Who needed a Zoo

When I was a kid my parents both worked all the time, they had full time jobs and farmed. We didn't get to go anywhere other than to school or maybe the grocery. I didn't even know there was such thing as a zoo. When my kids were small we took them to the zoo, I found myself constantly telling them "my Grandma had one of those". Looking back, I had it better than the kids that got to go to the zoo anyway. I practically lived on one. My Grandparents had a beautiful male peacock that strutted freely around the yard. He would sit on the fence post with his tail flowing to the ground. There was also a tom turkey in full strut along with his hen. Kept in the pen were the pheasants, and a hen house full of all kinds of chickens. We raised an orphaned baby deer until it was full grown. We had cows, pigs, sheep, a couple of horses and I had a pony named Kentucky. It is funny how when we get older, looking back, it wasn't so bad.

Kid's Say the Darndest Things

Brent and I were just talking about funny things that Chad said when he was small. He was always coming off with something that would make us roll on the floor. I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

Chad was 3 and 1/2 and Brittany was 5 when their cousin Dylan was born. We had really been hyping them up about becoming cousins, since they would no longer be the only grandchildren. When we went to see baby Dylan for the first time, Brittany LOVED him (as we knew she would). Chad on the other hand looked very disappointed and said "When he gets some hair, then he can be my cousin".

We went to the wedding of a friend of Brent's family when Chad was about seven. The Bride came and asked Chad to dance with her. We were surprised that he went out on the dance floor in front of about 200 guest. But we were really surprised when she leaned down and tapped her cheek for him to give her a kiss and he did. When he came back to our table Brent's Mom was joking with him about kissing the Bride. He said "I don't know what happened, it was like her head was a steel ball and my lips were magnets".

We got the kids a kitten when Chad was about three. We put it in his lap and was telling him how he would have to be gentle with it. He looked at it and said "You don't supposed to poke it's eyes out?"

We took Brittany, Chad and cousin Dylan to Chattanooga when Dylan was about four years old. We kept talking about Chattanooga this and Chattanooga that and Dylan asked "Are we going to go to Brittanyanooga next?"

Chad's Freckles

When Chad was in Kindergarten he came home upset one day because a little girl in his class had been irritating him. Brent told him that she was just doing it because she thought all of those freckles on his nose were so cute. The next morning while getting ready for school he kept begging me for a band aid. I asked him why did he want a band aid so badly. He said "I want to put it on my nose and cover up these freckles so that little girl will leave me alone today".

Father's Day

Brent had a great Father's Day. We had dinner with Chad and Lindsey Saturday night. Brittany called, and sent a beautiful card and gift card. He got a new step ladder, a tool belt, Glen Beck's new book "Common Sense" and a Shimano fishing rod. Since it is Father's Day, this post is going to be about Brent. He is the most wonderful Husband and Father that anyone could ever ask for. As most of you know, I was married once before Brent. My first Husband and I were married 6 years when Brittany was born. When she was only 2 months and 2 days old, Steve decided that this was not what he wanted and he filed for a divorce. I had known Brent for years. My Mom went to school with his Mom, my Dad worked with his Dad. I had worked with Brent a couple of years earlier while I was pregnant with my first child that was stillborn. He and his family lived across the street from me. They were life savers. They babysat Brittany while I was at work. I had a crazy schedule. I worked days one day and nights the next. When I worked days Brent would keep Brittany and when I worked nights his Mom would keep her, because Brent worked nights as well. Three months after my divorce Brent stated that he could not understand how Steve could just throw his family away, that this, was all he had ever wanted. From that moment on things changed between us. I always think of the song "Thank God for Unanswered Prayers". I remember all the praying that I did for my first marriage. If I had of only known that God had something much greater in store for me.

Brittany's Father's Day Poem

This is a Poem that Brittany wrote for Brent for Father's Day a few years ago. I think it says it all.

THE FATHER YOU NEVER HAD TO BE

Many years have passed and I haven’t taken time to say,
That I am who I am because your guidance along the way.
You were there for me when I was a little kid,
You told me what that was, or what this did.
You showed me how to swim and how to tie my shoes,
You taught me how to win, more importantly how to lose.
You were there for me with my first broken heart.
You taught me what to look out for and how to play it smart.
During all the disagreements between me and mom,
You were always there to keep us calm.
And growing up as a teen?
So much drama it’s like a dream.
Still you’ve stood by my side,
I know, in you I can confide.
The closing of this chapter will come graduation day,
And so many life lessons to learn along the way.
Who knows where I will be when the night comes to an end,
UAB or just moving in with a friend….
Wherever it is I’ll still need you to guide me
So thank you for being the father you never had to be.

I Love the Country Life

When I was a child growing up in the country, I could not wait until I was grown and could move to town. I hated living in the middle of nowhere. All my friends lived in town or only a few miles out of town. They would meet and hang out at the park, walk to each others homes, swim at the city pool and walk to and from school each day. My bus ride was an hour long each way, much of which was on a one lane gravel road. It was like asking my parents to take me on a mini vacation just to go visit one of my friends. I moved to B.G. when I got married and lived within walking distance of Warren Central for almost 4 years, then moved to a subdivision a little further out where I lived for almost 6 years. I realized that my children needed more than a 75x100 foot lot to play on. And that we needed consistent neighbors. Most of the houses around us would sell every couple of years and we never knew what kind of neighbors we would get. The week after Chads first birthday we moved back to the country only a few miles from where I grew up, to a community filled with people that grew up with my Dad and my Grandparents. Brittany was 2 and 1/2 at the time. All of their memories have been of the country, where they were able to roam the woods, hunt, fish, garden, ride horses, go carts and four wheelers with their friends. And they grew up with some of the greatest neighbors that anyone could ever ask for.

Sweets and Diabetes

Brent and I both found out that we have diabetes a year and a half ago. We were neither one surprised really. My maternal Grandmother and Paternal Uncle had it and so does my Brother. Brent's Paternal Grandmother had to have both legs amputated due to diabetes. It has been easier on him than it has on me, because he has never been a big sweets eater. I crave sweets. But we have been controlling our sugar with our diet so far. I hope that we can continue to control it without insulin shots. My Brother is currently taking two shots daily.

Something to Cherish Forever

Chad's hand print

Brittany's hand print

The Kids made these concrete hand prints in Bible School when they were little. At the time I was not sure what I would do with them but they look great in the landscaping. I am so glad that I have them now that they are grown and gone from home. I just wish that they would have put the year on them because I am not sure of how old they were when they were made. All you need is some concrete mix and a pie pan and you will have something to cherish for years to come.

Early B-day Gift

This past weekend Brent built me a flower box on the garage window and filled it with red wave petunias and white geraniums as an early birthday present. He is so thoughtful. A couple of weeks ago I said that I would like to have one because my kitchen window over the sink faces that side of the garage. Now I have something pretty to look at while I wash dishes and it reminds me of how sweet my Husband is.

He has our heart

Our boy Kage is our pride and joy. We have never had a dog like him. He has our heart (notice the heart shape on his side, he also has a clover shape on the other side). Two years ago he showed up at my Moms. He was limping, and tore all to pieces where he had been in a fight with her neighbors dog. She asked around the neighborhood and found out who he belonged to. Her neighbor said that he got him from his brother. This guys brother was going to shoot him because he had been hit by a car and they could not keep him because they lived in a trailer park. This guys dog is the one that attacked him, that is why he came to my Moms. Her neighbor told her to call the Humane Society to come and pick him up. We stopped by Moms that afternoon and this dog LOVED Brent. He was all over him. Mom tried to get us to take him home when we left, but I did not want the responsibility of caring for a dog. The next day she said that she was calling the Humane Society to come and get him that afternoon. Brent wanted to go get him so badly, so I gave in, and we headed to town to pick him up. I didn't really figure that he would stay at our house due to the fact that he roamed the trailer park at his first home and then roamed the neighborhood at my Moms. When we got there he jumped in the car as if he had been waiting for us all along. For three days he laid on the porch against our kitchen door and never moved. On the third day I went out to check the mail, it was misting a cold icy rain. He lay there soaking wet. I realized that it was crazy for him to be out there alone and for me to be in the house alone, so I brought him in. His wounds healed but he still has trouble with his back legs. Some times he can barely get up and he is only three years old. Dr. Van has put him on pain medication that we give him everyday. It kills me to see him in pain. I could never have imagined how much joy this dog would bring us. I truly believe that God sent him to us when he knew that we needed him most. I think that the kids are a little jealous of him. Brittany says that we let him get away with stuff that she and Chad would have never gotten away with. For Christmas, Chad bought a gift for Kage. He said that he wanted to get something for the most important thing in our life. I have always had dogs and loved my dogs but they were just "dogs". This one is different. I have been known to say that "I couldn't love him anymore had I given birth to him".

Winklebottom and the Pig

Because I gave Brent a hard time about his Winklebottom, (a garden Gnome named after a King of the Hill episode, Hank is Brent's role model). He then built this PINK PIG birdhouse just as a joke to harass me. A bird built a nest in it the day he hung it on the tree and now it has 3 baby birds in it, so we can't take it down. We look like Florida retirement village residents.

The Sparrow's Nest

A sparrow has built a nest in the 4 foot tall hibiscus tree that Brent got me for Mother's Day. It now has an egg in it. I think that is so sweet, that she built her nest in my Mother's Day gift.