New Bird

Well, I spotted another new bird in the backyard. It is getting warmer and new birds should be appearing, although this birds is very common in Arkansas year round. It is a Red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus); note the red on its belly. I saw this great blue heron in a pond on the way home from church, but we were pretty far away so the picture is not that great.

A Day with Ann and Herschel

As Troy blogged earlier he and his brother spent Saturday morning putting out the first part of a garden for Troy's dad. We had a pleasant day together. Sean and Tabitha brought Brayden down to introduce him to his great grandparents and his great anunt and great uncle. Of course as with any Bray get together there was food. We worked, visited, ate, and played with Brayden. Here is just a few highlights from the day.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Bad Weather Coming!

Debbie got a good shot of the ring around the moon tonight. Folklore says it is an indication of bad weather to come. In fact, the number of stars inside the ring is equal to the number of days before the bad weather arrives. There were no stars in the ring tonight so be prepared for bad weather tomorrow!

Farming for Father

"How do we do this?"


Gary tilling with the John Deere.

Tilling the soil further where the beds are going to be made.

Gary working on starting the 1946 model tractor used to make the beds.

If you knew anything about my father, you would know he loves to garden (vegetable not flowers) and he is very, very good at it. His father was a truck farmer and my Dad grew up farming. So after 20 years of being in the US Air Force and living in base housing, Dad went "nuts" the year he retired and we moved to Bismarck. It seemed like we plowed up every square inch of the 7 acres that came with the house he bought for us. What land was not used for gardening was used for a chicken pen and fruit trees. Needless to say, those first few years me and my brothers were busy helping Dad convert that place into a small farm.

Well, as many of you know Dad has cancer and this looked to be the first year he was not going to be able to make a garden. I couldn't bear the thought of Dad not having a garden and neither could my brother, Gary. With our sister, Annette taking on the nearly daily chore of taking Dad to the doctor, pharmacy, store, etc., Gary and I thought we could at least make a garden so Dad could watch it grow and hopefully, get something to eat out of it. So began the odyssey. Tractors had to be worked on and the old garden tilled before we could make beds and plant anything. Dad did not feel like leaving his chair/bed, so we were back and forth asking questions as we encountered one problem after another. But Gary got the tractors going and I got the walk-behind tiller running. So we were ready for battle.

Farming II

Too much grass. Gary is wondering if he needs to do more tilling.
Preparing the beds.

Time for a "farmer" pose. Note: I am following in my grandfather's tradition of not buttoning the side of my overalls. Or maybe I can't button my overalls!

Fertilizing the beds before planting.

Once everything was tilled, we needed to make and fertilize the beds. I hope the fertilizing helps given that it was $14 a bag. All in all, we prepared 4 rows and planted onions, radishes, turnip greens, potatoes, and cabbage. We need to at least make back our $33 investment in seed, bulbs, and fertilizer.

Farming III

After fertilizing the beds came the fun part. We found a Georgia stock plow, took the winged sweep off of it and put on a narrower solid sweep before chaining the whole thing behind my Uncle Kenneth's 4wheeler. As the pictures indicate, it was a bit unsteady to start with until I got the hang of it. The plow wanted to pull to the left and then to the right. Finally, we got the chain the right length and in the center of the stock after which things went more smoothly.

Believe it or not, I have plowed with a mule. Once the corn got up knee high, Dad would let me plow it out using Grandpa's mule, Frank. Even though there were tractors around and available (my uncle had one), Dad and Grandpa always used a mule. One time grandpa had a mule name Jim that was startled by a backfiring car and he took off running with the plow and my Dad still in tow. Dad actually suffered a concussion and that was the last time he plowed with the plow lines completely around his waist. Yes, I can still hear my grandpa yelling "gee" and "haw" behind the mule, particularly on family tater digging day. All the families (Dad's brothers and sisters) planted potatoes together in the same field and on a given day all the aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered together to dig taters. Actually grandpa and the plow dug up the potatoes, we just picked them up and carried them out of the field.

6th grade visit

On friday the middle school children I work with came to the university for a visit and tour. They began the day with a planetarium show, which is always a big hit. Next, I took them on a tour of my genetics lab. As usual the kids were excited and full of questions. After showing them everything in my lab, I took them up to our resident zoologist (Dr. T) so he could show them around his lab. I knew it would be a big hit given the number of live snakes, turtles, and salamanders as well as the thousands of stuffed and preserved specimens. Well, needless to say, time ran out before the questions did. And before I knew it they were back on the bus heading back home. I will see them again at the end of the month during their science fair.

Welcome Brayden with a Smile

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Time to go home

Brayden was born on Friday, January 30, 2009. Tabitha was released from the hospital on Sunday, February 1 and I was anxious for their arrival. Troy had dropped me off at their house after church Sunday morning so I could spend some time and hopefully help out some with getting use to having a new baby in the house. It is amazing to me how everything has come full circle as far as the "right" way to handle having a baby around. According to my mother I was raised on the strict instructions of Dr. Spock where you had lots of structured times for feeding, sleeping, bathing, etc. When Tabitha was a baby it was "well known" Dr. Spock was not so smart and it was better to let the baby decide when to eat, sleep, etc. So I found it quite comical when one of Tabitha's friends who just had a baby visited her in the hospital and told her of the strict feeding/sleeping schedule they were suppose to have for their little one. My personal opinion (which is quite worthless) is every mom, dad, and baby have to come to their own rhythm. It took a while, the first few days at home were a real trial. Sean and Tabitha hung in their and continued to do whatever was necessary to try to make the little guy happy. Hopefully now that he seems to have somewhat of an idea of how to nurse his feeding time will be more comforting to both mom and baby also helping him to sleep better so mom and dad can get some rest too. The first day or so was a real marathon and I can say with confidance Sean and Tabitha will be great parents. I am so thankful I was able to spend the time with them. I left for home last night and I already miss them. I don't know who needed our time together more them or me. I tend to think I needed to be there more than they needed the help so I am thankful they let me be a part of this wonderful yet trying few days. Here are a few pictures of me with Brayden when he actually slept.

So CUTE!!

Bath time?!

Brayden's first bath at home was a little akward for both mom, dad, and baby. With him being so young there are a few things to watch out for that you are not suppose to get wet. It is hard to get a bath without being able to get all the way wet and add to that the fact you have arms and legs all moving. It was definitely a two person operation. However mom and dad pulled it off fine, Nanna was in the background taking pictures. Isn't he adorable.

When will it end?

Will this cold ever end? I still have not been able to hold the grandson due to this lingering, never ending cold. Debbie has been at Tabitha's helping with the baby, so maybe she will avoid catching this mess. So, I ask what good is getting a flu shot if you still end up with something like this?

Not a bad invention. I wonder where I could buy one of these, Walmart?

Thank you God.

Thank you God for a healthy grandson.
Thank you God for watching over my little girl and bringing this joy to her life and our lives.

Thank you God for giving her the strength and love it will take to be a good mother.

Thank you God for a son-in-law who loves my daughter and will take good care of his family.

Great DAY!

Beautiful Mom and Son moment.
Proud Father and Son moment

Proud Grandma, Mom, and Son moment.

Proud Grandma and Grandson Moment.

And where was the proud grandpa and grandson moment pic? It became another victim in a long list of victims of the bray curse! That's right, the bray curse. I hope it is something that Brayden never inherits. I have been healthy all year, not even a cough or a sniffle until two days ago. And then it struck like a vengeance on the night we got the call of Brayden's impending birth. Determined not to miss the event altogether, I suited up in a surgical mask and gloves to watch at a relatively safe distance one of the most blessed events in my life.

20.5"
8.66 lbs.

Already curious about his surroundings.

Pretty in Pink!

We took a trip to Walmart last night, another distraction, and Tabitha bought this cute little dress for Candy. Candy looks so cute and so far she has not tried to take it off or bite at it. I think she is a miss priss at heart.

A Day with Tabitha

I spent Monday with Tabitha. I don't know who I was trying to distract, her or me. She is due any day now and we are all holding our breath in anticipation. So I decided to spend Monday with Tabitha and we would play with electronic scrapbooking and visit. After we played on the computer a while we watched a movie together. I really enjoyed our day together. I don't know how distracted we were because the first part of the day we spent admiring the nursery, the baby stuff, and her big belly (at least I liked the big belly). Here are a few pics.


Tabitha demonstrates how to put on socks when you can't reach your feet. What will they think of next and why didn't they have this contraption when I was pregnant?

Big belly and beautiful

Troy has been after me lately because I have neglected posting to our blog. I have been thinking lately of all the major things that have happened in our lives over the past 10 years and things don't seem to be slowing down much which is good it keeps life interesting. On some of these years it was hard to pick just one thing, but here goes.

2008

Brody was born

2007

Sean & Tabitha got married

2006

Adam & Justine got married

2005
Alex graduated High School

2004

Adam & Justine graduated High School