Taylor is showing off his earing!
Shepherd is ready for bed in his skeleton P.J.'s
Look at all of those gypsies!
Julia and the birthday girl, LauraSaturday, October 16, 2010
Gypsy Party
Some friends of ours, Josh and Laura Eldridge, have an annual gypsy party to celebrate Laura’s birthday. This year, sadly, was the final gypsy party; the Eldridges will be moving to Wisconsin in a few months. The party is thrown at an old girls camp, called “Gypsy Camp” right on the Illinois River. Gypsy Camp was started as an artist colony in 1921. By 1924, it had become a camp for girls aged 8-17. The camp continued as a summer camp until 1978. The campgrounds, buildings, and land are beautiful! The party is always the first weekend in October and it is a great way to kick off the fall activities. Smores, a bonfire, apple cider, and a cool evening make for a great night of fun! What is a gypsy party? Well, check out the pictures below and you can see for yourself!
Taylor is showing off his earing!
Shepherd is ready for bed in his skeleton P.J.'s
Look at all of those gypsies!
Julia and the birthday girl, Laura
Taylor is showing off his earing! Shepherd is ready for bed in his skeleton P.J.'s Look at all of those gypsies! Julia and the birthday girl, Laura
Monday, October 11, 2010
Falling in love with Fall
Fall is one of the best times of the year and this fall has been great. I love fall decorations and I love fall food! I have already made 3 batches of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, two batches of chili, and hot apple cider, and I am only getting started. The weather has been very warm this fall and I am not complaining! I love warm weather and I especially love 80 degree, blue sky weather. We have been trying to take advantage of this time of year and spend as much time as possible outside. We have been going to the park and we try to eat our lunch outside. (Less mess for me to clean up!)
Here are some pictures of Shepherd enjoying this beautiful fall….
We met Taylor in the park on his lunch break, ate Chick Fil A, and had fun playing!
Shepherd and Dad about to try out the slides
Shepherd getting dizzy on the Merry-Go-Round
Weeeee!
Happy on the swings!
The Faught Family enjoyed an early morning breakfast in the backyard to enjoy the crisp fall weather. We ate lemon poppy seed muffins (Taylor's favorite) and Pumpkin Harvest Lattes from Cafe on Broadway. Delish!
Shepherd sticks out his tongue when he is consentrating
My handsome boys on the swing!
Yum! Shep likes the lemon muffins!
Shepherd is now crying because Paisley got one of his muffins. :(
Playing in the park
Here are some pictures of Shepherd enjoying this beautiful fall….
We met Taylor in the park on his lunch break, ate Chick Fil A, and had fun playing!
Shepherd and Dad about to try out the slides
Shepherd getting dizzy on the Merry-Go-Round
Weeeee!
Happy on the swings!The Faught Family enjoyed an early morning breakfast in the backyard to enjoy the crisp fall weather. We ate lemon poppy seed muffins (Taylor's favorite) and Pumpkin Harvest Lattes from Cafe on Broadway. Delish!
Shepherd sticks out his tongue when he is consentrating
My handsome boys on the swing!
Yum! Shep likes the lemon muffins!
Shepherd is now crying because Paisley got one of his muffins. :(
Playing in the park
Silly Shepherd
Shepherd is currently sixteen months old and he is so silly! He is starting to be a ham and really wants to entertain us. He still gets into everything and is constantly moving. If he is just sitting still in your lap, you can guarantee that is little foot will be bouncing. Shepherd is a lot like his daddy in many ways.
Just last week, Taylor fell asleep on the couch while I was getting dinner ready. Shepherd climbed up on the couch and sat on top of Taylor. When that did not wake Taylor up, Shepherd proceeded to sit on his father’s face and bounce up and down. Shep was giggling the entire time. He then decided to lay his belly on Taylor’s face and roll down his father. Taylor was not very happy, but I got the biggest kick out of it! My husband is always up to something and he never passes up an opportunity to pester or play a trick on someone. I have a feeling that Shepherd is going to give Taylor a good taste of his own medicine, in the years to come. I am so blessed to have these two men in my life that will always keep me laughing.
Shepherd loves a bubble bath!
Shepherd is cleaning the house before bed
Just last week, Taylor fell asleep on the couch while I was getting dinner ready. Shepherd climbed up on the couch and sat on top of Taylor. When that did not wake Taylor up, Shepherd proceeded to sit on his father’s face and bounce up and down. Shep was giggling the entire time. He then decided to lay his belly on Taylor’s face and roll down his father. Taylor was not very happy, but I got the biggest kick out of it! My husband is always up to something and he never passes up an opportunity to pester or play a trick on someone. I have a feeling that Shepherd is going to give Taylor a good taste of his own medicine, in the years to come. I am so blessed to have these two men in my life that will always keep me laughing.
Shepherd loves a bubble bath!Another short Shepherd story: Just last week I was in a hurry to be somewhere and was trying to fix my hair and do my makeup. I left Shepherd in the living room to play, while I was back in my bathroom. When finished, I came into the living room to find Shepherd sweetly playing with his toys. Later that afternoon, I was cleaning the house, only to discover little Shepherd footprints all over my dining room table! I was in complete shock that he was able to climb up on the table, walk around, and get down without falling off. I wonder what else he does while I am in another room.
Shepherd is cleaning the house before bedBitter Sweet Fall
On September 25th, 2010 at 1:11pm, my grandmother, Pauline Wright, left this world. I had the opportunity to be by her side, along with family, when she passed away.
This was the last picture taken of Pauline before she passed away. (She loved her dog Lexi)
Here is a picture of the entire Wright family after the funeral.
Wright family photo
This was the last picture taken of Pauline before she passed away. (She loved her dog Lexi)Pauline adored Shepherd! She loved his weekly visits and would get a little upset if we were too busy to come by. Pauline always asked, “Where is my pretty baby?”, that is what she called Shepherd. Then she would always say, “Oh, I should say handsome boy instead of pretty baby.” I would let her know that I thought Shepherd was more than just handsome, he was pretty.
A couple of years ago, I interviewed Pauline on just a few of her memories from her past. I am not sure if all of the names/places/spellings are correct, but I hope you will enjoy reading this little interview. I have loved getting to know my grandmother and I am very thankful to have her in my life. I want to share this, so Shepherd will know a little about his great grandmother.
Julia Faught
What is your favorite meal? Steak, baked potato, and salad.
What was your children’s favorite breakfast? Oatmeal and cinnamon toast (She made that in the wintertime. It would take an entire loaf of bread to feed all her kids. She would also do hot chocolate.)
What were your children’s favorite after school snack? Momo would make cookies when the kids came home from school. She would make the cookies out of cake mix, and she had a good recipe for cookies out of bisquick. The cake mix would make a lot of cookies.
What was the children’s favorite meal? The kid’s favorite meal was Spaghetti and the Arlis liked meat, potatoes, and gravy.
What is your favorite desert? Coconut Cream Pie (That is David’s favorite!)
Why do you enjoy reading? Momo loves to read because she can escape and imagine where she is at. Pauline has always read. She started reading at age 4 and didn’t tell anyone that she could read. She would get up Sunday morning early to read the newspaper and the comic books before her parents got up. Pauline could never sow well, cook, or do the things that women were suppose to do because she had a passion to read. Her mama didn’t like her messing up the house and reading kept her out of trouble. She didn’t have a good library at school but WPA put in a really good library when she was 9 and she went a lot. She read about a book a day.
How many books have you read in your lifetime? She didn’t read much when the kids were young, nor did she have time to watch TV.
What did you watch on TV? Jack Paar and then Johnny Carson took his place. She would watch Jack Paar and rock her babies. She could not nurse her babies so she rocked them at night. She felt this was very important to give the baby time to bond and give the mama a rest.
Tell me a story that you remember from your past? Breakfast Story…Pauline lived in Mena and Arlis would come home for lunch. Lunch was the big meal of the day, because she never new if or when Arlis would come home for supper. One night, the kids wanted pancakes for supper, so that is what she fed them. Arlis walked in and wanted a divorce!! He said that he was going to take the kids away because she was feeding them pancakes for supper! Momo still doesn’t understand what was so wrong with feeding your kids pancakes for supper? (Every time I make pancakes for supper, I think of Momo)
What did you cook for breakfast? Arlis wanted toast, eggs, and bacon every morning for breakfast. He was a big breakfast eater.
What was a significant moment in your childhood? When Pauline was in high school, she took her IQ test, it was 147-153. People treated her like there was something wrong with her. They didn’t know what to do with her. She wished she hadn’t taken the test. (152 is MENSA-the upper 2% of the population.)
How did you meet Arlis? Pauline lived with her Aunt and Uncle in Oklahoma City. Winifred Bradshaw was Pauline’s aunt, she was from Chicago. Pauline’s Aunt and Uncle were having another child and they were running out of room. Pauline decided to move across the hall and live with her girlfriend, Betty. (Side Note: Pauline remembers sitting on a swing crying because her mom did not name her Betty June.) Arlis was from Paden, OK and the girlfriend that she moved in with, Betty, knew Arlis from Paden. Arlis had been in England and came home to Paden. Pauline would go home with Betty on weekends; they would get on the bus and visit her parents. Everyone knew each other in this tiny town and one day she met Arlis. Pauline doesn’t remember exactly when she met him, but they dated less than 6 months. Arlis did buy her a tiny engagement ring; he paid a lot for it at the small town Jewelers. (Later, she traded it for a bigger one.) Arlis got a job in Cordell, Ok before they got married. She doesn’t remember how he proposed.
Tell me about your wedding? Arlis and Pauline got married in the Catholic Church, August 3rd, in 1946. They had a reception at her Aunt Winifred’s house. Pauline didn’t have a wedding dress. Due to the war, people couldn’t buy much and they had a small wedding. They were still under rationings.
Tell us about Rationing? There was a little book that would limit things like, coffee, shoes, soap, and meat. Each person would get a coupon book.
Who were you close with growing up? Pauline was really close to Winifred, her Aunt. Pauline’s mother had cancer at age 11 or 12 and Pauline would go visit her grandmother in Chicago, or her Aunt Winifred in OKC. Since her mother was sick, they always had help at home. They just knew Pauline’s mother wasn’t going to live but she got over the cancer. Pauline was never made to do much work at home because there was always help in the home. Winifred always had help also. Arlis would always get mad at Pauline because she never new how to do much. Arlis also thought it was terrible that she had help as a kid because he didn’t have enough to eat. When she was a kid they would go to this Jewish shop and get a really nice dress for $4.
What is a memory about your father? Pauline’s daddy had to get a new car every 2 years because he didn’t want to have to buy new tires. He would go down to the lot and give the dealer $150 for the new car and they would sell the other one for them. Pauline had money growing up, her father had a job at the coal mine and he was coal manager. Since the mine was the only job in the town, the coal manager had a lot of prestige. Pauline’s family had no insurance and they spent most of their resources on her mother’s cancer. Pauline had to make her own clothes in high school and she was terrible at it. They looked really bad because she could not get her gathers right. Her mom could sow really well.
Were you popular or a nerd in high school? Popular. She had pretty clothes and would make good grades. She was terrible at sports, she decided it was because she had a lazy eye and it messed up her eye hand coordination. She did walk a lot and play the piano. She was the editor of the paper, Co-editor of the yearbook, Valedictorian, and Homecoming Queen. There were about 20 in her graduating class in Valier, IL. She went to Valier Community High School. She was always the lead in the plays because she could memorize and act. But she couldn’t sing; she always wanted to sing. Their mascot was the blue birds. She had to put together the year book and only put 1 little picture of herself in the year book; a picture of her riding on the back of the convertible.
Who was your first date? Lawrence Teel. Several years ago she went to the class reunion with Rosemary and Susan. She got to see Lawrence; he got his engineering degree and is retired in Houston. She couldn’t date till she was 16. She went to the junior prom with him and wore a white lace dress.
Favorite Color? Red
A couple of years ago, I interviewed Pauline on just a few of her memories from her past. I am not sure if all of the names/places/spellings are correct, but I hope you will enjoy reading this little interview. I have loved getting to know my grandmother and I am very thankful to have her in my life. I want to share this, so Shepherd will know a little about his great grandmother.
Julia Faught
What is your favorite meal? Steak, baked potato, and salad.
What was your children’s favorite breakfast? Oatmeal and cinnamon toast (She made that in the wintertime. It would take an entire loaf of bread to feed all her kids. She would also do hot chocolate.)
What were your children’s favorite after school snack? Momo would make cookies when the kids came home from school. She would make the cookies out of cake mix, and she had a good recipe for cookies out of bisquick. The cake mix would make a lot of cookies.
What was the children’s favorite meal? The kid’s favorite meal was Spaghetti and the Arlis liked meat, potatoes, and gravy.
What is your favorite desert? Coconut Cream Pie (That is David’s favorite!)
Why do you enjoy reading? Momo loves to read because she can escape and imagine where she is at. Pauline has always read. She started reading at age 4 and didn’t tell anyone that she could read. She would get up Sunday morning early to read the newspaper and the comic books before her parents got up. Pauline could never sow well, cook, or do the things that women were suppose to do because she had a passion to read. Her mama didn’t like her messing up the house and reading kept her out of trouble. She didn’t have a good library at school but WPA put in a really good library when she was 9 and she went a lot. She read about a book a day.
How many books have you read in your lifetime? She didn’t read much when the kids were young, nor did she have time to watch TV.
What did you watch on TV? Jack Paar and then Johnny Carson took his place. She would watch Jack Paar and rock her babies. She could not nurse her babies so she rocked them at night. She felt this was very important to give the baby time to bond and give the mama a rest.
Tell me a story that you remember from your past? Breakfast Story…Pauline lived in Mena and Arlis would come home for lunch. Lunch was the big meal of the day, because she never new if or when Arlis would come home for supper. One night, the kids wanted pancakes for supper, so that is what she fed them. Arlis walked in and wanted a divorce!! He said that he was going to take the kids away because she was feeding them pancakes for supper! Momo still doesn’t understand what was so wrong with feeding your kids pancakes for supper? (Every time I make pancakes for supper, I think of Momo)
What did you cook for breakfast? Arlis wanted toast, eggs, and bacon every morning for breakfast. He was a big breakfast eater.
What was a significant moment in your childhood? When Pauline was in high school, she took her IQ test, it was 147-153. People treated her like there was something wrong with her. They didn’t know what to do with her. She wished she hadn’t taken the test. (152 is MENSA-the upper 2% of the population.)
How did you meet Arlis? Pauline lived with her Aunt and Uncle in Oklahoma City. Winifred Bradshaw was Pauline’s aunt, she was from Chicago. Pauline’s Aunt and Uncle were having another child and they were running out of room. Pauline decided to move across the hall and live with her girlfriend, Betty. (Side Note: Pauline remembers sitting on a swing crying because her mom did not name her Betty June.) Arlis was from Paden, OK and the girlfriend that she moved in with, Betty, knew Arlis from Paden. Arlis had been in England and came home to Paden. Pauline would go home with Betty on weekends; they would get on the bus and visit her parents. Everyone knew each other in this tiny town and one day she met Arlis. Pauline doesn’t remember exactly when she met him, but they dated less than 6 months. Arlis did buy her a tiny engagement ring; he paid a lot for it at the small town Jewelers. (Later, she traded it for a bigger one.) Arlis got a job in Cordell, Ok before they got married. She doesn’t remember how he proposed.
Tell me about your wedding? Arlis and Pauline got married in the Catholic Church, August 3rd, in 1946. They had a reception at her Aunt Winifred’s house. Pauline didn’t have a wedding dress. Due to the war, people couldn’t buy much and they had a small wedding. They were still under rationings.
Tell us about Rationing? There was a little book that would limit things like, coffee, shoes, soap, and meat. Each person would get a coupon book.
Who were you close with growing up? Pauline was really close to Winifred, her Aunt. Pauline’s mother had cancer at age 11 or 12 and Pauline would go visit her grandmother in Chicago, or her Aunt Winifred in OKC. Since her mother was sick, they always had help at home. They just knew Pauline’s mother wasn’t going to live but she got over the cancer. Pauline was never made to do much work at home because there was always help in the home. Winifred always had help also. Arlis would always get mad at Pauline because she never new how to do much. Arlis also thought it was terrible that she had help as a kid because he didn’t have enough to eat. When she was a kid they would go to this Jewish shop and get a really nice dress for $4.
What is a memory about your father? Pauline’s daddy had to get a new car every 2 years because he didn’t want to have to buy new tires. He would go down to the lot and give the dealer $150 for the new car and they would sell the other one for them. Pauline had money growing up, her father had a job at the coal mine and he was coal manager. Since the mine was the only job in the town, the coal manager had a lot of prestige. Pauline’s family had no insurance and they spent most of their resources on her mother’s cancer. Pauline had to make her own clothes in high school and she was terrible at it. They looked really bad because she could not get her gathers right. Her mom could sow really well.
Were you popular or a nerd in high school? Popular. She had pretty clothes and would make good grades. She was terrible at sports, she decided it was because she had a lazy eye and it messed up her eye hand coordination. She did walk a lot and play the piano. She was the editor of the paper, Co-editor of the yearbook, Valedictorian, and Homecoming Queen. There were about 20 in her graduating class in Valier, IL. She went to Valier Community High School. She was always the lead in the plays because she could memorize and act. But she couldn’t sing; she always wanted to sing. Their mascot was the blue birds. She had to put together the year book and only put 1 little picture of herself in the year book; a picture of her riding on the back of the convertible.
Who was your first date? Lawrence Teel. Several years ago she went to the class reunion with Rosemary and Susan. She got to see Lawrence; he got his engineering degree and is retired in Houston. She couldn’t date till she was 16. She went to the junior prom with him and wore a white lace dress.
Favorite Color? Red
Here is a picture of the entire Wright family after the funeral.
Wright family photoBreakfast with the Boys
Shepherd got to enjoy a pancake breakfast early one weekday morning with his cousin’s, Jack and Sawyer. Melanie came into town, to visit with our grandmother who was in hospice. The boys enjoyed their pancakes, but really enjoyed wrestling around after breakfast.
Jack & Sawyer fixing the wagon.
Shepherd is ready to go golfing, oops, all we need is his clothes.
Jack and Sawyer hanging out on the floor.
Now it is time to wrestle!
Boys being boys!
Let's make up and hug and kiss!
Jack & Sawyer fixing the wagon. 
Shepherd is ready to go golfing, oops, all we need is his clothes.
Jack and Sawyer hanging out on the floor.
Now it is time to wrestle!
Boys being boys!
Let's make up and hug and kiss!Sunday, September 19, 2010
Happy Birthday Jack!
Shepherd’s cousin Jackson Graves turned two and we had a fun time celebrating his big day. Jack had a trampoline party with lots of Buzz Lightyear, Jack’s favorite Toy Story character. Shepherd had so much fun jumping on the trampoline and playing in the sand that he did not have much interest in eating supper OR birthday cake! It was so cute to see all of the little cousins playing together and sadly growing up.
Jack blowing out his candles
Jack blowing out his candles
Loving a Small Town
We have had a fun week and weekend in the Faught home. We usually keep our calendar pretty busy, but this week has been very calm, giving us the opportunity to take long walks as a family and read lots of bedtime stories. Despite the quiet calendar, Shepherd has kept me very busy this week. He has been extra adventuresome, causing him to get into lots of drawers or cabinets that have been out of his reach and making lots and lots of messes for Mom to clean up.
Shepherd can now reach the toilet paper off of the back of the toilet. He managed to get both rolls from each bathroom and had fun in the living room. The sad thing was, I was less than 10 feet away from him and did not even realize what he was doing. :)
Beautiful cousing Ariel, Senior Maid for 2010 football homecoming.
Ariel and Katie in the parade
Love that my girls, Colleen and Langley, were the start of the parade. (They are the girls in the black outfits)
Taylor, Shepherd and I went out to dinner Friday night to a local pizza parlor in downtown Siloam Springs. We knew everyone in the restaurant and are friends with the owners. Fratelli’s has very fresh pizza that taste like it just came from Italy. Shepherd was too funny, he barely ate a piece of pizza, but when our dessert pizza came out, he ate two large pieces and wanted more. I justified the nutritional value of his supper, because the desert pizza has Nutella and strawberries on it. (Nothing wrong with a little protein, fruit, and carbs for dinner? Right?)
Shepherd loves the dessert pizza, just like his daddy!
Shepherd making a birthday card for Jack
Loving the Play Doh!
Shepherd can now reach the toilet paper off of the back of the toilet. He managed to get both rolls from each bathroom and had fun in the living room. The sad thing was, I was less than 10 feet away from him and did not even realize what he was doing. :)This week was Homecoming for Siloam Springs High School and I got to enjoy the small town event. I went to the pep-rally and parade on Friday to support my cousin Ariel and one of my high schools girls from church, Sarah. They both looked beautiful on the court and it was fun to see how the traditions from Siloam Springs High School have not changed in ten years, since I was there.
Beautiful cousing Ariel, Senior Maid for 2010 football homecoming.
Ariel and Katie in the parade
Love that my girls, Colleen and Langley, were the start of the parade. (They are the girls in the black outfits)Taylor, Shepherd and I went out to dinner Friday night to a local pizza parlor in downtown Siloam Springs. We knew everyone in the restaurant and are friends with the owners. Fratelli’s has very fresh pizza that taste like it just came from Italy. Shepherd was too funny, he barely ate a piece of pizza, but when our dessert pizza came out, he ate two large pieces and wanted more. I justified the nutritional value of his supper, because the desert pizza has Nutella and strawberries on it. (Nothing wrong with a little protein, fruit, and carbs for dinner? Right?)
Shepherd loves the dessert pizza, just like his daddy!Saturday morning we attended a craft event hosted by the town of Siloam Springs. Shepherd had a great time being crafty; he made a card for his Cousin Jack’s 2nd birthday, a bracelet, and absolutely loved the Play Doh!
Shepherd making a birthday card for Jack
Loving the Play Doh!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)