Back in the spring, Tina and I went over to Moultrie to help Shirley celebrate her retirement.  The party was held at her daughter’s house.  Since Jayna was pregnant, I took her a gift for her baby.  I had found this cute little bath towel, all pink and so cute.

We knew that her other daughter, Jolie, was pregnant, too.  So, on my last trip to Atlanta I was looking for a gift for her…I came upon some more towels.   Homegoods has a great baby area…separated into girl and boy departments.  I found these cute towels in the boy section…

So, I decided, since I thought these were so cute and useful, that I would get one for her new baby boy. I chose the lamb and have had it at home. but have not gotten it to her yet…even though he is already here.  I was planning to mail it, but Tina is going over on Thanksgiving, so I will let her take it.

She (Tina) came over yesterday to bring Alex a birthday gift, so I hurried to get it wrapped so she could take it with her.  Had the cutest bag and tissue, and started the wrapping.  Then, I had a horrible thought.  What if this was one of the ones that was sized for bigger children.  That would not do. I could not remember checking the size.   So, I turned it over to check…and…..OH!     MY!….After I read the back, I said, “Thank-you, Lord!  For looking out for this crazy woman who hasn’t got the sense of a gnat! “ Here’s what the back said….

What if I had sent this?  What if sweet Jolie and her hubby ,Paulo, had opened this gift and saw that it was not intended for human use?  What if I had not turned it over and looked?   It was packaged just like the pink one was.  It was in the ‘boys’ section…NOT the dog section.  Anyone could have made this mistake… RIGHT?

Well, if I HAD sent it…they would have laughed and laughed and laughed.  They know me well and would have just considered it typical.  So, I am headed out to buy a baby gift…and it WILL NOT be a towel!  However, when bath time comes for Finn…he will be dried off in style!

I’ve heard it said…don’t know where….that “you truly begin to grow up when you can laugh at yourself.”  I’ve been laughing for quite a while, and the older I get, the more I laugh.

Oh, and what did I learn?   Always read the front and the back of an item.  It may just save you from BIG embarrassment!

It started with this……..

This is all I wanted to do…….

(pig tails are not my best look, I know)

THEN, this came and took up residence in my midsection…

And I felt like this…and I still do….

This is what I will be doing for the next few days……

I’ll be back with you soon……

Today is Alex’s birthday.  He is 29 years old.  I don’t know if I can tell you all that is in my heart about this young man.   He was always different from his brothers. They both had a darker coloring like me and Don…Alex was blond, blue eyes, and very fair skin. 

 He’s always thought and acted on a different level.  His spirit is that of a gentle soul.  He has an amazing tenderness, but he also is strong and brave.   Adam and Ian both got their fair share of spankings, but a spanking wounded Alex’s spirit…that was not the way to discipline him.  He had to write me a full page report on the subject at hand.  Oh, how he didn’t want to do that!

 Cousins at play…NC…….1985

We became aware of his disease when he was in the 8th grade, and it changed the life of our whole family.  Instead of going off to college, with fraternities, and studies, and girlfriends…he went to doctors, and doctors and more doctors.  Instead of choosing a major and making career plans….he was trying medicine and therapies to help him deal with pain.  Instead of walking in graduation and receiving his diploma and degree…..he was trying out wheelchairs and walking canes to help him stay mobile.

He is blessed to have 2 brothers who love him and are always there for him to lean on.  He has a SIL who loves him also. He has cousins who would do anything for him.  He has aunts and uncles who help us search for doctors.  He has a Dad who has provided him with a beautiful apartment in our home.  Here he has complete privacy and we are near to help if need be.  His grandparents have always spent hours in prayer for him and have been a source of strength.  Many of our friends are available for him at a moment’s notice.

Even though he is in such terrific pain all the time, he reaches down deep and summons the strength to get out and be with those he loves.

He shows us all the meaning of bravery, and is an inspiration to any one who knows him.  And…he has a new best friend!

As his mother, my heart breaks every day.  I see him suffering and I want to do something…anything.  But,  we have been to doctors all over the country.  We are continually searching for someone who knows enough about his disease to offer him some help.  We are confident that God will lead us to that person, if that is His will for Alex.  And, if it’s not, then we will continue depending on Him for strength each day.  We will praise Him for all that He has blessed us with.   Look at how He blessed us in the middle of the pain and helplessness.  He led us to a doctor who fixed so much of his vision.  This was just dropped in our lap…we weren’t searching for it or seeking help for his vision.  But, God knew…and in His time, He gave Alex his vision back, by working through his brother, Ian.  And, the biggest bonus…Adam is seeing much, much better also.  What a reminder that He is watching all the time, and He knows what we need.  I thank Him for sending Alex to our family.  He has taught us all such lessons, and he fill our life with joy.  Happy, Happy Birthday!

For the last 2 weeks, Dothan has been thinking of little else than PEANUTS. 

Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of Alabama, situated approximately 20 miles  west of the Georgia state line and 18 miles  north of Florida.     Its name derives from Genesis 37:17: “let us go to Dothan.” According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the city’s population was 65,447, making it the largest town in this part of the state, and the combined population for the entire Dothan metropolitan area was 137,916.  The city serves as the main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and nearby portions of the Florida Panhandle.

 Since more than  one-fourth of the U.S. peanut crop is produced within a 100 mile radius, with much of it being processed in the city, Dothan calls itself “The Peanut Capital of the World.”   And, so,The National Peanut Festival (NPF) — the nation’s largest peanut festival — is held each fall to honor peanut growers and to celebrate the harvest season.

The National Peanut Festival  is the United States ‘ largest peanut festival.  The festivities include games and amusement rides on a large midway, animal acts, agricultural displays, an outdoor amphitheater with live music concerts by national recording artists, beauty pageants, arts and crafts displays, contests, food and a two-hour parade. The National Peanut festival also sponsors and holds field crop exhibits with prizes awarded to each exhibitor.The 9 day celebration of the peanut harvest attracts more than 120,000 people, and has a history of 56 years.

The peanut festival also has other competitions, including  Sewing , Cake Decorating,  Photography, Cooking ,Art.

Rides and lights seem embedded into the night sky. The sounds of joyful shrieks slice through the air as the ferris wheel comes to a stop. You feel like you can see the whole world. The world is no longer dark. It is brilliant and exciting, and you are at the very top of it all. The ferris wheel comes down, and you are in the thick of a jungle of carnival exhibits, games, and more. Time itself whirls around you as though this energy will last forever though it is for just a moment.

 And to top it all off, on Saturday, the big parade through downtown Dothan.  Each community has its own float, and another for the queens from there, as well as businesses.  Then there are the bands, and the peanut growers, and the military vehicles.  The favorite for my children was always the big monster / tractor like truck that would come through the streets and drop thousands and thousands of parched peanuts in the street.  Everyone runs to fill a bag or a cup and munches on them as the rest of the parade passes by. 

 

  This event is a ‘given’ in our area.  So many county schools prepare all year to show their cattle or pigs or sheep.  The bands practice, playing and marching, to show off for the crowd as they march in front of their community’s floats.  Such fun…such mayhem…such tradition.  The coming of ‘the fair’ is our signal that the holiday season has started…….we’ve just added one more celebration!

  

I don’t think my Mom ever was too big a fan of the parades.  I don’t remember going too much as a child.  I must have gone some, because I have some memories of us sitting on the curb together.  And, I remember that there was always a friendly rival between the Dothan High School Band  and the Carver High School Band.  That was before the two schools were joined to make 1 high school.  After I married, and had small children, we always went with my sweet MIL, Elizabeth.  She loved parades, and she loved to have all the children there with her.  Sweet memories.

  

And, it’s over…for another year…the queens have little to do until they crown their successors next summer.  The recipes that won the recipe contest, have been printed in the newspaper and cooks all over the area have already tried them. 

The youngsters that caught a pig in the peanut-oil greased pig contest have taken their little piggies home to fatten them and bring them back next year for judging.  The World’s Best Corndog man has packed his little cooking wagon and moved it to the next event.  And, the carnival rides have been loaded and moved to the next town…to delight children …of all ages…there as they did here.

********************************************************

Information gleaned from National Peanut Festival Website, Wikipedia, and FB Page.

Pictures by Adam and Ian Owens

I came across this beautiful picture on the Internet.  It caught my eye and I just sat and looked at it .  There was no -photographer  listed…so I can not give credit.  I came to realize that that it is made of layers of colors.

See the violet deep down in the water…

Notice the blue/grey at the bottom.

Then you will note a bright lime green,..on both sides of the bridge.

Then the most glorious golden color.

Next comes the orange.

And then a beautiful deep red.

All topped  off,  by  blue sky.

“The Lord has done this, it is marvelous in our eyes.”  Psalms 118:23

 “Be glad…
rejoice in the LORD your God,
for He has given you
the autumn rains in righteousness.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains…”    Joel 2:23″

EDIT:

I just had a comment from my very wise and very wonderful friend, Rachel.  She commented that the colors are arranged in the rainbow spectrum.  The colors of a rainbow in order are RED…ORANGE…YELLOW..GREEN…BLUE…INDIGO…VIOLET.  (ROY G BIV).  i DID NOT EVEN PICK UP ON THAT AS i WAS STUDYING THIS PIC.   NOW JUST WHO DO YOU THINK PUT THESE COLORS IN ORDER?  THAT IS MY ‘GOD WINK’ FOR THE DAY.  THANKS, RACHEL

One of the things I most like to do is read.  I love books and can get lost in the pages.  And, that is what happened to me yesterday.  I had picked up this book for several reasons.  One is that I read a review on it in USA Today last week.  Also, another blogger who reviews books had recommended it highly.  And, third, it had to do with a child, and that always captures my attention.

Yesterday morning,  while still in bed, I noticed it on the table.  I decided to pick it up and look through the first few pages…and try to save some time later in the afternoon to start reading it.  I got up and got a Diet Dr. Pepper, and propped up in bed to scan the cover and reviews and such.  

WARNING!!!!!  Do not open this book unless you have all intentions of reading it in one sitting.  YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!  I did put it down twice to go to the bathroom, and then once to get another DDP and some Trail Mix.  But, I read all 339 pages in about 5 hours.  And, was totally captivated by this story.

On the dust jacket on the front of the book are these words…”Potent, darkly beautiful, and revelatory.”  And, it can certainly be considered ‘dark’……but not to the extent you would think.  The charcters in this book are in a terrible situation…a desparate situation.  Terrible things happen to them.  The writers lets you know it is happening without going through the details.  But, that is not what is important in this story.  It is the ‘spirit’ of Ma.  It speaks to the maternal instinct and the lengths a mother will go to for her child.  And, the child, Jack, is a  child who is born with such an inquisitive mind  and being so well schooled by Ma,  that at the proper time, he is able to do what is totally alien to him.

And, speaking of LAYERS, you can see in this story how Ma’s mother taught her daughter things that help take her through this ordeal.  Ma, in turn, taught them to Jack.  Jack, then, teaches those around him what is important.

Oh, get this book.  You will not be sorry.  But, be warned…the laundry and the dishes and the dusting, etc. will go undone the day you pick it up and read the first page.

I purchased mine at Target.  Also available at Barnes and Nobel and at Amazon.

I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful week for you and yours.