When Four Generations Get Together....

We cook and have dinner with friends....

Fajitas, Mexican rice, homemade guacamole, and raspberry lemonade....

We visit Botanical Gardens....

Get lots of sweet baby sugar....pick fresh raspberries from the garden...

Laugh....laugh....and laugh some more.....

Have play dates with friends....

Celebrate birthdays.....

Travel a long, long way just to meet the newest generation.....

Enjoy the sunshine....

Create new desserts....

Visit Santa Claus....

Walk through the vine tunnel at the Botanical Garden....

Eskimo kisses.....Treasured memories etched in our hearts and minds forever....

"Grand" baby....

For several months now experienced grandparents explained that being a grandparent was going to be wonderful....that it was just like becoming a parent, but better. They were right. I've thought a little about what makes it better....and I have a few ideas...maybe it's because I survived being a parent the first time and experience makes most things easier. Maybe it's getting to see my daughter and her husband fall in love with their baby....falling head over hills in love with this little boy. Maybe it's knowing that there are many special times ahead. Maybe it's knowing how special my grandparents are to me and how special my daughter's grandparents are to her and how special our son-in-law's grandparents are to him....and knowing that my husband and I are now on that list of special people in a child's life. For once in my life, the reason "why" really doesn't matter. Being a "grand"parent.....is quite simply....."grand".

Summertime visit to the North Pole

From Evernote:<http://www.evernote.com/>

Summer 2011 in the North Pole

After a long day of travel, we loved having a chance to sleep late and visit with Aubree.

The most important goals for this trip are to help Aubree complete the nursery and help her finish preparing for the arrival of Baby Brandt. I'm not certain of all the things that we will accomplish, but we have hopes to help her with any yard and home projects on her list.

Project number one---Papa (aka Danny), put together the cradle. This is the cradle we used with Aubree when she was born. The bedding still looks brand new and it matches the bedroom perfectly. We were thrilled it shipped without damage on the airlines with us.





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Counting Today's Blessings.....all the way across North America...

Counting Today's Blessings

It would be easy to think about and write about the bad things.....but I think it's healthier to focus on the positive and look on the bright side of things, hence I named this blog Blessings....a way to remind myself to reflect on the good things that happen...to reframe the issues by taking lemons and making lemonade. Over the past two weeks I've been dealing with an allergic reaction to poison ivy. I took my last pill yesterday to dry up the blisters covering my arms and legs. The pharmacist told me, if the rash reoccurred after my last pill, it might be necessary to get a shot or another prescription or both. During the night I was awakened by the itchy stingy feeling of the rash reappearing on my face, on my neck, on my elbows, on my legs, on my chest.....actually it felt as though it was appearing in the only places that the poison had not already invaded my body. For the last two days, I have been out of town in a meeting, attending the last session of a two year program. Since I was not at home, when I awoke this morning with the new splotches, I knew that I had to locate a medical facility.

Blessing Number One: One of my colleagues knew the area well and pointed me towards a urgent care facility that was connected to the Medical College of Georgia that was in close proximity.

Blessing Number Two: The leader of the program walked over to me within the first minutes and whispered in my ear that she had noticed that the splotches were getting redder by the minute and she thought that I should leave early in order to get medical attention.

Blessing Number Three: Although my colleagues had given me directions, my sweet husband knew the area well too and was able to find the facility very easily.

Blessing Number Four: I was given great medical attention---a shot and another prescription ...no issues with my insurance coverage...and we were on our way in a timely manner.

Blessing Number Five: We had safe travels to the airport.... No wrecks or heavy traffic to delay us and we were at the airport over two hours ahead of our departure time.

Blessing Number Six: After waiting in a line for 45 minutes, we were told our flight was delayed and that we would be unable to make our connecting flight. The attendant searched every airline and found only one flight available to our destination city. She explained that it would be almost impossible for us to make the flight because they had already stopped accepting luggage and we had not even gone through security. Following her directions, my husband ran to the end of the terminal to the airlines she had booked us on, in an attempt to make it there in time to get our luggage on the plane, while I waited on her to print our boarding passes. After I ran to the new airline, I found the next attendant explaining to my husband that we were about four or five minutes too late to get our luggage on the plane. He continued to search for other flights, while knots built in my stomach. He called to a few colleagues for assistance and it was obvious he was trying to "make it happen" for us. We leaned on the counter patiently, knowing that if he wasn't successful, we would be stranded for the evening with no hopes of another flight. He arranged for a sky cab attendant to personally escort our luggage through security and then put it directly on the plane. He gave us clear directions to the closest gate ( I must admit, that the only way I made it was by following my husband).

Blessing Number Seven: My husband carries enough cash to tip the people who have "made it happen" for you.

Blessing Number Eight: Security lines were short....but....my husband was selected for a random "x-ray" pad search. Luckily, it didn't delay us too much. As we rounded the corner to get to our gate, the attendant that had assisted us at the last airline, came running from the other direction. He said, "I wanted to be sure that you made it to the gate. I've already told them that you are on your way and they are waiting on you." Words can not really capture the relief we felt as we walked through the gate and simultaneously saw our luggage out the window being put on the plane.

Blessing Number Nine: My husband and I had seats together, in the front of the plane, row 5, the exit row with extra leg room. It appeared to be a brand new plane.

Blessing Number Ten: The flight attendant noticed that the connection time to our next flight was quite short. She monitored our landing time and gates throughout the flight and gave us directions to the gate to help us save time.

Blessing Number Ten: Our flight landed 20 minutes early!

Blessing Number Eleven: We made it to the gate in time to pick up some food to eat on the plane. We had missed lunch due to the other problems and the second flight was very long, from Chicago to Anchorage.

Blessing Number Twelve: Safe, smooth flight to Anchorage.... Looks like we will be on time....with only one more leg of the journey... Anchorage to Fairbanks....almost there!

Counting Today's Blessings

Saturday: A Day Trip Adventure

One of our favorite things to do on our days off work is to get in the car and go for a drive. Sometimes we have an idea of where we want to go and other times we just get in the car and start riding. That's what we did on Saturday. Our adventure took us to Elijay with a stop at Cantaberry Cafe for lunch and then wandering through the antique store across the street. Next we drove to Blue Ridge and then to Lake Notteley in Blairsville. We drove through Vogel State Park and then stopped for a hike to Helton Falls. We drove to Dahlonega and had dinner on the square.

Dinner on the porch of the Oyster Bar was an experience that gave us an interesting conversation the rest of the evening. You will notice in the picture above, there is a small table just to my husband's left. After we sat down a young man and his date sat down at the empty table. While he looked at the menu and talked to the waitress, his date went to the restroom. When she returned, she read the menu, seeming not to notice that her date could not take his eyes off of her. At first I thought that perhaps they were newlyweds, but they were not. I'm not certain what they were discussing when the owner stopped by to chat with them, but great laughter evoked and the conversation was loud enough we could hear every word. We soon learned that the couple was on their sixth date and had not had sex.

Due to the close proximity of their table and that they talked rather loudly, we could hear almost everything they said. At one point, they leaned over and talked with us too.....

The lady asked, "Which one of you is the oldest?"

I quickly responded, "I'm the youngest, he's two years older than me."

She said, "You break the rules then, lots of times, women are the oldest. I am 40 and my date is 34."

My husband added, "We're doing pretty good because we've been married 35 years."

She said, "What's your secret?" At that very moment, our waitress walked past us, but after hearing the question, she turned back around and said, "I need to hear this too because I've been dating a guy for a couple of years."

I responded, "It's about commitment and hard work."

My husband said, "It is hard work. He continued to explain that we were high school sweethearts before we were married.

The lady said, "My father's been married five times and on his third try, he married his high school sweetheart."

The lady said, "I can tell by the way you look at your wife that you still think she's hot. And I can tell by the way that she looks at you, that she thinks you are hot. So many times I see couples out and I can tell that the wife is board to death with the husband and that he is board to death with her."

Throughout dinner, my husband and I listened to this couple discuss their relationship, which one was secure in the relationship or not. The lady told the man that she wanted to see how he acted in front of his brother and his friends....whether he would act the same way as he does with her or would he act differently. She indicated that a person should be the same no matter who he is with or what they are doing. The man didn't agree with her because he said when he was with his brother or other people, he would have different thoughts than he would have when he was with her. It became a rather heated discussion...I was pretty sure that if I had been in the conversation, I would have never gone out with either one of them again. At one point, my husband leaned in to me and said, I think I should go ahead and tell him to wave the white flag because this relationship is never going to make it. I was thinking the exact same thing. Oh, how I love our long drives....the things we do together....the things we see....and the people we meet along the way.

Mother's Day

I can't let this Mother's Day end without writing something about my mother. Here are some of my favorite memories of my mother:

1. When I was very little, I remember her loving to "primp". She curled my hair and painted my fingernails. So, when I had my baby girl, I did these same things.

2. When I was growing up she sang songs all the time. She played the piano too. I wanted to learn to play the piano just like her. When I was old enough to begin lessons, I remember placing my first book on the dashboard of the car and pretending to finger the notes. When my parents had friends over for dinner, often times my mother would play and everyone would stand around the piano and sing. When I was old enough we began to sing together in church. We still sing together almost everytime I go home.

3. My mother made almost all of my dresses when I was growning up. She even made my wedding dress. I loved for her to make my clothes because I knew that no one would be wearing the same thing as me. When I was in elementary school, my teachers would always check out my dresses. They'd call me to the front of the room, look at the hem of my dresses, and ask me to twirl around so they could see my mother's handiwork. I know how to sew today because of her. Of course my sewing isn't as good as hers, but I try.

4. My mom is a great cook. Even if I follow the same recipe as her, nothing I ever make tastes as good as hers.

5. She instilled in me the importance of being well-rounded and having confidence. Because I started first grade when I was only five, I lacked the confidence of the other children. To overcome this, my mother enrolled me in dancing. I took tap, ballet, jazz, and pointe. I gained confidence and a sense of stage presence and for this I am very grateful.

6. She encouraged me to try new things. I remember her telling me, "you would be good at that, why don't you give it a try?" She set me up for success by telling me that I would be good at it. Perhaps this is why even today that I am not afraid to try new things. I don't need to know all the answers before beginning, I simply jump in, give things a try, learn and adjust along the way.

7. My mother has an intense love of home and family. She keeps a beautiful home. Both inside and outside, her home always looks great. She continues to put family first. She takes care of us, prays for us, and loves us.

I love my mother and am very thankful for all that she has given me.....and if I'm lucky....I'll grow up to be "just like her". Dear Mom, I Love You!!


This is a family picture we took when everyone was home for Christmas. It's a picture of "my side" of our family--my mom and dad, my brother, my granny (my father's mother), my sister and her husband and two sons, my husband, our daughter and her husband, and myself. Our daughter had just learned that she was expecting her first baby.