Riding by with a Valentine hi!

The beautiful weather this weekend had us enjoying the outdoors. The kids rode bikes and enjoyed visiting neighbors to deliver Valentines.

Friday afternoon, Ben shucked oysters for us to enjoy. He teased me a little, asking if I was tired of them since we've been eating them nearly every weekend for the past month. Yum, those Apalachicola oysters are delicious! Georgia-Lee enjoys raw oysters too! She's not scared to try them - her method involves eating the raw oyster (no sauce!) off the cracker and then eating the cracker. Benjamin shucks oysters with Ben. He's good help!

Suitcase of Surprises

The old Samsonite suitcase held its secrets all afternoon. The promise of what was inside was nearly too much for Georgia-Lee to bear. Since Reverend Cindy delivered it mid-afternoon, Georgia-Lee wondered what was inside. Knowing better than to open it during after-school pickup, she waited so patiently until she got in our vehicle. Taking a quick peek inside, she grinned from ear to ear. Doll clothes, American Girl doll clothes – what a wonderful surprise! Georgia-Lee waited a few more hours until we arrived home before she fully opened the antique suitcase, and what a suitcase full of delights! She ran to find all of her favorite American Girl dolls along with her favorite doll, Mary, a Madame Alexander doll she received when she was only eight months old. Each doll was quickly dressed in new finery! Made even better by the fact that these clothes were “vintage” and enjoyed by Reverend Cindy’s daughters, Georgia-Lee exclaimed repeatedly that these doll clothes were so pretty. Oh, the hours of fun this suitcase of surprises holds for doll lovers!

Looking for the Rainbow

Georgia-Lee and I planted a sack full of tulip bulbs over the weekend. Since it rained so much on Friday, the ground was soft and easily pliable. We dug two small trenches in the shape of an arch, a rainbow. We planted the bulbs close together and eagerly look forward to watching their green tips appear above the soil! With more rain and cold in the forecast, the tender bulbs should have all of the moisture and freeze time necessary to bloom brightly. We eagerly await our rainbow!

Stricken by the Lean

Last Friday, Benjamin struck ill. Some time after lunch he started calling my cell phone. After calling twice while he was in the lunchroom, he tried two more times from his school building. When he couldn’t get me on my cell, he called Ben. Mind you, Ben works 30 miles south of town. Ben was a bit worried about our son so he started calling me too. Since he couldn’t reach me either, he decided to drive the 30 miles to the school and check out Benjamin. About the time Ben arrived at the school (one hour from Benjamin’s first phone call), he recalled that I was probably unavailable because I was doing my long run (six miles - I am training for a half marathon!)! Benjamin still felt ill so Ben took him home. Ben and I talked later and realized what made Benjamin feel so sick. The poor child was probably dehydrated; after all, he had eaten at least six pieces of streak of lean, also known as salt pork, for breakfast! It was so good that he could not stop himself and later he was stricken by the lean!