Another Farm First

Another farm first for the children and me this weekend was climbing a deer stand! Wow, those things are high! You'd think they were used to see birds or something in the sky rather than something way down on the ground that can't even climb a tree!

Saturday afternoon, RJ hooked a small trailer to the 4-wheeler and the kids and I climbed on board. We drove all through the woods! What a beautiful trip! We have 56 acres there, and I've never seen most of it. I've taken walks through the woods, but I've never ridden around so that I could see so much of it. We rode all the way back to a beautiful creek that serves as the back property line. It was gorgeous! We saw many squirrels, a deserted turtle shell, many plants and flowers, and a wild turkey!

While we were enjoying the experience of the woods, we stopped by one of RJ's deer stands and each of us took a turn climbing to the top and looking around. What a view! I had hoped we might see a deer or turkey or some other form of wildlife, but even though we didn't the view of nature was outstanding from that high! The girls, in usual form, wanted to go together and clung together at the top of the stand. They declared it scary, but fun. E, in true form, wanted to be independent and go by himself. Even old mom managed to get to the top and look around, although you'll never see images of that posted here! One of my children decided to be helpful and take a picture from the ground of me climbing DOWN the ladder! What a beautiful picture that was! I'm thrilled that digital cameras have a delete button!

Farm Livin'

We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. We left Saturday morning and went to our farm house in Elberton, Georgia for a celebration of the beginning of Spring Break and E's 6th birthday. We had beautiful weather and played outside all weekend in the huge pastures surrounding the house. We played football, basketball, and softball, and thoroughly enjoyed being outside and together.

I shared a couple of "first" experiences with my children this weekend! We all learned to drive a 4-wheeler! I'd never done that in my life. I've never even driven a stick-shift car, and I really didn't have much of an idea how to switch gears. So, my driving was a little jerky, but a lot of fun. The children each took turns driving, with their daddy jogging beside them giving instructions. My husband is one of the most cautious men you'll ever meet. He doesn't take risks with our children's safety. So, they were only able to get into first gear, which made them drive slowly, and he jogged right beside them - mostly with his hand on the steering

wheel helping them guide the 4-wheeler. Each of them drove with HUGE smiles on their faces and felt so big!

Of course, it was also fun to ride behind RJ as he drove. That way, we went much faster and felt much more confident. We were adventurous and able to go more exciting places. It was fun to ride and feel the wind. It was a feeling of freedom and fun! I could feel stress draining from my body.


What a great day!

Sunday Seven - #5 for me - Happy Birthday E!

Today is my sweet E's 6th birthday. There are many reasons I'm thankful for and love him. Here are a few things that I LOVE about him!

1. His mind is always thinking and commenting on math. He cracks me up! We can be at a ballgame and he'll say, "Hey, Mom, I know what 10 +3 is! 13!" And if I look around I'll see 10 girls and 3 coaches on the field. He's made a math problem out of the game. This week he told me, "I've only got 3 more days to be odd. (I held my tongue and didn't make a joke here.)Then, I'll be even." It was 3 days until he was no longer 5 and became 6. The way his mind works is fun to watch and the fact that he will tell me what he is thinking is a major joy in my life!

2. This goes along with #1. E has very few thoughts that he keeps to himself. As my father would say, "Everything that pops in his head, comes out of his mouth." He verbalizes everything he thinks, and he thinks some interesting things! He's always making me smile or laugh with his original thoughts. The other day he left a Gatorade in the car while he played ball. After the ball practice he took a drink of the Gatorade and said, "Boy, this Gatorade reminds me of Mom." My oldest daughter asked how a drink reminded him of me and he said, "'Cause it 's HOT!" Both of my girls reacted with disgust and he replied, "What? She's always hot." I am very hot-natured and that's what he meant. He's always making strange connections and saying funny things. He keeps conversation lively!

3. His enthusiasm. He enjoys himself and he goes at new adventures with the attitude that he will have fun.

4. He's gentle and loving. He's loud and rowdy and rough around the edges. However, he's also very gentle, loving and kind. If one of us feels bad, he wants to help us feel better. If someone is sad, he wants to make them laugh. He loves to hold and nurture his baby cousin. It's sweet to see such a rough and tumble fellow be so gentle and kind.

5. He genuinely appreciates things you do for him. This weekend, we went to our farm house to celebrate his birthday. He loved it. He appreciated the cookout. He appreciated the silly string. He enjoyed it all, laughed and had fun, and appreciated our efforts on his special day. (I'll post more on our trip tomorrow.) We're going to Pigeon Forge later this week as part of his birthday celebration, too. He can't wait and he's already told us thank you several times for that trip and it hasn't happened yet.

6. He'll try just about anything. He's outgoing, friendly, and he is usually willing to give anything a whirl. I like his sense of adventure. Sometimes he's a little too sure of himself in new situations, but I like it that he's willing to try new things.

7. He loves his family and doing things with all of us! He loves being with our extended family on both sides. He talks about Gram, Granddaddy, Grandmother and Nanny and Papaw. My husband's parents passed away during the last 2 years, and E remembers them well and talks about them regularly. He loves them and wants to keep their memories alive and with him by remembering things about them. We don't see my parents as much as we'd like, and E is aware that time with them is special and important. He values family. I love that!

Happy birthday, my sweet little boy! I love you!

Thursday Thirteen - My Edition #7 - Junk Food Junkie!

Last night I made a quick run to my home-away-from- home. Walmart has become a place I seem to frequent. I was embarrassed to check out because of all the junk food in my cart. Here are the reasons I bought a buggy full of junk! 1-3 - All 3 of my children play baseball or softball. We have snack for all three of their teams after the games soon. I bought an assortment of chips and Gatorade for 3 teams. 4. E's birthday is this weekend. He is celebrating it with his class today, so I bought 4 packs of cupcakes. 5. Also, for his party this weekend, we needed pinata fillers - more candy and small trinkets. 6-9. All 3 children have their class Spring party in the next 2 days. We bought 1 dozen plastic eggs and Starburst to put in them for each child. 7. N's class Spring party is today. We bought juice boxes for her class. 8. B needed cookies to decorate for her class party. 9. E's room mom requested a bowl of fruit. So I DID buy one item that wasn't junk. 10. My own class has a party is today. I bought chips for our picnic-themed Spring party. 11. I bought more chips for E's birthday cookout on Sunday. 12. I bought granola bars for my children to take to school for snack time. It's practically a crime to send children to school without a snack to eat in the morning. 13. I bought candy for my AR jar- more Starbursts. My students are allowed to get a treat on Friday when they take an AR computerized test. Walmart must love me! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Sunday Seven - #4 for me

My children played softball and baseball 2 years ago for one season. We took the year off and didn't play last season. This year, we decided to put the children in a very large church league close to our home instead of one of the recreational leagues in our area. We were happy with the rec league they played in previously, so it was a hard decision for us. However, I was looking for something a little less competitive and high-strung. I wanted the kids focused on learning the game, and not so terribly aware of the score and their own personal stats. I want them to win and do well, but I didn't want playing the game to be stressful for them. There's enough stress in the world. I'm glad we switched leagues. Here are seven things that I am thankful my children have in their softball/baseball league this year.

1. Teaching. This large, church league is focused on kids having fun while they learn the game. The coaches take time to teach all of the children to how to play each aspect of the game. They take time with the "teachable moments" to instruct and help the children learn.

2. Prayer. The teams pray at the beginning of each game and at the end. I love that my children see strong, athletic people pray outside of church. The players are often given an opportunity to lead the team in prayer if they want. I think it shows the kids that prayer is an important part of life, and not just something we do in church on Sunday.

3. Positive attitudes. Parents cheer positively for their own team and even (gasp) sometimes children on the other team! I have frequently seen opposing coaches congratulate players when a good play is made.

4. Teamwork. Teamwork is a primary focus. A "we're all in this together" attitude. Today, the coach of the team one of my daughter's team was playing was late. Our coach had all of the girls on the field together warming up. It's a game. They were all there to have fun and play the best they could. They warmed up as one team.

5. Fun. It has been stressed to all three of my kids that "this is a game." Last night, my youngest daughter had practice. After formal practice, the coach stayed to "play" with any girls who could stay. They played speed ball with parents, siblings, coaches and players all on the field. They were able to relax, have fun, and enjoy the game - a little batting, throwing, and fielding practice was slipped in with all the laughing!

6. Physical activity. It's good to get outside and run after a day of school work and homework. Getting in condition is an important part of the game and a good life-lesson for the kids.

7. Discipline and hard work. We're all good. We can all get better through hard work and practice. Again, a wonderful life-lesson.

The E-Word

My mother, wrote a very interesting post on the s-word. Unfortunately, her frustration in dealing with a true e-word caused her to be able to write so cleverly about the s-word! In her post she referred to an incident I had with a 5th grade student over the "e-word." So, I thought I'd provide an explanation of that word here.

I teach in Georgia. Several years ago, one of my 5th grade girls came running to me obviously very flustered. I could tell by the way she was coming that she was going to tell on someone! In an indignant voice she said, "Billy called me the e-word!" She was obviously very insulted and very angry, but try as I might, I couldn't think of an e-word. I talked with her several minutes trying to figure out this awful word. I needed to know what horrible word this child used in order to know how to deal with him. Eventually, I said, "Honey, you're going to have to tell me the word so I can talk to Billy." With extreme frustration and a huge sigh, she said, "The E-word! Eeediot!" For those among us without an extreme southern accent, the word is idiot.

This incident provided me with a good private laugh at the time and many years of a good code word to use during frustrating moments!

Sunday Seven #3 for me

1. We had a field trip to Fernbank Planetarium in Atlanta on Monday. I left the school with 20 children and returned with all 20. No one got hurt, lost, or sick. We left Fernbank still standing and in good shape. That's a good, successful day by any standards!

2. Tuesday we had a Georgia author and illustrator visit our school. She told us about interesting places in Georgia and demonstrated how she changes photographs to drawn illustrations in her books. It was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed meeting her. My own kids bought a set of her books and she autographed them. Fun day!

3. My parents drove 2 hours to come to see all three of my children play ball yesterday. I appreciate their constant support!

4. Opening day of softball/baseball season was freezing cold but a lot of fun! We had a "ball!" The kids played well and had a blast!

5. Mom and Dad took our kids home with them because I have a work day on Monday and needed someone to keep the kids. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

6. RJ and I had a nice evening shopping for E's birthday and watching a movie. We stayed up late knowing that no one would be waking us up early this morning. It was a relaxing evening, night, and morning!

7. 9 school days until Spring Break!