Cloudy Cool Days

Days like these make me want to curl up in the bed and stay there for awhile. Those days are long gone, but certainly not forgotten! Our days here on Woodland begin as soon as a ray of light hits AnnaBelle's room. She's our early riser (God bless her, ugh...) and has been from day one. Now I can't complain because she is ready for bed at 6 in the evening and you better have her favorite blanket and wind up music horse in that crib when her head hits the mattress. And that's it, she's good until 6 or 6:30 the following morning. I have learned to love daylight savings time, it gives me that extra hour because it wouldn't be uncommon for her to awake at 4:30 and 5 am before March. She's also a good napper.

Nathan is a good sleeper, too. But until his head hits that pillow he is a constant ball of motion. He can't even sit still when he's sitting still. Wiggle worm is what I call him. It's an issue we are now addressing but that is for another post...... Yes, he sleeps well, he's a sleep talker and he gets that honestly from both sides. George says I talk gibberish and laugh in my sleep. You can hold an entire conversation with him while he is sleeping and he won't remember a thing the next morning. Nathan usually hits the sack around 8:30-9pm and sleeps until 7 the next morning. He used to take naps, great ones as long as almost 3 hours sometimes, but those days are far and few between.

So today was one of those lazy cool days and we rode around the farm, AnnaBelle and I on the golf cart and Nathan on his 4-wheeler. The cool weather didn't bother him at all. I snapped a few pictures at the end of the lane where we found a buttercup explosion!

Tuesday Afternoon

Mr. Bailey ran the big tractor and tiller through the long row of land we broke to plant butterbeans and today we got them in the ground. It wasn't quite as hot as yesterday and we had a constant breeze here on Woodland which made the day bearable. We rode around the farm several times on the golf cart enjoying the beautiful day. I walked outside to capture a picture of a gorgeous sunset.

The Last Weekend of April 2009

It was a beautiful weekend even though today was very hot, it still was a great one. While George was cutting grass and AnnaBelle napped, I went outside with the camera to find Nathan. He was hiding from his Daddy under the trees next to the house. He let me take a quick picture before he ran off to get on his 4-wheeler.

Feels So Good Feeling Good Again......

After a year without a pancreatic attack, the inevitable happened. In the wee hours of Monday morning I awoke to that all familiar nausea and pain in my upper abdomen, but this time it was so intense it woke me up gnawing at me so bad and radiating to my right shoulder blade. The telltale sign that the worse was yet to come. Now I'm an old hand at this stuff, heck I should be its been 10 years of attacks everyone the same never wavering. My routine is to go from the hot tub to a hot shower, swallowing my meds and praying that they kick in. But if I continue to go from hot tub to the shower a few times, holding my bucket in between, then George waits for the words he knows I hate to say, "We gotta go to the ER." Before August 23, 2007 I have said that to George over 125 times, and I have the hospital bands to prove it. Why in the heck do I keep'em? I consider them battle medals.

So calls are made and my Mother in Law leaves work at the drop of a hat to get to our house. I'm thinking in my mind, here we go again, it was a good run for a while, wasn't it? I sure was lucky to have a great pregnancy with AnnaBelle since Nathan's was so rough on me. The thought of leaving them hurts more than my pancreas pain now. Nathan is old hand at this, he grew up with me in the hospital . Before he was 5 months old he had already stayed with my Mom and Mother in Law 4 times. Yes I was in every month. I would go home for two weeks, have an attack and stay in a week. Nathan learned to adjust and go with the flow.

AnnaBelle is new to this. She has seen me not feel well some days, but I have never been away from her longer than 5 hours since she was born. We have been frick and frack. I left knowing that I would experience that awful feeling when I returned that she would shy away from me. Maybe its just me, but as a Mom its one of the worst feelings in the world.

I spent 5 days in the local hospital and returned this evening. George left me my truck so I could drive home, yes that's how adept I am to this illness. I can discharge myself and drive on home. I arrived to Nathan running out to hug me, grinning from ear to ear, and me with tears rolling down my face. I picked him up and we walked inside and then it happened. AnnaBelle looked at me with confusion and ran to her Daddy. Granted I'm sure I didn't look my best, hospital toiletries are not the greatest but they serve their purpose. It took about 20 minutes and then I called her "doodlebug" and she ran to me and clapped. My heart melted. Before I put her to bed tonight she laid her head on my shoulder and all was right with the world.

Now that Nathan is getting older his questions are becoming more intense. "Mommy, why do you get sick and are you sick like Nanny was and why did she have to go to Heaven and are you going to Heaven?" Geez........where do I start? I tell him that me and Nanny had different sicknesses and because there are so many the Dr's can help me when I get sick but in Nanny's case the Cancer (Mesothelioma) she had could not be fixed and God wanted her to help him in Heaven. He tells me that Jesus went to Heaven after he left that tomb to live with God. I tell you what the (what I consider a bargain) amount of money I pay for his Methodist Preschool is worth every penny and more. Mrs. C. I love you so much for doing such a good job with him.

So I'm home now and with a deeper appreciation of family. Those that take their own work time to help out , those that come to the ER to make sure you're ok, the ones that call and check in and to the Daddy and Grandma who got to bond with the kids.

Planting the Garden

WOW, the hot tub felt great this evening after we planted the garden today. What did we not get in the ground today? Well, the butterbeans for one, but they will go in the ground this week once we break up the land again. It's a new spot this year. In the top picture Nathan is standing in the old garden where we planted everything today and AnnaBelle is traipsing through the new spot where we plan to put a very long row of butterbeans.

AnnaBelle enjoyed herself today. At first when I put her on the ground, she hesitated and started pulling at the grass, throwing it in the air and then she took off in the dirt.

Here's what we planted:

snaps

squash

zucchini

cucumbers

tomatoes

carrots

beets

1 row of a variety of sunflowers

1 row of mixed flowers

And we are expecting rain tonight into Tuesday. Couldn't have planned it better!

It's All About Having Fun

His first official soccer match was this morning. The coaches could have explained what they were to do until they were blue in the face, it didn't matter. When play started it was mass chaos. Kids running around chasing everything but the ball. Nathan enjoyed talking to anyone who would listen to him and every now and then he would kick the ball when instructed to do so. A couple of times he would come over to us in the stands and say he was tired or thirsty and then run back out onto the court or off the court to talk to someone again.

A few goals were scored by each team and for the most part I think he had fun. When I asked him afterwards he said he wanted a cheeseburger.

A Little Girl's Best Friend

Ellie always knows she can rely on something falling off of AnnaBelle's highchair, and if she is unsuccessful AnnaBelle will put food at the end of tray so she can lick it off. She squeals with anticipation and delight when Ellie pops her head up to get the food. It's cute to watch the two of them play together. I suspect before long Ellie will be wearing tu tu's and fairy wings!

First Turkey of 2009

George left early this morning to hunt but returned in a few hours with a beautiful bird. Nathan's first reaction was "Can we have it for dinner?" So you can guess what is going to be on his plate tonight!

Rainy Days, Little Boys and Gardening

I think he prefers the rainy days to the sunny ones. He can find so much more to do on the days it does and since he has been on Spring Break we have had a couple of rainy ones. It's the lure of the mud puddles because whenever we go ANYWHERE and there is a puddle, he will walk through it.

The 4-wheeler was the best investment we have ever made. It has given him the freedom to explore the farm on his own terms. David brought his tractor over and tilled the garden and also tilled a long row near the burn pile for butter beans! My mother in law has been generously giving us bags in the freezer from her garden when we ran out a couple of months ago. I put 20 quarts up back in October, but we eat alot of butter beans and they went quickly. My seedlings are growing well inside. I'm looking forward to the garden its always such a peaceful time to spend with nature. AnnaBelle was a wee little thing last year when I would tend it, so this year I'm sure she will absolutely love playing in the dirt with her brother. Yes those are gonna be some great pics!

Nathan's First Soccer Practice

I've been waiting for this day ever since I had a child. Their first official practice playing a sport. I chose to start him off with soccer and Chowan University's (my alma mater) Mens Soccer Team is sponsoring a First Kicks League for ages 3-12 over the next 6 weeks. The practices are outside but the matches will be played inside.

The soccer field has a steep hill that flows into a valley and Nathan ran up and down it several times before practice even started. I wish I could bottle that energy. The college players are serving as team coaches and I get the feeling this is the first time some of them have been exposed to coaching kids. For $25 which includes awesome but brief instruction from the Men's Head Coach, the shirt and 6 matches, I can't complain. And the point is he is having FUN! He can hardly wait to climb the hill again!

Remembering Her Through Nature

Today is the 2 year passing of my Mother. Mesothelioma took her from us on a Friday the 13th in 2007. I like to think of her in nature. The planting of the hyacinths last year were twofold. To remember her death and to honor AnnaBelle's birth. This time of year is one of my favorite seasons next to Fall. If I could choose a season to leave this Earth I hope its in the Spring.

Whenever I think of Mom I think of her through nature and this time of year simply floods and warms my heart with the memories of the time we had together. She loved flowers and the beauty they behold and she loved to be able to get outside and be more active. She would have been starting her tomato garden and tending to her plants inside and out this time of year.

The picture of her above is a favorite. We spent a memorable summer vacation in WV and this one was taken at the lead mines near where my father grew up. Even though I was 17 when we took this trip and at that time I thought I was too old to go on them anymore, she made it fun by allowing us the freedom to explore and I will never forget the climb up the mountain for the blueberries. I think we laughed the whole way up, Mom, me, Mary, Brian and Daddy. And the blueberries, though scarce, were not the treasures we found that day, it was spending time and loving life, along with nature, together.

Easter 2009

Nathan was the first the wake up. He walked by the baskets twice never even noticing them. He came upstairs and thought the Easter Bunny missed his house. Once we all got up and went downstairs I had to point to where the baskets were and he ran with glee.

AnnaBelle was also excited with her basket and her little people. It was a memorable morning.

I also think this holiday was a true learning experience for Nathan. His preschool teacher at the Methodist Church spent time explaining the crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus. We discuss the daily lessons he has and this lesson has fascinated him more than others. We've talked in detail about how Jesus suffered and died for our sins and he soaks it up like a sponge and I can see him thinking in his mind how great God is. He's going to be a deep thinker, the questions he comes up with already blow my mind.

I hope everyone has enjoyed this holiday.

Ellie the Protector

This is our beast, Miss Ellie Mae Turner. We got her as an 8 week old pup days after we had another dog named Maude put to sleep. She was 13 years old, had gone completely blind and began having wicked seizures. She was a sweet, sweet dog. Not that Miss Ellie isn't, but, well she has a totally different personality and that's probably best when you get another dog because its truly hard to replace beloved pets. You just add to the collection over the years and love them for their unconditional love they return, their loyalty and companionship, all the good along with the bad. You know the times; cleaning the kitchen floor only to have them trample dirt from outside on it, chewing countless items some of great importance, and you can't forget the many accidents over the years.

Yes, Miss Ellie Mae is "a horse of another color". Back in October of 2000 when we brought her home she immediately bonded to George. She loves me, but George is the Master of the Domain, the Alpha Male of the house and I'm second fiddle. When it comes to the kids, we already had Ellie 4 years before Nathan arrived and she was the baby of the house. It took some getting used to him at first, but after a couple of years she put up with his rambunctious ways. When he was a baby and anyone other than George and I held him, she had a problem with it and would sit at your feet to let you know that was her property. AnnaBelle's arrival was easier for Ellie, Nathan had broken her in, but with AnnaBelle she has found a kindred soul. She simply loves her, and the feeling is mutual. Nathan doesn't give Ellie the time of day, but AnnaBelle is fascinated by her, and Ellie thinks she tastes good, too!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is my father's birthday. He turns the big 8-0 today and you wouldn't know it unless you asked. People are aging so much better these days it's hard to tell. As you can see by the top picture my Daddy has had a love of cars since he was a little boy living in the rolling mountains of Hambleton, WV. From his first ride as a child to the one he sports now (see pic above!) me and my siblings lives growing up centered around the new and old vehicles that would grace our driveway over the years.

There were plenty of Corvairs, Monza's, and the prestigious Caprice Classics and who could forget the Diesel Caprice Classic Station Wagon where me, Mary and Brian choked on the fumes while sitting in the back. Brian always got car sick riding backwards! LOL

Yes, my father has taught me so much. He introduced me to the love of basketball and the teamwork and dedication it takes to be a "team player". Valuable lessons on the court that would translate into "real world" lessons growing up into adulthood.

He taught me the value of hard work and the importance of treating people with the respect that you would expect in return. Help others who are less fortunate than yourself and never forget the value of family.

So today my father, my "Daddy", "Papa" to my children is another year older, but wiser beyond years. I love you, Daddy! ♥

Of Eggs and Bunnies

This week has been a busy one. Nathan's preschool is having a big Easter Party and Egg Hunt today so we added candy and stickers to his dozen of plastic eggs he is to bring for the hunt. Over the past couple of days Nathan dyed his first Easter eggs. He was amazed at the colors that they produced and had the idea to paint faces on some of the eggs. I did a couple of these and he did the rest. He enjoyed it so much that we bought another kit and made camouflage eggs!

Wayne and T sent the kids Easter bunnies that sing a tune when you push their foot. One sings ZZ Top's "Sharped Dressed Bunny" and the other sings the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" AnnaBelle was extremely excited to watch them perform, ears flopping and bangin' it on their electric guitars. The UPS man delivered the box on Tuesday and Nathan greeted him at the door. He always wants to be the first to say "Hi" and the driver asked if he was Nathan. He said, "yes, I'm Nathan Andrew Turner." The driver said, "well this box is for you and someone named AnnaBelle." "That's my sister, a box for me?" "MOMMA I GOT A PRESENT!"

Against the Wind

Well, I actually made it up and down the lane on the bike with kids in tow this past week. I even increased the distance and rode down to the neighbors lane and turned around and came back, all uphill, mind you! The kids absolutely loved it. Nathan acted as if he were driving his Daddy's truck and AnnaBelle, she had a grin plastered to her face the minute the trailer started moving.

It felt good to ride the bike again, I've missed it...

One of Life's Simple Pleasures

With AnnaBelle down for a nap I decided to get some vacuuming done downstairs. Nathan has a terrible fear of my Kirby and has ever since he was 6 months old and saw his snowman blanket get sucked up one day while I was cleaning the living room. (luckily we recovered it) He refers to it as "Jaws" and when he sees it come out......he scatters quickly.

He asked to ride his 4-wheeler and I went over the boundaries he was to stay in and off he went.

I watched him climb the fence about 5 pecan trees down the lane and he hung out there for most of the hour. After I finished with "Jaws" I glanced out the front door and saw him slouched over his 4-wheeler. My first thought was morbid of course, me thinking he had a falling limb empaled in him somewhere. So I went outside and as I got closer I noticed he had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful that I had to get a picture. He slept for another 15 minutes before waking and stretching with a grin on his face.