"Mice-Babies!"

This spring we read the unabridged story of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo before seeing the greatly anticipated film (book was WAY better than the movie!), and we also enjoyed listening to the audio book narrated by Graeme Malcolm...who's voice and accent(s) was absolutely perfect to a 'T'!

If you have a chance, we HIGHLY recommend your listening to this audio book this summer! Get to know Despereaux, the Princess Pea, Chiaroscuro (cripes!), and Miggery Sow (“Gor, ain't it pretty? Gor, ain't it something?!”) as you will quickly get wrapped up in the sweet story filled with humor, sadness, hope, revenge, forgiveness...it's truly incredible!

***NOTE: All PETA members, please stop reading now!***

"I will have no more mice babies! They are such the disappointment!" says Despereaux's mother!

"I will have no more mice babies! They are such the disappointment!" screamed ME!

If my ribs weren't sore enough already from two days of my "being sick as a dog," then they are plenty sore from my girly shrieks this evening!

After two days of my not feeling so great, this evening I thought it'd be nice to sit outside with sweet hubby and take in a few (albeit shallow...sore ribs!) breaths of fresh air! Ahhh! It was nice!

Then we turned to walk inside, and Ricci (being the gentleman that he is) opened the door for me to walk inside first, and my radar eyes saw Despereaux run across the kitchen floor! Now of course, I was two rooms away, but I saw him! With both hands clasped tightly over my mouth..."Shriek! A mouse!" And other evenings, my Wonder Woman supersonic ears have heard him as well! And each time I've awoken Ricci to "What's that sound!?!?" And he's sleepily rolled over and said, "I don't hear anything!"

"Aha! Now I have proof!"

"Well, I didn't see anything! It was probably just a roach!"

"It was tiny, but it was too fast and too big to be a roach! Please stand right there while I go and Google 'how...many...babies...mice'!"

"Whatcha not doin' at your post?!? You're looking over my shoulder!!! Then you can clearly see what I'm reading on UGA's Co-op Ext. Serv. for Agricultural and Environmental Sciences....

"They usually have about 8-12 babies in one litter, but can have as few as 1 and
as many as 20 babies at a time." "Rats and mice breed fast."

"Mice can get through any hole that will admit the tip of your little finger. Seal small holes and cracks by stuffing them with stainless steel scouring pads, then caulk over them."

"Mice like peanut butter."

and my personal favorite...although I don't completely agree....

"Shooting is not generally effective for controlling rats and may be hazardous."

Tiny marital squabble...followed by "Yes, dear; I'll get dressed and go to the store at this late hour and buy some traps!"

***

Sweet fella returned home safely with four mouse traps...and more stories than I needed to hear of how the his fellow, late-night shoppers and grocery clerks have gotten rid of their mice and/or rats...dare we say that word out loud!

The dog and I greeted him at the door; I already had the suggested peanut butter waiting! So like a good, supportive wife, I helped him bait the traps. (Oh...who am I kidding...it was all for my pleasure! I wanted proof...once and for all...that Despereaux was indeed living in our home! And after I had returned him to the library!)

So 'we' baited one trap and set it gently to the side (not on the floor...we have children and a dog, ya know!); 'we' baited the second...it didn't work; (oops! I dropped a dab of peanut butter on the kitchen floor); 'we' baited the third and fourth. Sir-Barks-a-lot came in to see what we were doing; we praised him for cleaning up the peanut butter I had dropped; 'we' turned around to repair the final trap, and...

Click!

Clap!

Bam!

Snap!

Sir-Barks-a-lot thought he'd check out the rest of the peanut butter that we'd set out; after all, we had praised him for cleaning up the other! Poor thing was looking at us like..."WHAT THE HECK was all of that?!?!? I promise I will NEVER try to sneak food again that's not on the floor!"

Oh! The poor, terrified animal...thankfully was unhurt! Yes, if he were 'on guard' all of the time, we probably wouldn't be having this problem, but oh...my poor boy! His look was simply pathetic!

So after more of my screaming like a little girl and a few of Ricci's 'choice' words followed by our doubling over from so much laughter (again...sore ribs!), 'we' finished baiting the last mouse trap, and Ricci pulled the stove out...that's the only place where we can figure they're getting into this 'ole house! And I have to say that I'm not a morning person, but I will be wide awake to hear the results!

Thank you, Ricci, for being the most wonderful husband and father! I rest knowing that God gave me you and that you're protecting us!

And we're off....

This time of year is just amazing...it's crazy...it's hectic, but it's amazing! Just some of the enjoyments of the season....the glowing colors of fall (and this year has proven to be more spectacular than anyone could have predicted!), the beautiful sound of the fall leaves' falling and blowing around (especially as little feet swish their way through them!), the incredible smell of the heat coming on for the first time (yes, I'm sure it's not good for you, but you will find all of us gals' hovering our heads over the vents to breathe it in with joy!), the excitement of seeing who is going to play the first Christmas commercial (will it be Cool-Whip or Hallmark?), the remarks of criticism that we hear and make regarding which store that plays Christmas music "too early" while we secretly hum along with it?!? November is always full of pleasures both great and small!
This November seemed to hit me without warning! I swear the other day I was thinking, "I wonder if we can get in one more trip to the pool?!?" Then Jen's birthday (November 1st!) was here...happy birthday to you again, sweet sis...I love you with all of my heart!

Trying to take advantage of the glorious weather, we invited the college students that attend our church over to our house for chili...our church parish group and friends helped host it...there were over 40 here, and although I fretted about our not having enough food, the weather, etc., it turned out great! There was more than enough food, and the weather could not have been more perfect!

And then that week we were off for a trip that I knew was off in the distance...not until the beginning of November! Well, before I could sit down and think about it, it was November! It was time to go and cast our votes...then go get our free Starbucks...then send the dog and fishie on their "vacation" and then begin packing our things while anxiously watching the electoral votes' accumulating. After doing all of that we put a few last minute clothing items for our trip in the wash and went to bed knowing that our great God is providential and knew all along that our nation's politics would be 'changing.'

The next morning, we awoke to find that perhaps we should have inspected all of the little pockets before washing our favorite clothing items....aghhh...there was ink all over our clothes! And we're not talking our 'stay-at-home clothes' but our 'go-clothes' as the girls call them! Some of our nicest 'go-clothes'!

Thankfully, some of our friends that were traveling with us as far as B'ham, reassured us that it couldn't be all that bad...until they saw them! But they whisked them away (no pun intended) ahead of us on our trip to B'ham...to Motown where they spent their first day of vacation in the capable hands of Mo, my new best friend! And we met up with the rest of our travel peeps and drove on to B'ham to visit the Birmingham Museum of Art where we visited the incredible DaVinci exhibit...it really was great! There are things that I just didn't know about DaVinci before that exhibit...for instance, he was left-handed and drew from the right to the left to avoid smudges, etc. He hid many drawings inside of other drawings or writings. He did many dissections (until the pope put a stop to it) just so that he could know the intricate details of how muscles/bones/etc. worked together. And there were several writings of his that could only be read by looking at it in a mirror....it was fascinating to get to know him better!

After spending some time there, we drove on to the B'ham Zoo to catch up with Lars, Bubs and Nan. And K-ren even came to join us! It was a great afternoon to enjoy the zoo...I can only recall seeing one other couple there with a child, so we pretty much had the run of the zoo! And again...the fall leaves were amazing!

After a fun romp through the zoo, we went to have supper with K-ren (it was sooo good to see her!) before heading over to the hotel! There we met back up with Lars, Nan and Mo....who is a big-time-bad-time hero! She got almost everything out of our clothes...they were practically as good as new! I will never figure out how she did it! I've been told that Mo has this spiritual gift of laundry stain removal, and now I believe it!

Whew...it was a long but fun day!

The next morning we awoke early to have breakfast with K-ren before she headed on to work; then "we" repacked the car and headed on further south via Dothan, AL to have lunch with sweet Uncle Charles. We had a wonderful afternoon with him...albeit too short, for my cell phone kept ringing, and it was my nephew saying, "Ya Ya, are you here yet? Well, where are you and my cousins?" And yes...my prayers were answered...Uncle Charles set us up with lots of fresh pecans and peanuts, raw and boiled, a couple of jars of muscadine jelly... hmmm! The love we have for him and feel from him is immeasurable! He is so wonderful! And as the mayor of Graceville, he's quite a busy fella, so we had to let him go, and we once more hit the road.

The drive down to Sandestin for the conference didn't seem to take that long...we stopped for groceries and then drove on to the condo where Meems, P-Daddy, Jen and the kids were awaiting us. After "we" unpacked the car, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed over to the conference center just in time to hear Steve Wilkins begin a session on "Friendship." The conference this year was especially great...Steve spoke on friendship while Doug Wilson spoke on the different rooms of the home. I'll be happy to share my notes with anyone...I want to re-listen to the sessions, and I can share the link to hear the audio recordings.

Later that evening Nate came in, so we all put the kids to bed before spending some time together...trying not to wake the parents, ours that is!

The next day we raced from here to there...not my favorite feeling, but that evening Cricket and Lovey were in a talent show...they sung Andrew Peterson's "Matthew's Begats" once more and tied for first place with our friend Brittany! Woohoo, girls! The only thing a little skeptical is that the prizes were awarded in $2 bills...something that only one man I know carries....hmmm...I still have to ask P-Daddy about that! When our family friend Andy interviewed them after they sang, Cricket leaned into the microphone and said, "We've even sang this on stage with Josh Groban!" And Lovey quickly corrected her..."You mean..Andrew Peterson!" It was too cute! I just thought...at least Cricket mistook AP for Josh Groban and not one of the other cd's in the car! (Not that there are bad ones....we just have a pretty well-rounded appreciation of music!)

The next day was rushed once more...too many things to see and do when at home! Jen, Nate, Eric and I threw (with help from Drue and MaryAnn! Thank you!) a little 40th Anniversary party together for Meems and P-Daddy...if they had known about it, they wouldn't have gone, but we were able to successfully pull it off! Woohoo!

Then a little shopping at the outlets (there's a sign when you enter the Beaches of South Walton that says that one must not visit the area without shopping at the outlets), so that's just what we did! Then we raced back to the condo to get everyone dressed for the ball! The entire trip was such a blurr that I didn't even slow down enough to take all of the photos that I should have, but here are a couple of cute photos from the evening!

Mimi made the granddaughters matching skirts...they are so beautiful! Thanks, Meems!

Cricket and her dance partner were dancing so well, but I could only catch her photo from the back!

Sarah kept trying to convince Mimi to swing her like YaYa...I made the mistake of twirling her through one too many Virginia reels...and that gal's getting too big to hold and twirl, but oh the twinkle in her eye made it so worth it! She loved it!
The girls ended up having a few fellas in line to dance with them...AngelWings did say that the "McPherson boys" were quite good dancers! I thought you'd get a kick out of that, Joyce! What a fun evening it was!

The next morning, I awoke before the sun came up, so I gently woke up Cricket, and she and I hurriedly ran down to the beach and sat quietly on a towel, wrapped in blankets, as we watched the sunrise. It is something that is there every, single day...and we don't even think twice about the glory that it is! What a special moment it was when we watched it so quickly rise up over the gulf waters and move so quickly away from the horizon! Thank you, dear Lord, for that special morning!

Then at church later that morning when we took communion, Cricket looked up at me and said, "That bread's not too bad!" Then after we 'partook' the wine, I have to say that Cricket had me about fall out of my chair with laughter when she looked up at me and said, "And the wine doesn't taste too bad either!"

That afternoon and evening....I loved sooo very much! We had such a relaxing Sunday dinner...relaxing all but for the face and stomach muscles that ached from laughing so hard at Mom's telling us every detail that she could remember about a family from her childhood that had a chest full of confederate money. She had us all rolling! Then the afternoon consisted of peaceful rest and then a mad dash back to the beach to watch the evening sunset.

Then we returned to the condo for a yummy dinner (if I do say so myself...Mom, Jen and I all took turns preparing the meals at the condo, and I had BBQ chicken slow-roasting all afternoon in the crockpot). And after dinner, the grandkids began a highly competitive game of hide'n'seek. A game that not even the adults could resist! And although we limited the hiding places to the bottom two floors of the condo....there were more hiding places than anyone could have imagined! Even baby Quinn got in on the action!

I'm still not sure who won the many games...AngelWings who stayed hidden the longest by standing in a hidden corner of one of the showers, Drewby who stayed hidden wrapped inside a comforter that was rolled and laying atop a piece of furniture, Cricket who stayed hidden laying under a coffee table/ottoman that had only three visible inches under it, Lovey who was hidden behind a chair that clearly had no room behind it, Ricci "and others" who were hiding in a long closet...each time one was found, they'd step out to give themselves up...all the while they were quickly closing the door to keep other peeps hidden. It was a hilariously (word?) good time!

The next morning, we requested 'late check-out' just so that we could hit the beaches "just one more time" to breathe in that good, salty air!

"Sring me 'round one mo' time, Ricci! Pwease?"

Then we sadly packed up the condo, said our goodbyes and drove over to Meems and P-Daddy's house for a few minutes before heading back to the winery....I mean, home!

It's hard to believe that we were swimming in the gulf earlier that day, and as we traveled closer and closer to home, we were having to adjust the car temperature to warmer and warmer. When we stopped in B'ham for a late supper with K-ren, it was freezing...relatively speaking not literally...but by morning, literally!

Little vacations from temperatures, seasons, etc. make one realize just how blessed we really are! And it often makes coming home all the more special...even if it does mean that we're back in the rat-race of this hectic, crazy but amazing season of life!

"Home again~Home again~Jiggety Jig!"

Friends, fieldtrips and fun!

This time of year is so much fun for friends, fieldtrips and fun! This week's weather has been spectacular, and our homeschool group hosted a fun picnic and fieldtrip to the Tennessee River Gardens & Nature Preserve/Butterfly Pavilion, a private/non-profit organization, which is a spectacular wildflower garden and wildlife preserve in the heart of the Tennessee River Gorge!

Once everyone arrived (we had over 200 people), we took a short, guided hike, which included wildflower gardens, duck and rainbow trout ponds, a real fossil bank and a Great Blue Heron rookery!

This is a photo from the rainbow trout pond...Greg W. wouldn't believe it! They were HUGE! And our guide had each of the kids take a handful of fish food (no, not Ben and Jerry's, Jen!) and toss it into the water at the same time...the fish went CRAZY....like piranhas! It was an amazing site to see!

After the hike, some of us enjoyed a tour of an enclosed butterfly pavilion which houses 20 native butterfly species both in flight and in ALL stages of metamorphosis. Open late spring to early fall, the pavilion includes eggs, larvae, chrysalis and butterfly, as well as species-specific host plants and nectar plants. We've been there at a different time of the year, and there seemed to be more butterflies then, but it was still fun to watch the kids' faces as they found a chrysalis or butterfly!

After a long afternoon picnicking, playing and visiting with friends on the grassy banks of the TN River, picking the last of the beautiful summer wildflowers, and doing some art sketches, we went on home....perhaps it was just all too much for this little Lovey, who fell asleep sitting at the dining table!

A fun CM week!

What a fun (and busy!) wrap-up to a great summer we have had!
As the leaves are already starting to fall and the rest of the growing season is wrapping up its final showing, we're relishing these last few days of summer! (After all, fall is my favorite season, and I'm eagerly awaiting it!)

One afternoon, a good girlfriend called upon several of us other gals to come and help her carry her burden of blueberries! Uh, yeah...we're there! So the next morning we all adorned ourselves with our buckets tied around our necks (like professional berry pickers) and met up with everyone to help out sweet Joanna! What a fun time we all had! It was so sweet of J to open up her yard and her home to all of us...and our kiddos in tow! The kids had the best time playing, and we would all pick for a while and then go outside and 'sit a spell' while we cooled off and had some tea, scones, cookies, etc. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Isn't this the cutest berry-picker you've ever seen?!?

And as we started off our new school year, two girlfriends and I hit the road for an impromptu over-night trip. We learned of a great SCM conference, settled our fams, and hit the road! We had a great time yackin' all of the way up there and back! We rushed out of town so quickly so that we could make it to our hotel in time for happy hour, and after enjoying some time relaxing, we went to a wonderful restaurant...I have no recollection what the name of it was, and I paid cash, so I have no receipt, but here's a photo of it...it's down on the bottom left! Oooh, and I'm still craving their chicken with capers! It was soooo good! It was served over a bed of angel hair pasta with a lemon and white-wine sauce and with the most gently sauteed green beans and red tomatoes on the side!

After we ate and laughed til we could eat and laugh no more, we giggled our way back to our hotel room, stayed up way too late, and got up way too early the next morning. After enjoying a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel, we were off to the conference! (Notes to be posted later!)

The bounty is overflowing!

Just like God's amazing grace in my life, the bounty of friends and fresh fruits/vegetables is overflowing!

Sis and daughter Emmaline went with us this morning to pick some apples, pears, and apple-pears (I didn't know about those before today!) out at the home of our good friends, Greg and Peggy. The girls had the best time running around, playing on Alexx's "kingdom," catching butterflies, checking out the pond,...

It was so wonderful to see them running around in such a gorgeous setting!

I also had never seen a handy-dandy apple picker like this one either!

Or a fancy-shmancy pear picker like this one either!!!And what a bounty we brought home! Isn't it all gorgeous?!?

I'm so excited about making some applesauce and apple butter (for Ricci and the girls), an apple tart or two, pear and apple-pear preserves, and more...am I beginning to sound like Bubba on Forrest Gump describing shrimp? And I'm sure that we'll find other ways to use our yummy gifts, for which we are very thankful! Ricci has fond memories of growing up with his grandparents' cupboard full of home-made apple sauce, etc., and I'm hoping that his grandmother will 'hook me up' with some good family recipes!

So it appears that my hippie friends aren't all that hippie and that I'm falling into hippie tendencies too, which leaves me thinking, "Hmmm...is it hippie or is it being a good wife/momma?) Either way, I'll keep my preppy/hippie tendencies!

Thank you so very much, Greg and Peggy!

A garden that only an owner could love!

Once again this year... our gardening containers are flourishing, our flower beds are continuing to look better than they did last year, and.... our garden is only a garden that an owner could love.

You know....how beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

The herb-side of the garden is doing really well with our cilantro, basil, mint, lavender, and rosemary! Too great, perhaps! And the vegetable-side...well, it's less than desirable! But our tomatoes are finally beginning to fruit after 'we' (Ricci) removed the horn-worm, and we did harvest one amazing zucchini from seed! So I'm happy with our results!

We don't have the space to go crazy with a garden area, so I'm happy with the results that we've achieved from our 4'x8' space! And this one flawless zucchini made an amazing addition to our lasagna that evening! The girls gobbled it up! (Of course, it was helped that it was also made with our yummy puttanesca, Aunt Jan!)

But I just had to share a photo of this tomato hornworm for those of y'all that are interested...it's quite a bundle of nature study! Oops...I just remembered that I was too afraid to take the lid off of the jar to even take a photo...yes, y'all can tell that I love a controlled atmosphere to do our nature study! [;)] But here is a photo that looks identical to the one that we had...complete with all of the 30 or so white eggs that covered it! And be sure to click here to learn more about this nasty, fascinating creature!

(Now we know why we haven't produced any more tomatoes than have been on the grocer's shelves!) Then this evening I walked by his glass house (a Ball jar with a lid w/ holes), and it was full of flying baby wasps! So BACK upstairs I went to get the girls BACK out of bed! Between impromptu nature study and allowing them stay up later than normal to watch the Olympics, thank goodness we homeschool!

It was amazing to watch the baby wasps chewing out of their eggs like they were making little hinged lids! Yes, we have gotten our money's worth out of our little $2.50 magnifier!

Caughtcha!

Caughtcha, you little booger!

Yep, I think you're pretty cute, but get off'a there!

This little fella has mastered the art of climbing up the side of the house, hopping on the screen and having his way with my bird-feeder...yeah, it's a "bird" feeder! The girls and I have to regularly go out and 'vasoline' down the poles that have our feeders on them, so that the chipmunks and squirrels will not take away all of the 'bird'seed! I have to admit that it's pretty funny to watch them go about their normal routine of hopping onto the pole and then being shocked when they slide back down it...they'll immediately show a look of disgust as they try to wipe their little paws off in the grass. It's pretty hard not to laugh at them!

Our newest, little neighbor!

We met our newest, little neighbor today! We have had several baby birds born in/around the house, and lately we've noticed more movement/sounds in a shrub which is right up against the side of our porch where we spend many hours. So I can only assume that there has been a particular bird that has been getting used to our voices and being around us.

And this afternoon while we were outside visiting with a friend, Rena Carolyn, who came by to pick something up, Annie was out playing in the yard and came face to face with this little fella who then flew down and settled onto the chair next to us. After a while, this little fella/o allowed Tressie to pet her, and it took just a few minutes more before we were all holding her...and of course, Macy was naming her...uh, no, we're not keeping it!

Then after quite some time, we can only assume that it was his brothers and sisters that were hollering at him to "quit talking to strangers"... s/he flew off with them!

We just love watching/feeding the birds around us! Nature study up close and personal is so much more memorable; isn't it?!?

Whew! I think they flew the coop!

For a month or so, we've been battling territory over our back porch/storage area which has had a Carolina wren (or two...it's very difficult to tell the difference in a male/female wren) telling us that it was her territory...uh, I don't think so!

Of course, there are things out there that we need daily...my front porch broom, the girls' pencil sharpener, some of Eric's tools, lots of gardening, and lots of other things that we need on a daily basis, but for now this area has been off-limits for us...unless we want to go up against the wrath of this little lady!

Then one day this week she was gone...gone to get some food for her five, little, cute, fuzzy biddies that she had left behind...who were all hopping up and down on the window sills awaiting their momma and daddy to bring them back something to eat! Aghh...now that would total SEVEN birds! And that chirping is really a precious sound, but they are so loud!

We have enjoyed watching them flitting around, sitting atop one another, and even getting the strength to fly up to the next window pane...but now they can't live there forever! So we've tried to figure out what the best thing to do would be. Each day, we'd say, "That's it...today's their last day!" Then the next day, we'd feel badly and say it again! Then yesterday we decided we'd firmly give them "one more day" in the home that they've grown to love...then that's it...they're outta here!

So this morning, we awoke to find that they're gone! Woohoo! I do hope that they've moved on to greener pastures...and not just on a daily field trip!

I can completely understand why they would want to live in our "territory," for we provide our avian friends food, water, but not shelter! And at this time of year there is a tree that we hate that they love...a mulberry tree that is producing and dropping tons of mulberries! We just have to laugh about it to keep from cryin'...the berries are everywhere, and if we're not dodging them to keep from stepping on them, then we're dodging them to keep from being hit when they're falling. The birds love them, of course! And it is music to my ears to hear them singin' away! So for now, our everyday visitors of wrens, sparrows, finches, chickadees, doves, blue jays, cardinals, woodpeckers and flickers are more than satisfied, for our home is evidently their home as well! As long as they stay outside where they belong...the more the merrier!

Our Northern Flicker is back!

Our family recently spotted a Northern Flicker enjoying a feast of ants (Please...help yourself...it's an 'all you can eat' buffet!) in our side yard! We have seen her several times, but we're still not sure where she's living...but we do find her fascinating! And I'm personally thankful when she comes around when we're working on our nature study! I'm so thankful that God's creation is so full of creatures of varying sizes, colors, habits, sounds, etc.!

Fossils, milkin' goats, and plastic surgery!

Yesterday proved to be a long, long day! It was a wonderful one...filled with wonder in God's creation as well as amazement in God's protection and healing.

Our homeschool group went on a fieldtrip to our good friends' home, the Colemans, who live on the side of the mountain. (When one is given directions to their home for the first time, one is warned about the first steep hill in their driveway...then, they are warned about the second hill, which is steeper! 'How they ever built their beautiful home' and 'how they paved the drive going up to it' is beyond me!)

We spent a wonderful afternoon hunting for fossils, which their oldest son described to us in his presentation.

After we hunted fossils, many of us ended up in the barn checking out the Coleman's animals...we were all in awe! The baby goats were just too cute...and we all were able to take a turn milking one of the momma goats...one of my life dreams! (I can check that one off of my list! It was so much fun! When I was a little girl, one of my all-time-favorite books was about a young girl and her kid-goat! She loved him so and took him every where, so ever since then I've been in love with them as well!) And of course, Annie enjoyed milking them just as much as I did!

After we enjoyed playing with the animals in their beautiful barn (their entire property is beautiful!), we all went inside and washed up for some yummy snacks. While everyone was enjoying visiting and eating with one another, the children continued to play...and one of us had a little mishap...poor Bennett S. fell while running down the driveway...he took a really bad fall. So badly that his momma had to rush him to the ER. The poor guy was terribly frightened (we all were!), but I found it amazing the way God had everything in place...everyone came together so quickly... got Betsy's car ready, her children farmed out to others, her hubby on the phone to meet her at the hospital, and they were gone! It was just so wonderful to see everyone come together so orderly to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time...and I especially found it inspiring to hear the little children praying for him. It shows the fruits of their little spirits...real faith in our great God!

After everything settled down, some stayed to continue visiting and playing, and I began to pack up our things...we had Betsy's youngest with us (such a treat for us!), and while I was packing everything in the car, I misplaced my keys (urgh!), so I continued packing up and also looking everywhere for my keys! 'All the while' the car doors were open, and the lights were evidently also on, so my battery went dead! Aghhh! I didn't need this! But my dad would be soooo proud of me! With all of the commotion going on, I asked Macy to check in the trunk for the jumper cables, and I went and asked my girlfriend if I could jump off her car...and I did it! 'Almost' completely by myself! I'm embarrassed to say that i couldn't get the hood opened, so the Coleman's oldest son helped me with that, and together we got my car back up'n'running!

Thankfully, it was time for Ricci to come home from work, so he arrived at home shortly after we did. And later that evening while Bennett was in surgery with a plastic surgeon (his wonderful dad was with him at the hospital), Betsy came by to get Isaac, and she stayed for a while during their oldest son's baseball game; we gave her something to drink and some dark chocolate, and she had a chance to unwind! It was good to be able to see her relaxed!

Whew...what a day!

Worms in the foyer!

Tonight as I prepared to go up to bed, I walked past a little table that I have in our foyer, and lo and behold...there were worms on it! Ick! First I have to explain that I spent the better part of the afternoon in our front flower bed weeding. And every time I would unearth a worm, Annie would want me to announce, "Worm alert! Worm alert!" And she would come running to collect it. Yes, my children have inherited my collecting genes (hmmm...wonder where I got that?!?), so they each have their own little collections...Macy collects rocks; Annie collects bottle caps; and Tressie collects wine corks, and no, we do not drink too much! But we do like to celebrate!

So after seeing her collection growing, before I knew it Annie ran inside to get an empty "container" in which she could put her new 'pets.' She returned with an empty box from her Strawberry Shortcake bandaids...of course, she had that saved somewhere! (Did I also mention that we love to recycle? This container was a no.5, so it wasn't with the no. 1's or 2's! She must have had it hidden somewhere else safe!) And when she brought it outside, she ever-so-proudly announced, "Momma, look! I put the word 'Bate' on there, and aren't you proud of me? I remembered to put an 'e' on the end of the word to make the 'a' have a long sound!"

Of course, I was so proud of her! Who would have the heart to have her spell that word any differently? It was so cute that I just had to take a picture of it!

And after seeing my sweet gals asleep, who could get upset over their having left their little "collection" of worms on the table in the foyer?!?
And the other cute, little thing that I saw on the table next to her 'bate' was her beautiful flowers that she had 'collected' at the flower/garden nursery. (I tell ya...these gals will collect anything, and at this stage it's still pretty cute!) Earlier today we went to 'The Barn.' The girls love to ride in the little, red wagons and occasionally stop to pick up flowering stems that have fallen off of a plant so that they can create beautiful bouquets. (Of course, they always ask the check-out guy/gal if they can keep them!) So Annie came home with quite a little collection of flowers for Mommy, and she had arranged them in her little water cups (which the girls also have to get at the Barn) and displayed them on the table as well!

What fun days these are! I really miss the days when I had to buckle them into their car seats and do more for them, but I'm so much enjoying watching them grow up into beautiful, little ladies! So for now, I gladly encourage their precious, childhood spirit which allows them to find the joy and fascination in so many little things!

The price of bird seed!

Has anyone else noticed the price of bird seed going up?!? I generally just purchase our seed at Lowe's, Sams or Walmart, but lately I've started to think, "What are my other options?!? Can I make some from scratch?!?" I think this week we may try to make our own suet...I wonder if Mikey will like it!

I get a newsletter from Bird Watcher Supply Company, and their last newsletter mentioned an apology to their customers for having to raise the prices on bird food more than twice in the last year! They mentioned that farmers are getting government subsidies to grow corn for the Ethanol craze instead of their regular sunflower crops, so there has been much less sunflower, safflower, etc. to go around. And another super-duper, interesting tidbit: Frito Lay is using more sunflower in an effort to make their snack foods healthier. Hmmm! The newsletter went on to say that the while the birding industry has never seen such high prices, we have been in this cycle before, so prices should come back down. Supply and demand at its finest!

I found all of this so interesting! Especially the part about Frito Lay! Who knew?!? And I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but I've noticed that the bird feeders themselves have been more plentiful and less expensive lately...hmmm...supply and demand, I guess! The stores can't sell you on buying birdseed due to its high cost, but they can certainly sell you a feeder on sale! "Now that I've sold you this lovely bird feeder, what may I sell you to put in it?!?"

Speaking of bird feeders being on sale...we do have bird feeders all around our yard, but this last one that we just bought has been my favorite! It's simple but fun! It's a hanging feeder with a tray in it that can be left in to collect water for a birdbath or removed to allow the tray under it with holes to just hold the bird seed. We have it hanging outside one of the living room windows; so for the last couple of days we've been watching several "couples" hangin' out in it! We've nick-named it the "jacuzzi" feeder...the females generally get down inside it, and the fellas hang out on the edge keeping watch of everything going on around them! One can almost hear them communicating with one another!

Now if I can just get the dern squirrels to get off of my feeders! I put out plenty of food for them on the ground....I think I'm going out there right now to 'vasoline' the poles that they seem to effortlessly climb to get to my new feeders! Those squirrels will also climb the window screens to get to the feeders that are suction-cupped to the windows...that just annoys all of us...especially the dog! "Go get'em, boy!"

God's boundless creation is amazing, and I'm so thankful that we have the opportunity to watch it...even if it is for the expensive feed and the annoying squirrels that steal someone else's food!