Fresh Eggs

See what you miss out on when you buy your eggs at the grocery store. :)  God's creation is amazing!

(The eggs are shiny because they had just been washed.)

Camp Grist

We spent the last few days at Camp Grist.  This was the first time for us to camp at this park.  We chose to camp there because it is only about 20 minutes from where Darren works.  We arrived on Wednesday afternoon.  Darren went to work on Thursday and took Friday off.  This park was a lot different from where we usually camp.  There were only 11 camp sites in the entire park.  It was kind of nice camping in a quiet place with not a lot going on.  I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to go camping.  We always have so much fun.  I hope Nate has great memories of camping when he gets older.  I went camping several times as a child and have so many great memories from those trips.

Nate had a great time playing with his cars in mud puddles...



and in the dirt.  

He had the most fun swinging.  My dad had a great time aggravating Nate while he was swinging. 

The fish weren't biting, but Nate had fun trying.  He's getting a little more patient.

We rented a paddle boat for an hour and took turns taking Nate for a ride.  Those things will tire your legs out fast!  I don't think we even used the entire hour.  Nate liked riding, but he really wanted to be in the water. 

It was fun for us to see Nate get excited about riding his bike.  We do not have a good place to ride bikes at our house.  It will be easier when he is older, but it's not good for learning and riding with training wheels.  He got a bike for his birthday last year, but it was a little too big.  My parents got him another bike a few weeks ago and it's just right for him.  He's been riding some at their house because they have a nice concrete drive.  Even when he would ride at their house he would be super cautious and not want to "go fast."  This weekend he finally got more confident and had a great time "going fast" on his new bike. 

The lake at the camp ground is a man-made 100 acre lake.  There's a nice walking trail around the lake.  Thursday afternoon Darren and I decided to walk around the lake around 6:40 PM.  We thought the trail would stay close to the lake and would take us about 30 to 45 minutes.  We were wrong.  The path ended up being about 4 miles through very thick woods.  When you are in thick woods at 7: 00 PM, it's pretty dark.  I seriously began to wonder if we were going to make it out before dark.  I've never walked so fast in my life.  Darren, on the other hand, wasn't concerned and didn't make much effort to keep up with me.  I have been running some again and wanted to take off, but I was afraid I would trip or step in a hole or step on a snake.  So much for our nice stroll together.  Instead I was sprint walking through the woods, waving my arms around to keep spider webs off my face, imaging what my episode of I'm Alive or I Shouldn't Be Alive would be like.  :)  Yes I can be very dramatic at times. 

Have I told you we have bad luck with outdoor pets?

We've had at least 7 different outdoor pets over the last 12 years and all of them are not with us anymore.  Two are in animal heaven and three apparently just didn't like our neck of the woods and moved on.  All of these animals (except one) were stray animals that just showed up at our house.  We remember them all very well and they each have a unique story.  I won't bore you with those stories, just the current one. 

I don't know if you've noticed the "Adoption Timeline" tab, but we are adopting.  I haven't done an official post because I feel like it will take me a while to put into words how I feel and how grateful I am that we are getting this opportunity.  What does this have to do with animals?  Well, all of our "pets" have to have a rabies vaccine.  Emmy always gets her shots every year.  We have two outdoor cats that have never been to the vet.  I knew they were going to go crazy when I lured them into the cat carrier since they had never been in one.  They were moaning and meowing and making sounds I didn't know cats could make.  I double checked to make sure that their cage was closed well.  By the time we got to the vet's office they were even more freaked out and scared.  When I got them out of the truck the door on the carrier came open and they took off.  Nate start crying.  I could have started crying also.  I felt so sorry for Nate.  He was so worried about them.  We went inside to get some cat food to try to lure them back to us, but it didn't work.  We called them and looked for them for about 30 minutes but we never saw them again. 

The nice people at the vet said they would set traps for them for a few days and see if they turn up.  We are hoping they find their way back home.  Our vet's office isn't very far away.  If not, I guess we'll be looking for a couple of new kittens.  I've never considered myself to be a cat person, but I guess I've become one. 

Alabama Power Watercourse

We had a fun time today at the watercourse.  It was my first time to visit and I was impressed.  It doesn't take a lot of time, but it's free and Nate was entertained.




His favorite part of the "game show" was the flashing red lights. 

Twelve years ago today...

I married an amazing guy.  He's still pretty amazing and I am grateful for him everyday.  He's a wonderful husband and father.  I love you Darren!  Thank you for loving me and Nate so selflessly. 

We've had a great week hanging out at home.  Our summer has been so busy and this is the first week we haven't had any plans.  The highlight of my day today was playing in the rain with Nate.   I love this child so much!

Nate's Birthday Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Nate's 4th birthday.  We celebrated with family Saturday night.  Sunday morning he celebrated with friends at church.  Now that I think about it, I'm really surprised his birthday wasn't more emotional for me.  I usually get pretty weepy at some point around his birthday. I am always amazed that another year is over.

Family picture time!  I really wish the lighting was better in these.  Fluorescent lights and my photography skills do not go well together.  It probably doesn't help that the lens on my camera is warped.  I dropped it last fall and haven't replaced it yet. 

Nan and Pops

Uncle Gavan and Aunt Lynn 

Granna and Poppa Dub

One of Nate's favorite shows is Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  We went with a pirate cake on Saturday night and Lightening McQueen cupcakes on Sunday morning.

For the first time, Nate had a pretty specific list of things he wanted.  We also had to count down the days to his party and the presents...emphasis on the presents.  It was fun to watch him be excited, but it was also a little concerning to see how focused he was on presents.  The morning of his party we had to have a long talk because he was worried that he wasn't going to get what he wanted!  I had to pray that God would give me wisdom to know how to communicate to a 4 year old that life's not about stuff and we need to be truly grateful for any gift we receive - on our list or not.  It brought to my mind what his preschool teacher used to tell them on treasure box days:  "Get what you get and don't pitch a fit!"  I know this is just going to get worse.  I definitely need LOTS more wisdom to know how to gracefully handle these situations and model a  grateful attitude myself. 

Thankfully, our talk (and prayers) worked and Nate was very kind and grateful while opening gifts.  He also waited patiently to open his presents.  I did prepare him ahead of time that presents would be last.  He was so much fun to watch and listen to while opening cards and presents.  He would "read"  all of his cards.  He would make up a little story based on what ever picture/character was on his card and end the story with happy birthday Nate.  It was so cute.  Of course, we didn't have our video camera.  I thought we had an empty disc, but we didn't.  My mom always tells him that she loves him "too too much."  While opening gifts, he said "I love all of you too too much for all of these great presents."  It was precious.

The list:  Cars 2 cars, Cars 2 race track, Cars 2 airplane, Cars 2 puzzles, dinosaurs, dinosaur snakes (they are in the dollar bin with the dinosaurs so he calls them dinosaur snakes), and more super heroes.  He got it all and more.