Need Knows No Season

No. It's not Christmas In July. Our church helped out the salvation army (since they are behind in their receipts but have an increased request of services) with a little extra bell ringing. I got some funny looks but I would say the majority of people gave and were supportive of the Salvation Army in general.
I thought this would be a good opportunity for Miles to have some exposure to charity and to make noise with my permission. He wasn't as enthusiastic about the bell ringing as I thought he would be.

He was a good helper. He did not want to put the money in the bucket but would say a cute little "tank you" to the donors.

He hung in there for about an hour before I had to call Mason to come get him and take him in the mall.

How could you resist THAT face!

I pray we will never be in the position to need their help - but you never know. I know your budget is tight, but I would encourage you to donate a buck or two, even if you wait until Christmas. But now would be better. Need knows no season.

Peabody South

We went to visit Mason's gradparent's over the 4th of July holiday. We lovingly call it the "Peabody South." When we want to come down and stay, we call Parthenia and ask if we can make a reservation. We have not been turned down yet.

This is why I love this place. There is absolutely nothing to do here. During naptime I stretched out on the swing in the backyard and browsed through the latest southern living...
Because Mason's grandparents' home was close to our college, we would come here to study.
It is the perfect retreat.

View from the swing - Huge gorgeous trees

His grandparents are THE master gardeners.

When we have a gardening/yard question, these are the people we call.

Look at this grass (not my feet.) It is like carpet. Absolutely gorgeous and green and thick. Not a weed in sight.

We went on an excursion to Hampton to a fruit farm where we picked...

blueberries...

peaches....

and blackberries...

We were there when they opened so it wouldn't be too hot. The morning sun also made for some fantastic pictures.

Isn't she the prettiest peach you have ever seen?

I like old tractors.

Settling up with Suzanne's father (or grandfather - don't remember.) We paid $25 and got 22 lbs of peaches, 4 lbs of blackberries, and 2 lbs of blueberries. Cha ching - a steal in my opinion.
This is looking to be the highlight of my summer and may be the start of a tasty family tradition.

We took the long way home and stopped by a relative's grave. This was an old cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800's. I love the shape of this big oak tree. I think I would like to be buried under a big oak tree. It feels very restful.

Call me strange, but I like visiting old cemeteries (during daylight hours.) I like to think of the history of the lives represented. What struck me during this visit was how many infant graves were in this small country cemetery and how we take modern medicine for granted. There were numerous graves for children younger than my own. Mason's great grandparents had two graves of baby boys. Oh the grieving those parents had to endure. I don't want to imagine.

As I stated earlier - there is not much to do other than visit and eat. For a two-year old that can get old quickly, so we brought a few of his favorite toys.

We don't go far without a "beep-beep" or two.

Grant smiling for me. Completely unrelated topic- but he is very, very close to crawling.

It would not be a holiday without blowing something up. We were given permission to do small fireworks - don't want to stir any of the nieghbors up.

This was the most "exiciting" display of the evening.

And this is where Miles stayed during the display. He was not pleased with the loud pops and screams produced by the fireworks. If you have ever been around a startled Miles, you know lots of shaking is involved. He was standing by himself when one went off and he dropped to the ground shaking as if someone was shooting in his direction. Poor thing did not approve.

A fruitful excursion, lots of R&R, and pyrotechnics- I would say it was a successful4th of July holiday.

It only took a year...

If you recall just about a year ago we did another overhaul on our living arrangements in order to fit another baby in the house. I made some super cute wall hangings for their rooms and they have sat in my office until last week. I finally after a year passed, got sick of the numerous items needing to be hung and grabbed a hammer and went at it. I was waiting for a second opinion before I put any holes in the walls. (You might recall my issues with the wall-space/furniture arrangement commitment that wall hangings entail.) They turned out pretty good even without a second opinion.

The clock and globe I found at a flea market. The Coca-Cola box was given to me by my sweet neighbor. I had intentions on knocking out the separations and using the box for storage. I still do, I'm just not sure when I am going to get around to it. For now, it's just going to sit there and look spiffy. The RC Cola sign was from my room in high school. I adored it.
Is it faux pas to display coca-cola and rc cola in the same grouping?

Another flea market find. I purchased them with intentions on painting the frames. But after getting them in the room, I thought the frames looked just fine like they were. I also have this thing about staggering pictures on the wall. I don't know why.
It's probably a major decor no-no.

I found this at a flea market as well - dirt cheap. (And by the way, if I bought it at a flea market, it was cheap.) I did a terrible job of lining it with cork board, but you can't tell here. We have so many pictures and drawings on it now that it doesn't quite look like this. There was also a household disagreement on whether to spray paint or not to spray paint it - so I just left it alone in its current state.

This is Miles' baby portrait. I bought those old license plates without knowing what in the world I was going to do with them. I just like the way old license plates look.

Here are infamous letters. I guess it turned out for the best that I hadn't hung them yet because I would have just had to move them when we got the bunk bed anyway. Lucky for me, Miles and Grant have the same number of letters in their name, so when Grant moves up to share the room it doesn't matter who is on the top or bottom. We can switch them either way.
(And No, I did not plan for them to have names with the same number of letters. I didn't realize it until I made these.)

Grant's letters on the wall. Again I found that old lantern at a flea market and the lamp was one of those items my grandfather picked up from someone's junk heap and reworked. It was in my bedroom growing up too. He is no longer with us and it reminds me of him.

The moose head. I just love it - and can't thank my cousin enough for it. I really didn't know how much use I was going to get out of it. When the nursery is empty its going in the boy's bedroom too. I don't know anyone else with a toy moose head in their bedroom - way cool. If they don't want it I might just hang it in my room. Or if we have a fireplace then, over the mantle. Just kidding.

Grant's baby portrait was hung over the changing table in my recent rampage, along with the flea market oar. The portrait has had to move because the baby keeps pulling it off the wall.
But it looked cute there for one day. The changing area was a second closet in that room. Because the actual room is so small, we turned it into a changing area, recessing the dresser into it, adding a little extra floor space but still having the shelving storage available. You can't see it but there are also shelves built into the wall to the left of the dresser.

This chair is another remebrance of my grandfather. That was HIS chair- the one he plopped into after picking beans in the garden or tinkering in his shop. I don't know if I will ever be able to part with that chair. He wasn't here to meet the boys. He only had a daughter and granddaughters and would have been so proud to have BOYs. Anyway, I feel like he has rocked them to sleep many times even though he never met them.

For the hodge-podge, mis-matched, hand-me-downs that I have put together, I think the nursery (and Miles' room too) has turned out well. I had the room all planned out while pregnant with Miles and shared my plans with someone (we won't name any names.) They gave me the strangest look and started asking very redneck directed questions about hunter's orange and rebel flags. I initally took it as an insult and then started questioning my plans.
I'm glad I didn't change a thing.
I love it and might not be able to change it once the baby moves up
to the bunk bed.