Wheel -- Hawaii -- Hope Chapel

Okay .. so the title makes absolutely no sense, right. Wheel of Fortune is on right now and I noticed that it was filmed in Hawaii and that brought back memories of a couple visits we made to Hawaii.

The first one was in 2000 right during the presidential election. Bob and I had absentee voted (is that how you say it?) and since there is a substantial time difference, we went to dinner thinking that by the time we got back, we would have a president. Well, suffice it to say, even though we didn't return home for a few days, we were still in limbo! And being from the state of Florida did not help things at all. I told friends that when people asked where we were from, we said, "Florida" and then ducked for cover!

We returned to Hawaii five years ago to go on a cruise with my sister, Rachel, and her husband, Allen. Allen was celebrating his fortieth birthday (guess that tells you how old he is!), they were celebrating their 20th anniversary and Bob and I were celebrating our 35th anniversary.

We decided to incorporate visiting churches while we were there. Bob had read "Let Go of the Ring" written by Ralph Moore and was quite fascinated and inspired by the story of "Hope Chapel" in Hawaii. So, we chose to visit two Hope Chapel campuses while we were there -- one on the front end of the trip and one on the back. What an experience that was!! (Click on "Hope Chapel" above to visit their site.)

One of the intriguing things I found was that they roped off the seats -- almost to the front and as each of those rows were filled, they would move the rope back. (Stretchy type of rope.) And people seemed very comfortable with that -- what a great idea! Somehow I think people in our churches might just jump the rope and say, "I'm a back seat person!" No one did it there nor seemed concerned that they might have to sit near the front.

If you get a chance to read Ralph Moore's book, you will be inspired ... as he describes how they plant churches and even how they fund those churches.

How can something so little change our lives so much!

This little "thing" weighs about 9-1/2 pounds so shouldn't affect anything too much, right? But, wow!! Our schedule seems to revolve around "her" -- I should never refer to Ava June as a "thing" and my apologies for doing so. (You would think I would just go back and delete that part. If it were in the "olden" days, I would look for the liquid paper or some sort of erase type of thingy. Remember those strips we would use to erase an error in our typing? Oh, how times have changed!)

Anyway, little Ava has certainly made an impression on all of us. Since Roxanne and Chris live in our home, too, that gives me quick access to our little great-granddaughter. And what fun that has been -- even when she spent most of the night with me when she just couldn't seem to get to sleep and her mommy was exhausted.

Now, along with changing our schedule, it seems our home has become Grand Central Station -- for high schoolers (who are Kasi's schoolmates -- she went back to school today!) This evening, a group from her cheer leading team dropped in including moms! I opened the door not really expecting anyone this evening -- and there was a whole line of people. So much for not really dressing up much today. Oh, well .. I'll hide in my office and write this up while they visit in the living room. Maybe in a little while, I can make a dash for my room and hope nobody notices. Sure ...

Ava's a good little girl already although she's already developing a personality. She started to smile (other than a 'gas' smile) yesterday and I think everyone cheered. You would think we haven't had a baby in our house in years! I'll admit that it feels a little different being "once removed" ... being a 'great' grandmother. However, it's interesting when either Rox or Kasi are unsure how to handle something, they are quick to come to me and ask. Maybe they are just trying to be kind and not wanting me to feel left out.

So .. we'll enjoy this little gal who has brought some change into our lives! Even if it interrupts our schedule and I awake to her sleeping peacefully beside me!

More weather news -- won't bore you with it all!

I received another weather bulletin -- this one longer than the last one. I won't bore you with the details other than to say that the concern is more about weather below freezing and how it affects our crops here -- oranges, strawberries, etc. Anyone been to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City? If not, it's a great place to visit in Florida. Oh, when was I there last? Probably once in the last ten years. It's great -- however, it is a very busy place and I prefer to stay out of the craziness.

By the way, big news! Ava smiled today -- really smiled. Okay, so I'm a great-grandmother and it's only been 18 months since the last baby smiled but each one is special in their own way!!

I was talking to her (no baby talk, just a nice little conversation) and she smiled so big, she almost couldn't contain it!

Tyler loves his cousin, Ava, but expressed some concern today as he sees that Ava has found a place in his mom's and dad's hearts, also. He wondered if Ava would take his place. Needless to say, he was very quickly assured that he has the very special place in his parents' hearts and no one can take that place -- ever! He seemed very content with the answer and told me that he would be Ava's protector -- and I am sure he will be just that. The photo tells that story!

You know you live in Florida when you receive this weather bulletin!!

I receive email weather alerts and this one just arrived a few minutes ago. Having been raised in the good ol' north, I still get amused when I read these and we've lived in Florida for 17+ years!

Here is how it reads:

WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 546 PM EST SUN NOV 16 2008 ..A VERY COLD NIGHT IN STORE FOR ALL OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WITH AREAS OF FROST POSSIBLE OVER THE NATURE COAST...

STRONG COLD HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD INTO THE REGION TONIGHT. A COLD AND VERY DRY AIR MASS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HIGH WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO FALL OFF QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET. WITH THE HIGH BUILDING IN SURFACE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH AND WITH CLEAR SKIES ALMOST IDEAL RADIATIONAL COOLING WILL TAKE PLACE OVERNIGHT WHICH WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO FALL INTO THE LOWER AND MIDDLE 30S OVER THE NATURE COAST...WITH POCKETS OF NEAR FREEZING...UPPER 30S TO LOWER 40S CENTRAL INTERIOR LOCATIONS...EXCEPT UPPER 40S TO AROUND 50 ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST...AND LOWER 40S INTERIOR TO THE UPPER 40S ALONG THE COAST OVER SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING.

IN ADDITION TO THE COLD TEMPERATURES ADEQUATE GROUND MOISTURE WILL LIKELY SUPPORT AREAS OF FROST IN THE NORMALLY SHELTER INLAND LOCATIONS OF THE NATURE COAST AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH SOME PATCHY FROST POSSIBLE OVER EASTERN PASCO COUNTY AS WELL AS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF HILLSBOROUGH AND POLK COUNTIES MAINLY EAST OF THE I-75 CORRIDOR JUST BEFORE SUNRISE.

RESIDENTS PLANNING TO BE OUTDOORS THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT SHOULD PREPARE ACCORDINGLY. BRING SEVERAL LAYERS OF CLOTHING...AS THEY WILL INSULATE YOU BETTER THAN A SINGLE COAT OR JACKET. RESIDENTS SHOULD COVER OR MOVE INDOORS ANY COLD SENSITIVE PLANTS THIS EVENING. ALSO...BRING PETS INDOORS.

Think we'll take a nap ...

Ava looks completely relaxed on her Poppa's lap and I think Chris decided that if she could take a nap, he could, too!!

She's found a special place in his heart and you can tell she's completely relaxed and secure on his lap!!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Cecil! It's hard to believe that he is into his 80's (no, I won't add 'well' into his 80's.) I remember his birthday (sorry, Aunt Wanda) because it is two days after mine. I remember back when I was a child, my grandmother would go to Tennessee during November. Partly to celebrate Uncle Cecil's birthday, I imagine, and sometimes to stay for Thanksgiving. My grandmother's birthday was in October so perhaps they celebrated her birthday, too. I do remember many Thanksgiving dinners at my grandmother's house so she must not have stayed through Thanksgiving every year. There's nothing like being at G'ma's house on Thanksgiving. I do remember a few times when the Nelsons were able to join us in Princeton (IL).

Uncle Cecil is one of those great southern gentlemen. I haven't met too many who really qualify for that but he has always been that way as long as I can remember. I don't remember him getting "out of sorts" or maybe he just hid it from all of us! Who knows! I know that I was always in awe of his education and knew that at least two weeks each week were spent in Clinton TN in a high security job related to the government. (Hope I got that right!)

I do remember visiting their home and of course, that mean I would be with Cynthia (Cindy) who is just a few months younger than I am. We had so much fun together. One of my favorite memories is when I wished I had her curly hair and she hated the curls. So, one afternoon, we decide to brush those curls right out of her hair! As you can imagine, we brushed for a long time and absolutely nothing happened. I would have given anything for her curls -- my hair was as straight as a stick!!

Uncle Cecil is the oldest of three children. My mother was just 2 years younger and Aunt Wanda is MUCH younger! (Aren't you proud of me, Aunt Wanda?) It was always fun to get all of us together. There are 12 grandchildren -- I am happy to announce I am the oldest! Not that it makes a difference except that Grandma Nelson did remind me of that over the years. "You're the oldest!" Not sure if that was a good thing or not but I tended to believe it was a good thing. We sometimes talked about my Grandpa Nelson who passed away when I was just 3 years old. From what I understand and with all the photos and video tapes to confirm that, we had a very close relationship. When he was too ill to get out of bed, he hid a tricycle under the sheet! I can remember that -- and remember riding it down the hallway!

Okay, so I have sort of ventured away from my original post which was to wish my Uncle Cecil a "happy birthday". Family is so important and I am so glad we made memories that will last a lifetime! Oh, I could get carried away from the 'happy birthday' message to include other memories like visiting the farm where Aunt Wanda and her family lived. Or I could include Grandma's enclosed back porch which, in the wintertime was cold enough to serve as a storage area for all the homemade cookies and candies she would prepare for the holidays. Or I could mention the basement at her house we all loved. At the bottom of the steps to the left was her deep freeze and in it we would find the best lemon ice cream ever -- and to this day, I haven't found lemon ice cream like that. Of course, that basement was an awesome place for the 'boys' to roller skate and make lots of noise which usually brought Grandma to the top of the stairs with a stern warning! It really got noisy if they got to playing those table hockey games!!

I could mention learning to can tomatoes in her basement or wondering how Uncle Chuck could get those rows of corn so straight out at the farm. And all I was going to do in this post was wish my Uncle Cecil a 'happy birthday'. Wow .. got carried away, huh?

By the way, he is married to one of the sweetest ladies in the world and she can truly be defined has having southern hospitality at its best! (In the photo: Aunt Wanda, Aunt Roberta & Uncle Cecil, taken at my mother's funeral.)

And then there are all of us ... in the photo below, we are all there except Rachel who hadn't arrived quite yet. Front row: Bobby (U. Cecil's), Gary (A. Wanda's), my brothers, Joel, Thad & Mark, Scott (A. Wanda's). Back row: My brother, Tim, Grandma Nelson holding Valerie (A. Wanda's), me, Cynthia (U. Cecil's) and Carol Lee (A. Wanda's).

So, Happy Birthday, Uncle Cecil!

The final year ...

Do I feel older today as I enter into the final year of my 50's ... I never dreamed this day would come when I was young. In fact, I thought when you turned 50, you would get old and die. I grieved for a long time about the day my dad would turn 50 and he might just go on to heaven. I am happy to report that he is 83 and still here -- and I can talk to him daily. For that I am very thankful! I do have to admit that while I don't feel any older today, I did wonder about that when my first great-grandchild was born. Wow! Should I feel old? Then I realized that my sister, Rachel, is now a great-great aunt so if I go by the "great" definition, she should feel MUCH older than I do and she is almost 15 years younger than I am. So much for that ...

I remember my 40th and 50th parties ... On my 40th, we were living in North Carolina and I was working at a construction company. My primary boss was Eddie Beaver but much of my work was actually done for Ed Arthur. I have a feeling that Ed A. was responsible for what I found in my office that Friday morning .. why do I remember it was a Friday? Well, that was the day subcontractors came in to pick up their checks and when I walked in that morning, there was this big dead wreath proclaiming, "Our Sympathy At the Passing of Your Youth"!! (Hey, Terri Russell, did you have something to do with that?) I understand that someone went to a local graveyard and picked up that wreath -- it was on a nice easel type of thingy set where you could see it right when you walked in the front door. (Like an 'in your face' kind of thing!)

Soooo.... if that wasn't enough, I looked into my office which was right off the foyer. My office chair was gone and in its place was a rocking chair!! A rocking chair! And a nice afghan and a cane!! But, that wasn't the best and if I were much more organized like my daughter, Sandi, or my sister, Rachel, or my sisters-in-law, Betty and Linda, I could go to a scrapbook and pull out the photo. I saw it recently but have a feeling it is in some box somewhere .. oh, well ...

Anyway, there was a big sign on the front of my desk .. it covered almost the whole front of it and it stated, "I'd rather be 40 than pregnant"!! Well, I may agree with that but really, Ed, did you have to proclaim it to the whole world?? I'll have to admit, it did make some good memories.

My 50th was much kinder ... our girls threw a real 50's bash for me and turned our family room into a 50's cafe! Poodle skirts, old fashioned bottled root beer in buckets of ice, and lp records filled the family room. They had invited lots of friends and we truly felt like we were back in the 50's!!!

Okay, so I've spent about an hour looking through old photos and can't find them -- where is my organization talents when I need them -- then again, now isn't the time I should have had them -- that would have been years ago! Roxanne told me she remembered seeing some of them in a photo album -- shock, they made it to an album. I do have some albums that are theme oriented but they are in a drawer in the family room.

The things that count ...

I found this on my computer this evening ... Kasi and Ava were gone for a little while and Kasi left this sweet note behind ..

Thoughts on 'great-grandmothering' ...

Okay ... I'm much too young to be a great-grandmother. And I really don't feel any older -- and yet, in a way, I do! And I'm not sure I like that! When I think that my daughter, Roxanne, is now a grandmother, I don't like that thought. Yet, when I look at little Ava and she is cuddling on my shoulder, I wouldn't trade being a great-grandmother for anything.

So, what will I be called now? Nana ...
"Grandmother" (that's much too professional!) Kasi has made that decision for me it seems. All of the grandkids call me "Nana" or "Nana Linda" (Teri's children since they call their other grandmother "Nana Ann". So, Kasi picked out "Nana GG" -- I guess the "G's" stand for 'Great-Grandmother"!! So, when Ava is old enough to call my name, I will be reminded that I might be older than I want to think I am. Then again, Kasi is a very young mother and Roxanne is a very young grandmother! Thank goodness -- that makes me feel better already!!

My sister, Rachel, reminded me that not only is she a great-aunt -- she is now also a great-great aunt! Does that mean she is older than I am? Hardly -- she's just a child! (LOL!) Well, relatively speaking since her baby just turned 9 and mine is 32! Wow! Now I am feeling old -- I feel like I am on a roller coaster today but maybe I am too old for that.

Nope ... don't think so .. we took Bob's mother on Space Mountain when she was well over 75 years old. I thought she would be jarred completely apart but while she didn't go on it a second time, she seemed happy for the one-time experience. So, if she can do that at 75, I guess I am not old yet! I'm feeling better already!!

The fact that I have been in a wheelchair due to my broken leg has certainly not helped! Once again, I get to feeling old again .. I have got to get off this roller coaster today even though I am sitting still at the moment. Give me a minute .. I'll be on it again....

I may be off it again when Kasi sees the photo I just posted -- she and Ava were sound asleep when Roxanne took this picture.

Teaching how to vote at an early age ...

Our grandson, RJ, 5, attends Keswick Christian School here in St. Pete. He is in kindergarten and his teacher decided to give them a hands-on lesson on voting -- procedures, why we vote, etc. Evidently prior to their ballot, the teacher had read a story to them and they had to circle "yes" or "no" to a question. One little boy had obviously been listening to his parents about the real election and asked, "Can I circle John McCain"?

The teacher tallied the votes at the end of voting. Shonna said there were four "no's" and the rest were "yes's". Those that voted "no" were quite excited when their vote was read -- "That's me!" I'm not sure what the question or the story was about but it seemed to be a great learning experience on an important election day!