Camping~Spring Break '09

We rolled in on Monday and unloaded. We were rookies in the game of camping, but we caught on pretty fast. The park had around 55 lots and most of the time, they were all occupied. The atmosphere was so relaxing and calm. The boys had so many trails and roads to ride on. The 3 neighboring playgrounds were right up their alley. Of course, every morning they were in the boat and ready to fish. The fishing was awful due to the high water from all the rain the past week. It didn't seem to dampen their spirits any. Direct quote from our 6yr. wise old owl-"Momma, you know it's not all about the fishing, how many we catch or how big. It's all about just being together and relaxing and making every day count." He never seems to amaze me, he's such a wise young soul. And then he concluded with, "and making......what do they call that Nana?" Nana replies,"memories?". "Yea, making memories, that's what matters." I just love his innocent, sincere little heart.

"Home Sweet Home" for the week.

Pop and the boys unloading the boat to dock by our lot.

Levi and his crappie. He LOVES to fish.

Houston and his precious smile.

After fishing, we would just enjoy the outdoors. Lots of walking for me, I didn't have a bike. But I enjoyed every step. The weather was beautiful, the air so clean and God's beauty all around, not too much complain about, huh? We cooked 3 nights and ate out 2 nights, and cooked a big breakfast on Saturday. Demop was about 3 mins. away. Foscue was out enough but close enough to everything you might need.

They LOVED getting to ride their bikes "on the road".

Jason, Kelly and the boys came down on Wed/Thursday. Levi and Houston wanted to take a "Goofy picture".

Enjoying "Spaghetti Night".

Cooking breakfast Saturday morning.

All our neighbors were so friendly and hospitable. We got all kinds of "Camping for Dummies" advice and even met some people that were kin to Stephen. They were such precious people. We met some more folks and had a campfire and sang and played guitars one night. I would go back in a heartbeat. Of course, the next time the weather could be rainy or 90, so I may be singing a different tune by then.

Singing around the campfire.

New family members. The Sadberry Family, they were absolutely precious.

Oh yes, we had to do a "Goofy Pic"too. Have you ever seen such a lovely family? I thought this was so funny.

Please pardon my "no make-up self". I did bathe and brush my teeth everyday, but that's as fixed up as I got. I loved it!

We did take Thursday to meet Adam, Christy and the boys at The Zoo. We had the best time. The boys oohed and aahed all day. We then went to The Cheesecake Factory for "lupper" and OMG it was delicious! The boys are growing too fast and the best of friends. I believe with all my heart, the love of God is so evident in their lives. He's amazing! The animals, the beautiful nature and the love of my family that we were able to enjoy everyday was wonderful. Don't tell me there's not a God and we just evolved. In the words of my late Grandfather, "that's a bunch of bologna!"

One of Levi's favorite animals.
One of Houston's favorite animals. He was so cute. When we got to the exit, I said, "We're almost here boys." Houston then said, "Daddy, just look for the giraffe's head sticking up out of the trees, then you'll know that's where the zoo is!" He was so serious too. I had to laugh and he didn't like it. He gets embarrassed so easy.
The choo-choo.
Isn't he pretty?
They were looking at the turtles.

OK, I'll take the pic, you can touch.

Now, if you really enjoy yourself and you're "just a rough and tough little boy" you are bound to climb one too many trees and run into some poison oak. Yep, my "rough and tough" little Levi brought home a real souvenir from the trip.....poison oak and bruises and scrapes. Houston also, minus the poison oak. I took Levi to the ER this morning b/c he had a huge scratch across his leg from a bike wreck and poison oak had infected the scrape, it looked awful to me. Of course, I "over react" but the Dr. did give him an anti-biotic and steroid cream. You would never know anything is wrong with him, though. He's been, you guessed it, outside all afternoon. He cracked me up on the way to the Dr. He had a sucker and it got stuck to his teeth.

L: "Momma, my sucker is stuck in my steak teeth."

M: "Your what teeth?"

L: "My steak teeth." pointing to his molars.

M: "Those are your molars, son."

L: "Well, they just need to call them steak teeth, cause these are the ones that help me chew my steak up good."

He's so funny.

Hope all of you enjoyed your Spring Break and are refreshed to take on the upcoming week. And just remember even the next breath we take is because of his love and mercy for us all. So, in the words of Levi, "let's make EVERY day count!"

We're Baaaack!

We made it back this afternoon safe and sound. I have to say, we had FUN, FUN, FUN! We met some of the nicest, friendliest people. Even Stephen's 2nd cousin, that he didn't even know existed! And he lives right up the road in Parrish. It is a small world after all! We pulled in on Monday and the weather was rainy and dreary. But that was all the rain we saw for the rest of the week. The weather was spectacular! The boys played outside until dark everyday! Fishing, riding bikes, scooters, playing on the 3 playgrounds, walking trails, climbing trees, you name it and we tried it! The meals were even better b/c most were prepared outside over a fire, grill or on a camp stove. I had this idea of really roughin' it. No, not that way at all. I'm talking some of these people have rigs that cost around $500,00.00! For the most part, they were mostly retired, but there were young families and the boys made many friends, young and old! Wonderful memories for the first camping adventure. I'll have pics and stories soon.

"Camping With The Cannon's"

Oh yes, I said camping. No, I'm not an avid camper. Haven't camped since around the ripe old age of 18 or so. But Poppy got the bright idea of buying a camper and taking the boys since they are getting older. So, Good Lord Willin', we are headed to Demopolis to camp over Spring Break. I do have to say a camper is a lot better than tents but I'm not sure about a whole week in the wilderness. Sure, I love all of God's creation, all the beautiful nature, but what about when "nature calls"?! I have these horrible memories of the movie RV!
It should definitely be interesting and hopefully some wonderful memories will be made. I'll check back in when I can. Who knows if we'll have service, wireless, you know all the amenities. And did I mention, there will be 6 of us in 1 camper?! I hope I'm still a daughter-n-law and their still father and mother-n-law when we return. What's that they say about inlaws and outlaws? Just kidding. I do hope we have beautiful weather and a relaxing time. And by the way, there is a "Wal-Mart" just 3 miles up the road, never too wilderness-like for a neighboring "Wal-Mart".

"GO FISH!"

Levi and his 1st Grade Class presented their PTO program, "Go Fish", tonight. It was so cute!! We spent a lot of time with these "homemade at school costumes". Every character was some type of sea creature with something a little "quirky" about them. E.G. a 7 legged octopus, a zebra fish with spots, a blowfish with allergies, just cute little stuff like that. The plot of the program, it's o.k. to be different, whoever you are! It was too precious.

Levi, my little blue shark, did great! He had several lines to remember and 2 songs he helped sing on stage. I just couldn't be prouder. The thing about it, he really got the meaning of the program and said he would never make fun of people, he didn't ever, ever, ever want to make anybody cry. I hope he stays so tender-hearted.

I have to say, all those little 1st Grade fish pulled it off and you can take that all the way to the "riverbank". Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL WHO CAME AND WATCHED LEVI!! NANA & POP CAME TOO, I DIDN'T GET A PIC BEFORE THEY LEFT!

Baseball Season has begun!

We had our first practice yesterday. There are 16 little 7/8 yr old boys running around and its going to be CRAZY. I'm all for the more the merrier but 16 on one little team, I'm not sure about that. Josh and Wesley are coaching again and it should definitely be a challenge. We move up to machine pitch this year and OMG that ball is coming at them so fast. 40MPH @ 40 Feet away, I don't think I could even hit it. Levi is by far the youngest on the team but seems to have no problem with it. There are only 2 1st Graders and the rest are 2nd Graders. The other 1st Grader turned "7" in October and Levi won't be "7" until next month. But he seems to be doing great. Say a little prayer for Coach Josh and Mrs.Angie, a.k.a "Dug-out Mom", it could get a little hairy!

Flowers for Mom

I heard the boys in the kitchen cabinets, but I assumed they were getting cups down for something to drink. I was in the living room and heard the commotion. Then they both said, "Momma come here."
"What is it, son?"
"We just need you to come here."
When I went in the kitchen, these were what I found. Nothing like fresh flowers, in sippy cup vases to melt a Momma's heart. Have I ever said that I really LOVE my boys?! Well, if I haven't in the last day or two, I really LOVE my boys!

Family Fun Day

Our church had our annual Family Fun Day, Sat. at Fayette Park. We had a great turnout, a great time and absolutely beautiful weather. Josh and I try to get everybody together every month or so, for fellowship and fun. It's so good to fellowship outside of the church also. It seems everyone is SO busy and hardly has time to talk other than Wed. and Sundays. We grilled, fished, played and had a scavenger hunt. It was a really nice day.

The boys had a great time fishing. They fished for most of the day. Neither one caught a thing, bless their little hearts, but they didn't give up. But you know, if you caught something everytime you went, they would call it "Catching" not "Fishing", right?

Happy B-Day MawMaw!

We ate at Outback Sat. night for MawMaw's B-day! We had a great time and a great meal! She loves for us all to get together and celebrate her B-day. When we arrived, her sister Aunt Peggy and her children were there also celebrating her B-day! What a pleasant surprise. We had a reunion/double b-day party. It was definitely LOUD!! We LOVE you so much, MawMaw!!

The Birthday Lady

My crazy fella's had a "lemon-eating contest"! Thanks Uncle Randy(the biggest kid @heart)!

Happy B-Day Isaac!

We had so much fun at Isaac's party! We love you so much, Isaac! I'm so glad you're Levi's sidekick. I believe God has great things in store for both of you(& the little bros, too)!

The Birthday Boy

Woo-hoo!

Even Houston and I had a blast!(and no, I didn't flatten the slide!)

How handsome are they?!

"All played-out!"

Upward Awards Ceremony

This past Friday night, you know the night with all the rain, storms, tornado threats, yes, that night, we had our Upwards Ceremony. The boys had a great time and the prorgram was really good. Sulphur did a great job this year! We made lots of wonderful memories!

"Whis-a-consin"

Houston's first reaction to the snow was so funny. He heard Josh and I talking at the window and had to come see what was going on. He was still half a sleep, walking kinda' "drunk" but when he looked out the window..."Oh my goodness, it looks like "Whis-a-consin"outside! I'm sure all our family from Wisconsin would love to get about 3-4" of snow and be melted off by mid-afternoon. Last year, they had snow on the ground from November until the last week of March. Could you imagine?! I don't know how ya'll make it everyday. Lots of love to you all!

We had SNOW much fun!

What a beautiful sight when we awoke this AM! It was really a surprise to me. You know every time they forecast snow, we NEVER get any, until today. The boys were chompin' at the bits to get out and play. We got out around 8 AM and played for about an hour. Came in to warm up and threw the clothes in the dryer to get everything dry and back out again. We then loaded up and went over to Pop and Nana's, they wanted to cook a big breakfast. I love the snow but I love having electricity, not to keen on roughin' it, you know what I mean. The boys helped cook and then after breakfast, we played at their house. We came in to warm up again and this time the boys made an apple pie, not a big fan, but they LOVE them some apple pie. Anyway, I tried it b/c their precious little hands made it and I loved it! It was great with a big scoop of ice cream(not snow cream)on top. I loved being together and enjoying the whole day with no agenda. We did have church tonight so around 4 PM, we called it a day and came home to get ready.

They are becoming quite the little chefs. Levi wanted to know what he could cook for supper when we got home. He didn't last that long though. He fell asleep in church, woke him up to eat a piece of pizza and he is already back in the bed. Those little hands and feet worked hard today, whether making snowballs, cooking or running from other snowballs, they have got to be pooped. Houston on the other hand, is still kickin'. He headed to McDonald's with MeMaw and PePaw and has yet to return. That little boy is something else. He loved every minute of the snow today. Giggles could be heard for miles from that little fella'. He even giggled when someone would wack him with a snowball. I loved the opportunity to make wonderful memories with them!

I also had a moment today while looking at all the beauty and awesomeness of God's almighty hand: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18 How Awesome! The bright white, purity of the snow was beautiful, that's what God does with all our filth and all our unrighteousness. And after we played, we would have tracks, dirty snow with grass all mixed in, or slush etc. But when we would come into warm up, by the time we got ready to go out again- All our tracks and yuckiness we left behind, were covered again and beautiful as if nothing had ever happened. What a promise, we have in the precious blood of Jesus. Yes, we fail and may have ugly wounds or scars, but just like the dirty snow,when we ask for his forgiveness, his blood covers us once again and our hearts look as if we have never done anything wrong and not only that, but they are to never be remembered again! I love my family, I love my friends, but I absolutely love everything about my Saviour and his precious blood. Hope you have the precious blood applied, there's snow way I could make it without him!

The boys thought this was too cool! "Momma, please take a picture of this!"

Loved this picture! Our "redneck sled". We don't have snow toys around here, but we do have plenty of sand toys. So Josh drilled a couple of holes in Levi's skimboard and put a rope through them and boy what fun!

My favorite fella's!

"Home Sweet Home"

Meet "Bama the Snowman"

The boys loved being in the kitchen. Houston scrambled the eggs and helped with the biscuits. Levi actually fried all our sausage and bacon, and also helped with the gravy. It was delicious! (NOTE: No Mother, this is not a common practice around our house, and none of your precious boys were hurt during this activity. However, I do not take responsibility for these actions, this was ok'd by their Poppy)

Both my little men at work!