Happy Thanks Giving

Hi all!
I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was amazing!  We all have so much to be thankful for. 

This year we have been reminded of how quickly life can change and how important it is to tell the people you care about just how special they are, not just at the holidays, but every day of the year.  TODAY is a good time to start! 
GO! GO ahead and tell the person in the next room or on the other end of the phone how much they mean to you!  Don't just assume they know, tell them!  Go ahead I will wait.......

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See, didn't that feel good?  You just made a difference in someones life and in your own  {{hugs}} pretty warm and fuzzy huh?

We take SO very much for granted every day. We think our world will never change, that bad things couldn't possily happen to us and to ours.  THEN something happens that makes us put on the brakes and reevaluate our life and our perspective on who and what is important.
This year we have seen both of our families faced with the scariest diagnosis' ever, CANCER. We have watched our loved ones endure surgery, the chemo, and the radiation, and thank the Lord have been able to share the good news of cancer free with them.

It has been enlightening to see people put aside differences and come together to lend support when our loved ones needed it the most. It must be empowering to these survivors to know that they have survived these horrific treatments and in the end received that "cancer free" diagnosis. To know that after having endured all of that there is nothing they can't handle.    They won the fight of their life!!! 

 
At our Thanksgiving table this year, we discussed how very lucky blessed we are to still have these family members in our life.  NOTE~~This is NOT luck this is a blessing.   We have all taken something differant away from the experience. Respect for family, for friends, but most importantly respect for life itself.   

This year brought true meaning to the words
*Happy * Thanks * Giving *

We are so HAPPY to have such amazing families and friends, such an incredible support network

We give THANKS for our many blessings and for tough women who refused to give up!  For the husbands, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers who stood by each other when the going got tough

AND it is time to start GIVING back to the people around us everyday.  Not just the holidays...EVERY DAY

Love to all of you
Jeanne

Update!

Hi all!
Here is a quick construction update.  There is a lot going on but not much visible progress.  This is the part of the building process that makes me nuts.  In the beginning you see tons of progress.  It seems like the house is built in days.  THEN the finish work starts and things slow down......to a crawl.    SO many details. 
Don't get me wrong I love the shopping that goes along with this part of it (surprise) but not the wait.
The fixtures and appliances have been chosen and ordered, cabinetry is designed ordered and almost complete for installation in a couple weeks.  The granite is chosen and we are on the granite installers schedule since he is very busy and if we don't schedule now it could be  months.    All of the tile and hardwood has been chosen and the measurements taken to get that ordered.  Paint colors and trim styles chosen.  NOW we wait and pray that it will all come together and looks okay.  

In the mean time this is what has happened since our last update.

The drywall tape and texture is complete and ready for cabinetry and paint!

See the hole in the wall?  That is the back of the built in entertainment center.  That hole has a little door in the guest closet so everything can be accessed and hooked up without using the top 12 ballet moves!  Genius!

The retaining walls in the front are complete!

The retaining walls in the back are almost finished and looking good!
hmmmm do we leave the ski slope/slide or put in stairs? decisions..... decisions.....

Thank you for the aerial view Kathy and Nathan.  Love it!

I will keep you updated as we progress.

Today I am thankful for patience.  Something that I am truly lacking in, have prayed for and have been sent many lessons in an attempt to teach me.  NOT my strong suit but I am working on it!

What are you thankful for today?

Love and miss y'all
Jeanne

Barbed wire

I have become consumed with barbed wire!  There seems to be more and more shots of this barbed marvel showing up in my photographs all the time.

It is simply amazing to me! It rusts beautifully, catches the light perfectly and is a very large part of my family history. 

                              Barbed Wire in Texas and Arizona

I love the history, the nostalgia of barbed wire, of how it changed the lives of the people who helped tame and document the west.  The wars that were fought over it and with it. 

My Great Grandfather Andrew Speelmon was a large part of the changes taking place during that time of turmoil.  He and his two brothers lived on a ranch in Eastern Montana where they raised horses for the army.   They were photographed by L A Huffman, a  post photographer at nearby Fort Keogh. Fort Keogh was a military post established shortly after the Custer incident in 1876 to provide a military presence in eastern Montana.   Later those and many other photos would be published in a book called Before Barbed Wire.

The most amazing thing to me about this book's photographs is that they were of such incredible quality considering they were taken in the late 1870's with such crude and complicated equipment.  Not just still, posed photo's.... action photo's!  Clear, detailed action photos...amazing!
Remember my post  "The Piano, November 11"?  This is the photo I remember sitting on top of my grandmother's piano. It was published in the book Before Barbed Wire. 

This is a hand colored copy of Andrew Speelmon, my Great Grandfather,  "Saddling A Wild Horse"
I grew up with the black and white version, so was surprised to see the hand colored version.  This was hand colored by L A Huffman himself.   My mom and Aunt still have the B & W photographs that were given to the family by L A Huffman.  What a treasure!

If you have a chance look at the L A Huffman website  http://lahuffman.com/index.htm  His skills were amazing, a true artist. 

I recently found two, out of print first editions of  Before Barbed Wire  online and have purchased them for my boys for Christmas.  (No, they don't read my blog)  I hope that they cherish and pass on this incredible memory to future generations.  Memories that were made before paved roads, digital cameras, and before barbed wire.

Today I am thankful for my boys, Robert and Jeremy.  Generations before them would be so proud of the men they have become.  Men with a sense of history, the importance of hard work and of family.

What are you thankful for today?

Love and Miss all of you
Jeanne