End of School Honors

First off I managed not to cry for once. End of school year celebrations always get to me. Maybe after all this time I am becoming matter-of-fact about them. We are talking about Jed and though he is my last he has never made me worry about last minute passing panic. (Dave, senior year, Matt freshman year)
We weren't sure if he would get any honors except honor roll because he never said anything. He ended up recieving the science award and second place in the GA Young Writers competition. His poem was entitled "The Sacred Tree" IF anyone has read it please let me know because I haven't had the privilege. He was told by one of the teachers who saw the results that he is currently rated in a tie for number two in class standing. No pressure on the boy but it would be great if he kept that up for the next three years. Now he just needs to expand and get some extracurricular stuff on that college application. Can he do it all and still attend early morning seminary with his eyes open? I don't know if I can stand the suspense for the next few years.

Countdown

I allegedly told my children they could miss Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day but they had to be home for the Family Reunion. Today begins the countdown to the festivities coming up this weekend.
The yards are in pretty good shape, the pool is crystal clear and lights are hung at the volleyball net. For those who haven't heard, I think there is going to be an early afternoon softball game at a field in town.
I haven't decided what I am making yetfor Sunday dinner. Oriental salad and sweet and sour meatballs are on the list.
Oh and for those who have not heard, the clan rules the ward again with the calling of Eileen as the YW president and Vickie as the Primary Pres. Ryan is still hanging in as Elders Quorum Pres. I personally changed out eight rolls of toliet paper at the Women's meeting on Saturday. We all serve however we can.

Don't you think it is time to grow up?

Yesterday was the annual Easter egg hunt. It used to be just for the little children but a couple of years ago I decided to do a hunt for the big kids. It came about because of my saying "Christmas is year round". I like to spread the spending out over twelve months. We all know the seasons are not about presents but who doesn't love getting them.
So we loaded all the babies into the back of the truck to keep them from being trampled in the stampede, lined all the big kids up, and after a telling of the rules let them loose. Next year if you are in town around 4:00 in the pm on Easter, stop by for a good laugh. Jed was the big winner and it is pretty obvious from the photo why. I know everyone thinks I told him where to look for the prize egg, but I didn't. Jennifer almost stepped on top of it at one point.It was buried halfway in the dirt under a bush, but was clearly visible if you were standing in the right spot. Oh, did I mention money was involved? One dollar per egg, ten smackaroos for the prize egg. I think Jed is going to use some of his winnings to go see the new Hannah Montana movie. I am sorry I cut Dave and Cory out of the picture.

weather part two-Hail

It was insane!!

It's Raining, It's Flooding

So it doesn't look very deep here but it is. It is also very cold. The road down from the house was closed earlier we suppose; they were only letting traffic go one lane at a time. Joy of joys school is canceled tomorrow. That means I can stay up and watch the series end of ER.

Here is My Excuse

I notice a definite slowdown in the blogging world. Those of us on Facebook know that is one reason;it is just quicker to post one liners. It is another example of this hurry-up world we live in. My other excuse is trying to find a time when the computer is available. Do you realize we have five adults in this house plus two part-timers using this computer? It makes it difficult to find a moment to compose thoughts and add pictures. My last excuse is the beautiful weather we have been having. Those of you who have been to the compound know the lure of the chairs in the gathering spot on a beautiful spring day. Once you sit down, you don't want to move for hours. When you finally do get back in the house, all the things that were put off while you were sitting outside are waiting to be done. Making things even harder are the wonderfully confortable chairs we got from Eileen's sister!

Down in the dumps

I don't know why I am feeling low today. Actually, that is a lie but I won't bore everyone with the reasons why. I had a great week and the weather was so perfect today. Everyone has low days. The important thing is how we handle them. For anyone interested, when I am having one, just leave me alone. I will work through my issues. If I am not myself for several days in a row, there might be cause for alarm. I will usually let you know when I want help. I want everyone to remember this for future reference because with the world in the state it is in, everyone is likely to have more bad days than in the past.

Raising a New Porch

After a couple of incidents involving G-mom and a wheelchair we decided it was time to build a new porch on the Barn. A week ago Monday most of the men in the family gathered together to don toolbelts and "get it done!" They got a great start and I am happy to say that though it is not finished the grandparents are not trapped in the house and G-mom's knee has recovered enough for her to go down the steps. To cut them a little slack, the weather was lousy a couple of days this week and Donald did have a doctor appt and Dave did go on the temple trip today. The only requesst G-dad had was for a screened in porch. When finished it will be not only that but will have a swing and chairs for late evening porch sitting.

Fathers and Daughters

Since no one else has told about it here goes.. One of the social events of the season in Tifton is the Daddy/Daughter Valentine Dance. This year I suggested that Dave take his girls and James drive over with his. I knew Jimmy and Catie had gone in the past. They all thought it was a great idea.

So last Thursday they all got gussied up and went off for an evening of fun. I wish you all could have seen the dance line as it passed by the camera Hayward's daughter Durran was holding. She was filming for the Fun Channel broadcast. We were not happy with her efforts as she managed to cut off all the father's heads and give the viewer whiplash with her movements. A fun time was had by all though no one came home with any door prizes, only candy and balloons. (The two Jed is holding were the Cinderella's of the night, they have to wait till they get a little older. Also DAVE spent all day driving around Tifton to buy dresses and shoes for his girls. Anyone need a personal shopper? He is looking for employment.)

Five Happy Things

1. Clean sheets, house, and body at the end of a long week.
2. Cutting roses in my garden.
3. Watching a movie by myself on Friday nights (it is usually something only a few people would like)
4. Filling my shopping cart with sale items
5. Making Jed laugh or at least smile as I drop him off to school in the mornings.

More Jed

What can I say, he is so photogenic. This is what he looks like after a long day that started out with seminary. We know he isn't using the blankie for warmth since it is not covering any exposed body parts, so we must conclude he needed a lovey after a long hard day.

I Love Seminary!

Jed as the Apostle Paul

Pound Cakes

Thanks to G-dad's chickens we have a lot of eggs on hand. I decided to make some pound cake using Great-grandmom Mcghee's recipe. I've made this cake many times. When we lived in Valdosta, GA way back in the 70's, the Bishop of the ward called me to the stand one Sunday. He gave me five dollars and told me to take my talents and multiply them. He also picked a young man for this challenge. I don't remember what the young man did, I just remember I did lots better than him. I bought ingredients with my money and cooked and sold pound cakes. I don't remember how much I made or what I charged, I just remember being glad when it was all over! Wish I had my double oven back then. I can whip them out quickly these days. Pound cake anyone? In case you are interested in the recipe, it is in the reunion cookbook which I am in the process of editing a second printing.

Smashed

I think if I didn't have the gospel in my life I would be prone to drink. TV makes it look so darn inviting. On days when I feel a little smashed in the middle, I could get a little smashed. Not that I have reached that point yet because we all know the Lord never gives us more than we can bear. I have a cold, Jen would probably welcome a visit to assist with care during her down time from puenomia, and grandmom starts radiation every day for five weeks or so. This doesn't even begin to take in to account the never ending reaarranging going on around here. I know you are all saying "admit it Mom you love life like this." Jed had to write an essay on what is normal. We all had a good time with that one!! i know all will be well as long as I get the afternoon power nap.

My word

ignore- pay no attention to, refuse to consider, disregard deliberately. I shall endeavor to ignore things, people, places, words, etc. that cause me to have high blood pressure. I will try to ignore foods that aren't good for me (good luck on this), I shall ignore Satan trying to fill me with discouragement or ungodly temptation. I shall ignore the phone ringing into a much needed nap. ( I might ask everyone to ignore this post if I come up with a better word.) It is hard to find and pick just one word!

One Word

Jen asked everyone to pick one word to identify their plans for the new year. I decided to explore the dictionary. I opened it randomly and put my finger on a word, Kick. Next word was dictatorship. Tried one more time and the word was kickoff. So what does this mean? Heck if I know! Let's try again. Ok, this isn't working. Word was entrain, meaning to drag along after oneself. Last time, I am stopping now and giving more thought. Word was lie.

He was bored

Jed refuses to update his blog so Helen and I thought we would share what we found while looking at on-line photos today.

The Girls

No not all my adorable granddaughters. I am refering to G-dad's latest blogs. Who thought we would have a chicken farm in our backyard? I always thought G-dad thought they were smelly disgusting animals but you should see the house he keeps remodeling for his "girls" I must say there is one rooster out there also who is trained to begin crowing whenever he sees the hand that feeds him, anywhere in the yard. I tried to get a picture of rooster and the cat but wasn't successful yet. The cat follows Dad to the pen now as well as down to the road to pick up the paper. I would not be a bit surprised to see G-dad walking around the yard soon followed by a whole trail of critters? It will be ok as long as no one falls in the cement pond!

Not only are Dave and Eileen responsible for the chicken invasion but they gave the G-parents a digital picture frame for Christmas. Now everyone who visits can see what we presently look like instead of older pics. So keep posting photos on your blogs and we or Susan, the family techno person will transfer them to the frame.

Christmas Presents

As you can see, Jed finally gave me a lesson on camera usage. I had to try and see if I could take a picture of my new tricycle. Dave took some great ones on his camera but didn't download them yet. For some reason his pictures will bear the label "Think Wizard of Oz". Just because there is an old lady riding a bike with a dog in the basket... Anyway, I love my bike!!! I started kidding around with G-dad several months ago about how fuel efficent one would be for trips to CVS. I also am always looking for inovative ways to exercise while combining other tasks. Can you just take my word for it that Gretchen and Sammie love riding in the basket? (see Dave's forthcoming photos) The real fun part though concerns Jed. He told me one day I could never do anything to embarass him. That was what he thought until....he heard me talking about the bike. He made some comment and I told him wouldn't it be fun to pick him up from school one day and let him ride in the basket. Helen used to love it when I would do that with her in kindergarten. Of course the basket was on the front of the bike and she was only five. Jed now lives in fear of the day I ride my blue bike to the back of Northeast campus. I have to figure out what kind of bell, horn, or other accessories to get. I need to figure out what to wear. Possibly outfit from Agrirama days complete with straw hat. Oh, the possibilities!! Never put out a dare to a fifty-three year old woman looking for ways to prove just how crazy she really is.

I shouldn't Make Jokes!

Why is it in these pictures there are two men working and one man standing looking on? At least I know they all had a hand in the project because it is a different guy. The project is still not finished but, hey, the holidays came along, and school graduations, and trips to Idaho. The new kitchen as is came in handy over the holidays. We had several people in there at the same time and both ovens going. Traffic flow was great while fixing plates as we feasted Christmas Eve.