Stacie Rife Bailey's Bliss

Merry belated Christmas

We were sooo busy , well I was trying to get everything ready for Christmas. It wAs a huge success! Had my family over on Christmas Day and audrey got to spend some great quality time with her cousins, it was wonderful. My 90 yr old grandma came, and although she kept wanting to take the dog toys home, I think she had a great time!

Good times!

Audrey and Uncle Chris

Lucy even got presents from Santa!

 

Aquamarine,garnet pearl necklace and earrings I made of my mom

 

All of us in our pjs with Gram!

 

XOXO, Stacie

Where the hell have I been?

WOW it has actually been so long since I blogged that I sign into Typepad to find out I have to learn it all over again..

Either the changes they have made are so drastic,, OR since becoming a mommy my brain has really acually turned to MUSH... I think the later is the actual..

 

Where do I begin? or RESTART.. I have felt so out of touch going thru the ONES TWOS and now coming up on the THREE's with my daughter.. that I feel it is time to start using my brain a little and acting instead of reacting..

Someone once told me when my daughter was a baby... "say goodbye to the first couple years of her life as far as yourself is concerned" my initial thought was YEAH WHATEVER... that is so outlandish... but NOW I KNOW... SHE COULDN'T OF BEEN MORE RIGHT ON THE MONEY...

I have focused these entire two years solely on her I have forgotten who I am and what I did... I used to blog everyday? NO WAY.. not me... I used to create things on a daily/weekly basis??? NO WAY not me... but YES that was me... and now I have to completely re-invent myself... what I had worked so hard for before has completely been erased.. matter of fact I am sure that I will be the only one reading this.... my readers have flown the coupe ....flew the coupe??..

Regardless.. I have to start somewhere... for the sake of my sanity I need to get my words and thoughts down SOMEWHERE...

Yes I have tried to actually journal with pen and paper.. but the minute I get my markers out.. the little is like "mommy I draw with your markers"...and I end up getting nothing down but a drawing animals from random to please that little princess.... which is such and oxy moron to me because when I first dreamt of having a little child from God... I couldn't imagine nothing cooler than journaling with my child... and now I only wish I could have a moment alone.... LOL

Don't get me wrong.. being a mother has been the most amazing experience I have ever had and I love my daughter more than words can say...

I just need to get back to having somewhat of an identity...somewhat of a release of this person I am now... AN OUTLET... 

So here I am POSTING AGAIN after years of poopy diapers.. I only hope I can stick to it and dedicate even a few minutes here..

If anyone is even reading this... thanks for your support... :)

Fall night and soup for 2

It was definitely a fall night, rainy, cold and the night creeping closer earlier and earlier. But it's HERE... finally!!!!!!!!! My favorite season!!!!

Tonight I went to my Grandmothers (the picture posted is my beautiful Grandmother) to visit and we made homemade chicken soup together! Dinner was fabulous and just perfect for a fall night! We had good conversation about growing up without basil (the herb) and how my great aunt is bragging in her old folks home about how her childhood home had the biggest windmill ever built (not true.. she is getting dementia) It was a good night.

On another note I emailed Sommerset Magazine and they were very kind and apologetic. They said they will correct any more ads to go into print, and they did verify that the actual Gallery magazine IS credited correctly!

Miss you

I will miss your encouragement

and your silent ways

I will miss you on the porch

On those warm sunny days

I will miss your laugh

And your warm embrace

I will miss your gentleness

And your way of grace

I will miss our special talks

I will miss your smell

For whom when Darrell spends

will I have to tell?

I will miss your smile

And your beautiful soft hands

I will miss our family trips

To play in the sand.

There is SO much to miss

But memories are clear

We are all so fortunate

To have had you near.

Your memories live on

And my soul is blessed

My sweet Auntie Pam

Is now at rest.

The Birds

The birds appeared at my Moms house last Wednesday, the day after my Aunt's passing. They are birds that she has NEVER seen before let alone ever been at her house .. and they have not yet left... as if it is my Aunt there to say "I am with you little sister"...

Then Saturday night Jeff and I were walking to my Uncles (across the street) and there was a blue parakeet in one of his trees... as if it got loose. We all tried our hardest to catch him, but no luck.

Sunday morning I left Jeff and told him I had some errands to run.. and unbeknownst to him... a little surprise planned!!

Amongst the sadness I felt as if we needed something more to love. So I got us a parakeet... as he was so upset he couldn't save the one in my Uncle's tree, similar to how I felt about my Aunt's passing.... about Bailey's passing...I couldn't save her nor could I save Bailey... but I wouldn't trade my time with either of them for ANYTHING!

So now we are back to a family of four. Jeff,Scout,LARRY BIRD and I :)  ....oh man... Bailey HAS to be looking down on us wondering why we didn't do this sooner... she LOVED birds (but not so sure in a good way)

INTRODUCING....

LARRY BIRD....(aka pretty boy)

In the midst of sadness and loosing someone you love, one can become reserved, and skeptical to love again as it hurts so bad. But when you weigh it all.... it is so much better to have loved and lost.. than never to have loved at all. So we are extending our love on.... onto this little guy....little Larry Bird.

The Magician!

Tonight I went to my Grandmothers house after work..We've been meaning to go through some of her old pictures she has and of course it's one of those things that we never seem to do. We went through a few of them tonight and it brought back so many memories of my childhood.. and great memories at Grandma and Grandpas house!

I found this old picture in one of the boxes..

It is a picture of my Grandpa performing on stage.. He was a magician!

My Mom has told me stories of their white pet bunnies they used to have.. ones that he would make disappear on stage, (black top hat and all!) but Mom told me they always came home!. How fun would that be to have your father be a "real" magician???

Although he died in 1983, my fondest memories of him were his little magic tricks he'd show us grand kids. The severed thumb... which always intrigued me, card tricks, and disappearing coins!

This is the first time I have seen this picture.. and the first time I have seen him on stage! What an incredible picture to come across tonight!

I have 3 more boxes of pictures to thumb through! I wonder what others I'll find!!!!

Have to share this...

I just have to share this...

This was an email my Dad sent to me last night...

"When all the lights go out, when the sun goes down, and darkness takes on a shadow, when you are all alone, the love of those that love you will fill your heart with warmth and you will smile at this thought and you will light up the world........Your bright smile and giving heart will fill others with warmth and sunshine because you 
have been given an unlimited supply of love in a limited world.......Life is not what we have, nor what we think we might know, it is knowing that we think that love and telling someone you care will grow into a blossom that will never fail.........Love, your Dad and proud of it............Never look for what we can recieve when we help someone, because we recieve by the gift in our soul of how we feel when we give, and that is something we want to keep.......and by coincidence that is what we just gave away........ Her dad loves his daughter.......... "

I thought it was so sweet.. I just HAD to share it .....sorry Dad couldn't help it!... :0)

Christmas 2005

This Christmas I had to literally push myself to make cookies, put up decorations, SHOP (yes I had to push myself to shop) and get into the spirit at all. It was due to things going on in my personal life and things within my family. Although I had to push myself I am glad I did. There was a moment there where I thought I would just skip the tree and decorations all together, but for reasons of hosting Christmas Eve.. I didn't want my family showing up to a very important Christmas with no decorations... so although I did it for myself, I also did it for my family.

This year we have 2 little ones in the family which belong to my cousin. It is so refreshing to have little ones around during Christmas time. I think seeing them ooh and ahhh over Christmas things makes it ALL worth while!

I am posting a few pictures of my house around Christmas time for my Internet friends to see. I don't know about anyone else, but I like to see how my distant friends live and the pictures they post..(to me) are priceless. So I thought I would do the same for my friends....

I meant to do this much sooner but was delayed with no Internet access.. so better late than never right?

Bailey and Scout also get spoiled during Christmas. Grandma brings over several presents for them to open. You would think they were her real Grandchildren by how she treats them! :) Although they both get presents, and Bailey being the "brighter" one of the two.... she is the one who opens them all.

YES, Bailey opens her own presents..... but the cool thing about it is... she leaves them all alone,, until one is GIVEN to her.. and we tell her it's okay to open it.. and off she goes.. ripping and tearing and spitting out paper and revealing whats inside for HER! She knows once the decorations start coming out that soon she will have her own (and her brothers) presents to open! I get the biggest kick out of it! It originally happened on a fluke about 8 years ago and we've been giving her presents to open ever since!

This last picture... I think she actually got tired of opening them... because she had SO many!

And last of all.... here is a picture of my little (big) man Scout and I.

I got all my hair chopped off (about 12 inches) 2 weeks before Christmas but this is one of the first pictures of my new haircut! I thought it would be a lot more traumatic than it was, but it hasn't bothered me a bit!