Snake Update

About a week ago, John took this picture in our backyard:



He had been seeing the snake (or snakes??) every morning & evening behind our retaining wall. After getting the above picture, I called a local snake removal service & talked with a tech who told me that they charge you the full amount even if they can't find or catch the snake. We weren't thrilled about paying that much money & still having a snake around, so we decided to look into other options. Of course, since then, we haven't seen any snakes around...thank goodness. The guy I talked to said it sounded like we had a black rat snake. He said they are shy & that our chipmunks were probably attracting them. I kept the tech's phone number, so if this thing shows up again, we may just have to give him a call!

Sewing

Here are some pictures of some sewing projects I have done over the last few months. Too bad I don't have much free time....I really love doing this! The first two were baby gifts for two of Joshua's therapists. I didn't do the appliques...I would love to get a machine & learn how though! The last is hand towels that I did for all of his teachers/therapists for end of the year gifts....he had 12 that he worked with this year! Now I am hoping to get at least one thing for our new little one made before he arrives!

Graduation

I am, as usual, a bit behind on my poor neglected blog!

A couple of weeks ago, Joshua graduated from one of the places he has been doing therapy. Below is the best family picture we could get. Since keeping up with Joshua is a full time job, we didn't get any pictures....this one was taken by John's mom. We are so proud of Joshua for the great progress he has made, and are thankful for the many therapists & teachers who have worked with him during the past two years. We are looking forward to great things as he moves on from here!

Snake Skin

I found this behind the retaining wall today. Now we know that our 'neighbor' is about 4 feet long.

Our Unexpected Guest

Also an unwanted guest! John went out to spray weeds behind our retaining wall Saturday morning & this is what he found (look among the rocks for the long grayish-black thing going into a hole!):



A snake!! It was at least 3 feet long & is still on the loose since it went down into a hole right next to the wall. The funny part was that John came right back in the house & asked me if I had put a toy snake up in the rocks!! I tried to get a picture of it so we could try to figure out what kind of snake it is, but I never saw its head. Apparently it didn't like being looked at. I hope we don't see anymore of this thing....I'll be calling Critter Control if I see it again!

Mother's Day

Here is my first preschool Mother's Day gift:



Of course, I love it more than anything he could have picked out at a store! Here is the poem that is written on it:

Your hands have cooked my meals,
combed my hair and bathed me, too.
They have patted me in comfort,
and wiped away a tear or two.

They have held many a bedtime story,
and tucked covers under my chin.
They have clapped at my first steps,
and hugged me over and over again.

They have guided me and loved me,
there's no place I can't go,
or nothing I can't do
while hand-in-hand with you.

Aquarium

We took Joshua to the Tennessee Aquarium for the first time this weekend. The first exhibit we saw was a seahorse exhibit. He got so excited about the little fish swimming around with the seahorses. I think he soon figured out that we were basically just looking at fish & he got bored with it. He also got really hungry. We ate lunch between the two buildings, so he was interested again when we went into the second building. He was bored again after about 30 minutes, but he enjoyed parts of it! He loved splashing in the touch tanks....so did John! I think the penguins were his favorite. I think we will wait a few years for our next aquarium visit. Here are some pictures.


He is very fascinated by water. He loved the views of the Tennessee River. I think he would have been content to stand here the whole day.

As I said...fascinated by water.

The penguins were really fun to watch.

Don't worry...that's just a picture of a shark. However, while he was standing in front of one of the big windows, I looked up & there was a shark swimming right up behind him. It makes a mommy's heart stop, even if you know he is safe!