Monday, Crazy Monday

It's been another long weekend. It started out really well and then Saturday came. And some people didn't agree with some decisions that Theron made (he has decided he is done with chemo. It is killing him) and well, needless to say, things escalated and this sign pretty much sums up how I feel this morning. 

To put it nicely, forget them.....all of them. I'll continue to take care of my grandmother and grandfather because obviously, that's what God has intended for me to do because without Him I. AM. NOT. STRONG. ENOUGH. 

These are some random pictures I've taken that are so pretty to me. They make me smile. :)

Also on this nasty Monday Rivers and I have the snots and scratchy throat. We are downing all sorts of allergy meds. We feel quiet fine right now. :)

Tomorrow nite and Wednesday's forecast calls for SNOW!!!!!! Oh my! I may or may not be excited about it...depends on if this scratchy throat goes away. 

Last nite before I went to bed I was talking about how the forecast was almost depressing because there was no sun showing for the next 10 days......well, it was out there when I got up this morning!!! Just what I needed! Another sign.

Theron is determined he is going to see Dr. Shaw and the girls tomorrow. And he probably will with the determination he has! Man is it ever gonna be cold out tomorrow! But if he wants to go I will be there to take him! He's been doing so good the past couple days. Eating a little more, drinking a LOT more, and walking without a cane OR walker!

I have resorted to wearing socks that don't match and I think it's kinda cool. It's mainly because I don't have time to look for matching ones and I really don't care because it's not important.  Today I have grey with orange dots and hot pink trim and another that's grey with lime green dots and purple trim. 

There have been so many times in the past four months that I've contemplated packing our bags, loading up the car, telling no one (except maybe my moma) and driving to the beach for the weekend.....and "accidentally" forgetting our phones at home. Instant stress relief. It's just not warm enough. I want to walk out to where the water is just below my nose. And not think about anything. Just let the salt water and sun soak into my skin. 

This is also stress relieving. Gardening. This is the stuff that my Jake grew. Fresh vegetables are just so pretty to me. Fresh from the earth. The color is just so vibrant. And they just taste so much better. I'm trying to talk Jake in to growing flowers this year. A field of flowers when I look out the front window. Talk about beautiful! I think I'm gonna slip out there and plant a slew of zinnias this year. They are so gorgeous!!!

Ta-ta for now. Here's to simpler times!

A few long days.....and a 12th Birthday. :)

My BIG boy turned 12 this week! He shared his big day with MLK, which wasn't so bad because everyone had the day off! Jake and I started the day off by leaving out early and goin to the orthodontist. Got done there and stopped by Walmart for a few things and went by Hog N Bones for breakfast. We had to hurry and get back out to Justin and Sarah's house because the power people were cutting down HUGE pine trees in their yard. They had already started when we got there so we had to hurry! It was awesome! All the kids loved it! Including the BIG kids, too! 

We came back home later that afternoon to get ready for the birthday party. :) we had more dessert than regular food! That's what I'm talking about! Jake wanted panini's and chips for dinner and chocolate cake, chocolate trifle, and a cookies & cream pie.

I've had so many sleepless nites lately from thinking about Theron and worrying wether or not he's gonna be here the next day or not. It's getting tough. He's been in the bed more the past week than not. He'll get up around 12 and sit up til about 430 or 5 and then go back to bed for the nite. And that's only maybe every other day or two days. He doesn't eat, hardly drinks and has decided to stop chemo. I so hope the stopping chemo helps him to feel better. At least through the spring. That's what he's been talking about and looking forward to most. The Planting. 

I've been trying to stay with him and keep the kids close by because that keeps him upbeat and happy, helps him through the day. I know in the end it won't be something any of us will regret. I just hope I can continue to hold it all together while I'm with him. It gets tough at times but so far so good. I don't won't to turn this in to anything that is about me. Right now, it needs to be all about him and I wish more of his family would see it that way. Anyway, I'm just gonna keep on keepin on. 

XXX.  ;)

Reminiscing........

I got a camera card adapter from SIL for the iPad and loaded a LARGE amount of photos on here. I've picked out some of my favorites for a post.  These first few are from when we went camping at Lake Blackshear a couple years ago. Early morning......my favorite time of day at the lake. It's so quiet, not a lot of movement, just the sound of boats and the smell of bacon cooking. :)

This guy here in the kayak is exactly where I'd like to be right now........quiet, foggy, chilly morning.

My kids (the boys anyway) are actually some of the early risers at the lake...."the early riser gets the fish" as Ben says. I say "if your name is Ben Perry you get the fish!" Period.  When you're good,you're good.

Same foggy morning, I just turned around and took this picture. :)

This was taken at the Agrirama in November 2012

This picture was from Theron's surprise 80th birthday party/family reunion. This is a BIG chuck of the Cook family. He had just found out about two weeks before that he had stage four lung cancer. We really thought this would be the last birthday he'd see. He just had his 81st last October and he's steadily working on his 82nd!

Every time I look at these two pictures I tear up. Rivs great grandma Juanita bought her her first American Girl Doll. Rivers had NO IDEA that she had done this. So Ms. Juanita called us over one nite to bring her over and she FLIPPED OUT when she opens that box and saw that doll inside!!!  I love the look on her face!!!

She was one happy and excited little girl!!! And she loves her dolls!!!  (All 3 of them)

This is one of the days I realized my babies are all grown up. They are all BIG enough to ride the roller coasters at Wild Adventures. I knew this day would come but I remember just like it was yesterday that I had plenty of time to worry about that before it actually happened. :/.  It's come and gone in the blink of an eye.

Here sitting, strapped in these four, black seats is MY. ENTIRE. WORLD. And look at the excitement on those faces!!!  And one barefoot little girl! In December! (2012)

They ALL love roller coasters!!!

Here we are in 2013. Pensacola, Fla. on our way to Orange, Texas.

Navy Museum=amazing!!!

The life sized planes were so pretty and it was neat to think they were actually once flown and protected our country. There was a lot to read but it wasn't easy with three kids that wanted to just get in and fly all of them ! I wondered if my besties husband, Jonathan, got to fly in many of these types of planes since he was in the Navy. They've definitely got to visit that place when they get back out this way.

We also toured the USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. This HUGE battleship was amazing but also depressing. I can't imagine someone being on a ship for as long as those men were and not going absolutely crazy. I'm not claustrophobic but that ship almost made me! 

We were able to go in practically every nook and cranny of this ship. And there were many!

The next day (after we spent the nite in Baton Rouge) we stopped and toured the Tabaso plant. We tried to pack in as much as possible on our trip and make it a learning experience. This was territory NONE of the Perry'S had ever been in!  EVER!

And leave it to Ben to find a fish outta water!

This was one of the strangest sights to me! All I've ever seen are Ga, Tn and Fla (lately). But NEVER LA and MS or TX!!! Texas was my favorite!

And we had to visit the World's Largest Fire Hydrant in Beaumont, Texas!!! 

This was the hi light of Ben's entire trip! He met the man he's gonna one day replace! Hahaha!  I wish I had the money to get him started.  It's his calling. The boy can fish.

They were all three amazed at the size of this engine/motor? I was too actually.

Ben said this is his future transportation.    ;).  I believe it!  This boat wrap was really neat. It looks camo but the "camo" look is actually tiny pictures that were sent in of his fans!

Ben's first local fishing tournament.  MAP had to work so I had to take him to a pond out at our house.....in the heat!  Good grief it was so hot!!! He didn't care!

He is so serious when he fishes. I do love watching him. And he could fish all day whether he catches anything or not (which is very rare).

And he knows where they are. It amazes me. I'd love to be able to send him with one of the pros for a day of fishing. Although they may get their feelings hurt.  :)

And here's my little goat girl!

Basking in the sun. She (unlike my oldest) will smile for anyone!

May 2013. Mexico Beach. As soon as we got there. Ben fishing. 

Me: Ben, it's dark, you can't catch anything if you can't see!!!

Ben:  (see picture)

The moon was absolutely beautiful and was obviously bright enough and made it light enough to fish!

Rounding out the year. October 2013. Blue Ridge, Ga.

The boys fishing in the Toccoa River and boy did they ever! We have a freezer full of trout waiting to be fried up!!!

The only way for me to get a good picture of Jake is if I surprise him!

The boy won't smile or cooperate foe ANYTHING!!!!!!

This is the newest addition to the Hickman family!  Abree Estelle. That hair still blows my mind! She was born on November 5, 2013, weighing in at 9lbs 12ozs!!! OMG!!!  I wuv her!

Happy 2014!!!!!!   And PS. I'm not going back to proofread this!  Ain't nobody got time for that!!!

Blue Ridge, Ga 2013

These are some of the pictures from our trip to Blue Ridge in October 2013. We visited Mercier Apple Orchard and got some of the best apples ever. While we were in the mountains I cooked some of the most delicious meals ever. One of the desserts included an apple crisp that I used some of our freshly picked apples for! It was so good! We had never been to an apple orchard and this one was HUGE! They also had a store/gift shop/bakery and they sell 1.5 MILLION Apple pies (not including cherry, peach and sweet potato either!!!) just Apple!!!!  1.5 MILLION every year!!! That's a lot of pies!!! We bought probably 24-35+. They are so yummy. Cherry and peach are my favorite though. :)

While we were in the mountains I decided I was gonna try to take some pictures of my babies. It was supposed to be cooler being it was up in the mountains and all but notsomuch! I promised if they'd be good and cooperate and just give me ONE good picture I'd be done.....they gave me several. :) I think they were secretly having a good time :) especially the little lady!

They really liked this old barn. They said it reminded them of the "little house on the prairie" days.

Jake thinks he is too old to be taking pictures with his kid brother and sister these days. 

He acts like he doesn't want to do it but he is actually proud when he takes a good picture. This is one of my favorites because I didn't tell them to pose like this. They really do love each other no matter what the daily blood curdling screams and tattletaling may make you think. ;)

Rivers is my little supermodel wannabe. She'll pose for pictures all day long. Even in a tree hanging over the water with a snake slithering under her boots. :) no joke!

She is growing up way too fast. I remember when she was 14  months old we were worried that she'd never walk and now she's practically grown! 

This is the wobbly bridge we went to that wasn't far from our cabin. We hope to go back this spring and float down the Toccoa from the bridge to our cabin.

Ben is trying to find some babies of course :)

Here are Rivs and momma hanging off the second story of the cabin.

Another picture from the apple orchard. Daddy decided he'd eat one right off the tree.

We also went to the Ga Mountain Fair in Hiawassee. It was very neat. They had outdoor shows and arts and crafts and lots of country singing. My babes sat for six straight hours watching people sing! They actually enjoyed it......I know, they're strange like that!