The Many Faces of Hannah

Boy, I am glad that it is not this time 2 years ago! One look at the pictures will reveal why!




I was one miserable gal with 8lb. 8 oz. of Hannah inside me. But she arrived on October the 27th, and I was just happy we did not have to have her on Halloween. (That is when the Dr. wanted to do the c-section, but I went into labor first.) That was one holiday on which I would rather she had not been born. She arrived by c-section, a ruddy little girl with plenty of fat on her. She took all day to get into the world, and she was greeted with much anticipation by her parents, grandparents and siblings. In this picture, her grandparents show Sarah the new baby through the window.







Her father and I were elated that all was well with her!





Trouble was, all was not well with me. Something went wrong, and I was back into surgery in five days. Still, my little "pumpkin" thrived. She had a wonderful nurse who fell in love with her and even went out and bought her her own "blankie" so she would be comforted when her mommy could not be there.









I made her a little shirt similar to the one her sister had when she was born. Hannah's said, "Daddy's Other Little Kicker".

She was just a beautiful baby, and she was very good for the two weeks we were in the hospital. I never was so happy to get out of a place and get home, though.




This was her "birth photo" we sent out. She was wrapped in my baby blanket from 40 years previous.



Hannah grew steadily, and before we knew it, it was her first Christmas. She did not like this photo session under our tree very much.



But by this photo, she was peaceful again! That's the way my Hannah is.



Hannah is a Daddy's girl, for sure. I think they bonded especially close since I was out of commission for so long after the birth. She loves Sam, too, and sometimes I think she thinks that HE is her mommy!



Sarah and Hannah are the best of friends, and for that, I am so grateful. I think they will always be very close to one another.



Hannah can be a hand full! Just yesterday, she managed to trap herself in the bathroom by pulling out the bottom drawer next tot he door, and it took the whole family half an hour to extricate her! Then, she promptly went into the kitchen, pulled a bowl down off the counter and broke it into a jillion pieces. She keeps us hopping all the time. That is how she got the name "Hannah Bee." She is always busy as a bee!



Hannah definitely has many faces. She is a very expressive baby!







I think what I love most about her are her huge brown eyes! They can stare a hole through you, or they can ooze with love and laughter!
So today, my little "Bee," Happy Birthday from your adoring family! You have enriched our lives and we have been so blessed by you. May the good Lord see fit to give you many wonderful years on this earth so that you can continue to bless the lives of others!

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two
horses in it. From a distance, each looks like
every other horse. But if one stops the car, or is
walking by, one will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose
that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have
him put down, but has made a good home for him.
This alone is amazing.

Listening, one will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, one will
see that it comes from the smaller horse in the
field. Attached to her bridle is a small bell. It
lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can
follow her.

As one stands and watches these two friends, one
sees how she is always checking on him, and that he
will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to
where she is, trusting that she will not lead him
astray.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not
throw us away just because we are not perfect or
because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our
lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by God
and those whom he places in our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others
to see God.
"Good friends are like stars.....You don't always
see them, but you know they are always there."
---Author unknown

Taco Soup!

Hot temptations on a cold night!















Well, Wilma has come and gone from Florida, and thankfully, my parents are still earth-bound. It has been a trying week for the family, with several members of our extended family having passed away, including two sisters from Columbia who died in the same week last week! And they were both in their 40's to boot! Hey, these days, I don't take one day for granted. There have been a huge number of 45 year olds dying right in my own town. I think there were three last week listed in one day's obituary. One was 42 and two were 45.

I've spent the night writing the eulogy for my grandmother's brother-in-law who passed on Sunday. My brother will preach the funeral tomorrow. Sometimes we share these projects since I am the family historian, writer, and photographer. Maybe if we all had to write a eulogy every so often, we would think more about our eternal state instead of always worrying about all this earthly lunacy.

We made taco soup tonight. We had tried it last week but did not like the recipe, so we tried again tonight with much better results. I am going to have to watch my fat intake. I did very well at the hayride/birthday party Saturday night! I only ate one S'more! I've cut out most sweets and all sweet drinks, and hopefully the changes will do me good. I've got Hannah's birthday party and another hayride this weekend AND Halloween to get through----horrors, it is going to be hard to stay away from all the sweets! :)




Anyway, here is the recipe for Taco Soup as we like it:






TACO SOUP

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef, browned
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can red kidney beans
2 cans Mexican-style tomatoes (Rotel)
1 small can chopped, green chilies
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. dry, Ranch Dressing mix
grated cheddar cheese
taco chips

Directions:
1. Brown ground beef in a skillet and chop up into small pieces while cooking.
2. Drain off grease from the ground beef after browning.
3. Put the ground beef into a crockpot. Add corn, beans, tomatoes and chilies. Do not drain any of these items.
4. Stir in packages of sour cream, taco seasoning, and Ranch Dressing mix.
5. Cook in crock-pot for four hours. If not using a crockpot, use a large dutch oven pan and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.
7. Taco chips are a good addition to this tasty soup.

Hanging On.....

News Update!

Mom, Dad, and my grandfather are holed up in Pappaw's condo in Sarasota and "holding on." So far, so good there. The electricity is still on. That's a good thing. My grandmother was evacuated to the hospital and is there with her sister til Wilma passes over.

My Dad lost an aunt and an uncle yesterday---one from his Dad's side and one from his Mom's side. Uncle J.W. passed in Tennessee at roughly the same time Aunt Grace passed out in Texas. We are scrambling to see which of my brothers will preach J.W's funeral on Tuesday here. Everyone is displaced right now, and it is going to be tricky to get everything done from where we all are.

I called Mom and Dad last night, last thing before I went to bed and told them to please be careful, as we did not need any more relatives called home right now. Thankfully for our family, anyway, the storm has passed to the south of Sarasota. Now, I just worry for my aged friend Alice in Miami, who is getting too old to keep sleeping on the floors of shelters.

We had a very pleasant Sunday. For the second time in as many weeks, we went to morning services, ate lunch out, and then went to the afternoon special services of churches in our area, and then went back to our own evening service. I got to see an old friend I have not seen in 15 years, and that is always neat! Of course, I was back in my hometown church as well, and I am always overjoyed to see the folks that are still alive after all these years! They are amazing folks. The water is truly special in that town. They all claim that is the secret to their longevity. Hmmm, maybe I need to move back there! I think the water here in Gravyville is killing me.

The kids and I are beat, and I am going to do nothing today except schoolwork, lots of laundry, and perhaps writing a eulogy for my brother to give tomorrow. That's a slow day for us! Remember to pray for those in harm's way today! :)

Sage Words

Thought O' the Day......

"Don't sweat the petty thingz, and don't pet the sweaty thingz."

Are you totally inspired now?

www.Loose Ends

Thursday's Thoughts...more questions than answers....

Well, my parents made it to Florida. My grandmother is very weak and very critically ill, though still being cared for at home. I am concerned that all the chaos involved with a possible evacuation to the local hospital might just be her undoing. It also presents problems for my mom who has been battling with lymph node problems and probably should not be exposed to all the different diseases present in a hospital, especially a hospital that may not be able to maintain the usual standards of cleanliness. Then there is my 85 year old granddad and my 65 year old dad, both with heart problems. I hope this storm will not scare them into some kind of a spell. I'm still hoping that somehow this monstrous storm will weaken, and leaving their home will not become necessary.




My grandparents in a 2002 photograph











On a happy note, Tim's brother Kevin called us from Mississippi today where he is training to go to Iraq. It was so good to hear his voice and to talk to him! Kevin is a true Patriot who is keeping his chin up despite the dread of leaving his wife for a long-term assignment in a war zone. His wife is having to hold down the fort up in Wisconsin.

I'm still waiting to hear on the "going back to work thing." I think that the lady who is currently running the place is not sure if she wants to give it up or not. The boss is not happy with the way she is running it, but I am not sure he has the energy to fight her to take it away from her. I'm in no hurry. I'm leaving it to the Lord to work this one out! This is one situation where I can truthfully go either way and be perfectly happy!

The clothes sorting continues. Arghhhhh! How one family can grow out of so many clothes, I do not know. Little girls outfits are notorious, too, for having several pieces to them, and I hate to store them until I have found all the pieces and put them together. So I am doing a lot of "where did I see that blouse?" Sometimes, I think I will perpetually be sorting clothes the rest of my life. Currently, Hannah is bringing me a stack of sorted dresses, one at a time, and wanting me to put them on her. She does not understand that they fit her a year and a half ago.

Speaking of Hannah, I have less than a week to plan her second birthday. I can't get in the mood with the events unfolding in Florida. I think I will have to know that my parents and grandparents are safe before I can proceed. Gratefully, she will only be two and won't know the difference if we wait a few days, one way or the other. Meanwhile, little niece Lauren is patiently waiting for her family celebration of her 1st birthday.

The news made me sad today. I hate it when I go to my Fox news on the net or CNN or both, and all the news is sad. Mother throws babies off of pier. Ford laying off workers. Earthquakes and Hurricanes everywhere. I am trying to figure out if it is just me or if lots of people are very somber and serious right now. I have to watch it, because sometimes, I think it is just my perspective. But it seems like every blog I go to, I read another sad story and see that there are lots of desperate people right now. I will get enough of it and back off of viewing any news for a while. Sometimes you just have to stop the negative sensory input.

I guess if I had one of those little icons on my blog that said "Today I feel...." that today's answer would be "philosophical." I am trying to figure out a lot of things right now, and there just don't seem to be any good answers. However, from the looks of my email today, and the tone of aforementioned blogs, I am not alone. I have faith, and I know that God is ALWAYS in control of everything from government to weather. Yet, I cannot help but wonder if this old earth is winding down.... If that is the case, or even if it is not, there is not one thing I can do about it.

Those of you who know me know that I usually profile my loved ones on their birthdays. Today is the birthday of my ex-father-in-law, and it is amazing what a gigantic mess he has made of his life. While I won't be doing a tribute to him, I ask that you pray for him, that he will see the error of his ways before his life is over and change. He has lost everything...his kids, his wife, his material possessions. Despite the fact that his son (my ex) is a louse, he was always pretty decent to me. I wish him no harm and do pray that he can get in the Light before the end of his days.

At any rate, life goes on, and this weekend, we will take Sarah to her much-anticipated birthday celebration and hayride for one of her little "boy friends." I hope the rain and storms do not interfere or Sarah is going to be to bury. It is so cute. She has a string of potential suitors, all of whom have asked her at one time or another to come over and have a sleepover, much to her father's horror! The sweet little ones do not know yet that boys and girls do not sleep over together, and in their innocence, they do not exactly understand why not! I often wonder if one of these young men will be the men our daughters choose to marry some day. Oh, well, that is WAY too premature. Yet, I know from having a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old how fast it goes by.

Well, that's the update for now. Hopefully, tomorrow will produce more answers than questions as well as a much lighter blog for your reading enjoyment.

"Edwards Luck"

(O.K. This is not REALLY the storm track, but rather what could happen if the hurricane takes a Tennessee turn, in hot pursuit of the Edwardses.....By the way, note the advisory number---this becomes relevant as you read on.....)


What do you call it when your parents are headed to Florida and the worst hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin is headed right at them? You got it! Edwards Luck! We have had a joke in my family for a lot of years. It is along the lines of Murphy's Law, but just for our blood relatives.

It is not enough that I have 5 children to worry about, along with one very busy and accident-prone husband. I have to agonize this week over the safety of the brother who decided to go to Myrtle Beach and the parents who are on their way into harm's way. We had quipped at the last family gathering before they all left that one or the other would probably run into a hurricane. Of course, that was not a hard prediction to make, considering this monstrous hurricane season we have had.

My step-grandmother is ailing and has been for some time. Her sister, who is over 80 as well, has been almost single-handedly caring for her for well over a year now since a sizable stroke. My grandparents are in the 85-year-old range and surely not able to get themselves out in a disaster. Sister called Dad and told him they needed to get down there, as Grandmother is slipping away. What do you do? You almost have to go. I just wish they were all up here, where the family is concentrated so that we could care for them. But they are not. I am terribly worried for the safety of them all.

Mom and Dad called tonight, and they had made the full drive today---about 16 hours worth. When they got to their hotel, the clerk tried to put them in room 313. My Dad said, "No Way!" They got moved to 325. It is not so much superstition as it is that a lot of bad things have happened to him on the 13th. I don't blame him for being a little nervous with a Category 5 Hurricane staring at him with her big pronounced eye.

After all the Katrina and Rita mess, I can only imagine what pandemonium is going to ensue when they tell people to evacuate. The highways of Florida are going to be a parking lot.

I tried to get my parents to reconsider. After all, it is already pre-arranged that my grandmother would be carried to the hospital to weather the storm. She will be as safe as people can be in a hurricane. But my mother had already paid her money on Priceline.com for a room, and she was going! That is the difference in my mom and me. I guess she is a little more gutsy than I.

So, tonight, I long for all my family members that are displaced. I pray that God will keep them all safe until we can be together again.

Lauren

My little niece, Lauren, youngest of the pack so far, was born one year ago today! Happy Birthday, pretty girl!!!!



Lauren and Hannah are going to be pretty good friends, it looks like, just in the same way that Sarah is close to Kelsey. Sarah also loves Ben, and hopefully, in time, Ben will have some other boy cousins!




It is going to be interesting to see what Lauren will be like when she is older. Right now, her Mom describes her as "busy." She and Hannah ARE a lot alike!



I loved these pictures from July 4th! Lauren was especially happy in this one. Hannah was not! I think she did not like something Ben was doing!





Above are some of my favorite pictures of my darling niece! Now why did I not get those blue eyes? :)

Auntie D'Lee loves you, baby!

Side by Side

SIDE BY SIDE


They lie on the table side by side
The Holy Bible and the T.V. Guide.
One is well worn and cherished with pride.
Not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.

One is used daily to help folks decide.
No, not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
As the pages are turned, what shall they see?
Oh, what does it matter, turn on the T.V.

So they open the book in which they confide.
No, not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
The Word of God is seldom read.
Maybe a verse before they fall into bed.

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be.
Not from reading the Bible, from watching T.V.
So then back to the table side by side,
Lie the Holy Bible and the T.V. Guide.

No time for prayer, no time for the Word,
The plan of Salvation is seldom heard.
But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,
Is found in the Bible, not on T.V.

- Author Unknown

They "Unpaved" Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot....

Thursday found Tim and me on our way to the big city for an appointment with the endocrinologist today. I love my endocrinologist. He is one of the smartest, kindest men I have ever met. Unfortunately, my last blood tests revealed that my battle with cholesterol is going badly and that the enemy is winning. I must now up my meds, and he insisted that I begin an exercise program. Horrors! Whatever shall I do now? If I don't, he warned, I am going to be turning into a full-fledged diabetic, and we all know how bad that can be. Sooooo, exercise and diet change, here I come. I guess all those years of grit gravy are catching up with me!

After the appt., we ventured down south to check out some of the cities we never travel through any more since we moved to Gravyville. We stopped on the way to see the parents' old homeplace. Of course, it was my homeplace too for some 30+ years, except of course when I was in college and stuff. The new owners have it up for sale again, because the posh little community it is in just legislated that homes there cannot be multiple family homes unless the residents of the home are close family. So the people that had bought it had made it liveable for about 4 families, and then this legislation happened. While I heard they made our unfinished attic into a master bedroom and bath, they took down all the bushes out front and they "unpaved" paradise and put up a parking lot!!! By that, I mean that they took out all the nice landscaping and brought in a load of gravel and dumped it in the front yard and made a parking lot right in the front yard! Dummies! Then, they painted the shutters and the front door some pukey color that looks faded, and, well, the place just does not look the same. THEN, they tacked on a hundred thousand dollars to the price they paid my parents and put it back on the market! Somehow, I don't think they are going to get it! But then again, the housing market is crazy!


The "Home Place" as it was when I last left it, posh, green, and shaded


Same house after the parking lot crew came in..... Get a load of the yucky-yellow door and the faded shutters....

After seeing my old house, we continued on our trek southward to see the development of another community that was just a hole in the road at one time. I could not believe how it had changed in just a few years. Within half an hour, we were in my late grandmother's town--the town where we now worship, about 45 miles or so from where we live and to the west.

As we passed the funeral home in town, we saw my 2nd cousin and her husband going into the place. We drove in and found out that they were having visitation for some friends' 54 year old son. So we stopped and visited a while with the family, and that was good for all of us. It is a terrible thing to bury a child of any age. I was glad that Tim was off today and that we were able to "weep with those who weep." I was reminded of Ecclesiastes 7:2 which says, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart" and Ecclesiastes 7:4 which says, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure." I was glad that we got to spend some time with Ted and Mary and the rest of the brethren who showed up while we were there. We were in the same room where the funeral for my grandmother was held last year, and the sweet memories of that day came flooding back. We had at least 9 families present from the church on a Wednesday morning the day before Thanksgiving who did not know my grandmother but loved me enough to show up. I'm sure they will do the same for this aged couple who has now lost a son.

After leaving the funeral home, we passed by my grandmother's old house. It is being remodelled as well after just having been sold. Mammaw's toilet was out by the front curb! We had a little giggle about that. I think Tim was afraid I was going to ask to bring it home as a keepsake! I'm not that bad of a saver, yet! On a positive note, it looks like the fixer-uppers at Mammaw's old house have much better judgment! The place is shaping up quite nicely. I hope they will let me in to see it when they are finished!

We came home, and I had not been here very long before the phone rang. Of all people, it was my old boss! I worked for this man for nearly 10 years before I married Tim. We have kept in touch, and he is in his 80's now, but still doing what he has done for many, many years. He wants me to come back and run the place I was running before I married Tim and moved off. What a shocker that was! He flattered me to the max (that always helps one decide these kind of things :) and told me I was the best and most honest person that had ever worked for him. Despite the fact that he is very, very old, I am very tempted to just jump back into this job that I loved more than anything I have ever done in my life. It fit me like a glove. I can take my kids to work with me----how much better can it get?

I guess we have some negotiating to do, but if we can work out the details, I may be going back to selling monuments. I will still be schooling the kids, and it is going to be challenging, I know, but I think I am up for it. Besides that, the little boy who helped me "run the business" from the time he was about 5 is now 19 and can help me do it in earnest this time, that is, if he does not move away to become a preacher-man. His plans are still in the works, too, but if he decides to stay on in Gravyville a spell longer, I will teach him how to sell a tombstone! He probably has it down pat already! He used to stand out in the monument yard and tell the customers that his favorite design on the stones was the one that said, "Precious Lord, take my hand...." I sold more of that design than just about anything, mostly because my little blondie was so cute. Now, I have got the two little gals with the most gorgeous pleading eyes you have ever seen. Those customers won't stand a chance against them!

So stay tuned, folks. Will D'Lee, the confirmed and happy stay-at-home, home-schooling mom take another thing on her heaping plate of gravy and biscuits? Guess you will have to come back and read on....

What I need.....

For the brain-dead of Bloggerville, here is my list inspired by the popular meme called "I Need." Put your name and the word "needs" (i.e. "Susie needs")in a Google search box, and then copy the funny remarks that are fit to print to your own blog! Thanks to Jennifer for the heads-up on this one!)

Search results for "Dana Needs" (that I can print):

"Dana needs to test out her new device which measures volcanic activity...." (would that be the mild explosions going off in the boys' rooms?)

"Dana needs a webcam!" (Uh-uh! NOBODY needs to see me first thing in the morning!)

"Dana needs a Splackavellie!" (Only if it is a form of chocolate....)

"What Dana needs most of all is a highly structured family; one that can offer her patience, guidance, and love." (Do they take trade-ins?)

"Dana needs to chill." (That is definitely true, most of the time!)

"Dana Needs to Download Slots." (Don't believe the LIE! Between chocolate and coffee, I have enough addictions!)

"Dana needs everyone’s fall schedule to plan next year’s monthly meetings." (I trust you will all get them to me...)

"Dana needs to get "Iran" and "Iraq" straightened out." (Today, Iran and Iraq. Tomorrow, all the Third-World nations, Saturday, the Mexican Border problem......)

"DANA NEEDS HOUSEKEEPERS" (Now we are getting somewhere!!!!!)

"Dana needs more sleep!" (Always! I have been sleep-deprived for 20 years now, with only 18 to go. Think I will go back to bed now. Nighty-night!)

Dougie!

My brother Doug


Everyone has someone who seems like they have always been there. I guess for me, outside of my parents, the only other person who has always just been there would be my brother, Doug. Doug was born on the true Columbus Day, 42 years ago today. According to my parents, since I do not remember, I did not especially welcome him into our home. But for their sakes, I tolerated him.

Doug was always 100% boy. Maybe it was more like 120%! He was always getting into something, and he was always getting taken to our local emergency room. I don't know how my parents survived raising the boy! Besides having to have stitches on numerous occasions, he also climbed up and jumped off the house in his Batman cape as a frantic neighbor called my mother and reported the event live on the phone, locked himself in the clothes dryer, and sniffed gasoline from the lawn tractor until the "flowers were singing and dancing." He drank a whole bottle of Benedryl to impress our mother with his medicine-taking skills, and of course that landed him an all-expense paid trip to the E.R. while our Dad was away on a National Guard weekend. It supposedly took the entire staff of the E.R., the doctor, and my mother to hold him down so they could pump his stomach. Another time, he jumped off a neighbor's shed and landed on their grill, cutting himself down his thigh and narrowly missing important parts of his body! And all of this he managed to do before the age of 12!

While Doug managed to settle down some in his teen years, he did not get any nicer (he thought the same thing about me,) and our sibling rivalry only escalated. I think we actually inspired one another to reach higher and further to simply outdo the other! We competed for the best report card, the most accolades, the most trophies, etc. We were both "over-achievers" by nature anyway, so competition came naturally.

Doug had an impressive list of credentials coming out of high school. He had been Captain of the football team, President of his senior class, and Youth Governor of the state of Tennessee. Were it not for some nasty teachers at the private school we attended, I think he could have achieved even more. He would have loved to play college football, but his evil coach had set him up purposely to be injured, and that injury ended not only his senior year's playing, but all future football chances.

Doug did not let these setbacks get him down. He went to Vanderbilt for a year, and then decided that Engineering was not his strong suit. At that point, he was offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go up and work on Reagan's re-election campaign and be a driver for the man who would go on to become our ambassador to France. Reagan was re-elected, and Doug got an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Doug finished his four years there which were nothing short of rugged and brutal from a physical and mental standpoint. He went on to take up his commission as an Army officer, and he served for several years until a medical retirement was necessary. He left the army with mixed feelings at the rank of Captain. He liked what he did, but it was always hard, and he was stationed at some pretty rough places. Down in the swamps of Louisiana is probably where he contracted some foul thing in his lungs which diminished his breathing capacity and caused him to have to retire early.


O.K., so Doug would not be caught dead in a Navy hat, and he was really, really sleepy when I swooped down and made this picture of him, but is that not what big sisters are for?

During this time, he met and married a girl from Kentucky. Though they were married for eleven years, she only lived with him for around 7 of those years, and not full-time at that. Having not entered into marriage until her early 30's, it seems she had spent too much time with her parents and could not break free of them. She began to return home and stay longer and longer each time until she just left Doug entirely. Doug and I both learned the heartache of divorce---a shared experience that we would have never wished on one another.


Doug with more hair than he has now....

A funny thing happened to Doug and me as we got older. We began liking one another! We still had our moments from year to year. He had a hard time when I divorced my first husband. His possessiveness of his sister kicked in, and he wanted to kick ex-husband's behind. I felt a similar emotion when his wife began her antics and had to exercise extreme restraint not to hurt her as well. Doug and I both have those Irish tempers, and you don't want to push too many buttons with either of us. I think we also share an extreme sense of justice---always wanting truth to prevail and the good guy to win. But we have also shared times when the good guy didn't win, and we have held each other up when we could.


How Doug desecrated my baby picture on my 40th birthday with black crepe paper (the pudgy little baby to my right is Doug as a baby!)



How I desecrate Dougie's picture

In our adult lives, we have shared some happy times and some sad ones. We got to share one of the funnier ones the other day when we celebrated Doug's birthday a little early on Sunday. We had the bakery make us up a cake that looked like grass and dirt in the icing, and on that, we placed a bunch of little green army men, jeeps, and helicopters in a battle scene. My Daniel decorated it while the women got lunch together, and he took the candles and made a "4" and a "2" instead of trying to count out 42 candles. Still, when we lit the thing on fire, it was like a towering inferno. I ran and practically threw the cake in Doug's lap and told him to blow the candles out quick before the house went up in flames. Some of the little green guys on the cake were casualties of the intense heat. I nearly laughed myself to death, and Doug suggested we light the candles again so that I could complete the job! That's my brother!



O.K. I know this is a really hideous picture, but the kids were taking it with the camera phone which was not set to the right picture size, and I had forgotten my digital camera, so this is the only picture which recorded the near-fatal birthday cake!

So, today, I wish my brother a happy, happy birthday and great things in the coming year! By now, he has probably picked up his personalized singing birthday card and is plotting how to get back at me next August.

I love my brothers, all four of them, very, very much. Doug and I have probably been through the most together, which gives us a special bond. Though we still have our rivalries, like who can send the most annoying greeting card for birthdays each year, we stick up for each other, too. Woe be to the person who tries to injure my brother. Happy Birthday, "Little" Brother!


Doug at a recent family reunion with our cousins, wondering why he is the only kid who did not get red hair!

My Hero!

Today is Tim's birthday! For those of you who don't know, Tim is my husband. We just celebrated our 7th anniversary July 4th! Tonight, we celebrated by going to our favorite restaurant---The Olive Garden! We all have our favorite dishes. I love the shrimpy dishes; Tim loves the pastas with red sauces. We had a great time!!! However, I did threaten him once that if he got his "blackberry" out one more time to check on work-related stuff that I was going to make a loud scene with all the waitresses, waiters, and our friends at the next table singing "Happy Birthday" in our loudest Italian voices! (We ran into our car saleslady there, and she had a party of 7 as well!) So, he smiled, knowing that I would do it, and he hates attention like that in restaurants, so he was a good boy and enjoyed his family time. We had a lot of fun!


Tim with Hannah.....one of my favorite pictures!

I've already shared the story with you how Tim and I met. I will always believe it was very Providential. We came from very diverse backgrounds, but our parents all had a lot of the same values (and both sets had a ton of kids, of which Tim and I were both the oldest child in the family.) I think that is why we are alike in a lot of ways now.

Perhaps the way that we are the most alike is in our ethics. Neither one of us can stand someone who is dishonest. It does not matter if they are blatantly so or just dishonest to themselves. No one is perfect, but if you cannot trust someone, what have you got with them?

I think the way that Tim has impacted my life the most is to restore my faith in at least some men! My first husband was very dishonest at every level, and it shook me to the core. I feel like I can trust Tim to never, ever betray my trust in him to keep his marriage vows. You probably could not say that for more than 10% of the population these days. Everyone cheats, it seems. But I know that Tim is not made that way, and it is a wonderful thing not to have to worry about that.

Now he is not perfect. My "absent-minded-professor" forgets to do things like pay the phone bill every once in a while, and I have to call him on the cellphone and remind him that he goofed! :) But I am far from perfect, too---just in different ways. Tim rarely ever complains if he has to step over a pile of laundry or toys. He just takes it in stride and goes on.

I think our little Hannah gets a lot of her seriousness from him. Sometimes, he can be quite jovial, but when he is down to business, he is intense. His co-workers know that about him. He's good in the corporate world. Very few people would know, just from looking at him, the level of responsibility and trust his company has placed on one man. He does not fail them. Yet he likes to keep a low profile so that his potential enemies---the people he protects against do not know him or target him for being a loud, pretentious person to go after. I rest in the security that he brings to our home because he is a good provider. It's also a bonus that when he puts on his sunglasses and walks behind me, he looks like an Italian bodyguard! No one dares to mess with me!


Tim with Sarah on Dan's graduation night in June

Tim and I are 10 months apart in age, so for a few months, he gets to be a year older! :) I marvel all the time at what a wonderful daddy he is and how he has also courageously taken on the role of step-dad to my three boys without complaint! I know that God brought us together, and we have each given each other gifts beyond words.

Tonight, before we left for the restaurant, the girls and I gave him one of our gifts to him. We made him a photo show complete with sound, music, voice clips and pictures of their lives. It made him cry. I guess it was either really bad or really sweet. If I ever figure out a place to download it to that carries that type of files, I will post the link here on the blog.

So, for tonight, it is sweet dreams to all the rest of you, and Happy Birthday to my hero, the father of my kids, my love, and my best friend.


Tim with Sarah when she was but a babe

A Few Notes

Sorry to those of you who tried to visit my blog and got NOTHING! My template was acting up. It is a good idea, by the way, to save one's template as a Word document, so that you can cut and paste on days that Blogger is cantankerous. All appears to be working now. My links are at the bottom of the blog, which I hate, but I have to sacrifice that to have my pictures the size I want them. My columns won't accomodate large pics, so it drives the links section clear down to the bottom. Oh, well, I hope to have a better template soon.

Everyone pray for our country right now. With two major threats going right now (The possibility of a pandemic with the Avian Flu, and the threat to the New York subways again,) we need to be doing some praying for safety. God is still in control!

Reflections From a Wedding....

"Travis Loves Ashley"

Since my last installment, the family loaded up and went to the wedding of Ashley, the daughter of my cousins Paul and Becky! I have to say I am really feeling my age now, having attended this function. Ashley was the flower girl in my first wedding, and she was just shy of two when she did that, if my feeble memory serves me right. That has been 23 years ago.... Ashley is all grown up now!



Ashley in a recent photo

Ashley has always just been the sweetest young lady. That is not surprising, considering how sweet her mother Becky is! When you look at Ashley, the first thing you are struck with is her height! I believe she is about 6'1". Travis, the guy she married, is taller than that! He has to be about 6'5" or something! Ashley looks like a model. They are just a darling couple who look like they were just made for each other.



I understand that Travis proposed to Ashley by taking her up in a small plane and flying her over her family's farmland, where he had cut out the words "Will you marry me?"
in the grass below. Isn't that just sooooo romantic? :)


They did a powerpoint slideshow during the reception (which I thought was neat!) and I really loved their pictures that were made on a beach---they were the engagement pictures. The close-ups revealed their dazzling white smiles and their gorgeous blue eyes---both of them.
They were just the sweetest things! (If you go look at the pics, be sure to biggify them and click the little white arrows to see the next page of pics.) Living in TN, I always perk up when I see a beach, because that is the one thing I wish TN had. Yet, as the last month has shown, being in the center of the country has its advantages too.

Another unique thing that Ashley had at the wedding was "congregational" singing--well at least for one song. They had a song called "The Greatest Commands" that they had the wedding audience sing. It was so beautiful! I had heard about the song before, but I had never been anywhere where it was done. You can hear it here if you like. (This is about the only place on the net I could find the whole song. Sadly, it is linked off the funeral page of a little girl.) There was a good crowd present, and I would bet that at least 90% were Christians, and a lot of us that did not know the song can read music, so we learned a new song!

Paul and Becky, my cousins, with Ashley and little sister Kelsey

The wedding was full of both touching and funny moments. Ashley's little sister, Kelsey, who I understand is about to turn 12 (but who looks like she is 17 or 18) got us all bawling when she saw her dad, Paul, bringing Ashley down the aisle. Paul was crying, and Kelsey said it takes a LOT to make her dad cry, so Kelsey got to crying, and you know how that goes. But we soon got ourselves composed and moved on. Robert Jackson performed the ceremony. If you know him, you know that in these parts, he is rather legendary. I can remember him preaching when I was a little girl. He was one of those evangelists who made an impression on little kids. I imagine the adults were equally as affected by his fiery sermons. I thought he was "old" when I was a little bitty girl, because his hair was white then, and that was 40 years ago! I don't know his exact age, but he is definitely in a disappearing class of preachers. I bet it has been 25 years or more since I heard him preach. He preached a sweet wedding for this pair despite the fact that he has been in very frail health as of late.

The funny things that happened were that after all the groomsmen had come in, we were all facing forward and waiting for the girls to come in. All of the sudden, the groomsmen got the worst expression on their faces, and I realized that a partition in the back of the room, around which all the attendants were coming, was falling forward into the crowd. Fortunately, some people caught it and set it back up before Travis could get a premature view of the bride! Then, they had a little guy who was the "bell ringer." He came forward, rang his little bells, and then tried to take the rope of the white runner for the bride to walk on and pull it to the back of the aisle. He was unable to do it by himself, so one of the groomsmen assisted him, and another wedding tragedy was averted!

Bro. Jackson did something I did not think I had ever seen before. When he asked Paul "Who gives this woman in marriage?" and Paul replied, "Her mother and I," bro. Jackson replied, "Step back!" He did it with such authority that I think it took Paul off-guard, and he stepped right on her dress in his haste to obey that stern command! It was funny at the time. We halfway expected Paul to say, "Sir, yes sir!" Later, I thought to myself how many marriages would benefit if parents did more than symbolically "step back." It is a time to let go of your kids when they wed and cease from interfering in their marriage. If more young people would "leave and cleave," and the parents would be content to let them do just that, everyone would be better off. God said it, I believe it, and that's that. Sorry, I digress, but I just had to throw that in.

Then, during the sermon, brother Jackson was having Ashley say her vows, and he told her to say, ...And I promise to be your faithful husband...." Of course, Ashley caught it and made the change in wording! Then, when he was doing the "ring speech" he told Ashley to say, "I take you Travis, to be my wedded wife...." Again, they had a few giggles out of that!

Another strange thing that happened at the wedding was that while I was getting punch, I felt a hand on my arm, and a voice called me by my first name! It was one of the bridesmaids. I felt like I knew that face, but I did not know her. She asked if I knew who she was. Of course, I did not. She said she was Kayleen, the middle child of some friends we have known all of our adult years. We first met her parents out in New Mexico, and worshipped with them. Now, they all reside in Texas. Kayleen was probably 9 or 10 the last time I saw her. Now, she is all grown up with a two-month old baby! Unbelievable! I asked her how she recognized me, and she said that she just looked out in the audience and saw me and said, "That's Dana!"
She is really good, because I know I have aged a bunch! She said when she was little, she always thought I looked like Snow White! Of course, that comment sent my brothers into hysterics, because I "sure ain't Snow White now!" Happily, some aged people there also thought my brother Doug was Fred Thompson! (You know, the actor, Law and Order...the senator, the actor, you know him, right?) I told Doug, "Yeah, if you are Fred Thompson, I am Snow White!"

Yes, the wedding was quite fun. I got to see my long lost cousins Mary Ann, Lisa (with Keith, her husband), Amy, Beth (with Murray, her husband), and Laura and lots of their kids! I saw people I have attended church with through the years. No one could believe that I had big ole boys and little baby girls! Hopefully, soon, I will have some pictures from the wedding to post!

Of course, we wish Travis and Ashley a wonderful life together. I hope and pray that they will always be as happy together as they seemed to be on Saturday! One of my favorite things in life is to see two people who are truly in love look at each other. I saw it Saturday, and I pray that it abides forever!