what's shakin'? A rattlesnake!

We lead pretty exciting lives here in the southeast. With our four little ones keeping us busy, one would think that things could not possibly be any more interesting. WELL!
Our most recent guest was a 3-foot-long rattlesnake. The Lord was merciful and sent a man and woman on a motorcylce up our road. They saw the snake go into our yard. As they were passing the house, they noticed our two littlest girls out back playing. So they stopped and looked and waited. Matthew (who had just came home about 10 minutes earlier), saw the motorcycle sitting on the road and went out to see what was wrong (in his bare feet, no less!). They told him of the snake and he made for the house. While Matthew switched to blue jeans (and shoes) and armed himself with a shovel, I ran to the back to get the girls inside.
The hunt didn't take long, for the rattler was heading down the driveway! It appeared to have just eaten and was moving rather languidly. We had the fleeting thought of catching it and studying it for science. However, the thought was fast and fleeting (and made in jest anyway). Matthew kept and eye on it while I tried to call our neighbor down the road to come with his shotgun. But the lines were busy and I didn't have his cell number. Again, the Lord intervened and our neighbor (with whom we share the driveway) came home from work, so went and got help. As we waited, the snake headed into our yard. It wasn't long before our neighbor arrived and took care of our "guest."
We are incredibly thankful that the Lord was and is watching over us. You'd think life would just return to normal, but I've become even more attentive to where my children are when outside and am constantly keeping an eye out for unwanted, slithery guests of the reptilian persuasion.