Shiloh Trip

Last Sunday was our annual trip to Shiloh National Military Park. It was the 147th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh. They do reenactments every year. Josh, the kids and I enjoy going to see it. This is one of my favorite statues in the park, it's fairly new. The Daughters of the Revolution provided this in remembrance of the state of Tennessee and the Soldiers that fought for her. This was the Confederate Calvary reenactment. The kids like the horses and the guns.

I thought this was a very cool pile of rifles. I thought it made for a very interesting picture.



This flag was on a covered wagon in the camp.

This is the visitor's center, besides the tee pee and other tents it looked like Scarlet O'Hara's house in Gone with the Wind.

This was the fist stop we made when we got there, the restrooms. The little kids liked scaling the wall.

Aren't we a group of lookers?

My father-in-law loves all things Civil War. It might seem strange to some, but this is how the Meredith Crew spends a little quality family time. The last time that we went it snowed on us, this time it was quite nice, not too cold and not too hot. The kids really enjoy going. The camp they have is set up in period and the people are really into their roles. Very fun to see and the kids get a kick out of it. Nothing says walking through wooded areas to see giant stone monuments like microscopic ticks!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, we were all pulling up and down clothes in the middle of the road pulling a hep of teny tiny ticks off of us. We all had at least 3 each. GROSSSSSSSS!!!!!! But it was still fun and we all agreed we would have gone anyway to see the Indian Mounds, ticks or no ticks. If you have never been then I strongly recommend you go.

Destin

Destin had his Senior night last Tuesday. It hard to believe this is his last year playing high school baseball. The time passes by so quickly these days. Pictured below are the seniors on his team. We wish them all the best as they set out on the new journey of their lives. We wish Destin all the best. I hope that he gets everything that he has worked so hard for. We love him and couldn't be prouder of him. :)

It's Been a While

Sorry, we have been soooo busy since my last blog entry. So, I guess I'll do a quick run through. Josh had a birthday January 31. The kids and I made him a cake, which they had a lot of fun decorating it with me. We had two snow falls. The first one was in January. I guess you should call it a dusting, not a snow fall. What do you expect in Mississippi? The other snow was in February. I didn't get any pictures of the "heavier" snow because we were too busy playing in it. Josh, Destin and I had bruises for a week after!!!!

Which brings me to the next event. Destin, our 18 year old nephew moved in with us.

Our Young Adult class and Youth Group, from church, did a dinner for all the other members of your congregation. It was a great success and we had a blast. Thanks to all that helped!

Spring Break has come and gone! We took the kids on a "backyard camp out". The camper was parked 6 feet from the back door! That's my kind of camping. We had a blast doing that. We had a campfire every night where we did tell a few ghost stories. We went fishing, riding bikes, and "hiking" in our pasture.

We ended our week with a trip to the park in Olive Branch. The kids played on the playground and feed the crazed ducks and geese, we also walked the nature trail. And what's a trip to the park without ice cream? Everyone got a treat from Baskin Robins.

We have started ball practice with Kalan's softball team. Destin's ball season is quickly coming to an end! Then graduation!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know he's excited and we are proud of him. Andrew is ready for the school to come to an end. He has enjoyed his first year in middle school. I will try to do better. Some days I wonder if i will have time to stop and breathe! Until next time.

SISTERS

On Saturday my sisters and I got to have a girls day out. We went to the Malco in Southaven and saw "Bride Wars". It was really cute and funny. We shared popcorn and candy and laughed together. Most times when we are together we laugh until we cry. The picture above is from Mia's wedding last April. Mia is the oldest, I'm the middle child and Mindy is the baby. Its hard to believe that we are as old as we are. Time has gone by soo fast. I still remember playing outside and riding our bikes up and down the driveway. Those were the days, our biggest worry was what we would have for dinner that night. We have graduated high school, college, and two of us have gotten married. When we were young it seemed like a year took a century! I love them very much. We have gone through so many things together and we stick together through thick and thin. I couldn't imagine my life without my SISTERS!

John Wayne Haynes

My husband, Josh, ran into a very interesting man on January 5, 2009. His name is John Wayne Haynes. He is from Hudson, Michigan moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico near family. The thing that made this man interesting was he was going to New Mexico on horse back! He was riding, Misty and leading Harley and his dog Sheila walked along side. He has been riding since October and plans on making his destination by Easter in April.

Since Josh and his dad,Ronnie, love horses and dream of the olden days, they are very captivated by this man and his journey. The day that Josh found him it was raining and very cold. He was heading west on Highway 4 through Thyatira, MS. Josh stopped to see if he needed anything and was okay. He was at the old gin and was going to get a fire going to get dry, so Josh told him of a country store up the road where he could go and get some food, he declined then.

Josh called his dad and told him about The Traveler. Ronnie and Phil, a co-worker, went and got him some horse feed. Out of much curiosity they asked him why he was traveling on horse back. He told them he thought it would be an adventure. He's a pretty brave man riding down Highway 4! They left him to dry out and later on Ronnie brought him coffee and Phil brought a pork chop dinner. He planned on heading for the Helena Bridge in Arkansas around 8:30 the next morning.

The next morning Josh brought him a sausage and biscuit and so did Curtis, another co-worker, along with more coffee. He was very appreciative and always offered to pay for anything they would bring. The weather still wasn't on his side and he decided to stay another night in the old gin. Through out the day they brought him firewood, dog food, and hay for the horses. As they spent more time with him, he told them his story. His three children were grown, which made him smile to talk about them, and he grew tired of Michigan and the horrible weather there. He had lived there for 55 years and was ready for a change. His brother and sister live in New Mexico and he sold everything he could and gave away anything he didn't. They asked why he decided to come south and so far out of the way. He told them that after waking up one morning in Ohio with everything frozen it was time to head south to warmer weather. They still didn't understand why he was riding horse back. He told them that he has had horses all of his life and loved riding them and thought it would be an adventure to ride. They offered to trailer his horses and take him to the Helena Bridge. He declined the offer with great appreciation and explained that he wanted to ride the whole way, he was trying to get into the Long Rider's Guild and he must ride 1,000 miles to do so. They asked where he would sleep during his journey. He told them where ever he could. That most people had been very nice and would let him stay in there house or barn.

They left him to rest for a while that day and came back with more supper that night and even more conversation. He told Ronnie that he was a butcher back home and that he trained the horse that he was riding, Misty. Josh asked if he had, had any trouble while riding and he said only one incident. While in Indiana a group of teenagers was shouting at him and flipping him the bird. Most of his journey he only encountered very nice and caring people. Josh asked him if he needed to use his cell phone to call anyone, and he told him he has a cell phone. He would turn it on once a day around 7 o'clock Michigan time to call and let his kids know where he was and that he was okay. Josh exchanged phone number with him and asked him to let him know how he's doing every now and then.

On Wednesday morning they went to see him off, but to their surprise he had already made it two miles to Barr. They stopped and wished him a happy and safe journey. He made it all the way to the Northwest Mississippi Community College Arena, about 15-20 miles from the gin. He spent the night there and was off the next morning. He made the front page of our local newspaper,www.thedemocrat.com.

By Friday at lunch he was only 1 mile from the Helena Bridge. Josh has said that he was a very nice man and is glad to have had the chance to meet him. We wish a very safe trip and our thoughts and prayers are with him. We have seen on the Internet all of the interesting people he has ran into along the way. Just google his whole name and you will be surprised by all of the people that he has intrigued with his journey.

Andrew's 11th Birthday

It is hard to believe that my baby is now eleven years old. Where has the time gone? My parents would always tell me that as you get older the time passes by fast, I see that now. Josh and I always try to reflect on when the kids where small but it seems that it's getting harder to remember them as babies. I don't know if it's from having more than one child or if we have so many new memories added everyday that those get filed away somewhere in the back of our minds. It does seem like it was only yesterday that he was a baby and I couldn't imagine him being anything but. As a mom, when you have a child you like to see them reach certain milestones. You always say, I can't wait until they sleep through the night, I can't wait until they can talk and tell what they want, I can't wait until they crawl, walk, are potty trained, go to school. I find my sweet Innocent baby boy in middle school!!!!!!!!!! NIGHTMARE! But as a mother you also know that, if all goes well, one day they will grow up and become the strong christian adult that you have raised them to be. When I think back on him being a baby it makes me cry, time has gotten away from me and there are so many things that I wanted to do with him that are now "totally uncool" to do.

Andrew is a very good child and is every parents' dream child. He lead the closing prayer at our church on Sunday night and it brought tears to my eyes how many people told me how good a child he is. I guess it just shocks me sometimes to know that he is mine. At Sardis Lake Christian Camp last summer he got baptized. That of course filled my heart with joy, but the best part was how many people there, complete strangers only days before, loved and cared about him. He has that way about him, he can just warm your heart.

I've been told that the next few years he may disappoint me. That those years are hard on kids, so I'm taking a moment to put these thoughts down. So, when I'm ready to lock him in his room for good I can go back and see that he IS a great child.