Spring brings so many welcome sights and so many return guests!

 This year the wildflowers of TEXAS are incredible and even if my well meaning husband wants to grate up all my poppies from the drive area, the few blue bonnets and the hard to start Indian paintbrush are making a debut in many of our cottage locales!

 At sunset, the native Texas redbuds are still our reliable rosy glow on these lovely Spring evenings.

 Round up of the 44 Farms bulls is done on horseback... this year using Jag, the new and amazing mare.

 For our quick turn arounds, I have 2 awesome helpers with broom and vacuum! So fun to have family cottages and family share time. We even get to leave chocolate bunny surprises for our Easter guests... Hope they especially enjoyed the hand written notes of the little ladies who love surprises!

 Fossil hunts, scavenger hunts, sandpile digging and just plain ole country fun are always happening somewhere around these cottages of ours.

 Flowers on the ground our in the pond are too lovely for words!!! so many new kinds! and if anyone wants the most incredible sight ever... go over to the adjacent Buffalo Gap Cemetery where Forrest and Mabel Reynolds have planted blue bonnets for years... the entire area is covered!!! Even if our unique and wonderful Forrest is no longer with us... there is an ocean of blue that has become his legacy!

Easter has many traditions at our home.... hope each of you have your own as well.

One of the best gifts we give our families is a Godly heritage that reveals the hearts of love for the ONE WHO made us and called us to His family!

Happy Springtime friends.... join us sometime soon!

Words are more than Words at the GateWay:)

One thing that you will always find WORDS!!!!

We here at the GateWay believe that Words have power...

We greet you with our guest book,

Our FYI page,

AND.... a "caution" about some of the
not so friendly inhabitants of the area:)

AKA... rattlesnakes (especially as they come out of winter hibernation about this time of year)

HENCE... the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.

One of our favorite promises rests above the kitchen table nook...

As you come through the gate of our 2 bedroom, or the 1 bedroom, we pray that your cares drop from your shoulders and that the rest you choose will be found in this special place we call
GateWay GetaWay....

.... oh yes....

not only do we leave you words of blessing...

SOMETIMES,

we have guests who reciprocate!

Thanks Odessa friends.... We hope to see you again!

Happy New Year 2010

The holidays of 2009 into the beginning of 2010 brought special guests!
Our neighbors had family in both cottages and we loved getting to allow a place for fun,
exploration, and more room for families to gather!
Loved having you Petterson crew and Martin family!
Glad Barbara's leather coat made it through the snow!
Troy found it over the outside chairs and it was still in great shape after being covered in snow!
Better check out that brand!
Babies, and kiddos were in abundance at the 2 bedroom....
Loved giving you guys a cozy place to place and enjoy the holidays!
A place by the fire is always welcome in these cold temps of New Year 2010!
Our newest improvement, my Christmas gift for 2009, a new tank!
In my opinion, as any of you who have been our guests know,
WATER is one of our greatest resources.
A truly valuable gift!
For a day, the good top soil made a great "mountain" for those looking to conquer the heights!
Then... it was laid on the tank sides
allowing us to plant wildflowers and grasses for this new aspect of our land!
Hopefully, this spring will bring wonderful flowers to the GATEWAY!!!
I already see an abundance of bluebonnets ready for the Spring 2010 debut!
Come to Texas this spring... I guarantee....
It's gonna be a banner year for our Texas wildflowers!!!

Christmas Eve Blizzard and wonderful Neighbor Family guests!

Christmas Eve 2009...Winter Wonderland Blizzard!
We put out seed for the birds and new deer block for our beautiful white tail deer!
Our guests were neighbor's family... what a treat to host such friends and family?!
Our cedar eradication from last year left plenty of room for the lovely white blanket.
.... and the gate stands open!
Welcome friends and yet to be friends....
Our guests!!!
To the GateWay!
Even in the snow.... It's warm and we cozy inside by the fire.
May you each one find the blessings of the ONE WHO is Creator of all,
and Giver of every good and perfect gift!
Merry Christmas

May in the Gap at the GateWay

The days here in May have been teasing!!!

They tempt us with the promise of rain, and yet.... just dew kissed mornings is what we have

(we are only 4 days into our wettest month... but we hope for rain each day!)

The xeric gardens at the cottages are doing well... you can see the salvia greggi here alongside the 2 bedroom cottage (as well as some renegade poppies that I just couldn't let Troy cut down, eve though they wandered into the drive area)

Wildflowers are spectacular here on our little hillside.

Anyone wanting to collect for dried flowers will have a heyday right now!

Chocolate flowers are WILD here... yes, I said Chocolate flowers!

They really smell like chocolate. You can tell them from others similar in the
masses of yellow blooms, because the chocolate flower has a distinctive brown stripe
along the back of the petals.

These little yellow flowers can be mistaken, but with a trained eye,

and very shortly you'll easily see the differences.

We are hoping for a bountiful May season for our GateWay family and guests!
Western Heritage Weekend
Mother's Day
ACU, HSU, and MCMurry graduations

ALL are this second May weekend!
BTW... the Perini's Wine Summit last month was a huge success as well as Erinshire in the Gap!

Come visit in April or May and there will always be something to do!

Our guests are friends we have yet to meet.

Our guests are the BEST.... we have had such honorable and precious friends (I call all of them friends as we feel that way after they leave as well as in our initial visits). Some people say "why would you let people stay at something that you've put so much of yourselves into?".....

my response: "the people the LORD has led to our cottages are people who treat our place as if it were theirs. They feel the 'peace' that has been prayed over these places, and they not only take from that storehouse, they leave pieces of themselves making our special place more complete by their being here."

Below are some pictures taken by a couple our our guests. (sorry I could not manage to get the first 4 to embed, so you will need to click to see... the next ones were easier with my limited tech knowledge). I do have their permission to place them here for your perusal and enjoyment of their time here.

Thanks Peter and Molly!
http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation050.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation005.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation002.jpg

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/moppyca/Vacation/?albumview=grid&fullsize=vacation045.jpg

Happy anniversary Chris and Jennifer!

Spring 08 is FULL!!!

We will be trying to add Feedjit into this blog asap. To those of you who have recently visited... WOW... it has been a wonderful spring at the cottages.

Fossil hunts,

birthday parties for foreign exchange students (many wonderful nationalities present!)

anniversaries

Wine Festivals

graduations

Folk Festivals and

even Flea markets!

http://jimnedvalleychamber.blogspot.com/

check out our local activities at the above site....

will be posting more pics soon!

God bless y'all lots!

master bedroom in the 2 bdrm cottage

red room in the 2 bedroom
kitchen area
bedroom of the 1 bedroom
sitting area of the 1 bedroom