Merry Christmas!

Here are our latest picture updates.  Alex was given a foosball table from a co-worker of mine and he and Terry have enjoyed it.  Behind them you can see his unfinished bedroom wall.

He is so cute when he is sleeping!

This is Alex's bedroom with the ceiling, walls, and top trim finished.  We still need to do the baseboards and closet.

We have one wall of our bedroom and half of another finished.  I also tried a new bedspread to make it more cabin looking.

This weekend we worked a little on the ceiling in the living room.  We have now used up all the dry cedar that we had cut and will be back to sawing logs soon.

Alex got a new down-style comforter and curtains for him room.  Don't mind the mess at the top- it is my next project.

Christmas dinner of homemade lasagna and rolls.

And best of all............my Christmas present from Alex.  He saved his allowance and bought it all on his own.  This is the first present he has paid for and picked out all on his own. :)  I love it!

Hope you all have a happy holiday season!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I apologize for not updating in a while but we have been a bit busy. We have planed, cut and sized nearly both piles of cedar boards that were cut.  We have about 4 more rows to plane and cut.  We will work on them this weekend.  Here is what we have finished so far:

Ceiling in master bedroom:

 Partial wall and window framing in Alex's room:

Around Alex's door:

Entire ceiling and parts of two walls.  Here is everything that is covered except the ceiling.  This picture is not true to color as the above two were.

Our chickens have been growing like crazy and we are getting between 9 and 14 eggs a day!  Anyone need fresh eggs????

This girlie will not lay her egg in the house like the rest.  She is a bit of a rebel!

This is Tilly who was being picked on.  She is growing her feathers back nicely!

Munster is getting bigger but is still pretty mellow.  He does crow at me when I don't let him out quickly enough.......lol.

Trick or Treat???

We chose TRICK!  Alex wanted to have a Halloween party for some of the boys at his school.  He invited 10 boys and 6 of them made it.  While he was gone with the high school band Saturday morning, Terry and I worked hard to set up a spooky trail. 

Fire pit for the grown ups ready!

Food table ready!

We fed the boys hotdogs and chips and then we walked along the trail just after dark.  Alex was scared first by a talking head that dropped out of nowhere to tell them to turn back.  I did not get a chance to take his picture!  We we got to the first corner, I stopped to count and make sure everyone was there and let them go on ahead of me.  They walked into a large spider web! We kept going and this pulley system:

flew 3 glowing trash-bag ghosts across the 1 acre field.  They were not so scary as they were moving away from us but as they came back up the line, I had a boy stuck to the front of me hugging and yelling:    

"I don't want to die! I'm too young to die!"  They finally noticed the pulley system and started to breathe again.  

Every time we would hear a noise, I would turn the flash light of and they would all freeze and hush.  OHHHH THE CONTROL!!!!  LOL  As we kept going, we went under a black light and came up on another floating ghost. They kept waiting for it to come after them but it did not move.  :)  

Onward we trudged and came up to my little friend:

She was way too quiet and didn't scare them much.

I told them some of the history of our property including the Choctaw Indians who once lived there and the Stage Coach route that crossed the top edge.  Then I added a little fictional history about train tracks that crossed our land.  Just after I got through with this part, Andrew and Nancy (parents of one boy) jumped out behind them flashing a flashlight and screaming.  I thought I was going to be run over......lol. We kept walking and turned the corner into our front yard which connects to a smaller trail. As soon as all the boys where down the smaller trail, the "ghost train" appeared in the form of a high powered spot light and air horn.  I haven't seen them run that fast before!  Their little hearts finally slowed back down and we rounded the last corner meeting this friend:

He was loud and bright and freaked them out one last time!  They settled down, and got drinks and candy to refresh themselves and then played flashlight tag for over an hour.

I think a good time was had by all:

I know I enjoyed myself!  I have 7 11-12 year old boys standing really close to me to "protect" me.  I've never felt so safe! ;-)

Adventures in Chicken Farming - Day 178

Yesterday was an exciting day in the life of chicken farming.  I went to sit on the front porch and was joined by Rosie.  

She did not want company though.  She proceeded to pick off my blossoms one by one - swallowing and smiling!  While watching her slowly eat my flowers, I noticed a hawk flying by.  The rooster alerted the hens and they all ran for cover - except Cleo.

This is Cleo, or Cleopatra, queen of the coop.  I counted again and found everyone but Cleo.  

So, I started searching.  Alex and a friend had been around the trail early in the day so I was afraid she had followed them and gotten eaten or lost.  I walked part of the way around the trail, towards the road, checked in the nesting boxes, everywhere I would think of.  No Cleo to be found.  When I called for her, Max and Scooter were listening and watching too.  I decided I better collect the eggs as it was getting close to dusk and I wasn't taking a chance on fighting a snake in the dark (Another chicken adventure story!).  I collected the eggs into our basket.  On the way back to the house I noticed Scooter standing on the pile of cedar logs.  He would jump to the top and then down the the ground.  I set the eggs on the corner of the porch since the dogs were occupied.

Here is where I found Cleo, between the 2 and third log in from the right on the ground.  She must have been searching for bogs, mice, or frogs and gotten stuck.

After much careful shifting, straining, pulling and cajoling, I was able to pull her out backwards.  She had both wings wedged and I had to unstick her from the logs around her.  She was NOT happy with me.  I checked her out and nothing seemed to be amiss other than being very hungry.

When I got done saving Cleo from herself, I walked back around to the porch and Scooter was eating something.   ONE OF THE EGGS!  Max had taken them out of the basket, thinking they were balls I guess, and given me and Scooter an easter egg hunt!  

I found 3 and Scooter found 2,  Mine were unbroken - Scooter's were eaten!  I put all chickens and dogs to bed hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

So this morning I get up and let the chickens out for the day.  Rosie must have told a friend about the buffet as Luci decided she was eating my flowers today!

I've also learned that Cleo has a fascination for small places like the holes in the cinder blocks.

Behind the floor of the junk room, in a bookshelf, under a box of flashlights, between all the storage bins, between the deck on the dog pen, and that was all in 15 minutes.  Either she has figured out that is where the good bugs hide or she is just not real bright!  LOL

I was hoping she has learned not to go into the cedar pile again.  NOPE!

And today - she invited FRIENDS!

Having chickens is like having 15 three year olds running around in the back yard!  I need to do some Cleo-proofing!

Saturday in the South

On Saturday, we went to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-Vanderbilt football game.  Some places in Tuscaloosa are on our must stop list.  First up:

Then we stooped at Tractor Supply Co. to check prices for chicken feed.  This is where we got our first set of chickens.

On our way to the football stadium, we drove through one of the areas hit by the April 27th tornado.  This grassy field was houses and businesses door to door.

A lot of the rubble and devastation has been cleaned up.  But many buildings still show the telltale signs.

The tornado was strong enough to peel up chunks of pavement and concrete.

This lake was beautiful!  Now it is filled with trash from the storm.

On to happier thoughts!  I want this elephant for my yard!

The front of the stadium 3 hours before game time.

A panoramic view from our seats 2 hours before game time.

An un-zoomed shot from our seats.

And then my camera batteries went dead!  The game was wonderful,  Alabama won easily and Vandy gave them a great battle. 

I'm Going to Jackson - Jackson Town.......

Today we took Alex back to Brandon, MS to have a re-evaluation done for his dyslexia.  On the way down we found a new road across at Carthage/Canton.  Canton is the new home of Nissan in Mississippi and seems to be building back up in some areas.  

Alex didn't notice the new road:

Downtown Canton was beautiful today and I wanted to take many more pictures but we were on a schedule.

The window was a bit dirty for picture taking anyway......lol

We made it to Magnolia Speech School is great time and could stretch a bit before Alex got started with Mrs. James.  We had not been back since Alex was first diagnosed and I am amazed at the work they do at this school helping all types of students!

Alex got a decent report.  He has progressed in most areas.  Spelling is still a challenge and probably will always be impossible for him.  The evaluation reinforced my feelings about his capabilities.  I was a bit saddened that although he has gotten better in most areas, he still is behind his peers in all areas.  His reading was the most improved!

This has shown is his desire to read and listen to any books he can get his hands on.  He has decided to take over my nookcolor and my mp3 player.  This was his view most of they way home:

And as always, I had the best chauffeur in Mississippi! :)  Poor guy went with me this morning and then has to work tonight.  I hope it is a slow night for them!

We are fighting hard to help Alex be successful and content in his abilities.  Some days are harder than others.  Knowing we are not alone helps in this.  One of my favorite quotes if from Charles Schwab:

... "That's the real problem with kids who struggle with learning ... Some kids feel like they're stupid. I want them to know that they're not. They just learn differently. Once they understand that and have the tools to learn in their individual way, then they can feel good about themselves." 

For my dear friend Rosemary!

This weekend was relaxing for me.  Last week was Homecoming week at the school and we had a BUSY week!  I decided I was going to recuperate this weekend and did as little as possible.  It was probably good that we did a little of nothing as we got a phone call Saturday afternoon:  "Dad, I'm nearly out of gas!"  We were able to rescue Adam who was about 30 miles south of us and he came to the house for supper and some geocaching. :)

We found two with his help, Curtis Chapel Cemetery Cache and Curtis Chapel Water Tank Cache  We had a good time.  Also stopped at the Dumping Ground and Octopus to show Adam the ropes of geocaching.

I was not the only one relaxing and enjoying the weather.  Munster was sprawled out in the sun watching his girls scratch in the woods.  Terry couldn't leave him be and got him stirred up and moving.  Poor baby!

I walked out to take a picture for Rosemary and my entourage went with me!

Here is a picture of the house from the west end.  The porch wall and ceiling are nearly finished.  They still need sealed with waterproofing.  We started on that on the right side and didn't like the way it turned out.  We are still debating what color to use.  Where the four wheeler is parked, we are building a 12 by 50 porch.  The foundation trenches are dug just waiting for forms and concrete.  As soon as we dug them, the rain started - such is our life!

Here is the front of the house from the other side of the lawn that I mow.  The house is centered and the saw mill barn is too the left.

Here is the panoramic view from the far north east corner of the lawn.  I think the camera bobbled in the middle!  LOL

And a closer view of the front of the house.  The white building to the left will be removed and a full porch put along this side.  EVENTUALLY!

Hope you enjoyed my little corner of the woods.