Stretchy, multicolored bracelets in different shapes and sizes. Perfect for trading with your friends. Why didn’t I think of it???

I’ve been going through this devotional book with Savannah and we both really love it.

Tonight we discussed the story of Mary and Martha. Two sisters who invited Jesus into their home. Martha handled all the preparations herself while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Finally, completely frustrated, Martha asks Jesus to speak up on her behalf and is suprised when she hears Jesus say that Mary has chosen what is best.

I was curious about Savannah’s take on the story because she is enough like me to always be concerned with what has to be done. So much so, that we lose focus on what’s really important. When I asked her what that story meant to her and how could she apply what she learned in her life, she replied:

“I think it means that the next time you ask me to do homework in the afternoon I can tell you that I’m choosing to go and be with Jesus and you can’t say anything because that’s the better choice.”

Bowl full of grapes? $4.00

New copy of Charlotte’s Web? Free from a family at church

Throwing the blanket under a shady oak tree, snacking on grapes with my 7 year old daughter while lying on our bellies reading a childhood classic? PRICELESS

It wasn’t long before we spotted Mama cow. She hadn’t delivered yet so we left her alone and kept riding around. Pretty soon Savannah saw this:

Isn’t she a cutie? And she let us get pretty dang close too, before she took off, jumping this way and that with those skinny little legs.

And speaking of the opposite of skinny little legs:

I know it looks as if my sister is pointing to my pasty white thighs, reminding me never to wear shorts again! But look a tad bit lower at the green goo covering her toes. Ha ha! I took it easy with her on the back of my 4 wheeler for most of the night, but at one point I decided to race Jeremy and Emery. As I sped through the field, I hit a cow pie and she got, well, initiated. LOL!

We sure laughed about that one. I heard talk of paybacks and threats of “flicking it” in Savannah’s direction, but it was all in good fun. I’m not sure how long we rode around hoping to eventually catch a glimpse of that calf being born. Unfortunately, Papa said that since it was her first birth, it might be a while. We headed back to the house, but not before I captured my favorite little calf and his Mama:

I heard Papa heading out early this morning and I knew he was going to check on the cow from last night. When he got back I asked how she was and he shook his head. During the night, she tried to deliver the calf, but it got stuck halfway out and suffocated. She was still alive but they had to get the calf out. Apparently the guys who work here tried everything they knew, but a vet had to be called in.

I went outside with the kids after breakfast and while they played I could hear that poor cow off in the distance moaning. It was so pitiful. I really felt bad for her. The kids were asking Papa tons of questions and he did his best to be honest, but not too graphic.

A little while later, Savannah came up to me with this picture. And while I knew the situation itself was not funny, her details of it cracked me up!

Notice the vet racing to Papa’s rescue as his eyes are bugging out of his head and the calf is hanging out of the Mama cow while she “Mooo’s” loudly. My daughter is either very creative or very disturbed! :)

“Yes, actually I have noticed.”

“Do you know why???”

“Well, I thought you were just being obedient. Is there another reason?”

“Yes. It’s your bangs.”

“My bangs?”

“Uh-huh. Ever since you cut your hair and Ms Courtney gave you bangs, I think you look like a teenager. Like a babysitter. I’m always a better listener for a babysitter.”

(Where was this in the parenting handbook? If I’d had known it was that simple, I’d have asked Courtney to cut me some bangs a long time ago!)

Wowser! Check out those two bathing pre-teen bombshells. That’s Dorothy Hamill on the left and her sidekick, Pocahontas.

This picture was taken at “The Pit”, aka The Sheridan Rod and Gun Club. Where I grew up, this was the place to be during the hot summer months. Unless you were lucky enough to know somebody with a chlorinated pool. Which we obviously did not.

I hadn’t thought about “The Pit” in years until the other day when I was watching my kids and their friends swim in Papa’s pond behind the house. I can imagine that their memories will be similar to mine as they think back over these years when they’re adults. “Boy, that sure was fun when I was little, but you couldn’t pay me a million bucks to get me to stick my head in that water now!”

Let’s not forget about the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us who live in freedom. That’s the real reason we have a day off from work and can get together on a Monday afternoon. And even though we did celebrate the day with friends and family, we did not forget.

Oh, and kudos to a local church for their fantastic flag display, which also afforded me the opportunity to talk about Memorial Day in detail with my kids while in route to Kroger. That was a much better use of time instead of watching a DVD, playing games on my phone, or goodness knows…BICKERING IN THE BACKSEAT!

But ya know what? All those things involve our freedom. The freedom to come and go as we please, to play games, work hard, relax, fish, swim or make the best BBQ in the neighborhood. Let’s just not forget the families who have and who ARE making such a tremendous sacrifice on behalf of this entire nation.

Yep…It’s official…Summer’s Here!!!!

I firmly believe, without a doubt, that God is up to something in the life of my family. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but He definitely has our attention! And I’ve said before, even with all that has gone on, from the fire to the accident, I have a strange sense of peace. Peace that can only come from above.

Thank you God, for answered prayers. Thank you for not allowing us to settle for mediocrity. Thank you for challenging this family to be stronger together and more dependent on You. You have allowed these hard times to draw us closer to You, and we know You are walking right beside us. We love You and will continue to praise You through the storm. You alone, are God! Amen

Can I get a Woo-Hoo???

Five days is certainly a long time to hang out in a sterile hospital room. Sponge baths and cafeteria food get old after about 36 hours! Maybe less, depending on whose giving the sponge bath. At least that’s my patients’ theory!

Jeremy started preparing for the trip home Wednesday night, by lowering his leg little by little throughout the day. By the time we left he was able to use crutches to get himself to the bathroom…which was HUGE progress…and it made me very happy that that was a job I didn’t have to try to do alone!

We met my parents for dinner and grabbed the kids, which they had wonderfully kept at their house all week (yes, they are saints…you’ve heard of St. Simons, right?). My dad took Jeremy back to the house while my mom and I headed to the pharmacy to fill more prescriptions in one night than I’ve ever filled my entire life!

So today starts our first day home and the kids are eager to help in any way they can. Changing bandages, getting medicine bottles, grabbing the crutches and cold drinks. The house is busy, but quiet. Which is good. Because I’m just trying to keep my head above water.