In Georgia, we learned to appreciate the delicacy that is Chick fil a…even with our peanut allergic kiddo. This was his choice of birthday lunch, even though he can’t eat the nuggets. He loves the fries and supporting a Christian company.

When Jacob, as in Jacob one of the patriarchs of Israel, moved to Egypt during the famine, his son Joseph introduced him to Pharaoh. Jacob was already ancient, so Pharaoh asked him how old he was.

Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”          Genesis 47:9-10

Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh provided his family a place to settle (Goshen), and Jacob went on about his business.

I read in my ESV Study Bible notes that the Hebrew term that was translated as sojourning indicates that they had no permanent home. This is true of his family. Abraham moved from Mesopotamia, through Haran, down to Israel. He moved many times, as did his grandson Jacob, who died in Egypt.

They were sojourners upon the earth. Land was promised to them, but they didn’t always live in it.

riding the cow train at the Rock Ranch

Of course, that made me think of my own situation, as a military wife.

For us, home is not a building of brick or wood. It’s togetherness. No matter where we are, we are home.

Nothing about this life is permanent anyway. I often hear military families who are retiring say that they have found their “forever home,” or they are moving into their forever home.

What they mean is that they are finally settling down and putting roots down to stay, perhaps until they die.

That sounds so horribly permanent, doesn’t it? Digging your hole and staying there until you die?

And yet, sometimes I long for it. I long for the white picket fence and the sold sign in the yard, to meet people and allow myself to believe that I will still know them in 30 years.

But our lifestyle continually reminds me that I am but a sojourner here upon the earth. I have no forever home here, and even if I do one day, a great many years will already have been spent in too many other homes to count.

That’s not a terrible thing. It’s exciting and promising to know that life is an adventure. What a journey. I may be in the South wishing for snow this winter, but next Christmas I may be whining about the freezing cold, dreaming of moving back to my ancestral land of Alabama.

There might be a chance that we could move somewhere we’ve lived before and meet up with friends we love, friends we don’t have to start at square one, “Hi, my name is April,” with but instead can go straight to, “How’s your dad doing now? Let’s have a barbecue this weekend!”

Nana and JD on Grandparent’s Day

The time of our sojourning in Georgia draws to a close. We have filled out our preference list, submitted recommendations from Alan’s people, and we await new orders.

Endless possibilities await. Will we stay down here? Will we return to our old Virginia stomping grounds? Or will it be somewhere new altogether? Where does the military need us next?

I have no idea, but I trust it to God’s hands. I sneak in looks at rental houses in areas I’d like to go and balk over the prices. Daydreaming will be done in abundance.

I hope once I near the end of this life I will not say that the days of my sojourning were few or evil, as Jacob said. Okay, well, by Jacob’s standards I can tell you my days will be few. He lived to be 147, but so far I can say with relief that the days of my sojourning have certainly not been evil.

The Lord has always been with me, and I know that he always will be, no matter where the journey leads.

The post The Time of Our Sojourning in Georgia appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

You know it was a happy spring break when it takes you 3 weeks (ish) and 4 separate blog posts to finish writing about it.  This was that sort of year, and if you missed the first few parts, you can catch up here:

Part I– The Shirt War

Part II– The Funny Stuff

Part III– Legoland Discovery Center

We now live in Georgia, so we decided it was time to re-visit Callaway Gardens. It has been 15 years since we were there before. 15 years ago to the day we re-visited, almost. Alan proposed to me on March 25, 2002, on the lake beach there. We returned on March 26, 2017. Pretty cool, huh?

Us, 2002, Callaway Butterfly Gardens. He proposed on the beach there.

We enjoyed re-enacting it for the boys. Caleb took pictures for you, but I didn’t like how I looked,so those will be on the blog never…

Daniel, taking off for that beach.

The boys were all supremely disappointed that they didn’t have their swimsuits with them, but it was a touch chilly for swimming still, and we wanted to scope out the whole place that day. We can go back to swim anytime.

Ever since we left California, and my beloved Point Lobos, I have had no place here to go and just revel in the beauty of nature. Actually, my back yard is pretty awesome because I do see red cardinals and an occasional snake (*shudder*), and I find little brown balls that lead me to believe that deer are occasionally jumping our fence, but Callaway goes beyond that.

Here at Callaway, our little family was all at peace and excitement, as we hiked the trails, visited the butterflies, and even got to see a captive falcon with a wingspan as big as me!

Caleb will tell you. Everyone in our family knows it. It is not possible to take Caleb anywhere that there is water of any kind and bring him home dry. He will always be beckoned in so far that he will always leave soggy. We love that about him.

This was a half-mile trail, but in the southern heat, it feels like more. Thankfully, some of it is shaded. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. It felt like home to me.

Me, feeling like I’d found my new Pt. Lobos.

There is something about being outdoors that is nourishing not only to your body but to the depths of your soul.

I was also reminded why, by the time I was a teenager, I thought I didn’t love being outside. When you grow up in the South, MOSQUITOS reign! Yeah, wear bug repellent if you do anything like what we were doing here. And sweat, of course, sweat. Mosquitos and sweat. Still worth it though.

I don’t think a person can look at a bed of tulips without feeling a little better.

A small dogwood tree! How I’ve missed dogwoods!!

Normally, tons of azaleas would have been in bloom, but a week prior a cold front had come through and killed all the azaleas at my house that were blooming or budding, so there were none. I also read that azaleas bloomed early at Callaway this year. That would have been such a beautiful sight to behold, but alas, we missed it. A week later the late azaleas did finally show off in our area, so that was some comfort.

inside the butterfly center

The butterflies were of course all over, and we were all excited to be a part of it…..except John David. JD sort of whimpered the whole time and got all sorts of freaked out if a butterfly flew anywhere near him, and so our time in the Butterfly Center was cut short.

After a butterfly actually landed on my hand for a few minutes, the boys took to trying extra hard to get one to land on them.

But alas, it never happened. Sorry boys.

JD, in panic mode…Butterflies are apparently terrifying.

Daniel kept picking John David up and carrying him, and JD only weighs 10 pounds less than Dan, so we started referring to Daniel as the ant man.

My camera phone died before I got to photograph the giant bridge with the water, over by the Discovery Center, which is one of the most beautiful parts. Next time! Because you know there will be a next time!!

“A cheerful heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”  Psalm 17:22

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”        Psalm 19:1

And now it’s back to work. I hope you all manage to squeeze in a little sunshine time today.

*

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What to Expect at Legoland Discovery Center in Atlanta

There are a few Legoland Discovery Centers around the country now. We went to the one in Atlanta during spring break. These are a fun way to spend a few hours together as a family.

If your kids have never been to Legoland Orlando or Legoland in Southern California, you should totally just tell them this is Legoland and never have to book the larger vacation. They’d probably be totally satisfied.

Of course, we actually did go to Legoland California, and I wrote about that here. Our boys are obsessed with all things Lego, especially our younger 3, so these vacations were the perfect fit for us.

This year we saved $$$$ by staying local for Spring Break, and Legoland Discovery Center Atlanta was the perfect fit.

The boys knew going into it that this was not going to be like the theme park. It’s more of a play center, and they saw a commercial for it on one of their Lego movies, so they were all happy.

We are firm believers in managing expectations. Give them low hopes and over deliver. That, my friends, is the key to spring break happiness.

Legoland Discovery Centers are scattered throughout the country, in many of the bigger cities, and this was our first time to visit one. This particular one is located in a large shopping mall, deep into Atlanta.

By the way, Atlanta traffic was not nearly as aggravating that day. We miraculously managed to keep our car moving forward, not sitting still, the entire time we were on the road.

We booked in advance because that saves you a few dollars on each ticket.

When you are a party of 6, a few dollars on each ticket adds up fast. Sometimes you can find coupons online too.

When you book in advance, you also choose a time to arrive. We did that because we didn’t want to drive all the way over there and then the place be full and have to wait in line. We waited in no line to get in, and we waited in the shortest lines ever to go on the rides. That makes this non-line-waiting-Momma very happy.

As soon as we got in, JD began to ask to build Lego men.

JD’s interest in Lego is pretty much limited to just the men at this age. All of our 3-year-olds have been that way.

But JD took the request to the level of whiny, repetitive begging that will put your teeth on edge. All the building stations are for bricks, not tiny men.

After listening to his tale of woe for a solid 10 minutes–I mean it could have been 5, but when you are listening to a toddler in despair 5 minutes feels like 45 minutes—-Alan said, “Well, I wanted to wait to give them their men until we get home so they don’t just lose them.”

“What Lego men? Is that what’s in that yellow bag? Our admission tickets came with Lego men???”

“Yeah, but I mean it’s just like this policeman. I don’t know…”

“Alan, pleeeeeaaaase, I cannot keep listening to him saying ‘where’s the Lego men? I want to build Lego men.’ over and over again. I can’t.”

So we went on our first ride, a really fun one where you shoot the Lego bad guys with a little light that blinks, just like at Disney World, and that kept him completely distracted.

After that was over, we gave him the one Star Wars Lego man in the bag. He doesn’t even care about Star Wars, but he was so happy to receive a Lego man it didn’t matter. He was content the rest of the day. Yay!!!

And the little boy who started the tower in the first place (JD) was long gone, up in the pirate tower shooting a cannon over and over again.

This is why family outings and vacations are so important.

You get out of your house, away from your screens, away from your friends, away from your JOB, and you have no choice but to focus on each other for a little while. You have fun together, which strengthens your bond as a family.

I hope you all get to go on a few good family outings or vacations this summer. We did this and we did Calloway Gardens this Spring break. I’ll tell you all about Callaway on a future post. Did you know that Alan actually proposed to me at Callaway?

We also spent a ton of time chillin’ at home, with a lot fewer cares than we normally have. I wrote about that in Part I and Part II of my Spring Break 2017 series. We enjoyed those days too. Who can go, go, go ALL the time? That’s plain exhausting.

We did everything there was to do at Legoland Discovery Center, except for eat at the snack stand.

Instead, we went to Johnny Rocket’s right across the hall.

We did everything in 2 hours, and everyone left happy. Everyone. Oh, and of course, we made time for the Legoland Discovery Center Store.

I zipped through the store picking out a little box for their Easter baskets, yeah, it’s going to be an awesome Easter, and then I parked myself on a bench outside the store. Anytime I go to Lego anything with Alan and the boys, I spend time sittin’ on the bench. I don’t see how they manage to fill up that much time gazing at Lego sets.

This was a perfect family day out for us.

It was such a breeze sticking to day trips this Spring Break, rather than a big vacation. Come back this weekend for Spring Break Part 4: Callaway Gardens! My new favorite spot in Georgia!

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We recently took a road trip to Georgia, and I had a great time snapping photos of beautiful old Georgia and Alabama homes. The South is a beautiful place. Believe it or not, we are not as backward down here as you may think.

Having lived in places all over the country, from the west coast to the east coast, and several places in between, it amazes me the misconceptions people have of the South. I have loved every place that I’ve lived, and now I want to share a little more about this great place where I’m from: the deep, deep South. It is a beautiful place, full of wonderful people. Yes, we do love our tea cold and sweet, we may over use the phrase “Bless your heart”, and our accents are thick–some thicker than others. What’s great about Southerners is that we truly do practice ‘southern hospitality.’ We do smile and nod at folks that we pass. I love how friendly everyone is down here.

We don’t eat as much fried chicken as people seem to think.  We do love fried okra or fried green tomatoes, though!! Most of us don’t have fried chicken any more often than anyone else. It comes in a bucket from KFC. I’ve never made it myself, to be honest with you.  I DO; however, know how to make a mean pot of collards or turnip greens–delicious and nutritious–fried okra, black-eye peas, butter beans, chicken and dumplin’s, and corn bread!!  We grow delicious vegetables down here, with our long growing season. Oh, and I do love to make homemade biscuits, and regular milk makes almost as good of biscuits as buttermilk. I never have any buttermilk in my fridge, so that’s what I use. I do wish I knew how to make a delicious pecan pie. We have pecans in abundance. Those are the true delicacies of the South.

Most of us do not live in one of these lovely, old homes. Actually, no one in my family lives in a house that’s more than 60 years old. The thing is that I just love this old style and wanted to share it with all of you.

Just to reiterate: we do not all live in big, beautiful southern mansions, nor do we all live in trailer parks. We are also not all named things like “Jim Bob” and “Ella May.” 😉 I don’t know anyone by those names. However, we do have cotton and peanut fields in abundance. Also, I don’t know of anyone at all, other than Franklin D. Roosevelt, that married their cousin. Oh! And Ashley and Melony Wilkes! What do you mean they were a fictional couple!?

Now that we have all that straightened out….

Sit back and enjoy these little snapshots of the dear, beautiful South.

Ok. That’s just an old barn, but I like seeing these old barns.

I love, love, love the wrap around front porch!!

Every place has a story. I’d be so interested to know this one.

I never thought of these tree farms until I married Alan, and his family does this whole tree farm thing. If you think you’re just driving through miles of untended wild forrest, think again. Very often that is very purposefully tended forests. They sell the wood and then grow more trees. It makes good sense, considering that this area is naturally forested.

Many cities have these murals, usually significant to the history of that town.

a beautiful county courthouse in Georgia

 ahhh

I love how this downtown area of Barnesville, Georgia is re-purposing old storefronts. It was once Barnesville Buggies. Now it’s Verizon Wireless. I’m so happy they left the old business name up there.

Lake Eufaula

You never appreciate how green, green, green it is down here until you visit the American Southwest!

…….And I saved my favorites for last. I took all of these in Alabama:

First Baptist Church

Kudzu…it is not a native plant, and it takes over everything.

“Big wheels keep on turnin’. Carry me home to see my kin. Singing songs about the southland. I miss Alabamy once again…”

I will miss you, sweet home, as we move to this next chapter in our lives. It’s been fun!!

For more photos from our travels, check out these posts:

Tour Jerusalem in Pictures: The Via Dolorosa

California: The Beautiful Part. No more desert photos, I promise.

The post Roadside Photographer: Beautiful Old Homes of the South appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Yes, that is DaddyO in a Sheldon t-shirt. Gotta love it!

This past weekend the boys and I headed to a family reunion in Georgia. We rode along with Alan’s parents. It was Nonna, Dan, JD, and me in one car and DaddyO, Joshua, and Caleb in DaddyO’s truck. It was a 5 hour trip. THANKFULLY, it went surprisingly well. No problems at all. Wahoo!!!!

We used to all get together the day after Christmas, but since Christmas has become so hectic for everyone, this side of the family moved the gathering to summer time. This was the second year that we all gathered at Magnolia Springs State Park. I believe it was also the second year that it rained most of the time. No biggie. We still had a great time.

Thank you so much, DaddyO and Fran for sharing the family stories and traditions. Fran, when you went around telling us “We’re going to play a little game, but if you don’t want to participate, you don’t have to, just please don’t laugh…” many were thinking, “What in the world is she talking about?” Ha!!  But this was really fun and interesting.

For those who weren’t there, let me explain. Alan’s Aunt Fran brought a famous poem and read it to us, and then we all made our own version of it and shared it with the group.  Fran made it super easy for us by just copying the poem, only taking out the specifics for us to fill in our own blanks. This is another activity I will have to remember for when the boys get a little bit older! It was a good way to learn a little more about each other.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

 There’s only one thing cuter than a baby: 2 babies!!!  or 3!!

How many people can you squeeze into a three bedroom cabin??  We packed in 11. Yep. I counted Amy’s pregnancy. 😉 Now, in our defense, these rooms are huge. Each bedroom has 2 full size beds. It will sleep 12 even!

Of course, that does mean I had to share my room with one little boy and one baby. Little boys aren’t so bad, but JD turned out to be a pretty horrible room mate, which is why I never choose to sleep in the same room with him. This weekend was definitely a form of sleep torture for me.

On Saturday, we met up with the rest of the family. The boys loved this. They quickly formed a spy club. They even separated themselves into two teams. It was adorable.

taking a vote…..the yeses won

wiffle ball and cornhole

Nice selfie, Jay

DaddyO gave us all an overview of some of his family ancestry research findings. This was all very interesting. This side of the family hails mostly from Great Britain and boasts Johnny Cash as a relative. They have ancestors that fought bravely for the South in the Civil War. That’s about all I can remember…

You can also see Jay and JD in the background of the above photo. Jay was wonderful about carrying little JD around, which was such a great break for me. Thank you so much, Jay!!

Well, at least one person was ready for this photo! 🙂 

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the big boys!!

We took all the boys to the playground. As soon as I arrived, little Dan slid down a slide with a giant puddle and soaked his pants. This greatly upset him, so I took him back and changed his clothes. Our cabin was about a mile from the playground, but Dan begged me to go back to the playground once he was changed. Never considering the sky full of giant, gray clouds, I said, “Sure,” piled Dan into the stroller, and set off. About halfway there, the bottom fell out. Yep. You should have seen me, soaking wet, pushing an umbrella stroller, and running in the rain. Oh, and did I mention I had just eaten more than my share of banana bread??  I was one hot, nauseous mess when that was over.

I changed shirts and carried on. Dan, who had simply been riding in the stroller, conked out in bed. Sometimes I wish I were 3.

JD says, “Let’s get this party started!!”

Nonna and Val and the dueling plastic game thingy

Aunt Frannie brought this box full of toys and trinkets and whipped it out Saturday night. It contained things like balloons, balls that will stick to the wall, slingshot monkey, rattly plastic teeth. You wouldn’t believe how well this entertained us all! DaddyO later explained to me that this was an idea she got from their dad. When they were young, their dad received a promotional box of toys for a few years from his job, where he worked as a purchasing agent. (I hope I got all of that right!! Feel free to add details in the comments!) Of course, that was Alan’s grandfather’s second profession, before that he was an Army officer. How history does repeat itself!

Fran, I thought this was an awesome idea, which I will take with me to each duty station, and whip out for our own parties!! We do enjoy entertaining.

Do you see the gator? Joshua got out an animal book and did his research yesterday. The bottom teeth on an alligator do not show when their mouth is closed, but on a crocodile they do. Joshua wrote all of this out for us and drew us a diagram–all of his own accord. Nope. I don’t think home-schooling boy #1 will be too hard–as long as we study animals everyday. Ha! No, obviously we can’t do that, but I do plan to have lots of animals books available to him for his silent reading time.

Oh the sweetness!! The babies enjoyed the attention from their beautiful older cousin.

We were sitting on the porch, and Amy said, “April, you are the only woman of child bearing age on this porch that is not pregnant.” Hallelujah! I love babies, but it’s time for a break!! We had three second trimester mommas present this weekend–all due within a month of each other!

The oreo game!! The object is to be the 1st to get the cookie from your forehead to your mouth.

Yes!!!  2nd place!!!

Hey, I get it. This is how I feel when I complete a 5K. Who needs to win?

Beth wins it!

Melody called this photo ‘the remnant’ photo. We took this Sunday morning. It was just all of us out-of-town cabin dwellers. 

saying good-byes 

We all thoroughly enjoyed this. We only get to see this side of the family once a year. Wish it could be more often!!

“I am from those moments

snapped before I budded

leaf-fall from the family tree”

–poem excerpt from Where I’m From, a poem by George Ella Lyon

For the complete poem, please visit his website: www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

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