Angels Are all Around

Tonight I cooked a great bog ole supper.  My kids and parents were all here so it was a bunch of us.  All except Megan who is at the beach with her husbands' family.  Thad is here because he got a new job with a different power company and he could not leave for a vacation.  So he came over to eat too.  We did miss Megan and Savannah asked about her all day.  We had a big day of just swimming and being together.  My mom and dad walked over for supper too.  They walked back home and I took a big pot of hot oil to dump in the woods.  I had deep fried some okra and didn't want to save the oil so I usually just dump it next to the woods in my side yard.  I got about two feet from the edge of the woods and started to pour out the oil when I looked and saw a hu-mon-gus!!! snake.  Not just any old snake but a copperhead.  A biggun'!!  Well when that hot oil hit his tail he curled up and raised his demon head and just flicked his icky tongue right at me.  Don't get me wrong.  I am afraid of snakes.  I would not pick one up for anything but I don't actually run from them.  Except for the one that poked his ugly head down from my rafters over Christmas.  I ran like the dickens then.  I know that snakes are deaf but do react quickly to movement.  So I stood my ground because I was out of striking distance and if I moved he would move.  So I hollered my head off for Thad, Blake or Erica.  Guess who came???  My dog, Penny.  Well Thad came outside to put something in the car and I hollered at him to get Blake and a gun.  Erica called my daddy and told him to bring a gun.  We are big gun people.  So Blake brings a shotgun.  Daddy brings a rifle.  Daddy squats down and takes a shot.  My daddy may be 73 and only has one arm and wears bifocals but he is an awesome shot.  Took his head half off and blew his middle out too.  So my daddy then steps into the woods and says,"Golly, what a snake!"  He picks him up with his hook and lays him out.  I knew the next words out of his mouth as I turned back to my house.  "Go get me a measuring tape."  I was on the way to get one and my camera too.  This one measured a whopping 37 inches long.  Daddy says he was the biggest one he has ever seen around here.  I just praise God that I wasn't bit.  that my grand babies were not bit nor with me.  And I do Praise The Lord that I saw this monster and that I had people here to kill it.  I told Piper and Savannah over and over to never pick up a snake nor get close to one.  Thank the Lord for cool heads too.  Angels were protecting my steps tonight for sure.

His ugly head is under the gun barrel.  Believe it or not he was still wriggling.  eeewwweee!!!

Here my daddy is measuring him.

We flung him in the woods after we were done acting like National Geographic workers gone wild.  I keep calling this thing a "he" because if it is a she and she has babies they are probably close by.  I don't want to think about a bunch of baby snakes coming to my house for some revenge on the snake killer saga!!!

Guess what????

We are having a .........................

I am so excited I cannot stand it!!  Piper was a little sad but Savannah could care less.  Blake and Erica are thrilled to pieces though.  This is new territory for us!!!  I am so thankful Erica is feeling better and doing better though.  God is just so good to our family.

Being A Servant

Often in today's world people just want others to do for them.  Never helping anyone out or lending a hand.  Volunteerism often serves a selfish purpose.  "I will help you as long as you tell others how wonderful I am for helping you...."  Get it?  I would like to tell you about a different kind of group.  Our college kids at church are just awesome.  they help out with our Senior Saints each month with their monthly dinner at church.  Many of them help in various other ministries too.  but a couple of months ago I asked their teacher if he thought their class would put together a swing set for me.  Danny did not hesitate....he said "No problem, Miss Cindy."  Honestly I cannot say enough about the willing spirit and servant attitude of Danny.  He would literally do anything he could for about anybody.  So last week on two separate nights he and some of the guys came over to put together a "little" swing set for my grandbabies.

Cale, Jacob and Tyler.  real men DO read directions!!!

Trust me.  These guys made zero mistakes.  Such hard workers.

Danny did a lot of work too but he really supervised these guys well.  Such good life lessons for them.

Yes, you do see one girl back there!!  Sweet Hollie lent a hand too.

Yay!  Finished project!

Slide ready for sliders.....

Rock wall ready for climbers....

This little monkey was swinging away!

She zipped right to the top too!

Wait for me Piper....I'm coming up!  She did too.  Climbed right to the top.

Piper right away went into Pirate Mode and started spying!  Savannah loves to slide!

About her 1,000th slide I think.

Piper loves sliding too.   Thanks Mr. Danny!!!

Thanks again to Cale, Wesley, Jacob, Tyler, Hollie and especially Danny.  You guys are the best.  It means so much to me and to your church family and to your peers that being a servant takes some sweat sometimes.  The Lord will bless each of you in a big way for serving these little ones.  Bless each of your hearts!

Father's Day 2014

Today is Father's Day, June 15, 2014.  We had our usual family cook-out at my Mama's house.  My daddy grilled some awesome ribs which we all just love.  My daughter Erica and her family went to visit Blake's family in Wilmington for the week and ribs are Blake's favorite.....sorry Blake.  But he hasn't spent Father's day with his dad in a lot of years so I am glad they went and hope they have a great week down there!  I sure did miss those little girls though!!!  We had a great time of swimming and laughing and talking and just being with each other.  I love my family and am so grateful for them.  My sister and I had a good time just cutting up.  Her daughter, Brittany, is expecting her first baby and we are all so excited for them we can't stand it.  It was a very hot day....just like I love!!!  And Tracy...note to you...I can suffer through the hottest of hot flashes while I float in the pool and do just fine and dandy!!!  Megan and I said today that we wish it was like today all the time.  We are some hot weather lovin' chicks!!!  We did have a nice evening though and our family loves to eat outside so it was a lot of fun.  Next year Brittany and Aaron will have their first Mother's day and Father's day.  And we will have two new babies to pass around and spoil.  I love my daddy and I hope to have him around for about a hundred more Father's Days.  He is really one in a zillion and I am beyond blessed to have him for my daddy.



Megan and Thad....still sweet little newlyweds!

Brittany is such a pretty mommy-to-be!  I know her little girl will be a sweetie too!

Mariah, Becky, Brittany, Me, Megan and my daddy.  My sister's boyfriend took this but did not catch my daddy looking too happy!!

Here was last week at another family cook-out....he really is a happy guy!!!

 

Dear Kitten

I love kitty cats. If I did not have a dog (gggrrrrr) that ate cats i would have one.  So the other day I got to see this commercial for a cat food that absolutely cracked me up.  My threshold for entertainment is apparently low.

Is it just me or is the old cat really Ron Burgandy???

Weekend Happenings

Over the weekend I was very busy with about a zillion different things.  Poor Erica was sick again on Friday and had a very stressful day with her doctors' appointment and some new medicine that they gave her so after I school I zipped to the grocery store and picked up the babies for a sleepover.  I checked on my mother because on Wednesday of last week I took her for one of her two cataract surgeries.  She had stayed with Erica's girls while she went to the doctor and I wanted to make sure she had not overdone it by lifting Savannah too much.  She weighs a lot more than 10 pounds!!  The girls and I swam and ate a picnic supper in the front yard and swam some more and all of us were in the bed by.....get this......8:41.  Yep.  Even me.  I have had a stressful week too.  And I am old.  On Saturday Erica was 1000 times better.  My favorite cousin, Candy, had a graduation party for her youngest son Austin that night.  We all went and had such a good time.  Candy is one of the sweetest people in the world and it is so hard to believe her baby boy is going away to college this fall.    On Sunday we had church and I have to say I am loving my new Sunday School class.  I do miss teaching something fierce but I still teach on Wednesday night and I am just soaking up the teachings of the men who lead this class.  Good stuff.  Sunday afternoon we had a rainstorm and just kind of laid around.  This is the last week of school and can I get not only a moment of silence but a loud and raucous "Praise da Lawd"!!!  I am very tired of school and so are about 542 children I know.



Here are the Mommies to be!!  Brittany is 26 weeks and Erica is 16 weeks.

My cousin's family.  Austin, Candy, Alex and Tanner.  Austin is Appalachian Bound and Tanner attends NC State.

Our newest baby.  Sweet baby Georgia Grace.  Another cousin's grand daughter.  Such a beauty.

Sweet Piper.  She is getting so grown up.

Sweet Savannah.  How can she be two already????

And just to show you that most of my attempts at getting good shots of family portraits are a gigantic failure!

Dancing Queen and Little Swimmers

Today was Piper's first dance recital.  She was precious and of course the very best!!!  She really was cute and so sweet and did tap her little head off.  Right at the intermission there was a terrible car wreck that knocked out the transformer and the power was knocked right out.  They had to postpone the rest of the recital for a couple of weeks.  Everyone took the news really well and slowly we gathered our little dancing queens from the dark and took them all home.  Each parent and grandparent telling them on the way to their cars how each one was the best and they were so proud.  I loved all the little tutus and the ocean of pink that was flowing over downtown Lexington.  Here are a few shots of my little Pink Dancing Queen!!



I took this in the yard before we left.  Such a little sweetie-pie!

Piper was on the end.  She really did a great job!

Then we came home and jumped right in the pool for a nice swim!  I really love my pool and I am so glad my grandbabies do too!!

Savannah was all kicked back and just floating around.  She is such a funny bunny.

Piper basking in the sun while eating an ice cream cone.

Savannah just loves to walk right up to the lens with her big ole grin!  I just love her sweet little gap-toothed smile!!!

The Lord is just so good to me.  I adore my little grand daughters and all the time I get to spend with them.  I can't wait until the next one gets here for me to love all over.  Thank you Lord for my many, many blessings!