Life At Lonesome Pine

A Little Green Stuff Might Not Hurt (too bad!)

2011-05-17T23:09:00.004-04:00

Hi All (at least 2 of you!)

I've been trying to find a reason to blog again. So much is happening in my own life right now, I hardly have time to even THINK about getting on the computer at night when I get home from work.

So, I'll just start off lightly tonight...with a cool recipe I tried tonight.

I was reading the latest issue of my hometown newspaper -- The Levy County Journal. My dad insists on paying for my subscription each year so that I can keep up with hometown news. That works fairly well, except I don't usually GET the newspaper until a week later...sometimes two. Then sometimes it takes me another week to actually read the few pages there. So tonight, I decided to quickly read through the paper just to get it off the counter. (I have to actually READ the news stories because Daddy asks me about them...maybe its his test?)

Anyway,this week I came across a recipe that caught my eye. Normally, if it has anything GREEN in it --its an automatic "YUCK!" But tonight, for some reason, since I had all the ingredients and it looked fairly easy and I had to fix SOMETHING for supper...I thought I would give it a try. Bex and Mr. Fix-It LOVED it! I even ate some and thought it was pretty good --as long as I picked out the broccoli.

Here's the recipe from www.hungryjackpotatoes.com:

Hashbrown Broccoli Bake

1 carton (4.2 ounces) Hungry Jack Premium Hashbrown Potatoes (*My note: These come in a little carton --looks like a small milk carton like we used to get milk in at school. I just happened to pick one of these up at the store a couple of months ago and thought I would try them. They worked GREAT!)
2 c. frozen broccoli florets, unthawed, or fresh florets in 1-inch pieces
2 c. diced cooked chicken
1/2 c. diced jarred roasted red bell pepper or fresh red bell pepper (I used the frozen bell pepper I cut up and froze when my friend T gave me a bunch of them last summer.)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 c. milk
1 c. sour cream
1 c. (about 3 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese (Mr. Fix-It isn't big on Swiss--so I substituted Mozzarella.)

Preparation Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with butter or cooking spray.
2. Fill hashbrown potatoes carton to fill line with cold water. Let stand 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander. (The box said to use Hot water...so I did.)
3. Mix hashbrowns, broccoli, chicken, bell pepper and black pepper in a large bowl. Spread in prepared dish.
4. Stir together milk and sour cream. Pour evenly over hashbrown mixture. Top with cheese.
5. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 15 minutes until top just begins to brown.
6. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 50 minutes
Makes 6 servings.

This is what it looked like AFTER we ate...

So there you have it. My first blog in a year and a half.

Hope you enjoy it!

Daddy! Just a Blip...

2009-10-22T15:17:00.007-04:00

A few months ago, my Daddy showed me an article in a local magazine written about him. I was almost afraid to read it!

You see, my Dad is an avid political activist in Levy County and has been written about in several of the local newspapers and it is not always kind --or truthful! I was pleasantly surprised to read Ms. Rarick's article about the simple pleasures of living in a rural area.

Bronson has become a "suburb" of Gainesville. Soooo many new folks! (Most of them Yankees. LOL!) Most of the residents who lived there while I was growing up have moved or passed away. I have no idea of the actual statistics, but I would venture to guess that a huge majority of Bronson folks work in Gainesville and come to Bronson to sleep.

So many things have changed...but a few things stay the same...like my sweet Daddy.

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Ms. Rarick a few weeks ago. She has kindly given me permission to reprint her article for you here. It will give you just a "blip" of a look into my dad's life. Hope you enjoy it!

Out with the Cows
Talking with Charles W. Gilbert

By Elli Rarick

The rain held off just long enough for Charles W. Gilbert, known to many in Levy County simply as CW, to take me on a driving tour and picturesque journey of the area in and around Bronson where he has spent most of his 70 plus years.

Today, and since 1981, he and his wife Bobbie live on Oak Street. In the middle of the street just in front of the (new) house, built in 1993, is the stake that marks the center of the four-square-mile town of Bronson.

He still owns one 10 acre and one 30 acre parcel, part of the original farm, where he and his youngest son Beau run some cows and have hay to sell. Gilbert has one watermelon wagon left and uses it to take children on rides where they can throw pellets to the cows and travel into and through the "jungle" he has created on the 30 acre parcel off SR24.

Gilbert's paternal grandfather, Charles W. Gilbert, moved his family from Georgia to Newberry where his father was born in 1917. In 1924 the family moved to a house on Lake Street and south CR337 in Bronson.

His parents, Carroll W. and Mary Frances Gilbert, purchased 320 acres one mile out of town on CR337 off SR24. The original two-room house was located at what is now 9251 CR337. It was later replaced by a four room house in either 1944 or 1945 as the family grew from three to six children.

Gilbert said, "It was like a mansion to us! The boys had a bedroom and the girls had one too. It even had porches." In 1950 he recalls a storm taking the front porch off that house.

With an axe he helped to clear the land for planting that is now, in part, where the new Bronson High School sits. They planted watermelons mostly, and some corn. They had nine wagons to haul watermelons in and during the harvest would load as many as seven semi trailers a day.

Prior to 1947 there was a "no fence" law that allowed cows and hogs to run free. It was not an uncommon site to see cows and hogs wandering around town and even sleeping in parking lots. The Gilbert farm raised mostly hogs and some cows.

Gilbert remembered, "My job was to ride the horse out to wherever Daddy said. He would go to town and have coffee and find out what was going on and then come out to where I was to do the day's work."

During his later elementary school years, he told me, "My job on Thursday afternoon at 4 PM was to go and read the Bible to Mrs. Epperson."

He learned to drive in a 1939 Ford pick-up. His father served for 12 years as a county commissioner during the early 1950's and 1960's. Gilbert's mother was a school teacher in Bronson and later the principal at Otter Creek.

In 1955 Gilbert graduated from Bronson High School and in December of the same year traveled to Washington, D.C. to accept a training position in fingerprinting with the FBI. He remained there until 1958, teaching others the skill of the fingerprint identification process. It was there he met his first wife Betty. They had four children before she went home to be with the Lord, after they returned to Bronson.

Gilbert spent nearly 13 years in Tallahassee working for the FBI during which he earned a degree in Pre-Law in 1972. He worked over 3,000 cases and testified as an expert witness in fingerprint identification in over 100 cases.

When he returned to Bronson in 1972 he acquired his state general contractor's license to operate Aztec Industries in building houses. They also provided semi-loads of oak wood to barbeque restaurants in Florida and Georgia. The building (later Lee's Grocery on SR24) also housed a small engine repair shop.

He is employed by News America Marketing, a Rupert Murdock company, where he visits such area stores as CVS, Walgreen's, Dollar General, Hitchcock's and Winn Dixie monthly. He stated, "I do the stores because of the people I am apt to run into from the past."

On August 22nd Gilbert was among a group of past presidents (1969) of the Florida Division of the International Association for Identification being honored in Tampa for 50 years of service. He was part of the first organizational meeting in October 1959.

He and Bobbie, married 30 years, have a blended family made up of his three sons and one daughter; her daughter; their son and daughter and a total of 14 grandchildren.

In closing, Gilbert said, "I love being out with the cows."

Reprinted with permission from the author and
In The Field, Marion's Agriculture Magazine
September Issue, Volume 2, Issue 9

Stay tuned!

Another Interruption?

2009-10-14T15:09:00.013-04:00

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG....

for VOLLEYBALL!

Okay, I guess I really don't have to interrupt because I'm the one who decides what to put on here in the first place! How cool is that?

Actually, I was in the middle of posting my Illinois pictures before I was so rudely interrupted by LIFE!

So much has happened since my last post, I guess I need to slow down and catch my breath. To begin with, September is such a busy month for us anyway; we have umpteen volleyball games, Bex is in school, we have our annual G-Girls weekend at the beach, various church activities and corporate taxes are due! These are normal. Add to that a special weekend for me attending a Beth Moore conference in Orlando with friends, Bex heading to Camp Charis for a teen weekend and then our whole family enjoying a day at Camp Charis for Family Fun Day...whew!...it all adds up to a very busy September.

But that was September. Now we're knee-deep into October and the "busy" continues! As September came to a close, the end of volleyball season loomed heavy in front us. After playing for Maranatha Christian School for six years, Bex (and me!) looked forward to her Senior season with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Anticipation for a wonderful season...and dread for the end of her final season playing the sport we both love so much.

This volleyball year has been filled with drama! As school-time rolled around several of our team's players left for different schools, leaving the team with huge holes to fill. After practicing/playing/camping with one group of girls all summer, the actual TEAM looks quite different for the season.

This year, our Senior starters include Bex (of course) and Emily. Both have played for MCS since 7th grade as homeschoolers. Valerie, who attends MCS has played, but never been a starter. We have two Junior players -- Sarah is a homeschooler that came back to play with us this year after having to play elsewhere because of a conference rule that limits the number of homeschoolers on a team. Jackie, is a MCS student who's been on the team for a lot of years. LaTisha, a Sophomore, is a new MCS student and pretty new to volleyball also. Kelly is our lone Freshman this year and new to volleyball. Then we get down to Savana, (Cha-Cha) our 8th grade veteran player (Sarah's sister) who can't play any conference games because of that silly conference rule limiting homeschoolers. Thankfully, she does get to play in our non-conference games and is a huge asset to the team just because of her encouraging spirit! We were so limited on eligible players, our coach promoted two 7th graders to Varsity. Cherelle and Emma had only played one year of JV so there has been a HUGE learning curve for them. There you have it, an eclectic group of girls thrown together as a volleyball team...but what a TEAM they have become!

After getting off to a shaky start with girls playing new and unfamiliar defensive and offensive positions, and for some of them learning how to play REAL volleyball rather than the "bump ball" version, it's been quite a season.

This picture shows Bex "setting" the ball. This was so far out of her comfort zone this year. She is usually an Outside Hitter and LOVES hitting! But this year, everyone had to make changes and adjustments. I was proud that she worked so hard to learn this new position. She still got plenty of chances to hit, too!

As we head into our final weekend of volleyball season, our record stands at 18-0 in regular season and tournament play. We've knocked off each and every team in our conference, as well as, three big high schools here in Tallytown. Our girls have worked so hard to accomplish this.

Our conference, Panhandle Christian Conference, stretches north from Florida, to Bainbridge, Georgia and Dothan, Alabama -- then west through Panama City and Pensacola, Florida nearly to Mobile, Alabama. It is divided up into two regions -- East and West. Last weekend, we traveled to Panama City, FL for the East Regional Conference Championship. The five schools (with teams this year) battled it out to be the East Regional Champions. The top two finalists go on to another tournament (which is THIS weekend) called the Final Four. There the top two teams from the East and the West play to decide the full Conference Champions.

Last weekend, our girls easily won the East Regional Tournament. Here's a picture of our team after the game with our two coaches, Ginny and Rachel.

16-Cherelle, 12-Emma, 22-LaTisha, 13-Sarah, 8-Emily, 21-Bex, 23-Kelly, Savana, 3-Valerie. Remember, Savana can't play in conference games :( so she isn't in her uniform. She cheers everyone on anyway! Jackie (6) is the one down with the trophy.

Before the tournament, all the coaches vote to determine the best players in the conference for the All-Conference Team. From MCS, Bex, Emily and Sarah were voted 1st Team All-Conference and Jackie was voted to the 2nd Team All-Conference!

After the championship game, a Most Valuable Player for the tournament is named. This usually goes to a "tall girl." That's just the way it is.

BUT....

This year, the Most Valuable Player trophy was awarded to a 5'5" Senior....

BEX!!!

And, yes... Mom and Dad are so proud!!! She plays her heart out each and every game and I was so thrilled for her to receive some recognition for her efforts.

Our last regular season game was against Godby High School here in Tallytown. This is a big, public high school right down the road from MCS. This is the first year they have agreed to play us. Since this was the last home game of the season, it was dubbed "Senior Night." All three of our seniors were recognized with team signed volleyballs, special t-shirts, roses and a framed picture of them playing. It was a sweet time. I cried.

As official scorekeeper, I'm considered part of the officiating team. This means I'm supposed to be unbiased and QUIET during the games. I've learned how to be somewhat quiet and somewhat unbiased. But it is HARD! Believe me, it is HARD! Since it was our last game, the chief referee (who I've become good friends with over the years) turned around to me and whispered, "If you want to cheer tonight -- I'm not listening." He was so sweet, he kept turning around between plays and telling me "Did you give her that Ace? Did you give her that Kill?" He was referring to my favorite, #21, of course.

So, this weekend we are headed to Pensacola for the Final Four Tournament. We're excited, but also dread the ending of our sweet season. Normally, when a team has such a great record, we finish our season by participating in the NACA National Volleyball Tournament in Dayton, TN where Christian school teams from all over the country come to compete. Remember I mentioned earlier that the year has been filled with "drama?" (Since this is a memoir for Bex, I can't NOT mention the drama...but I will keep it short and sweet.) Well, part of the drama included the church Pastor canceling several of our games, our coach resigning under duress from the administration, and our being told that Nationals was NOT going to be in our future. But despite these trials, our girls have kept their head and finished their season with much poise and focus.

The end of the season is bittersweet for me, as well. I've been the Team Mom, Team Scorekeeper and traveled with the team for the past four years. I love these girls and I love the game. So MY sporting life is over along with Bex's. But despite all this, I'm looking forward to the new chapters unfolding in my sweet Bex's life. I can't wait to see what God has planned for her (AND me)!

Stay Tuned with me!

PIZZA!!!!

2009-09-24T00:04:00.000-04:00

Some of my most favorite Illinois memories as a kid centered around Aunt Judy and Uncle Moose's PIZZA NIGHT! Back then, their house wasn't as roomy as it is now. In fact, it was downright tight when you added all the relatives to the mix! As you came in the door, you had to SQUEEEEEZZZE around the table to get anywhere! But that didn't matter to us kids. We always had a blast running around with all the cousins outside while the adults (+ cousin Gena, who was never a child) hung out in the house. It's true that you always remember the "smells" of your childhood. I never smell pizza cooking, that I don't think of those wonderful times in Illinois.

These days, the pizza is still as yummy as ever.

Before the pizza, though, we spent a lot of the afternoon cutting up all the peaches we picked. Oh, and shucking more corn. While we were up to our elbows in peach juice, cousins Sue and Gerald Glasco from Marion dropped by for a visit. Gerald and my mom were first cousins. It's been fun getting to know them over the past few years..especially through Sue's blog. They brought their granddaughter (who I had read so much about I felt like I knew her!) and some of her friends from college. Gerald was in a big hurry to get back on the road until he started showing me albums of pictures he had taken of various family, folks and stuff. That was so much fun looking through and figuring out who all those people were!

This year, Uncle Moose and his granddaughter (my cousin) Cora were in charge of making the dough (from scratch), rolling it out and pouring on the pizza sauce. Aunt Judy's flour container would last me about 10 years. They say at Christmas it might last HER a week! Whew!

This picture is actually the LAST pizza being started. They ran out of their homemade pizza sauce, so they improvised with homemade salsa! The salsa was wonderful with chips...it was yummy on pizza, too!

By the way, that is not a mini-fridge. Uncle Moose is just THAT big!

Here is my cousin, Gena and Aunt Judy putting on pizza toppings. As a kid, we grated the cheese from a huge block....but now they've resorted to "bagged" shredded cheese. {For SHAME!} The meat toppings were store-bought, too. Pretty much everything else was freshly cut from the garden -- tomatoes, peppers, onion, etc. Actually, I spent a good bit of time cutting up those tomatoes being layered on that beauty! They were soooo good!

Here's some pizza ready to go in their oven. Its a commercial oven, but for some reason you couldn't put 8 pizza's in at the same time!

If I didn't mention it before, these folks COOK. They COOK A LOT!!! And when they COOK, it is soooo GOOD!!!

I must be adopted.

Here are some of the menfolk enjoying after dinner talk. There were a whole bunch more folks there that night...but they must have been spread out letting their supper settle. Bex was in charge of taking these pictures... Maybe she could have done better? She didn't get a picture of all the peach cobbler, the peach pie, the peach and blueberry pie, the peach salsa, the brownies....I'm just sayin.

Here are most of the "little" ones these days. All cousins kids that live within a few miles of each other. This was taken right before Bex was told to leave because they wanted some "privacy."

That's all the pictures of the pizza night. There was a BUNCH of folks there. There was a BUNCH of pizza eaten and a BUNCH of peaches eaten. All was well with MY world!!!

Stay tuned.

Giant City State Park

2009-09-21T00:12:00.001-04:00

On Saturday morning, after arriving in Illinois on our little road trip, my aunt and uncle treated me and Bex to breakfast at the Giant City Lodge located in a beautiful, 4,000 acre Illinois State Park. I had requested this little side-trip to show Bex the lodge because my grandfather helped build it as part of the CCC back during the Depression. Also, my Uncle Moose worked in the park for many years and he gave us the "real" tour! Here are a few pictures from this beautiful place.

This one is taken inside the great room at the Lodge. It sports beautiful brick-work and wood-work...oh and several dead animals.

Here's a picture of Bex standing beside one of the HUGE poles that hold up the main part of the building. This is ONE log! It's REAL! Not like those fake ones you see at Disney.

The other end of the great room. The archways are so pretty with the sun shining in. Kind of reminded me of an old castle. I have no idea what "part" of this building my grandfather helped build...doesn't really matter...but I wish I knew.

The next few pictures are taken on the trail TO the Devil's Standing-Table....which we never actually saw. (These old bones can only hike UP so far!)

Of course, my monkey-child has no problem climbing ANYTHING!

These bluffs are so pretty!

A look up the trail we were following.

An interesting tree hanging off the bluff.

Believe it or not, the trail goes right through here.

Yes...Climb OVER the rock and through the creek.

This is me and my Aunt Judy. She's my mom's youngest sister. She's short like my mom. She retired from a long nursing career and now takes care of grandchildren and her husband, Uncle Moose!

Do you have any idea what THIS little green thingy is? It's a Paw-paw. Remember the children's song about "pickin up paw-paws puttin them in a basket"? Well, here you go. Aunt Judy says they taste like rotten bananas...hmmm...I'll probably pass on trying this one! After a wonderful "truck" tour of the park, we headed back towards home.

But on the way home, we couldn't get past this beautiful peach orchard. After driving down some of the rows, Uncle Moose just happened to have the telephone number of the guy who owns it. So, after a quick call, we were given permission to pick some of the beauties! Did I mention, we just "happened" to have some 5-gallon buckets in the back of the truck?

Some of these beauties were the size of softballs!

I don't know whether I put as many in the bucket as I dropped...but I tried. It didn't take us long to fill up a couple of buckets!

After picking his bucket full, here Uncle Moose is "testing" the product. They were YUMMY!

Stay tuned....more Illinois trip coming your way....

The Road-trip Continues!

2009-09-15T13:57:00.018-04:00

We were still in Alabama when we left off from the last post. Today we head north with Southern Illinois dialed into our sights.

On the way, we stopped in Cadiz, Kentucky for a bite to eat at Cracker Barrel.

This pig was in the front of the store. I couldn't resist getting a picture...so I ~~insisted ordered~~ encouraged Bex to take a ride! Isn't this a cute pig?

HINT: You can really see the beauty of the countryside in these pictures if you "click" the picture (it blows them up full size). Then to come back, just use the "back" button on your browser.

We arrived at my Aunt Judy and Uncle Moose's home around 4:30pm. The weather was absolutely beautiful! Here are a few pictures showing the view from my Aunt's home. I don't think I would ever get tired of looking at the beauty surrounding this home.

The beautiful rolling "hills" are so gorgeous. It was great just sitting and enjoying the scenery.

We had not been at my aunt's for more than 15 minutes when cousin, Cora, swooped in and carried Bex off to a local rodeo. You know she REALLY had to twist her arm to get her to go! (We had been away from home more than 24 hours --so Bex was in need of a horsey-fix!)

When my aunt got home from town, she commenced to planning dinner. The number of mouths to feed quickly grew from 4 to about 15 by the time all the family had been informed of the arrival of the "Florida folks"!!! It was quickly decided that we didn't have enough corn for everyone. So....Aunt Judy said "Come on, lets go up on the hill and pick some corn. You can ride a 4-wheeler, can't you?" "Ummmm...sure!" I answered.

Okay... TRUTH time here! Yes, I have ridden a 4-wheeler. NO, I have never DRIVEN a 4-wheeler. But the thought goes through my head, "how hard can it be? I used to drive my brothers' mini-bike (35 years ago!!!), surely this can't be too complicated."

So, I mount up on this huge machine. My uncle graciously gives me a quick lesson on how to make it go-- and more importantly, how to make it stop! During this class time, my aunt has loaded up and is heading out on another 4-wheeler. She leads the way up the gravel road to the "hill" which looks very much like a mountain to me. After a shaky start, I follow her. This particular scene was captured on video by one of my dear cousins. Because of the video, I was able to see my skills (or lack thereof) and my backside from a different perspective AND to hear the "remarks" made by the elders still back on level ground! Bex thinks this video is priceless. (Thanks a LOT, Jon!)

Anyway, I made it up the hill to the corn field. Here's the beautiful scenery that met me on the hill. You can see the cornfield in the distance.

When I finally arrived at the field, my aunt was riding down the corn rows on her 4-wheeler, leaning over picking ears of corn and throwing them in the bucket on the back. THIS is the way to pick corn!

After picking a sufficient amount of corn, we headed back down the hill. The folks that live around there might not consider this a daunting task...but for this flat-lander-Floridian it was pretty scary! But I DID make it down without embarrassing myself in front of the pile of folks gathered at the bottom.

Now...let me tell you about the corn...oh, my! This stuff was so good! In fact, when the meal was over I KNEW Bex would kill me if she didn't get some, so I wrapped up a left-over ear in foil and stuck it in my bedroom, in my suitcase just to make sure it would be kept safe and sound for BEX. Let me repeat! It was for BEX that I did that...not myself!

But when the passle of kids that were running IN and AROUND and THROUGH everything spotted that corn, they thought it was too funny that this crazy lady from Florida would put CORN in her suitcase! Thus, the appropriate pictures were taken.

Next time, I'll make sure to CLOSE the suitcase!

Did I mention they also have a tomato patch?? Makes my mouth water just thinking about those HUGE, sweet, juicy tomatoes.

Stay tuned.

That Brings Us to August!

2009-09-13T23:18:00.008-04:00

Our August started out with a bang!

On Monday, (July 27) Bex won some tickets from a local radio station to a Rascal Flatts concert in Atlanta on Friday night (July 31). Now, if you know my Bex --she LOVES her some Rascal Flatts! FREE TICKETS!!!

Okay, if this had been in Tallytown, they might have seemed more FREE!...but this concert was in ATLANTA, GA -- 5 hours away! Let's see...ummmm...gas, food, a place to stay...FREE? And the kicker even to that is that she had a volleyball tournament in Albany, GA the very next morning --bright and early!

But did I mention, my girl LOVES Rascal Flatts... "a chance of a lifetime" to hear them in concert! So, after much ~~coercion~~ coordination, we worked it so that Mr. Fix-It would take her to the concert on Friday night, then get her to Albany on Saturday morning for volleyball. Did I forget to mention that Mr. Fix-It isn't really a RF fan? Hmmm... But he sure loves his girl! You can bet there was NO WAY her parents were going to allow Bex (at 17) to drive to Atlanta --even with a friend for such an event. (We're so mean!) So, off went Dad and daughter.

Oh, by the way. The concert was in an amphitheater and it rained...

They had a great time. It was a bonding experience!

So, after a busy night for Bex and Dad (where they ended up staying the night with wonderful friends in Macon), on August 1, the volleyball team arrived to play in a summer tournament at Sherwood Christian Academy in Albany, GA.

Sherwood is now famous for their church's movies, Facing the Giants and Fireproof! Much of FTG was filmed at the school (just a little neat trivia--no charge!) We played against four other teams (I think it was 4!) and didn't lose a game. Our girls played really well most of the time. We were undefeated and won the tournament!

Then on August 8, we had our Women's Ministry quarterly event at church (which I help coordinate). Our theme was "It's A Fruit Festival." It was a fun look at what IS a fruit of the Spirit and what is not.

Galatians 5: 22-23 "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (NLT)

Each table was decorated with a different fruit (i.e., banana, strawberry, grape, cherry, pineapple, etc.) The food consisted of lots of yummy "fruity" things like pies, cakes, cookies, breads and a few breakfast casseroles thrown in for fun. If you're on FaceBook you could see some pictures that somebody else took of the event...alas, I was too busy to take any.

On August 13, Bex and I headed out on a road trip with my dad...Grandaddy CW..from Bronson. Now let me explain right up front. Grandaddy CW does not take vacations...but he DOES take road trips. Once he is away from Levy County, FL he doesn't let any grass grow under his feet. Don't expect to stay in any one place more than 48 hours--TOPS! But he can surely put some mileage on a car. This particular trip was supposed to be...leaving on Thursday and starting for home on Monday or Tuesday. But remember, if Grandaddy CW is away from Levy County --timetables change drastically when he's more than a 10 minute drive away from home!!!

We started out on our trip heading west to Montgomery, AL...or more specifically, Millbrook, AL. My dad's first cousin, Billy Carl and his wife, Pat (and their grown kids) live there. We arrived at their lovely home in the late afternoon. They took us to dinner at their favorite BBQ restaurant and we had great food! Then we went home to have some of Pat's homemade Red Velvet cake for dessert...oh my! I was STUFFED!

This picture is of Pat, my dad and Billy Carl. I'm not sure why they look so happy. They really do like each other --a lot!

Did I mention they have a lovely home? Oh, it is gorgeous! Bex felt like it was one of the finer hotels she's ever stayed in. And the service was fabulous!

Now, back to Grandaddy's timetable changes. Before we went to bed, he had decided we would leave around 7:30 or so and get on the road towards Illinois. No problem. We can handle it...but I knew better.

So, the next morning, I get up at 5:30. Billy Carl and Pat live in such a pretty, quiet, safe neighborhood, I decided this would be a good morning to go for a walk and try to expend some the calories from the night before. I lovingly SHOOK my daughter awake (did I mention it was still dark outside?). I conned her into walking with me--with the promise that she could sleep all morning in the car! I'm thinking, we'll walk for 30 minutes, get back to the house with plenty of time for a leisurely shower, do my hair and get dressed for the day.

So we walk 30 minutes and get back to the house about 6:15. Dawn is just breaking....and my dad is standing in the driveway with all his stuff already in the car READY to go! Really! I'm sweaty from swimming/walking through the muggy morning air... so I beg for a few more minutes to get that shower. Daddy is never belligerent in being ready to go, he's very agreeable to whatever I want to do....but HE IS READY TO GO! So, being the good daughter, I hurry.

Stay tuned for more Grandaddy, Bex and Meggy adventures!

Our Summer -- July

2009-09-08T07:32:00.003-04:00

There was lots of activity around The Pine in July. It was enough just having Bex back home! But we had some more fun anyway!

Our June ended with a fun party to wish my friend Cynthia a happy retirement. It was bittersweet, knowing she would be moving to Tampa within a week or two. As of today, she's happily ensconced in her new home, venturing out to find the perfect grocery store, a church that fits her preferred worship style, and I KNOW she's gathering new friends to be a part of her ever-growing family. Thankfully, with the technology of today, it takes just a simple phone call to hear that precious laugh!

When Bex got home from camp she had to test the newly created "Rainbow Float" she had heard so much about from CJ!

While Bex was at camp we had a HUGE thunderstorm come through The Pine. Mr. Fix-It and I stood outside under the carport and watched God's fireworks. At times, it was too amazing for me and I sat in the van and watched! We watched lightning strike this tree across the road from us. It sizzled with a bright pink/purple light for several seconds. These pictures were taken the next day as we went to investigate the damage.

You can tell where the bark was just peeled off this oak tree. Absolutely amazing!

So what would July be without fireworks on Independence Day? This year we went to the Talla Antique Car Museum for the festivities. The festivities weren't bad for their first year.

A couple of our favorites here.

LOVED this one, it was HUGE!

On July 11, my sweet niece, Natalie, took the plunge into matrimony. Here's a pix with Natalie, her dad and mom (Mr. Fix-It's sister), and her sister Caroline. It was a beautiful wedding of fairy-tale proportions.

Natalie married her prince, Stephen, in the Monticello Opera House. Here are the men from the wedding party before the wedding. Stephen is the handsome one with the white bow-tie (2nd from left).

Here is the beautiful wedding cake which represents the girlie-girl that Natalie has always been. She loves anything "Victorian" so the opera house and the cake were just right!

Here's a picture with Bex and Natalie before the wedding. Bex dress looks weird with the handkerchief hem...so don't ask about it.

The next week, we headed off to Gainesville for team volleyball camp at the University of Florida. As much as I'm NOT a Gator fan, I looked forward to this week because it meant I could visit and hang out with my family.

These girls are part of the team that rode with me and Bex to Gainesville. (L-R) Sarah, Savannah (Cha-Cha), Emily and Valerie.

The team did well at camp (even though it was NOT a very good camp!) and finished the week earning Third Place in their division. (That's what their fingers are showing "third"...) The blonde in the gray shirt in the front is Coach Q, she was their coach for the week. (Bex is 2nd from the right)

Another good thing about having volleyball camp in Gainesville is that Mr. Fix-It was able to come, bringing a friend's boat, for the weekend. We sent the other girls home with another mom and spent the weekend in Chiefland with my crazy brother's family.

Here's a pix as we were on our way to the Suwannee river for the day. Bex with the bug-eyes, CJ, and CJ's oldest sister, Tiffany.

Did I mention that the "crazy" doesn't fall far from the tree?

Couldn't leave this picture out. Here you see the much drooled over Camo Croc's. These are Bex's dream shoes! They finally arrived the week before camp...she was a very happy girl.

Here we are at the Redneck Riviera! It's a sandbar in the middle of the river, about 3 feet deep so the kids can get out and swim to their hearts content. You can see our pontoon boat on the right, with our friends (the Feagle's) boat on the left. Before the skiing started, we had them parked all together so you can easily go from boat to boat.

This is Bex, just getting up on the ski's.

Here's Bex skiing up a storm! She has such good balance, she's a natural. As we were headed home, she skiied all the way back to the boat landing (about 15 minutes)...she was TIRED!

Here's Mr. Fix-It relaxing as he is skiing slalom. You can see the pieced together "ski rope." Somebody forgot to pack the ski-rope. Being the resourceful folks we are...one was quickly improvised. The handle was a wooden dowel someone had. It was funny because the handle kept getting shorter and shorter as the day wore on because it kept breaking.

Here's Tiffany skiing. Don't worry, you won't have to endure a picture of Meggy skiing --that ain't gonna happen! I'm WAYYY too old for that!

Here's Uncle Chuck, the faithful boat driver for all the skiiers. Just look at those pink legs!

OOPS! Another picture of Bex and CJ! How did that get in there?

Well, a LOT more happened in July...but this hit the high points. Of course, attending my friend Tammy's baby shower for her #7 was a lot of fun and I got to visit with some friends I don't get to see face-to-face very often...that was a high point too!

Next up will be our August fun...

Stay Tuned!

Our Summer - Substitute Daughter

2009-09-06T19:00:00.006-04:00

While Bex was at camp, her Mom did find a few things to do! Since Bex had abandoned me the week of our church's Vacation Bible School, I decided to import a "substitute daughter" for the week. My niece CJ (Carroll Jo) was happy to fill the position!

CJ is now nine years old and just started the fourth grade a few weeks ago. She LOVES her Aunt Meggy...but especially she loves her cousin, Bex. Since the day CJ was born, she has believed that Bex was put on this earth simply to be HER playmate. This was her first visit to Tallytown without her special "cuz" being in residence. But we muddled through anyway.

When asked if she was having a good time, she told her mom she was enjoying being an "only" child. Too funny! When CJ was born she had one sister 12 and one 13....so she has ALWAYS been an "only" child. CJ was born a teenager! Always the QUEEN!

CJ enjoyed VBS and swimming at our neighbor's house. The temperatures during the week she was in Tallytown were over 100 degrees every day! So the pool was a welcome relief.

CJ LOVED playing with Spooky! Spooky LOVED having a girl to play with, too! He wore her out with all his energy. He was missing Bex terribly!

We lovingly refer to Spooky as "Pooky"...but I was informed in no uncertain terms that was CJ's nickname from her Grandpa and we could NOT call the dog, Pooky.

One of our evening duties was to feed the horses in Bex absence. CJ (the girl) LOVES CJ (the horse)! She wasn't too thrilled with Cherokee (the yearling filly) because Cherokee has such a prissy attitude, she scared her a bit. But CJ (the horse) is always up for a little love and attention from anybody! (NOTE: CJ the HORSE was here first!)

Here CJ is enjoying our favorite summer treat...a Rainbow Float! (Quickly invented by a very smart Aunt.) A Rainbow Float is made up of Rainbow Sherbet and Ginger Ale, served up in a fancy glass. (The glass is especially important!) CJ would agree to anything as long as a Rainbow Float would be delivered as the reward.

CJ was a big hit at church! She attended choir practice with us and enjoyed showing off the motions to songs she was learning that week at VBS. After choir, I had several offers to take her off our hands...she's such a cutie!

At church, when folks asked CJ who she was, she answered..."I'm Aunt Meggy's substitute daughter while Bex is at camp!" We got a LOT of mileage out that!

While CJ visited with us, she had to call her Mom and Dad EVERY day (can you imagine?). Things got a bit trickier at the end of the week because I had told CJ about a surprise 25th Anniversary party for her parents that we would be attending on Saturday. It was tricky because we had to "forget" to call her parents on Friday night. We had to "forget" because we (CJ AND Me) were worried that she would forget and spill the beans to her parents. Her parents were not amused....but they were surprised at the party ...and they survived a whole night without talking to her. I tried to upload pictures off of Facebook of the party. They're too small to really be of any value here...sorry. But it was fun.

It was quite lonely around here after taking CJ home. Quiet. Too quiet. But I survived the rest of the month anyway. Now on to July for my next post! (Notice I didn't say tomorrow...but soon!)

Stay tuned.

Our Summer -- Camp Charis in June

2009-09-05T13:26:00.021-04:00

Meggy is BACK by popular demand!!!

Okay...only 3 people asked nicely for me to post to my blog...but that's popular demand, right?

Two months without posting? How does the time pass sooooo quickly?

JUNE

June seemed to d--r--a--a--a--a--g by for me, I guess because Bex was at camp the entire MONTH!!! Can you believe she would CHOOSE to be away from her loving mother for a whole month??? Four very long weeks away from her Mom...okay, truthfully they were long for MOM...but Bex thought they went by wayyyy too quickly! I did see her a few weekends, so that helped a little.

Well, there aren't many places I would let her leave me for, but Camp Charis in Pelham, GA is one of them. Her time there has taught her leadership skills and responsibility, encouraged and discipled her spiritual life, and she's made many, many wonderful friends. Here are a few memories of her June 2009.

These pictures will give you a taste of WHY she loves Camp Charis and WHY you should send your children there...

This particular week, Bex was the Counselor for Trailblazer girls (Ages 11-12). This is Bex favorite age group! (Bex is in the back in a yellow shirt.) Their wagon was "Turkey Trot" so they are doing their turkey signs...can you see it?

The first night at camp, they have to make up a cheer and a poster for their cabin...this is the performance of said cheer.

Bex (in brown t-shirt) working with her "Cadets" on their poster for the week. Cadets are kind of 1/2 worker/1/2 camper for the week. Bex was pushed WAY out of her comfort zone being their leader for the week. But from all reports, she did a great job! (They won Top Wagon for the week!)

After some hard work, the Cadets are getting ready to head out on the lake for kayaking, canoeing and row-boating.

Bex rowing the boat...thinking "Why did Duh say this was hard? She's such a wimp!"

Swimming in the lake. Although they really love this, I believe this picture shows the beginning of Bex's double-ear infection which reared its ugly head in her third week!

The Friday of her Week 3, I got a call that I should come get her because she was sick. After a quick doctor visit, diagnosis of both ears infected, and antibiotics started, she spent a painful couple of days. But before the fever even subsided she was begging to go back and finish her 4th week. Hmmm.... Against my better judgment, Mom caved and took her back to camp. I figured that was preferable to hearing her whine all week about staying home. Thankfully, Bex survived!

Another favorite activity...the MUD PIT! You may be saying "Ewwww!"....but we all know rich women pay BIG BUCK$ for this spa treatment!

Here are the Trailblazer's cleaned up a bit! (Did I mention they won Top Wagon honors for their week, too!)

LOVE this picture!!! Kids reading and studying God's Word out of their own Bibles!

You never know who will stop by to help tell a Bible story!

Bex hates this picture -- but I thought it was a good picture to show you the wagons they sleep in with the lake in the background.

The wagons sleep 8 (on bunk-beds) and are air-conditioned!

Ever made tuna salad for 70? This is my friend "Mamaweso" mixing it up! Different folks volunteer to cook each week. She's one of the favorite camp cooks.

At camp, different days have different themes. This day was "Messed Up Monday"...I don't think they dress like this on a regular basis!

These are the Cadets... Bex giving them the thumbs up!

These are the Trailblazers on Messed Up Monday.

The Trailblazer's all decked out for Western Wednesday! Bex would be the one with the big belt buckle...a gift from Mrs. Becky.

One of the treats for Trailblazers is they get to "camp" out one night...in tents...in the woods...

Just in case you wondered, Bex is probably not having fun...just likes to jump high!

Just glad it's her...and not ME trying to keep up with that crew! Would you leave your nice air-conditioned bunk for this?

Just in case you ever wonder who "Duh" is...she's Bex's BFF and fellow counselor (the one in the middle).

Here's a good picture of the Cadet girls. They had a fantastic week!

One of the highlights of the first camper's week...the dedication of the new swimming pool! After the old pool was condemned because of numerous leaks, God blessed with this new pool! What an awesome experience to be the first group to get to enjoy it.

Can you tell what this is? This is a game of water volleyball (boys against girls)...with a human net (the boys with their hands up are the "net")!

The "net" also helped the boys team. Gives new meaning to hitting the ball OVER the net!

Preparing for Water Wars!

Staff -vs- Campers

Water Wars in full motion! Bex running for her life...or more likely for more water!

Sometimes things are just too funny! Bex is really laughing...and her dear friends are laughing "with" her!

So there you have a small snapshot of BEX's June. There are soooo many more pictures, of soooo many other activities, but I decided to spare you and just give you a few highlights.

I have a few more pictures of my own June to share... later.

Stay tuned!

Voila! Ain't So Complete!

2009-07-02T14:07:00.005-04:00

So.... a few weeks ago, I decide to try something new for supper.

In a fit of fancy, I had purchased this Voila frozen dinner at Publix. It was on sale. I had the silly thought that we could give it a try on one of those busy nights when I didn't feel like REALLY cooking. It looked promising.

Check out the picture.

"Voila! -- A Complete Meal in 10 Minutes"

Maybe you can even read the ingredients: "Carrots, Broccoli and Red Peppers with White Chicken and Pasta in a Sesame Garlic Stir-Fry Sauce"

Yummmmm! you say? Okay, it does sound pretty good. All the healthy "colors" covered, right? Orange, green, red, etc.

So I follow directions, pour it out in my skillet. Hmmmm...interesting...but it looks like something's missing. So I look at the bag --then look in the skillet --then look IN the bag (its empty) -- then look in the skillet. Yep! Something just ain't right.

Then I got my camera.

Check out THIS picture:

Notice anything missing? Why not compare this to the bag picture?

Okay...not quite Pioneer Woman photography, but you can see there is something missing.

Oh, wait!!!! LOOK!! I found it!!!!

There IS broccoli!!! See? Right there...on the end of the spoon!!!

Here's a close-up shot...I found another piece of broccoli!!! Yay! No false advertising here! There really IS broccoli...just not quite what the picture promised.

Now considering I don't even LIKE broccoli it was no great personal loss to me. However, the rest of my family DOES like broccoli and it would probably have been the most nutritious part of the entire meal.

So what would YOU do?

Popping By to Say Hello!

2009-06-23T21:23:00.008-04:00

Thought I'd drop in and share a little with you today.

The Pine continues to be a crazy place--even with Bex gone! Last week I had a substitute-daughter for the week. It really helped since I'm missing Bex so much. I'll post more about that later.

Bex is in the middle of her 3rd week out of 4, working at Camp Charis in Pelham, GA (the world's best kept secret (www.Campcharis.org)). She is having a blast! Last week she was the counselor for the 5-6 grade girls and her wagon won top honors for the week. This week she is in charge of the Cadet squad. These are 7-8 graders who are kind of 1/2 campers-1/2 workers. They serve the meals, help in the kitchen, clean the bath houses, etc. My "secret contact" is cooking at camp this week, she tells me Bex's wagon is ahead in points this week too! (I taught her everything she knows! Hah!)

I didn't even get to SEE Bex last weekend because we had to go to Chiefland for my brother and sister-in-law's 25th Anniversary party. So Bex just spent the 1 extra night at camp. You can imagine that I'm having HUGE Mom-spasms this week. I keep telling my "secret contact" to give her hugs for me...I can live vicariously through her! At least I will get to see her THIS weekend...3 more days! Wahoo! She'll be home and AWAKE for a few hours Friday night while washing clothes...then will be leaving again Saturday afternoon for her last week.

So.... me and Mr. Fix-It are hanging around actually having to talk to each other (LOL!), taking care of all HER animals and watching old "Have Gun Will Travel" shows from NetFlix. If you could hear: Dun-dun Dun-dun Dun-dunnnnnnnnn-dun over and over and over and over and over....you would understand how exciting this is. But Mr. Fix-It enjoys the show and it makes me happy when he is happy. At least its a clean show and we don't have to listen to all the homosexual innuendo and language you see on the sit-coms these days...just people shooting each other. Soooo much better!

Here are a couple of pictures of a strange bird that showed up on our bird feeder last week. I've checked out the Audubon book, but can't find it... Maybe you can help!

His eyes and beak don't match any of the pictures in the book!

His feathers seem to be pretty slick too...kind of...green.

Stay tuned!

Treasure Found!!!

2009-06-04T21:11:00.003-04:00

I bet you thought since I haven't posted in a few days that I had disappeared again!!!

Nope!

Just haven't made time to visit BloggyWorld this week.

I've been de-cluttering, running around with Bex and playing on FaceBook this week. I delivered six boxes of homeschool books and other materials to a friend. It was nice taking my "stuff" to clutter someone else's home. But if I know my friend, she will go through it, take what she can use, and have it on its way to somebody else very soon.

During the de-cluttering process, I've come upon quite a few treasures, too! Being a pack-rat isn't allll bad! Part of de-cluttering has been going through 12 years of homeschool...which includes books, papers, notebooks, supplies and all manner of "stuff." I've thrown away workbooks, assignment sheets, math papers, science papers, spelling papers, and just plain old paper-papers. I don't even remember her doing half the stuff I threw away. Looking through this stuff I'm much more confident that we did what we needed to do. That's a relief!

Through the process of throwing out, I've also come across things I treasure. Certificates from activities, math papers with mean drawings because she hated math; math papers with huge scribbles because she hated math (not such great memories of those particular days...but I smile when I remember them now!); art papers with beautiful pictures; and wonderful, creative, fully illustrated stories I will never part with. You wouldn't believe how many "I'm sorry Mommy for my attitude" notes I found! LOL!!

But one little note I found has made me laugh, smile and cry at the same time. (I wish I had a scanner so you could see it...that is so much more dramatic!) So far, this is my favorite treasure...

A letter from my sweet daughter (age 9 or 10--spelling NOT corrected):

++++++++++++++++
Dear Mommy,

Thankyou for making me a tuna sandwhich today, it was very very good!

This is a poem for you that I wrote.

I love my mom
She is so great!
She made me a sandwhich,
That I ate.

I love my mom,
She loves me too!
She cares for me
when I have the flu.

I love my mom,
she is so cool!
She takes me to Lindseys house,
to go swimming in their swimming pool!

I love you!

++++++++++++++++++++

These kind of things make everything worthwhile.

Stay Tuned!

Pink Lemonade Anyone?

2009-05-30T20:51:00.006-04:00

Being the thrifty gal that I am, I hate throwing perfectly good stuff away. [Okay, in keeping with the truth in blogfulness rule...maybe I should say...Being the pack-rat that I am, I hate throwing anything usable away.]

To give you the background on this...Bex has this little dehydration problem. Therefore, since she just will not drink water by itself, her loving mother buys lemonade mix for her. She WILL drink that and it keeps her from having one of those upchucking episodes that comes from dehydration.

So here's what happened a few weeks ago. Bex looks in the cabinet and since she had used up the previous jar of lemonade mix and NOT put it on the grocery list, she can't find any lemonade. Having the wonderful memory that I do, I say "Oh, I'm sure there is some pink lemonade mix in there." I know its there, I've seen it time and time again.

After pushing other things around a bit, Bex pulls out a container of pink lemonade mix. "Ummm...Mom, this is Sugar Free! Yuck!" Then her loving mother reminds her..."Would you rather drink that...or have an 'episode'?"

She starts looking at it and sees a coupon! Great! we love coupons!

Then she looks a little closer....

Sure enough... $5 off baseball apparel at JC Penney. Well, seeing "JC Penney" would have set off bells for me...because they only use "Penney's" now. Then, Bex read the expiration date. Can you see it? 12/31/94!!!!

No wonder I knew it was in the cabinet! I've been shoving it around for 15 years!!!! Apparently, nobody in my household likes the stuff!

So, now I know you're wondering..."Did you throw it away, Meggy-girl?"

Ummmm....no. She drank it.

Really! She drank it.

She complained the whole time about it being sugar-free...but she drank it.

So now you know: I'm either the thriftiest gal you know...or a child abuser... hmmmmmm..... she didn't have an "episode" and I can testify she lived! Pack-rats of the world...UNITE!

Stay tuned.

Now for the GROWING UP TOO FAST Department

2009-05-28T09:13:00.006-04:00

Another year -- another Awards Banquet --another opportunity to play dress up! Where does the time go? Seems like we just did this a few months ago!

Here are a few pictures from last Friday night's banquet. Even though we have homeschooled her entire life, Bex has enjoyed playing sports at a local Christian school. Each year, the school has a banquet where they honor athletes and students for their achievments. It's kind of like a prom with awards and no dancing...oh! and the parents are invited. Okay, so its not really like a prom...just a dress-up dinner.

My sweet Bex looked lovely. I'm so proud of her...but she has grown up wayyyyy too fast!

Here's a picture with Bex and her main man!

The FAM!

Here's most of the volleyball team and the coaches. Several team members were missing.

Bex was honored to receive the Coach's Award for volleyball this year. That's the "all around you're a really great kid and volleyball player" award. This picture is of Bex and Coach Ginny.

After the banquet, Bex and some of her friends went bowling. They thought they were doing something unique. Little did she know that she was just following family tradition...since her Mom went bowling after a couple of her proms in full formal regalia, too!

Stay tuned!

Funerals R Us!

2009-05-26T21:58:00.005-04:00

I know you're saying...ENOUGH ALREADY WITH YOUR FRIENDS DYING!!! Actually, I'm really tired of funerals too...even joyous celebrations of Christians lives. Does this make me strange? I've just had quite enough of them lately. Actually, waaaaayyyyyy too many!

Today we celebrated the life of a lovely lady, Betty Hough. I've known Mrs. Betty since I was a little girl. We went to church together. Mrs. Betty and her husband were very instrumental in discipling my Dad as a young Christian--which sure made our family's life take a new route!

About 27 years ago (next month) Mrs. Betty introduced me to my future husband. She was big on manners and would never let someone in a room go without being introduced to EVERYONE! Hospitality was probably her middle name...even though they said it was "Lou."

As a young college student, fresh away from home after losing my Mom, I knew I could always count on a wonderful, home-cooked Sunday meal if I took the initiative to get up and go to church. I wasn't shy about accepting her invitation! During one of those afternoons, she taught me how to make the perfect Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Every time I make it I think about her.

Mrs. Betty had four children. The oldest two were quite a bit older than me and my brothers. But #3, Phyllis, was only 2 years older and always seemed to be in my brother's class in school. We became friends (probably because she is so much like her mother and is so friendly and outgoing) and kept contact even after my family moved out of town.

Long story...shorter, at least --Phyllis was the Matron of Honor at my wedding. Her older sister made our wedding cake and decorated the church. Mrs. Betty's girls gave me a wedding shower here in Tallytown with many people coming who hadn't seen me for years...they were there for Mrs. Betty, I think. Mrs. Betty loved flowers and trimmed and pruned her beautiful, huge Boston ferns all summer long so we could use them in the wedding. Her family basically put on our whole wedding! Did I say they were wonderful?

When I was pregnant with Bex and ordered on bed rest, Mrs. Betty and another dear friend made it THEIR mission to get me to my Dr.'s appointments. Even then we lived WAYYYYY out in the woods, but they would come pick me up and take me home every two days for three weeks! They were so faithful and kind to me during that hard time.

Mrs. Betty fought her cancer for many years. She was always worried about being a burden on everybody. She never complained. She died five days before her 61st wedding anniversary. Wow! What a lady. Now she's reaping her reward with our precious Savior. What a blessing to KNOW we'll meet again.

Another milepost in our lives. Another wonderful picture of a life well lived.

Stay tuned!

A Visitor at the Pine

2009-05-24T18:46:00.003-04:00

Since I've committed to not letting too much time go by between posts...and I'm trying to keep them short and sweet (okay, sweet)... I thought I'd share a picture of a recent visitor to the Pine. I was inspired by Jilma's post, I figured the Princess would freak if this were her home and I hope allhisblessings doesn't notice the dust.

For some reason, these guys LOVE the window behind our couch. I don't really mind him/her being there...as long as they don't jump on me. Bex usually gets the job of relocating them outside.

But it can get quite interesting hearing something rattle around...not knowing what it is.

This is the same window where some years ago a snake crawled in between the screen and the CLOSED window (on the outside) and couldn't get out and died. It took us nearly a week to find where the smell was coming from! EWWW!!!!

Stay Tuned!!!

Bex's New Baby

2009-05-22T10:45:00.003-04:00

ANOTHER MILEPOST!

BEX HAS A BABY!!!

Okay, not THAT kind of baby! But a baby none the less. This one came on four legs when she was around nine months old...like we NEEDED another mouth to feed around here.

These pictures are from March 3, the day we picked her up. Her former family called her Jasmine. Bex doesn't think that quite fits her personality. Bex wants to name her Cherokee because she looks like an Indian horse. The actual breed is American Paint horse.

Cherokee's mother's name is Pandoras Spell and her father's name is Big Guns Talk. Bex thinks Cherokee's REAL name should be Little Guns Talk Too.

As Bex has been working with the baby, she just calls her Girlie...I'm afraid that's going to stick.

You can see our (aggravating) Thoroughbred, Kodi, in the background checking out the new little filly.

It was getting dark and we were trying to get her settled into the round pen. The other horses were quite intrigued!

Didn't take her long to demolish the hay. This "baby" can EAT!!!!

Here Bex is starting to work her magic with her. Bex wants to spend her life training horses...here is her first real chance to see how that might work. Bex seems to have a knack...we'll see.

We're so thankful to the Brookins family for giving us this opportunity. Hopefully, Bex and Girlie will make them proud!

Stay tuned!

The "Other Becky" - Chapter 2

2009-05-17T01:30:00.003-04:00

As milestones go, this one is another that is bittersweet. I've lost good friends in my life this past year-- my sweet friend Mrs. Edna; my friend, Pat; Grandpa Foster and Mrs. Becky. As promised in my Chapter 1 post in February, today I'm posting a few pictures with Mrs. Becky. (Better late than never!)

Mercifully, Jesus called Mrs. Becky home on May 2. She fell asleep and didn't wake up. Hard for us--but sweet for her. It was Kentucky Derby Day! Jesus must have wanted her to have a better seat for the show! (She was such a horse nut!)

Another milestone we've passed in our lives. We had so many special times together with Mrs. Becky over the last five years. She was full of wisdom, but oh, so much fun! Unfortunately, most of those memories are in our hearts and not in pictures...but here are a few.

This was taken the first year my girls started helping her every Wednesday. (They helped her nearly every single Wednesday for four years and LOVED it!)

Bex on the left--and K on the right. The dog in Mrs. Becky's lap is Mitzy...a certified neurotic dog. The dog is on Prozac--REALLY! It doesn't help.

This photo was after a softball game in Bainbridge. In those days, Mrs. Becky LOVED road trips! She loved watching the girls play...but she loved GOING more than anything.

These photos are from a dinner party at her home she helped the girls plan, prepare and serve. This was part of her "becoming a lady" instructional time. This was a FORMAL dinner party with all the trimmings! She loved all the fru-fru stuff.

Mrs. Becky was a true Southern belle and loved passing along all those traditions to my girls. She would have given Scarlett a run for her money!

The girls invited a couple of friends, used the good china and even did the centerpiece.

Of course, they all had to wear their formal's too! It was such a fun night!

This picture is Mrs. Becky and her friend Ellen. They had matching scooters. Our church's annual women's retreat was going on in Norman Park, GA and Mrs. Becky conned K into bringing her up for the day. She couldn't speak very loud--so she had her little speaker thingy on. This was taken right before she and Ellen went outside and raced their scooters on the sidewalk. It was a great race--neither wanted to lose!

Mrs. Becky was laid to rest pretty much the way she lived-- with the service perfectly planned by HER. Bex was honored to sing her requested "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." I think it was one of the hardest things she has ever done in her 17 years...but she did it beautifully. Mrs. Becky would have been soooo proud of her "Mini-Me!"

Over the past two weeks, we've laughed and cried thinking of our dear friend and mentor. We've talked about how much "blessing" we soaked up in the past five years and how much we'll miss that wisdom blended with humor, humility and so much nurturing. Some of her closest family missed out on this blessing...we were honored to fill that gap!

I miss her so much every day, she was like a second mother--and I don't say that lightly! On the last day of my job as I was on my way home I felt the pain of not being able to go and lay my head on her shoulder and receive her comfort. She would have comforted me...gently patted my head...and then told me "Okay, enough crying...Suck it up and get over it. God is FAITHFUL and tomorrow's another day!" LOL! I can almost hear her say it in my mind. Even with all her infirmity...she ran a good race and I know that today she is reaping her reward. With her AND Mrs. Edna, Heaven will never be the same! But it looks ever sweeter from this side.

Stay tuned!

I'm Self-Unemployed Again!

2009-05-16T00:45:00.000-04:00

Since I'm writing these days about what has happened in our lives over the past couple of months...this is a biggy.

As most of you know, I had been working for an attorney here in town since September. It was THE perfect job! I could not ask for better. I worked whatever hours I wanted --went to work when I wanted--left when I wanted--worked as many hours as I wanted. The work was great too! Challenging, but not tooooo challenging. Did I mention, I was well compensated too?

Ahhh...it was idyllic. When I needed to go do something with Mr. Fix-It, I would just tell the Office Queen I wouldn't be in the next day. When I needed to go spend some family time with my extended family, I would tell the Office Queen that I would be gone and wasn't quite sure when I would return. It was wonderful.

But alas, all good things generally come to an end.

In April, my boss decided to merge his practice with a larger firm out of Miami. He would be moving to and managing the existing Tallytown office of this firm. The bad news...my job was no longer necessary. All this firm's billing is done out of Miami. Ahhh...so sad for me that my job was to be over at the end of April.

Now for all my dear readers...this is a perfect example of God answering prayer. Before finding this job, I prayed for a job that I could deal with at least until we paid Bex's car off. Well, God answered my prayer! Her car was paid off in March. Isn't that a perfect example of God's awesome faithfulness and love? Maybe I should have been praying for a job that I liked AND that would go on until Bex was out of college? Hmmm...

My last day was actually, May 11. It took a bit of extra time to finish out some of my workload. So, now I'm unemployed and looking for a job again. Not that I HAVE to work, but I really enjoyed it. Having a little play money wasn't bad either!

Stay tuned!

Grandpa Foster -- A Giant of a Man

2009-05-14T14:41:00.004-04:00

Another thing that happened in the last few months is that God called Grandpa home. Actually, we aren't blood-kin, but he and his sweet wife pretty much adopted us as family when their daughter married my brother. Grandma was called home about five years ago, after more than 60 years of marriage!

The picture on the right is of Grandpa and his oldest grandaughter, Tiff. He sure loved all three of his granddaughters!

A year or so after Grandma died, Tiff moved in with him. He got a big kick out of telling all his cronies at the BBQ place that he lived with a 20-something gal!

This picture below is of Grandpa and his youngest granddaughter, CJ about five years ago...sitting in a hospital waiting room....waiting. They were both sound asleep.

Grandpa Foster was a giant of a man. Yes, he was a big man...but he was a GIANT to most of those who knew him because he was a REAL man. Intelligent, hard worker, honest, loyal friend, loving and faithful. He was strong right up to his 86th year. He loved to hunt, fish, run his sawmill and build things. He loved to laugh and could tell you stories that would curl your hair! His stories were incredible because they were true--or mostly true. He lived quite a life.

He and his wife had been married around 20 years before their only daughter arrived. You would think they would have raised a spoiled brat and they might have (I didn't know her back then). But that daughter is one of my very best friends now and you won't find many as loving, kind and self-less as she is. Her parents taught her well. My brother's luckiest day was the day he married her. Grandpa took him under his wing and loved him like a son. It was a mutual admiration society!

Anyway, after struggling for nearly a year after a serious stroke, the Lord mercifully took him home in March. I was blessed to have spent a week with the family a couple weeks prior to his home-going.

We'll miss him dearly, but we have the assurance that Jesus paid it all...so we'll see each other again one day.

Stay tuned!

Just Call Me Grace!

2009-05-12T00:32:00.005-04:00

Hi All!

Thanks for the sweet comments yesterday. I'm going to make a true effort to chat with you a bit more!

In trying to decide on my topic --out of the list I left yesterday, I thought I would try to articulate the one episode I KNOW you're all wondering about. How can a fairly normal, close-to-middle-age woman FALL out her own back door? Well, I can tell you it was NOT a pretty sight!

No head injuries this time! Thank you, Lord!!!!

I was heading out to work with my normal full [stadium sized] cup of OJ/Sprite Zero in one hand, the other hand was full of purse, book, and keys. Just before I opened the door, Mr. Fix-It called; so I was talking to him and holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder (remember both hands were full). I was trying to step around the full 33 gal. trash bag sitting in the middle of the doorway. As I stepped around the bag, out the door and onto the step -- I stepped just right onto a crack in the blocks and rolled my right ankle really, REALLY bad. Instead of doing my normal spread-eagle Superman [flying] impersonation; I went down hard on my left knee. It was really graceful.

I screamed as I went down and it hurt so bad, I started crying as I hit...okay, let's get real...I was sobbing!!!! Remember, Mr. Fix-It is still on the phone...I'm sure he didn't know what to think! So as I'm trying to get myself together, Spooky, the dog comes running up the steps and began alternately licking my face and licking the OJ out of my cup. I had managed to keep the cup upright except for just a few sloshes over the side (told you it was graceful!)

Can you get this wonderful image in your head? Me on the top step, down on one knee, crying and being licked by the dog and YELLING at the same time. As soon as I could catch my breath, I start yelling for Bex to come...of course, she was already on her way from the back of the car where she had been loading trash bags of clothes (hence, the bag in the middle of the doorway) --wondering what in the world was happening! [But mostly trying NOT to laugh!] All I could do was sob and yell for Bex to "COME GET THIS PHONE!!!!" I was afraid I would drop it into my OJ and ruin the drink!

It was quite an episode. After Bex had assured her Dad that her mother would probably LIVE...she managed to help me "unload" so that I could get up. It took a few minutes to walk off the searing pain and get it to a livable level. But other than one really tender ankle, one scraped and sore knee, multiple screaming leg muscles and a severely bruised ego..I managed to make it through that day. It took a couple of days of walking carefully, but I'm back to my normal graceful self these days. You can bet, I've stepped gingerly out the door ever since!
Too bad the video camera wasn't available...we could be winners!

Stay tuned.

And for those wondering...YES! I DID finish drinking the OJ on the way to work--surely you know I couldn't waste that wonderful stuff! [Bex says "EWWWWWW"]

Where've Ya' Been?

2009-05-10T16:32:00.003-04:00

Can you believe it's been very nearly TWO MONTHS since I posted here? Would you believe that I had to look up my password? Oh, my goodness that was a strange feeling!

Over the last few weeks, I've been gently nudged by some and not-so-gently nudged by others to get back to BloggyWorld. For those LURKERS who fuss at me while I'm in line at a FUNERAL visitation (you KNOW who you are!!!!) I will say to that person (who shall remain nameless)--girl, you better COMMENT now that I'm doing this just for YOU!

Okay, that's not true. I'm not really doing it just for her. Another reason for my return to this platform is that my bloggy-friend, Chel, has been touting a trip to Hawaii on Facebook, which made me decide that in order NOT to be jealous of her blessing, I must get back to writing down all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on ME!

I thought today, Mother's Day, would be an appropriate day to get back to posting in BloggyWorld. Especially since my true reason for blogging at all (sorry Stacey) --has been the desire to leave a written testimony for my sweet Bex of her growing up years. The last two months have been full of milestones in our lives, but I haven't made time to write things down. I'll try to correct this in the coming days.

A few of the milestones include: Bex's new baby girl, Grandpa going home to Glory, my niece's trial, me being laid-off from my job, Bex's first church solo in our Easter program, my nephew's wedding, Bex's grown-up decision-making skills regarding Camp Charis, me getting bi-focals, my niece's surgery, my sweet friend Mrs. Becky being called home with Jesus, Bex finishing her first year of college and me and Bex singing a duet in the BIG service at our church. Oh, wait...I forgot me falling gracefully out the back door...can't forget that one!

Does this sound like enough to keep me busy for a while? As I try to tap on each of these events, I'll try to keep from writing a book about each one (yes, I know...famous last words). So stay tuned, my bloggy-friends --if there are any of you still left out there. It doesn't really matter, I'm doing this for my future grandkids. Maybe it will make them smile!

Stay tuned!

Happy 71st, Mama!

2009-03-12T23:22:00.003-04:00

Today would have been my mom's 71st birthday. Instead, Jesus took her home to Heaven 30 years ago (this Sunday); three days after her 41st birthday. We choose to celebrate her BIRTH date and her wonderful life instead of the death date.

Over the past few weeks, in the "bloggy planning" section of my mind, I had planned to celebrate this special day with lots of pictures of Mama, Daddy and all of us kids. Unfortunately, I'm on a special mission out of town this week, and I'm not home to upload those. But a little serendipity of my mission, is that I was able to spend a good bit of time with my Daddy today. We had lunch and a great time riding around, looking at my old stomping grounds, seeing all the changes and reminiscing about "the good old days." So, instead of the upbeat, fun, picture-laden post I planned...you'll have to settle for this somewhat melancholy post while I'm out of town without Mr. Fix-It and Bex.

So, here's the deal: I've REALLY been missing her lately. I just want my Mama! I don't know why I've seemed to miss her more this year, than last...I mean, come on! It's been THIRTY years!!! But I guess I'm just seeing so much more what SHE missed not growing old with us and it makes me sad. It also makes me sad to realize what "I've" missed over these past years without her! Everytime I hear about someone "not getting along with their mother" I just want to shake them and tell them how much I would give to be able to "get along" with my mom or nurse her through an illness! It's hard to appreciate what you have right in front of you, isn't it? Especially when things are hard. I had the same problem when she was here with us. My perspective has changed.

My Bex is 17 1/2 now. I was only one year older (18 1/2) when Mama went to hang out with Jesus. I look at Bex and think how young I really was back then and yet, I thought I was sooooo grown up! Age can really change your perspective, can't it? I must say, God has sent some wonderful women into my life to fill this gap...but it still just ain't the same! I want MY mama!

My mom got to see her first grandchild, but she missed numbers 2-11. She was at my oldest brother's wedding, but missed the next three. I can only imagine how proud she would be of all her grandkids and a terrific Grandma. She would have been proud of her children, too! She was all of 5'2", sort of quiet (like me! NOT! LOL!!), but you had no doubt when enough was enough! She knew how to get things done and she didn't need the accolades or praise when she did things behind the scenes for someone else. She was the glue that held so much of our family together. She would have NEVER put up with some of the petty family squabbles that seem to plague our family right now. She would have made everybody kiss and make up or wish they had!

Today, when Daddy and I walked into a restaurant for lunch, we saw some familiar faces at one of the tables. When I realized it was one of my old friends from high school, I went over to speak to her. After our initial hello-how are you's, she said she recognized my dad when he walked in, and saw me and at first thought it was my mom with him...then she thought, "no, that can't be"...and realized it must be ME! It's not the first time someone's told me I look like her, but today it was really special for God to remind me that I carry her likeness. That made my day!

I have no doubt in my mind that Mama would NOT wish to be back here on earth...and if we truly knew what awaited us at the Savior's feet, I doubt we would wish her back...but that little niggling pain in my heart does wish her back sometimes! For purely selfish reasons.

I know our wonderful Creator has a plan for our lives, losing Mama was part of that plan for me, my brothers and my Dad....but I still wonder ... Someday, I'm going to ask Jesus "Why?" And I know that I'll be wrapped in His arms when I get my answer...and it will be enough.

Stay tuned....and oh! Go call your Mama and tell her you love her!

The "Other" Becky ...Chapter 1

2009-02-26T02:13:00.009-05:00

BOOK ALERT! BOOK ALERT!!
I may have to break this into "chapters"...cause I can't tell it short. Just so you know...

Today seems to be the day for me to tell you a bit about the "other" Becky in our lives. Why today? Because today marks her 66th birthday!! More than likely, it will be the last she will celebrate here with us (...and we've been saying that for several years!). Yes, knowing this makes me a bit sad, but I also rejoice that God has seen fit to bless our family so richly over the past 5 years or so, with really getting to know such a lovely lady...and I don't use "lovely" lightly! She's truly lovely inside and out!

Mrs. Becky (as we call her) has qualified for Hospice care for 4 or 5 years!!! Do you know what that means? To qualify for Hospice, the doctor has to certify you have 6 - 12 months to live. Each year you have to be re-certified. So despite her doctors' best guesses, she's been living the last 6 months of her earthly life for nearly 5 years! Anybody who has known her very long is not surprised.... She is an amazing woman! She has the determination of a steam locomotive! Just try getting in her way!

You see, Mrs. Becky has MSA or Multiple Systems Atrophy. This disease is in the Parkinson's family without the shakes. Actually, the disease attacks all the systems of your body in a degenerative fashion. She went from walking, to using a walker, to using a scooter, to a wheelchair and now is bedridden. Even though she is bedridden, it took this disease a long time to get her down that far!

When she could still walk, she would be walking along and then would just stop...we used to say her transmission would shift into neutral until she could get her brain to shift things back into drive. Sometimes that was a second or two...sometimes lonnnnngggg minutes. Can you imagine not being able to hold your eyelids open...not because you're sleepy, but because the lids won't open on their own? You have to reach up and hold your eyelid up if you want to see something. Can you imagine reaching up to scratch your nose with your hand and having your arm get stuck in that position and not be able to move your hand away until your brain shifts back into gear?

What about your tongue? Try talking or chewing without moving your tongue...because it gets stuck in one position, too! Over time, more and more of her "systems" have quit working properly. Sometimes things work, sometimes they just shift to neutral for a few minutes or even an hour or more. (Last week she told me she was having trouble keeping her mouth shut. We laughed together when I told her I had the very same problem ---wayyyy too often!) But that's just her physical body. Her mind is as sharp as ever and her heart continues to shine through.

I met Mrs. Becky for the first time over the telephone about 8 years ago. She called as part of our church's outreach program. We had visited the church, and she was the one who got our card to contact us. We hit it off immediately--talked for nearly an hour on the phone! She lived right up the road from us and was a horse nut just like our Bex. She made it a point to speak to me pretty much each Sunday thereafter. Shortly after we joined the church, she was struck with this terrible disease and it started taking her down. Over the next 3 years, we would see each other at church, but we were just acquaintances.

Then about 5 years ago, I heard through the Sunday School grapevine that she needed a bit of help at home and ...long-story shorter...since my girls were home schoolers and I wanted to help them learn about serving others, I started taking them to Mrs. Becky's house every Wednesday to help her. Bex was 13 and K was 15. Mrs. Becky and Bex hit it off right away being "horse" people...sharing their names didn't hurt either! Mrs. Becky fell in love with K right away because she recognized her hurting heart and knew she needed lots of unconditional love. K soaked it up!!!

The first couple of Wednesday's, I stayed and helped...but then it became VERY clear that she liked having the girls WITHOUT me! This was great for me! It gave me a free day to run errands, meet friends for lunch or whatever and it gave Mrs. Becky two teenagers she could boss around and share her life lessons with. It was a wonderful arrangement for us both. My girls would do the "little" things for her that she couldn't do for herself anymore...water her plants, brush the dog, sweep the porch, decorate for holidays, weed the flower beds, help her go through boxes, clean closets, reorganize drawers, etc. They LOVED their Wednesday's at Mrs. Becky's. Sometimes she worked them hard, some days they played. The playing might involve makeup, movies, manicures or any number of other "fun" activities. She basically adopted them as her grandchildren. I liked the "grandmother" part because it gave Bex a chance to have a "real" grandmother relationship like I did growing up! Bex continues to spend each Wednesday with Mrs. Becky doing simple chores. They still have fun...just different now that Mrs. Becky can't supervise as closely as she once did.

The picture on the right is from May 2007's Mother-Daughter Tea at our church.

I wasn't privileged to know Mrs. Becky in her younger days like so many of her old friends in our church. I've heard a LOT of stories--not all of them flattering! Although, she has been greatly loved --she apparently was a very outspoken, bossy, determined, perfectionist (and still is!) that probably drove a lot of her friends crazy...now God has mellowed (and perfected) her into one of the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful, giving, loving, and greatest champions for Christ I've ever known. Her ministry now is praying for folks and witnessing to her un-saved caregivers. She has taught me and my girls sooooo much over the past years. Although, each day it seems harder to watch her fade, I can't imagine having missed out on such a blessing from the Lord.

Someone commented on my "Cynthia" post saying that I had too many wonderful friends. Well, we all know we can NEVER have too many wonderful friends! I think God has seen fit to bless me with some really extraordinary Christian role models because He took my mom when I was so young. He knew I needed these women in my life to teach me those special things that she didn't have the opportunity to teach. Kind of like the old saying "When God closes a door, He opens a window." He has let me look through some AMAZING windows!

More tomorrow....with pictures!

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Meggy...

2009-02-21T19:43:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know I planned to blog 2-3 times a week this year... I can't believe I haven't posted for 20 days!!!! So much for plans. I guess my focus is just on other things these days. I'll try to do better.

I don't know where the days go. On second thought, I DO know where the days go...its the evening hours I tend to lose track of. My days are fairly steady going to work, coming home, etc. But the evenings seem to speed right on by. It seems I just get home, then look at the clock and it's already 11 pm!

Since I last posted, our Women's Ministry enjoyed our annual retreat in Norman Park, GA. It was quite a change from our past retreats. I'll try to get my pictures uploaded and share a few things with you soon.

This weekend, Bex is back at Camp Charis at a SALT Weekend. S-Servant A-and L-Leadership T-Training. This is a teen youth group at its very best. One of the best activities we've found for our sweet girl. It sure is quiet here at home when she's not here. I'm ready for her to be home tomorrow night.

Bex continues to do well in college. I'm especially proud of her work in her English class. Although I'm confident that she will do fine --away from my homeschooling, it's always great encouragement for Mom when she is able to do well under a "real" teacher!

Spook continues to delight us as he continues to GROW! He and Squeaky play pretty rough. It scares me, but Squeaky seems to enjoy it (in a weird way!). This morning, Squeaky was very restless lying in the middle of the floor. Mr. Fix-It seemed to think he needed a playmate, so we let Spook in the house.

It was so funny to see this huge dog take his big paw and knock the cat over and then put his mouth over the cat's head. Then the cat sits up on his haunches and swipes at the dog's face. Not hard swipes like he's scared --but swipes like..."two can play at this game!" It is so funny to watch. If Squeaky gets bored and quits playing, Spook will grab him by the scruff of the neck (like a cat's mother) and pull him over to him. Lest you worry about the cat, I assure you he can get away anytime he wants. It's easy to see they are really "PLAYing."

After a few minutes of playing, Spook got bored and just layed there. Then, Squeaky reaches over and bites Spook's paw and it all begins again. I wish I had a video of all the fun. We sure laughed watching them!

Today I've done a bit of catching up on a few things. I actually got the corner of my desk cleaned off. It was piled high with "stuff" that needed a new home, to be filed or thrown away. It seems to build up so quickly, I can't keep up. Now that's done and I can start dreading working on our taxes....the fun just never ends!

Stay tuned.

The Panama-Mama in My Life

2009-02-02T22:22:00.004-05:00

This is my friend, Cynthia. She's from Panama and is probably my most traveled friend. This woman has traveled the world! She rarely stays home...it seems she's always on the way... somewhere! Cynthia is one of the busiest people I know.

We've known each other since we worked together before Bex was born. If it hadn't been for Cynthia, I would have been naked through the last half of my pregnancy with Bex (Okay...not totally naked!). She would come to work on a Monday and say "Here, try this on." And I would have a new outfit to wear with my huge tummy. Did I mention she is an amazing seamstress? Nearly all my maternity clothes were hand-made just for me! She doesn't have much use for patterns for herself anymore. She just sees fabric she likes, buys it and sews an outfit. This is her idea of fun.

She has a lot of other amazing qualities, too! For example, she has a fantastic talent for being a friend. She collects people. She gathers people into her family on a daily basis. And once you're in her family...you're her family! She doesn't let you go!

This woman has mentored and nurtured countless teenagers and young college students as they passed through her home. They may have been there a week, a few months, and some a year or two. Her home is always open to friends and family...and this woman has a LOT OF FAMILY!!!

Though she has no biological children, she has a lot of "daughters" and a whole passle of grandchildren all over the world. In fact, she's Bex's "Chocolate Grandma." Yep! You see, Cynthia believes what the Bible says about "loving one another." Anyone who knows her feels that love whenever you get within 10 feet of her! She exudes love.

She also has a contagious smile...this woman SMILES!!!! She also laughs. She loves to laugh! You can't help but have a smile grow on your face as you talk to her...it's just not possible.

Even though we haven't worked together in about 18 years, we have remained friends. She's one of those friends who you may not see or even talk to for months -- but when you finally do get together, you feel so close. I'm sure you all have those friends.

When we had lunch together a few weeks ago, I learned that she's preparing to retire in a few months. When she retires, her plan is to move to the Tampa area to be around her family there. She deserves some peace (there will NEVER be quiet around her!), but I don't want to give her up!

I'll miss her, but I know one thing...she'll never let me OUT of her family. That makes me smile through my tears.....

Stay tuned.

More Spook and Squeak

2009-02-01T11:00:00.003-05:00

Let me just state right up front that I am not a "big dog in the house" type person. I'm not opposed to other people having dogs in their home. I like dogs.

When Mr. Fix-It and I first married, I had to adopt his bulldog-child, Major. Major lived just like a child in our home until his death in 1990. Since then, with the exception of one tiny Shih-Tzu we had for a few months, we have not had a dog in the house. Cats, yes. Dogs, no.

No dogs in the house...until now. I don't know why. Maybe, because Spook is such a sweetie, he has been spoiled and allowed inside. WHY is he any different than our two other dogs? I can't put into words the WHY of this. He's just different.

Here are a couple of pictures of his sweetness...and his desire to just be near somebody...ANYBODY will do...even the Squeaky, the cat.

Bex informed me this morning that Spook slept IN her bed with her last night. She said he was really warm to cuddle with. Ewwww! He smells like a....like a... DOG!

Stay tuned.

There's Within My Heart A Melody!

2009-01-29T02:57:00.008-05:00

It's Wednesday night (okay, technically it's the wee-hours of Thursday morning...but to me it's Wednesday night --until daylight on Thursday). Bex and I got home from choir practice a bit after 9 pm tonight. Choir? Yes, choir. (More about that later.) When we got home, I changed clothes, ate the last bowl of homemade soup, chatted a few minutes with Mr. Fix-It, fussed at Bex to get off the computer and go to bed, then went to bed myself.

Not sure what woke me up, it must have been the rain. Or it could have been dumb Boomer barking at the wind blowing. Nevertheless, I'm awake now because this crazy blog post was floating around in my head and I couldn't go back to sleep. So, I figured I'd just as well get up and type it out so that I could go back to sleep.

As I was laying there, I realized "church" is not something I've really talked about here. Sure, I've given my testimony, mentioned a connection with Women's Ministry, but I haven't said much about our church. I started to put "the church we attend"...but then I realized its not JUST the church we attend...its OUR church! We're a part of it, however small. We're a part of all the people in our church. They're our family...even the weird ones...and they KNOW who they are! (Just kidding. They probably don't know who they are! LOL!)

Anywho (that's for Kelley), since the purpose of my meanderings on this blog is for my future grandchildren's history lesson, I thought I should tell you a little about our church and some of our activities there because it is a big part of our life. Being mindful of the fact that a few folks (like Ms. Naggy) from our church occasionally drop by The Pine, I still want to be a bit transparent and hope it doesn't come back and bite me somewhere in the nether regions.

We've been members of our church since 2000. It's the biggest church I've ever been a member of. In size, it's probably in the top 10 of all churches here in Tallytown. We didn't set out to join a big church. Being a small town girl who grew up in a small church --in a Youth group of 2-- BIG, wasn't really on my radar. I'll leave out the essay about how we came about joining this wonderful fellowship of believers (Careful, I can hear the Hallelujahs!), but there is no doubt in my mind that God put us where we are for His purposes.

We have three services each Sunday morning and two full Sunday Schools. "Our" service is the earliest at 8:15 AM. I know you're rolling your eyes thinking there is absolutely no way on earth that Meggy-girl is in church barely after sunrise each Lord's Day, but I promise...it IS THE TRUTH! Blame it on Mr. Fix-It and him being an old man who likes to get up early in the morning even though his wife and daughter are NOT morning people.

All of this to tell you about the choir. Since long before we joined, our church has been known for its fabulous music program. This was an important part of what drew us to the church in the first place. The tradition has continued and our choir is fantastic! Our church is so blessed with amazingly talented musicians and vocalists.

I love to sing. After my dad got saved when I was about 8, he was quite zealous. So we had a little family group that sang in church. My mom would play the piano and Dad, me and my three brothers would sing. I'll never forget:

Life is like a mountain railway,
With an engineer that's brave;
We must make the run successful,
From the cradle to the grave;
Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels;
Never falter, never quail;
Keep your hands upon the throttle,
And your eyes upon the rail.

The "group" didn't last long, because my mom didn't like to play the piano in public. Later, when we moved to Bronson, my grandmother was the choir director at our tiny church and nobody could sing bad enough not to be enlisted in the choir! Singing was a HUGE part of my teen years in high school; I sang as a choir member or soloist at 4-H events, churches, and civic events. I actually sang a song as part of my Valedictory address at my high school graduation. Believe it, I have it on video!!!

Before Bex was born, I sang to her. When she was tiny, tiny, the only thing that would soothe her croupy crying was singing "Jesus Loves Me." When I get to Heaven, I'm planning to ask God how many verses I've sung of that song, surely its close to a million...most of it within three months with terribly loooooonnnnnng nights! When Bex was a toddler we sang ALLLLLLLL the time, I (and she) loved it.

Even now, we sing all the time. But since I'm only a passable singer, over the past 10 years or so, I haven't been part of the choir or any organized group for a variety of reasons. I did sing in the choir for a few months after joining our church, but God made it pretty clear to me that this wasn't His plan for me.

I know you're asking why that is... I'm not sure why, probably because my heart wasn't right...or I needed instruction elsewhere...I'll get a clear answer on that one day, too, but for now, I'm content to know that He wanted my heart in Women's Ministry,which is where I've served for quite some time. But now, He's released me back to the choir for a time along WITH my work in WM.

Our Minister of Music, Jason, is a young, whipper-snapper kid from Daytona Beach. He's not even 30, for goodness sake!!! (He's also an anonymous blog stalker that stops by The Pine on occasion, but never leaves a comment, so I have to tread carefully here....) When our search committee first met and interviewed him, their glowing report back to the church was that he was very, very young...BUT! Well, I'm happy to say there's an immeasurable bunch of love for the Lord and love of music contained in that BUT. We are so blessed to have him lead us in worship each Sunday and Wednesday.

Now back to choir. Jason has been bugging me and Bex to sing with the choir for over a year (they'll take anybody! LOL!!). Even though his sweet wife thinks nobody can say "No" to him, I did! I said no for over a year and I had good reasons...I'm a Sunday School teacher and a WM leader, a homeschool mom, a volleyball team mom and Mr. Fix-It's secretary and bookkeeper. Oh, wait! I'm also supposed to be a WIFE!!! somewhere in there, too! Mr. Fix-It has only so much patience with my extra-curricular activities. But this year, with all the changes in our lives and Bex in college, God seemed to call me back to music ministry. In Henry Blackaby's book, Experiencing God, he says that God speaks to us through prayer, His Word AND other people. Of course, having 10 people every Sunday morning harass me about joining the choir had absolutely NOTHING to do with it! So, after talking it over with Mr. Fix-It, Bex and I joined the choir at the beginning of January so we could sing with the choir at 8:15.

It's been a great experience so far. Even though Jason is just a kid (sorry, Jason...its true!) he still picks a wonderful variety of great music for us to sing (with the exception of a few we won't talk about here...can you say Handel?). He also does a terrific job of running choir practice. He keeps things moving and orderly so you don't feel like you're wasting your time sitting there while Miss Suzie (made up name...) chatters away. He also keeps things fun. His enthusiasm is quite contagious! Now, as we work on Easter music, Jason always shares the scripture behind the words...makes it even more meaningful as we sing.

Our choir special last Sunday was "Bow The Knee," one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. God sent a fabulous soloist from Atlanta to us to make it even more wonderful! It was such a joy to be a part of the presentation.

Bex is really enjoying it, too! She got a great start in her elementary years singing several years with the WaterOak Children's Ensemble. The director for WaterOak was very good at training children's voices and teaching them proper enunciation and breathing. She has a much more beautiful voice than her mom, so it makes my heart sing when I listen to her.

With my homeschooling days pretty much behind me, I'm thankful God has given us a chance to share our love of singing together. So, look out! Here comes another season of my life...

Stay tuned.

Drive-By Blogging, Spook and My BIG God!

2009-01-25T22:56:00.010-05:00

How are things in Bloggy-World? I really need to catch up on all my favorite haunts and see what other folks are doing. Surely I will find life more interesting elsewhere. Not more blessed...but more interesting!

Now, if you want to know what is happening on FaceBook--then I'm your girl! I've been spending WAYYYYYYYY too much time there. I know now why folks are addicted...cause I'M ADDICTED!!! Don't ask me why its so cool, I couldn't really tell you. But it IS fun! It's kind of like the shortened version of blogging. I know, I know...you can't believe I would LIKE the shortened version due to my lack of brevity right here! But I do like it. You don't have to really have a topic. It's kind of like "drive-by" blogging --- or "hit and run" blogging. For those FB'ers, you know what I mean.

Over the past few weeks, (in addition to FaceBook) we've been busy "getting back to normal." Remember normal? We're starting to get there.

Nothing much out of the ordinary going on around here, but we've centered a lot of our attention on the new puppy. Remember him. He's about 5 months old now...1/2 Australian/1/2 German Shepherd. He's growing like Bahia grass! (For any of you that don't know, Bahia {say: buh-hay-a} grows FASTER than weeds!)

He is just the sweetest dog and a real attention hound. When he lays around, he just wants to be touching you...his head laid on your foot, his foot across your foot, your hand on him *anywhere*, or anywhere in the vicinity of Bex. He's absolutely greedy when it comes to attention.

He has a doghouse, but instead of going in...he'll sit right in front of the door, out in the cold and rain. What's up with that? He's so smart about everything else, we don't understand his problem with the house. We even went to the trouble of trading one house (that he wouldn't use) for another house our other dogs love. But he won't use that one either! I feel so sorry for him when its raining, but figure he must just like the water.

Over the past week we've had such cold weather he's been spoiled and allowed in the house overnight. When he's in the house--after the initial excitement--he's the perfect gentlemen and mostly sleeps beside Bex's bed. The only "accident" he's ever had was his first night here. Since then, he hasn't had any problems.

He loves the kitty. Squeaky, the kitty doesn't particularly like being 'loved' by the dog, but he doesn't make him stop. Spook's favorite thing is to lay down beside the cat and lay his front paw over the cat's back--holding him down--while he licks him and grooms him. We keep telling Squeaky to pop Spook in the face, or bow up at him, but Squeaky just lays there and takes it.

Here's a picture with Squeaky UNDER Spook. When I first walked in, all you could see was Squeaky's head poking out from underneath the dog...but when we went for the camera, he let Squeaky move away.

He's turning into a beautiful dog. His puppy "fuzz" is giving way to beautiful, shiny, wavy hair.

Yesterday, Bex was walking home from down the road with Spook. Our neighbor's gate was open and all FOUR of her nearly grown dogs came running and all jumped on Spook. Our neighbor was right there and pulled her dogs off, but not before Spook got a few gashes and BIG trauma. (Our neighbor was horrified too!) Anyway, after cleaning up the cuts and putting some medicine on them, he and Bex are pretty much "back to normal" today.

I'll also be spending time working on our 6th Annual Women's Retreat. I can't spill the beans here about all the fun, exciting, relaxing, wonderful, things we will be doing until AFTER the retreat...because some of the ~~crazies~~ ladies who read my blog will be going to the retreat...and we want all the fun to be a pleasant surprise. As of today, we have 92 ladies going...but I know several more turned in their registrations today... Whew! It's gonna be interesting.

Life is good at The Pine, God continues to bless us so good (yes, I know it should be "well"...) I can't praise Him enough! I'm reading a Beth Moore book, studying the life of King David. In her commentary on David facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17), she notes that we should let David remind us to

"Measure the size of your obstacles against the size of your God."

I've taken that to heart....really.

Stay tuned.

Contumacious, That's Me!

2009-01-21T12:11:00.006-05:00

con·tu·ma·cious
adj. Obstinately disobedient or rebellious; insubordinate.

I'm feeling this towards all the folks on television that tell us that Mr. Obama is the savior of the world; and as such, we must all fall into line and be good little cows and follow the herd mentality for the "good of the country." I refuse to leave my brain at the door, as so many seem to have done already. I prefer to check facts, compare history, and look at the BIGGER picture rather than just what will make ME feel better.

Perhaps it's wrong to feel so contumacious...but this is my new word and I'm sticking to it. I plan to use it quite regularly for the next few years, so you'll need to learn it.

Although no one would ever make the mistake of thinking I have even a nodding acquaintance with fashion, I also disagree with all the talking heads and fashionistas on television this morning. Personally, I thought Michelle Obama's dress (for the inauguration) looked like it was made out of drapery material. My mom used to have curtains like that. With limitless money, her good figure, and all the colors of the rainbow. She chose that? Ummmmmm....

Now that I've had the audacity to disagree with the news media and this world's savior, I'll be expecting the Secret Service on my doorstep by nightfall...they'll have to come through the puppy poop...hope they wipe their feet...but that's another story altogether...

Okay...I've let it out...I HAD to say something...I'm done.

I'll try to be less contumacious at The Pine. I'm working on choosing only to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and are of good report like Paul told the Philippians in Chapter 4...it's a constant battle...guess I need to quit watching television altogether...

Stay tuned.

No Pictures Today!

2009-01-12T19:31:00.005-05:00

Hopefully, dear readers, you'll forgive me for the lack of pictures today. It has been a good day, but I refuse to archive it with photographs. That may be breaking Bloggy-World rules...but I'm afraid you'll have to use your imagination today.

This morning I rousted Bex out of bed about 6:30am so that we could go to the dentist in a town about 50 miles away. Our appointments were at 9am. We were both a bit nervous. I hadn't had much dental "work" since teen braces --and Bex had NEVER had a cavity filled. So we were a bit out of our comfort zones.

Even knowing that I was a bit nervous, my dear sweet Bex SLEPT nearly the entire trip over... Wow! Thanks so much for helping me keep my mind off things, Bex! Then when she finally woke up --she had the audacity to make fun of my "music." Yes, they were oldies...but definitely goodies.

We arrived on time and looked forward to checking out some of the cool magazines (since I don't subscribe to ANY!) In fact, they didn't give us any time at all to change our minds! I hardly set my purse down in a chair before the nurse was calling my name to "Come on back!" They took Bex in within a few minutes, also. Did I mention this is a GREAT dentist?

It was kind of interesting, actually. The new partner (his daughter) worked on Bex, and the old guy (the dad) worked on me. He came in, sat down and started talking to me. He applied the topical anesthetic and continued to sit and talk to me while he waited for it to work...then gave me the shots and continued to talk to me. I'm used the dentist coming in, leaving, checking, leaving, etc. I enjoyed it.

We had an interesting conversation about solar water heaters, his dream of building a monolithic dome house so he could live completely "off the grid." Hmmm...very interesting. He also tried to sell me his 4-bedroom house in Gainesville right down the road from my brother. He bought it for his daughter to live in while attending school at UF...and hasn't been able to sell it since she graduated and moved out in May. I also heard about his trips to Alaska to have clinics for the natives.

Ah, yes. I knew you would be interested...LOL!!

Anywho, (I hate it when people say that...but..) we made it through the ordeal. In fact, I felt so good on the way home, I didn't bother stopping to get the prescription for pain meds filled. The dentist said he didn't think I would need to have it filled and that Ibuprofen would probably be enough... Au contrair! After arriving home and taking a short nap --the anesthetic wore off!!! How do you spell...EEEEYYYYYEEEEEOWWWWWWW!!!! Needless to say, about 4pm I was headed back to town to get some DRUGS, baby! Not to be mistaken for baby drugs! I wanted the full-blown grown-up ones!!!

Now, as I write this I'm mellowed out and the pain is controlled down to a low roar, if you know what I mean. So I thought I would share this with all of Bloggy-World since some of you have been hearing me whine for too long about this terrible tooth --that is GONE, GONE, GONE! Hallelujah!

Stay tuned.

Getting Old, A Bad Tooth and Some Fun Memories

2009-01-11T14:47:00.008-05:00

Getting old is not fun. My teeth are falling apart. Yes, I remember my mom warning me about chewing ice...but that was supposed to be a problem when I'm OLD!!! Now I have a HUGE pain in my mouth. It's a molar that broke in half last year after losing a big filling the year before. I've alternately writhed in pain and been perfectly fine since then. Over the past week, it has leaned much more to the pain side. So I'm "biting the bullet" so to speak and have a dentist's appointment in the morning for the extraction. I would appreciate any prayers you might feel like offering up around 9:30 am eastern time.

That said, I'll post a few more pictures from our Christmas Eve festivities. First, though, let me say our "festivities" were a bit subdued this year--and I'm really lamenting that fact. (Must be the tooth pain making me so melancholy.) I've come to the conclusion that it was subdued because we only have ONE little one these days. Our Christmas Eve's used to be so lively and L*O*U*D!!!! with 13 grandchildren running around. But with the oldest being 30 and the youngest being a 9-year old, things are more sedate and (might I add...) B*O*R*I*N*G!!! But we had a good time anyway. With such great food, it surely can't be too bad! Next year, I think we're going to have to import some kids. Any of you want to offer yours?

This monkey was hanging out in a tree looking for Santa and his reindeer. Yes, monkey's can climb trees in flip-flops!

The monkey also celebrated her 9th birthday on the 23rd. So, Christmas Eve was just a continuation.

As it so often is after church, it seems we spent more time "leaving" than we did "staying."

This is my youngest brother (26 and SINGLE!), Beau. He was hamming for the camera and didn't believe I would be bold enough to post this lovely picture for all the world to see. Beau...NEVER, EVER dare your sister!

My dad and step-mother listening to all the "after-party" discussions, stories and lies. We were all "leaving"...remember?

Most of you don't know my almost youngest brother, Alan. (He WAS my youngest brother as we were growing up...but then Beau happened. So, now he's my almost little brother.) If you did know him, you would have absolutely no trouble figuring out he is telling a story...probably full of lies...but always entertaining!

This is Sable (Alan's 2nd daughter) and her latest beau, Austin. You might remember him from Thanksgiving...standing on the fringes of the crowd...wondering how he got himself into this mess. Believe it or not, he came back for more!!!

Bex and Mr. Fix-It were enjoying the stories, too! Like I said, they are ALWAYS entertaining!

Here is an inside picture of my sister Mandy and her husband, Erik. It was a rare treat to have them at Christmas Eve because they are with the traveling nurse program and have been in California, Texas, Alaska, or other faraway places over the last 6 years.

Since I was talking about my teeth before... just a little FYI.

Do you know how we know that a country, redneck invented the toothbrush?

(Here's where you say, "No, I didn't...How do we know that?")

Because if it wasn't a redneck...it would have been called a "TEETH-brush!"

Stay tuned--it could be worse!

A Few Christmas Surprises

2009-01-09T19:14:00.007-05:00

Just a quick post... trying to keep to my resolution of posting at least three times per week. Today, I'll reminisce about a few surprises at Christmas 2008.

This big guy started off our Christmas surprises.

Meet the newest member of our family ...

~~SPOOK~~

He's actually only 4 months old...we're hoping he'll be HUGE! That's his main purpose in our family --to be scary.

His mom is an Australian Shepherd and his dad is a German Shepherd.

Spook doesn't look particularly scary here. But when he's bigger, we're hoping he makes "shoppers" think twice before lifting things from our home or property.

Look at those feet!

Notice a particularly fuzzy ornament? It's right in the middle of the tree.

For some reason this little kitten liked sleeping in the branches of my brother/sister-in-law's tree. He was so cute!

We were surprised on the day after Christmas to have my uncle and aunt from Illinois breeze through. Aunt Barb (in the middle) is my mom's oldest sister. When she's around, I'm so reminded of my mom's mannerisms.

The squirrel hunters on the right and left. Maria Elena cooked the squirrel...but if you'll notice...the bucket of KFC was quite popular!

Another surprise, not quite so pleasant, was the mild December weather. Most of the kids were in shorts and flip-flops or barefooted. Not very "Christmasy" if you ask me!

The biggest SURPRISE at Christmas (although it really didn't surprise many of us) was my niece, Tiffany's, engagement ring!

She and her boyfriend Jake --who have been dating for 8 years --decided to get engaged!
Auntie M says "It's about time!"

Tiffany and Jake... the night BEFORE!

See! He's still smiling. After two weeks of "wedding" talk, he's not smiling quite as big. Heeheeheee!

Stay tuned for more Christmas memories.

Back to Normal? Not likely.

2009-01-06T17:56:00.008-05:00

Since ringing in the New Year last Thursday, I've been contemplating life getting back to "normal." It was during this serious contemplation that I realized that I have absolutely no idea what "normal" should look like around here!

What does "normal" look like for you? Maybe you can give me some pointers.

Well, whatever "normal" is, life around The Pine has taken on a small semblance of routine, at least. Mom and Dad are back at work, Bex will be back in school starting Thursday. Routine feels a bit more "normal," doesn't it?

We have some new "normals" too! For example, the last three nights we've been able to eat dinner around the dining room table. Does that sound exciting to you? Well, I can tell you I've been absolutely THRILLED about it!!! (MamaWeso asked me if I "finally cleaned the table off!") NOT!!!

You see, I've been living post-business for FIVE years! This means, when we closed our automotive business in December of 2003, we moved all the office stuff into my dining room. That means computer desk, filing cabinets, boxes of files, etc. took over MY space. In order to do that, the dining table had to be moved out. So, we've been eating on TV trays --OR if we had company-- a card table in the middle of the living room or on the deck-- for the past 5 years!

At first, it was no big deal...kind of fun...convenient. But as the years have gone by, I've lamented over the lack of a central eating spot. So, before Christmas, me and Bex got busy re-arranging that area --she wanted a REAL Christmas tree--and that seemed to be the best place for it. I kept in mind that with all the changes --when the tree was gone, my table could come back! Wahoo!

Before supper last night, I asked Bex to "set the table." She remembered plates but forgot that we need silverware set out, too! How can I blame her when her training has been so lacking over her teen years? Hopefully, these things will come back to her very quickly. We did have some really fancy-folded napkins, though. (She learned how to fold napkins at Camp Charis...Thanks, Mr. Craig!)

So now that we have a table, I have much more gumption to cook--we can actually sit down together as a family. I've actually cooked two nights in a row...and tonight makes THREE!! (So, for the person (I don't know who it was) who was worried about Mr. Fix-It losing weight...let me assure you -- IT AIN'T MY FAULT!!! I've been keeping him in Raisin Bread for awhile now.)

Many other things will probably come closer to "normal" in the next few weeks. Bex and I are still adjusting to both of us having vehicles, me having a job, and dealing with the new puppy. With our annual Women's Retreat coming up next month, I'm sure January won't "settle in" to "normal"...but I'm not worried. Like Mark Lowry, one of my favorite Bible passages is "And it came to pass..." Yep, that's my favorite part...IT WILL PASS! So, as I look forward to what God has in store for The Pine in 2009, I'm sure of only one thing...It will be interesting!!!

Stay tuned!

Weekend Adventures...Away from the Pine

2009-01-05T10:23:00.006-05:00

Oh, my goodness! It's already been five days since I posted. That is so hard to believe. I guess I've been busy. I have to go to work sometime today, so I better type fast!!!

Since we last talked, I've put nearly 1,000 miles on this old body. Thankfully, it's been mostly riding/driving in a car.

Wednesday afternoon we headed back to Chiefland to my brother's home for New Year's Eve festivities. We enjoyed some of the BEST oysters EVER that night. Here's a picture of me enjoying one...

My brothers and husband were very sweet to do the work shucking so that I could enjoy. We had them straight out of the shell and roasted over the fire.

This picture shows (from L-R) my little brother Alan on the left with the hat, my SIL Jeannie waving at the camera, Mr. Fix-It just above her head, CJ and Bex over on the swing, me sucking down an oyster, and my oldest brother Chuck. All of the men were busy shucking oysters...this takes much concentration.

We must be getting old, because we barely made it to the New Year awake! Folks started heading home about 10pm...so by midnight, we were all stretched out on the couches in front of the television trying to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop in Times Square and the guy jump his motorcycle up on a building in Las Vegas. Oh, the excitement! LOL!!

After a wonderful lunch on New Year's Day and me SMASHING the other gals in Tri-Ominoes, we headed back to Tallytown arriving home about 11pm.

On Friday, I re-packed my clothes and headed back south to Chiefland alone. When I got to the Suwannee River I decided I had better fill up with gas. My fuel gage wasn't showing that I was really low on fuel, but for some reason it seemed important to fill up before getting to Chiefland. So, I'm figuring it took me from 5-8 minutes to accomplish this. (Yes, I know you're wondering why I'm going into such detail...just hang on...I'll tell you!)

After filling up, I headed on down the road towards Chiefland. As I came to the first traffic light (where I usually turn to go to my brother's home) there seemed to be dozens of flashing lights --from police cars, fire engines, and ambulances. The traffic was stopped on both sides of the 4-lane highway. The emergency vehicles were still arriving at what appeared to be a serious car accident. Whew! It was quite a sight.

I called my SIL to help me re-route around the accident which was fairly easy. But as I was driving through the very dark night to their home, it occurred to me that had I not stopped for gas, I could very well have been in that intersection and involved in the accident 5-10 minutes earlier. Have I said, "God is Good!"? I'm convinced it was His urging that had me stopping for gas that night.

After arriving at my brother's home, we had wonderful grilled hamburgers and I gave my SIL a re-match in Tri-Ominoes. I beat her AGAIN! Wahoo! This is extremely rare, because she usually trounces me.

After my victory, I headed to my dad's home in Bronson. I was going to stay with him so that we could leave for S. Carolina at 7am on Saturday. We were headed to a memorial service for a cousin who died on Christmas morning.

The fog was so dense on Saturday morning, my dad woke me up early so that we could leave earlier. The fog was like pea soup in some places, so I'm glad we weren't feeling rushed!

We made it to Beaufort, SC just in time for the visitation time. I met several cousins for the first time. It was the first time in many years that I had seen my great-aunt, who will be 90 years old this year. It was her daughter, Carolyn, who died after a long battle with Alzheimers. At 89, my aunt has a clear mind and is quite spry for her age. It was a delight to have the opportunity to talk with her --even at such a hard time for her.

After the memorial service, at noon, we headed back towards Florida. My dad doesn't believe in letting any grass grow while he's away! LOL!! We spent about 10 hours together with nobody else to interrupt us --except for a few cell phone calls. It was wonderful! At 71, I'm thrilled to be able to spend time with him.

We made it back to Bronson about 7:30. By 9pm, I was sacked out in the bed! Why does 'riding' make you tired? I surely don't know.

After a terrific breakfast of cheese toast and hot chocolate, I headed back to Tallytown...just in time for my Sunday afternoon nap.

It was pretty upsetting to me that Bex and Mr. Fix-It seemed to do just fine without me! What's the deal there? Friday night, Bex cooked a nice supper of BBQ chicken, smashed taters and green beans. Why doesn't she do that when Mom is home? When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, they had just returned from church and Bex was cooking pancakes. Hmmmm....I'll have to make a note...she CAN cook when she wants! Me thinks she is going to "want" to cook more often!!

Thus ends my weekend adventures. God is good all the time!

Stay tuned!

My, My...How Time Flies!

2008-12-31T08:49:00.004-05:00

Hi...my name is Meggy...I used to blog here...A LOT! Do you remember me?

I'm amazed that it has been so long since I posted. It seems like yesterday -- or at the most -- last week! But, alas, the days have passed so quickly. Even today, my time is extremely limited, so I better get on with it!

My plan for the last two weeks was to upload pictures from the last few weeks and blab --I mean-- BLOG my heart out. Obviously, that hasn't happened! Some of this busy-ness has come about because of my new addiction. I've come to believe I must really have an addictive personality. I go from one addiction to another. Do you have a serious problem like that?

Thankfully, my 'problem' doesn't extend to drugs or alcohol -- just other things. For example, Publix had BoarsHead Lacey Swiss on sale a few months ago. I tried it. Now, I can't seem to eat a sandwich without it! What's up with that?

I also have a terrible addiction to orange juice and Sprite Zero. Each morning, it seems my day cannot start without an OJ/SZ cocktail. This seems to be my coffee zing without the caffeine.

Another sign of addiction...or maybe its just my laziness, I wear the same earrings all the time. Or maybe just for a week at a time, one pair will always seem to work best with "the outfit." (Yes, I can hear most of you snickering that Meggy doesn't really DO "outfits"...but that is beside the point).

On the computer, I got Bex (my computer tech) to set me up a Facebook account so that I could play Scrabble with my friend, MamaWeso. Little did I know that it would hook me, slap me down, and drag me on the ground for hours at a time! What's the deal?

All this leads me to my New Year's resolutions for 2009.

I rarely make resolutions because I rarely have the discipline to carry them through. But THIS year (along with important things like be a better personal representative for Jesus) I've decided I REALLY need to get professional help with some of these things.

So, here are a few resolutions I'll get help with...

5. Play more Scrabble with Pat (a professional) so that I can maybe learn how NOT to get smashed so terribly in the new year.

4. Get to work earlier, so I don't spend the whole day...Gettin ready! Then maybe I can get a few things done around the house AFTER work.

3. Learn to live without Lacey Swiss on EVERYTHING...it's expensive.

2. Blog at least 3 times a week. Remembering that I'm blogging for Bex, there are plenty of things I need to get in writing before my Half-Heimer's sets in and I lose the rest of my mind.

And my #1 and most important resolution for the new year?

1. Spend more time --just me and the Lord, the TRUE professional counselor. He's the only professional help that anyone can truly depend upon. He's also the only one that cares about every one of my little (and BIG) foibles...and He loves me anyway!

In Philippians 4:13 (KJV), Paul reminds us: ¹³I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

and in 1 Peter 5:6-9 (NLT), Peter reminds us:

⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Another promise...God's mercies are new EVERY morning and in Carroll Roberson's words..."It's gonna be a good day for me, Jesus and me!"

Thus, ends this year's essays...

Stay tuned!

The "Lonesome" Pine has a Temporary Buddy

2008-12-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

Actually, its a cedar tree...but who cares...it smells kind of 'pine-y'! Seems like everyone is really in the Christmas spirit here in BloggyWorld. I've seen pictures of some really beautiful --and unusual trees. So, in that vein, I thought I would give you an up close and personal look at some of my favorite ornaments on our tree.

This one comes in at #1! A polaroid picture with garland taped on it. Remember, I told you about this one a few days ago in the 25 Questions Meme? Kind of cheesy, but that nurse will never know what this meant to me on that particular day!

Notice she's sleeping on her tummy...what a no-no these days. Thank goodness no one knew about the dangers of tummy sleeping back then. She would SCREAM if you turned her on her back for the first 6 weeks of her life! It was sure fun changing her diaper!

Okay, none of the rest of these are in any particular order. Just ornaments I love.

It's funny to me how popular the new "Elf On A Shelf" seems to be this year. We've had these little elves on our tree for as long as I can remember! There used to be a red one and a green one. I'm not sure what happened to the green one...maybe one of my brothers has it. You can see this little guy has had some wear and tear...you would look a little rough too if you were...40-something! I love him anyway.

Ahhh..one of my Bex treasures. She colored and glittered this one at 3. Bless those Sunday School teachers!!!!

This one is circa Bex at 2. Yes, those Sunday School teachers have my utmost respect! How many ways can you use an empty toilet paper tube? It says "Jesus Lights My Life"...yes, He does.

I confess, I like this little guy. We have several on our tree. I'll also confess I saw one at a craft show, took a picture and came home and copied their idea. I like him anyway!

This is one of Bex's favorite ornaments. I'm not sure how "Christmasy" this is, but I like it too!

This gal tops our tree this year. Sometimes we have a star...but some years the angel gets the top spot. You know, 'Angels we have heard on high.' This always reminds me of Max Lucado's Christmas book "Alabaster's Song." It also reminds me, we need to read "The Crippled Lamb" again...even though I always cry.

Here's our eclectic, finished product. Not a huge tree, but Bex decorated it and it holds many memories in its branches.

Note to self: Maybe clean the dust off the light fixture before taking many more pictures?...{sigh}

Stay tuned!

BEX! The Light of My Life

2008-12-12T10:27:00.010-05:00

Mama's: Hug those babies!!!

Today, my sweet Bex turned 17 years old. Where in the world did those years go? I've spent the last hour or so sifting through pictures, pictures and more pictures {and YES...I cried!}. Since my digital world only started a few short years ago...I have a limited supply on the computer. I want to see YOU try to pick a "few" pictures from 17 years!

You've seen many recent pix of my girl, so today I thought I'd share a few oldies with you. Bex is serving at Camp Charis again this weekend...so I have a few days to LIVE before she kills me for putting some of these on here for you to enjoy!

My first opportunity to check this gal out! She was born C-section at 12:12 am on 12/12. After surgery and Bex having a couple of blue spells, it took about 6 hours before I was able to really hold my precious bundle. The nurse brought her to me on her way to the NICU.

Then she started growing.

This is her bald and barefoot phase. Her feet were so fat I couldn't find shoes that fit. Maybe I should have guessed then that she would pretty much hate shoes the rest of her life!

Pictures of pictures don't always come out really clear...but this is one of my favorite pictures.

I LOVED dressing her in cute outfits. She doesn't let me do that anymore...{sigh}

Loved the dots! This was such a fun time in our lives. I'm not going to rush her...but I can't wait to see her with her own babies...

Volleyball became her passion a LONG time ago. This is Bex with my dad who is so faithful to travel sooooo far to watch her play!

Then ---they start growing up. Hair do's and makeup?

She fell in love with this guy way back when she was about 6 years old. The love has never died --and its mutual.
(Just a note: the jacket she is wearing was mine in high school...its 30+ years old. I think my parents got their moneys worth out of that one!)

For a gal who's happier outside in the dirt than anywhere else, she and her dad really clean up good!

Then they turn 16 and totally lose their minds! No telling what goes on in the mall with friends...

Or at volleyball games with friends...

OR...in the mountains with her mom! (She'll hate this picture...but "I" like it!)

Then...all of a sudden...they're 17 and won't go to bed at a decent hour! This was taken this morning at 12:12am. Every year I take a picture of her at 12:12. She's asleep in the majority of those pictures. I admit that she has been awake for a few of them.

Having a LIVE Christmas tree was on her 'birthday' list. Dad took care of that on Monday. She sure doesn't ask for much!

I'm so proud of this girl (as if you didn't know!). She's just finished up her first college semester --where have the years gone? She's growing into a wonderful, intelligent, articulate young woman with a loving, generous heart--except when she's driving... we're working on the road rage. Her mom and dad could not ask for a more wonderful girl. She's our first-born and very much our favorite. Go figure!

Mama's: HUG THOSE BABIES!!! They grow up WAY too fast!

Stay Tuned!

25 Christmas Questions Meme

2008-12-09T11:45:00.000-05:00

Today's meme comes from MamaHen over at Clucks from the Henhouse. It sounded like fun...and it counts as a blog post...so I'm game! Maybe thinking about all these questions will get me MORE into the Christmas spirit around here.

So here's the deal...

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Fill out the questions below
3. Tag 5-7 people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag. Have FUN!!

Just so you know...this meme is totally voluntary! I'm not tagging anybody, but if you want to snag it and do it, feel free! Then let me know so I can be sure to check YOURS out.

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
No contest here, HOT CHOCOLATE! I remember my mom making it on the stove WITHOUT a mix! Yep! It CAN be made without those little packets. (That little tidbit was so Bex will know back in the olden days we didn't have the little packets.)

2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa has always wrapped the presents...actually, Mr. Fix-It is the champion wrapper around here. I HATE that part! Just give me a bag and I'll stuff it.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Both. I like colored and white...especially those twinkle lights! We live so far in the woods we rarely decorate outside--nobody ever sees it! In recent years, the girls strung lights all over the place outside. There's just something about lights in a tree... love em!!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. Though we do like shooting it out of the trees outside!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Depends on whats going on in our lives. When Bex was young we waited till AFTER her birthday on the 12th. Now, she wants them up earlier. I absolutely REFUSE to put them up before December 1...but we always leave them up until New Years.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Hmmm...that's a really tough decision. Anything I don't cook is such a treat. I love scalloped potatoes...but never cook them and my SIL and step-mother always make them for Christmas. I like it all...except for green stuff (like broccoli casserole).

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
Hmm...I guess the one that stands out most in my mind (kind of weird, I know) but is the year we bought my mom her first microwave oven. A microwave was THEEEE new thing back then. It was an Amana Radarange...SUPER high class in the early '70's! She was sooo excited when my brother brought it in on Christmas Eve. I can still see her eyes lighting up when she pulled the paper off. You're thinking ...She was excited about an appliance? YES!!!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't really remember. With two OLDER brothers and one younger...THEY probably spoiled it early on.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We have 3 different gift openings. On Christmas Eve, my whole family (brothers and their families, gparents, and parents) gathers at my Dad's in central Florida...except ONE that we always miss. We open gifts that night with the bigger group. Then Christmas morning we are always at my little brother's house and open gifts with them--more personal. Then when we get back home AFTER Christmas...Bex usually has a special gift Santa leaves at our house while we're out of town. When Bex was small, we thought about being HOME on Christmas morning...but she nixed that idea in quick fashion! She would much rather be with her cousins on Christmas morning...no fun at home alone with just Mom and Dad.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? It's very eclectic. I LOVE homemade ornaments. I still have some I made when I was a kid. Bex generally decorates the tree, anyway. My most special ornament is a decorated instant picture of Bex taken by a nurse at the hospital. Sounds cheesy, huh? But when I was feeling especially blue (and couldn't quit crying) because Bex had to be in the special unit rather than with me, this nurse was wonderful. She taped garland around the edges and brought it to me. I'll always treasure her compassion and understanding.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I would love it! It snowed once the day BEFORE Christmas Eve here in Tallytown. We had a great time throwing snowballs at each other! The next day all the roads were iced over. We were one of the last cars to get across the Suwannee River before they closed the bridge on Christmas Eve. We LOVED it!!!

12. Can you ice skate?
Considering I can't even roller skate, I'm wayyyyy too intelligent to even try. On the other hand, Bex and Mr. Fix-It LOVE it and ice skate anytime they get the chance.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Bex was my best Christmas gift ever! Like Mama Hen, mostly I remember the precious times spent with my family. I think the most memorable gifts are ones I enjoyed being a part of giving to my mom and others. Sounds a little pious, but its true!

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Again, copying Mama Hen....Celebrating Jesus' birth and spending time with family. For me, remembering the reason for the season is the biggest challenge and the greatest reward!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Now you're going to find out just how weird I am....I LOVE a piece of peanut butter fudge stuffed inside a warm yeast roll. TRUE! It just doesn't get any better than that!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I love everybody gathering at my Dad's on Christmas Eve. I told Mr. Fix-It when we got married that I didn't care where we spent ANY other holiday, but on Christmas EVE-- I would be at Daddy's house. We've even left for another venue after the celebration on Christmas Eve, but we've NEVER missed being with my Daddy that night. I'll tell you more about all the special things we do that night in another post...just so you'll have SOMETHING to look forward to!

17. What tops your tree?
Whatever Bex puts up there...sometimes a star, sometimes an angel. I'm not all that picky.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
I like BOTH! But as I get older, I find more pleasure in giving than I do in receiving...of course, maybe if I GOT better things I would like that more!! You know--a bit more bling? I don't think Mr. Fix-It believes in Bling...

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?"
Ahh..I think it changes, but lately..Mary, Did You Know? I love trying to get into the heads of biblical people. What were they thinking? What made them any different than others? I also like Breath of Heaven. Of course, I LOVE all the old standards, too!

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
As long as they are the standard peppermint, YUM!

21. What do you want for Christmas?
I'm so blessed, I can hardly ask for anything more! A safe holiday season for my family and friends is always at the top of my list. After my dad going through a heart-attack this year, I'm just thankful HE is here to celebrate another year with us.

But if I'm just being silly, I would love an iPod to walk with, Bex's car to get fixed, a new stove (since mine has died), or a new microwave. I've also put in for a new frying pan--just in case Santa is checking my blog...

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party?
Every year seems different. We've already been to two this year. One was at the Car Museum (Mr. Fix-It is buddies with the owner and put in the security system there) and they fed us the most wonderful, tender, grilled steaks and HUGE baked potatoes. Ahhh...we could do that again ANY day!

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
I guess PJ's in the morning and dressing a bit better for lunch...you know, actually brushing of the hair (and teeth) and the putting on of makeup...yeah..that's dressing up, right? We are always at my brother's and they take in a lot of strays...so there is always a wonderful crowd and LOTS of food for lunch.

24. Do you own a santa hat?
Probably...but it never reaches the head. I have enough trouble with flat hair...No hat-hair for me!

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
As I said before, we're at my Dad's the afternoon and evening of Christmas Eve, then out to my brother/SIL's for the night. Then we usually spend Christmas Day and night there...unless we leave to go to visit other relatives...which is rare. Usually, by Christmas night, me and my SIL sneak away and head to Ralph's (a burger joint in town).

Well, that's the end of the questions...after answering all of them, I really am starting to get in the spirit of things. Of course, if you know me, I hope you sense the "spirit" in me ALLLL year long! Celebrating Jesus birth is special, but the continuous celebration that HE LIVES should keep us in the spirit all the time!

Stay tuned!

Bloggers Have More Fun!

2008-12-06T14:09:00.010-05:00

One more picture to add to my post about the color around town these days. On dreary days, the yellow's look amazing!

NOW on to my real post of the day!

Yesterday, we had a party. A Tallytown-Blogger party. It was really fun to meet and put faces, names and blogs together. We ate, too. Eating is always good!

This great get-together all came about because Kelley (daughter-of-a-polish-man) is in town from Brazil to attend her brother's wedding this month. This is Kelley and her sweet 3 year old, Karis.

So...MamaWeso (wife-of-a-polish-man) decided we should all gather at the Princess Deb's (Cheaper By the Baker's Dozen) beautiful, decorator's dream home.

So, we gathered since EVERYBODY listens to MamaWeso! A few weren't there...like Kara, Mar and Jilma...we really did miss them (AND their food).

For some reason, a lot of the time we gathered in the hallway. Here is Lea (blog it all) and a blogger stalker. Lea is as entertaining and fun in person as she is on her blog.

There was also a huge gathering in the bathroom... but you would have had to be there to understand the wisdom of that!

Another gathering in the hallway. This is allhisblessings in green with one of her little ones. (I know her name...but since she doesn't publish it, I won't either.) I've recently come to find out she is an EXTREMELY talented person; writing, drawing, singing, and probably LOTS more!

Behind her is Laura (Dance Mommy's Odyssey)
who blogged her way through an incredible trip with her family out west this summer.

We also spent gathering time in the kitchen... the PBJ sandwiches and muffins were for the kids. The adult food was in the dining room and was very delicious! Sushi, cheese, crackers, hummus, blueberry cobbler, banana bread, doughnuts, weird mushrooms that MamaWeso makes, and much more that I can't remember.

Here's the Princess getting cups out of her pretty cabinet. She has a strange look on her face because she couldn't figure out why I laughed so hard when a plastic container fell out as she opened the cabinet door.

I laughed because I admire her sooooo much and I think of the Princess as soooooo perfect -- you know... wayyyyy up there on her throne! So its very comforting for me to know that her kids put things up where they fall out, too! It just endeared her to me so much more!

Here's Karis enjoying the party. She is SO cute! I taught her how to roll up the salami to eat it...I'm such an educational person.

On the left is Kahlua Keeping Koala (Winding River Ramblings) with her mouth full of food. She wants a hair straightener for Christmas (JK!). For some reason Laura doesn't seem to be stuffing herself like the rest of us.

Can you have a Blogger party without someone breaking out the computer? Actually, I think the Princess is accessing pictures of that beautiful new grandson to show us.

Here's Kelley perusing a catalog of giant stickers for your home (I refer you to the bathroom gathering). I caught MamaWeso with a mouthfull also!

Kelley says she likes to come home to the U.S. because she feels thinner. Apparently, Brazilian people are very thin and she feels fat over there...around us...not so much. (Should the rest of us be offended? Or just head for the treadmill?)

This is Cindy. She is one of the sweetest, most loving people you will ever meet here on Earth. She used to be a trauma nurse. She's the one that made me go to the hospital when I had a concussion. She's a Blogger-wannabe.

There were other Bloggers and other stalkers in attendance, but I didn't get pictures of them. We love them anyway.

Here's a picture of the whole group. Yes, its blurry (I didn't take it--this time!)... Actually, we blurred the picture like they do on TV to protect the innocent. (Not really, but it sounds feasible!) Maybe somebody else will e-mail me one that isn't fuzzy?

There were a bunch of kids there, too! Somehow I didn't get a picture of them.

We had such a good time. Or should I say...A good time was had by all? NEXT time, you should make plans to come...especially if you're a good cook!

Stay tuned.

The Un-Florida Florida

2008-12-05T02:17:00.007-05:00

What does Florida look like to you? For those of you who have only visited Florida, I would guess the picture that comes to mind has a decidedly South Florida flair. You know--beaches, palm trees, and alligators. Well, here in North Florida we have those too...not necessarily in such abundance (except maybe the alligators).

For those of you who aren't familiar with Tallytown, I'll tell you that it is most definitely NOT the "Florida picture" you're thinking.

Tallytown is more south Georgia than Florida. We have BIG hills here in this area. You go 50 miles east or west of Tallytown and it flattens out again. Here, we also have what is commonly known in other parts of the country as "seasons." Again, not to the extent other parts of the country enjoy this...but we DO have seasons. Fall just happens to be one of my favorites. The Bradford Pear trees are spectacular this year!

Since you've been so kind as to put up with my bag lady rant...I'll just post some of God's magnificent artwork for you today. I hope you enjoy some of the beauty I've been looking at every day just going back and forth to work. I wish you could see it in all its splendor...but alas, my photography skills are quite lacking...especially since most of these were taken from a moving vehicle!

Color? We got some color!!!!

Not WORDLESS...but close...for me!

Stay tuned!

No! I'm Not a Bag Lady!!!!

2008-12-02T17:57:00.005-05:00

Look at this picture. Go ahead...look closely even though it ain't pretty...

Does this look like a 'Bag Lady' to you?

If so, just go on to your next blog...you aren't wanted here!!! Okay, that's a bit harsh...you are wanted...just not your opinion of my attire. Of course, you won't mistake me for a 'fashionista'...but a homeless, bag lady? Surely not.

So, here's the deal. I was walking happily along the fancy sidewalk in beautiful downtown Tallytown...listening to Casting Crowns sing about the Voice of Truth on my MP3...(I PROMISE I was not singing...out loud). I know I was smiling...I always do when I hear that song.

As I'm walking along past one of the nicer hotels, I notice a well dressed young lady (probably in her late 20's) coming up the sidewalk towards me in her high fashion spiked heels. I'm prepared for this meeting -- I pass folks on this sidewalk all the time. My normal procedure is to make eye contact, smile and say HI!

But NO! Oh, NO!!! Miss Fashion Plate LEAVES the sidewalk, makes a huge arc around me, then gets back on the sidewalk behind me. WHAT???? Does she think I stink? Or that I would accost her? Tell me...do I LOOK dangerous?

I was totally offended by her actions. I was still fuming when I got back to the office so I asked Sandra to take my picture --with my work clothes (I did change my shoes), New Balance sneakers, sunglasses, earbuds, and my Publix sack carrying my water bottle and keys. Again, I ask...Do I look dangerous to you?

Anyone who spends any time at all in downtown Tallytown will see the homeless folks in parks, the library, and walking on the sidewalks. Although I have never scored high in the "MERCY" department, since I've been walking (instead of driving) through downtown, I've developed a compassion for these people that I previously lacked. Yes, the Lord is working on me. He keeps reminding me how much MERCY He's expended on me through the years. So on my daily walks, I have yet to offer any less of a kind greeting to an obviously homeless person as I do to the UPS man I keep passing. (I did tell the UPS man today that "we have to quit meeting like this!" Now, HE probably thought I was a lunatic!) Even though I don't show this type of disdain to these people, this experience really made me think about how other people might treat them.

Starting tomorrow, instead of my usual attitude, I'm going to make it a point to try to see them as God sees them -- as His child that He loves. Yes, I know about security issues, blah blah blah...I'm not saying I'm going to invite them home (just yet)...but I am going to make sure "I" treat them as I would like to be treated -- and that AIN'T making a wide circle around them like their cooties are going to jump off on me when I pass....

Rant over.

Stay tuned.

P.S. I forgot to say this in my Thanksgiving post yesterday. This is for all of you folks who know I despise almost any food that is GREEN! At Thanksgiving (and Christmas) I eat SPINACH!!! Yes! You heard that right. All you health-nut friends of mine will be so proud to know that I eat spinach in a dip a friend makes each holiday. (It doesn't matter that its made up of more other stuff than spinach, but I'm claiming the spinach part! We usually eat so much of that before lunch, we're stuffed before we start! Just thought you should know...I'm eating all healthy now! (HA!)

Thanksgiving Traditions

2008-12-01T20:58:00.007-05:00

I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours and full of tradition. The table was mostly filled with the same foods we have every year. A few new ones manage to sneak in, though. We had fried turkey and it was fantastic as usual. There was so much food --so many sweets -- it was overwhelming. But I did my best to make a dent in the sweet potato casserole, scalloped potatoes, watergate salad (don't ask me why they call it that...I made it this year according to my SIL's recipe), turkey, ham and so many other things I can't remember. For the "NEW" food department, my SIL from Venezuela made a really interesting bread that had ham, olives, raisins, and some other stuff. I'm going to have to get the recipe...unless its takes more than 10 minutes to make!

Here are a few OLD -- and NEW -- traditions:

OLD: It's not unusual to find Mr. Fix-It perusing my brother's Cabelo's catalog or any of his NRA magazines.

NEW: Seems that all day different groups were gathered around the computer playing games, checking e-mail, surfing, posting to HER blog, etc. Don't think this will be going away anytime soon. The young man in yellow looks a little put out...my niece (in green) invited him, but seems to be paying little attention to him. Oops!

OLD: After stuffing ourselves, all the women spend an inordinate amount of time poring through the sale papers looking for that elusive PERFECT gift for nearly nothing!

I guess this should be NEW...but seeing my crazy brother, Alan, stretched out on the floor with his daughter's dog probably ain't new... weird, but not new.

OLD: Girls gathered around the table to play Tri-Ominoes. One of our favorite games. Hours and hours and lots of laughs keep us coming back to get stomped year after year!

NEW: A "MALE" at the table! Both of my SIL's children spent Thanksgiving with us and tried their hands at Tri-Ominoes. Apparently, Danny whooped up on the ladies--big time!

So, now Thanksgiving is over and we seem to be jumping into the Christmas season with both feet!

After stuffing ourselves at lunch on Thanksgiving, we spent much of the afternoon and evening poring over the newspaper ads. This year, the bargains seemed few and far between...but we went anyway. It's tradition.

This tradition started Friday morning at 4am. Yes, you read that right -- 4 AM!! Actually, I got up at 4, my SIL picked me up at 4:30 and we were heading to Gainesville with another friend by 5am. As far as I'm concerned that is very close to lunacy. Days should NOT start until the sun is well over the horizon! This is yet another SIL tradition... and if its tradition then we MUST keep it without question! Usually, my sweet SIL and I head to town on our own and eventually meet up with other friends and family for lunch. This year, we allowed someone else to go with us. We even let her drive HER car and burn HER gas! Aren't we wonderful to share the love?

This is what happens when you are FINALLY getting to eat breakfast at 7:30am. Folks are a bit crazy! (Sorry, Jeannie. I HAD to post this...its the bloggy rules!)

The AFTERMATH...notice, not much left even after stuffing ourselves the day before!

I rarely buy much on these crazy expeditions. I go mainly for the fellowship with the other shoppers! You believe that, don't you? Actually, I go because I just MIGHT get to watch two women fight it out over some silly toy or find a sale that fits my budget. It HAS happened in years past (both things!), but it usually takes a miracle to find anything good that fits my budget. I hate shopping. I look at things as I pass by...and if they don't scream DEAL! I usually keep going. I also enjoy people-watching. Too many crazy people drag little kids through the mad rush while trying to juggle bags filled with goodies. I always feel sorry for the kids. The mom's, I think, deserve what they get.

All in all, the day worked out pretty well. My SIL shopped mostly in tandem with her friend and I wandered about as I pleased. When I got bored with walking around Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, or wherever...I would get the keys and go sit in the car and read my VERY interesting book. I even took my book into the mall with me. When I got tired of walking at the mall, I just found a seat and enjoyed my book. That's my kind of shopping!

At lunch we usually meet up with other folks. This year we met up with my niece, Tiffany, who works at the hospital right across the street. Since we were at the mall, we decided just to eat at the food court. It was so busy, we had to hover like buzzards to find a table. We finally got a table and left one by one to buy the delightful fast-food of our choice. Tiffany and a co-worker showed up, scarfed their food down and headed back to work. Wow! I'm not sure why we waited around for that!!!

After finishing up at the mall, we headed home. We had one last stop at Lowes and our friend bought a sink fixture and saved $44! The best deal of the day!

Before we could even get on the road, Mr. Fix-It called to find out --very nicely -- when we were going to be home. He and my brother were getting antsy to get into the woods to look for Bambi. Somebody had to be home to look after my SIL's 86 yo father who can't be left alone... so we really tried to hurry that way.

After arriving home, we enjoyed just laying around watching television and eating some more. I sat there, full to overflowing, yet was still thinking about getting another bite of that wonderful potato salad. What? I was absolutely stuffed -- but STILL wanted more. I guess I was being greedy...knowing when we left I wouldn't get anymore. (Not that I can't make potato salad at home...but will it be as good? Probably not.)

So, after relaxing the afternoon away, Mr. Fix-It and my brother finally showed up about dark-thirty. We pulled out all the leftovers, nuked what was necessary and ate again. It was getting so late, I was hoping to spend one more night. Apparently, Mr. Fix-It did NOT have the same idea. At 9:30 pm he said he was ready to go to Tallytown (this is also tradition...leaving LATE to go home). He wanted to be up "early" on Saturday morning...AT HOME. So we headed up the street to my niece's house where our family was headquartered. We quickly packed and we were on the road by 10pm.

We pulled into our driveway about 12:30 am. I drove the whole way and was pretty tired. We all sacked out and didn't budge until "EARLY" Saturday. Actually, nobody (including Mr. Early-Bird) got out of bed before 10am (another tradition...he NEVER gets up even though that's why we drove home so late!). As much as I wanted to stay another night, it was really nice to wake up S.L.O.W.L.Y. in my OWN bed.

Now that I've written yet another long...boring...rambling post, you know how I spent my Thanksgiving...and I'll leave you till another day.

Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving, My New Favorite Holiday

2008-11-27T11:09:00.005-05:00

For so long I've been thinking Christmas was my favorite holiday. After all, it's the day we celebrate God sending His perfect son to live amongst the rabble of humanity. Christmas is also the holiday where we all get presents. Everybody loves receiving gifts, right?! Hopefully, at Christmas we also enjoy 'giving' presents, too. Who doesn't enjoy watching kids eyes light up as they open Christmas presents? Christmas is a great time of year!

But I'm thinking Thanksgiving is even better. {I know you're thinking "Well, Meggy girl, get on with it and tell us WHY you've decided Thanksgiving is better than Christmas!" (I was right, wasn't I? Remember, I ALWAYS know what you're thinking!)}

So, here's my answer. Thanksgiving is a time where you don't EXPECT anything for yourself. Wow! A day dedicated to being grateful for what you already have. What a concept!!! Those pilgrims really had the right idea, didn't they? Then...you get great food on top of that? Wow! Food is sure in MY top ten!

We can all list things we're thankful for in a general sense... our faith, family, friends, a roof over our heads, our church, etc. Add to those -- wonderful visits with family and/or friends, a plethora of foods and tasty treats to choose from, a day off from work (for most), and wonderful store sales on Friday. Those are all great.

But on this Thanksgiving, I'll share a few MORE than just general thankfulness. Maybe its that AGE thingy creeping up on me. Remember, I'm blogging for Bex. One day, I'm hoping she will care what her dear mother thinks. (Not that she doesn't now...some of the time...)

Maybe it was talking on the phone with an old friend I haven't talked to in about 30 years. THIRTY YEARS!!! I don't even feel 30 years old yet...how can I remember somebody from that long ago? Even with my half-heimers I can remember the names of two of her dogs...walking on the sidewalk in our little town singing "Feeling Groovy"...I think I even remember the date of her birthday (Jan 10?). Our lives have definitely taken different paths since Jr. High, but with technology we found each other again. I'm thankful for that.

The thing I'm MOST thankful for is the fact that Jesus died on the cross with ME on His mind. It still is beyond me how He could bless me so much. You can read my testimony here. Without Christ in my life, the rest is just foll-der-rall...

But I'll list a few other things that are important to me anyway...you know me...Miss Wordy!

I'm thankful I have a husband who is a jack-of-all-trades. He is wonderfully talented in so many areas. The only thing we've figured out that he absolutely cannot do is...give birth. He can do pretty much anything else. After years and years, Mr. Fix-It is totally thankful to finally work for someone that appreciates his experience, talent, and integrity. He's like a kid "getting to go" to work every day. He goes to work for fun! At his age, that ain't nothin to sneeze at!!!!

I'm also thankful that "I" have a job where my boss appreciates the job I do. I've only worked for one other person in my life who ever let me know that I was appreciated. I have my dream job: work when I want to, leave when I want to, take the day off when I want to...and I get PAID, very well! How could I ask for anything more? When we decided that I would go back to work, I had hoped to find a job that I could put up with for about 10 months until Bex car was paid off...then I'd quit and be able to go back to being a SAHM. But now, I'm enjoying my job so much, I hope it lasts forever!

I'm thankful to have a vehicle that rides like a dream...even though it's almost 10 years old. No payments is something I'm thankful for too! Until I went without for three months, I didn't realize how blessed I am to have wheels to go when I want without having to deal with someone else's schedule! (Okay, I guess that sounds a bit selfish...but I AM thankful!) I even get to decide which radio station to listen to in my car! Wahoo!

I'm thankful to have an almost 17-yo daughter who knows and loves Jesus, and thinks alcohol, drugs and boys are a waste of time (I added the boys part...thinking positively! LOL!) Yeah, we get into squabbles a bit (unfortunately, she's not perfect like her mother)...but for the most part, she's the child many parents dream about. God has blessed us good.

I'm thankful for the State of Florida who is paying for my sweet Bex to attend college with no tuition through their dual-enrollment program. Adding to that, I'm thankful for Brenda Dickinson, our homeschool lobbyist, who fought for homeschoolers to qualify for this program! She has spent many years protecting our rights to educate our own children. I'm thankful I had all those years with Bex...even though they've come to an end... {sniff, sniff...somebody pass me a Kleenex!}

I'm thankful for dear friends. God has blessed me with friends at church, within the homeschool community, in BloggyWorld and elsewhere that make my life so rich. What would I do without dear friends who crush me in Facebook Scrabble? As I write, my sweet friend, Mrs. Becky is still hanging in there even though she has become bedridden. She's been a Hospice client for nearly 5 years! She has surprised everybody. She has blessed me immensely through the years.

Enough of the mushy stuff...I'm also thankful that my sweet SIL in Chiefland hosts Thanksgiving at her house! I only have to cook a few things, don't have to clean my house, don't have to deal with all the leftovers, and get to enjoy cable tv with TiVo. This is life!

I'm thankful this Thanksgiving, my new favorite holiday. How about you?

Auntie M is Soooo Proud of her Natalie!

2008-11-23T17:46:00.010-05:00

I was honored to be invited to my niece, Natalie's, Senior Recital at the Baptist College of Florida on Thursday afternoon. She will graduate in December with a B.A. in Music. It was a wonderful recital even if I didn't understand many of the words. She sang in French, Spanish, German (I think), English and probably others. I'm not very high-falutin when it comes to music so it was a bit over my head. But even if I didn't understand all the words, I could surely hear the quality of her beautiful voice --and of course, I'm NOT biased!!!

When Natalie was small, she spent many weekends at our home. Her dad used to say he was sending the kids to Aunt Meggy's Boot Camp. Of course, this was way before Bex was born...so I did everything P.E.R.F.E.C.T.L.Y., as any Aunt would! In fact, she was potty-trained at my house -- but then would go home and forget all she learned. Poor mom!

This is what she used to look like before she went and grew up overnight!

When she was small she had a very interesting sense of style...

Her style has improved immensely! Here are two of my beautiful neices. This is Natalie with her sweet, younger sister, Caroline. Sorry its so fuzzy...I didn't take this one.

Here's a better picture...Bex and Caroline.

Here's Natalie and her "love"...Stephen.

He seems like a great guy...it remains to be seen if he's special enough for our Nat. Time will tell...

Had to throw this one in with Aunt Meggy (and her pearls) with Caroline. These photo-ops are just too few and far between!

Sorry, Natalie...I couldn't resist posting this one. Natalie probably still does this on occasion, but she's MUCH too refined to do it for the camera!

Now, I'll leave you with a couple of video clips I took with my little digital camera. The video isn't very good, but the audio is good enough to hear her beautiful voice! The lighting was such that you can't see the wonderful expressions on her face. Her dress was very black...but with the lighting it looks muddy gray -- sorry. For those of you IBC'ers, you'll recognize Tanya accompanying her on the piano. It was wonderful to have a minute to visit with her there, too! You had to be there....

Click here and you can hear a beautiful duet with Natalie and her voice teacher, Dr. Moon.

Here's an interesting song in Spanish (for my SIL)
*************

This one is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had been able to get more of it.
**************
The Blessing
**************

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

There are a few more English and non-English clips at You-Tube, if you're interested. You can search Natalie's Recital and MegnTally to find them.

Stay Tuned!

A Last Look at the 2008 Volleyball Team

2008-11-19T20:34:00.010-05:00

Alas, volleyball season is over for the year. We're still getting used to life without practice or a game nearly every day. So, here are the last pictures of the 2008 team. We had two seniors on the team this year, so this team will never play together again. {sniff, sniff} Here's a few more pictures from our Tennessee trip to the National tournament.

More pictures from Pocket Wilderness. At first the girls were a bit cold...but they warmed up really fast.

We were so glad to have such strong girls this year. Here they hold up this huge bluff. Thank goodness they were there to help!

Here a few are standing in the entrance to an old coal mine.

Doesn't this look like fun? Take a bunch of goofy teenagers, throw in a couple of crazy coaches, and stir together with three wonderful, fun-loving moms and you've got a very interesting week spent in a 15-passenger van...

HEY COW!!!

Here our middle-hitter, Emily (in navy), prepares to serve the ball (it's really up there somewhere). We attended a college volleyball game at Bryan College one evening. Emily won a serving contest and earned a Pizza Hut pizza party for the WHOLE team! Go Emily!!!

Here's a picture of the girls singing at the nursing home in Dayton. My video was terrible so I'm waiting for one of the girls to send me one and I'll post it. To me this was one of the best memories from the entire week!

If you don't go back and read comments...here is one of Bex's favorite memories. In her own words:

The nursing home was awesome! Just something I might add though...

After we left the nursing home, we went to pick up MamaWeso at her house--ON THE MOUNTAIN. My wonderful mother was adamant that she would NOT drive down the driveway to the house and that we would all walk. We all (even me) wanted her to go ahead and drive down...maybe cause we just wanted an adventure or something (still no clue why I wanted to, considering that I've been down that terrible thing before). But after we all walked back up to the van (Mom parked the van at the top), MamaWeso said SHE would drive us down and back up it. We were all quite excited until we got to the bottom and the tires started skidding...THEN, when we got turned around about to go up...OH MY GOODNESS! That was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I was SURE the van was going to flip over at the speed we were going around the sharp corner! But that's ok. We all lived!...except MamaWeso's ears...they were probably pretty damaged.

Sunrise at Ft. Bluff. Look close and you can see the clouds hanging over the valley.

It still takes my breath away just thinking about how pretty it was.

The last (sweet) team picture....

MCS Varsity Volleyball 2008

Now a picture of them acting NORMAL!!!!

Go Patriots!

Stay tuned.

Beautiful Tennessee

2008-11-18T08:24:00.009-05:00

Hi All! Time sure flies when you're having fun! Another week gone by? I can't believe it.

I thought that life after volleyball would slow down a bit...and it has, just not enough to sit down and post. I must confess I also have a new obsession...Facebook Scrabble. It's hugely addicting. I've never played Scrabble in my life! Well, let me clarify that...I HAVE played Scrabble Jr. with Bex when she was small --but that doesn't count because the words are already on the board. So, I'm still in learning mode.

Also, last week Mr. Fix-It completed work on my new van. Friday I took it to Bless My Car to have it detailed. They did such a good job. So, I've been riding around in luxury--in my OWN wheels! I am such a blessed woman. Today, with Bex going to school and Mr. Fix-It headed out of town to work, I can make my very own schedule without counting on anyone to drive me! Wahoo!

Now, I'll show you a few pictures from our wonderful Tennessee trip...

We left Tallahassee in the school's 15-passenger van. Did I mention its almost 100 years old? Nevertheless, we were loaded up and on the road...for about 25 miles...when the engine STOPPED. So...me, two female coaches, and two moms who were following us get out to assess the problem. Are you laughing yet? At first we couldn't get the hood up--it does NOT open like the one on my car or van. Then, we get on the phone with the Athletic Director (who has driven the van a lot) he asks "Did you hit a bump?" No, we did not hit a bump. When you hit a bump, the door flies open. Then he says "bang on the fuse box"...oh yeah, right. So I bang. He says, "Well, if you just wait for about 10 minutes it will start again." When I relayed this to the other women...I'll just say "if looks could kill"...LOL!!! Since we ALL were moms, we set about devising a solution involving 2-3 other vehicles to haul all these girls to Tennessee. Too much work had gone into this trip to have it ruined by us breaking down between Florida and Tennessee. After a few minutes of planning, the AD called back and said to come on back to the school and they would "rent" a van for us to take. THANK YOU, LORD!!! We were so blessed to have this happen at the beginning of the trip --every day something would come up where we acknowledged how blessed we were to be in a rented van--rather than the old, school van!

Here are a few pictures from a beautiful park called "Pocket Wilderness" in Dayton. We took the girls here to shake out the stiffness from the trip. It turned out great!

Our first morning in Tennessee, it snowed! Quite a big deal for Florida girls. The only problem was that most of the girls slept through it! By the time they got up that morning, the snow had pretty much melted...

While we were at Pocket, the coach had the girls do a little team building exercise. They had to get lined up on the log by age. The only problem was they couldn't step or fall off the log or they had to start all over again.

It was VERY entertaining to say the least!

Not a great video, but you can see just a bit of God's splendor. What's even more of a miracle...ME watching the sunrise!!!!

Stay tuned for more to come!

A Side Trip to Ft. Matanzas

2008-11-11T18:43:00.008-05:00

On our last day at the beach, we visited Ft. Matanzas--so named because matanzas is the Spanish word for slaughters. Seems when the Spanish decided to take over, the French didn't particularly like the idea and they tried to sail in to fight the Spanish. Unfortunately, they ran into a hurricane and their ships were sunk. Many survived the hurricane only to run into General Pedro Menéndez de Aviles.

For your historical reading pleasure, here is an excerpt from the Ft. Matanzas website.

"With a captured Frenchman as translator, Menéndez described how Fort Caroline had been captured and urged the French to surrender. Rumors to the contrary, he made no promises as to sparing them. Having lost most of their food and weapons in the shipwreck, they did surrender. However, when Menéndez then demanded that they give up their Protestant faith and accept Catholicism, they refused. 111 Frenchmen were killed. Only sixteen were spared - a few who professed being Catholic, some impressed Breton sailors, and four artisans needed at St. Augustine.

Two weeks later the sequence of events was repeated. More French survivors appeared at the inlet, including Jean Ribault. On October 12 Ribault and his men surrendered and met their fate, again refusing to give up their faith. This time 134 were killed. From that time, the inlet was called Matanzas -- meaning "slaughters" in Spanish."

Ft. Matanzas, just south of Crescent Beach, is a really cool National Park that is one of Florida's best kept secrets. This little park (which has NO entrance fee) has great climbing trees right out in the parking lot.

You have to watch out for the monkeys in the trees.

Every 30 minutes, a boat comes and picks up visitors to take them across the river to the fort. Just over Kimbosha's left shoulder.

You get to ride on a cool pontoon boat.

It docks at this brand new dock--right next to the brand new $800,000 sea wall -- that you (taxpayer) just paid for!

Here's the little fort. It's almost like a Barbie house without the elevator. Ugh! More steps!!!

The walls are made up of some stuff --it has a name I can't remember -- but its a bunch of tiny shells meshed together. It really looks cool...I wish you could tell from this picture.

But before you sit down and relax on the steps going up to the 2nd story...you might want to look under the top step for umm....natives.

This fort housed a group of six soldiers. They had very interesting sleeping arrangements. I imagine it was quite cozy. Seems the ground outside would be more comfortable.

After climbing a ladder protruding through a teeny, tiny square hole -- you get to visit the roof. My dear SIL took a picture from the other end of the ladder. I won't show it here...I'm not sure I've forgiven her yet...I'm working on it.

Considering this was our FIRST day of sunshine, the girls were trying to harness every ray they could! Sad, ain't it?

After our visit, we went back to the condo to let the girls soak up as many rays as they could before we had to pack up and leave...

A good time was had by all! Can't wait for next year.

Stay tuned.

G-Girls Beach Weekend 2008

2008-11-10T17:27:00.007-05:00

Wow!

7 Comments in one day!!! I'm so glad to hear that somebody missed me! Here's another installment of "Where In the World Is Meggy?" More pictures from the beach...

Our G-Girls Weekends started out 4 years ago as a birthday bash for our former foster-child. It included me, my girls, two of my sister-in-laws and some nieces. Our first year we stayed in one hotel suite with 3 women and 6 girls and ONE bathroom! Ugh! Sounds terrible, but we had such a great time we vowed to do it every year. Since then, we've moved from Daytona Beach a little farther north to Crescent Beach--to a luxurious 3 bedroom/2 bath condo for less than 1/2 the price! Crescent Beach is very close to St. Augustine. Each year we see a little bit more of the local historical landmarks of the country's oldest city.

We arrived late on Thursday night, hoping to do some sightseeing Friday in St. Augustine (you know, touring without all the weekend tourists!). Unfortunately, Friday was overcast and rainy --not conducive to touring. But the girls had a great time anyway --playing on the beach, in the pool and inside our condo. Me and SIL enjoyed just relaxing, eating, visiting, eating, watching television, eating...etc.

Friday night we made a big pot of chili that helped ward off the dreary day!

You can see they didn't have much competition for the pool! The older girls played volleyball across the pool -- their skillful volleys would have made their coach cringe. The video is just too painful to share! LOL!!

Did I mention...they entertained themselves? Not sure where the 'gansta' came from...

It's pretty bad when an 8 year old can beat the socks off of two teenagers in the game of Life!

This was a funny sign outside our condo. I guess they REALLY want to keep folks off the dunes!

Another overcast day on Saturday. The girls slept in and enjoyed the sandy beach and all three pools. The sun finally appeared in the late afternoon. We headed into St. Augustine for a bit of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Lighthouse.

Inside the lighthouse. After walking up every single one of those 219 steps, I couldn't believe I actually PAID to be tortured like that! I really should have purchased one of the "I survived the 219 steps" t-shirts!

After a wonderful seafood dinner at O'Steens, we headed into downtown St. Augustine. We had a great time shopping and perusing the many art galleries. That's where we got our culture for the weekend. There were some amazingly beautiful paintings and we were really amazed at what people will pay for ugly pictures!

Here the girls hooked up with one of the better dressed guys in downtown.

Stay tuned. I'll finish up our beach trip tomorrow with a trip to the fort named for the slaughter of French soldiers. (Guess that was before they learned to run!)

A Life Worth Blogging?

2008-11-09T21:02:00.006-05:00

It's hard to believe -- 10 days without blogging? Recently, my friend Princess Deb suggested that in order to have a life worth blogging about --one might not find any time to blog. I'm not sure that has been my problem lately. Actually, my problem seems to be more along the lines of having so much to blog about, I can't decide where to start! Yes, life has been extremely busy in the last few weeks AND since I can't figure out where to start, I keep putting off even attempting a post. Sorry!

This morning at church, I had at least 3 people asking me, "Are you okay? I've been worried about you!" That Nagger-Lady even asked my husband if I was okay! (I love that lady!) Then I get home and find Kelley has commented on my last post wondering if I'm okay. SO! For those four people who missed me -- I'm ready to get back into the swing of things and hope all my 4-5 readers haven't abandoned me.

Sometimes my priorities really need tweaking. How about yours? It has been a bit freeing figuring out that I CAN exist without blogging. However, I'm trying to remember that my whole purpose in blogging is to have a record of memories for Bex. So I'd better get busy recording all the wonderful adventures we've had in the past few weeks.

Where do I start? If my purpose is to write about the great family memories, I surely can't ignore the last two weeks! Let's see...since I posted anything of significance -- we've been to the beach, the mountains, played in a huge tournament with lots of smiles and tears, come home to work (and Bex to school) and made it through one of the biggest elections I've ever worked. My van has been almost ready -- then not ready--still not ready. Bex's car has been fine --then was running hot--now is fine again. We've even had friends over for dinner --which is extremely rare these days. (A friend who comes to see ME and not my house!) And we're basically settling in to real life without volleyball. Bex thinks life without volleyball isn't much worth living...I'm thinking it's nice to settle in to a quiet routine for a change!

I'll leave you today with a few pictures from Crescent Beach and St. Augustine -- we had a blast!

Take one crazy 8 year old who LOVES to be the center of attention.

Add two teenagers who love to laugh and take pictures of EVERYTHING!

Finish the group off with two crazy sister-in-laws who are crazy enough to put together a 1000 piece puzzle in two days

Mix it up with lots of fun and a huge suite for the girls to hang out in...

Sprinkle with a beautiful view from the bedroom balcony.

Throwing in a liberal dose of beautiful sunset out the front window....

What have you got?

The G-Girls Beach Weekend 2008!

A fabulous weekend at the beach full of laughter and relaxation with friends and family.

Stay tuned! I'll be posting pictures from all our adventures in the coming days...

Volleyball Ain't Just a Game!

2008-10-29T23:29:00.006-04:00

Just a quick note to get you updated on what's going on in BEEEE-UUU-TEE-FUL Tennessee...

The weather starts out in the high 20's - low 30's each day --BRISK might too mild a word. Calling the wind "biting" might be too mild a word, too! But I'm not complaining. It's been bright sunshine and beautiful scenery.

Today was our first day of actual games. But since our first game wasn't until 2pm, we had a bit of free time this morning. We decided to take the girls to a nursing home in town to do a little something for someone besides ourselves. At first some of the girls were a bit skeptical about this activity. On the way to the nursing home, they practiced a few songs to sing. They are ALWAYS singing on the way to and from games...so this seemed a natural fit.

After arriving at the nursing home and making sure we would be welcome (of course we were welcomed with open arms!), the girls started out by visiting with a sweet lady that one of the girls knew. Seeing all eight girls packed into Mrs. Senter's half of the room was pretty interesting. But then... they started to sing and I stood mesmerized by the sweet sound and the look on their faces. It was amazing.

After singing a few songs for Mrs. Senter's and her insisting on hugging EVERY girl, we moved on to another room. As soon as we would finish in one room, the nurses and aides would hurry us to Mrs. So and So's room "who would really like to hear you sing." At each room, one or two of the girls would introduce themselves as a volleyball team from Florida who were playing in a tournament on the mountain. Then they would ask if they would mind if we sang for them. The residents were always enthusiastic and seemed to really enjoy each visit.

We were able to go from room to room for about an hour. When time was up and I had to insist on leaving (we HAD to go or miss our game!) the girls were disappointed. As we got back in the car, ALLLLLL the girls were so excited and were asking if we could do this again -- even when we got home! The girls were so warm and sweet to these people it was hard to keep from crying!

Yes, I know what some of you are thinking (as usual)..."Meggy-girl you cry ALLL the time anyway!" Well, let me tell you, the other mom with us was crying, too! It was so wonderful. I've never been more proud of those girls. It was a special time that I won't soon forget. I'm still crying just thinking about it!~

Now, for other news that is important...but in terms of God's world, not nearly as important as the start of our day...

We won all three of our matches today. We even won the match we played at 9:30 tonight! Personally, I think it's pretty rotten that they make these girls get up and have breakfast between 7am and 7:30am --then expect them to play volleyball that late at night! Our game didn't actually start until about 10pm. This is so hard on our girls, but we survived!

Winning all our matches seeded us #1 in our pool (or group for you non-team sport people). Tomorrow starts the actual tournament where we have to really buckle-down and play hard. It is a double-elimination tournament, so if we lose 2 matches, we're done and headed home. If we win both our matches tomorrow, we won't have to play again until Friday. But if we lose even one, we have to win a bunch more games in the Loser's Bracket before Friday in order to win the tournament.

Sounds complicated, but that's just because I write weird. Sorry...my brain has been up since 6am and it's after midnight...so I'm surprised I can type at all! But I just had to tell you about the nursing home. I'll have some pictures AND video when I get back home.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Stay tuned!

P.S. MamaWeso hasn't pushed me down any steps so far!

P.S.S. Hey Cousin Sue, the road up Dayton Mountain has a sign "Historic Trail of Tears" Ever been here? I'll have to look for more info to send along to you!

A Break In the Break?

2008-10-27T23:44:00.003-04:00

Is that allowed?

I'm having such strong bloggy-withdrawal pains, I must post SOMETHING...just to stop the tremors every time I pass by an unoccupied computer.

We had a fabulous weekend at the beach. St. Augustine was old...but still fun! As soon as I get home I'll post some great pictures. Do you know what you get when you mix 2.5 teenagers, 2 adults, and 3 digital cameras? A LOT OF PICTURES!!!! Many of the very same pose -- just from 3 different cameras. The 2.5 teens also made some interesting videos -- and we even wrote a great Bud Light commercial on our way home...it's hilarious!

Tonight we arrived in Tennessee for the volleyball tournament and it is COLD! Wahoo! I love it! From the warm, muggy beach to the cold, crisp mountains -- all in 24 hours! (How's that for an 'exclaiming' paragraph?!!)

I'm loving the comments on the previous post. Quick! Go post some more comments!!!

Since I'm staying with a friend here in TN, I'm hoping I'll have a bit of time for computer access. Maybe I can keep you updated on the tournament...

Stay tuned.

A Bit of a Bloggy Break

2008-10-23T05:28:00.001-04:00

Actually, we're at the beach for the weekend, but will be on top of a mountain in beautiful Tennessee all next week. Probably won't be able to touch a computer till I get back.

Would you please let me know if you miss me by posting a comment? If I have a LOT of comments when I get back home, it would make me feel very loved....

{pitiful plea, I know...}

Stay tuned.

Busy... but Boring Here at the Pine

2008-10-22T07:54:00.009-04:00

For some reason this week, I've had very little to share with you folks. Not that we haven't been as busy as usual...just nothing of the exciting, humiliating, or interesting variety...well, in the interest of the Truth In Blogging rule, I guess I would have to say there HAVE been some of those incidents, but I'm not allowed to blab about it to the world...sorry! I've been pretty busy because I've been working more hours this week (did I tell you how wonderful my job is?) since I'll be out of town all next week.

Another big OH! YEAH!! this week is that my van is out of rehab and will be ready to hit the straight (and curved) road sometime this week. Woohoo! I've been without my own wheels since August!

Me and Bex have kind of been in countdown mode...getting ready to head to the beach this weekend for our annual G-Girls weekend. It won't be quite as fun this year because of a few gals that won't be able to come this year...bummer. But the rest of us will try to suffer through a sweet, relaxing weekend without them. Here's a few pictures from a few years ago... We always have a GREAT time! Won't you wish you were there?

We'll be back home Sunday night. At that point, we'll be frantically washing clothes and re-packing to head to Dayton, TN for the National Association of Christian Athletes national volleyball tournament on Monday.

Now, since I care so much about YOU, my faithful readers, I feel like I must offer you some really good bloggy fodder. I'll direct you to one of my new favorite blogs. This one is Beachy Mimi. She is the Queen B's mother and is an absolute hoot! Check out this post...umm...but empty your bladder first...its hysterical! So...go read Beachy Mimi and then come back and tell me what you thought about it!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-10-20T10:09:00.006-04:00

Folks, it was a hard weekend...so it's been hard to get the gumption to write about it here. But I promised an update --so an update you shall have.

After Friday's win, our girls played in the Championship game on Saturday. Focus seemed really hard to come by for several of the players. Although I must say --in a totally unbiased fashion--that Bex played a great game. Yes, mistakes were made, but she was wonderfully consistent throughout. Bex had a personal best, 12 kills. She played with her whole heart, so it was a bit bruised and battered when they did not come out with a win. The Team Mom had a hard time, too. Being 2nd in the conference isn't quite as sweet as first...obviously. We had to keep remembering to "Praise You in the Storm." It was a tough day.

On a brighter note, we are still going to the National Tournament in Dayton next week. The team that beat us on Saturday will be playing in our same division so we may get a re-match up there. We're counting on it! They will still have OUR banner, but we will be able to reap some satisfaction if we can beat them there.

Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful morning of worship at our church. A young 21 year old from my Sunday School class was the featured soloist in the choir and touched my heart with a song about there being no orphans of God. It was beautiful. Then Bex played the piano during the offertory and did a wonderful, mistake-free rendition of "Sanctuary." Then we headed to Sunday School and had a wonderful lesson from Romans 7 about how we all still struggle with sin in our lives and how our awesome Savior, Jesus Christ, provides the answer to our struggles.

After a quick pancake lunch, I settled in for a sweet nap-time. After waking, I enjoyed the end of the NASCAR race with our favorite, Dale Jr., coming in 2nd. It was a nice quiet afternoon. Bex and I topped off the day with a moonlight walk in the crisp, cool evening air. It just doesn't get any better than that, folks!

Oh, one more thing! Congratulations to "Mar" from Light 'N The Way is the winner of my very first giveaway! Her FIRST comment on my blog and she wins. Who'd a thunk it? Bex truly drew the winning entry out of her hat.

One more thing, you can check out Lea's blog over at Blog It All and see the pictures from our grits fest the other day. We had a great time... Oh! and here's a big shout-out to my friend, Kara, over at Bella Blog...glad she's back into the blogosphere!

Stay tuned.

Volleyball 101...More Than You Wanted to Know!

2008-10-18T08:23:00.004-04:00

It's early. I'm wide awake. I think it's that getting old thingy again that won't let me sleep late --even when I can! Lea over at her blog thinks it happens the day you turn 41, but I'm not sure about that.

Since it's so quiet around here, I thought I would post a short note to let you know that even though I haven't blogged since Wednesday, I'm still alive and kicking! It's been a busy end of the week!

On Thursday morning, we had our September to Remember blackberry grits fest at Lea's house. It was my first time meeting Lea (and Lori) and it was totally worth the effort of posting every day in September. Lea is as much fun in person as she is on her blog! We took pictures, but they haven't appeared in the blogosphere yet. Lori impressed and inspired us with her scripture memorization. She REALLY learned those first 2 chapters (plus) in Ephesians. So we had our scripture right along with our grits! We had a wonderful time and the grits, orange scones and fellowship were wonderful!

Yesterday afternoon (Friday), our volleyball team headed to Bainbridge, GA for the first game in the Conference Final Four tournament. Varsity volleyball matches consist of the best 3 of 5 games. A game is 25 points, but you must win by 2 points, so sometimes the score goes over 25. That's what happened yesterday. Our girls seemed to sleep through the first game...but we managed to win, 27-25. For some reason the whole team was just out of sorts and really discombobulated. After the first game, they settled in and played more of their game. We won the next games 25-15 and 25-16.

The other team had a fabulous defense, but didn't generate much offense. We usually call these type teams "bump ball" teams. All they do is concentrate on getting the ball back over the net, not really trying to earn the point. They seemed to be able to defend anything we hit over. Our team, on the other hand, tries to play both offense and defense.

My Bex led the team in kills (for the first time) yesterday! She had 10 kills. No, they aren't talking about a mafia kill; that word has bad connotations. But, a kill is a good thing in volleyball. Yet, a kill can be very violent...because it's usually a ball hit very hard and fast. You earn a kill anytime you hit the ball over the net and it hits the ground without the other team being able to play it. Yesterday, kills were very hard to come by--the other team kept returning those hard balls! Bex had 10 kills, but she probably had at least 40 more good hits that they returned. I was afraid her arm was going to fall off she was hitting them so hard!

It's really hard to be the scorekeeper for these games because scorekeepers aren't allowed to cheer. Scorekeepers are part of the officiating team and must be unbiased (yeah, right...) Being the scorekeeper, I'm up close and personal with the game, but I have to keep my mouth shut. This is why I'm a scorekeeper--so I don't embarrass my daughter. One of the other moms told me she loves watching me...let's just say, I cheer very creatively, and leave it at that. But it is so easy to get caught up in the moment and get carried away. It is VERY hard when your precious girl is on the team and having a tough day -- or a good day! Let's just say I'm such an encourager and it's hard to stay quiet. Yeah. That sounds good. A whole lot better than saying I'm a loud mouth and just can't keep my trap shut!

Yesterday, I actually saved a point for our team! The wrong girl went back to serve and I was able to signal the coach in time to stop it, thus, not giving the other team a point as penalty. Yes, I am a very important part of the team...oh yeah!

Today is the championship game. We watched the other team play yesterday afternoon and they are pretty good. If we play OUR game, we will win. If not, it won't be pretty. So...if you're reading this before 2pm EST, say a little prayer that our girls will play to the best of their abilities today. You don't have to pray for us to win...just pray that they will play as well as they can...that's all we need to be the Champions today. And, if you feel froggy, you can pray for the scorekeeper. She needs to stay focused and do her part today, too. Oh, and she needs to keep her mouth shut, too. You can pray for that.

Stay tuned.

My New Handy-Dandy-Scraper-Chopper Thingy

2008-10-15T00:08:00.001-04:00

I'm definitely NOT a kitchen diva --but I do like anything that makes my time in the kitchen easier. That's why I just have to tell you about my new, handy-dandy-scraper-chopper thingy! I love it!

I'm sure they've probably been around for years and years, but I have only seen it recently as I was surfing by a cooking show on the PBS Create channel. Since then I started looking for one and finally found one in Publix last week.

This is what I'm talking about...

It's a cool little tool that you can scrape with or chop with --it's really pretty sharp -- then just scoop it all up at once and throw it in the pan! It's fantastic when you're working with any "little" stuff, like chopped vegetables or meat you've cut up. One big swish and you've picked it all up! No more trying to hold it against the knife and dropping bits of it everywhere.

I made a trillion sandwiches for the volleyball tournament last weekend. After smearing the P, B and J or Egg Salad all over the bread, I used this to chop off the edges of the crust, then cut it in half. Then, I would just scoop up all the crumbs and dump them in a big bowl for the dogs. My workspace stayed so clean. It was way cool!

So that's my Works for Me Wednesday idea. If you want a BUNCH more, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer to check out other great ideas!

Oh, and don't forget to check out my post from yesterday to enter for my first Giveaway!!

Stay Tuned!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my friend Angie! We worked together and were pregnant together...she had a boy two months after I had Bex.

She'll probably kill me for posting this picture...but frankly, those were the good old days when we ate whatever we wanted!

Cats on the Counter, Elementary Drivel, and a Prize!

2008-10-14T11:57:00.013-04:00

Cats On the Counter:

I don't know about you, but I cannot abide animals on my kitchen counters or anywhere I eat or work with food. Specifically, this cat on MY counter! This is Squeaky. You can meet him here and see some of the crazy places he sleeps.

About every two weeks or so, Squeaky decides on a new 'spot' to spend his time. He will come in each day, eat, hang out with Bex a bit, then head to his 'spot' to sleep, wherever that is at the time. Sometimes, its on the floor by our bed, sometimes its on Bex's bed or in her dresser drawer. Most times, its right in a high traffic area so we have to step over him.

He knows he isn't allowed on the counters or tables and he gets in BIG! trouble each time we catch him up there. Yet, for some unknown reason, this week he has decided that my rolling, butcher-block "counter" is his chosen spot--no matter how many times he's swatted off and immediately evicted outside. Ewwwww!!! This is where I do most of my prep-work for cooking...double-Ewwwww!!! So, I just spent the last 15 minutes cleaning it with Clorox before mixing up some yummy chicken salad.

I'm not sure why you needed to know that...but I guess it just grossed me out so much, I just had to share!!! You know...just keeping it real...so that you don't think everything is always peachy here at The Pine.

Elementary Drivel:
This morning I was reading one of my favorite blogs and noticed she had a button on her side-bar that rates your blog as to the reading level. Since hers said it was 'College Level - Undergrad", I thought hmmm...I use some big words occasionally, I'll just check on mine. (You can check yours here.) You know what it said about Lonesome Pine? Look at this!

***

Movie Reviews

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So! Here's a question. Should I be insulted? Should I be happy? Should I be embarrassed that I write on an elementary level? Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing? Hmmmm....

This leads me right into my first giveaway. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think about this rating --AND if I don't know you, leave me a way to contact you. I'll put all commenters names in a hat and pull one for the winner. So be sure to get your comment in! I'll draw a name on Friday night when we get home from the Tournament.

THE PRIZE?

Your choice of an {almost new} book-- These are new...but have a name in the front. (Is that tacky? Hey! I ain't Rockefeller?)

Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian -OR-

A Woman and Her God by Beth Moore, Jill Briscoe, Sandra Wilson, Kathleen Hart, David Hager, Thelma Wells and Beverly LaHaye -OR-

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

All of these are fabulous books that I have read and would recommend to any of you!

So, leave me a comment and tell me what you think about reading an elementary level blog!

Stay tuned!

All Filled Up and Overflowing!!!

2008-10-12T21:30:00.009-04:00

I wish you had been with us tonight. I really do, because no words I write here could ever truly express my experience from tonight. It makes me think of a song that our volleyball girls sing during warm-ups... (think camp songs, think harmony, interesting harmony)

Fill up my cup and let it overflow,
Fill up my cup and let it overflow,
Fill up my cup and let it overflow,
Let it overflow with Love!

Tonight, our church hosted the local Baptist Association's Annual Worship and Praise gathering. Most churches in the Association 'move' their evening service to the host church. The Association does this once every year...tonight it was our turn. I wish you had been there --you would have been blessed.

We don't normally participate in this type thing, but since our church was hosting and Mr. Fix-It was encouraged to go by a friend and a Sunday School teacher, he deemed it worth the gas for the extra trip to town. I was kind of surprised --but was happy to go.

We walked in to a packed church and immediately saw two dear friends (who we met when we used to go to church with them at another church). So we sat down with them and the service started immediately (I think our Minister of Music was just waiting for us to arrive so he could start! LOL!) The choir loft was packed with probably 100 men and women from various churches and the Praise Team led worship. And I mean WORSHIP!!! We started out with Days of Elijah. Wow! No doubt the Spirit was alive and well in that place. Then after a few formalities, we sang Shout To The Lord and Standing On The Promises. Wow! My tears well up just thinking about it!

The choir sang a beautiful song called Lord, You're Holy that I had only heard once (this morning during the regular worship service). Think Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir --yes, it was that good. Is it okay if I say "WOW" again? With the added voices it was better tonight than it was this morning. I really liked that you could understand nearly every single word...sometimes with choir music that doesn't happen. Awesome!

The speaker for the meeting was Dr. Ted Traylor from Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. Sorry, but he gets a double-WOW! Whew! He wore me out. When we weren't laughing, he was walking all over my toes. I'll try really hard to tell you the gist of his message...but you really had to be there. No doubt in my mind, God was there and speaking through this man.

Dr. Traylor started by reading Proverbs 14:4

Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much increase comes by the strength of the ox.

Have you ever thought about this verse? I wish I could explain it exactly like Dr. Traylor, but he quoted his Ryrie study notes (after explaining that what is on TOP of the line is the infallible Word of God and what is written below the line is somebody's opinion and you'd best not get that mixed up!). Mr. Ryrie said something like if you want milk, you've got to be willing to shovel manure. You can't get milk without the cow...and cow's are...ummmm...messy.

He also spoke from Acts 11:19-26 about the birthplace of the church. We're so far from that model here in the good ol' U.S. of A. He went on to point out the characteristics of a church with Vision and Victory like the church in Antioch. These characteristics included:

1. A preaching church. Where the Word of God is rightly divided and preached at every program and service. Also, each Christian needs to be preaching the Word in their daily lives. We sure can't wait around for the preacher!

2. A welcoming church. This church must welcome all sinners...even if they look different from us. Duh! The Christians in Antioch brought together the Greeks and the Jews. I bet they sure had some fireworks! This might be where you need to shovel a lot of manure --mostly from the Pharisee's that are already members! Amen?

3. A teaching church. Where God's Word is preached we have to be willing to disciple and encourage each other to live as Christ.

4. A forgiving church. Refer to #2 and how we can't let petty things divide God's people. There was a lot more on this...but I can't remember the other points, I was too busy shoveling out my own heart. This was powerful.

5. A caring church. Social work without the Gospel is meaningless. But including the Gospel in our social work is more powerful than you can imagine! If the church truly fulfilled its role in loving people, we wouldn't need socialist government programs.

6. A changing church. Whew...this can really get on some toes! Who likes change? How often do we hear "'Cause we've ALWAYS done it that way!"? The church had better be willing to change if God says to change.

7. A praying church. How could we change our world if the Body of Believers joined together in true prayer?

So, from my muddled explanation, can you understand how painful, yet, exciting this message could be? Can you tell I'm filled up to overflowing? I needed that tonight. Wish you were there. How exciting to see God move among believers. Hmmm....makes me want to get busy shoveling some manure!

*****NOW*****

....drum-roll please....

I've got a giveaway! My FIRST giveaway!

Check back tomorrow for details.

Stay tuned.

One Down -- Two to Go!

2008-10-10T21:46:00.005-04:00

After a full day of volleyball games --ours and others -- I'm headed towards my bed for a long nights sleep! But I wanted to update you on our teams progress...

Here is a picture of the "Regular Season" Champions of the East Region Panhandle Christian Conference! They had a Conference record of 10-0.

It is also a picture of the East Region Tournament Champions!!! Yea!!!! Winning this tournament advances us on to the Final Four Tournament in Bainbridge next week.

Here is a picture of my favorite server, my favorite outside hitter and a member of the All-Conference First Team!

The All-Conference team is voted on by each conference team's coach. They each get 12 votes and cannot vote for any girl on their own team. So, that means 'other' coaches voted for her!

This is her first year being picked for the All-Conference Team and her parents are SOOOO proud of her. She had 10 kills in the last game tonight! That's a personal best for her.

These are 5 of the girls on the All-Conference Team -- the three in the middle are from our team. This was taken between games...so they were all dressed differently...for some reason.

Our team now has an overall record of 20-1.

We're done with one tournament and have two more to go --Final Four next week and Nationals in two weeks. I can't wait!

Stay tuned.