Week 2...

So it's now been 2 weeks since the girls came home with us and we've had lots of adventures. They don't really know how to act with a yard and room to play outside without traffic or sharing a playground with other kids...but they're learning! They don't even need toys to entertain them as they find many things in the woods to make up games. The first picture is pine cones and leaves that they made into the "Cheney Family" from the reunion. Although they couldn't remember all their relatives, they did do all of our immediate family and it was so cute to see who got hair, who didn't, who was chunky (Sara --because of Kenleigh only!) and who was napping (Grandpa-haha). They played this for hours last Friday morning after breakfast before they got dressed. This was Grandpa (and me...just not in the picture, always taking them) taking them for a walk in the woods and down to the little creek. They got to take off shoes and socks and wade in the creek but for some reason those pics didn't turn out.

Grandpa helped them get into this huge tree (sorry it's a little blurry...I really need a new camera!). They were a little scared at first, but once they were in it, they thought it was pretty cool.

Follow the leader...they sure love their Grandpa.

On the 4th of July in downtown Newnan they had a street festival with a few little rides for the kids which they really loved. It was so hot and we were all sweating so bad, but we lasted about 3-4 hours. We went with some friends of ours and then had lunch at the Red Neck Cafe which is always a treat.

They had face painting and the girls were so excited to be butterflies. I thought it turned out super cute and it lasted quite a while...well, until we got home and they started messing around then it was time for Grandma to wash it off so it wouldn't get on the furniture or their clothes.

And finally, yesterday (Tuesday) the girls and I all had a "mental meltdown" all at the same time. Let me just say that Launa and Teiha were REALLY happy to see their Grandpa come home from work and they spent several hours outside with him. I had to take a walk after dinner and by the time I got home all was good again. I guess that much estrogen in one house for 2 weeks will add up even when 2 of the girls are under the age of 7!!! Anyhow, when we got up this morning, we decided what better way to make it up than to go get pedicures and do a little shopping...cause that's what we girls do best is pamper ourselves. I couldn't find any clothes for myself, but the girls each got a cute little summer dress and flip flops.

Luana got purple sparkly nail polish with a flower on each big toe...once again the camera didn't do it justice.

Tieha got orange sparkly with flowers on each big toe...sorry for the blurry picture. Can you tell that I need a new camera or have I mentioned that before??? HEHEHE!!

Anyhow that sums up our week 2. We are taking the girls to Jarod and Lindseys on Friday and they are staying with them until Sunday afternoon. Cori and Brandon fly in late on Sunday night and will be here all next week. The girlies are ready to see their Mom and Dad and I'm sure that feeling is mutual for Cori and Brandon.

Sunday Sadness

We had a little drama at the Cheney homestead this weekend...so let me see if I can explain it to you. So when we got home from the Cheney reunion a couple weeks ago, Cleo was showing the girls around the place when they came upon a small bird nest with 4 little eggs in it. It was in a wooden basket that was on his "hunting porch". Grandpa explained the process of laying eggs and how the Mama Bird cares for them until they hatch and that you can't touch them and every night they would go out and check on the eggs to see if they had hatched yet. Yesterday (the 4th) we had been downtown enjoying the festivities all afternoon and when we came home the girls rested for a bit and then went outside to play. Unknown to Cleo and I, they "checked on" the birds nest all by themselves and little by little last night the details of their escapade became clear to us both. They had gone out to the porch, Launa climbed up on the milkcan while Teiha kept a look out, and then Launa reached in grabbed 3 of the eggs and proceeded to crush them in her hands. Now, I'm pretty sure they were just curious to see what the little birds looked like and didn't really mean to kill them, but nonetheless they did kill them! They then proceeded to hide the evidence behind a big tree in the woods---funny girls!!! Well it was after dark last night when all this came out so Cleo couldn't really go check on things so first thing this morning he went out and sure enough...there was only 1 little egg left. He calmly came into the house, herded the girls up, and had a really long "talk" with them about how wrong this was and how sad the Mama Bird must be to discover 3 of her babies were dead. For those of you who really know Cleo, you know how much he loves nature and all animals and he saw this is a perfect opportunity to give the girls a much needed Life Lesson. They were punished by having to sit seperately for 1/2 hour and be quiet, which wasn't easy for them. They truly seemed to be sorry for their deeds and after punishment time was over, Grandpa took them outside to give the baby birds a proper burial.
This is the lone surviving bird egg...sure hope the Mama Bird won't abandon this one

Teiha and launa covering the grave

Thie girls saying a prayer over the grave

The "headstone" that Cleo made for the grave.

I wasn't out there when the burial took place, but Cleo said it was pretty cute. Their little prayer was really sweet and they seemed very sorry to have killed them and most likely will never do this again. I just wanted to share this touching story with y'all and hope that the girls learned a valuable lesson this weekend.

Week 1....

Cleo and I have been having so much fun this past 9 days with our 2 sweet (not sure that's the appropriate adjective!) granddaughters. They keep us on our toes and keep us laughing for sure. All my instincts are still there...just the reflexes are a bit slow but I'm loving every minute of it. I think Cleo is happy to go to work during the day and then get all the attention at night. Launa is definately a Grandpas' girl and Teiha is my little shadow and follows me everywhere...literally everywhere, i.e. the bathroom, the laundry room, the kitchen, everywhere! This is Launa on the couch yesterday...she has come down with a pretty nasty cold and isn't feeling too good and about 5:00 yesterday she fell asleep on the couch...so sweet.

Teiha, Launa and Grandma drawing on the driveway with sidewalk chalk

Grandpa is drawing an outline of Launa for her to color in

This is Teihas' body outline and she's getting ready to color it in

We went to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain on Saturday. You drive thru the park in your own vehicle and feed the animals. Launa was feeding this deer...she wasn't really scared for them to lick her, but Teiha would have nothing to do with that and just threw the food out the window onto the ground. They thought it was pretty fun

Both girls looking down at a pig...they were so cute but yet so ugly and they really made the girls laugh.

This is our "Redneck Swimming Pool". We turned the hottub down so the girls could use as a swimming pool, but we made the mistake of letting them run around in the grass and then get back in and the water turned pretty nasty so we had to drain it and we still haven't filled it back up. I did take them over to my friends to swim in her pool the other day and that seemed to work out much better :)

Every evening around 8:30-9:00 the little toads make their way to our back patio and Launa is fascinated by them so she makes Grandpa take her out there so she can catch them. She is really good at it and just loves to chase them, catch them, hold them softly and then let them go free. Teiha, once again, won't have anything to do with touching them but loves to locate them and make her sister catch them.

Last night while Launa was taking a nap on the couch, Cleo took Teiha for a walk into the woods and she found some turkey feathers. When they got home they played Pocahontas...it was so cute to watch them play and she obviously thought she was hot stuff.

This is Grandpa and Teiha with their feathers in their hair. She loved having Grandpa to herself for a little bit while her Sissy slept.

This kind of sums up our first 9 days with the girls. Who knows what the next week and a half will bring...but I'll be sure to post more pics for their Mommy and Daddy to see. The girls really miss them but they are being very good and don't really seem to mind being here without them. We are excited for Cori and Brandon to come on the 12th and spend a week here with us as well.

Bates Motel???

So at the Cheney Reunion this past weekend most everyone camped but since we had to fly to get there and had no camping gear, we stayed in a hotel. First a little background info...Suzan researched the accomodations on the internet and sent me the link. There was one that was an "apartment style" that could sleep up to 8 people and so our family decided this would be perfect for us and we could all stay in the same place, save a little money and have some quality bonding time. The pictures on the internet made it look so cute and cozy even though it was a little old....yeah right!!! Sue and I went and checked in...she got her room...we got ours and she did talk them down $20 so that was good...but I'm beginning to wonder if they should've paid us to stay there! Our son in law Zach is NOT a camper at all, but after seeing the room, he said he would rather camp so that just goes to show ya exactly how bad the room was...sorry Zach!! This was the ceiling...I think they were going for a cloud scene

Electrical outlet beside our bed...pretty sure it broke a few fire codes

The main (and only) bathroom

Does this look safe to you?

Entry way....probably the nicest part of the whole deal!!

Cori, Sara and Zach outside the hotel/apartment or whatever it really is

This wheelchair was inside one of the closets and it was just really creepy. If you look close enough at the crumbling wallpaper I'm pretty sure you can see an "aura" of something...

Once again, my camera had a mind of it's own...but then again it could've been the man in the wheelchair casting his evil around (aka Uncle Brent).

We laughed so hard at this hotel/apartment and had a good time despite the conditions. Sue and Brents room was much smaller than ours, but had just as many flaws. I really think the owners should renovate or possibly condemn these rooms because the next occupants might not have such a sense of humor! But seriously Sue you did a great job for what you had to work with. We sure love you guys and wish we could've spent more time together. Hope y'all enjoy the pictures and get a good laugh from them

Cheney Reunion

This past weekend was the Cheney family reunion at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. We had a lot of fun and the little kids enjoyed getting to know each other. They had lots of fun swimming in the pool and going on the water slides there, but I didn't get any pictures of that. My camera has a mind of its own and chooses which pictures it wants to take or which ones turn out, not me! This is our granddaughter Teiha (on the left) and her cousin Sage. Teiha really loved her and wanted to smother her with attention...too cute!

Saturday morning after breakfast the kids were playing red light, green light. There were so many little girls and hardly any little boys, but the boys hung in there with all that estrogen flowing and had fun too.

Morgan playing in the water faucet.

Grandma Cheney looking over the flock. It was kind of a short reunion this year, but it did start raining on Saturday after lunch, so I guess it's just as well that we all planned to leave early. Hope you enjoyed all the family Grandma and Grandpa Cheney. We sure love you guys.

Staying Steady!

Just got home from Cleos' 3 month dr. visit (nephrologist) and everything is staying steady...YAY!! His GFR is still 22 which is the same as it was in March so that's really good. He won't go on the active transplant list until it dips to 20. All his other labs were normal as well---even his cholesterol so we must be doing something right. The only thing that was even slightly up was his sugar...do ya think it could be the 3 snack size butterfingers he has every night after dinner??? The dr. wasn't at all concerned about it and said he looked great. His weight was down 3 pounds so guess all in all it was a great dr. visit. We feel so blessed that his health is good and when the time comes for the transplant we are ready. Still have lots of family and even some friends who are willing to be tested when that time comes, so we feel he won't have to wait long for a new kidney.

We are leaving Thursday morning and heading to SLC for the Cheney family reunion. It's at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho this year and it should be lots of fun. We are really excited to see our kids/grandkids/kids-in-law and to meet Kyles' girlfriend Mikell. We are also looking forward to catching up with all the other "Cheneys" who will be there. Such a fun family and it will be fun for all the little grandkids to play together. We will be bringing our 2 granddaughters home with us for 3 weeks and then Cori and Brandon will come out for a week...so we get to have them for 4 weeks total and are super excited for that!! Grandpa has lots of fun things planned for their visit and we will be adding a new addition or two (keep ya posted on that surprise!) while they are here.

Thanks again for all the prayers for Cleos' health. We sure do love y'all.

Just another beautiful weekend...

I know it seems that some of you in the blogging world are getting a little tired of blogging, I on the other hand, never seem to tire of blogging...or reading blogs...or blog stalking! It would seem to some that our life is an open book and I just hope that y'all enjoy the read.

We have had an absolutely gorgeous weekend here and we'd much rather be outside doing something in our yard than sitting in the house. We have a couple spots in our grass that aren't looking so good, so I had a brilliant idea to go to the new house up the road where they had just laid sod and pick up some of their scraps. So Cleo hooked up the wagon for me and off I went up the street.
Nothing runs like a Deere...

And off I go.....but in the end, the scraps weren't super healthy and Cleo decided we would be better off going and buying a few plugs. So into the woods the scraps went and that was the end of that idea (sounded like a good way to save a few bucks to me!). Since the wagon was already hooked up, I headed off to look for rocks for the firepit area. I found some pretty good ones that were being used in a manmade culvert to divert water on a back road...OOPS!!! I didn't take that many and I'm sure they'll never miss them, nor will it cause any flooding. I brought them home, unloaded them and Cleo put them around the firepit he had dug a while back. I think it turned out pretty nice and I will continue to "pick up" a few every once in a while to build it up a bit more.

This is what it looks like now...it will be so much fun to roast hotdogs and s'mores on when our granddaughters come to visit.

This is the whole firepit area, with some large stumps as seating. We hope to build or buy a picnic bench soon so that we can enjoy cooking around the campfire and eating in the woods. The grass that Cleo planted about a month ago is starting to really fill in the area and now you can walk around without getting muddy or walking on stumps everywhere.

We really enjoy our "country living" and know that it may sound boring to some...but, IT IS WHAT IT IS and we LOVE IT!!!

Saras' Visit

Last weekend Sara Mae came for the weekend. We had so much fun with her and it was really good to see her. She is such a cute little pregnant woman and little Miss Kenleigh is keeping her on her toes :) She flew in on Friday afternoon and I picked her up at the airport. She had requested fried chicken and fried potatoes for dinner (much to her Dads' liking!) so we just sat around and ate and visited that night. On Saturday morning her and I went and finished her baby registry at Babies R Us...which was so much fun. I just love buying for babies, especially when they're our granddaughters!!! She had a pretty good start on it already, but was unsure about some things which she might need so we were able to get that all taken care of. Thanks for letting me help you Sara. That night we went out to a Mexican Restaurant in Peachtree City and ate dinner...YUMMY!! then came home and chilled. Cleo decided to put together his new yard wagon when we got home and so Sara and I decided to take it for a spin..... "I'm a big girl now"

Cleo and Sara checking out the new wagon...we did get it together right...thanks to Sara reading the directions (something her Dad doesn't often do!).

Then on Sunday, we went up to Jarod and Lindseys' house. Lindsey had a marketing event at a really nice salon in Smyrna to promote her new business "Gracious Living" so Cleo stayed with Jarod while Sara and I went and checked that out. We treated Sara to a pedicure and I got a manicure (Mothers' Day gift from Jarod & Lindsey...thanks guys). It was a really nice event and Lindsey had a good turnout. We wish her all the best with her new business. After that was over, Jarod grilled filet mignon for us and it was TOO GOOD!! We sat around and visited for a little while then went back home as Saras' flight left at 6:30 am Monday morning and her and her Dad needed their sleep (of course I slept in..haha!)

Sara getting her pedicure...really nice salon!!

The gang at Jarod and Lindseys' house.

Thank you Sara for coming to visit us and hope the next time Zach can come with you. We love you so much and can't wait to see you in June for the reunion. You are going to be an amazing Mom and we're very excited to meet Miss Kenleigh.

Sara might have a different "spin" on this visit and could probably be much more humorous about some of the little details I left out...so I will leave that up to her to blog or not :~)

Cleos' "Hunting" Porch

Just wanted to share with y'all Cleos' latest project. He had decided he wanted to build a porch/deck off of the shed so that he could sit (really nap!) in the shade. Our concrete patio is in the direct sunlight all day so we really did need a shaded area to relax on. So he drew up the plans, we headed to Home Depot, got all the supplies and he had a friend come over 2 weekends ago and help him get the frame square. After that, it was just him and I to do the rest. Although he tells everyone that I helped, I mostly supervised him! but I did come up with a few good suggestions (his words, not mine) and actually did run the power drill once. We got a lot of rain the first weekend so we ended up finishing it this past Saturday. It is so much fun to do things together and we're both pretty proud of how it turned out. He still has to shingle the roof and we won't be able to paint or stain it for a year due to the fact that we got treated wood and I guess it has to "cure" for a year before it can be painted. Leveling the ground for the footings

Of course...this sneaky little snake had to show up first thing!!! I still hate snakes and am pretty scared of them, but I'm trying to deal with it and not be such a wimp.

Cleo and Randal setting the footings.

Measure twice, cut once (Dad you would be proud of him!)

Getting the roof on.

The railings going up. They are a little higher on the sides and lower in the front so you can really see into the woods.

The finished product...Isn't it just too cute??? He needs to fill in around the deck with dirt and then we're gonna put a stone walkway leading up to it with some nice plants all around it. He says I can't "cutsey" it up too much because after all it's a hunting porch...but we'll see who wins that argument. We will eventually get some outdoor furniture to put on it, but for now it's just really cozy and very relaxing to sit on.

Happy Mothers Day

"Becoming a Mom might not be so difficult, but BEING a Mom is the most important job a woman can have". This is a quote that I read in our local Newnan paper one day this week and I thought it was very profound. I have truly been blessed with the BEST Mom in the world...she taught me so much about life and love and the value of being a good Mom. I love her so much and wish I could be with her to celebrate this day, but since I can't, please know how much I love you Mom and appreciate everything you have done for me and taught me over the past 46 1/2 years. I continue to learn from you each and every day.

I also want to wish all the other "Moms" in my life a very happy Mothers' Day. I am inspired every day by you all. We can all learn lessons from strong, independent and loving Moms everywhere. Being a Mom is the greatest gift ever given to me and I don't take it lightly...I will always strive to be the best Mom to each of my kids and their spouses. I pray that our Heavenly Father will bless each of you on this very special day.