•♫♪ RAIN, RAIN COME OUR WAY ♪♫•

Yesterday we received some much coveted rain. It was a beautiful sight! The Lord is so good to us.

The first inkling of the rainfall to come clung to our dining room window in dewy drops.

The wind picked up outside our back door and it was then that I saw the rain falling from the roof. It was just a drizzle at first . . .

. . . soon it had begun to pick up speed, and the drops grew bigger.

 

In less than 10 seconds the spray from our summer shower had me and my camera running for cover. We were getting wet, wet, WET!

Below is a short video I took just so I could "hear" the melodious sound of our much needed rainfall.

This was the sight I saw later yesterday evening. My picture does not do the sunset justice, but I couldn't resist taking this snapshot.

WE CAME FOR THE STRAWBERRIES, Y'ALL

Today I went strawberry picking with friends. What a "sweet and juicy" time we enjoyed!



Such bounty! Aren't they beautiful? So sweet, too.

Rows as far as the eye could see just waiting for hands to pluck those juicy, red berries.

Filling their buckets.

Me and little man tasting a berry . . . or two.



Official Taste Tester

I have more pictures, and definitely want to share our experience in more detail. It's been a long day, though, so I'll do my best to put the info and pics under my REVIEWS page before this weekend is over. Please check back y'all! Bye for now.  :)

CHA - CHING!

I've been saving our loose change since November. The containers I was using finally got full. I couldn't have stuffed another coin in them - and believe me, I tried.

I made the decision to keep shaking the containers each time I added new coins. Y'know, kinda "squish" out any air that might be taking up space. Nuttin' but change. Haha! (Well, I did manage to save a few bills, too, but it was mainly loose change.)

The kids had been asking if they could count it. I said, "Sure." (Hey, kept me from having to do it. ;)

They poured it all out on the dining room table, and enthusiastically began separating, stacking, and counting. Needless-to-say, I was floored when they presented me with the final tally.

ABSOLUTELY FLOORED!

Here's what all that "mula" looked like when it was stacked and counted.

"Beauty' had the fun job of counting all the pennies. No one else wanted to do it. By the time she was finished, her fingers were filthy. (Talk about "Filthy lucre.")

These were the containers I used. A 12 oz. IBC soft drink bottle (pennies only); a 6 or 8 oz. Parmesan cheese container (pennies and silver); and a cute patchwork bunny bank (silver only).

Wanna know how much I collected? Take a guess. I guessed 30 to 40 bucks. What about you?? Be sure to leave me a comment and tell me what your guess was, okay? Thanks!

The total of all the coinage and bills in the picture above was as follows:

Pennies - $ 7.20                    Quarters - $ 109.50

Nickles - $ 9.30                    "Gold" $1 Coins - $ 1.00

Dimes -   $28.90                   Bills - $ 20.00

Thus making it a WHOPPING $175.90!  How about that?

Hey, if you're not saving your change . . . WHY NOT?

BLUE NORTHERN

It got pretty windy and cold outside.  I am assuming that the cold front the weather man has been telling us about finally arrived. We all love it when one rolls in!



This is what the sky (westward) looked like from our backyard.



This is what covered the eastern sky. See that bright circle of white directly above the housetop and below the power lines? That was soon swallowed up by ominous gray clouds, as the front continued its journey toward us.



O'Man and little man came out to see what all the fuss was about. This was little man's first time to experience this kind of weather. I'm not sure he knew what to make of it.



It didn't take long for the wind to pick up as you can see by looking at his hair!



"Cutie" is our KrAZy one. She came out of nowhere (without a coat), and struck a pose. Now you see her ...



... now you don't. She zipped out of my camera's frame as quickly as she zipped in!



Actually, she was popping up all over the place running, and whooping, and hollering, and laughing, and just having a good ole time. That girl! :)

She wasn't the only one frolicking in our backyard. These leaves were being herded by the wind into the azalea bushes and on inanimate objects such as our worn-out volleyball. They were rolling around like tumble weeds. At one point they were up-ended and spinning along on their sides like wheels. Haha!

"Beauty" came out under protest. I wanted her to take a picture with me to show how windy it was (as demonstrated by our hair being "whipped" around our faces). Did I think that puny orange tree limb was going to give me any shelter? Well, it didn't. 

Little Man was awestruck. He stood stock-still watching the tree limbs bob up and down. And there's "Cutie" again. She's just as cool as a cucumber and lovin' every minute.

Trees bobbing up and down. Actually, the trees held their ground. It was the little limbs and leaves that did their spunky dance for us.

  

This picture is simply to show that "Beauty" is finally taller than her mom. [We were kinda crouching forward in a huddle, so it's not a completely accurate shot. Plus the wind "poofed up" my hair on the top]. Heeeeey, I'm short!

A glance back towards the west told us that she was still a comin' our way, and it had begun to sprinkle. All of a sudden it was a little too chilly for my blood.

One final glance confirmed what I had been thinking all along - we needed to head back inside. Brrrr!

SEEING DOUBLE

Great Friends

This picture was taken at a High School football game that got called because of a pretty fierce rainstorm. Those "blotches" you see are actually raindrops. We did our best to take shelter under the bleachers, but I'm afraid they weren't built for that. Haha! Anyway, to make a long story short, I came upon this picture not too long ago. I gave it a long, hard look, and by George, I finally saw what many (and I mean MANY) people have already seen. Allow me to explain.

Over the years, both my friend and I have been stopped by folks wanting to know if we are sisters and even twins. I think the first time it happened was when we were together at a yard sale, and I was trying to decide if I wanted to pay $5 for a salad shooter. We just chuckled and wondered why they would ask such a question. However, I don't believe either of us gave it much thought after that. Then strange things began to happen. For example, a lady I'd never met before approached me in Walmart speaking to me as if we were acquainted, and was convinced my hubby worked at the bus barn. My hubby never has, but hers did!

Once, she called to tell me about a garage sale from which she had just returned home. She felt I might benefit from some of the items they were selling. I told her I wouldn't be able to go until later in the afternoon, but that I would indeed go. When I got there the couple kept staring at me as if I were going to steal something. I felt uncomfortable. When I went over to them to purchase my items they said matter-of-factly, "You were here this morning, too." (Haha!) Feeling relieved I just smiled and said, "No, that wasn't me. That was my friend, but she's the one who told me about your sale."

This last story takes the cake, however. This time my friend stopped at another yard sale, and if I remember correctly, was looking at some DVDs for sale, when a woman burst out of the front door calling my name.  When she got closer the woman realized her mistake.  My friend laughed when the woman asked if she knew anyone by my name.  When she said she did, the woman mentioned my last name, and my friend confirmed it. Now this woman was one of my mother's best friends, and I knew her well, but my friend had no clue who she was.  Haha! What are the odds of THAT happening?

Boy, oh boy, could we tell you stories! It's not always at a sale either. Now, when something like the above happens, we just smile super big smiles at each other and get tickled. That's our "kick" for the day. Guess we truly could pass for sisters!

The odd twist to all of this lately, has been that some folks are getting OUR HUBBYS confused with each other. At times, they even confuse us as couples! That's really funny to us. :)

DO YOU FEEL SPECIAL?

Yesterday was Mother's Day. The rose you see to the left was given to me by our church during the morning service. I thought that was very special and it made me feel very special. Of course, I was not singled out. ALL the ladies of our church were honored with a lovely rose if they were in attendance.

I trust someone honored you, dear mother, on Mother's Day 2010!

BABIES + MOMMAS = FRIENDS! :)

My friend made this collage and placed it on her blog in tribute to these little guys, and now I want to add it to my blog in tribute to our sons...and to OUR renewed friendship. Praise God for giving me "beauty for ashes."