Thanksgiving ...

It was a delight to have my 'little brother' (youngest brother, that is) visiting for a week in our home! He doesn't get to be down here too often so I decided that we would visit all of our girls and their children -- and got it done all in one day! Wow!

However, we started the day at Northside Christian School where the elementary department was putting on a Thanksgiving program outside (awesome weather) and followed by a Thanksgiving dinner catered by Boston Market! It was an excellent program and we had a great time and were well fed!

One of the elementary classes presented a Thanksgiving Quiz and while most of the answers were pretty well known, there were a couple that stumped some of the parents -- and that is always a delight for kids to know more than their parents! The question that seemed to stump everyone was .. Thanksgiving is celebrated only in the United States - true or false. Well, the answer was indeed false and after some of the parents had yelled out "true", there was some laughter from the students! Canada is the other country which celebrates Thanksgiving. It made it a fun time for all and I am so glad we went. Thad enjoyed our balmy Florida weather -- about 75 degrees with a light wind and clear blue skies! We are certainly blessed! So, since I was able to see all the girls and all their kids, I decided to post the photos of Thad with them! I put them in order by age except that Teri is holding Rudy -- he should be at the bottom of the grandchildren but before Ava (our 'great').

But, first, a photo at Kamen's program ..

Roxanne with Uncle Thad

Sandi and Tim

Teri & Rudy, 2-1/2

Shonna

Kasi, 19 (Roxanne's)

Marley, 13 (Teri's)

Regan, 12 (Teri's)

Kamen, 11 (Roxanne's)

Bailey, 10 (Teri's)

Tyler, 9 (Sandi's)

RJ, 6 (Shonna's)

Ava, 1 (Kasi's)

A busy week and then some ...

Wow … it’s been about a week or more since I “blogged” .. probably like ‘more’ almost!! A full week!! I attended Come to the Fire Conference in Nashville TN (First Church of the Nazarene) with my sister, Rachel, her daughter, Jene’, and our sister-in-law, Susan. What an awesome conference it was! It was so full that I purchased a DVD set because I knew I couldn’t even begin to comprehend it and process what I had heard without seeing it again!

From the music to the excellent speakers, it was challenging, stirring, uplifting … I could go on and on! One of the reasons attending this conference was so important to us was that it was my mother’s dream that I go .. and of course, that Rachel went, too. But, the summer before the very first Come to the Fire Conference in 2006, my mother began urging me – almost insisting – that I attend. She had become close friends with Aletha Hinthorn and Patsy Lewis – more through emails and being a part of their prayer support team. I have quite a stack of emails that she and the two ladies wrote back and forth! So, I looked forward to this in perhaps a little different perspective than just another ladies’ conference.

I was impressed with the openness and transparency of the speakers! From those who had worked through struggles of panic attacks and eating disorders to the challenges of raising godly children, each lady had a unique perspective. What an awesome blessing they were. I was particularly intrigued that none of the speakers were introduced. Their “bios” were in our conference program but when it was time for them to speak, they simply got up and began to share their hearts! Wow!

Susan and I rode up to Nashville together .. and I have to share this one very funny happening .. although I wasn’t sure it was funny at the time. Since my broken leg incident last year, I am extra careful in keeping my balance which can be quite a challenge at times. Susan, who has also had knee surgery, was suffering from severe pain in her good knee so was using a crutch. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for a break and where she parked, I could step out of her vehicle (which was fairly high) across to the sidewalk. Sounds easy, right? Ha! Not for me .. I went to step across and lost my balance! I thought, “Oh, no!!” However, she had a running board on the side of her vehicle and I just simply went “plop” (okay, it was louder than it should have been, if you know what I mean) and I simply said, “I’m okay ..” which I was. Susan was on the other side of the vehicle trying to get out and steady on her two feet! She had her crutch and was trying to turn around when she heard my “plop” and “I’m okay”. She couldn’t even respond quickly obviously. Then everything was funny … hysterically funny! The two of us were quite a pair!!

We had a special treat when a friend of Jene’s invited us to dinner before the first session on Thursday evening. Flo was brave inviting five people she didn’t know (along with Jene’) to her home but what a gracious hostess she was! She headed downtown and fortunately because of both Susan’s and my challenges in walking a long distance, we were able to get parking close to the church building. I wish I could describe here what it was like to hear over 1,500 voices singing together! Awesome!!

On Friday evening, in between the afternoon and evening sessions, we went out to eat at Darfons, a local restaurant near where we were staying. Jene’ felt “called” to embarrass me since I had recently celebrated the big 6-0!! She sang Happy Birthday very loudly – I don’t think people were quite sure how to react and I’m glad we had only a few more moments before we were leaving. Thank goodness!!

Back at home, Sandi was directing the Shoebox Packing Party – part of the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse and this year with Veggie Tales joining them … Click here to see the photos .. way to many to post!!

Now I am enjoying a visit from my youngest brother, Thad. It’s so good to have him around and it seems he feels quite at home for which I am very thankful!

And just a couple favorite photos from Ava's 1st birthday party!!

I can't believe I forgot Tyler's birthday ....

I have always associated Tyler's birthday with JFK's assassination day -- 'what were you doing on the day JFK was assassinated"? Poor Tyler .. that's how I remembered his birthday -- except when I listed the birthdays, I missed his in November. The little guy whose parents treat all the guests as well as they treat Tyler .. and many want to be included on the guest list!! And I missed it!!! Oh, I haven't missed the celebration but missed listing it .. so Tyler .. forgive me .. I truly must be getting old!!

Milestones ...

Oh, wow .. I cannot believe I have hit the big "6-0" .. should I celebrate today or mourn with sackcloth and ashes? Probably not the latter - we live in Florida and quite frankly, 60 is probably quite young by most people's standards!! Snowbirds arrive ready to live life to the fullest and some of them are well into their 80's!! I hope I grow up to be like them!!

However, I remember when I was just a little girl, looking at the big "5-0" as being the end so to speak. I dreaded my dad turning 50 and was sure he would die right then and actually grieved that happening even when I was little. I was certain that life would come to a screeching halt and my dad, the anchor in my life, would be gone ... and what would I do?

The years began to roll by ... and it seemed like they rolled by faster and faster. I learned to drive -- and scared my dad to death a few times, I'm sure. I don't remember him spending much time teaching me that .. my mom did that. I didn't always view her as having more patience than Dad but perhaps they drew straws (hardly) on who was going to teach me that! Of course, it then became an asset as I drove my siblings around town. I did that just recently when Tim rode with me to meet Susan for dinner .. and I scared him, too, when a car pulled out in front of me -- and, yes, I had the right-of-way!! I guess I should go to 'driver's training' for older (not old) folks!! Ugh!!

By the time I was a little over 25 (another milestone) I had four children and I learned what it meant to be a parent. I probably grew to respect my parents more during those days. I'll admit -- I was not the perfect, model mom by any stretch. I admired those moms who were so organized and who seemed to take everything in stride. I just couldn't seemed to master that and if I tried too hard, it flopped -- big time!! But, I have been so very blessed by our girls and their families!!

Jump ahead to my 40th birthday -- all you North Carolina friends can bow now!! Imagine this -- I am working there -- my boss was Eddie Beaver and Ed Arthur -- the "Ed's"! I think it was the latter Ed who had the brilliant idea of how I should celebrate my 40th birthday. Now mind you, when I tried to reciprocate, he ran out of the restaurant (his 40th)!! Back to that morning -- I arrived at my office .. it had been transformed!! My 'crazy' co-workers had gone to the local cemetery (I assume) to find a 'dead' wreath! Very dead!! And it had a sign on it, "Our sympathy at the passing of your youth". Now wasn't that just tooo sweet?!! Ha!! It got better -- my office chair had been replace by a rocking chair with a cane nearby. There was some sort of knitting there (like I knit?!). I should have hung on to that for these past few years! But .. the biggest thing they did was put a big sign on the front of my desk which said, "I'd rather be 40 than pregnant!" Well, ain't that the truth but did they have to put it right there for everyone to see?? Oh, well ... it was lots of fun. We did get payback, I believe, for Eddie one year when we had someone come in to serenade him!! I take that back -- Ed (yup, it had to be him) had Eddie "Fiddle Skunked"!! Now, THAT was funny!! We were wondering whether he was going to fire us all!!

Time flew by and I was at my 50th .. what a neat celebration. Sandi changed our family room into Arthur's Cafe, a 'play' on the 50's .. and the era when I was a kid!! Complete with poodle skirts, the old records (33/45) hanging from the ceiling, card tables, root beer bottles chilling on ice, etc., etc. Lots of friends came to join us -- fortunately our house is large and wide open so it literally felt like you had walked back in time!! Loved it ..

Memories .. so here it is my 60th .. #50 has come and gone and my dad lived until he was 84. While I knew I would miss him when he went on to heaven, it wasn't with the same dread that I experienced as a little girl who thought all of her security was wrapped up in her dad. Roles changed over the years and it was the 'little girl' (and her siblings, especially her little sister) who brought a sense of security to her dad. How times had changed!

I will miss my dad's call today -- the call that always took me back in time for a few moments. He would describe that day -- what time I was born, where, how much I weighed, my length, etc. And often he didn't stop there but talked about the next few years -- and finally, to the day when my sister was born!! A day that changed my life -- after four brothers, whom I love dearly -- but a sister!! I was excited beyond measure!!

So, today .. I am blessed! Milestones? Yes .. and I can celebrate that the senior discount is now mine, too!! Then again, it will constantly remind me that I am getting older -- but aren't we all??

Thanks to everyone for the impact you have had on my life .. I have so many facebook friends who have been an important part of my (our) life!! I am so blessed -- memories by the boatload! Some serious, some funny ... but all are part of who I am today!! And I am grateful!!

A Big Happy Birthday to .....

.. to family members who have birthdays in November!! There are quite a few and I have the feeling I am missing a couple .. I think Bob's niece, Marcia's, is in November but not sure of the date. But, for those I remember, I'm going to just post photos with their birthdays (the date) and wish them all a Big Happy Birthday!! If my mother were still living, she would be calling us early in the morning (for the siblings, at least) and reminding us to call! We have to admit that it was a little annoying so sometimes we tried to make the birthday calls early so we could convince her that we indeed did remember! lol!! Now that she is gone, we've really done well in keeping up those traditions!

Of course, I have to try not to think about mine .. since this is one of those big milestones you would rather not remember -- but I'm sure there will be several reminding me!!! Oh, well ...


Bill, Bob's brother, celebrated his birthday on November 3rd as well as Kasi ..

Kellina, Mark's daughter, (below) is celebrating on November 14th...

followed by her dad, Mark, on the 15th...

Allen and Mark II (below) celebrate on November 21st ..

and Bob's sister, Linda, on the 24th.

Oops ... Missed Trunk or Treat Photos in post below!!

Tim, Sandi & Tyler beside their Pirate "Ship"

RJ

No Hocus Pocus .. Just Hodgepodge ..

How do you put lots of stuff into a few paragraphs? Just call it 'hodgepodge' and be done with it. That way, if the photos don't make sense it won't really make a difference. A couple of these photos are from Kamen's birthday party -- well, his birthday was back in September but his party wasn't until later and I didn't get these photos until Chris downloaded them onto my computer on Sunday. It was the first time in quite a while that we had gotten together -- the three girls that live near here.

I had already posted about "Trunk or Treat" which had pics of Tyler and RJ. The following are some of the rest of the grandkids, etc.

And the time is not necessarily in sequence so bear with me through my 'hodgepodge" for the day ...

Teri's girls in Winter Haven .. the two in white on the back row are Marley, 13, Regan, 12 ..
front left, Bailey, 10, Rudy, 2-1/2

Sandi, Roxanne, Shonna (the three in the area)

Teri and Rudy (they live in Winter Haven)

Rudy ready for Trick or Treat ..

Kamen on left .. not sure who is on right

Little Miss Tootsie Roll!!

She's off and running!

Now it's to my house and she's ready to pull off those shoes!

And the piano .. Ava loves the piano!!

Trunk Or Treat / Shoebox Ministry

Tomorrow is Trunk or Treat at our church. Sandi is directing it and their vehicle will turn into some sort of pirate ship and they'll hand out some goodies from their trunk! They are hoping to have quite a few cars in the church parking lot and lots of kids, too. And added treat for the kids is a 19'x40' jumper .. I think the adults may want to get in there, too!! Me? I'll stay far away!!

The kids are even more excited about the upcoming Shoebox Packing Party on November 14th. Samaritan Ministries and Veggie Tales are partnering in the Operation Christmas Child this year. There's excitement in the air and it's such an encouragement to know the kids are so excited about giving -- even more than getting the treats!! I'll be away on that day to Come to the Fire Conference in Atlanta .. but sort of wish I could be here for that, too!!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is right around the corner!!

Mom's Taxi

Mom's Taxi was put into service again today. Wow, I thought I had shed my taxi uniform long ago when the girls were finally able to drive. But, not necessarily so .. and it was just fine.

Tyler spends Mondays with me often as that is Sandi's primary workday at the church (Clearwater First Nazarene). Today, Tim (her husband) was also flying home from Indiana after attending a funeral there over the weekend. So, Tyler and I donned our uniforms (okay, so we were at least dressed!) and headed out. We delivered Sandi successfully to the church although Tyler had to take a bathroom break there. At least, it wasn't while we were driving across the Courtney Campbell bridge! Just as we were driving into the airport (and that is a challenge now with all the new roads / bridges), Tim called to say he had arrived and was on the tram to the main terminal.

He wasn't outside when I arrived so we took a tour of the airport basically going in one big circle to bring us back to the blue terminal which hosts US Airways. (Tampa airport is different from orlando -- we are color coordinated, they just have A and B terminals. Okay, it's been a long time since I've been there so maybe it has changed but probably not!) I didn't see Tim at first - started to dial his number on my cell phone, looked up and there he was calling me. So, mission accomplished! At least, that part of it.

Shonna called and asked if I could possibly pick RJ up from school. She had a TV repairman coming so needed to be home. Of course since today was the day for Mom's Taxi -- you may not get it this way again so grab it while you can! So, off Tyler and I went around 2:45pm headed towards Keswick Christian School where RJ is in the first grade. (Tyler is homeschooled so he will have a full four days of study this week.) RJ didn't know I was the one picking him up so when he saw my van, he came flying -- arms waving and jumping up and down, yelling, "Nana!" So excited -- and I was so thrilled to know my grandkids are excited to see me. Not that I wouldn't expect it but I know some kids who don't necessarily jump for joy when grandparents come around. For this, I am blessed ...

Tyler and I, still in our uniforms (lol), delivered RJ safely to his home although he was not one bit amused that he wasn't making a stop at my house. "Why am I not going to your house today?" That happens about once a week when I am home so he wasn't too amused that we were not going there today! We delivered him safely to his mother and were on our way once again.

Tyler and I headed to the grocery store -- he informed me on the way that he would love a comic book -- I told him I really didn't want to buy one today. He explained, "No, we pick one up when we get into the store and I look through it and put it back when I am done -- you know, sort of like going to a library." (Which he loves to do -- he inherited his mother's love for books!)

We shopped, he read .. well, I shopped and he read .. he had about two pages left when we got to the front and he had actually read quite a lot of it. He's a fast reader! We left it there and went home to throw something for dinner into the oven. Don't you just love that description -- like we actually 'throw' anything into the oven. Of course not! But, I did make a meatloaf, put it into a pan, carefully placed it in the oven and made sure the temperature was accurate.

Since that was done, Tyler and I headed out once again -- and I thought how I hated (disliked a lot) that the gas prices are a little higher -- maybe a lot higher -- right now. But, we headed back toward the church to pick up Sandi since Tim was working a little later than usual today -- because he had gotten in mid-morning rather than starting his day early as he would usually do. Okay, so that's not important information here today but I was typing as I thought and just included it. I'm sure you are now rather bored by it all ...

We've had dinner, the dishes are not done yet (well, since we used paper plates, there are not many to do) and I am seated comfortably at my computer typing this ... and now I am running out of things to say -- and anyone who believes that can stand on your head for a while -- but I will stop! Right now ... really!

By the way, where did the phrase "you can go stand on your head" come from? I have no clue!

Cousins ... brothers ...

I love grandkids .. and they have some of the funniest things to say! Tyler usually comes up with some really funny stuff -- you just have to listen closely. I commented about a Tyler (not him) who had a fiance and our Tyler said, "I don't have a fiance. I'm too young!" He's the same one who told Sandi and me after a homeschooling session of reading, "I've talked so much my uvula hurts!" I asked him if he knew what that was and he assured me he did. "It's that thing that hangs down at the back of your throat." Okay then ...

It's always interesting when one of the other grandsons comes to our house. Each of our girls has one boy. Since Teri lives in Winter Haven, it is a mix of the three boys here -- Kamen, 11; Tyler, 9; RJ, 6. This week, it was Tyler and RJ. They love each other .. love to be together -- most of the time. However, after about an hour or less, you will usually hear some sort of conflict between them .. oh, my! It seems like a typical brotherly spat!! It will last for a little while and then things are great -- and they hate to leave! Oh, well ...