He Man, Chicken Killer....

......What a traumatic day for this mother and a toddler who has just today absolutely loved an animal to death,...well, better make that two animals. Let me explain.

Just to remind everyone who doesn't know this fact, we live on a farm and have 5 pullet houses. To all you non farm raised people out there, this means we get chickens on our farm the day they are hatched and keep them in buildings that are 40ft x 400ft (they don't run loose in the yard....yes, I have been asked. We're talking thousands and thousands of chickens people!) until they are 22 weeks old. Then they go to layer houses where they lay eggs.

So, today we got baby chickens in 3 of the 5 houses and Carter was PUMPED! All 5 houses are close together so it's been almost 5 months since we had baby chicks and I'm sure he doesn't really remember it. So as they unloaded the chicks Carter and I followed close behind with him watching their every move, and me enjoying not having to help due to the fact that I had to make sure Carter stayed out of the way of the truck, which his pawpaw was driving. That in itself is a real danger since he almost ran us over just yesterday,...but that's another story for another day!

Once we were clear of the trucks I picked up a baby chick and let it stand in my hand while I tried to show Carter how to pet it gently. He wanted none of that "petting" business! He wanted to grab that baby up and show it some love! I pried it from his grasp, but as we started to walk away he grabbed one up without me noticing and by the time I saw that he had it and pried it from his grubby little hands it was barely moving. Crap! I am not for one minute about to perform CPR on this thing! So I just shook it a bit and it finally started to snap out of the Carter induced coma. Meanwhile, Rambo is standing there pitching one major fit because I snatched the thing away from him.

He finally pulls himself together and we start making our way toward the door when one of the servicemen from our chicken company has the nerve to hand him another one.....grrrrr..( but in his defense he hadn't seen the ordeal a few minutes before).

He had this chick in his hands for maybe one minute before I could manage to get it away from him, but this one wasn't so lucky. He had perfected his little death grip by this time and the baby chick was dead. At this point the serviceman said..."don't let him kill them, they cost $4 a piece". I'm sorry, who was the one who handed him the thing???

That was it. I grabbed him up, kicking and screaming and took him home, into the tub, then down for a nap.....FYI...he cried the whole time. We will not be visiting the baby chicks again until they are either old enough to be faster than Carter is, or big enough to peck his little hands of chicken death.

All I have to say is this. We have much work to do before this baby arrives,....AND! I was thinking about getting him a kitten for Christmas,....now I'm thinking maybe I should go with a bobcat. It MIGHT be able to defend itself!

Did you know......

....that pumpkins float?? I had no idea! This afternoon, I had a whim to clean off our porches. So I swept them off, pulled all the dead flowers out of the pots and hauled off the 4 (really small) pumpkins we accumulated over the past month or so. Carter of course was assisting me in all this fun and I thought he might get a kick out of throwing the pumpkins into the pond, which happens to be right in our front yard.

So we chunked our pumpkins into the water. I don't think Carter realized that we wouldn't be getting our pumpkins back, because as the first one I threw hit the water he looked up and said, "Mama?....punkin??" Like he was all devastated. I persuaded him that this would be fun and that he should just go ahead and throw his too. I threw the next one and said "Bye pumpkin" for his sake and he followed suit.

Now, I thought the stupid things would sink to the bottom of the pond and we'd never see them again. I even considered the kindness of providing this early Thanksgiving treat to the fish and the turtles...(well at least the ones who weren't injured by the flying pumpkins). Did they sink???....NO! They commenced to floating around the pond all the while my devastated little boy was saying..."Punkin?...Mama???" Like he thought I'd just swim right out and get them.....

Can I just leave you with this image? It's almost dark outside and my sweet little Carter is standing at the front window where he normally watches the cows in the pasture across the pond, where he lovingly watches for Maw Maw and Aunt Crystal so he can wave to them before they come to the door.......standing there so pitifully watching his beloved punkins float around and around the pond ........whispering, ..."punkin??? ....Mama???"

Can you see the big fat "L" on my forehead from your house??

If the turtles don't eat those things, I see myself swimming out to get them tomorrow.

Catching up...

.......Can you even believe that Thanksgiving is a week from today?? And a week from tomorrow I'll be pestering my husband to bring down all of my Christmas decorations..(oh yeah, he's so tickled about the fact that I'll actually NEED his help decorating this year!) Anyway, I've gotten lots of emails asking about how I'm doing so I thought I'd sign on for an update. I'm doing MUCH better! I'm almost 20 weeks and the morning/all day sickness is finally easing up some. Woohoo!! I'm tired alot but that really isn't due to the pregnancy that would be due to the fact that Carter is practicing up on his latest talent......climbing!!

Good grief! This kid climbs on everything! He isn't afraid of anything or anyone. Seriously. On Halloween, we came across a dude in a really nasty mask who growled and made hissing noises at us.....kinda scared me, actually.....not Carter! He growled back!...lol

Anyway, back to the climbing. He has managed to climb up into the kitchen sink, by way of a highchair (which he moved himself) 2 recliners and an end table. He has climbed out of his crib twice and jumped from the crib to our bed a time or two as well. I went to the bathroom this morning and while I was in there, I could hear him saying "deer, deer"...evidently, he found a great place to watch the deer.....

.....you may not be able to see his mouth but he is actually saying..."cheeeeese". He looks so afraid, right? He also managed to climb up into the tractor while his dad was "watching" him....

..oh, and did I mention that right before we left for vacation he rode his tractor down the porch steps? Brick ones?...Yeah, I'd just moved it from the yard to the porch in case it rained while we were gone and turned to close the back door of my vehicle (we were literally leaving that minute!) Only to turn around and see Carter heading off the top step. I got there just in time to keep him from hitting the concrete at the bottom, but he'd still bounced end over end all the way down the steps. When I picked him up, the first thing I saw was a hunk of skin, with 5 or 6 eyelashes attached to it, laying on his cheek. It didn't actually cut his eye, but it was close!...REAL close! Anyway, he spent his vacation looking like this (and this picture doesn't really show the extent of it!).........but he had a blast,....black eye and all! Also, apparently it's a really important feat if when a farmer wrecks his tractor, he doesn't let go of the steering wheel. I can't tell you how many people have asked me if he let go....Just for the record,..he didn't.

Check this one out,....does he not look like he owns the place?? Is this not a farmer if you ever saw one??

...sooooo I just bought a travel first aid kit for my bag, and a jumbo one for home. 'Cause I'm thinking little farmer Carter is gonna give me a serious run for my money!.....(not to mention my energy!!)

NEWS BULLETIN...

I interupt this desperately needed blog break to bring you the following news update:

It's a Girl!!!

...or at least the doctor says he is almost positive it is, (right down to a health class worthy description of what he was seeing...TMI, doc!) Anyway, we are still in shock, (escpecially Kyle). Because for those of you who know my husband's family, you know they almost never have girls.....there is one in Kyle's family. Our niece, Rachel age 7, who has been praying very hard for her little cousin-to-be (she remembers that she has 2 baby cousins in heaven) just yesterday told me she sure did hope it was a girl. It looks like her prayers paid off!

As for a name, I thought we had one until tonight when I reminded my husband that he said just a few weeks ago that he liked it, he now denies ever participating in that conversation......I'm thinkin he thought it would be a boy and he just finally agreed to one to shut me up!

One thing though, the doctor wants me off my feet (aka bedrest) for a few days, preferably a week. I'm having some pretty bad cramping which he thinks is due to overexertion. He asked if I'd need an excuse for work...........ummmmm, I don't know, you think that will fly with Kyle?

Please excuse Deedra from her duties for the next week, ............I'm thinking not! Say a prayer,...it might get ugly!

A Little Time Off......

...from blogging that is. Thank you, first of all, to those of you who have called me, or sent me emails wondering how I'm doing. I can't begin to tell you how much I have appreciated that! I'm going through a bit of a rough patch right now and feeling loved definately helps get me through that. I would especially like to say thank you to my sister in law Aimee for her encouraging words, phone calls, & emails, and my sister Crystal for her patience and encouragement as well.

The baby is doing fine. I can feel it moving now, so I'm a bit more relaxed. Hopefully we'll find out what it is soon!

Now with all that being said, hopefully I'll be back to blogging soon. Take Care.

4 Weeks???

....I have to go 4 weeks before I see the Dr again! I realize this is the normal thing to do, but I have been going every 2 weeks and 4 weeks will seem like an eternity! The good news is, everything is going great. Baby looks great, nice, strong heartbeat. Praise the Lord!

Wouldn't you like to know if it's a boy or a girl?


This is the week I will be MIA.........See you in a week!

Update...

I thought I would pass along this update from the Russell family.

This is copied from Jason & Amber's site.

Friday night, Amber went into labor. I was at work and met Amber at the hospital. Bob, Cher and Crystal, rushed her in to meet me at the hospital. I rushed Amber back to the labor and deliver ward. They started hooking Amber up to the monitors to check the baby. But they could not find a heart beat. So, they brought in a ultrasound to find the heart beat. But i and the doctor could see no heart beat.

Amber’s labor was so fast. After the ultrasound, Amber had Ava naturally. Yes that means no drugs. Ava was born at 0048, October 13th. Ava had the cord wrapped around her neck twice cutting the flow of blood off to her body. It is very rare, but our family has heard that before. So Ava and Aubrey are playing together at the feet of Jesus now.


We were blessed by having another doctor, someone we have never met. He was awesome. Very strong in his beliefs and faith. Which allowed us to have some relief in this troubled time. Dr. Shull was great. He told Amber and I that Ava had died maybe 24 hours before Amber went into labor. He also stated that there will be no definite answer to why this happened.


Ava Julia Russell will be laid to rest beside her big sister Tuesday, October the 16th at Lake Hills Memorial Gardens Trenton, Ga at 2 o’clock. There will be no visitation. Graveside services will be held at Lake Hills Memorial Gardens. And a meal will be served at East Brow Baptist Church. Also when you come to the church you all can visit Aubrey’s Place.

Please continue to remember this family in this time of devastating grief. Every time I think of having to plan funerals for 2 children much less within a 6 month period my heart breaks for them all over again.

Beyond Devastated...

Some friends of ours, Jason and Amber, the same friends who lost their sweet 5 year old girl to brain cancer in March of this year, have been expecting a baby girl, Ava, due any day. Early this morning they arrived at the hospital with contractions 57 seconds apart. Her labor progressed so fast that she didn't even have an opportunity to receive an epidural. Baby Ava was stillborn. She was not delivered via C-section as I previously thought. They think that labor progressed so rapidly the cord became wrapped around her neck at some point. I don't know any other details at this time, but I can't even begin to imagine the devastation this family is feeling during this time.

Please, please help to lift this family up in prayer.

Fit4Life Friday,..and oh so much more!

Happy Friday to you all! I hope you have all had a great week. I'm still having a serious case of most-of-the-time sickness these days (not complaining!), but I'm hoping that will let up a little sometime soon! I can barely stand to be around myself, I know this is definitely beginning to wear on my husband, son, family, and friends. Don't believe me? Let me give you and example.

Today I made the idiotic mistake of thinking that I could feel decent long enough to drive to a town with a Walmart, and preferably a Sally Beauty Supply, and a Cracker Barrel, since I have been dying for one of their Grilled Chicken Salads. All this with a 16 month old in tow.

I called on the way to order my salad to go, the lady said "10 minutes" but I knew that was a big fat lie. It was 12:30 PM and that place would be packed. Not a problem, I had at least a 20 minute drive ahead of me, I was prepared for this.....they always say "10 minutes". It's usually 30. ( I also craved this with Carter,....different CB, but they apparently all practice this deception....I don't care, their 1000 Island dressing is so good, I could eat it with a spoon....even NOT pregnant, so I tolerate their little fibs)

On the way there, there was a big traffic jam. Evidently, somebody's truck caught on fire. I know this, not because my beloved J103 gave this over their station, which I was listening to, but because I had to change the channel to a COUNTRY station for a traffic update. I will forgive J103 for taking their dear sweet time to do traffic today, because 1. The Bible says I must forgive them, and 2. They did happen to be the station who brought Toby Mac to town last week. Therefore, their bumper sticker will stay on my vehicle.

Anyway,....(this is really getting long)... I finally get my food, and make it over to Sally. I have naturally curly hair, and have recently decided that since the humidity is down somewhat and you can no longer see my hair from the 4 surrounding states on a bad day, that I will attempt to wear it straight. The problem is that I am out of Biosilk, which is a MUST for when I wear it straight. So, I get Carter out of his seat, carry him to the sidewalk, and then hold his hand while we walk in to the store. I know right where what I need is, get it, proceed to the counter where Susie Smile Alot is helping a woman who is evidently a sucker for beauty supply products.

This woman had at least 15 nail files on the counter, Tons of hairspray, and at least 27 other products which Susie Smile Alot had to manually type in on the register. Half way through the transaction, Susie asks the woman if she has seen their new something or other, ( I couldn't hear her through the steam blowing out my ears). They leave to go get 3 or 4 of these to add to her purchase.

At this point I have been holding (I mean, wrestling) my little 25 pound bundle of energy for at least 10 minutes and he wanted DOWN. So, I let him. (hehe,....that'll show them!) He proceeded to run up and down the isles, hollering and singing at the top of his little lungs. Thankfully, he didn't touch anything,..he just wanted to run. After I let him get out some energy, stupidly thinking it was almost my turn, I went to get him. He was mad! I just let him cry it out thinking it might hurry Susie up if she had a screaming toddler hurrying her along. Nope. It didn't. About 10 minutes later I finally just gave up and left my precious Biosilk on her counter. (I didn't throw it at them, while shouting hormonal nonsense, as I wanted) I just turned and walked out. See what I mean?

On a good note, my birthday was Tuesday, and I didn't feel terrible. My Mom & Sister brought me a very sweet gift, my Dad sung to me, and my sweet friend Jenny( who also happens to have an amazing voice) sang a beautiful "Happy Birthday" message on my voice mail. My husband and child woke me up at 5AM to give me a birthday spanking. 32 whacks, 1 to grow on, and a pinch to grow an inch. Kyle better hope I give birth on his birthday, otherwise, he has had it! I didn't have cake, but! There is a bridal shower on Sunday, and I'm saving up for some Mrs Mann cake!.....yummm!

So, for my exercise this week, I:

Walked from car to store...

Pumped some iron in the form of a wriggling 25 pound toddler,....numerous times

Walked (stomped) from store to car...

My diet was pretty good. I don't have the stomach for much these days. Although the salad was really good! (what little I ate of it)

I didn't mean to have a 5000 word post this week, but thanks for letting me vent!

I will be out of town next Friday, so F4LF will pick back up on the 26th. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

The Pumpkin Patch

Toby's Back!

......Hey now! (if you are not a TobyMac fan, (GASP) that's the beginning line to one of his songs.)

As promised here are a few of the pics I took at the Toby Mac concert Friday night. I have no idea how many Christian concerts I have been to in my adult life, but it's a lot. I've seen Third Day (more times than I can count), Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, The Crabb Family, Gold City, and many more. But I can honestly say Toby Mac puts on the best concert of any of these....by far!!! He gets better and better every single time I see him! You stand up the entire time, and unless you are pregnant, you pretty much jump up and down and dance the whole time. (yes, this includes my tractor driving, farm boy husband! Imagine those moves!) You literally don't know what to expect next!

We sat in the 5th row on the right side of the stage. Well, we didn't sit, but that's where we stood. There were probably (literally) 200 people standing in the space between row 1 and the stage! It was great!! We were so close that in one of the pics I took, you'll notice Toby has "red eyes"! That is pretty stinkin' close! I could feel my guts jarring with the beat! It was SOOO loud, but once you got used to it (or, I should say, lost a bit of your hearing..) it was great!

Barlow Girl and Thousand Foot Crutch were also there. TFC was pretty good. Barlow Girl was also great! There are 3 of them, all pretty young ( I have no idea how old, I'm guessing late teens/early 20's) anyway, they played their own instruments and sang at the same time. The drummer was awesome. She was all "Slash like" with the head banging and hair flying and singing the whole time! Definitely worth seeing if you get the chance! The whole concert in general was fantastic! My hormones actually got the best of me at one point. I saw all of these young people, who could have been anywhere, here at a CHRISTIAN concert. Dancing, singing, worshiping.....it was awesome! Very moving!

Sadly, I did not run into Toby in the lobby during this concert. Don't think I didn't take a "bathroom break" to scan the place during Barlow Girl either, but no luck!....Sorry you missed me Toby. I'll meet you in the hallway during your next concert in this area......my husband promises to let me finish our conversation next time!!

p.s....I tried to upload a video (or 20) but the file was too big for blogger :(. Lisa, I'll bring my camera to church tomorrow for your viewing pleasure.

***Scroll down for Fit4Life Friday***

I just had to post this video of Carter "getting down" with the band last night during the homecoming parade. To say he enjoyed himself would be an understatement! He couldn't decide whether he wanted to dance, or direct the band, or just clap....for himself and them! And then he saw the cheerleaders,...they shouted his name,....and he stopped in his tracks! I'm thinkin I have a ladies man on my hands!

Also, check out the boots! He absolutely MUST wear them everywhere!

Fit4Life Friday....

I hope this Friday finds you feeling wonderful and maybe even a little lighter than last week. I haven't lost (of course!), but I haven't gained yet, so that is good! I apologize to those of you who post your own F4LF that I didn't get a post up last week! Hopefully that will be a one time thing.

This week I have walked most days. It's still pretty humid outside, and the heat gets my nausea churning, so I have been doing my "Walk away the pounds" video. I put on my ipod so I don't have to listen to the goofy video music, or if Carter is awake, turn down the volume and blast our own music. He gets a big kick out of Mom doin' her exercise moves! It's almost offensive, really. It can't be THAT funny, Carter!

My diet has been pretty good this week. My Aunt Wanda's garden fresh tomatoes are beginning to dwindle so I'm gobbling up as many as humanly possible before they are gone for the year. My husband did have a sympathy craving last night and wanted Wingstop. Woo Hoo!! Count me in! It was sooooo good!

I hope everyone has done great this week, and has a wonderful weekend!! I'm off to see TobyMac tonight, so I know I'll be having a good one!! Also, my birthday is next week so I'm planning on really living it up before I get another year older....(seeing as how I'm a party animal and all!)

Sixteen Months.....

Dear Carter,

Yesterday you turned 16 months old. You spent the day just as I believe you would have if you could speak your mind and pick how you spend every day!....On and around the tractors! You and Mama drove the accumulator while Daddy baled hay and every time we passed him in the field you waved like it was the first time you'd saw him all day! I think Daddy might have even enjoyed this for the first few hundred bales.

You have started saying so many new words. My favorite to hear you say is Donkey. You have a new found love for donkeys after seeing them up close at the fair last week. You also love to now grab my hand and say 'mon,...as in C'mon. It's adorable for at least the first 25 times you do it each morning. You have this little pair of mud boots and you refuse to take them off. You even insisted on wearing them to church on Wednesday night.....thankfully, that night is casual!

You let me know when you are ready for a nap or to go to bed for the evening. You grab my hand and say, "mon nite nite....and usually you go right to sleep.

We have started paying more attention to babies and making sure to point them out to you in hopes that you will accept this new arrival when it gets here. You love babies! We saw Landon yesterday and he was really interested in your shoes which tickled you, since you love your shoes too! He also let you give him "sugar" about a hundred times which was very patient of him! You are still learning that you have to share your toys. You don't really like it, but you are working on getting better at that....slowly!

You finally got the hang of the battery operated tractor at Papa & Gran's house. I think they were as excited about that as you were! I'm sure they were getting pretty tired of pushing you on it....You also have the hang of whacking Daddy with the wooden spoon. Mama used to let you play with them during the day, but after you whacked her a few times she decided that maybe those would be best left put up until just before Daddy comes home. She doesn't like to be whacked but she sure does get a kick out of you telling Daddy "No no, Daddy"...WHACK!

I can't wait to see what you do next! I love being your Mom!

Love,

Mama

Peek A Boo!

I'm not sure what Kyla is telling you, but it sure is cute!

Relaxing in our "Book Chair"

All Is Well.....

I have just been busy busy busy....and tired tired tired...and sick sick sick! I've been trying to finish up all my end of the month work stuff, started a new Awana class at church (kindergarten & 1st grade....crazy, right?), and all the usual prego craziness of late to go along with it (not complaining!). So! Needless to say, my blog posts and visits had to be the thing to suffer,...oh, and my housework! It is a sad sad mess right now! If you ring my doorbell, I will pretend not to be home.....it's that bad!!! Call me a couple of days beforehand if you plan to visit!...lol



So, to fill everyone in on what's been going on...the pregnancy is going fine, as far as I know. I go back to the Dr on Wednesday. (Please say a prayer!!) My regular clothes (which I'd just gotten back in to) no longer fit I can only assume due to this being my second (Well, actually 4th) pregnancy and also the fact that I have been injected with progesterone weekly for a couple of months now....(Marty W, are you sorry you asked where I'd been?) Also, it's time to do hay again, so every waking, non hurling moment is spent trying to help my husband as much as possible. I also managed to squeeze in 2 nephews football games. One Friday night and one Saturday morning, 2 birthday partys, and church on Sunday morning, Sunday night I hung out on my knees with the toilet. I have no plans this weekend except for my date with TOBYMAC, Barlow Girl, & Thousand Foot Crutch...(oh yeah, and my husband and some friends of ours:) on Friday night, and hopefully a trip with friends & family to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday, pending weather and morning sickness.

In other news....I have THE most HUGE prayer praise! I have a friend who has been trying to become pregnant for years...literally YEARS! They did In Vitro a few weeks ago and she got the call on Thursday that it worked!!!!! Let me tell you, I cried as much when she told me as I did when I found out I was pregnant myself!!! This is such a HUGE blessing for this couple and both of their families after so many disappointments. Please help me pray that all goes well for them!

Also, we are leaving for a bit of a vacation in a couple of weeks and for those of you who know my husband, you know this is a big deal! (Even if there will be a farmshow involved for 2 of the 6 days!) He is a homebody if there ever was one! So anyway, there is a ton of stuff to get done around here before we leave so, I'd better get back to the hay field........Marty W, I promise not to not blog for a week again, if you promise not to tell Kyle that I typed this today,.....he thinks I'm making him a sandwich!

p.s....I will be posting again before vacation though! I promise!