What a difference a day makes!

I have turned the corner and feel much better today!  Thank you all for your sweet comments and concern!  I believe when you ALWAYS feel good makes it worse when you feel bad!  That is me, I am so thankful to feel good MOST of the time!  I have taken my 2nd dose of the antibiotic and although still having some coughing spells, I at least walked outside today and took some pictures!  A girl just can't stay inside so much:)  My Swamp Daisies are showing out again!  They are taller than the porch and JUST FULL of blooms!  BUT would you look at that BLUE sky?

My yellow roses are making me smile!  Thanks Nanny!

The MUMS bloom when they want to and not every year!

The Angel Trumpets have buds hanging all over the place!

Alex's Birthday dinner was fun, even though I didn't feel too hot!  She requested a homemade chocolate cake and Cindy cooked her up a beauty!

AND I would say from the look on her face that she loved her gift from Me and Pa:) 

More sweet blooms!  Flowers make me smile!

SO... a bit late with this post today but I am just happy to feel like posting:)  It is gonna be a little cool this weekend here in these parts!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned or enjoy quiet times with your loved ones!

Justin, we are all praying for your safety!!!  BIG HUGS!

What a day!

I have not felt good this week!  I have been self medicating with over-the-counter stuff but just not feeling a whole lot better!  I have a wonderful Medical Doctor who I love and he ALWAYS sees me with or without an appointment!  OK... earlier this week, I verified that they would be there 1/2 day on Wednesday, all day on Thursday and closed on Friday!  Tried a number of times yesterday to reach someone in the office to get in to see him today!  No answer, so I decided to try again this morning!  No answer, answering service answered and said that there must be something wrong with the phone line because they ARE there today!  SO, I drive 45 minutes because I needed an antibiotic!  Calling all along the route, and even getting Tracy to fax a note to the doctor's office for him to call me!  When I am about to get on the interstate, the signage says "TRAGIC ACCIDENT, only two lanes open"!  I was too tired and felt too bad to go around... SO I sat in the traffic for about an hour!  I finally get to the Doctor's office, THEY WERE CLOSED!  Are you kidding me?  I call the answering service and after passing me around, they tell me that the Doctor's office is closed today but that they will be there tomorrow!  I proceed to tell them about what I had done to get there and that I MUST talk to the Doctor!  He was closed for the Jewish Holiday which I understand BUT someone should have told the answering service!  They called him, he called me and called me in what I knew I needed in the first place!  I am back at home now, on my comfortable sofa with a dose of medicine!  Long morning but happy with the result:) 

Have a blessed day, HUGS! 

Praying for Justin and Justin is praying for us:)

Happy 7th Birthday Alex!

Today is Alex's 7th Birthday!  What a precious sweet child she is, they say she is just like me:)  I love you Alex so much!

A few of my favorite pics!
Alex and Avery after a fresh bath... SWEET!

Some of these pictures seem like they were just made but they have grown so much!  Sweet Sisters, no better friend in the world than a Sister!

Cutiepies!

Happy Birthday my precious Alex! 

I love you and hope you enjoy your 7th Birthday!

Praying for you Justin!  Love you and stay safe!

23 years ago...

My Mama passed away 23 years ago today!  I remember where I was and what was said and how I felt!  It devastated our family!  Everybody loved her!  Some time ago I started writing down memories from my life... here is an excerpt from my writings!  This tells a lot about our Mama and what she meant to all of us and still does!

``````````````````

As a child, I was the youngest of 5 children until 1969 when my Sister was born. I was everyone’s little Sister and remember feeling special to all of my family. We had food but not a lot of extras. My Mama would search for extra change in the house so that we could walk to the Robertson neighborhood store for a tiny brown bag of candy. We always had delicious food, home cooked, vegetables from the garden and meat from the yard. We had chickens that laid eggs and cows that gave us milk to drink. There was also the pigs that gave us sausage as well as a day off from school when it was hog-killing day. The food was the best. Mama made special stuff for me. There was never a summer that we didn’t have fresh vegetables. Daddy would have a field full of corn. Mama would boil an entire bowl of corn and that is sometimes all I would eat. I loved it and she fixed it for ME. We would gather under the oak tree for shucking and cutting the corn off the ears. Over the years we gathered under that oak tree for lunches, birthdays, weddings and then after funerals. I remember playing under that tree in the summer when school was out. We played outside a lot. We had an old barn and played in it and around it. Mama would take pine straw and make a house in the dirt. We would play rock school on the back doorsteps. Daddy worked hard as a house painter and Mama didn’t work until later in life. She worked in a school lunchroom and would bring home the best rolls. She made the best biscuits that would melt in your mouth and would make sure that I had Karo syrup to dip it in. (Cindy always has Karo syrup for me when we eat breakfast at her house)  There were a lot of people in the house! Barbara was the oldest. When I was in the first grade, she was a senior and married Jerry after she graduated from High School. Marshall was next. He had cool cars and always looked out for me, and still does. Then there was Leon. I can remember sitting on the sofa watching western shows and Leon could draw pictures of fire flames. Brenda is 4 years older than me and she and I were close. Brenda took piano lessons and I learned how to play from watching her. I took accordion lessons from Mrs. Berry and my Daddy even bought me a violin. I never really got the hang of that but did like playing the accordion. Mrs. Berry had a bunch of animals, goats and chickens and cats all over the place. She could play all instruments and I took lessons for some time.

I remember sleeping in a baby bed until my feet almost stuck out the end. It was behind the door of the bedroom off the kitchen. I believe I still slept in that bed until I started school but that memory could be wrong. I can remember when Mama told us that she was going to have a baby. She was 45 years old and this was quite the surprise. My Brother Leon teased her about it and she was a bit embarrassed that this had happened. At the time we didn’t know what a blessing this child would be. She gave life to my parents. They were older and boy were they proud of this baby, Cindy. My mother was of the age that it wasn’t clear if Cindy would be born OK. There were 30 of the church family at the hospital when Cindy was born and everyone shouted when it was announced that it was a girl and she was OK. My Mama came through the delivery just fine and then there were Six of us. Cindy would turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to them. She was a light in their life. They would take her to church and she became everyone’s little girl. I can remember people thinking that Cindy was a grandchild instead of a child because of my parent’s age. It hurt Mama’s feelings. Cindy helped Mama after her stroke. She would throw the wheelchair in the trunk of the car and take Mama to Kmart and to the grocery store.

We had one TV when I was a kid and we would gather around and watch it. We would go to bed with the chickens and to this day, I still do. We got up early and to this day, I still do. We would have to be silent at bedtime or Daddy would tell us to be quiet. He needed his sleep so that he could work the next day. When we would have overnight company we would have to tell them not to giggle too loud. It was always cold because we only had heat in the living room. I can remember getting dressed for school standing by the heater. After we got a clothes dryer, Mama would put my clothes in the dryer to get them warm. We would sleep with lots of cover, blankets, and to this day I still like the room to be cool at night.

Some of the stories I tell were told to me by my Siblings or my Parents…. The water that we had in the house came from a well in the backyard dug by my Mama and Daddy. My Daddy would dig down by hand and send the dirt back up in a bucket that Mama would pull up, dump out and send the bucket back down. When Daddy hit rock after digging way deep in the hole, he had to move and start over. The well is still there, not functioning but still there. My Daddy put a pompous bush in it that just kept growing. He burned it and chopped and it was truly hard to get rid of.

Daddy built the house we lived in with his own hands. He kept building on rooms as there were more and more children. It wasn’t big but looking back on the times we spent in that house were precious memories to me. It is funny how I don’t remember the times there wasn’t enough money to buy a bunch of stuff as doing without, but I remember as times we went to the store for a few pieces of candy with change found in the house. I remember the walk to the store and the way it looked in Robertson’s country store. I don’t remember the fact that we didn’t have money to buy steaks but I remember the fact that Mama cooked fresh vegetables from the garden and how tasty the fresh meat was from the animal of the day. The way Mama could make a cake from a pile of flower and eggs that tasted better than any bought from the store. The times we had around the dinner table were the greatest (we called it supper). We had our main meat for breakfast. We would have pork chops, chicken, squirrel and rabbit. We would eat salmon patties and homemade biscuits. Then for the evening meal we would have vegetables and lots of them. Mama would make soup and cornbread. She would can vegetables in the summer to have during the winter.

As years went by Mama learned to drive and we would go to the grocery store. She would have $40 to buy a weeks worth of groceries to feed however many kids there were and themselves. No wonder Mama made so many dishes from scratch, like chicken and dumplings. It was about how much you could stretch what you had until the next week when you went back to the grocery store. I have precious memories of fresh bread and bologna for a sandwich after we got home from the grocery store. We learned not to be wasteful and to this day I am not wasteful. I believe the things you learn as children become a way of life.

We always went to church! When I was a child, we went to Macedonia Baptist Church on Panola Rd. We would go to Bible School and I can remember making macaroni crafts in the summer. We would have dinners for revivals, they called it “dinner on the ground” but it was really on the table. My Best friend was and still is Celene. Her Parents, Henrietta and Thornton, have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and still are. Henrietta and Mama were best friends too. Mama would sit with Henrietta on her front porch and share secrets. They would laugh together and cry together up until my Mama passed away in 1988. Mama had a stroke and lived for two years before dieing in her sleep on September 27th. I was at work at BellSouth and a co-worker came to where I was making coffee and told me that I needed to go home. My Mama would not wake up. Marc drove me home and I remember putting my head in my hands and praying the entire ride that she was still there. It wasn’t to be. She had died in her sleep. Leon was standing on the front porch of our family home and said she’s gone. My heart BROKE and still to this day hurts. That moment will be one that I will never forget. My Daddy hugged me as my knees buckled and he whispered in my ear “you have to stay strong for me”. From that moment on, I never forgot what he said and it gave me strength to keep going. We bought Mama a nice dress, much more expensive that she ever had while she was living. It was lavender and we gave her a beautiful funeral. Our family would never be the same. We always said things like “Mama would be proud” or “Mama wouldn’t like that”. Even though she wasn’t there, she really still was and IS.

My Mama kept Tracy for me from the time she was six weeks old so that I could work!  They were very close and Cindy and Tracy grew up together and are more like sisters!  I am so happy that Tracy was able to spend all of that time with MY Mama, her MawMaw!   She loved her so much!

There are so many more stories to tell... to be continued!

 

``````````````````

A Mama is precious!

If you have one, be thankful!

She can be taken from you quickly!

She cannot be replaced!

You will miss her forever!

You will love her always!

 

I sure miss and love mine, forever and always!

I love you Mama!

Out of steam, battery dead, pooped...

I AM the Energizer Bunny MOST all of the time BUT...

The battery is out of energy!  Scratchy throat and cough sidelined me yesterday!  I didn't go to Church and hardly got off the couch!  I won't stay down long but still not fully charged this morning! 

Gonna sip my hot coffee, OH how good that feels on my throat!  Hope you are having a wonderful Fall day where you are!

Stay safe Justin!  We are all praying for you! 

Look out, here comes Alex:)

This is Alex's 2nd Season to play softball!  She has really learned how to swing that bat!

Here she is ready at shortstop!

This is where her first ball was hit:)  To the fence!

And this is where she ended up on that first "at bat"!  She got a hit every time she got to bat!

Good game, Good game, Good game!  They won both games and she was really proud of that!  At that age, they teach them to JUST have fun and that it isn't about winning:)  BUT... growing up in a sports family, she knows that the object IS to WIN!

Avery had the option to play and chose not to!  She enjoyed some relaxing time on the sidelines playing games on her Mama's IPAD!

We have been at the ballfield for DAYS!  Autumn played in a School tournament, Austin had a game yesterday as well as Alex having TWO games!  Breathing all of that dust has given me a scratchy throat and a hacky cough!  Sipping my warm coffee this morning nursing my throat:)  Enjoy your Sunday my friends!

Stay safe Justin, praying constantly!  Love you!

Mission accomplished and TWO Ballgames!

Done, Hawaii pictures printed and placed in an album!  It was on my TO DO list and now is DONE!  I told Marc, next time I go to Hawaii... DON'T take SO many pictures:)

This album holds 500 pictures... FULL album and a stack left over!

Lots of beautiful memories inside these pages!

It took a long time to put it together!  I spent the rest of the day at ballgames for Ms. Autumn!  Two more games Tied one and WON one!  Three more today!  BUT... Austin has a game today and Alex has TWO games!  We are all over the place!  I can't be everywhere:)   It is so hard to miss any of their games BUT unless I can figure out how to clone myself... I WILL miss some!

Have a Happy Saturday!  BIG HUGS! 

Love you Justin, stay safe!  We are ALL praying!

Yummy lunch with a sweet friend AND a phone call!

Do you ever eat here and eat this?  Soup, Salad and Breadsticks at Olive Garden!  $6.95 and it is unlimited and DELICIOUS!

My friend Joan and I met here yesterday and sat for hours chatting MORE than eating!  I ate ONE bowl of Pasta e Fagioli soup, ONE bowl of salad and ONE breadstick!  OH, I could have eaten much more but didn't:)

Forgot to take a picture yesterday but fortunately I found one from a previous lunch!  We had a wonderful lunch and then went to do a little shopping!  Sorry Deb, I had to cut you out... well, because you weren't there this time:)  I just love Joan to pieces and we enjoy chatting and eating or chatting and shopping or just chatting or just eating or just shopping!

I catch up on her and her husband, they are both retired like we are!  They LOVE cruises and have gone on a bunch of them!  We have only gone on one and enjoyed it but not enough to go on a bunch!  She is raising her Granddaughter and what a gorgeous sweet child she is!

That's it for my Thursday!  I purchased a CUTE purse, a frame for a picture for Autumn and a wooden word FAMILY!  I will show in another post!

What a sweet good morning THIS morning!  Cindy sent me a text message that Justin was on Facebook, up I popped:)  Got to chat with him on facebook AND I GOT A PHONE CALL FROM AFGHANISTAN!  Oh what a sweet voice on the other end:)  I love you Justin, stay safe! 

Have a blessed day my friends, BIG HUGS and prayers!

Where did Wednesday go?

I seldom skip a day blogging but my Wednesday just disappeared:)  I took four Grandkids and two friends to school 45 minutes away and stopped at Walmart to shop for Justin some goodies AND pick up 600 pictures!  Shopping for Justin takes a long time because I take my time imagining him smiling and enjoying each item I buy:)  I bought stuff to keep him warm and yummy goodies to eat!  I love to pick things that will be mighty tasty all the way over there!

When I got to the register, as always, I talk about Justin to whoever will listen, I tell them who he is, where he is and how much he means to me:)  The Lady who was checking me out stopped me in my tracks, I ended up holding her hand and left with tears!  Her 18 year old Grandson was killed in Iraq three years ago!  WOW, talk about leaving with a heavy heart for that lady!  I will pray for that sweet Lady and her daughter who lost her Son!  You never know what others you meet are going thru or have gone thru!  She needed to talk:) and I needed to listen!

Autumn is playing in a school ball tournament and we had to leave early for that!  Busy day all the way to bedtime:) 

Justin's box is packed and ready to mail!  I am having lunch today with a friend that I used to work with and I haven't seen her in a long time!  Hope your day is special, that you listen when someone needs to talk and that you will be truly blessed in all that you do!  Love you all!

Stay safe Justin!  Love you!

I still like to hold a picture.....

I have TONS of pictures and LOVE them all!  I love to sit with a box of old pictures and look at each one, remembering the moments!  Remember when you used to take a roll of film to have them developed?  Remember when you would go sit on the stool and print you pictures?  Now you can sit at your computer, choose the ones you want to print and wah-lah, go pick them up:)  OH YEAH that sounds great but it takes a lot of time! 

I decided yesterday morning to send some of Autumn's Homecoming pictures to Walmart to have them printed!  Hmmmm, I had been wanting to print the pictures from our Hawaii trip!  FIVE hours later and 600 pictures are now ready to be picked up!  YES!  I am so excited to check that off of my list of things to do!  I still like to hold a photo in my hand to look at!  The problem is that I take SO many pictures and I would like to print them all!  Digital is good, digital is bad:)

Have a blessed day my friends, heading out later to pick up my pictures and TRY to find an album BIG enough to hold them all!

I appreciate all of your prayers for Justin!  He is doing good and enjoying the packages we are sending!  He says it is getting a little cool over there so we will be sending stuff to keep him toasty warm!  Love you Justin!

Howell Family Reunion 2011

Our Howell Family Reunion 2011  So many wonderful family members and lots of delicious food!  Lots were missing and we still had a big crowd!

My Niece Kelly brought this cookie cake!  It disappeared quickly:)

Some of our family!  Autumn, Tracy, Bradley, Britani and her fella Matt, Sister Barbara and her daughter Shannon, Sister Brenda, Brittany and Robert, Jeff and Avery back left

The last two remaining Aunts!  Their husbands were my Daddy's brothers!  Left Aunt Myrtice and Right Aunt Dot!

AND the phone call from Afghanistan!  We were all hovering to get a chance to say HI to Justin!  WE did and he said he was good!  He had gotten SIX packages from us this week!  SWEET!

Have a blessed Monday my friends!  Mine started out great getting to chat with Justin on Facebook:)

Thanks for the continued prayers!  HUGS!

Stay safe Justin, I LOVE YOU!

Autumn's Homecoming 2011

My ALMOST 16 year old Granddaughter!  Oh How I LOVE her!

She is so pretty to me, INSIDE and OUT!  Many kids her age might now want their Grandmother tagging along BUT NOT MY AUTUMN:)  She asked me so many times "you're going with us, right"? :)

And so Homecoming 2011 is History!

This is Autumn with one of her Softball friends! 

Autumn and Justin

They are two peas in a pod!

What a sweet picture!

They whole crew!  Check out that gorgeous home in the background!

The Party Bus waiting to take them all to dinner!

I can't wait to hear all about it!  I know that they had a wonderful time, making memories with friends!  Have a blessed day! 

Stay safe Justin!  I got TWO letters and got to talk to him yesterday! 

Love you Justin, we are all praying for your safety!

A trip to the mountains and back again:)

Howdy Friends, I am BACK:)  Autumn had two ballgames in the North Georgia town of Hiawassee!  Marc and I decided to stop in our "Anniversary Town" of Helen Georgia for a couple of nights!

It was beautiful as it has been for the past 26 years!  We were in Vegas last year for number 25 and will be at the beach this year!  SO... an early Anniversary trip for us!

We stay in a Hotel right on the river!  It has a balcony looking down on the river and within walking distance to everything!  I love it so much up there!

The weather was a little warm during the day but started cooling down in the afternoon and felt a little like Fall!  While Marc went for a morning jog, I walked up thru the little town and shopped!

I walked in and out of so many shops, chatting with the owners and talking about visits in years before!

Loved these flags, stood right there and thanked God for keeping Justin safe!

We didn't ride in the carriage this time but we have before!

Look at these pretties climbing up the light post!  Bright blue beautiful sky, just a few wispy clouds!

The last time we saw this fountain, it was frozen!  The Christmas lights were on and it was SO cold!

These blooms were as big as a dinner plate!

Beautiful!

We always have at least one lunch at this restaurant!  International Cafe!  They have the best Reuben Sandwich in the World!  YUMMY!

Another place we always visit is the Old Sautee Store!  Outside is gorgeous...

Inside is gorgeous too....

Loved all of these OLD products!

An old building out back...  SWEET!

And we always make a trip to Fred's Famous Peanut Stand!  Delicious boiled peanuts!

And that is where I have been!  Took a little trip to one of my favorite places on Earth!

Love you all!  Thanks for missing me and for keeping Justin in your prayers! 

Love you Justin, stay safe!