The post ya'll have been waiting for....

Hiya!

I'm here and I'm going to do a long(ish) post!!!

Okay.  My brother and dad came back from their hunting trip.  They didn't get anything.  BUT!  They went hunting with buddy,  and he did:-D  And he gave us half of the Elk as a hunting deal.  Then came the really (NOT) fun project of butchering the elk.
Since I've been around this all my life the sight of raw meat, slimy and bloody, it really doesn't bother me.  Actually, I'm used to watching deer being butchered.  It takes around 8 hours to butcher a deer...   It took around 15 hours to butcher the whole elk.  We can butcher and wrap meet almost as good as a pro. meat shop.  This is the process;  Cut meat, clean meat, cube meat, wrap meat, freeze meat.  A very long and tiring cycle.

Very quickly I must tell you that my dad works at the Fire Department closest to where we live.  Last year, we hosted a Fire Department potluck gathering.  This year we weren't sure if we would host one again.  Well....  The day after we butchered the elk, we found out that we were going to.  And it was planned  on the 16th.  5 days after the elk was taken care of.  I hadn't been able to post because there was ALOT of cleaning to do.  We had to clean my dad's garage.  Oh. My. Word.  We don't use our garage for cars like normal people.  My dad and brother use it as a shop.  Wood working and painting and metal working.  Messy, messy, messy!!!
After 5 days of non-stop cleaning, the party went off with out a hitch.  PHEW!  Last year we had, like, 70 people show up.  This year we had, maybe, 45 people here.

Two days ago, we had a grass fire up on our hill (we are, like, right at the bottom of a mountain.  So the "hill" is like halfway up the mountain.).  The smoke surrounded our house.
Because my daddy works for the Fire Dept. he went up with the fire engine's and got to see the fire.  Thankfully, it was small and farther away from our house than we had thought.
Before we knew anything about the fire except that it was there, it's hard to think what means the most to you.  Or what you have that you didn't know meant the most.

Yesterday there was a *gulp* shooting a few houses down our driveway!  Yipes!  My dad was at a class and on his way home he had let PILES of police cars past him.  Then he seen them pull up our driveway.  He called my mom and was like,"Why are the police coming up the road?"  Mom had no idea.  My dad was stopped by the police at the bottom of our road.  The cop said,"There was a shooting.  No one is allowed up the road or down."  Yeah.  My dad felt helpless.  My mom was freaked out.
We wouldn't have minded as much if my brother and my sister Allison hadn't gone hunting that morning.
The shooter was thought to have run up towards where my siblings where hunting!  So, my little brother and sister are hunting up on the hill, we had no way to contact them, AND there was a crazy shooter running around our property.  Creepy!  So my dad is stuck at the bottom of the road, and my siblings aren't safe.
We had the FBI, ICE, border patrol, and 2 different groups of  P.D.s at the bottom our road, and creeping and crawling around with their dogs.  AND we had a News 'chopper and a Black Hawk flying over and around our house.   *Shivers*  One of the Police officers finally let my dad come home.
"Do you have a gun?" The officer asked.
"Yeah, I have lots of guns." My dad replied.
"No, you don't understand. Do you have a gun?"
"Yes I have a gun."
"Go home, get a gun, and go find your kids."
"Thank you!"
And so my dad pealed up the drive, ran into the house, grabbed a pistol, and drove his jeep up the hill and found our missing kids.  They were safe and just coming home on our quad.  They jumped into the jeep and came home.
We where confined to our house.  "Keep doors and widows covered and locked at all times.  Stay inside."
So yes.  All-in-all it was a really stressful day.
So please pray that the shooter is found and he doesn't harm anyone. BTW, the guy only shot someone in the hand.  Nothing deadly.  Just painful!
After a while, we decided to go do some shopping, so we didn't have to be home.   We had to go through a check-point at the bottom of our road.
The cop who stopped us asked,"Going to town?"
"Yup."  (Okay, my dad really said,"Yes sir.")
"Just the kids in the back?"
"Yes sir."
"Alright."
Then he peeked in the windows all around the car, just to make sure.  I was like, I" can open the door so you can see better."  But he didn't hear me.
We got home safe and such.  And today nothing happened.  I'm going to ask again if you can pray that the shooter is found!  Where I live, it's only a little city.  Like everyone-knows-everyone- type of city.  And if the guy is desperate, he's dangerous.

Sorry it's such a long and a (possibly) REALLY boring post!

Bye!

Love,
Maddie

Do you likey?

Okay!  So who likes my new blog design?????  Go check out Meena's design blog!  http://inspiredbyyoudesigns.blogspot.com/

I promise you will NOT regret!

P.S.  Do you think it's odd that I have mustaches for my design?  I don't!!!  I LOVE THIS DESIGN!  I've been in love with this style for a while now!  Retro, is it?  I think it's DARLING!

Maddie

Like my new header?

Please comment if you like it!  I will post about what we have been doing for the past few days!
Maddie

how my day has been?

Hi folks! 

Sooooooooooo... What I did yesterday:  I FINISHED PAINTING MY FURNITURE! 

Now I've got to let it dry one more day...  So tomorrow I get to have them back :D  It would be nice to sleep on my bed tomorrow instead of on the couch:D  And it would be nice to have a clean room:) 

Well....  Yesterday we had to go to our local Wal-Mart to get paint.  I don't think I said that my mom is repainting her bathroom....  Anyhow, she is painting her bathroom:)  We needed to get her paint and all that good stuff:)

My family has a Bible study every Wensday night and it starts at 7:00 at night...  We didn't get done untill 10:00!  And my mom had stopped at RedBox and picked us movies.  After we got home (we had lunch/dinner really early.  The kids in my family are REALLY big eaters:D)  we snacked on some boiled Corn-on-the-cob.  Then we watched a movie.  It was a cute movie even though it had some, questionable sides... 

I didn't get to sleep until 3:45 last night...  I'm tired.

Other than that, today has been a boring, long, hot, lame(ish) day.

I hope ya'll had a good day:-D 

Love,
Maddie

Painting

HI!!! 

Sooooo..  Last summer my mom painted my sister Allison and my room (we share.  We've gotta bunk bed:-D) and we didn't finish painting the furniture... 
"Furniture" being my desk and my bookshelf (hate to say it but Allison HATES reading!!!  I can't believe that girl sometimes....  Therefore the bookshelf is my deal:-D).
Yesterday I unloaded my desk and put EVERYTHING on my bed, then I unloaded my bookshelf.  Most of that ended up on my bed too. 
THEN my mom gave me her old dresser.  So on top of that I cleaned out my dresser and some of that landed on my bed too.  Now my room is a big ol' mess and I can't even SEE my bed:-)  I slept on one of our couches last night....  Okay..  Sorry everyone I rabbit-trailed! 

Yesterday we started getting my dresser and bookshelf ready for painting.  I sanded, filled cracks with some wood filler, waited for wood filler to dry, packed my new dresser, sanded my desk and bookshelf again, then came in a watched "The Lorax."  <That's a cute movie.

This morning I woke up, watched "McClintock!" then went out and "primed" the furniture.  It took SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long to dry!!!!!!!!  I got one coat of real paint on it....  Get to paint the rest tomorrow:-D 

I am now covered with paint.  In my hair, on my jeans, my arms, fingers, and (I've got NO idea how in the world it got there) on my sock.

I've got a craving for (my favorite) Mint Chocolate Ice-cream.  And Brownies.  Gooey chocolate brownies.  Sorry that was random.  Well...  Actually I'm not sorry...  :D

Do any of you think I should change my background???

I'm sorry if this is an extraordinarly boring post....

Maddie

Hi:)

Okay....  So I won't lie....  We are hunters in my family.  And I'm not ashamed of it:-D  My Dad hunts, my brother hunts, my sister Allison hunts...  I used to hunt too.  But after a few years I decided I couldn't.  I can NOT kill... 
Are any of you uncomfortable with hunting?  I just need you to say the word and I won't say any more about hunting. 

Well....  My dad and brother are going Elk hunting.  They left today for a week long trip...  Sadness...  I miss them already.  They are about two hours away from where we live, but still, I miss them... 

Standing by the window,
Watching them pack their things,
Holding back tears for after they go,
I give my brother a hug,
And my daddy a kiss,
I stand on the porch waving goodbye,
I look at the trail of dust in the air,
Where the car quickly disapreared down the drive,
Getting out my guitar and playing it softly,
I let the tears fall then wipe them off,
I stand up to face the day,
The missing of two family members stands out way to clear,
My brother my friend,
And my father, protecter,
I pray for them to safely return.

Love,
Maddie

I entered a story conest=)

Hello! 

I entered a 500 word writing contest at Go Teen Writers!!!

Here is my story!

It has no title.....

I stood at the window, watching the delivery truck drive away.  As soon as it was out of site, I looked at the label on the box I had just gotten.

From: Peter Walsh, Mongolia

To: Stefani Walsh, Washington U.S.A.

Mongolia?  NO WAY!  What could Peter be sending me?  I thought.

Peter was my 21 year old brother who was on a Missions trip to Mongolia.  He had been gone for 7 months.

I quickly pulled my Phone out of my pocket. 

Hannah!  Come quick!  I just got a package from my brother!  I texted to my best friend.

I quickly got a reply.

Brother?  The one in Mongolia? 

YES!

Hold on!  I’m half way there!!!

I waited for Hannah to show up.  The minuets seemed like hours. 

Finally the door burst open.  Hannah rushed in.

“Come on!  What are you waiting for?  OPEN THE BOX!  I can’t believe you waited for me!  Hannah said, sitting down.

“Okay!  But I can’t figure it out…  Why did he send me a package???”

“Opening it might give a clue, silly.”  Hannah said laughing.

So I did.  The first thing I noticed was a piece of paper.  I grabbed it.

I know you would never expect to get anything from me like this but I got a chance to surprise you. I know that you probably have Hannah standing next to you and if you don’t, call her and tell her to come over.  Inside there are two packages.  One is for you (the one that is wrapped in green) the other one is for Hannah.  Open those and you will both find envelopes in the bottom.  Call me using the number on this number {(***)-***-****} and then open them.

Your brother,

Peter

“Okay….  That didn’t really make sense…  Hannah here is your box.”  I said handing the other package to her; it was wrapped in pink paper.  Then I grabbed mine.

I heard a squeal from Hannah.

I glanced over to where she was standing.  She was holding up a red robe and twirling around.  Then she bent over and picked up a necklace out of the box.

“Your brother is the best in the world!  I-love-him-I-love-him!!!” She said, clapping her hands. 

I opened my box.   There was a beautiful blue robe on top; there was a set of earrings too.

I handed the robe to Hannah. 

I looked in the bottom of the box.  There was the envelope.

“Hannah, quiet down I need to call Peter!  I’ll let you purpose later.“  I said dialing the number that was on the letter.

“Hello?  Stef’ is that you?” A voice came over the phone. 

“Yes it is!  What’s going on?”  I asked.

“Open the envelope.”  Was the only answer.

I did.  There was a plane ticket! 

“MONGOLIA!  YOU SENT ME A TICKET FOR MONGOLIA???” I squealed into the phone.

“Yes.  You and Hannah are coming to Mongolia for my wedding.” 

“Hannah, you’re too late.  He’s getting married.  And we are going to Mongolia!”

Whatcha think?????

Maddie

My crafty corner of the world...

Hi! 

Lately I've been going crazy with crochet and photography.  Here is a bag I made:

These pictures where taken on my messy bed in my messy room....^

 

Then I invented a hat:

 

I know that's a sidways picture....  That's what the hat looks like on me.^

Side view of the hat.^

 

And now some random photography!!!

Rain^  We where waiting for a ferry to show up and I got my hands on the camera:-D

That's a Hummingbird feeder^  I love how it turned out!

I adore old classic books:-D  those all turned out really well:-D^

I had a little friend do this:-D  Lavender and Daisys:-D^

 

That's a really good picture of my brother:-D^

These are some friends:-D  Aren't they so cute???  They are brother and sister:-)^

 

 That is my cousin Mitchel:-D^

 

 

 

This is a picture of a puppy:-)  His name is Edmund:-)  We call him Eddy:-D

 

 

This is puppy Peter called Pete and Petey:-D^

 

 This is Susan^ Or Susie or Suse:-)

 And this^ is......  LUCY! 

No doubt you've noticed a conection with the puppies..... 

YES!  WE NAMED THEM AFTER THE PEVENCIE KIDS OFF OF THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA!

 

Well...  I'm done.  Was this a really boring post?  I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

 

Love,

Maddie

Honor your hero!

Hi everyone! 

I got this great idea!  Honor your hero on blogger!  I've got more than one hero......  But hey!  The more the merrier!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'll do the rest later:-D

The Rules: 
1.  Write some facts on your blog on the hero of your choice. 
2. Give one reason why you chose that paticular person. 
3.  Make up an award for your hero (Ex.  Honoring George Washington for the courage he had and standing up for the land he belived in.  Thank you.) 
4.  Tag 5 friends
5.  Tell them they have to do it with the hero of their choice. 
6. Have fun!

Okay!  My turn first!

Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon.  He was brave to take that first step.  I get teary eyed every time I think of his first words on the moon, "It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  Here it is in his own words.

Sometimes I wish I would have been born in that great time for America.  The idea of the first man on the moon is still as amazing to me now, as it was the very first time I heard of it.
From right to left it's the brave and daring crew of Apollo 11: Armstrong, Micheal Collins, and Buzz Aldrin.

 

Michael Collins, President George W. Bush, Armstrong, and Aldrin during celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight, July 21, 2004

 

 Here is a link that touches me from Wikipedia:

The landing on the surface of the moon occurred at 20:17:39 UTC on July 20, 1969.   When a sensor attached to the legs of the still hovering Lunar Module made lunar contact, a panel light inside the LM lit up and Aldrin called out, "Contact light." As the LM settled on the surface Aldrin then said, "Okay. Engine stop," and Armstrong said, "Shutdown." The first words Armstrong intentionally spoke to Mission Control and the world from the lunar surface were, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Aldrin and Armstrong celebrated with a brisk handshake and pat on the back before quickly returning to the checklist of tasks needed to ready the lunar module for liftoff from the Moon should an emergency unfold during the first moments on the lunar surface.  During the critical landing, the only message from Houston was "30 seconds", meaning the amount of fuel left. When Armstrong had confirmed touch-down, Houston expressed its worries during the manual landing as "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again".

 

Thank you Mr. Armstrong for being my hero.

 

Now for five people!!!! 

Storyteller

Alley

Aidyl

Madeline

Jenny

 

I don't have time right now to make an honor award, but I will!!!!!!

 

Love,

Maddie

Sadness~

Hello.

This is a slightly sad day...  At least for me....  My hero Neil Armstrong died:-( 
When I was 11, I was an Apollo 11 adict.  I LOVED the story of the first man on the moon.  Neil Armstrong was my hero.  I wanted to be an Astronuat for so long!  I wrote a 6 page report on the moon mission of Apollo 11... 
Neil Armstrong died at the age of 82, so he had a very full life:-)

Bye guys!  And I'm sorry about this not being a very exciting post.....

Maddie

Why do you read?

Books!  Some of my favorite friends and book characters:-D  I read to forget:-D  It's my way of escaping the world!!!!  What do you think?



 

 

HIIIIIIIIII!!!!

Hi everybody!!!!!!!!!

I'll get right to the awarding!!!!!



This blog award was made and given by Storyteller!!!  Thankyou!

The rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and leave link(s) to their blog(s).

Thanks  Storyteller!!!!!!  And her blogs are:  Rubberboot Girl, Storyteller of Weston County, and Dragonmaster!


2. What do you like best about your own blog?

I like my followers!  I like that people take interest in my blog(s)! 


3. What do you like best about the person who gave this award's blog(s)?

Hmmmmmm.....  I like that she's friendly!  And I like how well she writes!


4. Who's the most active person on your blog?

Storyteller:-D


5. What's your favorite blog?

I don't know!  I like them all!!!

6. What's your favorite design (swirls, lines, etc.)?

Polka dots and flowers:-)

7. What do you think is the most flexible thing about your blog?

Um...   POSTS???

8. Award five people this award.

Okay....  This is the hard part:-D

Storyteller, Jenny, Hayden, Aidyl, and all my friends at The Story Club!  Phew!  That wasn't easy:-D

Okay.....   I promised the pictures I entered into our county fair.....   There they are:-D  What do you think???  The one on top is called, "Flowers for Jane Austen" because the book is "Pride and Prejudice."  I LOVE THAT BOOK! 
The 2nd picture is titled,"Brother and Sister."  That is a picture of my little brother (who isn't so little.  He's 5'9"!) and my baby sister:-)  that's down our driveway:-D 

Bye folks!!!!!!!

Love,
Maddie