Love for Mom

Being a mom is a tough job.

For the majority of the children's life the role of the mother is taken for granted, underestimated, and under appreciated. As a child, we forget that moms are human. They are held on scrutinized pedestals. Moms are the center of the cause for their children being great or a menace. Discipline is encouraged and then seen as abuse. Love is seen as essential and then being too coddling. Every single move is measured, weighed, and valued as either being too little or too much.

Being a mom is a tough job.

More times than not, moms hold families together and come hell or high water nothing will split them up while she is still alive. Moms are glue, duck tape, and tough as nails. Ask for very little and receive even less. Moms are their own toughest critics while being criticized by others. They bring home the bacon and the groceries, and still do the cooking. They do it all, and yet have eyes rolled in their direction when asking for help; when asking for love. The last one to sit down at the dinner table and the first to be interrupted.

Being a mom is a tough job.

But one day, hopefully, that child with an I-know-better attitude will grow up and see the role from the other side as a mother/mother figure, and will gain an appreciation for what their mother has done for them.



Dear Mom,

The only way I have of sharing the feelings of a mother is through my dogs. Yes, I know completely different, though it's as close as I can get. I simply love their hugs and kisses and their groaning "I love you"s. I soak it up each and every day. As their caretaker, I hope they simply understand my love for them.

So, I want you to know my love for you.

You are more than a mom. You are a friend, a teacher, an example. I follow your lead. We are closer than blood related; your sole lives in me and through me. Your laugh is contagious and your energy is room filling. Your giving personality will never be a fault of yours so embrace it, no matter what other's say. The world needs more giving people.

You are a tough and confident woman. Self assured, though humble. You instill confidence in everyone you meet. You taught me that I can do anything, and achieve anything. You taught me to be strong, and compassionate. Assertive, and kind. To do what's right even when it's hard.

I am proud to say that you and dad raised 3 successful children based on discipline and structure. You held your ground when we tried so hard shake it. You said no, and then with tantrums and tears, you still said no. Thank you. Because of that, you taught me the value of hard work and the gratification of earning something on my own.

Thank you for surrounding me with a faith-based lifestyle. The hells of life are far more bearable because of my relationship with Christ. Thank you for teaching me the respect of God as our Father. Thank you for teaching me the benefit of putting Christ first in my marriage. And God thanks you too!

I can only hope that one day when I have children of my own, I will be half the mother that you are.

You are a wonderful mother. A great mother. And so much more!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
I love you,
Sarah

Thank you for being a friend.
Travel down the road and back again.
Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant.

And if you threw a party,
invited everyone you knew.
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say,
thank you for being a friend.

At Natural Bridge. Squeezing hands because that's what a mom will do to her daughter, no matter the age, when your crossing that bridge.

 

God's Skys

It has been asked to Mr. P and I on more than one occasion, "Why do you want to live out there?" Or we have had the comments made, "You should really move into Oldham County."

And the number one reason that gets told to us is because Oldham County has better schools. Then comes, "You'll be closer to everything."

Well, maybe the schools are 'better'...that is still up for debate, and we look forward to sending our children to private schools anyways. Also, we live 23 mintues from the Summit and many of our favorite restaurants so distance isn't an issue.

But there are more than 365 reasons as to why we like, and want, to stay in Henry County.

Case and point, please see below.

First 3 photos are of a Spring morning just a couple of days ago. 4th picture is a Winter morning. And the last, well, you'll see.



The abundancy of herbs I can grow, too!

Mr. P and I joke that our first starter home might just be the one we grow old in. We LOVE our Henry County, simple kinda life!

Furniture for Sale!

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying this wonderful Kentucky weather! LOVE living in the Bluegrass State!

I have a king size, 6 piece bedroom suite I am trying/needing to sell. I had high hopes that it would work in my house but unfortunately it is too big for the room.

Here are the specks:
Ethan Allen French Country Collection
Solid wood
King Size
Includes: 2 matching side lamps, beautiful comforter, skirt, and decorative pillows.
All in great condition, minimal wear.

I'm asking $2900 obo.
Please email me if you are interested. sarah_pendergest@yahoo.com

Here are the pictures that I have of everything. Please pass this along to any and all!

 

"I love you." is spelt M-A-R-C-I-A.

You don't have to go to France or Italy or some exotic location to find a real love story. Sometimes it's in your own back yard. This love story is what life is all about.

In the Fall of 2008 Tom set out to plant around 1000 daffodils. Now, if your reaction was anything like mine, you probably thought to yourself, "1000?!?!? That's a lot of planting!" But for Tom, his flowers are his hobby and day after day he would spend his time tending to his flowers that make up his very own park.

On this particular day while he planted the 1000 bulbs, his thoughts were with his wife.

That following February Tom was diagnosed with cancer. Very ill, and not knowing how long he had left on this Earth he told his wife in case their time together was cut short, her name would bloom on their hillside come Spring.

And just as he had said, the flowers bloomed. Spelling out his loves' name, Marcia.

Tom is still at home enjoying his park and his time with Marcia. But, when the time comes for our Lord to call him home to rest, Marcia will forever know his love for her when Spring comes back around. And Tom will still be there. He will be there in the blooms, and in the passing breeze through the flowers. He will be by her side when she steps out to see them for the first time each Spring. She will forever know that when those flowers spell out her name, Tom is there with her saying, "I love you."

These flowers can be seen off of Radcliff Road in Henry County. A true landmark of love.

A Red Roof Barn

 "Love and warmth are created in the home, but character and strength are created in a barn."

In our little piece of the world, Mr. P and I have taken on a barn raising.

Now, traditionally a barn raising would be scheduled for a weekend and many of the town men would help in the event. After Sunday service all would gather at the building site and work until dark to complete as much as possible on the barn. If not all, most of the work would be completed so that the farmer could use the barn in a very short period of time...this is not one of those kind of barn raisings.

Ours started back in early November and is still being worked on. My husband is just one man. Though he may have the strength of 3, the shoulders of 4, the determination of a warrior and the heart of a saint, he is still one man. This is a project like no other that we have taken on. God has blessed us though! Mr. P's brother, a friend, and my brother have been huge in getting us to the stage that it is at now! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your help!

Sunday, Mr. P and I worked on putting the metal on the sides. YAY!!!!!!!! Finally we can see the end!!!! Once the first side was finished, we sat back, (literally we sat in the shade) and looked at our progress. Job well done!

3 sides, a roof, 2 doors, and driveway left to go...yes the end is in sight!

Soon our red roof barn will be complete (and pictures will come too).....and dedicated (posting coming on that very soon!)

God is so good!

Fun in the country

I joked on our drive, that who would have thought that we would be looking forward to a day further away from the city...fun in the country.

Mr. P and I spent the afternoon leaving our finger prints in places we've never been before. Just for the benefit of my readers, I'm going to tell you that we had lunch at Cattleman's in Shelbyville. My blog won't be about that place, but let me just tell you, they got some good food! Take a ride, and try it out.

The day and drive, and our Groupon deal, took us to Talon Winery. Based out of Lexington KY they recently opened a tasting room in Shelbyville. I know what your thinking....all of her blogs have something to do with wine! I will admit I do enjoy a good glass of wine....it's heart healthy!

So here is our Saturday steal-of-a-deal afternoon at Talon. Set off the beaten path, but rich in friendly folks, we sat back, relaxed, and sipped.

This place had an eclectic decor arrangement, to say the least. If you look closely, you'll see a wizard and budda on either side of the singer. A little strange in my opinion, but whatever. I guess it makes it interesting. And I found this piece of sculpture purched on a wine shelf...had to take a shot of it.

 I had to get a shot of the ceiling. Designed to look like a wine barrel.

This musician is a great guitarist, singer. The perfect touch to our winery date! "Eatin' cheese, drinking wines, and listenin to the blues...livin life," Mr. P.

"A sleepy little winery that wakes up as the night goes on," Mr. P.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

Tea Time

One of my most memorable experiences while I lived in England was tea time. Yes, they do have tea time there. It's a mid-afternoon leisure hour to enjoy hot tea, a biscuit or two with crumpets, and catch up on personal and political gossip. To me it seemed to be a reminder to ourselves that, aww, I do matter and there is more to life than work.

Never forgetting this lovely hour, I asked for a tea kettle for Christmas this year. A bright green kettle now sits on my stove every single day....never to be put away! She, yes the kettle is female, is a piece of artwork in my kitchen. This afternoon, just like many evenings, my kettle started to sing her high pitched whistle, letting me know it was time for brewing!

This kind of laid back afternoon doesn't come around too often. When I can look out my window, see God's beautiful countryside and falling snow, while sipping on my hot green tea, I know this is what a great life is made of! God is so good!

I do miss England dearly, but I can still enjoy tea time a half a world away!

Cheerio, my dear friends!