Special Request

The queen of Rosebud requested a picture of the new funky towels. I am happy to report that they did not fade during the washing machine and dryer experience. As you can see they are definitely not the normal towels that you would expect from such normal people as us (you can laugh now), but you will also have to remember that the bathroom is Tennessee Orange. We thought the towels were actually the perfect choice because they blend the green bedroom, the blue bedroom and my favorite color brown.

On other news, I had planned on mowing the yard today, but there was a monsoon. Instead, I decided to get really creative and got Abbey's stamping stuff out and made invitations for our ministry assistants at church for Administrative Professional's Day next Wednesday. (Thanks Ava for the scrapbook paper)

I guess I better start cleaning up the house for our guests. Currently on my television is Maury Povich. It's one of those situations like a car wreck where you want to look away, but you can't. It's sort of scary that people are in America that are so nuts. In case you've never watched it, don't! It's insane. Okay, now onto the housework.

3 T's - Trashy Target Towels

We're having company this weekend. Not just any company either. We are finally getting to meet Jason's (abbey's cousin) fiance' Leslie. We want to make sure we make a good impression on the new family member, so we decided to buy new towels for the guest bathroom. After an extensive search and several different choices, we decided to purchase their nicest towels Target had. Quality counts, right?

I immediately came home and washed the towels so they would be ready when our guests arrive on Friday evening. While folding them last night, I realized that maybe price doesn't have as much to do with the quality of the towel. Hopefully you can see what looks like bleach marks on the towel. They are on ALL of them! Fortunately, today when I was taking them back to Target, the associates were VERY friendly and did not have a problem with my return.

Please don't think that my title is too harsh on the quality of Target's bath linens. This was our FIRST set of Target towels. Of course, we could go on the advice of the Target associate that we talked to the other night, "You get what you pay for." These towels were BRIGHT blue when we bought them.

SO, tonight we went to HomeGoods and bought some really trendy towels. They are in the washer right now. I'll let you know how they come out.

Garden Update: We had a hailstorm last night and the new flowers took a severe beating. I think that they will survive but they are not as pretty right now.

BM '06

I know you are all thinking that must have been one major bowel movement if we are referring to the BM '06, but alas I am referring to the "Big Move" of 2006. The BM refers to the moving of the royal throne, no pun intended, of the queen and king of Rosebud. They will now be the Queen and King of Bartlett. I'm pretty sure that they will be moving into a subdivision with a larger population than the community of Rosebud.

The new home is very nice. You can't see the three car garage from the picture. We are especially excited that the queen and king will be living much closer to us know. There is not a definite date of move in as of yet, but we'll be sure to keep you well updated.

I am sure that our readers are like me and are asking themselves, "What about the mailbox?" Contrary to word that we were sent a picture of the mailbox (hint to the queen), we have heard that it is bricked in and all of the boxes in the neighborhood are bricked! Can you sense the smile on my face for the symmetry?

Death of a Dandelion

So there I was, minding my own business, just brushing my teeth. I always take the time while I am brushing my teeth to look out the window into the backyard. That's when I saw it. A yellow bloom amidst the sea of beautiful green grass. Now if there is anything that I don't want in my yard, it's a dandelion! I quickly finished up my dental hygeine, grabbed my camera and went to face the enemy.

Once I was out there, I took a picture of the weed and then I quickly began taking out my fury on this horrible excuse for a flower. See its demise below.

I got rid of the only D in my yard currently and I will be on the look out for more. It wanted to make sure that its evil roots were not able to regain any ground in my yard so I took it into the woods behind the house and through it into the mound of leaves. The WEED IS DEAD!

All of this got me thinking about dandelions. Everyone can probably think of a time when they picked a dandelion for their mom when they were little. Over time, we came to a realization that the flower was really a weed and that it held very little value.

That's kind of how I think of sin. It is pretty for a little while and then we realize how bad it is. We want to get rid of it before it permeates our lives, just like we want to get rid of the dandelions before they pervade our whole yard. Inevitably, despite our greatest efforts, a dandelion might appear in our yard. Sin is the same way, but the more we keep our lives in tune with the Holy Spirit the better able we are to fight off the evil attacks. If we keep get rid of the weeds when they are small in number, they will not have the opportunity to take over our yard.

Sorry for the metaphor, but it just got me to thinking. I hope it makes you think too!

A Beautiful View

One of my favorite things about our house is the view from our bed. Each morning we wake up to the awesome view of the trees in our backyard. We have a huge picture window in our bathroom and it looks out into the woods and trees behind our house. It is amazing to watch how it changes throughout the year. Even when there are no leaves on the trees, it is beautiful.

In case you were having trouble seeing the beauty in the view that I took, I went outside into the backyard to show you the trees. They are really nice and great right now. It seems like overnight they have gotten leaves on the trees. Just last week, there were only little bitty fronds on the limbs.

Editor's Note: In case you were watching Wife Swap tonight, the little red-headed girl and short brown-headed girl, in the etiquette class are my cousins, Mary Elizabeth and Catherine Anne. It's been several years since I have seen them, I can't believe how much they have grown up!

Jack

I am dedicating this post to Jack and I am not talking about the cat. Jack is a friend of mine and for security purposes I will not reveal his age or what he looks like. You see, Jack is a very cautious guy. He thinks people give too much information away on the internet. He is really cool though. I hope that one day you will ge ot know him better. I will tell you that he loves Star Wars (a movie that I have never seen in my life, or should I say movies). So, Jack, this post's for you!

The other day I was mowing my yard and I realized how great our house would look if we had a flag in front of it. I am a pretty patriotic person, so it is only fitting. So, yesterday, in one of my adventures out, I bought us a flag. Doesn't it look nice.


My other goal yesterday was to do my summer plantings in the front beds. I chose a purply theme to go with our already established burning bushes, boxwood, and plethora of yellow lilies. There are african violets, purple daisies, purple pansies and a purple leafy spreading vine. I put these all around the beds in front of the house and in the bed around the mailbox.

In our planters there are yellow gerbera daisies and in the bed in the middle of the yard there is a combination of white daisies and white begonias. They will match the orangy lilies in that bed when they bloom.

I am very happy with our yard right now. Soon I will begin working on the container garden for the back deck and the backyard flowers. Suggestions are welcome!

Mailboxes

Okay, so I admit it. I have quirks. Not a surprise to you all I am sure. One of my oddest quirks is my facination with mailboxes. It almost uncontrollable for me to try to not to evaluate a person's mailbox. I love neighborhoods where everyone has the same mailbox (well, when the mailbox is not really weird like the ones I saw in the new neighborhood in Pleasant View the other day).

When we bought our first house, it was brand-new. Therefore, there was no mailbox. The picture above is the one (except the actual box was natural copper) that I bought from Copper Sculptures, Inc. in Brandon, Mississippi. Although I loved it, I think that there were some people who thought I was insane for paying $200.00 for a mailbox. I still contend that it is the first impression of your house when someone pulls into the driveway, so it should be nice!


One thing that attracted me to our neighborhood when we were looking for a house is that we all have the same mailbox, as seen above. Today, as I was working in my yard, I noticed how nice it was that everyone's mailbox was the same. (Okay, so maybe my doctor should up my prescription) Then I went for a ride through the subdivision that is being built at the back of our neighborhood.

It is like someone was playing mailbox potpourri back there. One street will have 6 houses with the same mailbox, then all of a sudden they change to something else. Besides the fact that the houses are ugly back there, this really detracts from the overall look of the neighborhood. Well, that's enough about mailboxes.



Survey Opportunity
I have been thinking about getting another cat so that Jack won't be by himself. Abbey is for it, I think. What do our readers think about us getting a new cat? There are a lot available that were displaced in the tornadoes last week.

Update on the patient
Abbey is doing much better today. She has taken a lot less medicine and ate a good meal. She is going to go to church with me tonight. This will be her first venture out since the surgery.

1000th Visitor

Please check the counter at the bottom of the blog. If it is on 1000 when you view this, please comment and let us know who you are! We'd love to know who the 1000th visitor to LandLife.

Our 7th Anniversary from the first date!

It all happened one Tuesday night after BSU. It was a special BSU held a local coffee house called Gravity in Clinton, Mississippi. We had planned on going to play putt-putt but when we got there it was closed. When we discovered that the place was closed we went to see a movie at the theatre on Lakeland in Flowood. We saw "Never Been Kissed." We were the only people in the theatre so we talked quite a bit throughout the movie. We had a lot in common. I was in love, quickly. The next day after the date (NO, we did not kiss on the first date), I set up a savings account to buy her engagement ring. And now, here we are 7 years later and still in love. Well, more in love than we were before. Her eyes are beautiful as you can see in this picture.

For our seventh dating anniversary, Abbey got seven presents as seen here. The first present was a Willow Tree figurine known as courage. Next, she got her favorite flavors of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (Toasted Marshmellow and Buttered Popcorn). The next day, Abbey got a giftcard for a manicure. On Monday, she got some Creme Brulee Body wash. Tuesday was a figurine made back in 1999 (just by chance I found this, but that is the year we started dating). Wednesday there was a coffee mug that had a picture from a card I had given her when we first started dating. Today was the big day, when she got three new pieces of Vera Bradley. She got a new pattern, Java Blue.

The florist made another visit to our home today. This time with a beautiful hydrangea bush. It was from the teachers at East Robertson where Abbey teaches.

An Update on Our FAVORITE PATIENT

The patient has not been doing much today. She slept until 11:00 thanks to some wonderful phenegran from Dr. Jack. Then she got up and took a shower (I think that was tough). She then came downstairs and has been on the couch for the rest of the day. She is in a good bit of pain still, but we are keeping her well-medicated. As you can see, she has not moved much from the couch. She is sitting up currently because Danny, Michelle and the girls came over with dinner.

The nurse (aka The former queen of Rosebud) has been busy tending to the poor patient today. She has even done some of my laundry. What a mil, willing to fold her sil's boxers. She said that the patient has not moved too much today. The nurse will probably be here for one more night. She is seen in this picture looking for a new house and talking to her husband (former king of Rosebud).

Here are some flowers that were sent by our great friend Melanie in Mississippi. They are very pretty and it was very thoughtful for her to send flowers to the patient.

Other news: Tomorrow is our 7th anniversary since our first date. Can you believe that? Some of you may remember our first date. I will reminisce (I can't figure out the spell check on this thing) tomorrow. Tomorrow is also Mr. Roy's birthday. Happy B-day Mr. Roy (or Dad or former king of Rosebud).

The Poor Patient

Here is a picture of my poor patient (aka my wife). She had extensive out-patient surgery today and has been in quite a bit of pain. She was not really thrilled with the paparazzi taking this picture, but her fans need to know that she is okay. She is a little nauseated, but as I type she is snoozing quite well from a delicious dessert of phenegran. The good news is that the doctor (the amazing Dr. Jack), was able to take care of everything and thinks that we have an excellent chance of becoming parents in the near future! Keep praying!
My parent's sent Abbey this beautiful arrangement since they could not be here for her surgery. The Hawcroft's, a family from Mississippi that are members of our church, brought a delicious meal over for supper. People are so nice!
This is a picture of Abbey's nurse/mom. She would not let me post the full picture, so I cropped it down to showing just her major nursing duties. She fears that people would be bombarding our blog for a look at the former queen of Rosebud, Mississippi. She has recently realized that she will not be able to fulfill her duties as queen of the royal kingdom of Rosebud. The first runner up, Barbara Mandrell of Miss Goldie Chicken will be the new queen.

What a Weekend!

It's been such a crazy weekend, and therfore we have not posted. Let me start by saying that my TBC training was great and I met some awesome new people.

On the way home on Friday, there was LOTS of bad weather in the Nashville area. Thankfully, I did not have to drive through the huge hail and tornadoes that a lot people had to endure. Several people died in the tornadoes. The picture is of a church in the area that was destroyed. The picture really does not do it justice. It is amazing how powerful that storm was and amazing that the kids inside that church during the storm were not hurt.

The devastation is huge. Tomorrow, people from our church (including me) are going to go help clean up some yards and houses.

Yesterday we had the Eggstravaganza. It went really well despite the cool, damp weather. Last night and tonight we had the Choir and Drama Easter program. It was really good. I played Judas. Now, my lastest goattee will be bidding farewell tomorrow morning.

Storms

I've always liked storms. Recently I discovered that maybe it has something to do with growing up as a daughter of an electrical engineer; a friend of ours' daughter shares the same like. Her dad works for a power company too. However, I also recently realized how much I loved storms while safely inside away from danger. Watching and hearing the rain and wind along with the lightning that expands the sky is enchanting. Once the storm passes, everything is clean and new. I think storms appeal to me because during the storm, there's no doubt God is in control. Who else could have created such a show?

As we continue to see what God has in store for us, I have the feeling we are in the storm. We may not be able to control it, but we know who does. We may not be where we want to be, but He has us where He wants us.
Perhaps one of my favorite bands, Casting Crowns, puts it best...

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
And stepped in and saved the day
Once again, I say Amen, and it is still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
I'm with you
As your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll Praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
You are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will Praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find you

I lift my eyes into the hills
Where does my help come from
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth
(You can hear this song if you go to www.castingcrowns.com)

I don't think I could convey my feelings any better than this song does. However long the storm lasts, we will continue to praise Him.

Thousands of Eggs

It's that time of year again. Time for the the EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA coming up this weekend. Last year, we had a bunch of people here and lots of eggs. This year we have LOTS more eggs, lots more advertising, and hopefully we will have a lot more people. Plus we are having mine and Abbey's favorite, Cotton Candy!

At roughly 8:00 o'clock Saturday morning, the bounce houses will arive along with the cotton candy machine and the sno-cone juice (note: we already have a sno-cone machine). We will already be hard at work setting up the registration tables, getting some popcorn popped and working on the cotton candy. We have 6 bikes to give away (you have to bribe people to give you their name, address and phone number.) We will have 12 Easter egg hunts. I'm guessing we have over 5,000 eggs. That's alot, isn't it? I heard of a church that has 100,000 for their egg hunt. NOW, that's a WHOLE LOT!

We're getting excited! This weekend will be really busy. Abbey's WISE Women's ministry event is on Friday night, the egg hunt is Saturday morning, and the Easter Choir and Drama Presentation (starring me as Judas - must've drawn the short straw - the goattee is back temporarily) will be Saturday and Sunday evening.

Our faithful readers may have to go several days with no post, as I will be out of town Thursday and Friday in Newport, Tennessee at a state consultant training for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Maybe Abbey will let herself be heard while I am gone!

Another Target Experience

Okay, so our friends Jon and Alicia are always telling us about the different stores that we need to boycott. As you may or may not know, Abbey and I love to go to Target. In fact, we go almost every Tuesday evening after Chik-fil-a (We're not at all routine, are we?). Well, Target is one of the stores that J and A tell us we should boycott, and for a variety of reasonable reasons. However, we can't seem to shake the habit.

When I go to Target for the church, though, I always use my tax exempt card that has all the church tax exempt numbers on it. Today I went to buy bikes to give away for the Easter Eggstravaganza this weekend. I was checking out and having an otherwise normal shopping event when I gave the clerk my TE card. She was putting the number in without any question, and then this "manager" type started looking over her shoulder.

He looked at me and said, "Don't you have the real form?" I said, "I come in here every week and use this card and no one has questioned it." He said, "Well, we can't just believe you, next time, bring the form!" I wanted to say, can you believe the church name on the credit card?

So now, Abbey does not like the clerk Regina and I don't like the manager Jim. Target's service has gone batty as of late. Jon and Alicia say it is because they are now owned by the French!

Trace and Grace

Most of you know that last March, Abbey and I suffered a miscarriage. We were tremendously saddened by the loss, but God was very faithful throughout it all. As a way of remembering our little one, we decided to go to "Build a Bear" and build a little lamb. We named the lamb, Grace (a name we both love, but would never name a child that because then she would be Grace Land - we're not big Elvis fans). Grace spent many nights in our bed after the loss, but she eventually made her way to what we call the "kid room" or Carah calls it "my room."

Some of you may know that yesterday, we suffered another miscarriage. We did not really know Abbey was pregnant, but we were pretty sure. Ultimately though, she was and we had another little one go to be with Jesus. We chose to return to "Build a Bear" and we built a giraffe named Trace. He is cuddly and soft. Last night, Grace and Trace slept in our bed with us.

It is sad time yes, but it is a time full of faith and peace from our Lord. Abbey and I are positive that God has a tremendous plan for us and will use our testimony. We know that one day we'll be parents. Until then, we will be loving on our 300 kids at church and making them feel special. Of course, we'll also spoil Carah and Cate as much as possible, too.

Abbey will be returning to the doctor on Friday to begin testing for different possibilities for the miscarriages. Pray that God will provide us with answers and continued peace.

Grace

For the past few hours, I have been in my backyard laying in my hammock. This is my favorite time of year. Lawnmowers are starting to run and the smell of the air is clean and warm. Some of the early blooming trees and bushes have started to show their color and things are just pleasant outside.

I have been reflecting on the fact that we really don't get what we deserve in this world. Humans are pretty sorry in my opinion and I am always amazed at the grace that God gives us. But He does. It makes me think that I should be more giving of grace and less judgmental. That's kind of the part of the book that I am reading about Mr. Rogers and it's kind of been my thoughts all day.

A Day in the Life

I know our loving fans care so much, so I decided to let you peak in on what my day has looked like. First, I woke up when Abbey was leaving to go to Beth Moore. She needed me to tie her ribbon watch for her. Then, I went back to sleep. I woke up and read some from my new book, The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers. So far, it has been quite interesting. I then got ready and went to work.


When I go to work and it's my day off, I usually dress pretty down. Since today is my day off, I wore shorts and a t-shirt. I went into a preschool classroom to ask one of the teahers a question when I got there. A little girl, Jill came up to me and looked curiously. After a moment she said, "Mr. Jeff, you're furry." I just don't think my legs are that hairy!

At noon, I left work to go have lunch with Danny and the girls at McDonald's. McD's was thrilling at usual. I then came home and read some from the newspaper and took a little rest.


I got a call from the jewelry store to let me know that my wedding band had been resized. Now, it is not threatening to cut the circulation off to my left ring finger. They even shined it. Check out that beautiful glow. I'm glad to have it back!


Danny told me the other day that my grass looked like my lawn mower blade needed sharpening. I was going to take it off this afternoon and realized that it had seen too much heartache to be of any use to me. Check out that gash in the blade. I went to Lowe's and bought a new one. I bet my grass looks BEAUTIFUL the next time I mow.


On the way home, I stopped by a new store in S'field called Cardsmart. I bought Abbey a little gift there. $10.00 if you can guess what it is!


Once, I got home, I also decided to change the oil in my mower after replacing the new blade. Note to any people out there who may not think changing the oil is important. This was the first time I have ever changed the oil in my mower. It was more like dark chocolate mousse than oil coming out! I don't think I should do that again. Check out the picture.


Finally, I have been doing laundry today. See the clean pile so far. I'm going to have fun folding tonight! First though, I am going to a senior recital. The intern Lindsey is going to be singing in it. It should be really good. While this has been really fun, I think it should prove something to you, I MISS ABBEY! I don't like to be away from her. I better go shower up before going to the recital. Sorry, there won't be any pictures of that!

Culture 101

Do you remember high school? The days when life was simple. You didn't worry about much, well, you did worry about the pimples? (at least, I hope someone besides me did that) Tonight I had the pleasure of accompanying my lovely wife to the East Robertson High School performance of "Cheaper By the Dozen."

It was actually not that bad,however, the sound effects were taped onto a pretty low-quality tape and there were no microphones. There was an older (and I mean old) lady sitting in front of us and I sure that if I had trouble hearing, she didn't hear a thing. I was once again reminded of the rural area in which we live when none of the characters could pronounce "children." Instead, they said "chuddren."

My personal opinion is that the Springfield High School's performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" was much better. At any rate, it was a chance for some culture. I don't think that it will be going to TPAC any time soon.

I'll leave you with a funny story:
Today a little girl that goes to our preschool was at Mother's Day Out. When she saw me she said, "Mr. Jeff, you come to Mother's Day Out, TOO?!?!" I thought it was funny!

Abbey's leaving

Abbey's leaving in the morning to go to Chattanooga to see Beth Moore! I think she'll have a good time. I think this will be her outfit for the conference. She's hot, I know it. Don't be jealous of me. There plenty of fish out in the sea that are close to as beautiful as my wife. I'm sure going to miss her. I don't remember to eat or anything when she's not here.

A Blast from the Past

We had Awana Retro night this past Sunday night and it was really groovy. The guy on the left is Alex. He and I tie-dyed our clothes for the evening. He's next to his best friend Brian who was looking very grease-like. Travis made it in the picture as well.

Clint and Lea are pictured to the left. Although you might think they look completely natural in those duds, I hear they bought them from Goodwill. Can you believe that Goodwill still has clothes like that?


To the right, you will see some of my favorite people. James, who will be Jesus in the upcoming play, and his wife Sindy, who's a barrel of laughs. James is from New Zealand and when his hair is not as bushy as it is right now and he has shaved, people tell us we look a lot a like. In fact, we are constantly confused for each other. Now, I bet they got their outfits right out of their closets.

You might be wondering what I looked like the other night for Retro night. I have been instructed by my sister-in-law not to put any of the photos of me up. Let's just say it was bad, REAL BAD!

VBS 2006 (and a foiled attempt)

I have been working on VBS today and I remembered this picture of Cate from last year. She has grown up so much since this picture. I saw her a few minutes ago and she showed me the "ribbits" on her pants. Of course, you know I loved that.

Jennifer, the VBS director, is on her way up here for our meeting of where we are and where we need to be. I think things are moving along pretty well, so far! The milk jugs are starting to stink up the storage closet (for those of you who aren't in the loop, we're building an igloo).

I forgot to mention yesterday about our attempt to bury Will. I started digging and about 1 foot into his grave, I hit rock. We moved and I hit rock again. I then got Trae to try, he hit rock too. So Will's grave ended up becoming a hollowed out tree stump with leaves to cover him. May he rest in peace.

Jack still missed him, but he has been catching birds over the past couple of days.

There He Goes Again

I am up early this morning after taking Trae to the airport. For some reason, he booked a 6:00 AM flight. It is very Landish to want to be back home, but you would think that someone who is hardly ever home wouldn't be in such a big hurry.

I hope that Trae had a good time. I know that I was glad to see him. You know, brothers really shouldn't go so long without seeing each other. Maybe, if I didn't live so far away and he didn't work in the middle of the ocean, we would see each other more. Anyway, that's neither here nor there, the important thing to remember is that we carried the camera everywhere we went and we got, count'em, "0" pictures together. In fact, we didn't take a single shot! Sorry mom!

Last night we capped off Trae's trip to Nashvegas with a trip to our favorite Tuesday night destination, Chik Fil A. Since we've been going there for months on Tuesday nights for Church Bulletin night, we didn't want to break tradition. Trae loves CFA, too.

We caused a little problem at CFA though. The clerks always let us choose whether we want a sandwich, nuggets, or strips for free. The sign says, Sandwich, but THEY (the clerks) ARE THE ONES WHO ORIGINALLY OFFERED IT. Anyway, the "owner" was there last night and he got all in a tissy because he did not know this was going on. He realized it was true when the next 3 customers came up with the same requests. I hope that they won't call it off altogether. If they do, I'm sorry. I never meant to take advantage of the system.

Of course, we had Target for a quick dessert of buying baby shower gifts. We then went to OfficeMax in G-ville which is going out of business. They didn't have any office chairs left. Then we went to Best Buy, where it really isn't the Best Buy on office chairs. Finally we went to Office Depot, where there were too many chairs to make a decision. Why, might you ask am I looking for an office chair? The answer is simple really. I am now on my 5th chair that I have rummaged from empty desks or taken from vacant positions in the church and they are ALL JUNK! I'm tired of being TIPPED OUT of my chair, constantly having to lift the chair up because the hydraulic thing slowly moves down, or being jabbed in the back by random pieces of metal and so I have decided that I will just buy my own chair!

After the frustrating chair hunt, we warmed up with Starbucks.

Alas, I dropped Trae off early this morning. I'm glad he came. I love him and I miss not seeing him much. He's a great big brother.

(Editor's note: The picture is of some girls from church. I thought it was fun!)

Trae's Here

Trae, my big brother, is here visiting this week. He flew in yesterday afternoon and will leave in the morning. I've not seen him in quite some time, we're thinking about 2.5 years. It's not that I don't love him or like him, it just seems that our paths don't often cross due to the nature of our jobs. Trae is an offshore diver who is now very busy repairing Katrina's destruction so that maybe one day we will pay less than $2.00 a gallon for gas again.

Yesterday, I took Trae to OpryLand and Opry Mills Mall. He didn't know that there weren't rides there any more. It's kind of a bummer, isn't it? They should put a roller coaster on top of OpryLand, that'd be cool. Abbey, Trae and I went down to Demo's for supper last night. It's our favorite place to eat down here.

Today, we are going to lay Will to rest and then go downtown and see some amazing Nashville tourist attraction. If anyone can think of one, please let me know soon!Trae said that where we live kind of reminds him of "Children of the Corn." It is pretty rural.

I'll put a picture of Trae and I up at some point today. We don't look like we are related. By the way, the picture is of me, mom, dad, and Bobby at Christmas this year.

On the Move

Some of you probably know my parents, Roy and Linda Drake. Please keep them in your prayers for the next few months. My Dad resigned from his job this morning and has accepted another job offer. The good news is it brings them closer to us; the hard part is moving. My Dad has to find temporary housing, the house has to sell, and they have to find a new house. However, we all know that God is in control, and He can do anything. I can't wait to see what God has in store for them, but until it is revealed, life will probably be a bit difficult.

Losing Custody

Please pray for our friends Danny and Michelle. You may recall that they have been in an outrageous custody battle with their Toyota Sienna van. Well, they have once again lost the battle in court, due to Michelle's abuse. They are saying something about van endangerment or something. It seems the van was allowed to be hit on the side. It's back in the Toyota dealership to get fixed. Maybe I will post a picture of it at some point, if they ever have it long enough. Here is a picture of their temporary car.

Of course I wouldn't complain about having a fully loaded Highlander as a temp car. I think they must know someone at the dealership. If they keep this up, I am going to have to start another Arbonne rumor.

Last night, Danny, Michelle and the girls came over for supper. I grilled steaks and corn. Abbey cooked two new Paula Deen recipes. Everything was delicious. The girls wanted to stay outside and help me grill and they wanted to be pushed in the hammock. Aren't they cute. Cate is learning all kinds of new words and how to use the big girl potty. See their blog. Carah is supersmart and is always very helpful.

Addendum to "In Memory"

A part of Will's life was inadvertantly left out:

There was a period in Will's life between his time in Texas and Tennessee where he lived with his grandparent's, Rose and Bud. He lived with them due to his parent's inability to close on a home. As soon as suitable housing was found he moved from the Drake residence in Rosebud (a suburb of Walnut Grove, a suburb of Carthage, Mississippi).

In Memory - William "Will" Stradler Land

Springfield, Tennessee - William "Will" Stradler Land, loving cat and brother, passed away sometime during the week of March 25. He was found by his father in the woods behind his home. The cause of death is uncertain, but there seems to be no signs of foul play.

Will lived an extraordinary life. He was adopted in August of 2002 by loving parents, Jeff and Abbey Land in Jackson, Mississippi. He was adopted from the Mississippi Animal Rescue League. Jeff has often commented that he couldn't resist the loving smiles of Will and his brother Jack.

Will first became a Land as an anniversary present to Mrs. Land. His first home with the Land's was in Brandon, Mississippi. He was orinally named Mosey. His new parents debated for a while and ultimately named him Will.

Will became a traveling feline in 2003 when he traveled with his family to a new home in Fort Worth, Texas. While in Texas, Will enjoyed the close quarters of the mobile home which his family moved to. He and his brother Jack enjoyed countless hours of fun running back and forth in the home. Once, while in Texas, Will suffered a brief scare when his brother Jack broke out of the house one crisp evening that their parents left the windows open. He pushed the screen out and left. He returned home the following evening. While living at Seminary, the cats never had the opprotunity to have fresh air as they were considered contraban.

Like their parents, the cats found only little to love about Texas, so they were not in objection to moving to Tennessee. The cats quickly adjusted to their new home in Springfield. Several months ago, upon constant hinting that they wanted to live permanently outside, Will and Jack's parents let them move into the garage. Will loved being outdoors, sunning on the back deck and eating lots of cat food.

Will's life came to an end this week, but his legacy will live on. He was thankful to be a Mississippian by birth and he was a Southern Baptist. He is survived by his parents and loving brother.