MOUNTAIN GRANNY

Totally Blown Away

2009-04-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

We have a yearly day that our "Annual" or yearbook as better known, is dedicated at school. All of the kids are gathered to the gym to sort of "cut the ribbon" and then the students have a time of signing each others book.

I remember as a teenager that excitement of doing this. We had all our friends sign our yearbook with their quippy little sayings or long paged send offs for the end of the year. It was fun for all (I still have some of my yearbooks - scary).

As we gathered today for this event in the gym, they began to read a few things describing the person with whom they were dedicating the yearbook to this year. They talked about the behind the scenes things the person does etc. and then announced that this years yearbook, was dedicated to me! I was totally blown away.

I had to go in front of the whole student body and was presented with "my yearbook". In the front of the book is a page, complete with pictures, dedicated to me. Blown away, Wow, I never imagined this ever. What an honor.

Looking like her mommy

2009-02-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of baby Leah.

This is a picture of Natalie when she was a baby.

It's amazing how she looks like her mommy!

MOM LANGDON'S 80th Birthday

2009-01-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

The kids were all together for Mom's 80th birthday this past weekend. We decided to go about 2 weeks ago and I booked the flights (non-refundable) 5 hours to us finding out Nick lost his job - soooo we went anyway. We had a good weekend and saw lots of family that we had not seen in years. There were about 26 of us in a 2 bedroom townhouse and it was fun.

Mom loved having her 5 children with her all in one place. The only one missing in this picture is Brenda's husband David. He went to a church study that night and we weren't sure if he was coming back so we snapped the pic anyway. Lots of laughs, food and fun.

LEAH NICOLE WEEKS

2009-01-02T12:43:00.001-08:00

She has arrived, safe and sound. After 44 hours of labor, we finally went to Winnie Palmer Hospital for some help. She came out a screaming. Birth went very well and she looks like her sisters and brother. Pretty and precious. She is 7lbs 6oz. 20 1/2 inches long.

Little to NO hair and sweet, sweet, sweet. Natalie is a trooper and did fantastic after some important decisions not to have her at home once she didn't progress. Sarah and I were in the room with her when she delivered and Skip walked in just as she went to the warmer to be cleaned off and weighed! I got to cut the cord - whoa Nelly.

She is like a pretty china doll.

ONLY A BREATH A WAY

2008-12-31T08:09:00.000-08:00

We are still waiting on Leah but it should be anytime now. Natalie is fully ready and if her contractions would just pick up she would pop out. The mid-wife is here, but baby Leah has her hand on top her head and is holding up the works!

It's exciting to think baby Leah will be born on Rowan's birthday which is today.

How fun is that for a grandma and grampa.

TY TY

2008-10-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

Tyler was glad to see gramma and grampa from a distance! He bolted to his mom when he saw us, probably thinking, Oh no, they are not taking me home with them! He is so different from Hunter and is about 6 inches taller. He is a sweet natured kid. He wasn't feeling good actually while we were there, but managed to smile and make his usual faces, we remember so well while he was with us.

DON'T LET THE SOCKS FOOL YOU

2008-09-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is HUNTER, better known as "duck" to his mother. Picture this boy listening to ballet music with his sisters as it shows video on how to lift your arms and twirl on your tippy toes to graceful music!

He had us in stitches over the weekend with his antics. While he was "preforming" he would sing a melody while he did it.

The funniest part - he had the bulky diaper on, no shirt (belly sticking out) and white ankle socks. He LOVED every minute of his "routine". His dad says he is practicing to be a linebacker.

His hair being everybit as white blonde as can be, just like his mom at his age.

This is what being a gramma is all about!

BOOTS

2008-09-22T18:35:00.001-07:00

I have been into shopping for Christmas. With my being in college, I have very little time for other things much less shopping and I reminded myself how awful Christmas was last year with being in school. Besides not having any money, time and effort were not on my side.

COUNTRY BOY NO A REDNECK

2008-07-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

This little guy loved this hat when he was with us. Back when everyone was with us for Thanksgiving, I had bought 12 of these hats to do a photo op and Tyler was in his momma's belly and couldn't wear one. It is hard to believe that he is old enough now to wear one. What we loved the most was the PJ's he wore with it.

He looked like a country bumpkin or rather a redneck in the making!

TY TY GOES BACK HOME

2008-07-07T17:13:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that Tyler is now safe and sound with his Mom and Dad and it has been 4 weeks that we had him. Today I actually welled up thinking about:

No more rides on the tractor with grampa during the week.
No more putting him on the pool table to change that first diaper of the morning after taking him out of his porta crib in the pool room where he slept.
No more, food all over the kitchen floor.
No more putting the blue crocs on his little feet that his sitter bought him from the Dollar General because his shoes were too small and I can't tell you how many times in 4 weeks we put those things on and took them off.
No more bath time in the garden tub and wrapping babies in the towel when grampa lifted him out for gramma.
No more playing "Darling" and his running down the hall into my arms and me yelling "Darling" (He loved that game.)
No more protecting my antique milk bottles on the back porch while he strategically put them through the railing and dropped them to the grass 14 ft below.
No more up the slide backwards and down the slide on his belly.
No more gramma being frantic while he scaled the stone driveway all by himself, never falling once. Guess it was his magic crocs!
No more kisses for Gramma ONLY after Grampa got his first. (And who got him up and took him to daycare everyday - and Gramps still got the kisses first.)
No more filling the endless cups of Juicy Juice.

4 weeks of diapers, wipes, juice, graham crackers... $150
Gas to and from Daycare 4 weeks... $200
Seeing that sweet boy smile, priceless!

We are going to miss him so much.

20 YEARS

2008-05-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

This is for Frances

2008-03-26T07:40:00.001-07:00

This is the glass quilt chest that Nick made for me to give to my sister for her 50th birthday. She always talked about having a glass chest that would show quilts. In it I put my mom's quilt that I was given after her death. I wanted her to have something special to put in the chest.

Nick was telling Frances at work about it and I have promised to put this on the blog and haven't up to this point.

We are going to have him attempt to build another one so we can try and sell it at Tuckers in Blairsville at our shop/booth.

This is for you Frances.

Collection Of Great Pics

2008-02-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Roasting Pan Weather

2008-01-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

OK, we live in the North Georgia Mountains and we DO NOT own a sled or tobogan. What is up with that? I remember seeing them at Ace Hardware just last week, thinking, well, we probably wouldn't get any use out of one of those.

When we were kids growing up in "Western New York", having a sled or tobogan was an absolute must. Having come from a large family, we had the ultimate, 12 seater and baby, could that thing fly.

For hours,we would go sledding and tobogganing, until our body limbs froze and come home happy little clams. I remember how I would get to the top of the hill and start down, with a tobogan full of people and think, what on earth is gonna happen when we hit the bottom? But, we managed to get up, brush it all off and head back up the hill again for more torture.

Tonight we watched the snow fall, quietly and gracefully in the yard. At every commercial, we took turns getting up to "check the snow" status. I am just sorry now that I didn't buy that sled at Ace last week. BUT, my sister suggested using my roasting pan (only one big enough to fit my butt)and use that to go down the hill in the back of the house.

School is closed tomorrow, and I am going out to play. Then wash the roasting pan and bake the Turkey I thawed for dinner!

As Sarah Puts it - Operation Christmas 2007

2008-01-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

As Sarah wrote in her blog,

"Some of you may have already heard about "Operation Christmas". This took MONTHS in the planning and a couple of death threats to little kids that couldn't keep their mouths shut!!! But we managed to pull it off. I flew to Orlando the first week in December for 5 days to photograph The Weeks Family and Staley Family... all the while never telling mom and dad that we were all together. 2000 photo's later (that includes many other photo shoots) we had completed the first half of Operation Christmas. Our entire family, including Nana Langdon, was able to come to Texas this year for Christmas; the surprise took place Christmas Eve evening. Everyone gathered around the tree, Mom and Dad still do not know anything. And then my dad went first..... See below!! Everyone was emotional; by far Rayah Lee's reaction was the best. This precious angel, only 3 years old responded with such emotion, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The pictures tell the entire story...A video was made at the end and we sat around and viewed over 300 amazing photos to music and tears. It was a Christmas Eve we will NEVER forget."

As I post this, what was cool was when we saw the first picture which was Nicks, it had all 9 grandchildren in it. It was at that point we remembered that up until this holiday event Sarah had never met Ty Ty in person - or so we thought. I think that is what triggered the chain of event on the emotions, it was then that they all breathed a sigh of relief, the secret had been kept.

I honestly did not know what to expect when I opened my picture, thus my reaction.

We did take pics with Santa hats on while we were at the "tree" and those will follow at somepoint. Sarah's job is never finished. She takes the shots and then has to work her cropping magic on them, till we get them. More to come.

Couple more pics

2008-01-01T07:33:00.001-08:00

Pics of Natalie with "Bubby" (Hunter) and Ya Ya (Rayah Lee). Sarah took these at Lake Lily in Florida on a sneak visit to get pics for us for Christmas.

Sarah's talent once again

2007-12-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

Sis is so talented. We will NEVER go to a studio again to have our pics done. She does such a wonderful job. We had her do these while at the same "tree" spot.

CHRISTMAS 2007

2007-12-24T19:34:00.001-08:00

Another Pic from the Party

2007-11-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Here's another Party Pic. Tim Schaffer came up from FL for it. He was our best man from our wedding and long time friend from High School.

Ride for MOM LANGDON

2007-11-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

We have been thinking about taking the bike off the road for the winter but wanted to give Nick's mom (she'll be 79) a ride before we do. We had a day this weekend that was up in the high 60's and Nick and I dressed her up and loaded her up and he took her out. She enjoyed the ride. With a few more days of practice,she could become and experience rider. You can't be nervous and jerky on it, I told her, just go with the flow. Me, I get so relaxed, Nick has to keep asking me if I am alright, I sometimes get so oblivious back there,and in "my element" I forget where I am at. It's the next best thing to Grandkids.

When Nick said lets sell the house and just ride the bike to all over, I WAS HALF tempted to say yes! Ride Sally Ride!
P.S. He brought her back safe and sound.

TURNING 50

2007-11-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Our birthday bash went off without a hitch. It was very well planned thanks to my sister who is a great "supervisor". (It's a family joke)Anyway, over 70 guests came and we dressed alike. We had fancy shirts and jeans and our cowboy boots on. Shabby sheak as I put it.

We never get to see family unless it's for a funeral and this time several of our sibilings flew in for the occasion. My brother Bernie and his wife Gail and sister Melissa and husband Aaron and sister Margaret. Our neice and nephew came(they are 3 years younger than us. Our other nephew Luke and girlfriend, Ruth came. Nick's mom flew in and my daughter Natalie drove up from FL with 3 of our 9 grandchildren to celebrate. Even Tim, who was our best man at our wedding and high school friend (he had eyes for Barbie in high school) drove up from Florida to be with us.

We gathered at a clubhouse in a neighborhood that was close to Barb's house and had tons on Mexican food and a virtual DJ. Everyone seemed to enjoy their time. I also had the pleasure of seeing an old friend who showed up from Tennessee, driving 3 hours. She lived in the duplex next to us back in 1985 when we were in the Navy. We have kept in touch through the years and what a surprise to see her walk in.

It was sad to see the evening end.
I would have to say, this is the first ever big birthday party in my life. It was fun and turning 50 wasn't so bad after all.

Tyler John and Hunter Langdon

2007-10-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

New Pics of the boys. Natalie recently watched them when James was in the hospital and Skip had to be there with him everyday. She was brave having 5 of the 6 kids on her own. They look like they could be brothers and they are only 2 days apart in age. Sure makes granny and grampa miss them!

THE GIRLS HAVING FUN

2007-10-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER GREAT SHOT OF SKIP AND LIZZY

WHERE'S THE ICE CREAM

2007-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Nick asked one weekend if I would teach him how to bake an apple pie. So we headed to Mercier Orchards and got apples. We baked the pie. This weekend he wanted to do it again. This time I got out the handy dandy apple peeler,corer machine that slices, peels and cores the apples all in one fell swoop.

His job is to peel the apples and slice them while I make the crust. He was like a kid with a new toy. Once I demonstrated the first one, he went to town. We baked three pies. We are keeping one for ourselves, giving one to the Morgans and freezing another for when his mother comes to live with us in November, December and January.

I am SURE we will be baking more now that he has discovered the TOY. It is a great gadget to have. I wish I would have invented it.

Great shot of Skip and Lizzy

2007-09-28T13:54:00.001-07:00

This is really nice. Skip got her Glamour Shots done with Lizzy. Beautiful.

Vera Bradley Feet Killing Extravaganza

2007-09-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what a Vera Bradley is - well, all I can say is I never want to see another one in my life. After going to the Outlet Sale in Atlanta this past weekend with my sister, I did not realize how many women were obcessed with Vera.

The journey started after parking and waiting in lines several hunreds long and then you get a pink bag to hold your "stuff" while you meandor threw the huge auditorium to buy your VERA's. Heaven forbid you put one down, you would lose it.

The sale started on a Thursday and by Saturday, they had marked stuff down and down so it was best to be there later in the sale. So everyone thought and everyone was there. The check-out lines were like the check-in lines at the Atlanta airport during 6 holidays combined. At one point they announced, if you sit down in the auditorium, you will be escorted out.

By the time we were done we were Vera-tired, Vera-hungry, Vera-grouchy, Vera-thirsty, Vera-broke, Vera-sore, Vera-over it. We laughed cause on the way home, Amanda (my niece) was sorting and adding up the savings. For the cost of a little over $240, we got $1,000 worth of Vera. Don't worry, it wasn't all for us. We shopped for the neighbors too.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU'LL MEET AT WALMART

2007-09-09T17:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, It's a small world.
We are sitting on a bench in the lobby of Walmart cause Nick is having a sugar low and I am frantically trying to get some food into him before he hits the floor from passing out.

This husband and wife walk by with carts full of dog food and groceries and she has on a Buffalo Sabres T-Shirt. Nick, Mr. Social, says "Go Sabres, she thinks, he says "got Diapers" and she said OH NO DIAPERS, we laugh and re-explained, yada yada only to find out they are originally from "Depew" and "Tondawanda" New York. They knew where Alden (our hometown) was and the man had played on the Wendy league of little league against Nicks team when he was growing up. He knew "Bob Byers" who was the coach (lived on same street my sister lives on) and in the course of the conversation he says - he LOVED going to NEELANDS DAIRY.

Now Neelands was the famous ice cream shop in town and it was FAMOUS for its great ice cream. He then says his favorite ice cream was "Honey Dew". Oh my word, I about fell out off the bench cause that was MY FAVORITE at Neelands. You cannot find it anywhere today. NOT like Neelands.
We chatted somemore about Buffalo and such. They have 6 kids, we bragged on our grandkids and parted ways.
I immediately said to Nick in the parking lot - BLOG MOMENT DEAR.

HE'S a BUTTERBALL

2007-09-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ty and Hunter are like night and day. This is Hunter. Although he started out alot heavier than baby boy Ty, he's slowed down and Ty has surpassed him in size. I love just how unique and different each one is. I will love being able to see them in a few more months and see even more changes. Pictures can't explain it.

I have this thing I do that my mom did with my babies, it's called giddy giddy. You grab their hands and lap them over their chests and tickle their necks while you do it. You tell them you are gonna get them (giddy giddy) is how it comes out. I had Hunter laughing out loud. They just lay there and look at you enamored. That is what being a gramma is all about.

TY TY

2007-09-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the boy and he's a big one. Amazing how much this baby grew since we last held him.

NEW WEBSITE TO VISIT

2007-09-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Sarah started her business in photography. You must see this site.

Sis never had a hobby growing up besides loving to clean her room and keep her parents out of her hair while she was a teenager. We did find out later on that she was not as innocent as we thought - but I won't give away any family secrets.(We can only laugh now)

Just go to www.still-moments.com and surf away. She has done an awesome job and loves her new found hobby. She has done several family shots and headshots for me. Now when we are together, it's "Sis, can ya take our pics?" Pictures give us memories to embed on our hearts forever.

Enjoy.
P.S. maybe I will get commissions from this blog if you all hire her and I can finally quit my job!
And if any of my blog buddies know how to hook the link inside my text, can ya tell me.Thanks.

ADDRESS ALERT

2007-09-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we told you that our house number would change in February, but given the slowness of the North GA mountains, that didn't happen (911 address change so they say).

My poor sister Joanne tried sending pics to me and yes, they came back several times to her and told her we didn't exist cause it had 46 Knox Leila on it and not still 260 Knox Leila.

Soooooo, Please continue to send any mail to the 260 Knox Leila address and forget the other one for now.

We have this awesome new sign with 46 on it that Nick's work gave us for a house warming gift after much research so it is stored away till it really happens or we sell the house and move again.

MILK CARTONS

2007-08-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

I was going to cut and paste the pictures of Hunter and Tyler on a milk carton and send a pic to their parents saying "have you seen recent pictures of these babies" and sign it Gramma and Grampa are looking desperately for them - but low and behold, Natalie finally updated her pics of Hunter at least, now Skippy will NEED to get on board (hint hint). Here is one of such a sweet boy. He is my Nanny to the T! Looks like her as a baby. Unreal. Told Gramps, it's time to get on the bike and go to FL!
Need to squeeze, smell, hug, and hold those grandkids. I miss them sooooo much.

EMILY STORY

2007-08-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

This was one pic Miss Francis took of us when Em was here. I was reminded today of the one thing that Emily did in the car when we were taking her back to her mom and dad.

We were on the motorcycle today and Nick could sense that I was "bored". I get figity and I kept shifting and putting my leg up on his and he leaned back and said "are you bored" I said, why? can you tell? He said, you could always burp your ABC's. Now this is what Emily did, in the car the last hour of our trip, she literally burped her ABC's. Nick and I were laughing so hard, full well knowing she had to have been so bored out of her little mind in the back seat to come up with burping her ABC's. I might add, she didn't miss a beat and then announced her belly hurt. Nick was laughing so hard, he was crying. That's what keeps us young, our grandkids. Some folks would be aghast, not us, why sweat the small stuff, we figured, mom and dad could retrain her when she got home.

Sis is doing well in her photography AGAIN!

2007-08-14T04:29:00.001-07:00

These are some great new ones of Emily.

THE VIEW FROM THE PORCH

2007-08-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

Nick walked out on the back porch when he got home from work this week and this is what he found. Not more than 500 yards from the deck - right near the fence line. We have been watching these two from a distance in the pasture graze for several weeks. This is the closest they have ever come to the house. Pretty cool.

IF YOU BUILD IT - THEY WILL COME

2007-07-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

Check this out. We took Emily to see this rocking chair, it's huge, I am talking HUGE. We drove and drove to find it-down the mountain, up the mountain (as I was throwing up my lunch in a Walmart bag) due to the winding roads.

I told Nick, get lots of angles cause I want one for my backyard. My theory (or stolen one) if you build it, they will come! LOTS OF GRANDKIDS!

Ty Ty and Hunter Boy

2007-07-25T18:54:00.001-07:00

This of course is Tyler with Skip

This one was on Natalie's blog and made his granny want to cry.

THE DRIVE TO DELIVER EMILY SAFELY TO MOM

2007-07-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

I believe that the Lord makes Grandparents nerves out of steel. He gives us our children first and then our grandchildren to spoil but somehow gives us the grace and patience we never had with our own children.

We drove Emily safely back to her mom and dad and we weren't an hour down the road and she announced from the backseat "Emily Kelly is now bored". Nick and I looked at each other and said, it's gonna be a long trip! We only wished we had started counting how many times she asked "when we would be there, how much longer it was gonna be, how many hours till we arrive..... We had to remember what we said the last report because she is sharp as a tack and she remembered if we told her wrong.

I think though that the highlight of the trip was when she took the straw out of her drink and wadded up pieces of paper towel from the back seat and shot them at us. There was a time when she asked if she could try it with water from her glass and I promptly put that idea to rest with an instant NO. When she was safely delivered and we were back in the car and on the road, we looked down at the floorboards and there had to have been 60 spitwads on the console and floor. We chuckled. It kept her occupied for about 40 minutes, didn't hurt a thing and I think at some point during the sharp shooting I dozed so she no doubt hit me a few times and I never knew it.

She is a trip to say the least.

The Crops are coming in

2007-07-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Pics of the garden. We are eating squash everyday and everyday and everyday. When we get home, Emily and I run to the garden and check out the harvest. It's been incredible everyday to see how they change. Today was the first day we got beans - that would be pole beans - Patti.

VISIT TO DENTIST

2007-07-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

We have had dental insurance for over a year and "finally" (Nick hates that word) got a call to get appointments and they had one for me today as a cancellation so I opted to go and took Emily with me. OH BOY. She was totally bored. We had our little talk before we went in. She filled in the Highlights order forms in the magazines in the waiting room and then asked a million and one questions in the dental asst. area.

At one point she said, why are you getting blood from my Grannies teeth? I quickly chimmed in, because your Granny doesn't floss like she should. Right away, she said, well Grampa flosses AND he brushes his teeth with an electric toothbrush!!!

I had to laugh to myself. The dental hygenist was no doubt snickering behind that mask that Emily asked WHY WAS SHE WEARING IT - and then Emily told her it was so she wouldn't spit on her Granny.

I was so very thankful to have my teeth cleaned today. She will remember our visit to the dentist and no doubt will tell her classmates, her Granny bled at the dentist cause she don't floss like she should. Oh well, maybe after Granny stops working 2 jobs and going to school, she MIGHT find time to floss.

Side note, I did see some guy driving down the four-lane flossing the other day. That was safe. Multi-tasking at it's best! Floss away buddy boy! Your next visit to the dentist will be rewarding - if you get there!

IF HE ISN'T HIS MOTHER!

2007-07-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hunter looks just like Natalie when she was a baby! Uncanny.

RAYAH LEE IS THREE

2007-07-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

HARD TO BELIEVE SHE TURNED 3! "I A PRINCESS" AS SHE PUTS IT!

HUNTER & TYLER

2007-07-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

THE TWO BOYS!

SAD DAY

2007-07-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

I took Lincoln to the vet after school today. Emily went with me because she had to, I had no where to leave her. The news was grim. Lincoln was so sick, he was needing to be hospitalized or put down. He could hardly walk anymore due to his lack of eating. The vet and I had several discussions, made a few phone calls and decided I had to have him put to sleep. They said he might not even make it through the hospitalization and that it would cost over $1000.

Emily had not ever experienced this sort of thing. We sent her to the waiting room to pick a toy for him to be buried with (her idea) and the vet didn't want her to be in there. She came back and when it was over, we put him in a box, she carried him to the car to bring home to bury in the backyard.

It is ironic that just the night before in the car, we had a discussion on graves/memorial sites we see along roadsides where people have died from auto accidents. She wanted to take the flowers from one and we explained to her that the person that put them there would be hurt if she did that, because it is a special memorial for them. We recommended that she put flowers at one of those sites someday because that would make someone happy. We related the story to where Robbie is buried and how he has a gravestone and flowers. Nick and I were amazed that she rationalized all this from seeing a bouquet on the motorcycle trip previously with her grampa.

Her and I came out to go home (Lincoln in box in her hands) and the battery of the car was dead. So I drove to the auto parts store and she said she was NOT going in WITHOUT Lincoln. So into the auto parts store we went, box in hand with Lincoln, to have the man come out and test the battery so I could buy a new one. She walks in, and gently puts the box up on the counter. Announces she has to go pee and tells the man Lincoln is in the box.

As I stood outside telling the auto repair guy the story, he chuckled, apologized, by then I was chuckling because to see this 7 year old in the back seat, holding this box with a dead cat in it, it was priceless.

Now one last thing, she did tell me, and one day I will tell her this as she walks down the isle to be married, she said granny - you have lost your mind to have chosen to have Lincoln put down and not hospitalized. Someday, I will have to explain it better to her. Right now, I just wipe the tears, hold her close, continue to tell her NO we cannot take one of those black kitties home from the vets lobby they are giving away and hope she will forgive me for making the choice I had to.
It was a tough day! BUT I HAVE HAD WORSE! P.S. Emily was the one who helped me get his middle name of Folger.

LESLIE MADE ME DO IT

2007-07-01T20:15:00.001-07:00

72%

Mingle² - Online Dating

SHE IS LIKE A FISH

2007-07-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Meeks Park - which is right up the road from our house and has a pool. You can pay to go in on a daily basis or buy a pass. We went for a couple hours today. As Grampa and I sat on the edge of the pool, she about wore the hair off her grampa's legs hanging on to him. She has goggles and swims like no other 7 year old I have ever seen. She is a fish. She even wanted to take a bath tonight after all the water today.

She especially liked swimming UNDER the ladies floating on rafts. Talk about making them mad! That would be Emily.

THIS WAS BREAKFAST FROM OUR HOUSE GUEST TODAY

2007-07-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Emily is visiting. She asked in the car on the way home from MS if she could make breakfast for us in the morning. She promised to NOT use the microwave or the oven. Soooo, this is what I found when I came down this morning! Eggs Emily! Now this is Selmonila waiting to happen. I smiled and said, oh honey, this is good. I had to chuckle.

She didn't burn down the house!

A CHRISTMAS PIC

2007-06-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Miss Francis took this pic at the "company" Christmas party. Nick brought it home today from work. We won a ham that night as a prize. OK, stop laughing, it was a GOOD ham! We ate quite a few meals from that ham too!

WE DIDN'T LET THE RAIN STOP US

2007-06-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Even though we went out on the cycle yesterday, I told Nick, we HAD to go today. I was NOT wanting to post school work and it was so pretty outside. The minute we got on the bike, we heard thunder in the distance. As we headed down the "4 lane" sure enough. Nick asked if I wanted him to stop to put the rain gear on - we did and just in time. It opened up and it was like a FL shower, you go a few feet and it's dry. So we kept on going to Helen and it was beautiful.

We had packed a picnic lunch and a blanket and I took my school books. We went to a State Park near Helen. It was so relaxing. Finally had to give it up. My back can only take so much of the hard ground and I knew I needed to get home and post my research paper.

We hit some major curving highways today. We took a turn around spot at the end of a street and hit a pothole, I quickly jumped off cause I knew it might go down. Fortunately Nick was able to keep it up and we didn't dump it. We weren't doing but 3 mph but it was enough to scare the pants off me.

Tyler John

2007-06-16T17:28:00.001-07:00

Never wake a sleeping baby. Only gramma's are allowed to pinch them and wake them up to hear them cry.

Had to Haul these ones off Sissy's Blog

2007-06-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, they are growing up!

He's looking blonde headed like his mom

2007-06-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

Look at these little princesses!

2007-06-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

ROSES IN JUNE

2007-06-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today, June 9th it would have been Robbie's 25th birthday. Every year is very different. When Robbie died, he was 3 weeks shy of his 6th birthday. For his 5th birthday, I (being the good "homemaker") for all my kids, had ALWAYS made their cakes. That year we were in the middle of settling into our house in Quakertown. So Robbie got a store bought CARVEL ice cream cake for his day. I remember so distinctly the drive home from the store. He sat in the front seat of the car, holding that boxed cake ever so proud. For my kids, that was a thrill. Sure mom baked these cakes that looked like buses, trains, dolls, you name it but "An ice cream cake". He didn't care that it was bought, in fact he was thrilled. I of course felt guilty for having "bought" a cake.

The first year after Robbie died, we didn't know how to celebrate his birthday. How does a family sit at the table on "his" day, when the one who you are celebrating is gone. So we went to the store and got a CARVEL ICE CREAM cake. We continued to do that for many, many years. Some years we didn't and on the years we did, we cried or laughed and ate it wishing him HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

It amazes me that he would be 25 today. Where has life gone? As you see by the title of my blog, I love Roses. Rob was my Rose so to speak. We planted a huge rose bush in our front yard one year in FL in memory of Robbie. That rose bush was as tall as the roof and yielded hundreds of flowers. It was sad to leave it.

Today, I went to the store and got the ice cream cake. It says Happy Birthday. Today, I bought a rose bush and planted it in memory of his 25th. As I looked at all the different colors to choose from, I saw this yellow one. It was bright and cheery, just as I imagine Robbie to be when I see him again at Heavens gate. His happy cupid bows mouth, a smile that made your heart sing. If I would have had enough money, I would have planted a rose bush for every year of his life that we have been blessed with and without. I will start with one. It's just the beginning of many to come.

MAKING MEMORIES OF ROBBIE-HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY

2007-06-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

THE POLE BEANS ARE GROWING PATTI

2007-06-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Here they are, Patti, we took lots of time to set the strings to make the "pole" beans have somewhere to climb. And no, they aren't poles either. Boy, was this a job for superman. We could have used a dozen more hands to help.

Nick said and when their all done growing, we tear it down and have to redo it next year. That is so WRONG. It should be like Christmas lights and some contraption to wind it all up and put it back out in one piece again. Maybe I will invent something and become rich and famous. Yeah right! Just be buying more twine I am sure.

Oh and as a side note, Kim, Terri & Beth, I got out to the garden, got one picture and guess what? The %$%## rechargeable batteries died. I am gonna hang batteries around my neck from now on.

PRCRASTINATION AND WEEK NUMBER 7

2007-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

Alright, I am in week number 7 of my second set of 9 week classes. These have been terrible to say the least. AND I can't wait to get them over with. I have a 2000 word Research Paper "draft" due this Sunday. I HAVE 57 words on paper. I think I am gonna cry. What was I thinking by waiting till the last minute. I should have been using my "Critical Thinking" skills and haven't been. I have NOT liked these two courses from the start. No interest in them whatsoever. I am basically winging it.

My only saving grace is that when I open my grade reports, I am still pulling A's in my classes. GOOOO Figure. But the real test (no pun intended) will be that final Research paper grade.

I am writing on Anorexia Nervosa and Self-Image. And NO I am not Anorexic. But Natalie had it when she was a teen, so I decided to research and write on something I was pretty familiar with. It's been interesting but alot of work and I have NOT A CLUE how to write this thing. And we have 2 houses to clean this week as well. God has a sense of humor!

Betty Crocker She Ain't

2007-06-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, I ran to the Dollar General to get seeds. Mind you, this girl CANNOT go into a store without buying at least one other thing other than what she went into it for. So I had a "cookie" craving - imagine that. They had packages of "bake your own' ready make Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough. It even had a 30 cent coupon off on it which brought the price from $1.00 to $.70 and if you divide that by 12 - well, it was a steal.

So I ran home, preheated the oven and made decaf coffee. I was so cold from riding the motorcycle in the damp air that coffee sounded great. Put the cookies in the oven and went out of back porch. THAT WAS ALL SHE WROTE.

Came in 20 minutes later, the minute I stepped inside, I could smell BURNT cookies. Yes, BURNT. They take 8-10 minutes and not only did I forget to set the timer I didn't even remember I had put them in there. I sat on the porch enjoying my coffee gazing at the "garden". So, Yes Patti, I was desperate enough, I ate them burnt. 3 to be exact. I took a knife, scrapped off the black (ha) it was like a hockey puck - and ate them while watching a dvd. That's bad when you want sweets so much, you will go to extremes. Then I got this wild hair to make a picture from the remaining ones on the tray! Hey, when life throws a curve ball - laugh right!

THIS IS AN AWESOME PICTURE OF ROBBIE

2007-05-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

We are coming up on what would have been Robbie's "25th" birthday - June 9th. As I was going through the photos, I found this one that my brother Bernie and sister-in-law Gail found in their pictures and had reprints made for us. I had not ever seen the pictures till they sent them. What a nice thing for them to do. I think he was about 8 months old in this one.

Having photos of Robbie are a blessing. They hold such dear and fond memories for us. Especially the ones that someone else has that we have not ever seen.

For those of you that don't know, Robbie had Megalencephaly. This means "big brain". Every one in 4 of our children would have it. It is a hereditary disease. It caused his head to be large,(note his forhead, he was developmentally delayed, he did not walk or talk till he was 3. He had several years of speech and physical therapy to help him catch up. When he finally did, he was just like the rest of the kids, registered for kindergarten and 3 weeks shy of his 6th birthday, killed by a car. Photos truly hold alot of memories for us!

Granny & Emmy Awhile Back

2007-05-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Used to love to tie things in Emily's hair when she lived with us in her first 18 months of her life. Found this pic in the piles of photos. As you can see, I am trying out the scanner I got for college.

IT WORKS!

This is Natalie when she was little

2007-05-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am trying out the scanner. Found this of Natalie. She was 8lbs. 3 oz when she was born. I lived with my mom at the time cause Nick was stationed in Rota, Spain and I couldn't travel with. So mom had this scale and it was a Kodak moment.

So Nan, do you look like Hunter?

A BUGS LIFE

2007-05-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

And tell me why God made Lovebugs in Florida? I decided that I could no longer read the Harley Davidson license plate on the front of the Camry due to all the bugs that were mashed on it from our trip to see the babies so I got out there with hot water and a bucket and scrubbed. My car has only looked this clean one other time in it's entire life! There were so many bugs on it, it looked like it was tarred and feathered. I had a better pain level day today and I was moving much better so I felt motivated. I wished though that I had taken it to the car wash, I think a sprayer would have worked much faster and better on those critters.

Think about it, when you hit a lovebug, you get two for the price of one automatically!

Breakfast and Dance Recital Day

2007-05-21T19:09:00.001-07:00

When we were in FL visiting we did breakfast and later that day went to Rebecca's dance recital. Rayah is "a princess". She cried in the morning because her mom made her wear capri jeans. She wanted to wear a dress - because she is "a princess". She didn't feel pretty in those jeans. I asked her what "Sissy" (that's what she calls me - not Granny) could get her for her birthday - she requested a princess dress! Silly me, to even ask.

NEW MEANING TO FREEZER BURN

2007-05-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the minute we got home from FL, I ran to the garden to see what had sprouted. Low and behold, NOTHING! In fact, ALL the tomato and pepper plants looked like this picture. I had a feeling, it was due to drought or Bambi had made his appearance. In the few days we were gone, it hadn't rained and no one had watered so, as I stood there looking bewildered, remembering all the hard work I had put into carefully planting each one, making sure cow manure was in each hole and they were strategically placed, they had all bit the dirt (no pun intended). I had to go get the camera and I just laughed out loud, thinking - yep, only us - it was bound to happen. We found out later that we had a freeze and that's what killed them.

So back to the hardware store today, got more plants and I will plant them with the stinky stuff once again. I told Nick, if it freezes again, we are going out with little fires and blankets and do like the movie where they saved all the grape vines walking up and down the rows waving their arms. Nick said if these die - we will be buying them from Ingles in the produce isle.

MAY 17, 2007

2007-05-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today, on the anniversary of Robbie's death, we had the joy of holding our first grandson's. Our first little boys born in our family in 25 years. It was a happy and sad time. Although Robbie's death date is difficult for us, seeing these little ones was so awesome. They have such sweet personalities (for babies) and you can definitely feel the difference in their weights. Tyler is little and Hunter is a chunk. Tyler will no doubt have dirty blonde hair and I think Hunter might end up a "toehead" like his mom was. Both are handsome little guys. Granny and Gramps had to stop at the Harley Davidson store in New Symrna on the way back from the beach to get them a Harley onesie! (The leather jackets were tooooo expensive) They will have to wait on those :)Natalie and Skip wrapped them in these blankets that velcro. They were like papooses. It made holding them even neater.

Being grandparents is so fun, you can love em and give em back and sleep through the night! Awesome for us. Best of both worlds. Seeing Skippy and Natalie's dark cirles under their eyes brought back LOTS of memories of those sleepless nights.

BAMBI BEST NOT TAKE ONE STEP

2007-05-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, tonight we planted the garden. It was crucial to get it in because time was of essence per Nick. Gardening is HARD work! Tomorrow I will not be able to move. We put in tomato plants, pepper plants, zuccini squash, summer squash, wildflowers, lettuce, beets, OKRA - YES OKRA, pole beans (don't ask me what the difference is between a "bean" and a pole bean - all taste the same to me. I love vegetables and I am ready for Dianne Morgan (our friend) to teach me how to can all this stuff.

All I can say is BAMBI had best take his family elsewhere and not come around when it starts to grow. I do believe though that there are about 9 deer that cross through our backyard on a regular basis. The man at the store said Nick should sweat in a shirt and hang it on a stick so they smell it. Glad to hear B.O. is good for something.

MOTHER'S DAY

2007-05-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Two days ago I was really down all day. As I drove home from work, the tears began to flow. I cried off and on the entire evening. Nick just looked at me. As I sat, hemming a dress for someone, I kept thinking about what it was that was making me so upset. I had just come off a week of excitement of having two new grandsons being born. They were healthy and their births were great. I continued to sob.

I realized then that we are fast approaching Mother's Day (May 13th). I have not liked Mother's Day ever since Robbie died. It is a day I would just assume forget. The day he was killed, I had gone to get my hair done - it was my Mother's Day gift from my children that year. It was when we got home from my picking the girls up from school and Robbie and Skippy up from Wanda's house that they all went out to play while I cooked dinner and then Robbie was killed.

Last week was so much excitement, this week I am experiencing a feeling of bitter-sweet joy. These two precious boys that were born last week are the first boys we have had in our family in 19 years. We are going to get to see them next week and we will see them on Robbie's death anniversary date. This holds not only joy but sorrow for us. I am looking forward to swooping them up into my arms and nuzzling my nose into their tiny necks.

The Lord has truly blessed us with these babies. Not only do their names hold special memories but they are proof that life goes on. If Robbie was here, I could imagine him as a proud uncle, loving them just as much as we do.
P.S. Tyler & Hunter will have Harley Davidson jackets from Granny & Gramps

GOTTA COUPLE MORE PICS OF THE BOYS

2007-05-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

AND WHO WOULD DO IT

2007-05-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

I was driving past the library and saw out of the corner of my eye in the cemetary this headstone. I was saying to myself, I have to go back and take a picture. It's worth a million words on a blog moment. So I got all geared up, parked the car and guess what my friends, yes, Beth, Terri and Kim - the RECHARGEABLE batteries were DEAD (no pun intended).

So I went back home to get new ones and here it is. Now tell me, who would want this for a last name? Any takers out there? I imagined naming my children with it. Natalie Duckworth, Sarah Duckworth, Skippy Duckworth. None fit.

I would have to say you could only use Mr. or Mrs. Duckworth. I like that better. Kinda brings back memories of my maidenname that I was happy to trade in for Langdon. And no it wasn't Duckworth.

WE'RE GROWING GRASS

2007-05-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Honey, we are growing grass. Here it is - the fruits of the labor. I can say finally cause it was a "joint" effort.

I'D RATHER BE HOLDING THOSE BABIES

2007-05-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today we had to clean a house. As I finished washing the last of one of the "76" windows that was in this house, I kept thinking, I would rather be holding those babies. I called Skippy up at the hospital and told her to pinch that baby and make him cry so his gramma could hear him cry. She unfortunately said he was taken to the nursery to have his billiruben count tested as he is a little jaundiced. BUT she said she could pinch Hunter cause he was there visiting his cousin. I am anxously awaiting pictures of them latching their arms - so Skip says they got of the two of them. I will post as soon as I get them. 76 windows, hopefully we will make enough money on the cleaning to be able to travel to FL to see these new babies. I can't wait!

Here comes Hunter

2007-05-04T20:41:00.001-07:00

Here are couple pictures of the new Boys

2007-05-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

GRANDSON NUMBER 2 IS HERE

2007-05-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

OK, It's Tyler John Staley. And he was born at 3:20 a.m. this morning. He came screaming into the world weighing in at 6 lbs 14 oz. 20 inches long. Mom had a relatively easy delivery and is recovering at Florida Hospital. She slept for most of her dialating as they gave her a sedation shot and it caused her REALLY relax and she managed very well through most of it and pushed 15 minutes and out popped Tyler.

So now we have 6 grandchildren and 3 step grandchildren for a total of 9 and we are only 49 years old. WOW.

By the way, the middle names on these two baby boys were given in honor of Robbie, Langdon to carry on the Langdon name because Robbie couldn't and John because that was Robbie's middle name.

GRANDSON # 1 IS BORN MAY 2nd

2007-05-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

OK, most people pace the floor waiting for a baby, these grandparents were mowing grass. Some fun huh? Had to stop and keep checking the cell phone for missed calls because the mowers were too loud to hear the phone ring. Got home and waited till the call finally came at 11:23 that Hunter Langdon Weeks had arrived. I quickly asked Skip, how much did the little guy weigh. No answer. About 5 minutes later she called back. 8lbs. 4 oz. Us Langdon's, we grow them BIG. Natalie was 8lbs. 3 oz when she was born. Must be them Uebelhoer hips that produce such big babies. Allows us to birth the big ones. Mom had baby at home with a mid-wife - BRAVO for her (not me -never ever - drugs all the way.) Skip was there by her side. That convinced Skip she was doing the hospital delivery and the drugs ALL THE WAY.

At 1:00 p.m. today, May 3rd got a call from Skip, her water broke. As I type this she is at Florida Hospital having ______ John Staley. We are excited. 2 babies in less than a week. We will keep you posted (no pun intended) Looks like we will be making another trip to FL soon.

6,7,8,9......

2007-05-02T13:39:00.001-07:00

CENTIMETERS THAT IS. BABY NUMBER ONE WILL BE BORN TODAY - WE ARE ANXIOUSLY WAITING TO HEAR. MORE NEWS TO FOLLOW AS SOON AS WE KNOW!

2007-04-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

I FIGURED IT OUT - SORTA

2007-04-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, now I figured it out sorta kinda how to get music onto the blog. I did a little bit more research through ask.com and found this free music to upload. I laughed cause once I did it, I realized it's a chinese website of sorts and the song titles were some I would NEVER recognize in my life, so I searched and searched till I found the one I have on there now and thought, OK I recognize this one. BUT, its a start. I was just thrilled that I figured it out on my own. If anyone still has any good sites that have songs other than Chinese ones, let me know, I would love to be able to copy and paste a code that didn't say "hungpoo do chung".

2007-04-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Got Pics from Shower & Trip to Lake Monroe

2007-04-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Sarah took some pics on Saturday morning before I left to head home to GA. We went to Lake Monroe in Sanford, one of my favorite spots, I would go when I wanted to watch the sunset and enjoy seeing the boats come in and out. It was a beautiful day. Sis says it's not good for pic taking when the sun is so bright cause it causes "frown brow". Guess that's a photographer term. We had fun none the less.
When we first got there, I said Ok, what should I do first, she said, take your shoes and socks off. Boy, that really works.

OK, do these girls look like they belong to me or what?
Deep in thought!

Skip and I were laughing cause Sarah made us hold this position while she stood on a chair to get the shot. I was whispering in Skips ear, does she not remember that I have major back problems and you are almost 8.5 months pregnant and sitting like this while she fiddles with her camera is killing both of us! We giggled on that one. A kodak moment!
This is from the baby shower

WEEK NUMBER 9

2007-04-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I am in week 9 of my 1st set of classes. I have been working hard and so far pulling A's in both classes. I finally found out they will give me 15 credits of the 30 I had from my business degree towards my IT degree so I am moving forward. It won't take me 1 year and 9 months now to finish with having those added but it will take me about a year.

I am excited. I hate these English courses. I have learned alot already. I have to be very disciplined and for a woman that has ADHD and never been diagnosed (so Nick says) I am remaining focused. My sewing room looks like a library for the time being and I work up there so I don't get distracted. I will be anxious to find out my final grade for these first two courses next week and the best part is I will have earned 6 more credit hours towards my degree!

I CANNOT SAY FINALLY

2007-04-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Nick says I cannot say "Nick finally got to ....." anymore on the blog soooo..... I will not be telling you that Nick finally got some wood put in the front of the house to cover up the dirt under the porch.

Notice the pine tree in my hand. We had to go to Home Depot and they were giving away free trees. Mind you, it's 12 inches in height and it's a pine. Nick said, do you NOT remember the pine trees we had in Florida - they were lightening rods, not to mention the hours of raking up pine needles out of the flower beds from them. I yelled but dear, it's a BLOG moment - the first tree for the yard!

I think he managed to dig a whole somewhere on the acre lot and buried it. We can only hope it won't someday fall on the house in a windstorm when it grows to be 30 feet tall (like the one that fell right next to our window in FL during a hurricane.) OH WAIT - that would make for another BLOG moment wouldn't it!

Sally, this one is for you!

2007-04-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Sally, I am posting this pic for you. Sorry I didn't wear them when I was there. I still have them!

Robbed the blog photos to share again

2007-04-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

This one, I was amazed at because they are sitting in the sun, thus the umbrella but Emmie has a short sleeve shirt on, Rowan on the other hand has a heavy coat on. I told Sarah that I loved this picture. She said mom, the greatest part was, Emily was reading Rowie a book, which is what we cannot see on this side. I LOVE THIS PICTURE. SISTERS!

Emily is so much her mother, it's amazing!

When I saw Rayah Lee (my middle name too) this time, she wanted to go with me in the car. She calls me "Sissy" not Gramma. She has the smile worth a million and brown eyes like none other. She looks like Natalie but Natalie has blue eyes.
Rebecca still has the greatest head of curls. When I went to say goodbye to her in FL, she looked up at me and with the most sincere words said, I love you and I will miss you. This just broke my heart. She has such a sweet spirit about her. She looks like her daddy with the big brown eyes. It is amazing to see how much she has matured even just since seeing her at Thanksgiving.

I wanted to put some of the girls pics on our blog, eventhough you can go to the links. These are a few of my favorites.

SNOW

2007-04-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I came back from FL and wasn't home but a couple hours and it snowed. Go from hot and sweaty to cold and miserable. But Nick says the rest of the week is suppose to be nice. I hope I don't get sick from the drastic change. Had that fireplace cranked up when I got home. My blood is still TOO thin.

I grabbed the camera and when I posted it, you couldn't see any of the snow. So, no pic on this one.

Eddie Spaghetti

2007-04-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

Here he is digging in the GA clay. He loved it. I don't mind watching him for a week. No thanks to having a dog. I will stick to my cats. He is really cute though - and he loves his aunt Brennie.

The Kubota and Eddie

2007-04-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

We dogsat for Eddie, my sisters dachund the week before spring break. He is one spoiled dog. I tied him to the swing set and turned around and he managed to get out of his holster. We had to coax him to the garage to go inside. He's a smart dog but when it comes to dog treats, he's dumb as a tack.

Sun finally

2007-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, no pics yet. I forgot the cord that uploads the pics to the blog from the digital camera. I will have to wait till I get home to do it. Of course, I have only taken 2 pictures since I have been here anyway. Tomorrow is the baby shower so I promise, Sarah is in charge of photography and she will be giving me some to upload.

Went to the beach today. It was awesome. I love it. I would go almost every weekend while I was still living here waiting to move up to GA and it felt like "Old home week". I still had my routine down to a science of what to carry and take and when to flip to get even sun. It was a perfect day. Got to read a little but mostly just chilled. Should have been posting my school work but not this time. That's why I am now posting to this blog at 1:31 a.m.

SPRING BREAK

2007-04-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, who ordered the snow and cold again? This is our spring break week and there is no sunshine and warmth to be had. How is a girl to get a tan wearing a raincoat? I will have lots of pictures to upload once the week is over. I am hoping at least one of them will be the beach!

LOOK WHO'S DOING THE SUPERVISING!

2007-04-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Diane and Richard came over to help in the yard and if you notice in the first picture - the two men are supervising while Diane is doing the work. Me, by the time we got to that point, my back had given out and I was making dinner. I did get to drive the "Poulan" I stand corrected on the name of the tractor and "airaiter" the lawn in preparation for grass seed. Now I cannot say I have ever, ever airaited a lawn before. In Florida, you go to the turf place, buy it by the sheets and throw it down. This is a new concept here in the GA mountains. It is fun though driving that tractor. Quite honestly, picking rocks out of the dirt is NOT fun and that's what took the back out so it will be the LAST time I will be doing that. I will be the cook from this point on.

2007-04-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

TUCKERS

2007-04-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

This is our "space" at Tuckers. Nick finally got the shelves cut for the unit for the space my sister and I have in town. We had someone give us bifolds that we took the slats out and put boards through to create a shelf. We had so much stuff that it was impossible to display it without a unit. We got it up there finally today. It's coming together just in time for the busy season. When all the Floridians come threw and need a place to stop and shop on their way back up North for the summer.

PARTY!

2007-03-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Four Seasons! Just don't touch anything in the refrigerator cause it all cost over $4.00. Including the M&M's.

GOT THE PICTURES OF THE GIRLS WEEKEND

2007-03-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Beth& Kim when we walked uptown to have dinner that Saturday night in Atlanta.

GIVING UP THE DRUMS

2007-03-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am giving up the drums! I decided school is too much to handle and learn to play the drums so I am carting them back to the Morgan's the next chance I get. So now I have taken up logging. (Well not really) I have officially learned how to drive a lawn mower. This is a Pulman (which we borrowed from the Morgans) and I could really get into this. Problem is, it's not smooth terrain. After you have had a lumbar facet epidural injection, NOT a good thing to be driving! Found that out. The seat is weighted and the motor cuts off if you don't sit just right. Nick says I need to eat a little bit more, gain some weight so the motor runs just a little smoother. I'm too much of a light weight to mow grass with it. My thought is to throw a rock on the seat with me so the motor stays on! I got to mow the Morgan's lawn on Saturday, I was in hog heaven. I threw that baby into reverse like I was Mustang Sally!

We took a tree down in the back yard that had poison oak on it. Had to haul the stumps off to the side so we can plant grass seed instead of continuing to grow MUD in the back yard. I was taking a break from writing my 1400 Word Persuassive Essay and I had a great time driving it around the acre lot.

Daniel Boone would have been proud of me. All I needed was the hat. I think Robbie had one like that-complete with the racoon tail! Notice though - the Harley boots, no work boots on this girl - Harley Mamma allllll the way down to the boots!

A WEEKEND WITH THE GIRLS

2007-03-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, my three girlfriends from Florida drove up to see me! It was great. On Saturday, they arrived at the Four Season's Hotel in downtown Atlanta where I met them about 4:30 p.m. I pulled my car into "Valet" parking and was greeted by several lovely people who kindly said "welcome to the Four Season's" all the way to the elevator! They even had to ring Mrs. Lu's room to be sure I could have a card to the room. Like I was someone that might not be allowed. Once I got past that checkpoint, I went on up to the 17th floor to find them all wore out from the long drive.

We chatted and decided dinner was next on the agenda. We walked a few blocks to check out a few restaurants and found that a bar like pub was suitable and cheaper and ate there. We enjoyed the food and had a few beers. Terri shocked us all by blowing her nose on the dinner napkin. We laughed at that one and told her we would never let her live that one down.

We walked back to the room and after deciding it was a bit too early to call it a night, found out where the nearest CVS was and took another walk (MUCH farther) to find it. Praying most of the way that we wouldn't get mugged. Kim had to get makeup cause her suitcase got left behind that had it in. We laughed cause she had only one outfit to wear. She didn't smell too bad by the time the weekend was over. Fortunately she did have clean underwear to change into.

Beth was keeping a close eye on the clocks for us as she is a very time oriented person. When Beth's ready to go, you best be ready. We love that aspect about her. She keeps us focused. Both her and I came to downtown Atlanta and managed to clean out our purses while staying at the Four Seasons Hotel. Now that is time management at it's best!

On Sunday morning after "bagels" (Wisconsin pronounced) and coffee we headed off to Blairsville. I gave them the grand tour of 260 Knox Leila and we relaxed a bit. Then off to Tuckers to show them the consignment shop where my sister and I sell our wears. We hit Zaxby's Chicken for lunch first and Terri was able to stock up on paper napkins for those nose blowing adventures.

After Tuckers, I drove them to meet Diane and Richard and to see Nick who was working at their house on some welding. We stayed briefly and drove on home. After signing the guest book and taking photo ops on the front porch, they left to go back to the hotel.

It was truly a blessing for me. My plate has been so full lately and having them come made me feel loved. I NEEDED to have their visit. As soon as Terri sends me the pictures via e-mail, I will post them. My camera wasn't working.

Old photo

2007-03-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

I have this one on my desktop of my laptop so when I sit to do my college work, I look at the lovely lips of "lips". That's Emily's nick-name. I love this picture. It was taken last summer at the rental.

THIS IS THE YEAR

2007-02-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

Well, a friend of mine said I needed to update the blog cause I hadn't in days. Could be cause I have been inandated with school work. Now that I have gone back to finish my degree, I am hitting the books. BUT considering that my degree is in Information Technology, I decided to surf the web and found this.

This year my twin and I will turn 50 in November. I felt this picture was appropriate. Go ahead and laugh. My boss already calls me Granny and nothing else. So I might as well go with the flow. He's only 38 and I tell him his day is coming, and He is bald. So I can give it right back to him when he dishes it out. Here's this weeks update.

Brennie & Barbie

FAMILIAR FACES COME TO VISIT

2007-02-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to have another set of friends come to visit this weekend from Florida. Don and Diane, our long time friends came in Friday evening and stayed with us. We headed off to dinner at the Yacht Club and then introduced them to our friend Diane and Richard where we had dessert and coffee. We got up and had Belgian waffles with blueberries and headed off to Alexander's (mall of Blairsville) and then attempted to go to the shooting range (to see who was the best sharp shooter this side of the GA/FL border) but everything was shut down due to TURKEY season. We tried to take them to Brasstown Bald but the roads were closed there as well so we wound up going to Helton Creek Falls to show them that.

Low and behold, they headed out about 4 p.m. and not a half hour later the door bell rang. I was sitting at the computer and thinking, OK , it's either the homeowners association or the Davis' forgot something.

Nick was in the basement playing his music tooooo loud to hear the bell so I darted down the stairs and could see through the cut class window - wood. Sitting on the front porch were two unfinished rockers! AND upon opening the door, there were the DAVIS' peering around the corner with grins on their faces. Earlier we were talking about needing two rockers for the back porch seeing we have the 2 on the front porch, they had them at the Shell station up the road and they went back and got them, giving them to us as a house warming gift. Talk about bringing us to tears. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL. Now when they come back - to visit in the summer like they promised, we can sit in our chairs and watch the horses out back. They had been laboring about what to get us for a housewarming gift and Don strapped them to the roof of his Toyota truck and hauled them back to the house. The Lord has truely blessed us with friends that just leave us speechless - and that they did! AND GUESS WHAT - we have another project - I think we're gonna paint these white!

We enjoyed every minute of it - and we had them sign our guest book so we could keep the tradition.

This one was a snow globe with a history to it!

2007-02-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

This Pinnochio has a very special story. When Emily (our oldest granddaughter) (now 7) was 1 1/2 years old, she was living with us and we had this snow globe of Pinnochio in our bedroom on my cedar chest. She came walking out of the bedroom proudly displaying the globe in her hands which probably weighed half as much as she did but when she got to the door between the family room and the foyer, the globe immediately left her tiny little hands. She was barefooted and I was struck with WHAT DO I DO NOW! Seeing this, I knew she would try to run and knowing she would dash across the floor full of broken glass and water (of course to no doubt slip and fall), I about panicked. You get those moments when you stop breathing and adrennaline kicks in, that's what happened. Fortunately, I was able to wisk her up before the tiny feet made a move.

At first I was heartbroken that the globe was broken (because it was a gift and held sentimental value concerning Robbie) but then I thought, it's just a "thing". I was so glad our little girl's feet were ok. I saved the globe, it has no water, it even has a piece of broken globe still attached, but the memory of Emily, living with us is precious and seeing how proud she was to be toting that globe to her gramma like it was a prize, was beyond words. Someday, I will give her that snowglobe.