More of last weekend....before this weekend is over

So you saw all of the adventures from last Friday, let me share the fun we had last Saturday with you!

Two weeks ago, Jamie, David and Kathy took Marissa fishing at a local park. Mind you Marissa has been quite frustrated because she has never been able to catch a fish in her life. I was not feeling well that day so they headed out and let me rest. A few hours later Jamie is excitedly sending me texts that she caught her first fish! Then another, and another, and so on. Her total was 22 fish caught!!! Since I missed it, we made plans to go back.

I must interject here that my hubby is the perfect scrapbookers' husband because he came home with pictures of the event and her first fish on her cell phone. I have downloaded them into my photoshop and I am working on her "first fish" page. How cool is that???? But I am rambling.....

Ok so fast forward or fast reverse, whichever way you are reading this post to last Saturday. We made plans to head to the park,and invited my Mom and Papa to come along. We were excited when they agreed! We made plans to spend all day at the park, fishing, hanging out, relaxing and grilling hotdogs for dinner.

First off, here are some pics of my peeps fishing....




Then we had much excitement as they started CATCHING fish!



While all of the excitement was happening, my Mom was chilling, in form very typical of her.

After a while, everyone started getting hungry so we decided it was time to munch some goodies. Thank goodness for Mom and PaPa and the RV, we were grilling in STYLE!



It was good girl time for me and my Mom. we don't get to spend much time chatting, and it was a really good day for us. Mom didn't have a headache this day, while is unusual, and she was happy!


It was seriously a great time for us all. See our happy shining faces? Although you can't tell it, I got badly sunburned on my neck, and Brenda said I had been to LOBSTERFEST!!!! LOL!

More fun!

Same day...just later.....see previous post.....:)

After we left Oatland Island we headed to one of our fave pizza joints on Tybee and munched down some goodies. Jamie and his Dad ate a WHOLE Gangsta Pie! We were surprised!

While we waited for the pizza to arrive, the "kids" hit the arcade...


After stopping in at my Mom's (aren't I a lucky duck???? My Mommy and PaPa live on Tybee year round:)and are right on the main drag...just one block from the ocean )we headed down to the beach. It was cool and windy, and Riss was glad I grabbed her sweatshirt on the way out!





After watching a beautiful sunset, we trudged back to Mom's and chatted for a bit, then headed home. It was a great night!!!!

Busy family fun!

Wow! Since the weather has cooled off some, we have had some great family fun. With Jamie being out of work for 3 weeks now, he is getting quite claustrophobic and we have had to find some fun (cheap) things to do or else we would all go crazy! I am sorry it has taken so long for me to post, but I will add gradually until all of our excitement is uploaded for you to see!

Let's start with last Friday. We picked Riss up at school, and headed East. We stopped at Oatland Island first, and we loved it there! Our first stop was at the habitat of WaHooHoo, Oatland's Barred Owl. She was beautiful!

We wandered on and I snagged this photo of Riss and Daddy, complete with cast, on the bison overlook.

The main reason we wanted to go was to see the new Grey Wolf exhibit. Jamie is a big wolf fan, so this was really exciting to him. I did not get great photos, but maybe I will next time.


I did manage to snare a couple of great ones of Riss and of me and Jamie by the pond.


We meandered through the tree shaded paths and enjoyed seeing many animals. A black bear, who was quite camera shy, cranes, birds of prey, deer, and even beautiful red foxes and some alligators!


We all had a great time. See out happy faces????

POOR BABY!

Oh boy....
It's a new school year.
My baby girl is sick.

Just got a call from the school nurse saying Marissa needed to come home. She has been coughing and had a little tickle in her throat for a couple of days, and this morning she was very congested.

It's the first cold of middle school!

I am off to pick her up.....

A sweet moment

Many of you know that my husband fell and broke his wrist last week at work. We are now traveling through a maze of paperwork, legal stuff, workman's compensation, doctor's visits, MRIs, CT scans, and NO WORK!

That's right, no work. At all. His doctors have said he can do desk work or light duty, but neither of his jobs offer such assignments. So...for the last week he has been home. First reports said that he would return to work in 2 weeks, but Wednesday's doctor visit showed no significant improvement so things are back on hold pending test results.

It has been so stressful. The tension is tough, and we are trying so hard to be positive. I know God will see us through, that He is protecting us and will provide. But the fleshly side of me worries.

Yesterday as we sat in a crowded reception room waiting for our turn at yet another appointment, I noticed a young man sitting in the corner. He looked to be in his early 20's. His clothes, while clean, were worn and thin. He had a little boy sitting next to him who looked to be about 2 years old. In his arms he cradled a sleeping newborn baby. I watched as he held the baby, trying to keep the pacifier in the infant's mouth and keeping a watchful eye on his older son. He looked so tired. I wondered where Mom was, and I noticed the toddler was trying to climb in Dad's lap but couldn't find room, so he crunched his body up and laid across Dad's lap. Dad tried to rub his back and juggle the baby and pacifier but didn't have enough hands. The toddler was silent, but had heavy eyelids and a weary expression.

Before I knew what I was saying, I stretched out my arms and asked the little boy if he wanted to sit with me. Surprisingly, he nodded. I asked dad if it was ok and he wearily nodded yes. I took the boy in my arms and he laid his head on my shoulder. His clothes were also clean but worn, his flip flops were near breakage between his tiny toes. He snuggled into my neck like he had known me his whole life.

I rocked gently back and worth, and rubbed his back. In an instant his body went limp and his eyes fluttered shut. Tears welled up in my eyes and my heart swelled as I held him against me. I felt an overwhelming compulsion and began praying for this child and his family, whom I had never met. I prayed that for whatever reason they were there that they would have a good outcome. I prayed for his future, and his health. I prayed for his tired Dad, and whatever issues they faced at home. I prayed for the new baby, and thanked God that both children appeared healthy and loved.

After a few moments, another child cried and woke up the boy. A showed him a picture of my cat on my cell phone, and he smiled. A few moments later Mom walked into the room. The Dad thanked me and they left.

Where were they going? What did they face when they got home? Why did I feel so led to pray for them? I have no idea, but I will never get the image of his round black eyes staring into mine or the trust he showed as he slept in my arms out of my heart.

I silently thanked God for my own health and for what He has done and is continuing to do for my family. I continue to pray for this child and his family, wherever they
are.....

Middle School!

Marissa started middle school last week and is riding the bus for the very first time! The bus comes very early.....as you can see in these pictures. She is at a GREAT school with FABULOUS opportunities for her to excel, even though she claims it is just "ok". We are so proud of her!

She is pictured with her good friend Matthew, who rides her bus and is in her class. It sure makes things better when you have a buddy to help you through all of these adjustments!

WOO HOO!!!!

I am so excited! My sister and her family live in Baton Rouge, and were hit HARD by hurricane Gustav. They have been without power and phone since the storm. Thank God for cell phones, although they were not able to call (it wouldn't work) they were able to text. Something about it uses lower bandwith or something. It was such a relief to be able to hear from them, even though sometimes it took up to 3 hours to get the text, at least we could communicate! The more expensive phones worked better-go figure-so my niece's million dollar tricked out phone worked like a charm most days.
The upside to this is that I taught my 74 year old technology-impaired mother how to text! She is getting quite good at it too! It was a real relief to her to be able to get word from my sister during this ordeal.

Finally, the call we had been waiting on came through late yesterday! THEY HAVE POWER!!!! Praise God! Finally they can get some AC in the south Louisiana heat and watch TV and buy some food to replace what they lost in the fridge and freezer (which was EVERYTHING).

Thank you all for your prayers for their safety! It meant a lot to get calls and emails that you were praying!!!!

Cake Baking Contest!

My Mom's church on Tybee had a cake baking contest this past Sunday night and Marissa and my Mom both entered. My mom made this delicious cake that she has made since I was a kid. It is a lemon cake with a lemon pudding frosting. YUM YUM YUM! Marissa made a pineapple upside down cake, all from scratch! No mix here! Although she didn't win a prize, she did get paid a very high compliment. The lady shown with Marissa (with the red hair) told Marissa that she had lost her Mom in 1987, and that her Mom's pineapple upside down cake was her favorite. She went on to say that until she had Marissa's cake Sunday night, she had never tasted another pineapple upside down cake as good as her Mom's. Marissa was thrilled, and we all had a lot of fun eating all of the cakes that entered. Ooooo.....I am still swole up.....