Weekend Highlights ... Water Play, a Tootin' Dog, and Snakes

"Cannonball" was what was screaming through my head as I dabbled my feet in the Tennessee River. The water was too cold to take the plunge , but I finally half way immersed my body taking great pride not to get my hair wet. I look over at Ken and say, "Jack, the water is so cold," in which, after much thought, Ken through his head back and laughed.

I was so glad that I did not shave my legs for this.

It was a beautiful end to a near perfect weekend that dealt with working hard but playing harder and a perfect beginning to a week full of hustle and bustle. We were on our beloved Guntersville Lake with Ken fishing and myself soaking us some vitamin D and reading beautiful words from A Thousand Gifts while eating some chicken and biscuit crackers and reflecting on the weekend.

The weekend started off with a night at my Alabama cousin's sister's house who was hosting some of my Mississippi friends. Are you following that connection? It doesn't really matter because we has a great night full of family, laughter, and food.

Saturday, I awoke from a very inspirational dream to the smell of pancakes and the excitement of my husband who couldn't wait to take us kayaking. When I say us, that includes the Tootsie Girl who would ride shotgun with her daddy in his one person kayak.

I don't know what we were thinking.

Aside from baptising her daddy about four times, she was constantly tooting and belching, and always making sure that her daddy's face was the target. If she happened to jump out of the kayak, we would keep paddling. This would invoke complete  panic in the Toots, and she would swim and bark insanity until she could throw her paws on the side of the kayak and miraculously get back in. She would then turn to the right angle to share her gas with her daddy.

I couldn't help but think that I needed to speak with the vet concerning Xanax for such occasions. I thought this until I, myself, saw a rather long snake swimming 10 feet in front of me. It might as well have been 1 foot. Xanax would have helped but it was way too late. I blame my complete insane fear of snakes on my daddy who thought it would be great to create Fear Factor by Daddy Hale to place Haven in situations that would have helped her overcome her fear.

After placing a dead snake by his truck and asking me to go and get his briefcase out of his truck which lead to a complete meltdown, that my father found hilarious, I am glad that I will be the one to pick his nursing home when the time comes. :)

Any way, the snake swam to safely while I back pedaled up the river to calm my nerves. I think at this point, we were only a fourth of the way down the river, and Ken was ready to be a bachelor again.

Basically we made it down with a few more crazy episodes, and I think all was glad to see land again once we reached out take out point.

Tootsie will never experience this again, but will rather stick to being the captain of the bigger boat.

The rest of the day was spent working in the yard, allowing all the neighbors to bask in my lily white arms that were being sunburned by the minute

At least my yard, for the moment, was snake free. Ken had killed one earlier in the week, so I was on the look out. I always pray that God will not allow me to see any snakes, but I think my prayer this season got lost in the clouds, because can you guess what the preacher preached on, Sunday?

Snakes - both physically and literally

What I got from the message is that I will and recently have experience both kinds of snakes. I have already mentioned the physical ones, but for a moment our literal snake is infertility. Both types of snakes often leave you in a panic, but once you overcome, you are stronger. This lovely snake of infertility has often left me with a lot of questions and a lot of grief, as well as a lot of gratefulness - gratefulness for time spent with family and friends, being able to pick up and leave at a moments notice, and getting necessary sleep. It reminds me of the time that I was waiting on a husband. This was God's time, and I have been blessed ten fold. I know that having a family will also be in God's perfect time. I will not allow this snake to overcome me. Way before Kayne West sang it, Steel Magnolias had it in there lines ...

Source: a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net via Haven on Pinterest

So here's to having a tootin' week, with lots of water play, and overcoming life's snakes!