Petting Zoo

We visited Old MacDonald's Petting Zoo this past weekend. Kalyn loves to go there. She is definitely an animal lover. She says when she grows up, she is going to be a vet. Steven will not like sending his money to Auburn. LOL!! Now, that's funny!

Our yard has recently turned into a mini-farm.(I think of Rhonda while I type). We have 2 fish, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 3 chickens and a goat that lives at Grandaddy's house (Thank the Lord). Plus a very small garden this year. What were we thinking?

2 men of my life

Steven and Daddy--my absolute favorite men in the whole world. I think this is the only picture I have of them together. I love it. They are modeling their tuxedos for Chris's wedding.

Interest of a little girl

We visited Pastor Jeff Stanford's church Tueday night. They were having a "On Fire Camp Meeting" and Pastor Tommy Bates was the preacher for the night. Steven loves to hear him. We always get something out of his messages, no matter what. Pastor Bates had just started his message, read a couple of scriptures and started to explain them. Steven and I were watching Kalyn. She had her eyes and ears fixed on him, even though there was much noise in the room. She seemed to hang on every word he spoke. We were listening also when I heard a voice in my hear, "What does that mean?" He had used the word "contaminated" refering to a water source. When I explained it meant dirty or nasty, she never missed a beat, just nodded and kept right on listening. Afterward, on the way home, I asked her if she had any questions, that she could ask at any time. She said "No, I understood." I truly feel like she did, every word.

Steven's day

Steven has wanted a Jason Crabb "Through the Fire" shirt ever since we saw him at Winterfest. Steven performs this song at church, so it was only fitting that he get one for Father's Day.

Steven and Kalyn - a perfect father/daughter relationship. These two are so proud of each other. And it shows anytime they are together. Can't you feel the Love?

Steven has looked at, talked about and wanted a spray painter since Spring. He is the ultimate outdoors man. All he seems to talk about is what he can do to the house next- paint, remodel, fix, etc. The next project we have is to paint porches and decks. Great fun!

Meet Ella

Meet the newest member of our family. Ella, Kalyn's kitten. We have only had her a couple of weeks and she has grown tremendously. And, boy, is she mischievious. She has become a joy to play with. Even Steven hunts for her when he comes home. She loves to hide and then jump out at your feet. Who knew a kitten could be so much fun?

SNAKE !!!!!

It was about 9:00 or 9:30 pm. Dark outside. I was standing in the kitchen busily preparing lunches/ bags for work and Kids Klub. Kalyn suddenly remembers that she left her toy in my bag which is still in the truck. So I send her outside, in the darkness, by herself, to retreive her toy. A few seconds later, she runs screaming and crying back into the house, SNAKE!! SNAKE !!! I doubt her and say , "Kalyn , Are you sure you saw a snake?" Sensing my doubt, she replies " I think it was a snake, but maybe it was a tree root. It was beside the tree." Steven is not at home, so I'm thinking "okay, what do I do?" I grab a broom, don't know what I thought I would do with it, and head outside with a flashlight. All the time I am asking Kalyn " where was it?" and try to shine the light all around on the ground. She is still scared to death and crying, so between sobs she points to a huge oak tree beside our driveway. I walk around the tree and sure enough there he is, a 2 feet long brown snake trying to climb up the tree. Okay, now I believe her. I don't know whether to just let it keep going or try to kill it. Now I'm scared with her. I just know it is a copperhead. So I gather all the courage I have and get the hoe out of the garage. By this time, the snake is climbing higher. I don't know if I can reach his head so I just swing the hoe, hoping to hit something. I knock him off the tree and when he hits the ground he faces me with mouth wide. I frantically keep chopping over and over, seemed like forever, until I finally cut his head off. With snake dead, reality sets in. I couldn't help but sob uncontrollably. I asked Kalyn again, where was the snake when you saw it? She pointed to a leaf in the drive way. I asked " Where were you?" She said that she had opened the truck door and looked down and saw it.....could not have been 2 feet from her. At this time, I am still convinced that it was a copperhead. And to imagine that snake being that close to my baby was almost more than I could bear. I grabbed her and knelt beside her, thanking Jesus for protecting my baby. Even in my own stupidity for sending her out by herself, He was there standing between her and the snake. I can just picture that snake crawling toward her and when it saw Jesus's feet, it turned around and headed for the tree. After my praises went up for her protection, then I had to repent of my neglect. Once Steven came home, he said it wasn't a copperhead after all but probably a king snake. But, it doesn't matter what "kind" of snake it was, Jesus was still walking beside Kalyn and His lesson has hit my heart. Point taken.

JFest Update

We attended Jfest this year, an all-day outdoor christian concert in Chattanooga. It was worth it. Although despite multiple applications of sunscreen, each of us still had a little sunburn. Several different groups were there, including Matthew West, Building 429, Newsong,and the grand finale.... Big Daddy Weave. It was liberating to be able to stand there amongst thousands of people, to not know a single person, for one purpose.... to worship the same awesome God. The music was great. I really enjoyed it, glad I went.