Basketball Games - Here we come!

Thomas made the Santa Fe Middle School basketball team for the second year in a row!

Taylor will also be playing for the high school team. This will be his 4th year to play basketball for Santa Fe.

This week

We had our breakfast on Tuesday morning while watching some deer out by the pond. This is the only good picture I could get that morning. Then when we all arrived back home that afternoon, we found these sweet little babies out there playing.

Close Call

The week that we got the new car, Brian waxed it on the weekend and then the Monday after, this is what happened.
A little storm with heavy rain and wind blew through. This fan was in the window in the garage. As I ran out to close the windows, the fan flew out of the window, out of the socket and this is where it landed. It did not touch the car, but you can see how close it was to slamming into it! I would have been so mad!

Turkey Creek Road

(Seriously! That's the name of the road.)

Today, Brian and I took a road trip to





Fayetteville






in this





and


came home



in this

The truck of almost 21 years had to go. Mama needed a new car!

To Jerred

Jerred, we are so thankful that you are home from the hospital and that you are going to be okay! We love you!

Happy Birthday

Happy 21st Birthday to my neice, Amanda!

Update on Jerred

He has been moved out of critical care to the 9th floor. Staying another day. Doctor's think that would be beneficial to him. Does not have to wear the neck brace for 6 weeks like they thought. Took that off today. He does also have a small fracture in his skull. Should be going home tomorrow.

Jerred

Just spoke with Cheryl. Jerred is off the ventilator and is talking and drinking. Still in alot of pain. They want to get him up walking today with the possibility of going home tomorrow. Praise God for his many blessings!

Updates

From yesterday: The doctors said that Jerred is doing better, but still has a rough road ahead. His left lung in severely bruised and he has a broken shoulder blade, several broken ribs, and a small laceration on his spleen. The main concern is his lungs. He is still on the ventilator and they put in a feeding tube. He is responding well, giving thumbs up, and writing notes.

This morning: Brian, Taylor, and I went up again last night to see him. He looks good. He squeezed my hand and I did get a little smile out of him. It still hurts my heart so badly to see him like that. You can tell he is still in some pain, and is very frustrated with all the tubes. Still has some fever. Taylor did not go in to see him the first night, but was very glad that he did last night. They wrote notes back and forth.

Talked to Cheryl first thing this morning and he is still doing well. They hope to get him off the ventilator today. Cheryl did finally get a little rest last night!!! Please, Please continue to keep them in your prayers. He is not out of the woods yet.

Also, my sister-in-law, Missy, lost her mother early this morning. Please pray for her and for my niece and nephew, Emily and Evan. They were at our house yesterday afternoon and all night last night. My other niece, Amanda, came over to stay with them last night while we went up to see Jerred.

Terrible storm came through last night and the electricity was off for over 8 hours.

It has been a LONG week already!

Urgent Prayer Request

One of my very best friends' son, Jerred Hembree (who is also my oldest son's very best and longtime friend) was in an accident with a vehicle while on his bike late this afternoon. He is in critical care at Vanderbilt. Please pray for him as well as his mother and father, Cheryl and Jerry Hembree.

Groundhog tales

A little over a week ago, while I was sitting in physical therapy waiting on Taylor, I got a phone call from home. It was Thomas calling to tell me that Zaida had gotten a hold of something and killed it (I will spare you the details) and he was not sure what it was, but that it was big. When I got home and took a good look (Taylor said it was a grizzly bear! Actually it was a big groundhog!) Zaida then took off with it. Later that day, I asked her where it was and she took me down the front field to show me. She had buried it, but then dug it up to show me. Lovely! She then took it up to my garden and tried to bury it there. When I told her that it was TOO BIG to bury under MY ZUCCHINI PLANT she took it up into the woods. When Brian got home, I was outside telling him about it and out of the blue from behind the barn came Zaida with that thing in her mouth AGAIN so that she could show him her prize!
(In the picture you can see how big it is and that it was ALL she could carry!)






Now the story leads to yesterday. Brian and the boys had gone over to the other farm. I was reading the Sunday newspaper at the table when I spotted a little furry thing in the back yard. Oh how cute! I ran and grabbed my camera and ran out onto the back porch. It was already headed around front, so I went back through the house and out onto the front porch. Oliver (also known as "Olllie" or "The Wong") was lounging on the front porch in the sun. I looked down and there IT was in the mulch! Oh how cute and sweet it seemed!

But then, sweet little ground hog and Oliver noticed each other!

And it was a bit of a stare down for a minute or two.

Until the sweet little groundhog jumped up on the steps! Yikes!

And turned to look at "The Wong"!

It was at this point that I was a little worried and was thinking that I might have to jump up on the rocking chair. I noticed the toenails on that thing and thought the rocking chair may not be a good idea and it might climb up and eat me!

I stopped to take one last picture and quickly ran inside the front door, leaving "The Wong" to fend for himself! (Sorry, Wong!)

It was at this point when I guess the cat scared the critter and he ran down the steps and down the front yard. BUT Zaida had already come around the house to see what was going on and spotted the critter. I yelled for the little ground hog to run, but he must have not heard me or thought I was kidding!

I ran to get the broom and tried to help save the little ground hog, but.....

let's just say that groundhogs don't run very fast! (again, I will spare you the details)

Just another ordinary day of life in the country!

19th Wedding Anniversary

Since I posted a wedding picture last year, here our a few of my favorite pictures from the first few years of being together, starting in 1987.

Brian sent me the following email back in 2005:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: MSNBC.com Article: Secret to wedded bliss - saying sorry>A British couple who hold the world record for the longest marriage said on Wednesday their success was down to a glass of whisky, a glass of sherry and the word "sorry."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He then followed up with his reply to me:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: RE: MSNBC.com Article: Secret to wedded bliss - saying sorry
"I will take care of the glass of whiskey and the glass of sherry and you can step up and take care of the sorry part."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What can I say? That's my husband!

Puppy Update

The sweet little puppy has gone to a foster home and hopefully with be adopted soon. Thanks so very much to AMR!

URGENT! Please help!

Someone dropped off three little puppies on our road early Saturday morning. They ran off that night but one came back the next morning. I am guessing that the storm on Sunday morning scared them and they got split up. We took the one that came back and put him in our little pen with a box, a towel, food and water. He is not even barking! He seems so happy to just be somewhere. He is a very calm, cute, and sweet puppy. Maybe 2-3 months old, I am guessing. We can not keep him. He will be going to the shelter tomorrow. If any one is interested or knows anyone interested, PLEASE call me IMMEDIATELY at xxx-xxx-xxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Yesterday

Baby deer

This little baby was playing in our yard and running up and down the drive way the other day. There were two more that were a little bit bigger, but they ran off into the woods before I could grab my camera.

Turtle Taxi to the rescue

Today, I found a new use for my preschool teacher rolling cart.....

No, we were not playing around with a SNAPPING turtle! You see, what happened was...while we were mowing and working in the yard this morning, we saw this large snapping turtle making his way up the front field. THEN THE TRACTOR CAME to rake the cut hay to get it ready to bale. IF you know me, well then you know that I had to do something! We first tried a large piece of plywood in which my husband grabbed the turtle by the tail and flung him onto. But he slid off, and boy was he mad (the turtle not the husband)! Then I remembered my cart in the garage and sent Taylor after it. We laid it over and Brian used a pole to scoot ch and shimmy him in. Then he was REALLY mad! If he'd only realized that we were saving him from being squished by the tractor tires or even being whipped up into a nice round bale of hay, then maybe he would have been a little happier to cooperate! Though, he was quiet happy when we did make it to the pond behind our house and let him out! (And yes, I did Clorox and clean the cart afterwards.)

This is our front field after all was said and done.

Beautiful Butterfly

I had to look twice to see if it was real!

School is officially out!

Report cards were picked up this morning. Everyone passed on to the next grade level. Looks like it is going to be ONE SILLY SUMMER!