WhitsonAK

Evelyn Walking

2009-07-09T16:02:00.002-08:00

Are you man enough for some SOUR PICKLES!!?

2009-07-09T13:41:00.004-08:00

Growing up Kristin ate Uncle Carl's sour pickles. At Christmas Eve her Aunt Shirley would make them. Over time Kristin would make them as well, in fact, someone used to call her "pickles" because of them. Well, Kristin has made them again with the cucumbers that Rhett and Evelyn grew in their garden. Kristin is proud to announce that her kids can be named "pickles" as well. Let the tradition live on!!!

TREKKIN' AROUND THE SOUTHEAST

2009-07-05T17:13:00.012-08:00

Recently we took a mini vacation around the southeast. It was a blast to be with family, to see family, and to see some friends. The children did a great job!!! Here a few photos of in the car scenes. Reading.....

Singing... lots of singing... quite loud...

Sleeping...

and Peek - a- Boo.

After three hours we made it to Alabama to a family reunion on Brian's mother's side of the family. Lots of fun!! Four more hours in the car brought us to Brian's brother's house. It was fun to hang out and play ball.......

Evelyn loves her Uncle Mike.

Rhett says safety first.

Water sprinklers are fun.

Jake agrees.

Like father like son.

Daniel can play ball 24/7.

After four more hours in the lovely car we made it to Southaven, Mississippi to see some friends before they leave the USA to Southeast Asia as missionaries.

Hudson and John had fun sliding on the biggest bounce houses we have ever seen.Rhett and Evelyn had fun on the slides as well.

We had a great time with Dan, Wendy, Hudson, and John. We will be praying for you on your new adventure. This is an incredible family that has an excitement for Jesus. After leaving them we agreed that we had not been around anyone with this excitement for awhile. It was refreshing and contagious!!

Back in the car again, 6 hours brought us to Stone Mountain, Georgia. We decided we better explore the state we live in. Can you guess who is carved in the stone? It took about 40-50 years to carve. It is literally a mountain of stone. Rhett was so excited to go on a choo choo ride and Kristin was excited to go hiking with her family.

Evelyn is a rock climber in training. Some day she will be in the Outsider magazine. Check out the pole of gum. Views of the mountain--- trees, and downtown Atlanta.

Peek -a - boo, I see you.
Whenever we hiked growing up Dad would take pictures of us climbing a rock. So I keep on the tradition with my children.
What a wonderful family vacation. God kept us safe and gave us a great bonding experience.

We ate at Olive Garden one day and while there Rhett yelled to Mommy coming down the aisle "I peed peed in the potty." Once he sat at the table he announced very loudly and "Daddy peed peed in the potty as well." Well lets say a lot of people were chuckling.

One night we got to the motel late. We had 15 minutes before the pool closed and we rushed rushed and made it in time to have a pool bath. The kids loved it in the warm pool.

HOT HOT HOT triple digits in GA. so lets pick peaches.

2009-06-16T10:01:00.002-08:00

Homemade peach ice cream. YUM YUM YUM

These watermelons are bigger than the kids. So sweet tasting.

Kristin picked the 5 gallons of peaches while Brian entertained the kids. It was a hot day! They like to eat peaches.

Evelyn likes to pick.

A Georgia peach.
The next day was not as fun as picking the peaches. For it was time to freeze them. Kristin found a recipe for peach tea bread from Dickeys Farm (GA) and it was the best. Made some jam for Brian. Come on over for a visit and we will make you some GA peach pie. But please bring some coolness with you. 100F today. The other day was 104F.

Lets have JOY in the Lord!!

2009-06-07T10:29:00.007-08:00

Mommy was in the front garden weeding and Rhett and Me had some fun in the dirt. Though this is nothing. Last Thursday night mommy was transplanting some marigolds and we got in some serious mud. Sorry no picture for that one.

Here am I playing with playdough for the first time. My thoughts on it: too salty. Mom put it away and said we will try again when I was older.

The boys mow the yard. Rhett loves helping. Notice the ear plugs he wears. Papa would be so proud. I help Mommy inside. There is soooo much to do to take care of a home. Such as eat the leftovers out of the trash can.... clean the toilet water with my hands.......may I say Mommy is not too impressed.

Here we are.... ride 'em cowboy. I can get on the red horsey all by myself and rock back and forth. I fall sometimes but that is okay I get back on again. Thanks Great Grandpa Everett for making it so sturdy. I can wave HI, and wave BYE. Clap, pick my noise, throw food on the floor, and hit my brother. Mommy said we have lots to work on but I am learning so much every day.

Rhett has mastered a very important question. Who made Rhett? "God" Who made Evelyn? "God" In fact any question is asked he answers with God. Another question has been mastered. Where did our toys come from? "God" Who do our toys belong to? "God" Mommy says it is amazing when Rhett or I pick up on something she has been teaching us. She goes YEAH YEAH!!! We try mommy, we try.

Blueberry Picking in Georgia

2009-05-16T16:56:00.004-08:00

All week we have been looking forward to family day on Saturday. The plan - Peach Festival in Morvin. Yahoo!!! Peach ice cream and peach tart. We get there and the wind, black clouds, thunder, lightning, and the rain joined us.

No fear we ran to the van before "the rain got us" words from Rhett.

So off we go and explore southern Georgia and decide to pick blueberries. Brian met a fellow pastor a few weeks ago and said he picked blueberries so we decided to find this u pick blueberry patch and pick as well. Well, this patch was a 100 acre blueberry farm. Evidently there are quite a few blueberry farms in the area. Hey Mom and Dad this was a bit bigger than the Friendly Blueberry Patch. So we took a few pics for you Dad.

Check out their water sprinklers

In another area they used soakers. Notice the big hose attached to the soaker.

Evelyn enjoyed playing between the rows. It was like a big sand box. Rhett enjoyed playing in the sand and eating the berries.

Redneck country. When in Redneckworld be a Redneck. Due to our spontanity we decided to use a Craftsman tool box for our berry picking. Cannot wait to make blueberry muffins, bread, jam, and popsicles. But most of all cannot wait to go picking again and have another family day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVELYN -1 -, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

2009-05-10T16:56:00.004-08:00

Here I am helping Mommy with the gardening. She loves to plant.

A celebration of life. Evelyn Joelle was born a year ago today. She has been a blessing. She has such a joyful personality. She can stand by herself but chooses to crawl to get around instead of walking. Her mommy does not mind. Evelyn says -"dada", "b" for ball, "uh-oh" for when she drops her sippee, "bye-bye", "mama".

Grandma came for the birthday party and for Mother's Day. 2 for 1 deal.

Notice Rhett is wearing a tie. His first time ever. Nana thanks for cutting the sleeves of the shirt. It is perfect for the insane GA heat.

Being a Mom is the best gift ever.

Evelyn enjoyed her panda cupcake. Rhett did too.

Family time in the pool. Pool party!!! Evelyn had fun swimming and so did Rhett. This Georgia heat is already in the mid 90s. At 730p it had cooled to 89.

LIFE

2009-05-07T10:58:00.004-08:00

Kristin had this great idea one day to make a scarecrow and have the kids help. Anyway her scarecrow making skills need some working on but the kids "helped" by getting in a mud puddle. Rhett had fun throwing mud patties at his sister and she encouraged him by laughing. Can we say bath time?

Who needs lots of toys when one has bubbles. Lately we go outside and all we play with are bubbles. They are different every day, clean, interesting, and so much fun. Believe it or not Rhett is hidden in one of the bubbles. Might be hard to find him in the smaller pics.

Being a parent is a wonderful thing. Sometimes the parent can feel they won or lost the battle. This case the spaghetti won.

Life can get busy but here we took a few hours and actually had some family time. It was great!!! Rhett loved the "choo choo choo"

Have to share a cool conversation I had with Rhett a few weeks ago. We were going over his Bible verse for the day. Genesis 1:1- In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Rhett said- "Why?" Kristin said- "So we can glorify God" That was it for then, but by the end of the day I had watched a John Piper and Loui Giglio DVD message and they both were related how we need to glorify God in all things. What a great reminder in the midst of doing laundry, making meals, cleaning, picking bugers out of ones' noses, changing smelly diapers, walking over toys that we need to GLORIFY GOD and no one else.

Picking season has begun

2009-05-07T10:18:00.002-08:00

Strawberries Strawberries!!!! YUM YUM!! The berries are getting ripe and ready to be picked. Yup Mommy keeps taking us to the strawberry patch. Each time we go we pick more than the last time we went. It is fun. They have a sand box to play in and mommy brings lots of snacks to eat plus I get to eat strawberries. Mommy has made strawberry pie, jams, breads, muffins, popsicles, and shortcake. It is fun to freeze them and eat them cold. I like them with a bowl of sugar. Mommy said that is how she ate them at her Grandmother's house growing up.

One day Dad loaded us up and said we were going to a pea picking party. So off we went. He was right. The adults sat around and picked peas. I (Rhett) played with toys.

When we got home from the party we had to shell them. It was lots of work!! Mommy froze them. It was fun but not as fun as strawberries. Evelyn liked the bouncing green balls.

Resurrection Eggs pics

2009-05-07T10:09:00.002-08:00

We woke up on Easter morning and found 500 eggs on our yard. Yup we were egged. Thanks to college students. Rhett and Evelyn thought they were pretty cool.

Fair Days

2009-04-14T06:09:00.004-08:00

While attending the Clay County Fair, Rhett decided he wanted to ride a mechanical bull. The ride was not what he expected and his future as a bull rider seem dim. And Mom and Dad say.....Praise God!

HOSANNA!! CHRIST IS RISEN!!

2009-04-12T16:27:00.003-08:00

HAPPY EASTER!!

Revelations 5:12-" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."

Matthew 28:5-7- The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. " He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."

The Easter musical at church was definately praising Jesus. Worthy of the Lamb totally rocked. They sang a song I never heard of but I loved the words that I wrote some of them down:

"Those were my nails and my crown that pierced your hands and your brow. You took my shame and my blame on my cross."

Thank you Jesus for dying for me when you did not deserve it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!!!!

2009-04-12T12:30:00.007-08:00

Nana came for a visit. She spoils us! So we decided to have a special night and spoil her. We started off with a yummy fish dinner; the halibut tasted like candy. We added rutabaga and green beans with pecans. Yummy!! Then for a dessert Mommy made her a peach and blackberry pie. Nana loves peaches and blackberries so it was a good mix. I was able to help Nana blow out the candles. It was fun to spoil Nana. It made it more fun because we celebrated her birthday a bit early. She is ..... old. Oops I amost told. Mommy told me not to tell anyone.

That Nana is pretty tricky. While we were celebrating her birthday she brought out gifts for Evelyn. She wanted to celebrate Evelyn's birthday early too. Thank you Nana. Evelyn loves her puppet and I do too.

Our favorite park in Adel is under water due to flooding so we took Nana on a picnic to a new park. It was lots of fun. In fact while we were there we saw a family there from another park we play at. Mom and Dad exchanged numbers with them. I have a feeling we will see them again. Thanks Nana for the awsome pasta salad you made. No butter this time, Nana.

Good grief, my Mommy is always taking pictures. So I have been boycotting them. She was able to get this pic of the three of us. The dress Evelyn has on is one that Mommy wore when she was a baby.

Hey Nana, here are a few pics from your stay with us. Evelyn found the tupperware cupboard. She decided it was easier to get in it then to pull the dishes out. Silly girl!!

It was fun to go to the fair with Nana, Grandma, and Grandpa. Though I have had my share of bullriding for awhile. Thank you Nana for coming down to southern Georgia. We love you and have a great Birthday!

Uncle Dan came for a visit

2009-04-11T17:30:00.005-08:00

Uncle Dan was able to go to Ray City and eat fried pickles, fried gators, fried fish, fried potatoes ect.. His comment was not healthy and greasy. Welcome to the south! :-)

He got a taste of how busy children can be. Got another hand?

Got to have a picnic if there is company. We went back to our favorite state park in Adel and went for a hike.

Kristin had to jump out of the car and take a picture of this hive. Never have seen one so big. What a sight it would of been if they came out and she went running... hahahaha

Board walk a few minutes down the road. Uncle Dan was able to see a gator.

Uncle Dan thanks for coming and playing with me. I had fun. Mom thanks you for helping her in the garden. We love you!!!

Evelyn is eleven months!!

2009-04-10T16:23:00.003-08:00

This little girl is a very busy girl. Today she found the tissue box and was removing all the tissues. She loves electronics- she found her Dad's phone today and was playing with it. One of the many joys of being a parent is hearing both of the children laughing together. Washing dishes this week I looked down and saw both of them rolling on the floor and laughing. The other day they were found on their bellies in Evelyn's room playing with a toy. Priceless.

All the reading time is paying off. I found Rhett in his chair reading. He loves going to the library and taking the basket and fillilng it with books. His mom likes going and filling it with cookbooks. Latest one would be Frozen Assets and Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. Brian likes the results of my "reading".

As Rhett was reading in his chair, Evelyn was reading on the floor. Tonight we read Snuggle Bunnies and she laughed at the bunnies every time the page was turned. Yeah!!!

(Thanks Colleen for picking out a fun book)

Brian made a yummy Good Friday dinner. Ham smothered in brown sugar, green beans, stuffing, and sweet potatoes rolls. Thanks Brian!!!!! Lets see what else I have been reading lately..............................

Isaiah 1:18- Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 6:3- And they were calling to one another; Holy Holy holy, is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isaiah 7:9b- If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

Isaiah 9:6- For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Friends visit and pig racing

2009-03-28T11:43:00.006-08:00

Great friends visiteded us. Kristin's friend from college came for a visit. Two toddlers and two babies in the house. Toys everywhere. Future look at what the house will be like when Evelyn gets walking. Rhett loved having a playmate his age. It added that she was cute too.
A visit to Okefenokee Swamp in Wakecross, GA. Swamp life is a different life all in its own. They respect snakes and alligators. Lots of medicines come from the trees in the swamp. It was quite educational. Boat and train ride all in the same day. Rhett was so excited.

Georgia may be hot in the summer. But we are learning it is perfect for gardening. The spring garden is in. The garden right now does not look like the above pictures. The plants are growing great. A bit sunshine, water, fertilizer, weed protection, and talking to and the vegetables are growing. The flowers of pansies and snapdragons planted in November are blooming. We are excited about planting more flowers and landscaping shrubs around here. Well at least Kristin is.

Evelyn stands on her own. She has six teeth and loves her teethers straight from the freezer. She can crawl faster than one can walk. She knows right where the dog's water bowl is ........ and she loves it. It is fun to watch her grow. Her personality is coming out more each day.
Rhett loves to be outside and play play play. He is a great gardener. If it has wheels on it or a ball he is all there.

The azaleas are blooming in the azalea city. So we headed to the azalea festival one Saturday. Rhett had fun on the blow up toys.

The famous racing pigs were there.

Rhett won for picking the pig that would win. Here he is with his blue ribbon in front of an azalea.

A baby is a small member of the family that makes love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, the bank-roll smaller, the home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. Anonymous

Evelyn is 10 months old!!!!!!

2009-03-10T17:26:00.005-08:00

Who said a saucer is to sit in I like to play under it.

Lets cruise!!

I am standing by myself now. Walking is next.

Mom found this recipe in the church cookbook called Tim's favorite hamburg casserole. I am going to switch it to Evelyn's favorite casserole.

Who needs toys when we have the floor, table, and chairs to play under.

Here we are hanging at a family baby shower / reunion. It was grand!

Evelyn is a whopping 19 pounds, crawling, standing, eating everything in sight, and adorable as ever. Rhett is talking clearer every day, telling mommy when baby cries or when she is sticking her fingers in the outlets, and is a partner in crime with his sister. He is quite observant for instance we were getting ready to read on the coach and he got a pillow for Kristin's back all by himself. Very thoughtful!!

Georgia weather is crazy!!! We are planting our summer vegetable garden in MARCH!! It was 87 degrees today. Too hot!!!!!! Two weeks ago it was a bit chilly and snowing around neighboring towns. In the mornings it is a beautiful 50 and afternoons in the 80s. We walk in the morning and Rhett loves feeding a horse carrots and apples. "TBolt" comes running when he sees us. The highlight of the day.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

2009-02-14T06:33:00.002-09:00

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

The greatest gift is love. A special day to tell those around us that we love them.

We are thankful that God gave his son Jesus to die for our sins. That is the greatest gift of love.

Evelyn is 9 months old!!!!

2009-02-10T17:18:00.003-09:00

Today I got to play in the grass and dirt. I loved it!! The grass on my toes felt different at first but after rubbing my heels in it I liked it. Dirt got in my fingernails and it felt great.

Here I am eating it. I am a country girl. Cannot see them but cows are in the background mooing.

Mommy and me are bucket heads.

Over the weekend two teeth budded on my lower mouth. It hurt!

Family picnic at Adel, GA.

Rhett making good use of an empty basket.

Rhett has been labeling his toys and stuffed animals daddy and mommy. I find it interesting that the bigger the toy or animal is daddy and the smaller one is mommy, considering his mommy is taller than his daddy. I cannot wonder if he realizes that daddy is the head of the household. Granted mommy is the moose and daddy is the monkey. ---hahahahahah--

Reading Psalm and it is a great reminder on how David praised God even in his troubles. HE is faithful, the provider, trustworthy, loving, merciful, and gracious. Thank you Christ for making me complete in you.

"What is home? It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother; the strength of a father. Warmth of living heart, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Where joy is shared and sorrow eased. Where even the tea kettle sings from happiness. That is home."

-Ernestine Schumann-Heink-

EnJOYing life!!!

2009-01-31T17:56:00.002-09:00

Whenever Rhett has a chance to go down a slide he will.

He is telling his mother and father that he loves them. Life does not get better than hearing those little words. Everynight we read our devotional book, pray, and then "sing" together. He is learning Jesus loves me in sign language. Poor kid his mommy is always off key and his daddy is on key. How will he know which one is on or off key?

EVERY day we play "choo choo". He has a mind of his own so when his mom has an idea as well that can become an issue. His mom has to realize that "choo choo" is not her toy and to let him be the engineer of his creation.

Celebration dinner of thankfulness for our health. We have been having colds for the last few weeks. Sharing among the household. Steak wrapped in bacon, and swiss garlic bread. Yum Yum!!!! Rhett loved the bread.

Evelyn loves to fish!

Evelyn had barrettes in her hair for a matter of minutes. Her mommy does not know how to do hair! They fall off or she pulls them out and puts them in her mouth. Since I have been the only one who has seen her in her cuteness I had to take a pic so the rest of the world will know her hair can be tamed for a matter of minutes.

Evelyn was being fussy so her daddy gave her some toys to play with. I left the living room one day and came back and Rhett had given her every toy that he could find for her. She looked a bit overwhelmed. If she cries, he comes running to me to tell me. He will give her toys so she will stop. She loves to destroys his choo choo tracks. It becomes a great time for a lesson on sharing.

Evelyn has decided that rolling around the room is the way to go.

It does get a bit chilly in southern GA. It did get to 20 degrees so we decided to get the fire going. The neighbor left his water sprinkler on his trees and in the morning a beautiful ice storm was in his yard. It is crazy weather 20-30 degrees one day and the next 70-80 degrees. Our bodies are adjusting that we all have had colds one way or the other.

Kristin finished yes finished something anything something this time it was a book. Professionalizing Motherhood by Jill Savage. Great book.

Tip to lose weight: Eat a candy bar before every meal and it will decrease your appetite and one will eat less calories.

Thankful that I have a Savior that is faithful, gracious, merciful, and loving.

HIS love endures forever.

I can count!

2009-01-17T06:15:00.003-09:00

If you listen closely, you can hear Rhett counting to 5.

Evelyn is 8 months old!!!!

2009-01-10T17:20:00.002-09:00

Evelyn can say "mama", "dada". Rhett can say a bit more words than her. His vocabulary keeps increasing. Sometimes that is not good especially when his mother decides to sing and dance and he says " no sing no sing". So sad. So sad. At least he has not told me to stop dancing. For that day is coming when he realizes --this white mother cannot dance. hahahahaha

'Bringing up a family should be an adventure, not an anxious discipline in which everybody is constantly graded for performance.' author unknown

Family day or a minute of family fun always end up to something interesting. Today it was picking oranges and kumquats at someone's house. The other week it was traveling to Marticello, Florida because the name sounded cool on the map. We found a playground to have our picnic, after being in the town for one hour. Yes, we did ask for directions but the man at the dump station was the only one to give us the correct directions. In the above picture family time was last week at Grand Bay down the road on a boardwalk on swamplands. Evelyn was able to ride in style for the first time. She usually is on her mommy in the baby carrier. She has become quite nosy that this suits her.

Today's family walk was in the jogger. The siblings did quite well next to each other. Evelyn took off her socks and was eating her hat by the end of the walk. We wore sunscreen. Crazy considering my folks have been dumped on with snow. Each time I talk to them they are getting more snow. My bro went ice fishing and just about froze and we are in shorts and a tshirts picking daffodils.

The cows overtook the peanut farm. Our backyard view.

Fruits and Vegetables

2009-01-10T17:03:00.002-09:00

In my Georgia gardening book it says to journal my garden from start to finish so I can improve it. Well, we have already harvested the brocolli but at least I took a picture. Thanks Dad or the garden would have died. At least I know what to do for spring. I have already been saving out seeds from the vegetables we bought at the store. In March I can start planting tomatoes in the greenhouse that I do not have, BUT I can jiggy rig one. Duct tape and milk jugs if nothing else. :)

Hey Dad, oranges above and kumquats on the bottom. You eat them as is. Peel and all then spit out the seed. They are not bad but the oranges above are like candy. Rhett loves them. He eats them for his snack. In fact he would eat them all the time if I would let him. In December I made orange marmalade, and orange muffins. Very yummy. I have enough kumquats to make a marmalade or jam. I am going to give it a shot if I can find enough jars. Rhett had fun picking the oranges today. He peels them himself and eats them. He is the cutest thing.

For Papa

2009-01-09T06:27:00.002-09:00

Happy Birthday Papa!!

More Evelyn Playing

2009-01-06T10:22:00.002-09:00

Evelyn playing in her saucer. She likes it because it allows her to be up-right and spin around.