Forever = About 12 years

I have always, always said that I will never get another puppy. Tony and I got a puppy when we were first married and that was a disaster. D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R. Max was his name and he was a sweet puppy turned demon. I showered him with love and affection and he still liked Tony better. He tore my clothes, tormented our guests, and wouldn't let me come into the yard. We hung in there with him for a couple of years but instead of him getting better he got worse. Much worse. We finally gave him away which is when I swore them off. For. Ever.

For. Ever. apparently is a very relative term. To some people it means to never happen again. For me, it means approximately 12 years.

Anthony has been begging for a puppy of his own. One that can ride in the truck with him and be his sidekick and be "his" dog. He read a book about a german shepherd dog in the Vietnam war and ever since then he has wanted "his" dog to be a german shepherd. He asked for money for Christmas so that he could get a puppy, take care of the vet costs, and all the other costs that pop up as a pet owner. For months we have been looking on Craig's List, rescue web sites, visiting shelters, etc.

And now For. Ever. has come. About 12 years after swearing off puppies - we have a puppy. Well, Anthony has a puppy but who can resist 'em once you get 'em? She is a very sweet, needy, whiny, yippy, affectionate, and happy little girl. So...

Meet Annie (Oakley).

Or Maggie.

Or Betsy (Ross).

Or Jackie (from that 70's show).

How soon do they need a name before they are traumatized by not knowing who they really are?

My Favorite Christmas Decoration

A couple of years ago, I saw a tree that Edie at http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/ had decorated for her kitchen. I loved it and I copied it and now it is my favorite Christmas decoration. Ever. She took black and white photgraphs of her friends and family and made a friends and family tree. For some reason I can't find all of my ornaments so I guess I will retake some pictures and replace them this year.

(This picture was taken a little prematurely with no Christmas tree skirt yet.)

We have grandparents pictures on our tree.

Anthony's picture from when he was oh so young looking.

Tony's grandfather.

Tony's brother. And his family.

My brother. And his family.

There are a few, too, that I'm so very thankful I haven't lost cuz they would be impossible to replace.

Attempting the Impossible

Every once in a while my mom wants a new picture of these four monkeys together. What seems like a simple task proves to get more difficult as they get older.

If they could only learn, the quicker you give us a decent picture - we aren't even asking for good pictures anymore - the quicker you are finished!

This is as good as it got.

I snuck in a few of Anthony and Alex, too.

My mom had seen "jumping pictures" and wanted us to try that. Definitely too much to ask...

This next one CRACKS ME UP! Ryan was able to get some good air. With him in the air and the others on the ground in their various stages of jump - Ryan looks like he is being raptured. I laugh out loud every time I look at this. Oh my, it reminds of that 70's show for some reason.

This is the only one we got with all of them in the air.


What a bunch of nuts!!

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thessalonians 5:18.

What am I thankful for?

1. First of all, I must say that I'm thankful for a God who loves me and a Son who saved me and my whole family.
2. I'm thankful that I live in a country that was founded on the love of this same God and forefathers who knew we would fall apart without Him.
3. I'm thankful for a husband who works hard and gives us everything. I don't even think he knows when he gets paid - he just takes what I give him and doesn't complain.
4. As much as I wish I didn't work, I'm thankful to have a job. I'm thankful I'm healthy and can work. I'm thankful my job allows me to work at home so at least I'm at home with the kids though not always completely plugged in.
5. I'm thankful for a mom who is my best friend and a dad who will, and does, drop everything when I need him to.
6. I'm thankful for in-laws who raised a very hard working, kind hearted, and sweet man who takes good care of us.
7. I'm thankful for a 15-year-old boy who has finally learned to ask for safety glasses before doing something stupid. Hopefully this means he is recognizing "stupid" a little earlier than he has in the past.
8. I'm thankful for doctor's who have the God given ability of healing. From breast cancer, to asthma, to growth hormone deficiency - we are thankful for it all.
9. I'm thankful that Anthony has found Civil War Reenactments and the wonderful friends he has made through this interest. Isn't it amazing how God knew where to put us in order to find just that right group for him?
10. Who knew I would be thankful for Alex being able to reach the light switch? Two years after everyone else her age did. And the joy that would bring her? Not until we saw her face light up that first time she was able to reach it on her own did we realize what an unreachable goal that had seemed to her. Then we spent weeks in alternating light and darkness 'cause we didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. I'm thankful now,that at 13, she is one of the taller girls in her class and it's hard to find jeans long enough for her.
11. I'm thankful for great friends, some I've had since birth, some since high school, and some that I've made over the years because our kids are friends. I'm thankful for them all.
12. I'm thankful for the memories I have of my grandparents. I can't make Jell-o without thinking of Mammy 'cause that's what I always made at her house. She let me drink it out of a Pyrex glass measuring cup before even putting it in the refrigerator. And the smell of Jergens lotion and Rocky Road ice cream take me directly to my other grandmother's house.
13. Though much more difficult, I'm also thankful for the heartaches and hardships we have endured. It's in these times we see the grace and mercy of a Father who loves us. It's in these times He shows us how to depend on Him to meet our needs and heal our hurts.

Thankful doesn't even begin to cover it...

Twin Rivers/Memphis, November 2010

Since I had so many pictures from last weekend, I thought this would be the easiest way to remember them.

The reason for our trip last weekend was to attend a Civil War Reenactment that Anthony was participiating in. It was a beautiful weekend to be outside and this was the biggest reenactment any of us had seen. There were 3000 registered reenactors. I'd love to know the countdown for each group; cavalry, artillery, and infantry. There were loads of horses. Beautiful horses.

Top left: Federal encampment. Top middle: Confederate cavalry camp. Top right: Horse drawn wagon that reminded me of Little House on the Prairie. Middle left: Artillery encampment. Middle middle: Federal soldiers marching to battle. Middle right: Federal officers on horseback. Bottom left: Federal cannon fire. Bottom middle: Duplicate picture of federal encampment. Bottom right: Casualties at the end of the battle.

There were several things that caught my attention on this trip. The first of which were the cotton fields. I think I had seen cotton fields before but I was very intrigued. We stopped on the side of the road so that I could get pictures. And a little, tiny, small amount of cotton to bring home. I think the cotton had already been picked so I just got a few pods that were left over. Top left: Cotton pod (I guess that's what they're called. They look like pods to me anyway.) Top right and bottom left: The pond at the reenactment site. It was beautiful. Right middle: A turtle sunning on a log on. This is the second time over the weekend we saw turtles sunning on logs. The first one had about 8 turtles on it but we were driving and I didn't get a picture. If you look carefully at the turtle picture, you see the water rippling to the right and below the log. That would be where a very mischievous girl was throwing sticks at the turtle. I don't know what she would have done had she hit it - fortunately she doesn't have very good aim throwing overhanded... Bottom right: Cotton field.

While I looked forward to seeing the ducks, Tony was planning our meals. He wanted to go to Gus's Fried Chicken, which he had seen on The Food Channel (I think). We had to wait about 30 minutes but it was very good fried chicken paired with some really good sweet tea. Alex says it was almost as good/sweet as Kristi's. The top left, top right, and bottom left were taken at Gus's. The bottom right was taken at the Germantown Commissary. It was BBQ that was "So Good You'll Slap Yo Mama." We had plans to eat BBQ at Rendezvous in Memphis that night but we had eaten at Gus's for lunch so it was several hours before we felt like we could eat again. By the time we felt we could eat another meal we were back in Germantown. We asked a few locals where we should go for good BBQ and this is where we were directed. It was a true southern commissary, kinda like a General Store, for over 90 years. When it was purchased to be turned into a BBQ restaurant, they just didn't change the name. You know you're in a good place when the take out line is as long or longer than the dine in line. It was quite neat to eat dinner in a 120 year old building with those good, creaky wooden floors. And our great server, Tyrone, looked like he had enjoyed several good meals here himself. I didn't get any pictures inside, cuz Tony and Alex said they were getting tired of their picture being made every time they turn around. Something about flashes and seeing spots...

Beale Street! We walked up and down Beale Street but it was in the middle of the day so we didn't hear any great blues music. Except for this gentleman. Tony had warn his Air Force t-shirt that day, and as we walked by this gentleman started playing the Air Force song. He knew how to get a tip, eh? The bottom right picture is of the Fed Ex Forum, right behind Beale Street.

The Peabody was an absolutely gorgeous hotel. Reminded of the beautiful old hotels you see in New York and D.C. cuz they don't make new hotels like this anymore. Top left: The duck fountain. Top right: Tony and Alex on the roof of The Peabody. See the attitude I was already getting? If they would just smile without me having to beg, it would make all of our lives much easier. Bottom right: The ballroom that I think we should have Alex's wedding reception in. Bottom middle: The view of the Mississippi River from the rooftop. Bottom left: The Peabody sign on the roof. Left middle: The magical ducks.

We saw some beautiful views while walking around Memphis. It looks like they are really working on the image in this city and parts of it reminded me of Savannah or Charleston. Top left: A railroad bed in Mississippi on the way to the reenactment. Top middle: The first time Alex had ever seen the Mississippi River - and I think only my 2nd time (if you don't count from an airplane). Top right: Beautiful park along the Mississippi River with the bridge to Arkansas in the background. Right middle: Another view of the park and river and Grumpy, I mean Tony, getting his picture made. The two bottom pictures are in a nice gated community that I'm not completely certain we were supposed to be in. We were walking on the trail by the river when it ended at a gate. We didn't want to turn around and backtrack the whole thing so we went through the gate which opened up to this beautiful square. It was filled with this fountain, gorgeous houses, and beautiful landscaping. Finally, though, we found another gate leading us back out into the real world, where we made our way back to downtown Memphis, our truck, and eventually our hotel.

Those Lucky Ducks

Last weekend Anthony had a Civil War Re-Enactment in Michigan City, MS. 7 hours away. On Thursday and Friday the battles weren't open to the public so we had to find something to do. Since we had hotel reservations in Germantown, we planned to spend the day seeing the sites in Memphis. (We found, though, that there aren't too many sites to see in Memphis...). We didn't go to Graceland because the tickets were so expensive. Thirty dollars each expensive. And you can't even go upstairs. And quite frankly, we grew up in 70's houses with shag carpet and olive green and harvest gold potties. I mean fixtures. It would have cost 90 dollars for us to walk through the downstairs of his home. That just doesn't seem like good economics to me.

We (I) had one destination in Memphis that I wanted to go to. And it was free. I love free. As soon as I knew we were gonna be in West Tennessee I had visions of ducks. Peabody Ducks. We got to the Peabody Hotel at 10:30 a.m. to get a good seat, a "bird's eye view" you might say... (Sorry, had to throw that in there). And we did. We got there in time to get good spots about halfway between the elevator and the beautiful fountain the ducks spend their days in.

Before the ducks make their trek to the marble fountain, the "Duckmaster" tells a little history of how this particular event came about.

"In 1933, Frank Schutt, the hotel's general manager at the time, and a few hunting companions returned to the hotel after a duck hunting trip. They had used live duck decoys (a practice that is no longer legal) and brought these tame ducks back with them. After an unknown number of rounds of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey, they decided it would be a funny prank to release their live ducks in the hotel's fountain before retiring for the night. It proved to be such a hit with hotel guests, the ducks became a permanent feature." Read more: How to Visit the Peabody Duck March in Memphis eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4499351_visit-peabody-duck-march-memphis.html#ixzz15YoDDTZB

So, it appears that a bunch of drunk duck hunters thought it would be funny to put live ducks in the fountain. The next morning when they woke up the ducks were still there. Along with a very large crowd. As any good business owner knows, crowds are great. So the ducks stayed. And 77 years later the crowds are still there, too.

The first thing they did was roll out the red carpet.

The ducks live on the roof of The Peabody. Every day at 11 a.m., the duckmaster leads the highly trained ducks from their home on the roof, onto the elevator, down to the lobby, across the red carpet, and into their nice, marble fountain.

I was completely ready to get some pictures of these ducks. I had Alex armed with the video camera and I was sitting down on the floor in the kids area so that I could get good, close up pictures. The music started playing, the elevator doors opened, and these ducks sprinted to the fountain. I got one picture. Of their back side. They were moving so fast my camera didn't have time to focus. Who knew they would be running? Since then, I have watched many videos on YouTube and in not one other video were the ducks running. Only when we're there and I have my camera ready. So, here's a picture of their back sides. That's all I got.

The Peabody Hotel is absolutely beautiful. I wonder what happened to the craftsmanship that our country experienced in those earlier years? Everyone took such pride in their work and the hotels were truly showplaces.

Now, when I see ducks inside a beautiful building, swimming in a beautiful fountain, walking across beautiful floors I can't help but wonder about the poop. Cuz I know about duck poop. Which is a lot like chicken poop but bigger. And they do poop. Wherever they feel like it. All these people sitting at tables right around the fountain don't appear to be worried about the duck poop. Surely. Surely I'm not the only one. The ducks cannot be that highly trained. Can you imagine how nasty the water is in that fountain? There are five ducks in it for six hours a day and they can't get out cuz their wings have been clipped. Ewww...

If their wings hadn't been clipped they would be flying all over this lobby and there would be duck poop EVERYWHERE.

Which I am pretty sure is why the tiles on the fountain floor are all different colors. Different colored tiles can hide lots of different colored things.

This is the duck palace on the roof of The Peabody. They have a miniature hotel to sleep in and another fountain to play in. In reading about The Peabody Ducks, I learned that they only work for three months then they are retired to a farm where they spend the rest of their lives in luxury.

Since I can't figure out how to get our YouTube videos on here, I think you can click on this link and it will take you to our video to watch. It's really short but you have to watch all the way to the end so you can hear Alex's comment. She's a very patient girl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18zbV_bmiXk

Boys Are Gross

Every year, my family goes to West Virginia for Labor Day. The cabin we stay in is on the creek, and creeks as we know, can offer hours, and hours, AND HOURS of entertainment. It's the goal of two particular boys/teenagers to catch and eat as many of the critters in that creek that they possibly can. Papaw offers lunker awards for the biggest fish caught, and they do spend lots of time fishing. And after they have wreaked their havoc on the fish population, their attention always turns to these nasty bottom dwellers.

Catching lots of crawdads can work up quite the appetite. And since these two particular boys/teenagers have "grand" appetites and a "grand"mother present, they're in luck. They would be in sore shape if they had to rely on their mothers to prepare this fine delicacy for them. Their grandmother knows all the tricks, like "purging" the crawdads. If you put salt in your bright yellow beach sand bucket full of bottom dwellers, you can force them to perform some not so desirable body functions. Which makes for some NASTY water, but quite clean crawdads.


Next, you bring a large pot of water to a boil and place those poor, purged crawdads in it.

I think there's a certain amount of time that you boil crawdads but only grandmothers know that magic number. So, for our purposes, when they turn bright red they're done.

Then you drain the water.

Admire your handiwork.

And divvy up.

There's an art to eating crawdads but I'm sure we don't know it. These precious boys get the meat out using a combination of the lobster/crab legs technique.

They are all brave when these critters are dead. Next year, boys, I want you to try this when they're alive. Then we'll see how brave you are.

They think this is the best meal of the weekend.

Probably because they don't have to share.

We Love Halloween

WE LOVE HALLOWEEN! There are many families who don't believe in celebrating Halloween and we are definitely not one of them. We LOVE Halloween. Not because of devilry, spooks, ghosts, or haunted houses - my kids never knew that side of Halloween or the controversiality of it. They knew Halloween as family and candy and dressing up. When they were younger. Now, they know Halloween as rolling yards and the usual teenage trickery.

We lived in a very rural area when I was growing up. We live in the same area now, it's just not quite as rural as it was 30 years ago. We didn't live in a subdivision, and really there weren't any subdivisions nearby to trick or treat in. All of our Halloweens were spent in a car full of kids in plastic costumes with plastic masks that got all wet inside from our warm breath on a cool night. We jumped in and out of the car, ran to the door, got our candy, and ran back to the car. On the way to and from the door, we would run into our cousins and other friends doing the same thing. We always spent a little extra time at our grandmother's house, and our aunts and uncles. They always made us feel like their night wasn't complete until we showed up.

When we got home, we dumped all our candy out on the dining room table and took a deep whiff of that "Halloween candy aroma." We checked it for razor blades, any open candy, or candy that looked like it had been tampered with, (cuz you know we had all heard those stories and we did NOT want to be the one that bit into the apple and found a razor blade). Once all the safety checks had been done the trading began. The candy was sorted out in piles and we traded milk duds for Now and Laters, Mounds for Almond Joy, and counted how many Reece's cups we got. You had to count them so you would know if someone was sneaking into your candy - MOM!

Anthony's first Halloween he was a lion - Simba. We went to Auntie Charkie's and she had gotten him a book. And they sat down and read it. We also got a picture of him and Dot Dot.

On Alex's first Halloween, Anthony wanted to be a fish. A fish! They don't have many/ANY fish costumes at Wal-Mart. I made a fish out of a cardboard box and my mom went along with us and dressed up like a fisherman. Alex was a clown so I dressed up like a clown with her. This picture was taken at Aunt Lib's house.

I don't know where Anthony got his ideas for costumes, but this year (1998), he wanted to be a robber. This is my grandmother giving them their candy, and apparently Anthony was getting more candy than Alex, or better candy, or probably she was just mad that he was getting any candy at all! She was already showing signs of bossiness. If we only knew... Look at poor Anthony. He was so good at ignoring her. I wish he was good at ignoring her now!

Anthony's robber costume.

Alex as a princess bride with my grandmother, and Anthony as a spider. As much as he hates spiders now, it's hard to believe this is what he wanted to be.

Alex as a princess bride again. She is wearing the dress that the flower girl wore in my wedding! And Anthony was a pirate. I have no idea how old they were in this picture. I'm thinking 4 and 6? Maybe. This was at my grandmother's after she moved back to the farm.

On this Halloween, Anthony wanted to be a Civil War drummer boy, which was in second grade. I think. That's when he was reading the The Magic Treehouse books, which had a picture of a little drummer boy on the front. They also don't have Civil War drummer boy costumes at Wal-Mart, and since I can't make costumes that aren't cardboard, we had to call in reinforcements. Dot Dot made this one for him. And Alex? At least I think that's Alex. I was afraid she would scare herself with this one but she didn't. We did have one year when Anthony had to buy a grim reaper costume for a play at church. It came with the black hooded cape and some really evil looking glasses. He put it on and looked at himself in the mirror and he really did scare himself. He wouldn't wear it anymore, and when he had to wear it for the play, he just stayed away from mirrors.

I think from drummer boy on, Anthony remained a soldier. Every year. Alex's ranged from basketball players, softball players, Hannah Montana, and a few more princesses.

One year our family was on a Little House on the Prairie kick. Dot Dot made Alex this amazing Laura dress and Anthony was... believe it or not, a soldier.

One thing remained the same from one Halloween to the next. They had a mental list of the houses we had to go to. Aunt Wilma's, Aunt Lib's, Mammy's, Momou's, Charkie's, Dot Dot's, Iva, and Terry's. We also went to Miss Paula's, Linda's, and Sally's. I am so thankful that this year, 2005, I decided to take pictures. I got a picture of them with Aunt Lib and Aunt Wilma. I'm so glad to have these pictures.



Now, see why we LOVE Halloween.