basement, to sit out on our back patio. It’s perfectly pleasant, outside, this evening. I’m thinking about running myself a bubble bath, so I can shave my legs, and make my skin soft and smelling great. Adam and I didn’t have sex, last night. Both of us were exhausted. I’m feeling very horny, tonight.

Tonight it’s bottoms up (up)
Throw it on down
Rock this quiet little country town and get up
Drop a tailgate on your truck
Find a keg and fill ya cup up
Kick it on back
Pretty little mama looking at ya like that…

~Brantley Gilbert

We haven’t gone out and done fun things like this, in way too long! We do have a lot of things coming up, and last night definitely reminded me how much I love to go make memories like these. I’m so glad we did that!

The concert went much later than expected. It was about 11:30pm, when we finally got out of there. The boys picked us up. We’re not planning to do much of anything, this evening. I know the guys have to be exhausted. Saturday, we’re all making a Costco trip. We’ve also been doing some “Sunday Fundays”. It looks like we’re going to have another beautiful weekend, so I think we’re going to barbecue and hang out for another Sunday Funday.

I’m going to go start making the lasagne for tonight’s supper, and enjoy a quiet Friday night at home.

~Struggle Jennings

It’s been raining nearly non stop here, the last few days! It’s been making it hard to find much motivation at all. Today, Jackie and I hung out. Mikayla’s car had to have a whole new transmission put in it, and that was finally finished. So, we went to the shop it was at. I ended up just paying the shop, and brought her keys home with me. That place is down in a holler. There’s only a very rutted up dirt (currently mud) road to get down to it. I decided not to attempt driving her car up that road, and Adam and Justin are going to go get it tonight, instead. While the boys are doing that, Jackie and I made some very last minute plans. We’re going to a concert! I’m super excited!!

Pictures to follow…

Me and you, and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together

~The Turtles

Now, two flags fly above my land that really sum up how I feel
One is the colors that fly high and proud, the red, the white, the blue
The other one’s got a rattlesnake with a simple statement made
“Don’t Tread On Me” is what is says and I’ll take that to my grave

Because this is me
I’m proud to be American and strong in my beliefs
And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again
‘Cause I’ve never needed government to hold my hand
And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again
‘Cause my family’s always fought and died to save this land
And a country boy is all I’ll ever be

~Aaron Lewis feat. George Jones & Charlie Daniels

I actually spent a lot of time in Charlie Daniels park, over in Mt Juliet, TN. I remember climbing the rock wall, and the water park area. There’s lots of sprinklers, with water flowing out of various shapes and kid friendly designs. I brought my kids there, to play, several times. There’s a picnic area. We used to pack a lunch, or buy Subway sandwiches, and sit on picnic tables, in the shaded area. Charlie Daniels died, not too long ago. He was a truly good man.

I haven’t had the littles, the last couple of days. I’m not gonna lie, I’m enjoying this “freedom”. The schedule, with them, will be changing. I’ll have them 2-3 days per week, now. I’m so good with that! Yesterday was busy. My kiddos were home. The school allowed them to leave school early, to watch the eclipse. We stood outside, on the deck, and watched as the sun slowly hid behind our moon. We had a full eclipse, back in (I think) 2017. I stood outside, with my babies, to watch that one, too.

Nature, and space, have such a powerful way of reminding us just how “small” we really are. Not only did we witness an incredible solar eclipse, we had a crazy pop up storm, yesterday evening. Adam and I were out back, just hanging out. The sky began to grow very dark, to our North. You could feel the air changing. The smell of impending rain was obvious. We hurriedly picked up things that needed to be brought inside. As soon as we stepped in the house, the rain came. Then, our phones alerted us to a severe thunderstorm warning in our area. Before we knew it, we had strong winds howling, and carrying the rains sideways. Soon, the hail began to rain down, too. It’s almost beautiful. Despite my fears, it’s hard to ignore the beauty of nature thrusting itself upon us. It’s as if we’re being reminded of our own ignorance. We can’t truly predict our futures. Not with precision, anyway. Or maybe, it’s our insignificance. We are all such a tiny piece of the world, the universe. We’re at the mercy of everything that surrounds us. Things we see, and the things we can’t know are lurking around, waiting to show us who (or what’s) in charge. Readying itself to challenge our naively established belief that we can ever prepare ourselves fully.

I spent today catching up on laundry and housework. It’s rainy here, again. The weather forecast is showing rain, until Friday. It’s humid, and feels warm. The temperatures are only mid 60’s, but the nights don’t cool down much. So, the house is a little stuffy. I actually cut our AC on, on Easter. It was so hot in here! Since we were having company, and going to be cooking a ham and several other things in the oven, all afternoon, I decided it was necessary to cool our house down a little bit. It remained on for a few more days, and then we got cool. It was cold enough, at night, to require the furnace to be cut on, again. Our thermostat has been set to “off”, for several days now. I do turn the fan onto “circulate”, to help move the air through the house. But, neither our furnace, nor the AC, is running.

While I was cleaning up in the kitchen, the song I used for this title played. I thought of Adam. I remembered the way my teenage brain used to completely ignore boys like him. He was one of the guys who never cared to keep up with current trends, or bothered to wear clean boots. His hands were stained in grease, from whatever vehicle he’d been working on. He had a rifle hanging in the back window of his extended cab pickup truck. He just was not “my type”. That is, until he was. Adam won me over. His dirty boots remind me how hard he’s been working. His calloused hands are the reason my own hands are soft and pretty. He puts his family first, always. He’s never selfish. In fact, the only reason he does have some good boots, or new sneakers and joggers for working out, is because I went out and got them for him. He truly doesn’t give a damn about the way he looks, or what he’s wearing, so long as his wife and kids are happy with what we’ve got. Ya know, a very wealthy man could hand his wife a million bucks, and people would be jealous. They’d praise his generosity. If that money is simply a fraction of what he has, it’s nothing to him. Having a man who works as hard as Adam does, and then gives every single dime of his earnings to his family…that means more to me. He sacrifices himself daily, for me. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am so blessed.

I’ve been putting lots of pictures together, intending to make a slideshow video for Mikayla to play at her graduation party, next month. I cannot believe she is about to graduate high school 🥹

I’m so blessed. Looking through these pictures and videos just makes me extra sure of it.

I’ve kinda been overwhelmed, lately. Like, there’s just too much “on my plate”. I’m working to cut down on some of the things that are requiring so much of my time and energy. This is a busy time of year, anyhow. The end of the school year is always crazy. Not to mention, I’ve got a graduation party to plan, this year. I’m very close to having some more of my own time, to be able to spend doing things that I love to do, like write here! I promise, I’ll be back very soon. ❤️

~Breaking Benjamin

There are a handful of my “regulars”, people who often comment on my posts, who I genuinely feel connected to. I’m sharing such intimate details of my own life here, and over time, I gather bits and pieces from my followers comments. I had an older gentleman, “AZpop”, who would comment after every single one of my blog posts. I haven’t heard from him in over a year. I think of him, and worry and wonder what’s happened in his life. There are a few more folks I feel I’ve gotten to know, that I often wonder about as well. For what it’s worth, I wanted to say that you, my readers, mean a whole lot to me. I genuinely hope that everyone is doing well, and I pray for y’all when I’m made aware of your struggles. Paddlefan, Nora, Vickie, Annie, and all who come across my writing here, please know you matter to me. I appreciate all the support and encouragement I’ve received so much. I truly do look forward to hearing from everyone, and enjoy learning about you, your lives, and your opinions. I needed to say this, tonight.

Love, Me

So bum me a cigarette, buy me a beer till i’m happy to be here,
Happy to be here.

~Noah Gundersen

I just don’t have a whole lot to say! It was a pretty good week. I had the littles, of course. It’s been nice weather, so we’ve been outside a lot.

My sister sent me a video of Pj, a couple days ago. She’s getting soooo big!!

Wyatt had a baseball game, this afternoon. There’s some great pictures, from it. He’s been pitching, recently. He’s doing a great job, too!

My dad (Poppy) was in a recent TV episode that came out. I’m so damn proud of him! He’s had several magazine articles written and short pieces done about him, but this was an entire episode dedicated to him and his work. It was so cool! I would love to share more about him here, but I just don’t want to destroy any last semblance of anonymity I have left, with this blog.

I went to the store, this afternoon, to grab a few things we still need for our Easter dinner. Poppy, his girlfriend, Justin and Jackie, Adam, our kids, and me will all be here. A friend of our daughter also asked to come participate in our egg hunt, next Sunday afternoon. Of course, I told her she’s welcome to!

It’s been a quiet weekend. We’re planning to play some badminton, tomorrow afternoon, with the kids. This evening, Adam is watching a movie upstairs, and I’m in the basement, watching TV. We had a big supper. All the kids were here, plus Mikayla’s boyfriend. It was fun, sitting around the table and being silly with everyone. I told Mikayla, a couple days ago, about her graduation present. I didn’t want her to make any plans over the time I’d booked for our trip. So, I informed her. Mikayla, Jackie, and I are going to be staying on Alabama’s Gulf Shores for 4 days. There’s tons of fun stuff to do. Mikayla was super excited about it, too! I’m so happy to have been able to give her a graduation gift that she’s this thrilled about. I went ahead and booked our reservations for shortly after her graduation. We’ll be staying somewhere with a pool, hot tub, a big balcony, a kitchen, and plenty of space for the three of us. We’ll be right by the ocean, too. I can’t wait! Well, maybe I can? Time’s already going way too fast.

Adam and my anniversary is coming up, next Tuesday. That’s the 13th anniversary of our “church wedding”. We were legally married, in secret, April 14, 2009. We were “church married”, in front of our family and friends, March 26, 2011. I truly mean this, I’m more in love with him, after all the years we’ve been together. I’m more attracted to him. I know him better. He knows me better. We’re often able to understand what each other needs and wants, without a word being spoken. I sincerely hope that he feels I’m as good of a wife as I do about him as my husband. I’m pretty certain he’s as crazy about me, as I am about him. While I’m not so naive to believe our marriage won’t require more work than we’ve already invested, I am confident we will be one of the married couples who “makes it”. I imagine us growing old together. We’ve weathered plenty of storms, already. No struggle has ever been so great, that I’ve even considered the possibility of tossing my marriage away. I’m so grateful that I found my very own “Prince Charming”, and he’s all mine.

I’ve been hanging onto my streak of avoiding trouble with Adam. It’s literally been so long, I can’t even remember the last time I was actually in real trouble. Everything has been so happy, and easy. I know it makes for a pretty boring blog, but oh my gosh do I enjoy it!

I also bought tickets for Jackie and I to go to a Nashville “ghost tour and true crime event”, this Summer. I wanted to do something fun with her, in lieu of a “bachelorette party”. She’s a huge true crime fanatic, so I think she’ll love it. I’m excited for all the fun and new adventures to come, but I’m also doing my best to enjoy every moment right now. I just want to soak in the easy, “light” way life feels. Everything is good. My family is good. Everyone is good. What an amazing blessing, to be able to say that.