Please watch the video in the below post!!!! Turn on your speakers!

Oops! I mashed the publish post button by accident, rather than the save as draft button!!!

I didn't get a chance to say anything about the video, but, this shows what Noah and I have been doing all week! I am sad it's over, and so is he!

I was honored to be able to work with children at a church where a lot of my family attends, and Noah got to go too!

And the video was made by some of that family....we are so talented! haha.

And, how many little boys do you know get to smash a chocolate pie in his mom's face?!?!

God, Unto You be all the Glory!!!

Vacation Bible School 2010

Summer Fun

Here is a quick post about the happenings of summer!

Being a real firefighter, like DaddyFeeding grass to the baby goats at the library summer reading program.

(That little black thing that the girl in the pink is petting behind Noah is a pig!)
Growing and picking our own "pickles"!!!
Celebrating each other, especially our dads!!!

Drinking water from the hose.
Celebrating a close friend's birthday!
Watching D kill this snake! haha

Taking a cousin for a ride in the Escalade!
Cheering for our favorite ball team!
And enjoying ice cream that comes in a 1 inch tall cone while playing with a Build-A-Bear!!!

Please stay tuned!!!

Father's Day

And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath:but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

A couple of things I want to share here:

1. I am quite thankful to God for chosing Derrick to be the father of my son. Derrick may not do everything right, and I sure don't (yeah, it's hard to believe), but I do honestly know that Derrick does everything for our child that he thinks is right, and he does it as unto the Lord.

2.He is not easily persuaded to join the "hip" dads; that is to say that he is very careful about what Noah hears, sees, and does.

3.And no matter how tired Derrick is, after a long, hard days work, and Noah runs right into his dad's arms, Derrick receives him in love.

4. Derrick teaches our child to be humble, compassionate, and God-fearing.

5. To my dad....thanks a million for all that you do for your children and grandchildren.

6. To my father-n-law....you have an awesome son, you did a great job.

7. To my Heavenly Father....Your promises are yes and amen, Your mercy is never ending, Your ways are unchanging, and You call me friend. Thanks for taking me, lifting me up out of the miry clay, and establishing my feet upon the solid rock. And thanks for the wonderful men in my life who are known as "Dad."

Another gardening update!

Just thought I'd give a little update on our little garden!

This is the other part of being a farmer that Mr. Noah loves!!!

So far, we have been enjoying plenty of cucumbers, beans, and weeds!!!

I can pull weeds everyday, and it still looks like the amazon forest of Alabama. But next year, I will be better prepared. This is our first garden, so I am learning as I go, and teaching Noah what little bit I do know!

I am very proud to announce that we have our first cantaloupe!
Noah wanted to pick it and eat it so bad.

Here are the beans, along with the tomato plants along the back of the fence. So far, no tomatoes. But it shouldn't be too much longer. When you plant from seeds, and into pots, it takes a while apparently.

Meanwhile, we have been enjoying lots of fresh green beans!

We have also been enjoying an overflow of cucumbers!!! We planted the pickleing cucumbers, just in case I got brave enough to make some dills, but so far, we have just been enjoying cucumber salad! (Which by the way, is easy and delicious...just peel and slice your cucumbers, and add a little mayo and a little lemon juice, and be sure to salt it!) One of D's uncles does lots of gardening and canning, maybe he could help me sometime!

Anyway this is our cucumber bush! It's actually like 5 plants, 3 from the pot, and two in the ground!

And of course, our cantaloupe bush!

And let's not forget Noah's carrots!

Does that thumb have a hint of green on it?!?!?!

Maybe from pulling the weeds! haha!

Bloopers!!!

While going through the 561 pictures I took while on vacation, I found a few that really tickled my funny bone! I thought it'd be fun to share them!

First we have a wonderful D Givens family picture, with the wonderful Poppy as a background!!! Then there is Noah's lovely rendition of "winking!"

This one needs no introduction...see for yourself!!!

Here we have the "sheep sitting upright," or as I like to call him the "sheep with manners!"

Here is another one that needs no introduction!

This was a very comforting sign at the welcome center at the Kentucky state line!!! (While it is sad, and heartfelt, I just thought it was kinda ironic!)

Here's another family portrait for the mantle!

And a real nice "mother-n-son" memory!And, who could forget this little guy from my last post?!?!?!

Down on the Farm

Welcome to a little farm off of Bakersville Road up in Tennessee! Mr. Wayne and Mrs. Brenda are friends of MeMe and Poppy, and they were nice enough to have us over for a day, so that we could see the animals. It was a fun day, but it was sad, because they had 3 feet of water in their house less than a month before, and they had a mess! But I am so thankful that they opened their home and yard to us, Noah didn't want to leave!!!

We were greeted to the farm by this furry fellow!!!

And by this poor guy, who only his momma could love!!!
This barn shows the flood line from the month before. This barn used to be where Mrs. Brenda raised and cared for animals, as well as took in found and injured animals. Now it's full of debris and garbage. They also had two freezers out there, and both were flipped over and empty after the flood. Meet Lucy. I was scared of her, Noah didn't want her to be out of his site!
He loved her!
Oh, and don't forget the goats, and yes, that is a goose head you see poking up! He lost his mate in the flood, and has been free roaming with the goats ever since!
Mrs. Brenda and Mr. Wayne also have a beautiful view from their front porch!
And beautiful flowers!
And a country kitchen worth mentioning!

I do hope we can go back within a couple of months, and hopefully they will have a floor, and a bed, and walls from the waist down!

And of course, this trip helped confirmed one of Noah's many wishes for adulthood....,"Mom, I really want to be a farmer!!!"

Waverly Tennessee

On May 21, 2010, Noah B. Givens headed to Waverly, TN with his MeMe and Poppy, and on May 28,2010, we decided to go ourselves and join him and them for a week!!! I really didn't think D was going to let him go, but he did, and Noah had a blast. As for us, I stayed very busy with the garden, the flower beds, and the housework, D worked a bunch, and MeMe and Poppy are exhausted!!!

So, we surfed in the creek some! The creek was totally changed due to the flooding. The whole town, and surronding areas were pretty sad. Wet, moldy wood, sheetrock, and insulation was at the end of every driveway. MeMe and Poppy were blessed that their creek only came to the back of their house, and went back as quickly as it rose!

Little did I know that we would end up in Paris....Paris Tennessee that is!

And after Paris, we, being the world travelers we are, went to Kentucky to a little town called Horse Cave, where they have a cave and family park called Kentucky Down Under.It has lots of animals, including Kangaroos, and Noah loved it! And don't forget the cave tour, where we were told, "DO NOT TOUCH THE ROCKS!!!"

There are always two in our group who do not follow instructions!!!

I could never post all 561 pictures I took during the week, but I wish I could! It's really a very neat place, if you're ever in the area. The below picture is of Derrick and Noah petting a spoiled kangaroo!



Then it was on to something else....like Dinosaur World!

And, Noah has asked us every day since, when can we go to dinosaur world again!!!

As we were walking down the trail, which consisted of over 100 life size dinosaurs in the woods, Noah, the tour guide, led us like this...

"We are on a dinosaur journey. Many years ago, dinosaurs lived on the earth, with volcanoes!!!"

He's very observant to say the least!

I have spared you from all of the dinosaur pictures that our little guide insisted I take, but I did think it was neat that he got to dig for fossils and keep three of his favorites. Of course, he picked three teeth from a real "Sharp Tooth Dinosaur!"
And finally, after more relaxing, a little shopping, and a work day at the creek, we felt we deserved a nice trip out to eat for our last day with MeMe and Poppy, so we headed up to Clarksville (which also had massive flooding from the Cumberland River) to Logan's for some nice, juicy steaks!

So long Tennessee....until next time!