The Farmer….

As we do many days this time of year, we have to put hay up.  This includes fluffing, raking, and baling.

This year, Cecil taught me how to rake hay and I have to admit, it was rather FUN!  Shh!  Don’t tell him I said that!

I want to share some pictures of our Sunday afternoon “making hay while the sun shines”, and I wanted to include a poem for you.  It’s one of my favorite poems and I heard JD Sumners recite it on a Gaither DVD.  It’s a beautiful poem and epitomizes the life of a farmer (in my opinion).

Usually about 3/4 of the way through, I’m crying so hard I can’t finish listening to it, but it’s such a sweet poem……

I think either Porter Wagoner or Jim Wilson wrote the poem, and I got the lyrics from metrolyrics.

“The Farmer and The Lord”

While resting the other evening by the side of the road, I saw an old farmer in the field that he had just hoed

His face was all brown and wrinkled by the sun and the wind,
And he was talking to the Lord just like he’d be talking to a friend

Well, he said, with his voice all calm and quiet,
Them corn tassles need sucking and I got no strength to tie it

Had no rain in so long that the fields are mighty dusty,
And its been so unbearable hot that the kids are even gettin’ fussy

Now the grass is down and the pasture should be knee high,
if we could just have a little shower Lord, it might keep the calf from going dry

Oh, but listen to me talkin’, you’d think I wasn’t grateful,
Why, if you didn’t know me so well Lord, you’d think I was downright hateful

You’d think I forgot about the new calf you sent,
And the money in the mail that took care of the rent

Mama’s cough is better and Johnny’s home from the Navy.
And that good Sunday dinner of hot chicken and dumplings and gravy

And that new preacher you sent us Lord, he’s sure a fine young man
Why—he’s convertin’ them sinners to beat the band

Well, I guess I’ll mosey on home now Lord, I won’t take no more of your time, I guess there’s plenty folks here waitin’ to ring your line

Evenin’ to you Lord and watch over us tonight,
Don’t you worry about us now Lord, cause everything is gonna be alright.

~CB~

Meet the Teacher & First Day of School

Last Thursday and Friday was Meet the Teacher at the boys’ school.  Both boys really enjoyed meeting their teachers and are excited for a GREAT school year!

Nolan is going into SECOND grade!!  Such a big boy and growing up so fast!

Mrs. M’s first parent-teacher conference.  HA!  Just kidding.  Let’s hope we don’t have to have any conferences!

Carter found a game in Mrs. M’s room and this was so cute I couldn’t resist a quick snapshot!

Carter is going into KINDERGARTEN!  I can’t believe how fast the time has flown!  Carter is actually in a K-1 class—they are starting an advanced Kindergarten curriculum.  Many of the kids in his class are on advanced levels and some can even read!  We are so thrilled that Carter is in this class!

Monday (today) was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.  I love "first day of school” days and school supplies, book bags, etc.

Here are the boys on their FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

The first day of school is usually filled with some trepidation, but both my boys did GREAT walking into their classrooms.  I was afraid Carter might get a little teary-eyed, but he sat right down, went to coloring and said “bye Mom and Dad”.  Sniff, sniff……

Hope you and yours had a great “first day” too!

~CB~

Eating me out of house and home

Help!  They’re eating me out of house and home!  BOYS!  THEY EAT SO MUCH!!  And they’re only 7 and 5.  I can’t imagine when they are teenagers!

We made a “back to school food” run a few days ago to get ready for lunchbox food.

Lemonade, peanut butter, snacks, breakfast food, fresh fruit, etc.

Gatorade (for fall ball practice), popcorn, and some other “junk”….

 

Craisins (mine and Carter’s favorite), fruit for Carter’s breakfast…..

And if all that food isn’t enough to remind you, then the cute sign surely will!

~CB~

More Adventures in Organizing School Supplies

As noted in my previous post, I’ve been working on getting the boys’ school clothes sorted and organized.

In case you forgot, this is what it looked like before…..

And now…..after LOTS of sorting, organizing, and stacking….

I think you’ll agree that it’s MUCH MUCH better!

You might have noticed the pink and blue baskets and the school themed gift bags?  Those are for the boys’ teachers and 2 other people at the school that I like to get a little something for at the beginning of each school year!

Didn’t they turn out cute? (ummm..if the boys’ teachers are reading, stop now or you’ll ruin your surprise, hee-hee-hee)

Each of the baskets have been adapted for the appropriate grade level (for example, Nolan’s teacher is getting bookmarks for her class, and Carter’s teacher is getting some foam building blocks).

Cute folders, a to do list, Sharpie markers (big and small), black and blue pens, stickers, bookplates, hand sanitizer, a first-aid kit, bandaids, lotion, and a few other cute items….

 

These cute bags are for 2 other people at the school that I like to get a little something for….they deserve it!  The Principal and the Assistant Principal!

Alright ladies…if you’re reading, and you don’t want to know what’s in your goody bag, stop now!  HA!

They are each getting a package of cute folders, Sharpie markers (big and little), black and blue pens, bandaids, a first-aid kit, lotion, hand sanitizer, and a notepad!  Just something little for them to know that I (& my family) appreciate all their hard work!

 

Here are all the gifts, ready to go for next week’s “Meet the Teacher” event!

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE “back to school”?

p.s.  I promised I would show you the boys’ supplies, but I didn’t get a picture of that yet.  Stay tuned.    : )

~CB~

Adventures in Organizing School Clothes

Every year, my friend/babysitter/go-to girl, Patricia, comes over to help me unpack and sort all the boys school clothes.

God love her, this year, she had her work cut out for her.  I LOVE to sort and organize, but in the past, I only had one child to sort/organize for and now there are TWO!

This is what “back to school headquarters” looked like when we got home from shopping.

 

A MESS!

 

Thankfully, she enjoys it as much as I do, so we worked….

and we worked……

And at least got it looking like this:

SOMEWHAT organized (ignore the white bags, which were added just before I needed to take the picture).

Stay tuned for another episode of “Adventures in Organizing School Clothes”.  I’ll show you our teacher gift/goody bags and the boys bags as well!

~CB~

School Supply Shopping

A few weeks ago I posted about getting ready to go back to school.
Since Carter starts Kindergarten this year, I wanted to document his “first” trip to buy his “first” school supplies.
  
There is nothing better than the smell of FRESH NEW Crayola crayons!


Overall, the boys did good during the (at least) hour long shopping trip.

 After all that buying, they were happy just to sit down on the bench and people watch at the Wal-Mart.  Some sights to see FOR SURE!


Stay tuned for another “back to school post” soon!

~CB~

Daytona Beach 2011

As we do every July, our family headed off to our condo in Daytona Beach for 2 weeks!  We were in for some HOT HOT HOT weather!

As is normal, I toted the 2 boys, a babysitter, myself, and enough food to feed the Five Thousand.

We had great weather, good friends, and good eatin’.  Does it get any better than that?

There was boogie boarding……

And swimming…..

And hangin’ out with Kelli the babysitter!

While there, we always make time to go to Down the Hatch for some delicious seafood….YUM.

It was nice to get a family picture off the beach this year.  Normally, we’ll get one in front of the ocean and it’s so sunny and sandy, but this year, we did one on the docks at the restaurant.

 

We happened to have some dear friends of ours staying just down the road at their condo and they met us for dinner one night!  This is Jennifer and Bill…SHE is the COUPON QUEEN and puts the Extreme Couponers to shame!

One night, we went down to the Boardwalk to let the kids have a little fun, ride the ferris wheel, and let Kelli and Cecil go up in the big slingshot ride.  (yes, they are nuts).  This is Kelli and I at the top of the ferris wheel!  I feel VERY old because I used to babysit her when she was around 3 years old and now she’s babysitting my children!  oh my!

Kelli and Cecil getting strapped in for the slingshot ride!

 

They went 300 feet in the air at 110 miles per hour!!  CRAZY!

If you know me, you KNOW I am NOT a risk taker, so it will come as a shock to you to learn that I PARASAILED at the beach this year!  YES! ME!  I DID IT!  800 feet in the air!

A cousin of mine and her family rented my Dad’s condo this year and we all went together to parasail.

Here is my cousin, Karen, and myself BEFORE the big event!

 

Kelli and the boys…..

I was hoping this wasn’t my last family picture!  HA!

You all KNOW my aversion to the ocean (yes, I hate the ocean) and sharks…so I was SO thankful we didn’t have JAWS as our boat.  Yes!  The name of that boat is Jaws!

 

Our crew was awesome!  The best crew and captain ever!  This is the first mate getting me all strapped in and ready to go!

 

Even Cecil went parasailing!  This is him and Kristen (Karen’s daughter) way up in the air!!

I guess from the way I was holding the rope, the next day my arms looked like I had been in a brawl!  Bruises were awful!  Don’t worry—these pictures make it look GOOD.  It turned ugly purple and green before the next day!  And you know what?  IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Overall, it was a great beach trip and we had a GREAT time!  Can’t wait for next year’s trip!

Happy Summer!

~CB~