Mama never has been one to cry much.  Guess I'm like her in that way.  But I do remember her crying on the morning of Thanksgiving Eve many, many years ago.

    I must've been about 8 or 9, and our family was excited...we were going to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with Mama's family!  It was a trip we made every summer, but only occasionally did we go for holidays.  My younger sisters and I could hardly contain our excitement, and I can only imagine how much Mama was looking forward to being with her parents, 9 siblings, and all of their people for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

It's a very LONG drive...twenty-four straight hours in the car later, our Texas peeps have arrived for Thanksgiving!

My brother Mark, his wife Alli (behind the camera today...) and their three children are at Mama's for the week, and we're all so excited to see them!

After my trip to Bloomington Saturday, my mind is beginning to wander a bit beyond Thanksgiving and I'm starting to think a little about Christmas. 

Seeing those IU Sample Gates decked with Christmas greenery was like a big welcome hug, taking me back oh-so-many-years to wonderful memories of college days at Indiana University.

Sunday morning as I sat in the church pew, I was a proud mama.

Kamaron (on right) did an awesome job delivering the message about sharing Jesus with others.  And his brother Kristoffer was a willing volunteer as Kamaron demonstrated practical ways to have that very conversation that is so hard but yet so important.

As I sat there and listened to them, my heart was filled with thankfulness that God chose me to be their mother...

Fifty years ago today, my innocent little-girl world was shaken and would never be the same again with the assassination of our nation's president.  It was a scary, turbulent time in America and everyone who is my age or older can remember where they were and what they were doing when they found out that President Kennedy had been murdered.

For my children, 9/11 was the defining moment in America's history...for my generation, it was the day JFK died.

originally posted November 22, 2008

    He was young, charismatic, a President the people had come to love.  He had it all...power, looks, money, a beautiful wife and children, fame and fortune.  And suddenly, it was gone, stolen by a bullet through his brain as he paraded through Dallas, smiling and waving at the adoring crowds.

    November 22, 1963.  The memory of that day is forever seared into my mind.  And each year, when our nation mourns the anniversary of JFK's death, I am whisked back in time to my first-grade classroom at Hagerstown Elementary.

originally posted October 30, 2009

I can only remember one time in my life when I was completely, utterly lost.

I was only 4 years old at the time, and my memories of the details surrounding it are vague at best.  But I remember the terror I felt like it was yesterday.

Cincinnati Zoo, summer of 1961.

What an exciting day it was, a trip to the zoo in far-away Cincinnati!  I was 4 years old and my sister Barb would have been just 1.  Some family friends were visiting and the two families headed for a day's outing at the nearest zoo at the time, 1 1/2 hours away in Cincinnati.

Honestly, I can't recall much at all about the zoo itself.  I remember watching the monkeys and riding on the giant tortoises.  I'm quite sure they don't let kids do that anymore.

What I do remember vividly are the snakes.

I got lost looking at the snakes.

Saturday morning my husband Kim cleaned out the chickenhouses and hauled manure.  Saturday afternoon he and I headed into Indianapolis for a fancy date in the big city.

Yes, my man is a one-of-a-kind...which is no surprise at all to any who know him.

google.com image

Our son and daughter-in-law had very generously gifted us with tickets to the Broadway musical Wicked...not just any old tickets (which would have been awesome in itself), but 3rd row front and center!!!

Our mallard diorama is finished.

Eight mallards have achieved the closest thing possible to eternal life for a duck.

Bonus from last weekend's trip to Bloomington for Sydney's black belt and Anique's shower...driving the gorgeous fall roads of southern Indiana.  Fall is my favorite time of year...

If laughter really IS the best medicine, my overnight stay at sister Barb's house should keep me healthy for a good, long time!

Much, much better than any hotel...

Barb challenged me to help her build a ball as big as possible...made of foil Rollo wrappers.

A girl after my own heart....I gave it my all....

Amish families heading to church early last Sunday morning, just down the road from my father-in-law Kenny's house...

Speaking of Kenny...

Before my mother-in-law Peggy died in 2007, Kenny and Peggy would take annual hiking trips with her sister and brother-in-law.  This past September, when Cindy and John were heading west for their annual trip, Kenny was finally able to go along without Peggy at his side.  While I know he still misses Peggy terribly, it was good for them to invite him and very good for him to go.

As he was packing for his trip, I insisted he take along my small pocket camera to take some photos.  He pooh-poohed it at first, telling me Cindy would take plenty of shots and he didn't need to take a camera plus the last picture he took was with an old Brownie camera.  But I don't give up easily, and just to make me happy he stuck it in his pocket.

When he got home and gave me back the camera, I almost dreaded looking at the shots and hoped that maybe he got a decent one or two during the 3 weeks they were gone.

When I began scrolling through the 350 photos he took (amazing in itself!), I was stunned at the FABULOUS photos he had! 

I mean...seriously???  This could be on the cover of National Geographic!!!

The man never ceases to amaze....

Kim and I've got a fun Saturday in the big city planned...hope y'all have a great one too!

Kamaron and Anique are not the only ones caught up in the baby fever...our Cincinnati kids Kyler and Kara are making baby preparations of THEIR own!

In March, we will all welcome the exciting arrival of their Baby Gray!  See those photos on the chalkboard...that's our baby!!!

I know...once you've seen one sonagram, you've seen them all...that is unless it's YOUR baby or grandbaby and then it's the most ADORABLE sonagram ever taken!

Kyler and Kara have chosen not to find out the baby's gender beforehand, adding an extra element of surprise and anticipation to the big March event!