A Week in the Life of a 4 Year Old

It was a busy week for the little man. He was promoted from the WUMC 4 year old class to the 5 year old class and said goodbye to his first teacher, Mrs. Childress. He learned valuable lessons from the bible and the fact that God is with him wherever he goes. He keeps asking me everyday since Weds. if he is going to school that day. No conception of time at all, but hey he's only 4, right? He is starting to learn that some things come to an end.

His last soccer match was Saturday and let's just say he was a semi-participator. I could have really given him more instruction on the sport but I didn't have the energy to scream my lungs out at him on what to do if he wasn't going to listen. His attention span right now is about as short as a munchkin's child and at this young age, I'm content with him running around and having fun and believe me that is exactly what he did. He did make a friend in the beautiful girl sitting next to him on the floor. She is the daughter of a woman I went to college with who was a super athlete and softball player and now works as the SID for our alma mater.

While George went crabbing Saturday we set up the tent and prepared for our campout. This was Nathan's first time and I wondered how he would take spending the entire night out there in the dark. He is deathly afraid of it and has to sleep with the tv or a night light in his room. I decided to use the portable dvd player and some of his favorite discs as his comfort pill and it worked like a charm. We cooked hot dogs and toasted marshmallows and with a wonderful southerly breeze blowing he played to his hearts content in the fire pit with sticks. He noticed the fireflies right away and they were magical lighting up the pine trees like christmas lights. We turned in around 11 that night.

I listened to the various sounds throughout the night, always have been a light sleeper, and it was so beautiful. The owls howled back and forth to each other and a dog must have been running a fox because he gave it a good chase for a while. I heard something walking near the edge of the wheat field and shone the spotlight on a coyote. Once he was noticed he took off for the woods. Early in the morning the birds started talking and the sun started coming up. He slept till 6:30 and then we headed for the hot tub. He told me he really had a good time and can't wait to do it again. Me either, from the first smell of the tent when I walked in it, it evoked such childhood memories of backyard campouts with family and friends. And I highly recommend investing in an air mattress. Why sleep on a bumpy ground when you can be elevated to dreamland!

Cool Breezes and Lady Bugs

It was a gorgeous day, a little on the windy side so we ventured out in the afternoon and worked in the garden. Since we have had all of this rain the much needed sun has allowed most of what we replanted to bust through the ground. George tilled both gardens and Nathan found a lady bug to play with so I took some quick pics. Glad to report there were no sightings of snakes, but that is subject to change wherever you end up around here. Nathan has his promotion tomorrow night from the 4 year old class to the 5 year old class at the Wakefield Methodist Preschool so I will post some pics of that soon.

Just Go Fly a Kite

I bought a couple of $1.00 kites from Walmart a couple of months ago and today with a slight breeze we decided to fly one. Once I got the kite up I handed him the string and explained the concept of kite flying to him. Then he was on his own and it took a few tries before he got it in the air and it was priceless watching him try. A female red-tail hawk flew down from the sky to check out the kite along with a much bigger bird.

The Wakefield Airport is only a mile up the road from us and the military uses it daily for touch and go landings for helicopter training. We have become friends by air with the Navy guys. When they fly over the house, very low and with the cargo side door open, they will wave to us and Nathan gleefully returns the greeting. Now when I say they fly over daily it can be at any hour of the day or night. It doesn't bother me, unlike some of our neighbors across the way. I thought it was an added bonus when we moved out here because I'm a military aircraft lover. When we lived in Virginia Beach in the late 80's I would watch the jets land and take off at Oceana on my lunch break from work. The power and sound of jets and helicopters give me an adrenaline rush.

Miss AnnaBelle seemed more interested in eating rocks from the driveway instead of kite flying.

Reflections

It was 43 years ago today that I was born. My arrival into this world was a quick one. My Mother was cooking dinner around 6 in the evening when the first contraction hit. My Father was getting ready to leave work and by the time they made it to the hospital I was already crowning. The Dr. never made it into the delivery room. I was delivered by the Nuns who were also nurses at the old Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, VA at 6:31 p.m.

I'm a Taurus and true to form. Stubborn at times, with a deep-rooted love of family and nature. I can also show a mean temper when provoked but it takes alot to "git my goat". I'm a loyal soul too, if you befriend me, I'm there for life. I enjoy staying active and sports is my outlet. Give me a basketball and a goal and I'm in heaven. Let me ride my bicycle with the wind in my face and I'm content. Let me enjoy a sunny day with a cool breeze and I'll show you the possibilities.

So today I'm 43. I have two gifts from God that have allowed me to enjoy a third childhood. I have a husband and soulmate who loves me and is there for me "in sickness and in health" and I have the closeness of my kinfolk and friends. And I'm still here after taking a beating healthwise for the last 10 years. As the Garth Brooks song goes, "Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I'da had to miss the dance"........

Mother's Day 2009

I found Spiderman lurking in the wheat field yesterday morning. After a few days of sickness he is much better. Nathan came down with a stomach bug early Friday morning and it held on until Saturday afternoon.

I had a nice Mother's Day at home with my family unit and wonderful food prepared by George. Nathan personally picked me a beautiful bouquet of roses and flowers from around the farm along with a big kiss and hug and a "I love you so much, Mommy". It melted my heart.

We replanted the garden in spots where some of the seeds didn't sow. We also planted some watermelons and canteloupes along with more flowers. The sunflowers are going to be spectacular this year and we didn't buy a seed. We kept alot of sunflower husks from last year that contained hundreds of seeds from a variety of sunflowers so it will be interesting to see what blooms next to what.

Fishing Fun and a Little Fact

We don't live too far from one of the oldest rivers in the world. The Nottoway River is located in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina and flows into the Albemarle Sound. It's over a million years old and many fossils such as megalodon sharks teeth and whale bone can be found by digging when the river is low. That is one of our favorite pastimes in the summer. But when its high, its just right for catching red throats.

George and Nathan dug up some worms around the farm and took off for the river this past Sunday. It wasn't long before Nathan caught his first fish of the day. A beauty too and what a grin from him!!!

Long Live The Weekend

I'm gonna have butterbeans out of the ying-yang. The newer garden is the top picture and we planted 2, yes I did say that, 2 rows of butterbeans the entire length of that strip of land. If ya want'em I'm gonna have 'em (God willin' in bringing the rain). We also planted some spinach for salads, assorted colored bell peppers and some more flowers.

We had a storm move through Friday while we were working in the garden. We ran to the house from the pouring rain, me riding AnnaBelle in the golf cart while she screamed with glee as each drop hit her. George and Nathan hauled tail to the house on their own. It soaked George's phone so bad it d.o.a'd this morning. He went to Suffolk and picked another one up. I took the top picture hoping to catch a rainbow once the storm passed.