April

April was a wonderful month full of adventure and relaxation! The month started early on April 1, yes, April Fool's Day, when The Joint Commission Surveyors showed up bright and early! They surveyed us for 3 long days and when they left, we were all exhausted, but happy that they had come and gone and we could now all get on with our lives.

The following weekend was Easter and we made the trip to Laurel to celebrate with Mama as we often do. We had a wonderful holiday beginning on Friday when we arrived at Mama's and then went to Mi Casa for Mexican food. Mi Casa is by far my favorite Mexican restaurant and we enjoyed a delicious meal and fun conversation.

Saturday morning Mama's church had their Easter Egg Hunt at her house and we had a great time! There were over 15 children there and many adults. It was fun getting to meet all the new people and visiting with everyone. After the egg hunt everyone left and we all took a nap! Then mama and I went to town shopping and got flowers for Daddy's, Granny's, and Grandad's graves and went to the cemetery and put them on the graves. Then we went back to her house and Mike and i went and got catfish from Walker's and we got a movie - Seven Pounds. The food was delicious and the movie was good.

Sunday we were at church at 6:45 for the sunrise service. With the collaboration with the Journey Church has really changed things and it was interesting to see how the service has evolved. After the service they provided a fellowship breakfast and again we enjoyed visiting with everybody.

After church, we started getting lunch ready. Cliff and Cindy and Caleb and Lisa came and we enjoyed our traditional Easter food and games - egg toss and egg races. We all left and Mike and I made it home about 6:30. It was a fun holiday!

I enjoy Mama's dogs, Arby and Ellie. They seem to enjoy me too! I think they know I'm their "sister". HaHa

The next weekend, we went to Philadelphia, MS to the Hog Wild Cook Off. We left about 1 and got to Philly at about 2:15. We first went to Williamsville, the old store there where we bought cheese, bacon, and bologna. Yum! I LOVE the bologna and ate half of it before we got into town!

After shopping at Williamsville, we went into Philadelphia and looked at the craft booths. There was a booth where the lady "recycled" stuff. She took things and made things from them. I was attraced to a bird house on a old coat rack with a tiny boiler on top for birdseed. I liked it but didn't want to pay what the lady was asking for it. When she saw me looking at it , she said for me to make her and offer and I got it for $20!

We left downtown and stopped by the Golden Moon. I shopped around and Mike played a little then we ate and headed home, trying to beat the rain that was coming.

It was a fun adventure and we enjoyed exploring the town of Philadelphia, MS.

The next weekend we went to our friend Suzanne's and had a crawfish boil. It was a fun meal and then we started a game of Chickenfoot Dominos.

Next weekend we are planning a trip to Franklin, TN to visit Brandy and Michael and Jackson. The third weekend in May we are planning our annual trip to Gulf Shores and this year, Noel and Martin and the babies are going too!

We missed so much last year - the whole month of April and most of May and then we were so traumatized it took us months to feel like ourselves. We were so engrossed in when we were doing, that we didn't realize where we were emotionally or physically. This Spring has been wonderful and I will NEVER take seasons and people for granted again.