Tea Parties Big At The Ranch

This is two more of my grand-daughters, Avery Marietta Michelle, and McKenna. We love having tea parties at the ranch, the Barbie Barn is going to be the sight of many tea parties... especially Birthday Tea Parties!

Just a Few of Our Residents

                            These are some of our beauties!

Flowers Are Everywhere At the Ranch

         There were beautiful wildflowers nearly all summer 

                                 at the ranch this summer.

Stories from the Barbie Barn

Now to tell you a little bit about how I will conduct this blog.  I love to write stories and poetry, so that will be one element of this site, with the goal being to entertain little girls.  My mother taught me to be creative at a very young age, and she also taught my children, and children’s children how to “pretend play.”  She was a child of the Great Depression, and toys were few and far between.  What a great blessing that was, because she developed, along with her siblings, a great imagination, often making dolls out of things from her environment.  I can remember many Barbie doll dresses she made my one and only childhood Barbie on her sewing machine.  

The rich play life which she taught all us girls is why my head is so full of “Barbie stories. “ The way I will write my Barbie Stories is by using the many 36 inch “life size Barbies I have collected and designed wardrobes for before they took up residence in the Barbie Barn, and assign them a character as one of my eight grand-daughters, and my grand-nieces.  These cousins have such great fun together.  I will be assigning them all to the same age of freshmen in high school.  (This of course is because of the dolls themselves all looking the same age. )   

I have had such great fun dying their hair the appropriate color, doing what we doll enthusiasts call  making an OOAK (one of a kind)  by eye painting to reflect their individual looks and personality, and making clothing that reflects their personalities as well.

The first Barbie I am presenting is Gabby, after my grand-daughter Gabrielle, who is extremely talented and artistic.  She too has a wonderful artistic personality.   I will introduce a doll each day, along with her bio.  There will also be a version of each girl in the traditional size dolls, along with my grand-sons  Tristen, Michael and Maddox being represented in this category as Soldiers.  

Every Been to a Barbie Barn?

Welcome!  I am delighted to have you drop by my doll world site!  This site is all about my little Barbie Doll world created for children everywhere, those who are still children at heart, and all those who love dolls and miniatures.  This delightful retreat was born as the result of my husband and I desiring to serve those who serve, and their families, most especially our grand-children Gabby and Samantha, who are presently with their family in Germany.  We have not seen them in two years, and this represents a great sacrifice for each of us.  Children of military families have always been required to make sacrifices for our country, but those sacrifices have been very great during the last eleven years.  May we never forget!

 We have found there are two things that are universal as needs for those serving in the military, honorable leadership, and care of the families these brave heroes and heroines leave behind at home while they go to war for our country.  Soldiers will always put their own needs last, but the needs of their families.  We operate a small retreat and bed and breakfast in Austin County, Texas, between Sealy and Bellville, Texas, and located directly under heaven.

There is fishing and canoeing, horses, a petting zoo, a pool and hot tub, little cabins to stay in, a playground with tree houses, gardens, and all kinds of wildlife in the 13 acre woods.

Of course there is the Barbie Barn too!

 

This is our daughter and our two grand-daughters at the welcome home ceremony for our son-in-law as he returned from his last deployment to Afghanistan.

 This is the hummingbird feeder on the back porch at our ranch.

Our grand-daughter Gabby before she left for Germany.

 Gabby and Samantha giving our dog Ginger a bath at the ranch.

Samantha playing the Army Fight Song at her school in Killeen, Texas before leaving for Germany, while her dad was serving at Ft. Hood.