In Appreciation for Our American Right to Bear Arms and The Masters...

I realize that The Masters and Our American Right to Bear Arms seemingly have nothing to do with one another...

I don't even think they let you carry cell phones into the Masters, much less your .22!

But in this blog post, we're linking them for the sheer hilariousness of this moment. Becca was here and B was hammin' it up, impersonating one of Hartsville's Finest, which you will see in the news clip below...

He's so going to kill me for posting these :)

I really wanted to go and find this guy and get a picture of him and Benson for the purposes of this blog... but then, I reconsidered... his "quick draw" is just a little too intimidating for me...

Do please note the reporters reaction to it.

And then, once you've watched it... watch it again... it gets better every time.

Oh wow...

We really do love living here... and the colorful persona only makes it better :)

*A special thanks to Hunter and Me-Miss for sending us this..
we've gotten quite a few laughs out of it!!!*

Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play...

Five little ducks went out to play....
In "GG's" garage and far away...

And the one little duck with the feather (Or Benson's death grip) on his back...



He led the others with a Quack! Quack! Quack!





**Disclaimer: No Ducks were harmed in the making of this blog.**
But One little boy was made VERY happy in the making of this blog!









Benson has the coolest "GG" in the world!!!

Note: All of these Ducks continue to reside IN LEXINGTON.

We have two frogs and a dog.
That's enough wildlife to keep this mama happy for a WHILE!

But they sure were fun to play with!
At her house.
☺

See for yourself:

Birthday Week Continued...

One of the benefits to being in Lexington the week leading up to my birthday was that we got to celebrate my birthday all week long! That might sound egocentric, but I'm just telling it like it is. You may have read how we went to Carrabbas for my birthday. While that's the truth, it isn't the whole truth. Fact of the matter is, we ALSO went out to a very special dinner at Spinners with my side of the family. When we celebrate, we eat... what better way is there to celebrate?!

"Spinners" is this "members only" boat club way up and out and far far away so much so that I can't even tell you where it is. Only that it isn't close to anything I can reference as a landmark, and I'm a landmark kinda gal, so you'll just have to google it if you want to go there.

Which I highly recommend.

I think you can try it out like three times before they make you become a member.

But Dad and Mrs. J are members. So we got the benefits :)

Even though the restaurant is really classy and nice,
that didn't stop Benson from bringing out the silly in everybody...

He's also able to bring out the "Aw look how cute they are" side as well...

And the melt.my.heart.you.sweet.little.sugar side too..

Since it was my birthday, I was treated to ALL YOU CAN EAT CRABLEGS!!!!!
They were phenomenal. Loved 'em.
And how about that hair? Looks crazily like Lash.
I don't even feel like I'm looking at myself in this one. That's a weird feeling.

Speaking of Lash...
She was there.. and so was her boyfriend Chris.
Thanks for joining the festivites, guys!

Benson and Nana were their usual cute selves...

And I cleaned the kitchen out of crablegs...
You think I'm kidding...

Thanks to Nana and Papa for such a special birthday dinner!!!

Bubbles are Most Delightful

While in Greenville, Benson got a chance to blow some bubbles he got from Will's birthday party (snaps to come).

I love the pretty backdrop of Kelli's yard. It's dreamy.


Honestly, I took every other picture just to get this one.
The others are just bonus :)









The best way to pop a bubble is by kissing it!



I love the fact that he is completely airborne in this one...

Birthday Dinner Mystery Solved..

Well... since nobody even ATTEMPTED to guess where we went on my birthday as I asked you to do in this post...

maybe it was just so obvious you felt it was a rhetorical question?

it wasnt.

and neither was my request to know what running songs you like best

Hello!!

Is anybody out there?!
:)

It's alright. I'm over it. Just had to get that off my chest.

Here's the pics from da-da-da...

CARRABBAS!!!

{Make sure, when you say that in your head as you're reading this, that you do a little tongue roll when you get to the double r's.}

Go ahead.

Try it again:

CARRABBAS!!!

wasn't that fun?!

where I had "the usual"

Spiedino de Mare with all shrimp, minestrone soup and fettuccine Alfredo.



HOWEVER

breaking news...

there were two new bookends to my normal Carrabbas meal and I just HAVE to share

as if I needed more reasons to go to that place!

wouldn't it be nice if I had pictures to show you?

i don't. i'm pouting since you didn't answer my questions.

for an appetizer:
Zucchini Fritte (fried zucchini-- the dipping sauce is superb)

and for dessert:
Sogno di Cioccolata “Chocolate Dream”
"A rich fudge brownie, crowned with chocolate mousse, whipped cream and chocolate sauce"
{just ask for Sonja. Not the person. the dessert. they'll know what you're talking about}

yeah.

It'll make you fight your granny.

This blog post was not endorsed by Carrabbas or any of its affiliate companies.
Although I wish it was, because then I'd probably be getting free food for it!
Carrabbas rocks.

and just for the fun of it, here's a recap of another blog post i wrote way back on 6.28.2005 (whoa, I've been blogging for a long time!) about carrabbas when I was apparently feeling a little snappy like I am today:

ahem..

"If there's one thing I despise, it's restaurant secrets. I love going out to eat. I don't like to do it all the time, cause I really do enjoy cooking and if you eat out all the time, it loses it's Pizazz and you start feeling fat. But every once in a while, it is fun to get all dolled up and go out to a nice restaurant. My latest favorite has been Carraba's. I think tonight was my fifth time going there, but I really love it. The first couple of times i went, I ordered the salad with my meal. Well, i soon learned that was a mistake, because the minestrone is the only way to go. I don't usually order soup over salad, and I can't remember what made me want to try it, but I did once, and now I'm hooked. be warned: it looks disgusting when they bring it to you, but mmm mmm, it is delicious. And my favorite thing to order is the Speidino de mare. It's shrimp that has been breaded and grilled. On the menu it says shrimp and scallops, but I always just ask for all shrimp and they appease me. And it's good to get it with Fettucine Alfredo on the side... that isn't on the menu either, but they'll give it to you if you ask. Well, back to the point: restaurant secrets. Another marvelous thing about carrabas is that they do the whole olive oil and bread dip combo thing. Now, at first, i didn't like it, cause I didn't know what I was doing, I'm not big on just bread and oil, but I quickly learned to sprinkle a little of the sea salt in there and dip the bread so as to scoop up some of the little herby stuff they put in there, and it is most fantastic! I asked what it was and they gave me a pretty good answer, but then at the end they said, plus we put in some secret spices that even the waiters don't know! WHAT! These people are feeding me stuff they don't even know the identity of?! Well, who cares, it's good. I mostly am huffy puffy cause i want the recipe. Also, there is this lovely little place in Lexington called Stephano's. They have the worlds absolute best chicken salad. I didn't like chicken salad til I tried theirs. You can buy it by the pint. It costs $9.00. (They think a lot of it too. ) Again, I ask the waitress what's in it, and all I got was "Dukes mayonaise and some secrets spices." What's up with the secrets these restaurants keep?! I won't even tell you about the time I made "olive Garden Chicken Marsala" from a recipe off the internet. Needless to say it did NOT taste the same! (I think I have a secret Italian affinity or something... I'm noticing a trend here.. ) Anyway...I guess it's what keeps me coming back for more.. I can't make it myself, so I gotta go there to get it... This might be a stretch to find something meaningful in an otherwise pointless blog, but I think i do the same thing with God. A lot of times I try to make a situation or circumstance reflect Him in a way that he just isn't in... It's those times when it's all Him and none of me.. when I go to him without money, without a"recipe", poor and begging that he satisfies me so fully. I can't make it myself. I don't know the recipe, and I've looked it up everywhere and it just isn't the same.. I think we often go to God and ask forgivesness for this or that... we repent and we think that is enough. The church teaches that, and I think it is partly true. But there is a large part that we are missing. We must repent not only of our sins, but also our self righteousness. We tend to say, "I'm sorry for my sins, I'll try to do better." Sometimes we say, "I'm sorry for my sins, with your HELP, I can do better." We must be poor before the Lord, acknowledging that it is ONLY Jesus that allows us audience with God the Father. There is a caedmons call song that says, "The best Obedience of my hands dares not appear before thy throne." Jesus's righteousness is all we have. Our best efforts at the recipe never quite match up to the real thing. Jesus is the only real thing. Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied... mmm mmm, I'm Hungry! "

Passover Celebration

John 13: 1-20

^"1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ²During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, ³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."

⁸Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."

⁹Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"

¹⁰Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."¹²When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. ¹⁶Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. ¹⁸ I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' ¹⁹ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. ²⁰Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."

Our Passover Meal

We sit on the floor like Jesus and his disciples would have...

Unless you've had back surgery, and in that case, you get to sit in the kiddie rocker and hold the kiddie.

Mrs. Lula got her inspiration for the passover meal years ago from this book.

"Let's Make a Memory" by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson
You can find it on Amazon here.

It gives a very graspable explanation of the Jewish Passover and what it means for us as Christians. It also tells the symbolism for each of the foods on the "table." Although, since we are not jewish, we do not adhere to the strict kosher policies of the actual jewish feasts (hence the ritz crackers and delicious Publix cross cake :) ) But we do take time to stop and remember how God delivered His people from the Egyptians and how Jesus was the Passover Lamb and ponder what it was like when he washed his disciples feet and ate the passover meal with them, even the one he knew had betrayed him and would eventually be instrumental in sending him to die on the cross. It's a wonderful, rich tradtition and wonderful way to remember that Easter isn't about bunnies.. but the Lamb!

the Hunt

Benson with his Easter Cauldron.

Ok.. let me explain... I didn't realize that we were having an Easter egg hunt, so I didn't come prepared.. and the only buckets with handles were cauldrons. Not the picturesque egg gatherer I was looking for...

next year, I will come prepared, you can take that to the bank!

"all that fuss? over this?"

"maybe i should hold onto it..."

eggs can be hiding in tricky places....

sometimes you find them by searching really hard...

and sometimes your "pre-game preparation" really pays off...

him:"i see some eggs over there!"
her: "me too! i think i'll take one..."

him: "hey! wait!"
her: "it's like a pretty little egg flower!"

him: "ok. you got your egg. you can move along now..."
her: "ok. I've got my egg. I think I'll move along now..."



her: "well what do you know! there's another one right there!"
him: "don't even think about it"



him: "heyyyyyy!!!"
her: "victory is sweet."



me: "thankful for the 4 frames per second mode"

the four little easter bunnies...

next year, there will be five! :)
the Gibbs are due to have number two in august :)



he's excited about being a big brother!!

and they are just waiting around wondering when they won't be the baby anymore...

although, being the baby isn't bad--
you can get away with stuff the others can't...

oh how i love these babies :)