CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY 2015

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The 4th of July is a cherished tradition in my family. Every year we get together in my back yard, laugh, talk, eat great food until we’re about to explode, then eat yummy desserts until we finally do explode, play corn hole, take lots of pictures, go for a walk around the neighborhood and pretend that’s going to burn off the mass calories we just consumed, then eat homemade ice cream while we enjoy a spectacular fireworks show, all the while thanking God for blessings too many to count ~ freedom, family, friends, food, fun and of course fireworks, just to name a few. This year, we did all these things and got to do it all outside ~no rain! ~ plus we also got to enjoy the awesome fireworks show our town provided ~ we’ve really missed that these past few years. Thank God for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness! Happy Independence Day from the Ranft/Myers/Kimbrough/Foy/Sissom Families!

"If the first of July be rainy weather, It will rain, more or less, for four weeks together." - John Ray, English Proverbs

Seems like we had enough rain today to last us the next four weeks. Happy July, y’all!

“The fight isn't over until you win.” ― Robin Hobb

We enjoyed watching grandson Elijah’s coach’s pitch baseball team [Algood] play in the AYBL County All-Star Tournament. Tonight the last two teams standing played the final game. Elijah’s team won first place!





Happy to win! They made a great team.

Elijah with Coach Dudney, receiving his first place award ~ Elijah had the privilege of being on Coach Dudney’s team last year in Fall Ball when they won the championship

The two teams played hard, but Algood won 12 to 3.



Way to go, Elijah and team Algood! Your awesome batting and fielding and good sportsmanship paid off. This is Elijah’s last coach’s pitch game. Time to move on and move up to the next level.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.
– Billy Graham

We enjoyed a Father’s Day breakfast this morning at Grandma’s Pancake House before worship service. (Thanks much to the sweet lady who works there who asked me if I’d like her to take a picture so I could be in it, too. Wish Kerry could have been here, too, but he had to work)

My hubby Neil, Dad extraordinaire, with our two awesome daughters, Holly and Kelly

Neil with sweet grandpeeps Elijah, Shelby and Knox and son in law Jerry

Son in law Jerry, also Dad extraordinaire, with his awesome kids Shelby and Elijah

And here’s the Grandpa extraordinaire with his grandpeeps Shelby, Elijah and Knox. Happy Father’s Day, Neil and Jerry and Kerry! You guys rock the dad thing! Love you all and keep up the good work.

Missing my dad today. He passed away in 1999 after suffering for several years with Alzheimer’s. People who knew him described him as having the “patience of Job”. And he did. It's what I remember the most about him ~ his patience, his quietness, and his faith in God. Love and miss you, Pop!

HOMERUN!

Grandson Elijah hit one over the fence for his Algood All Stars team tonight. Needless to say, the homerun made him smile. Here he is with his homerun ball. Nice job, Elijah! So happy for you and proud of you, not only for that but also for playing first base so well tonight.

They won the game 21 to 0. Great team effort. Lots of hard hits and awesome fielding. Way to go, team Algood! Looking forward to watching them play Friday.

Winning is only half of it. Having fun is the other half. ~Bum Phillips

Grandson Elijah and his baseball team played their first All Stars game in Algood this evening. They won ~ 21 to 3. Here he is with his great aunt Jane and his cupcake treat, looking more like his team lost the game than won it. I think he was disappointed because he didn’t get to play first base until the end of the game. Or maybe he didn’t hit that home run he wanted to hit. Or maybe it’s just his granny’s camera in his face [He should be used to that by now]. Sometimes a cupcake can’t make up for life’s disappointments.

Cheer up, #10! There’s another game tomorrow night. Home runs are cool. But having fun playing the game is the best kind of cool. Way to go, team Algood! Awesome win.

LEAP OF FAITH (God will build my water wings on the way down)

Grandson Elijah and his BFF Anthony hung out with me yesterday (June 10). They played video games all morning, but what they really wanted to do was get wet on a hot (almost) summer day. They had never been to the Community Pool and wanted to try it out. First thing Elijah asked was does it have a diving board? He was excited that it not only had a low dive but also a high dive. Here he is jumping off the low dive--into water 14 feet deep, a lot deeper than what he's used to at Echo Valley, where he usually goes swimming. He's 8 and has always been a little fish. When he climbed out of the pool after his first jump, he said, "It's really deep!" 

He was itching to go off the high dive, but it took him a while to gather his courage.

No fear. I'd have to be dragged up there and thrown overboard, kicking and screaming. 

And off he flies and plunges into the deep blue water.

Splashdown! He'd already disappeared underneath the water before I could snap another picture. Must have been great fun, because he kept going back for more the rest of the afternoon. Anthony eventually joined him but opted for the low dive only. Wise choice, in my opinion.

A nice lady offered them the rest of her pizzas (and a stack of paper plates and napkins) as she was leaving. Of course these two bottomless pits readily took them off her hands. After all, anybody would be an idiot to turn down free Papa John's pizza (and breadsticks). Hard to beat hot summer fun in the cool pool with your best buddy.