How does your garden grow?

Right before Mother's Day, Sister and I planted some watermelon seeds as starters in a little cookie Monster 'greenhouse' Papa bought her from Lowe's. (She calls Lowe's "Daddy's grocery store.") She also had a pack of sunflower seeds too.

When we got back from the lake...they were about 3 inches tall. They grew that much in 4 days! So, I told WB we had to get on our garden or we would have watermelon vines growing all over the kitchen! Last Friday afternoon was the day! So, we stopped by Uncle Jim's store and bought the rest of the plants/seeds and headed to the shop. 

Sister helped her daddy scrape the grass off the ground. You can't see the smile on her face here, but this little girl LOVES to be on the tractor with her daddy! Especially when he lets her drive...she's pretty good too. I know how she feels, I always loved riding the tractor with my daddy too. I still do! There is nothing like getting in the cab with him and just talking about all kinds of things and nothing. I miss the farm a lot!

Once they got the grass scraped off and moved to the burn pile, it was Buddy's turn to drive.

He helped till the soil so we could plant. It wasn't quite as dark as it is in the picture, but pretty close!  WB is always getting the last little bit of sunlight out of the day. I can't even tell y'all the number of times we finished up jobs by flashlight. We planted the rest of the garden with pole lights. And the rows still turned out pretty straight. We have sunflowers, watermelon, okra, squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, banana peppers, and in June we are going to plant our pumpkins.

Sister wanted to take a picture of us...so here it is.

The next morning, we went back to water it all in and take a picture. I want to take one each week to show how our little 'crop' has grown. I hope something grows!!

Here is a little evidence that there is a boy in the family.  There are 3 phrases I know I will be saying a million times this summer. I have already lost count of the number of times I have said them this week alone.

"Buddy, don't pull up the flags!"

"Buddy, get out of the mud, son!"

"Buddy, don't step on the plants!"

On another note, Happy Birthday to Uncle Bub! He dropped in the other day while he was in town for a meeting. He and Sister have a special bond. Since he has 3 boys, he doesn't get to love on a little girl...so he loves on Sissy when he sees her. I told him I will be glad to send her on over when she turns 13.

Love you Bub!

Quick Trips for Mother's Day

We have been more than a little busy around here over the past month. I don't see it letting up anytime soon. I am blogging late because I had to clean my house today. It had been a LONG while since my last cleaning. I kept hoping a cleaning lady might hear about how bad my house was and stop in to clean it...but that didn't happen. So, I sucked it up and did it myself.  It was worse than it had been in a while. I even had people over during my little cleaning hiatus. Something I would have normally NEVER done. I just told them that the 5 second rule could not apply on that night. If something dropped-it would be safer for them to leave it. Luckily they were my really good friends, the ones who don't care about the cleanliness of my house. I do feel a 10 pound weight lifted from my back since the house is finally clean. I would have rather those 10 pounds come from my stomach. I am hoping to be caught up by the end of the week with posts. So check back this week. Lotsa fun stuff to talk about...

I'll start with Mother's Day weekend...

The kids and I took off to Tennessee with my mom to see my grandmother. She moved to my uncle's house a few months ago and I hadn't been up there yet. Sister was so ready to get there and yell 'Kaprize!'

We hung out most of the morning and ate lunch with them. Sister loved Uncle Kenny's swing set and Buddy loved the puppies, of course. Here he is with Bear. Bear would fetch his ball and only bring it back to Buddy. They have a bond. A bond that will have to be long distance. I don't do dogs.

Once we wore out the kids and the dogs, we headed back to the lake for the rest of the weekend for fishing and relaxing. It was so unusually cold that when we got on the boat, we were all wrapped up like eskimos. The water was too choppy for fishing, so we mostly fished from the boat dock.

Buddy~shaking and poking the crickets.

Sister couldn't keep her hands off the 'crook-its' either. She kept getting them out of the box, dropping them, and then running all over the boat to catch them. She held this little cricket by the legs for about thirty minutes. She would say "why does this crook-it keep trying to bite me?" Umm...I think I would try to bite you too if you were holding me upside down by 2 legs! He made it into her bug box where she fed him some potato peels and named him Jay Jay. I think she will be disappointed when we go back and he's dead.

WB got to come on Saturday afternoon and helped Buddy fish.

Here's one Mimae caught. I think I heard the score was Mimae-2 and WB-1.

Ok, I gotta be honest with y'all...I don't like fishing. I cannot sit and wait for something to bite, it's not productive enough for me. If I had sat down there as long as WB and momma did and only caught 3-I think I would be so frustrated about the amount of time wasted. There are so many other things that could have been accomplished in that time.

But, if you catch a bunch of fish and need them cleaned, count me in! I LOVE to nail a fish to a pole and skin it! That use to be my job when we were little. I would cry when we would go fishing on the weekend, but once we were home with all the fish...that's when the real fun started! Kinda weird, I guess now that it's all typed out in a blog. Oh well.

All of the grandkids gave Mimae and Papa this horse swing for Christmas. Papa hung it for the kids and they loved it. Sister wanted to know when they were going to hang regular swings down there too. She thinks there should be swings everywhere we go! 

There are some people in the family that think once you are at the lake, there are no rules. Everyone can stay up late and act all willy-nilly with no consequences. Some of those people are below. And the others are named Mimae and Papa. This is why these pictures were possible.

Sunday, we headed back to real life and real rules, also known as HOME.

We stopped by MeeMee and PopPa Honey's to plant their white dogwood for Buddy. We gave them a pink one when Sister was 2, so this year was Buddy's turn. The kids went on a hunt for a new baby calf that was born just a few days before, but the momma had already moved it. Buddy was a little sad, I think.

It was a fun weekend and a nice break! More to come...

(Please excuse this picture in a random spot...it was suppose to be at the top, but I can't get it back up there. )

Go BIG! God is Bigger!

me, Kacey, Jennifer, Stacy, Alisha, Sunny, and Anna

This is a picture of me and some of my awesome friends. We took a little trip to Atlanta last weekend to see Beth Moore and have a little Spritual Retreat. And it was beyond words, amazing, fun, fabulous, and then we got to see Beth. Which was not the only reason I went, but definitely a highlight. And, of course she did not dissapoint! She was all the things I love about her, uplifting, loud, and fired up about the Lord! (& of course she had her signature big hair!!) It was an amazing weekend and I am still thanking God that he worked it all out so that I could be there. See, He knew how bad I needed to go!!

I wanted to share something with you from my day today...Sister has had a random case of hives this week-nothing else, just a blotchy rash. The doc said there was nothing wrong with her and it would go away. Wednesday I didn't send her to school because she had a few places on her face and I didn't want anyone freaking out. So, of course there was crying because she wanted to go to school and would be missing all of her friends! (and I was secretly crying myself!) It was really hard to explain to her why she couldn't go since she felt fine and they didn't even bother her.


So, I had been praying what you normally pray when your child is sick and then we all prayed about it before bed too. This morning while praying, I just decided that I was going to be bold (because I really wanted to go to Bible Study today) and I prayed - God, just heal her because I know you can make the hives completely go away so that we can go about our normal Thursday plans.

Then when I got out of the shower, I thought-maybe I should wait til she gets up to put my makeup on (no since in wasting it if I were only going to stay home), but then I remembered, No! I am going to believe GOD and put my makeup on now because she will have no hives and I will get to go to Bible Study.

And about that time, I heard her coming down the hall and when she came in the bathroom, I looked at her and there were NO HIVES!!! And do you know that I just jumped up and down right there!  And I said (really loud) "Sister, you don't have any hives on your face! We prayed about it and God took them away! Isn't that awesome!"

In my Believing God Bible study there has been a lot of talk about praying BIG, and praying with thanksgiving, like instead of asking God to do something, just thank him for already doing it because you have the faith that he will.  She (Beth Moore) has touched on it here and there on other days, but she went more in depth today.

The story was Joshua 10: 1-15, where Joshua asked for more daylight because he knew he would need it to defend his people...and God didn't allow the sun to go down for a whole day. And, how awesome it was that Joshua just asked for something so huge and it was given to him.  Go read the story-God made an extra day of sunlight-it's in there!!

I think God wanted me to be there today. He wanted me to see that by praying BIG and then Believing Him to do it, that he would heal Sister! And I think he was saying, Girl, that was just the hives! Give me something harder! And, I'm gonna! Because I know He will do it!

Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)
Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Easter, cows, and butterflies::Yay Spring!

I love Spring! It's my favorite season, after Fall, of course. It's like a renewal of life from all of the drab-ness of winter. Kind of how I imagine it was when they were looking for Jesus in the tomb...they had just went through the horrible crucifixion...then to see the angel say "He is risen!"~like the promise of a new day. How happy it made them-and how happy it makes me! Spring is fabulous!

Here are a few signs of Spring that we have seen around here lately. (I will spare you the snot bubbles and recycle bin full of empty kleenex boxes that is most of what this spring has brought us. We'll focus on the positive~)

Easter morning brought us an enormous amount of bedhead (a sign that we are still getting use to daylight savings time). And also Easter baskets filled with some clothes, books, the Toy Story movies, legos and cars.

See what I'm saying about the bedhead??

The little lego pack was Sister's favorite. She had half of it put together by herself and kept telling WB that he was putting it together wrong. She would get the 'corrections' and match the pieces to the picture, then put them on the ship where they were suppose to go.

She has loved legos since she discovered them after her first birthday. She has been wanting a 'lego project' thing since we got her cousin a Star Wars one for his b-day. I can't even tell you how many times she has put this thing together. And only used the directions on the first couple of tries.  I know what she'll be getting for her birthday. I am thinking she may be an engineer when she grows up. Who knows?!

After I did some major combing of the hair and burned Sister's arm with the curling iron, we were ready for church. WB was called in to work. At least he got to see the Easter baskets.

Pretty girl all dressed in blue for Easter Sunday. (I gave up on a picture of them together.)

Buddy-cooperating like a good little 2 year old! ha

I made the shorts and monogrammed the shirt. Before I had kids I said I would always make their Easter outfits. I have made Sister one (her first Easter) and here's Buddy's. Two out of 7 Easter outfit opportunities isn't horrible I don't guess.

After church with my parents, we headed to the Honea's for our Easter Egg hunt.

Here's another sign of Spring-all of the baby calves. You know who was out in the middle of them~Buddy!

Let me just say that it was not meant for me to be a cow...besides the obvious walking around in the poop and eating of the grass, there is this-

I mean seriously. I am all about the nursing thing, but when you can get your nutrients from grass and hay, it's time to move on. Not to mention the fact that the cow is ALMOST YOUR SIZE! No thanks!

 Anyway, we started hunting and WB rolled down the drive. So he assisted Buddy...

No, I didn't make WB's Easter outfit. I don't think he would have chose flame-retardant, non-breatheable knit. And brownish-khaki really isn't his color. But he was still on call and after about 2 rounds of hunting was called right back in.

Sister found all 3 of the prize eggs! So, she got a total of $2.80. She said 'Aww, I wanted candy!' ha

The last sign of Spring-Butterflies! Sister's class 'grew' butterflies and learned about their whole process of transformation. They were so excited to see the butterflies hatch and fast too. They checked on the before chapel and they were still in the chrysalis...then when they came back, they were flying in the habitat. So, there was a Butterfly Release Picnic last week.

Buddy was waiting so patiently and yelling "FLY FLY!" Sister's teacher had to coax them out a bit.

It was hard to get a picture. The butterfly is the orange blob in the upper corner of the habitat.

But once they got the nerve, they started flying really fast and far away. The kids were so excited!

One of God's many many miracles!

Come see SisterBug!!!

***Updated with times!! forgot that! :)**
I will be hosting 2 Open Houses in the next week and I would love for you to come see me!!
Info on both are below, but you can always email me sisterbug{at}bellsouth.net for more info.
I have updated the site with pictures of what I will have available and new applique designs too!

Stop-n-Shop

this Saturday, April 10
shop anytime from 10am-4pm

at The Summerfield Clubhouse in Madison

also includes Southern Living at HOME, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Premier Jewelry

or

Spring Simply Gifted

next Saturday, April 17
shop anytime from 10am-4pm

 

also includes Southern Living at HOME, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and handmade jewelry

Even though we were there, I totally stole these pictures

Last Friday was Disney Day for the kids!

We started the day at our good friend's house for Breakfast and Buzz. The kids laid in the floor and watched the Toy Story movie while we cooked bacon, pancakes, cheese grits and fruit for them. 

Ok, so really only one of them got through the whole movie. They did a lot of roaming and playing while it was on. And Buddy danced. He can get down, y'all. And he has been known to do it at the local Bridge Street. I think I may take him back one night when there is a large crowd and put a hat by his feet. Let him pay for my neck and back surgery from having to carry him around everywhere.

Later that afternoon, we headed over to see "Mickey and Duck' as Buddy says.

This is the best picture I got out of the whole night. The ones of Buddy are the back of his head because he wouldn't take his eyes off Mickey and repeated "Ook, Mickey" about 9763 times in that hour and 45 minutes. Oh, if Mickey left the stage, he would say "Where Mickey go?"

See that man in the right of the picture? Everytime Buddy said one of the above phrases, it was right in that guy's ear. He thought it was funny before intermission...I think he had grown tired of it by part 2.

Since I didn't get any good ones, I just yanked them from Amy's blog. I knew she would get some, and closer up than mine, so I just waited for her to post. Good strategy, right? (Thanks Amy!)

This has all of Buddy's favorite people-Buzz, Woody (also known as Buzz), Minnie (also known as Mickey), Mickey, Tigger (called Grrr), and behind him is Jessie (also known as Buzz Sissy).

This was one of Sister's favorite people. The guy, not the characters. For the first part of the show she wanted to know who he was and what he was doing there. By the second part, she wanted to know where he was at all times. When people ask her who she saw, she says, Mickey, Buzz, Woody, and that guy that we don't know his name.  She loved it and danced the second half, where Buddy danced the whole first half.  At the end she told me that she wished she could hug them.

I think they had a blast! It was fun seeing their faces when everyone came out-although each time Cinderella came out, I almost lost both of them. There was not a lot of interest in her, so it was a good thing I had some snacks in my purse.  Works every time!

Spring Break was {almost} a Blowout-the almost blowout part

Sorry for this-it was so much crazier when it was happening and I had already promised you a part 2, so here it is. You don't have to read it.


So, in the last edition, we were at Spring Park wearing ourselves out with our cousins.
We ate lunch at The Palace and left a HUGE mess. Then walked around some of the shops downtown. Upon entering the Feed & Seed, Buddy said "OOHH! Shop!" WB would be so proud! His dream is for our shop to look like an old store. It certainly smells like one.  He would have been so happy to know that Buddy thought of the shop when he walked in.
Then we played musical cars with all of the kids and headed back to the lakehouse.
Later that night, my daddy looked at me and said "I have some bad news."
One of my brand new tires, that had been purchased at the beginning of spring break, was flat.
Outstanding.
So, we talked about how/where we were going to get it fixed on a Sunday in an area we weren't totally familiar with. Walmart was the only choice on a Sunday, so the next morning, daddy changed it in the rain and took it over.
Then, I get the call. It can't be fixed because there is a gash in the sidewall. (This was where the almost blowout occured...The Lord was obviously with us because it was a pretty big gash and I had just been driving the car.)
Wonderful.
Oh, and my spare was low.
So, we did what all people do in this situation.
Ate lunch.
Then I started heading home earlier than I had planned because
A)I am on a spare
B)It was also low
C)There was a monsoon of rain outside
D)But it had to be done in the daylight
Oh at the wailing from the kids because we were leaving early.
Once we get loaded, warned the kids that they better hold on to everything because I was going to be driving with 2 hands, and said a big ol prayer, we started heading home. Luckily the kids were exhausted from the weekend and slept most of the way home.
Because, did I say there was a monsoon? Oh, my word! There were white cap waves on the road there was so much water. And I was going 40 because of this crazy spare.
About 1.5 hours into the suppose-to-be 1.5 hour drive, the natives awoke. And Buddy was restless.
Evidently, someone told him that I could hold him and drive. Because he started screaming his head off with his arms in the air, yelling "MEEE MEEE MEEE" which means hold me.
And then I heard the 2 words I didn't want to hear when I was trying to drive like Granny with both hands on the wheel going 40 in a 55.
'BeBe Down!'
Great. There was no way I could get BeBe (his lovie) because my hands were permanent fixtures on the wheel from being so tense and nervous. And, I was afraid to let go and lean-you know, what you aren't really suppose to do, but do all the time with kids in the back seat?
So, we heard screaming for the next half hour.
Sister was saying "Mommy, I can't hear the music because Buddy is being really loud!" Or something like that. I couldn't hear her because Buddy was being really loud.
Then we finally made it home. And once I peeled my hands from the wheel, he stopped crying because I held him.
And, I evidently have Road Hazard Warranty and only had to pay for them to put the new tire on.
Look how good the Lord is! He didn't allow my tire to blow while I was driving AND he made sure I had the warranty thing. He's wonderful isn't he?
Now I need a massage. Between holding Buddy for the last 3 weeks straight and driving on a spare, I am pretty tense!