The Bright Eyed Brunette

We had a great time celebrating Makena Faith on Sunday evening. I got more emotional than I thought I would. She is such a great kid with such a kind heart, and even though she will only be gone until November, I will miss her like crazy!  Her graduation on July 18th was officially canceled on Thursday. She was sad, and a little mad, but we were both like, "what else would we expect from 2020?!".  We are proud of you, Makena! You are beautiful inside and out and you inspire me daily.  Congratulations baby girl!! Much Love, Beth

Happy Thursday friends! Hope you have had a fantastic week so far. I have been a busy little bee trying to decorate and get things lined out for Makena's Sr Sunday Luau on the 28th. We still have a lot to do, but it will get done. I want it to be perfect for her since the last half of her Sr. year was a little less than perfect.  I'm sure there will still be those who won't come because they are afraid of corona. I am not minimizing their fear, because I too, could become overwhelmed with fear if I let myself dwell on it.  I'm going to take a minute share a few thoughts that have been running through my head lately. This whole COVID 19 situation has social engineering written all over it.  The first goal of this project would be to further alienate and isolate the population from each other, thus greatly weakening our power and autonomy. Attack the assemblage of the population, close churches. The Boston Tea Party happened after a church meeting. Second goal: to cull sm...

Happy Father's Day to my two favorite dads! I am so thankful for both of you.  My dad has always been there for me, guiding me with just the right combination of discipline and love. He is a great example to his children and grandchildren of a Godly leader. Thank you Dad, for all you have done for me and continue to do for my family.  We love you always! My Carl~aka my partner in crime. I knew a good one when I saw you! You are a kind and loving dad to our children and you show them what it means to work hard and give it your all. You are the best! Much Love,  Beth  

Hey friends! Welcome to another Friday Favorites link up with Andrea at Momfessionals ! I don't know about you, but I love a good link up! Add caption We are about to start a very busy season here on the homestead. I was looking at my planner and it's like all of the summer things are happening in July! I like being busy but just looking at the schedule is giving me anxiety.  And that's where my the first of my Friday Favorites. One of my favorite Bible verses. I am trusting in the Lord to give me the strength I need to do all the things. A year ago lots of things were different. For a good while it seemed as if things were falling apart in my life.  My sweet Makena Faith was about to undergo her second back surgery in four months. We both wondered what normal would look like after another recovery. Thankfully, that second surgery was a success and she has had no problems. The pictures below still scare me but she is confident in her abilities and I just watch and pray. She...

Well today was the big day for my biggest girl! Let me just start by saying that the past year has been a wild ride for sure. She has been able to  learn so many new things, meet new people, make new friends, live away from home, and now she will begin her career as a certified surgical tech.  This may not be the graduation ceremony that any of us hoped for, but she worked hard (and wrecked two cars) to get here, so there was no way we were going to just let them mail the diploma! They are allowing them to walk in December's graduation (assuming they actually have one) if they choose to. She says she is done with school forever 😉 Here are a few pictures I took: We are proud of our girl and can't wait to see what God has in store for her future ❤  Much Love,  Beth

Hey guys! Hope you had a great weekend! It was an average summer weekend here on the homestead.  Today I want to share my Thrive experience with you. About 15 months ago one of my Facebook friends shared a post about "clean energy, all-natural caffeine, and wearable nutrition" and was offering to give away free samples. I'm all about free samples. I have tried Plexus samples(which I really did like), I also tried Advocare samples(NOT for me). I know that they were only samples and were not really meant for me to get the full effect and to be honest either of those two may be great products, but the timing of me starting them wasn't right.  So back to my friend's post (she is married to my cousin). This post wasn't the first I had seen from Thrive. Remember, I love true crime....and if you have followed the Chris Watts case at all, you know that he and the wife he killed (along with his 2 daughters and unborn son) sold Thrive. I wanted to try it, so my friend m...

It's Friday, Friyay!! Happy Friday good people!  Today I'm linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for another Friday Favorites.  Family get togethers are always a favorite. This little celebration was for my nephew, Eli. He graduated the 5th grade. His class was unable to go stay the night in Texas at Sea World like previous classes, so we thought he deserved a little bit of happy! It's no secret that I love a good thriller. Although I'm not even halfway into it, I would definitely recommend it! What would this post be without an animal picture?! One of my favorite sights is seeing this mama kitty taking care of her babies. In her previous litter, she wasn't as sweet and nurturing.  This sweet little white kitten is the runt. While Makena and I were out shopping earlier this week, we came across these cute skinny can holders. I know what they are typically used for, but I'm thinking they would be great for Red Bulls! Of course the leopard is my fave. One of my ...

There is a thief among us. This thief doesn't steal possessions or money,  but instead steals memories and thoughts, leaving behind nothing but a shell of what used to be our loved ones. This thief is dementia.  Did you know that there are over 100 types of dementia? Some of the more common types are Alzheimers, Vascular, Lewy Body, and Frontotemperal. In fact, in 2015 alone there were over five million patients and new patients develop the disease every sixty-seven seconds. Why am I telling you this? Because I am affected by this on a daily basis (or whenever I subject myself to a visit with my Grammy).  It's so hard and so sad. There are lots of things I want to talk to her about. Some days are better than others. Some days she will ask me the same thing no less than 15 times in 30 minutes. Some days we can laugh with her about things she says, but some days it's just sad. Her body is still here but her mind is fading away. And now it's story time: When I was a little...

Happy Tuesday, friends! Yesterday was an all-day rainy day here on the homestead, thanks to Tropical Depression Christobal. With the way this year has gone we are just thankful we never lost electricity!  Enough about the weather though, let's talk about something more fun; summer schedules! It's typical to say that we have no set schedules in the summer, but that's not really true. I have to have some sort of schedule/plan. It's just my personality.  So here is a quick view of what our summer schedule looks like: Wake Up/Breakfast Begins at 5 am (Carl and Carlie will be when she starts her job) but everyone has to be up by 9:30. There is one person who actually eats breakfast in this house but we all use our "breakfast time" (the first 30 minutes after waking) to at least caffeinate and catch up on the goings on of the day. This is my go to for all natural caffeine and all day nutrition. Want to know more? Just ask! Morning Chores  are up next and include bu...