:: Cannon, Projects & Surgery #2 ::

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even tempered.

Proverbs 17:27

That about sums up my Cannie. He is one of those fathers that rejoices in the job of provider, instructor and protector. He is a baby addict. Seriously, we used to fight over who got to hold our babies and it is no secret that Parrish always preferred him. So wasn't I happy to gloat when Olivia came along and always wanted me?? But I digress. My point is this. I know that I could not go through this season of trials with anyone else. Cannon is steady as a rock. Even when he is hurting he pulls himself together to pick up my slack. If I need to have a private break down and stay in bed and cry, he is there to entertain Parrish, cook dinner, clean the house, or whatever else may be required of him. And the best part is-he takes it upon himself to help me with these things and never gets angry about it. I have always been amazed at his even temper and joy in the simple things (especially considering I tend to have a bit of a temper and the patience of a 2-year-old.) So as we look forward to our 8th anniversary on Tuesday, I want to say thank you to my Cannie. Thank you for being you. For being selfless and telling me it helps you heal to help me. I pray daily that this will not become too much for you and that you will be able to continue taking such good care of us and yourself. I hope I am an equal source of comfort to you. We are a great team and it warms my heart to know that we both took the "for better or for worse" part of our vows seriously.

By the look on Livy's face I'd say she delights in you, too! I can still hear her squeals when I look at this picture. I know you miss your baby girl and all the dreams you had of her being your daddy's little girl. I was so excited to see the two of you as she grew. I could see lots of complaints about too many boys paying attention to her in your future. I know she is as proud of her daddy as I am. You are, in my book, the best a dad can be. I love you and am pretty certain the handsome boy posing with your latest catch in the first picture is proud of you, too.

Another thing my hubbie did yesterday? He stood in the hot sun with me, Tappy, CC and Grandaddy Jack at the Mt Laurel Spring Festival and sold tons of the reclaimed adirondacks, benches, frames, tables, planter boxes and bird houses. He loves to talk to people, but I know it was hard to explain Olivia's foundation and the way we are using the sale of this furniture to raise money to help others in her honor. He told me today that several times he got a lump in his throat. But it was well worth it because he sold all the adirondack chairs and took orders for more and we only have one bench, table and frame left. We were able to contribute additional monies to Olivia's fund today at church and it was such a joy.

We are thinking about trying to travel around to some more Spring Festivals to sell more furniture. Does anyone have any suggestions of festivals they love? Please comment if you do. We'd love a few beachy festivals and to know of any in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, SC and NC, etc. Basically driving distance from Bham in addition to any other festivals in or around Bham. We were tossing around the idea of Pepper Place...anywhere else you'd recommend?

Update on the Easter Experiment: It worked!

From the picture above you can tell that the soil and grass seed method produced the most grass.

Here is what you'll need:

• plastic easter egg with holes (I found these bunnies at WalMart-they're great because they have flat bottoms)
• potting soil (I used seed starter potting mix from Miracle Grow)
• grass seed (I tried to find rye grass but settled for a regular grass mix instead)
• Spray bottle with water

Step 1:

Fill the eggs 1/2 full with the potting soil

Step 2:

Sprinkle a handful of grass seeds on top of the soil (more is better in this case)

Step 3:

Top seeds with more soil until egg is about 2/3 full and have your kiddos use their fingers to work the seeds into the soil

Step 4:

Spray with water to moisten well

Step 5:

Replace the top of the egg and place in a sunny window-sill for 2 days (replacing the top keeps the humidity level high and the seeds from drying out)

Step 6:

After you see the seeds starting to sprout you can remove the lid. Keep lightly watering for several days until the grass is the desired length. (It took longer than I expected to get the grass to the point shown in the picture-almost 2 weeks)

Step 7:

Style your easter egg head! I let Parrish give his a trim and put it up in pigtails.

If you are reading this and are in Parrish's mother-day-out class-don't go out and buy these supplies. We'll be sending them home along with instructions for their Easter gifts.

I hope everyone has fun with their kids doing this project. It was a good distraction for both of us.

Here is the one remaining frame from yesterday. It's an 8x10 for $65 if anyone is interested or knows someone who might be. I can also have them made in any color you want in either 8x10 or 10x10.
Tappy was here all week for her Spring Break and I loved having some non-rushed quality time with her. One of our many activities was going to an estate sale where I picked up this bird bath. We painted the top part with the bird pale pink and planted a succulent garden in that part and filled the base level with rocks and water for birds to bathe. We bought the succulents at Leaf n Petal in Cahaba Heights (they were a great price-$3.99 and we later saw some smaller, uglier ones at the home improvement centers for $3.49) and while I was browsing I ran into the little angel sculpture holding the bird. It took my breath away how much it reminded me of Olivia and meant so much since the Lord sent me a bird. I started bawling right there in LNP, but I didn't care. It was perfect. I nestled the angel along with some rock eggs in with the succulents and have been sitting on the back porch every chance I get admiring Olivia's bird bath. I wish she was here to splash in it with me.

Our silly boy having some fun with the "Cast Cooler". I bought this contraption that attaches to our handheld vac and cools and dries the inside of his cast. We use it when it's itchy and to hopefully keep the stintch to a minimum.

Thursday we will go back to Children's for the first of Parrish's 2 cast changes. They will put him under and remove the pins and then re-cast. Please keep him and the doctors in your prayers this week. We are more relaxed now that the initial surgery is behind us and we know he did fine under anesthesia, but would still appreciate all the prayers we can get on his behalf.

Have a great week!

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