Bella waiting for trick or treaters tonight...

Halloween was always one my favorite holidays with the kids when they were young. I worked on costumes for weeks to make them unique and original. We have so many good memories of the witch crashing into the tree in the front yard, bales of hay, giant huge scarecrows and a million pumpkins. 

One year they sent Nic home from school because he was too scarey!!! I always want to win the costume competitions, we have a few under our belt. Best was the gorilla caring the boy in a cage. Amanda was a nice witch one year with a green face and it rained. I was always home giving out candy with my momma. (I miss that too!) When Amanda got home her green face and black eyes were smeared all over her face and dress and she cried so hard even if it was over. Alex was always easy, she wanted to be tinkerbell or a football player and Ashlynn wanted to be a princess or jasmine, or sleeping beauty, whatever was on Disney! Chris has his traditional plumber outfit with the real butt crack hanging out about 6 inches. I will never forget the moment he turned around and my mother, his mother and my sister were there and went hysterical... Who would have thought Chris would show his real butt crack!!!

Tonight, I skipped softball to pass out candy with Bella. There are many kids in this compound I totally ADORE! I had tears when one of my favorite little cowgirls came up to see me. All these young families with precious children, and I am the old witch now! Oh well someone has to spoil them, only thing missing was I didn't get to snag all the reeses peanut butter cups out of the pile of candy.

The Patrizi's did give out gummy bear pizzas though, and of course ALL of the 100 traditional oranges with scarey painted faces, and Homer told me all the kids in the compound would avoid my house because I was the old lady that gave out oranges! 

Boo!!!!

Dianne Briscoe's Grandma

"When I look in the mirror 

it is not me I see, 

I'm on the inside!"

Wise words from 90 year old wrinkled face New Zealand Grandma...

When I was younger...

I liked baby cows... Still do...

My momma always made sure we appreciated nature, mainly trees and all the animals... 

When I was younger I climbed them with my homework and a book. I still love a grand tree. But haven't climbed one lately... But it is my dream to own a fabulous 100 year old oak tree one day in the near future...

I didn't care for Math, but I wasn't allowed to say the word hate, although that is exactly how I felt about it.

I had puppies, birds & hamsters but never a cat. 

Puppy breath has to be one of the most weirdest things I still love.

When I was younger I prayed and had a relationship with God as a child. My parents took me to church but rarely went with me, I never understood that...

I used to pray for the best husband in the whole wide world in my nightly prayers, 

and he answered me with two... :)

 That relationship grew and I am very thankful.

I had two sisters that were much older so felt like an only child, maybe that's why I had four children.

When I was younger I watched TV every single day. So glad I grew out of that. I've replaced it with website, facebook, emails and BLOGS... Which I started for my Mother who no longer reads...

I remember when Kennedy was assassinated, and we landed on the moon, 

"One small step for man....One giant leap for mankind!" I'm sure I was wearing a CPO jacket, purple crushed velvet bell bottoms hiphuggers, and moccasins!

I had 100 jobs. I sold terrariums in 7th grade to all my neighbors and even K-mart. 

Money was important to me because we didn't have much of it. If I wanted that red bathing suit at Lerners, I had to make my own money to buy it. I still like red bathing suits.

 I played in ditches and caught crawdeds. Now we eat them!

When I was young I used to dream about where I would be in the year 2000, I would be 40 and might have kids. Who would have thought this little girl from Stink-a-dena would be in Geneva Switzerland with four kids at the turn of the century!

I've been blessed more than I could have ever dreamed up.

Beautiful family, amazing friends, treasured moments in time...

When I was young I liked geography, now I am living it.

Your past is a combination of who you are, 

it grows and grows with bits and pieces of what you did 

and your experiences add to who you have become.

If you think about it, 

you are not very far from when you were younger. No matter where you were raised...

I have the same respect for nature, faith in God, and cameras I was taught as a child.  

Thank God for Cameras... Loving life so I can relive it again, especially now that my brain doesn't remember so much at 51. 

I would still play in a ditch, climb a tree and wear those purple hiphuggers again. 

There is not much I would change either.

(well, maybe try harder in math, but don't have to because I married Chris!)

I am proud of my roots in po-dunk Pasadena, 

like I've said before 

"You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the girl."

BE YOU!

Smiles, Sher