My happy Day! Mother's Day 2010

Because I work some and John has on days and off days, and because the kids have stuff all the time, it is a rarity sometimes that we have multiple days with nothing to do in a row.  I planned these days around Mother's Day this year and told John I wanted to relax and do nothing for our 5 days.  Now the kids had school and a birthday party but John and I did not have to work, we didn't have to be anywhere specific etc.  John helped me keep my plan and for that I am grateful.  It was a great 5 days and we played games as a family, started our chicken coop, went to church, cooked as a family, stayed up late, watched movies, etc etc.  On Mother's Day Eve we went over to my parents' house and ate with them.  My brother made yummy sangria for me at my request!  On Sunday, we went to church as a family and then came home and enjoyed the best BBQ ever!  My husband is getting so good at smoking things on his new smoker!  The ribs were delicious!  We took a Mother's Day nap and all was well.  I also received the greatest gift.....a homemade DVD personal tribute to me with songs, family video, family pictures, and interviews with the kids and John about why I am special to them....I cried and cried and cried.  It was a wonderful relaxing day!

Fits

Molly now throws temper tantrums on the floor....it is still pretty cute at this point!

A phase

So now that John and I have decided to homeschool, we have started telling people....we have told a few people at church, a few at John's job, a few at my job, etc.  It is hilarious to hear the different responses we get.  Now John has found it amusing to tell people that he is building a chicken coop for the backyard.  Those are even funnier responses!  John said to me today after he told a fire fighter that we saw in Home Depot about our chicken coop in the works..."I love the way people look at me after you tell them we are homeschooling, growing a garden and getting chickens.....We are becoming weirder by the moment."  John mentioned it to my 88 year old grandfather the other day and my grandfather's response was..."Well John (looking kind of perplexed), I guess all of us have to go through phases like that!  I had chickens once too!"  I about fell off my chair laughing...my grandfather is not the type to discourage or talk negatively but he is so sweet in his responses....even when he thinks we are going through a phase!  It was so funny and sooooo my granddad!  It may indeed be a phase but isn't life an adventure and aren't we all so blessed to live in America where we still have choices and can be different and have different ideas and go through life's "phases!"  P.S.  We have checked with the City and the County and there are no ordinances against chickens outside the city limits in which we are.  Now the homeowners association doesn't know and I don't think we are going to ask permission, maybe just forgiveness if we get in trouble!  My brother said he would be my lawyer!  And we found out today that several other Killearn residents have chickens, pet pigeons, and other strange birds....and we have been told the "girls" don't make that much noise!  We are just calling it our "RABBIT" project....I mean rabbits are allowed right!?!?

How I know there is a God!

Nature is definitely one way I connect to my God!  I am always amazed at the detail, the splendor, the awesomeness in nature!  Today I spent some time taking pictures of some of the greatest little miracles to me in Nature, things that are so intricate and detailed that to me prove beyond a doubt that there is an amazing God that created all living things.  One of the coolest things going on in our garden right now is the cucumber growth.  They sprout and grow up and you start seeing these tiny strings growing from the tops.  The strings need something to attach themselves to.  John put up some garden string in between two stakes and within an hour the litle extensions had wrapped themselves around the string to support their growth upward....Now they have grown taller and need more string.  That is so amazing to me!  Our little garden is doing just great and I love watching all the beautiful plants thrive.

A hiking hubby!

John is so cool! I say that becase I totally mean it!  I think my husband is the coolest!  He loves being outdoors, loves challenging himself and he is a woodsy manly man! John and his friend Jeff went up to North GA for three days and two nights to hike the Appalachian Trail.  They started at the real "start point" for the trail (it goes all the way to Maine from Springer Mountain near Amicolola Falls in N. GA).  They hiked, camped on the trail, pottied in the woods, boiled water for mixing up their freeze dried food, and purified their water from the streams.  Some of the hiking was straight up.  It rained the entire 3rd day which was kind of a bummer b/c John said it was a really pretty part of the trail. They met some vey INTERESTING people.....some that they swore were running from the law, some that were hiking the entire trail at once, some that looked like they had lived on the trail all their lives.  They  came across men called "trailrunners" that volunteer to sit at specific points and take note, keep track of those passing by.  The trailrunner at the top of Springer Mountain was this old mountain man with glasses on, no lenses in the glasses and a patch on one eye, and John said he couldn't understand a word the man said!  They learned that everyone has a "trail name".  The man that they hired to take them from their car to the start point so that they could then hike back to their car had a trail name that he went by on a regular basis..."cool breeze."  Jeff named John...UNO and John named Jeff..The Hammer.  It was a great memorable experience for them.  Next time Harriet and I are going with them...maybe her and I and the kids can hang out at a cabin and meet up with them at times...John and Jeff figured out if they did about 1 week a year they could do the whole trail in 25 years.  WOW!

Quote

I like this quote about blogging and I think it is so true of us that blog:

"That’s the beauty of blogging: you just jump right in whether you know anything or not! "

Confessions by Pioneer Woman!

Our Pet Corn Snake

This is the corn snake that hangs out in our back yard in the ferns and poison ivy...eating mice I guess.  We watched him all day long!