Harris Headline

I am OZ!

2011-11-13T15:20:00.000-06:00

So Paxton is outside playing, she comes to the door and incessantly rings the doorbell. I finally relent and go to answer. She is standing there with this long, crooked stick in her hand. She says, "Hello, I have come to visit you." Then she tells me she is playing Dorthy. So I ask, "Who am I, the Wicked Witch." ( I think I have experience at this part...) but she very statedly says, "No, you're the Wizard, because you know things."

Can you see my head growing?????

I must blog more....

2011-11-08T13:07:00.000-06:00

Wow, that was a while back..... I don't blog for lack of things going on. I don't blog,- cause there's too much & I run out of time.... I MUST do better.

Let me catch you up.

The bees have done well. We did a hive inspection a few weeks ago and the hive is strong. If I had chosen to rob the hive, I would have had approximately 15 pints of delicious, golden honey!! WOW. Credit all goes to the bees. We did take a bit of the rouge comb and had a chewy sample. I had not had comb to chew on in years!

I am now a GREAT Aunt. No, that's just not my opinion. I now have a beautiful great niece, Addison and a handsome great nephew Kian (that's cayenne like the pepper NOT Cane like rain.) Both in Colorado.

Did you mention Colorado?? Well we took a family journey there..... in August. Must insert photos here. It was a multipurpose trip, educational, site seeing & family visit. We covered it ALL!

Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo- eye to eye with the giraffes

There's one of those greats, along with all the others that I think are great!!
The other great one was still a 'bun in the oven' during the visit.

looking for gold at the Miner's museum

what caption do you put on this?

by the time we hit Colorado.... our attention span had wavered....

Let's see.... what else... Terry's had a birthday,

killed a turkey.(yum!)

We have held our 5th Houston County Fair

we saw the musical "Wicked"- WOW AwEsOmE show! We dressed up for it!

We and about 37 other of our teammates joined us at the ALS Walk at Centennial Park. (that's a whole another post to catch up on....)

Paxton has turned 7... (wow how'd that get here so fast?)

and along with all of that, we've lost some teeth, started another year of homeschooling, art classes, more dance, American Heritage Girls and now Taekwondo and a bowling league.

We will start our Christmas Season again this year by being in our Houston County Community Theatre's Christmas show "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

I think we are up to date.... I'll be more diligent in the posting....

Metaphor or Simile

2011-06-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

Busy as Bees

A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things by employing the words "like", "as", or "than".

Busy Bees. Now the hive is buzzing. It seems to really be prospering and the activity outside is growing. They find the pool a favorite hang out, but if you don't bother them, they will only investigate you and then move on.

Now these two are "busy as bees". Thanks to them, there is a chance we might have a few tomatoes this summer. Momma brought some started plants. She and Pax went right to work planting them and a few gourd seeds. Terry has jumped in and been helping with the watering!
Everything else in the garden is looking good. All the herbs are strong, heirloom pumpkins and watermelons are up and thriving. The peppers and squash are strong with a few blooms on them. Patiently waiting on the garlic and radishes. But NOTHING will be as delectable as those tomatoes!!

tooth progression...

2011-05-22T22:15:00.000-05:00

Pax has been a LONG time without several teeth. At Christmas she didn't have 2 front teeth and 2 bottom teeth were missing. It really changed her appreance when she lost those teeth, I'm her mom, I think she looks cute without the front teeth, but now the permanent teeth are coming in .... well, frankly.... they're HUGE!!

Her apperance is changing again from sweet toothless grin ..... to a lovely kid face.

She's quite proud to have lost 6 teeth by the age of 6 and have her molars coming in. In her eyes, well, it's a rite of passage. She's becoming a BIG kid.

So here she is in November minus one front tooth & a bottom tooth.

By Christmas she had lost booth top teeth and another bottom tooth.
But here she is making some progress. Both bottom teeth seems to be making their way.

But DON"T WORRY!!! You can still immensely enjoy ice cream even if you are a few teeth shy!

And now the top teeth are coming in and her smile is changing!

time to check the bees

2011-05-08T21:48:00.000-05:00

It is time to check the bees proper gear is a must.	I tired to be well covered. There's too much to think about without having bees crawling on you.

Paxton has already suffered one sting. We didn't take any chances. She was covered from head to toe too. She helped me carry out all the tools and was the photographer of the event.

Here is the hive painted and in its location. We checked the bees once since they were installed in the hive, to ensure the Queen had gotten out. This time I was checking to see if they had started building comb and well--- been busy as bees, should be.

Any YEAH! they have been. They were getting cells ready and capping others. From all that I have learned so far, they were doing exactly what they should be. They were very busy on three frames and a few had started working on the next frames out. The weather was very mild and they were calm when I checked them. This was the first time I had tried to deal with the bees without the aide of my mentors and friends the Latschs. I will count the check as a success since no one was stung! Paxton and I both saw drone and worker bees, but we could not spot our queen. Maybe next week's look, she will show herself.

Recital Sneak Peek!

2011-05-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

Here's last week's rehearsal. The girls are working hard for recital. It's right around the corner! May 28th

The costumes are going to be really cute! Short skirts and sparkles! Of course there will be pictures of that to come.
(Paxton is on the back row with a black top and pink skirt to the viewers right.)

here's the BUZZ...

2011-04-25T23:58:00.000-05:00

It took everyone's help, but we did it! We built a BOX!

We have now increased our livestock to 8,000 head.

Seriously, there are 8,000 bees that live in that little hive. Bees are just the COOLEST creatures ever.

Not so certain we will have much honey by fall, this year, but with a bit of luck and a strong hive, next year may be a bumper crop!

I placed the hive out in the yard, but away from the house, so I could easily care for the bees and watch their activity. I got the hive installed and have looked at it once to see if the queen was loose and the comb was started correctly. IT WAS!!

Next look will be next Friday.....can't wait to see what's happening then. Hopefully, I'll see some brood.

Shoulda built some windows in that box!

Turkey on the table...

2011-04-25T23:49:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Terry we have had fresh turkey twice this season. Not sure if he'll get a chance to go again, but it was yummy! Got one more serving put in the freezer for a later meal. Both were very nice birds. Paxton went a couple times with him, but they didn't get a bird on either of those trips.

Easter

2011-04-25T23:47:00.000-05:00

We had a great Easter.... ok, any holiday that is filled with delicious food, I didn't have to cook is great to me! We had a bounty of food at Terry's family and Paxton and her cousin Olivia were the only two left to hunt eggs after we ate. That's ok, just meant more booty for them to collect. They were surprised this year when a couple of the eggs had MONEY it them!

Our church family also had a fun hunt on Saturday. Several kids there and some fun crafts.

They made these cute washcloth bunnies and a funky cup bird.

Paxton working hard with Kelly who coordinated things and her friend Sarah.

Sarah and Paxton with their loaded buckets.

Yummy and pretty snacks topped the morning hunt off!

Composting: What's Your Composting Sign?: Organic Gardening

2011-04-11T21:42:00.000-05:00

Composting: What's Your Composting Sign?: Organic Gardening

Compost Zodiac

What kind of composter are you?

By Scott Meyer and Beth Huxta

Your garden's future is revealed not by looking at the stars, your palm, or tea leaves but by looking in your compost pile. We've seen countless bins, tumblers, and heaps, talked to the gardeners who filled them, and classified them all into this zodiac. Then we asked experts for hints about how to make the most of your composting style. Whether you are detail-oriented or devil-may-care, a master decomposer or a total newbie, we predict you will strike it rich—with black gold, the best soil builder for your flower and vegetable beds.

The Slacker

Profile: You dump and run, emptying the kitchen scrap bucket only when the stink or the fruit flies overwhelm you. You think you turned your pile once. You think.
Advice: Lucky for you, "compost happens," says Lewis Shell, compost instructor with the Maryland Home and Garden Information Center. You can toss items onto the pile whenever you have them, and you'll get finished compost in about a year. If one day you are struck with a small burst of motivation, get a 2- to 3-foot length of PVC pipe, punch a few holes into it (or easier yet, get perforated pipe), and stick it into your pile. It will bring air to the middle of the pile, which is what those overachievers are doing when they turn their piles.

What's Your Sign?

Monday's storms.

2011-04-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

This is what greeted us when we arrived home Monday afternoon. We must have been driving just in front of this storm. There was lots of damage done in Dickson, not long after we got home. This is a limb off of the Beech tree at the bottom of the driveway. As you can see the driveway also turned into a small creek. There was just enough room to get pulled into the drive. Luckily the house, barns and kennels all were fine. LOTS of limbs down in the yard.

There was quite a pile of logs, and huge pile of brush that will have to be hauled up the drive and burned. Guess I will add that to the long list of 'get r done' list.

We worked in the rain and make quick work of it and the drive was passable again, even if it is a bit bumpy at the bottom.

2011-03-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

We are all so excited Spring is here!! Our hens are excited Spring is here. We can tell they like the extra daylight as our egg production is in high grear. I will have to get out the larger egg basket if the bounty continues like yesterday's. One gold hen acts as if she may be broody, so i have put faux eggs under her in hopes she will stay on the nest and we can hatch some eggs the a'natural way!

Any reason is a good reason to get on the four-wheeler. Dad's purpose was to plant seed, Pax purpose- to drive really fast. Only one accomplished their purpose, see photo of chicken above... Mom let the chickens out... I think Dad's purpose was negated.

I have great help! Yesterday, despite the cold we got outside and tended to one of our beds. From this photo of Pax in tank top and flipflops, it's hard to tell, but it really was cold. I had on coveralls! This bed was reworked and will be dedicated to herbs.

We dug tons of Iris bulbs out of that bed. They are beautiful when they bloom, but we decided to use the space for more gardening.

She was sweet enough to allow the use of her wagon. She gaurds it pretty close. She doesn't want it messed up! We moved a few things around and tried to straighten up a bit.

Annie Jr.

2011-03-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

Can't believe the last post there was snow on the ground and now Spring is almost here. We have been busy, mostly running back and forth to Annie Jr. rehearsals, since about Valentines.

Pax was thrilled to be cast in the show. This is her first show at the Renaissance Center. She has had a ball. This particular show is part of the Y.E.S. series (Young Entertainers on Stage). There are 57 children in the cast, no adults. The cast age range from Kindergartners to Seniors. It has been a great experience from auditions (which, didn't go so well) all the way to opening night.

Six performances are scheduled and this will be the final weekend. It will be bitter sweet to end the show. We are ready for a break, but she will greatly miss seeing the many friends she has made.

Pax is a random orphan and is in one number
"Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"

This is Pax with Annie (Juniper D.) and Kylan R.
another young lady from Erin. This was a
promo shot for the local paper.

Check out the Renaissance Center for more information about the show.

Three Ring Circus

2011-01-22T22:57:00.000-06:00

So today we headed to Nashville to see the "Greatest Show on Earth" the Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus... it truly is a great show. I haven't been to see a circus in probably 20 years. I took my nieces Jessica & Meagan long ago. It was a great show then and today they are still putting on a great show. I think there are fewer animals than "back then", but there was plenty of 'show' involved.

There were tigers ( no lions), elephants, ponies, llamas, donkeys, a steer & all the wonderful elephants!

Yes there was the VW that all the clowns piled out of.

and .... so much more, there were so many performers, just not room on the blog to post all the pictures.

Instead of cool cups with snowcones like there were 20 years ago, now you buy a bag of cotton candy in a wild and crazy hat!

Snow..

2011-01-15T08:48:00.000-06:00

Well more 'glorious' snow has arrived. This time about 2" fell and we have been at home most of the time. As usual our driveway presents our problem. Food supplies have been good. Cookies did run out after day three, but we have held on.

The first day, especially, it wasn't all that cold. The wind wasn't blowing and after a sleding workout, staying warm wasn't a problem. However, keeping gloves dry was.

I had feared our purchase of a sled might hold off the snow, but lucky us!

When there is concern it might melt. Stockpiling seems to be an alternate solution! These were some fun play days. Our hills at home provided some awesome sleding at top speeds.... just gotta watch for the all the trees....

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T13:58:00.000-06:00

Review of our Christmas in photos.

What a holiday season. Our tree looked great, thanks to Paxton. She did the decorating and I just covertly moved a few ornamnets above the 3 foot level.
We baked cookies for Santa and Mims came to help. We had an early Christmas with the Allen family, Christmas at home with Mims & Paps and Christmas at Granny's. Whew... glad we survived that.. now onward to the New Year!

my little Martha Stewart

2010-11-12T20:45:00.000-06:00

Paxton loves to create....

One day she did a video on how to ice cupcakes.....

Recently, she worked on making donut acorns. We were practicing this one.

We might take this to a few holiday events.

Kinda cute huh?

Then our wonderfully, creative, friend Jane Latsch help to teach us how to make these Christmas napkins. Once folded they look like Christmas trees.

And since we were finally back at the sewing machine.... (haven't sewn in ages... really sad) we made this apron too.

Birthday Number Six

2010-11-12T20:33:00.000-06:00

Well, it has happened! My baby turned SIX! and shortly after, she lost two more teeth. Loosing teeth really rate high on her scale of maturing! Number Six was a lot of fun. Of course our trip to the beach was the big event earlier, but we couldn't let a birthday go by with out cake and a few presents!

She requested a Farm Girl Cake. Ofcourse Mims complied. Cake complete with horse, pond, ducks, cows and more!

I finally found a PINK bathrobe in time for her birthday. It was a hit!

Any birthday is great when you are surrounded by family!

2010 Houston County Fair

2010-09-29T20:25:00.000-05:00

The Houston County Fair went over well this year. This year a Jr. Fair Board formed and were a tremendous help in all aspects of the event. Even so it was an exhausting three days. Lots of work goes on before and after the event.

Some of the movers and shakers of the Fair.

One of the first things they helped with was painting the creepy green bathroom. Now, it's a fresh clean white.

Manpower was another great resource from the Jr. Board.

(l to r) Matty, Gav, Dougie, Alexander & Chas

Hannah received a Blue Ribbon for her quilt. I was so proud! It was a quilt we had worked on together. She has a great eye for color.

I got lucky and placed second with my knitted hat, and yes there were more than two entries.

Mims & Paxton walked the 5K. I was so proud of both of them. Paxton was smiling as she came across the finish line & was cheered on by the crowd waiting at the finish. She also received a big hug from her friend Zach at the finish. They both finished second in their age bracket. The 5K was a new under taking for the Fair and was held under my chairmanship. I have never attended a run, much less organized one before. I had some great support help and we had a very successful race with 50 runners. I was very excited.

Now to clean up - put up and move on to our next adventure!

Charlotte's Web Review in Stewart Houston Times

2010-09-15T08:32:00.001-05:00

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20109140316

Here's a link to our local paper. There is a nice article about the show & a few pictures. Paxton is the first gosling on the left..... the one NOT looking, so you have a picture of the TOP of her HEAD!! LOL
Love my KID!

Fair Information

2010-09-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, Margaret there really are Dolphins out there!

2010-08-21T07:54:00.000-05:00

We have made it to our vacation spot... Tybee Island, GA and......

Wow, there really are Dolphins out there! I know, I read it on the website of the tourist information, but i figured "yeah, yeah, sure, we'll never see one". But they are really out there! Sorry no live shots, it's kinda hard to snap a photo of a dolphin fin popping in and out of the water, but they are so close, like probably 20 yards!! We saw them first thing when we got to the beach and have seen them several times since. They are so graceful. Anyway....

We are having a great time! Paxton LOVES the beach & the sand. Can't say the rest of us are so fond. Sand, sand everywhere.... The beach here is very peaceful. There are few people here and mostly adults and young children so the beach isn't packed. There are tiny shells to pick up and we have even spotted a jellyfish washed up.

Isn't this sweet? and .. (no it wasn't posed)

We toured the Tybee Lighthouse. We all climbed the 178 steps to the top. Reminder... it's one of the tallest lighthouses....My calf's are screaming today. But it was an incredible view of the ocean, river, & you could see all the way over to Hilton Head, SC. That's approximately 6 miles across!

One more day.... not sure how we will spend it. Relaxing on the beach sounds good to me.

We're staying busy....

2010-08-13T11:45:00.001-05:00

So school has been going on for us for a couple of weeks now. I think we are off to a great start. Of course remember, those opinions expressed here are mainly MINE!! LOL Not sure all involved would agree. We have taken on a couple of subjects and extra activities; most of which are getting started this week. We are taking a sign language class together, and Paxton is taking ballet and jazz and this year she added an extra hour of tumbling. Soon the arts council classes will start up and my tap class will start and Paxton will either take another type of dance or the skits (acting) class again.

SLIP N SLIDE FUN

Believe it or not... we do have a few fun days. Paxton's friend Lyrin came over and of course the weather is just right for some Slip N Sliding.

CUZ CREEK DAY

Then we meet another day with our cousins for what has become an annual creek swimming day. We meet up when the Louisiana cousins come for their Tennessee visit. We found a great spot to have lunch under a tiki hut and then hauled the chairs to the creek bank and everyone got wet, ... well at least up to our knees!

I threw this one in... it's just my current favorite!

Our Life as Thespians .....

2010-07-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

Well it looks like our lives as thespians will continue... for a few more weeks anyway....
Paxton auditioned for Charlotte's Web and got 2 parts. She is a gosling and baby spider number one.
She was really excited... baby spider number one... HAS LINES!!! She already has them memorized!!
Her only disappointment is the baby spiders don't come on till the very end of the show.

Lots of our friends are in the show and we anticipate more weeks of fun together.

Show dates are September 10, 11 & 17, 18. You can get tickets by calling 931-289-ARTS (2787). We will even get to do a show for the elementary schools! What a treat for us and them too. It's a great way to get the arts into the school system.

2010-07-13T01:30:00.000-05:00

My Fair Lady

2010-07-13T00:56:00.001-05:00

My Fair Lady opened to rave reviews by those in attendance and from the local newspaper. The Leaf Chronicle & The Stewart Houston Times. We had crowds of over 100 at three of the five shows and set a Houston County Community Theatre attendance record. It was sad to see the show close. It was a great cast and crew to work with. Even though few of us are professionals, everyone took the job seriously, worked hard and strove for perfection. The hard work showed in the results. Thanks to everyone who came out in support of me to see the show. This one is in the books and the next one is already in the works. Tonight was auditions for Charlotte's Web. Paxton did a good job on her audition. She is coming a long way since her first one.

I was awarded the Chalis one night by my friend Bill.

The smiles and laughter went on through all the shows.

One of my favorite scenes. This really needs to be a video to appreciate Fred's performance as Doolittle!

My Birthday

2010-06-26T08:56:00.002-05:00

I have had a wonderful birthday!!

It felt like the entire world was celebrating hearing all the retro music from back in the day ...... played because it also was the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death...

Paxton & I had a great breakfast--- did nothing--- ran to town for a few errands--- then it was SHOW TIME!!

Last night was opening night for My Fair Lady. The cast sang Happy Birthday and gave me a some very cute, sweet & funny cards. Someone even slipped me some 'chocolates'! The show went very well. All the rehearsals and re-rehearsals and dress rehearsals and GRAND dress rehearsals were worth effort and the effort paid off. We had a very active audience that laughed (they got all the funny lines & play on words) and enjoyed the performance. It always changes the tenor of things when you have that feedback out in the audience.

After the show, the cast stayed for pizza, not because it was my birthday, but because we were all STARVING and there is NO where to get food in our sleepy town after 9:00 pm. They did have a cake for me and a special present-- certificate for a MASSAGE--- can't wait to use that!! It was fun to relax and enjoy everyone's fellowship and replay the show.

Looking forward to a great run of the show & more memories to be made.

Community Theatre

2010-06-19T07:01:00.001-05:00

We are going into the last week of rehearsals and so far things are going well. We do have four more rehearsals to work out any kinks. This is a fun cast and they have been working hard for MANY months. Most folks don't realize the numerous hours that are put into preparations for the show and not just the rehearsal time. There are many miles and hours spent acquiring props, costumes, set pieces and more. My Fair Lady is a musical so there have been lots of choreography and music rehearsals before we ever began show rehearsals. The talent level in our show is nothing to scoff at and perfection level is high. We all hope you will come support our hard work and see one of our performances. You'll love seeing the costumes and dance numbers and will leave humming a tune. You might even say.... so that's where that song is from!

Just to brag a bit more..... here a promo for the show, watch just a bit...

Family Vacation

2010-06-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

What do you do on vacation? Sit by the pool......

and swim in the pool with cousins....

and then you pan for gems!

There is also a lot of overeating and napping going on that I neglected to take pictures of... primarily because I was involved in both activities.

Dance Recital

2010-06-08T11:31:00.001-05:00

Miss Amy's World Premier 2010 Dance Recital was a huge success.

All the ballerinas were beautiful and danced well. I was very amazed at how much more the girls could remember this year in a routine compared to what they could remember last year. This year there were 16 in the class and how Miss Amy ever got them 'wrangled' each week is a feat on it's own. They worked hard and learned two routines for recital. One was a jazz dance to "Walk Like a Dinosaur" and a ballet about friends. Both were hits!!

Paxton is the fourth from the right.

Of course she had her own fan club there.

Mom was super proud!! It's worth every mile to drive and every minute waiting at lessons each week!

Every Dance Diva needs a special treat after an astounding performance!!

Violin Recital

2010-05-27T09:02:00.001-05:00

tuned up and ready

doesn't she look tiny on the stage!

The "year" is quickly winding down. May is always busy with those activities. We have been busy rehearsing for dance recital (2 dances this year!) and violin lessons finished up last week. The music classes all have a joint recital that is optional. Paxton wanted to perform and did a splendid job. She knew only the girls that take lessons in the time slot before her and chose to sit with them over sitting with Terry & I. Students sit in the audience and are called to the stage at their turn. She was about fifth to perform so it gave her an opportunity to see a few other children and get the idea to go on stage bow, perform & bow again. She looked so very confident on stage, but on the way home, she expressed, "Momma there was something wiggling in my tummy while I was on stage!" She played two short pieces, but it felt to her as if she were on stage for an hour.

update in photos

2010-05-24T19:42:00.000-05:00

Nothing like Mother Nature helping you with a science lesson. Not sure the snake agreed, but we put him loose in the garden, then we

picked our first crop of strawberries. They were pretty tasty, even if they were not plentiful.

And Summer Camp is open and the fish were biting..... no hesitation from us we loaded up the boat and two granddaddies and off we went.........

When you are finished with a hard day of fishin' you lay back and relax!

Dress Rehearsal

2010-05-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Clean Up....

2010-05-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

The clean up has begun immediately here in our county. It is amazing how quickly folks are doing their best to get back going. The store (Wells Creek Market) was a loss. I stopped by to visit with the current owner and it was so sad to see the destruction. I hope they can get the building repaired quickly and back in business. We certainly miss having the convenience of that convenience store! We were working at JB's and had to go across town to get lunches and drinks.

Gas is a bit of a crisis here in town. We lost two gas stations here and I think there has been some difficulty getting gas out of Nashville and then finding accessible roads to here as well.

The Lord has really watched over us. We have been out of water since late Saturday night, but amazingly we are getting by. We have had enough water pooling that I have been able to water the poultry, Mister our horse is seemingly conserving his water as he still has close to a half barrel still remaining. If all things were normal and had not watered him since Saturday he would be dehydrated. My in laws have had water so we have been over there in the evenings to shower and she has even provided us with a delicious dinner!

JB's clean up has gone well. The Lord has provided there as well. Two guys that 'scrap' for a living came by and offered to haul off the stuff. There is no way we could have moved all the old mowers and tin that they have taken off. He will now need to get the tractor and a dozer out to move the large rocks back on the creek bank and level the yard back off.

I will have to go back and take few photos of the clean up.

Record rains cause flooding.

2010-05-02T18:55:00.005-05:00

We are having record rainfall here. The waters are overflowing everywhere. It was not looking good yesterday afternoon when we were out and overnight proved to be disastrous.

This boat is standing on end. It traveled about 1.5 miles to lodge against the bridge at the Welcome sign. Now how ya gonna get it back?

This the road I take to town. There are other roads that are totally washed out. I expect the highway to Dickson to wash out at as well. It was cracking this morning when we went out to church.

This is the diesel pump at our old store, Wells Creek Market.

Water was reported to be 5+ feet high inside the store.

This is where the business next door to the store USED to be.

The daycare on the other side didn't fare any better.

The Elementary School across the street also had high water.

This is where JB's (my father in law) mower business USED to be. The entire building washed out and landed in pieces several yards away.

We hope to help him recover tools tomorrow.

This is another view of the house. They rent the house to another couple now.

The water didn't get too far into the house.

Paxton has played in the rain and on the porch the last two days. She has started to grasp only slightly the damage it has caused. There are many in our community who are displaced and will need clean up help. So much of our county is "low" and many folks live on creeks and in low spaces.

Our Cow...

2010-04-30T12:01:00.001-05:00

OK, it's NOT really OURS.. but we do own a share.... we'll probably if you did the math, we own the tail, but nevertheless... we now have a source for FRESH, CLEAN (no added stuff) milk!! It's coming straight from the udder to us!

I can't wait for the next gallon and all that glorious cream!! FRESH BUTTER!! & Fresh Whipped Cream too!!

2010-04-12T10:41:00.000-05:00

Our first attempt at cinnamon rolls made with soft red wheat... they were yummy!! will do these again!

Dressed for Easter.

What you do when the TV is off! LOVE IT!

First turkey taken this spring. Two fine hunters here.

spring update

2010-04-10T02:37:00.000-05:00

Has it really been a month since I have sat down to write?? WOW! It's definitely not because of lack of activity to write about.... we have been on GO since early March.
We have had our BIG 48th Annual Irish Day celebration in our town. It was a huge success. I took a much diminished roll in the events this year. I spent most of the day helping in my Fair Board roll in a concession stand at the Demo Derby. We had a great turnout for that. We could not have asked for better weather for the event. Of course, we all felt we were due a good year.... we have had cold, rain and storms for the last several.

Paxton participated in the Kick Off Celebrations again this year. She had outgrown her 'leprechaun' dress from last year and Mrs Mary Chappell was kind enough to make us a new one. Mrs. Nina Finley had crocheted some Irish themed hats for the Friends of the Library and we found a perfect one for the occasion. Her doll was even decked out in her own celebratory attire!

Here she is with her friend Izzy at the Kick Off Breakfast.

Then we just rolled right into Easter. We went to three fun hunts. Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Cathy hosted a fantastically fun hunt for the Storytime Kids. Again, we were blessed with a wonderfully warm sunny day. We put the eggs over in the park and the kids had a lot of eggs and space to hunt them in. Paxton found the most and added a chocolate bunny to the basket.

We load up our baskets with candy then head back to the Library to have more delicious treats!

We have a fantastic youth group at church. The weather was not so great for this hunt, but the older youth came and hid eggs. We had to use the auditorium, but they were very creative in their efforts at hiding. Everyone had fun. The fellowship with the children was great. Paxton just relishes all the chances she get to be with other children. She was really meant to be born in a household with a dozen children. She would love the Duggar house!

We spent Easter at Pattye & JB's. The meal was of course better than ever and we got to visit with lots of the 'city' family that came to be with us. We are excited for our summer family trip this year. We are going to a new location and have lots of fun planned. Looking forward to some creek playing and late night card games!

It was also a sad day Easter. I found a home for two of our three horses. We were not riding them and it was an extra expense we needed to pass on. A man in Manchester and his wife came to get them after Easter dinner. Mister, who is 25+ will always have a home with us. He is officially Paxton's horse. She really enjoys riding him and the independent feeling she has on him. She has been currying him and keeping his feet clean now that the weather has improved. He'll get plenty of attention and not feel lonely.

We have started working in our raised beds and making plans for where and what to plant. Momma and Paxton got some Marigolds and those are planted in our flower bed. We found some voluntary Cilantro and Parsley in the bed when we were weeding it out. That was an exciting find! We'll add some Basil and Rosemary and lettuce in that bed and I will anxiously plant the tomatoes back in the large pots. Hopefully we add a few more vegetables and have enough for dinner each week. First we must tackle the winter weeds!

I think that gets us caught up from the last month. The summer will be busy winding up dance lessons, music lessons and starting vacation plans, swim lessons, camping and lots of rehearsals. I will be the stage manager for "My Fair Lady". It will open the end of June and play for three weekends..... there'll be more to come

catching up & organizing....

2010-03-01T20:12:00.002-06:00

seems like that's what I'm doing all the time yet, I'm still not finished nor can't seem to find anything!

I have gotten back on track with my cooking thanks to my friend Alicia and encouraging bloggers, especially Kelly @Faithful Prov and @crystalpaine aka Money Saving Mom. Reading these two bloggers got me on the move again and the house smells yummy! I was fairly successful at my attempt at bread making this time. You know it's always a surprise to see what the same ingredients, cooked in the same manner, will turn out to be! It wasn't pretty, but it is good. A delicious meat loaf is in the oven, (recipe from moneysavingmom.com) and waiting for supper, now.

In an effort to continue to improve our diets and health, I went to the Franklin Farmer's Market. I know it was a HAUL... but I was part of the way there anyway picking up consignment clothes. I found some great organic producers. They were all so nice, to explain things. The only drawback is no one is this way!! Don't they know folk in this area want to be healthy too?? I got some milk & cream from Hatcher Family Dairy. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, there is a difference in fresh milk. It is delicious!! I am now on the search for someone reasonably close. It just isn't feasible to drive that far for a gallon of milk. I made fresh butter from the cream and it is so sweet and good on the toast and I put a bit in our corn last night and WOW was that good.

I also got a Shiitake Mushroom log while I was at the Farmers Market. Yeah, I didn't know they made these either?? But basically it's a live cut log, with holes bored in it & covered with beeswax. You put the log in the shade & wait. Gather the few mushrooms it produced and then soak the log in the pond for a day, wait and more mushrooms will grow. I figure $20 was cheap, if it produced only a few 'shrooms. We like them here, cooked especially. The fella was telling me about drying them too...

I also found a great planner "The Well Planned Day" to try to use to keep our school days on track and focused. It has other resources in it like meal planning as well. Funny how that keeps coming up?? So day one (today) I actually used the planner and planned a meal. Put a smiley face on my chart!

I have also moved my blog to Wordpress. That's no small feat & I'm still trying to figure out how to get some of the sidebar items on here. (a long with a few other tweaks) I'll keep my Blogspot up for a bit longer. So if you're a Wordpress user and have that figured out along with how to edit autosave feature, please let me in on it.

I also finally followed thru on my committment to build the Celtic Quilt Trail its own site. I have had a link for it on the Chamber's site for quite a while, but had told Debbie, the Quilt Trail founder, I would 'fix' her, her own site. So take a second and check that out. www.celticquilttrail.com This is a great tourism tool for our county and Debbie has done yeoman work on it.

I think that has me up to date??

Valentines Party

2010-02-14T00:50:00.002-06:00

Valentines is another FUN holiday and this one has been no different. But not unlike the rest of the holidays in recent years, it didn't get celebrated on the actual day. Ours was celebrated today on the 13th. Paxton had a party at church with the youth group. Our Youth Leaders do a great job and work hard at it. The older set of the group went bowling, while the younger set stayed at the church building and made a craft, watched UP and played games. I didn't get as many pictures as usual, I was too busy playing and eating too!!

In the middle of all the other things going on the older youth were in the building working on their service project. They made cupcakes and cards for the widows. Allison, Laurie and Hannah are working hard on their icing technique.

One of the games we played was to see who could stack the most conversation hearts in a timed race. The boys got creative and smart and made platforms and built stable towers.

This one is Emily's. Hers was pretty and stable and had a LOT of hearts in it, which was the goal. The boys were also upset, because she beat them at bowling. They claimed she cheated because she had the bumpers up. We just figured she was smarter for taking that option!

Wish I had taken a picture of the young ones making their craft. They made paper heart wreaths. I also introduced them to a cake walk. What fun that was! We actually made it a 'prize' walk. I had a basket of 'happy meal' toys and we used those for prizes instead of cakes.

In the evening, Paxton went with Mims and Paps to the Renaissance Center to see the Mandy Barnet Show. They had a wonderful evening. Paxton and Mims are big Mandy fans. Paxton got Mandy's autograph and gave her a special Valentine. Terry and I had an equally wonderful time here in the Big City. We went to see the Houston County Community Theatre's production of Some Enchanted Evening. It was a dinner and musical show. It is some of the best entertainment and it's here in our back yard!

Tea Party

2010-02-11T22:53:00.001-06:00

We just have absolutely the BEST Library & Staff of anywhere. Today they hosted a Valentine Tea Party for the storytime kids. It was complete with fancy decorations, fancy food, tea cups and tea served from tea pots.

Olivia & Paxton using Pinky Etiquette.

Preparations began last week with the making of the Valentine boxes. Mrs. Kaye had a variety of decorations and the mayhem and gluing began. The results were beautiful!

Then they were stuffed with colorful sentiments of fond friendship.

Everyone came dressed in their finest and waited patiently for the delicacy to be served.

Isn't this a great looking group!

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2010-02-06T22:52:00.000-06:00

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Snow Day

2010-01-30T13:13:00.004-06:00

We now have what I would consider a "good" snow. The grass & leaves are completely covered. You can walk in the snow and make deep tracks. The roads are pretty rough, even though they got them salted before the snow fell. We'll be here till at least Tuesday I figure. Glad it came on the weekend.

Paxton claimed it as the "Best day of my life." yesterday. We had enough snow to make a snowman and to sled and to make snow cream. Our snowman was the equivalent of a dwarf, but we both got tired of the process before he got too tall.

We don't have a sled. Do we really need one for no more snow than we get each year? It would just take up space in the barn and collect dirt daubers. But this is a pretty good snow..... so being the Southern Rednecks we are ..... we made do with what we had. A feed sack and a rope. You'd be surprised... these are not the feed sacks from your grandpa's day. It was a ball.... well except for the part where I had to do the pulling!

The snow cream was delicious!! I made sure it was white snow, clean untrodden & I hope it had snowed long enough to get all the "global warming" pollutants ou t of the sky. : ) Now that was a great treat. We may have to have some more today.

By the time we came back in the mittens were crusty with snow, the cheeks a rosy glow and the toes and fingers tingly!

90 Day Plan

2010-01-24T16:23:00.004-06:00

Well is it a failure or success?? I am behind again in my reading plan. Been too busy to be on Twitter and forgot to check in on the session last Monday....
BUT I have read some amount each night....
SO I am not counting it as a failure. I am much further ahead in a daily reading goal than I have ever been.
I got my new Bible and I love the layout and the NIV version. It has definitely made it much easier reading.

Pretzels

2010-01-09T18:54:00.003-06:00

Today we made pretzels. It's cold outside and with the snow on the ground, seems like all we want to do is GRAZE. What better to graze on than some BREAD!!

I found the recipe on another blog, Frugal Upstate, seemed easy enough and it was!! We wouldn't win any awards for 'Pretty'. They didn't pretzel out very well. The last batch we just ended up making sticks. (it didn't affect the taste!) We tried both the salty and the cinnamon versions. It was a hard call to say which was best. If we had just had some cheese to dip a few in too!!

90 Days update

2010-01-08T20:03:00.004-06:00

well... I am still doing my challenge to read the Bible in 90 Days, however I never thought that I'd be behind in the first week...

I knew realistically over the course of 90 days, I'd probably get behind at some time, just didn't think it'd be so soon. There is a great group on Twitter to follow and get support from. On Monday's there is TwitChat about the previous week's reading. I bought the Bible in 90 Days version. It is a nice, hardback, Bible with the reading marked on the pages. It makes it nice to follow. Supposedly the success rate increases when you are using this version. I hope this is true!

I hope my next post can say... "I'm ahead"

Tooth Fairy stopping at Harris house tonight!

2010-01-03T14:16:00.005-06:00

This morning was a BIG day in the Harris family. Pea lost her first tooth. This is such a landmark in growing up in her eyes. She had questioned the dentist at her last check up about when would this happen. He told her it was early yet and would probably be another year. (so momma thought too!)

I surely didn't know anything was loose and Pea only said this morning AFTER pulling it that she "told me yesterday" that her tooth hurt eating her Subway sandwich. Did she really tell me that???

Anyway... first thing this morning she stops in her tracks leaving her bedroom and says, "Wait Momma, I feel something." Next thing I know she's holding out her tooth to me!! I am sure my jaw dropped! Of course we had to wake Daddy & show him.

She was quite proud of herself and had lots of questions about how things would work now, how's she gonna eat, will it hurt, does she have to use her toothbrush, does she even have to brush, when's the new tooth coming, what's it gonna look like, will it bleed anymore, when's the tooth fairy coming, do we have to write her a letter??????

So at church today she shows everyone and you could even tell by her carriage, she felt older. She went home with her friend Lyrin as planned. She barely said goodbye in her excitement to go with Lyrin.

On the way home..... I cried! What a bummer day for me!

Ringing in the New Years

2010-01-01T21:39:00.003-06:00

Even though all the holidays we celebrate are one day events on the calendar, it seems as though it takes several days to celebrate them. So like Christmas and all the others, it took more than one day to celebrate the New Year.

Paxton and I spent New Year's Eve with Mims & Paps and then she & I took an impromptu trip to the movies. We left planning to just see Alvin & the Chipmunks, but then I remembered our Q for the Princess and the Frog, so we decided, since it was a holiday, we'd celebrate big and see TWO movies in one night (can't let a good Q go to waste!)!! What a night of indulgence it was!! We had TWO Big Buckets of popcorn and TWO Big Sprites, a LARGE Maggie Moo Waffle Cone and a LARGE Hot dog. I just knew one of us would get sick before the night was over. We just had a ball together. I love times spent like that. We both liked Alvin & the Chipmunks, it had funny scenes and good music. The Princess and the Frog I was a little disappointed in. I had been under the impression it was a 'different' princess tale, where hard work pays off.... but in the end, the gal got her dream because she married into money! But other than that it was a great Disney movie.

New Year's Day was spent with the Harris family. We got filled with great food and fellowship. Paxton got the opportunity to spend some more time with her cousins. We probably stayed longer than expected because instead of taking leftovers home for dinner..... we were still there at dinnertime and we just ate again there.

I hope each of you have a wonderful new year and achieve all your goals.

The Bible in 90 Days

2010-01-01T21:38:00.000-06:00

Bible in 90 Days

I am taking this challenge. Come join me! I figure even if I don't make it 90 days or if it takes me 100 days, it's a goal I haven't yet achieved. It will be a challenge to find time to make my brain stop to concentrate, but I will try. Pray that I can stop the multi-tasking long enough to make this a habit and daily routine.
Please join me and the group of other online readers.
More info and support at Mom's Toolbox

Preparations for Santa.

2009-12-24T22:41:00.000-06:00

Well today has been a great day at home mostly. Terry spent most of yesterday in the ER in Erin and in Dickson. After more than 10 hours, we don't know any more than we did when we left, but at least there is no more pain. Possible Gall Bladder troubles or cholesterol meds causing trouble with liver...but anyway....

Today has been spent together at home. We even did some schooling, much to Paxton's dislike. She wasn't buying the fact that she got off a couple extra days earlier in the week... all she knew was it is Christmas EVE... this is SPECIAL time and I should have the JOY in my HEART and not make her do school. She is quite the debator!.. Wonder what she'd say if I suggest school tomorrow right after presents! LOL

Terry had to work this evening, so Paxton and I attended a Christmas service with some friends of ours. It has become a tradition and we enjoy the opportunity to reflect on all the meanings of the holiday.

As soon as we got home though it was down to business... time to make THE cookies.

She is SUCH a HAM!

writing our letter to let Santa know there is hay in the barn for the reindeer.

Cookies are ready... just gotta go get the milk!

Christmas Celebrations

2009-12-24T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well the celebrations started last week and we have just continued from then on. Last Saturday we met in Goodletsville with Momma's family. It has been a tradition for some time that we all gather on the Saturday before Christmas. As with any family gather the food is delicious and the time too short. Aunt Jo always works HARD to make our celebrations fun and this year was no different.

She had the place decorated for us and games and presents for the children. We are still deciding who is the biggest MONKEY in the family.

Annabell and Pax are among the youngest and they just have a blast.

Frosty and Frosty Jr came again this year.

and Mr & Mrs Claus made their grand appearance.

Sunday we celebrated with Terry's family. It worked out best with everyone's schedule to go ahead and do the presents then. We will enjoy a Christmas Day lunch with them as well. Of course it was a fun evening with the kids opening hordes of gifts from Granny & Granddaddy.

Present opening is hard work!

Thankfully everyone still likes playing with dolls.

We ended the evening by going to church with the children and watching their Christmas play. They did a wonderful job.

not sure how they got the part, but Laken & Hannah were angels?

Santa's visit

2009-12-14T11:19:00.000-06:00

Off we went Saturday with 90% of the rest of Nashville to the Opry Mills Mall and to Bass Pro Shops to see Santa. It was a hour wait, but I must say it was endured very well. Of course the hour wait only resulted in a 30 second visit with Santa, but I think the main items on the list were conveyed.

"A Christmas Carol" had a great run!

2009-12-08T14:19:00.003-06:00

We had a great run of our show. EVERYONE did a great job, but honestly, I think Pax was the ONLY one who was asked for an autograph!!

I was honored to recieve the chalice. (the hat on my head) It is awarded the first night by the director to a cast or crew member, then that person passes it on and so forth each night of the show. The last person to recieve it, gets to keep it. It is a great honor to be given this by your peers.

Here is a photo of the entire cast and crew,

and a close up of the CrAzY kids!

They were a great group that was willing to work hard and listen!

Paxton and I appreciate all who were able to come out to the show to support us!

We hope to get do another show soon!

Last Rehearsal.....

2009-12-03T14:19:00.004-06:00

Well tonight is GRAND Dress Rehearsal... that means we do it all just like there was an audience and see what happens!

It is truly amazing how things pull together. It seemed at one point that things would never flow... but we have had three good rehearsals with EVERYONE in the cast present. That makes a world of difference.

Unfortunately our Director, Nancy Nave has been out the last two due to illness. We hope to really impress her tonight with our progress!

Paxton has really done well, to get herself taken care of and ask for help from others when she needs it. I am struggling to remember my own parts and she has hers down pat.

Up Goes the Christmas Tree.

2009-11-28T18:38:00.003-06:00

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. We managed to stuff our bellies twice on Thanksgiving day and fellowship with many of our family. Paxton had a full day playing with cousins and second cousins with a quick nap during travel between. Her favorite dishes this year were the sausage balls and carmel pie. In my opinion EVERYthing was delicious and just to be certain, I had seconds of some dishes.

Terry left Friday morning to go to Kentucky deer hunting with some friends. So far it has not been a successful trip. Paxton and I ventured out hunting Black Friday. We spent most of our time in McKay's Books then had a "girls" lunch at Red Robin. Our favorite place Fugiyama's was closed, we were both disappointed, but RR was pretty good.

We have had a few days off from our rehearsals during Thanksgiving. I hope everyone's memory holds on to all we had rehearsed, we only have four rehearsals till SHOW TIME! So once Monday rolls around... we'll be hard at it for the next week.

SO... while we had time AND while I had "ELF" laborers... up went the Christmas tree today.

Hannah and Laken were over and the girls had a "ball" decorating. They did a great job and helped clean up too!

I even have presents wrapped! WOW... I am further along than expected. I'll have to check my list twice....

Fancy Nancy Book Release

2009-11-16T16:28:00.003-06:00

I just love this picture! It was an accidental snap, but what a lucky shot.

Saturday Paxton and I and her friend Lyrin went to Borders Books on West End, for a book release party for the new Christmas Fancy Nancy book.The girls were dressed in their best Fancy Nancy attire and away we went. The new story was great and the were able to do a fun craft. It included making a paper chain. On the chain they were asked to write things they were thankful for. I was so proud of both girls. Neither had any trouble of thinking of things they were thankful for. They were both thankful for true blessings, such as family, friends, frogs, bees, horses.... not silly or material things.They both worked hard and did a great job with their handwriting. I would help them spell the words and they both did their own writing. We lucked up and it was a WONDERFUL Fall day. We went to McD's and got our lunch to go and ate over at Centennial Park. The park was full of folks, but they both got ample time to slide and slide and slide.....

How blessed I am to get to spend days like these with my child. I hope she remembers them for many years.

Chef Paxton

2009-11-11T16:52:00.002-06:00

Chef Paxton

Not much has really been post worthy lately, but today has been a BIG day.

The 'little girl' banister came down. We had installed an extension on the banister going upstairs, shortly after she learned to walk, so it would be safer for Pax to climb. We probably could have taken it down a few months ago, but today was the day we finally got the tools out.

And at last Paxton can TIE her OWN SHOES!! That has been a big hairy deal! I would like to think I can take credit?? but really I think her friend Lyrin made the 'bells' go off. I have been trying to show her and say it, but she just couldn't find the 'hole' the rabbit goes into. She and Lyrin were in her room talking one day as Lyrin was getting ready to leave. I think Lyrin was showing Paxton how she does it. Anyway the next day, Paxton could do it!

A Star is Born Again

2009-10-22T14:56:00.005-05:00

Mark your calendars!! Paxton will be in the Houston County Community Theatre's production of a "Christmas Carol". She will be a school child, street child, want and flower child. If you ask her, she's staring in the show! I am not sure there are even any lines she has to say, but it really doesn't matter to her. It's about being on stage and being with her Theatre friends.

I have been asked to be the Stage Manager. I don't know what the job requirements are for this, but if they're willing to give me a try, I'm willing to give the job a try.

So, please don't ask us to do, go, help or anything out of the ordinary for November. Every night of the calendar is full. But we can't wait for the excitement to start next week!

Play dates are December 4, 5, 6.

Disney Trip

2009-10-14T22:08:00.010-05:00

Wow, I meant to blog each day about our trip, but as all things Disney... nothing was free and Internet connection was costly. So finally I am trying to remember and summarize our FABULOUS trip!

I think this one photo says it all! I wish I could have caught the changes in her expression in succession as she watched this show's story unfold.

In our excitement we managed to drive all the way in one long day. I was able to get us an extra night at our hotel and then we didn't have to unload and move again on Monday. I was glad. That way Monday morning we were ready to head out. No wasting time!

So we hit Animal Kingdom first. It was a nice park and probably rates third on our list of favorites.

We saw many animals, as in a zoo and then lots of Disney extras, like the ambiance. Each area impersonated a specific country or region. The Tree of Life was spectacular and the Bugs Life 3-D show held there was neat. We snagged lots of signatures at the end of the day, before we left the park. It was a full day, but we still didn't see it all.

Tuesday we were up EARLY we had breakfast reservations at Ohana's, at the Polynesian Resort. It was a delicious breakfast and Paxton spotted the "Castle" from afar. We had great interactions with Pluto & Stitch, Mickey & Lilo. We went back to our room and got our gear to head out to the Magic Kingdom. That park rated number one on everyone's picks. We had pretty good timing that day. Daisy Duck was just getting to Main Street as we came in and as we approached the Castle a show was starting in front of it. Ride waits weren't too long, but boy was it HOT. Orlando area was having record highs for October. It was in the mid 90's all week. We hit many of the main rides and late in the afternoon Paxton changed into her Snow White dress and we got our Trick or Treat tickets and the park really started to change. There were so many folks dressed up. The adults really got into it as well. We talked to one lady in a line dressed as Snow White and Paxton just KNEW she was the real thing. We couldn't take a photo with her or it would get her in trouble. But here's one with Paxton and the Evil Witch from Snow White.

We made it to the parade route, but too late to get a spot that we could really see things well. But the crowd moved around after the parade and we got a good spot to see the Villains show on the Castle stage. Paxton loved that and her interaction with the 'Witch' . When she got back from talking with her Paxton said, "Momma, she thinks I am really Snow White!"

By Wednesday we were starting to slow down, but even after an early morning and late night the day before it was hard to sleep late. Just too much excitement. We headed out for Epcot and by the time we reached the park, Pax was asking if we could get one of those strollers. I was secretly ready to get a stroller to tote the backpack. That thing got heavy fast. We had to pack our dress again, because later that evening we had dinner planned with the Princess'. Epcot rated bottom on our list of favorites, but it had by far one of the COOLEST rides, Soarin'. All my Facebook friends were sending notes to be sure and ride that one so Paxton & I did. Terry sat this one out for fear of getting motion sickness. There was also a really cute Nemo show there too.

Dinner with the Princess was in the Norway area and was splendid. I wasn't sure we could hold out till then, but it was well worth it. The meal was delicious and the princess were all so sweet to Paxton. She was treated to a fancy cupcake and a birthday card signed by them all. A spectacular ending!
Thursday, we headed out to Hollywood Studios. It was getting harder to take everything in. We saw some favorite characters and some neat shows. We didn't ride too many rides there. The Muppet 3D show was my favorite there. Not sure Pax understood all the humor, but she laughed right along. High School Musical show was a high point and getting a braid in Paxton's hair ranked pretty high too. Here's a picture of us under a 'magical' umbrella. It rained when you stood in the right spot and you can see the braid.

We headed over to Disney Downtown for dinner and a quick glance at what was in that area. Dinner was delicious. Pax was so tired she ate little and declined dessert that came with her meal. The waitress surprised Pax with a huge piece of chocolate cake topped with ice cream and a GLOWING TINKERBELL. We were really impressed by all the things made from Legos, at the Lego store. A quick souvenir stop and we were headed back to the motel.

We mustered all our strength and were up early again to have breakfast with the princess at THE Castle. It was also a treat to get into the park before it was really crowed and you could really appreciate all the little touches you can't see with all the people. Breakfast was grand. Paxton got her own wand and wishing star, and a chocolate cake at breakfast to again celebrate her birthday!

We ended the day early and I think the swim in the hotel pool was just as fun for Paxton as all the parks! She made a friend to play with and it was a great day topped off with pizza in the room!

Saturday morn we were packed and on our way. As always it was great to pull in our own driveway and see our humble abode. Cinderella's Castle just can't hold a shine to HOME!

Houston We Have a Problem

2009-10-02T19:54:00.003-05:00

We have been in blur of busy around here getting ready to go on our trip. In fact maybe we should go on trips more often. We have been finishing up some small 'honeydews'. Terry wanted to get the bush-hogging finished at the farm and get the tractor back home before we left. Good idea! Well in the middle of my 'getting ready' I get a phone call.... "Honey, I have a problem."

Boy would I say. After spending 15 minutes at home looking for log chains that were already on the truck with the tractor, off Paxton & I went to the rescue. The poor tractor was buried up and headed for a Sycamore sapling. But never fear with a small pull 'ole Jerry red' came right out of the ruts!Neither Terry nor the tractor suffered any worse for the wear and he was able to finish the bush-hogging job.

Fair Update

2009-09-30T21:00:00.006-05:00

This is my favorite photo from the fair.... ok, so I'm a bit partial, but doesn't this say a lot. I wish you could see all these photos, they were taken by a local photographer here in Erin, Michele Conwell. She got some fabulous shots of other children on this dragon ride.

Overall and from the outside the Fair was a huge success. We had so many great folks come out to help us during the three days. We received great support from our local businesses as well. We had a bit of inopportune rain on Thursday and Saturday that hurt a bit, but overall attendance was good. We were also fighting a huge outbreak of the flu. The schools had an 18% absentee rate on Friday, so I am sure that didn't help.

Our baby pageant and opening ceremony was a great start to the weekend. We had 9 babies participate. Sure am glad I don't have to judge that! The High School Band played and the Youth Choir sang. Both did a wonderful job. The rain cut the ridding out a bit short on Thursday evening.

Friday was a pleasant day, but it looked a bit foreboding at the start. Our Mud Drag was well attended and they had several trucks to participate. Mud was not in short supply! The kids had a ball at the kids rodeo digging for money in the hay!

Saturday was a whirlwind of activity. Something going on everywhere! New event this year was an archery shoot. It was well attended by the children, some of the older folks, must have stayed in the woods. They had a variety of targets set up and were helping the children shoot. Paxton loved it. She hit the turkey and the bear. Our car show didn't have as many cars as we would like, those folks don't come out if its a chance of rain. The rodeo was a good event, but rain at 6:00 p.m. didn't help us at all and it was a small crowd. We got to see some of our local folks run barrels and team rope.

We are totally exhausted and still trying to get caught up on our rest both physically and mentally. Paxton worked very hard again this year helping to get things ready. She must have rode a 100 miles on her trike getting around the grounds. She spent most of the weekend with Mims. That was a big help, keeping her on a somewhat regular schedule. Momma substitute taught for me for a couple days too. That helped us not get too far behind.

Paxton came home with some ribbons. She won two blues for her artwork, white for her eggs and sweet peppers. It was a joint effort on the canning and we got blues for our blackberry and blueberry jellies, red on our salsa, white on our green beans. She and Cooper placed third in the costume class and she got a trophy! So we were pleased!

Now we have to clean up, put up at home and then get it all packed to head out to Disney. We can't wait. Paxton has already started to ask... "Is this the day we leave?"

Christmas Play

2009-09-28T04:51:00.002-05:00

Fast update..... still busy finishing Fair 'stuff'. Will blog about Fair very soon!

But... Paxton has 4 parts in the Christmas play.

Want, Flower Girl, School Child, Street Child

Wish us luck & Plan to come!

Fair is almost here

2009-09-19T19:41:00.002-05:00

Today Paxton & I spent the day, with the other Fair Board Members and helped clean up at the grounds. We cleaned floors, walls, ceilings, toilets, parking lots and more! It was a long day, but a lot of progress was made. We can finish the detail work this coming week and are ready for a much anticipated event.

Tomorrow, Paxton gets an introduction to a family member she has not met yet! Her cousin Abby is coming in from Colorado. She is very excited to meet her. We have plans to meet with Michael and Keren and Abby at Momma's for one of her delicious meals! That is a treat just in itself.

Still no word on the play's audition.....

Our Actress

2009-09-12T12:42:00.003-05:00

Paxton auditioned this week for an upcoming Chirstmas play with our community theatre. She worked very hard for the last few weeks learning the 23rd Psalms to recite for her monologe. Of course at home, I got the song and dance version of it, but when she auditioned for Mrs. Nancy, she got the plain jane version. She felt good about the audition afterwards. Now we'll have to wait a few weeks to know if and what part she got.

Hopefully, I'll be posting the show dates!

Oh here they are.. you'll want to see the shows regardless!

October 23-24, 2009...War of the Worlds -
Radio Play War of the Worlds, a radio play---We will use the Orson Welles script from the 1938 broadcast.
December 4, 5, 6, 2009...A Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol—Based on the Charles Dickens classic

Playing "Stump the Chumps"

2009-09-12T12:25:00.004-05:00

I played 'Stump the Chumps' this week.

I stopped by the doctor's office to inquire about the cost of a proceedure. The conversation went something like this> ( you'll have to read the inflections in voice, in yourself)

Me: I would like to find out an APPROXIMATE cost of XXX procedure.
Them: IDK?!! You'll have to call your insurance.
Me: So, how will my insurance know how much YOU charge?
Them: Do you 'have' insurance?
Me: Yes, BCBS.
Them: WELL, do you have a copay?
Me: No Ma'am.
Them: Do you have a deductible that pays 80/20.
Me: Yes, Ma'am.
Them: Well 'then', you'll pay 20%.
Me: (VERY politely) Yes, I understand that, the part I don't know is 20% of WHAT amount??
Them: I don't know how much procedures cost, you'll have to see Dr. XXXX.
Me: OK, could you please tell me how much a Dr.'s office visit is?
Them: Well, it runs anywhere from $43- $250......

UGH>>>>

Dove Shoot

2009-09-08T16:57:00.003-05:00

Monday, Terry's brother invited us to come over to their field for a Dove hunt. We usually get to go once a year. We had a big time it was a field full of Harris'. I managed to take two birds and shoot less than a box of shells. There is something refreshing about just sitting in a field. Of course the refreshing part ended when the nats started attacking and then after about 45 minutes Paxton says, "Momma, there's a tick on my arm." I looked and the poor child is covered in seed ticks! They made lunch out of her arms and legs.

Terry patiently waiting.

Hailey stopped by the field for message and tick spray delivery.

Hannah using the fast mode of travel through the field.

Pea & Daddy, the most patient hunters!

This week in the life of us....

2009-09-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

We have been busy, but not much out of the ordinary has been going on. Nothing has seemed worthy of putting into words.

This week there will be a few changes. Terry has been moved to second shift. So starting on Tuesday, he will have to be a work at 3:00 p.m. This will probably alter Paxton & my schedule a bit during the morning. We will certainly miss him in the evenings. Especially with the dark of evening coming earlier and earlier, it will be lonely here in the evenings without him at home with us. We have a busy schedule, so I am sure we will manage to keep busy.

Paxton is very pleased with herself. She is beginning to read some simple words. I am thrilled. It has given me a boost, maybe I can teach her something? We are getting her ready to audition for the Christmas play, with our local theatre group. I am trying to convince her to recite Psalms 23. She needs something for recitation for her audition monologue. She wants to say her own thing, but reluctantly agreed to learn the Psalms for her school work. She plans to sing the Sugarland song for her audition too. I'll post again, when I know if we have a part.

2009-08-23T22:24:00.007-05:00

It has been a long while since I have posted. We are starting our regular routine now. School is on for four days out of the week. Pea and I both have a dance class we attend and the Houston County Fair is fast approaching and then beyond that our long awaited trip to Disney....tickets to see "Curious George" at TPAC... and ????

School is going great. Pea is even starting to learn to read! She is so proud of this fact. She has wanted to read for a while now and it is starting to click. We have a long road to go, but at last we have left the start line. She has been a good student and works hard for me. Our Church offered a great seminar with two ladies from Mississippi and Alabama; April Meacham and Teah McWhorter.

http://www.bibleclassworkshop.com/

As you can see from the wall in the photo they brought lots of material and information to cover. It was a fantastic learning opportunity and I have taken several of the ideas and materials and implemented it into Paxton's lessons.

We took a break from camping this past weekend so we could attend the Wilson County Fair and meet up with Michael and Keren there. They are now in Cookville, TN which is closer to us than I can ever remember them living. I am glad we will now have more opportunities to build a relationship with them and Pea. The weather was fabulous... the traffic not so great. It took us approximately 2 hours to get from Mt. Juliet to the parking lot. There was an incident on the interstate and then traffic was horrible trying to get so many people into the fair grounds. We had a wonderful time once we go there though... I now want a Sugarglider... have you seen one of those??

Plans are underway for our own Fair. Everyone is hard at work planning and trying to make sure things are all in order. The physical labor will start soon as there is some clean up and work to be done on the building and grounds. We hope many of our community and friends come out and support our efforts.

What's been going on?

2009-07-26T15:39:00.008-05:00

Not much out of the ordinary has been going on lately here. We have been going to the camper each weekend and from my perspective- it's not what it's cracked up to be. Weekend before last it was like a LABOR camp. Friends followed us down and helped us get our Dish Satellite set up. Of course we didn't have all the needed parts... so we rigged it to the neighbors temporarily. Guess who dug the ditch to bury the cable?? (did you guess me?- you were right) Then this weekend we tried to fix it back correctly ... and well... it's not quite right and we just don't know what's missing.

We had a leak in the toilet that took us forever to find. It took two trips to the closest hardware store and still wasn't the right part for the fix. Thankfully JB went to Clarksville and got the correct part to repair it this weekend. Luckily, no more walks to the bath house.

I gladly helped JB shovel some gravel around his camper to make a nice clean path behind it and this weekend mowed the yard. I am always glad to find an opportunity to do something to help him as he NEVER hesitates to come help me when I need him.

I spent all week at home cleaning some old outdoor furniture. It's been in our yard here for years and we have never used it really. It was rusted, so I used the grinder to clean it and made some feet to put on the legs so they wouldn't 'bury up' in the yard. That required all of three trips to get needed and correct supplies. I had a hard time getting the right PVC glue and enough paint... kept thinking it would go farther than it did. So for about $50 I have a nice patio table at the camper. Pattye, Paxton & I enjoyed eating breakfast on it Saturday morning.

There's also a leak in the roof. Yeah, at this point we haven't found the energy to address that one yet.

Here's camp now with our carpet, a fab bench Momma got us that will
store some outside items, new steps built by none other than Terry & that patio furniture I mentioned.

BUT it is all worth it when you just stop everything and take Paxton down to the swimming beach and she JUMPS OFF the SWIMMING DOCK!! Not just once either, like over and over and over. She has a ball at camp and Granddaddy has let her drive the golf cart by herself. She really does quite well. She's so tall, she easily reaches the pedals.

Our garden is growing and the weeds are right behind. The squash is coming in and the peppers must be on the most fertile soil. I have sweet peppers coming out my ears. I have some Coriander I am going to try to figure out how to preserve. Daddy brought me a gallon of Blueberries and I made jelly out of them. It is delicious! Made a small batch of salsa with tomatoes from our very own plants. It will be extra yummy! Bread making is still a hit and miss. Usually the taste is good, it's just the texture and density that is not consistent.

We are counting the days till our Disney trip. I have booked our dinning and we were excited to get reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table. That trip is the first of October.

Paxton is going to do another few days of swimming lessons with some friends from church. This instructor will hopefully incorporate some rescue swimming into the lessons too. The we will have one week of no lessons and I refuse to add anything to the calendar that week.

James, Sarah & Paxton

The second week of August kicks in and I hope to start more formal class schedule and Paxton's dance lessons for start. She has done a few weeks of tumbling they finish this week. Dance this year will be a combination of Ballet, Jazz and Tumble. Miss Amy will be the teacher again and two of the girls from her class last year are in the class along with a friend from church. I dread dance this year as we are taking in the late afternoon and there will be LOTS of other kids and moms there at the same time. We have been lucky the last two years to have class mid-morning and about five girls in the class. I think right now there are 10 in the class.

I am going to take Tap lessons again this year and my classes start the following week on Tuesday evenings.

The Houston County Fair will be here before we know it and there is lots to do in preparation for it. We will start meeting weekly and or bi weekly next week. So before we even turn around our Fall is schedule is full. It may be months before I blog again! ; )

4th of July

2009-07-05T22:49:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone had a good and safe 4th celebration and took a few minutes to reflect on the meaning of this holiday and how far our country has come or maybe how full circle we are going back too???

We chose to go to the camper and spend time with just us. After half-days preparation and packing we got on the road about mid-morning Friday. The weather was fabulous this weekend. Hard to beleive it was the 4th of July or that Global Warming is occuring. We had a delicious grilled shrimp and scallops dinner and then headed to the marina for a evening of dancing to a live band and a great fireworks show over the bay. Saturday's weather was just as great and I took Pea and Laken over to the beach area to play in the sand and swim a bit. After lunch the weather was so pleasant and Granny was coming in later in the evening, we decided to spend another unplanned evening. So, I headed back home to care for our zoo of animals here at home and bring back more provisions. I got back to camp in time to eat dinner and then rush to get everything under cover as a storm was rolling in. UGH>.. we were stuck in our camper for the night. Pax went to sleep early and Terry & I passed the night playing rummy. All was safe at the camper, after the storm. Sunday was a day spent not doing much, a little fishing, a little swimming, a little cleaning up then head back to the house. All was well here too, after the storm and after a little garden work, blackberry picking and a few loads of laundry; have found my way to the recliner and all is well with the world again.

So let's do the 4th of July check list:
1. Grilled
2. Camped
3. Family & Friends
4. Fireworks
5. Swimming
6. Fishing
7. Fresh Vegetables eaten & picked
8. Blackberries picked
9. Skeeter Bites

10. Ate Watermelon

11. Reflected on our Country the GREAT USA and those who have and do serve.

our garden keeps growing....

2009-07-05T22:30:00.005-05:00

Pax and I are so excited. Our garden has started to really grow. We are getting tons of sweet peppers and lots of leaf lettuce. Now the cucumbers are coming in and we got two ripe tomatoes today! Yeah, ripe tomatoes by the 4th of July! Now just waiting on the squash to start.
We went to the pasture this evening and picked a large pan of blackberries, YUM!! We might have had an extra large pan full, if we had not eaten so many as we picked and walked back to the house.

Momma was gracious enough to buy me a large box of fresh tomatoes and I made 21 pints of fresh salsa! I have been waiting ALL year for that salsa. I have so far consumed a pint a day. I better make more! I really missed her help this year making the salsa. She is a much faster slicer-dicer-chopper than I.

I think I will look for a sweet pepper jelly recipe and tomorrow try to make that and some blackberry jam.

Bread!

2009-06-25T12:57:00.003-05:00

I did it!!! I made edible bread!

The flavor is right, the texture is right, the weight is right, the height is right!!

It may not happen again?? I'm not sure what I did to make the difference, but it is delicious.

Many thanks again to JANE and her help.

Camper Move In Day

2009-06-21T04:35:00.017-05:00

We are officially "Camping People" now. We have joined the throngs out by the lake, sweltering in the heat, swatting at the mosquitoes, cooking on the grill, driving golf carts and going to bed exhausted.

Well ok, technically, this first weekend, Pattye did all the cooking, JB grilled and we used their golf cart, but I got the going to bed exhausted part down on my own.

Thanks to the help of Granny and Granddaddy, we are set up and ready for weekends of endless summer bliss at the camper. JB and Terry got the camper backed into our site, stabilized and level in no time. One trip to town and a few supplies later; the plumbing is working fine. After a few attempts at lighting the stove and oven, we puzzled out what and how to do it and we will be able to cook on the next trip.

We have a great "spot". There is just one camper between us and JB & Pattye which makes it ideal for Paxton. She can walk back and forth unaccompanied, between the two as she pleases. Of course, I am sure that won't happen much after dark! We are in an older part of the park and have some fabulous trees around us providing shade all day. We also have a 'front yard' and delightfully it has little grass. Ok, so maybe I am the only one delighted about that part, but who wants to mow when they get to the camper? Our view out the front of our camper is of a few campers and the lake. Now that I have watched that jet ski go past about 400 times, I am ready to get one myself! I want on the water. Uncle Kenny, Aunt Shonda and gang are just down the path and will provide some entertainment, too.

I have my list of what I forgot and what I need and am ready to start making another pile to take down next weekend. Top on the list this time will be FOOD!
Hope to get some outdoor carpet soon and a table and chairs. Terry will build us some steps so everyone can get in the camper. Paxton can not reach the door and has to crawl up right now.

Some folks take right to camping!

Here's the kitchen and the little eating table.
It will be just right for a game of cards too.

Yeah, this is the entire kitchen, there's only about six inches more of counter space that didn't fit in the photo.

This is our bed on the bottom and Pax's bed is a bunk above ours. It is not for the faint of heart as it would be impossible for me to climb up there and if you have claustrophobic or coffin issues..... well you'd probably rather sleep in the truck.

And here's the view. Our 'patio' area, in the close foreground, steps leading down to the lower 'yard'. Yes, all that gravel is the yard, the road is there where the golf cart is going by and the white blob in the background is the lake.

So now we'll all be saying, "Let's go camping PA!" (you know, from that commercial?)

Movin' on..... up!

2009-06-08T09:22:00.002-05:00

Everybody's GRADUATING!
Seems like last week was very busy with everyone moving forward.
Marty graduated from High School.
Hailey had her 8th grade graduation and will be at the High School next year.
Hannah had a D.A.R.E. graduation from 5th grade and she will be going to the Middle School next year.
Paxton finished her second year of dance at Miss Amy's and they had a recital on Saturday.

I am proud of all "my KIDS"!

Mushrooms

2009-06-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

I think we must be full of it and living in the dark at our house. Look at all these mushrooms growing just around the yard. This is only some, a few have already come and gone. Just wonder if any are the good eating kind? If nothing else they are pretty in their own unique way. I can imagine the 'fairies' all around them at night.

Bread Baking Day

2009-05-29T12:16:00.016-05:00

Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” 1 Samuel 28:22

In an effort to continue to try to live life more simply and naturally, I have been convicted that I need to start grinding our own flour and making our breads. I need to start this post and say thanks to two ladies. One is Sue Becker of the Bread Beckers. Her message encouraged me to get going on this road that I have been considering for some time; and a BIG thanks to Jane Latsch who unbeknownest to her, has fell into the role of my mentor. I may never meet Sue personally, but luckily Jane is here in my backdoor! We are not usually so lucky to have excellent resources so close at hand and Jane is here in our town.

So trying to model after Carolyn Ingles (you know "Little House on the Prairie") I want to bake my own bread from nutritious fresh milled grains. But in Martha Stewart style I purchased an electric grain mill and of course I am cooking on an electric stove and even trying to bypass the manual kneading by using my bread machine. So maybe only in small theory is it really Carolyn Ingleish.

To get the most nutrition, you must use fresh milled grains. The instructions to the mill suggested you mill 2 cups the first time to 'clean' the machine. WOW!! I had NO IDEA flour could shoot so far across the room!! It was everywhere!! Now more than just the machine needs cleaning!! and I just thought I had dust issues before. Guess I'll be dusting before my quarterly date! LOL So now I better understand what that marking line on the machine meant---push catching bowl this far back....

Here is Paxton working our first batch of dough. Well that was a BIG STICKY mess, I think mainly because i had forgotten to add the yeast and added too much water.
Batch ONE result: Trash Can

Batch TWO result: Baked in Bread Machine-edible, not necessarily delicious

Here is about the third attempt.

It really was pleasurable to knead the dough (once the sticky went away). I thought we might be on track....
Batch THREE: heavy, but edible

I think this was FOUR; again I tried the Bread Machine.
Batch FOUR; heavy, short and ugly, but again edible

Yeah that's the 1 1/2 inch mark!

Batch FIVE: BEAUTIFUL, but slightly heavy, better tasting.

End result of all loaves---DELICIOUS-- Croutons! No need to let all that work and flour go to waste. Pax helped and we cubed up the loaves and flavored with onion and garlic and toasted for croutons.

I made one final loaf trying a different recipe. This loaf was much lighter in color and texture. I ate a sample slice and decided it was good enough to share with a home bound friend.

Last attempt was at biscuits. Paxton and I made them up, and left them in fridge overnight. None of the recipes "said" you could just bake right then (yeah, not so good for me- refer to gardening post).

We baked them this morning and besides they were the 'wrong' color and a different texture. They were delicious!! I think I should get two kudos for this. This is not only the first batch of fresh ground flour biscuits I have ever made--- this is the first batch of biscuits I have EVER made. Pillsbury may go broke without me and I think my oven is traumatised after all this baking.

WE all need to rest!- now off to make a salad and use all the croutons ;)

First Fruits

2009-05-24T12:21:00.006-05:00

We have reaped the first fruits from our garden!! I was probably the most excited. Ok .. so it was only ONE strawberry, but wow what moment. There are runners on the vines and two more blooms. It looks like things are gearing up.

An just for an update, here is a photo of the girls in their costumes on picture day.

2009-05-19T12:04:00.001-05:00

Mother's Day

2009-05-08T21:52:00.001-05:00

As with most holidays it seems it takes multiple events to celebrate. I wanted to celebrate with just Pax and Terry, so tonight was my night. I chose to go back to a great Shusi restaurant my friend Lori introduced me to. Dinner was delicious and my family was so gracious to try something new and they LIKED it!! The chop sticks were a hit.

Next they indulged me with a shopping trip to McKay's Books. It took Pax a bit to coax her to give up a pile of her old books for a new set. Once she realized she was getting some more books, she was all for it. We all found something we were looking for. Terry even found a Chilton type repair book for his year model Bronco. Now that's Karma! Terry and Pax were great to indulge me an unlimited, uninterrupted shopping amount of time. Not once did anyone say "Can we go yet?".

I have an awesome family.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Boating Adventure

2009-05-02T08:58:00.001-05:00

Finally the weather cooperated and Paps was able to take us fishing on the boat. Pax was ready to go and equipped with a new Barbie life jacket. As you know, we are not a 'big' boating family, so it is a process all it's own for us to get ready to go.

I handled the 'back' of the boat duties while Mims put in the essentials (snacks) & Paps saw to the fishing gear. Paps volunteered to back the trailer in the water and the rest of us loaded into the boat. While we were waiting on Paps to come back to the dock we were tolling around the harbor. Once Paps was in, we headed for the 'honey' hole. Just as we arrived at the promising area, Pax questioned as to why her feet were wet!! You guessed it! The plug was out. So we went at rapid speed back to the dock. Mims and Pax were bailing with great furry. I made a good attempt to blindly get the plug back in, but no luck, so I sloshed to the truck to get the trailer. Mims and Pax still bailing with great furry. Thanks to the kindness of strangers and fellow fishermen. We were able to get the boat on the trailer and pulled up the dock. Water drained for 20 minutes! We learned the bilge pump wasn't working and I learned there are four holes in the back of the boat so it was no wonder I couldn't get the plug in.

Once we drained, we were good to go and headed back out. We worked hard at fishing but didn't even get a first bite, but we were also lucky and didn't get tangled too many times either.

Even if we didn't have a fishing tale to tell, we have a great story and a day Pax and Mims won't soon forget!

Locked Out

2009-05-01T21:17:00.003-05:00

Wow, I have needed to blog for about a week and a half now. We have had a lot going on and if I could blog while I drive; well.....

Let's start with Sunday week ago. It was a dark and rainy Sunday and I planned to do what that type of day was good for ... doing NOTHING. I just wanted to take the day and veg. Terry had to work and the rain was predicted for all day. About 1:00 p.m. the rain stopped and I thought I should take advantage of the break in weather to feed the animals. Paxton wanted to ride her Power Wheels and I didn't want to stop and go back to the house for the battery, so she decided she would to try to go get it. ( She was concerned it was too heavy to carry. )

WHY I don't know, but she thought the house was locked, so she got the "hidden" key to UNlock the door.... (Can you see where I am going with this?? ) In her attempt to unlock the knob, she LOCKS the deadbolt. Then on her way to return the "hidden" key, she DROPS it through the crack in the slats on the porch. THEN she decides she might need some help and proceeds to yell from the porch steps. Needless to say, we were locked out.... She sat on the porch steps while I finished feeding and did some thinking. She actually came up with some pretty clever ideas. Some of which were too costly (like breaking the window) or which took more effort than I was willing to put forth (like taking up some of the porch so she could fit under to look for the key). But I was really impressed with her willingness and ability to reason out the situation.

Well I decided we'd just learn our lesson and tough it out till Daddy gets home from work. We could stay busy for approximately 2 hours couldn't we?? Well when Daddy didn't return on time and an additional 45 minutes had passed; I was READY to get inside. By chance he had left his truck home and I found an old key ring in there that looks like some maintenance janitor's set from a 100 story building. Finally, after only three keys remaining we struck pay dirt!

But you know, all in all it was a WONDERFUL afternoon. The weather remained pleasant, we worked very hard in our garden (more on this in a minute), we played with our chicks, we took a long walk in the woods and through the pasture. Where I did manage to get a very good case of Poison Oak... so well OK, that part wasn't so wonderful. We talked a lot about the things we were seeing and touching and hearing and remembered to thank God for all his great creations. Maybe we'll lock ourselves out again soon. Only this time we'll have snacks and a drink.

Eggstravaganza at the Zoo.

2009-04-17T07:09:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday we all had the opportunity to go to the Grassmere Zoo in Nashville. They had a HUGE Easter egg hunt for the children, done in age groups. The children went out and collected eggs (they were empty) and then turned them back in for a prize bag (that had the goods in it!)
That all happened FAST & Furious. You would never know children could pick up so quickly, by their actions at home. ;)

Gardening in great Spring weather.

2009-03-29T22:05:00.009-05:00

Paxton has asked several times about putting out a garden. After paying $2.50 for about 10 strawberries in a plastic container, I decided we'd get busy. I thought container gardening would be the best way to go. The plan was to make a container for a strawberry bed then maybe another for a few 'salad items'. As with any project I do, it's a ever changing plan. We started out planning to use 1/2 of 55 gallon drum barrels, now I have changed that plan and tomorrow we'll go to the lumber yard and I am going to build a bed..... yeah.... I know... Terry will probably end up having to help, (yeah, he realizes that too), but we are going to give it a good try. At least we'll have all the materials together for him!

While we were in Dickson on Friday, we got a scoop of top soil. Those of you that live in our area know it has been raining.... so the top soil was slightly damp, but by the time we got loaded and a half mile down the road the rain began again. So our load was heavy mud by the time we got home. Never the less, Saturday we dug on, mixed in some 'country fertilizer' and then quickly covered it back up as rains came again late in the afternoon. Monday hopefully we can get our needed supplies and make the new beds that I think will work much better than the barrels, we have to unload the rest of the top soil from our truck. Looks like we better be busy tomorrow, more rain on the way.

So here are a few things I learned while working outside.
(ok, I knew most of them, but it was a reminder day)
1. I have little patience.
2. I have little patience with mechanical tools.
3. If it doesn't crank on the third pull, there's a good chance you might find it in the holler next time you look for it.
4. I like dirt, it feels good in your hands.
5. Worms are fun to play with.
6. My mind thinks my back is stronger than what it is.
7. Spring is such a beautiful season and a renewing time.
8. You can't overlook God in the wonder of Spring and new growth.
9. I like birds.
10. I enjoy the silly songs Paxton sings to herself as she plays.
11. I have a small temperature tolerance. Like between 68F & 72F.
12. Our two dogs are good companions.
13. You can figure out a lot of life's problems and get a lot of praying done on the lawn mower.
14. I am really lucky that my daughter (for a time, anyway) thinks I am smart and fun to be with.
15. Music peps ya up.
16. Hard labor helps you sleep well.

There are more I'm sure, but these are the thoughts that stand out most.

I will post photos of our container garden once complete. I need to post a few photos of the chicks too. They are growing amazingly fast and eat like hogs! Paxton has been good to get in the pen with them and handle them so they will be tame and easy to handle as they get larger. Feathers are coming in and they even fly a short bit. Look forward to seeing their adult coloring.

Carnival Rides

2009-03-18T08:05:00.002-05:00

These pictures don't need much explaining! She and I had a great time riding rides Tuesday afternoon. She was very generous and shared her tickets with me so we could ride a ride together and when I told her all the tickets had been used, she gratefully said thanks and asked for some popcorn. She was satisfied and ready to go. What a grateful child and blessing she is!

We then went over to the Birdsong Harp Concert. It was wonderful opportunity to expose Paxton to a new instrument and a new sound of music. There were about 10 musicians in total, including two flute and piccolo players. The music was very moving and the lead harpist was very informative with stories and information about the songs and the composers. The Historical Society needs a round of applause for sponsoring the event and I hope they invited the Birdsong group back for next year.

The week is in full swing, just hope we can hang on for the ride. I am looking forward to seeing some of my vendor friends again this weekend. I have made several good friendships. We are also very excited that it looks like we will have such good participation in the Fair's Derby. 60 cars at this point and maybe more too come. I regret I can't help them more, but I told them I would get there to help wind things down and put up. Saturday will be a LONG day!

Bucket O' Chicken

2009-03-16T19:17:00.004-05:00

Chicken Anyone? We have a bucket full!!

We purchased ten new chicks on Monday and brought them home in a bucket.
Pax and I both are very excited to have the new chicks and look forward to eventually a baker's dozen of eggs each day. We learned from the young man that sold us the chicks how to sex them. He assured us we had ten hens, I assured him if I had a noisy rooster in the bunch I'd be back!

Pax helped and we converted a small single, dog pen to make a small pen for the chicks to grow in. We will wait till they are much larger before we try to integrate them with the older hens. Paps loaned us a light and they are very snug. I hope the worst of the Spring chills are behind us. We had an escape the first afternoon. Glad Daddy got home a little late, he discovered the renegades and helped us patch the hole.

If you don't want chicken, maybe we could offer you a few turkey legs? There were 20 turkey feeding close to the pond Monday afternoon. What a wonderful site! I am ready for some fresh turkey breast.

Gettin ready for Irish Day- Week

2009-03-12T19:41:00.001-05:00

This is Pax with Mrs. Kay our librarian. We think she ROCKS!! Story time is held each Thursday and this past week, the children made, Irish Day pictures and Mrs. Kay has them posted all over the library. Lots of plans and events coming up this week in the big city of Erin as we get ready for our Irish Day celebration. Tomorrow we get to dress up like a leprechaun and go to the kick off breakfast. So more pictures to come.