teeth!

J.D. lost his first tooth on April 23rd and since then has lost #2!  The first one came out when he was brushing his teeth before school and the second one came out on May 1st eating Zaxby's.  He is so proud and so cute!  The tooth fairy came both times although I will confess forgot the second time and had to come the night after....(our tooth fairy is a little ditsy or maybe just plain tired!).  Our tooth fairy leaves lots of fairy dust all over the bed and pillow and floor when she comes!  Very messy but very sparkly!

Coop

COOP UPDATE:

Our little chicken coop is coming along quite nicely!  On a side note, before John went and bought wood at Home Depot, he happen to come across some old wood at Water Oak Plantation.  He was out there taking Emily to piano lessons one day and saw that behind the barn, they had lots of old wood piled up.  He decided to ask if they were throwing it away.  Aunt Laura said he could have any of it that he wanted!  So he brought home tons of old barn and fence wood that has now become our chicken coop.  It was a litte harder but John is always up for a challenge.  He had to find wood to fit all the measurements he needed which meant he had to make some weird cuts here and there but so far so  good and he hasn't had to buy wood yet!  He also is using a lot of our old hinges from our doors in the house that he replaced when he did our remoldeling and our old towel rack from the bathroom is going to be the chicken perch....so the coop is mostly recycled stuff!  My Aunt D'Anna and my Mother will be so proud!  It also makes it kind of "farm-like."  He will be painting it barn red.  Looks like it might be ready next week!  Now we just have to find chickens!

Social Butterfly

Molly is our social butterfly.  She waves and smiles at everyone, she likes to go up to strangers and look at them, get their attention, and baby talk at them.  She also likes to touch them.  She will often rub someone's shoulder or arm if I am standing next to another grown up.  She has never cried going to he nursery.  She hasn't gone through separation anxiety yet.  She doesn't mind babysitters.  Our friend Kim kept her last week for me to go to work and when I picked her up and said goodbye, she got back down on the floor walked to the door, waved at me and said "bye-bye", and slammed the door in my face!  It would have hurt my feelings but I know she loves me!

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.