Ruth,

You are still our sweet baby girl, full of sunshine.  You are a real joy in our lives.  You have grown in leaps and bounds since last year.  You are finally starting to get some height and are beginning to lose that rolly polly shape we love.  You run and do everything in your power to keep up with your big brother, who you still adore.  If he is doing it you are going to try.  That means you like to play with cars, you climbed your fort and went down the slide much earlier than he did, and you are currently attempting to jump, where you only get one foot off the floor.  You really love to spend as much time as possible in the pool.  You are starting to talk more in a way that we can understand.  Though I am constantly reminding you to enunciate words, and to say what you want rather than pointing and grunting then nodding uh-huh, when we guess correctly.

You seem to be just as excited as Britt about moving.  You don't talk about missing Daddy like he does, but you woke me up this morning, by bringing me the tape, and dragging an empty box.  So we packed a little together today.  You aren't much help, but you think you are.  I think the next year will bring lots of changes and excitement in your life.  A new house, leaves changing color, snow in the winter, and you don't know it yet, but Daddy is now working with Santa Claus.  Your enthusiasm and adventure when viewing the world is contagious.

You have been a little slow to adjust to the news of a new baby coming.  Though for now you have decided to slobber kisses all over my belly when we are cuddling.  I'm sure you'll be a good sister.  You worry over your dolls and stuff animals.  You are still tender hearted, quick to run to Britt when he gets hurt, to pat him and tell him "It ok, Bit."  You love to give kisses, and often a stern look is enough to stop you from doing something and put you in tears.  Every now and then you dig in your heels and show some temper.  You can be festy when you want. haha.

Over the last few days your nose has really been runny and bothering you.  You've slept alot today, and wanted to cuddle when you are awake.  I'm sorry you don't feel good for your birthday, but I am quite content to snuggle with you as much as you want today.  No matter what remember sweetheart that Momma and Daddy love you very much, and we pray that the Lord would bless you and guide you through life.

Love,
Momma

We are excited to share the news that we are expecting again!  I will be finding a doctor up in Indiana, when we get there.  I don't have any official dates yet, but we think baby number 3 will be arriving around the beginning of March.  Britt has known for a little while, and done a great job of keep a secret.  He is constantly reminding Ruth not to wallow or climb all over my belly, "or you will hurt the baby."  Whenever we ask him what he wants or what we are having he is very certain that it's another sister.  Ruth still points to herself when you ask where the baby is.  But in the last week, she has decided that there are three babies in there, one in each of the growing areas of my midsection.  They like to give the baby kisses at night, and Britt talks to the baby when he first gets up.  He usually asks random questions, and then fusses at my belly when he gets no response.  He wraps up the conversation by saying, "Don't make Momma's belly hurt today, or she will have to spit in the toilet again!"  Gary and I are so excited.  We just feel so blessed, to have a new job, preparing to move, and to be having a baby again.

So weekend before last, Gary and I flew up to Indiana to look around.  We were hoping to find a house to rent while I was up there.  He introduced me to alot of the folks he'll be working with, and I got to see the area.  For an area that's been suffering from one of the worst droughts they've had in 40 years, it looked pretty good.  We stayed at a nice little bed and breakfast, where we were able to talk with the owner over a couple of delicious breakfasts.
Everyone was pleasantly nice.  Surprisingly so.  They were more blunt and less deferential than the average Southerner, but for the most part they weren't actually rude.  Some were over the top sarcastic and kinda callus (which in my opinion is incredibly rude), but they weren't intentially rude.  Everyone we ran into asked us if we would be needing a new Church home.  Often it was one of the first questions asked.  I told Gary I thought that was just a Southern thing.  The area seems to be primarily Lutheran, but we saw some Methodist and Catholics.  The lady that ran our bed and breakfast was a Church of Christ.  Of course we hope to visit some of the Primitive Baptist Churches in the area, but will mostly attend the Church in Fort Wayne.
We were offered almost as many opinions on the best school systems in the area as anything else.  There are a few really good county schools in the two counties we are looking for houses in.  So, that's always a good thing to learn.  One of the best schools in the state is in one of them.  Finding a house is proving more difficult than we imagined.  Apparently in one county the 87% of the population owns their own home, and in the other 92% of the population owns their own home.  As a result there isn't much to rent, the two apartment complexes  we saw weren't big enough for a family, and were geared more toward singles or newly married couples.  Gary has found some places in unbelievably bad shape and one really nice place that needed a ton of work (aka no central heating, exposed wiring, but a jacuzzi tub, wrap around porch, and very fancy molding).  Another place he saw earlier this week wasn't in too bad shape but the fenced in yard was smaller than the kids swingset.  Today he found one place that might work, though the rent is a little high.  There are some other places he's hoping to look at this weekend, but it's going a little slow.
He's really enjoying the new job, but more on that in a later post.  We are really missing him here.  Britt broke his toy saw the other night, and I don't think it can be repaired.  Of course he wanted it fixed right that moment to sleep with, and when I told him I couldn't do it.  He ran off to bed crying and yelled, "Daddy would fix my tools!"  We've spent several evenings with his folks, but it's pretty lonely around here without him.
In the meantime we have gotten alot of packing done.  I'm estimating that I have gotten about 1/3 of the house packed up, maybe more.  All of the office, most of the living room, everything I could get away packing in the kids room, and the china cabinet.  I've worked on mine and Gary's closet today.  Joan came by and helped me pack in the kitchen what we could go ahead and pack up.  Only 20 more days till Gary comes back to move us.

Today I get to finally write the blog post that I have been waiting months years to write.  Gary once again has a job... not just a job but a career.  For 35 long months we have struggled with looking for work.  Gary has been back to school, worked as a research assistant, done cold calls for a seed company, delivered pizzas, painted barns, bagged vegetables, and done any other odd jobs we could find.  It's been 3 years of raiding the piggy bank and emptying the children's savings accounts.  It's been stressful, especially for me the ultimate control freak.  Gary, the much more relaxed and trusting half of our duo has reminded me often that "We will make it, God will see us through", and if all else fails he has laughingly reminded me, "If nothing else, they'll feel sorry for the kids.  We won't starve."
It's been a high stress time, but it's also been a great time in alot of ways.  People have often asked if I'm sick of Gary being in the house and underfoot all day.  I can honestly say no.  I guess I'm weird, but I'm more than happy to be with him 24/7 pretty much all week long.  It's nice to have a few hours a week with no Gary and kids, but for the most part I love having him home.  He has loved being home.  Unlike most dads, Gary has been able to watch both of our kids grow up from babies.  He's not missed a thing, and you better believe he loves that.  We've had no money, to do things, though he always seems to scrounge a little something up for birthdays and anniversaries.  But we've had alot of time together.
I have often wondered what we are suppose to be learning from this experience (mostly so that I can learn it and be done already, haha).  I'm not sure that I have figured that out yet.  I know we have seen just what a loving Church and family that we have.  They have done so much for us, giving us money, letting us know about job openings, and most of all continuing to support us and let us know that they are praying for us and believe in us.  I know we have a better handle on needs verses wants.  I was a pretty good budgeter, but I think I'm better at it now.  It's shocking just how little you can survive on when you have to.  Of course, I've moderated my views some since my anti-Government aid, college days.  We would have been in even worse straights if we didn't have the unemployment and food stamps.  I know in this time we have seen the providential care of God on many occasions, more clearly than I ever had before.  There were so many times where we just felt we had no options left, and didn't know what to do, and those were very often the days that someone had thought of us, not knowing, and sent us a little something to help out.  Furthermore, I believe if we could weather this hardship, there is nothing that can come between Gary and I.  We promised to stay together for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer.  As Sis Sharon Kuder told us once, "We've tried worse and poorer, and we're ready to try out better and richer."
Getting this job could be nothing more than the blessing of God.  In a rotten economy I can't tell you how many jobs we've submitted applications for.  Most of those didn't go anywhere, but we did have several phone interviews, and even a handful of positions that made it to multiple interviews.  Nothing was coming together though.  Then in June, a recruiter found us.  Gary was positive, but I was doubtful, after all we've worked with a ton of recruiters and after they fill the position we never hear from them again.  This guy cared about us though, he thought Gary was a hidden gem, and would make a great employee.  He called all over three states setting up interviews, and working the system in ways we couldn't have done alone.  We still aren't sure how he found us, but we are so glad he did.  He coached Gary through not only the basics of interviewing and stuff, but did research on the companies, and the people we would get to speak with, finding out just who they were and what they were looking for.  He found positions in the "price range" that we were hoping to find, but having no luck locating.  He sold Gary, and made it possible for Gary to just sit down and talk to them.  He then laid everything out in a way we couldn't have and got top dollar for Gary.  This company is everything we hoped for trustworthy, solid, and their top concern is customer service.  They are family people, who love the community, and respect the farmer.  They have done more than we would have guessed or expected in compensation, benefits, and relocation expenses.  We couldn't be more grateful.

Even as excited as we are, of course it's a little bit sad to think of leaving the place that has become home.  I've gotten quite use to the idea, of no real winter, and I hear that Indiana has some 6 month winters.  And of course it's hard for both of us to imagine leaving Little Union.  The Church that has gotten us through so much, and the people that mean so very much to us will be missed terribly.  For Gary it's even harder in alot of ways, it's the only home he's ever known.  As much as we will miss, we must confess that the adventure of the next part of our lives, and the close of the joblessness chapter is such a relief and a joy.

All we can say to everyone is thank you, so very much.

Sunday afternoon we went over to Aunt Melanie's house to play and visit.  We got to talk to the turtle which was very exciting.  I kept asking him what was his name and he wouldn't tell me, so Britt named him Joey too.  Ahna said he had to pick a new name, but we never thought of anything.  The best part was playing with the dogs.  Aunt Melanie has two dogs a Sophie is a little dog and Callie is a big dog.






We liked Callie alot.  At first I wasn't sure of her she was so big, but she was really calm and gentle too.  We laid and watched tv together, and played in the floor.  Callie gave us some kisses too.  Sophie was crazy running around with us, but Callie was just cuddly. Momma asked us if we wanted a big dog like Callie, sometimes Britt would say yes and sometimes he would say no, but I always said, "YES!"

Momma went to see the dentist today while we are in Alabama.  She carried me with her.  Momma says I did a great job.  I wasn't scared and I asked lots of questions.  She said she was starting to get a little clastrophobic today with me 3 inches from her mouth on one side and Ms. Tammy on the other side, and all those tools in her mouth.

To get to the plane we had to ride a train.  That was really exciting.  I wanted to ride it some more.  I told Momma we should just ride a train all the way to Alabama.  She told me that she had looked at AmTrack but they don't have trains to Alabama where we want to go.  We got off and went through the line.  This lady asked my name and kept asking if I was Elisha.  I didn't like her so I didn't talk to her.  After she let us go by I ran off and then yelled back, "My name not Elisha.  It's Elisha Britt Cunningham!"  After that we all had to walk through a metal detector.  Momma and Daddy had to take their shoes off, but me and Ruth didn't.  I wasn't happy that they put the rest of our bags on another table to move away without us, but Daddy told me that they would look at them and let us have them back on the other side of the table.  I didn't like them moving away by themselves either.

When we finally got to the plane.  Daddy showed me which plane I would ride.  He showed me the guy putting gas in the plane, and where they had our suitcases.  I liked it.  Daddy had to go and catch his plane, but then it was time for Momma, Ruth, and me to get on.  I picked out seats near the back, over half the plane was empty.  I sat down by the window and Ruth in the middle and Momma on the aisle.  I watched us go faster and faster and then we were in the air, I clapped and cheered.  It was so exciting.  I saw cars and the road, and we flew over water and trees.  We saw the sun come up in the clouds in the air.  The nice ladies on the plane came and talked to us a couple of times, and they let us choose between apple and orange juice.  When we said apple, they brought us two big cans.  It was very exciting on the plane.  They even had a funny looking bathroom.  At first I thought the plane was too loud, and I covered my ears and shouted at Momma "Cover your ears!" but she wouldn't do it.  As we got ready to land, we came back down through the clouds and there was a river under us.  I told Momma "We can't land in the water!"  She said we wouldn't, but I wasn't sure after all the lady had told us about a water landing, and showed us a yellow floaty thing around her neck.  When we landed we bounced a little bit.  I cheered again and told Momma, "I like this ride.  Lets go again!"

I got my first haircut last Friday.  Memaw and Ahna have been telling Momma that I needed a haircut forever now.  Momma didn't want to do it.  She wanted to let my bangs grow out to pull them up.  Daddy and Britt went for their haircuts and at the last minute Momma decided to take me along.  Cousin Heather cut Daddy's hair first, and then it was my turn.  I was very still and serious.  I would turn my head and pose so she could cut it all over.  Momma said I was so good, I didn't cry once, and I got a sucker.  Britt's turn was next and he wimpered and cried the whole time and Momma had to hold him.  I sat all by myself like a big girl.  When we were done, everyone said I looked so pretty. The best part is no matter if my hair is up or down it's not in my eyes!

My Dearest Gary Britt,

Today, marks five years together.  I still think that you are the best part of my day, and I'm so glad that we found each other.  I never get tired of cuddling, even if you claim I'm smothering you.  While you can never be serious when I want you to be, I must confess about half the time I'm laughing to myself.  It's looking like this long period of joblessness is almost over.  Your calm assurances, and light heartedness has kept us going, and when we couldn't laugh it off, you were always there to cuddle and cry with.

The more we are in this thing called marriage the more I realize, that while it's great to have someone to share all of my joys with.  The best part is being able to lean on one another in the hard times, when things aren't peachy.  Someone who was willing to cook all the meals when I was pregnant and couldn't even walk in the kitchen without getting sick.  Someone who was willing to get up with the kids in the middle of the night when I hadn't had any luck.  Someone who was willing to do a little cleaning when I was sick.  You're the most giving, self-sacrificing person I know.  Always finding ways to make something special happen for me or the kids.

I love you more and more each day, and continue to be amazed that you haven't decided that I'm not worth the trouble and sent me packing.  Each day that we keep going in this crazy world is a little miracle as far as I'm concerned.  I hope to spend many more days with you, after all I plan to make it to our 75th anniversary... only 70 more to go.

I love you,
your dani

We've been needing to do some improvements to the chicken run we've had for a little while now.  Now that we have 16 birds they need more space.  I've also decided it would be alot easier to clean it out and get to eggs that are occasionally laid in the dirt if it was tall enough for me to actually stand inside it.  If it was bigger they wouldn't kill all the grass inside which makes for a healthier run.  The biggest reason however, is that the old coop was coming a part in a few areas, and the chickens were digging down into the dirt along the edges to stay cool.  We have had something reach under and grab at chickens, and we have had some wild cats get in, and it was just a matter of time before we lost more than the two adolescent chicks, and started losing hens too.



Granddaddy sent us a little money to help with shoring it up, and we took what I've been saving from selling eggs, and we started looking around. We found some hog wire on sale. I thought it was a little too wide, because the chickens can stick their heads out to peck at grass on the other side, but Gary pointed out it'll be more than sturdy enough to keep anything out of it. We raided Granddaddy Garland's barn, Gary's parents, and the pole barn here for wood to frame it up. We found almost everything we needed, except for a couple of long 2x4s. Gary got those and a screen door at Lowes. The one thing we had trouble finding was some sort of aviator netting to go over the top of the run. Real aviator netting is pretty expensive, and most of the deer netting we found wasn't wide enough, and was really expensive. I finally found some netting for covering fruit trees to keep the birds off of them, for cheap down at Ace Hardware.


















It took us about a week, due to Gary working in the evenings and rain every afternoon, but we got it all finished, before we went back to Alabama to pick up the kids.  It's been really rainy the last few weeks, so the ladies have spent most of their time in the coop, but they seem to like the new roost bars outside, and all the room to run around.  The coop covers the area that the old coop did, so it's mostly just dirt there, so that's were they take their dust baths.  Most mornings though you can see them all huddled up under the guava bushes in the shade.  There is less squabbling too, now that they have more space, and less broken eggs.






Gary also helped me make some repairs to the old run, and build in a small coop into it.  We still need to fashion some sort of lid to it, so that I can get eggs out, but we've moved all the Marans together into it.  I've got them separate because I'm hoping to try to hatch one more set of eggs out of them.  In the oldest and littlest pen, we have the coop attached that Uncle Quintin built when they had chickens.  Right now we have our only Maran chick from our last hatch, back in April.  When she is big enough, we will move her in with the others, and that pen will be available for another batch of chicks.  All in all, I think we have a nice set up, and if we decided to quit keeping chickens, Gary pointed out that the new run, would make a good dog pen.

Ruth (22 mons), Britt and Julia (3)

On Saturday, we went over to Aunt Manna's house. She's getting ready to move to a new place, so she was going to have one last big party before she moved. It was a pretty drizzly day, so there weren't as many people there as we thought there would be. That's ok though, because that meant there was more pool for us! While Momma and Daddy sat around talking to Sis. Rebecca and Bro. Clay, Uncle James and Aunt Heather, and a couple of Aunt Manna's friends, we went swimming. Zachary, Brystal, Julia, Britt and me all played together in the pool. We all had a water gun and we splashed and played together. I was a real trooper, it was cool, and misty off and on, but every time Momma asked me if I wanted to get out I told her no. I played with all the big kids. We ran around the yard throwing cups of water at each other and we played in the pool. Finally when my lips were getting kinda blue, and I was shivering more than playing; Momma insisted I get out. I told her "No!" but then she gave me this look, and I said, "ok." After eating a hot dog, I took a nap. It takes alot out of you to go swimming. After I woke up, Aunt Manna gave me a sucker before I left to go home. I didn't want to go, but I had fun at Aunt Manna's house.

Last Friday, Daddy took us fishing.  It's been awhile, since we went with Mister, and Ruth has never been.  Momma wanted to take out the boat, but it's almost impossible for her and Daddy to get it back into Mister's truck after having it in the water.  Plus, Daddy wasn't excited about the idea of having both of us kids in the boat at the same time.

















So instead of fishing in the boat, we fished off of the bank for a couple of hours.  I've been practicing throwing my fishing rod in the yard, and I've been getting better, but that didn't mean that I was always able to get it in the water.  I caught a stick and some moss, and alot of water grass.

When we first got to the pond, there was a great big bull gator that kept swimming back and forth in front of us, so Daddy made us sit way away from the bank on the picnic table, till Momma came back.  When she walked up in her Auburn shirt, he didn't like that orange and he went away, but a little gator came to watch us throw our fishing line a few times.

 During my little blogging hiatius, we had a mini vacation.  We had 10 days of no children.   We slept in.  We ate whatever, whenever.  We caught up on projects.  We finished building the improved chicken run (of which I promise to post pictures as soon as it quits raining long enough to take them).  I spent several rainy afternoons catching up on reading while Gary was working at Southwestern.  I was nowhere near as productive as I had hoped, but I was well rested.
















The best day was the day we took Amanda, Joan, and Lilli to the airport. (They flew up to Alaska to visit Aunt Lisa and Uncle Freddy.) After we dropped them off, over in Orlando, we took some tokens that we had for one of the putt-putt golf courses. We played both courses and had a ton of fun. We haven't gotten alot of chances to go out together since having kids, and of course over the last few years this chances to get out alone for something other than an afternoon of grocery shopping have been really few and far between. It was really nice to goof off and spend some time together.

On June 5th while we were at Grumps and Ahna's house there was a transit where Venus passed directly in line between the earth and the sun.  Lots of people got together at one of the local schools with telescopes and stuff to check it out.  When Grumps got home from work, he pulled it all up on the computer for me and Britt to look at.


I yelled "Ball, ball!" the whole time. Grumps said that they are all pictures of the sun, that the different filters change the color. Britt says Grumps doesn't know the color of the sun, that only the yellow one was the sun. Grumps says Britt will be 120 and I will be 118 the next time Venus Transits the Sun. We will have to watch it with Grumps again. But, Grumps says that's not likely since he will be 170 when it comes back around.