Packed and Ready to Go

Good Morning Girlfriends!  Grab a quick cup of coffee and come on it.  Things are very, very busy around here so this will be a short post this morning.  But, did want to connect with you today in some "  shape, form or fashion."    


The moving van arrived at our daughter's house on Wed. and this is what it has looked like over there.

 

 

Do you know how grateful that all of us are that professional movers are taking care of this entire move for them?  Can I just say, it is wonderful to sit back and watch them "  do their thing."    They definitely know what they are doing and how to do it quickly and efficiently. They just require that one family member be present while they are working, so we've all taken our turns at "  sitting and watching."   You know, I almost felt guilty watching them.  I'm not use to that, I'm use to being in on the action! ~smile~


Very early tomorrow morning Bridget and Clancy will will be leaving, heading to their new home in Dodge City, Kansas where Clint will be awaiting them.  I pray travel mercy over them and will be glad to hear the words, "  I've arrived"   on Sunday.  She will be staying with her inlaws tomorrow evening and it is wonderful that they are almost exactly half way between us and Dodge City.


Yes, good-byes such as this are not easy, but we will be fine.  We will miss them terribly, but will look forward to our Skype visits and phone calls to keep us connected in-between our "  real visits."
I have to remind myself of all the things that could be so much worse and that puts it all in perspective.  I will do my best to hold back those tears until they are gone.  I do not want them to leave with tears, so you guys pray that we can all hang on.  And, as I said, we will be fine, it's just getting through the initial leave.

In the meantime I'll hold the memories of these past 10 months of having them near very close to my heart.  Happy weekend to my dear blogging buddies!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to join up with Joyce for our Hodgepodge questions.  She always comes up with such neat questions and we all have a good time answering them.  Off we go!

1. What is something that bothers you if it is not done perfectly?

Well, there are lots of things but one in particular  would be the way my dishwasher is loaded.  I doubt there's another person that would put this, but, I'm weird that way. ~smile~

2. What is one of your best childhood memories?

 During my early childhood we did not have a lot of extra money, but if we ever had any extra, many Saturday evenings would find us at the Dairy Queen.  It was there that I always got "a cone with a curl on top."  That is what I started calling their ice cream cones when I was just a little girl and I have the fondest memories of our trip as a family to the DQ. 

3. Do you plan to watch the Royal Wedding and when was the last time you wore a hat? I will probably turn it on when I get up and will watch "bits and pieces" of it, but I will not "zoned in" to it.  I imagine we'll be hearing about it for the next month so anything I might miss seeing I'll certainly catch later.  

The last time I wore a hat was last summer when Hubby and I went fishing. ~grin~  I really love the look of hats but I've never felt like I was a "hat gal."  But, hey it's not too late, so who knows, maybe I'll become a "hat gal." ~wink~

4. Where do you fall in the birth order in your family? Do you think this has influenced your personality? I am the firstborn and  I am very much a leader and have always been very responsible.  I don't suppose this always holds true of a firstborn but everything I have read supports this assertion. 

5. Where do you think you spend most of your money? Well, if you looked through my Quickbooks account you would see that most of my checks seem to be written to Wal-Mart.  It is the main store here in our little town and I buy groceries, toiletries and  lots of other household items there.  Hubby is always saying he should have bought WM stock. ~smile~

6. When you need to confront someone would you rather communicate in person, on the phone, by email or by letter? Why? If possible, in person.  It's too easy to misinterpret by the other means.  If discussion needs to take  place, it can and hopefully whatever the issue is can be solved. 

7. Dodge ball, freeze tag, kickball or jump rope? You have to pick one. Oh, my goodness, all of it hurts me to think about it, but I would pick jump rope.  In my "younger days" I was the Queen of jumping rope. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. Our daughter and Clancy are staying their last 5 nights here with us and I am utterly amazed at the energy of a 2 1/2 year old.  Clancy can go and go and go!  Bridget said that she has a new respect for single Moms after being one herself for the past 3 weeks.  It is definitely not a job for   " the faint of heart." 

Miscellany Monday

Time for another MM and random thoughts with Carissa. It's the start of a busy, busy week for me but it's great to start it off with you, my dear blogging buddies.

{one}

We celebrated our family Easter on Friday and it was such fun to watch our sweet Grans hunt Easter eggs for the first time.  Here they are, ready to go!

{two}

I love Dollar Tree! I usually make a monthly run and find such good buys and they always have the cutest seasonal items.  One such item was these bunny ears.

{three}
 My little Princess had her first pedicure this past week.  DIL said that she sat mesmerized while she painted her toenails.  Doesn't she sport them proudly in her silver sandels? ~grin~

{four}

 Our SIL's parents house and ranch was hit by the recent tornado that went through the Tushka/Atoka, Oklahoma area on April 14th. They rode it out underneath their stair well and said it was the scariest thing they have ever had happen to them.  They pretty much lost everything and will be a long time recovering but they feel blessed to have survived.

This is their motor home that was turned over

 {five}

 My baby brother will be coming for a visit this Thursday and I look forward to spending some time with him.  He is a very busy man but he always makes time to come and spend time with our Dad and me.  The only thing that would make his visit better is if his family could come.  Another bummer about family that lives off.

Taken last summer

{six}
 Speaking of family living off........I do covet your prayers this week as we prepare for the move of our daughter and family this coming Sat.  I KNOW that I will ultimately be fine, but initially it is going to be very difficult.  Especially since she will be driving the 14 hour trip alone with Clancy.  They will only go half way on Sat. and will stay with family that night and then drive on to Dodge City on Sunday where SIL will be anxiously awaiting them.

May your week be blessed with the overflow of your Easter celebration!

Happy Easter!

I just wanted to wish each of you a beautiful Easter and share with you the absolutely gorgeous arrangement that graced our sanctuary today.  This picture cannot do it justice, but you can see that it was lovely. I hope you can see that the arrangement was made in the shape of a cross.

HE is risen, HE is risen indeed!

Catching up and Easter Blessings

Good Morning Company Girls!  I missed you last week but I was having a good time in Virginia visiting with relatives and most especially my sweet 88 year old Aunt.  She is my Mom's only surviving sibling. And, might I add, she is the Mother of four sons! ~grin~

  I spent Saturday with one of my cousins and we both enjoy doing "silly things."  We had fun trying on hats in some of the shops we visited.

Am I serious or what?

I'm pretty sure that the shop personnel and those in the shop thought we were crazy.  But, that's okay, we had a good time and I got some cute pictures. ~smile~


I also enjoyed spending time with some other cousins on Sunday afternoon.  I really wish that we were not separated by so many miles and could enjoy each others' company more often.  

I headed home Monday with a heart full of wonderful memories from my birthplace.


It has been "all hands on deck" since returning home.  Even though Hubby stayed behind and he always does an excellent job keeping the house in order, there are just some things that only we women can do.  Right???  One of those things is going through the piles of mail.  Mercy me, I do believe we get more mail than "the law allows."  Most of it goes in the trash, but the sorting out process does take some time.  

Giving CiCi sugars

Since our SIL has already moved to Dodge City to begin his job there, we have stepped up to the plate to assist our daughter with Clancy. She has to be at school at 7:00 each morning and his sitter does not come until 8:15.  So, Bridget drops Clancy off at our house each morning at 6:45 and we keep him until then.  If things are not in high gear by 6:45 they certainly are shortly after he arrives.  He is such a happy little guy and I don't think his energy is ever lacking.  They have just a short 8 days left here and then they will head out to join SIL in Dodge City.  We have already decided that we will not use the words, "good bye" but rather "see you later."  That sounds so much more soothing.  


Daughter, DIL and I will take the kiddos around to a 

 neighborhood egg hunt this afternoon.  Clancy is definitely into the whole "finding eggs" this year but I imagine our little Princess will need some assistance but that is not a problem. We will then
come back here and enjoy dinner together.  It will be our family celebration and I will be making my "famous" homemade pizza.  I guess that doesn't sound like much of a Easter celebration meal, but let me assure you, my kids LOVE my homemade pizza and are thrilled to have it anytime.  I'll make a great salad to go along and we'll "call it good." Oh, and homemade pound cake with fresh strawberries will be the dessert. 


I hope each of you will have a wonderful Easter weekend as we celebrate our Risen Lord! Yes, the cross made the difference for me.

Wednesday's Hodgepodge

Oh, I have missed you guys!  I have been in Virginia the past few days and while I have lots to share, for today, I'll just jump right into Joyce's questions.  But, I'll be sharing from my trip and other "stuff" in the days to come.

I

1. What are your plans for Easter Day/weekend? 

On Friday afternoon, daughter, DIL, and myself will take the Grans to a neighborhood  egg hunt.  This will be the first year that they can actually hunt for eggs.  It should be fun to watch them (and help them).  We will then come back here for a family dinner.  I'm not sure what Saturday holds, but Sunday will likely be rather quite as our big celebration will be Friday. 

 2. Besides Jesus, what one person from The Bible would you most like to meet and why? 

I would like to meet Mary, the mother of Jesus.  I would love to hear her thoughts on how she felt being the Mother of the Savior of the world.  It's incomprehensible to me.

3. What is one modern day convenience you didn't have as a child that was easy to live without? 

  This caused me to chuckle because there are many things, but the first to come to my mind is the blow dryer.  Oh, how well I remember sitting with one of these bonnet dryers on my head after my Mom had curled my hair in those awesome sponge rollers. I suppose it was easy to live without since there was nothing else available.  You can't miss what hasn't come around yet. ~ grin~

4. Are you more right brained or left brained? If you don't know what that means there is an interesting little quiz here.Well, I just sat here and took that quiz and found out that I am 66% left brained and 34% right brained.  In reading what the results meant, I loved that it said, "you are known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information."  Hummmm! sounds pretty impressive to me!

5. What is something you intended to do today but didn't? Why? Well, I think I got everything done that I planned. Since I had just gotten home last evening from my trip, I had planned to use today to get my ducks back in a row. ~giggle~  That meant, do laundry, go through the mail, go to the grocery store and iron.  I managed to get it all done and enjoy some time in my recliner last evening. Yea, for me!!!!

6. Cadbury Creme Eggs or Reeses peanut butter?

Oh, it's Reeses peanut butter hands down!!!!  I'm not in love with chocolate, but put it with peanut butter and that changes everything!

7. Who was your favorite cartoon character when you were a child?

 I LOVED  Popeye and ran around singing "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" all the time.  And, of course, it was a good way for my parents to try and get me to eat Spinach.  But, to this day, the only way I want Spinach is in a salad.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  In just 11 short days this little fella will be moving 14 hours away from his CiCi. Do you feel my pain?

Hodgepodge Wednesday

1. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time or have a significant conversation with two people? I do like to have significant conversation, so I guess I would say two people, but I certainly seem to have conversation with a whole lot more folks than that at a gathering.  Perhaps I'd just as soon talk with a lot of folks for a shorter time. Duh!  Well, hopefully I'll do better with question #2. ~smile~

2. What objects do you remember from your parent's living room? Oh, my goodness, we always had this crystal candy dish sitting on a coffee table.  I mean, the same one FOREVER and it always had hard candy in it and that hard candy was always stuck together.  But, that didn't stop me from digging in, breaking it apart and enjoying it.  Oh, what memories! I'm now wondering what happened to that candy dish. 

3. Do you hog the bed? Steal the covers? Snore?

Well, Hubby and I share a KING size bed and there is no reason to hog the bed or to steal the covers.  I mean, there's plenty of room and then some for both of us. We each have an extra pillow in the bed with us, and that can make things interesting at times. ~smile~  As to snoring.........Hubby will snore on a rare occasion, but it has never been a bother. Thank goodness!! ~wink~


  4. Speaking of Easter dinner....what is your favorite way to cook/eat lamb? Or does just the thought of that make you squeamish? If you're not cooking lamb what will be your entree du jour on Easter Sunday? I have never eaten or cooked Lamb and can't imagine that I ever will.  I really have not started thinking about our Easter meal, but guess it's time I did so.  We're a big fan of grilled Pork Tenders, so that may be our meat and then I'll figure out what else to go with it between now and then. 

5. Let's throw some politics into this week's mix-oooohhh...Do you know the whereabouts of your birth certificate and when was the last time you had to produce it to prove you're you? I can place my hand on my birth certificate in two seconds.  I keep our birth certificates, passports and such in a file in our home office.  The last time we needed them was when we had to renew our passports 2 1/2 years ago.  

6. As a child, how did people describe you? Happy and talkative.  I so well remember that my first grade teacher wrote on my report card that after the Lord made me He threw away the mold and that I was a pleasure to teach.  I certainly didn't know that when I was in her class, but many years later I saw it as I was looking through my old report cards.  I do well remember loving my first grade teacher and I kept in touch with her for many, many years. 

7. What do you complain about the most?The lack of professionalism in our society.  Call me old fashioned or whatever, but I see no place for jeans in an office, I see one dressing in dressy casual attire.  I firmly believe that dressing professionally aids in one acting professionally.  I am appalled almost on a daily basis at the dress, the attitude and lack of professionalism in what is thought of as professional offices or businesses. 'Nuff said!

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

 I will be flying out very early in the morning headed to Virginia.  I may or may not blog while I am away, but never fear, I'll have lots to share when I return.  I'll be back on Monday afternoon.  I plan to have a wonderful time being with relatives from my Mom's side of the family.  I'm so thankful for family!


Thanks Joyce for these great questions this week!

Miscellany Monday

It's that fun post of the week - Miscellany Monday.  What a delight to link up with Carissa each week.  If you want more, just click on the button above and enjoy!

{one} 

Our azeleas have just bloomed their little heads off but their time is coming to an end this year.  They just come and go so quickly but they sure have made a statement this year.

{two}

 I ordered two new gazing balls and stands from Plow and Hearth   

and  got them placed and I do love them.  If you do not know the history behind the them, you can read it here 

They are such nice accent pieces for a yard and have such sparkle on a sunny day.  They bring a smile to my face. ~grin~

{three}

I had the honor of having 5 of the dearest ladies in the world for lunch this past Friday.  These ladies have been such an encouragement to me through their support, their lives and their prayers and I wanted to do some small something for them.  I figure that I had about 450 years of experience and wisdom sitting around my table. WOW!   It was such a blessing and I thank the Lord for them.

  I served a salad lunch consisting of Chicken Salad, Broccoli Salad, Sunshine Congealed Salad and crackers and Fresh Strawberry Pie for dessert.  

If you are interested in the recipe for the congealed salad or the pie, you can find both in my recipes on my navagation bar at the top of my blog.

{four}

Tommy and I went to the Biedenharn Museum and Gardens this weekend.  It is located about 22 miles from here in Monroe, LA.  It has been there forever and we have not taken the time to go and tour it.  What a delightful place!  We enjoyed a couple of hours of meandering through.  It was like stepping away from reality for a little while. Beautiful!

{five}

 

Okay, now just tell me have you ever seen anything so precious???? This is my little adopted Vietnamese grandson. ~wink~  For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that he is the son of the couple that owns the nail salon I go to.  He is 11 weeks old and weighs a hearty 15 pounds.  I took this picture yesterday and just could not resist sharing it with you.  I will be posting other photos soon of him with his older brother and sister and Mom.   They are such a precious family.

{six}

I will be leaving early Thursday morning flying to Hampton, Virginia to see the sweet lady in this picture.  This is my Mom's sister and the only sibling left out of 5 and believe it or not, she was the oldest of the five.  She will be a mere 89 on May 10th.  And, this picture was just taken a year ago.  She is so amazing and I can hardly wait to see her and spend a few days with her.  I am certainly hoping that I have inherited  her genetic makeup. ~smile~

May you have a wonderful week!

I Love Being A Southern Gal

 Good Morning Company Gals!  I think this post probably calls for a glass of tea or lemonade. So grab a glass and enjoy!


I love being a Southern Belle!  I love being from the deep South!  I'm not sure that anyone else does things, cooks things, decorates or celebrates like we do. We do our very best to make an event out of everything we do. ~big smile~

Some of the lovely Southern Belles at the meeting

 Yesterday afternoon the Women on Mission from our church met for our monthly meeting.  The meeting was around at one of my girlfriends/neighbors house.  As I was going around to the meeting I stopped along the way to snap pictures of a couple of the beautifully decorated doors in our neighborhood.  And, the azalea's are in full bloom and it's looks like a little bit of heaven in our neighborhood.  I know, many of you have not even made it to Spring just yet, but  perhaps you will not be too envious when you gaze upon these photos. ~smile~

 Isn't this just beautiful!  This gal always out does herself each season of the year and we all enjoy riding by and seeing the "fruits of her labor."  To me this looks like something straight out of Southern Living. Wouldn't you just love to go swing!

 

We were greeted by this lovely entrance at the home where our meeting was held.  And, throughout the house were "touches of Easter."

Of course, we cannot meet with out eating. ~laugh~  It's the perfect ending to a gathering.   We enjoyed delicious Pound Cake with fresh Louisiana strawberries and whipped cream while sitting out on the patio enjoying the beautiful spring day.

As I stated, there's just nothing quite like being from the South where we do all things with "flair."  Happy, happy spring to you, my dear friends!