Turmoil and Transition

I thought it was about time I gave you an update on what is happening at Crooked Pines Farm. Our home is in turmoil and transition at this time, both inside and out. Outside the weather can't decide if it wants to be winter or spring. In another post I will share some of our snow pictures with you. We actually accumulated 3" of snow from a single storm. I know that doesn't sound like much to some people, but in northwest Alabama, it is significant!

Inside the turmoil and transition is a very good thing, albeit a little uncomfortable. We are finally getting our drywall finished in the cabin. Jessie finished hanging the last of it over the weekend and the drywall workers showed up bright and early Tuesday morning. Now you must understand that bright and early are not always happy words for the Woodis Bunch. We love to sleep later than most. Our normal getting up time is 9am, not 6:45am! Yawn...



Here is Jessie working on the wall between the master bedroom and bath. I have been looking at a stud wall here for over four years. I can't tell you how pleased I am to see drywall being put up on this wall.



This is the plumbing for the vanity. We are planning to have a single vessel sink with a pump style faucet like our bathtub. I believe we have found the vanity that we want at Home Depot. Time will tell if we change our minds or actually buy this one. We have been known to change our minds several times before we actually make a purchase. Do you know anyone who does that?



Here is a before picture of the bathroom. This picture makes my tub look small but believe me, it is not. I don't know if you can see it very good or not, but our vanity faucet is very similar to the one on the tub. After all of the drywall is finished and painted we will have the tile work done. I am so excited to see all of this progress! God has been so good to us!



The next step towards getting the drywall finished was moving everything out of the upstairs except for the living room. The only drywall in the living room is in the ceiling and Jessie along with Michael Michel have already finished and painted that. So this room has now become my bedroom, my office, my living room, and my dining room. It is very crowded and cluttered right now and driving me nuts. But, I will be happy to persevere through this process for the reward will be great!



Okay, so here is a view of that same wall Jessie was working on with a glimpse of the bathroom, ceiling and down the hall to the kitchen. Tomorrow the workers will be back to do the sanding and finish the job. Then, we will wash everything down, apply the primer and the painting can begin. I really want this job done so we can have Audrey's babies back here again.

Until next time...
Lovingly,
Mary

Quilt Give Away

Who doesn't love a beautiful quilt? I know I certainly do! The Old Red Barn Co. is giving away this beautiful quilt. All you have to do is visit her blog and leave a comment in order to be entered in the give away. She has many other ways of receiving extra entries like posting on your blog about her contest. So... Here I am working for an additional entry! I hope I win, I hope I win, I hope I win... Did I say I would love to win??? While you are there be sure to check out all of the other wonderful goodies that she is offering. Good luck to all of you!

A Monday Ramble

Monday came along and I was feeling a bit restless. Spring fever has descended and I wanted to be outside doing something. I had a lot of restless energy so I decided it was time for a ramble. I haven't been back in our woods for quite a while so that was the first place I headed.



On our property you never hike alone. Today Sweetie (the black Lab) and Betsy Ridley (the calico cat) decided to join me. They make pretty good pals except they scare away any wildlife that I "might" have seen. Oh well, the companionship was nice!



When I got back up to the house the chickens were under the steps for the kitchen porch waiting for a hand-out. Our flock has been whittled down over the last couple of years. The local fox population has benefited while our egg production has dwindled. This rooster announced my arrival to the children.



These are the last four puppies. They were so excited to see me! Or were they so excited to see Sweetie their mom? Hmmm... Surely it was me... Don't you think?



Well, my ramble wasn't quite over so instead of heading up those steps, I went to the front yard instead. I passed by the garden fence and noticed how cold this honeysuckle vine looked. Have you ever seen a cold honeysuckle vine? Well, in case you never noticed this is what it looks like. Makes you shiver, doesn't it?



As I passed the front steps and looked up I noticed that the Red Maple tree is starting to bloom. This isn't the best picture of the blossoms, but I think you can get a general idea. They are so beautiful. I will have Emily make a better photograph of them later. Have you visited her webpage yet? She is located at www.behindmylensphotography.com
Please pardon a mother for bragging, but I think that she is quite talented! She recently did a photo shoot for Dixie Hill, her teacher, and those pictures came out awesome! You can find those pictures on Dixie's myspace page.




Well, my ears were starting to hurt because the wind was so cold so I headed back to the house. Another group of chickens were waiting for me next to the front steps and this little rooster made his announcement of my arrival. This rooster's name is Little Bit. He was hatched right here on our farm. Believe it or not, his mama is a Buff Orpington hen.




In the front door I came and there were Emily and Lindsay playing kissey face. In case I haven't previously introduced her, the infant in the picture is Lindsay Jackson, Tyler's little sister. She is Troy and Audrey's baby girl born October 8, 2007. Lindsay has two brothers, Ethan and Tyler and one sister, Heather. She is a very sweet little baby girl who loves kisses and being talked to for hours. Fortunately for her, there is never a shortage of talking in this household! Hahaha!




Before I close this long, rambling post, I wanted to show you our newest great find. We purchased this table and two (2) lamps at Home Depot for about $50. I had looked at them previously when they were priced much higher and decided that I couldn't part with the cash. Jessie and I went to town on Saturday morning to get our taxes figured and ended up with extra time before he had to be at work. So, like usual we ended up at one of our local home improvement warehouses; today the choice was Home Depot. Boy am I gad it was! Isn't it a very pretty table and it goes so well with our sofa and ottoman. I love it when God blesses us with something we don't really need but definitely want! Thank you Lord! And a special thanks to all of you for reading all the way to the end of this rambling post.

Daniil the Triceratops

I am so excited to announce the publication of my newest book as you see above. I wrote this story several years ago as a Christmas gift for Parker-Daniil. Queen Homeschool Supply is the publisher of my books. Sandi Queen has written a corresponding study guide. I hope you will visit her site at Queenhomeschool.com

This is the blurb that Sandi has on her site about the "Daniil the Triceratops" and the companion study guide:

Daniil the Triceratops by Mary E. Woodis
The call has come...the call from the Creator...for some of every living creature to move to the east. What lies there? Why must they go? Why are only a few going?


Join the adventure of young Daniil, a Triceratops
youngster, and his dinosaur friends, as they are called by their Creator, God, to move eastward to an unknown destination - Noah's ark! Along the way, you'll learn simple lessons in faith, trust, obedience, and more through this lively tale from the author of "Oakie of the Oak Tree" and other titles. Through the study guide that corresponds with the book, your child will study various animals, plants, and dinosaurs, as well as doing an in-depth Bible study about Noah's ark and the flood. Suited towards elementary ages.
http://www.queenhomeschool.com/productpages/Daniil_Cover.jpg

Life Lessons

Sometimes the lessons that life brings along are very hard to bear. Recently our family experienced one of these lessons. On the morning of January 26th my dear husband's brother, Harry Woodis, was tragically killed in an automobile accident caused by black ice. This moment in time brought into our lives a series of learning experiences that I am sure our children will never forget.



Our family has experienced death in the past, but never like this. When an older person dies you are usually expecting it and can prepare yourself for the grief. But, when a younger person is killed suddenly and tragically, it is a bit like getting kicked in the stomach. It takes your breath away and leaves you with a pain that doesn't end quickly.

At the ages of 20, 17, and 12 our children are old enough to understand loss and really experience the range of emotions that grief brings. First there was the shock, denial and intense sobbing. Then came the anger and blame casting. Lastly came the acceptance and deep sadness. They also experienced the joy and peace through it all of the assurance that Uncle Harry is now waiting for them in heaven. As Christians we don't experience forever loss, we can look forward to a hope and a future. Instead of Uncle Harry being gone forever, we know that our family circle in heaven just got bigger.

Another lesson they learned was how to give and receive comfort and love during a crisis. This was the second most important lesson. The loving arms that folded us close and the promise of prayers were the most comforting things that we received. Another great help was the meals that were provided. Everything was so overwhelming during that first week that the simple task of planning a meal was just too much.

Many times we received phone calls from concerned people that wanted to help. The question of "What can I say, what can I do to help?" was uttered many times. When faced with such an intense loss most people are at a loss for words; you just don't know what to say. Indeed, there are no words that will alleviate your suffering, only time and the healing touch of the Holy Spirit of God can do that.

The most important lesson that we learned from this tragedy was to draw closer to our Dear Lord for healing and comfort. We learned to rely on Him. He alone can handle our raging, intense grief. Sometimes your heart cry can not find words, but the longing is heard by our Dear Lord. He knows your need before you can put it into words. In the dark of night, when you feel all alone, He is there. When your are at the bottom of the "valley of the shadow of death", He is there. He promised to never leave us and never forsake us and we found this to be true.

This was one of those lessons that you can't learn from a book. Filling in blanks in a work book won't teach this kind of lesson. Learning as a family to support one another and fill in the blanks in our lives that Uncle Harry has left, those are the lessons that we have learned.

A Flood!

You can always tell when something is really wrong by the tone of voice your child uses when she calls out "Mom!" That is how I knew this was a real problem when Jessica called my name last evening. Then I heard it! What was it? Water... water under pressure... like the sound it makes when you are filling the bathtub... Water! Gushing and rushing in my upstairs bathroom. Oh No!

The pipe to the far right is the one that separated at the t-connector.

I rushed to my bathroom and found an eight foot tall fountain happily spraying my wall and ceiling. I quickly squatted and reached for the shut-off valve. It hasn't been used for a while so it was stiff and I couldn't remember at first which way to turn it. As my fingers began to freeze and grow numb I finally got it turned off.

Through the hole in the floor that the pipe originates there was a great river rushing into the ceiling downstairs. Emily and Parker-Daniil quickly rushed downstairs to assess the damage as Jessica and I began moving things and sopping up water. Downstairs they discovered water in the bathroom and Emily's bedroom (which is currently being used as the storage room). A ceiling tile and a the attendant insulation were acting like a sponge and getting heavier all the time. A moment later a crash and yell let me know that they had indeed come down.

As soon as Jessica had the water under control up here I reached for the phone and called Jessie at work. I wanted to let him know what had happened and find out if there was anything else I needed to do about the water. Beyond explaining what had happened and where the the pipe had separated, we were good.

So, once the mess was cleaned up we employed our new space heater and dried out the plywood on the floor. Presto! All is good once again and Jessie will be fixing the pipe today so we have cold water upstairs again. Downstairs the cleaning detail resulted in more clutter control in the storage room and a replacement tile in the bathroom ceiling. Whew! Never a dull moment around here...