Duck Pond

It was so pretty and cool this morning, we headed to the Duck Pond in Garden Hills before going to watch the Dawgs play the Gamecocks.

The King and Queen of the Pond

Such a hidden gem right here in the city

Love her feet propped up!

Feeding the Ducks

We made fast friends once the bread came out!

FB saying "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"

Keeping an eye on her new friends

Happy Girl

Noodle Head

Someone really enjoyed her spaghetti dinner tonight.

Needless to say, she went straight to the bath tub after dinner!

Laundress

Tonight, Fannie Bradley sorted laundry for 30 minutes. And talked the entire time. She was carrying on a full blown conversation with her dirty clothes. This is the only picture I got because as soon as she saw me, it was game over! Doesn't she look like such a little girl in this picture?

I hope she wants to help with the laundry when she is 13! Doubt it.

Bible Study

My Mother and I started a bible study this morning at church. I am the next to the youngest one there and that's okay. I am looking forward to learning from my elders. But what is weird, is that my elders insist on being called by their first names and not Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones like I have been doing for 31 years. They consider me an equal and I feel completely inferior.

We are doing Beth Moore's new and improved, Breaking Free study. I did this study years ago, but that was a different time, a different story and a different season of my life.

So in order for my mother and I to both be in bible study means that Miss Fannie B was headed to the nursery. Unattended by any familiar face, quite possibly for the first time. Tragic, I know.

Bible study is 2 hours long. Nursery workers will call your cell phone if there is a problem. I had been stalking my phone all morning then we broke off into small groups so I wasn't looking at my phone every 37 seconds. Find my room where my small group will be meeting, look at my phone. Number I don't know. Very normal for Real Estate. Voicemail waiting. Very normal for Real Estate. Listen to voicemail. I hear my baby screaming. Don't even know what was said in the voicemail. I take off in a dress and Jack Rogers, down several flights of stairs. Get to FB's room, and she looks at me, smiles, starts laughing and holds out her arms reaching for me. She made it 45 minutes. ¡Ay, caramba!

Put FB in her stroller and head back upstairs to my small group. FB plays on the floor and goes through my purse for the next 30 minutes, especially loving a pack of Kleenex and ripping its contents into a zillion pieces. Mommy is mortified. No one else was even phased.

Smalls groups are over and we head back to the combined large group. Grandmommie is of course thrilled to see her baby. Mommy is still mortified. One of the sweet Elder ladies of the church offered to stroll FB around for the remaining of our session. Sure, thanks and good luck!

Fannie charms the pants off of everyone she encounters while she makes her way up and down the church halls, talking and waving Hiiiiiiiiiii (video coming soon of that)!

Maybe next week will be better!?!?!?

Mammalingo

On Monday, August 30, this email, from Daily Candy Kids Atlanta, was waiting in my inbox.

Since I had good examples of two crazy things I had done recently, I emailed Mammalingo.

Next thing I know, this was published!

I only provided the examples, not the definition!

Labor Day Weekend in Camilla

Fannie Bradley, her parents, and all of her grandparents headed to Camilla for the holiday weekend.

River Road, we are almost there!

Saturday night we drove to Thomasville for dinner at George and Louie's.

Sunday, after the men came in from the fields, we headed to Albany for lunch.

A trip to South Georgia is not complete without a trip to the Cracker Barrel.


Somebody, make that two somebodies, were worn out and snoozed outside while we ate.

After lunch, the menfolk headed to Lowe's, then back to Camilla.



John had to take off his boots just to fit.







The womenfolk headed to Publix to buy dinner.








This was a random field in Albany near the Publix that was setting up for a Labor Day event.

Aren't the flags pretty?

It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky

The men spent the afternoon in the fields, spreading feed, hoping the quail will stick around until November. The women messed around the house and got dinner prepared. Typical.

When they were finished with their work, Daddy took Fannie Bradley on her first tractor ride.

I am not sure who had the biggest smile!

I like that hat Daddy

Going for a ride

Family Tractor Ride

Now Mammie gets her turn (she waved to FB the whole time!)

Next, we headed to the cotton fields

Our Famliy

Showing off her first piece of cotton

One of my favorite pics of all time

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." Psalm 19.1



Thank goodness we live about the Gnat Line is all I have to say.

The sun may have been bright, but it made for a gorgeous evening.

I love these two

Doing what they do best : Sneaking kisses!

Good thing I had these pink and green plaid overalls hanging in the closet, I knew they would come in handy one day!

Cotton really is so pretty

Evidently some flood lights needed changing....

Looks kinda dangerous to me!

Monday consisted of more of the same, spreading feed, errand running in Albany and cooking out.

Early evening, when we should have been packing to head back to Atlanta, we headed out in the jeeps for a ride around the farm.

Swamp

Our cute tour guide

She was fascinated with safely leaning over and looking at the ground moving below her. Don't go calling DFCS on us!

Flint River: Before and After

April 18, 2009

One Month before Baby




Almost 16.5 months later

The new and improved Hinson Family

Our Transportation

A Man, His Jeep and His Baby Girl

When I was just about FB's age, my parents had a jeep too. They would strap my car seat in the back and off we went. I like keeping with traditions.

a Jeep full o' Grandparents

FB is a lucky little girl

After our stop at the river, we took a new path that had recently been cleared.

Very Jurrasic Park.

Well, all of a sudden Daddy's jeep starting sputtering, then stopped. The gas gauge on this jeep is broken. So is the horn. So the Jeep full o' Grandparents didn't hear our cries for help.

Very Jurrasic Park.

Should I mention that there are all sorts of wild animals on the farm. Aligators and Rattlers included.

So we left the Jeep

and headed out of the woods on foot.





Daddy ~ Daughter Matching Hair Dos

I just knew that one of the grandmothers was going to turn around and notice that their precious children (read: precious first born grandchild) weren't behind them anymore. And in true Papa Joe fashion, he would tell them not to worry, that we probably had stopped to take a picture (good guess though).

So when I came to a clearing in the woods, this is what I found, and I don't have a great history with pastures full of cows (Thomson, GA ~ MLK Weekend, 1998),

but I did spot the Jeep full o' Grandparents way off on the horizon and started waving them down.



And exactly as I told John what was going to happen, the Jeep full o' Grandparents eventually reappeared to save the day.

After that little bit of excitement, we hopped on with them and headed back to the house!

We had a very fun, hot, busy, working weekend in Camilla and were so glad that we could introduce this special place to Fannie Bradley. We hope that she will love this land as much as the 5 generations of Orrs before her do and did.