Green Acres Farm

Kelly's Irish Class in the Athens Paper

2010-03-18T23:31:00.001-04:00

Kelly Belle's 1st Irish Preformance

2010-01-24T14:21:00.002-05:00

Irish Step dancing is Kelly Belle's favorite new dance. It's very fun and very fast paced. She started this style of dance in September. She just loves it. It is an expensive style of dance. The girl with the orange dress, she is selling it for $1,600. There is plenty of opportunity for Kelly Belle to dance. Her class is booked for 3 more performances before her recital in May.
I think she looks like an Irish doll. The wig, crown and dress...wow. I am very proud of Kelly Belle, she works very hard at her dancing. I never have to remind her to practice. She takes ballet twice a week, tap and Irish once a week. That is four days at a dance studio. Very fun!!
Enjoy her show...the camera work is really BAD. Not use to my camera.

Rain, Rain

2009-09-20T22:30:00.014-04:00

We have been having lots of rain lately. The weathermen predict many more days of rain. I know we need the rain, but I really think we might grow moldy.

The horses are making a mess of the pasture...muddy!!!! The drive way has a small stream running down it.

I took a few shots with my new camera of things that have some rain droplets on them. I love the simple pleasure of nature and what it give us to enjoy!

Yellow daisies are my favorite flowers, so sweet and simple.Morning glories are all over our yard, the previous owners must have planted them.

Watermelon plant is growing very nicely, we never planted it...go figure!

Yes, the spider is back!

Spider Obession

2009-09-07T23:54:00.010-04:00

I have been so obsessed with spiders and their webs for the past several weeks.

On our front porch we now have two yellow garden spiders, I have to say they are getting big. They make the perfect orb webs.

Then last week we found a funnel spider web, what a great piece of design. It's the home of the field spider. The tunnel serves a 'backdoor' to his web home. Can hide there or run away if threatened...all this is very cool to me. Enjoy these shots.

See the long tunnel/funnel web.

Moonflower

2009-08-23T18:28:00.007-04:00

I had to post my pictures of our Moonflower plant. Last year Helen gave me this moonflower plant. We never got to see it bloom, since it only blooms at night. We would go out to wait, then decide to do something else, like dinner and then night life starts and totally forget about it. Then the next morning we would say, bummers we forgot to look.

It dies back in the winter or re-seeded itself. But it came back. It has really grown, twice the size as last year. It's hidden from the sun behind a tree. It has bloomed so many times this year but once again we have missed it. Once it blooms the white, main flower dies and falls off.

(The two round things hanging off the plant are the seed pods. The plant has a soft velvet stem and leaves.)

Now last night while I was trying to take pictures of a spider at twilight (talking to my sister the camera expert) I looked over and one of the flowers was in full bloom. I was so excited and it is so lovely to look at.

I am practicing with my new camera and the flowers were taking in full darkness...very nice.There was some bug inside, too.

These were two spiders that I was trying to photograph when I saw the moonflower. Was an exciting night for the girly farmer.

Playing in the Rain

2009-08-19T02:37:00.005-04:00

Couple of evenings ago the weather was nice and warm. Then it started to rain and that maked perfect conditions to run in the rain. Well, at least three kids were home and they had a blast. Nice to see my 14 year old still enjoys the simple pleasures of life…..jumping in mud puddles. Moments like this I wish would never end!!

I even got a cool shot of a water droplet with my new camera!

Tree Identification Class

2009-08-19T02:04:00.007-04:00

Today was our first Plant/Tree Id class and river day at the Barker family’s home. They have such a lovely homestead and lots of acreage for the kids to run and play. The most exciting part is their river. There is so much to explore.
We started out with Bob taking us on a walk through the woods looking at trees…wow there are lots! And even more information to know!! We collected some leaf samples. Then we came back and Bob showed the kids how to ink press their leaves in a notebook. He gave the common name and the Latin name. Even Ryan got to do some leaf rubbings.
The three trees we identified today was:
1. Sweet Gum/Liquidamber styrasifluia
2. Red Bud/Cereus canadensis
3. Red Maple/Acer rubra

We changed clothes and ate lunch and then headed to the river for water fun. Daniel even brought out his two kayaks. I would post more photos but my camera battery went dead after 8 shoots.
We had so much fun, we hope to make this a bi-monthly outing.
The out doors, some education and lots of fun with friends…you can’t school any better than that!
cool spider

Planning

2009-08-16T11:26:00.007-04:00

August tends to me my planning and re-planning month for the years activties.
For school, the kids and I plan what goals we want to accomplish for the year. We always manage to change SEVERAL times during the year. But at least I feel we have a direction. They also get new math books (which Kelly Belle thinks is the most exciting thing in the world...she is my textbook kid, yikes!).
So, I thought I would list our activities and each child's interest.

Monday:
Babysit Ryan (all)
Tae Kwon Do Class (Jack/Kyle)
2xmth-American Girl History Class taught here by me. (Kelly Belle)
1xmth-4-H (all)
1xmth-Homeschool Parents Meeting (mom)
Drama Troupe (Shannon & Jack)
Ballet (Kelly Belle)

Tuesday:
Babysit Ryan (all)
Childcare Alexa (all)
Horse Riding Lessons (Shannon)
Tap (Kelly Belle)

Wednesday:
Babysit Ryan (all)
Childcare Alexa (all)
Storytime at Library (all)
Tae Kwon Do (Jack & Kyle)
Ballet (Kelly Belle)

Thursday:
Babysit Ryan (all)
Babysit Jessie (all)
Clarinet and Flute Lessons (Shannon and Kelly Belle)
Food Coop (all)
Irish Folk Dance (Kelly Belle)
1xmth LLL Meeting (mom)

Friday:
Babysit Ryan (all)
Band Class (Shannon, Jack, Kelly Belle)
Park (all)

Saturday:
Sabbath
Movie Night

Sunday:
Make up and Chore Day
Symthony Practice (Shannon)

Caught on Camera

2009-07-27T17:43:00.003-04:00

Well the horse cam paid off. This morning around 7:14, Star got out of the fence and she was caught on camera. Gabriella did not follow Star, she just ran around the field all freak out that Star was out.
Thanks to technology we solved the escaping horses.

Horse Cam

2009-07-26T19:50:00.004-04:00

With the lack of rain the main horse pasture is total eaten and beaten up by the horses. Patrick made a temp rope fence in the back pasture area. The horses have gotten out twice but he thinks he got it fixed. We have been moving them back into the more secure pasture at night. Well, Patrick really wants to leave them in the make-shift pasture at night. So to make me feel better, he mounted a camera on the old shade out back....the McCoy's first horse cam. We can view the girls from our basement. A big plus to having a man work for GE Security.

Farm Life is Hard

2009-07-14T23:46:00.005-04:00

Sunday we lost another old chicken. This time it was to the neighbors dog. The kids saw her being attacked. The time we got to her, she was too damaged to help. Patrick had to put her to sleep. All the kids ran upstairs and turned on the music very loud, not to hear. Was a scene right out of a Laura Ingall's book. She had a great life and we were thankful to have her.

Then on Monday we took our rabbit to the vets to be neutered. I was told to have him fast before surgery...this is soooo wrong!!! Rabbits and horses cannot throw up and their stomachs should never be empty!
We dropped him off at 8am. They called at 2pm and said he did well but they did not have food for him. So I drove to them and gave him his food (40minute round trip). Then after 10 minutes of being home they called and said he was not eating and would like me to pick him up asap. They thought he would eat if home. So I drove back out to pick him up. The vet's office did not give me any post surgery instructions.
Got home, he would not wake up enough to eat. He was so sleepy. After about 3-4 hours I started to worry. Still no food or water, no pee either. Then another couple of hours, I started googling about post surgery care. This is were I found out rabbits need not fast. They should not have empty stomachs. Also, if rabbits are over stressed, dehydrated, or sick, they can loss their will to live. I knew I needed to help this little guy.
I went to him and syringed the pain meds into him and then water. Every hour, all night I would forced some water and then finally some food into him. I even sat in the bathroom reading so he could see me.
By the next morning he was drinking and eating only from my hand. He had a small bm and pee....only a mom would be happy to see pee and poop.
I did not heed my own advice, always research for yourself, never rely on a doctor to know all the answers!
Buttons is eating well after 36 hours and I think he'll be ok.
We got Buttons from a friend who was watching him for someone else. They both did not want him. He is 2 years old. I thought he would be good for Kelly Belle. He is a friendly bunny! But lost of work. Have to clean cage once to twice a day. He was marking the floor, so we decided to get him fixed. And to repeat others before me, "There is no such thing as a free animal"! Total vet bill $162.00!!
Buttons is a true member of the family NOW!

Jack's a Black Belt!

2009-07-01T18:38:00.003-04:00

We are proud of Jack, he tested for his black belt in Tae Kwon Do this month. He really enjoys his classes. I never have to ask him to practice, this is something he really enjoys and excels at. Here he is doing one of his board breaks.

Ballet Recital

2009-06-30T23:41:00.007-04:00

I finally got a copy of Kelly Belle's ballet recital. Thanks to the Ruper family for taking this for me. I was busy helping the girls that I did not have time or thought to record it.

It was performed through Masters Academy in Athens on May 14, 2009.

Kelly Belle just loves taking ballet. She looks so tall when she dances. She really comes out when she preforms. She says, "dancing makes me feel good, even on bad days." She also LOVES her teacher. She is a great homeschooled teeanager. She has such a great passion for ballet. And her mom, made the costumes...they were sooo cute! Love the colors.

We are very proud of her!

Her moto, "when in doubt, twirl!"

Week 3--Baby Chicks Update

2009-05-18T20:34:00.010-04:00

They are growing daily!! They enjoy their larger home, the rabbit hutch. But they tend to escape through the cage. That will stop so, when they get to big. The Araucanians are the friendliest. The barred rocks are the loudest. They all are so curious. They love to peek out the cage at us. Who's watching who?

Here are their pictures at three weeks.

Week 2-Chicks Update

2009-05-11T21:58:00.004-04:00

The Araucanians are growing the fastest with their feathers. The light Brahmas are the largest birds.

Jack loves the brown Araucanian, it sits on his arms every time he takes him out. Kyle's fav is the yellow Araucanian, but that is Ryan's and my favorite, too. We'll all have to share her.

Tonight we moved them into a bigger home, an old rabbit hutch I got off freecycle. Lined the bottom and sides with left over dry wall sheets and topped it with savings, added their light and food/water. Much more room and they can see outside, thought the box would make them stir crazy. Plus they were trying to fly out. Now when we walk by they peek out and follow us. The cat doesn't even seem interested.

Chicks Week Old

2009-05-03T22:43:00.004-04:00

The little babies are growing fast. They have their wing feathers, some even have tail feathers. The araucanas'feet color have darkened and the feathers around their face are puffed out. The light brahams have their feathers on their feet. They all are fling, well jumping with a flap of their wings, around each other. We have them in our school room (true homeschooler), so the kids go in all day checking on them. Since there are four (five during the week) kids and one mom, they get checked on often.

New Recycled Plant Nursery

2009-05-03T21:48:00.007-04:00

Today I (ok Patrick, nailed them together) made raised gardening beds from old wood. I have two large retaining walls on both sides of my house. I but two compost bens on one side (made out of recycled pallets). Well, what to do with the other wall? Helen, my gardener advisor (new title) suggested I make that whole wall into a kind of nursery (raised beds) for young plants. WOW, what a great idea, the area is perfect.
The people who owned the house before us collected old lumber. There is a pile of 2x2s, 2x4s, 4x4s and even a old phone pole. Last year, I made two raised beds out of some of this lumber. Right now they house, my blueberries, blackberries, and butterfly bush plants. They will stay in this nursery until ready to plant.
Today, I found the lumber I needed and hauled it up to the house, this is a hard walk. Then I had to pull out all the old nails. Then laid it out, this is where I asked Patrick to use his handy nail gun, made things so much faster. When I nailed to other two beds together...my thumbs hurt for weeks. I am not a carpenter, gardener, farmer, etc....but hey I am faking it and having fun trying. They do not look perfect or beautiful but they are made and made with recycled wood. I so love to recycle!!
Then I started filling the beds with dirt from around the yard. I shoveled and unshoveled six wheelbarrows full of dirt. I got three beds out of the six filled. I will continue to fill in with dirt. Then will add some compost and topsoil. After this is finished, I can go around my yard and take cuttings of all my plants. Then I can put them in my new recycled plant nursery.
I'm very proud of the day.

Love our Home and Land

2009-04-30T22:08:00.008-04:00

Today the kids went back to the creek. Shannon had a friend over and they all played so well at the creek. It's so peaceful at the creek. It's cool under the shade of the trees. The water sounds nice going over the rocks. Best of all I love to hear them laughing (and yelling) with each other. Ryan, the toddler we watch loves throughing things into the water and watching it float away...joys of being almost 2.

Makes for a restful day.

Gardening Today

2009-04-29T21:44:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I weeded more blackberry bushes off my hill next to the driveway. These guys are strong and multiple fast. My hill project will be a long and painful one. When we moved in the hill was overgrown with wild weeds of all kinds. I am slowly clearing it.
Today my friend, Helen brought me several different types of tomato plants. Got them planted in the garden area. I also found some bean and cucumber seeds, planted them. We'll see if the grow??!
Added a thornless blackberry plant in the baby bed (a small raised bed for young plants) along with the blueberry bush babies. These will be planted this fall if strong and large enough.
While in the garden I noticed our 1st strawberry is ready. I planted 8 strawberry plants given to me by my friend Claudia. Well after the snow blizzard, rabbits trying to eat them, sheep trying to eat them and me hacking them with a hoe...we finally got ONE. I hope more are to come.
Yesterday

Today

I am such a BAD gardener....thanks Helen for all your patience!!

More Chicken Photos

2009-04-29T21:36:00.003-04:00

On day Four...growing nicely. They are starting to have real feathers on their wings.

Gardening Oops

2009-04-29T21:11:00.007-04:00

Thought I would post some sad news about my garden. I spent the last few weekends 'weeding' my garden area. The wild garlic and other weeds have taking it over. After my friend, Helen came out, she informed me that I pulled ALL the bachelor button seedlings. :o( I just did not know what they looked like. I'm learning things the hard way...through mistakes. Her advice is to stop weeding and mulch!!

I have to say my lemon balm plant is wonderful!! Growing large and full with some new babies popping up next to the mother plant.

The thyme plant is beautiful!!! The flowers are great, I would love this plant as a bush in my front flower bed.

Creek Fun

2009-04-29T20:44:00.007-04:00

We had a fun day with Helen and her children. The creek is nice a cool. Helen and I even got to sit in chairs and talk while the kids ran up and down the creek.

Hazel and Kyle made this together.

New Chicks

2009-04-28T22:57:00.006-04:00

Sunday we got our new baby chicks. My friend order the chicks through the mail, this way we got what we wanted and got all hens, no roosters. One is enough, even though he is very sweet for a rooster. Shannon made a list of what she liked and Christy ordered them along with hers. You had to order a minimum of 25.

Here's what we got:

3 Silver laced Wyandottes
2 Barred Rocks
3 Light Brahmas
2 Araucanas

First Creek Visit of 2009

2009-01-08T21:03:00.005-05:00

Last week it warmed up enough to go to the creek. It looked so nice since last summer when the water, or the lack of, was not moving much. The kids had two friends over to play, which made exploring more fun. Even little Ryan got into the water even though it was so cold. We are looking forward to a fun spring and summer at the McCoy creek, stop by and jump in!

Ballet Shoes

2008-12-28T22:05:00.019-05:00

On December 7th Kelly Belle had her ballet recital. She did a wonderful job. She really enjoys taking her classes.

I have included her performance video.

gopher://

Great Job Kelly Belle.
We are proud of you! Love, Your Family

Jack's a Senior Red Belt

2008-12-28T20:43:00.007-05:00

On December 17th Jack tested for his Senior Red Belt. The way he is going he will be a Black Belt in 6 months. We are all very proud and scared :o) Here’s his awesome board break:

Kyle Singing to Mamaw

2008-12-28T19:30:00.003-05:00

Mamaw's 75th Birthday Celebration

2008-12-28T18:11:00.000-05:00

Patrick’s mother is wonder. I am very blessed to have such a sweet and caring Mother-In-Love (thanks Laura for the name). She is always there for us in so many ways. In November the family met in TN for a 75th Birthday Celebration. It was wonderful to see so many family members. My four kids performed various music for her. Kyle even sang. Kelly Belle told mamaw that she was this many.....gave her 3 quarters....75cents, a penny for each year of her life. Very cute.
Happy 75th Birthday, Mamaw! We LOVE you!!

A 3-D Evening

2008-11-10T21:38:00.000-05:00

Remember when you were a kid and things seem so exciting and then when you did it, well it was ok. Patrick and I said, "Been there and done that" to the 3-D glasses. Now it was all new to our kids. And they were so excited about getting the chance to watch a movie in 3-D. I remember the first 3-D movie I saw was "The Creature from the Black Lagoon".
Well, we rented the glasses and the movie, "Journey to the Center of the Earth". The new one with Brendon Frasier, ok he's getting fat. But he is still cute to me. We got the popcorn and soda and then action.
I thought Kelly was going to scream and pop at everything. So her personality, "I can see it, I see it..." even though nothing was happening. She is so easily impressed, LOVE IT!
Jack, handle things as well as expected. Since this movie wasn't really scary and not gory at all. But it did have the jump out and surprise you, factor. Jack doesn't do well with suspense.

Shannon, thought it was "cool". And wanted to see it again. She thought the whole glasses, the movie, how it all worked was fascinating. Plus she wants to read the book, of course.
Kyle, well he lasted 5 minutes with the glasses and said, "You can hold them."
All the kids enjoyed the movie and hey, it was corny but I'd see it again.
We love family movie night (every Saturday night, if you are in the neighborhood, join us). Well with one exception, Jack can't stand when it's a Barbie movie. We just do it to drive him crazy.

We've Got Eggs!

2008-11-10T21:24:00.000-05:00

Jack found 7 eggs today. We got these older chickens from a friend that was moving away. They never laid an egg so I thought they were too old. I just planned to use them as trash cans and tillers. Well today Jack noticed a nest. Who knows how long them have been laying and who knows which chicken is laying. We will try to figure that out in the next day or so, scientifically...as much as as 5 kids and a mom can.
We are very excited to start getting some eggs, especially during the winter months.

A Pepperman Day

2008-10-28T21:12:00.000-04:00

Today my dear friend, Helen and her awesomely cool kids, Hazel, Ray and Dashiell came to play at our house. These are the type of friends that you can pick up where you left off any time and any where. I love when they come to visit, no stress. The kids all play great and the moms can just hang out and talk about anything. Just what I needed after coming home from vacation (you know the blues you get from returning home from a trip?) and from the sadness that winter is here. They were the perfect pick-me-up. After Helen and talk for the day I am totally ready to tackle a new project...what first? planting, crocheting, baking, sewing, or * ? Return and see what I decided to start? Helen brought a bucket of basil for us to work on. I usually have a sink full of dirty dishes but today I had a sink for of basil. Made some wonderful pesto. Which Shannon loves, especially pesto sandwiches in the summer. Take 1 cup a fresh pesto and mix with 8 oz cream cheese. Spread on slices of bread and top with slices of tomato and cucumbers. She totally flips for this.
Also today, Jack made a special sandwich (mix 4 oz cream cheese with 1/2 cup peanut butter, spread on slice of bread, top with thin apple slices, and carmel and another slice of bread..I added cinnamon on mine) for his 4-H project and the boys tried it for him. And to every one's surprise it was good.
Thanks Peppermans for a fun day.

My Baby Turned Six

2008-10-27T04:19:00.000-04:00

Kyle turned 6 on October the 11th. A happy day but also sad, this is my baby. He is turning out to be a real goofy boy, wonder where he gets it? He is such a fun kid to be around. I like that he still enjoys to sleep and snuggle with his mom, he says he will move into his own room when he is 16, I'm starting to believe him. Here's a small clip of what has been happening in Kyle's life for the past six years.

Happy Birthday Kyle!
We LOVE you!!

Red Belt Success

2008-10-27T00:47:00.000-04:00

Jack past his Tae Kwon Do testing last Wednesday. Poor guy, we arrived home at 3am form Florida, which he only practiced his form twice on our trip, and then he had to get up and perform his trumpet for a 4-H function and then go test for his belt. He did it! And we are proud parents.

4-H News

2008-10-27T00:37:00.000-04:00

Well Shannon did it again. Her 4-H team won first place at the Challenge Bowl competition in Perry, GA. She studied for almost 3 months on several different subjects:
4-H Knowledge and History
Diabetes
Stinging Bugs and Pest
Internet Terms and Bullying
They all studied hard. The other Madison County team won second place. They lost only to their co-team...very exciting.
We are very proud of her and was happy to have a homeschooler on the team.

Necktie Skirt

2008-10-26T23:04:00.000-04:00

I finally made one. Each year this sweet elderly man (in photo) brings his old ties to our church trip and the men can take them. Then on a certain day at our church trip they have a Lonnie (man's name in photo) tie day. Well my girls said they wanted to take part in the day but did not want to wear a necktie. So I made a skirt from all the extra ties for Shannon with a matching bag, and another purse for Kelly Belle. I plan to make Kelly a skirt too. I also made all the other girls a small purse from one tie. It was simple and really did not hold much except a sucker.
I found a great skirt pattern online.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Skirt-from-Neckties
It was fun and easy to make. The most time was in the prep work of the ties before sewing. I plan to make some more purses..those were my favorite to make.

The Black Kids

2008-09-25T20:58:00.000-04:00

Last night I went the the 4o Watt club in Athens to see my cousin. Kevin is the drummer for the Black Kids band. It was so much fun. This is the famous club in Athens that REM played at. My cousin has been playing in a band since he was a teen. Their music has a retro 80's feel. They are #5 in London. And they have been on the Letterman show and will be on the Tonight Show.

My mom, her friend and two of my friends met for dinner at a Belgium pub. Then my cousin, Kevin met us there. WOW has he grown....6'5". I am the same age as his older brother. My aunt had 5 boys and the last were twins. So Kevin is the youngest twin. I think it's kind of cool that Kevin's twin brother has twin girls.

Well we spent the longest time getting reconnected and talked about how their success came about. He is such a nice person. I am very impressed with his attitude and his vision. I believe they will go far.

After going to another place for dessert we heading into the club, felt to special, we were on the guest list and just walked right in, we were 'with the band'. The opening act was still playing so we went to the look at the tour bus and talk MORE.

After hearing them play we headed home and I passed out!

It was a great evening. But I understand why you this kind of partying when you are young! I did not bounce back so fast.

Here Kevin is talking with my friend, Helen on the phone. She could not come...so cute!

A Full Day

2008-09-23T21:55:00.000-04:00

We had a full and fun day. We decided to start the day with a walk through Bear Hollow. This is a great place in Athens. Shannon has even volunteered at the nature center. They have several animals that have been rescued and cannot be released back in the wild. It's also next to a great pond to walk around. This place reminds me of our old playgroup in Covington. But the best part, it's FREE.

We met Ryan there and then started walking, no plans just see how the day unfolds. I wanted to share some great pictures that Shannon took of some plants & flowers. I think they are great, but I am her mother. She is really starting to get into photography. I so need to get her a better camera and have her hang out with Andrea!

After walking and looking, we went to the Athens Library for the kids' book club. Ran into a awesome friend Stephanie (another LLL Leader)while I was there. Things just work out the way they should. We got to have a mini meeting with a mom at the library. I heard a baby of about 2-3 mths just crying it's head off....I had to find this baby. Well Stephanie had the same thought, we almost ran into each other, we had to seek, find and fix this baby. Happy to say all ended well, baby and mommy settled into a nice nursing moment...with the two of us smiling!

After the library I dropped Shannon off for her clarinet lesson. Then I took the kids home, put baby down for nap, feed other kids, baby wakes up, picked up Shannon, made cookies, made dinner for tonight and tomorrow night, schooled some, straighten up, feed baby, put baby down for nap, made snack for kids, listened to them practice instruments and read, give baby to mother, finish dinner, cleaned up, Patrick comes home, two kids go do horse chores, eat dinner, make beds for guest, mother arrives with a friend, chat, put my babies to bed and finally update blog.

The End.....to a long day. But I feel good about it all.

17 Years of Happiness

2008-09-15T21:10:00.000-04:00

Well, it's really longer than that but today is my 17th year wedding anniversary. And I am celebrating it with my kids since my husband had to go to Atlanta to work today. But that's OK for the last few years we have gone out with our kids, we enjoy being together!

But I wanted to write and tell you how I fell in love with my best friend--Patrick, other than the obvious-he's cute!

I was 18 years old and quit college after 1 semester. Then my parents moved to NC. I decided to stay here in GA. OK I am on my own??? So I got a job at Wendy's in a mall (yes, I was a mall rat). How boring, I was a fry girl (not a fly girl). I kind of liked the no brainer job and I met LOTS of people. After a few months I became the opening manger (not hard to become if you have a brain). Every morning when I opened the store my first costumer was this sad looking blonde guy. He ordered the same thing every morning and did NOT engage in conversation. All the employees at the store would tease me, "Hey, here comes a cute guy for you" Patrick worked at another restaurant in the mall. And he is 6 years older than me so he looked like an old man to a 18 year old. Well that was the first time I saw Patrick.

Weeks later while at a singles night out at a club he recognized me. He said, "Aren't you that 'kid' that works at Wendy's?" Well I was so embarrassed and said I did not want to ever talk to him again. Then a few weeks later I saw him at one of our church activities. There's that guy again. I did NOT talk with him. Like I said I was quite a bit younger so we hung out with different groups of people. But he was everywhere I happened to be. I grew up in this church so I knew everyone. Everyone liked Patrick, they said he is a nice guy. Even my family kept saying it. Patrick even helped my parents move back to Atlanta.

Well over time I did talk to Patrick and yes he was a nice guy. Patrick, my roommate and I quickly became friends. The three of us did everything and went every where together. I remember calling Patrick up one night asking if he would go to the movies with me because I did not want to go alone, he did, and I never thought more about it except he was one of my best friends. The two of us became even more close. I never thought about anything more than friendship with Patrick since I was so much younger. He did secretly.

Then the day came I told him I was moving to NC to go back to college. This was hard on him. Well for the next year he came and visited me. Those were so long weekends for him driving back and forth. I still thought he was a great friend. Until one day a girl asked if there was something between us, " Why? Me and Patrick? No, we are 'just' friends!" I was kind of defensive, OK I was down right mad that she was interested in him. Well, he's MY best friend, right? One of my NC friends told me I was jealous and I totally showed it in my face when she asked about us. I totally denied it. I can't like Patrick, he's my best friend, I tell him everything! He knew more about me than he should have known. (Come to think about, it's kind of cool, that he still liked me after knowing all my dark secrets...wow!)

A couple days later and a lot of soul searching (and crying) I realized I did like him. He was the nicest guy I knew. He was always there for me with no strings attached.

I called him up and said we need to talk and have a real date. My dad was going to be in a play, thought this was a safe start. So Patrick drove from Atlanta to Charlotte, NC to Murphy, NC and then took me back to Charlotte and then back to Atlanta in 2 days. That's a lot of miles!! Well, after the play was over we were walking out and he held my hand. I thought I was going to die! It felt so right and better yet, he was holding my hand in front of my dad. No boy has ever tried that before (you have to know my dad....he is tough!). I thought wow, he felt comfortable doing that in front of MY dad, he's got guts! So we planned our next date. And that night he kissed me good night. I know this will sound movieish but I knew I was going to marry this boy!

6 months later we were married.

4 years later we had our first baby.

12 years later we had our last baby.

17 years later I still love to kiss and hold his hand.

21 years later I still love to serve him fries!

We have been through all the normal marriage issues but I know I married my best friend. This story proves nice guys do have it all! I hope my girls will find a man like their dad to marry. And I hope my boys will treat their wives like Patrick treats me-very sweet!

Happy Anniversary Patrick!

I love you, pickle man!

Spiderwick Party

2008-09-13T01:30:00.000-04:00

I was not going to post about this but it turned out so well I needed to....for Shannon's 13th birthday we had a Spiderwick Sleep-over party. She had three friends

come. When they came in the door there were jars filled with colored water around the room....we asked if they could see anything in them? All said no, since they did not have the "sight" they could not see the creatures (more on this later). Everyone unpacked their things and talked for a little while. Then we ate pizza and soda. Then had cake, Shannon wanted dragons on it since this was a make-believe party. She requested a chocolate cake. The girls sang to her even though Shannon did not want them, too. After dinner they feed the horse. Then we watched the movie Spiderwick. Only one other girl besides Shannon has read the books. All my kids loved the 5 book series. It is a very intense movie. I would not have let my 5 year see it if not for, well the littlest one sees more things then the first. They had popcorn and some junk candy (which my kids never get, they were so surprised). But to contrary belief they did not gorge themselves. They made sure everyone got some. Towards the end of the movie I slipped a small torn note in the sofa. Someone found it and it read a riddle on how to find Mr. Spriderwick's Fieldguide. We hid it the same as in the book. Wrapped in brown paper, tied with string, sealed with wax, wrapped in old shirt, hide in a trunk. All this was hidden in the room. After they found the book, looked through it (it's a really cool field guide) they headed out to the trampoline with glow necklaces and bracelets. The younger children went to bed. They jumped for almost an hour, even in the rain....crazy girls.

They came in and changed into bed clothes.

Shannon opened presents. They then just hung out all night, I was with them while they showed each other stuff on computer. Not one complained of me watching over them and the computer...great girls! Then they went upstairs to sleep....after a few minutes of chatting. This was around 2am. Then I made the room change into Mr. Spriderwick's laboratory. Filled the jars with creatures (told you it was coming), hung fake spider webs every where, set tomato juice, oatmeal, salt, & honey on counter (see the movie or read the books to find out why you need this stuff), and even wrote on the walls coming down the stairs, "Click, Clack, watch your back." (I wrote with chocolate, so I could wipe it off...didn't have anything else).

The next morning, Jack hid the riddle clues through out the yard. When the girls woke up and came down stairs they read the message on the wall and we squirt water in their faces (this is how you get the sight, again read the book)....plus it woke them up more. Then they could 'see' the creatures in the jars....also they were surprised at all the room decor....this set the stage for the whole day. They feed the horse, then we had pancakes with strawberries, blue berries and whipped cream, yum!

Then the games began. They wore red shirts...did you know that sprites do not like red? They first made a circle of protection around the house.

Then we through fake bombs (water balloons) at the approaching trolls (siblings-Jack, Kelly Belle, & Kyle). Then they went on a Sprite riddle hunt. Shannon made up all the riddles, they were great!!! We rolled them up and sealed each one with hot wax seal. We even hid one at the creek in a bottle...so fun. Who says you need formal poetry class...she wrote 7 riddles this weekend that rhymed and made you think!

After the games we did lots of crafts. 1: Made Sprites, out of silk flowers 2: Fieldguides, notebooks 3: Pixie potion jars, sand art 4: Dragon figure, too big, sent home to finish. 5: Brownie house, this was a group effort for Shannon's brownie. Had bags that they decorated to take everything home in.

We ended the day with lunch, and then 'Brownie' (read the book) sundaes.

All the girls got along and we all had a fun! I was tired but I would do it again....it turned out great.

NOT Professional Dancers

2008-09-13T01:18:00.000-04:00

Shannon had a few friends over for her birthday.

This is so sad>>>>

But I have to say they all had fun! Nice to see all age groups play so well together. I love homeschooling!

4-H Elections

2008-09-13T01:10:00.000-04:00

Jack ran for President of his 4-H club.
Campaign slogan: "Jack's Got YOUR Back!"
Shannon ran for Secretary.
Campaign Slogan: : "Vote for Shannon, the REAL McCoy"

First Tooth

2008-09-13T00:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Kyle lost his first tooth. After weeks of waiting it finally came. He wiggled it all day until we were driving to pick up the van from the shop when he said "my tooth is gone". He smiled and yes, it was gone but where? We looked all over the van and I thought oh know he swallowed it like Shannon did her first tooth. But no it was suck to his tummy. The daddy tooth farey brought him a star wars toy....times have changed, no money, just star wars stuff. True Boy!

BTW-I save all their baby teeth, if you have a suggestion of what to do with them, let me know. Yes, I am that sentimental! I love everything about my kids.

Jack's 10th Birthday Party Video

2008-08-30T17:26:00.000-04:00

Growing Family

2008-08-30T02:24:00.000-04:00

Our small farm is growing. Let me introduce you to the new boys Luke and Darth. A friend of mine needed to get rid of these little roasters. They are silkies and they do not crow loud. They are not aggressive, either.

Now another friend had to move away kind of sudden. So we said we would watch her four hens. One was named but the kids named the others after girl Star Wars' characters.

Now we need to house these animals, right? But what if you have no money for a new coop? You find stuff?? We had a old dog pen and I got a free fence post from freecycle. I even dug the hole and planted the post. My arms hurt for several days. But it felt good to do it, by myself. Then Patrick helped me use some left over metal roofing sheets for the sides of the coop. Found some old hinges and wood for the door. We both think it's looks like an oven or something pretty trashy but he it didn't cost us a thing. Goes with my green acres theme on life.

Sweet Cheeks!

2008-08-30T01:54:00.000-04:00

This is Ryan and he is 15mths old. Our family started babysitting him a couple of months ago. His parents work at UGA. Ryan and my kids have just clicked. I knew for me to babysit it would take the right family. Well, Ryan's family did! His mom still breastfeeds, they use cloth diapers, he falls to sleep in a sling (you know my favorite part of babyhood after b'fing), and to make Shannon happy he is a vegetarian. Another big plus is I get to use my sign language skills in real practice. This little one can sign almost 50 words...at 15mths, he totally rocks.

Look for future updates on this little one while he grows with our family.

Welcome Ryan!!

Happy Birthday Jack!

2008-08-29T23:02:00.000-04:00

In July we had a fun day for Jack and his friends in honor of his 10th birthday. We decided to make his party a martial arts theme. He really likes this sport. We had 21 kids over this day...yes, Patrick was gone! I had all the kids dress in white shirts with black belts. Jack and his friends from class taught the kids some TKD moves. Then we played some games and ate Asian food with chop sticks. Had cake and a pinata. All music was from Kung Fu Panda soundtrack. Was a very busy day but I think Jack had a lot of fun. Thanks to all that came and helped!

Jack just finished testing and is a purple belt. Belt testing goes as follows: White, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, red, brown and black. As you can see he has done well for only attending for a year. His instructor Ms. Carter is wonderful. She really loves to see the kids succeed! http://www.athenstkdcenter.com/ I would encourage any kid to take some martial arts. I thought is was all about hitting and kicking. But Jack has learned so much about respect and self-control (a big area we are always working on). We are proud of what Jack has done in this area of his life. If he treats the rest of his life like this, he'll do wonderful!

Jack is a great kid! He is always full of energy. He's the type of kid that is always in trouble but that's why we love him....the energy!

Happy 10th Birthday Jack!!!!

Busy Life in a Small Town

2008-08-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

I have not posted in some time since I have been crazy busy in the past 2 months. For weeks now we have had several visitors. Very nice but tiring too. We finished a year long project of finishing our attic space. We had two birthdays, Jack turned 10 and Shannon turned 13 (planned 2 really cool parties). I also was working on the yearbook for the kid's coop class they attend. Plus we added 1 horse, 2 roaster, 4 hens, 12 caterpillars and released 7 moths. All this while trying to plan their next year school lessons and babysit the cutest 15 month old. So wow things move pretty fast on our little farm. I am going to try to update my blog with things that have been going on. Wish me luck!

I have a Teenager!

2008-08-14T22:56:00.000-04:00

Well, the day finally came. My oldest child turned 13 (on Wednesday). I have such mixed feelings. I am sad because she is growing up and will want to leave home on her own adventures soon. I'm also excited for the same reasons.

I would like to brag about my teen, Shannon.

She is a mature, smart, confident, strong, brave, courageous, attentive, and an understanding girl!

She has been this way since she was born. I remember when that day happened, something changed inside of me when I held her for the first time. (she was born the day after her due date, due to the fact I ate a lb of M&Ms the night before) I never held a baby before Shannon. I worked so hard bringing her into the world. Then when I saw her, I knew this is what I always wanted to be, a MOM! I wanted to be with her every moment of her life. I told myself I would work hard at being a good mother. And Shannon has really taught me more than I have taught her. I have always told her she is my guinea pig baby, always testing things on her. She has such a big heart, like her daddy. She doesn't like to show feelings or affection but you know she loves you, you can see it in her eyes and that smirk.

I am very proud of Shannon. When she decides to do something, she does it. I liked how she has grown into a person that thinks of the all the little pieces that make up this world. She is not selfish with herself. I hope and pray we continue to be friends. I really like just hanging out with her, she's a cool kid to talk too. I encourage you all get to know her. She is a jewel and a great joy to be around. I am so blessed to have her.
Happy Birthday Shannon and I love you so much my heart hurts :o).

My Sister's Twins

2008-08-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

I finally got to meet my sister Sue's babies. They are 10 months old. The big boy is Austin J and the little girl is Summer-Lynn. Aren't they presious! I feel bad that this was their first time meeting me. It took me so long to drive to FL.

This is my sister Sue and her son. She handles them quite nicely.

Here's Kelly Belle holding her cousin, Summer-Lynn for the first time. I think Kelly likes her?!

Happy Birthday Cheryle!

2008-08-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

Some wonderful friends got together to honor a supreme friend on her 50th birthday. What great women, no Over the Hill stuff just pure uplifting and caring remarks. Cheryle is one of the most peaceful ladies I know. You can just feel her inter peace and wisdom when you are around her. She is a wise mother and a supportive La Leche League Leader. After we had an honoring ceremony, we ate and was merry. Some of us even stayed over night. Kelly Belle thought it was funny that 'big' girls have sleep overs, too. Cheryle a welcoming home and was a generous hostess. Hey, let me not forget to thank her husband and family for letting us crash with them for the evening. Even though this was Cheryle's weekend, the next morning she cooked us a wonderful breakfast to send us on our way full and happy.

I want to thank Stephanie for planning this whole weekend. She is so sweet and dear friend to me!! You ROCK!

Thank you, Cheryle for being a wonderful example of what a woman, wife, mother, friend and a support person should be. I hope I am as lovely as you when I turn 50!

These flowers came from my garden!

Thanks Sara and Caroline (Cheryle's talented children) for these pictures. Please check out Sara's web site: http://www.sarawisephotography.com/sections/about.php

Great wedding photos!

Six Flags

2008-08-01T20:22:00.000-04:00

Well we did it, we took the whole family to six flags over Georgia. Patrick and I were not too excited....crowds, hot weather, crowds, long lines, crowds, dirty bathrooms, etc. But the kids got free tickets through the six flags reading program so hey can't beat free. The day turned out quite well. We had scattered showers so this kept the crowd away. It was mostly overcast so it kept the sun away. Only sad part was three times the kids waited up to 45 minutes to ride something and just before they were to get on they closed the ride due to thunder....very disappointing. Favorite quote for the day: Shannon, "we did lots of walk'n" Jack's reply, "and lots of talk'n!" Love those boys!

Here are some pictures of the day.

Very Wet!!

Another long line!

Rained out!

See our future drivers, be afraid, very afraid!!!

My Garden

2008-07-25T00:52:00.000-04:00

I was not planning to have a garden this year. First of all the past several years my husband has always planted our garden. He gardens very well as an engineer. I bet he's rows are the most even and straight rows in the WORLD! And I love him for this and much more. :o) But since we moved to our new home he has focused on finishing our up stairs. So I did not give a garden a second thought. Well, my friend Helen had another thought. In the front yard there was this square spot that the previous owners had their children's play equipment in. Helen looked at this piece of land and saw a perfect square foot garden. I saw old pine bark and square pvc pipe! Helen is a wonder gardener! I kill everything, I even killed a catus!! I had NO idea how to start a garden of my own. She said to go get cow manure and sprinkle it on the ground....ok first concern she said was cow manure..me and cow poop, I see problems already. Well I did it, I found ACE hardware (yes a hardware store...I know??)but they had the poop. I help load 6 bags of poop in my van (yes, I did have white pants on and yes they have dark spots now). I unloaded them and boy did that small square grow in size while I tried to spread the poop around. But I did it with four kids watching and laughing (the key word is watching). Then that week Patrick tilled the ground for me. Now I was ready for plants, right?

Helen arrived and helped me, well ok planed the whole lay out. Then we moved 12 large stepping stones to the garden area. This way the garden was divided in four equal parts with a circle in the middle. BTW: my favorite shape is a square. That's another story :o). Then we started planting, well once again she planted and I watched and took notes. No, really I did plant some stuff. We added several tomatoes, basil, thyme, lemon balm, peppers, tomatillos, and a gourd. How cute all those baby plants were. Then a few days later I (yes I) planted squash, corn, cucumbers, green beans, and sunflowers. I threw them in holes, no real plan.

Well, I watered and watered. Then I watched and watched. Was like pregnancy, slow start and then bloom. The first plant was this wonderful gourd plant that Helen brought from her yard. WOW what large leaves and flowers. Then one day I was walking and weeding and notice the largest yellow squash ever! Well, my first garden test. That was NOT a gourd plant but squash...oops! Now all the squash plants are producing well. The kids are soooo tried of squash. Sorry we are on a farm now you eat what we grow, hee hee.

Here is a picture of the mystery squash/gourd plant on the right and my so called squash plant on the left. Notice the size difference. Now, you can see why I think Helen is one of the best gardeners...everything she plants grows well! I still have a lot to learn about gardening. But it is a rewarding thing to do. To watch a small plant, grow and produce something.

To quote my favorite gardener, "All plants want to live." by Helen.

Some pictures of my first garden, who had to fight to live.

This tomato plant and basil were planted by the front steps in the flower bed. I like to see practical plants and decorative plants planted together.

Adoption Annoucement

2008-07-23T01:02:00.000-04:00

The McCoy family would like to announce our newest family member.
She was adopted Sunday and arrived home on Monday.
Her name is Gabriella and she is 10 years old.
She is prematurely gray but beautiful anyway.
She is quite large for her age.
She is a vegetarian.
She is schooled but will need some refreshing.
She is currently getting along and bonding with her siblings.
Please come out and meet her, she is very friendly.

Yes, this is Shannon's new best friend!
She is an Arab/Saddlebred cross.
We thought Shannon needed a friend to share her 13th birthday.

What's in a Name?

2008-07-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

Why did I name my blog, Green Acres Farm? Well this is how I feel. Patrick and I are like the Green Acres TV show, we do NOT know what we are doing in the country. Can a woman be country and girly, too? Well I feel this way. I love to dress up, do my hair and nails. But I also love to go outside to work or play. Our family moved to our new home a year ago July Fourth. We lived in Covington for 14 years. I loved my old home (3 out of 4 babies were born in that house). But we out grew it and the town was too crowded for us. We wanted to move out where the kids could run and be free. We wanted to have animals and a garden. Well we are here, what do we do???? We both do NOT have a country/farm background. We have no idea what we are doing!!! But we are ready to try.

This blog I think will help me and others see you CAN change and farm with a little encouragement and drive.

Enjoy, I am!

About Time!

2008-07-22T22:03:00.000-04:00

My dear friend, Helen, has encouraged me to start a blog. But I hate to write. Now, I love to talk (call me and you'll find out what I mean) but I'm not a writer. But she says it's a great place to keep people informed about what you are doing. And I can show off stuff I make and do.
So Helen, here I go! Help us all!!!!!