A Drawing

Inspired by Taking Flight: Inspiration And Techniques To Give Your Creative Spirit Wings by Kelly Rae Roberts

18 years

Today is a special day because we are celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, honey!

You are still as handsome as the day we met.

You still make my heart skip a beat.

You are strong and brave.

May we have many more years together...

I love you...

Now...

and forever!

A Change of Heart part 8

After dinner, Maggie called. "How are you, Mama?" Eliza asked dutifully. "You know I am perfectly well, Eliza Jane. I heard about Tyler's accident. I suppose he was drunk as usual?" she said in a surly tone.

"Believe it or not, Mama, he was perfectly sober and on his way to work." Eliza said trying to placate her mother and avoid a battle. "Hmmmph!" Maggie huffed. "How long are you going to put up with this immature, no-good, loser?"



"Mother, I love you, but I will no longer tolerate your bad-mouthing Tyler. I love him and he loves me and we are having a baby come July. You are going to be a grandmother." Eliza said as respectfully as she possibly could under the circumstances.



"Oh, good God!" Maggie exclaimed. "You are a fool, Eliza Jane. Tyler is never going to change and now you'll be stuck with a baby and tied to him for life!"



Eliza's heart was sorely grieved. "I am sorry you feel that way, Mama. Good-bye." and she hung up the phone and weeped sorrowful tears. There were not many that stood with Eliza in the belief that Tyler would be delivered from alcohol. She imagined she looked very much like a fool, but she no longer cared. As long as the Lord was pleased with her, then that was all that really mattered.



She gathered her Bible and prayer journal and headed to bed where she could be comfortable and she cried out to the Lord for comfort, peace, and wisdom. She prayed for Tyler, for Reba, and especially for Mama - that she may let go of her bitterness and come to know the Lord and allow Him to set her free.



Despite yesterday's drama, she awoke from sleep renewed and well-rested. Thank you, Lord, she whispered upon rising. Tyler should be able to come home today. She made herself a light breakfast of yogurt mixed with fresh berries as she was feeling quite queasy these days with morning sickness. Then she hurried to the bathroom to shower and dress for the day.



Eliza walked into Tyler's hospital room a vision of loveliness, dressed in a blue calico dress patterned with tiny pink rosebuds, a pink cardigan, and blue Mary Jane shoes. She had her long blonde hair pulled back from her face with a wide blue satin ribbon. Though she never wore much makeup, she simply glowed and she was beautiful - though she would be hard-pressed to believe it.



"Hey pretty lady!" Tyler called to her. "Good morning,"she replied cheerfully before giving him a kiss. "You ready to go home yet?" she asked with a smile. "Heck, yeah! They are trying to starve me here with that so-called hospital food. I wouldn't feed a dog that mess." he complained. Eliza giggled at his dramatic exaggerations.



They passed the time by talking about the weather, the upcoming holidays, and such until Dr. Piper signed Tyler's release papers. Eliza went out to the parking lot to pull the car up to the entrance while the nurse brought Tyler down in a wheelchair, which he was none too happy about. He was giving that poor nurse a hard time but she would not budge. She got him into the car without incident and Eliza drove home.



Tyler did not like having to depend on others for his needs. He was used to doing for himself as he had lived on his own since he was fifteen. On that night his mother had been drinking, as was her nightly ritual, and the two got into an argument. But when she hit him, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Tyler packed up his things and left home for good.



It was hard for him to allow himself to be vulnerable - even with Eliza. He just found it so hard to trust because he had been burned so many times in the past. He wanted to be able to open himself up and share his hopes, dreams, and even his fears with Eliza, but he could never bring himself to. He felt safer keeping people at a difference. The result of this was he was a lonely, hurting soul.



Once home, Eliza helped Tyler walk up the steps and get settled on the couch. She went to the door to close it and was startled by an old black man standing on the porch. "Can I help you?" she said with her hand to her heart. "I'm sorry Missus for scaring you. I was wondering if I could have a glass of water?"



The old man was shabbily dressed in old blue jeans and t-shirt and an old olive green Army jacket. "Why certainly, Mr.....I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." she said. "It's Jeremiah, ma'am. Jeremiah Carter." he said, bowing his head. "I'll be right back with your water, Mr. Carter. Why don't you have seat in the rocking chair?" she said pointing to the porch seating.

Copyright by Tracy Hathcock

Writing

Last year I began writing a story called A Change of Heart for NaNoWriMo. I gave up on it because I had lost faith in myself, but I began rereading it last night and decided to continue on with Eliza and Tyler Clark's story. For the next five Mondays installments will be posted and I will get back to work on it. You can find the first seven excerpts on my sidebar under My Writings, along with a few other things I have written.

Installment 8 will post tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Gratitude

This week I am thankful for:

~ Knowing how to cook something out of nearly nothing! It has been a tough two weeks as we wait for the first National Guard pay to come in. Two weeks without a paycheck is not easy but we managed.

~ Singing along to my favorite country music songs always brings a smile to my face and reminds me of my first Sunday School teacher who said I sounded like Barbara Mandrell the first time I sang in front of the large congregation at church.

~ Saw the baby oppossum again last night. Alfred said he probably isn't even six months old yet. He is very little and so cute. I can't believe the cats haven't bothered him at all.

~ Watching the girls create. I bought them windchime kits to paint and their daddy is going to put them together. We also used oil pastels. I'll be posting pictures soon. They are happiest when they are doing arts and crafts - much like me.

~ Falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and sleeping throughout the night. It's rare that it happens, but boy does it feel great when it does!

What are you thankful for this week?

About Tracy

Welcome to The Enchanted Cottage!

In my little corner of world wide web, I write about what's going on in my life as a wife, homeschooling mama to two of our three children, corners of my home, recipes, books, home and creative projects, novice gardening, nature, homemaking, frugality, simple living, lessons I'm learning along this journey called life and whatever else strikes my fancy! 

I am 37 years old and have married to Alfred for 19 years. We have three children, two of which learn at home. My son, Kendall, is 19 years old. My daughters are Kayla {age 15} and Kenzie {age 11}. We live in south Alabama with our one cat, three dogs, a fish, and an Australian Bearded Dragon.

I enjoy reading, writing, journaling, arts and crafts, cross-stitch and embroidery, gardening, music, movies, cooking and baking, home-keeping, the sea, and much, much more!

Pull up a cozy chair, a refreshing drink and maybe a homemade cookie or two. I am always happy to receive visitors. May you find a kindred spirit here along with a little encouragement and inspiration!

Warmly, 

7 Takes

1. The yard has been mowed once again and one more bush has been dug up from around the pond. It is ridiculously hot and humid out. Is it too early to begin yearning for Autumn?

2. Kendall is considering joining the military. I began crying at the thought of my firstborn being away from home for months at a time. He's no longer a baby, but is growing up to be a young man. I don't know that my mama-heart is ready for this {is anyone's?}. If he decides to join, he will have our full support.

3. After three weeks of working seven days a week, Alfred has this weekend off. I am enjoying having my man home. I've missed him. Tonight's plans includea movie and lots of snuggling.

4. We have a baby opposum living somewhere in our yard. I have seen him three times usually late at night and twice he was on the porch eating catfood! Alfred wants to set a live trap for him so we can relocate him. He made be on his own for we haven't seen mama oppossum. Poor little critter!

5. I am getting ready to declutter - books and clothes in particular. Oh, and let's not forget papers! Eye-yi-yi! How do they accumulate so fast?

6. I can't get into my library books. I am finding myself  being restless, distracted, and well, just blah feeling lately. Maybe it's hormones. Maybe it's the summer heat. Whatever it is, I wish it would go away!

7.  I found a sweet blog called A Moment Cherished yesterday. Tiffany is a sweet soul who's adjusting to life as a new pastor's wife. She is married to Jim and they have two adorable kiddies. She is a great photographer, too. Confession: I read through all of her archives yesterday and today!

Window Stars

Yesterday the girls and I made Window Stars after seeing GardenMama's fabulous tutorial.

I ordered the colored wax paper from Palumba.

It was lots of fun!

Our stars looking out of the living room window into the front yard. 

Kenzie being silly. :)

Both Kenzie & Kayla hamming it up for the camera.

I love papercrafting!

Gratitude

This week I am thankful for:

~ Reading in bed.

~ Vegetables growing in the garden.

~ Free family outings.

~  Crossword puzzles and word searches.

~ Wildlife sightings in our yard and neighborhood.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Arg! My finger was in the way...

This morning the kids and I were up early to go to the 6th Annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival. The ballons started lifting off at 6am and it was so cool to watch them float in. I was surprised by the amount of people that were there so early. It was a big crowd!

Fondly,

Yard Projects: In the Works

We've made some changes in the yard since we first bought the house.

A lady Alfred works with wanted bushes for her yard and we were more than happy to get rid of some. Her husband came and pulled up nineteen bushes from the front yard!

Two rows from here...

And one row here.

I am planning to put in a white brick border and fill it in with soil, flowers, and black mulch on both sides of the walkway. I'd like to dress up the porch a bit, too, but have decided on what I want to do with it yet.

I also made changes in the backyard around the koi pond.

Alfred dug up a few bushes for me, but I want all of the bushes out of there. I trimmed the sega palm and weeded it out really good. I also spray painted the two trellises red.

Here's another shot around the pond. We still need to get it cleaned out and seal the cracks. We want to put a fountain in and fish. Once I get all the bushes out I want to make this area a butterfly garden with tons of flowers. I'll probably put in a brick border around this one, too. I think it looks neater. 

The tree by the angel statue is the pear tree!

This little rascal is one of many who are plucking our pears off the tree!! They take a few bites and toss them to the ground. Any ideas on how to curtail these little rascals?

Hormones, Books and Outdoor Tips

I feel so down today. It is as if the joy has been sucked from my being instantaneously. In all honesty, it's probably hormones - but gosh, I don't like days like this! All I want to do is sleep and be alone for a while. I'm tired and I'm cranky and I don't want to deal with anyone or anything. There's no chance of that happening! Nope, life goes on whether I want to participate or not.

Last night I finished At Home on LadyBug Farm and it was just as good as the first book. And now I have to wait until October for the next book. Oh, and Sarah Ban Breathnach has a new book coming out in December called Peace and Plenty!

The girls and I went to the library. My reading list now includes:

The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield

The Shack by William Paul Young

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

and

A Light in the Window by Jan Karon

Checked the garden today and there are two little cucumbers on the vine! I can see where bugs have been eating the bell pepper leaves, so it's time to take care of that right away. I recently read that you can fill a spray bottle with water and a good squirt of dishwashing soap. Shake it up and spray your garden plants to repel pests. I'm going to give it a try.

To repel mosquitoes when you're outside, put a dryer sheet in your pocket. They don't like it. One of Alfred's co-workers told him this trick and he grew up on the Louisiana bayous. I buy the cheapest dryer sheets I can find.

May tomorrow be a brighter day!

Our Cats

Kitty

Zoe

Crybaby

Clover

Crybaby again. Isn't he adorable? He's a sweetheart.

This is a bad kitty that comes in the yard sometimes. He growls if you get near him. Isn't he huge?!!

Note: All of our cats are spayed/neutered. :)

Vegetable Garden

This was my garden a few weeks ago...

And this is the garden as of today!

 I have a few tomatoes beginning to grow....

{click to enlarge pictures}

and one bell pepper so far!

Nothing yet on the cucumber plants, but the plants are growing and there are big yellow blooms, so any day now there should be cucumbers!

I have used no chemicals on my garden and I water the garden for about an hour each day unless we get rain. I'll have homegrown organic vegetables to harvest soon. I'm so excited!

Vintage Housekeeping

Alison at Brocante Home is having a giveaway for a $60 Amazon giftcard!

I love Brocante Home for the delightful Puttery Treats! Not to mention, Alison has a way about her that makes homemaking a high art. She is fun and loves vintage wares and ways. Brocante Home offers vintage advice and recipes, book recommendations, inspiration galore, quotes and poetry, scrumptious lists, musings, and scenes from Alison's day as a vintage housekeeper.

You will laugh and you will cry as you relate to Alison's adventures in homemaking, being mummy to Finley, and finding love again after divorce. One thing is for sure, life as a vintage housekeeper is never boring! 

Heat and Limitations

It has been sweltering hot here and it will be months before there is any real relief in sight. The heat and humidity is doing me in and I've come to accept the fact that, while living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I have limitations. I am not super woman and will no longer attempt to try to do it all and then some in a day.

I have decided to go with the flow. I list 6 things I want to accomplish each day around the house and yard (beyond daily maintenance) and that will have to be good enough. My focus will be creating a comfortable (read not spotless) home for my family, preparing good meals and snacks, keeping the yard clean and spending time with my family.

If I can get my work done early in the morning, then I can enjoy creative pursuits such as reading, cross-stitching, drawing, crafts, and doing things with the kids.

Since Alfred has gone on active duty orders, our time together is limited. He is up by 4:15am, leaves for duty an hour later, and returns about 4:15pm. He is outside all day in this heat and is exhausted when he comes home and turns in for bed between 8-9pm. We have such little time together these days. I want to make the few precious hours we do have together count.

Another limitation is the use of my car. Alfred has to drive to Mobile (a 45 minute drive, one way) each morning which leaves me homebound. Grocery shopping and trips to the library will have to be done after he gets home in the afternoon. I don't mind it very much as I am home most of the time anyway.

This summer I am learning to slow down, keep cool, and go with the flow of whatever life throws my way. It is about accepting what is and working with my limitations. It's not always a bad thing. I choose to make the most of the situation and look to the bright side.