AH Yes....Monday.

Greetings! Glad you stopped by!

We have had a busy week! By last Friday....Denise was ready to pass out and sleep. I wasn't too far behind her. Besides being tired...we were doing really well. Our weekend was nice. Denise did a lot of her school work during the week so that we could spend our time with Carolina and really focus on her. She was wonderful this weekend. Friday night we went to a coffee house. David Finlayson had invited me to play with himself and Gina. Carolina enjoyed herself.... playing with Kelsey (David's daughter). By the way...I recommend the cheesecake there. I guess I could tell you the name of the place....it's called... the Coffee Vine Cafe in Rainbow City. I like coffee shops. They are usually decorated up nice......smell like coffee and have some inviting desserts to eat. Anyways.....we left early.....I hated to....but we were so tired and needed to get some sleep.

Next day, we got up after a good long night of sleep and went to an afternoon matinee. Carolina chose 'Mr. Bean's Holiday'. When I was growing up I used to watch Mr. Bean with my father. I wasn't sure what to expect.....but I was surprised. It was a funny movie. Carolina really enjoyed it. Mr. Bean's so silly...it's hard not to laugh at him.

The rest of the weekend.....was restful. Denise and I love spending time with Carolina. We're amazed at her. I've learned a lot from her over the past few years.

Now...here it is....Monday once more. Time seems to fly by so quickly.

Weeks turn like pages in a book.
Days are merely a momentary thought.
This year has grown tall before my eyes.
How quickly its end is near. -JGR

ROSIE

Greetings. Some interesting things have happened with Rosie over the past two days. Saturday I was down at the barn cleaning up 'poo' when I noticed her watching me from about 30 feet away. Just earlier I had put her and her mother up in the stall to feed them. I try to get Rosie out and walk her.....treat a wound from earlier (month ago).....and brush her down. I had just finished all of that....let her and her mother (Champagne) out to graze in the field when I noticed Rosie had come back. This may not seem like a big thing....but it is. Rosie hasn't been weened yet from her mother.....she doesn't go anywhere her mother isn't present. Back to the story. Rosie had come back up to the barn by herself. She was very interested in what I was doing. She came right up to me....sniffing around the rake and shovel.....sniffing me. I didn't do much. My normal reaction would be to start petting her.....talking to her. I didn't do anything. I was raking up the 'poo' and scooping it in a pile just outside the barn. She watched for a few minutes then proceeded to walk over to the pile and 'pooed' herself right on the pile. I was so happy and thrilled that she had done this. She then came back over to me and I began petting her and talking to her. She stayed there with me until I left. For some reason.....Champagne likes to use the bathroom right in the walkway of the barn. Rosie had learned that same behavior from her mother.

Yesterday I went down to the barn....same procedure.....put them up in the stall....got Rosie out to treat her/walk her/ brush her.......all went well. By the time I got back to the barn, Champagne had finished her food and was ready to be let out. I let them both out. This time Rosie took to running back and forth across the field....she was jumping and kicking....just showing off big time. Champagne had walked off about 50 feet to graze. I was raking and shoveling......Rosie came up to me again. This time.....the goats were around. I didn't hold back this time....I began talking to her and petting her. It was nice. Then I noticed a small goat getting closer and closer.......Rosie lowered her head toward the goat and proceeded to nudge him away from us. It seems that I've got a friend.

It's taken Rosie 3 months to get this comfortable with me. She was born on May 21st....and here it is August 20th. Really makes me appreciate God and His wonders. To me it's amazing!

FAMILY

Hello......for sometime now I've been meaning to put a few pics up of my Sis (Carol) and my two nephews (Ivan and Andrew). They live in Dalton Georgia (where I grew up). Ivan is going into the 3rd grade. Andrew has just started kindergarten this year. Carol and I are separated in age by about 18 months. I decline to say in which way. I will add that I do love my Sis and my nephews very much.

Andrew Nicholas Camacho 5 years old



Ivan Alexander Camacho 8 years old



I had to add a pic of my favorite little girl. This is a photo of her from her dance recital earlier this year. The theme of the recital was the 50's. She's dressed in a 'T-BIRD' outfit. I am very thankful for this little girl......she's really changed me for the better.

OLD PHOTOS

I wanted to put these pics on my blog. I thought they were really cool. My father-in-law had these photos from his high school reunion committee. I know that they are from Attalla. The airplane pics are probably from the airport...but I don't know for sure. Any comments are welcome.

There sure are a lot of flowers in the window of the Dairy King. Maybe they doubled as a florist.

TWO BOOKS

I thought that I would do a blog on these two books. First, I would like for anyone to comment on them if they have ever read them. Secondly, I would like to recommend these two books to anyone who has not read them. 'Snakes In The Lobby'......I read this book almost 7 years ago. I picked it up in the Vineyard bookstore one day on a whim......boy did it ever change my life. I had not been saved long......just come out of playing music in bars and entering into the church as a worshipper. The book is basically about a dream he had about christian music and the explanation of the dream. To me, it's like reading 'The Final Quest'......but not as long. I sat and read the book in about an hour. I recommend the other book, 'The Lost Glory', because it's not like other books on worship. He speaks to the issues that every artistic person has to deal with on one level or another. I know that sounds a bit lofty....but I don't want to give it away for anyone who has not read it. I promise you that either of the two books is a valuable investment. I spend 10 bucks on one and 3 bucks for the other. Excellent books.

3rd GRADE

Well....Denise has officially started school. We're both excited about her teaching the 3rd grade this year. Right now as I 'blog' she's working on lesson plans. I went with her yesterday to school and I took some photos (as you can see). Above is a plaque outside her door. Below is her door. We put a lot of work into decorating her room. I'm very proud of how it turned out. Carolina went with us yesterday....she loved it as well.

Below is her bulletin board outside her room.

This is her desk. Looks busy to me. Below is another photo from inside her classroom. I'm particularily fond of the skeleton poster....we put it on a closet door.

As of now she has 16 students (mostly boys). I think that she has 5 girls. I'm sure that she will get a few more students as time progresses. I'm looking forward to this coming year. She's going to be a wonderful teacher.

PUPPIES!

Hello everyone! Hope all has been well with you. We're doing great. Denise had her first few days of school.......we're excited about it. She is now a 3rd grade teacher. Carolina began the 1st grade this week. I picked her up from Denise's parents and Carolina commented that she wished she could go to school tomorrow (Saturday). Back in the day that was unheard of with me.....but I guess things are different nowadays. I really enjoyed school when I got into middle and high school.....but elementary was a different story (at least what I can recall........that was over 20 years ago).

As you can tell.....we have puppies. They are so cute....they look like little bear cubs. In a few weeks they will be ready to go.....HINT....HINT.......HINT!

This is our 3rd litter.....so far we haven't had a problem giving then away. They usually go pretty quick. Puppies are fun!

WHAT'S HAPPEN'N !?!?

There are a few things going on in our lives..........

Denise and I have been working like crazy on her room at school. Neither one of us realized the amount of work it was going to take to get the room ready for the first day of class. I'm just talking the physical work of putting things in order......not to mention all of the 'mental' stuff that she has to do to prepare lesson plans and a curriculum for the students. She's the woman for the job! Mostly what we're been doing is cleaning and throwing away years of accumulated paperwork and trash.....dust bunnies and dead cockroaches. It's all good though....I'm proud of my wife.... it's worth it for me to help her get a good start with these 3rd graders!

Rosie got injured a few days ago. Somehow or another she managed to get a 5 inch cut on her chest. As days have gone by, it has widened over an inch. We've been treating her with a topical spray...hoping that it will help in healing. But I believe the cut is way too much for the spray to handle. So tomorrow we're off to the vet with Rosie. There's an Equine Vet in Boaz......so up the mountain we go tomorrow afternoon. My biggest concern is getting her in and out of the trailer.....she quite strong nowadays......and is already set in her ways ( to be 2 months old). More news about Rosie to come.

Our dog Bonnie has had puppies. This is her 4th litter. Her first and second did really well.....the puppies went really quickly when we decided to give them away. The 3rd litter all died. They were born in the coldest part of winter...so they didn't do so well. This time she had one die and the other 4 are doing fine. They are 16 days old. Their eyes are now open and they are beginning to explore. Yet....most of their day consists of sleeping and eating.....exploring is at a minimal. There are 3 boys and 1 girl. They are so cute....they look like little bear cubs. Hopefully I'll have some pics to come.

My work is going well. I'm on a bit of a break this week....helping Denise get her room ready. So...we're both pretty tired when we get home. I'm excited for her. This has been a long time coming. -JGR