Nephew's Game Smart Video Contest Entry

My hubby's nephew and his stepson have entered a video contest. They are the only ones representing the great state of Tennessee! Their video can be seen at http://www.getgamesmart.com/spotlight/videocontest/. Online voting can be done until May 15. Voters can vote every 24 hours. The top 10 winning teams will be selected as Get Game Smart ambassadors, which will enable them to spread the word about safe gaming habits. Each of the top teams will receive $1000, an Xbox 360 Pro console, two Insignia Digital cameras, and Microsoft hardware products.

Please go vote for my hubby's nephew!!!! They are currently in the top 5 but we want to keep them there for the next 15 days!!!

Dancing Queens

Honeybee Swarm

I was sleeping sooooo good this morning! All cuddled up under my blankie, snug as a bug until my dad knocked on the doore, waking me up with some more buggy news. Seems that there's a honeybee swarm that he wants to catch. He requested that I film him in the process.

I really don't know WHY he wanted me to film and take pictures....UNLESS it was to show the grandkids without putting them in harm's way. My dad has always enjoyed fooling with honeybees. My grand-dad introduced beekeeping to my dad and uncle at an early age. I believe the sole purpose at the time was to keep the garden pollinated. Another awesome by product of beekeeping is the sweeter than sweet honey.

When I was younger (much, much younger), I would assist my dad while he robbed the bee hives. By robbing, I mean, harvesting the honey. There's nothing like the smell of honey. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about that sweet, rich honey pouring over a hot, homemade buttered biscuit. Gobble that up and wash it down with some ice cold milk....mmmmm, that would certainly spike up the blood sugar levels!

Okay, enough reminiscing....back to the task at hand. I got dressed in a long sleeve tan shirt and jeans. Then I thought,"Man, it's a good thing I didn't take a shower last night!". Some might respond to that with an "Ewww" but the fact is that perfumes or perfumed soap or even a little hint thereof, as well as bright colors (thus the tan shirt) attracts insects. See, even though I didn't know it last night, the Lord was preparing me to be ready for this morning!

I make my way next door to my dad's house where he has set up "shop" underneath the swarm with a step ladder, scoop, empty prepared bee hive, and bee bonnets. At first, he planned to simply cut the tree limb the swarm was hanging from, but that was a little easier said than done. He really needed a third hand to accomplish this task. He opted instead to reach up and scoop the bees, carry them down the ladder, and gently dump them on the front door of their new hive. Once dumped, the bees made a beeline (pun intended) into their new home.

Yeah, he's crazy!

Watch the video! Oh, and pardon the shaky filming....I was trying to keep my distance. Yes, yes, I know....I'm a chicken.

In their new home.

By the way, I didn't stung.....not even once!!! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

5 lbs. of Possum

The Teen got up early this a.m. and went out to check his grandpa's traps. My dad is hoping to trap a raccoon for dog training purposes. The Teen returned in record time with his catch. However, it was not the ringtailed bandit he thought he'd have. Instead, it was this very attractive critter.

My girls were quite mesmerized with the animal. I had to warn them SEVERAL times NOT to touch the cage!!!

Finally, when The Teen was satisfied that the girls had their fill of the possum, he took it back to the woods and turned it loose.

And for the rest of the day I had this lovely little song reverbing through my head. I looked it up on YouTube and this is the clearest video I could find of the song. I don't know this fella but he's got a nice voice doesn't he?

Anybody feel like some possum stew?

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts for us. Allow me to share a little. FIRST, I began my day by opening my eyes to the sound of the telephone ringing at 7 a.m. It was The Teen calling to remind me that I'd forgotten to write a check for him to turn in to the school office. My fuzzy brain was thinking...."What check?"....when The Teen interrupted my thoughts with "MOM, You've got to hurry! There's only 2 spots left!" Then it hit me...."Oh, THAT check!!!"

So, picture it if you will. I leap out of bed slipping into the jeans lying on the floor by my bed, dive into a t-shirt, run my fingers through my hair fluffing it as I go, grab my keys, get out the door and into my white Surburban. Three miles later, I'm finally awake....thinking about getting that check written before I get to the school. On 2nd thought... There are only 2 spots left after all. What if both spots are filled before I get there? That fact would result in a wasted check. That wouldn't be a "green" thing! I'll just wait until I get there and THEN I'll write the check.

I arrive, walk in, say hello to the school secretary and ask her if there are any spots left on the list. She says YES and I proceed to write THE CHECK.....for my son's Driver's Education course that he's taking this summer! My baby boy is going to be DRIVING!!! And soon he'll have his FIRST Driver's License! Can you feel the pain? Do you hear the sobs? Whatever am I going to doooo-hooo-hoooo? Aaaaaahhh, the Panic!!!!

Hey! Look! I'm driving!!!

Okay, *deep sigh...in through the nose, out through the mouth**. The emotions are out of my system now. So, I turn around and head out the school's front lobby and into the school parking lot. I walk around. Where did my Maroon Chevy Venture go? I walk around some more, scratching my head. I know I parked it there. Where is it? Surely no one has stolen it out of the school parking lot in the few minutes I was inside!!!

Somewhere, back in the cobwebs of my still sleeping brain, is a vague memory of a White Surburban. Oh, YEAH, I drove the Surburban this morning. Look around some more. THERE it is, right where I left it. I check over my shoulder to make sure no one is watching and make my way over to the vehicle for my departure. I really need to go back to bed and start over!

But alas, I can't. Little Bird and Kangaroo both have an appointment this morning and I must get back home to ready them for this important event. They are so excited to be going to their FIRST dentist visit!

They were perfect little dental patients!!! The Dr. Dentist said they were the most well behaved little patients that he'd seen in quite some time. They politely opened their mouth when he asked them to and most importantly, they didn't bite!!!

Dr. Dentist gave both of them a .....


....for a job well done on brushing their pearly whites! Yay!!! Then he sent us on our way with a very large bag of dental hygiene goodies (i.e. new toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss in mint and bubble gum flavors, and many, many stickers of encouraging words) to improve their brushing habits.

We immediately went to eat Mexican and then spent an hour at the park before returning home with lollipops for treats. Gotta go brush the sugar bugs away before bed!!!!

The Exodus Conspiracy Movie

Have you heard about this documentary? I just watched a little trailer about it and it looks very interesting. It will be released to DVD later this year. I'm sure it'll be shown on TLC or something too as this sort of stuff does tend to get on that channel quite a bit.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

Here's a link to the intro

http://www.exodusconspiracy.com/introductionAnimation.html

LIHA PowWow Field Trip

On Friday, we enjoyed yet another outing with the BRHA to visit the Louisiana Indian Heritage Associations Spring PowWow. I have included some links on this post so be sure to check them out for more information.

We began our pow wow adventure with a music lesson exploring some Indian songs written and performed by Humanities Scholar Debroah "Dee" White Eye. She handed out various aboriginal rhythm instruments for the children to shake and rattle while singing along with the songs. She also had some CD's of her children's music for sale.

After the music "station" we moved on to a TeePee set up and learned about different indian dwellings and daily life. Mr. Tom "Strong Bull" Varnado introduced us to some of the primitive tools and toys. We also learned about various games the indian children played. Let me just say that this section was lots of FUN!!! Mr. Mike Spiller was quite the game host! Isn't it strange how us grown ups forget that Native Americans had children too? I mean, they weren't ALL about warriors and bravery, etc. There were children who played games and had toys just like us!!!

We then wandered around a little and experienced some awesome face painting and made a craft to take home. We were running short on time and had to leave before the Indian Fry Bread was ready for snacking. We missed out on the Circle Dance as well.

I'm bored!

I'm so bored this morning so I spent a few minutes at bored.com making this neat little computerized painting. Like it?


Click here to create your own painting.

Interesting Links

One cool thing about having a blog is that I can look at other people's blogs and learn so much from them! I mean, on one site, I can learn how to crochet and on another I can learn about ranch life, yet on another I learn housekeeping tips! The blogging community is incredibly awesome! I thought I'd share a few interesting links and posts that I have come across while surfing blogs. Check 'em out!!! They're really neat!

Prayer Journals

How to make T-shirt yarn

Make your own bubble mailers

Creative Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

And last but not least, someone who has entirely too much time (and sharpie markers) on his hands!!! This man decorated his basement with $10 worth of sharpie markers! Insane!!!

If ya'll come across anymore interesting links, feel free to share!!!

Gloria Undine Bush Bickerstaff

At our Family Easter Celebration, one of our conversations around the dinner table was in reference to a family member that apparently has made such an impression on us that we bring her up at nearly every get-together. I’m talking about our great great aunt (yes that’s 2 greats) Gloria Undine Bush Bickerstaff. We call her Aunt Undine. She’s a sweet , 88 year old lady that has led a pretty interesting life as far as lives go I suppose.

She was born May 4, 1921 in Sun, LA to my great great grandparents Norvell Newton Bush (aka PaPa Bush) and Mary Fredreca Grantham. She was the youngest of five children. Her older sister was my paternal Great Grandmother, Velma Zenith Bush (b. Jul 14, 1908 – d. Jun 21, 1982).

Aunt Undine started working for the telephone company right out of high school and stayed with that position until she retired. As far as I know, she was married 3 times. The first 2 times were to abusive men whom she left and divorced the very first time they hit her. The third husband was Quinton Bickerstaff, a man that we really don’t know anything about but apparently he treated her well as they were married until he passed away a few years ago. I vaguely remember seeing him only once.

Aunt Undine & Quinton lived in the house she and my great grandmother grew up in. It was a homemade from 2 “shotgun” shanties placed side by side and joined together to make one bigger house. Eventually, an updated kitchen and garage were added on to this house. She had recently passed the property on to my father and moved out of the old house into another that she owned located in the nearby town of Bogalusa, LA. Dad recently tore the old house down but DH and I inherited the plank wood floors that we now have in our home.

Anyway, every time my dad took my siblings and I to go visit with Aunt Undine, she would NEVER let us in her house. We always sat out in the driveway or front yard in lawn chairs and visit together. I remember having a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and Tang orange drink provided by Aunt Undine also. I seem to remember some confusion regarding cans of Tuna and cans of Cat food (if my sister is reading this, please refresh my memory!!!).

As the years went by and we continued to visit her, my sister and I would wonder about the inside of the house and why we weren’t ever allowed in….even to use the restroom. She collected and hoarded so much stuff that just to get through her garage and into the home required a bit of maze solving. At one visit, we were able to meander through the garage and discover stacks and stacks of old newspapers dating back 30 years! It was amazing and fascinated us to no end. We wanted to know more!

In 2001, several of us got together to celebrate Aunt Undine’s 80th birthday. We gathered at her other house for lunch and birthday cake. Now for some odd reason, we were allowed in this house but I had noticed that it was also getting more and more cluttered as time goes by. Once, on a visit to the restroom in the 2nd house, I opened the wrong door and discovered a stack of brand new lawn chairs, still in the plastic wrap. My thought at the time was, “What is an 80 y.o. lady going to do with all these brand new lawn chairs?”

I mentioned it to one of my sisters and eventually, we came to the conclusion that Aunt Undine suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. After all, she had grown up during the Great Depression and probably developed this habit as a result of that experience.

Aunt Undine had this annoying yet endearing trait. She loved us. At the end of every visit with her, she would make the rounds for hugs and kisses and she never failed to treat us to her trademark run on “LoveyaLoveyaLoveya…LoveyaLoveyaLoveyaLoveya” as she hugged and patted us on the noggin. She never had children so I guess that our visits meant more to her than we originally thought.

She’s currently spending her last days in a nursing home and sleeps a lot; quite the change from the independent woman who would spend every morning walking through the woods while talking with the Lord.

I should have spent more time talking with her years ago. I’m sure I would have learned much more about our family’s heritage.

I can't believe I don't have a decent picture of this woman! As much as we visited her I have found only one photograph of her and it's too fuzzy to make out anyone.

Zoo and Me Field Trip

This morning we got up early to go on a Zoo field trip. Since it was a special program at the zoo and it’s the Easter holiday with all the kids out of school, I just KNEW the place was going to be overcrowded. Imagine my surprise when we drove up and saw THIS nearly empty parking lot!!! Woo Hoo!!! A few more people arrived after us but it never completely filled up as I had expected it to.

This was an interesting sight as we entered the zoo. A floating granite globe that can be turned. We opted to save exploration of this for our departure.
We started out meeting our guide, Ms. Stacy, who led us on a walk through the zoo to introduce us to some of the animals. Our first stop was at the Cheetah cage where Ms. Stacy asked us some questions about how fast a cheetah can run. BTW, they can run up to 70 mph for a short distance.

At the elephant exhibit, we saw the backside of the elephants since it was breakfast time for them and they didn’t care to have company. We did, however, learn that they can be 11 feet tall, so to show the children how tall that is, Ms. Stacy stretched out a measuring tape to 11 feet. Then she told us that the elephants weigh 6000 lbs!!! She used a calculator to add up each child’s weight to see if the entire group could weigh as much as an elephant. The children totaled only 500 pounds, meaning they weigh maybe as much as an elephant’s trunk!

Then we went to visit the Jaguar exhibit, but Mr. Jaguar was busy eating breakfast too so we didn't get to see him. However, we learned that they can jump up to 30 feet!!! We had a jumping contest to see how far we could jump. 30 feet is a LONG jump!!!

Next, we went to see the Andean Condor. What an ugly bird! But magnificent too! This bird has a wingspan of 10 feet! Again, Ms. Stacy pulled out the trusty measuring tape and measured the children’s height to show them how big 10 feet is.

Next up was the bat house. We didn’t get to see any bats because they were sleeping but the children learned about them and had a wing flapping contest.


Then we went to the Safari Theatre to make a bat craft, have a snack, and have a close up encounter with some other creatures. We got to meet a chinchilla and some hissing cockroaches!

The chinchilla has surprisingly soft fur and is simply adorable. I think I want one for a pet!

My girls never cease to amaze me. As rambunctious as they are, they are terrified of insects…...any kind of insect. So, I was a bit apprehensive of their reactions when Ms. Stacy brought out the hissing cockroaches. I was pleasantly surprised that Little Bird didn’t freak out when presented with the opportunity to stroke the back of the hissing cockroach. She politely waved it away with a sweet, “No thank you. Not this time.” I was astounded that Kangaroo joined the gang of kids gathered around Ms. Stacy for a chance to pet this insect and my jaw literally dropped when I witnessed that she actually TOUCHED the critter!!!! I was thinking, “THIS from a child who RUNS SCREAMING bloody murder from a ladybug?!?!?!”

After a quick photo op, we got on the zoo tram for a ride around the zoo to see some other animals we missed. DQ and girls get ready for the ride.

Ms. Stacy poses with my girls.

Then we played around with the floating granite globe at the entrance to the zoo before calling it a day. We would have stayed longer but I had some other chores to get done before day’s end.

I'm planning another zoo trip soon to the Audubon Zoo where "they all aks fo' you".

The Widow's Might

I received the following paragraph in an email:

The Widow's Might
Posted: 15 Apr 2009 05:14 PM PDT
I just read an article on the net about the movie called "The Widow's Might". It is being released in movie theaters all across America. It was made by a homeschooler and won the Best of Film award at the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. You can read the news article here. Or you can visit the official movie web-site to see if it is being shown at a theater near you. If you are able try to support this film and send a message to the film industry that we want quality family films, and especially good Christian films. If you have seen the film please leave your comment about the film below. I've not had the opportunity to see it yet, but it got great reviews on Fandango.com ;~)

Now for my contribution to this little post.....I am sorely disappointed to learn that there are NO Theatres in Louisiana or Mississippi showing this film!!!! That means that if I want to see it in a theatre I would have to travel to Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, or Tennessee to see it!!! OR I could just wait for the DVD....that is IF there's a DVD.

Anyway, it looks like a good, clean, family film that would be a lot of fun to watch. AND get this!!! The creator of this movie is a 19 y.o. homeschooled student!!!!

Family Easter Celebration

After we all celebrated our Savior’s resurrection, our family members joined together at my mom’s house for more celebration and togetherness. My little sister had driven down from Tennessee with her kids to join us. I was so happy to see her, my nephews, and my bonus niece!!! My brother also joined us.

My handsome husband opted to stay home this Easter Sunday so he could concentrate on his culinary gifts for the family meal. My little sister and I had talked during the week about the menu and we decided to go simple with roast beef and mashed potatoes and gravy. I told her that I would be responsible for the side dishes and that we’d get it all together Saturday night with plans to turn the crock pots on and throw things in the oven for Sunday afternoon.

Here's pics of my crew.

DH had decided that Easter Sunday meal would not be re heated but hot fresh out of the oven!!! Or in his case, the smoker. When the girls and I arrived at my mom’s house after church, we found my husband and my brother sitting on the front porch waiting for me to unlock the door and get the food laid out before mom got home from her church. Hubby started walking in with the smoked Ham, broccoli cheese casserole, garden green beans, scalloped potatoes, store bought macaroni salad, and store bought cheesecake.

Here's my lovely sister with my girls. Isn't she just beautiful?

While sitting down to eat, I made the comment to DH, “Honey thanks for cooking all this food! It’s delicious!!” My sister then replied, “Hey! Who cooked the roast beef?” (Well, she did, in the crock-pot ….. and it was delicious too!) I said to her, “Sissy, thank you for cooking this delicious roast beef!!!” and then my mom piped up, “Ahem…..” to which I replied, “Mom, thanks for cooking those yummy, crock-pot, mashed potatoes! There’s nothing like homemade mashed potatoes!”

This is my brother with Kangaroo.

Then my sister said to me, “And just what did you do?”

I said, “Well, I married the man that cooked the food!!!"

And what a feast it was….with the family gathered around…the conversations….and childhood memories. It was absolutely the best Easter ever and we ate WAY TOO MUCH food!!!!

Easter Park Day

One week after Granny’s Egg Hunt we joined up with the Baton Rouge Homeschool Association for another Egg Hunt and Easter party at the park. This time both girls found quite a few eggs loaded with goodies AND they decorated cookies to eat too!!!

Good Friday

Why is this day called Good Friday? That has never made sense to me. How could a day be Good when it was the day that Christ was crucified!? At our church tonight, we had a service depicting the Last Supper, betrayal, and the walk to the cross. Congregants participated in the Lord’s Supper (or communion) and reflected on the meaning of Good Friday.

I had to play the piano for this service. I played 2 pieces for the choir accompaniment followed by 2 more solo pieces for the Lord’s Supper. I performed an instrumental piece called “Come, Follow Me” by Sally DeFord for the passing of the bread (follow the link and then scroll down to the title and links to listen to a streaming MP3 of this tune) and a Lenny Seidel arrangement of “Jesus Paid it All” for the passing of the wine (or grape juice for us Baptists). I can't seem to find an online performance of Lenny's "Jesus Paid it All" so I'll record it myself on YouTube later on.

I play the piano every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday choir practices. During both solo pieces I messed up badly but recovered well. Later, a fellow musician mentioned how pretty the pieces were. I asked her if she noticed my mistakes and she said “No and as musicians we usually pick up on that stuff!” I was glad to hear that.

I don’t know why, but for some strange reason, I was particularly nervous about my performances for this service. I just tried to tell myself and that the only thing within my control was to play my best for Him. So, I like to think that’s what I did even though in retrospect I think I could have done better.

The important thing is that my talents are to be used to bring others into His presence and I think that was accomplished on Good Friday night even with my mistakes.

"Mom! You Look....."

Leaving my little ones with their eldest sibling, I went out today and got a spring haircut. It doesn't quite look like I expected it to but my hair grows pretty fast so in the next 2 weeks it'll be just like I want it.

Anyway, so I got home and laid down for a nap. I slumbered peacefully for a little while and then got up to help hubs prepare dinner. My little ones had already risen and were outside playing on the swingset.

They ran inside for a drink of water and spied me standing by the kitchen sink. They slid to a stop, their eyes wide, and said, "Mommy! You look beautiful!!!" Kangaroo said, "Yeah, you look like that lady in the movie!!!

I've always heard the comments from children are the most honest. So I was basking in the glow and thanked them for their compliments.

I asked Kangaroo, "What lady in the movie?"

She replied, "The Witch!"

My husband, who was standing aside peeling shrimp for the grill, dropped everything and cracked up laughing. When he was able to get a breath he say, "Well, THAT burst your bubble didn't it!"

Hmmmm.....kids (and hubbys).....gotta love 'em!