Thankful Thursday

One of the main reasons I do a Thankful Thursday is to regain my perspective.

This really puts things into perspective.

And this.

And this just breaks my heart.

I live in America. I am spoiled. I have food and shelter and all the earthly comforts I need. I have my very own computer for heaven's sake. Things are pretty chaotic and stressful right now but we are still so fortunate. Fortunate my husband has a job, we have a home, our children are well fed and are healthy.

Which is why I do a Thankful Thursday. Because when everything is stressful my tendency is to focus on myself and my problems and forget about the bigger picture. I get overwhelmed in the moment. It is so important that I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and that I am thankful for every situation. So here is my list.


1) Thankful that when I got stung by a wasp this morning that it only swelled up to about a 4 inch circle instead of my whole leg. (I knew I would eventually figure out a way to be thankful for that!)

2) Thankful that even though my husband is going to be in New Orleans this weekend for a conference, that he might get to fly home for about 12 hours. Might. Hopefully.

3) Thankful that when the movers come in August 11th, that they are going to pack up everything. How great is that?

4) Thankful that my kids are in good health.

5) Thankful that there were no cavities when we went to the dentist yesterday.

6) Thankful for all the great friends I've made in my year and a half in Georgia.

7) Thankful that in less than a month we will be living under the same roof as my husband. (we are all very excited about this) (the kids cry every Sunday when he leaves)

8) Thankful that we only have to drive to Texas instead of California or the state of Washington... or Canada..... . (can you tell that I'm dreading the trip to Texas?) (it's a long, ole, trip)

9) Thankful that I have a Savior in Jesus Christ.

10)I am thankful that my God is the everlasting God who is the creator of the heavens and the earth. That he is all powerful and almighty.

Isaiah 40:28 - 31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Have a Thankful Thursday!

What One Does In The River, When The River Is Flooded

Catching minnows.


Chatting with cousins.

Posing for pictures.Shooting firecrackers off the bridge.
Catching baby snapping turtles.Riding 4-wheelers.

Running around with endless energy.

Skipping rocks with your Uncle.

Wishing you had an extra bucket or two.

Wading in the road.

The River

One of our favorite things to do at Grandpa's farm is to play in the river. I remember when we were kids, my brother and sister and I would load up buckets and nets and inner tubes and our seine and walk down the gravel road all the way to the river. We would spend the whole day having grand adventures.

Oh those were the days.

It was so much more fun when I didn't have little people I was responsible for!

We would also take float trips in our inner tubes down the river with all our cousins. Being the first in the line was always a bit risky because you would be the first to hit your bum if a big rock was in the river going down a set of rapids. On the other hand, if someone up front saw a water snake passing by, being last wasn't the best place to be either!


Ahhh, here is my beloved river.

And here is the..........bridge.........oh wait, that's not the river. That's the ROAD that goes down to the river from my Grandpa's farmhouse.

Remember the big storm? Well, it rained so much that it flooded the river the next day and all the overflow went along the road. The very same road that we drove on the previous night around 11:30 pm to get up to my Grandpa's house!

This is what the bridge looks like when the water is up. We were pretty fortunate that it wasn't up like this when we crossed the night before.

My Grandpa told me that when he was a young boy, there was a ford where the bridge is now. They used to cross it with a wagon and horses. He said when the river was up, his dad would tie down everything in the wagon and they would go on across. The wagon would start to float downstream from the horses and it would get rather scary. But they always made it.

It makes me so thankful for the concrete bridge.

Small as is may be.

And this was one of our favorite things to do this trip. Four-wheeling on the road in the water.

This is my brother and my oldest son. My brother is letting him "drive". He's such a cool Uncle!

And here is my man and my boy. I think if there was someone taking a 4-wheeler anywhere, my son managed a way to get a ride on it with them.

And yes, that is still the road.

The Outdoor Shower

Well, I've decided your picture of the campground and the outhouse would be incomplete without a tour of the shower.

Yes, there is a shower at the campground. My Grandpa built it. He is a very brilliant man and an electrical engineer. He is ingenious and creative. I don't think that there has ever been a project he wanted to do that he didn't find someway to figure it out.

He told me that in the 1960s he was doing an electrical job and they had him deactivate a high voltage switch gear. The green rectangular metal part you see was the housing for the switch gear. They let him take it home. At that time my Grandparents were living in the farmhouse that is closer to the city. He took everything out of it and converted it to an outdoor shower by setting a tank on top of it and adding a shower nozzle and hosing. He said the sun would warm the water in the tank up during the day so the shower wasn't too cold.

Pretty ingenious if I do say so myself.

I remember as a kid taking a shower in it at Grandpa's house. It was in the backyard and it always seemed cold to me. But I was used to having hot water. I'm sure it would have been a lot colder had the sun not warmed it all day.

Several years ago Grandpa thought that since they weren't using the shower back at the farmhouse in town, he would bring it down to the river and rig it up as a shower for the campground.

He put it near the river and took some old roofing and wrapped it around to make more of an extended shower stall with room to change. The river is right on the other side of those trees. He then took a hot pink table cloth and nailed it up as a doorway.

The most incredible part is how he filled up that tank on top. I'm still not for sure how he did this but he said he took a pressure tank and filled it with water and used an air compressor and a hose and and used the air pressure to push the water up into the tank.

I'm still trying to figure that one out.


But I'm sure you would like to see more. Come on in.... I'll show you.


He was thoughtful enough to put up a sign that says VACANT on one side and OCCUPIED on the other. Which is kind of nice to have. It's just embarrassing to walk in on someone changing in the shower. Not that I would know.

With the curtain pulled back you can peek inside. The other table cloth hanging up there is so that you will have privacy just in case anyone is in the river. My Grandpa is thoughtful like that.

So now we are inside. You can see the two doors that open to the shower. I know it's not much to look at, but it sure is nice when you have been playing in the river all day or playing ball in the field to have a clean place to wash up and change.

Grandpa found this stone in the field. I think it fits rather nicely. Makes you feel like you are in one of those fancy spas that have rock floors.

Not that I've ever been to one. But I've heard people talk of such things......

This is looking up at the shower head he rigged up in the 1960s. It still works. Cool.

And if you step outside the shower and look back towards the entry, you will find a handy dandy seat that you can sit you child down on or put your clean dry clothes on. Grandpa even brought in extra gravel and extra big flat rocks to walk on.

As far as homemade campground showers go, I would have to say this is that best one I've ever seen. Okay, so maybe it's the only one I've ever seen.... but still.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. My Grandpa would be pleased to know that his outdoor shower has had a spotlight on my blog. I don't think he actually knows what a blog is..... but if he did, I'm sure he would be pleased.

Thankful Thursday

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Be joyful always;
pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus.


It's so very easy to be thankful when everything is going my way. When birds are tying ribbons in my hair and singing sweetly as I go about my daily life.

It's when things are difficult and circumstances are beyond my control that I find myself falling into the pit of grumbling and unthankfulness. I find myself starting to feel like things are unfair and I've drawn the short straw. Been sent down the river. Dealt a bad hand. Between a rock and a hard place. Close but no cigar. Flash in the pan. When it rains it pours. (you get the idea)

I've avoided doing a Thankful Thursday post because I've felt more discouraged than thankful.

I'm not feeling well physically. Circumstances have not turned out like I anticipated or hoped for. And I'm just exhausted in general. Moving to a new state (yet again) seems daunting. And 9 months of living in Georgia with our 3 kids while my husband works in Texas has been more difficult than I could have ever imagined.

And yet, in Thessalonians, it didn't say.... be joyful only when things are going your way....... and pray continually because everything will work out just how you planned....... and give thanks only once you have achieved your happy place and your world is at peace.

It says give thanks in all circumstances....... so here it goes.


1) Thankful for the sport court down the street. The kids and I went down there yesterday and played ball. It was the Ladybugs versus the Sharks. The kids even dressed up in basketball outfits to go. We had a great time.

2) Thankful that even though we didn't sell our house and that we ended up taking the company buyout (and lost money) that we still had the option of a company buyout. I've been so focused on the fact that we aren't getting out of the house what we have in it, that I've lost the gratefulness that the company is buying our house and that we can go ahead and move to Texas.

3) Thankful that we found a house in Texas that will work for our family.

4) Thankful that in less than a month we will be living under the same roof as our daddy.

5) Thankful that we will only be 4 hours away from my parents.

6) Thankful that the company is packing us up and that I don't have to do that all alone. Or worse, with the help of the kids. Because I am actually never alone. Lonely sometimes... but never alone.

7) Thankful that the kids are all in good health.

8) Thankful for the rain.

9) Thankful for the VBS camp the kids went to last week.

10) Thankful that my husband will be home for the weekend!


Okay, that's all I've got.
I hope you have a Thankful Thursday.

Mystery Solved

We had some friends over for a play date today.
I told the mom about the "Volcano Sisters" story.
And the fact I had no idea where she got it.
My friend replied, "Backyardigans".

I let them watch Backyardigans in the hotel in Texas but never sat down to watch myself because they were occupied and I needed to house hunt online.

Apparently the Volcano Sisters episode aired at least once while we were there.
And since we have been there twice for a week at
a time in the last couple months it makes perfect sense.


So there you have it.
Mystery Solved.
And I can TOTALLY see where she got it all now.

Too funny.

I am SO getting her this DVD for her birthday.

A Mortal Wound Indeed

Three yelled down from upstairs that one in their midst had been injured.
It was an emergency.
It was a huge gaping wound.
They had done the best they could to stop the bleeding
but decided it was time they sought additional medical assistance.

One had skillfully dressed the wound.
One had contributed moral support.
One was eternally grateful for the two who had saved his life.

As they helped their limping brother down the stairs I was leery as to what I would find.

Ah, the wound.

I think at this juncture I will postpone the highly anticipated trip to the emergency room.

(although I must say I am impressed by the wound dressing skills)
(and the drama of it all, oh, the drama, also impressive)

Does this sort of drama only run rampant at my abode or does it freely flow throughout the Kingdom of Children 7 and under?

Volcano Sisters of the World Unite

So, for several months now my daughter has been dressing
up in a tutu and a tiara and calling herself a "Volcano Sister".
I'm honestly not for sure where this came from.
And yet, this has been one her favorite dress up themes lately.
And yes, "Volcano Sisters" frown and look mean.
Again, I have no idea why.

I'm thinking maybe this is some new breed of tough
super heroine who can get away with wearing princess clothing
and still take out Batman and Superman.

Apparently a necessary skill in this house.

Last week at Vacation Bible School, the theme for the week was Outrigger Island. There was a huge backdrop of an island and a huge volcano on the stage.
The adults were all dressed up in Hawaiian garb.
When I picked up my daughter from her class on the first day
she announced to me in her most awe-filled voice,

"Mommy, I saw the VOLCANO SISTERS!!! The real live VOLCANO SISTERS!".

She was so excited.

She put the volcano together with the ladies leading the
songs dressed in grass skirts and came up with the only
logical conclusion... that these indeed were the Volcano Sisters in person.

The next day I saw some of the ladies chatting and I told them about my daughter
and the story of the Volcano sisters and how she was dying to get a picture with them. They thought the story was hilarious and said that she could
come up front at parent's night and get her pic made.

When we got to parents night they announced,
"Please welcome Pastor Mike and the VOLCANO SISTERS!!!!"

My daughter started screaming for them.

You would have thought we were at a Wiggles concert.

Come to find out, the ladies I talked to shared the story with everyone else and they decided that "Volcano Sisters" was a splendid name and it stuck.


And here she is.

Her picture with the real Volcano Sisters.

Unfortunately she now thinks that this is something that adults do for a living and she has aspired to be a "Volcano Sister" when she grows up.

All I have to say is good luck with that.

The Outhouse

So here are the promised pictures of the outhouse. But, to truly appreciate them I think you need to start a little farther out. Say at the end of the paved road.

To get to my Grandpa's farm, you must drive far far out into the country. If you see a Wal-Mart, you still have about an hour to go. If you see a small no-name gas station you are still not quite there. Do you see the end of the pavement? Then you have arrived.

I love this road. I've been down it so many times over my entire life. There are so many memories I have going down this gravel road.We take the first right we get to. Oh look, Grandpa left the gate open for us. Which is nice for me since I am sitting on the back of the 4-wheeler. And the person on the back always has to get off and open and shut the gates. I don't ask questions, I just do what I'm told.
We go down this path through the mud.
(these were taken the day after the Great Camping Storm of July 08)

And here are my feet. I really need to touch up the paint on my toenails. Because painted toenails are most important when you are riding on a 4-wheeler with your husband through the mud. They draw your eyes down to the brightly painted toes instead of the mud on your calves.Here we are at the campground. Usually there are cars and trucks and tents and kids everywhere. But seeing as how we got rained out, the aforementioned are all up at my Grandpa's farmhouse (which DOES have indoor plumbing, just to clarify).

The white structure is where all the food is kept and meals are served while we camp. The river is right on the other side of the trees.

Here is the tent my parents set up for us. My dad and brother-in-law set it back up after the storm so it would dry out better.

We took our economy car (which translates into not enough room for anything and all 3 kids can touch each other and us) (I'm seriously considering installing one of those privacy windows like they have in those big fancy cars) (and inventing aerosol Benadryl - child strength) so we didn't have room in the car to bring our own tent.

Or our cooler, or our sleeping bags, or our sanity.

And I have drawn a handy dandy little arrow so you can see where the beloved outhouse is in relation to our tent.

And here it is. The outhouse my Grandpa built. The outhouse that I have used every year at the 4th of July Campout since I can remember. (I'm sure just that fact alone has instantly endeared it to you)

Do you like the sign that designates this the Women's bathroom? There is a men's outhouse also but it is on the other side of the field.

See. I told you it was fancy. A two seater and all! The Folgers cans keep the toilet paper and the lime powder all dry. And that would be powder from the rock not the fruit. What? You don't know what the powder is used for? Well, I'm sure not going to explain it to you.

Go ask your Grandma.

And there is even a fancy smancy Exit sign on the door so we'll feel all uptown and all.

And there you have it.

The Outhouse.

Which always makes me so thankful for indoor plumbing.

I'd Like To Buy A Vowel

In the evenings we have reading time. I read several books to the kids. Then my oldest who is reading well, reads books to all of us. My middle is just starting to read, and my 3 year old thinks she can read already. In fact she is just convinced.


Tonight she picked up a book with simple words and announced she was going to read it to us.


The first word was PEN.


She sounded it out. P. E. N. (the phonics sounds)
Then she put the last two letters together P. EN. (I just knew she had it)


I asked her what that spelled.....


And she answered confidently...


"SOAP!"


Clearly she is ready to start reading her first novel.

Thankful Thursday

Blogging to you live from the hotel lobby. Fortunately there is a large screen tv with cable so the kids are momentarily occupied.

1. Thankful that we have a contract on a house in Dallas!!! Woohoo! It got a little tense there for a while. The buyers were "insulted" by our first bid. (I told you we were frugal) (And they were priced too high per square foot for the neighborhood) But, they wanted to play ball. Which is the point where the realtor and I got stressed and my husband really started to enjoy the game. They came back with a counter, we sat on it. They got nervous (just as my husband predicted) and willingly came down quite a bit more and told us that was as low as they would go. My husband instructed our realtor to give them our top number and tell them that was as high as we would go. Ugh. The tension was palpable. But, they came down! Woohoo! Glad that is over.

2. Thankful we are going home tonight! At least we are starting home. Which is even better. To just go partway today and the rest tomorrow, because it is a long ole drive!

3. Thankful that even though we are stuck in the hotel yet another day, there is a pool, and there is computer access in the lobby, and we did bring things to read and draw on. And cable! We don't have cable at home.

4. Thankful for my neighbor who has been checking on my house and watering my plants while we are gone.

5. Thankful for my portable dvd player. Thanks for that mom & dad. I don't think my sanity would stand a chance on the way home without it!

6. Thankful for Chipotle. Oh. My. Heavens. Have either of you eaten there? I don't think there has been one of these in my close vicinity in either place I have lived recently or I'm sure I would have known about them. We ate there last night and it was wonderful!

7. Thankful that I took some Spanish in college. Our room service lady speaks no English. And I speak poco Espanol. But enough that I was able to communicate what we needed. I think.

8. Thankful I'll be a Texan by mid-August. Although, I'm not for sure I'll ever qualify as a Texan as long as we have OU allegiance. GO SOONERS!

Okay, that's all I've got. The Backyardigans are over and my kids are starting to wander.

Have a Thankful Thursday!

Telegram

In Dallas STOP Found a House STOP Made a Bid STOP Waiting for Counter-bid STOP Husband Working Today STOP He Took The Car STOP The Only Car STOP Stuck in Hotel With 3 Kids STOP Good Times STOP Went Swimming STOP They Took Loooong Baths STOP Read Books STOP Watched TV STOP Still Stuck STOP Kids Getting Cabin Fever STOP Mama Getting Cabin Fever STOP Not looking forward to 15 hour trip back to Atlanta STOP Send Chocolate STOP Send Transportation STOP Send a Home Negotiator STOP Send 5 non-stop airline tickets back to ATL STOP Thanks Much STOP

A Camping We Will Go... A Camping We Will Go... Hi-Ho-The-Merry-O.... A Camping We Will Go

Every year since I can remember, our family has had a family reunion on the 4th of July weekend at my Grandpa's farm. We camp out in his hay field on the banks of a river and just have a good ole' time.

This year my husband got home from Texas around midnight on Wednesday. We drove 14 hours (or quite possible 140 hours, it all seems to run together)on Thursday and showed up at the farm around 11:30pm.

And we were exhausted.

My parents had already set up a tent for us complete with mattress pads (we are getting old and don't enjoy sleeping on the ground so much anymore) and sheets. My brother and sister-in-law had arrived a couple hours before us and my sister and her family arrived about 45 minutes after us. Several of my cousins and my Aunt and Uncle were already set up at the campground in their tents.

We headed on down to the campground and got settled in our tent.

About 10 minutes later, my 3 year old decided she needed to go to the bathroom. What she did not have the experience to realize is that when one is camping out, one tries very hard to just hold it the rest of the night instead of getting out of the tent and making a visit to the outhouse.

I could not convince her that she could just hold it. And then my 7 year old decided he needed to go too, so I just figured I needed to get it over with.

My Grandpa made a very nice outhouse many years ago for our biological needs when we are camping out. It is a 2 seater and actually has 2 very nice genuine white toilet seats.

But in the middle of the night, you have to use your flashlight to make your way through the dewy grass to the outhouse that may or may not have spiders and snakes and insects lurking in the corners.

It's very easy to let your imagination run wild in the dark. In an outhouse.

So we took care of all the needs and made our way back to our tent where we got settled in for the night.



I thought we would finally get some much needed rest.


Was I ever wrong.



About 2:00am we started to hear some drops of rain on the top of our tent.

We weren't worried. We had camped out in rain before.

About 20 minutes later, we were starting to get a little worried. The rain was coming down pretty hard and we were starting to hear thunder and see lightning in the distance. My daughter was screaming every time it thundered and she would have joined me inside my shirt had I let her.

At this point we thought there was a good chance we were going to have to bail and head back to the farm house for the rest of the night.

Just then there was a huge gust of wind and the rain canopy part of our tent blew off partway. We started taking on water. Everything started getting wet. The kids were yelling and we were rolling up sleeping bags and pushing everything to the center of the tent (away from the walls) as fast and furious as we could.

Then both sides of the tent collapsed in on us.

Fortunately the middle pole was still standing. We were trying to figure out how we were going to get all our kids and luggage back in the car without getting every single thing we owned completely wet and muddy.

Unbeknownst to me, at this same time, my sister and her family were in their car wondering why we were not in our car. They were worried about the lightening. Apparently one of the guys my brother-in-law works with was surveying in the mountains recently and found a family who were camping and had been struck by lightening. It killed both parents and the kids were all in shock when he found them.

I just about threw up when I heard this. The next day.

So, my dad had said if it started to rain, he would drive down from the farmhouse to check on us.

I heard a vehicle driving through the field and knew it must be my dad coming to the rescue. I grabbed our flashlight and did my best S.O.S. out our tent window.

He came to the rescue with an umbrella and carried the kids to the dry van. We were able to get out all our luggage and most of the linens and one of the sleeping pads and then headed up to the farm house.

My sister and her family and several cousins all came up to sleep at the house also. There were sleeping bags and bodies everywhere. Some of my cousins ended up sleeping in their cars and I think my brother and sister-in-law also ended up in their car only because my brother was worried about the river rising above the banks. Their tent held through the storm.

My family ended up sleeping in two twin beds pushed together to make a king. My sister and her family were in the same small room also sleeping on two twin beds pushed together. We were just grateful to be sleeping somewhere dry.

One of my Uncles said the next day that it looked like some sort of crime scene.

There was stuff everywhere. Everyone was trying to get their linens and clothes and pillows all dried out. It was crazy.

But we ended up having a great visit. And we have summed it up to a great bonding experience.

But I think I am ~good~ on the whole bonding thing. I'll be just happy if it never rains on us while camping again.

Good times.


P.S. As my dear sister-in-law has pointed out in the comments... I do have pictures of the outhouse. And there was a snake involved...and maybe a dance to avoid being bitten..... even though I never actually saw the snake that my husband said he saw..... okay, so I was taking the picture of the outhouse and he yelled "SNAKE" and I tried desperately to keep my feet off the ground because I had no idea where the snake was....... and it might have been interpreted as some kind of crazy dance........but back to the topic at hand.....I have no way to upload the pics of the outhouse at this point.... I will post them once I get back home to Atlanta.... I'm sure all three of you will be anxiously awaiting.......

P.S.S And yes, when we were standing in our collapsed tent....... in the rain ......and my dad came up to the tent in his raincoat and umbrella and was carrying the kids to safety....... I actually thought, that would make a GREAT picture. But I just don't think my husband would have thoroughly appreciated the necessity of capturing this experience on film. In fact, I'm pretty sure he would not have been amused.

Daylily Tour 08

Hello! I'm so glad you stopped by!

Would you like to come around to the backyard and see my daylillies?

You would?

I'm so delighted!

I've been collecting daylillies for many years now. A lot of mine have been given to me by my Grandmother and would be considered heirloom daylillies. When I got married and acquired my own little house and my own little plot of land, she gave me quite a few.

I have also bought some. The ones that are frillier with pinks and yellows are ones that I gravitate to when purchasing. I also bought one that is an obnoxious reddish orange. I somehow love it.

A couple have been given to me by friends. A couple were at a house when we moved in and became assimilated into my collection when we left.

I am still collecting and do not know that I will ever think, "Now I have enough." It has kind of become an obsession for me.

I LOVE to trade plants and I love to have perennial plants that were given to me by friends and family. I am always reminded of that person each year when they bloom.

These have been moved twice in the the last 3 years and are getting ready to make the trek to Texas. I love that they are very hardy and easy to transport.

I have a little over 30 different varieties and somewhere close to 300 or 400 plants. It seemed like a lot more when we were planting them last February!

All of these pictured are in my collection (I promise no "they are my neighbor's but I'm still standing in my yard" pictures) and in my garden right now. I just took these pictures this month. This is the first year I have tried to document all the varieties with pictures.

Thanks for stopping by my garden and admiring my daylillies with me.
Come again any time.
I love to have visitors!