A Referral Suggestion

Just a short post today, but I thought you might enjoy seeing Amy's most recent blog, entitled " A Little Gem". You might remember that, in my last blog, I mentioned Abby's little song about her grandparents' love. Well, Amy didn't capture that particular song --but she did get a couple by Abby and Pressley on video that same evening. Just go to Amy's blog address:http://amypmccarthy.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!

Group Hugs and Lots of Love

Last night, we had another evening of family fun. Last Tuesday was Beth's birthday, and tomorrow is David's, so we celebrated their birthdays the weekend between. Longhorn is one of their favorite restuarants, so we all met there for dinner. Pressley and Abby love each other so much that wherever we are, they immediately have to sit together. Aren't they precious!

We had a great dinner, and the kids especially liked having their own table behind the "grown-up" table. This allowed for some good adult conversation for us, but there was a limit to how long they could be expected to keep the noise level down! When the people around them started looking around to see who these children belonged to, we knew it was time to adjorn to a less public place. I had brought the Birthday Cake to Longhorns, but we decided to go to Beth & David's instead. While we were getting everything together, Corin took the kids outside. To their delight, they found this colorful "Longhorn" to play on.....

Back at Beth & David's house, the girls are sitting patiently waiting for their cake and ice cream!

(By the way, there is no picture of the "birthday couple". We took only one, and Beth would probably shoot me if I posted it, since her eyes were closed.)

Don't they look sweet and innocent? These precious angels could never have caused a disturbance at the restuarant-Right??

Well, as I said, they love each other dearly. Before any evening is over they can be seen sharing a great big "group hug".....

Uuh, oh! The group hug is crumbling.....

And the group hug crashed!!!!

As you can probably see, we have a blast together! And these children bring so much joy to our lives! Last week when we were together, Abby started singing a song about how much her grandparents loved her. She was making it up as she went along, but what a thrill it was to Ralph and me to see how confident she is of our love. The greatest desire of my life is to make sure that each of them knows( without a doubt ) that their heavenly Father loves them unconditionally--and so do we!

"Back to My Roots" Trip to Savannah

Some 60+ years ago, I was born in this gorgeous coastal city- Savannah, GA. Earlier this week, Ralph and I had an opportunity to spend a couple of days down there. Before Ralph retired from CSX, we made frequent trips to Savannah. Now, however, we are extremely excited when chances come along to return to one of our favorite cities. Ralph's previous boss asked him to join him there to familiarize him with the CSX properties in Savannah. Because we realized that we wouldn't be getting back often, I decided to take a trip "down memory lane". This is the view we had from the balcony of our hotel. My mind went back to the many times that my Dad took my sisters and me for a ride along the river front while our Mom shopped in the downtown department stores along Broughton Street, just a few blocks away. He went into great detail about the history of our city and the previous uses of the old warehouses along the river. Even at that time, most of the string of warehouses was like a ghost town.

I also have memories of "Captain Clark", a neighbor down the street from us, who was a retired

bar pilot(who met the huge ships as they came into the mouth of the river, and helped them navigate). He was like another grandfather to me, and I spent many hours at his house listening to classical music( thus, my love of all kinds of music today).

Below, is the school which sat directly across from my maternal grandparents' home. The vacant lot between the school and the camera is where their home was located. I remember it as being very large, but was somewhat surprised a few years ago(before it was demolished) to see that it was much smaller than I remembered it to be. My Mother and all of her sisters attended school here.

Above is the former home of my paternal grandparents. It is in Ardsley Park, and still looks very much like it did all those years ago.

We didn't get to this building until after dark, but this is where my Dad worked from the time I was born, until 1955, when we moved to Atlanta. It was the Atlantic Coastline Railroad Building, and the railroad yard was behind it.

My family (including both sets of grandparents ) were members of First Baptist Savannah. I remember singing in that sanctuary as a "primary", and also remember singing "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" with the entire congregation at my grandfather's funeral. I also remember my Dad complaining about how LOUD the organist played that huge organ!

Here is the "new" Talmadge Bridge, but it didn't always look like that! The old bridge used to make a humming sound when your car went across. My little cousin used to say "I sing, I sing" everytime we headed across it- going to Hilton Head. Speaking of Hilton Head, when we used to get to the island, we didn't just go across the bridge onto the island. We had to wait for the ferry. And you didn't stay on the island very late in the evening--or you would miss the last ferry.

Well, so much for all my reminiscing! I'm sure it really reveals how very OLD I am!!! But, It was fun!

Briarlake's 50th Anniversary Celebration!

This past weekend was a glorious one! We had the priviledge of being a part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Briarlake Baptist Church. Briarlake was constituted in 1959 by a handful of dedicated men and women whose desire it was to share Christ with their community. Briarlake began as a mission church of Clairmont Hills Baptist and called Pastor Hoffman Harris as their first pastor. Ralph and I were married at Morningside Baptist in 1966, but joined Briarlake in 1968- before having either one of our girls. Other than the four years we lived in Jacksonville, FL, we have been there ever since. It seems amazing that we could be already celebrating 50 years! Above and below are some of the decorations for the two receptions that were held in order for people to fellowship with each other.

Saturday evening there was a wonderful Anniversary Concert. The full choir and orchestra consisted of people who had been a part of each, over the years. Both of our girls participated, and in the photo below, they are singing a duet. Of course, Ralph and I were very proud of them and so humbled to think of all the people at Briarlake who, through the years, have had such an impact upon their lives.

In the next picture, Inman Houston, the son of our close friends, George and Jeanne Houston, is singing. Inman sang in the weddings of each of our girls, and is now the Pastor of First Baptist in Lawreneville, GA.

We had receptions on Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning. It was so much fun seeing so many from the past. Below, is Inman's wife, April, their younger son, and Molly Painter Moore, who has been a friend of Amy's for many years.

Three of these four are no longer at Briarlake, so it was great seeing them again! Below, from left to right are Marian Fairchild, David Fairchild, Lynn Sexton and Joy Roper.

Briarlake is installing a new outside baptistry. We had hoped to have it complete in time for the anniversary, but it was delayed. Construction has already begun, but a portable baptistry was brought in for the day. Below, Tommy Ferrell, our Pastor, is baptising a child who recently professed her faith in Christ.

Below, is Pastor Harris and Norman Smith "catching up" on old times.

David Ethridge, our maintenance superintendant, is greeting "old members", Lanelle and Riley Frost.

The "icing on the cake" was when David Platt preached the sermon on Sunday morning! What a powerful sermon! David's mom has been our pianist for years and has just recently retired. David grew up at Briarlake and said it was a challenge speaking to a congregation full of folks who had changed his diapers! What a treat it was to hear him preach, though! He is now pastor of The Church at Brook Hill in Birmingham, AL.

On Sunday, also , we got to see another "old friend", Charlene Miller. It was wonderful seeing her and her daughter, Ashley.

Here is Jackie Fuller, and her daughter, Theresa.

This is Amy's friend, Stacy Sullivan, her girls, and our little Pressley......

Last, but not least, is some of the Platt family. Julie, David's mother, and Amy, David's sister, are holding Lily, Leah and Lydia (Steve Platt's children), and the little boy, Caleb, is one of David's two boys.

I know this was a long blog, but I had such a hard time deciding which photos to use. They all are very special. We really had such a glorious time!

The Boys' Day Trip

Yesterday, we followed through with our promised " Boys' Day Trip ". Beth had reminded us the other day that this trip wouldn't be nearly as easy as the girls' trip. Boy, was she right!!! It was not the fault of the boys, however. It was because of the activities we chose to do. Doesn't " tubing the Chattahoochee sound easy? I thought it was going to be a lazy little trip down the river, but, Oh NO!!! I've never worked so hard in all my life! In the above picture, the boys are strapping up for the adventure. Little did we know what lay ahead! Below, it looks real easy, huh???

This tree should have given us a subtle hint! My shoe is probably on display now with all these others!

Had it not been for this brave G-baby, I may have lost more than one shoe! The floating came to an end soon, because most places were very shallow and we got stuck on the rocks A LOT!

When the boys had to get out to get us unstuck, they enjoyed playing with the many rocks that were available to them. This picture, however, was not taken on the journey, but at the end---after they had taken off their life jackets.

After such an adventure, the boys needed a treat. We found a neat little ice cream shop and they really got into their ice cream cones!

Will and Evan......

They thought their gummy-bear toppings were " the Best ".

This putt-putt course was right next to the ice cream shop, so natually, we HAD to try it out!

This was a beautifully manicured course, but it was so hot yesterday. They did have several benches in the shade to rest on and cool off.

There was also a lovely little arbor. It was very inviting!

All in all, it was a great day--one that we'll cherish for years. I have decided, however, that the tubing should probably be left to the guys-- and "push sticks" ( which were available for purchase) are a necessity.

A 98th Birthday Weekend!

This weekend was one of those special ones that seldom occures in families. My aunt (my Mother's sister ) reached the milestone of 98 years old! As many of the family members as possible traveled to Ozark, AL to celebrate the momentous occasion. The picture above shows my Mother, my cousin, Diane ( who hosted the event ) and another cousin's wife, Eloise. As we arrived in town on Friday evening, we all met at their local Applebee's to eat and get reaquainted. The picture below is my Mother and cousin greeting my aunt, Cler.

This is my cousin, Bill, and his wife and my cousin, Martin, and his wife, Sister. They are all so much fun and we had never met either of the wives. We immediately fell in love with them.

Bill's daughter, Cler, is a nurse and she is so good with her grandmother, my Mother, and her other grandmother ( who is critically ill with cancer ).

Below is my cousin, Martin, and his wife, Sister. He is the son of my Mother's sister, Josie. I have always thought so much of Martin and was so excited about meeting his lovely, talented wife.

On Saturday, we all spent the day at Diane and Charles' house. Here are the matriarchs of the family >

Below are my cousin, Babs, my Mom, and Sister.

These are the girl cousins of my generation who were there.

Here are my generation of cousins

My sister, Lynn, and Cler enjoyed getting to know each other better.

Outside at Diane's house, we took different groupings of the family. This first one is of Cler and Mother with all the cousins of my generation( with spouses ).

This one is of Cler and Mother with everyone who attended ( all generations ).

This next one is of Cler, Mother, and all of Cler's children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. There are many more who couldn't attend.

This one is of Mother, Arthur and Lynn, and Nancy and Ralph. ( Cler was the only sister who had grandchildren and great-grandchildren there). No one's house could accomodate that many!

Next, is my Aunt Alice's family with Cler and Mother. This is Mike and Carolyn, and Greg and Babs. Their sister, Margie, could not be there.

Next, is my Aunt Josie's son, Martin, and his wife, Sister. Martin has a sister, Elise, who could not be there.

Again, my generation.....

and the next generation.....

The birthday cake......

Everyone singing " Happy Birthday "

"And many more"!!!!! Happy Birthday, Cler!!!! We love you!!!!