Lovin' the Beach

This week has been restful and beautiful. We have walked a couple of times each day. The sun was hot today and my chest is red with some break out bumps:( I should have been more careful, but after missing a couple of days due to clouds, we are soaking it up. Tonight we ate at Aunt Catfish' and love the hot bar as well as the HUGE salad bar. I got fried catfish and a sweet potato as sides. Everyone had a great meal. This one family ate there tonight from our recommendation and they thanked us over again.
As far as home, granny is still in ICU, she should come home on Thursday; Bev says daddy is going into the hospital in the morning to get a permanent tube in so his abdomen will drain without having to keep having them come to drain it....my brother in law, Glen, is having surgery to remove a kidney and on a much lighter side, Matthew had a fever at daycare today. So, everyone needs a little prayer if you have the time:) Thanks all.

2nd verse same as the 1st

I am so bummed....stopped again to talk to a lady passing through this space and "poof" went back to blog and touched a key, my whole entry is gone. I am trying to hurry to get out in the sun, so not something I wanted to do...repeat words! Now, what all did I want to say?? After a rainy Sunday/Monday, Tuesday was sunny. Very cool for Florida, but I am happy to see the sun. Our friends are staying 1 mile down the beach (Grand Seas Resort), so they have walked here or we there each day. Yesterday, we ate the best breakfast with them for $2.79 each. Two eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 pancakes....coffee for Clyde, tip and all $10.00. Then we layed out there and played putt putt at their resort. The Grand Seas is very nice for kids....several pools and lots to do. We are at the Maverick Beach Resort and much quieter, but nice enough. We like the Islander (New Smryna where the Waggoner's own, and now we do!) much better than here, and look forward to getting back there next year (well, my first post said none that I've written so far!) Last night we picked up Charlie & Julie and rode over to New Smryna Steakhouse to eat with Fred & Michelle. Good steaks and went back to their place for cobbler. We watched Dancing with the Stars (sorry Fred)...tonight we plan to meet and eat at Aunt Catfish'. Talked to Becky in Madrid yesterday and miss her a lot but I am very thankful for her time in Spain. Also, thankful for her good husband that is taking care of my sweet babies. Thanks Jason for being that kind of dad. How did Becky get so blessed? Thanks to Jason Allen who mowed a big yard yesterday....he knows dad hates for it to get too high and he took care of it. Remember Clyde's mom (GiGi to the kids)....she is in the hospital recovering from clearing out arteries in her neck. Also, my prayers are with Martha & Glen at this time for their health. Remembering you guys daily. Thanks Beverly for your comments, support to Jason & Becky. Love you all....here are a few photos...nothing to brag about. See you soon.

Rainy Florida

A rainy Monday in Daytona....no one fighting for a chair today!
At the backdoor of the Waggoners Florida home. Right off their patio.

When we pulled up out front....the condo is so nice:)

Sitting out back on their screened in porch these flew in!

Well, it is a rainy Monday in Daytona Beach Florida...rainy days and Monday, you know the drill. Yesterday was cloudy all day...no sun at all. So, anyone dying for Florida, at least my part, don't be too sad! Fri. & Sat. were beautiful, but we were in transition, but nice to drive into the sun! Becky is in Spain with her very good friend, Jessica, Thomas, and a group of students. The photos on her blog are great. She is having a wonderful time although she is missing the kids. Jason is doing fine with them, but pray for MJ if you read this. She is getting a bug of some sort. We went to eat at our favorite Italian Rest. on Sat. night, Stavros, with enough left over for lunch on Sunday. Sunday night we ate in New Smyrna at Blackbeards then went back to the Waggoners place, the Islander (this is where we now have bought a week:) and played dominoes. We played chicken foot, which is Tricia's mom & dads game! We enjoyed the time together and we love the Islander. Julie & Charlie are at the Grand Seas and we watched UK lose to WV at their place. The Grand Seas Resort is super nice....great room, great outside pool areas....lots to do for the kids there. Tonight we plan to eat in Ormond (where we are) at the River Grill. I am thinking of dad a lot and what all mom is going through with my family. Pray for them please. Thanks all. It's stopped raining outside, so I need to sign off. We will go for a walk on the beach, and pray the sun comes out soon! Bye everyone. p.s. sisters, I am praying for your family at this time....keep me posted (I check messages on FB and my email).

2nd post tonight!

I don't want to "cover up" the post below, but a couple of things I forgot. We kept the kids last Thursday overnight and Bec picked them up on Fri. morning before they left for GWL. Anyway, as we were watching the UK game on Thursday, Maggie fell asleep sometime around halftime then next Matthew grew tired and he went to bed with a book. So, it was just Pap, Nana and Austin til the game was over. At one point a UK player had his arm raised and Austin saw under arm hair. He was TOO cute wrinkling up this nose and asking what it was....I told him men had that under their arms but he didn't believe me. I told Pap to show him, so he did. It was just funny to hear him ask about such things.
The other thing is that Becky & family went by to see papaw tonight (Monday) b/c she will be leaving for Spain this Friday. When they arrived, there was a woman & man from Eastland singing and he (I think) was playing the keyboard. They arrived before the last song, and Becky sat at papaws feet holding Maggie. It was hard, as you can imagine, so she shed a few tears. The song was "His Eye is on the Sparrow" and papaw joined in and sang a few words/lines! When they were on the way home, Austin asked why the lady kept singing about a "sparrow".....I think he was thinking she was singing about the pirate, Jack Sperrow (spelling?) Moments to remember.

Catch up Monday

The 1st T-ball practice for the boys...they are on the Mets.
The asst. coach asked "who is new?" and Austin said "I am"...the coach asked Austin to count
1-2-3 and everyone say "go Mets"....they had to do it twice, but I was proud Austin volunteered!

Matthew standing on 2nd base....we had to tell him where to go when the coach said "Matthew go to 2nd"....how would he know??

School was out on Friday and Clyde worked 10 hr. days so we were both off work. The weather was nice so we did a little yard work. Then we ate at Bellanote (spelling?) out on the patio beside the fireplace (doors open!) I love their grilled fish sandwich with dill sauce....so yummy. That night we went to see Blindside for the second time and I loved it just as much this time:) Sat. early morning Jason Allen & Clyde met the Wiley's (Chris, Joe, Stephanie & friends) over at the Wiley's and had breakfast. Then they all traveled to Bristol, TN, to see the nascar race. Becky & kids went to Great Wolf Lodge on Fri. and into Sat. so I had a pretty "free" weekend with all the family away. Since Becky's family had a full day on Sunday, they decided to attend church on Sat. evening, so I did as well. Seemed a little strange on Sunday to sleep in then not go to church, but it was fine. I went to the mall for a few things, then on to see the boys have their first baseball practice. That was interesting! The team is the Mets and from what we can tell, they have a young team with only 4 or so returning players. Most are new, so this may be a team that improves as they learn. We hope so. At this point, the boys need to learn to step and throw in one motion, not two steps. Learning to stop the ball is another thing, so I look forward to seeing how this season goes!

Friday Night Fun with Grandkids!

Austin and Matthew wanted to take "our" pictures, so they did!
Ms. Maggie doesn't like to look at the camera!

The boys love pizza and they love drawing....perfect dinnertime with a 2, 4, and 5 yr. old!

Matthew took this picture of MJ!

Love these sweet faces...kiss..kiss..kiss....

We read a Spanish/English book about apples!

Matthew's new bedroom! So cool.

We had a great evening with Matthew, Austin & Maggie. Last week we didn't see them much, so we called earlier this week and made plans to have them for awhile on Friday night. Becky & Jason went out to eat quickly at Smashin' Tomatoes then on to see "Blindside". I knew Bec would love it and she did (course she cried). She registered the boys at Huntertown (Versailles) this week and cried. She spoke to the coach on their ballteam (Mets) and she most likely cried (I don't know that she did, but probably). It is hard seeing your kids grow up and change.
We took them to Sir Pizza last night b/c I knew they would eat it well. They did, a lot! We ordered them both a sprite and they drank very little of it. While there, the boys loved writing on new pads I brought them and MJ sat very nicely doodling as well. The boys wrote words they sounded out and drew pictures.
After this, we went to see GiGi (granny). She has been down with her back and she hasn't been driving at all, so she hasn't seen the kids in a long while. They love GiGi and enjoyed seeing her. They always get a little candy from her and they count, sing and just be "kids" while they are there. I know they have changed a lot since she last saw them. It was getting late and Maggie was tired, but she was good...just not real "lively".
Next, we took them back to their house and didn't stay up long as they have a BIG day today (Saturday). They all brushed their teeth, got into PJ's and I read a book to Austin and Matthew picked out one for Clyde to read (the longest book!) MJ just went on to bed. I will post a few pictures that will be in no particular order...I spend as much time as I want on this and don't have any extra time or patience formatting the pictures (wish they were as easy to format as in Word, but NOT).
Today we will watch UK beat TN with friends coming over to join us.....need to get off here and bake a Derby pie! Love, Later, Bye!

Beautiful Wednesday!

The boys were celebrating Mexico today at Tots so they both dressed the part!

Yesterday Beck needed to hang out for a hour so she dropped by with the kids. I made them a quick after school snack then headed for the Toyota dealership to drop off the Avalon. Then we ate a quick meal at Sonny's and drove on to our ABF (Sunday School) teacher's house. We had a meeting about making a change in class in that we will now meet off campus as a small group on Wednesday's at the Norvell's. Glenn has taught this class for almost 30 years and several of the couples that started with the Norvells are still with the class. The rest of us joined in at some point and have loved the journey together! From the beginning, we have taken in food when babies came (for those that were there then!), when there has been illness, a death in the family and so on. For each of us, we truly want to grow old together and seem to be doing just that! So, our prayer is that this class will continue to share prayers, blessings, times of sorrow, and more together as one big family. Thanks Glenn & Teresa for opening up your home and your hearts. We love you.
About the kids....Maggie can count to 10, Matthew & Austin have their first t-ball practice this Sat. and their team is the Mets. I am so excited, I can hardly stand it. Austin is very cautious about most things in life, so I am hoping he doesn't get scared and can get in there and swing the way he has in the backyard. He has a good stance and swing. Matthew is pretty fearless, and a year ago I was thinking he should stick with football or soccer. However, as the summer went on, he was hitting very well off the tee and looked good. He isn't afraid of anything that we've seen so far, except a healthy fear of our fishpond. Can't wait.

Walk at the Arboretum

Most likely didn't spell Arboretum right but actually just checked ABC and said no misspelling was found:) OK, just a quick note about our day. After attending the 2nd service, which was very crowded, but no problems getting in or out, we went home to watch UK beat Fl! I cooked us up a couple of country ham sandwiches, an apple salad (doesn't go that well but all I had on hand!) and we finished off with some m & m's! After the game, yeah Blue, we walked the Arboretum. It was beautiful and a FULL house...so many cars, no one could find a place to park. Ate at El Chicos, the best fajatas we have had there...grilled chicken, steak, shrimp and a couple of ribs. Yummo......we gardened some today before our walk, just cut back LARGE butterfly bush, and CB did a lot of trimming. Now, he is choosing mats and frames for a couple of pictures for my BR and one for my kitchen for my birthday coming up in April. I can't think of anything I wanted, so he is doing these just for me! Love having a framer handy.

Weekend is here!

Saturday is here again so time for an update to my blog (thanks Shawna for the reminder!) I haven't been taking many pictures so I hesitate to write much w/o pictures to back up the words :)
Last night was low keyed but enjoyable. Thank goodness I have friends that take the time to call around and make arrangements for a group of us to KIT. We normally eat too much, spend too much and wind up back at someone's house for dessert. Not this time....we met and ate very large (extra!), very meaty, very veggie pizzas at Sir Pizza. There is a new one on South Broadway that we went to. SP has always been our favorite pizza place. So yummy! (that's Alyssa's word) After eating, some of us went back to Susan Wiley's house to see her new window treatments. Great job Susan Walton in making them....they look great!

Saturday brought the annual STEM Fair (formally Technology Fair) at Bryan Station High. I got on the road before 8 and got home about 1. It was a long morning, but I am glad to do it and glad it's over! Our project this year was in the category of Community Service. At school we made 70+ mouse pads of many different nature and horse themes. They really turned out nice. We charged $5.00 for each and the entire amount (total $330) will go to Food for the Hungry to be used for the victims in Haiti. This week we got in more supplies (pads & transfer paper) and made 50+ more to take today. We sold these for the same $5.00 and designated the money to go half to Hospice of the Bluegrass and we are keeping half for toner (which we are now OUT of). That will be $50.00 to Hospice and $50 for new supplies.
Speaking of Hospice, I will download a picture of a basket that I put together for them. It wasn't a big deal at all. I added a card (didn't sign our families name) but I did mention how grateful our family is to them for the care of our father. Any little thing I can do is very small compared to all they are doing for he & mom. After I got home, Clyde and I went to eat at Saul Good, bought pillows next door at Kirklands and came home. Relaxing day....nice warm fire going now...my favorite muffins just out of the oven, watching Pretty Woman for the ????? time and catching up on my blog!
I will close by adding a few pictures from Matthew's 5th birthday party. He now has been with Becky's family for one year. He has been a real joy, although things have not always been as easy. He and Austin are good buds and play very well together. Becky & Jason have taken their small office and built him a closet, put up a wall and decorated his bedroom in the theme of "Pirates"! I haven't seen the finished product but I am looking forward to seeing it!
Jason was glad to run in to an old friend, Jenny, from Southland!