The Drama of Life....

Do you ever just get tired of it?  I sure do.  Sick and tired of it. But fortunately,  I have a Father to look to for renewal.....as He says in Isaiah 12:2....The Lord, is my strength and my song.

I'd much rather be depending on His strength and song than on what this world offers me in the way of that sick and tired feeling.   Because really, life here in this wordly place is but a vapor....and that is something I am daily becoming more and more thankful about.  :)

Have a great weekend and stay dry if you can!

You can't keep a good girl down....

Baby Girl has been sickly this week.  Enough was enough. I made the call and we have an appointment next week to meet with the Doctor to schedule surgery on her tonsils.  She's a little scared just at the talk of it....but we're making progress. 

And right now, the good news is her fever is gone, she's feeling much better, and her spunky self is back to normal.....as witnessed by this declaration yesterday at home:

"What would you like for lunch? Do you feel like eating something? How about a hot dog, or peanut butter sandwich, or some plain noodles?"

"I want a hot dog."

I head to the kitchen and hear....

"Mama, I want a hot dog, but don't forget my appetizer too."

Apparently, we've watched a few too many episodes on Food Network. But at least I know she's well.  

Amazing Beauty....

These beautiful irises were found at the entrance to Ruby Falls.....they were too cool not to shoot, especially since they were dressed in my favorite color!!  The morning dew drops and crawly friend just made them even better.



 I'll be back soon with a "real" post, where I have to use my brain.....or what's left after this year's science fair dilemmas.  Have I mentioned lately how much I loathe these projects?

Any guesses for this one?

Any guesses what this is?

Field Trip with The Middle Child = Road Trip Fun

The Middle Child and I ventured out bright and early one morning last week to catch a ride on the charter bus for his field trip to Chattanooga, TN.  Making stops at Ruby Falls, touring the caverns, watching an imax movie and finishing the day at the Chattanooga Aquarium.  Always a favorite.  Every time I go, I'm amazed at the creatures swimming in the waters made by the hands of our God. 

Some favorites from the trip:

• the cool air inside the cave
•  the fun names they give the stalagtite and stalagmite creations....you'll see a "chandelier" in the pics
•  the sound of the falls, named Ruby for the explorer's wife, water splashing down is just a unique sound
• my group of boys during the trip...they were so energetic!
• the miniature seahorses that were hanging onto a blade of grass....a blade of grass, folks, now that's small
• sea nettles...beautiful, but hope I never encounter one while swimming in the sea!
• touching the stingrays and sharks--cool
• big huge sea turtles and spiky tortoises
• hearing the children giggle when they caught a butterfly on their finger
• watching the butterflies have a snack
• leopard print and polka dot sting rays.....NEVER seen these  before....SO COOL....especially as I have such a love affair with all things polka dotted!!  If you've never seen them before, you'll be amazed too.  God makes some real beauties....they are extremely poisonous, much more so than the regular looking stingrays, but their pattern is gorgeous!!

Enjoy the few pics from our road trip fun:

I told you.....they are truly unique looking, huh? 

Brothers.

A fab Saturday on the PLAINS....

.....of God's country, Auburn University!!  Last weekend we traveled down to our collegiate alma mater for the A-Day football game.  Which, for those poor souls who aren't familiar with some good ol' SEC football, that means it was Auburn's spring practice, where you get to see all the new recruits, scope out the up and coming quarterbacks, see your favorite running back that you've been missing dearly since the bowl game, eat some stadium food, soak up the sun with great friends and family on a fantastic Saturday in one of my ABSOLUTE favorite places, ever.

 Nana with the kids:

We also were able to tour the new Auburn Basketball Arena that is still under construction, but will be opening this fall. I had to take a picture of this wall panel high above the seating, it is so true for any faithful tiger fans:

There's always friendly faces to find while visiting any event in AU, and we hadn't been on campus 15 minutes before we met up with one of my oldest and dearest friends, (we not only grew up together from childhood, cheered together in high school, but also attended Auburn together as well).  Our kids enjoyed a full day of playing together all clad in their AU attire!!

After testing the seats in the new arena, it was time to get to the stadium for the REAL action:   FOOTBALL....oh, how I love thee.  

And Mario, Mario, I love the way you run the ball out of the backfield, too.  

And here's what everyone came to get a look at for the upcoming year:  Cam, the rising star at QB.  And with a 6'6", 250 lb frame....this constellation of stars may just align in his favor, come fall.   I can't wait to see him in a game situation take the snap and RUN CAM RUN.

The Middle Child wanted badly to get closer to the action, so we let him belly right up to the ESPN camera in the endzone.  See him at the ledge, right near the feet of the camera man?

Getting even more relaxed and acclimated to his surroundings:

And finally just perching himself as if he's watching it on TV at home, but all the while, he was ready to leap to the field of play, should they need him to call a play at any time.

After the A-day game, Auburn's players all assembled back on the field for an autograph session.....and our boys were somewhere scattered in this mix.....seeking out the signature of #27 and soaking up every moment from being on the field in Jordan Hare Stadium. 

Because they want to focus hard, learn what they can, and aspire to wear one of these off the rack on game day sometime in their future:

Now Baby Girl.....well, she wasn't in line for any autographs, but let's just say she was focusing hard too.  You can find her, along with my friend's two daughters, in the center of this photo practicing their own skills for the future.

Because one day....she wants to be one of these, for real:

I love Auburn.  Such wonderful memories, made from the early 90's clear through to this past weekend. 

War Eagle, and bring on September, I'm ready for some football!! :)

Thought provoking....love is a beautiful feeling.

A quote from C. S. Lewis that pretty much sums love (any love, that of couples, parents, children, friends, family, and the list goes on and on) up in a nutshell:  

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is Hell."

So true.  It can be heartwrenching at moments, can take you places you never want to be again, and can also send you to the moon and back on a burst of happiness.   I want to live life full of love....regardless of the vulnerability involved. 

To love, to really love, to feel that strong passion, fierce piercing inside your heart....it's wonderful.  I can't think of a better adjective, maybe marvelous.  And to be loved in return....that's just the icing on the cake.  Make mine chocolate, please. 

 Love is what makes the world go around....well, that and the whole atmospheric axis tilt and sun phases, etc. etc.  

Just found this quote hanging around in my "scheduled posts"....thought you might like it, so I shared.

Basement Progress....

Yep, we've been making ACTUAL PROGRESS on finishing the basement.....sadly, it's only taken us 7 years to take these big steps.  Hey, you gotta learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run, right?  Or in better terms, life gets in the way sometimes, chaos rules at moments, we rarely have enough down time to analyze what needs to be done and then follow up with doing it, and no one has died and left me a grand inheritance that enabled my bank account to begin overflowing with extra cash for spending on a whim. 

Needless to say, we are making progress, one little room at a time.  And while the money still hasn't surprised us by falling from the sky, we used our noggins and decided we had free laborers living right here at home.....so they are now working hard in their free time for their own room and board.  What we as parents like to call a WIN-WIN scenario, right?

It may have taken a whole year, but he's back running the bases, yet again.

The Middle Child is standing on third base....and it only took him 11 months to make it there.  After all of his surgeries, a set of titanium rods to keep as a badge of honor, months of being held out from any physical activities, and waiting the proper amount of time to allow for his femur bone to heal itself......he's back in action on the baseball diamond.  Just where he wants to be.  Just where I love to watch him. 

Riding in cars with boys......to space camp.

No, it's not a new Drew Barrymore movie.  It's what I've been doing this weekend, except I wasn't riding in the car, I was driving a carload of boys to Huntsville, Alabama to spend a weekend here:

Doing lots of things like this:

Almost losing my lunch on this:

So that one day Middle Boy may grow up to be this:

And fly in one of these:

Or maybe someone from the thumbs up group will design the next one of these:

Clearly, they are on their way in techno rocket design.....as witnessed by the rocket building class we had one evening.

Yes, they were paper rockets, but hey, even Wernher Von Braun had to start somewhere....and just maybe he started out with paper rockets as well.  Regardless, this was a highlight of the trip....not only were they fun to make, colorful to admire, but functional as well....when you add a little countdown and air pressure, we were able to launch our rockets. 

And not just any old launching....no, this was a NIGHT LAUNCH, on the campus of NASA, with real deal ROCKETS in the background!!

Of course it wasn't all fun and games.....we had to get back to more training again, in the event they do need us in space one day, it would be necessary to learn what it feels like to lift off....and go from 0-200 mph in less than a second.....so we did several rounds of this:

Look closely, yes, that would be my child hanging his head over the edge to make certain I could see how much he was enjoying his Astronaut Training Session:

See.  He's totally ready for a trip to space.

For three days we breathed, ate and trained at the Space and Rocket Center....right there on campus, with this sign posted outside our Habitat door for inspiration:

While on campus, we lived in mock Space Colonies (which may or may not be code word for teeny tiny cramped living quarters where you bunk with 7 other trainees)

Seriously, it wasn't bad at all, and the building was TOTALLY cool looking, inside and out.

And in case you are wondering, or if you ever get a chance to go to space, and you need to use the bathroom, here's what you need to look for:

And I'd do it all again for Middle Boy....he's my astronaut in training hero....it ain't easy making a white marshmallow suit look as good as he does!

There you have it, a weekend at Space Camp.  Sure, I'd love to go into more detail and give you the ins and outs of what NASA is up to, the missions being planned and prepped for, the high tech rocket science stuff that we were briefed on in our top secret meetings.....but alas, the space industry frowns on leaking their secrets, so you'll just have to be satisfied with this silly post which includes this last shot, taken when Middle Boy heard the news about Buzz Aldrin, one of his fellow NASA space buddies.....

one small step for man, one giant  fox trot for Dancing with the Stars.

The future of the Space Program is in good hands, trust me. 

A surprise in my Easter basket....from the one and only BUNNY.

Okay, so I really didn't have an Easter basket...I guess I'm too old to keep sitting mine out in hopes the bunny will fill it.  But a girl can still dream, of Reese's eggs and pink sugar coated peeps, right? 

Anyway, I did get a little surprise though, without even needing an Easter basket. And it all started a few weeks ago when I received a letter in the mail....the REAL mail....there's just nothing like opening a letter, on paper, and holding it in your hands to read.  Even just  few short sentences can make my day.  The note was from a friend, a friend as you can see below, who has exceptional penmanship.  She always has....even when we were mere youngsters writing notes back and forth in Mrs. Deal's social studies class. :)

But look!!  There was more....not just a pretty handwritten letter....COUPONS!!  

She actually sent these coupons plus some for Chuck E. Cheese, because she knows my kids enjoy spending those little gold tokens for some cheap plastic toys like there's no tomorrow.   I was way more excited about these Bunny Bread coupons....why, I've never even seen any coupons for it because it's not sold in any of my local stores.  But, never fear, I knew where it was sold....and I knew exactly who I could call to get me some.....my lovely sister.

I promptly mailed her the coupons with a much shorter note, in fact all it said was:  "You know what to do."

So on Easter weekend, she arrived in town with my goodies in tow.....a fresh loaf of bunny bread, a package of buns, and a yummy bag of bunny rolls. 

Now you tell me, what could be better than a friend who thinks of you while she clips coupons (THANK YOU), a big sister that will buy your groceries and deliver them to your door (THANK YOU), and some BUNNY bread for Easter?