A 95th Birthday, A Bittersweet Week

WHAT A MILESTONE TO MAKE IT TO 95!!!

We had a wonderful day with family celebrating Grandma's 95 years!

However, none of us ever dreamed it would be our last week with

her here on this earth....

The whole crowd, after lunch, entertained by our cousin Ghary

as he presented his vast array of gifts, or jokes.
The Birthday Princess, and always a good sport!

Ghary blessed her with many things, a boa, a gigantic bra, a grass

skirt, and lifesized stuffed dog....just the things a 95 year old needs!

About to blow out the candles....

A beautiful day for a party....Becky, Brooke and Blakely

giving Trixie some love...
A true Southern afternoon...all the ladies rockin' on the porch.

For those in attendance who didn't grow up on the farm, cows getting

out and showing up in the yard was quite the entertainment.

Even more entertaining to my family and the Owen family was the fact

that this is the old outhouse, and it looked like they were

standing in line for the outhouse. :-)

Daddy and Uncle Ewell watching all the activities...

A little baseball...

And a bean bag toss...

Me, mama and Grandmama...

Such a special day, and glad Grandmama got to see us all together.

She was admitted to the hospital the next day, one thing led

to another and she passed away the following Thursday. Other than

a little shortness of breath, no pain, no suffering. Just a wonderful

life of 95 years, and then she just went to sleep.

What a blessing she was to all of us.

In Christ, there are no goodbyes...and in Christ, there is no end.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

Dr. Seuss books were DEFINITELY my favorite as a kid! Looking

back at all the books by Dr. Seuss I found this "List of Lessons Learned

from Dr. Seuss". Simple lessons learned as a kid that I am posting

as simple, but important, reminders for adults.

21 Lessons Learned from Dr. Seuss. There are so many great lessons from

Dr. Seuss. Each of his book is such a treasure trove of ideas and

actions for a better life.

1. Be a thinker of great things. Dr. Seuss teaches us, “Oh, the things you can think

up if only you try!”

2. Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Sometimes you just

don’t know what you’ve got until after it’s gone. In Bartholomew and the Ooblek,

King Didd got what he wished for, but the sticky Ooblek goo was worse than the fog,

snow, sunshine, and rain that it replaced. The King quickly wanted his old weather

back and he learned to appreciate it.

3. Be your best you. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “There is no one alive who is

Youer than You.” Make the most of what you’ve got. In Yertle the Turtle, we

see “feather envy” and it’s a gentle reminder to be careful what you wish for and

appreciate what you’ve got.

4. Bend your world in wonderful ways. Nobody bends it like the Cat in the Hat.

From the metaphors you use, to the thinks that you think, you can shape your

world that’s right in front of you.

5. Don’t put yourself in a box. You’re only limited by your own imagination.

The Cat in the Hat teaches us how to let our imaginations run wild.

6. Don’t waste your time worrying who’s better than who. In Yertle the

Turtle, Dr. Seuss teaches us that “You have better things to do than argue

who’s better than who.”

7. Dream it and do it. You can move mountains when you put your mind to it.

Direct your life like a blockbuster and make things happen.

8. Edutainment wins over boring and ho-hum. With whacky words, wondrous

worlds, and fantastical characters, Dr. Seuss taught us the edutainment is how you

change a child’s life. Reading is only boring if you make it so.

9. Kindle your curiosity. Keep your mind open and your eyes peeled. Stay curious

and follow your growth.

10. Life happens in moments at a time. Don’t miss out on life by tuning out

the little things along the way.

11. Own your fun. There’s more to do than play in the rain. When you’re bored,

you’re boring. The Cat in the Hat teaches us to be the maker of our own fun. Make

each day your own special blend of whatever it is that best floats your boat.

12. Play at your day. You can play at your day, in every way.

13. Persistence pays off. Be relentless in your pursuit of things. In Green Eggs

and Ham, it was through persistence that Sam-I-Am finally got the unnamed

character to try the green eggs and ham. In real life, Dr. Seuss’s first children’s

book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times

before being published by Vanguard Press.

14. Treat people fairly and squarely. In The Sneetches and Other Stories,

Dr. Seuss shows us that we can’t judge people by their lot in life or whether they

have a star on their belly. In Yertle the Turtle, it’s a reminder not to climb over

people on your way to the top, because they’re same people you’ll see on

your way back down.

15. Try it … you just might like it. In Green Eggs and Ham, when the unnamed

character was surprised to find out that he actually likes green eggs and ham

once he tried them. You just never know until you try.

16. Saying you’re sorry can help make things right. In Bartholomew and the

Oobleck, when the king finally said the magic words, “I’m sorry,” and “it’s all

my fault,” he helped make things right again.

17. See the bright side of things. It’s a great day for up, when you can see

the sunny side of things. Sure sometimes you’ll have to work at it, but positivity

is a skill. Do it daily.

18. Setbacks happen. Deal with them and move on. Make trouble think

twice about messing with you.

19. Some people are much more unlucky than you. When you’re down in the

dumps and things get real bad, remind yourself that somewhere, somehow,

someway … somebody is much “more unlucky than you.”

20. Success is a journey and we all have our own paths. Make your journey

count. Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let conventional wisdom stop you. Lead

the life you want to live, and when there’s no path, make one.

21. Your voice counts. In Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss shows us how one little

voice can tip the scale … after all, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

A Snowflake Fell....

Well I am not really sure why I uploaded these pictures and never went

back and added the captions. I just realized I had saved it as a draft and

never posted it. Oh well, better late than never, here are our snow pictures

from Blakely....believe it or not, A Snowflake Fell....

Let us not forget that it was Valentine's weekend....

A first for us, delivering in the SNOW!

We took an hour off at 5:00 p.m. to go around and see all the snow.

It only sticks like every 20 years, ha, so we weren't gonna miss

it, not even for Valentine's Day!

It's major news when it snows. They even interviewed the Mayor :-)

Well here's something you don't see on the Courthouse

lawn everyday!

Dixie & Trixie said "nope, too cold to play...headed back

to our beds in the garage"...

The EMTs building a snowman in front of the hospital...

A fun day....Looking forward to our next snow....in 20 years.

No Sightseeing - Just Friends

No Sightseeing - Just Friends...

Yes, I made ANOTHER trip to New York City. This time, just me,

no sightseeing...Just time with friends.

**********

And sometimes friends show up with the same ideas...

And sometimes before all the fun can begin, you have to

hide your face and get a power nap...especially when you don't

start the fun until 11:30 or so...

Me & Brent waiting for the train, headed to Abe & Arthurs,

which is where Will works, to start the fun (& somebody

is a little pouty about the cold weather).

Dinner and visiting with friends, at Will & Becca's apartment.
Me, Brent, Gary & Susie...

Of course no trip is complete without a visit to Brother Jimmy's.

We interrupt this visit for UNC & Clemson basketball.

Immediately after this picture, the 3 of us walking down the street:

Will: "Excuse me sir, we love this girl"

Brent: "yes, we love this girl, don't know yet how much she's

gonna cost us, but we love her"

Hanging out at Will's apartment with the boys and Ramselina

before time to leave....Ramsey asleep on my coat.

Oficially the fewest pictures I have ever taken in NYC, or any trip

for that matter. Guess I was just too busy enjoying being with my friends.

Pure Country...Pure George!

GEORGE & REBA....AMAZING!!

Reba has STILL got it!! And yes, we were this close.

No zoom lens needed :-) Second row!

Reba & LeAnn Womack singing "Does He Love You" "Fancy"
Russ, Caitlin, Me & 'Miss' Sue...

Russ had his hands FULL!

With a daddy that tried to convince me that the only music in

the world was Country, it's all I listened to when I was little.

George had his 1st number one hit when I was 5 years old.

I have LOVED him and his music all my life....

That SMILE...there are NO WORDS!!

MY FAVORITE PICTURE!!! Just a cowboy who stands there

and sings his songs. No smoke, no smashing guitars, just number 1

hit after number 1 hit...

I began brainwashing Caitlin when she was about 2 years old.

This was my 10th concert of his, and I can only think of 2 or 3 that

I've been to without her. She loves him as much as I do!

OF COURSE he was looking at me!! As Russ said about he and Reba,

"We Had A Moment!!" Right after this moment, Rascal Flatts

should have been there to sing "I MELT"! :-)

They touched his hand, and all was right with the world!

He sang for almost 2 hours and as I said when I was a child, (on a day

I was getting a new dog) I just couldn't get the SMILE off of my face!