The Little Family

Scott and Bear

2012-02-07T18:06:00.001-08:00

We got bear while Scott was in China. Nothing like telling your husband you have a new dog while he's half way across the world! We talked on the phone and I sprang the news on him. I believe Scott said "I thought we were looking for a puppy?" After telling him the story of Randy and Bear he just chuckled and said "okay." I knew Scott would love him and I was right. Bear sits on the porch waiting for Scott to come home, going to the barn together while Scott does chores. I can see why they say a dog is man's best friend. We love our Bear.

Bear and Scott

Bear

2012-01-22T10:45:00.001-08:00

Bear is settling in on the farm and getting used to his new family. He's smart, trainable, loves the water and is not afraid of lightning and thunder. We had a huge storm the other night and and he slept through the whole thing. Mostly, Bear's affectionate and lives for anyone to pet him. His favorite thing to do is run in the back field, and oh, how he can run. When you yell "Bear, come," he comes at you running full speed. I usually scream a little as I'm afraid he's going to barrel me over! We've got some training to do like sit, down, stay, fetch...the basics. He's 2 and 1/2 years old so he should catch on pretty quickly. We are so happy Bear is a part of our family. Thanks Randy♥

Here's Bear. I had a hard time taking close up pictures as he wouldn't sit still.

See that back hill? That's where he came running from!

Our Bear.

Beaver Dam on Cloud Creek

2012-01-21T07:35:00.001-08:00

We've got a beaver dam on our creek....how cool is that! This past November we saw signs of beavers, and the possible beginnings of a dam. A month later we got a call from our neighbor, Edda Sue. She said "come over quick and bring your camera!" We all gathered at the creek and what did we see, but a beaver dam and their house. Edda Sue has lived on the creek her whole life and said there's never been a beaver on the creek before, so this is pretty unusual!

Josh, Randy, Ethan, Brittney and Charles checking things out on Thanksgiving Day.

Definite signs of beavers...

This is what we found a month later...their beaver house.

Ethan checking out their new beaver dam.

A duck has moved in, enjoying the dammed up waters...

A New Home For Randy's Newf

2012-01-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

When I got home from my basket weaving class, I had a message to call Randy. "Mom...he says, how would you like a dog?" I laughed of course and asked him what he'd done. Well, to make a long story short, Randy thought it'd be good to have a dog at his apartment during college. He must have looked in the paper or something because he brought home a Newfoundland dog. He didn't have him more than a couple hours before he realized he'd gotten in over over his head. Randy thought our farm would be perfect for him. We've been looking for a dog lately and the boys have mentioned wanting a newf in the past. So we met Randy and Tanner half way and picked up "Bear." He's a beautiful dog and one look into his eyes I was hooked...though he is quite big! We had a good trip home and now he's getting used to us. We may end up changing his name...we'll let you know. We'll take a better picture of him soon. too.

Randy, Tanner and Bear

Basket Weaving Class

2012-01-14T16:58:00.000-08:00

I signed up for a basket weaving class a couple weeks ago and today was the day. I came prepared with my towel, scissors, measuring tape and bought an awl there. When I arrived I knew several of the ladies (small town) and we had a blast for the next four hours making our baskets...yep, it took four hours to make my first basket. I will never look at a basket the same as they require much time and patience to make. Today we made a napkin basket and if I do say so myself, it came out wonderful. I'm very proud of it. I still need to stain it and plan on using our walnut hulls for the stain. A special thanks to our instructor Patsy. I signed up for the next class in March!

Here I am working on the bottom of the basket.

Four hours later...our finished baskets! Here are the ladies in my class. Our instructor is next to me on my left.

Campus Outreach National Conference

2011-12-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

This week Randy is attending the Campus Outreach National Convention in Chattanooga. While at college, Randy's been involved with Campus Outreach, a christian college ministry at TTU. College students from around the surrounding area will gather together at the conference listening to speakers and music, strengthening their personal relationship with the Lord. We are so proud of you Randy.

Randy, leaving for the Campus Outreach Convention.

Jette and Amy's Wedding

2011-12-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight we attended a very special occasion, the wedding of Jette and Amy. Randy and Jette were childhood friends, growing up together in the same schools and church. Before the wedding the bride and groom had a slide show of their growing up years...where has time gone? It was a beautiful wedding and the best part was seeing many of our friends that we hadn't seen in a long time! The reception was held at the Capital Theater in the historic part of town which was pretty cool. It was a wonderful evening, celebrating their marriage with dear friends and family. Congratulations Jette and Amy.

Scott, Becky, Randy, Ethan and Charles

Jette and Amy with all of us.

Our dear friend Bruce with our men. Bruce was their youth pastor at RUMC.

Parents of the groom...our dear friends, Sherry and Tom.

Merry Christmas From Tennessee

2011-12-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve with Steve and Nana and had the most wonderful evening visiting and just being with family. Our dinner was awesome...thanks mom. While we were there Steve took our family picture (see below). This morning we all went to church, spending time hugging members of our church family and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

It was extra special worshiping the Lord on this Christmas day. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15). We hope this finds you celebrating the birth of our Lord near your loved ones too. Merry Christmas everyone.

Scott, Becky, Ethan, Randy and Charles

This picture was Steve's creativeness.

Our nativity. I made this back in my college days and bring it out every year. It represents what Christmas is all about...the birth of our Savior.

Holiday Baking

2011-12-24T07:55:00.001-08:00

My holiday baking is in full swing. This morning my men were all nestled asleep while I was up early baking cookies, listening to Kathy Mattea's Christmas CD. I enjoyed my time, thinking of all my men under one roof and how pleased they'll be to wake up to more cookies! There's no such thing as a single recipe of cookies in our home... In the last couple of days I've made a double batch of spritz cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, peanut blossom cookies, and this morning sugar cookies and ginger snaps. I've also made a nut log, New York style cheese cake and as I'm blogging there are two pumpkin pies in the oven. Last night all the men came in and we snacked on home made goodies while watching the DVD "The Christmas Card." A mother's heart know that times like these are cherished ones. I went to bed, listening to all the men talking in the family room into the late hours :)

Bethlehem Night

2011-12-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

Last night was Bethlehem Night for our Awana kids. Months of preparation went into the special night and I praise the Lord... as it was awesome. We had the most wonderful members of our church acting out the nativity from Luke 2. We presented the drama four times during the night for over 150 children and leaders. And the best part was the Holy Spirit was moving incredibly and we had 4 children accept the Lord as their Savior! I took one picture after the night was over so you could see everyone and the costumes...yes, I sewed most of them :) A big thank you to our church family and to all those who serve faithfully in Awana.

Bethlehem Night in Awana

The Timothy Award

2011-12-11T18:57:00.001-08:00

Today in church I was recognized for something I've been working on for the past 3 years in Awana...I received the Timothy Award. The Timothy Award is given for those 3rd through 6th grade T&T (Truth and Training) clubbers who complete their four handbooks. I've been blessed to be the Awana commander at our church and I decided to do the program along with the kids. We work through each handbook, memorizing scriptures and completing other requirements like bible study, christian activities, service and mission outreach. I completed the program in three years, plus completed the Silver/Gold sections which are an optional requirement. Let me tell you, it was not an easy task. Over the three years I've memorized and passed off 374 new verses and recited a total of 898 verses, which includes all the review verses you have to say over and over. I am most proud of our Awana kids who come week after week, working in their handbooks and passing off their verses. We have the most awesome Awana kids!

Becky and Pastor Steve

Herculiner

2011-11-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

Ethan and Scott took advantage of the nice weather this weekend and lined Ethan's truck bed with Herculiner. It's a rubberized coating to protect the bed of the truck. They got the first coat done; the second coat will have to wait for another day. It was a good father-son project and it turned out way cool.

Scott and Ethan painting

They stopped for a picture.

The finished look.

Longs Bend Clean Up

2011-11-25T13:30:00.001-08:00

No black Friday for us...we spent our day at Longs Bend cleaning up our friend's property, along with Randy's buddies, Josh and Preston. Randy had arranged for two dumpsters to be delivered to their property that morning. All the men were there early and one dumpster was already filled time Scott and I arrived. You couldn't ask for more beautiful weather to work in. Many hands make light work! They still have more to do, but made great headway on clearing the place up today.

Ethan and Preston taking down one of the trailers

All the men working.

The first filled dumpster on the other side of the trees.

Ethan, Randy, Preston, Josh and Charles.

Working hard.

At the end of the day...look how much cleaner!

A picture for Mike and Pam :)

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving...we are thinking of our families across the miles and wish we could all be together! We had a wonderful day filled with good food, warm weather, family and friends. Scott and I got up early, made the dressing and stuffed the turkey the same way I remember my mom used to do growing up. Randy is home from college and was out before sunrise hunting with Josh. We spent our special day with Nana and Steve, Brittney, and dear friends Susan and Frank. Sitting around the table all together again was a special blessing indeed..the Lord is so good! With all of our hearts full, we each went around the table expressing something we were thankful for. Kenny stopped by which made our day even more complete. We wish each of you a blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Praise God from whom all blessings flow...♫

Scott, Becky, Charles, Randy and Ethan

Nana and Steve

Group picture

Charles and Brittney

Nana and Randy

Scott carving the turkey

Brittney, Frank and Charles

All of us at the dinner table :)

Pressure Washing the Porch

2011-11-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

Today Charles and I pressure washed the back porch; didn't realize how dirty it was until we started spraying. Due to the humidity in the east, things tend to get mold and algae on them...yuk. Plus our chickens have been roaming the yard and pooping on our porch (that's a polite word) leaving stains. Trust me, our porch needed a good pressure washing! Scott and Ethan worked in the garage and in the evening we had a huge bonfire as our burn pile was getting high. Work never seems to end on a farm. I told Scott I wish we had a month to stay home and get things done...maybe one day. The chickens are back in their house with the door shut :)

I wasn't going to take pictures as I knew what I looked like. Charles got the camera out anyway!

Charles' creativeness. See the difference after we pressure washed?

Charles pressure washing the walkway.

A Fall Day on the Farm

2011-10-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

We spent part of our day outside puttering around the farm. Last week Ethan and I raked up pine needles at our city park. Today I put them around our blueberries tucking them in for winter. Scott fed the elk corn stalks from our garden. When they see him head to the garden, they come quickly to the fence, knowing it's feeding time. I look out and the hills are turning a burnt orange color....how I love fall. Happy fall to you and your family:) Miss you Randy and think of you all the time!

Scott feeding Samson

Baby Rachel

Rachel and Sarah

Our roosters....they bring on the morning with their crowing. When I'm outside, they follow me around the yard like I'm their mother:)

The blueberries all tucked in for winter.

My Quilt of Many Colors

2011-10-22T15:46:00.001-07:00

I finished my summer project several weeks ago; a quilt for our bed....colorful isn't it! I used fabric on hand so it didn't cost me anything to actually make it. My dear friend, Lisa, machine quilted it with lots of squiggly lines, making the quilt machine washable and durable. The quilt is on our bed now and the first thing you notice when you enter our room....oh yeah, it's colorful!

Myers Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

Enter if you dare, scream if you must. Your night of fright begins at dusk.... Tonight Charles, Brittney, Shawn (Brittney's brother) and I braved our way through the haunted corn field at Myer's Pumpkin Patch. We went through five acres of cornstalks 10 foot high with zombies, goblins, evil scarecrows and clowns spooking us and of course lots of chain saws. The creepy part was entering the barns, sheds and graveyard. Shawn's arm is probably bruised as I held on tight the whole way. Great first impression as this was my first time meeting him. After the haunted corn field we headed to the corn maze. It was getting late and we were the last group taken out to the field; we had to be out by 11:00. Didn't know they could grow corn so tall. We had three options..easy, medium or hard.. We chose the medium first. We turned all our flashlights off and went by the light from the stars which were brilliant overhead. We made it through in about 20 minutes. Surely the hard one would not be so difficult. Part way through, the guys pretended to leave me. I kept on walking and thought I'd just get out before them. We were separated in a second. It was kind of creepy being in a corn maze in the middle of nowhere all by yourself....I kept on walking. After about 20 minutes I heard them calling. I heard Charles say "Stay where you are!" Was I happy to hear his voice! They all cut through the corn maze in order to reach me, right through a bur patch. You should have seen Brittney's hair. It looked like a horse's tail filled with burs. After spending time removing the burs we all stayed together. Charles started marking the paths we tried with an X using cornstalks. We finally made it to the exit, with 36 minutes to spare. We were in that corn maze for 1 and 1/2 hours...it was a challenge to find your way out of 24 acres of corn, especially with your flashlights off. We'll all remember this night for sure.

This picture was taken right before we entered the haunted corn field (Shawn, Charles, Brittney and Becky).

My Cup is Full

2011-10-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well, Becky and Ethan are heading back to Tennessee. I have learned through years of visits to not plan too much for a couple days after she leaves as I re-adjust again to life without her here. We took her to the airport in my pjs, then came home sad and slept. It felt good to embrace the feeling of missing her [Scott, Charles, Randy & Ethan too]. Would I considered my cup half full or half empty? In my relationship with Becky, it's full... and that helps me on the days when my cup feels half empty in other areas of my life
-Brenda

Final Day

2011-10-16T15:02:00.001-07:00

Memories of our last day:
Visiting Katie's home and helping to hang pictures. Conrad likes to sit near Becky and hold her hand. Conrad read us The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear. Walking to Ashlee's. Thank you Ethan for mowing the lawn. Doing plenty of grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning for the OHS Sadie's Hawkins dinner Friday night... Abby & her group of 14 kids. The guys taking turns 'hunting' on Becky's ipad, Conrad smashing ants and putting together puzzles on Becky's ipad.
-Brenda

Uintahs

2011-10-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

We headed up to the Uintah's today. Is there anything better than outside fresh air? Especially for the ones that made the long drive with Phoebe in the car. We first stopped at the Upper Provo River Falls then headed up to hike into Clegg Lake. With the storm we had last week, I don't know how I could have been been surprised with the 5+ inches of snow at the trailhead... down to 45 degrees too. With the little kids, we passed on that and headed to Mirror Lake to explore and walk around. Days are counting down 'til Becky & Ethan go home, so we all took our picture with her, as we do each trip.

Have you ever had one of those places that you drive by for years and can't figure out? Well the Beaver Creek Nudist Ranch in Kamas is just one of those places for me. I think we have driven passed it for 35+ years and it makes me smile. We stopped by the sign for pictures and believe we will be better prepared next time we pass by in warmer weather [I think they have a gift shop]. Imagine that. We know we are far from being their ideal poster girls, but it is tempting :)
-Brenda

Anita & McKell Visit

2011-10-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Anita & McKell came down to see Becky and we had such a nice long visit. We counted them up... we have known Anita now for 40 years. Lunch at J-Dawgs in Provo. Ultimate Frisbee at Cascade Park. Pizza & hanging out together, a real good day.
-Brenda

McKell, Becky & Anita

Lazer Tag

2011-10-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Walking Conrad to preschool. Going shooting. Lazer Tag teams boys vs girls... yes they were victorious against our girl power, but it sure was fun. Yummy White Chicken Chili at Lindsey & Tyler's. Celebrity clencher: Rod Stewart and Russell Crowe.

-Brenda

Becky & Ethan Time

2011-10-16T14:53:00.001-07:00

Memories of the day: Going for a walk [Becky] / bike ride [me to keep up with her] and talking to Greg Davis. Playing Speed Scrabble with Ethan. Working at Pebbles while Becky had lunch with my Mom and sister Bonnie. Making breakfast for dinner. When Becky comes, the kids gather. Conrad has eyes only for his Becky, Becky, Becky. Playing Mafia. Thinking about life and trying to accept some things the way they are, better on some days than others. Counting my blessings.
-Brenda

Fall Leaves

2011-10-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how quickly we have said goodbye to summer and hello to fall. I love the cool fall weather and hope it stays for a long while before winter hits us. Today we went to church (we hold our breath because fast & testimony meeting can be a surprise with visitors), made panini sandwiches for lunch, had a nap and went for a drive to see the fall leaves, but the colors were not too spectacular and with all the cars driving through the alpine loop, it was impossible to pull over and take a good picture. We missed the best of the fall colors in the mountains this year. Larry showed great patience as I was a horrible co-pilot mumbling under my breath every time we passed a good place to take pictures... of course there was no place to pull over. We came home to a roast dinner with Becky's homemade biscuits and Ashlee's fresh peach jam.
-Brenda

Ashlee & Paul's porch

Home Sweet Home

2011-10-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the day at home together... chopping buckets of peppers for winter meals, spreading compost & dividing up flowers, baking a chocolate buttermilk cake and cream cheese / pumpkin muffins and making chili for dinner, rummikub (yes, Becky won which brings her a great deal of satisfaction) and Lucky Unders. I am grateful that we find our happiness in just being together... my favorite place to be. My nephew Ethan is a remarkable young man and we love having him with us. He has two brothers, so spending time with our five girls can always be eye opening for him. While Becky is here, the world feels like it has stopped for awhile.
-Brenda

Becky & Ethan are here NOW!

2011-10-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Ethan and I got home from Utah safely. We had an awesome trip! The days went by way too fast...I can't describe how good it was to see and hug my dear sister and family/friends. Brenda took lots of pictures and blogged our time together so I've copied all the blogs for you. I love you all so much and thank the Lord for the best visit. If I could only make the distance that separates us disappear! Here are the posts...

I have had October 10th circled for months... counting down in my head throughout the days, waiting for my sister Becky & Ethan to come. I went to Pebbles this morning with '2 more days' in my head, knowing I had the weekend to raise my homemaking bar at home. So, I was quite surprised when I got a phone call from Becky about 1pm.
It went like this:

Becky: Hi! I just wanted you to know we made it to Memphis and our plane is on time
Me: Huh? What are you doing in Memphis?
Becky: Why, Ethan & I are coming to see you
Me: But, aren't you coming on Monday?
Becky: You're kidding right?
Me: Of course (uneasy laugh)
Becky: You are such a tease. See you in a few hours!

Thrill & panic set in, followed by complete joy. Katie, Ashlee, Kelsie & Josh, Lindsey and Abby were all called with the happy & surprising news and I could see they thought I had lost my mind. I felt like I did. I still do. How could I have gotten the dates so wrong? Katie kept telling me to breath. Everyone quickly pitched in with grocery shopping, making beds, laundry, cleaning bathrooms & kitchen, sweeping floors and even picking up product for Pebbles. Everything that was out of place was thrown back into our bedroom (again) and we headed up to the airport to pick up Becky & Ethan. When we got home, we all had homemade chicken pot pie that Katie & Kelsie made. A crazy, happy day and I am still pinching myself that they are here.
-Brenda

Clinch Valley 12 Mile Yard Sale

2011-10-01T10:26:00.001-07:00

Today, my friend Susan and I ventured out to the annual 12 mile Clinch Valley yard sale across the mountain not far from Rogersville. We were there before 8:00 am with all the other yard shoppers. For 12 miles on Clinch Valley Road all the houses have their sale items out...in their yards, barns, cars...you get the picture. We stopped at the ones that looked interesting and checked out some baked goods at a local church house. I even ran into several people I new...imagine that! It was our first cold day in Northeast TN, with the wind blowing some and clear, crisp air making that sky so blue. The trees are just beginning to turn here. We plan on going again next year. We each found a special "find" so our day was successful.

Here I am with my dear friend Susan and her girls.

A typical yard sale.

Here I am with my special find..three shepherd crooks for our church "Bethlehem Night" this Christmas.

She's a Girl...Rachel

2011-09-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Our baby elk is growing...we named her Rachel. She's gradually getting to know us but is still skittish. Hopefully one day she'll eat out of our hand like Sarah and Sam. You can bet wherever mom is, she is. She still has her spots, but will soon be losing those. I thought you'd like to see some pictures of how she's growing.

Sarah, Rachel and Samson

Little Rachel

I love her eyes.

My Corn Surprise

2011-09-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

While I was at my Beth Moore woman's conference at our church today, little did I know the men were busy at home putting up our corn. Talk about surprised when I came home! I'm speechless and still can't believe what they did for me. To think Scott, Charles and Ethan picked all the corn, shucked it, scalded it and removed it from the cob. They did it all outside so there was no mess in the kitchen. And on top of that, Scott documented the whole thing! OMG! I gladly put the corn in freezer bags; we ended up with 13 full quart bags for this winter. Do I have awesome men or what?!

Here is what I found when I opened the fridge...a roasting pan full of corn.

Here are the pictures Scott took. The men's set up under our tree. I'm impressed.

Making preparations for the corn removal. I'm tickled Scott had everything layed out "just so" for the picture. He put some thought into the pictures he took.

Ethan scalding the corn.

Ethan removing the corn from the cobs.

Beth Moore Live Simulcast

2011-09-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Our church hosted the Living Proof Live Simulcast today with Beth Moore. It was televised in Lubbock, Texas and seen by over 180,000 people in the US and in 11 countries... and it was as awesome as ever. Women gathered together from local churches learning and discovering God's Word through the words of Luke and praising and worshiping our Lord. Thank you to all the women that organized this conference, praying over it for months and to the men who served our lunch. Here are the main points of our conference today:

We were created for good company
An individual calling can only be fulfilled in a "we" context
God never overlooks a single "me" in the bigger "we"
Jesus became a friend of sinners so we could become a friend of God
We can revel in the certainty of the things that we've been taught
Jesus has passed us the salt also
We can also be many convincing proofs that Jesus is alive

Another Win For Big Red Valley

2011-09-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the Hawkins County Superbowl....the biggest football game of the season. The Cherokee Chiefs claimed the victory with a final score of Cherokee Chiefs 49 and the Volunteer Falcons 18. The stadium was packed like usual which gave Scott and I some good socializing time. There wasn't a dull moment between watching the cheerleaders and all the touchdowns. The whole game reminded us of when Randy played football. This is Ethan's last year at Cherokee High so the night was filled with memories. Way to go Chiefs!

Cherokee Vs Volunteer

Scott and Becky at the football game. A picture for the blog.

Everytime Cherokee got a touchdown a flash of fire would come out with fireworks.

At the end of the game all the kids rushed out onto the field.

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Junk

2011-09-05T14:43:00.001-07:00

Our NY friends, Mike and Pam, recently bought land nearby. Randy's helping them clear the land and remove all the junk and old trailers that were on the property. He's been working diligently this last little while tearing down the trailers. Randy came home from college this weekend to clear the property and today was the only day available to remove everything, even during our tropical storm "Lee." It's been raining all day and it's a muddy mess. Little did I know all the junk would come to our farm! We're happy to be helping out our dear friends and I'm thankful the final resting place for this junk will be the crusher!

Ethan and Randy going through the old trailer.

Brittney's First Time Fishing

2011-09-04T12:05:00.001-07:00

Brittney, Charles' girlfriend, was raised in the city so country life's a bit new to her. She hasn't experienced many things we take for granted that all know about. Charles took her fishing for the first time several weeks ago in our nearby creek. I'm guessing he baited her hook! Anyway, he said he knew she got one when he heard screaming :) They were just small creek fish, but fish never the less and she was excited. Charles and Brittney brought them home for Katie Coon's supper.

Brittney next to her first catch.

Scott helping Katie Coon with her special treats...live fish

You should have seen Katie coon trying to catch the fish, balancing on the rim of the tub, using her little paws to catch them. We've had our Katie Coon 14 years now.

Randy's Chopper

2011-09-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

Randy finally finished his chopper; he's been working on it all summer. He bought the frame and took the parts from his old Buell motorcycle and came up with this chopper. He designed it out, buying a new seat, gas tank and miscellaneous parts. He's pleased with how it turned out. What a cool bike... and to think he built it himself. It rides pretty nice too.

Clinch Boat Race

2011-09-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Annual Clinch River Eagle Run Boat Race, Kyles Ford, TN was held today on the Clinch River. Josh and Randy entered the two-person canoe race. It's a 9 mile boat race with the winners receiving $50.00 each. Josh and Randy brought home the big win. Three canoes entered; Josh and Randy finished the race with a 10 minute lead over the others. They had a great time and have plans of asking their friends to participate next year. Thanks Dakota for taking these pictures. Congratulations guys!

Randy and Josh near the beginning of the race.

More paddling pictures.

Here they are heading toward the finish line.

Randy said the race took about 2 hours...that's a lot of paddling.

Our winners..all smiles.

Randy and Josh.

Diesel Truck Pull

2011-08-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

The men headed off to Terre Haute, Indiana for the Scheid Diesel Truck Pull this past weekend. This is their third year going. All I can say is they love diesel trucks...and I love the man that drives our diesel truck! On the way to Indiana, Scott dropped Randy off at school. He's a senior this year. One more year to go and then out into the world. I don't even want to think about it yet! They all had a great time and arrived safely home. We love you Randy and miss you already.

Scott took this picture of Randy on the interstate.

Here is Ethan standing next to a car with what else...a diesel engine in it!

A picture of the truck pull.

I love this picture. It means Scott had the waiter take their picture for my blog!

A Visit With Nana

2011-08-21T12:45:00.001-07:00

Nana came for a visit today to see Randy before he leaves for college...and to meet Brittney! We all went to church and then Nana treated us to lunch at Juanita's. We had a wonderful visit. She is still here watching and learning as I post this blog from my iPad. We are both fascinated with technology and feel inept. We all send our love.

Here we are at Juanta's.

Banana Peppers

2011-08-19T16:59:00.001-07:00

This year we bought tomatoes and green peppers for our garden from our local community college to support their green house. I sent Charles to school with a list of what I'd like. He came back with lots of tomato plants and peppers. Wonderful! I planted all the plants in our garden and watched them grow. I thought it was odd they were growing yellow...the girl in the green house had sold us banana peppers instead of green peppers.
I had banana peppers growing out of my ears! I didn't want them to go to waste so I looked on the Internet and found a five star recipe for sweet hot peppers. They had to set for two weeks before eating them. I tried them tonight and they are delicious! I think I'll grow banana peppers again next year.

Gator Land

2011-08-07T04:20:00.000-07:00

Scott flew to Orlando, Florida for TRW this past week. While there he had the opportunity to go to Gator Land. The pictures speak for themselves. He's braver than me as there's no way I would have held a snake! Love you my snake handling husband!

Scott holding an alligator...

Scott said this alligator was 13 foot.

Baby alligators on their sunning deck.

My snake handling husband holding a Burmese Python.

Scott with a tarantula. Can you tell that's his hand? For those of you not aware, Scott lost his finger back in 1987.

Finally A Senior

2011-08-05T18:53:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of school, which is hard to believe since it's only the first week of August. Our school system is starting earlier each year. Ethan is a senior and it's a big year for us too...this is our last year we'll have a child in school! We hope you have wonderful senior year Ethan.

Quick Road Trip to New York

2011-07-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Scott, Charles and Ethan left for New York tonight...a quick road trip up and back to pick up some things from Grandpa's house. Scott and the boys helped load the trailer with wood boxes and tie them down. They grabbed some snack foods, a jug of water and their pillows and were off. I'm glad Charles was able to go as he missed our last trip. I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa and his cousins are hugging him right now.

Scott, Randy, Ethan and Charles

Loading the wood boxes on the trailer.

Making sure everything is secure.

Championship Swim Meet

2011-07-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today was the East TN Summer Swim League championship swim meet. 10 teams from the surrounding area competed and it's an all day competition. Ethan came in 7th for the Open IM, 3rd place for the Open Backstroke and 3rd for the Open Butterfly. He did great! The Rogersville Flying Fish came in 3rd place overall and we are so pleased as several of the other teams are year-round swimmers (the RFF only swim for two months each summer). I thought about it ...this is our 15th championship swim meet. Charles and Randy joined the swim team back in 1996 and Ethan when he was in kindergarten. The boys grew up swimming each summer on the RFF; they all love the water and know how to swim with confidence. I hope they'll look back one day with wonderful memories plus they'll have a skill they can use throughout their lives. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this year possible. See you next year!

Ethan during the IM

Ethan just completed his relay.

Some of the RFF team members displaying their 3rd place trophy.

Mud Volleyball at the Littles

2011-07-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Our church's youth group came over to our farm this evening for some mud volleyball. Jason (our youth pastor) and Ethan tilled up the field by our house. We had our local Lakeview Fire Department come and they sprayed 1800 gallons of water into our field making a perfect mud bog for the kids. Many of our neighbors stopped to see what was going on. I was pretty excited myself watching that fire truck spray water, especially since it was 90 degrees and humidity so thick you could cut it with a knife! I would have loved to get under that water.... as it was, I took pictures and stayed clear of all that mud. The youth had a fantastic time and by the end of the evening they forgot all about volleyball and just played in the mud. Afterwards, they walked to our nearby creek and played in the water hole. It was a night they are sure to remember.

Lakeview Fire Department preparing the water hose.

Ethan, Sam and Jason having fun spraying the field.

The fire truck spraying the field.

Here is a view of our farm and the mud bog.

The youth playing volleyball.

They are still semi-clean!

Here they are at the end of the evening...forget about volleyball!

A group picture.

Friends from New York

2011-07-16T16:20:00.001-07:00

Our dear friends from New York came down to Tennessee to look for land...thinking of moving here one day. They spent the week driving lots of miles and we showed them the sites of Rogersville. Of course we made it to the music junction on Thursday night; they really enjoyed that. For their last night we all went out to Amis Mill for dinner. We count ourselves blessed to call them friends.

Randy, Becky, Mike, Pam, Evelyn (Pam's mom) and Scott.

World Changers Trip 2011

2011-07-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

We got back from NY just in time for Ethan's mission trip. The youth from our church left this morning for their World Changers Mission trip to Neptune, NJ. They were all so excited and will be God's hands, touching many lives. We are so proud of them and being willing to serve.

New York Trip

2011-07-08T15:38:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful time in New York visiting Scott's folks. We went up for Grandpa Tim's memorial service and stayed the week visiting with mom and dad Little and family. It sure was good to see them and other relatives we hadn't seen in quite a while. We also spent time with our dear friends Brian & Diane and their family. Our week was packed with activities and of course lots of eating. We drove the 13 hour trip, only stopping twice each way. We missed you Bud!

Our first day the boys chopped wood for Grandpa. Then we all weeded his garden together. We love the rich New York soil, so different from the red clay of TN.

Grandpa and Jim, a crow that hangs around their house. Jim knows Grandpa's voice and comes when he's called. Every morning I woke around 5:00 am to their rooster crowing and Jim cawing. Scott wore ear plugs to bed!

On Friday, July 1 we had Grandpa Tim's memorial service at the cemetery. Afterwards, family and friends were invited to the Littles for a luncheon. Uncle Perry made some of his great barbecue. We spent the afternoon visiting with family and friends and remembering old times. Above Randy, Michelyn, John Ross, Darshan and Ethan.

Uncle Randy, Scott, Aunt Jane, mom Little and members of Tim's side of the family.

Scott, Uncle Dave, Aunt Jane and Becky

For entertainment Randy and Ethan tried to catch Grandpa's chicken. They were something to watch running around the yard with that chicken squawking. Ethan finally got down to business, taking off his shoes. He caught the chicken!

July 3: Happy 22 Randy! We spent the evening with our good friends Brian, Diane and family. Boy, can Diane cook...we had the best meal ever. Plus we got to visit with all the Hunt family. Above is Ethan, Krissy and Randy. We made plans to go on the alpine slide at Jiminy Peak in a couple days.

July 4 at Lake George. Darshan and Perry invited us out to her father's condo on the lake with it's own private beach. Wow! We spent the day on the lake sun tanning and riding Scott's wet bike...at least until the LG police put a stop to it! Afterwards we went back to the condo and had steamed clams on the grill. The men were in heaven. After dinner we drove over to Bolton Landing and watched the fireworks on the lake. What a site seeing all those boats in the water with the fireworks going off. It's something I'll never forget. We topped the night off with Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Thank you Claude for your gracious hospitality. Above, Scott on our Wet Bike. He rode a wet bike for the first time 26 years ago on this very lake during our honeymoon!

Our day at the lake ended with excitement. Uncle Randy was learning how to ride the wet bike when he got pulled over by the LG police for being out of control. They eventually were asked to get out of the water and into the lake patrol's boat. When the policeman flipped open his tablet we knew it wasn't a good sign. Yep, he gave Uncle Randy a ticket. No more driving the wet bike for the rest of the day.

Here is Scott, Uncle Perry, Uncle Randy, Randy and Ethan carrying the wet bike out of the water.

July 5 we went to Jiminy Peak with the Hunts on the alpine slide and coaster. We had a ball! We would secretly stop around the curve at the top, lining up to race one another and making sure the track was clear. I was in the back, but I kept up pretty well only wiping out once. Diane and Krissy's adventurous spirit came out too! 'We spent 3 and 1/2 hours going up and down the alpine slide. Did I ention how competivitve the men were? By the end of the evening, most everyone had wiped out, showing each other the burns on their elbows. What a thrill. Above is Brian, Scott, Randy and Ethan. Afterwards we stopped at Kays Pizza and picked up the best New York Pizza I 'd ever had in my life. When it was dark we all went back to the Littles and lit the fireworks we had brought from Tennessee. We made some noise!

Here we all are at Jiminy Peak's alpine slide: Diane, Brian, Krissy, Jeremy, Randy Ethan, Becky and Scott.

July 7 Time to go home. Here are the men with mom and dad Little just before leaving. We had the best trip. We sure love you more than words can say. And a big thank you to Uncle Randy for all the kettle corn!

Rogersville Flying Fish Swim Team

2011-06-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

This is Ethan's twelfth year on the Rogersville Flying Fish swim team. He loves swimming and knows all the strokes well. Our meets are on Tuesday evenings and the parents spend their time working the meets and visiting. We all look forward to summer and supporting our local swim club.

Ethan let me take this picture before he got out of the pool.

This picture of Ethan was in our local newspaper..pretty good dive.

Ethan coming out of his turn during the breast stroke.

Pig Number Two

2011-06-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

The guys went pig hunting this evening; this time our neighbors brought their bear dogs with them. The first hour and a half they didn't see anything. Just before dark the dogs picked up the scent at a nearby pond. Scott and Tanner went around the other side of the pond to head 'em off and sure enough the dogs chased the pig right across the pond. When the pig came up on the shore Tanner was there and ready. He shot the pig and the dogs did the rest. Tanner is having quite the memorable weekend with us! And we have more fresh pork for sausage.

This one's a little smaller than the last, but just as exciting to hunt.

Tanner with his first pig.

Leslie, Ethan, Scott, Tanner and Randy

Ethan, Randy and Tanner skinning the pig.

Ethan, Randy, Leslie and Tanner

Happy Birthday Ethan

2011-06-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today Ethan turned 18. Hard for us to believe. Randy's college buddy, Tanner, is visiting for the weekend. They all spent the day rafting down the little Pigeon River where Charles is a river guide. The men came back with stories of rapids and almost being thrown out of the raft. Randy got hit in the head with an oar. I had dinner waiting for them of home made chicken fingers and home churned ice-cream...they were hungry! Happy Birthday Ethan!
Leslie, Ethan, Randy and Tanner

Sunday School Party

2011-06-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

We attend the Encourager Sunday School class at our church. This evening we had everyone over for a picnic. Our teacher had called the previous day asking what the back up plan was in case it rained. I said I had none :) Well, it rained (poured) all day, but God is gracious and an hour before everyone started arriving the sun came out. It was a beautiful evening, cooler, with white clouds and blue sky. What a wonderful time of fellowship. Below are some pictures of our evening. Our Sunday School class.

Making Sausage

2011-06-13T19:14:00.001-07:00

And the rest of the story...Tonight Josh, Randy and Ethan are making sausage out of that wild hog. I still have the meat grinder our mom used to make bologna spread with. Glad I still have it. Josh bought a sausage spice packet at the store. I'll let you know how it turns out. I hear them out on the porch laughing...these guys are having a ball.

Josh, Randy and Ethan grinding up the wild hog.

Hay Cutting Time

2011-06-13T07:10:00.001-07:00

It's hay cutting time in Tennessee. I love driving by and seeing the rolls of hay in the fields. Randy is cutting ours today. The hay will lay in the field for a couple days until dry, then it will be baled. For Randy, there's not better place to be than on a tractor.

Randy on Steve's tractor with Duke in the background.

Our hay field.

Wild Hog

2011-06-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

Josh and Randy heard there were some wild hogs in the mountains up our creek. They left to check it out, bringing a shot gun with them...just in case. All I know is Scott got a phone call from Randy asking to hang a pig in the barn! They showed up all excited with the wild hog in the back of the truck. Josh said he shot at the pig, then it started charging him so he shot it again. I imagine it was some work dragging it out of those mountains and into their truck as it was a big one. When they got to our house, Scott and Ethan helped them drag it into the barn for hanging. Steve, Edda Sue, Josh and Jessica came over check the hog out too. Life is always exciting with Josh and Randy!

The wild hog..they are mean! Hog season is open year around. The TN Wildlife Agency actually wants you to kill these wild hogs to help control their population.

Scott, Ethan, Josh and Randy hanging the pig in the barn.

Josh and Randy with their wild hog.

Josh and Randy.

Randy, Josh and Ethan skinning the wild hog.

A Baby Elk Is Born

2011-06-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's difficult to tell if an elk is pregnant, as we've been wrong before. Everyday we'd look at Sarah and thought she looked pregnant. About a month ago she started pacing the fence, one of the things Dee did when she was expecting. Usually Sarah and Sam are always together. Tonight he was by himself in the upper field again so I had Ethan get some binoculars to scout the area. He came back smiling and said he saw something with spots. I quickly got my camera. I had to put the camera on telephoto all the way, but you can see our little baby.

Boys State

2011-05-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ethan spent this last week at American Legion Boys State held at Tennessee Tech University. 575 young men from high schools throughout Tennessee gathered for a week of leadership and civics. The men were divided into cities, learning how our government operates and the responsibilities of being a citizen. Scott and I attended the Inauguration Ceremony. When I first saw Ethan I was amazed at how much he'd grown. I think all the parents must have felt this way...in with boys and out with men! We'd like to thank the American Legion and the many volunteers that made this week possible. Ethan enjoyed the week and we know will use this experience to be a leader among men.

The first part of the closing ceremony was held in the football stadium. Each city of men marched onto the field. Ethan was in Maddux City. He said his favorite day was Thursday as that was the day his city became unified.

Here is Maddux City. Ethan is in the fourth row back. They are being inspected as they march past.

Ethan is in the middle. After the parade of cities we all went to the Hooper Eblen Center for the band concert and the 2011 Inauguration.

Here we are at the end of the day. We are so proud of Ethan!

Turtle On The Creek

2011-05-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was next door visiting with Doris and Danny when Edda Sue came running across the lawn all excited...there'd been a turtle sighting in front of their house. We all went outside and found this turtle at the edge of the road by their driveway. I ran to get my camera and Scott. It was getting dark quick but I got in a picture without using a flash. What a huge snapper. We all gathered and several neighbors stopped; we were like kids checking out the turtle, trying to make it snap and guessing it's age. A couple screams came from me. The last picture is Scott picking up the turtle; he said it weighed about 20 lbs. He finally flung it back into the field....maybe we'll see it again one day. The best part of the night was gathering with the neighbors and visiting.

Happy Fifty!

2011-05-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well...I turned fifty today, hard to believe. I wonder where the years are going, but guess everyone feels this way. I mostly thank the Lord for how richly He's blessed my life....with blessings overflowing. It wasn't so bad turning fifty after all. Miss you my dear sister and girls. These pictures are for you♥

I came to work this morning and found my office decorated in black (what else) "Over The Hill" Here I am trying out my blow-up walker! I also got pills for my hot flashes!

Here are my dearest co-workers, Rena and Amy, assisting the "old lady!"

Several of our dear school nurses I work with sent me flowers. I was touched! When I got to my school, the clinic was decorated and a cake was waiting for me by Doris and Glenda. Our principal must have announced my birthday over the intercom as the children wished me happy birthday throughout the day :) with homemade cards and candy.

When I came home I found Over The Hill signs in my yard! Thanks Edda Sue...They look awefully familiar!

Scott surprised me with flowers and a beautiful card. He took me out to dinner at the Bone Fish Grill in Knoxville....my new favorite restaurant. I had the best day.

Chicken Butchering Day

2011-05-22T14:04:00.001-07:00

If I'm blogging, that's a good thing as it means we are finished! We put 93 chickens in the freezer today, keeping three as pets. Ethan left for Boys State this morning so it was Charles and Randy and us. It was one of the smoothest butchering days I remember. The only mishap was Charles cut his hand, but thankfully nothing that needed stitches. He wore a dish glove all day. The plucking took around 2 hours and then we all rested while the chickens got nice and cold. After a couple hours we started butchering and with everyone working together we were done in 2 1/2 hours. Not bad. It was a good family time spent together♥ Below are pictures to remember our day.

Our chicken house this morning..the chickens waiting quietly.

The first chickens in the cone and Scott scalding the first chicken.

Randy killing the first chickens.

The plucking begins...

I'm the scalder. Believe me, I didn't look like this at the end of the day!

Charles and Randy have been working for a while. Their job was to keep the cones full.

Charles took this picture. It shows the whole operation.

After the plucking stage the chickens were put in the large chest freezer (back ground) in ice water. After a couple hours they were nice and cold and ready for the butchering. Here are the men butchering their first chickens.

Randy, holding up a bird. He kept us entertained the whole day.

At the end of butchering. Almost done. My job was to bag them and cart them to the freezer.

Birthday Men

2011-05-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Scott and Charles. We had a good day with special gifts, steak, potatoes, broccoli and homemade ice-cream for dessert. Randy had his friends over and we spent time around the table telling stories and laughing. Brittney got a taste of my world with lots of men! Needless to say, the homemade ice cream was gone in a jiff. After dinner Ethan, Randy and his friends left out back with their camo gear on...the makings of another story around the table.

Charles 24 and Scott 51

Randy, Preston, Grant, Josh and Ethan

Mother's Day Gift

2011-05-08T13:01:00.001-07:00

For my mother's day gift I asked the men to plant my ivy. There were 7 flats of Algerian Ivy and each flat had 8 plants...they got it done in no time at all. My job was to tell them where to dig. And to beat it all, my back feels great as they did all the work! What a great gift from the men in my life♥

We planted the ivy in all the bare spots. This ivy said on the label "requires a minimum of 6-8 hours of sun." Perfect for my bank that has sunlight all day!

Scott, Randy, Charles and Ethan

Happy Mother's day♥

Morning Frost

2011-05-05T13:30:00.002-07:00

The news forcasted a posssible hard frost for northeast Tennessee. I had just planted our tomatoes and green peppers along with my herb garden. The ivy on our front bank had many new leaves on it, which I'm sure the frost would kill... not to think of our blueberries. After a restless night of sleep I woke to a temperature of 35 degrees. I double checked the news which said 32 then ran outside to confirm our windshields were frosted over. Crap! We had read that if you spray the frost off before the sunrise you could save your plants from being damaged....so I quickly sprang into action. I slipped into a pair of jeans, put a flannel shirt over my nightgown, donned my farm boots and coat, added a black beanie cap and grabbed a flashlight then ran outside to water all the plants. There I was at 5:30 in the morning spraying off the ivy in front of our house. I got so tickled looking down when I saw my nightgown around my legs. Thank goodness I had at least remembered to remove the duct tape from my face (long story...no tell). I didn't know so many people were up at 5:30 in the morning! and can only guess what they thought about that crazy woman watering her ivy at that time in the morning dressed like I was. Good thing it was mostly dark! All I can say is Scott has a good wife. I checked the plants this afternoon and they all looked okay. The tomatoes have a couple black spots, but they'll make it. I decided not to post a picture on this one. Sometimes things are better left to the imagination.

Happy Easter From Tennessee

2011-04-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone. We spent the morning singing and worshiping the Lord...He is risen! Afterwards we had our dear friends the Squires and Farrows over for a hamburger barbecue. You can't beat great food and fellowship with wonderful friends. Ethan got his ga-ga game out and we spent the afternoon playing this fast paced game. We also had an egg competition, cracking each other's eggs to see who's cracked the last. I was out after a couple hits. The best comment of the day was from Randy. Frank and Susan had brought some homemade spearmint tea. Susan was talking about squeezing the mint leaves...Randy piped up "I'm drinking Egyptian tea, made by the hand of a Farrow!" I wonder where he gets his quick wit! We are glad Brittney was able to spend the day with us too. Happy Easter to our family and friends.

Here we are after church. Ethan, Brittney, Charles, Randy, Becky, Scott.

Playing ga-ga.

Randy, Ethan and Scott. Ethan won most of the games!

Charles jumping from the trampoline onto the shed.

M-Now Weekend

2011-04-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was our annual M-now weekend for the youth at our church. M-now, which stands for "missions-now" is a weekend where the students serve the community. Our church offered free haircuts, face painting/ kids activities and a free car wash for anyone in Rogersville. Ethan volunteered his time washing cars all day. They had a good time even though the weather was cooler and windy...very windy actually. I stopped by and got my car washed and took some pictures!

Hail Storm

2011-04-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

Boy, did we have a storm. When it started hailing we got really excited. The hail was the size of marbles; some of the hail was bigger than X-large grade A eggs! In the city of Rogersville they had hail the size of baseball-softballs. Just when we thought it was finished hailing, it began again. With the thunder and lightning came the rain....the news said we had anywhere from 2-4 inches of rain and I believe 'em. Our Cloud Creek was a raging river and our elk pond a large lake. We took pictures of the hail for proof and then quickly put them in the freezer. The next day at church we were talking about the storm and everyone around us froze their hail too! We were like kids! Marble sized hail

The next hail storm brought these!

Hewed Beam

2011-04-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

Scott and Ethan are making a hand hewn beam. They're using an antique broad axe that was specifically designed for hand hewing. I really don't know what they'll do with it, but it's a fun project for them both.

Charles and Brittney

Brittney's first ride on the boy's childhood motorcycle. Grandpa...it still runs.

Mail Order Chicks

2011-04-01T18:12:00.001-07:00

Our chicks arrived in the mail today. We counted and there are 122 baby chicks♥ We ordered Cornish X chicks which grow quickly. Time Scott got home and got the brooder ready it was dark. We headed up to the barn and put them in their new home... at least for a couple weeks until we transfer them to the chicken house. I couldn't beat Charles' pictures he took last year, so I videoed Scott transferring the chicks into the brooder. Listen to their chirping...Don't you just love spring! This is how the chicks came in the mail.

Scott and Charles transferring the chicks to the brooder.

Duke checking the chicks out.

Covering the Blueberries

2011-03-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight they are calling for a potential frost, down to around 33 degrees. Our blueberries have blossoms on 'em so we covered them just in case. We used our tobacco plastic since it comes in big widths. Charles, Brittney and Ethan opened the plastic and it ballooned up like a kite....wish I had a picture of that. We held the plastic down with rocks and our blueberries were snug for the night. Brittney and Charles with Samson in the background.

Our covered blueberries.

Good Friends

2011-03-25T20:11:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago Josh was over and I quickly snapped this picture. Good friends are a blessing ...and the Lord has blessed Randy with the best!

Josh, Riley and Randy

A Visit To TTU

2011-03-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ethan is starting to look at colleges. We visited TTU today and took a guided tour of the campus and dorms. We were told to each ask our tour guide a question...mine was "Do you know our son Randy!" We also talked with a professor about their engineering department. Ethan is thinking of possibly going into engineering. We enjoyed the day and got to visit Randy too! We ate lunch at one of Randy's favorite restaurants and ended the day at Smoothie King. Miss you Randy ☺

Here is Ethan on campus. He did great considering he was just getting over the stomach bug.

Randy in front of his fraternity house. Note the rock wall...Randy brought the rock from our farm. Their project turned out great.

Paintball Day

2011-03-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Randy and all his buddies just left for a game of paintball in our upper barn. They played a couple days ago too....they sat around the family room after playing and I went to bed listening to their stories and laughter through the walls. You ought to see the welts on Charles and Preston. The welts are faded bruises now but I imagine they'll have fresh ones tonight. Scott went with them today. I told Randy to take it easy with his Dad! Ethan is sick with the flu otherwise he'd be in there too. And what am I doing? Baking of course. Today I made home made wheat bread....they're rising as I blog. My niece, Ashlee, is now making sour dough bread and that got me itchin to make bread again. I'll blog when I get my loaves lookin as pretty as hers. I'm also making 4 pizzas. My plan is to have everything hot from the oven for when they return♥

Randy, Gabe, Preston and Josh

Randy and Scott..my babe is ready♥

Kyles Ford Breakfast

2011-03-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

This morning Scott took Charles and Randy for breakfast at the River Place in Kyles Ford for breakfast. Ethan is home sick with the flu, poor guy. The men from our church met there this morning for a men's breakfast. On the way there is a fresh water spring where many stop to fill their jugs. They stopped on the way back...it's delicious, cold water.

Scott, filling up his containers. Charles took the pictures for me.

Flat Top For Randy

2011-03-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

First thing Randy did when he came home for spring break was headed off to Jamie's for a hair cut. He gives a pretty good cut...best barber around.

A Taste of Spring

2011-03-04T17:53:00.001-08:00

Don't you just love the first signs of spring. My heart is filled with the newness of life to come, especially after our cold, long winter. I look around and see many of our perennials beginning to shoot up. I saw these daffodils in front of our house and thought of you♥

Dinner With Leo From China

2011-03-03T17:42:00.000-08:00

We had Scott's co-worker from China over to dinner tonight. Leo (that's the American way to spell his name) is from Shanghai, China. He's visiting Tennessee for a couple weeks, working with Scott and learning lots from the plant here in Rogersville. Brittney was also able to be with us. We asked Leo lots of questions about China and we enjoyed having him tell about his life. He was able to experience some new things too, like shooting and seeing what an American family was like! We had hamburgers on the grill, cheesy potatoes, Grandma Timbers recipe of baked beans and vanilla ice-cream with frozen peaches on top. We sure enjoyed the evening.

Leo and Scott

Ethan, Charles, Leo, Scott and Becky...and I wouldn't forget Duke

Tie Dye Date

2011-02-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Charles has had this tie dye kit hanging around the house for years. This past week Charles and Brittney decided to try it out. They went to the store, bought their shirts and washed and dried them. Before beginning they checked out You-tube and came up with a cool pattern. See below. They had lots of fun and didn't the shirts turn out way cool!

Planning their project.

Folding their shirts in a circular pattern.

Applying the dye.

After letting the shirts set for several hours they were unwrapped and rinsed.

The finished shirts. Pretty cool huh?

Charles and Brittney

2011-02-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

Today Charles surprised me and brought Brittney to church. During greeting time I turned around and there they were....smiling, sitting several rows in back of us. I could hardly concentrate on the sermon, I was so excited. Charles has been dating this special young lady for a short while and I can tell he cares for her. After meeting several of our church family we all headed home and had lunch around the table. I'm sure she was out of her element with all the men! We look forward to getting to know her more.

Charles and Brittney

Ethan's First Truck

2011-02-13T14:50:00.001-08:00

Ethan has been looking for a truck for months now and finally found the perfect one from Josh and Jessica down the road. It's a 1996 Dodge and in pretty good shape. It has a distinct truck sound so I'll always know when Ethan gets home. I'm still pinching myself that our youngest is old enough to buy and own a truck. We're so proud of him and his smart purchase.

Ethan and his first truck

Big Catch At Cherokee Lake

2011-02-12T18:27:00.000-08:00

Randy is home for the weekend. It's so good to see him...longer hair and all. This morning he headed out to Cherokee lake with Josh and Ethan to do some fishing and they came home with a 22 inch Walleye weighing 4 and 1/4 pounds. Josh had something to smile about as he caught it!

Ethan, Josh and Randy

Amis Mill Eatery

2011-02-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

We have an new restaurant in our area called Amis Mill Eatery . Scott and I went before Christmas and really enjoyed it so today we decided to go after church, taking Ethan. The new restaurant is built on the historic site of the old Amis Mill and dam back in the 1770's where settlers stopped to get their supplies before heading out west. The restaurant is on Bear Creek Hollow Road overlooking the historic site on Big Creek. I remember Randy, Charles and their buddies used to hang out at the dam frequently when they were younger... We'll be back.

Scott and I in front of the restaurant ( I loved the chocolate Lab on their porch!)

Scott and Ethan with the dam and spillway in the background.

Litter Pickup With Neil

2011-01-30T12:40:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful day the Lord gave us...blue sky and 64 degrees. After a cold, snowy January it feels like a breath of spring. After church I got on my levis and went for my usual walk with Duke, then decided to pick up trash along the road. I do this every month or so to keep our road clean. Today I did it with Neil Diamond. I had bought me a Nano while in Utah and decided to walk with music. Who else would I listen to but Neil? So there I was picking up trash, dancing and singing to Neil using my grabber as a microphone!" Actually it made me miss my sister Brenda as she would have been there singin' along with me! ...Oh, I love my Rosie child, you got the way to make me happy♫

Look at all the trash I picked up!

Play it Neil....

Monster Jam

2011-01-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to the Thompson Boling Arena, but it wasn't for a UT basketball game...it was for the Monster Jam! All I can say is Scott has a good wife to go with him and see monster trucks. It turned out to be a fun, loud evening (yes, we wore ear plugs). The best part was seeing all the dads and their sons together. I'm sure it was thrilling through their young eyes.
Below are some videos of the monster trucks doing their stuff. The Mohawk Warrior truck won though I couldn't tell you how they scored it. I enjoyed the half time entertainment with the motorcycles best. Now I can say I've been to a Monster Jam!

A Visit With Randy's Friends

2011-01-22T05:44:00.000-08:00

Randy's friends dropped by last night on their way to Sugar Mountain for a day of snowboarding. They spent the night and after breakfast this morning were on their way. It was good seeing them again and I let them know they always have a place to stay when traveling. The only one missing was Randy who couldn't make this trip...missed you son!

John, Jake and Derek

Awana Store

2011-01-19T19:12:00.001-08:00

Tonight was the much awaited Awana store at our church. We hold the store twice a year, once in January and then at the end of the year in May. The kids earn Awana bucks throughout the year for attendance and passing off scriptures and sections in their handbooks. The store is their reward night. It runs like a store where they purchase items with their money earned. We all love it , but I must admit I'm exhausted by the end of the evening. A big thank you to all the leaders who volunteer their time to make Awana possible and the children who are hiding God's word in their hearts♥

Here are some of our Sparks group purchasing items at the store.

Becky, Awana Commander.

Randy Off To College

2011-01-13T13:03:00.001-08:00

Randy left for college a little while ago. I cried...it never gets easier saying goodbye. This Christmas break sure went by fast. After a quick family prayer he was off. Love you Randy.

Ethan and Randy loading up.

One final picture of Randy before leaving.

Randy's Late Night Adventure

2011-01-12T15:06:00.000-08:00

Randy was out last night with his buddies having fun on the icy roads...We went to bed. When he woke up the next morning he said "Mom, I have something I need to talk to you about...I kind of wrecked my truck..." It was parked in our driveway so surely it couldn't be that bad. Apparently he didn't make a curve doing donuts near Walmart, hitting his rear tire hard against a curb...hard enough so his wheels came off the ground. The impact also bent his rear axle. So here he is on the day he needs to leave for school fixing his truck outside on the freezing, snowy, ground with wind dropping temperatures to the single digits. We spent quite a lot of time on the phone trying to find replacement parts. He ended up going to a salvage yard in Kingsport to get the axle and Charles, Ethan and I went local to pick up a tire rim. Ethan helped him with the repairs. It's now 8:00pm and Randy and Ethan just came in all coated with grease....the truck was finally finished. They were both cold and hungry and Randy still needed to go through his things in his room, pack and get on the road for the three hour drive. At the last minute I decided to look up TTU's website because of all the snow we've had and guess what? Tomorrow's classes are cancelled due to snow. I gave him the good news! Now Randy can pack tonight and get a good nights sleep before hitting the road. PS. I told him, no, he couldn't go out with his buddies tonight!

Randy and Ethan working on the truck.

The damaged rim.

Lost, Now Found

2011-01-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Charles took this photo on his cell phone.

When I came home from Utah I found out that Charles had become the owner of a hamster. His friend, Tom, gave it to him... cage and all. Lucky us! The first night we had it, I woke up in the middle of the night with sounds coming from the closet...I'm thinking mouse as my sister, Brenda had a pet mouse on her porch steps and I had mice on the brain. I wake Scott up from a sound sleep and say "Do you hear that?" I think he thought I was crazy. I quickly got up to get a mouse trap. When I came back, there was Scott standing in the middle of our bedroom with the hamster on his shoulder. Good thing I couldn't find that mouse trap! Two nights ago the hamster disappeared again. Charles found the hamster's wheel precariously close to Duke's pad who was sleeping in his room. No hamster to be found. Charles looked everywhere and finally came to the conclusion that our Duke had probably eaten him. Yuk. I mean, could Duke really eat a hamster? I took Duke on my routine walk up the road and Duke pooped good. I looked real close to see if I could see any hair or sign of hamster remains. I got so tickled at myself looking at that poo along the road. I thought about it all day and the next. When I came home from work the next day Charles told me he'd found the hamster in his room scurrying across his floor. I gave Duke a big hug! Well, the hamster is now back in his cage and I'm back to drifting off to sleep listening to the hamster run his wheel. I'm hoping to find find a nice family that would like a hamster...cage and all!

Duke our dog and the hamster.

Beautiful Morning

2011-01-06T05:39:00.000-08:00

This morning was absolutely breathtaking. Snow had fallen last night and the trees, fences, telephone wires were coated with white. Scott called on his way to work and said "Babe, go out and take pictures." These pictures don't begin to capture the beauty that God blessed us with. Because the back roads are slick it's a snow day and all the boys are home. I'm cooking and baking for them. It's nice to have them home. All too soon Randy will be back to school.

Looking out from the front of our house.

Our back field.

Looking through the elk's fence to our other barn.

One of our barns by the house. PS. When we got home from NY we found our chicken dead. Scott said maybe a coyote got it.

Samson

Cloud Creek Valley

Our neighbor's barn across the street.

Back To Work

2011-01-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

After a wonderful Christmas vacation in New York, the time finally came to head back to work. Funny how getting three weeks off school makes you want even more time off! There's no better place than home for sure. The first day back to school is the hardest, for staff and students alike. All the nurses and Amy, our health educator, met for an in-service luncheon at Pizza Hut. It was so nice seeing everyone after our break. We have the best school nurses in Hawkins County and it's a priviledge and blessing to work with such fine women♥

Front row (L to R): Tina, Wendi, Teresa, Rebecca, Michelle, Regina and Keri. Back row: Amy, Virginia, Debbie, Becky and Melita.

Heading Home

2010-12-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

The day finally came for us to head home. Here we are at Perry and Darshan's house with the trailer all loaded up. We had the most wonderful visit with Scott's family and love you all so much♥ We feel so blessed to have been able to spend the holiday together. We'll be back soon!

Chantal took this picture...Scott, Perry, Randy, Ethan, Michelyn, Becky and Charles and dog Fargo

I took this picture...Scott, Perry, Randy, Ethan, Michelyn, Chantal and Charles

Chantal, Charles and Fargo

Loading Up

2010-12-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

We took the goose neck trailer with us to New York and now I know why...we brought home the old 49 Plymouth that was sitting in their yard for years. We now have another yard ornament. Pretty isn't she?... I wonder how long it will sit in our yard. Below are pictures of the car being loaded up.

Backing the car onto the trailer. Scott and Ethan

Hi Randy!

Randy, Scott, Charles and Ethan guiding the car on the trailer.

Skiing At Gore Mountain

2010-12-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa surprised the grand kids with ski tickets to Gore Mountain for a day of skiing. Scott and Uncle Randy also went. They had a ball and came home with stories of who beat who as they raced down the mountain. Randy came home with lots of excuses on why his dad smoked him on the slopes! Thanks Scott for taking pictures for me.

Ethan and Chantal renting skiis

Ethan, Randy, Chantal and Charles on the slopes of Gore Mountain.

Stopping at the lodge for lunch

When they got to Gore Mountain Uncle Randy realized had forgotton his boots and clothes back home. He headed back home to get them...an hour drive each way. They got one run in with their Uncle Randy! Photo: Uncle Randy, Ethan and Randy.

Finally, A Chance To Snowmobile

2010-12-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

The day after the storm came with blue sky. Cold temperatures and lots of snow made perfect conditions for snowmobiling. You could hear the snowmobiles going all day long around the Little's yard and nearby woods.

Randy taking the Polaris for a ride

What a beautiful picture of the field near the Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Ethan snowmobiling

Ethan taking his mom for a ride

Off on my ride.

Charles on the snowmobile. He came home later that day and went on a night ride with grandpa's friend Geno.

Reunion With Scott's College Buddies

2010-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

While in New York we found out several of Scott's college buddies would be in town the same time we were. Plans quickly got under way to meet together. We met at PF Changs and had a wonderful time. Randy came along to meet Mark, a retired pilot in the Marines and talk about flying. We stayed 3 hours visiting. Good friend Jack was unable to make it. As we were driving home, we got call from Jack who happened to be only several miles away. We quickly met at Starbucks and had a wonderful visit!

Scott, Becky, Randy, Mark and Lora, Sherry and Marty.

Randy, Jack and Scott.

A Nor'easter

2010-12-26T15:46:00.000-08:00

After Christmas, a Nor'easter storm came. I had prayed for snow (without a power outage) and the Lord said yes...and boy, did it come! It started falling while we were at Perry and Darshan's house, driving home late at night with only us on the roads. Was I glad we had a big 4-wheel drive truck! We woke up the next morning to around 15 inches of snow. The wind was howling, making snow drifts up to our knees. In Tennessee, this storm would have paralyzed the city for weeks, but not so in New York. By the afternoon the roads were cleared and snow blowers had cleared the driveways and sidewalks.

Mike, a friend of Grandpas, snow blowing their driveway.

Look at all that snow!

Ethan and Randy warming up in Grandpa's garage (Charles spent the night at Perry's house visiting with cousin Chantal).

Ethan and Scott checking out the snow drifts.

Becky and Ethan

Here I am having fun making a snow angel. I hadn't made one for quite a number of years!

Our Dear Next Door Neighbors

2010-12-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we had a chance to visit with dear neighbors, the Gagnons. Their son, Marcus, is around the same age as Charles and Randy. Throughout the years, when we came for a visit, the boys would hang out together. Every visit they got the mopeds working again in Grandpa's shop and headed back into the woods...lots of memories. Now they are all grown up! They hold a special place in our hearts and feel like family.

Patty and Mark with son Marcus and girlfriend

Randy, Becky, Scott, Ethan and Charles

The Gagnons sent us back home with lots of goodies!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T15:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning we all woke up gradually. Scott's Dad and I were generally the first ones up most mornings. After a good breakfast and getting the goose and chickens in the oven we headed to the tree. We always read the birth of Christ before opening gifts from Luke chapter 2. It was a very special morning spending it with the Littles. After gifts Scott's Dad and I headed back to the kitchen to get dinner on. We worked side by side and created a feast with goose, stuffed chickens, dressing, potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, squash, jello salad and vegetables. We sat down and enjoyed each other's company. After about an hour of talking around the table I started getting sleepy and nodding off. I looked at Grandpa and he was asleep at the table too. We had worked hard! Thank you Lord for this special day and the birth of your Son!

Wearing my special scarf made by my niece, Ashlee
.

Grandma asleep while Grandpa and I worked in the kitchen :)

The crusty part of the dressing was both of our favorites...and we got to sample first!

At the kitchen table...

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve at Perry and Darshan's house. She is quite the host with her house beautifully decorated. With her family, friends and us there were 30 people. Everyone brought hors d'oeuvres. You ought to see all the food...bacon wrapped scallops, meatballs, homemade sausage, smoked ribs with Perry's special barbecue sauce, smoke trout, shrimp, dips galore and I didn't even mention all the pastries. Now you can see why we all gained weight. It was a wonderful evening visiting with everyone we hadn't seen for awhile. Below are some pictures. I just took a few.

Scott, Becky, Randy, Ethan and Charles

All of us with Grandma and Grandpa Little

Perry, Michelyn, Chantal and Darshan

Grandma, Charles and Chantal

Ethan and Michelyn, both Juniors in high school

Lillian and me

Scott and his brothers (left to right and youngest to oldest!) Randy, Perry and Scott

Makng Anduille Sausage

2010-12-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

Scott's brother, Perry, is becoming quite the chef. We went over to their house the second day we were there. Perry was experimenting with some new sausage recipes, all home-made. We were impressed and got to try the sausage on Christmas eve. He also makes a special recipe of his very own barbecue sauce.

Perry, Scott and Ethan making sausage links

Now That's An Apple Fritter

2010-12-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

Grandpa treated us like kings (and a queen). Every morning we woke up to breakfast...bacon frying, pastries and this morning a large box of apple fritters. They were the biggest I'd ever seen and so tasty. Fortunately for me, apple fritters are my favorite and one of my many weaknesses. Unfortunately for me, it was the beginning of my weight gain while at their house!

Grandpa holding up an apple fritter! New York has the most delicious pastries.

I really didn't eat the whole thing... at once any way!

Here is Grandma at her computer.