Thanksgiving with Family-2008

How can we ever thank God enough for all He's done for our family? He's brought us through so many difficult times but, through it all, He's been extremely faithful! So, as you can imagine ,we were very humbled this Thanksgiving as we shared in the food, fun, and fellowship. The grandchildren love being together, and the fact that nobody had to take a nap this year made it all the more exciting!

Trick or Treatin' Kids

Pressley (Fairy Princess)

and Evan (Ninja Turtle)

Will ( Joe the Plumber)

and Abby ( Hannah Montana)

We had a "Fairy Princess", a "Ninja Turtle", a "Hannah Montana", and even a" Joe the Plumber"! Believe it or not, the idea of Joe the Plumber wasn't a political move. A couple of weeks before Joe made the news, our Will had expressed a real desire to be "something" for Halloween that would allow him to carry a plunger. Yes, I said a plunger! For some time now, he has had a real fettish for the common plunger. You have to realize this is our "Brilliant Will"! Why he is so interested in a plunger, we don't quite know. He had already jumped at Beth's suggestion of being a plumber, but when "Joe the Plumber" came on the scene, he seized the opportunity. He was the hit of his mostly Republican neighborhood!

My sweet Mom has now moved to a brand new home. It is close by and is like living in a "country club"! Her meals are served as they would be in a fine resturant and on white tableclothes. I don't know about you, but that is "livin' in luxury" as far as I'm concerned.

I'm so proud of her-she has adjusted so well. We just visited the Eye Doctor today, though, and she is really having trouble with her sight. The doctor is somewhat optomistic that it might improve with time. Please pray that it will.

New Home at Kings Bridge

Today was one of those cherished moments that I feel so blessed to experience. With chairs in hand, Ralph and I found our way out onto the sidelines of the soccer fields in Decatur where our younger grandson was about to play. By the way, if you haven't watched a group of 4 year olds play, you must. The coach has to remind them often which way the ball is supposed to be directed-but it is SUPER CUTE. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Evan made several goals, even though his team lost. But what was so special to me was, when that tough little guy wasn't out on the field, he would come and sit in his GranNan's lap. Can you just see the smile on my face? All I can say is "God is soooo good!

What Happened, Poppy?

We have returned home after a wonderful trip away. The first three days of the trip were work for Ralph, but fun and relaxation for me. Jacksonville is the home office for CSX, so we travel there three to four days each month for sales meetings. Since this was the second meeting in a two week period, we decided to tack a "fun trip" onto it. After enjoying a great evening with friends in Jax.(Janet and Eddie Wilkinson), we traveled to Hilton Head Island. I was able to find a good rate on Priceline.com for the Crowne Plaza there. We had spent a week there for R&R after Beth's wedding 14 years ago, so it was great to finally return. As we were eating brunch and enjoying a beautiful waterfront view on Sunday, we received a cell call from our youngest grandbaby, Pressley. She was leaving church and just could not understand why her Mommy was telling her that Poppy and GranNan were not at church, too. We are always there, and almost always go to lunch with her on Sunday after church. When Ralph answered, she immediately said, in her cute little 2-year old voice, "What happened, Poppy? It was just too cute! After assuring her that we were just out of town and would be home later that day, she gave the phone back to her Mommy. Oh, the blessings of grandchildren!