Honoring the Past

Last Sunday we went to New Hope Church Cemetery in Villa Rica for a Confederate Memorial. Among the folks being honored there was Blake's 4xGreat-Grandfather, Dempsey Jordan - a veteran of the Civil War. Uncle Sonny... who's real name is Marion Dempsey Jordan was with us. It was really special to see him stand near his name-sake's grave & have the rifle man answer the roll call 'Here in spirit, sir' as he fired the musket. We had 4 generations standing there in honor of Dempsey Jordan...Sonny, Ma, Blake, and the youngest generation - Ian, Cole and Alex.




Here's Pam & Alex in their full 1860's era dress. Ladies didn't normally carry rifles, but we know Pam is just a bit rebellious. *G*



I hope to teach my boys to honor their ancestors, their Southern Heritage (Georgia and Florida) and most of all, always be proud Americans.
We are one nation, under God....

Look what I did today...

This is how I spent my birthday money...

I just wanted something pretty around our front step area. With our current situation, I couldn't go crazy & spend too much, but a house without flowers is just plain depressing. So, I decided to spend my birthday present from Mama on something cheerful & uplifting. Thank you, Mama!

Happy Easter 2009

Blake found the first four-leaf clover of the year.


Cole found a prize egg with money in it!


Ian having fun playing ball.


And every now & then I can convince my guys to clean up & stand still for a family picture. Don't get use to it...it's still a rare event.

Squirrel World ~ Part 3

We've grown!!

It's been a couple weeks since we've seen the baby squirrels at Blake's parent's house. They are thriving! The can jump and scamper like a big-squirrels now...although they occasionally crash & fall. Like most youngsters, they are still a bit clumsy ~ but that just adds to their charm & silliness. While scampering along the windowsill, this little one slipped off. He really knows how to hang on good because he was literally dangling from his hind feet!


They like to climb all over Rusty...I think they think he's their mama. Rusty just stands still & they use him as a race course... running 'round & 'round him! While they are still taking bottles of goats milk, they have started enjoying puppychow & peanuts. One likes to bury his food for later...saving it for 'tomorrow'. The other one likes to eat it immediately...living for today! I wonder which one is the wisest?
It won't be long before they are ready for the outside world! Wahoo!

Camping Food!

Why does food always taste SOOOO much better when we're camping?

Biscuits are heavenly. (Although I must admit to burning the first batch. Ian ate the unburnt tops anyway! The second batch was great.)
Bacon is decadent. Sausage rocks.
Pancakes are to die for.
And how about those camping staples...hot dogs & s'mores!

Just for Naomi

While camping last weekend in NW GA were surprised to come upon Naomi.

No, not that Naomi....a town called Naomi! Well, calling it a town might be stretching things a bit. It was hardly a town, more like a crossroads or maybe a village with a name. But it was big enough to have Naomi Baptist Church, Naomi Garage, Naomi Cemetery Road, and Naomi Elementary School! I know the residents must have thought we were crazy taking pictures of everything with the name Naomi on it...but that's okay. We did it just for you, Naomi!

Camping Spring Break 09

We just returned from a long weekend camping trip at the Pocket. Despite 'roughing it' - colder weather than expected, no handy bathrooms (The waterline was broken at the main bathroom, so we had to hike to the picnic area on the other side of the creek, or hide behind a tree), and just general camping conditions - smoke blowing into our eyes, and no electric or water - we had a wonderful time. Blake & I LOVE camping. The boys love camping! And even Riley loves camping! It refreshes our hearts & souls, and brings us closer together....whether we want to or not! *G*

What do we do when we camp? The boys play in the creek - even though the water was so cold is made your bones ache, according to Cole. (I washed my hair in it...Cole was right! Talk about a brain freeze!WOW!) We sit around and read, play games, and just generally hang out. We also go for road-trips - just riding around on country roads, enjoying the mountains, the scenary, and discovering treasures like wildflower meadows & trout streams.



Blake caught a trout, and Cole (at another creek) caught some kind of carp. Due to the recent rains, the creeks were almost overflowing & really flowing strong - pretty to look at, dangerous to cross.

I came upon the most facinating little bird along the creek bank - a Louisana Waterthrush. I've never seen one of these before. It was constantly bobbing it's tail as it was catching gnats, & bugs on the edges of the water. Really interesting to watch.
We also saw the giant Pileated woodpeckers, goldfinches, canadian geese, and heard various songbirds. At night the peeping frogs made quite a chorus of sound, as did the barred owls. It's soooo nice to fall asleep to these sounds.



Blake took some night-time photos - this one looking across a pasture towards a mountain came out really nice. The stars were awesome!
Cole made friends with a snail.
Ian was really getting into reading The Lord of the Rings, and painting some Warhammer figures.
Me...I was just happy to be there.