May began by dropping seven inches of rain on our part of the world. There was flooding everywhere. The Barren Fork here at Shangri La was out of its banks and Rocky River was as high as we’ve seen it. We spent the night at Little House on Sunday night since school was cancelled for Monday. The river was amazing.
The first of May is also when Bryce and his family left Utah to move back to McMinnville. They arrived Sunday evening. I got really sick with a terrible head cold, or something, and wasn’t able to see them for several days. Joe subbed for me in seminary one morning and I canceled one class.
I was still feeling lousy on Mother’s Day and didn’t go to church. Lori was a sweetie and made the best loaded potato soup I’ve ever eaten. She took it to Grandma M’s and we joined her and her family there. There was some left over so she gave me some. It’s about all I ate for the next few days. It was the only thing that tasted good to me. After we left Mom’s, we went to see Grandma Moffitt and spent some time with her. Leah and her children & Holly arrived that night. They had been at Christy’s and Betsy’s for a few days before coming here.
On the 14th, I took Mom for an eye appointment in Cookeville. It was a really nice day and we made several stops on our way back.
On the 19th, Leah, Ally, and Jayce joined Joe and me at Rocky River. (Holly had gone back to Christy’s). Leah helped us lay some sod in the backyard at Little House. (She may be little, but she’s strong)! When we were finished, we celebrated by having a cookout. It was nice to have them there with us. The kids had fun playing and Jayce particularly enjoyed his time on the tractor with Pa.
I finally got to see Keeley and the kids the next day (Bryce had come to see me when I still had a fever).
We had our first renters at Little House on the 22nd and 23rd. The Cupp Family who are friends of Betsy’s stayed there. We were there to greet them when they came and we instantly liked them. Lori is so outgoing and bubbly. After we left, Joe said that she was a perfect “Betsy friend.” We asked them to leave their comments and suggestions for us. Lori wrote such nice things that I read them several times!
The weather was iffy for Memorial Day, so we didn’t decide until that morning to have a cookout at the river. By that time, Eric and fam & Bryce and fam already had plans. We were glad that Carolyn & Aubrey brought Mom down and Lori & her family and Brett & Aaron joined us. Joe grilled some very tasty burgers over a wood fire. It was a nice time to be together. Later that afternoon, Joe, Patrick, Brett, Aaron, and Ramsey McCoy (he made the mistake of stopping to see what we were doing) struggled to get a really big rock into position against some trees at the end of the driveway.
The end of May saw the end of school which meant the end of seminary for me. I had the best class this year. I loved starting my day with them each morning to study the New Testament before they went to school. Anyone who has a bad opinion of teenagers doesn’t know these kids. They are really top notch. We ended our year with an auction. They were able to buy things that different families donated (either new items or used but good items) with play money they had earned in class since Christmas. They had accumulated quite a bit of “wealth” and were anxious for the auction. A few of them had earned over $800! Of course that meant that a bag of candy went for as high as $200!!! There were gift cards from Sonic and Baskin-Robbins, several bags of candy, desk lamps, jewelry, a DVD, a lava lamp (it went really high), water pistols, an alarm clock, and lots of other things. Instead of meeting in the morning for our last class time, they wanted to meet in the evening. Because we did that, several family members came and everyone brought something for the refreshment table. It was a lot of fun. Adrian was our auctioneer and Joe was the banker.
On the 29th, it was back to the river for another cookout for Brett’s 18th b’day. This time, it was Lori and Will, Blake and Grace who stopped by on their way in from Knoxville, Brett, Gracie, and Jordan. Once again we ate some really good burgers. Lori made Brett’s b’day cake request: Mississippi Mud Cake. It was such a hit and we were so stuffed at that point that no one even wanted S’mores.
The next night, we went to the WCMS auditorium to see Katie in the Paula’s Dance Academy recital. It was quite a production! We got to see her afterwards and she was excited to see us. Of course, we thought she was the prettiest little dancer there.
As always, life stays busy. We’ve picked, shelled, blanched, and frozen several packages of green peas. We’ve also eaten some as well as quite a bit of broccoli. My favorite way to eat fresh broccoli is to steam it and put a little salt on it. Oh my. Joe brought some more in this morning and I have it washed and ready to prepare. We’ve also made more strawberry jam.
The resident farmers have been cutting hay over the last few weeks. The Moores usually cut our field, but we weren’t here when they came this time so they didn’t cut it. Joe talked to the Walker son to see if he wanted the hay and he cut it when he was cutting some more fields around here. I just love to see the big round bales dotting the freshly mowed fields. Every day there are more lilies in bloom. It won’t be long until we’ll be blooming out all over. We sure live in a pretty place.
Brett has had two interviews at the Manchester Wal-Mart. We know that these days there are more applicants than there are jobs, but he’s encouraged that they still seem to be interested in him.
The first of May is also when Bryce and his family left Utah to move back to McMinnville. They arrived Sunday evening. I got really sick with a terrible head cold, or something, and wasn’t able to see them for several days. Joe subbed for me in seminary one morning and I canceled one class.
I was still feeling lousy on Mother’s Day and didn’t go to church. Lori was a sweetie and made the best loaded potato soup I’ve ever eaten. She took it to Grandma M’s and we joined her and her family there. There was some left over so she gave me some. It’s about all I ate for the next few days. It was the only thing that tasted good to me. After we left Mom’s, we went to see Grandma Moffitt and spent some time with her. Leah and her children & Holly arrived that night. They had been at Christy’s and Betsy’s for a few days before coming here.
On the 14th, I took Mom for an eye appointment in Cookeville. It was a really nice day and we made several stops on our way back.
On the 19th, Leah, Ally, and Jayce joined Joe and me at Rocky River. (Holly had gone back to Christy’s). Leah helped us lay some sod in the backyard at Little House. (She may be little, but she’s strong)! When we were finished, we celebrated by having a cookout. It was nice to have them there with us. The kids had fun playing and Jayce particularly enjoyed his time on the tractor with Pa.
I finally got to see Keeley and the kids the next day (Bryce had come to see me when I still had a fever).
We had our first renters at Little House on the 22nd and 23rd. The Cupp Family who are friends of Betsy’s stayed there. We were there to greet them when they came and we instantly liked them. Lori is so outgoing and bubbly. After we left, Joe said that she was a perfect “Betsy friend.” We asked them to leave their comments and suggestions for us. Lori wrote such nice things that I read them several times!
The weather was iffy for Memorial Day, so we didn’t decide until that morning to have a cookout at the river. By that time, Eric and fam & Bryce and fam already had plans. We were glad that Carolyn & Aubrey brought Mom down and Lori & her family and Brett & Aaron joined us. Joe grilled some very tasty burgers over a wood fire. It was a nice time to be together. Later that afternoon, Joe, Patrick, Brett, Aaron, and Ramsey McCoy (he made the mistake of stopping to see what we were doing) struggled to get a really big rock into position against some trees at the end of the driveway.
The end of May saw the end of school which meant the end of seminary for me. I had the best class this year. I loved starting my day with them each morning to study the New Testament before they went to school. Anyone who has a bad opinion of teenagers doesn’t know these kids. They are really top notch. We ended our year with an auction. They were able to buy things that different families donated (either new items or used but good items) with play money they had earned in class since Christmas. They had accumulated quite a bit of “wealth” and were anxious for the auction. A few of them had earned over $800! Of course that meant that a bag of candy went for as high as $200!!! There were gift cards from Sonic and Baskin-Robbins, several bags of candy, desk lamps, jewelry, a DVD, a lava lamp (it went really high), water pistols, an alarm clock, and lots of other things. Instead of meeting in the morning for our last class time, they wanted to meet in the evening. Because we did that, several family members came and everyone brought something for the refreshment table. It was a lot of fun. Adrian was our auctioneer and Joe was the banker.
On the 29th, it was back to the river for another cookout for Brett’s 18th b’day. This time, it was Lori and Will, Blake and Grace who stopped by on their way in from Knoxville, Brett, Gracie, and Jordan. Once again we ate some really good burgers. Lori made Brett’s b’day cake request: Mississippi Mud Cake. It was such a hit and we were so stuffed at that point that no one even wanted S’mores.
The next night, we went to the WCMS auditorium to see Katie in the Paula’s Dance Academy recital. It was quite a production! We got to see her afterwards and she was excited to see us. Of course, we thought she was the prettiest little dancer there.
As always, life stays busy. We’ve picked, shelled, blanched, and frozen several packages of green peas. We’ve also eaten some as well as quite a bit of broccoli. My favorite way to eat fresh broccoli is to steam it and put a little salt on it. Oh my. Joe brought some more in this morning and I have it washed and ready to prepare. We’ve also made more strawberry jam.
The resident farmers have been cutting hay over the last few weeks. The Moores usually cut our field, but we weren’t here when they came this time so they didn’t cut it. Joe talked to the Walker son to see if he wanted the hay and he cut it when he was cutting some more fields around here. I just love to see the big round bales dotting the freshly mowed fields. Every day there are more lilies in bloom. It won’t be long until we’ll be blooming out all over. We sure live in a pretty place.
Brett has had two interviews at the Manchester Wal-Mart. We know that these days there are more applicants than there are jobs, but he’s encouraged that they still seem to be interested in him.
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