Happy New Year 2009!!

My,oh,my.....another year has already begun!

Christmas was quite wonderful with a fine family reunion attached to it.

My long,lost big sister,Becky, came home for the first time in more than sixteen years!
David,Laura and me met her at RDU airport on Friday morning Dec. 26th.
We were all so "giddy" with excitement!!!!!
And praise and worship to The Lord who is so very faithfull.
Her flight was only delayed a very few minutes inspite of the snowy weather across much of the nation.

We drove her directly to Ma's townhouse where she stayed from Friday until Tuesday afternoon.
When we arrived...Ma' had Smithfield BBQ waiting...something one can not get in California!!
We all had lunch together.

Then she came to spend Tuesday and Wednesday { New Years Eve} with me and Do.

We had our big family celebration on Sunday at Ma's.
Laura and I bent over backwards to pull out all the stops!
I did the turkey,dressing, fresh cranberry sauce, veggie tray and Fresh apple cider.
Laura cooked EVERYTHING else under the sun!
We had Ma' do the greens...yummy.... turnip and collards and some Mrs. Smith's pies.
Laura made her pies.
She did good.
With Pansy's mom still being in the hospital for seven weeks....I only asked she and David to bring rolls,ice and soft drinks.
They had no clue what all we had cooked.
We were happy to surprise them.
Carol Hart came and joined us which was the icing on the cake....Becky being the cake!!
I was asked this time to Bless the food.
I was quite honored to do so!
I praised and thanked our God soveriegn for his love and blessings upon us so consistantly.
We joined hands.
It was quite special....I still can not belive that I did not cry.

Also, another special treat showed up by Joshua....
He told me about the surprise Xmas Eve while he and I were driving over to Davey's parents to celebrate with that side of the family.
{ it was very warm that day and night!}
Josh told me that he had invited Trooper Mark Smith to Ma's house Sunday.
And made me promise not to tell anyone except Do.

Trooper Smith was first on the scene after Ma's car accident on May 5th 2002.
She was hit head-on by a drunk driver who had been celebrating the mexican holiday of,"Sinco De Mayo."
Ironically, Trooper Smith is the very best at "crash reconstruction."
He has used Ma's accident in teaching since.
He states that it was as "straight head on" as one could ever get.
He understands,more than most, what an absolute miracle it is that she survived.
Trooper Smith was a tremendous blessing to Laura and me throughout the entire ordeal!
We came to both love and admire him.
Now that Joshua is in Law Enforcement in the same area he has gotten to know Mark and his wife, Cheryl, who is a magistrate.
Mark and Cheryl came and met with Ma'....she was so happy to meet him!
As she was quite "under it" at the scene nearly seven years ago.
They were able to give us details that we had wondered about for years.
I took their photo,but it came out quite blurred.
I had to wonder if it was just meant to be that way considering who they are!??!
It was an added blessing to have them there if even for a short time.
And even cooler that Josh has become a cop and gotten to be friends with them now.
Josh had considered going into BLET prior to Ma's accident,but going thru all that sort of decided for him.

Becky had a great time that day too!!!
We played "White Elephant" which has become a fun family tradition.
Ma' is not too good of a sport with it though......
Becky loved all the southern food that she has missed from living in San Francisco all these years.

Wednesday night...which was New Years Eve...we suspended our usual "Fiesta"with our neighbors and stayed home.
Laura spent the night too and we had a special celebration.
She was the designated driver,so I did have a few drinks.
Becky is heavily medicated from cancer { in remission} so she does not partake at all.
At one O'Clock a.m. we layed down in the living room,but would not go to sleep in fear of not being able to wake back up at 3:00 when needed.
We got Becky right up via alarm clock and left here at 3:15 a.m.
It was bitter cold!!!
Like 18 degrees F.
Traffic was light,ofcourse....mostly taxis on the highways. Which is very good!

We saw her off at 4:45 a.m. and made ourselves NOT CRY.
I gave her a very nice coat and gloves to take home with her.
Even the weather in San Francisco has changed somewhat of late.
She called when she got back home and all is well again.

I am very excited about Jonna being so very pregnant and expecting our grand-daughter very soon!!!
She and Josh and Kristy have done an awesome job on the nursery.
I have yet to begin here,but plan to.

The "empty nest" syndrome that Do and I are facing has turned out very differently than we had anticipated......
I suppose we went through some "anticipatory grief" and got it out of our system ahead of time because....trust me.....
THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are loving it!
Ofcourse, it helps having Gabe stop by frequently and The J's so close down the road.
I am so excited about this new season in my life that I am planning to give away my dogz!
This is HUGE for me.
I believe God has changed my heart on this matter.
It's just that I want to be free to up and leave whenever I choose or The Lord chooses for me.
Also, I want to be more available to The J's to help with Ellie-Mae and/or Brook Anne.

I can honestly say that this is the most exciting new year that I have ever had so far......

The Lord continually reminds me that He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. ~Psalm 23~
Meaning that even though the world is in such crisis and there is much concern for provision ect. God will bless His people and the best is yet to come!

Forty-Six with a nest of stix!

Talk about times of change.........
As I mentioned before today is my 46th birthday
and it is also the day that my baby boy,Gabriel...actually age 23
IS MOVING OUT!!!

He is very excited and has planned it all out very well over the past few months.
He will move closer to work and in a nice,new house.
I support his decision 100% as he needs his own place now.
But, I'd be lie'n if I said it isn't hard for me.
I have known for quite some time now that I've been living on borrowed time.....
where having Gabe still at home with me is concerned.

He did give me the sweetest card this morning.....because he is the sweetest son ever! But, then...Josh is too.

Now I will experience the "empty nest syndrome" I suppose.
Just another stage in life....

Though it won't be too long now before G-Baby Girl comes onto the scene!

Now begs the question,"What to do with all the extra space!!????!!!"

It hit me too.....that tonight will be the very first night in mine and Do's entire MARRIED LIFE that we will actually live at home alone! JUST THE TWO OF US!
Since Joshua was six months old when we got married.
I used to Pure-T "dream" about the day that we would have our home all to ourselves.
Now it seems so much different than my very young mind imagined all those years ago.
Twenty-six next Saturday...to be exact.

The Friday After........

Today is the day after Thanksgiving!
Wooooo-hoo.....
It was fun,but am happy to have it behind us now.

And what an exciting week it has been for me.......
First of all,Do had to go back to Charlotte this week for more school with Ford.
You would think that a master technician with 35 years under his belt would not be required to endure such nonsense,but NOOOOO that's Ford for 'ya.
gotta keep up with that stupid paperwork.
I stayed behind this go 'round as there was another fellow that needed to travel with Davey.
A nutt case. and I am being quite kind here!
It is really funny how he pushed each and every button Davey has to his name and he had to take it all in stride. Way to go,Do!

Meanwhile, back on the home front....
I invited Leigh-Ann { my adopted daughter} to spend the night with me and my two dogz. Allowing her the freedom to bring her own canine bitch,"Lady."
Lady is a doberman/german shepherd mix and LA has done a remarkable job in obedience training with her.
Josh even came by to eat the lasagna I cooked for him and brought Duke.
Josh was even impressed as to how well LA has done with training Lady. And considering that is what he does...he would know.
They were a delight to have.
This is not something that could be "pulled off" had Do been home So, I took advantage of the situation and oh,what a "Three Dog Night!"
LA and I shared a lovely bottle of wine and just spent some good ole quality time together while she is off school for the holidayz.
A time rarely spent since the days that she lived with us many years ago.
I am so proud of the fine young woman she is and still strives to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She will make some fine young man a wonderful mate one day......though I doubt anyone but my baby son will be good enough for her! Too bad....they are cousins.
Something we had no clue of when we first met! That story yet to be written.

Soooooo Tuesday afternoon LA left to be with her "real" family. They were headed to their beach home for TG.
I thought it would be a good idea to have Ellie-Mae over for the night....since she had yet to meet "Poe-Poe" and Do was away still.
This would give me a chance to socialize them all while not racking Do's nerves too severely.
Sooooo I go pick up Ellie and bring her here....a 2 mile trip both ways.
The very second that she walks in the door and she and Poe-Poe see one another....
THEY INSTANTLY FALL IN LOVE!!!
It was the funniest thing ever.
The only irritating factor was that I was exhausted from long night before with LA and was desperate to rest.....all the while Poe-Poe is trying to mate with Ellie!
This went on for three hours before I finally got them to settle down for the night.
Once they got past that...the next a.m. they played with smiles on faces until both were literally exhausted.
Another "Three Dog Night!"
Then,ofcourse, Wednesday is cook-off time......
Davey didn't get back until 9 P.M. As Charlotte is 3 hours away and that day being the very busiest travel day of the year.
I cooked the turkey for the family gathering and had it ready around 1:00 a.m.Along with some homemade cranberry sauce that rocked...if I must say so,myself!
Davey had retired around 11:30 and since I was still cooking and quite "wired" by now....I decided to phone my sister,Becky, in San Francisco. Something I never tire of being able to do!!
We talked an hour or two.....

Now, today is the black Friday craze that for soooooo many years I was caught up in.
My daddy,Laura,{my litle sis} and me would venture out at the crack of dawn { unlike those who camp outside the stores these dayz} and off we went to "shop 'till we drop"
calling ourselves,"Cash,Check and Charge!"
Daddy had a tendency to be very rude to anyone in his path and loved to spend money.
The short version is that he ruined any chance of me ever enjoying shopping again after his death in 2000.
And you could not pay be any amount of money to go out there and shop today!
So, here I sit.
Laura will be by to visit soon.
Then.......
tomorrow I get to turn 46.
46!?!
Me? 46!?!
Yes...and loving it.....

I'm Back!

It's been several weeks since I have posted here....
Much has taken place in those weeks too.
I had surgery to remove an axilla mass.
It was indeed benign as all the others have been too.
MEN1 is the root cause.
It was a bit more painful than I had hoped for due to the sensitive location,but well now.

Unfortunately, I now have an abcessed tooth!UGH.....must get antibiotics asap.

The day after the election I received a phone call from my sister telling me of a little dog someone had dumped off on her country road.
He is a Min-Pin/Chihuahua mix.
I told her to bring him to me! Which she did....
I named him POTUS because of the election and call him,"POE-POE"
in honor of Josh. hahaha
He is very sweet and has knitted in our family very well.
Davey is especially fond of small dogs.
Poe-Poe is missing his front,bottom teeth and I hate to think how this may have happened to him.
He will surely be treated like a prince around here!!

Last week-end we had a nice BBQ at The J's......
Mr. and Mrs. Smith came too.
I took some really good pictures tht evening.
Getting a photo of Gabe is very,very difficult!
I must admit that he comes by that quite honestly because I was that ay for a very long time.
Until I decided "to heck with it".

My birthday is coming soon.....two weeks from today I will be forty-six. wow.
I have often wondered how old I would be when I became a grandmother.Now I know.

The autumn is my favorite time of the year.
The trees are extraordinary!
Though some terrible storms and tornadoes came thru N.C. last night and wreaked havoc on some communities!
Homes were destroyed and lives were lost.
Oh, the day inwhich we live.
Maranantha,King Jesus!!!

Zig-Zag'n N.C.

I'm home!

Last week Davey and I went to Charlotte to the Ford training school.
They require this ever so often.
His class was Mon-Fri. from 9-5.
This was extremely technical stuff!!
Blew my mind day after day....and I am smarter than the average bear.
After a long week of trial and spiritual warfare.....Davey passed the test! PTL.

I spent the dayz in a hotel room reading and watching movies.
Got a new book while there that I highly recommend.
"Three Cups of Tea" By: Greg Mortinson and David Oliver Relin.

Our hotel was very near the Douglas International Airport.
I love to fly and love to watch planes coming and going!
That was fun.

Davey had never eaten at a Cracker Barrel!?!
All these years I have kept telling him how much he would love the place.
It is right up his alley in every way!
Well, there was one directly across the street from our hotel...so we ate there three out of five nights.
I suspect he will be frequenting the one closest to his job from here on.

The leaves have only barely begun to change here.
If it had been later in October the trip down to Charlotte would have been extraordinary in colors,but was still nice.

The trip home was full of evening traffic as we did not get out of his class until four o'clock.
We arrived home a bit after 8 p.m. I literally came in the front door and went right back out the rear door to join Gabe in yet another road trip to Topsail Island.
There we joined The J's for a week-end beach trip.
They took the boat and it was lovely!
No dogs. No phones ringing. No obnoxious neighbors partying into the wee hours.
Just peace and quiet.
We stayed in the police chiefs cottage.
A pretty place.

I rode home with The J's and we returned around 8:30 last night to a very happy pair of bull dogs!
I am glad to be back home now.
I will see the surgeon tomorrow morning for a pre-op.
Need to have the lypomna tumor from under my arm removed.
Then on to the Endocrinologist.......

Josh and Duke are training with drugs this week.
Officer Duke is a very smart canine and is working out very well except he is a bit dog aggressive.
The other dog...a Belgium Mali nous bit Josh in the leg during Fridays training session! Oh,well....just goes with the territory.
This dog was bought from Holland and just arrived last Thursday.
Good dog!

Jonna had her monthly check-up with the Ob/Gyn this a.m.
She said that late Saturday night..while laying in bed....."Baby Girl" kicked the mess out of her!!! LOL But, Josh was asleep...Ofcourse.
Plenty time left for him to see/feel that.
I can hardly wait to meet her face-to-face,but have much to do to prepare for her arrival.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The phone call finally came from Joshua......
My dreams are coming true. Literally.
IT'S A BABY GIRL!!!!!!!

Must understand that my brother,sister and me each have two sons and zero daughters.
Thus, my Ma' has six grandsons and no granddaughters.

This is gonna be one very loved....over-protected little girl!

God bless Jonna for bringing such joy to our family.
She is a very special lady.

Go,Momma Jonna,Go!

Baby Boy or Baby Girl!???!

Well.....
The J's are at the obstetrician at this very moment!
The excitement is building rather rapidly as I wait to hear if my first grandchild is male or female.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.....
Joshua was not going to be able to go wih Jonna this morning to her Dr. appointment due to police duties. Class actually.
Jonna was understandably disappointed.
So...Josh shows up to class early this a.m. only to be told that some paperwork had not come thru and he was not to be in that class today!
Soooooo he is able to go with J afterall!!!
What a blessing.