"the rain let up and the sun came up..."

a lil' van morrison for you in the title today. well, it has finally been nice outside and we are quickly winding down the school year...FINALLY! for the past week i've taken my kids outside every day...it's been so nice!!

sligo marina

last weekend was memorial day weekend and we had a blast down at sligo, as usual. gege came in town from orlando and the old high school crew went down to the house boat...which is an annual memorial day celebration for us. this has been the first year i've gone on fri. and stayed till mon. it was so nice to get away and RELAX...only if it was 30min. from home.

me, gege, and donna

guess what? it's raining...AGAIN and it's not looking good for the rest of the week. booo! we did have a beautiful day of sunshine yesterday so we took full advantage. we had mother's day lunch outside and afterwards ginny and i walked down to the river for some late afternoon fishing. we didn't catch anything but we enjoyed ourselves and the company. i climbed a tree or two on the way back too. i used to climb so many trees when i was younger. ginny though i was crazy for doing it. her response as i leaned my fishing pole against a tree and started climbing..."what are you doing? that is dangerous...you could get hurt!" pretty funny coming from a 9 year old to an almost 30 year old, huh?

mother's day

The history of Mother's Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother's Day.

In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher, began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She solicited the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen to create a special day to honor mothers. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Anna's mother. Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, the white incarnations, on the occasion as they represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Anna's hard work finally paid off in the year 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

Slowly and gradually the Mother's day became very popular and gift giving activity increased. All this commercialization of the Mother's day infuriated Anna as she believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit.

Regardless of Jarvis's worries, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. Actually, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year. Although Anna may not be with us but the Mother's day lives on and has spread to various countries of the world. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year, but some such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

Mothering Sunday
The early Christians in England celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter) to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. People working out of their homes were expected to return to the "mother" church (the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm). It also became an occasion for family reunions.


here are some pics from my family's mother's day celebration...

me and mom being silly

me and my aunt bevie

me, lee, and nannie

aunt bevie, me, nannie, and mom

who will stop the rain?

Long as I remember
The rain been comin’ down.
Clouds of myst’ry pourin’
Confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages,
Tryin’ to find the sun;
And I wonder, Still I wonder,
Who’ll stop the rain.
I went down Virginia,
Seekin’ shelter from the storm.
Caught up in the fable,
I watched the tower grow.
Five year plans and new deals,
Wrapped in golden chains.
And I wonder, Still I wonder
Who’ll stop the rain.
Heard the singers playin’,
How we cheered for more.
The crowd had rushed together,
Tryin’ to keep warm.
Still the rain kept pourin’,
Fallin’ on my ears.
And I wonder, Still I wonder
Who’ll stop the rain.
-Creedence Clearwater Revival

"all i can do is read a book to stay awake..."

rain, rain, and more rain!! it has been raining since last thursday and hasn't let up since. we were even out of school yesterday because of flooding. looks like it's supposed to rain until saturday...ugggh! this afternoon i plan on taking some pics of around town. i'll post them when i do. this is a picture off of the channel 2 website of mcminnville.

near the intersection of hwy 55 and faulkner springs rd.

orange beach...3 years and running...

so, i guess i should finally write about my birthday/beach/panic trip. we went to orange beach, al to see panic for three nights at the wharf for the third year in a row. we had an amazing beach house in gulf shores about 8miles from the venue. we had transportation to and from the shows every night...everthing was just about perfect...except for the weather. it was overcast pretty much the whole time we were there and so windy that you had to force the doors open to get outside. that wasn't going to slow us down. our house was perfect. there were 14 of us staying there. we flew and drove in from all over. robin and i drove 7hrs. normally, i would fly but i couldn't find a non-stop flight into pensacola or mobile. in fact, i could only find a flight that had 2 stops and it was 8+hrs of travel time so we made the trek. i think we were the last ones there. i love walking in and everyone being SO EXCITED to see each other...one of the best feelings in the world!!

"the beach mouse"

the shows were good. the weather every night was just about perfect. temperature was fine and the wind subsided.
the first night the second set was AWESOME!!! whew.

04/17/09 The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL

1: Give, Heroes > Love Tractor, Tickle the Truth, Ain't Life Grand > Jam > Solid Rock, Aunt Avis, You Should Be Glad, All Time Low

2: Junior, Airplane > B of D > Proving Ground, Thought Sausage > Machine > Tie Your Shoes > Drums > Surprise Valley > Tie Your Shoes > Surprise Valley

E: Pleas > Cream Puff War

[Keller Williams and Pretty Lights opens]

second night was ok...definately left something to be desired.

04/18/09 The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL

1: Send Your Mind > Fishwater, Gradle > Who Do You Belong To? > Dyin' Man, Let's Get Down To Business > This Part Of Town > Jack > Big Wooly Mammoth > Papa's Home

2: Bowlegged Woman, Smoking Factory*, Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning*, Walk On The Flood, Blight > Ride Me High > Jam > Drums** > Climb To Safety > Action Man

E: Wondering > Can't Find My Way Home

* with Luther Dickinson on guitar ** with Cody Dickinson on percussion [The North Mississippi Allstars and Pretty Lights opened; Last 'Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning' - 10/07/88, 2193 shows] 3rd night was my personal favorite. pretty much ROCKED....some of my favorite songs, great transitions, and lots of sandwiches!! 04/19/09 The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL 1: Radio Child > Pigeons, Let It Rock, L.a. > Pickin' Up The Pieces, Walk On, Better Off, It Ain't No Use > Under The Radar Jam > Angels on High, Goin' Out West 2: Driving Song > A of D > Driving Song > Tall Boy > Rock > Tall Boy > Sleepy Monkey > Three Candles > Drums > Diner > Driving Song > From The Cradle E: May Your Glass Be Filled, Chilly Water [The Avett Brothers and DJ J-Boogie opens]

the wharf