Engagement Pictures

Wes Roberts is an AMAZING photographer in Troy, AL. He took our engagement pictures a few weeks ago and put several on facebook. I couldn't love these pictures more. Wes did a great job. Daniel and I had a blast hanging out with Wes for the afternoon and his wife Megan joined us later on. They are a precious couple and so much fun. Check out his pictures at www.wesrobertsphotography.com

Here are a few of our pictures

Thank you Wes!!

Yard Process Pictures

Daniel has been working like crazy cleaning up the yard at the house. It looks like a new place.

This is the area behind the barn. There was an old outhouse here and lots of small mimosa trees all tangled with wisteria.

Check out that fire pit!! We built that out in the side yard and circled it with petrified wood that we found all over the yard.

This is the back of the fenced area of the yard. Trees had fallen all over the fence, to a point that the fence wasn't visible in the back.

Before:

Look at it now!

(Shula is already enjoying her big clean yard)

This guy has been working hard cleaning up trees that had fallen on the fence and moving stumps.

Here's what the front looks like now. Daniel and Daddy are working under the house to level the floors. Once that is complete we will have a new AC put in and rebuild the porch.

Right now there is a big hole in the end of the house where the unit sat. It looks bad, but it makes access to the underneath a whole lot easier.

 On a side note, the blueberry bushes look promising!! We have an almond tree and a plum tree also.

This past week Daniel's dad came back to visit and they did more yard work and made room under the barn for the tractor. It fit perfect! Mama, Daniel and I cleaned out the barn on Thursday afternoon.. We found some really cool stuff in there and the barn looks great! Daniel found lots of old tools and mother and I found a coffin box. Yeah, that's right...a coffin box. The big wooden boxes that coffins are shipped in, there is one in the barn. It seems to have been used to store Christmas decorations, but it is still a little Creepy.

On Friday, Daniel and Daddy spent the day working to level the kitchen floor. It's looking great!

IN JOHN DEERE GREEN...

Daniel has a new toy and he is one happy man! On April 24th, Daniel got this Awesome "new to us" tractor. It's a really nice used John Deere tractor. Daddy, Daniel and I went to pick it up from a man in Monroeville and took it out to the house. The weather was terrible all weekend, but as you can see that didn't stop Daniel from taking it on a test drive.

Things are moving along...and blooming!!

The porch has been taken down. There is even less to it than pictured. There is no wood left at all.

And the work under the house begins...

Daniel and Daddy have spent two days working on and under the house getting things in order and working to level the support beams.

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ~ Song of Solomon 2:12

The Iris' are blooming, the azaleas, and everything else. I absolutely love going to see all the changes taking place in the yard. 

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ~ Genesis 1:12

Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. ~ Acts 14:17 

"Thank You" isn't enough.

Daniel and I have been working to clean the yard up at our house for the past month or so and we never could have gotten all of this done without our wonderful families. I don't know how we will ever thank them for their time and energy they have put into the house and yard. Daniel's dad and grandparents came over yesterday to see the house for the first time and they spent the day helping Daniel take limbs and trees to the landfill. I plan to get yard pictures today and post them soon. For now, here is a picture from yesterday.

House Progress

We started work on the house this weekend. Daniel, Daddy and Tom began removing the ceiling under the porch and the floor of the porch. Underneath the ceiling the boards look great and we love how open it makes the porch feel. Here are the pictures.

Before:

 

Peddlin For A Cure

This Friday Morning at 6:30am about 300 bicycle riders will leave from the Monroeville Square and ride 90 miles to the USS Alabama battleship in Mobile, AL to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  This ride is for those who suffer with cancer, those who have lost loved ones, those who are fighting, those who will fight, and those who have lost the fight.    This will be my sixth year to ride, my Dad's fourth year, my brothers second year and my sister-in-laws FIRST year to ride. There is no other more satisfying action in this world than to know that you have given of yourself to help someone else. God has given me health and strength, what more can I do with that but give it back to Him to help His children who are sick.  And what a blessing to share this fun day with my family.

Here's a little History on "Peddlin"
In 2004, Fred Kelley, a co-host of the Monroeville based "Phil and Fred" radio show was asked by the Chair of Monroe County Relay to help bring relay back to what it was in the past. Fred told the listeners of the Radio show that he would ride his bicycle from Monroeville, Al to the U.S. Battleship in Mobile, Al if he could raise $1,000 for the relay . Within 20 minutes he had raised $2,000. He called this event “Peddlin' For A Cure”. The word got out and eight other riders decided they would ride with him. The riders raised $34,000 for Monroe County Relay. The next year April 14, 2005, Fred asked Debbie Lee to help him coordinate the event again. That year he decided to ride from Monroeville to Montgomery, Al to the State Building. This ride was 106 miles. Again he got on the radio and within one hour he had $5,000. He had 33 more riders join him in the ride. They rode all night again. They were greeted by Gov. Bob Riley on the steps of the Alabama State Building. The riders raised over $67,000 that year. The Monroe Co. Relay raised over $140,000. April 14, 2006 they had over 100 riders that rode from Monroeville to Orange Beach, AL. (118 miles). Riders rode all day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m that night to Water Front Park. There were over 300 people at the park to greet them that night. They raised over $95,000 and the relay went over $180,000. April 6, 2007 (Good Friday) they rode from Monroeville to Mobile into Fort Conde' (94 miles). In 2008 they rode the 5th Anniversary Ride back to the Battleship in Mobile Alabama and in 2009 the ride was from “Monroeville to Hank’s House,” The Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, AL. and included close to 300 riders that raised close to $300,000. This years ride will be from the courthouse in Monroeville, AL and will end at the Battleship in Mobile, AL.

Here's a link to my personal fund raising page -
Rachael's Peddlin Page

We all ask for your prayers this week and especially Friday. Please pray for safety for all the riders and crew that will be with us and those who are fighting cancer.