Family Eccentricities

If you or your family has ever read the wonderful book The Little Boy Down the Road, by Doug Philips, then you are certainly aware of the chapter in which he speaks of the "Homeschool Opera".
He talks about how each family has their own eccentricities. For his family, it is singing while doing chores. For our family it is laughing. And when we laugh, we laugh hard. We laugh while watching Andy Griffith, I laugh when my arrogant roosters Burdock and Hickory come running after Josh, we laugh in restaurants, we laugh while doing school, we laugh in Wal-Mart, we laugh at each other, we laugh at ourselves, and we laugh at the supper table. Oh boy can we get loud there. If someone were to look in at us during supper, they might think we were drinking something besides water! Well, maybe not, but anyway. They would see a family simply enjoying each other. Laughing, smiling, and just having a good time together. Now sometimes, it is a little quieter on the nights we are tired, but most often not. I love suppertime!

Now for restaurants, this can be dangerous. One time we were in Chick-Fil-A, and I thought we were going to have to walk out. You know that kind of laugh that hurts-and your eyes start watering--well--yeah. I love it! I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes we laugh at simple things that some folks would just roll their eyes at. They must look at us and think "What on earth is so funny? C'mon, it wasn't that funny." Sometimes we laugh when we shouldn't, but, ya know, there are just too many people in the world today that lack joy, and that just plumb riles me.

So, I have told our family's main eccentricity, quirk, strangeness, crazy homeschool family weirdness, or whatever you choose to call it. Tell me yours. What is your family's eccentricity? I'd like to know.

Oh--remember--don't hold it in. Just laugh!

Christmas Baking

The morning came and we were excited! Why? Because we were going to bake--all day. We always set aside one day during December to simply listen to Christmas music and bake. It is one day we actually indulge in food that is not all-natural. So right now we are kinda suffering the consequences of licking chocolate covered spoons and bowls. But we had fun! We tried to cut back some this year, but we still ended up making quite a bit. Josh made the delicious no-bake cookies, I made the peppermint bark, tried my hand at some oreo bark, and Mama made the haystacks and chocolate pretzels. Coley and Makayla helped too, of course. But while we complain about how sick we are now of chocolate, I hope you enjoy these photos. :)

The Ol' Turnrow

Well, she's gone. I sold Jewels yesterday to a wonderful couple in Anniston Ala.
I am really gonna miss her, but I know these folks will give her a splendid home.
Owning Tennessee Walking horses has been wonderful. I loved the breed to begin with, but I've come to like them even more. I am so glad the Lord blessed me with the opportunity; I have learned a great deal.

Our Family's Christmas Photo

I thought I might as well post this :)

Why I Love Georgia

I got some of these in an e-mail the other day, and I thought it was wonderful! The thing is, it's all true!


A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

'Onced' and 'Twiced' are words.

It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.(Amen)

People actually grow and eat okra. (At least I do!)

'Fixinto' is one word.

There is no such thing as 'lunch.' There is only dinner and then there is supper.

Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two.
We do like a little tea with our sugar! (Amen)

Backwards and forwards means, 'I know everything about you.'

The word 'jeet' is actually a phrase meaning, 'Did you eat ?'

You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work
until you're done or it's too dark to see.

You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM.

You measure distance in minutes.

You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.

You know what a 'DAWG' is.

You carry jumper cables in your car --- for your OWN car.

You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Texas Pete, Tabasco and Ketchup.

You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm.'

You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin' to Wally World.'

You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good stew weather.

Fried catfish is the other white meat. (I like squirrel better, but that’s just me)

When mothers teach their young children phonics, they explain how the ‘g’ in some words is sometimes silent. For example: fishin, huntin, tresspassin, eatin,--the list goes on.

While ya’ll is the proper contraction for you all, the contraction for “did ya’ll” is “jaw”. Example: “Jaw see that buck?”

A wallago is not an animal that lives in Australia, it is a phrase meaning a little while ago. Example: "Naw, I didn't see it, but I did wallago."

If you don’t fix collard greens and black-eyed peas at least on New Year’s, you might as well be shot.

Every young girl should know how to make Brunswick stew. If she don’t, she ain’t fit to marry.

You get beef jerky in your stocking at Christmas.

You own at least two pets that bear the name “Dixie”

Our Tree!!

Here it is! Enjoy!!

The Sanctity of Home

Joshua and I just spent the weekend in Snellville with Nana and DeDad. We had a wonderful time!!! Nana and I are working on an 1860's dress. Don't worry, as soon as we are done, I'll post photos. :) We all went to get their tree and then Josh and DeDad got it up. It's a beautiful tree!! It'll look even better when we get it decorated!

While we were there I was able to go through my great-great grandmother's family Bible. I found so many neat things!! I'll probably be posting quite a bit about some of my findings. I was also able to go through her hopechest and old photos, too. I found some very good ones that I will try to post as soon as I can. In the meanwhile, I found an old article from a church bulletin that she had folded away in her Bible. Here it is:

The Sanctity of Home

A Christian home should be Heaven begun on earth. It will be if it is teh abode of warm and loving hearts. Serene but inspiring is the household which thinks, works, rejoices, and sorrows together; whose personalities are melted down by Divine grace, uniting them in love.

"A lamp," said Robert McCheyne, the great Scottish preacher,"is a very small thing, and it burns calmly, and without noise, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." So there are great but quiet influences which, like the flame of a sacred lamp, fill many a home with light and fragrance. A soft, deep carpet not only diffuses a look of ample comfort, it deadens many a creaking sound; so is the peace of a Christian home. A strong curtain wards off the summer heat and the wintry wind; so a sweet family fellowship is a shield protecting all the members. A soft pillow may make some forget their misery, and a tired mind soon its cares in the delights of a comfortable Christian home. Its influence is like the fresh evening breeze at the close of a burning day. There would be fewer aching hearts if there were more Christian homes.

Make sure that Jesus is in the sacred presence of your home.



Good, Huh?

Happy Thanksgivin'!!!

Happy Thanksgivin' everyone!!
If you wanna see some pictures of what we did today just take a look at Life on a Dirt Road.

May we always give the Lord thanks in everything!!

Praise Ye the Lord!!

Well folks, it's that time of year. Thanksgiving. Or as we say, Thanksgivin'. All the people gather together and stuff themselves full of food. Some of them give a list of things they are thankful for. Daddy had us do a fun activity for our family worship time by having us make two lists of things we are thankful for. One list included things that were obviously things that the individual was thankful for. For example, Josh would have put "my kart" on that list. Then we were to make a list of things that wouldn't give the writer away. We had a good time doing this.

But I say, shouldn't we be giving thanks daily for God's blessings and mercies. How many times have I gotten in the truck, asked the Lord to protect me that day, and He faithfully answered that prayer. How many times has our family asked the Lord to bless Daddy's job, or asked for healing, or for safety, and God has seen us through. Wow. God is good.

And one thing I am sooo thankful for is my DeDad. Two years ago he was diagnosed with stage four renal cell carcinoma. He had tumors in his lungs, kidneys, and all up and down his spine. The doctors were floored and there was nothing they could do but surgery. The surgery was risky, and they said that he might come out of it, but could also end up paralyzed. We prayed and prayed. He did come out of it, and can walk!! The surgery did not get all of the cancer out, and so they gave him just a few months to live. Well, I don't give a hoot about what they thought. My Grandad is stronger than that, and so is my God! And look, here he is, two years later,living, breathing, loving, and even fishing. I am so thankful the Lord blessed us with him!! We love him soooo much!!

May we continually praise and thank the Lord for His goodness, His mercy, His love, His blessings, and just for being our God and Father.

Well, just in case you'd like to know what was on our lists during our family worship time, here are some things I listed.

-Salvation through Jesus Christ!!
-God's Word
-Our Eternal Home
-Our lovely earthly home
-My family!!
-Love, security, and comfort in my home and family
-The abilities of seeing, hearing, thinking, reading, and writing
-A wonderful, beautiful mother
-A hard working, loving father
-My fantastic siblings
-the blessing of being well-fed, well-clothed, and healthy
-my critters
-my fiddle
-our Southern Heritage
-and so much more I could not possibly list them all!!

Josh's Last Kart Race and...Old Grandmas?

All right! Josh's kart race (the last of this season) was today and we all took the trip down to Barnesville once again. He did not run his kart, however, because he is thinking of buying another one. He raced that one instead. He won the qualifying and the heat race, but he ended up coming in fourth in the main event race. BUT--he won the point standings and therefore won the championship for his class! We are soooo proud of him!

Oh yeah. Then I decided I wanted to try and ride his kart. So after all the races I put on his racing suit and hopped in his kart. That was an experience. Let me tell ya, it feels a lot faster than 10 mph. That kart is capable of going 35 mph, but I thought I would take it slow. Oh sure. I still managed to spin out a couple of times. I think I gave him a really good laugh. But see, there were other people on the track that were going their full speed, and I about got slammed more than once. Bless their hearts, they were probably getting irritated with me. But c'mon folks, I'm just a hayseed havin' a little fun. Even if that means goin' as slow as an old grandma, as Josh's friend referred to me as. Ya see, I don't think I have a bright future as a kart racer, I'll just leave it to my amazing brother. Yeah, I'll just stick to goats and the fiddle.

We had such a good time!!



Me and Mak--at this point we were nearly freezing.


Mama, Coley, Makayla, and Case (one of Josh's racing friends)

Pickin'

You'd think that in well developed, very crowded, Suwanee, GA, there would be little room for bluegrass music. But that is not so. There is a music barn there that was started by the Everett Brothers a pretty long time ago. Every Saturday night the Everett's play a set and then either a professional band or a local band plays one or two sets. We have been there many times, but not too often because it is a pretty long drive from Good Hope. Well, Daddy took me last night and we had a wonderful time!! All the way there we sang bluegrass and all the way home we sang some more! :)
The band that played last night was Grasstowne. MAN!!! They were good! You should have heard them play Pike County Breakdown! I have never heard it played so fast, or that flawless for that matter. Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to the next time we can go.

Lost Tooth!!

Sweet Makayla's tooth fell out--by force! OK, Mama pulled it. She is so excited to have lost her first tooth! You can hardly see her teeth in the photos, they're sooo tiny. She is so cute. Now she's singin'-- "All I want for Christmas is my one front tooth!"

A Little More...

This is Stephen F. Terry, who was known as "One-armed Steve". When he was young, he cut off his arm at his father's sawmill. I wish I knew more to that story. He also served in the 5th Alabama Cavalry with some of his brothers and cousins.

One more thing-

Squire Coleman Terry (brother of John Toby Terry)

Also in the 5th Alabama Cavalry, First Lieutenant.

A Little Heritage

I have just recently become infatuated with geneology. Well, I always have been, but I've never done anything about it. That is, until I discovered ancestry.com. I have only researched the Terry side of our family so far, so I still have a LONG way to go. Here are some things I've discovered.

OK--

Here is a basic--very basic-- family tree--

My mother-Catherine Lynn
--Her mother-Martha Anne
---Her mother-Jo Alice
----Her father-Ollie Bryant (Black Ollie) Terry
-----His father-Joseph Robert ("Black Joe") Terry
------His father-John Toby Terry(1823)
-------His father-Elisha Terry(1785)

Elisha was the brother of Henderson Terry- the first Terry to arrive in Lawerence Co. Alabama.

Ok, not too remarkable because that by no means covers hardly any of the Terry's. I don't know how to format a tree properly on this page, so this will have to do.

Something interesting to note: Joseph Robert, my gr-gr-great grandfather was nick named "Black Joe" because of his dark hair and whiskers. Same thing with Ollie Terry.

"Black Joe"--Joseph Robert Terry



Now here are some REALLY exciting findings--

So far, with the minimal amount of research I've done, I have already found six of our Terry's that fought for the Confederacy.

--Henderson Terry (the fifth son of the first Henderson)
Private in the 5th Alabama Cavalry

--Stephen Coleman Terry (my gr-gr-great uncle)
Private in the 5th Alabama Cavalry

--William Terry
Private in the 5th Alabama Cavalry

--Stephen F. ("One-Armed") Terry
Corporal in the 5th Alabama Cavalry

--Edward Henry Terry
Private in the 16th Alabama Infantry

--Elijah L. Terry-(My gr-gr-great uncle).




I was so excited!! And this is only a few Terry's! I still have the Cook's, Carlin's, Warren's, Reaves's, Cole's, and Pierce's to research. I know I have more in North Carolina, Georgia, and possibly Tennessee. I am having so much fun! Hopefully soon I'll know of a better way to post a proper tree that includes a good deal more people. By then I'll have found more Confederate veterans!! Oh my! What if I have Yankees somewhere back there? That's when I'll cry.



--

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Bria! Now let's see if I can get this right.
Here are six random facts about myself:

Hmmm....

1. I am sorry, but I do not like cold weather.

2. I was once bitten by an otter. (Don't ask)

3. I prefer all natural whipping cream over ice cream--I know, I'm crazy.

4. My favorite breed of dairy goat is the Toggenburg.

5. I am thought to have had Lyme Disease--yep.

6. My favorite character on Andy Griffith is Ernest T. Bass.

All right now, who's next? I think everyone I know has already been tagged. I'll see who I can find. Josh--I tag you buddy!

Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write Six Random Things about yourself.
• “Tag” six-or-so other people at the bottom of your post.
• Leave comments on their blogs, letting them know they’ve been tagged.
• Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve written the post.

Fishin'

Today we all went fishin' at our "Secret Fishin' Hole" here in Good Hope. It wasn't as good a day as it has been in the past, but we still had lots of fun!! Not too much happened today-- for instance, I did not fall waist deep into the mud like I did once,(kinda felt like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress then) so I'll just post a lot of photos from our day.


"I wonder how many fish are out there."


Best Friends


Our grandad, who we all lovingly call "Dedad"


Ahhh, how lovely the fall is...



"YES!! I finally caught one!!"

"I know it's November, but this is Gerogia, and I'm going barefoot!"



Awww, sweet siblings.



Just bein' silly here. :)



Yep!! That's just the way we are!

"This is my fishin spot; I was here first."



My boots--no explanation needed.



"Jess, I told you to get that camera away from me!"



"Stinkin' worm...just get on there."



Handsome fisherman

"This is not what I wanted to catch!"



"Oh well, at least I caught sumthin'."



"See that bug right there, when I say so, you eat it, OK?"


"I think I felt a nibble!"




"If you don't let me use your rod, I'll push you off this dock!"

Resident Artist

Coley, my dear brother, is an artist!!!
In my opinion, he is the best 9 year old around.
He can draw just about anything!!






Here is a picture that he drew of Leif Ericson, whom he is studying in history.




Isn't this nice. The two biggest rivals in college football. What a shame the dawgs ended up gettin' slaughtered by them gators. Really good artwork, though.

Someone Get Onto Me, Please.

I am very bad. I currently have 11 quilts I have started but have not finished.
I love making the tops of quilts, but have a hard time enjoying the binding and quilting part.
I am aiming to get these done before next year, however.

Here are a few:
The pictures are not great, but oh well.

This is a simple star pattern. I have a lot of tops made by this pattern.





This is just a simple one I made from scraps.




This is my favorite. It is an "Around the World" baby quilt. Once this one is done I'll put it in my hope chest.




I know, I need to get busy. I have a sampler quilt that I have been working on since 2005!! Of course, that one is all done by hand, but still, it's about time I get it done.