New Family Members!

We have a new addition to the family! Actually, we have 21 new additions to the family! Our baby chicks arrived a day earlier than we planned, coming, yesterday morning. We originally were only supposed to get 20 but the guy threw one extra in for good measure saying that they always send him more than he orders. And of course as usually happens, Mom will be taking off this weekend leaving me to babysit the young poultry! I'm always telling Mom that it seems she always leaves at the most convenient times. Usually it's during a time such as now when there are animals that need tending or right at the heat of the canning and freezing season. This time Mom and Dad will be heading to Iowa for a wedding that Dad will be officiating for one of our friends. Mom asked me today if I knew what I needed to do to care for the chicks and I replied, "Keep them alive?" That could be harder than it sounds since we have a Terrier and a cat. But, I will do my best. Emma came over the other night and saw the chicks. We asked her what they were and she replied, "baby chickens". She didn't seem to anxious to hold them but did enjoy peering into the box and watching them as well as petting their heads while JT held them. I was afraid she might not be so gentle but she did really well.

Just thought I'd share some left over pictures.


I love this one of Sophie! Such a cute smile!












There was an Easter egg hunt after church for the kids. Emma had a blast and the next Sunday when JT and Kori went to leave Emma wanted to go around the back of the church and hunt eggs!
I love this one of John and Emma even though her eyes are closed!

On the 17th Grandma had her auction. She was going on 50 years in the same house and never had a garage sale. You can imagine what that was like!

JT and Emma taking a break from the auction activities

Weekend Happenings

Here are a few pictures of our happenings this weekend.






Emma playing with her sidewalk chalk that Papa got her for Easter.











We took Emma out to the flower garden for pictures. She didn't quite understand the concept and ended up picking a bunch of the flowers. Oh well, it was cute!













After church we went for lunch at KFC.
I told Emma to smile and she wouldn't pay attention to me. I told her to say "cheese" and she looked up and realized what I was doing.



Yesterday I had several of my pictures made into 8x10's that I took at the concert this past weekend. They turned out great! Dad hung them in my room for me and they look awesome! All of the candid shots of the stars in my room were taken by me and include; Carrie Underwood, Craig Morgan, Vince Gill and Keith Urban. One of the major themes to my room is music. I enjoy being surrounded by such greatness! :)

5th Row at the Carrie Underwood Concert! Need I say more?!

So.... the title to this blog pretty much says it all! I had the privilege of seeing one of my favorite singers live in concert again this past Friday. I have been a Carrie Underwood fan since American Idol. I saw her live for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry and was blown away by how good she was live.

When I found out she would be in Grand Rapids I jumped at the chance to go. I was online to order tickets the minute they went on sale and was rewarded with 5th row seats, center stage! I can honestly say this was the best concert I have ever been to and I've been to quite a few. I can easily see why she won Entertainer of the Year for the 2nd straight year at the ACM's a couple of weeks ago. Like I said earlier, I've been to many concerts and never have I ever heard anyone who was as vocally flawless as she is. It truly is amazing. One of the highlights of the night was her rendition of "How Great Thou Art".

My friend Faith and I made the trip to GR on Friday night. Here are a few of the MANY pics that I took. Craig Morgan, who is another artist I enjoy, opened the show. For all of pics of the night you can check my Facebook site in the next couple of days. I hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do. This show far exceeded my expectations and when she comes around in concert again, I'll be the first in line for tickets.


Faith and I waiting for the show to start.

Scope for the imagination

I discovered sometime last year that purple is a color that I don't particularly care for normally but absolutely love in flowers! I don't know why but it just struck me one day how cool purple flowers look. I think maybe it has something to do with the way it looks against the green of the stems and other green things surrounding it. Spring has certainly sprung in St. Joe County and the flowering trees are absolutely gorgeous right now! Some of them look so heavy with buds that they look like are going to fall over! Yesterday I went to Wal-mart and happened to go to the garden center and I'm glad I did. Mom and I had been wanting some Weigela bushes but most of them are rather expensive so we've been thinking we'd end up with one or two. Wal-mart had them for $2.75!! Unbelievable!! I bought 4 of them and 1 Spirea. Then we went back in the evening and bought more! :) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them or of the flowering trees. But I will leave you with some other random pictures I do have of the gorgeousness that is out right now!

Phlox are always a favorite!














This picture was taken at King's Mill, a favorite place to go take pictures this time of year. Such a neat old mill and lots of flowering trees and bushes.

Dad took some of my senior pictures here several years ago. When Mom and I went the other day we had the whole place to ourselves; a rare treat!












Tulips are one of my favorite flowers, second only to roses! I love taking pictures of them leaving all of the background in black and white so that the color really stands out.


The last few days around here have had what Mom and I like to call "scope for the imagination". That is a line from one of our favorite movies, Anne of Green Gables. There are certain times when there is just more scope for the imagination than others. As you enjoy this time of year I hope you allow yourself time to take in all the beauty that is around you.

Rhiannon

Testing 1, 2.....

So, here I sit staring at this blank page wondering why in the world I decided to start blogging again. It's easy when I really have something to say but what about the rest of the time? I don't know how much I'll be on here or even what I'll have to say. Maybe I'll just post pictures and let them do the talking. I guess only time will tell. There's one thing I know for sure; there are times when I want people to know what I have to say concerning certain things and when those times come you'll know it!

I will warn the reader of this... I tend think of everything from an artistic perspective; usually music, hence the title of the blog. If it's a phrase I immediately start singing every song I know that includes those words. If I don't know of any then I think of how I could write a song using that phrase. I admit, I don't think like normal people! And just in case anyone is wondering, the line "I walk these streets, a loaded 6 string on my back" comes from a Bon Jovi song. I've always loved the mental picture I get of a "loaded 6 string"; someone who is always ready with a song or a melody.

I'm not saying that I will always post about "artistic"things, I'm just giving you a heads up on how I think. I heard a quote one time from a worship leader and I swear it was me speaking. He said, "I have the curse of an artist. My strength is that I feel deeply; and my weakness is that I feel deeply." I was glad to know I wasn't the only one out there who feels like this!

So, from time to time as I write I may go on a tangent and be very passionate about what I'm writing about. Just know that it's sincere and from the heart. My friends always tell me that one of things they love about me is how passionate I am about things. They always know that when I say or do something I really mean it and I'm glad that they appreciate me for it.

Part of my reasoning for starting up a blog again is because there are a lot of things going on in the world and a lot of people making their "mark" if you will, and influencing people by the things they say and do. I figure that I might as well have my say too. After all, I tend to believe the old saying is true, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for the good to do nothing." So, here I am trying to influence the world with my thoughts from a loaded 6 string! Thanks for listening.

Rhiannon