Babes

School starts Monday and my feelings are a kind of bitter-sweet. Sweet, because the beginning of the school term ushers in fall, my absolute favorite season of them all, and sad because it marks the beginning of a new era in the life of Savannah, which, of course, effects me as well. I can hardly believe that my grandbaby is about to go to middle school. It seems like it was just yesterday when the long awaited ultrasound revealed that the desire of my heart was about to be filled...a baby girl was soon to arrive. I'm sure I would have been just as elated, well... maybe...had the stork brought a boy, but after having two boys of my own who are only 12 months and 5 days apart I was ready for some pink, some lace, and, of course, some big ol' hair bows in every color of the spectrum.

Savannah made her grand entrance on November 29, the day after Thanksgiving in 1996, and I don't believe she could have looked more like her dad and her Uncle Jarad if she had tried! I truly believe the minute Justin laid eyes on his little princess, every thought of having a son melted away. Savannah and Justin are big fishing buddies and her every conversation is frequently dotted with references to 'my Dad.' She is indeed a chip off the old block!

Savannah at birth.

Justin Matthew, 1 day old.

Shifting gears...just as unbelievable is the fact that my baby boy, Jarad, just turned thirty. Jarad was without doubt the sweetest little guy I've ever known in my entire life. Even as a little child he was extremely kind and tender-hearted and always concerned about the feelings of those around him. One would be hard pressed to find a child as loving and as sensitive as Jarad was.

Jarad in kindergarten...

From the memory bank....when Jarad was in kindergarten he came home one day and announced he wanted us to get some 'well-u-fare.' When I asked him to tell me about this 'well-u-fare' his explaination was quite simple: When you get 'well-u-fare' you get to eat breakfast at school and they have cereal everyday! That conversation came shortly after the announcement that he wanted to be 'lurgic.' Once again, I asked for elaboration, at which time I was told, "When you're 'lurgic' they give you juice with your lunch and you never have to drink milk at school again!"

Many, many sweet memories exist of those early childhood days. Sadly, it seems as though I merely blinked and they were gone.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 24

Happiness is perusing old picture albums and reflecting on fun times shared with special people. This picture was taken a few years ago in Colorado Springs at the family reunion of my then fiance. Although I typically accompanied him to 2 medical conventions a year in Colorado (I think he really wanted to ski!), I remember the clouds as being breathtakingly beautiful this particular time. Thank you, Matt, for all the wonderful times and for the heart-touching and humble manner in which you have come back into my life.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 19

Happiness is knowing God is always there. When you can't see Him...He's there. When you can't feel Him...He's there. When you can't hear Him...He's there. Always there, ready to mend, heal and fill.

Montana sunset, May 3, 2008


When we walk to the edge
of all the light we have
and take the step into the
darkness of the unknown,
we must believe that
one of two things will happen....
There will be something
solid for us to stand
or we will be taught to fly.

~Patrick Overton

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 18

Flamingos is Progresso, Mexico

Happiness is beholding the magnificent, wonderous creations of God which are ever present in nature. These flamingos were spotted during a ground tour which was offered when on a cruise to Mexico last August. According to the tour guide, these birds are not born with this vibrant, peachy-pink color but, rather, they acquire it through their dietary intake. The water where flamingos reside is typically extremely high in iodine, which is thought to be a great contributor to their spectacular color. Simply beautiful.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 4

Dayle and Gayle

A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)

Happiness is reconnecting with friends you haven't seen since high school.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 3

'...the adversary does everything he can to exxagerate the feeling that things have changed. If we are not careful our closest friends will become strangers to us.'
excerpt from With A Palm And A Willow--authored by my friend, Rex Johnson, regarding the untimely fatal accident of his wife, and my friend, Denise

Happiness is looking at pictures which hold precious memories.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 2

"Ronni, you have the kind of faith that makes angels weep."
excerpt from letter from John

Happiness is getting a surprise text from a former boyfriend who still addresses you as 'Beautiful'

Fathers Day Addendum

I spent the day with my Dad yesterday at his wonderful home on Lake Sam Rayburn. We had a delicious lunch of fried catfish--freshly caught from the lake--and spent most of the afternoon just sitting on the deck and visiting. It was a very nice day that ended all too soon, according to Savannah, who spent most of the time in the water.

Daddy enjoying my Montana pictures.
Cruisin'...
In his new toy, the 'Rhino'
View of the lake from the house...
and the house from the lake.
Andi, chillin' on the great grandparents sofa.

From Pampers to Pegasus!

Granmommy (me!) & Savannah, February 1997
Savannah's 5th grade graduation, May 2008

Where, oh where does the time go, pray tell? While viewing the pictures from 5th grade graduation it really hit me that 'Granmommy's baby' just isn't a baby any more. How sad! I remember when our trips to the mall involved loading the stroller and diaper bag and shopping for big hair bows and Tele-Tubbies and videos such as Mulan and Aristocats. My, how that has changed! These days it's Books-A-Million and Bath and Body and Macy's and, for heavens sake, please don't dare mention a pretty ribbon or hair barrette unless you're prepared for the eye roll of the century! And if you really, really love an outfit, just act as though she's a little too young for such and, only then, will she surely love it too.

Life being what it is moves swiftly, and with that comes much transition. It seems almost surreal to realize I'm the granmommy of a little lady who will be a teenager in a mere 17 months. But what a proud granmommy I am! Did I mention that Savannah has been an honor student since kindergarten? She sure has! And did I remember to say that she is going into the 6th grade but, because she tested at a much higher level, she has been accepted at an academy and will be starting with 8th grade level work? Yep, Savannah will be in the Pegasus class! My, how I wish I could see what her future holds!

But the greatest joy this precious doll brings me comes from her pure and tender heart and the kindness and sensitivity she has toward others. She faithfully believes God for anything and everything, be it big or small, and she truly loves God and her church. As she enters the next phase of her life it is my prayer that she holds to God's unchanging hand and nevers loses sight of Calvary. I pray that she is always mindful of the fact that the achievements and recognition we gain while on this earth mean absolutely nothing if we lose out with God. She's been taught that since before she was old enough to understand it's meaning and I pray that it is firmly imprinted on the facets of her mind.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Happy Fathers Day!

My Dad and me, 1958

Justin and Savannah, 1998

I was 3 years old when this picture was taken of me with my Dad. Fast track 40 years...Savannah, my wonderful grandbaby was 2 years old in this picture with her Dad, my first son, Justin. Yeah, I know, the math just doesn't quite add up. I was totally devastated when I received the news that Justin would be a father at the ripe young age of 19. Fortunately, God has a phenomenal way of making all the pieces of life's puzzle fit together perfectly, and I fell head over hills in love the day this precious baby arrived. In fact, I feel reasonably certain I was probably the happiest 41 year old grandmother alive! As for Justin, well, you would have thought he had been a Dad forever...in spite of the fact that Savannah was the first baby he had ever held in his life. And talk about genetics, I don't believe a twin could look more like him than his baby girl and fishing buddy, Savannah. A chip off the old block, with a bond much like that I still have with my Dad. Thank heaven for real fathers...they make a difference indeed!

A little Nostalgia I Came Across This Morning...

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN...?

All the girls had ugly gym uniforms?



It took five minutes for the TV warm up?



Nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school?

Nobody owned a purebred dog?

When a quarter was a decent allowance?

You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?

Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?

All your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had
their hair done every day and wore high heels?


You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped,
without asking, all for free, every time?
And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot?



Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?

It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner
at a real restaurant with your parents?

They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . ...and they did?

When a 55 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise,
peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady?



No one ever asked where the car keys were
because they were always in the car,
in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?

Lying on your back in the grass with your friends
and saying things like, "That cloud looks like a ..."

and playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game?

Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals
because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once,
you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace,
and share it with the children of today?

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing
compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?
Basically we were in fear for our lives,
but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.

Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!
But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.

Send this on to someone who can still remember
Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Laurel and Hardy,
Howdy Doody and the Peanut Gallery,
the Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows,
Nellie Bell, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk.


As well as summers filled with bike rides, baseball games,
Hula Hoops, bowling and visits to the pool,
and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that"?



I am sharing this with you today
because it ended with a double dog dare to pass it on.
To remember what a double dog dare is, read on.
And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between
old enough to know better and too young to care.

How many of these do you remember?

Candy cigarettes
Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside
Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum
Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
Newsreels before the movie
P.F. Fliers

Telephone numbers with a word prefix....(Raymond 4-601).
Party lines

Peashooters
Howdy Doody
45 RPM records
Green Stamps
Hi-Fi's

Metal ice cubes trays with levers



Mimeograph paper
Beanie and Cecil
Roller-skate keys
Cork pop guns
Drive ins
Studebakers



Washtub wringers
The Fuller Brush Man
Reel-To-Reel tape recorders
Tinkertoys
Erector Sets
The Fort Apache Play Set
Lincoln Logs
15 cent McDonald hamburgers

5 cent packs of baseball cards -
with that awful pink slab of bubble gum

Penny candy

35 cent a gallon gasoline
Jiffy Pop popcorn

Do you remember a time when...

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-moe"?
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do Over!"?
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest?
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening?
It wasn't odd to have two or three "Best Friends"?

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was "cooties"?
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot?
A foot of snow was a dream come true?

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?
"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense?
Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team?
War was a card game?
Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?
Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin?
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!!!!!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from
their "grown-up" life . . I double-dog-dare-ya!

I'm back...from a little piece of Heaven on Earth...

Mom's home!
I'm still mad 'cause she stayed so long... "Now she can cook my favorite dinner!"
Andi was one happy little girl when I returned from 18 days in Montana. Look at that shocked expression when I first walked in! She took off running in circles like she was in a marathon then, after pondering a minute, crawled under the bed and sulked before parking her cute little self in a dining room chair. Talk about a grand performance! I missed my baby girl like crazy, but the trip was absolutely wonderful---every minute of it--- and I would give anything if I could simply close my eyes and wake up there again. The breathtaking scenery was a constant reminder of the magnificent vastness of God, the only One who could speak such wonder into being.

Marvelous Montana!

A Page From the Journal---Hurricane Rita

October 2, 2005

I woke early today, while it was still dark outside. The street lights have been snuffed out by the wrath of Ms. Rita and even the sight of headlights is rare. The silence is almost eery. The city--for the moment--is declared "closed," and actually, I think it may even be illegal for me to be here. But I've chosen to maintain a low profile and stay put. The few officials who are aware of my presence come by to check on me at odd hours and that's been wonderful. And they always come bearing gifts--bags of ice, cases of juice and water, non-perishables. I've got lots to do to restore my property to a state of orderliness and evacuating will only prolong the progress. There's a gazillion leaves to rake and bag and dozens of branches to drag to the curb but as the sun comes up it becomes hotter than hell in this humid aftermath so I must utilize the early morning and late evening hours to complete my tasks.
As I walked across the cold concrete driveway, I noticed the sky was still full of stars. Walking further, an owl greeted me with a full and resonant hooting sound coming from the woods behind the house. This quiet nightscape was actually full of sound, of fresh and damp morning air, of an endless starry sky that seemed to wrap me into itself. I was at once enfolded in the presence of God, unable to feel any boundaries. What an awesome feeling of divine love. What a comfort to know that this enfolding happens not because of who we are, but because of who He is. Not because of our personalities, our deeds, or our intentions, but rather, it's all about Him. In this moment of pure holding, in a moment that seems all too brief, I recognize the person in me that came into this world full of possibility and destined for joyful unveiling and manifestation. This person within is sheltered and usually hidden beneath the thick layers of indoctrination of who I usually see myself to be, beneath convention and programming, beneath all the shoulds and oughts, and all the plans that were made for me by my family and culture. In this moment I feel the pure lightness of this self, the unbounded freedom inherent in my entity. This – my original self – how do I describe her? Well, she is open, naked, uninhibited. She is inquisitive, receptive, and responsive. Though at times unaware of self, she views her intimate world to be emanating from her very self. She is not separate from others; indeed everything she sees seems to be an inexplicable extension of herself. She hungrily searches for eyes, for glimmers of knowing recognition in others. And when she feels this recognition her whole body responds with joyful exuberance. She reacts with amazement at the simplest of miracles. She knows God in a personal and real way, therefore, she knows what real love is, and each day she prays for multifaceted prosperity in her life and in the life of the yet unknown man who will one day be her covenant mate.
In the immediacy of this moment, this fresh moment standing enveloped in darkness, I am alert and conscious, engaged in the immensity of God's magnificent creations. The reality of my smallness is unveiled just as the early light illuminates the low fog rising in the nearby woods. Little me - I am so small, just a speck on the planet, yet not insignificant. I remember who I am. But greater than that, I'm reminded that He knows me better that I know myself. What an awesome God he is. What an awesome plan I believe He has for me.

A Few Vacation Pic's

Rippin and Runnin'

Running into folk at the bottom of the beautiful Carribean...
Savannah wins the grand prize in a contest on board...
Because we're critically short of L & D nurses, I've had to work 12 hour night shifts for the past three days even though I've been pretty sick with a yucky summer cold. Thankfully, I feel much better today. Shifting gears...I had planned to go through all my vacation pics and try to post the best of them, however, I'm staying closely tuned in to the weather channel and, just to be safe, I think I'll make a quick trip to Sams to stock up on a few supplies just in case the potential hurricane brings wind and rain that may affect the power. I hunkered down and stayed home through category IV Hurricane Rita, without power for about 16 days I might add, and I certainly don't care to ever experience such again. I pray that the Master of the elements speaks peace so that all nations and cities will be protected. In Jesus magnificent name.

Home

Lots of laundry to do, gifts to sort and pic's to tweak, but I'm back from my great vacation to the gorgeous Carribean and, yes, I'm ready to go again! After church today I'll devote some time to reorganization and tending my gardens and by tomorrow, hopefully, I'll be back into a routine and be able to post a few pictures.

Lady Bird Johnson 1912-2007

We lost a great Texan yesterday, former First Lady 'Lady Bird' Johnson. There's no doubt we didn't all agree with the politics of her husband, LBJ, but one thing we can all agree on is the fact that she did an absolute phenomenal job beautifying the state of Texas with wildflowers. It's hard to see a Bluebonnet or Indian Paintbrush and not think of Lady Bird, and I have a feeling her legacy of these gorgeous, colorful wonders of nature will continue forever. Lady Bird was quite a wonderful cook too, and many of her recipes are treasured standby's in the collections of quite a number of Texan's.
Lady Bird was quite a character---graceful and dignified, yet, a pretty down-home soul at the same time. There's a Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in the 'hill country' and in the springtime there's even an 800 number that lets the nature lovers know when the flowers will be blooming at their peak. The hills of Texas are truly ablaze with color each year, thanks to Lady Bird and her program which provided for the distribution of thousands of pounds of wildflower seeds to be planted along the highways of the great Lone Star State.
So, farewell Lady Bird. Though you are gone you are truly not forgotten. Many thanks to you for adding such beauty to our state. Because of your efforts our highways are absolutely glorious. You were indeed a true daughter of Texas and you will be missed greatly.

2006 Holy Land Tour

This was the trip of a lifetime! A wonderful journey shared with those whom I love most of all.

Firecracker Salad

It has rained and rained and then rained some more around here and the forecast indicates that we'll see more in days to come. I don't remember the last day that we didn't have rain...it was probably two weeks ago or more. And with the already high humidity of the coastal region, rain and daily temps in the high 90's create a type of humidity that's unlike anything you can imagine. The flower and vegetable gardens are thriving in the near greenhouse climates and as for my curly hair, well, it just gets bigger and more unruly each time I step outside. But today was a great day to gather with a few friends and throw some delectables on the grill. Shish-kabobs, red snapper (thank you, Justin!), grilled corn on the cob, cole slaw, homemade garlic bread, home grown strawberries with fresh whipped cream and iced tea are just a sampling of the things that graced the table. As sunset approached we launched the party boat and floated along the Neches River, watching a better than ever firework show. I love making memories with those whom I hold dear.

Recipe
1 bag frozen corn, defrosted gently in the microwave
4 ripe plum tomatoes, halved, seeds squished out, chopped in small chunks
1/2 red onion, very finely sliced
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
small handful chopped mint

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together except for the mint. Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes (so that the red onion loses its pungency). Right before serving, mix in the mint.