toowonderfulforme

Sweet Hearts...

2012-02-14T09:35:00.001-05:00

February......the love month. I admit that I sometimes feel pitiful when I watch commercials before Valentine's day and know that it is right smack in the fury of tax season when my husband is way too busy to think about bringing home presents.

But he does, he brings home the best present every single day. Him. He's a gift. He's a treasure.
He may not be the most romantic.......although he sometimes surprises me when I least expect it...but he's the man of my dreams.

And he's such a funny valentine! Tonight as he was eating the low carb chicken parmesan I cooked, he asked if it was low fat and I proudly said, no.....low carb..... and he said "well I guess the bread kills that huh?" I forgot! Oh, well.

While we were eating supper, he asked if I would be o.k. with him picking up something for supper on Valentine's day because he will be too tired to fight the crowds and go out to a restaurant. And that's o.k. Really o.k. He'll be here and I'll be here and that's all that counts. Besides, any time I don't have to cook, I'm good with that!

So real Valentine commercials probably would do better to show what true love is......someone who is real, solid, there...not just a romantic, although romantic is good.

When the flowers die and the jewelry is relegated to the jewelry box, he'll still be right here.....coming home every night after working long days to make sure I'm taken care of....I'll take that, I'll take him!

He's a sweet heart....

I have lots of sweet hearts that I love. I have four sons and two great daughters in law. I have several absolutely wonderful and beautiful and brilliant grandchildren.
I have lots of siblings and a great mama and MIL.
I have friends, really great friends.
I even have a few extra children God gave along the way.

I have a Savior who loves me.

Who could ask for anything more? So when I'm watching the commercials and hearing of all the romantic gestures, I'll close my eyes and see the man who loves me.....and I'll remember that my heart still beats a little faster each time he walks through that door and I'll remember that he walks through that door every day without fail and I'll say a little prayer of thanksgiving. And I'll forget that every so often we get mad at one another....we forget quickly.

We love because He first loved us......1 John 4:19

Come again?

2012-02-08T11:08:00.001-05:00

The last couple of months that is......time has gone by so quickly that I realized I didn't do a Christmas post! So briefly.....although my husband says I don't do briefly.....we had a very nice Christmas and enjoyed being with family and friends, while missing some who weren't here. When you have a big family, it's hard for everyone to be in one place at the same time, but we try as often as possible.

I seriously tried cutting back the number of pictures for this post.

Russell started a tradition our very first Christmas of cooking a big breakfast on Christmas morning. Christmas day was on Sunday this year, so he cooked on Christmas Eve after our church candlelight service.
The chef

A couple of our friends came, along with Mary Catherine (MIL) and Matt
Our friends children came too but they weren't particularly fond of having their pictures taken

Later, after our guests had gone, we opened presents with Matt and Mary Catherine

and our nephew Chris

Christmas day, after church, David and Arwen came to open gifts

We had a good time as you can see

My Pinterest project.....Christmas ornament with David and Arwen's wedding invitation

Still later in the day, we went to my brother's for our traditional Christmas family gathering and dinner

Cousins Bryce and Matt

Some of the guys hanging out

My oldest brother's inlaws....still lovebirds after over 60 years together

Nephew Tommy with mama

We always try to get a sisters picture

My niece Debbie with her four beautiful girls and on the left, my niece Joneida (and Daisy Mae)

For all you pinterest fans, isn't this neat? My SIL puts her Christmas cards on her pantry doors like a Christmas tree

My niece, Jenny and two of her children

BIL Mike with his mama

Brother Michael and BIL Dick looking sheepish because I ~~demanded~~ sweetly asked them to hide their beer

Christmas trampoline football

Our children who were in town

My beautiful SIL and hostess with granddaughter Lauren

Nephew Don and wife Kathleen

The guys getting ready to play dirty Santa

Brother Tommy with mama

Nephew Andy with his daughter Lauren

Nephew Dickie with wife Joneida and daughter Maggie....and Daisy Mae

That's just a little sampling of the people who were there on Christmas Day.

It was sort of a low key Christmas for us this year.

I have more catching up to do, so I'll be back soon. I hope.

Sorrow mixed with Celebration

2012-02-01T08:50:00.001-05:00

It was a long weekend.

From telling our mama that her sister had died to speaking with my cousin and my sisters at my aunt's funeral celebration.

Speaking at a funeral was a first for me and I think for my sisters too. We were all scared and nervous, but it was so easy to talk about Aunt Bernice because she had made such an impact on our lives and created so many memories.

Some pictures from the day.

Aunt Bernice

Aunt Bernice and Uncle Stuart

At the cemetery, there was this very strange headstone. You have to look closely, but it's an angel kneeling with her head in her arms like she's crying. There was no name, no clue to who it might be for, just this weeping angel. Very interesting.

From the cemetery, we went back to the church where they had graciously fixed lunch for the bunch of us and it was delicious!

Cousins

Cousins

Aunt Bernice's grandson and his wife

Great granddaughter Kaitlin, husband Kristain and great great granddaughter Haley

Great granddaughter Laura and son

My BIL and brother

Youngest brother and nephew

Sister Cathy and her husband Dick

SIL Pam with mama

Brother Tommy, sister Debbie, me, cousin Danny and sister Cathy

The back (I call it the front, but apparently when you live on the water the front is facing the water) of Aunt Bernice's house

Mama couldn't get in the house but got around front.......with a little help from family

to this view

SIL Lois, me, sister Cathy, sister Debbie, brother Tommy, cousin Ann and mama

Just an interesting thing....back in 1964 or 61 depending on how you read the numbers, my sister wrote her name in the cement poured for the driveway at Aunt Bernice's

This is a picture made many years ago of my mother and her sisters....L to R

Mama (Margaret), Aunt Grayce, Aunt Joyce and Aunt Bernice

This is a picture of me and my sisters on those same steps

If the house itself looks different, it's because they added a sunroom on but kept the same steps.

That's all folks....hope your week is going well.

Well done good and faithful servant....

2012-01-26T08:00:00.013-05:00

I got the news from my cousin. This could be it....the time could be very near. Her mother, my beloved Aunt was nearing death. My reaction shocked me, I sobbed and sobbed. I had been praying for her to go to Jesus for some time, but even though that is best and she is so ready, it's sad. She's a part of me. One of the best parts.
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During the night last night she died

Bernice Etna Anderson Pratt was 96

They say you can't pick your family, but I know that God picks them

Since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.......Acts 17:25b -26

Today I'm praising God that he placed me in this family. That I had godly examples......that I had women that taught me how to be a lady.......even though many times it may have seemed that those teachings didn't take.....

Some of the women who taught me to be who I am today are my grandmothers and my aunts.

Aunt Bernice was very special, maybe because she always lived in the same town as we did, but maybe just because she was who she was!

Aunt Bernice with Uncle Stuart who was so happy to see her when she got to heaven!

These pictures are from her 90th birthday party....

Aunt Bernice with daughter Ann

Sisters.....my mama with Aunt Bernice .....

How she loved this little girl! Her great granddaughter Kaitlin, who isn't really a little girl but a married woman who gave Aunt B a beautiful great great granddaughter and is expecting another!

Aunt B's grandson Soxie.....some call him Roy.....and his wife Penny

Aunt B's grandson Ron and his wife and daughter

There are too many pictures of loved ones to put here, she was loved by everyone she ever knew.

She lost a very special granddaughter many years ago,
Melissa.

A lady filled with so much grace and love and a special kind of innocence that you don't see a lot these days. I loved her. I loved staying at her home and just being with her, I think we all did. She was like our second mother.

- Oh, she was such a perfect housewife....
- she had a spotless home.....I didn't get that trait.....
- she could cook like nobody's business, not only great meals, but pies (best apple pie in the nation) and cakes......
- she sewed many of our clothes and most all of our Easter dresses.....
- we had many the Easter egg hunts in her yard.....
- she could give a mean perm....and did.....often, whether we wanted it or not.....

- She and Uncle Stuart were such interesting people. They had many friends both in and out of their church. They were faithful.

- She liked to be dressed nicely and have her makeup on and her hair fixed (I guess she was wearing makeup, she sure was beautiful)......I did get that trait....I mean having to fix the hair and makeup at least!

- She had a special laugh and used it often.
-she told one off color joke that I know of and I almost laughed as hard as she did.
- She had a great hiccup!
-When she wasn't feeling well, she would say "oh, me" over and over.

She always said I love you and you knew she meant it. She would smile at you when she said it and you felt so special, a trait she probably got from my grandmother, her mother, who had that same gift.

Thank you.
Thank you.
I can never thank her enough.
She was like my second mother
she and my mother were so very close.
I think they spoke either in person or on the phone every day until the last couple of years when Aunt B was in the nursing home and mama in an assisted living apartment and they couldn't communicate.

But just the other day, mama said "how is my sister?"
They loved well.

They had two more sisters and three brothers who died way too young, but they all loved one another in a very special way.

There were seven brothers and sisters,
Brothers.....Burruss (mama's spelling if that's not right)
Noah
Kade

Sisters........Bernice (like furnace with a B)
Grayce
Margaret
Joyce

For as long as I can remember, Aunt Bernice lived on the bay around the bend from the paper mill. We spent many happy hours chasing crabs on the beach and getting that paper mill tar on our feet.

My cousin Ann has always loved books and had a lending library out of her home.....we checked out books and sometimes even returned them.
I think they had every edition of National Geographic
and of the Reader's Digest

Aunt B had a lot of suffering in her life..... and I'm not here to say she never complained because complaining is one of our family traits and I think it is a perfectly good one myself! But she always carried herself in a ladylike fashion.

She lost her son, Arthur, much too soon. I always thought he was one of the best looking men I had ever known. Once when I was at Church camp.....~~thousands of miles away~~ at P. C. Beach, he came with mama to pick me up at the end of my week and I was embarrassed because I cried when I saw mama.

I am pretty certain that there was never anyone who didn't love my Aunt B.
I know that my brothers and sisters loved her.
I know my cousins all loved her.

I loved standing in front of her china cabinet and just looking at all her pretties....she had lots of pretties.
She also had shells and drift wood and tons of really interesting things.

We're all so glad you're with Jesus today Aunt B.....and a host of friends and relatives.

Passing in a whirlwind.....

2012-01-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

Time.....passing fast. So fast, I skipped right over Thanksgiving

So here's a few pictures of the day.......I could not possibly get a picture of everyone in here because....well, I have a big family!

These pictures are especially for my new friend
Check her blog out!

Hosts

Now on to Christmas.......to be continued

So far behind.....

2012-01-21T12:55:00.003-05:00

I'm really behind in a lot of stuff......blogging, reading blogs and commenting. I am going to get busy and get back to it, but today I want to ask for your help.

We all know that this forum is a huge prayer chain and have seen it work over and over again.

These two.....on either side of our Ugandan friend Henry.....are Mark and Laura. They have given their lives for the cause of Christ, both here and in Uganda. They love Uganda and the people they have come to know.

Right now they are seeking the Lord's will and His leading to move to Uganda.

Please go over and take a look at the Faith 500 project. While you're there, take a look at what has been done in less than three years. Mercy Uganda only needs $497,000.00 to complete this project.

So much has happened there in such a short time.....the Lord can do whatever He pleases.

Mark and Laura are earnestly seeking His will and asking that doors be opened for them to do His work.

It's amazing to me that millions of dollars are raised in the United States for presidential candidates. Millions! I know it takes lots of money to run campaigns, but if they can raise millions, seems like $500,000 is not so much to save lives and take the gospel to the utter most parts of the world.
Matthew 28:18 - 20

This is not a plea for you to contribute.

This is what I'm asking you to do, and only if you feel led to.......link to my blog and to this one and maybe even this one, then we'll watch and see what the Lord will do, and I promise you a follow up report.

I just know that God has people out there with the resources to help us help the women and children of Uganda. Once you read their stories, you'll never be the same.

Oh, also, your prayers......Mercy Uganda asks for your prayers......the most important part.

Thanks, friends!

What is it about this week?

2012-01-11T21:10:00.003-05:00

So. I must say this has been some. kind. of. week. Today was no different.

This little man has issues. Seizures just happen to be part of his issues. This morning he had a big seizure just after taking his medication and it scared both of us into calling the vet. I actually was the one who called the vet.....Mikey wanted no part of any vet appointment.

Our regular vet has a female partner now and she's a nice enough lady but Jack and Mikey just prefer their regular vet. But since it was an emergency, we agreed to see Dr. Lady...

Mikey was scared and shaky and very upset because he had to get shots.

Dr. Lady was talking to him in a soothing way and telling him how handsome he was, when........

Dr. Lady......You have such a pretty haircut, who does it?

Me.....o.k. you know what I said so I'll skip humiliating myself further.

Dr. Lady......I meant Mikey

Of course she did.....it's been just that kind of week!

Generational gaps...

2012-01-10T21:48:00.001-05:00

What was I thinking????? I had just learned how to ~~sort of~~ use my phone. So why did I need to get a new one?

I'm sure the guy at the V*rizon store is wondering the same thing. The second guy I talked to at that particular store this week and don't forget today is only Tuesday. Does anybody know why they hire middle schoolers? All I really wanted was to be able to call, answer, look at my fb, emails and play solitaire every great once in a while.

Solitaire......that was the big problem. The little boy at the store said I had to have wifi to load solitaire.

Me.......that's crazy.....

Store guy..... why don't you just play at St*rb*cks???

That's when I said never mind, took my new and very complicated phone and left the store.

I may have been to that overpriced coffee shop four times since it first came into existence and I feel quite sure that I won't be going there using their wifi to play solitaire on my cell phone. In case you can't read between the lines, that last line was typed in a kind of hysterical way.

To top that, there was a full page ad for a new supplement to make losing weight easy! Not that I need to lose weight...... I thought I would just check it out! Mistake, big mistake.

I knew better, but yes, I plunged right in and asked about the advertised supplement and he proceeded to tell me that for it to really work I would need another supplement plus this shake mix.

Me.....well.....maybe I'll just try the pills..

Mr. Body builder......if you're really serious about losing the weight .....I'm not sure what he meant by that.....you'll need the other things too.

Me....you know what? I don't think I'm really serious... I put the miracle drug back on the shelf ~~and waddled out of the store indignantly~~.

So simply put, I'm a slightly overweight, almost elderly woman who is challenged by any new technology.

Color me frustrated!

Fragments

2012-01-06T09:13:00.002-05:00

Last night we did our no less than once a month exercise plan by walking up at our property. Russell has been doing so much work there and I haven't been in a while. We're getting (and I use the term WE loosely) ready to burn and plant pines soon.

We walk the fence line and behind our property is a pit where teens ride four wheelers and have hit the fence numerous times. It's got to be painful because there is barbed wire on the fence, but it doesn't seem to phase the four wheelers.

Tonight as we were walking, we came up on a bunch of kids riding. They would get back behind a hill, jump the hill and turn sharply to avoid the fence. We watched them get within a gnat's wings width from the fence almost grazing it several times. When we were within talking range I had a conversation with a couple of the boys.

ME.....be careful and don't hit the fence.

BOYS....Oh, yes mam.....we done hit it further down.

ME....You know the fence is expensive.....and expensive to fix. And you could get really hurt.

BOYS.....Yes, mam....I reckon so.

ME.......Sigh...

My last thought as we continued our walk was that I hope none of them break their necks. At least you can fix the fence.

But it was such a beautiful evening and by the time we got back to the barn, this is what we saw.

The sky was painted with the gorgeous colors of the coming night. This is what I was thinking of when I named this post Fragments.....fragments of the day were lingering as the night was approaching.

And on the other side the moon was saying hello to the darkness.

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I have always proclaimed the blog world to be the biggest prayer chain in the world, so go over and offer your prayers and words of encouragement to Anna who is suffering through a rough time.

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Also pray for Mary, my BIL's mother who fell yesterday and is in the hospital.

That's Mary sitting beside her son at Christmas dinner.

Thanks all.....

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Reading through the book of Acts with this group

Try it! I read through the Bible with their help last year.

Another year ends.....

2011-12-31T13:16:00.001-05:00

I've been looking at my live feed and see that people are visiting from far away places. So on this New Year's Eve.....if you visit my blog, please leave a comment so I'll know and tell me how you found me if you've never commented. Just for fun!
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Another year goes into the memory bank to be visited on occasion....

2011.....you gave us your best shot!

A time of constant and of change......and so this seemed most fitting to me....

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

¹To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
²A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
³A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

When I said goodbye to 2010, I never dreamed what 2011 would hold for us, both good and bad.

So it was with relative innocence that I bade goodbye to 2010 and walked into a new year unaware of the obstacle course it would hold.

I think my tribute to 2007 was the best so I wanted to let you go back and read it if you want.....the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Just a few highlights
Matt started, built and moved into his new home

A wedding was in the planning

Mama moved down the street to a new apartment

The Flat Princess paid us a visit

There was a bridal shower

Sentimental wedding things

A wedding

Friends moved

A new friend visited from a far away land....

Miracles happened

A first birthday

Singing in the rain

This boy didn't get to make a trip in 2011, which made us very sad

Didn't see this one either....

Way too few beach days

The annual friends' birthday celebration

Changes

Homecomings

Christmas

A sad loss in our family.......a new life in our neighborhood.

Sorrow and joy mingled.

Such a few of the things that happened.....just a taste of 2011.

I wrote the following post some time ago.....but I took it down. I'm printing it now because it's time. Keep few secrets and do not neglect to speak the truth, because not being transparent leads to losing friends and losing faith in others....so in 2012, let's just be transparent.

Some of the following is taken from Wikipedia.....

The opposite of transparency is incomprehensibility.

Antonyms of transparency include: secrecy, opacity, opaqueness, under-reporting, underplaying, putting a spin on it...

Transparency is the enemy of surprises.

Transparency is the enemy of hypocrisy.

Transparency is the friend of safety, quality, justice, fairness, ...

Transparency is the best deodorant.

Transparency is the best antidote for gullibility.

Possibly my favorite part of this explanation of transparency is Transparency is the enemy of hypocrisy.

I know people who work in retail who must carry a transparent purse....~~although most probably don't carry Prada bags.~~

You can see through it. Whatever is in the bag is seen by all........keeps you honest.

Many times people say things like this.....you should be completely transparent, we will be completely transparent, This process shall absolutely be transparent.........and yet you can't see the transparency through the silence or the changes in what has been said....or the quickness to blame someone else so you don't have to be transparent.

Oh, yea, and when everyone is transparent, elephants disappear......makes walking around in the room easier.

It is incomprehensible to continue saying you are transparent and not follow through!

2011 is over.......we have a brand new chance to start anew.

For our country, I pray we get a new president and turn this place around.

For my children, I pray love and happiness and a relationship with your Savior.

Thanks to my family and there are so many of you!

Thank you to my dear husband for always putting up with me no matter how crazy I get.

So I bid farewell to 2011 and welcome 2012

Dear gussie, I look a year older! Maybe there's plastic surgery in my 2012....Just kidding honey, someone get the smelling salts!

A love story for a busy holiday.....

2011-12-20T22:01:00.002-05:00

This season is sneaking up so fast that I just really don't have time to blog so I'll give you a little love story to tide you over.....yes, I know you hurt when I don't blog.

The superhero and I dated for two and a half years before we married and during all that time I never got a love letter. Not one single one. I wanted one......I may or may not have asked for one, I checked the mail.....no love letter.

But on occasion I would find a little post it note with the words I love you and his initials.

I accepted that as my love letter.

As you can plainly see, my love note/letter......after sixteen plus years.....had grown dingy and worn. I left it on the counter, but I could not throw it away.

One day, I walked in the office and saw him writing on post it notes, one right after the other. I asked what he was writing and he handed them to me.

My sweetheart was writing love notes/letters. He wanted me to have new ones.

I love that man of mine!

I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and pray the peace that Christ brought to earth dwell in your hearts!

To my blog friends that I have addresses for, you got a real card!

Smelling like the sheep

2011-12-09T22:45:00.047-05:00

Our good friend and pastor recently went from preaching into full time missions work. Bob has been in the ministry for 40 + years and I have no doubt will be working for the Lord until he goes to be with Him, many, many years from now.

This is the reception honoring of both Bob and Betsy....cause we all know that he couldn't have done what he's done without her!

Here is one of the things I love so much about their family. Bob and Betsy have five children who are all Christians....married to Christians.....raising children to know Christ and become Christians. All five have completed college degrees. If that were the end of their testimony I would say AMEN.....but it isn't. They managed to teach their children the most important things in life while ministering and showing Christ to many others.

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Here they are before the reception

Some pictures from the reception

About two hundred people attended.....a testament to the love and care he has shown to all who know him.

He and Betsy even had an official day set aside by the county commission.

Several others talked about Bob and Betsy, giving testimony of what they have meant to them over the years.

But the moment that touched my heart most was when this son spoke about his father and his pastor

The thing that stood out in his speech was when he referred to his dad being a shepherd who smells like his sheep. Everyone laughed a little at the remark, but as I thought about it, it is so true! Bob is a shepherd who smells like his sheep. The more that phrase went through my mind, I came to understand it to be a huge compliment and a tribute to his dad.

We first got to know Bob when our almost 26 year old was in the 4th grade. That's the year Russell and I married and I started going to Matt's school for various things. Matt went to the school associated with Bob's church and I noticed some things about Bob......he did whatever needed doing. If something needed wiring, he wired it....if something needed moving, he moved it....if the church needed to borrow chairs or bleachers from another church, he took his truck and got them...... never noticed anyone he couldn't work along side. Like a good shepherd he did come along side any time he was needed. The point is, he spent a lot of time with his flock and nothing that needed doing was beneath him. When the school needed a headmaster, he stepped in and took the position......... more than once during the years....... along with preaching and pastoring (which in my mind are two distinctly different things). He was headmaster when I started attending school functions. He smelled like his sheep.

Now I don't know much about sheep, but I do know that all we like sheep have gone astray.....Isaiah 53:6. I don't know much about shepherds, but I do know Jesus said I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me....John 10:14 Jesus came and lived among His people.....He put his arms around His flock...he was THE Shepherd. Our pastors are also shepherds who work under THE Shepherd.

A shepherd who smells like his sheep is one who is right there in the trenches of life with his congregation. Who is there and cares and knows when any one of his flock is hurting or celebrating.

When Matt was in high school, we moved our church membership to the church Bob pastored and got to know Bob as our pastor and preacher, shepherd and friend. We grew to love not only him, but his family. Family man..... that label can just be tacked on with the rest.....along with chaplain for the Sheriff's department and work with the local rescue mission and probably lots of other things that I don't know about.

Long before we came to be members, Bob had started missions work in Uganda. Over the years, it was evident that his heart was in Uganda and with the people there. The Ugandan's became his sheep, part of his flock. He will be spending more time there now as he goes into full time missions work.

And just as he always has, I'm sure there...thousands of miles away from home......Bob will continue to smell like his sheep, as he leads people to know THE SHEPHERD.

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After note......

After I wrote this blog our local news paper had this article on the front page.

http://www.newsherald.com/articles/uganda-99017-city-panama.html

A little Christmas decorating

2011-12-06T21:56:00.001-05:00

I mean a little......but first, I know you are all terribly jealous about my new header. You wish with all your hearts that your Christmas tree was very crooked like mine. The sad thing is, crooked would be o.k. if it was a real tree....but it's not. Oh, and those presents? Empty boxes.

We have this little tradition in our home. Every year as Christmas approaches I say no tree this year.....as the superhero calmly gets the tree out and proceeds to put it up because he knows this is a little song and dance I do yearly. And then, reluctantly I drag out the ornaments to put on the tree. Then something magical happens! As I place each ornament on the tree, I start thinking about when I got that ornament or who gave it to me and I get all sentimental and I'm suddenly glad we're putting a tree up this year. I only put ornaments on my tree that mean something to me or were given to me by someone.

The poor tree when he first put it up

Several years ago, I found these little frames at M*chael's and put pictures of us and the kids when they were little.....I bought several extras, but I'm getting low!

The Nativity.....His birthplace

If you enlarge this picture and look carefully, I started giving the superhero ornaments when we started dating. The first one was a H*llmark man and lady....it's on the left top and it's white. Then I started giving him the Sw**orski ornament of the year. In all we now have 19 ornaments on the trees. Those are some of my most favorite decorations

Found these cute plates at *j m*xx

My MIL gives us a clo*htique Santa every year.....I'll have to find another place to put them when I put the stockings up. Oh, yea, that's another thing .....I said NO stockings this year. Unfortunately, I said it in front of Matt who said no stockings??? so I'll be dragging the stockings out.

And this poor thing.....our Christmas tree needs a brace. Anyway, it's up and decorated and it is what it is!

Our next door neighbors got their Christmas present early and we're so excited for them.

Suddenly

2011-11-28T09:23:00.001-05:00

That's how things happen, very suddenly. The Friday before Thanksgiving my Uncle Jack was killed in a car accident. He was on his way to the VA hospice to talk to a fellow marine veteran who was dying. Uncle Jack, or Bill as he was called by everyone but his family, was a writer......a newspaper man for many years and although retired still wrote a weekly article for his local newspaper. He had written a couple of books and had one more child than my parents.....so he was obviously competitive!

This is not a tribute to my uncle.....that is not mine to write....just a sort of goodbye and a reminder of how suddenly life changes.

Aunt Frances, Uncle Jack, Aunt Ada, Aunt Evelyn and mama

These pictures are from our family reunion in 2005. Aunt Frances and Uncle Jack were the two surviving siblings from my dad's family. Mama and Aunt Evelyn the wives of two of his brothers, my dad and Uncle Joe.

Uncle Jack was a real writer, not a play blog writer like I am, so when I got an email from him after this blog post, it really meant a lot to me. Below is the email.

Eularee fowarded me you blog on your mother's birthday. I tried to comment, but you bloggers blocked an old newspaper straight matter man. Said I didn't belong in your world and gave me a list of old folk homes. I read it and viewed the pictures on line and it brought back fond memories of better days. But I must complain that I am supposed to be the writer in the family and you are trying to put me to shame. But I had a lovely time visiting with a lady I love and respect and even got a glimpse of a bunch of nieces and nephews and of course my sister Frances. Give my love to all you Duncans. Jack the blacksheep from Oregon.

Eularee is Uncle Jack's daughter and my cousin. She's also a talented writer among many other things.

Uncle Jack was just going about his life when suddenly he was gone. He went from this world to be with Jesus.....suddenly.

We will all miss him, but celebrate his life with our memories.

**********************************
My brother may be slightly upset at me for writing about him.....but he's bound to get over it!

Shortly before Uncle Jack's accident, my brother was badly hurt in an accident at home. One moment he was on a ladder cutting a tree branch and the next he was on the driveway, having hit the steel bumper on another brother's truck on the way down. He recovered although he may be just ever the slightest bit brain damaged.

Also in the last couple of weeks, a friend had unexpected open heart surgery and one had a stroke while out fishing with his grandchildren.

Things. Happen. Suddenly.

Take no one and nothing for granted........

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving all....

2011-11-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

Or as the turkey's around here like to say.....

Disguise me as a deer any day!

I'm thankful for so much! My blessings are too numerous to count ~~and I don't have time right now because I'm trying to finish my Thanksgiving day cooking~~ but I have lots of them!

Visits

2011-11-18T20:57:00.001-05:00

I've often talked about how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends. It's especially fun to get to visit with them and with family! Last week was a week for visits and it was lots of fun!

First I went over to see a couple of my dear friends a town or two away and even got to keep little Anna Cross for a few hours while her mama was in a meeting.

Anna Cross was happy to get home and see Lily who was just as glad to see her.

Anna Cross was supposed to change into her t shirt and take a nap, but instead decided to put on a pair of her mama's shoes and show me her baby doll. Seriously, she couldn't take a nap.....she had company!

We played and played and had such a good time with all her toys. Anna Cross wanted me to ride her horse, but I told her I might be a little too big.

A little later Mary Grace and Grady came to visit....I'm not sure who was more excited.....me or Anna Cross. She loves her cousin Grady!

Mary Grace

These two know how to play

Katie got home and we all had a good time talking and catching up on what has been going on in all our lives. It was the cliff note version or we'd still be there!

Anna Cross and Grady ~~were forced to sit with me and get a picture~~ sat with me so I could have a picture with them. Emily, you'll want to lecture me on my posture!

We had a great time visiting before Mary Grace and Grady had to go home and Katie, Anna Cross and I called it a night.

Anna Cross wasn't feeling well and was headed to the doctor, so we said our goodbyes and I headed home to get ready for more visitors.

I pulled over and took a few beach pictures on my way home

Even though it was a short visit, I was so glad to get to spend some time with Katie, Mary Grace and their children. Thanks Katie, for the yummy dinner and for stocking your refrigerator with diet pepsi.....in the bottle, just because you know that's how I like it!

Later in the week Tommy, Claudia and Charley came to town. Tommy and Matt's mom was visiting from Minnesota, so they had good visits at Matt's new house and Saturday Mema came and we all had dinner here and had a nice visit.

And of course, I can't find a picture of Matt's house so just use your imagination here! Someday I'll get a handle on how to keep my pictures in good order, or maybe not.

Here are a few pictures of our time together.

Daddy and Charley very absorbed in tv

I like plums

Charley liked climbing and standing on this little stool

Four generations

Playing with Grammy Jane

Peek a Boo with Uncle Matt

Chatting at dinner

It was a big week and next week is Thanksgiving???

I'd really be interested in the answer to this question. How many of you shop on Black Friday?

Sixteen years and counting!

2011-11-07T18:20:00.002-05:00

Wow, I completely missed blogging about our anniversary!

You can read about the actual day here and here and maybe a few other places, but I wanted to add a couple of pictures that I recently scanned.

I don't know how you got my bouquet, but hand it over!

That's what it looks like I'm saying. A dear friend of mine at the wedding. I'm not sure why she did have the bouquet, but I'm sure she was going to give it back!

I love this picture of us with Russell's grandmother. What a wonderful lady she was and the superhero loved her so much. She was in her 90's when we married and she lived to 107. Incredible!

One of the things that has been such a blessing in my life is having such wonderful family given me by marriage.....that was a slick way to get out of saying inlaws.....I don't like that word. I always figured that if I became one flesh with my husband, his family was mine too.

Anyhow, we had a great anniversary day. We went to the superhero's mama's house and sat and watched the sunset, then went to dinner at Car*aba's. Being an Italian restaurant.....and being as we were having the Ironman Triathalon the next day, all the athletes were there loading up on carbs, so we had a long wait.
It was well worth waiting and we loaded up too.

We didn't get a picture at the restaurant, that wait staff was way to busy.

I don't know how the time has gone so quickly. Some days have been like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, but most have been wonderful. We have more gray hair now and carry a few extra lbs. but it's been a great time and I pray we have many, many more years ahead!

A visit and a confession...

2011-11-01T23:41:00.001-04:00

But not necessarily in that order!

First the confession......

We didn't stay home and give out candy last night for Halloween. Nope.....I knew if I bought candy, I would be the one eating it, so I suggested we go out to eat and not come home until after trick or treating was all over and done!

AND.........

since the superhero's sister is here for a little visit, it all worked out beautifully. We went over to my MIL's house, sat out on her back porch on the bay watching a dolphin roll in the sunset and had a glass of wine. Once we were all relaxed and the sun was down, we went to eat at Ca*pt. A*nder*on's.....a great place for seafood. After a really great meal, we headed home and managed to miss all the little trick or treaters, thus saving millions of calories from sliding down my throat and straight to my middle! Whew, that was close.

Oh, the really good food we ate? Well, I'm not counting that, silly.

Backing up to Sunday, we all went to church, then after a bite of lunch, it was off to make a few rounds with sister Sue.

I'd like to tell you a little about Sue......or should I say Dr. Sue. She's a professor at D*ke Univers*ty where she does research and don't ask me the specifics because I don't know. She writes papers that we can't read because we can't understand the titles. She travels all over the world giving talks or some such thing. She's married to her wonderful husband Johnny who grew up in my part of town and they have three children. She's a pretty busy lady, so she's taken some time to come down and visit mama and spend a little time with us too.

First we took her to see our youngest son Matt's new house, then it was off to our farm to show it off. We spotted the Axis deer and watched him for a while before he bounded off into the rough.

Then we headed over to what was at one time land owned by superhero's grandfather. Forty Forty thousand absolutely breathtaking acres of forest and lakes and ponds. The grandparents lived there where they turpentined (don't hold me to any technical terms). All the grandchildren had a great time there and loved going. It was a bit sad to see that the house had been torn down where they spent many a happy day.

We drove to some of the lakes and ponds which are very low since we have had practically drought conditions for some time.

They're looking out over the pond and standing next to what used to be an old bridge.

This is one of the smaller ponds

After we had ridden a long, long way, we stopped at everyone's favorite pond, Big Blue Pond. This big oak tree was what Sue said she remembered from coming up as a child. The family used to have a shack they would stay in that was one big room and a bathroom. It was long gone by the time I came into the family, but I've had many good times here.

Sue and Russell

Russell and me

Sue, Russell and their mom

We sat our chairs out by the old oak tree and had wine and snacks. We usually just bring our wine in water bottles, but since we had company, we brought real wine glasses. We sat and watched the sky change from one glorious scene to another

The sun going down behind Blue Pond

The sky was lighting up like it was on fire

We stayed until almost dark, then packed it up and headed home.

We had to have one last look

When Russell and his cousins are gone, that will be the end of going there. Our children won't be able to go.......grandfather retained hunting and fishing rights down through his grandchildren, so this will all end and I hope someone else sits and watches the beauty! I hope it's never developed but stays in it's natural beauty.

We also saw several deer running across the roads.

The beauty of creation. The wonder of the Creator!

Date Night!

2011-10-28T13:01:00.000-04:00

Or should I say date afternoon. This afternoon the superhero and I went to the farm to pick up the big roots and limbs that were left after tilling the ground.

I ~~only went because the SH wanted me to~~ always love going to the farm and was excited that we were going on a Friday so we could officially say we had a date. We're trying to get ready to plant and the fields have to be prepared. At least that's what I hear, I know nothing about farming but I'm afraid I'm about to start learning.

This is the pole barn. Notice the skylights at the far end? That will be an enclosed area with a bathroom. Bathrooms are very important in my book!

Some may remember that this Kubota was my anniversary present a few years ago.....oh, you know I was thrilled.......that romantic man of mine! In the background you can see his tractor, which I'm sure was another thought filled gift for me! This day, my job was to drive slowly as the Superhero picked up roots and limbs and put them in the back........then I would back up to a main pile and dump them. I actually became quite proficient at driving and dumping in case I ever need to get a job.

I saw this little beauty and had to take his picture

A little target shooting......this was the main part of the date.....Russell had a beer while I sipped delicately from my water bottle of wine. Pure class!

Evidence of my one bulls eye!

As we started our drive home, I had to get a shot of the pure beauty that is creation!

Have a great weekend all.

The last few days in review.....

2011-10-24T09:16:00.000-04:00

The title translates to this......I don't have a lot to talk about.....at least not a lot that you care about hearing.

But, I now have proof that it's Max that's doing all the texting around here. Yes, that's my phone, but I don't know how he got it!

This week my brother, Tommy and his wife Lois had their 46th anniversary! Happy Anniversary!!

Jack loves my MIL and was so torn when both she and Matt were here that he decided two laps were better than one!

We went to dinner at the O*ive G*rden to have an early celebration for our daughter in law's birthday.

We had it early because granddaughter Devin is moving to Ohio and her mama is helping her drive and will be gone on her birthday. We will really miss Devin and pray for her as she spreads her wings to fly out of the nest.

We all had a good time and Happy Birthday Arwen!

We also attended a lovely wedding over the weekend, and I attended a baby shower for my next door neighbor.

Isn't she beautiful? She's having a little girl in December....the same month her only other child will be 13. Surprise!! They are over the moon with excitement and astounded at how things have changed in 13 years. We can't wait to have a little girl in the neighborhood!!

The shower was right on the gulf and the monarch butterflies were everywhere as they migrate to Mexico. It was a beautiful day and setting for celebrating a new little life.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us.....so.......
who does a Christmas card with a picture and do you use different ideas each year? I'm nagging about getting that done and trying to think of a cute idea.

And finally, the Mercy Uganda calendars are here and they are really nice! We will be having our third annual banquet in a couple of weeks and looking forward to hearing and seeing all that is being done in Uganda in the name of Jesus. A young ministry, God has used it to glorify Himself and help the women and children of Uganda.

*****************************

Well, it's Monday y'all! Time to start a new week.....have a great one!

Oh, deer!

2011-10-13T23:26:00.002-04:00

On our little stretch ~~of property where I don't want to live....ever~~ of heaven, this deer has been sighted several times.

We think it's an Axis deer, unusual in this part of the country, and because of the size, we think it is a female. I'm pretty sure Axis deer came from India and most are now located in Texas. Maybe she ran away from home!

She's a beauty and we hope she stays and enjoys the feeder you see in the background. She would actually be smart to stay because I've declared this land a sanctuary where there will be no hunting. One day last week, we saw three of the little fellas at the feeder. I love seeing them and don't like the thought of eating one of them even though my boys are all hunters.

*******************************

It's been a pretty good week for mama. She has seen daddy twice during the night. I asked her how she feels when she sees him there.....happy, sad, frightened? She said If I could get out of this chair, I'd like to kiss him! Yesterday when I was there I asked about her night and she said well, I didn't have any visitors.

Which leads me to this.......

Russell and I have been walking about four times a week.........it's our get fit plan and we hope it works because that's all we're doing. One day while walking, I was asking who would take care of us when we get old and his answer was let's just keep healthy so we can take care of ourselves and maybe one day we'll just drop dead of a heart attack. ??????????? Hello........not if we stay healthy! We won't worry about that today, we won't worry about that today, we won't worry....oh, who am I kidding.

******************************

After a nice lunch with a friend and her three grandchildren, I emailed her to say how much I enjoyed spending time with her........she wrote back to say when she was praising her grands for being so nice while I was there, one said Yia, Yia, she's our friend too and we like visiting her. Made me feel real good!

********************************

I almost forgot.....exciting news. The Mercy Uganda calendars are in and they are beautiful!
You will really want to have one.....every month you'll see the beautiful children of Uganda.
For information on getting one, please go to our website or see Mercy Uganda On Facebook.

this is just because I think it's funny!

This is all I've got folks.

Southern women......

2011-10-04T21:44:00.001-04:00

After a conversation with a friend lately, she sent me the following email about southern women.

I want to share it with you along with some thoughts of my own.

So here you go.....

"For my mother, being Southern means handwritten thank-you notes, using a rhino horn’s worth of salt in every recipe, and spending a minimum of twenty minutes a day in front of her makeup mirror so she can examine her beauty in “office,” “outdoor,” and “evening” illumination. It also means never leaving the house with wet hair. Not even in the case of fire. Because wet hair is low-rent. It shows you don’t care, and not caring is not something Southern women do, at least when it comes to our hair.

This is less about vanity than self-respect, a crucial distinction often lost on non-Southerners. When a Southern woman fusses over her appearance, it does not reflect insecurity, narcissism, or some arrested form of antifeminism that holds back the sisterhood. Southern women are postfeminism. The whole issue is a nonstarter, seeing as Southern women are smart enough to recognize what works—Spanx, Aqua Net—and wise to the allocation of effort. Why pretend the world is something it isn’t? Better to focus on what you can control (drying your hair) and make the best of what you have. Side note: Southern women do not capitalize on their looks to snag men, though that often results. The reason we Southern women take care of ourselves is because, simply, Southern women are caretakers.

There are other defining attributes, some more quantifiable than others. Southern women know how to bake a funeral casserole and why you should. Southern women know how to make other women feel pretty. Southern women like men and allow them to stay men. Southern women are not afraid to dance. Southern women know you can’t outrun your past, that manners count, and that your mother deserves a phone call every Sunday. Southern women can say more with a cut of their eyes than a whole debate club’s worth of speeches. Southern women know the value of a stiff drink, among other things.

I want my children to know they belong to something bigger than themselves. That they are unique, but they are not alone. That there is continuity where they come from. Comfort too. That there are rules worth following and expectations worth trying to meet, even if you fail. If nothing else, I want them to know how to make biscuits. And to not feel bad about eating a whole heaping plate of them.

Because before I know it, my girls will be grown. And they will be Southern women too. And that, I believe, will have made all the difference."

-Allison Glock, Aug/Sept issue of Garden and Gun magazine

Since I was old enough ~~or maybe not~~ to wear makeup, I haven't been anywhere, including the garbage can without my hair fixed and my makeup on.......

And a few things other things.......first, I didn't give birth to girls........but boys, you should look for a good, Southern (or at least Southern at heart) , Christian girl.

Southern women also don't hesitate to get into the private space of an obviously pregnant woman to feel their belly. Or to give advice. Or to just talk to a stranger in the grocery store.....and give them advice. I have seen ~~on Facebook~~ that many of the young women/mothers today don't really like the actions of ~~older~~ Southern women. Well, that's just silly! Bless your hearts, we just want to help and give you a little advice!

Just another day in the life.....and other silly things

2011-09-29T21:40:00.002-04:00

I've been a little down lately.......I'm only telling you that so you'll understand that sometimes silly sarcasm keeps a person from running screaming down the street which would not be a good thing. Not that I would.....I hope.

There was about a four second power outage here a couple of nights ago that apparently took out the cable box in our bedroom. Yes, I know you really aren't supposed to watch t.v. in the bedroom and especially if you have sleep problems. I do. Have sleep problems. But I like watching t.v. in my bedroom. So it was a problem for me that the t.v. wasn't working. Not a huge problem, but a problem. That needed fixing.

So.... I had to go to the cable company to replace that box, get another one and several of the new boxes you have to have on any television that doesn't have cable.....or something like that. I can't figure out why they can't just quit changing stuff, but nobody asked my opinion.

I am directionally challenged. Even though I have lived in this small town all my life except for the five and a half months I lived in Alaska, I still can't find my way around town. This is a simple fact of life for me. I usually ask my husband for directions. Today I didn't ask....... I thought I knew where the cable company was......plus I was asleep when my resident direction giver left for work. The direction giver knows that you don't wake up the woman who has sleep problems.

Arriving at the cable location, I discovered it was a bank. Now I'm no genius, but I was pretty sure they weren't giving out cable boxes. What do you think I did????? Bingo....called the husband! He didn't actually give the best directions so I ended up in the movie theatre parking lot.

Fortunately, or maybe not, there was this bridge that went across to the cable parking lot and it seemed reasonable to just walk across. The top of my car may or may not need a new paint job because somebody forgot to trim the branches of this oak tree.

AND.......

a couple of the low hanging branches got closed in my car door. I almost cancelled the rest of the day at this point.......but I had a bra fitting later in the day, so I hung on to that last shred of sanity, walked across that bridge and ~~way, way, way~~ down to the actual door of the cable company. VICTORY.....got the cable boxes to the car......released the trapped branches and managed to close the door and I promise that no oak trees were damaged in the making of this picture.....well maybe a little.

The rest of the day was uneventful....that was a good thing.

In her own words.....

2011-09-25T17:30:00.002-04:00

My mama had a birthday last week, her 88th. Our family decided to hold an open house in her apartment because that would be easiest for her. The cake was ordered, flowers ordered, the invitation went out on Facebook, the party was arranged.

So what is that old saying?....... the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray????? Well, it's not just mice and men let me tell you! Maybe it's not good to make plans. Maybe we should have just had lunch with mama. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

The morning before the party, I got ready to run errands.....get stuff for the party.....when a call came from one of mama's caregivers asking me to please come.

Confusion reigned! Mama was confused about a lot of stuff, but the main thing was that she didn't understand that daddy was dead. Wanted to call him, wanted to know where he was, wanted to know if he was at home, wanted to know if he was at the shop. It was awful. There are no words to tell you how awful it was or how badly it hurt to tell her over and over again that her beloved husband was no longer on this earth.

One of Daddy's favorite hymns was Dwelling In Beulah Land.....at one point when mama asked where he was I just said this.........no I didn't sing it!

Mama, he's standing on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky
he's drinking from the fountain that never will run dry
Oh, yes, he's feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply
for he is dwelling in Beulah Land.

Side note.....google that song and read the lyrics, you'll be glad you did.

Those might not be the exact words to the chorus of that song, but they're close enough, and mama smiled for a moment. A moment's reprieve from the agitation that had gripped mama's mind probably the night before and was still there on this eve of her birthday.

My sister got here after a very stressful morning of her own to find mama in this state of mind. My brother had been there that morning before I got there. You know, I think we had all had a fair share of stress before this part of the day even started!

We left mama only for short periods of time to go finish the party things we had to do, wondering if we should cancel the entire thing, but knowing that since the invitation was on Facebook, we didn't know who might be coming.

We went home that night only to get another call. Cathy decided to spend the night with mama......we got mama a sedative....... we decided the party must go on.

Party day came and we got mama's room all set up. What was mama doing? Sleeping so soundly that we couldn't wake her. I think I should explain that for the past several months, mama has had very little to say, sometimes not even answering direct questions. But the day before her party, she couldn't stop talking and didn't sleep for probably 24 hours. That plus the sedative and she slept. And slept. Party time came and she still slept.

Tried waking her several times. She's not faking here folks.

The party was ready

Devin came and left with mama asleep

Things were getting tense. Guests were filtering in and still mama slept. It was becoming awkward.
Still wondering what in the world to do, mama's main caregiver came in, knelt down and whispered something to mama. Miraculously, mama woke up and became the queen birthday girl!
By the way, we still don't know what Angela said to her.

Let me take this moment to say we are blessed to have caregivers that truly love mama and it shows.

Mama and her six ~~very relieved~~ children.

Mama's niece, cousin Ann

Mama and her two sisters in law, Aunt Evelyn and Aunt Frances

Grandchildren, Arwen and David

Friends

More neighbors......this friend just happened to be one of brother Tommy's teachers from high school. Oh, but that's a whole other post!

the sisters with mama

a couple of my children

grandson Chris

Grandson Matt and sister in law Lois.
By the way, young Dr. Matt is single, tall, blonde, handsome and has a great job, a new house, a great sense of humor and is also going to kill me for sharing. But if you're a young, sweet, intelligent Christian woman......let me know and I can hook you up! :) Just one thing....you must love the Gators!

brothers in law......serious conversation

Grandson Bryce

sister in law, Pam bringing delicious food!

brother in law Mike with grandson Joshua

grandson Mike with his children

cousins

Sweet friends.....this is mama's good friend. They read together most afternoons......they are both named Mary Margaret....I think that's kind of special!

Surprise! Grandchildren Dickie and Joneida came unexpectedly from out of town

sister Debbie with mama's great-granddaughter Amanda

mama and my mama in law

grandson David

Flowers

Card and gift opening had to wait until the day after the party.......Cathy is reading birthday cards.

Nikki will kill me, I seem to be getting killed a lot in this post, but this is one of mama's beautiful caregivers. She takes such good care of mama and makes her look beautiful every day.

Mama had a surprise visit from her cousin

We had been cleaning out a drawer in mama's bedroom because there were some bugs there and found one of mama's diaries....Cathy took it out of the box and it opened to something mama wrote about three weeks after daddy died in 1996. In that entry, she wrote in her own words and in great detail about the day before and the night (or early morning) that daddy died. She even wrote her prayer that God let daddy be o.k. but for His will to be done. We talked a bit about whether or not to read it to her and decided not to make a decision.

The day after her party in the late afternoon, mama asked again if I knew where daddy was. I said a quick prayer for wisdom and asked her if she wanted me to read the words she had written about that day and she said yes. So with lots of fear about how she would react, I read that entry to her. After 15 years, it was still very emotional for me reading the details so I expected her to be very emotional.........but when I was finished reading and looked up, she said very matter of factly.......that was good writing. Stunned, but very relieved I hoped she would now remember and her mind would be relieved.

She still asks and has her moments, but she's much better. Realistically, we know that she's going to have good and bad days from now until the time that God calls her home, but we don't want her to be confused or frightened.

Whew......some may wonder why I told all the bad stuff along with the party stuff.

This is why........

You may be going through something similar and it may help to know you're not alone!!

He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 The Message

These verses are from the paraphrase the Message. I usually don't like quoting from it, but it just seemed to catch the heart of the matter.

Whatever you may be going through, be assured someone else has walked your path too.......but much more than that be assured that if you love Him, He walks with you too!

Really busy.....

2011-09-24T11:22:00.002-04:00

I'm not gone......don't forget me. I'll be back soon I promise. It's a really busy time right now!

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!

2011-09-15T21:53:00.003-04:00

Boy did Lewis Carroll ever have it right! I'm feeling like I may need eight days a week!

We have been seriously busy around here, but before we get to that let's talk about a really peaceful day in a really beautiful place.

Every now and then my husband's stressed spouse alert works and he knows I need a break. This time it was September 10 and he got things ready and we headed up to the pasture. A very peaceful place.......

it even has a few well placed condos.

Russell got to play with his toy

Just look at the sand at Blue Pond....remind you of the beach?

We put our chairs out and enjoyed the view

Watched the beautiful sunset

........ had a ~~water bottle~~ glass of wine and just relaxed...... fished a bit but were unsuccessful.

The most inspiring part of the day was when a mature bald eagle flew overhead. He was majestic and proud. It was especially nice to see on the day before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, reminding us that we can soar again in this country.

I didn't get a shot of him.....but he looked a lot like the one above.

Thanks, honey, I needed that day!

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Too much vacation.....

2011-09-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

You know you could spoil a girl with too much vacation time. Unless you bring her back to reality and she gets a stomach bug.

Yes, this ugly fellow attacked the day after we got home. I'm so thankful that it wasn't actually on the trip. Poor little Charley had it and he was miserable most of the day before we left.......I now know why.

We enjoyed our time visiting with Tommy, Claudia and Charley. We were happy to go watch Charley have fun at Tiny Toes Gym, where he goes lots of Saturdays. The lady that thought this up is one smart cookie. Parents bring their children and for a few dollars, the kids can play in a place where they can hardly get hurt while you get to sit and watch their fun!

Charley spent some time in the castle

Enjoyed climbing on this ....whatever it is

Loved the balls

Daddy helped with the trampoline jumping

Charley would run over for a hug from mama every now and then

Even Nana showed off her ~~tiny~~ toes. I think I was actually trying to get up from that mat.

Jumping for joy

One on one with daddy

Later in the afternoon Pappy and Daddy left to go to the Gator Game......Pappy is giving Charley instructions about watching on t.v. ....these boys are serious about some Gators.

However, as it turned out, Charley had to work while the big boys played!

He really put his muscles into the job!

Then he led us on a walk down the street a ways

He rode his blue dog.....someday that will be a blue car...yikes!

Played in the sandbox.....Charley ~~tired out mama and nana~~ had a full day!

Sunday, we drove down to see some friends that we haven't seen in almost 10 years!
We depended on the GPS to get us there. The GPS in my car we call Lola, Russell's GPS got a new name on this trip.......Jerketta. She took us everywhere but to their house.

When we finally arrived, I was so happy to see Linda! Joe too, but Linda and I have been friends a long time and worked together years ago. She hasn't changed a bit and it was old times!
Linda and Joe took us to eat at a great Cajun Restaurant.......thanks guys!

We couldn't stay long and it was very hard to say goodbye with promises not to let 10 years go by before we see each other again.

Charley and mama were waiting for us when we got back and they fixed us a really good dinner

I just really like this picture........ Charley reaching for Pappy's hand

likes some t.v. time

Labor day arrived and we had already decided not to brave the traffic going home so we spent the day visiting and Tommy grilled steaks for supper while Pappy kept Charley entertained and away from the hot grill

Tuesday morning we headed home and had a leisurely trip with a little rain coming through from a tropical storm.

Thanks, dearest husband for planning this trip and taking me away from it all for a few days!

60 is the new 30?

2011-09-01T09:21:00.000-04:00

At least that's what I told the dear husband as we walked the dogs last night.

It was a nice day for a birthday......mostly.

My birthday present was a nag free day and ~~for the most part~~ I didn't!

This is his hey, I'm not really 60 look.

We lolled around at the beach until we turned and noticed this....

The surf was definitely up!

And we were having a hard time keeping the umbrella from flying away

I was having a hard time keeping my hat on, but notice how the sky was different depending on which way we were facing.

We noticed that we were the only ones left on the beach and that's when I forgot all about my birthday promise and let the nagging begin. Everyone else had already decided that it was time to scurry on off of the beach before the storm started.......but old birthday boy insisted that the storm would stay off the coast even though it was over our heads even as he spoke. We stayed a while longer before I insisted that I didn't want either of us to be hit by lightning on his birthday. We rode our bikes back to the RV in the pouring rain and were cold and soaked.......it's about a half mile ride back.

We made it safely and that's all I have to say about that!

We had eaten out every day, but on his birthday, Russell cooked grilled pork loin and roasted vegetables. No, I didn't make him cook on his birthday....he likes to cook, seriously, he thinks it's relaxing. He needs help.

We're home today for a few hours to change out beach stuff for regular stuff. Tomorrow we leave to go visit Tommy, Claudia and Charley for the labor day weekend.

A long vacation! Hope you're having a good time wherever you are too!

Who's getting older?

2011-08-31T00:01:00.003-04:00

It's a big year for my husband as he turns 60!

He's spending it in one of his favorite places, the beach!

Once we get all set up, he relaxes and reads a magazine.

Jack kindly offers daddy a birthday kiss!

This man just gets better with time! He ~~laughs in the face of aging~~ said to me the other day I'm going to be 60!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thankful to God for Russell's life and to his parents for raising him to be the man he is today. He's a special man.......old......but very special!

******************************

I also have a son with the same birthday. Paul turns 41 this year.........I think I was 4 when he was born.

Happy Birthday, son!

God's richest blessings and the happiest of years to you both!

Join me......

2011-08-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

Join me today over at Mercy Uganda and meet Henry Mello, our Ugandan Director, here on his first trip to America.

OH, well.......

2011-08-22T08:53:00.000-04:00

My husband planned a surprise trip to the beach for us starting this weekend.......to lift my spirits.....then we saw this.

Rejoice in all circumstances

Just a little Saturday talk....

2011-08-13T23:19:00.001-04:00

Time is still flying around here!

It actually started last week with a great visit from some friends who brought their children to swim. One of the things I love is watching children playing happily in the pool.....and if you ever talk to my husband be sure to remind him because he'd just as soon fill it in....YIKES!

Isn't this a sweet picture of them all about to jump in together. ....well, some of the little ones just stayed on the deck.

It was a fun morning of swimming and catching up.

The next night we had a overnight visit from some friends that we also don't see so often.

Carol came over to see ~~them all~~ Maddie. She's adored that sweet girl since she was born.

Can't leave out Charlie and mother Nikki and of course the dogs!

I got my hugs too

They had so much fun in the pool, even got Jack on the float....that was really something!

Eventually Charlie was tired and snuggled up with Mikey to watch a little tv.

While sister Maddie was getting her hair combed out.....tangles you know!

We had a fun time and hope it won't be so long until we see them again.....next time with Don!

We finally found a day when three of us long term friends could get out and have some fun. We got pedicures....

We had dinner at a little place downtown @Zachary's. It was good food and we laughed about everything.
We finally told the waiter that we'd leave if he would take out picture and I sure wish I had been sitting up straight!

I'll bet most of you couldn't take a night of such wildness!

David had a birthday! My thirty four year old loves chicken enchiladas so we had a small dinner with David and his wife Arwen and Matt. It was small.....stepdaughter, Devin had to work and hubby had a meeting. We had a good time anyhow!

David showing off his birthday cookie cake.

Arwen and David

David and mama

Arwen and David again.....they are our newly weds and seem very happy.

*****************************************

I think there should probably be a drum roll here. I made Russell a Facebook page as a joke......you know so that he could write sweet things to me without actually having to think up and write them himself.

Well, apparently, I didn't fill out his info to his satisfaction so the man who was never having anything to do with fb was sitting in bed straightening out his page! I had to laugh out loud!

The dogs were highly outraged because he's supposed to play with them at bedtime!

Finally, last night we took MIL over to Destin to have her very late birthday dinner. We had a good time and a great meal.

That about ends this round of busyness. I want to slow down just for a few minutes.

Have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow. I hope you are all attending worship somewhere! Maybe we'll see you there!

An old timer birth story

2011-08-09T13:51:00.006-04:00

O.K. it's official.......there are just too many birthdays when you have a big family. So, from now on I'll try not to do one every time I turn around. I'm thinking about just doing a few every year and change them up, but today since birth stories are popular on the young mother blogs, I thought I'd write a birth story.......from an old mom, cause things were VERY different in the old days.

Today is David's birthday, his 34th, which means he was born in the last half of the 70's and Lamaze was all the rage. Please keep the word rage in mind for later.

We already had one child and I longed for another. Lost one to miscarriage when my first, Paul, was about 4. Kept trying and watching ~~it seemed like every other woman in the universe~~ announce their pregnancies and all the excitement that went along with all that. Going to baby showers and acting happy and actually was happy for that girl, just so dreadfully sad for us.

My kids are seven years apart so it seemed like an eternity before I even started some kind of fertility treatment.......I took clomid for a year before becoming pregnant. Every time I went into the doctor's office, I would sit among a sea of pregnant women. They were happy, chatting about names and baby showers and such. I was usually buried in a book, not really reading just trying to hide the tears that just would not stop.

For years, every time I was mad at David, my mother would smile and say.......you took fertility drugs to get him!

Finally, I was pregnant. Wow...I had decided it wasn't going to happen, but at long last I was actually pregnant. I think I started wearing maternity clothes when I was two weeks pregnant, that's how exciting it was. I felt pretty good, never having had morning sickness with my first child I didn't have it this time either. I was however, very tired.

As the last trimester was coming to an end, the doctor told me to go home and stay in bed for the weekend and meet him at the hospital Monday morning to be induced because my blood pressure was becoming dangerously high and I had a history of severe pre eclampsia with my first child. I was not a happy mama. I wanted to do this all the natural way. It was my mother earth phase and it didn't last long.

We spent the weekend with my parents so I could stay in bed and Monday morning we headed off to the hospital. I got all hooked up to the pitocin drip and about that time another woman came in 8 centimeters dilated so I was left to my own devices while they went to deliver a baby. I immediately had a contraction that lasted and lasted and lasted, didn't hurt but my stomach was tight and I knew it was a contraction. I had taken lamaze you remember!

By the time the nurse finally returned, she announced excitedly why you're already contracting!
We explained that I had been contracting since they first hooked up the pitocin drip and she said way too calmly well, lets just turn this off for a little while. I thought nothing of it at the time, except that the doctor came in and took a look at me and said all was well and they started the drip again.

After a long and painful day of totally unnatural goings on, they came to take me to delivery at 2 p.m A nurse leaned over and said do you think you want a spinal? To which I hysterically replied How much longer can this go on????? Another nurse, said honey, don't do it.....so I didn't and thankfully David was born at 2:08 p.m.

Remember what the doctor told me in the beginning of all this that labor was like pressure????? Well I was sure in a rage about this time since I thought I was probably going to die and I knew it was a very painful death! About the time he walked in to ~~catch~~ deliver David, I reached over and grabbed his arm and squeezed......I said This is pressure, what I'm having is NOT pressure, it's agony. He just smiled, looked at my husband and stated .......you know men couldn't do this. I'm thinking men wouldn't do this.

But in just a few minutes, when they held David up for me to see, it was all forgotten and I was crying tears of joy.

My 7 lb. 3 3/4 oz. boy was in the world. If he had weighed that extra 1/4 oz. he may not have ever come out! :) Now, a few hours after birth, he began having seizures and so we had lots of tests which ended up stating "birth trauma"....but you know what I'm thinking don't you? That way too long contraction with that baby's head pushing down on those bones? Yea, that's my theory. The seizures gradually went away and all was well ~~until he started school.~~

Oh, one thing he hates for me to leave out is that nursing was a breeze for him. So much so that he nursed for 2 years and 3 months. Did I mention I was in my mother earth phase?

So here are a few pictures of him through the years.....I actually tried to upload a lot more pictures, but for some reason I couldn't! Blah.

It was a lot of work finding pictures to scan in for this blog and yes, there is a story to that too. When Russell and I got married, we had boxes and boxes of pictures. I started sorting them to put in albums, but it just got to be too much, so I just stuck pictures in the albums helter skelter. As a result nothing is in any kind of order. I had to pull all the albums down ~~the shelves needed dusting anyhow~~ to find some pictures for this post. Oh, dear!!

And now I have to put them all back again!

This was after my six week check up and I thought I was skinny again. I couldn't breathe in that skirt!

Big brother taking a turn rocking his new little baby

Poor daddy, his eyes were half closed, but look at David's expression. He looks scared of his grandpa!

I think this was David's 5th birthday......maybe the only one he had someplace other than home or grandparent's pool. He had a wonderful time at this party. He's sitting here with his cousin Kim, who sadly died several years ago.

David the adventurer

David at Petticoat Junction

At a cousin's party.......obviously more extravagant than our parties

I'm thinking this may have been birthday #16

Couldn't keep his fingers out of the icing!

More birthday celebrations in no particular order

Brothers

This year he has a new wife and daughter to celebrate with!

Happy Birthday David. We all love you! But especially mama!

I need to go back.....

2011-08-06T20:32:00.000-04:00

before I can go forward!

Our youngest grandchild had a birthday.....which I did write about.....but he also had a party....which I now want to write about..... because it was so much fun!

Tommy and Claudia put a lot of thought and work into Charley's first birthday party. They had paint centers, bubbles, a little pool set up.....grilling hamburgers with all the trimmings....you get the point, set up to be great!
They are still very close to most of their high school friends and it was so nice that a lot of them were able to be there.

Claudia's mama had come a few days ahead to help her get ready. What would any of us do without our mama's???

The Friday night before his party, we were all anxiously waiting for the birthday boy to wake up but for a while we thought this was the only way he was going to participate in his pre - party! He was just so tired but finally got up and we enjoyed some time with him.

Charley shares his birthday with his great grandma, Mema, below with Claudia our sweet dil and Charley's mama!

Meme and Mema

They had set up canopies just in case and it was a good thing because it started out raining right about party time. Everyone handled it great and we all had a good time in spite of that little glitch and at some point it turned to just a light mist.
Meanwhile, the cooking went on as scheduled!

Uncle Matt and the two grand dad's

Granddaddy with Charley

Mema watching as Charley plays with his friend

Daddy cooking

Meme and Charley play all around the yard....several times!

Uncle Collis joins them

Hot and wet, they still look great and so happy

Uncle Matt bringing Nana a little something cool to drink

Time for birthday cake.....oh, yea! Just a little snack of fruit before the sugar rush

Dig in

Poor Roscoe gets absolutely no respect. If you notice Uncle Matt in the background laughing hysterically as friend Patrick puts Roscoe in the kitchen

Now that you're a year old......

Friends

and more friends

This party stuff is starting to be fun

Jessie got the prize for the most thought out gift.....I would tell you all he had in the bag, but ummmmm, I forgot!

Meme brought the cross stitch she made for Claudia when she was a baby

Pappy playing with a gift bag and Charley

Friends...

Nana and Meme with Charley

Charley loved his bags! Just goes to show a child will always choose the box or bag to play with in the end

That is until he finds the little car Granddaddy brought him. I heard there was a lot of fun surrounding putting this little thing together, but that's just a rumor!

And these pictures? These are just the looks of a delighted and delightful birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Charley!

This is your day!

2011-07-31T00:01:00.005-04:00

59 years ago, Miss Hot Stuff on the right gave birth to a little girl. She swears I stayed in 10 months.

I say I just wanted to stay close to her.

You may be able to tell, I got my sense of humor from her! Her sister is on the left.

This is really your day, mama. You did all the work and then continued caring for me!

I can never say how much I love you and all you taught me!

You're not only Hot Stuff, you're a fabulous mother!!

On the last year in the 50's

2011-07-28T12:41:00.011-04:00

My sister had as her Facebook status one day.....aging seems to be the only available way to live a longer life....Dee Auber.......seems appropriate for me as I'm soon advancing another year on the monopoly board of life.

The only part of aging I have a problem with is aches and pains, wrinkles (I really have a problem with wrinkles), body parts starting to head south and younger people acting like I'm old! Yes, I think that's it....although my memory is going along with everything else. What was I saying?

Oh, yea, just a couple of years ago I was having my 50th birthday. Some of my friends had a great surprise party.......I'm not crazy about surprises, but it was really a great party.

I had planned to be fit by 50.......that didn't work out so well so my new plan is to be sexy by 60 and I have one year and two days to accomplish that. We shall see.

Looks like the coconuts were already beginning to droop at 50!

I just barely missed the fit part. By about 30 lbs.

But truly, my mama always said the 50's were the best years of her life, and it's certainly been true.

Yes, there have been some bumps in the road...and a couple of sinkholes, but over all these years have been great. I have one more to go so I'll have to make it really good.

Like make a sunny day out of rain.

Here are some very random, not always in the first person, in no particular order and not including every single thing...memory you know....... things I may or may not have learned and may or may not remember ~~when things aren't going just right~~ for the future.

I have NO control over anyone other than myself and sometimes not even myself. I also have NO control over most if not all situations, o.k. all.

Pray before I open my mouth.....Put a guard over my mouth Oh, Lord!

Pray that I WILL NOT open my mouth in most situations.

Be patient.....working on that one

Love, love, love

My children will embarrass me and I will embarrass them at one time or another

I will embarrass myself more

Love my husband more each day......that is the easy one!

Dress up even just to clean house...anyone who ever watched soap operas knows this!

But some days stay in your pajamas till noon or maybe even later!

Show hospitality

Do something you don't have to do and don't tell anyone...make sure it's nice......like not rolling yards or anything.

Smile......it really does make you and everyone around you feel better

Be nice to cashiers.....it's not their fault if you're having a bad day

Never nag.....working on that one too.....probably for the rest of my life

Stop worrying, it doesn't change anything.....I most probably won't accomplish that one in this lifetime either.

During my mid 50's I stopped coloring my hair. That has been so freeing, and I don't see a line of roots in every picture......plus saves a lot of money. To be used on something else of course.

I 'm not the expert on everything......this was a huge shock to me

During my mid 50's two of my grandchildren became teenagers.....if that doesn't slam the age home I don't know what will. I also got a brand new grandson and inherited another teen! Life is good!

Grandchildren are a gift.......a precious gift.

Life is a gift.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength

Remember you may be the only Bible some people read

Live well.....you'll die one day and people will talk about you.

Calling for Prayers

2011-07-25T08:36:00.001-04:00

We know a beautiful family who is in need of prayers.

Please read her post all the way down and you'll see their newest need.

And thanks, friends!

http://barbara-keepingupwiththesteins.blogspot.com/2011/07/matt-and-michaile.html

Also, please leave them a comment telling them you're praying, it would mean so much to them!

Refuge

2011-07-22T22:33:00.001-04:00

Is there a certain place in your home that is a place of quiet rest?

Mine is my bedroom and in the last several months I've felt the need for a refuge from the storms of life. You know just those general storms with occasional thunder and lightning thrown in.

For a long time, I've dreamed of having a chair in my bedroom to sit and read, pray, watch movies or just plain be. I finally got it! I'm a reader and the chair is right by the windows so I get really good light which ~~in my later years~~ I seem to need! The best part is it is so comfortable and it's so pretty.

The table was Russell's grandfather's desk and is the perfect place for my books and anything else I throw there.

When the last of our children moved out, we I decided it was time for a new bedroom with a king size bed. The dogs needed more room.

After a test run with some furniture we just couldn't live with, we settled on this.......and by the way, we'll be moving that little picture and getting to the walls later!

This is Russell's dresser. Oddly enough, he needs more drawer space than I do, but I have the bigger closet. Wasn't he a smart man to build two big closets in our bedroom? He built the house before I even knew him, for a single father with two boys who said he had no intention of marrying again. ~~Until he met me that is~~ I had to do a few girly alterations when I came on scene!

The bed is huge! Remember this is the first time we've had a king size bed. The dogs don't have to shove us over now.

Oh, yes, and the night stands and we even got new lamps.

This is not the media stand we will end up with......it goes with the ~~crappy~~ other furniture and ours isn't in yet and you know we have to have t.v.

Here is my place of refuge, where is yours!? I really, really want to know!

And on the seventh day.....

2011-07-20T21:56:00.001-04:00

..............she gets a moment to talk with her friends. That's you guys!

I guess you can tell that I don't write my posts in advance. If I did maybe I could post more often. Right now I'm sitting in our bed with my husband writing this as he watches a movie. This way I can spend a little time with you and with my hubby!

So much to show and tell and so little time! And maybe just a little bit of a rant, but that can wait. I know there are lots and lots of pictures so feel free to skip over them if you can!

The princess after showering off all the algae she picked up from the beach.

Son Matt had us over to his new house and cooked dinner for us.....very yummy.

Of course he was also focused on showing dad how the new system works.

Working hard in the kitchen.

This little guy and his mama and daddy came for the weekend. We had so much fun in spite of the rain.

Charley is really on the move now with no stopping.......isn't his little tent cute!

Charley and Daddy

What do you think George?

Uh oh, Nana, George is trying to leave!

Pappy and I love, love, love being with the grands. Someone is missing from this picture and it made us very sad!

Ashley singing in the rain.....she makes the best of every situation

Oh, by the way, we are always glad to babysit!

The rain finally let up for a little bit and Charley went swimming!

Daddy and Mama had fun swimming with Charley

Charley in motion!

Uncle David helped Charley as he walked up and down the little step from deck to deck.

Charley is a very brave little boy. He's jumping, well almost, to Daddy while Mikey watches.

I did it!!!

Pappy was backwashing the pool which made a fountain in the yard. Charley was headed that direction.

Later in the evening, we had dinner and were joined by David and his family.
Ashley with Devin making silly faces!

Uncle Matt came after work.......Charley was so glad to see him!

Pappy and Jack

David wasn't mad, he just wasn't smiling! But Arwen was.

Thumbs up on the dinner

Tommy and Charley

Ashley standing Charley on the kitchen bar

Give me a kiss Mikey

Hold it, don't you usually make the bed for this picture?

Chase me Ashley.....Charley would run and laugh. You know, that laugh that everyone loves to hear

I'm gonna get you Charley.......

Charley loved playing hide and seek with the curtains. Pappy told him to go ahead that I had never liked those curtains anyway. True!

It's really wonderful having any of the grands with us for church.

Charley loved opening and closing the screen door. Look how he's studying how it works, his daddy is an engineer after all.

Loves his Uncle Matt

And I believe Uncle Matt loves Charley!

It was a wonderful weekend, over too fast and Ashley left on Monday.....but more about that later.

***********************************

Rats, no time to rant. But I do have a prayer request.....I always say this is the best prayer chain.
Our friend Mickey has renal cell carcinoma and had a kidney removed several weeks ago. Monday, he had a wedge of his lung removed and it was determined to be renal cell. The future in uncertain but we know who holds the future and He is never uncertain. Thank you for the prayers.

Good night friends!

And just like that!

2011-07-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

Like snapping my fingers, it is already Wednesday and seven days have passed!

We've been busy ~~when we are out of the pool....~~

Aunt Cathy came over for a day and we enjoyed visiting.

O.K. I take all the hugs I can get!

With Pappy and animal house...

Uncle David and Ashley acting like Uncle David and Ashley..... having a good time together.

Yes! She's not too old to play with frogs!

In fact, I think she's going to eat that frog.....she didn't!
Whew!

The top to my Ugandan bowl made a great hat as she patiently posed for Nana to take pictures.

The annual Nana's bed picture....sad because we were missing Adam.

Man, I love this girl!!

Uncle Tommy came in out of the rain!

Tuesday was beach day. Ashley's new cousin Devin joined us on our trip to the state park. It was packed and the water wasn't even pretty. Let me say that we do live on the World's Most Beautiful Beaches, but the seaweed was plentiful.

The girls had a good time frolicking in the Gulf

I sat in a chair on the beach ~~reading while they played in the Gulf~~ watching as they played in the water, completely carefree for a little while.

These are a few of my thoughts as I watched them.....

When I was their age.......19......I had a one year old and the playing and easy going beach days were kind of over for me. At least playing at the beach with no responsibilities. I pray that they will stay in school, get their educations and let boys be last on the list for now.

I pray they live their lives to glorify the Lord.

Being this young will be gone so fast......before they know it they'll be sitting on a beach somewhere watching their grandchildren play.

I sure do love these girls.

I ~~wish the lady sitting beside us wouldn't smoke~~ wonder if they're ready to go yet.

The days are flying by. Tomorrow night, or should I say Friday a.m., they are going to the midnight showing of the last Harry Potter movie. It's so much fun just watching them and what grandparent doesn't love seeing grandchildren having fun?

If only time would slow down a bit. Ahhhh......but I'm enjoying every moment.

Just a few....

2011-07-11T22:32:00.000-04:00

minutes to tell a little about our visit with Granddaughter Ashley so far.

She's beautiful and so much fun.
She got in late and we picked her up from the airport.

Growing up hasn't changed her love of the pool

Jack doesn't really like to swim, but he found he had no choice!

Uncle David is so glad to see his neice

Nana loves her hugs

We do have a sad thing this trip. Our grandson Adam wasn't able to come be with us. He didn't do well enough in school and that was something he had to do to come to Florida! But we MISS him so much and hope he will get to come in the fall.

We went to Chi* f*l a and it happened to be Cow Day.

Ashley's friend sent a boyfriend charm with her......like her Nana is going to let her find a boyfriend! HA!

Boys, you might as well stay away.....Nana's prayers always work and charms never work! We're holding out for a great Christian man....after college! :)

We're having a great time and I have lots more pictures but for some reason they won't upload tonight. So I'll go sit by the pool where the ~~mermaid~~ granddaughter is swimming....again! She loves the swimming.

Right now....

2011-07-06T21:38:00.000-04:00

This beautiful girl is winging her way to Florida!

She won't need the winter clothes though!

If I'm missing in action for a few days, you'll know I'm having a great time with my granddaughter!!

May God Bless America....

2011-07-04T10:22:00.001-04:00

Oh, Lord, bless us even though we do not deserve your blessing. Help us to stand again and call ourselves a Christian nation.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!

Psalm 33:12

Falling......and birthdays, and other stuff.....

2011-07-01T21:31:00.001-04:00

***********Update*************

I did not forget this special little girl's birthday.....

Happy Birthday Anna Cross! I love you!!

Anna Cross is two years old today. She and her cousin Grady were visiting recently.

Anna Cross is missing her daddy today, he's one of our brave Navy men who is on deployment. Thank you Beau!
*************************

I fall......a lot. I mean after all my middle name is grace, how appropriate. I've fallen in the garage, off my bike ~~several times~~, tripped over the dog, you get the picture. No one is ever surprised that I've fallen, so when I fell in the laundry room the other night it was no surprise to me and as I was going down I was thinking oh, boy.....I hope Russell hears me scream. But at just that moment I heard a crash in the back of our home.

Flash back......we just bought some new bedroom furniture. When it was delivered I immediately saw that the furniture wasn't the quality that we thought it was. Some pieces were real wrong, so we called the store and they delivered a couple of new pieces....no better....but we decided to just sleep on it and call back the next morning.

Back to the crash.....

while I'm in the laundry room tangled in brooms and mops, Russell had gone to bed in our new kingsized bed ~~that I had longed for for years.~~ The moment his body was fully on the bed, it fell......the mattress fell. A support had been left out and the slat broke. And so did the final straw for my dear hubby!

Being the calm, cool and collected man he is.......after he fumed and said all the furniture was going straight back to the store......he went out to his shop, cut some boards and put supports under the mattress. Or should I say, we struggled the mattress and box springs off and then he put supports under the mattress. Ever tried taking a king sized mattress off the bed? Don't. We actually had a good night's sleep and I loved the extra space on the bed and so did our dogs.

We are getting a different set of bedroom furniture soon. We will put this whole fiasco behind us and move on......AND after all the back and forth, I also got the reading chair I have been wanting .

*************************

Moving along, Mercy Uganda director Laura and her husband Mark were in Uganda for several weeks. After many months of working on it, our Ugandan liaison, Henry Mello, finally got his visa and is here on his first trip to America.

Henry has been to work several days with Mark, pictured above......after a day of work, Mark goes to the dump to, well, dump stuff. Henry asked this question Do you have no needy people in your country? Well, of course, we do. Why did he ask that question???? The things he saw at the dump.

Henry picked these shoes out of many things he found, good and usable things, at the dump. He will be taking these shoes back to Uganda, to his people.....many who don't have shoes.

I think Henry is amazed at what American's waste.

It puts the whole furniture thing in a new light.

****** Check back for more on Henry's adventures in America******

Unbelievable.....

2011-06-30T10:19:00.000-04:00

that my first grandchild is 19 years old today!!

I do not cease to give thanks for you......Ephesians 1: 16a

What a difference you've made in my life! I love my children with all my heart, every one of them, but there's just something about a grandchild! The first time I saw Ashley was in the San Diego airport when she was 5 weeks old. Her parents put her in my arms and boy there went a piece of my heart!

Here are some pictures of her through the years...

Ashley with Great grandpa and grandma Duncan. This has got to be one of my favorite pictures.

Yes, I know these scanned pictures are crooked....

Ready for school

Visiting Florida and going to see Great Grandma Duncan

Love......

A classic Ashley holding Jack and Mikey

Going to church with Nana

The years just fast forwarded and suddenly she was sending Senior portraits.

Then her graduation from high school!

She's so grown up now......hey, don't mess with her.....her Pappy Russell taught her to shoot!

Now you've finished your first year of college. Have you picked a major yet? Whatever you choose to do in life, do it well and with the help and guidance of God. Seek His counsel in all things.

Ashley Bianca.....how do I say what you've meant and continue to mean in my life? You've made me so thankful.....added joy abundantly.......taught me to pray more diligently for both my children and my grandchildren......well, you taught me how to be a Nana.

You are a very special woman.....wow, that's hard to write.....my granddaughter is a woman. But you are and what a wonderful woman you've grown to be.

I love you, I'm proud of you, I love you......oh, I'm repeating myself.

Happy Birthday! Have I told you lately that I love you?

Do you ever????

2011-06-27T21:55:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I just scratch my head and wonder what in the world people are thinking.....or not thinking as the case may be.

Some days I just sit and wonder if everyone has just lost their minds!

And that's what is on MY mind......what's on yours?

And they just keep on coming.....

2011-06-23T10:52:00.000-04:00

birthdays!. Today we have two birthdays in our family.

One year ago on my MIL's birthday, Charley was born, both into this world and into our hearts!

Behold, children are a blessing from the Lord Psalm 127:3a

It was a VERY long day, especially for his mama who did a great job with what all we mama's know is HARD!!! They didn't just come up with the word labor for no reason!!!

Meme was patiently or not waiting.....I just realized I didn't get a picture of her with Charley that day. She was in taking care of HER baby, Charley's mama.

The birthday girl and boy meeting

Charley was her best birthday present!

And in case you've never seen it up close and personal, this is the look of love

Four generations

Whew, glad that's over with and we've got a winner

Two weeks old

6 weeks old.....Charley flew to Minnesota for the 90th birthday party of his great grandmother

And he grew

With Uncle Matt

4 months at Halloween...and he grew

Meeting Uncle Hugh

Charley was a snail for Halloween

Meeting greatgrandma Duncan

And Uncle David and Arwen

Charley meets his cousins at Christmas.....they were all growing

Pappy and Nana with the grands......time was flying...Charley's first year was half over!

Starting early

And he grew

Easter Sunday.....kept on growing

Charley's been to several weddings in his short life.....Uncle David's

Sam and Shan's

Charley, you've grown so tall

You've grown so curious

As you start this second year of life, know you are loved by many, cared for my great parents and nurtured by a loving God. May you grow to be the boy He wants you to be!

We love you.....Happy Birthday!

Mema, we love you too.....Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Grandson #1

2011-06-22T10:43:00.000-04:00

I give thanks to my God always for you..... 1 Corinthians 1:4a

Today is my first grandson's birthday. He is 15 and he is a joy indeed.

I didn't get to meet Adam until he was 8 months old. The months before the trip out to California seemed to go on forever and I had a deep longing to see and hold him and get hugs and kisses from that sweet baby. When I finally got ahold (that's a southern word) of him, it was such joy! He's been lighting up our lives ever since!

He was born smiling!

A joy to have visit with us.....he loves the water and took to swimming instantly.

When he wasn't feeling well, he would snuggle with Nana.

Ever the handsome little boy

Time flew and he's grown up so much!

And learned so much.

Still that smile!

Today he is 15 years old. I'm repeating myself because I can hardly believe how the time has gone by and all the joy he has given us over the years and look forward to seeing him grow up to be a wonderful man.

Adam has always known he wants to be an architect and is such a help at home. He can fix most anything and is always willing to pitch in and hang pictures or towel bars, he can fix or put together whatever needs fixing or putting together. He is handy!

Over the years, I would go out to visit him and he would come to visit his Florida family as he says. He has lots of Florida family to see and do things with when he's here for a visit.

Adam loves to fish, swim, shoot guns safely, he loves an adventure and loves to be with Uncle David.

We will miss seeing Adam this summer and hope to see him in the fall!

Adam, you are loved!