I Go Mamaw's?!

As one season fades, another blooms. Jax is now in mamaw and papaw heaven. Don't get me wrong, he's always loved them, but now, he really understands what mamaw's and papaw's are all about. In the past few months, Calen has begun to transition easier. Jax's transition has become more difficult.

For the past three weeks, Jax has randomly made plans to go to mamaw's. It could be at 8:30 in the evening, in the car, first thing in the morning when he gets out of bed, or while at the store. It is, "I get my socks shoes. Go to Mammmmaaawwwwww's!" He's even had me call a couple times so he can ask, "Mamaw? I come to your house? Okay." Hands me the phone, "Mamaw said I come to her house. Okay?"

So he's going to mamaw's all by himself. For 3 nights and 4 days. I have a feeling Sunday night is going to be a little difficult. Just a hunch based on prior experience. It kicked in around the same age for Calen. I expect lots of crying and protesting for the next several years. This time next year...there will be two. Hey, what are grandparents for?

Calen's Blog about the Zoo

This past Friday I got to go with my church to the Knoxville Zoo for "Bedtime with the Beasts." We got to the go to the zoo, take a nighttime tour after the zoo closed, and got to the spend the night in a little building in the middle of the zoo. It was a wonderful trip! I just love animals, and on our tour I learned some interesting things.

Since most animals in the zoo are not nocturnal (which means active at night), they were asleep. Who would want to to see animals sleeping?! We did get to see a couple of the noctural animals at night. The next day we went a skunk, bat, and raccoon exhibit. These animals are nocturnal and in the day they would sleep. Who would want to see that, right? That wouldn't be fun for people who come during the day. So they flip flopped the time of day in this exhibit. To do this, they have this light on a timer. The lights were off in the day so it was dark, and the animals would think it was night and come out so we could see. Then at night, the lights would come on the animals would sleep.

We learned that people actually went in to feed some of the animals. Other animals, like the lions and tigers, they had to feed from outside. But, everyone has to go into the cages to clean them. These people got special shots that last for a year. They do this so if a raccoon and skunk has rabies and they get bit or scratched the people wouldn't get sick. That's a really good idea!

They also have a beaver exhibit at the zoo. If you look really closely their teeth look like candy corn because they orange at the top and white at the bottom. I didn't come up with that, another boy did, but I thought it was pretty cool.

There was this bird whose wings get longer than our arms! Like 15 to 20 feet long!! I forget the name of the bird, but it would eat dead animals (that means it is a scavenger). It will stick it's head in the animal to eat the meat inside of it. That is gross. Did you know that it doesn't have any teeth, so it uses its sharp beak to pull off the meat and swallows it whole.

Another neat bird that I saw was the screech owl. This poor owl had lost one of its eye. There is something bad about a owl, they don't pay any attention to a car's lights. Then they get hit by the car and can die!

Did you know they also have some ferrets at the zoo? Ferrets are not related to rats even though they look like one! They can shape their bodies like a ball very easily. They also do not like be kept in cages. Ferrets are very friendly, but will get scared around loud noises.

Two more interesting exhibits that I enjoyed were the red pandas and the gorillas. Red pandas look a lot like a fox. Even though they are red, they are camouflouged in the wild. This is because the moss that grows there is the same color as their fur. I learned that if you stare at gorillas they will think you are challenging them. Also, only baby gorillas get along with each other, but that is only at first. The bigger gorillas will fight with each other.

Never a Good Sign

Sometimes you see something and immediately you know it isn't a question of "if" or "is." You know what I'm talking about. The question that pops into your mind is "how big?". This is one of those moments. You spy a size 5 footprint in white powder on the floor. You follow them into the pantry where you find...

"What's going on in here?!" "I'm just rowin' (rollin')."

Everybody has to a sidekick... might as well be a cutie with a smile that can melt steel.

Think this will hold up in the court of law? Oh, well, it will in this house. GUILTY!

There's a saying that imitation is the best form of flattery, um, not if you have to clean up after it.

Climbing the Walls

Literally! Jax shows off his new skill of climbing up the walls. Here are some pictures of Jax being Jax.

The best part of mommy selling cakes? Licking the spoon!!!

New News

This past week I took on two new tasks. A new school year and my first bridal cake. As for school, I think we have finally hit our stride. I had read and heard many times that the first year is just really about getting your feet wet, the second year things start coming together, and by the third you've found your groove. While our first two years were very successful, I have found some truth in that advice.

I quickly noticed a change in our attitude. I was much happier to get back to the homeschool routine, as was Calen. He didn't complain about anything, he said several times he was looking forward to the next day, and he was bummed on Saturday to hear there wasn't any school. Jax and Riley are more involved, too. They hang out around or on the table more asking for paper and pencils. They are trying to sing he geography songs with him, and asking to help. I find myself with more confidence and a higher comfort level. I know what we're doing and where I want us to go.

My second new task was the bridal cake. It was really fun to design, and actually, I sketched out six different options to choose from. The one with dots and scrolls was the winner. I really enjoyed it, but there were a couple things I wasn't pleased with. Then with my worry-wart self, I started to stress that they would notice what I noticed. This was followed by images of bridezillas. I've never watched the show, but the commercials for it were enough! Now that I know that she enjoyed the cake, I look forward to doing it again, especially since I already have several designs already complete.

You've Seen the Before, Now for the After

It only took a week to finish our landscaping and new sidewalk, that included no work on Thursday and Sunday and only a couple hours on Saturday. The kids and I were in Ohio, and by the time we got back the sidewalk was almost finished and all that was left of the landscaping was the mulch and the monkey grass.

To go with our home's new face lift, we power-washed the siding. As a side note, we will not wait two years to do that again! I painted the banisters and freshened up our door. It was previously a reddish/orange/brownish-rust color. So I went and bought barn red paint. Yes, I bought a gallon of barn paint for the door. It says, "Come on it, take your shoes off, and kick back and relax a while."

We had the flower beds along the retaining wall removed and new beds added along the porch. Now we have one large bed that swoops out to about the tallest half of the retaining all. It opened up the yard even more. The landscaper even leveled up the yard several feet at one end since.

Here's the new sidewalk. The old one went straight down from the driveway to the porch. It was only two feet from the side of the garage, making that flower bed impossible to do anything with. The small bushes kept growing over onto the sidewalk and the ground cover was getting out of control. Now it is opened up and you can enjoy a winding walk to the porch past delicious smelling roses and the sweet bay magnolias.

We decided to let the yard grow in where that terrible, horrible flower bed used to be. Really, it had potential. I have no idea if it was never finished or if, at one point it had been and half of the contents were removed with the new owners or what. However, the owners that we purchased from were not the gardening type. The bed had been unattended for a year and half while they lived here. Then it was all but abandoned when we bought the home. It was three months of the growing season between when we closed and when we moved in, at that point it was too far gone. The only thing we put back was the Japanese Maple. At least we can mow the weeds now.

Blue is the Best Color

It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were taking a two year old Calen to Tweetsie Railroad to ride Thomas. Here we are five years later taking a train-crazy, Thomas-loving Jackson to do the same thing.

Here comes Thomas! Jax can't contain the excitement. Riley is gripping my arm and shaking like a leaf. There are squeals of delight as all the children see him pulling into the station.

ALL ABOARD! Jax is ready to go.

Calen is relaxing and taking it easy.

That is one cute chick!


Hurry, Thomas is getting ready to go again!

When Jax was Riley's age, he went to Busch Gardens and rode the rides with Calen. He even rode the merry-go-round by himself! Riley? Not in a million years. She had to watch from the sidelines. Maybe next year...maybe...big, big maybe.

Meet Jax's little friend. Jax walked around feeding the animals one grain at a time. He wanted to make sure everyone got a bite and that it was as fair as possible. This little guy came out to see him and followed him around. Jax would have spent the entire afternoon hanging out with this cutie!


Jax riding the black plane. He would only ride the black one.


Can we bottle this moment?

Road Trip

Danny had a meeting to go to in Nashville. The kids and I tagged along. That's reason 1,086 why I love homeschooling- Edventures! We take off for a "vacation" that will count as school because our adventures always have education woven into them.

On this particular trip we headed out to explore the Natchez Trace Parkway. Along the way, we stopped at Meriwether Lewis' death and burial site.

We also made a stop to explore some falls. It was all the boys could do to keep out of the water.

Here's the bridge where we accessed the parkway. The boys really loved the view.

Enjoying the view and the brotherly love.

Calen and I had just finished studying Greece. Since we were going to Nashville, I figured we might as well go visit the Parthenon. It is much cheaper than traveling to Greece. Although I do hope to do that one day!

A Blast from the Past

Summer is in full swing here in the South. After a few days of extremely hot weather, I thought I would cool off by looking back at our winter wonderland. As Riley found out, snow does not always taste as good as it looks.

A Piece of Cake

Here are some of the cakes that I've done. They are not in order as I have done them.


This one was for a little boy who loves John Deere tractors and horses.


This one was for a baby shower and was my first "sale" cake.



Here is for an"Over the Hill" party. All the tombstones have "over the hill" sayings.

This was a baby shower cake for Danny's nurse. She's expecting twins.

This one was for a 70th birthday, and it was my first repeat customer!

Under Construction

After saying and saying we're going to do it, we did it. We bit the bullet and hired a landscaper to redo the front yard and decided to put in a new sidewalk. We had seen the plans a week ago, but asked for some changes. I know what I like, and I wasn't feelin' it completely. With a handshake and, "I'll be seein ya," he was off to make some changes.

Yesterday around noon, Calen and I were getting ready to do our "couch lessons" which are reading, history, and science. We had just sat down, and Calen was daggling his arm behind the couch when I heard a couple thuds. I assumed it Calen hitting the toybox behind us. After another bang, I asked if it was him making that noise, and he said yes. I asked him to stop, so we could get started. I heard a couple more thuds, and asked once again if he did that. "No, wasn't me." Then it hit me, they are tearing out the sidewalk.

The boys were so excited to see a bobcat trying to lift up the sidewalk. They sat down to watch for about 10 minutes, until the brick on the porch started popping loose. At first, I was like no big deal, nothing a little concret can't fix. Then the end of the porch started to rise a little more and the end post of the porch started to crack. Couldn't handle it, had to go. I hurried the boys in using the excuse that they might get hit in the head with a brick. Really, it was I who couldn't bear the sounds coming from the porch. I told them they could watch all the work from the windows. That kept them entertained for quite a while, until lunch and nap/quiet time. After five hours, the yard was a wreak, and I'm sure it will look great in the end.

Here lies the remains of my headache since moving in- the weed garden. Whoo-hoo!

A Quick Update

Wow, it has been so long since we've updated anything that I'm not even sure where to start. Life has thrown us some curveballs since this past December, and for a while we were turned upside down and inside out. Then there have just been spans of time of there wasn't really anything to share, only prolonging the distance between our blogs.

First up, we are doing well. Danny and I have been teaching our Sunday School class since Easter. For those that really know me, you know that this is NOT something I thought I would ever do. I knew I would be teaching SS, but had assumed I would be in my old stomping grounds, in my comfort zone- in preschool or elementary. God had other plans, however. So here we are. I think we're going pretty good, considering my lack of talent, knowledge, and experience in this area. I just take comfort in the knowledge that if God wills it, He will bless it.

Other things on my plate as of late is our local homeschool group collapsed, or maybe, the term imploded would be more accurate. From these ashes, God has blessed the Christian homeschoolers of Greeneville. We have a new co-op that is joined with a large homeschool group in Johnson City. This fall, I will be teaching a class during our weekly co-op session. We are blessed that it will be at our home church, and that we already have a huge response to it. I have also begun to dabble in making cakes to sale. I will have three to make in the next three weeks. I'll post some pictures of the final results.

Danny's practice is getting bigger, in spite of the fact he's now on his 3rd nurse (2nd out on maternity leave) and has went through 3 orthopedists since his arrival. As the practice grows, so do the responsibilities- he's now Vice Chief of Staff, as well as the local EMR "guy." He's also in the throes of Sports Medicine physical time, but he did find a chance to go to Guatemala with VIMM for a week as well as take a turn as Calen's substitute soccer coach (and he tells me he's retired with a career record of 2-1-- won more than he lost!)


Calen turned 7 in Febuary, and his stats are 47 1/2" and 70 lbs. For Christmas he got a trumpet, but we've yet to actually begin lessons. In a few short weeks he will be finishing 1st grade. Can you believe it? He finished his math curriculum early so we went ahead and started 2nd grade math. He is so excited. For some reason he is obsessed with doing 3rd grade math. He still loves science and hates writing. Oh, well, some things never change.



Jax, too, has grown so much in such a short amount of time. He will be turning 3 in three short months. He is still a tank, weighing in at 38 lbs and standing 36 inches tall. He is all boy all the time. He loves trains, especially Thomas. He also loves animals, cars, motorcycles and all things sweet. He is still a daredevil, and he can almost "take" Calen now. It is funny to watch him pick on and tease his big brother.

Riley is all girl and has a feisty yet lovable personality. She is 18 months and probably the quickest toddler I've ever seen, especially since she has only been walking for three months. She is the poster child for saying "big things come in small packages." Mom says, "it is no wonder she's so small, she never stops for more than a second." It's true, that girl doesn't stop for a any length of time before she is off to do something else.