Halloween Pumpkin

So what do you think? Pretty cool huh?! Eddie totally rocks!! He carved this the other night. Alex wants to try his hand at it so today I plan to get another pumpkin so he can try, if he succeeds I'll post a picture of his. Bri believes she has the coolest pumpkin on our street, and I think she is right. Of course I've not really seen any other pumpkins except the plastic variety and there is no comparison there! She wishes I would decorate our yard like the Parkers have, but I just don't have the time or energy right now for that. Christmas is coming and that is my big decorating holiday. We even have an awesome new blow up for the yard. Papa got a real kick out of it last year when we bought it, Frosty on a motorcycle.

Well guys that's it for now, I need to go take care of some other things. I plan to update you all real soon on the goings on in the McAnnally household, things have just got me hopping right now. For now I hope all is well with each of you!

Shelby, I hope you had a totally AWESOME, COOL birthday! I'm sorry I missed it, but I knew your #1 from this family was Bri! Your growing up so fast, I can't believe your in DOUBLE DIGITS already! Wow!!!! Happy Birthday Sweetie! I love you!!!

May the God of mercy richly bless each of you!

Lisa

Gulf Shores Camping

This beautiful sunrise over the bay of Mobile greeted us as we came out of our tent our first morning. Our campsite was on the bay of Mobile and it was simply gorgeous, and the sunrise every morning was just beautiful! Of course the first morning we had to get up real early so we could witness the birds being banded. So I guess you could say we were up with the birds. ha ha

Several of our kids were able to release the birds once they had been banded. Bri looks a little unsure in this picture because the bird before this one bit, not her, but it did bite the man who is helping her. She got to release a hummingbird. They caught the birds in nets that are so thin you can't see it until you walk into it. The birds fly into the nets and fall into a pocket where they are taken out and checked over and banded. Some have bands from other banding areas and that is noted too so they can see how far the bird came from.

Another new experience, at least for Bri was fishing. This is a picture of her fish, she caught 3 by they way. This is a pin fish and she was very proud! She was not sure she would want to fish, but she found out it was a lot of fun, but she has no interest in eating it. One of the dads there was a big fisher and told them we could fry them up for dinner, Bri thought that was horrible. Luckily none of her fish were big enough to fool with. She used squid for bait which I thought was gross, but she actually did not. She told me, "mama, all you do is cut up the squid and hook it". Okay Bri I'll let you bait my hook with the squid. Of course one of the teens was down there with the little girls and came back saying Bri had her eyes covered saying I don't want to see you kill it, no blood please, and the other girls crowding around trying to see and nearly pushing each other into the water. Since we had a pier onto the bay at our campsite every night was fishing time, then campfire and s'mores. Since we usually walk the beach and go crabbing at the beach this was a new experience and was a lot of fun for everyone!

Okay one afternoon while we were at the beach Barbie and I went for a walk. I left my camera behind and the teens grabbed it and played around. I'm not complaining, I got pictures without asking, begging, or chasing them down. In this picture they have buried Kaitlyn in the sand, but I think they may have gotten a little carried away since I can't even see her.

This is my favorite picture! Alex actually tried to put Dalton on his shoulders, but he could not hold him up. There are also several more of them doing various poses on the beach. This group of teens were quite entertaining at any given moment.

There were tons of shells that were whole on the beach, so of course Bri went shell hunting. This is her showing me one of her shells. She even found a whole sand dollar, but as hard as we tried to keep it from getting broke, it still broke three times. Next time I'll take a shoe box just for the delicate shells.

We also saw this ship that washed up from the last hurricane. It as huge! They say it was a Union ship burned during the Civil War, it definitely looked like a ship that had been burned. If it is from the Civil War era it is amazing that the wood has not rotted and there are no barnacles on it. It was absolutely cool to look at though. We found several pieces along the beach and further down the beach found some in the water still. The State of Alabama does not have any money to deal with it so they plan to just let it wash back out.

This picture was taken from the top of Ft. Morgan on the bay side. Way in the distance is the Dauphin Island bridge. Standing on top of the fort you could see why this was such a good spot for a fort. You had a perfect view of the bay on one side and a perfect view of the gulf on the other. We had a very informative guide for this tour. He told us that the government still has a clause that if they ever need the fort again that it would have to be surrounded to them. That is why nothing is built close to the rode going down to the fort so that the street could be widened and the necessary equipment brought in. Another interesting thing he told us really brought home how hard it was for women many years ago. He told us that the army had laundry women, but they had to be married to an army man to do the laundry. If her husband died she had 3 days, 1 to mourn, 1 to bury him, and she had better be married by the 3rd day or they threw her to the street with her kids. I'm glad I don't live in those times. He also showed us the sleeping quarters of the men, the had 12 bunks, but 24 men lived in the room, which meant they slept 2 to a bed, and it was a twin size bed. Of course he told us that the men in this fort did not really adhere to that because of the climate of the area, so some of the men slept on the floor because it was just too hot to share a bed. Remember they had no air conditioner. We also saw the killing field and murder room, which was kind of creepy to be told you were standing in the middle of the killing field.

On Wednesday we drove down to Pensacola to the NAS Museum. This museum is on the naval air base. It is a great museum, Eddie and I had actually taken the kids several years ago, but they did not remember it so I took them back on this trip. They had a blast checking out all the airplanes, helicopters, and even a replica of an air carrier. There were many new things added since my last visit as well. They had a really moving POW display, it actually brought tears to our eyes to read some of the things. One picture actually did make me cry. The kids got to climb in a lot of cockpits and they enjoyed that immensely!

Before heading home on Thursday we went to Mobile to the U.S.S. Alabama. When we went into the gift shop we found a POW from World War II in there. He spent several minutes talking to our teens about the war and life. He was such a nice man. He told them that lying never pays and they should not ever do that. He lied to get in the army at 16 and at 17 he was a POW. He told them that it took him 30 years to forgive the Japanese for the things they did to him and his fellow POWs, and that he forgave them 23 years ago and it helped him finally heal from the war. He realized that he was hurting himself physically and emotionally by not forgiving them, that the Japanese were not suffering at all. He said he had even recently gotten a Japanese car. He was selling a book about his experience and we got an autographed copy of it. Alex spent the first 2 days home reading his book and really enjoyed it. He said it was quite gory sometimes, but he really saw the war in a different light than any textbook he has read about it. If your interested his website is http://www.hellsguest.com/.

It took us several hours to tour the ship, which the kids found very interesting that the fort they men slept 24 men to a small room and the ship had several sleeping areas with wall to wall bunks, of course the officer quarters were where they would have rather been. The ship held 2200 men and was like a city on the water. Then they toured the submarine which only slept 65 men. They found the difference very interesting. We went from the top of the ship, as in as high as they let you to the lowest level, as in engine room low.

I think this was a great trip! We learned about birds, ships, forts, war, etc. When we got home Bri said after camping she really appreciates her home, "its the most beautiful place in the world". Of course she also said she wants to camp again though! Myself, I enjoyed camping, especially with the dads that went. They would head back to camp to start dinner each night and the mom's would come back with the kids around dark to a cooked dinner and a fire. It was great!

I hope you all have a great week loving and learning!!

Lisa

October 10, 2008

I have not had a moment to post in awhile. When I finally get a moment, I've caught up on email, paid bills, or fell asleep sitting up! I've been so busy I'm not sure when we are coming or going. A few people asked me what I have been up to, and even some who have not seen us asked me if I'm becoming a recluse. Well the following pictures tell it all! Our okra is still putting out like crazy, I had 10 gallons of okra a couple of days ago. The freezer is full. The rattlesnake beans are putting out too, there was also 10 gallons of them on the same day. It took me 4 hours to completely get it all picked that day.

The picture below shows a few of the jams I've put up, and some peach preserves. I have a pantry floor full of canned goods, as well as floor space in the dining room. I had a friend ask me if all the boxes along and up the wall were full, and yes they are. It just looks so pretty I had to show it. Eddie says my Suzy Homemaker self is showing through, but I really do enjoy canning. Papa says I should take pictures when it is all sitting in the floor waiting to be processed. That is really true. Seven quarts of green beans is actually 1 1/2 buckets of beans. The peas took over the floor this summer and you had to literally step over them to get to the kitchen. Then there were the tomatoes, speckled butter beans, okra, squash, cucumbers, blueberries, peaches, strawberries and plums which at any given time were living on the floor and counters waiting to be put up. I'm sad to say we ate the plums and they never got to be made into jam, the same with the muscadines. But, I did make peach jam, strawberry jam, and blueberry jam. I have also made bread and butter pickles, stewed tomatoes, jalapeno's, chow chow, relish, green beans, and pickled okra. Then in the freezer are the peas, okra, squash, butter beans, corn and a few blueberries. It is very satisfying to know that we have been blessed with all of this to enjoy all winter. It has really shown up in our grocery bill, and at first I just was not sure why my bill was lower, but I was sure it was because I forgot something. Well I started watching and 90% of the veggies we have are coming from our garden! Tonight for instance, we had meatloaf, okra, squash, green beans, peas, the only thing I bought was the meat and seasonings. Papa was talking with someone about how well the garden did this year and they asked what he did when so many others did not do so well because it was still rather dry. He said he really did not know. Well in Bible Study this past week we talked about drink offerings I had never heard of them. Basically, we should pour out our blessings because keeping them to ourselves makes us bitter and stops the flow of the blessing. From our garden Papa has fed every widow woman he knows, honestly he has, not to mention his friends that may have gardens, but they did not have something we had, or it did not grow, he took it to them. Then Eddie and I gave to some friends of ours who have been really hurting and their garden would not grow because of the soil in their yard, and several other friends just because I can only do so much before I start losing the food and I don't want anything to go to waste. Because of all the giving I think God kept giving to our garden. It is the same every year, we get a fair amount out of it even though it has been dry for the last couple of summers. If it rains look out!

Okay moving on....The kids still have school work and trips associated with that. We still have piano, scouts, karate, and art every week too! Bri and Alex are coming along really well with piano. Bri had left her music at home for Away in a Manager, but I did not know it and I was busy working on an Alabama Elephant, which are going like hotcakes around here I might add...I can't keep them made up before I sell or give one away! Anyway I never looked up when I heard the song being played, but I thought wow Bri is doing really good with that song, I'll have to get her to play it this Christmas! When we got home I complimented her on how well she played that song, she looked at me and smiled, then said "Mama that was Ms. Judy, I never played it today." I'll have to pay closer attention next time before I compliment her I guess. She did play Jesus Loves Me in a Depot has Talent talent show last week, and did quite good. She would not use her keyboard though and the piano was badly out of tune so it threw her off.

In karate the kids are gearing up to test for their next belt. Alex is looking really good! Bri is doing good to, she is just still getting a few katas mixed up, but Thursday she looked like she was really starting to catch on to it!

In art Bri is still drawing faces and I think she is coming along really good. One of the young ladies in the class drew a picture of her niece and it was really good! She said her sister wanted it, but she told her no she had the real thing so she was keeping the picture. Ms. Abbey is the sweetest young girl I have ever met, and when she said that she said it with more gusto than I have ever heard from her and it just made me laugh. For those of who went to Bri's ballet performance Abbey is the girl who drew the picture of the ballerina that was put up in the church. She is really quite an artist and she is just 17! She has started a beginning sewing class for young girls 8 and up because she thinks that it is something that young girls will need in light of the current ecomonic outlook. I think that she has such a good head on her shoulders, and she is such a Godly young lady. Even her mother says she is so much more together than most kids her age it is truly amazing.

The picture below is from the Southern Museum of Flight. They are working on a new wing to the museum and it is so cool. These are manuquins they have set up with different scenes throughout. There was one plane where they asked the kids to turn the propeller so when the little girl who volunteered did, the plane's engine started and it scared her. The plane was not going anywhere it was just a sound effect, but it was really cool. He was showing how those planes used to be started and he told them how they had it set up to do that. We also saw a plane from WWII that was pulled out of a lake in SC, I think it was a WWII plane. We had to hurry through that part because we had a McWane Lab to get to.

This is a model of the Leonardo flying machine that he drew. We had gone to the Museum of Art to see the Leonardo exhibit that morning and then we went to the Southern Museum of Flight to see what they had. This was really neat to see, but I would not make a special trip there to see it. The picture does not really do it justice though.
Check out this cake! We went to a birthday party Tuesday for one of Bri's friends. She has been learning cake decorating and made her own cake. I thought for a 10 year old she did a really good job! I did not get a close enough picture of it, but she did a really good job on the edging shells, the other things you see are flowers, and in person they looked like flowers. Like I said she did a great job I think. I told her she could do my next cake and she just beamed.

Well, that is a little bit of the things we have been up to this week. The kids did go and visit a friend's church this Wednesday since our church services were cancelled. They absolutely loved this church. Bri loves the kids group, and Alex has not quit talking about the youth group. I have sensed that his youth group is not getting it for him and for this reason I have been seeking God on what he wants me to do. I ran into a few people I have not seen in ages this past weekend and they just started talking to me about the importance of a youth group, out of the blue. I really felt that God was talking to me through them, but I'm still not 100% sure which way to go. I am thinking for the next few weeks I will take Alex to this church's youth group though! I met this youth pastor last year and I really like him. The pastor of this church talked to me about visiting one day, then he said "you were talking to me about it weren't you". I wasn't, I was just talking to God about it though. I came home and was sharing this with Eddie, who thinks I have a direct line with God, and this just sealed it for him. Anyway, that was out of the blue I know.

Monday we are off to Ft. Morgan to learn about bird banding and tour the fort. We will then do some siening, maybe, fish, swim, and see the U.S.S. Alabama. We will be home at the end of the week. We are really looking forward to our long distance field trip this week! Though we will be camping and I'm not 100% sure about it since my back has been keeping me awake at night in a bed, but with God's help I'll make it through. The kids are very excited. Alex loves to camp, and Bri has never camped and can't wait to experience it. Next to sleeping in the tent, her next big deal are the S'Mores we are going to do at night! Just pray for no rain!!

Well that's it now I promise, until next time.....Love you guys and I hope you all have a great week living and learning!

Lisa