"She works with her hands in delight" Proverbs 31:13

Watch out Indiana Jones!

On Monday, a very special "Indiana Jones" hat was passed down to Eric. :) And I am not kidding...he has been wearing it ever since! He comes down to breakfast with it on and goes up to bed with it on. He only removes his hat when he is praying and when he goes to sleep, and it hangs neatly on the corner of his dresser when not in use.He thinks he is something else with this hat on! I have to say, he looks quite dashing...and a little mischevious...when it's on his head. ;)

Sometimes he even lets me wear it for a brief moment...

Thanks Indy for the hat! :)

I love flowers :)

           

I love it when these flowers bloom in our front yard each year. Isn't the Lord amazing? You can truly see just how much He loves us through even the smallest details of His creation! 

Musings in the Garden

          

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the lack of posting...I have been quite distracted as of late *ehem*. ;) I wanted to share a picture of our vegetable garden that has been really taking off thanks to Dad's green thumb. Sorry for the foggy picture. :) It is so humid here!  This year we're trying something different with our cucumbers...we're growing them on trellises. I'm interested to see how they do. It will definitely be a lot easier to pick them if they do well!   Dad has also planted green beans, and hopefully the deer won't discover them. Last year...they did. :)

                           

This is a random picture of Kitten. Sometimes she thinks she's a frog (notice the legs :).

                          

                           

Speaking of amphibians...I think I will name him Henry. :)  He scared me to death almost as badly as the giant mutant spider  that I found in my garden a while back! He's very photogenic though. :) Is he smiling?

                         

Okay, I think a plague has struck my herb garden! A couple of days ago I discovered that all...and I mean all...of my chives looked like this! I do not know what on earth happened! They were fine the day before. Hmmmm...I just don't know? I don't think they will grow back...so I'm probably just going to pluck them. :( Oh well!

Well, it's getting late so I must turn in! I have to get up early tomorrow and go with Mom to help Granny organize and update her files (she and Papa have their own business) and do some cleaning. I also have some more skirts that need sewing this week and a dress that needs altering, so I'll probably work on those a little bit tomorrow too. Busy busy! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Picked for me this morning by Eric...

           

A Mini Vacation

Today my family and I returned from a little vacation at a campground located a couple of hours away from us. My grandparents own a trailer at this campground, and since they were not going to be there this week, we were able to stay there. We left yesterday, spent the night, and just arrived home about an hour ago. So it was a mini vacation, but we enjoyed being able to spend time together away from the house. This is Eric's favorite place to go. :) There was hardly anyone there this time, which was so nice! I only saw a small group of retired folks who were all camping out together...camping in their HUGE RVs. :) It must be nice. :) I took this picture as we were driving into the campground.

One of our favorite things to do at the campground is to ride around on the golf cart. :) Ah...life's simple pleasures. :) Seriously it's fun! The whole time we were down there, Philip and I took turns driving the golf cart around. I even let Eric steer...once. :) Screeeeech! Pretty much everyone owns and drives a golf cart at this place. We have a tradition that we do every time we go there...we always pile on the golf cart (yes our whole family fits :), drive to the camp store and get ice cream, and then we drive around and look at how all of the trailers are decorated. People get quite creative with their nautical decorations. :)

Another family tradition that we have is to head on over to the little drugstore in town for a carbonated limeade. :) This drugstore is so neat because it has an old-timey soda fountain. There are three counters that are shaped like horseshoes, and everyone sits around them while they eat. I was sitting right by the lime squeezer. It was neat to watch, but needless to say, my arm was juiced on. :) Those limeades were so goooood! Eric was feeling adventurous this time and ordered a Coke float with...chocolate icecream. :) Ummm...sticking with the limeade! After the drugstore, we looked through our favorite consignment shop and walked the streets of the historic town.

At the end of the day yesterday, the boys and I lowered the paddle boat off of the bank for a ride. There is a small river that runs in between two strips of campers that is for people who want to take their paddle boats for a spin. Eric is usually the captain (he steers)...which is sometimes not a good thing because down the river there is a huge fountain...that he sometimes feels the urge to go right under. :) Philip and I have to take control when we near the fountain. We didn't get wet...until I splashed Eric with water...then it was all over from there. :) Hey, what are sisters for?

Who is a Jack Russell? This little man joined us for a little vacation of his own...away from our cats. :) He was a wonderful camper! He didn't even get sick during the car rides...whew. On the way home, I was thinking about all of the many nicknames we have for Buddy. It's almost ridiculous. :)

Bud, Pie (the marking on his head looks like a slice of pie :), Sweet Pie, Pie Boy, Poe, Po Boy, Shrimp Po Boy (I think that's a sandwich?), Biscuit, Little Man, Man, Good Man, Bad Man, Poor Pie, Little Pie, Jack, Budlothian, Little Jack, Sweet Jack, Bad Jack, Fat Jack, Poor Baby, Little Baby, Sweet Biscuit, Jack Russell, Peanut Buttah Bah...I'm stopping. :) Poor Buddy!

 Mom and Dad took this picture as they were walking along the boat docks. Papa has a boat, but we didn't go on it this time. It actually stormed terribly yesterday evening! Storms are not very good when you're staying in a small camper. :) Thankfully, the Lord protected us during it. A really bad storm came over us at 4:30am and woke us all up. So we have all pretty much been awake since then. :) I don't think I slept at all last night. ;) I slept on the couch bed with Buddy snoring underneath me. :) Poor Pie. We were going to spend the night again tonight, but there were going to be more storms this evening...so we decided to come home after all.

Today before we left, Mom and I drove around the town and looked in some of the shops. I took this picture as we were driving by. This is my favorite plantation house down there. If you click on the picture, you'll probably be able to see the house a little better. I just love how they planted trees on both sides of the drive back then. That's actually my favorite part of this plantation. :)

After spending some time in the sun this afternoon (and catching some very mild sunburn :), we headed back home to our kitties. :) We had a wonderful time at the campground, and I hope we get a chance to go back a lot this summer.  For now though...I'm getting sleepy! Why is it that you're always a lot more tired after vacationing? ;0)

Stepping Back in Time...

 

The Civil War ball on Saturday was wonderful! Such a neat experience! We were under a tornado watch for all of yesterday, so we thought surely it would be canceled. Thankfully, the ball was moved to an indoor location just in case. :) Here are just a couple of pictures from the evening:

             

                    My family and I before leaving for the ball

                        

                                   Eli and I in our finery :)

                      

Here is a picture of the actually dancing in the gymnasium. There were so many people in that small gym...and boy was it warm in there! All of the girls were dressed very elegantly with their hoop skirts and ball gowns. I really enjoyed being able to see what an actual Civil War ball would look like. :)

         

Some southern belles. :) Here I am with Lauren (in the green), Meredith (in the yellow), Noelle (front), and Noelle's baby sister.

                  

We didn't stay very long at the ball, but I did get to see the Spanish Waltz, the Virginia Reel (pictured), and one other dance. I had such a wonderful evening and enjoyed it so much! I loved the music, the dances, and getting all dressed up of course. :)

To read Meredith's post about the ball, go here.

Drill-Happy

Did I mention that I'm not too fond of the dentist's office? I totally got a numbing shot this morning, which actually wasn't that bad, I just couldn't feel the left side of my mouth for many hours.  I was smiling very crookedly today. :)The dentist was discussing gas prices back and forth with his hygienist while I was being drilled...very interesting. I thought I was never going to get out of that chair! I'm cavity-free though! Just in case y'all were interested. :) This is a really random post!

I can't wait for the dance this weekend!

Thank you!

I am still here. :) Wow, thank you all so much for your kind comments! What a wonderful blessing and encouragement it is to have your thoughtful words and prayers! They are truly appreciated. Thank you again. ;)

Megan, to answer your question about the dress...I bought it about 2 or 3 months ago at a store called Belk's. They had several different color combinations to chose from when I was there. I hope you can find one! It is so very hard to find modest feminine anything nowadays...especially dresses. So sad. :) I remember when long skirts were "in style" a year or two ago but I guess that "fad" has died out for now. Maybe it will come back! I hope you find the kind of dress that you're looking for Megan!

                          

I am so excited about this Saturday! I'm going to my first Civil War ball! I have never been to any kind of historical dance before, so I'm really looking forward to it. :) I'm not going to be dancing at the ball though...just watching. And that's probably best because I would be tripping all over the place. :) It is going to be so much fun to be able to watch all of the ladies twirling around in their hoop skirts. I don't have an actual Civil War gown so I'm just going to be wearing a colonial-style dress that I had made for the Jamestown Quadrecentennial event a while ago. Now, I have no idea how to do my hair!! I'm going to have to try and figure that out before the weekend. :) If anyone has any suggestions for a Civil War-like hairstyle, please don't hesitate! I'm thinking half-up with lots of curls. Hmmm... I will be taking blog pics of course, so I'll share them with y'all definitely!

Arg, I just remembered that I have to go to the dentist tomorrow. :( Why me?? I'm not a big fan of hospitals, doctor's offices, or the dentist office. They all smell the same and have sharp utensils. :) I only have what is starting to "seem" like the beginning of a cavity, so I'm hoping I don't get the drill tomorrow when they fill it. Mommy! :)

Currently Courting :)

       

I have a very special announcement to make! A courtship has commenced between myself and a certain young man, and my father made the official announcement yesterday morning to our church assembly. Eli and I are continuing to seek the Lord's guidance at this time during our courtship and are trusting that His will be done in it all. Please lift us up in prayer as we go through this season of investigation. That this time will be glorifying to the Lord and encouraging to those around us. :)

Honeysuckle Centerpiece

         

I love decorating the house with greenery and flowers from our backyard...especially when there is so much to choose from with Spring arriving! Our kitchen table was looking quite bare this morning, and we have an abundance of honeysuckle in our woods so there we go! God gives us the most beautiful ingredients to decorate our homes with. :) I think you could even throw some weeds in a vase and it would look just as lovely! Enjoy the day!