Day of Lounging and Cooking!

A much needed day by the pool!!! Yesterday was probably the most relaxed I have been in a while.  Caitlin came over and joined us for the day and Ahlden's girlfriend, Brianna.  I actually floated around the pool for about an hour, which is very hard for me to sit still that long.   The day was nice, but even nicer was when Caitlin joined me in the kitchen to cook.  We made crawfish etouffee,  grilled scallops with a salsa verde and grilled peach salad.  Caitlin took over the peach salad and she did such a great job, I have to post the pic. 

A Mother's Tears

"A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she ...told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will.

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"
...
"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides." ♥ ♥

Mother's Day 2012

MOTHERHOOD is a choice you make everyday to put someone else's happiness and well-being
 ahead of your own.  To teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is... and to forgive yourself over and over again for doing everything wrong.
- Donna Bell

Happy Mother's Day to me!  I woke up to a card and flowers on the island from my son, however, he didn't grace me with his presence until around noon.  I had a very quiet morning, enjoying coffee on the back porch and listening to the birds sing.  That happens to be one of my favorite things to do!  Caitlin came over and we made lunch and played the piano.  The goal for the day or should I say, the "selfless act" that my kids wanted to do to show me that  they love me, was to go to the movies.  Well, let's just say, "The place was PACKED!"  We decided to go eat instead and, yep, we went to Fish City to eat Crawfish!  23 pounds to be exact! Thank you for making my Mother's Day a great day, I Love you!.  I hate that I didn't get a picture of the gang, so I posted a few of my favorites.



Grandparent's Legacy

This is my Herb and Vegetable Garden.  This makes me happy!  Some of the plants have just been planted, so they may look small at this point... but they will be knee high in a month.  I have always had a love for gardens and I have my grandparents to thank for that.  Leon and Helen Shankle left many legacy's, but for me,  it was watching my grandfather in his garden and my grandmother in her kitchen.  My grandfather's garden was at least an acre!  I remember corn, peas, okra, potatoes, tomatoes, and so much more.  Most of all, I remember shelling the peas!  We would sit with our bowls of peas and shell for hours.  Little did I know at the time that it wasn't so much the shelling as it was all of us around the table bonding.  I truly miss those innocent days with the cousins and how life was so simple.  We had a huge family... I was one of 16 grandchildren and most of us lived within a 5 mile radius of each other.   We were the Shankle clan and we were proud of it.    Unfortunately, my children will never experience that, other then me asking them to go cut an herb from the garden that I need to cook with.  I guess that is "some" exposure.  May you rest in peace grandmother and grandfather and thank you for all the sweet memories that will never be forgotten! 

Leon and Helen Shankle