The joys of boys!

Time to catch back up ...

I've been absent from blogging for quite some time due to travel and helping our parents with various health issues, but I wanted to catch you up on our boys...

Our Ethan turned one year old in March and has been walking for about a week. He still has those big, beautiful blue eyes and a mouth full of teeth -- eight of them, on last count.

Between the first and second picture, he also had his first haircut. Our precious boy is shown here on his first birthday, sitting in the same rocking chair that *his* daddy sat in on *his* first birthday 29 years ago.

















Ethan is an outdoors-kind-of boy and loves to explore nature. He's learned to blow dried dandelion puffs, enjoys studying pine cones, rocks, bugs and flowers. I can imagine him being quite the hunter-fisherman with his Daddy as he grows up.

He also enjoys music! Melissa lets him play on her keyboard at home, and his little fingers look so sweet as he plays. He seems to know how to put just the right amount of pressure on the ivories to make those wonderful sounds! Ethan also likes strumming his Daddy's guitar and waving his arms to direct music.

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Our Jason Cody is six and a half months old and a bundle of energy! What a charmer this little guy is. He meets no strangers, loves crowds and fits in well with adults and kids alike.

Honestly -- I've never known such an animated baby! The way he communicates with his eyes, smile, hands and his whole body is just precious. As you can see, he doesn't mind wearing hats -- in fact, he seems to enjoy them!

In the first photo, he's modeling one at The Disney store and is held by his other Nana in Virginia. In the second photo, he's greeting Grandad John Medaris after a big realtor's convention. With so much exposure to people and large gatherings, he doesn't seem upset when his routine is interrupted.

We've only seen this precious boy twice since his birth -- once at 3 weeks and another time at 3 months. We can hardly wait to see him again Memorial Day weekend! If this pattern continues -- seeing him every 3 months, I suppose we can survive being 600 miles apart.

What a pleasure it is to have two little boys in our family again. It's been a long time since our sons were babes in arms. We love cuddling them, talking to them on the phone and sending them packages. We also look forward to the day when Ethan and Jason Cody are old enough to spend some time with their Papaw and Nana on the farm. ;-)

We'll pull out the little wooden train that Phillip made for our Jason when he was 2 years old. That, and a set of train tracks to run them on. Oh, and no batteries needed -- this train is the hand-made kind that needs a little imagination and hands-on guidance to go 'round the track.

Nana will enjoy baking cookies for her boys and will let them help mix cookie dough and cut out special shapes with the same cookie cutters our children used way back when. I even have the same little mugs our children used for milk and cookies.

I'm sure Papaw will take them for rides around the pasture in the same wagon pulled by the same Massey Ferguson tractor we've used for 30+ years. They'll probably climb in the hayloft and swing on ropes like our boys did. Oh yes, there are still lots of fish in our pond that need to be snagged, and these two may be just the fishermen to do it.

What fun it's been to fall in love with Jason Cody and Ethan over and over. What fun we have listening to their baby babble on the phone and anticipating being with them. We look forward to watching them grow up and knowing, once again, the joys of having little boys in the house!

Autumn on the farm

I took my camera with me on a walk to the pasture yesterday, passing through the woods on the way. We're having our last week of beautiful colors here in NW Alabama, so I wanted to capture the leaves before they fade and fall to the ground.

You never know what you'll come across in the woods! The photo above is an unusual-shaped growth of branches and vines and always catches my eye. Yesterday when I passed by, the sun sifted through the canopy of trees overhead and kissed these golden leaves -- long enough to make them "pop" in the picture.

I also noticed a fallen tree covered with orange dots. From a distance, it looked like someone had used neon-orange spray paint to write on the tree, so I went closer to take a look. This is actually an unusual fungus -- a touch of vivid orange on a fallen tree in the middle of our woods. If I hadn't glanced that direction, I wouldn't have this photo. It's fun to find surprises in the quiet of our woods!



Taking that walk also stirred up a lot of good memories. You see, our children used to walk those same paths with me in the lovely days of autumn. The boys would dash hither and yon, picking up acorns to toss at one another while Melissa and I collected pretty leaves. All that fresh air and sunshine cleared the mind and strengthened the lungs. By the time we got back up to the house, we'd had a good workout.



It was in those same pastures my hubby would cut hay in the summer and have the boys help bring it back to the barn. When there's no grass growing in winter, cows still have to eat -- and they love farm-fresh hay. Hauling hay is hard work, but Phillip introduced the boys to it early on. When they were old enough to go with him to the field, they could be helpful in some way or other -- if nothing else, carrying the water jug to thirsty Daddy.



As they grew older, they learned to grab those heavy bales of hay and drag them to the truck. Later, as strapping teens, they were able to toss them up on the truck and stack them. In the photo above, a friend (on the left) helps Kevin (7) and Jason (10). They'd all been working hard and it shows! I always made it a point to feed them a man-sized meal after this kind of workout.

The children also went to the pastures in late fall and winter, rounding up the cows and heading them home for a healthy portion of hay at the barn. Normally, Jason or Kevin would slip around behind the cows who were furthest away and start working them back toward the upper pasture. If that failed, Melissa would locate the bossiest Mama cow and start her in the right direction. The others would inevitably follow along!



When they came through the gate near the pond, one of the kids would perch on the post and count heads. That could be a challenge at times, because the cows and calves were pushing and rushing toward the sweet-smelling hay. At times, the sound of their hooves on the cold ground was like an out-of-sync drumbeat. Cows usually don't get in a big hurry to do anything, but if they are frightened -- or, in this case, hungry -- they can certainly run. The little calves usually kicked their heels and pranced, which was quite cute!

After the cows were in the barn lot, I'd have have hot chocolate or a special treat waiting for my helpers, especially in winter. They would come to the back door, slapping ice off their gloves and stepping out of muddy boots before entering the sun room in their sock feet.

Now and then, I miss those days ... but we decided when all the kids left home, we didn't need to keep a herd any longer. We're thinking of repairing the fence around the barn lot so we can raise a few steers for beef. I can handle that part just fine -- befriending young calves and feeding them corn and sweet feed while they're at the barn. I'm just not nimble enough (or willing) to round up a whole herd of pig-headed cows in the pasture anymore!

Ahh, the crisp, colorful days of autumn. They stir up a lot of good memories for this Mom!