Trip to "Arkasouri"

A couple of weeks ago, Granddaddy and Grandmother graciously let Callie, Margaret and I hitch a ride with them to "Arkasouri." We visited the Millers, saw the property, and had a great time with Uncle Jay, Aunt Ashley, and Savannah! I figured I'd better post this trip before I have so many other things to post about that I don't ever put this one up:) I hope y'all enjoy the pictures! (I should warn you that a vast majority of them are boring scenic pictures that I just "had" to take, so bear with me and I'll try not to bore you to tears!):):)

 The trip begins, and Margaret diligently starts on her schoolwork:)

 

A good book is always appreciated on a long trip:)

 

Our faithful chauffeur, once again accompanied by an RV full of girls!

 

  We're gettin close, y'all!

 Lovely trees!!!

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Starting to see some lovely fall colors, something you don't find in sunny FL!

We're almost there!!!

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Scenery........What did I tell you.......?

Scenery.......

........and more scenery! But it's lovely, is it not??

Scenery......(About to enter the property.....)

We finally made it, and were warmly greeted by Uncle Jay, Aunt Ashley, and especially a very excited Savannah!! She is so cute:) 

Andrew was staying the night with U. Jay and A. Ashley, so we got to spend a few days with him!

 

 Margaret and Savannah were best buddies while we were up there. Savannah calls Margaret "Marga-let":)

A few remaining wildflowers

 Margaret and Andrew had alot of fun together:)

 

 She loves her kitty, "Mittens," or "M&M's," which ever she decides at the moment:):)

Well, I'll put some more pictures up later......I have a plenty of em!!! Thank y'all for stopping by!

~Mary Noelle~

It's a ...........

BOY

Yes, another boy or so the sonogram technician says! I guess we won't know for sure until he (or she) is born! We are just so thrilled that the baby appears to be
healthy and everything is as it should be.
We have dedicated this child to the Lord and want nothing more
than for his life to please our Lord.
Great picture, huh? Yes, it looks like every other baby in a sonogram! But none the less, it is his first portrait and we are very proud of it! He looks like an angel to his Mama!
The due date is March 16, 2010, which the sonogram measurements agreed with.
We are thanking and praising the Lord for this precious blessing!

Chris, Molly and children

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While we are so happy and full of rejoicing after our sonogram, we can't help but think of the family who had the sono before us. They found out their baby was not alive and they were quite far along in the pregnancy. They had even brought their 3 children with them to see. The grief and sorrow on their faces is something I will never forget. Please pray for this family - God knows who they are. Thank you.

Great Peaches! May 2009

This was our last picking of the season.  We had been enjoying all the fresh peaches we could eat for most of April and all of May.  We had to get the last of the peaches off the tree as they were ripening so fast and just falling off and being wasted.  We made lots of peach jam, put bags in the freezer and canned peaches for cobblers, etc.

We now have 3 peach trees producing peaches.  We planted this tree about 4 years ago and I think it is a "Tropic Snow". The other 2 we planted about a year ago are "Tropic Beauty" and the "U.F. Sun" (which we got a few peaches from last year.)  My Daddy was able to get some peach trees recently and gave me 6 of them!  So we will get them planted and start tending to them and really have LOADS of peaches to look forward to before we know it!

Well, we never posted these pictures and we don't have much going on right now, so we decided to put these up.  We look forward to our peaches again in about a half a year or so!

God bless you all!
The Stricklens

Fishing at Granddaddy's

I am so thankful for the wonderful times our children have had with my parents over the years.

It is such a blessing that they LOVE to spend time with their grandchildren. Whether it

is my Mother teaching something to the girls in the kitchen or at the sewing machine,

or perhaps telling a story to CJ and Wills, or my Father taking the time to fish with them at their

pond or taking them out to feed the chickens, the memories they are making for the

children are irreplaceable.

My father has always loved to fish

Nice boat, Pete!

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,

The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one;

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows for our play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day;

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

This is our Chicken Hawk--Even he is amazing!

One of Granddaddy's cows, and her calf

Our lovely, almost ripe bananas!

Banana blossoms are so neat!

We found him crawling across our property

Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.

Psalm 148:5

Brand new Redbud leaves

Spider webs are unbelievable! It's absolutely amazing how God created that little spider with absolutely zero intelligence to form such an intricate, delicate, perfectly symmetrical web! (Oh, it was all just an accident, ya know!)

I love this pink sky :)

The sun on a very foggy morning

Even the weeds are creatively and intricately designed!

Seedlings ready to go into the ground

I love rhinoceros beetles!
They're so slow and methodical. They take their time and just get where they need to go!

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.

Isaiah 40:26

Morning Glory trees are soooo pretty in the morning,
before the sun wilts all the flowers

Aren't they beautiful??

And they smell SO good!

Green bean blossoms

This year's tomatoes :)

Little cucumber plants just getting established

Just grabbing hold of the trellis

Good night! I hope y'all enjoyed!
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I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

Psalm 7:17

Try and Figure This Out.....

OK--Is all you need is a measuring tape, a table, and two cans of coke, or any aluminum can (Like the ones in the picture)

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First, stand one of the cans upright on the floor, and put the other one on its side on the table, like you see in the picture.

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Now, measure from the top of the can standing on the floor, to the top of the one on its side on the table.

Remember your measurement. Ours was about 32"

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Alright, now turn the one on the table that is on its side upright like the one on the floor, and turn the one on the floor on its side. In other words, switch their positions. Now measure it the same way as you did before--from the top of the one on its side to the top of the one that is upright. Remember this measurement, and compare it to the other one. They should be the same, right?? Guess again. You'll probably do this about 60 times unless you have someone REALLY smart who figures it out immediately.

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 Comment and tell us if y'all figured it out immediately, if it took you a while, or if you are just plain stumped. (I would still be stumped, but Peter, with his ingenious mind figured it out:)

Come on, now try it--you know you want to.....

Mary Noelle

Lakeland T.E.A. Party 9-12-09

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The Lakeland TEA Party 

There were tons of great speakers!

I took pictures of as many signs as I could--There were alot of really good ones.

There were plenty of people--I think around 2500.

"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

Thomas Jefferson

Conversing and waiting to hear the speakers

Mama and Deeda

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

Ronald Reagan

Uncle Sam insisted on helping the ladies out!:);)

Haha!!:):)

"Does the government fear us, or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!"

Thomas Jefferson

Ariana an Christi

"Man! Is it ever gonna stop raining???"

Mama and Mrs. Pollock:)

Deeda and Mary enjoyed their time together

I liked this one!:D:D:D

May the Lord bless you and keep you!
Mary