Baby Shower, Southern Style

Months have passed since I wrote on my blog.  No reason.  Just busy with the days that turn into weeks that turn into months.  Now it is April.

When last I wrote it was New Year's Eve.  Our grandchild is still cozy in her mommy's womb as we anxiously prepare for her arrival.  There have been showers with friends and family who came to celebrate with us and brought wonderful, frilly, girly gifts.

 Two of my dear friends and I gave a Southern Brunch Baby Shower.  Planning it took months and it was so much fun!  True to the title it was S-O-U-T-H-E-R-N in every way.  Biscuits, homemade jellies, honey, chicken, ham, fresh fruit, egg casserole with sweet tea and lemonade which was served in Mason jars with straws.  Could it be any better?  We brought out the sentimental dishes given to me by family long gone, and by friends and each little dish meant something special.  The jellies were in footed bowls that once belonged to my friend's mother-in-law and they were given to me after she passed away.  The doilies that were part of our decor were made by family friends and aunts.  Tradition.  Generations.  Things that matter.

The menu for the day

The cake!  Beautiful and Delicious

Our activity for the shower was to give each person a card and have them complete it with wishes for the new arrival.  These will be placed in a cover which I made and decorated.  It will be bound with ribbons and given to the mommy-to-be.  The wishes are wonderfully cleaver and sweet.  Some are funny and some deep and thoughtful.  It will be another treasure.

The take away for our guests was a candy buffet in shades of pink (made me think of Steel Magnolias, "My colors are blush and bashful" said Shelby.  "Her colors are pink and pink" answered M'Lynn.)  Well, so were ours - pink, pink and more pink!

My sister at heart who lives in Tampa arrived on Wednesday and we hit the road.  Shopping, eating, laughing and taking care of the last minute details.  She is my son's godmother and will be this baby's "fairy godmother!"  We had planned the shower long distance and it was so good to have her here to share the final preparations.  The other friend who was hosting with us had been invaluable helping me choose the cake design and working on the menu and shower invitations.  They made it come together and the day was beyond perfect and exactly what I hoped it would be.

So now the gifts are all in their place in the nursery as we count the days until they will be used and we will be loving on this sweet little Georgia peach who already owns our hearts!

Out With The Old..

...and in with the new.  That is a saying I have heard all my life.  Sometimes it is good to think that way.  Maybe it helps us remember there is such a thing as a new beginning, or it could be just as simple as cleaning out your closets!

However, since today is December 31 and the last day of this 2013, I want to talk about that.

2013 just like any other year rolled around on January 1.  A new year, full of promise and hope.  My family started this year with a wonderful trip to Hawaii.  My husband and I, our son and daughter in law spent a glorious week on the island of Oahu.  Those days and nights were filled with fun and memories I cherish.  It was a trip I will always treasure.

February was good until I fell in the back yard and required a trip to the ER for a CT scan and xrays.  Thank God nothing more than bruises and sprains but I was quite sore and the trip wasn't cheap!  "Trip" get it.  That is how I fell, tripped over the tie down strap for our pool.  Grace isn't my middle name.

We lost a family member in March.  Our brother in law had valiantly fought cancer for over a year and a half.  He slipped away on a Monday evening.  He left a hole in our family and in our hearts.  I cannot grieve for him, but for us.  He left that weak, frail body and found an eternal peace.  The loved one he left behind was lost.  She broke my heart daily, but God was with her to make it through each day.

I think it was April that one of our beagles got out and while my husband chased him down he stepped in a hole and heard something in his knee pop.  That is never good.  More on that later.

May we celebrated the 30th birthday of our son.  What a great day!  His wife planned a wonderful party, friends and family came to wish him well and it was a time to look back and look forward to more fun with this guy that we all love.

June was my daddy's 80th birthday!  How blessed I am to have him in my life.  This year we celebrated on Father's day (his birthday was the next day).  My family got together to have a dinner and celebrate him and the other dads - my brother and my husband.  The next week my husband had knee surgery...yes, from the fall in April.  It wasn't as involved as the doctor originally thought and that was good news.  It still wasn't easy for someone who is very active and doesn't relish being the patient.

July was pretty much recoup and rest.  Not much going on here for us.  August we slowly got back in the swing of things and attended a family reunion but didn't do too much more.  My husband spent a lot of time in physical therapy these two months.

September turned out to be quite the month.  We took our sister and her friend to Disney World.  She had been so sad since losing her husband, and we wanted to see her smile.  Well, let me tell you it is hard not to be happy at Disney World!  It was like a healing balm for all of us.  We had the best time and laughed till we cried and that is the best kind of tears.  The week after that we took a trip to upstate New York.  My husband had a business trip and I just tagged along.  We met up with two friends in Buffalo and visited Niagara Falls.  Oh my gosh.  What a sight.  The pictures, the movies, the videos, nothing can do it justice.  We rode the Maid of the Mist right into the falls.  It was amazing, breathtaking and downright thrilling!  Fun trip.  When I thought the month could not get any better, we were told on Sept. 28 that we are going to be grandparents in May!  WOO HOO.  That tops anything else that happened all year!

October is one of my favorite months of the year, every year.  I love autumn and everything it brings.  We had a family dinner at my house and of course got to share our good news.  I hosted an annual Harvest Dinner with friends and that is something I look forward to all year.  An outdoor fire, good food, and fellowship.  October did not disappoint, we had a beautiful autumn.

My birthday is in November and my sister by heart lives in Tampa (as I have mentioned).  My husband gave me round trip air fare to visit her.  So thrilled with the idea of a week together and believe me we can do a lot in a week!  I arrived on Monday and we hit the ground running.  Straight to the mall!  Dinner at our favorite local restaurant and I had my usual shrimp po boy.  Same goes for Tuesday and Wednesday - Clearwater, Sarasota, Tampa.  Shop, eat, sight see, rest.  Repeat.  Thursday I got the shock of my life when not one, not two, but three more friends arrived!  They had planned this for awhile.  It was great.  We took a Harbor Cruise of Tampa Bay, we had lunch onboard.  We had a fabulous home cooked meal one night of fresh caught fish.  We talked, reminisced about things we had all done together before her move.  It had to be one of the best birthdays of my life.  When I got home the celebrations continued for a week so yeah, it was pretty awesome.

December and celebrating Christmas is always special.  It is festive and you look forward to parties and gatherings with family and friends.  I shopped, wrapped, decorated and cooked like I always do.  I knew it would be a different Christmas because of losing a family member, but I knew the promise of God so it makes it easier to bear.  We also knew we would find out what our grandchild will be!  I knew this would be a special day.  It was a sweet Christmas Eve with my husband's family.  We had dinner and opened our gifts at his mom's house.  We also learned in May we will welcome a little girl!  Emily.  I love that.  Again the good eases the bad.  Christmas day was spent with our son, daughter in law, and my family.   They were told about Emily and it was priceless.  Later that day we took in a movie and relaxed just the two of us.

Now it is December 31 and you have walked through a year with me.  I didn't intend to write it this way when I started but it just happened.  My main thought throughout was sometimes you don't need  to be "Out with the old".  That is what makes us who we are.  Good times, bad times, fun times, sad times.  They are all to be remembered and treasured.  I will hold 2013 close to my heart, pray for a safe and happy 2014.  I will look forward to each month and the days it holds.  For that is the best part of any year...the gift of days.  Use them wisely.

Happy New Year. 

Christmas Eve...

and my heart is full of conflicting emotions.  While I am thrilled and happy that it is once again Christmas, my heart aches for family and friends who are no longer with us this year.

I suppose that is the way it is every year, but it seems to be a stark reality more than ever this year.  Perhaps because it came so close to home this year with the loss of my brother in law, or the fact that as we age we notice these things more.  I am sure being on Facebook gives us insight into others sorrow more than we would have noticed otherwise.  Friends who have lost a loved one just in the past weeks or days breaks my heart.  Their sadness and emptiness does not end just because the service ends and we all go home to our lives. This Christmas is the first one two of my friends will face without their mom, another lost her dad last month, my husband's uncle passed away on Sunday and I saw this morning that a classmate from school lost her dad last night.  Another sweet friend is missing her baby this Christmas.

All my feelings are not sad however.  My heart is also full of joy and love for the promise of our first grandchild, due in May!  Tomorrow we find out if we will be snuggling a little boy or little girl!  I have been asked so often which I want.  I truly do not care which it is.  Either will be the light of my life!  My son and his beautiful wife are giving us a gift no other can give us, a grand baby!  Our family is already giddy with excitement just knowing that.  Hold on to your hats when we learn what they are having!  I have forced myself to walk through the baby departments at the stores.  That will soon end! 

I keep thinking, "This time next Christmas!"  He/she will be 7 months old and it will be the most fun we have had in so many years.  While we all love Christmas, it is for children.  Imagine seeing it once again through the eyes of a child.  There is something almost magical about the season when shared with a child.  Everything takes on a special feeling.  The lights are brighter, the music sweeter and the love deeper. 

That brings me back to those who we miss and long to see again.  They live through the children that come after them.  How I wish they could see this new baby, perhaps they can.  But when we hold it for the first time, we will holding generations of love.  We will see them in this babies smile and eyes.

That is another thing about Christmas.  The most important part.  We will teach this child about Jesus. We will sing the songs of Christmas.  Away in a Manger, Silent Night, Do You Hear What I Hear.  We will sit through the Christmas pageants God willing, and watch our grandchild portray a shepherd, a Wise man or perhaps an angel or even Mary.  We will read the Christmas story from the Book of Luke.  Again, generations and traditions relived.

 How could you go through life not knowing the promise fulfilled on that night, whether it was a December night doesn't matter. What matters is that He is the Messiah.  The prophets foretold His coming.  He was born of a virgin, He lived and died that we might have eternal life and isn't that the greatest gift of all?  That is what assures us that we will be reunited with those we have loved and lost.
 
Isaiah 9:6, 7

Merry Christmas.

Late Summer

Late summer.

It brings to mind so many possibilities and promises. The first of which is Autumn.  I know it is still August, believe me I do.  But we have been experiencing unseasonably cool weather the past week or so and well, it just makes me want autumn even more.  I tell myself don't look at the fall clothes yet, don't start thinking about soups and warm bread, and for heaven's sake don't get out the apple pie scented candles.

If I didn't know better I would think autumn is messing with us!  Last Friday night we actually lit a fire in our outdoor fireplace.  We had soup and grilled sandwiches for dinner which we ate on the porch, then made ourselves cozy by the fire and watched baseball.  Fire, baseball.  Autumn, summer.  Contradictions!  And Saturday was just the same.  Windy, cool and rainy.  Perfect autumn day, only it is not autumn!

This week has been a little warmer, but still below normal.  Not only that, but we have had buckets of rain.  With all that said, there lies the dilemma.  Should I dream of an early fall and leave summer behind or do I face the reality that it won't last and we will see another "hot spell" before summer actually bids us adieu?

Now some people might question why all this matters.  Well, I will tell you.  I LOVE autumn.  Plain and simple.  It is without a doubt my favorite season.  It is the season that brings out the jeans and long sleeves, crisp apples - you know the kind.  Fresh picked, when you bite into it the juice runs down your hand apple.  Yard work becomes more fun because there is a nip in the air and a bite of chill on your face instead of sweat. 

The pool in my yard sits empty today because all the chilly nights and rainy days have made the water too cold for me.  The floats look forlorn and lonely.  But they steadfastly hang in there because it is still summer and they know it.  They seem to smile a sly smile when I walk past. Sounds silly but I think they do. They know they are getting the last laugh because it will get hot again, it is Georgia and it is August.  Summer will not go quietly and I suppose it shouldn't have to.

We will have a few  more cookouts by the pool and savor those days when floating is the thing to do.  For now I will enjoy each day as it comes, and if it happens to be cool and a little windy so much the better.  When the calendar finally turns and September strolls in then it will truly be the beginning of my favorite season and I can exhale, say hello to autumn and goodbye to late summer.

Dog Days vs. School Days

In the month of August something almost magical happens.  The summer days wake with a warm haziness and the crickets chirp louder and longer and the butterflies multiply on the blooms.

It is Dog Days.  My grandmother explained this as the time of summer when the family hound would scratch out a place in the cool dirt under the porch and lay there all day.  It was too hot and humid to do much else.  There may be another reason for the title, but I am good with this one.  It is when summer turns from the excitement of June and July - school is out, graduations and weddings are upon us and we are focused on celebrating the 4th and the thrill of parades and fireworks and days at the beach fill our thoughts.  When the calendar turns and August arrives it is with the slow ease of a good friend knocking on the back door.

When I was growing up August was filled with things we had to finish in our final weeks of freedom.  Important things, like picking the last of the plump blackberries hanging on the vines that grew wild across the street from my grandmother's house.  Damn the snakes, birds and chiggers those were our blackberries and we got them!  The scratches from the briers were badges of honor as our buckets filled for the last time that year and we hoped it would be enough for one more cobbler.  Figs hung ripe and heavy on the huge tree by her house.  She and I would pick them and stand under that tree and eat.  The leaves were big and made me itch but biting into that fruit was worth a little scratching.  It was the time to see the tadpoles grow into frogs, to catch a few more lightning bugs in a mason jar, and pray for rain so we could wade in the ditch when the water rushed through.

I remember sitting in the crook of her huge oak tree that grew on the back of the property.  Many a mystery has been solved there by Nancy Drew with my help.  My brother would beg me to close the book and come play just a little longer before mama came by to take us home for the night.

Mama talked about going shopping for our back to school clothes and while that was mildly intriguing it was something for the distant future.  We still had to save the world one mission at a time in our playhouse and on our bicycles.  I can close my eyes even now and feel the wind on my face as we sailed down the dirt road and all was right with my world.  Until I hit a piece of gravel and hit the ground - but that is another day.

When we finally said goodbye to August and packed up summer, we arrived at school in our new clothes and shoes.  There would be a nip in the air as September gathered us up and ushered us through the doors to our new classrooms.  A sweater was worn over my new dress which was always something in the colors or autumn, perhaps a plaid.  Something far removed from the shorts and barefoot days of August.

Several school districts in the area began classes today.  How sad.  They use some sort of reasoning to justify robbing children of their magical August.  Something about cost and air conditioning (ever hear of open windows - that is what we had.)  Whatever the reason it is wrong that children are missing the most wonderful time of summer.  They are glad to see their friends, they will get into the routine quickly.  But, they cannot sit in a closed up classroom and feel the sun on their face and hear the cicadas or splash in a creek.  They have said goodbye to summer just when summer is slowing down and beckoning them to come play.

So glad I got to.

Blind Dates and Wedding Bells

Since my last post was about our son and his beginning, I thought it might be nice to share "our beginning"....my husband and me.

Forty years ago tonight I was most likely sitting in my bedroom thinking about how I could possibly get out of a blind date that was the next evening.  I am sure if you ask him, he was doing the same thing.  A friend and I both had tickets to Six Flags Over Georgia Park.  The guy I had invited wasn't able to go, so in my mind that was that.  Not so with my friend, she called me midweek to say she had asked her boyfriend to find me a date.  What!  No way, I told her.  She said "it's too late, he's already asked him."  I later learned he first thought a bunch of guys were going.  SO we were both hoodwinked!

After thinking of everything I could to weasel out, I decided heck it is just one night, and it is Six Flags so how bad could this be!  So, we went to Six Flags on that Friday night - my friend, her boyfriend, his friend and me.  We really hit it off and had a great evening together.  He was very shy and quiet, me not so much!  We rode practically every ride at the park and I later learned he was afraid of heights, but did not want to say anything!  When the date was over he asked for my number - and I gave it to him.  He wanted to take me out the next night, BUT my friends and I had tickets to see Elvis in concert at the Omni in Atlanta!  Told you it was 40 years ago.

So, I told him he could come to my house the day after and he did.  That was a Sunday and my mom and dad were making homemade peach ice cream and I had invited another couple over (just in case the conversation dragged).  He would not even eat any ice cream - my mom practically stood on her head to get him to try it and no go.  He admitted later that he wanted some so bad but was too shy to get it!  Go figure.

We never went out with another person after that weekend.  Can you believe that?  Fast forward to our wedding...but don't go too fast or you may miss it.  He proposed five months after we met, we got officially engaged (with the ring) in January and married one year to the day of our blind date.

Yep, thirty nine years ago tonight I was getting ready for our Rehearsal and Dinner.  Tomorrow is our anniversary and I wonder what in the world became of that shy boy and the girl who dreaded a blind date!  I see as I look back that God placed us together. That he was the only one for me and God had to use a friend who would not take no for an answer to do it!  Funny how He does that.

Our lives have been blessed and I am so happy we took that leap all those years ago.  And he isn't quite so shy anymore.  When my mom cooks he always eats, and when he doesn't want to go on a ride because of the height - I just ride it by myself.

Happy Birthday Brett

For the next two weeks everything was wonderful.  We had lots of visitors and so many wonderful gifts.  He was outfitted like no one would believe!  To say this baby was a blessing would be an understatement.  

In his third week we noticed he wasn't eating, feverish and just fussy.  We called the doctor, made and appointment and took him in.  When his pediatrician came in she examined him thoroughly and then took our breath away by telling us she was sending him to the hospital.  What!?   She told us to go straight there.  When we arrived they were waiting for us in the NICU.  Seems the fetal monitor that had saved his life, had also caused an infection.  Since his birth the lymph nodes had taken care of this infection and now, they were overloaded and they were infected.  

Once again my baby was fighting for his life.  This was all too much.  He was put on an IV - and for me to hold him the nurse had to lay him on a pillow and hand him to me so I would not interfere with the lines.

Overwhelmed and scared we stayed in that room right by the nurses station for a week.  He was monitored around the clock.  We barely left his side.  Family would relieve us but I was afraid to go too far.  

Then, to our joy and relief he improved.  He fought and won, yet again.  Everyone said, "God has a plan for this baby,"  He pediatrician told me later that she didn't want to let on how very sick he was.  Once again we got to take our baby home.  This time it was for keeps.

He has a scar on the back of his head from that monitor.  When he was small other children would ask him about it and it really bothered him.  Finally, I told him to tell them it was a battle scar.  It truly was.  It is ironic, had it not been for the monitor when I was in labor he would have died and because of the monitor after he was born he almost died.  It really is proof that he was in the fight of his life.

We never looked back after that.  We have had more fun with him than words can express.  It was always the three of us - him, his dad and me.  Beach trips, Disney, parties, cruises, coached by his dad in sports, pets, accomplishments, awards, friends, first truck, first love to true love, first house, wedding.  It has been quite a ride watching him grow into the man he is now.

My son, is the best of me.  He grew up with a kind heart and a gentle spirit.  He always seemed like an old soul.  People would stop me just to talk to him wherever we went when he was little.  He respects people, he works hard at everything he does.  This son of mine who was spared twice has given our family a life of happiness, laughter, silliness, memories and love.

He is the handsome, strong man in the photo with me.  Happy Birthday Brett.  "I'll love you forever.