'Buddy' and Me!

'Buddy' and Me!

buddy and me,

what a team...

clowning around,

 he's such a dream.

always so fun,

what a great guy...

makes my kids laugh, 

with such little try.

bringing magic,

 to my little kids faces,

he melts my heart,

 in all the right places.

can't wait to see,

what he does tomorrow,

his funny ideas,

i might have to borrow.

thanks for the fun,

my little red guy,

on the tradition list of 'greats'

your sure to be high.

cheers to you,

 my little friend,

this story is done, 

this is the end!

A ChriStMaS TreE fOr ThReE

A Christmas Tree For Three 

by Tatum Merrill

written for sprouts Cole &Ethan

____________ 

The hunt was on,

to find a tree,

one to be

the tree for three.

A 'noble' fir showed up the rest,

'we three' had found the tree,

the best.

Tradition called for mom

to trim, 

to prune, to groom, 

and make us

grin.

Our music tunes

we danced about,

the Christmas spirit

left no doubt, 

 Our tree would soon 

be glam adorn,

with lights,

and magic, 

and trinkets 

forlorn.

 Our favorite decor 

so long packed away...

A snow globe,

a reindeer, 

 a bike,

 and toy sleigh, 

Visions of Santa,

soon came to mind..

boxes, presents,

and gestures of kind.

So much magic

for a tree to unlock.

Is Christmas more 

than a toy-filled

sock?

Dreams of eight 

reindeer,

and the man 

who wears red,

quickly changed pace,

as I thought in my head.

The story oft told, 

during the holiday 

season, 

made me ponder the tree,

it's message, 

and reason.

 The star atop the tree

lit up the sky,

shone brightly 

back then,

for The Lord, 

Prince,

One High.

 It lit up a path

where the babe Jesus lay,

born in a stable, 

a manger with hay.

Gifts, treasures, and love unfold, 

were brought to the babe, 

they even brought gold.

The gift he gave back was

life to man-kind.

No greater a gift could 

any man find.

 

So why the tree 

in the dead of the night?

...to represent life,

new birth, gift, 

and light?

  Yes, my heart said,

this was the reason,

for Christmas,

gift-giving,

the tree, 

and the season.

Christmas is more than just

Santa and toys.

It's the cause

of our 

happiness,

and all 

of our

joys.

 

I stood back from the

tree,

and stood with some

poise,

 

it needed respect,

we quieted the

noise.

 How lovely our tree 

made my heart simply say,

this is a message

we should give away.

In our actions, 

our thoughts, 

and even our deeds, 

we should pay attention

to others needs.

Whenever a gleaming 

tree 

I walk by,

I'll give the true 

meaning

of Christmas

a try.

Who knew

the message of 

The Christmas 

Tree, 

would give new 

meaning

of Christmas for 

me.

Merry Christmas!

FoUrTh aT tHe LakE, RoDeO tHe NiGhT

ronica came in town to holiday,

 we love to lake on the fourth.

not all the sibs could

come home, but 2 on the lake is 

still reason enough to go.

 

dad and the girls

 

my baby sister

is beautiful

sunbath

play-time

love the lake,

still miss flathead

summers

our montana roots

love the rodeo.

 dal,ronica, me, & mom.

 

still our

parents kids,

almost the same

as years growing up.

hApPy KeAsTeR!

easter activity and craft

 

for the sprouts

easter bunny in our family
traditionally hides the baskets every year.

in the morning the kids are on the hunt.

for baskets and eggs

thEy loved dying the eggs.....

in thEiR underwear
because the 

momma couldn't handle thinking of dye on the clothes.

friday morning was oUr easter together

right before leaving me for 3 days and 4 nights 

for the first time.

this momma was too sad

to stay home without hEr sprouts and

headed down to gma's and gpa's 

where uncles and aunties were in town.

wE had a self portrait egg decorating 

contest that was judged by gpa....

it felt like the old days of growing up.

can U tell which one is me?

left is momma (mE)...middle is aunt mae in proxy
(as she protested the contest)...
right is aunt ronica....

left is gpa...middle is uncle d...right is gma...

everyone looks just like tHeiR egg.

it was a great easter!