Merry Christmas Ya"ll

Courtney and her family are here and we are enjoying having them with us. Here we are with her two youngest, Z and I. E and M are the camera men for us tonight. Those guys will do anything to put off going to bed, including watching Strawberry Shortcake with their little sister! I put "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" on my MP3 player for their bedtime music and they got a giggle over that. They saw real reindeer on their way here from Lubbock and have pictures to prove it. I'm sure Courtney will post them on her blog.
My Christmas gift from my dear husband is finished and I am so proud. He painted our bedroom and I'm loving it! The color is crocodile tears. I have been looking forward to getting this done for a long time. I'm already contemplating what room I am going to have him paint next year. That's Kitty in the chair, our very naughty, but entertaining roomate. I have the turkey out of the freezer and lots of very excited and curious little folks all around and it really is a most wonderful time of the year. We miss our oldest daughter, Jenny and her family, but their move to Montgomery, Alabama went well and they are all happy and well in their new home and we are looking forward to seeing them soon. We are so grateful for all our blessings and most of all for God's gift of his son who brought us forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Christmas at the River

We took a couple of grandchildren to the river walk tonight. It was our first time to walk during Christmas,and it is so much nicer to walk than drive through. We even saw a Great Blue Heron! He was gorgeous. The ducks were in fine form,too. I love our river. I think it is the nicest one in Texas..so much nicer than that one south of us! You can find something different to do down there every day.

Go about 5:30, before it gets too dark and cold and you will be amazed! There are lots of people walking at that time and not many cars.

Twelve drummers drumming here.
Everything looks so much different and more dramatic at the river night.
I saw things I had never noticed before. And the skaters stay until after dark,too! Shhh...I'm not sure this is legal.

Yesterday, I took these boys to the park. I had on some pants that didn't have pockets so I put my keys in a handy place that ladies have while we were playing. When it was time to go home, I couldn't find them. My search for them was not a pretty picture. I hope no one was looking.I was pretty scared, with no phone and two babies. After looking around the park on the ground, I decided to go ahead to the car and see if I had locked them inside. They were not inside, but they were under the car by the back seat. I think my angels were doing a good job. Thank you.

It's my birthday

Yes, number 62. I wanted to write something wise, but nothing comes to mind. I also wanted to include my favorite picture of myself. It's not too current, but I made sure all my kids have this picture hanging in a prominent place in their homes. (the bathroom is a prominent place, right?) Of course none of my grandchildren recognize Granny. I overheard one of my daughters explaining that picture was Granny. The child looked at his mother as if to say, "Yeah, right."

I did find a nice poem that I can share with you:

The Mirror For Her

I look in the mirror and what do I see,

Good grief there's an old person looking at me!
She must have snuck in there and taken my place!

what has she done to my face?
She's got it all wrinkled,

so different to me,

When I think of myself that is not what I see.
I don't understand it,

Oh what has she done,

Oh wait, now I see it,

that lady's my mum!

And a song...sing to the tune of My Favorite Things
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,

Bundles of magazines tied up in string,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses,

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets, and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no fear of sinnin,

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinin,

And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,

When we remember our favorite things.

when the joints ache, when the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,

Then I remember the great life I've had,

And then I don't feel so bad.

And then I found a few quotes:

Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked.

I like this one...I do find many more things amusing these days.

The dead might as well try to speak to the living as the old to the young.

I think that one is about giving advice. I find most people don't want my advice, young, old or dead and I try really hard not to give much.

How pleasant is the day when we give up striving to be young -- or slender.

Ahhh...now that is my favorite!

The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children.

I know that one is true for some, but thankfully not for me.

Just one more:

No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.

I'm watching!

Happy Birthday, Grandson

Hey,
Birthday
Boy,
Who's your friend? Hope you are having a fun day.We love you. Granny and Papa

Happy Birthday

"Doctor, I seem to get heartburn whenever I eat birthday cake."

"Have you tried removing the candles first?"




Today is the Tenth Birthday of one of my ten cute, smart, funny and beloved grandchildren. Hope you are having a wonderful day and have many, many more happy birthdays. I love you!

More stuff that I think about because of old photographs

I call this "The Picture"of Mama and Daddy. I found it after Mama died in her box of pictures. I had never seen it before. Written on the back: Carlton Pitts Eileen Hall. So it was taken before they were married. The handwriting is not familiar. I don’t know who the photographer could have been, or where they were, but it is amazing. They were so much in love and comitted to each other thoroughout their more than forty years of marriage. This looks like a picture of them in heaven to me. I love to think of them together there. I am so grateful for their legacy of a happy marriage full of love, commitment and sweet companionship.

God values our character more than our comfort, often using the very elements that cause us the most discomfort as his tools in creating that character. Our relationship gains strength when it is stretched to the breaking point and does not break.
Sometimes it appears that God had set us loose down here, alone admist the evil powers. We feel the same impatience over the slow, unspectacular work of the Holy Spirit as Jews felt over Jesus, the Messiah, who did not provide the kind of triumphant rescue they wanted. Marriage, like every relationship requires that we forgive daily, the one who caused the wounds that keep us from wholeness. Our wounds are the very things God uses in His service. By harboring blame for those who caused them, we delay the act of redemption that can give the wounds worth and value, and ultimately healing.

For those pragmatics among us

Who like to have faces in their pictures:

Here they are, the beautiful, young faces of my Mama and Daddy and a very young, yours truly.

From I Corinthians 13:

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Doesn't force itself on others,

Isn't always "me first,"

Doesn't fly off the handle,

Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,

Love does not get irritated or exasperated with the character deficencies of others.

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.

Ankle Biters, Purpose and Scrapbooking

Sometimes, I feel defensive about scrapbooking. On the surface, it looks like a waste of time and money. But this week, once more, God used a picture to remind me of my purpose. This picture is Jenny and Basil and Tiger. One night, I was sitting in the living room, minding my own business and Basil was "playing" with Tiger. Actually, he was irritating the heck out of him. Tiger finally got enough and got up and left the room, but on the way out, he stopped by and bit me on the ankle.

Now, I don’t know about you, but that was not the first or the last time someone bit me on the ankle. It happened to me, again this week. When that happens, it is tempting to bite back or find someone else lower down the chain to bite.

Don’t let the ankle biters distract you from your purpose.

My purpose is really simple. I got it from this scripture.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.' Matthew 25:35-40 (The Message)
I don’t even try to do the whole scripture. I haven’t visited anyone in prison yet or given a homeless person a room. But I get a chance at my place of employment to visit the sick, give them water, a warm blanket and feed them. And my reward has been entering into His kingdom of peace, joy, forgiveness and hope. On top of that....I get a paycheck! God is good and He hasn't given up on me.... or you.

More on Expiration Dates

It seems many of my friends were skeptical about the contents of my refrigerator and my character deficit regarding expiration dates. I assure you, every word was true with no exagerations. Since I busted myself, however, this may not continue to be a problem at our house. It seems Allister has help keeping us free of expired products in our home. Last night, Wendy and her family came to enjoy a delcious birthday dinner, prepared by me, (well, OK, the cheese cake was prepared by Mrs. Smith) including sirloin steak, twice baked potatoes and grilled asparagus. Wendy looked over the steak sauce, picked up this one and said, "Hmmm, I better check the expiration date." You guessed it...it was expired: September 2007. That's hardly expired at all in my estimation, but it's gone now.

A Poem for Wendy's Birthday

A Cradle Song

The angels are stooping
Above your bed;
They weary of trooping
With the whimpering dead.
God's laughing in Heaven
To see you so good;
The Sailing Seven
Are gay with His mood.
I sigh that kiss you,
For I must own
That I shall miss you
When you have grown.
William Butler Yeats

Daddy

Today is my daddy's birthday. He always had a big smile just like this one for everyone. He was patient,kind and loving. I loved him very much. I wonder if birthday's are celebrated in heaven.

This photo of Daddy and me right before my graduation from nursing school made me think of a letter to the editor that was in our local newspaper last week. Someone was concerned about MRSA staph and thought that nurses should wear white again,instead of colored scrubs so the germs would show up on our uniforms.

An adventure on the River

Monday, Basil, M and E took a trip on our downtown river, which is looking more and more beautiful these days. It is a wonderful place to walk and get outdoors and see families enjoying each other and God's creation. Z and I stood on the bank waiting for disaster, but their trip was uneventful except for lots of laughter. We have some critters in this river called Nutria. They are huge rats and are very unattractive, but probably harmless. They did not show up, however, and the boaters only had ducks and fish for companions.

Courtney and Z

Z and E made scrapbooks this weekend. E made one about his week with us in New Mexico in October and Z looked through my old photos and found enough photos of flowers to fill this little scrapbook. She only wanted flowers in her book and only certain flowers. She eliminated all flowers that she classified as "weird". This is a little album is a gift I bought for my mother when I found out I was pregnant with our first daughter, Jenny. On the front is : SOG with PIP. That stands for silly old grandmother with pictures in purse. Isn't it great that we have blogs for silly old grandmothers now!

Z and Iz are Two

We also had a little birthday party for Z and Iz. Their birthdays are October 1 and October 27. Wendy made them a race track cake. I calls Z "Wane". "No, No, Wane", he yells as Z heads toward the street. These two guys are nuts about Papa. Iz found this photo of him and Papa in my stash and took it home with him.

Our Weekend with Courtney and her family

Courtney and her family came to visit this weekend. I planned to have an early Thanksgiving on Saturday but I set the oven on fire trying to cook a turkey. I think I forgot to put holes in the turkey bag and the juice leaked out on the bottom of the oven. It was only a small fire, though and I got my oven cleaned by M the next day. The turkey didn't get done in time for supper but we had it on Sunday. I had lots of help in the kitchen this weekend. E cleaned all my cabinets with Murphy's Oil and the refrigerator police,aka, Allister checked my expiration dates and threw away 5 jars of mayonnaise. He even found another expired jar in my pantry, never opened. I don't pay much attention to expiration dates. To me, they just mean the company wants me to buy something new, but I do see how old mayonnaise could cause a problem and I am glad to have it all out of the fridge. I never use it anyway, I only use fat free mayonnaise: one of my many attempts to convince myself I am trying to cook and eat healthy. Allister has also checked the expiration dates on the medications in my bathroom in the past. He found some real treasures in there... some stuff that had expired before he was born. Be prepared for his favorite question if he ever comes to visit you: "How long has this stuff been in here?"