It's a Southern Thang

My hubby has a hobby! He just loves turning this......

into this!! Now for those of you who at this point are thinking, "This What?" let me explain. This is called a swamp buggy and our family loves going swamp buggy riding in the woods! Come along and I'll show you what I mean. We have friends along on this trip. We usually leave in the late afternoon. We pack a picnic supper to take along. Oh, bug spray is a must especially with all the rain Florida has been blessed with.

Time to break out the picnic/junk food. This time we had fried chicken, chips, drinks, sunflower seeds, cookies and bubble gum! I am one of those moms that feels like a meal just isn't complete without some veggies or at least fresh fruit so I just try to sit back and convince myself that there has to be some nutrition in the chicken and those sunflower seeds are nuts, right?

Dear friends enjoying the ride. Isn't this little man a cutie pie? Love those blue eyes.

My brave, strong man blazing a trail!!

Here is the view off the front of the buggy. You can see the water standing in this particular spot due to all the showers lately. We didn't get stuck at all and some spots we went through were pretty deep. Fun times!

As the sun begins to set we usually see quite a bit of wildlife. This is what I enjoy the most. If you look closely right in the middle of the picture below you will see some wildlife.....did you find it?

It is an owl sitting on a branch. He blends right in with the surroundings but he certainly wasn't afraid of us. We drove right on by and he never flew off. Isn't he just beautiful?

This is another trail we took. That is water completely covering the path up ahead. We didn't see any gators this time but we heard the frogs out in that water. Well that is the end of our adventure for now. Anybody ready for a swamp buggy ride?

We have a busy weekend coming up with an annual family reunion at our place. It is a big event in our family and things get a little wild and crazy with all the dare devil boys/men in the family. I'll take lots of pictures so you can see what I mean.

Sugar Babies

We have been enjoying a new variety of watermelon this summer. It is called Sugar Baby and it certainly lives up to it's name! These little melons are not much bigger than a cantaloupe which I love because they don't take up as much room in my refrigerator and if you are like me there is ALWAYS a shortage of space in my refrigerator. When I begin to get frustrated at trying to make leftovers and such "fit", it reminds me to stop and be thankful for the abundance the Lord has blessed us with. I just imagine how I would be feeling if all I had to put in my refrigerator was a melon??? Thank you Lord for this inconvenience. Anyway, back to these Sugar Baby melons. We have had so much success with these little beauties this year we haven't bought any watermelons from the grocery store! Also, the seeds from these melons are open-pollinated which means I should be able to replant the seeds next summer. That is my goal. One day I would like to only have to go to the grocery store once in a while for a few staples. I have a long way to go before reaching that goal but I am learning so much as I go. I love sitting down to a meal, looking over the dishes before us and realizing we either grew it, raised it here at home or it is venison that hubby/boys brought home!! It truly makes us thankful for the blessings the Lord has provided for our family!

Here is a satisfied seed-spittin', melon-eatin' boy! We like to gather in the kitchen after working outside in the hot, hot Florida summer weather and we start slicing these ice cold watermelons. They really hit the spot and quench our thirst!! Ahhh, one of the pleasures of summertime!

Hope you are enjoying your summer. It is passing so quickly!!

Reese's First Photo Shoot

Today's blog should be titled "Grandma's Brag Page"! ! Yes, yes I know, Brooke has already posted these pictures on her blog and you can read about her labor and birth experience here. However, I couldn't resist showing off the latest pictures of our first granddaughter.


I wasn't present at the photo shoot when these pictures were taken. Brooke took them behind my back and it is a good thing she did because I am weak when it comes to naked newborns and I would have spoiled the shoot and kissed that little darling till she woke up!! Just ask my family. It is an addiction I have when I am around my babies (naked or not)....kiss, kiss, kiss! It is a wonder my own children still have cheeks!!

I mean just look at this little angel. How could anyone resist??? In fact, I think I might have to catch one of my boys running by right now and just give them a big ole kiss after seeing these pictures again. Now where are those guys??....probably hiding if they know I have been looking at Reese's pictures :-)

A New Recipe

We were fortunate to have an established fig tree on our property when we bought our place a few years ago. Monroe also transplanted a few small trees that he got from his parents' house right after we moved in. The picture below are the trees he started and as you can see, they are doing great. We have a total of 6 trees and this year they are all producing figs! I am not sure what variety they are but they don't get very big and they are oh so sweet and delicious! Because the fruit is not big the seeds are very small which is a good thing for my kids. They like to munch on them while they are out playing in the backyard. They like to pretend they are the guy from the tv show, Survivor Man. You know, live off of the land kind of thing. I like it cause it keeps them outdoors for a long stretch of time ;-)


This is a bowl of fresh picked figs. I have learned that the amount of rainfall has to be just right in order to get edible figs. If it rains too much they get swollen and burst at the bottom. The fruit is so tender and soft it can't take too much water. Then the bugs like to get in through the hole in the bottom of the fig. A lesson Kay and I will never forget....right Kay??? That is a funny story I will have to share sometime, tee-hee-hee!

Well, I had to come up with some way to use up these figs. I decided to try a fresh fig cake. It turned out to be a not so pretty cake but that is okay because it was so moist and delicious. This is definitely a recipe I will use again.

I will be making preserves with some of the harvest. However, it will be a while yet as we have been blessed with lots of rain lately and the fruit is rotting on the tree right now. I thought about going out and shaking the tree to get the bad fruit to fall off. I can see lots of green figs that will be ready soon. Hopefully, it won't be too rainy when they are ready to pick. After all, my" survivor men" need something to keep them going!!

She has a name!!

Mom and Dad finally made the very important decision of naming our little sweetie. Actually she has had a name for a couple of days-I have just been too busy to blog about it. So sorry. She is officially REESE ELIZABETH! The other name up for debate was Ava Clare. Personally, I love both names but around here Ava is such a common name. Mommy wanted her little girl to have a not so common name so Reese was chosen. Little Reese definitely has her days and nights mixed up and Brooke is exhausted. Other than that both mommy and baby are doing great! Reese looks exactly like Brooke when she was a newborn!! It brings back so many memories for me!

Parker is very serious about his little sister. He wakes up every morning and is so happy to see her. It is amazing to me how much he understands! Last night Poppa was aggravating Parker by giving Reese kisses. Parker kept pushing his Poppa back and telling him "No dat my kisses". After a few minutes of this Parker finally pointed at the front door and told his Poppa "You go work!!" It was a moment that we wished we would have had a video camera going!!

More pictures to come. Brooke wants to do a photo shoot soon. I'll be sure to get those posted.

Gotta run-I need my "baby fix" for today!

She's Here!!!

Isn't she gorgeous?? Okay, that is coming from a Grandma so maybe my opinion is a little one-sided!! I can't begin to tell you how excited our family is to welcome this new blessing into our lives.

Our beautiful little girl doesn't have a name yet. Mom and Dad are still deciding on two names they have chosen. I'll keep you all updated when they decide. I can tell you that she was born June 24th at 5:10 a.m. and she weighed 7 lbs and 9 oz and measured 20 inches long. I was fortunate to be there when this bundle of joy took her first breath! It was an amazing moment and one I will cherish forever, along with the births of my two grandsons as well! Moments such as these truly make me realize how rich and blessed our family is by the Lord. Not in material things as the world may count richness but in the simple act of holding a new life and seeing the hand of God at work.

Here are a few shots of the older brothers (and Uncle Bryce and Uncle Brandon) when they first see their new sister. Here they are being still-that is a rare moment!

Parker was concerned about his Mommy. He is a protector already. Wonder what he will be like when it comes to a little sister!

Parker has been asking to see his baby for the past few weeks. He was so happy when we told him Mommy was going to the hospital to get his baby sister. He replied, "She come out?" He will be a good big brother.

Luke's first look at the baby. Luke is the little "bulldozer" guy. Watch out little sis!

Parker's turn. He is loving this. Looks like even baby sister is content.

And then we have Poppa! He didn't want to share his little bundle with anyone. I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that he was just as excited as Brooke to have a girl added to the family. I mean anytime we had company come to visit at our house and they had a little girl Monroe was always trying to persuade the poor little girl to come stay with us! Six boys and 26 years later he is one happy Poppa!!!

Uncle Bryce finally got his turn.

And I know this little girl won't have to worry about getting mistreated when her Uncle Brandon is around!

He will be her bodyguard for sure!

With all the excitement going on we forgot to get Uncle Brent and Uncle Brad in on the snapshots. They were with us though. In fact, Brent was the photographer. I am sure we will have more pictures to come. I know what you are thinking ;-) Just bear with us and you can even say it outloud in the comfort of your home cause we can't hear you...."MORE PICTURES!!!"

Still Waiting

We are getting anxious to meet the newest addition to our family. I would tell you her name but she doesn't have one yet! Brooke and Ricky are torn between a couple of names. Hopefully, when they see her and hold her they will be able to choose!

Brooke has one more week to go until her due date. But hey, whose counting???? After all, it has ONLY been 26 YEARS since we have had a little girl around here!!

Since baby girls are on my mind so much lately, I decided to blog about Brooke's shower. I sort of "borrowed" the pictures from Nicki (she doesn't know it...that isn't stealing is it??!! YIKES!) because I didn't have my camera the night of the shower. I am not sure why they came out in different sizes but I am using them anyway.

Here is a picture of the beautiful cake that Jessica brought. It tasted as good as it looked, delicious!!

It was so much fun shopping for a girl. Everyone around here has been having a boy. I can't even shop for a girl for someone else! Here are a few of the wonderful gifts Brooke received. They were all just adorable!

Nicki, how did you know Brooke loves stripes? How funny that your gift matched what Brooke was wearing that night!! You know her too well.

So cute!

I think Brooke has a pair of these for herself! They are polka-dot boxers incase you can't figure out what she is holding.

Everyone was so kind and generous. Brooke was blessed with so many adorable outfits!

Everything was decorated so beautifully! Nicki and Jess did an awesome job!

These four girls have been best friends since they were very young. Their friendships are all still strong. I am sure they must realize what a blessing that is! Left to right is Nicki, Brooke, Beth, and Jessica.

Okay little Ava Clare or Reese Elizabeth come soon! Your Mommy and Nonna can't wait to love on you!