Mrs. C's 90th Birthday Party

Miriam Crutchfield, a very close friend of my Mom's, turned 90 today! She is the one many of you have heard me speak of in recent months. It was her family of 6 that lived next door to our family of 5 when I was growing up in the Morningside area. Her daughter,Judy, and I were good friends, and her daughter,Joan, was good friends with my sisters. The really neat thing, though, is that after all these years, Mrs. C and my Mom have become neighbors again. They are both at King's Bridge retirement building and live right next door to each other. All their children are thrilled! Today, thanks to Judy, Joan, Bob, and Jeanine, we were able to celebrate her Birthday in style at King's Bridge. Many others came out to wish her well on this momenteous occasion. Happy Birthday--and many more!

Chinese New Year with Will and Abby

Today was a busy day, but one of those "Memory-Making" days. First, we went to Atlanta Chinese Culture Center in Chamblee for their Year of the Ox Festival. As most of you know, our two older grandchildren are adopted from China. The purpose for our attending this event, of course, was exposure to their culture. Abby seemed to really get into everything she saw, but Will wasn't nearly as impressed. He announced at one point that he was only here because "my parents made me come". I, on the other hand, was thoroughly intrigued! There were dragon dances, drum performances,authentic Chinese foods, and the cutest Chinese children performing typical Chinese dance.

Here It Is--We Got It! ( Ralph's list)

This blog actually belongs to "The Pressleys" - both Nancy and Ralph. So, I really wanted to post Ralph's list of random things, too. Remember, he is a typical male-giving the facts only. You can probably guess at which point I stepped in and encouraged him to express his feeling( hint: the numbers after #20). So, here they
are!

1. I was born in Augusta, GA in 1942 and lived in North Augusta, SC, until 1946.
2. In 1946 we moved to Hephzibah, GA where we lived until 1956.
3. My parents both worked and I spent a lot of time on the farm with my grandparents. I could stay on the
tractor plowing or cutting wheat, etc all day and loved it.
4. My family moved to Atlanta in 1956 when my brother was 6 weeks old and I was 14.
5. I lived in the Virginia Highlands area (Rosedale RD) and graduated from Druid Hills High School.
6. I went to work for C & S bank in 1961, after high school, and went to John Marshall Law School at
night.
7. In 1963, I joined the Army Reserves and went to Columbia, SC for 6 month’s training- then was in the
reserves for 5 ½ years.
8. After my reserve training, I came back and worked at the bank until 1965.
9. In the fall of 1965, I went to work for Continental Insurance Co. as an underwriter.
10. In 1966, I married my childhood sweetheart, Nancy. We met at Morningside Baptist- our families
were friends and we started dating when she was 14 and I was 18.
11. In 1969, I went to work for my Dad in the Church financing business.
12. Our daughter, Beth, was born in 1970.
13. Then, our second child, Amy, was born in 1972.
14. My Dad and I closed the Church financing business in 1977, and I started selling real estate.
15. In 1979, I went to work for the Georgia RR, handling their real estate. The Ga. RR became part of
CSX in 1982.
16. In 1984, I transferred to Jacksonville, FL—it was the best thing that ever happened to us! We had
four great years there.
17. In 1988, we were transferred back to Atlanta.
18. This is the best time of my life- I love being a “Poppy”!
19. It was a very special day, March 3rd 2001, when after waiting forever it seemed, we found out that
Beth and David were going to be able to adopt a little boy from China ( Will )
20. Then, two years later, we were blessed when Amy had a little boy, Evan. At the same time,
Beth and David were headed back to China to adopt a little girl, Abby.
21. The last of our little blessings came along a couple of years later, when our little Pressley was born.
22. I am so thankful that our church is now what we have prayed for many years it would become- a
church that loves the Lord and wants to make sure we tell everyone about HIM, and see them come
to know HIM as we do, so that they too may have eternal life.
23. I am one of the few people that I know that is still working at 66 1/2 years old. I like what I do and
Enjoy the people with whom I work, both inside the company and outside clients. I am considering
Retiring later this year, but I have very mixed emotions about it.
24. I have a reputation for being a “big talker”—but my # 1 strength ( in the Gallop Strengths ) is WOO, so
what do they expect!
25. I enjoy playing golf, although I’m not really great at it.

25 Random Things About Me

Since I want to use my blog as a modified journal, I decided to post these "25 things about me" that I did on Facebook. It took a lot of thought, so I wanted to share them here also. Ralph also did a list, but we haven't figured out how to get them transfered. When we work that out, we'll share it, too.
P.S. You probably didn't really want to know this much, did you?

1. I was born in Savannah, GA, as were both my Mom and Dad and my sisters. We moved to Atlanta when I was 8 years old.
2. I have been the only left-handed person in my family-until now. Our youngest grandchild, Pressley, is a "lefty", too.
3. I have always been quite shy, but few of my friends believe that--which pleases me, since I have tried all my life to overcome it.
4. I went to Grady HS here in Atlanta, where I was in a " social club" called the SNAPS. Some of us have kept in touch through the years, but others I have reconnected with through Facebook.
5. Learning has always been something I enjoy, and deepening my relationship with God has been so important, too. Therefore, I have participated in many Bible Studies and truly love them. My favorites are Beth Moore studies, and I have completed all the studies in BSF.
6. One of the saddest times in my life was in 1991, when one of my twin-sisters, Debbie, was killed in an auto accident. Her son was hurt badly, but we are so grateful that he was spared.
7. We lived in Jacksonville, FL in the 80's and, most of the time, felt like it was an extended vacation. We met so many wonderful people there, and still see several of them at least once or twice a year.
8. My husband and I met when I was 8 and he was 14. Our parents were good friends, so Ralph "baby-sat" for my sisters and me while our parents went out.
9. My profession was in X-Ray Technology. I trained at Grady Hospital and worked for a Radiologist in Mid-town for several years, then worked for a group of Radiologists on Montreal Rd.
10. Once, when I was a 1st year student, I almost dumped a patient into the floor. The foot-pedal malfunctioned, and had I not scooped her off the table into my arms, she would have been in a heap on the floor!
11. I have always loved being a Mom, but being a grandmother is like "icing on a cake"!
12. I have 4 of the smartest, cutest and sweetest grandchildren in the world. Amy has a boy and a girl, and so does Beth.
13. Two of our precious grandchilren are adopted from China. They are so special-and we couldn't love them any more if they were our biological grandchildren.
14. Both of my daughters have had major medical issues and God has protected them all the way!
15. I never really enjoyed reading until the past 10 or 15 years, but now I love it.
16. Karen Kingsbury, Terri Blackstock, and Beverly Lewis are some of my favorite authors.
17. My favorite vacation was when Ralph and I went to Maui and spent 10 days. We went sight-seeing every other day, and relaxed and read by the pool on the other days. It was fantastic!
18. Our famiily goes on vacation together every summer to the beach. This includes both daughters and their families and my Mom-11 of us.
19. I have been Scrapbooking for several years, but now I have discovered online Scrapbooking and love it. The books are so neat and take up so much less space.
20. I am constantly searching for new, fun, and educational things to do with our grandchildren.
21. Since I am basically shy, I have learned to focus more on God and on others. That way, I feel less self concious.
22. I love to watch Figure Skating and Gymnastics--especially at the Olympics.
23. Every summer recently, we have taken each grandchild on a trip with us by themselves. They seem to love it and so do we!
24 I love the beach--even though I don't like being seen in a swimsuit.
25. I am really looking forward to Ralph retiring---whenever that will be. With the economic downturn, it may not be as soon as we had planned!

2008 Shutterfly Book- June Thru December

I've been working on this Shutterfly book for the past couple of weeks, so I thought you might like a look at it. Ralph was looking at something on Shutterfly tonight and saw that we could add it to the blog. I had no idea that we could do that. Anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy!

Shared photo book from Ralph:

View Project at Shutterfly