Why the sad face?........

His baby brother flew the coop today - He has decided to take a break from school for a semester and work for his uncle in florida.....

His little nephews and his little niece are sure gonna miss him.......

He's twenty now - I just can't believe how time has flown by......

I'm gonna miss that goofy face he makes and his big sister (second mama) will miss him too....

She worked really hard and made him this sweet birthday cake - a labor of love.....

Michael you will never probably read this but if you do..........Take care my baby boy and know that you are so loved and will be so missed! I'm gonna miss those drop in visits and the sweet concern in those baby blue eyes when you see your (elderly) mom mowing the yard on a hot summer day and say "Mom, I could have done that for you." I'm gonna miss those hugs that squeeze so tight and always have to pick my feet up off the floor...I'm gonna miss our lunch dates that I wish I had done more of....always reaching for your wallet to pay (as if I'm gonna let you:) (but grinning because you know you don't have any money anyway) I'm really gonna miss just knowing that you are down the road and close enough to come over for dinner!
I'll be praying for you and I'm so thankful to know that you are at least around family that love you too! I guess I'll need to make more visits to Florida......Hey I can handle that!!! I love you Michael:)

Happy Cows?

This cow just looks mad.......

You know the commercial - Happy cows live in Ca.....My husbands family has a beef farm and I had always thought that these were happy cows in TN.....fields to graze in.....sunshine.....fresh water......grain.....all sounds pretty happy huh? Well I gotta a chance to see some pretty unhappy cows when they were separated from their moms this weekend. If you look hard at the picture - the dark blur across the field are the mamas and this is one of the 4 or 500 lb babies calling to his mama...in fact they were all calling 70 or 80 of them through out the night and the next day. We had to leave - they may still be calling. I felt really bad but it is a process that they have to go through to get them ready for the sell in a few weeks. And I'm pretty sure that some of them will end up as a hamburger pattie or a steak dinner on someones plate. Makes me really think twice about my meat consumption! So if these cows could talk I think that for the most part they would say that they are happy cows - but right now they are going through a pretty unhappy time....

Just had to get the creepy spider picture further down!

This is a picture that I took of the road we live on - This is our neighbors view:)

Life in the Midwest?

I survived one of my biggest fears last week...I was taking a shower - turned off water - picked up towel - thought I saw something on the towel - didn't have in contacts - shook the towel.....nothing......then I saw it!!! A huge brown recluse spider crawling up my left arm!!! YIKES! Needless to say I flung him off and jumped out of shower shrieking in fear all in one move! My husband who thought no telling what was going on in the bathroom killed him with his bare hands. My hero! Anytime I feel anything touch me I'm just so sure it's one of his friends coming for revenge. The bug man is coming today - I'm moving all furniture and we are going to cover as much area as possible with his possibly cancer causing chemicals. Hmmm - I may be weird but that sounds a lot less scary to me than the alternative......and you bet I won't be taking showers without my contacts now!

New Baby:)

This is my newest grandson - Camden - He is beautiful! Even though this is his first day out in the world -he seems pretty happy to be here:) Isn't there something about a brand new baby that tugs at our hearts? As I was holding his sweet warm little body all swaddled tightly in his hospital blankets I just felt such a feeling of love for this little man.....He's so dependent of all those around him but yet he already has so much to offer. Just being here giving us the opportunity to love him - care for him and watch him grow. He has such a great family - loving mom - loving dad and a big brother who is so excited to have him here finally. Welcome to the world Camden! Your family loves you and your Nana hopes to be here for a long time to someday watch you have your own children and maybe even get to see you have your grandchildren....Hey - it's possible - I'm not that old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMDEN!!!

Just a cool picture of the sky....

This is what we did on our gorgeous Saturday!

What a beautiful day this was! I could hear the motorcycles riding by on the rode - I could see the trucks pulling their boats to the river....I could hear our neighbors splashing around in their pool......and then I hear my husband (the gardener) say "The corn is ready"

I know what that means and when he says the corn - it's not just a few ears - it's a few rows of corn.....

The official grower - picker and shucker....

I've learned how to keep the mess to a minimum.......

This is the product of our labors.......

Product in production......

I've realized that I don't even really like corn all that much - It's okay but not really worth giving up most of a Saturday for....Oh well - We did put up 22 bags of cream corn in the freezer and we always have next Saturday to have some fun!

I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!

A list of all the many reasons why I love my gorgeous daughter:

she is loving!

she is sweet!

she is kind!

she is oh so funny!

She can be so silly:)

She makes me laugh!

She is an awesome and tender mom!

She loves her husband!

She loves her family!

She loves the Lord!

She is a great listener!

She is a great friend!

She has wonderful taste in clothes...

She loves to shop (I spend way too much when she comes to town) but I like it:)

She has great taste in about anything!

She is an excellent cook!

(and she shares)...I could easily blame at least 5lbs of my fat on her:)

I'm so thankful for my daughter...She is such a joy in my life and I can't imagine life without her....Her smile lights up the room and warms my heart......I have 4 wonderful children and I'm thankful for them all...they all have individual and beautiful spirits....Being a mother is such a blessing - never easy but oh so worth it!!!

I love you Danielle:)

Thank you to all those who have worked so hard to keep this country free and some who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives......

My Morning......

Explaining that wet grass on your boots is not the end of the world....

A cup of herbal tea.....

Answering questions about the moon....

Trampoline entertainment...

Oatmeal - toast - chocolate milk on the backporch with Reese....

Awwwwe.....Perfect......................