It's Been Awhile...........

Well, this is a random post, nothing terribly exciting.........I had a major Trojan horse attack my laptop and it was unrecoverable.  Bummer.  I had some things on there that I really didn't want to lose!  My computer has always been the expendable one and too many "unqualified" children have been on it and loaded some rather interesting things. And no, it's not the little boys!  But no more!  My dear hubby bought me this brand new one and no one's little fingers are going to touch this - period!

Miss Amanda  went back home awhile back but I had to post this one last picture.  She and the boys got into a puzzle marathon the last day, and had them all on display for us to see.  These boys LOVE puzzles!

 

 

We have had lovely weather recently and all the trees are either budding out or blooming.  This is one of our apple trees.  Of course, we are in a freeze warning for tonight, so who knows what will happen.  No matter how nice the weather gets, I force myself to never, ever plant any flowers until May 1st!

 

 

 

David's been playing baseball this spring and is enjoying it.  He's had quite a year playing three different sports - football, basketball, and now baseball.  It's been a good experience for him to work with all the different coaches and to adapt to their different coaching styles.  And thankfully, no serious injuries!

 

 

This past weekend, Isaac, David, and Joe went to help some Miss Amanda's family load up their moving truck.  Joshua and I were recovering from colds and a cough so we stayed behind.  It was good to have some quality time with Joshua - we did a few errands, and then ate lunch at Railroad Park.  And yes, a few trains did go screaming by!  Definitely a highlight for him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the weather being nice and warm - most days - we are getting the garden ready for planting.  David did the disking and then Joe followed up with the tilling.  Isaac and Joshua are so excited to get planting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming home from the grocery store the other day, this is the sight we had as we turned into our road.  Animals appear and then disappear in various farmers' fields at the drop of a hat.  You might remember that we had hundreds of sheep across the street from us for awhile.  Then, they just disappeared!  You would think that someone in our family would notice hundreds of sheep being hauled off  to........?????  But no, they were just gone!  And these cows?  We enjoyed seeing them for about a week, and now they are gone, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last, but not least...........another beautiful Arizona sky!  Yes, the land is brown and dusty, but there is nothing more gorgeous than the incredibly deep, deep blue of the sky.  I never get tired of looking at it.

 

 

Our Week So Far

We have a very special guest with us this week...............Miss Amanda!  She stayed with us for several days last fall and the boys couldn't wait to have her back!  Check out that post here!

We did some errands yesterday after school was done, and met Rachel, who was also doing errands, for a lunch at Pizza Hut!

In other news, we are really enjoying the lovely weather and the signs of spring.  I wanted to be sure and include this photo of our peach tree blooming for my friend, Holly, in Maryland, who has been buried in snow this winter!

Isaac and Joshua are so upset that AWANA is almost over.  They cannot seem to understand why it doesn't go all year long - because it is so fun!  The leaders and helpers are more than ready for a break.........!!  

This morning's sunrise - breathtakingly beautiful!!

Here is Snowball, our one remaining cat.  He thinks he is a dog and loves to roll over on his back to have his tummy rubbed.  Survival rate out here is rather low, but he hangs out on the porch and is doing well.

Rachel finished her first accelerated Anatomy and Physiology class with a resounding "A" and we are so proud of her!  She continues to work part-time at the hospital, although with flu season being over her work hours are dramatically reduced........gosh, you hate to hope for an epidemic just to get called in for work!

Our family went to see "The Son of God" - in shifts, this week and it was marvelous.  What a great way to start the Easter season preparation.  It was a powerful reminder of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross for all mankind.

This year we are going through "The Lenten Tree", a wonderful devotional for children and adults leading up to Easter.  Great resource......

David is in the throws of playing JV baseball.  I need to get a picture of him in his uniform!

Well, that's our week so far!

After Jonathan........Visiting Courtney!

As you know, Joe was at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, for Jonathan's ATC Graduation.  That is in southeast Alabama......but at least in the same state where Courtney is going to school, which is in the northern-most part of Alabama.  So he made the six hour trek up I-65 to see our firstborn, for just a few precious hours because of her school and work schedule.  Of course that's after dropping Jonathan and his buddy at the Dothan Airport at 4:00 am, which meant that Joe got very little sleep that night.  Dads are such heroes........!

Of course, Joe 'might' have had just a teensy-weensy bit of fun driving his hot little rental car - a Dodge Charger!

Courtney was giving a campus tour when Joe arrived so he got to join in with the group.

Courtney with her "gently-used" new car.  She is so excited and Joe gave it his approval!

Joe and Courtney tried out the new gyro restaurant on campus - looks good!

This is the brand new student union that was under construction last summer when we visited.  UAH is a very lovely campus.

Back to her dorm room - yes, you are a neat and tidy girl!

The visit was all too short, but spending a few hours with Courtney was a special treat for sure!

Joe then got to drive back to Atlanta to prepare for his return flight.............and to turn in that hot little sports car!  You had fun, didn't you, Joe?  !!!!!

Spring Is Headed Our Way!

Just happened to notice that some of our trees are beginning to bud out!

So beautiful!

Jonathan's Graduation! Distinguished Honor Grad!

This incredibly handsome young man is our son, Jonathan.  He graduated from Air Traffic Control School at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, on Friday, February 14th.  Joe was able to fly out to see him graduate and spend a few days with him before he went to his new duty station in Germany.  I can hardly believe that this is my baby boy.......yes, he will always be my baby boy!

The ceremony was held in the Army Aviation Museum, which made for some interesting pictures.  There were three classes graduating that day and each class had a Distinguished Honor Graduate, which was decided not only by physical training scores, but also academic scores.  Jonathan was the top of his class which made us all incredibly proud!

Here is Jonathan at attention, while the Commander is reading off his scores and recognizing him as the Distinguished Honor Graduate for his class.  (I wonder why they always have to have such a poker face - I know he was wanting to grin from ear to ear!!)

Here is the Base Commanding Officer giving the soldiers some encouraging words.

Joe spent the rest of the day driving Jonathan and his buddy, PFC Jackson, all over the Fort to get all of their paperwork ready for their deployment.

What a great way for Joe to spend his birthday!

The next day, Joe and Jonathan toured more of the Army Aviation Museum as well as a tour of Ft. Rucker. Here they are in front of an Apache helicopter.

This one is a Black Hawk, made famous by the movie "Black Hawk Down".

On Monday, February 17, Joe picked Jonathan and his buddy Jackson up at 3:00 am in order to get them to the airport by 4:00 am!

We are so incredibly proud of you, Jonathan, and wish you the very best as you head to Germany!  You are much loved and prayed for, and we pray for God's blessings upon you!

Sheep!

We have a large field across the street from us which makes for lovely views throughout the year.  The farmer who owns it has planted corn, green beans, chili peppers, alfalfa, and hay.  Last year he planted hay and had several cuttings.

So last week Rachel informed me that there were cattle out there, munching on the remaining stubble.  Upon closer inspection - and hearing them - we determined that they were sheep!!  It has made for interesting watching, and hearing them all bleat when we are outside has been fun.

This is Rachel's dog, Willie.  He is a border collie so we don't dare let him loose unsupervised while the sheep are this close!  His herding instincts would kick in for sure!  There is an electric fence around the sheep, but Willie has been known to get through those.................!!!  Doesn't he look like he would just love to go have a fun morning around 400 sheep?

If you've ever see the movie "Babe" you will understand when I say that we all have this urge to call out:

Baa-ram-ewe! Baa-ram-ewe! To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true! Sheep be true! Baa-ram-ewe!

That's an update from our neck of the woods!  Hope you are having a great week!

(photo courtesy of the movie "Babe" - don't you just love Farmer Hoggett?)