Home.

I came from a place not many are familiar with. It isn't a specific place on a map. It's a life. A life that has been romanticized by film, photography and song lyrics. Although I my self am guilty of romanticizing it, our life was in fact full of scrapes and bruises along the way. But it was a good life. My body aches for it some days. My heart longs for it most all the time.

Drive 7 miles south from a sleepy little town. Turn down a rough dirt road with foot deep ruts, drive 5 more miles. When you think you've hit the Mexican border, drive a little further. Home.

Drive west 15 miles. Turn south on a caliche road. Drive 3 miles. Take the cattleguard to the right. Drive 10 more miles down the dirt road. Cross Tobacco Creek. You'll see it just before the Colorado River. Home.

Drive east 5 miles. Turn south down the old dirt road. Drive half a mile. Look behind that house there. See that spot just beyond the brush? Home.

Go to the barn. Head toward the trap. Go through the gate, you'll have to use the cheater bar. Climb down to the dry river bed. Hear the water as it runs down the rocks and in to the swimming hole? The waterfall...Home.

Turn by the Macy Ranch sign. Drive down to the racehorse barn, the house isn't there any more but the memories are. Home.

See that ole yellow paint standing in the pasture? Home.

I look at photographs, I dream of days gone by.

I see my Momma strummin' her guitar singing softly as she strums an old Emmylou tune. I see her small hands make a believer out of a headstrong mare.

I see my Daddy pitch his houlihan around the neck of some ole ranch horse. I see his hands work magic on metal and silver.

I see my sister as she flies around the barrels on her bay mare. I see her as she runs the needle in the brandin' pen.

I see myself - long blonde hair hanging behind my 5 inch brim hat, pants tucked in my handmade yellow top boots. A long legged border collie at the heels of my ranch horse is noticeably wet from taking a swim in the tank. I see me.

I see all these things and I see home.



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Flashforward.

My home is different now. 13th street is where you'll find me. It's a house with a man I call home inside of it. Someday, we'll have a house that's really a home. I hope it's some where down a dirt road where I can see my horses from my kitchen window. Where our children can grow up knowing there is so much more life beyond a city limit sign.


Peace, Love & Red Dirt,

Whitterbree

From Crappy to Not-as-Crappy

A few months ago, like way back in March, I made big claims as to all the work I was going to do on my yard. Yes, they were big dreams for a girl who does more dreaming than doing, but some of them got done. Here's my bold statement if you'd like to see the claims.

So, progress you ask? Well, I'd say we went from crappy to not-as-crappy.

Forgive my photos as most of them are mobile uploads.

#1. The glider bench & metal chair.

~It's my favorite trash to treasure to date. Both items needed a face lift and some new parts. Thanks to some good ole Krylon and a handy husband, here's the before & after of the bench, plus my fabulous turquoise antique metal chair. I wish I had a before on it, it was ROUGH!

before...

after....

#2 Flowers

~Well, I planted flowers. I watered, I fertilized, I attempted to breath life in to my budding friends and then I bought more flowers when half of the flowers from the first round took a drastic turn toward death. Here's a few pictures of my flower pots. Forgive my not-so-green thumb.

#3 Yard Art

~This was fun. I didn't get near what I was hoping for accomplished, but I did get a fabulous tallevera frog, a metal pink flamingo, a knock off tijuana frog, a gazing ball & several things hung on the side of the house. Here are a few pictures of some of the things I have sitting around!

Hopefully, next year I'll get even more done...better yet, I'll be a home owner and be able to do ANYTHING I please to my home! :)

Have a beautiful night!

Peace, Love & Wildflowers,

WHIT

My Friday Confessions...

~I'm catching the back end of this confessions train, but here it goes....

Confession #1:
I despise wearing socks. Shoes too, but socks mostly. I would rather be barefooted than anything else. Socks make me feel restricted. I've been this way forever...ask my poor mother who wanted nothing more than to protect me and keep me warm, yet I refused! Mama Tried! ;)


Confession #2:
I watch the Disney Channel. O yes, I'm a frequent viewer of Hannah Montana, Sonny with a Chance, Wizards of Waverly Place & Good Luck Charlie. I dvr them. I'll be 26 next month and I get excited when they make new episodes. I get even more excited when they make a new made-for-TV move on the Disney Channel. But the best part...my hubby loves it too! I mean where else can you get good wholesome entertainment with humor, love & life lessons all included!? It's fun! Try it out!


Confession #3:
I hate getting dressed up. Ever since I was a little girl, I preferred boots (or flipflops), jeans and a hat. I am still that same girl. I put make up on only for weddings, funerals, church & nights out. I haven't worn makeup to work in probably 2 months. I also despise fixing my hair. Today was the first day in 2 weeks that I fixed my hair for work, it's pony tails or caps for this girl. I am plain jane in that respect, but I do have fabulous highlights in my hair & I never leave home without big, gawdy earrings and a couple of bangles on my wrist!

Confession #4:
I hate cooking for just my husband & I. I feel really guilty about this, because I do love cooking, but I love cooking for other people. I love cooking for Kam & his friends or for my friends or our families. But on a normal weeknight, my dear husband is lucky if he gets boxed spaghetti. It's sad, I know, but it's the truth.



Confession #5:
My husband makes me giddy. Don't get me wrong, somedays I want to scream at the top of my lungs and then poke my eyeballs out because of him...but gosh he has my heart! He is by far the most entertaining person I know. He makes me crazy with his constant random sing songs about our dogs, he drives me insane with his neverending quest to irritate me, but if it wasn't for all that I wouldn't appreciate those moments where he looks at me and all I see in his eyes are how much he loves me. Last night was one of those moments....they make my lil heart go pitterpatter! :)

~Peace, Love & Dreams~

WHIT

5 Beautiful Things

Beauty surrounds us every moment of every day, but so often we fail to notice it or appreciate it. Here are a few God given beauties that make me smile and give thanks!

1. Sunsets/Sunrises
~I see a lot of these on my daily drives to & from work. And each one I see brings a new part of me to life. So many colors, so many rays of light, so many different cloud formations - it's always breathtaking. Only God could hold such a paint brush!

2. My horses
~These guys light up my life. Just seeing them brings me back to me...I pray for the day when I have a place to bring Uncy to Post so I can ride all the time, just like I did back when...All horses are a thing of beauty, even the big headed, high whithered, ugly suckers have a way of winning your heart (here's to a sway backed ranch horse named Sueno...I'll see ya again some day, ole pard!)

3. Rain

~Rain is a good thing! We've seen a lot of it this year, more in 2 weeks than we usually see in a year, but no matter what, it's still beautiful! It fills our lakes and rivers, provides water for farmers & ranchers, I've always referred to it as job security. Beautiful, Heaven sent job security! And besides, rain makes rainbows! ;)

4. Flowers
~My family is full of women with green thumbs, mine isn't quite as green, but I try. My aunt might as well be Martha Stewart and my mom & Gran Gran's yards are full of old fashioned flowers filled with vibrant blooms. My yard, well, hey I tried! :) But flowers, whether they are in a yard, a pasture or a bar ditch are some of the most amazing things on earth. They are so full of beauty and wonderment! And well, wildflowers, they best stay wild!

5. Children
~I have several friends with little ones and they never cease to amaze me. They are so full of light and love and joy. I adore the kids in my life and can't wait to be a mommy myself someday! Children are a precious gift! Yet another beautiful blessing from God's hands. Here's a picture of my friend Callie's little boy, Ethan...he was all tuckered out from a day at the lake! Innocence at it's best!

Maybe you've driven by the exact same spot 100 times and never truly looked at it's beauty until recently. Or maybe you relish in the beauty of the wildflowers in the barditch every morning, or a neighbors yard, or a stranger's kind smile. There is beauty in everything, if only we allow our selves to see it. Once we see it, we must cherish it, share it and believe in it! Thank the Lord for the beautiful things - no matter how big or how small, how peculiar or how mundane, beauty is everywhere! Go out and find it!

Peace, Love & A Gypsy's Soul,

Whit

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Howdy folks! I hope y'alls Friday is as relaxed as mine.

Work is sure quiet today and with that quiet comes a lot of extra brain activity on my part.

My mind has roamed from looking for baby gifts for my cousin to the weather to photography to poetry, to Texas history, and then to my great grandmother who had taken a turn for the worse and was expected to pass away 6 days ago, but today is wearing a smile and drinking apple juice.

97 glorious years on this earth! Can you imagine? I've talked a little about her before on here, (Hands). She is an incredible woman with personality to spare. She is/was what you might call a spit fire. If she had an opinion, which she usually did, she shared it.

Beulah O'Dell. A name meaning beautiful and that she is. I think myself quite lucky to be 25 years old and still have a great-grandparent alive. She has really shown me a lot about strength and will power. After she fell and went in to the nursing home several years ago, she refused to think she was staying there. She was always going to go HOME. I always thought it was her way of refusing to let her surroundings control her or imprison her.

My great-grandaddy Lowe passed away in 1992. I was only 7 or 8 years old, but I remember his kind hearted laugh and his ever present smile. I remember him singing and o how I loved his record collection! He was a fine musician and enjoyed lifting others spirits with good old gospel tunes. He played checkers and chess for enjoyment. He was teaching my big sister, Wendy, how to play before he passed away. He was a happy soul.

He and Great-grandmother were quite the pair. I always thought they fit quite well, balancing each other out. I was too young to truly know Great-grandaddy, but I felt loved by him each time I saw him.

They always had such a beautiful yard, Grandmother prided herself in it. They even won yard of the week in the Post Dispatch a few times. She had beautiful rose bushes growing on the side of the hill their house sits on, just on the edge of town, and she always cut us some roses before we headed home from a visit.

There were bluebonnets in her yard too. Last summer, I went to take a few pictures of them. None of the pictures turned out very good, but I'm glad I did it because they are gone now.

Great-grandmother talks about working in the fields, picking cotton with my Pa hanging on to her sack as she walked the fields. She use to work in the cafeteria at the school, then spend her evening on the tractor helping Great-grandaddy farm.

They made a life for themselves out of nothing. They started out in old farmhouses, farming someone else's land with someone else's crop in the ground and by the time Great-grandaddy retired from farming, he had become a very successful farmer on his own with a strong supportive wife and two fine, strong handsome sons to his name. He and his brother rocked the house they lived in and Great-grandmother is SO proud of that house. It was always white-glove approved. Not a thing out of place, not a speck of dirt. I remember being afraid to touch anything in her house because I knew she'd be able to tell!

These two people - one still hanging on and one loving us from above - have made quite an impact on my life. Such strength and devotion. I've learned many things from them. But out of all the things I've learned, whether they be ways I don't want to be or characteristics I strive to be more like, one stands out as key.

LOVE. Love for God, love for your spouse, love for family. Whether it be shown by hugs and kisses and words or whether it not be shown too well at all. It is above all - IMPORTANT.

I know my Greatgrandmother will soon join her husband in the sweet Beulah land and she is very much deserving of a life free of pain, a life where her once strong hands will become ungnarled and regain their youthful appearance and capabilities. Where her knees and her hips aren't sources of pain and discomfort. Yes, she is deserving of such a Heavenly life!

God Bless Y'all!

Peace, Love & Memories,

WHIT

Soul Shine :)

Today started out as one of those days...

You know the type - woke up late, dogs won't come back in, left for work with wet hair....husband gets you to buy $50 worth of breakfast stuff at the store only to inform you that he needs to leave early for work so he can go get something at Mickey D's...to which you respond in anger & frustration...

Okay...so I yelled. Yup, I did. I yelled and I felt guilty after he left. I felt like a terrible, unsupportive wife. Why would I yell at him over breakfast food? I mean seriously...he probably spent all of $3 at McD's. What's the big deal?!

So after I realized how ridiculous I was being I called him, told him how much I loved him and that I was sorry. But this still didn't solve the guilt I was feeling over something so small and pointless.

This always leads me to believe that something else is bothering me. ..

So...I'm driving to work and I hear Dolly Parton's song, 'Better Get to Livin'.

Then, I check my emails this morning only to find my Daily Devotional & Girlfriend's in God emails screaming my name. WOW...when God's got your number, he's really got your number. Here are a few things that really spoke to me that were included in these:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope."
Psalm 119:49 (NIV)

"Choosing to laugh more than cry and finding the fun in each day was often like seeking buried treasure. But most days the good was there; it just wasn't as noticeable as the bad. Focusing on those moments felt like breath in my lungs.

My theme song was Carole King's "Beautiful" that says, "You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face." Gray had dominated my days for far too long, the sun needed to shine in my life again."

"When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says." Proverbs 31:26

"Before speaking, ask yourself the following questions:
T is it true
H Is it helpful
I is it inspiring
N is it necessary
K is it kind
Think before you speak. Use the five to one ratio when correcting - five positive remarks to one negative comment."

"I truly believe our greatest opportunity to impact the world is the way we love and enjoy family."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are interested in receiving these emails, go to www.crosswalk.com. It's got absolutely great daily emails - always a good pick-me-up.

After I read those emails, I cruised on over to check the news....gossip news of course. This is where I stumbled upon these 2 articles (seriously, check them out!):

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/9-marriage-rules-you-should-break-1387877/

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Family-Lifestyle/9-Marital-Bad-Habits-and-How-to-Break-Them.html

Yet again, God was talking to me. Isn't it great how He knows exactly what we need to see/hear/read exactly when we need it? Like the other day, it was raining and I was a little down in the dumps. When I looked up in the sky, I saw the most vibrant, beautiful double rainbow you've ever seen...I needed a lift, I needed to appreciate the masterpiece God allows us to enjoy on a daily basis. I felt blessed, and today I feel the same way.

I needed to remember that our tone, our words, our actions say much more than we realize sometimes. I needed to be reminded how hurtful and useless it is to be negative. I need to lift Kam up, not push him down and today God reminded me of that. He reminded me to remember just how IN love I am with my husband, my bestfriend. I am grateful for the gift of being allowed to share my life with this man. And I am grateful for an awesome God!

I reckon sometimes we all need a little SOUL shinin'!


Peace, Love & Blessings!

Mrs. McBaker ;)

Kindred Connection Party! Gotta love sweet Summer time!

I saw this little party and just knew I had to join in! I am all about summertime! This warm weather is getting me geared up for some serious lake time!

Go check out Windy Poplars for sure! This is a great idea to find new great blogs & meet fun people! :)


1. How do you most like to entertain during the summer (pool party, picnic, cookout, etc.)? - Or if your situation doesn't allow for entertaining right now, what do you look forward to being able to host? We love cooking out and having a few cold ones to cool us off from the hot Texas heat. We spend lots of time at the lake in our camper, so that's a great place of entertainment for us too! Nothing beats floatin in the water with a cold one in your hand! Anywhere is a great spot to entertain as long as you are surrounded by your loved ones & your friends!

2. Do you have a favorite summertime dessert? Mmmm...homemade ice cream!

3.What is your best outdoor summer date idea? Just me & Kam going fishing/camping/swimming. Or us just hanging out in our front yard relaxing, playing with the pups and visiting.

4. Share any outdoor decorating tips/ideas you have...
Nothing beats a vamped up old bench! Paint it a bright, fun color and it automatically becomes not only a functional place to sit, but a great eye catcher too! I've enjoyed finding unique things to hang outside too - I've got big metal flowers, crosses & signs hung on the house for character. And don't forget bird feeders! They bring life & enterntainment! And of course, you can never have enough flowers! :)

5. What will we find you wearing most in the summertime?
Well, when I'm not at work...flip flops and caps! Summer is all about comfort, relaxation & enjoyment...I'll be ready for all three wherever they may be!