Grandchildren

Sometime around the year of 1994 this picture was taken on my couch of all of my grandchildren.  I don't know if I have ever shared it here, so here it is.........

Pictured from left to right:  Brian Douglas Hatcher, Matthew Ryan Powell, Brandon Gene Hatcher, Megan Morris (Malear) and Zachary Morris.

Aren't they so sweet?  I wouldn't take a million dollars for my precious grandchildren.  They are priceless and I'm so proud of them.  All five of them are all grown up now and four of them have children of their own, making me a proud great-grandmother of five great-grandchildren.  Again I am blessed with four great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter.

One of these days maybe the great-grandchildren will all line up together and I'll have a picture of them all together, like I do of their parents.  Once I do, I'll try to post the picture here below. 

Feeling Blessed

 I just off the phone talking to my brother Dennis and his wife Laurel.  I have been thinking about them for a while, and they were also on the Zoom call yesterday, but my Mac doesn't support audio on Zoom, so I didn't get to do much but watch.  My iPhone was able to pick up audio, but not well enough for them to hear me, but I could hear them.

Anyway getting back to today.......I was tickled to death to get to speak to Laurel & Dennis.  I miss them so much and I wish we lived closer, especially now since we are all growing older.  Before long, one of us will be gone, and then it will be too late to tell them how much I love and miss them.  

Here is an older picture of Laurel & Dennis with their grandchildren when the grandchildren were much younger.  Laurel & Dennis pretty much still look the same today as they did in this picture.  They just don't seem to age, but one of the grandchildren is already in college, so that gives you an idea of how old this picture is.

Brandon and Jessi's Junior/Senior Prom 2012

 This is Brandon and Jessi and they are both juniors in high school.

They both look great! and the picture above was taken

at Jessi's home by her mother.  

This is Jessi in the same dress as above.  I took this picture

 in front of Red Lobster where Brandon took Jessie to eat.

I just love Brandon's white tux, he looked so handsome.

Took the day off...

Tomorrow it's back to normal, but today I took the day off and I spent it with Megan, Myles and Sharon, and we did nothing but girly stuff.  We looked and shopped for baby clothes, mainly a zebra sleeper for Myles and found some seasonal outfits on sale, Buy One, Get One Free and how can you pass that up :)

We had lots of fun today thanks to Suzanne for scouting around and finding the zebra sleeper in Lexington, Zac and Jen for the Red Lobster gift certificate which we made good use of today on Red Lobster's all you can eat Shrimp Fest, and for just being around family.  You can never go wrong hanging around with family.

I love spending the day with my girls and wish that Suzanne could have joined us too, but she was enjoying spending time with Matt in his new detailing shop.   Jimmy took the opportunity to go riding today and then settled in to raking leaves which he says he loves to do, so I guess all of us were where we wanted to be.

(This picture I borrowed from Val's facebook page)

Yesterday Sandie, Valerie and Lillian stopped by to visit.  It was a beautiful day so we all sat outside while Lillie chased the cats around the yard.  Princess likes Lillian because Lillian is so gentle with her, so she let Lillie catch her. Valerie invited us to go to the Pumpkin Patch with her and Lillie, and I'm hoping that nothing interferes and that we'll be able to go with them.  I think it will be fun and I'm looking forward to spending time with Jimmy's side of the family too.

The First Week in October

Every since I got my new smartphone, it seems that I'm constantly checking my calendar to see if I can squeeze any more events and things to do in it.  My life suddenly seems very busy, but I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!  My time is spent with family and helping Jimmy.  I've spent time with every single one of my grandchildren this week except for Brandon, but I am holding Brandon's PSP hostage and I know that he'll have to come see me to get it back, lol.

Besides going to Buffalo Wild Wings with Megan, Myles and Sharon, I'll be meeting them again next Tuesday for a girls day out....but men are welcomed if they want to join us.

Doug works construction and on one of the days when they had no work to do, Doug came over and helped Jimmy repair one of our storage buildings.  He's a very good worker and was a great help to Jimmy, but unfortunately for us he was called back to his regular job.

The shed got a new roof

Doug working on the back wall

With Doug gone back to his regular job, that left me to help Jimmy out....And,  I'll have to pat myself on the back if I don't say so myself :)  It had been 17 years since I had helped build anything, but it all came back to me once I started in on the job.  Jimmy called me "bossy" at first, but then I showed him that I knew what I was doing.  I had my shortcuts to measuring and marking the boards, which Jimmy didn't understand at first, but he let me do it my way, I'm sure hoping that I would fail, but I think I surprised him instead, because I was allowed to help for a second and third day.

Time to start on the front 

My first piece fit perfectly and so did all of my other cuts

Look how nice the door looks.
The supports are on the inside of the door so it
won't warp.

Now I'm cutting the trim

  
The shed is almost complete.  All it needs now are the new shingles on the roof.  I think I'll just hand them up to Jimmy and let him do that job.  We have one more shed to repair and I'm really looking forward to helping with that job too.

Zac stopped by to visit on Wednesday and we all went to Papaleno's for lunch.  After lunch he came back to the house and called his mom (Sharon) and she came by after she finished her job.

Since they were both on their bikes,
they rode home together which was nice.

The Mon, Wed, Friday visits to the vet are still going on with Princess, so that in itself keeps me running to Richmond all the time.  She's doing great and her kidney function tests are just about back to normal levels.

Princess at the vets office

While working on the shed Jimmy burned out his circular saw and we had to go to Richmond to buy another one and we ran into Sharon and Myles (on purpose).  I knew she was there shopping because she had text me, so I directed Jimmy into that direction so that I could see Myles :)

This is what Myles looked like down in the snugly thing

And of course Sharon was buying baby items for Myles, including that Snugly thing, and if you look in that shopping cart there is a jogging stroller so that Myles can go jogging with Sharon.
To see more pictures CLICK HERE

Stormy Rainy Morning

I woke up to tornado warnings and watches.  That doesn't bother me much because I love storms and it for some reason didn't seem to bother our cat Jybow either, so I knew that nothing was going to happen around here.  The way animals behave is a good indicator of what is about to happen, and Jybow would have already run for cover if any kind of storm was on its way.

I waited until it was sprinkling lightly before I went out, and Jybow was purring and rubbing her neck against the bottom of the grill.  It had rained hard all morning, so Jybow was glad to be out.

The wind had blown some small branches down from the old Sycamore tree which Jimmy was picking up, and a few leaves had blown around the cat's water jug.  It's beginning to look a lot like Fall around here.

This Burning Bush is beginning to change colors.  We have two and this one begins to change colors before the other one does.  They are planted side by side but this one gets more sun and maybe that's why.

This is the same bush as the first picture above it.

To the left of this swing is the second Burning Bush and it's still green.  It doesn't have not one red leaf on it yet and won't until the other one is almost completely red.   This bush is mostly in the shade and maybe that's why.

Since the day was rainy, and while sitting in the vet's office with Princess this morning, I decided to ask Megan if she'd like to have a late lunch with me.  I hadn't seen Myles in about 2 days and I was having a "Myles withdrawal," lol.  Today he was 7 weeks old and he's getting cuter and more alert all the time.

It was a nice surprise to find out that James was off work today and able to join us too.  Sharon and Scott had plans to go to the movies together, but at the last minute Sharon decided to come join us at Buffalo Wild Wings.  It's the place that Megan chose, and now that I know what it's like, I'm going to take my grandson Brandon there.  He's always wanted to go there.  But I'll have to remember to be sure to take a flashlight with me because it's so dimly lit in there and these old eyes need plenty of light to be able to read their menu.  I had to ask the waitress to read some of it for me and then when Megan showed up she showed me that my cell phone has a built in flash light on it.  WOW!  I need to hang around with my grandchildren more so that I can find out more neat things about my new phone.  And the reason I'll need to carry a small flashlight with me is because unless I have a sticky note plastered to my forehead, I'll never remember how to find that flash light on my phone again. hahaha.

By the time we finished our meal and visited for a while the sun was shining brightly and it turned out to be a very beautiful day.  Later when I got home Doug, Tabby and Makayla stopped by for a nice long visit and to wish me a Happy Birthday.  That was so sweet of him even though he had called me on my birthday.

Well that was my day.  How was your's?  Good I hope.

Today our ride led us to Sharon's house

After working all day Megan stopped in to visit her mama.
Megan has 8 weeks to go before the arrival of
baby Myles.

My daughter Sharon Walker and granddaughter Megan Malear.

My sweet granddaughter Megan Malear.

Today our ride was short.  We rode to Irvine, Kentucky and ate at Cedar Village then I decided to visit Sharon in Richmond, Kentucky.  We also rode to Walmart to look for about a 16 gallon cooler to carry on my bike.  Right now I carry one that is 28 gallons and sometimes also a really tiny one that only holds 6 cans of pop.  I want one that is in between those two sizes, one that will fit nicely on my passenger seat and won't be too cumbersome.  When I find the one I want I'll buy it, but until then I'll keep searching.

Jimmy, Zac and I are thinking of going on a ride together.  If Sharon can get off work by 12:30 p.m. she can also join us and we can all meet Megan for lunch and then continue on our ride.  Sounds like a winner to me.  It's about time the family gets in gear and we start riding together again.  Life's too short to waste any more time.

Oh wow....look how many days it's been since I've been here.  It's a frosty cold morning here and Reva is still in the hospital.  Her regular doctor is returning to work today, so continuity in care is on its way with only one doctor taking care of Reva instead of a different doctor each day. We all wish Reva well and hope she's back on her feet soon.

Jimmy has been a bit under the weather himself, still complaining of that same pain in his left chest and doing more napping than usual.  I hope the doctors find out the direct cause of his problem soon and fix it.  That hasn't stopped him from still trying to do all the things that he's always done though, although on a slower playing field these days.

Tomorrow we are both looking forward to seeing Zac & Jen.  They are both busy young adults so it's always nice when Zac calls and invites us out to lunch.  As grandparents it's always nice to be included in their plans.  

My day is just beginning.  The sun is out and it looks like it's going to be another crisp cold sunny day full of surprises :))  Good Surprises.....

It's a cool quiet day here in Paradise

Today while reading an email from my friend Gail in Florida I was reminded that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that she will be going to visit her daughter in Georgia. Wow! Has this year ever gone by fast.

Then a few minutes ago while thinking of clearing out some old pictures from my computer and putting new ones on disks for safe keeping, I ran across this picture taken of all of our grandchildren one Thanksgiving Day by Sharon. She got all the grandchildren lined up in the back yard and took their picture.

Half of them are now married and have children of their own. My how time flies by so quickly almost like a blink of an eye. It wasn't very long ago that all of these kids were babies themselves and now half of them have babies of their own.

They say that our lives come full circle from children to adulthood to seniors and back to childhood again. I hope that this applies to time too and it slows back down because I'm getting ready to go through my second childhood and I remember that the time used to go by really slow then :)

A Couple of Good Kids

Today Jimmy & I had a wonderful lunch date with two of our grandchildren, Zac & Megan. It's always VERY SPECIAL when our grandchildren ask us out to eat or just plain ask us to do anything with them. We didn't go anywhere fancy or do any thing spectacular but the time we spent together just visiting and laughing was a joy to our hearts and made us very happy.

We do a lot of things with Zac & with Megan, so it's not unusual for us to be together doing something with them, and that's why you see so many of their pictures on my blog.

Today we let our cameras rest so this picture is a picture taken during our recent rafting trip on a night the kids all went out to see the sights in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on Zac's birthday.

After we said our goodbye's to the kids Jimmy & I went on to Walmart to buy some fresh fruit and a few other things that we needed. We only bought 18 items so we went through the Speedy Checkout Lane. To my surprise our items came to a whopping $95 so I did a quick scan of our receipt and to my surprise it was right. Jimmy & I looked at each other and said, "we need to eat out more."

Suzanne stopped by for her usual daily visit and by that time the day was practically over...I said practically over. I still had one more important thing to do which led to listening to music before I went to bed.

Tomorrow it's off to visit the doctor in the morning to have a couple of stitches removed and to have my annual Pap Smear. It's not anything I'm looking forward to, but at my age it's always better to error on the side of caution. Jimmy had a routine 6 month checkup on Monday and they did some blood work this time. No results yet, but he says that there's nothing wrong with him and he feels fine.

That's about it except that it rained really hard for most of the day and it's turning into a jungle out there....

Hanging out

L-R: Busa Baby, Zac, Ramsey, Megan

It's nice to see the grandchildren hanging out together with their baby sister on a Friday night, and I see that Busa had to get in there too. Busa is Zac's dog and a big baby.

What's New....

The newest addition here is this little camera, very much like my old camera...handy, small and fits right into the pocket of my jeans. This little camera is slightly thicker than my old camera, but this only makes it easier to hold. Although I would REALLY love to have a much nicer one with a big lens and great zooming abilities, that's not practical for me and I know that I would not carry it with me at all times. Since I've always carried my little cameras in my pocket I sometimes use them to take pictures of the row I'm parked in, or of some item I want instead of writing it down...you can even record something you want to remember when you don't have pencil or paper handy. I also use it to take pictures with...that's another benefit, hehehe.
These next two pictures (above & below) are of mufflers or scarves to keep your neck and ears warm in the cold winter months. I've been using some of my left-over yarn to make these with because it doesn't take much to crochet them...one 7 ounce skein.
Jimmy says that they are much too long, and maybe they are, but you can wrap them around your neck a couple of times, including your face & ears. Suzanne is prone to ear aches, so the blue & white one is for her and I told her that it was an "ear blanket" that I made for her to wear when she goes down to the barn to feed the horses.

This is the beginning of another baby blanket and since I'm crocheting baby blankets we probably will have a dry spell of babies. This one I'm making for Megan. It's to put in her "Hope Chest" for the future. Megan is barely 18 right right now and my youngest granddaughter and by the time she settles down, gets married and decides to have babies I might not be able to crochet her a baby blanket at that time. You just never know what the future holds, so I'll make what I can now, while I can.
Megan's blanket is complete (above) and ready for its final inspection by Jybow. Jybow says, "It's Purr-fect," and gives her okay.

Hostile take-over of the blanket.

Daisy wants the blanket and Jybow is telling her to get off of Megan's blanket, and to get off of it RIGHT NOW!

A couple of days ago Sharon sent me this picture of Megan and her brother Zac on their skiing trip. They go skiing once or twice a year, usually around Christmas, but it was delayed this year. They always have fun and I don't think anyone has ever broken any legs or anything...not even their mom, who is accident prone like her mother. hehehe

No more news except to say that Jimmy & I have gotten over that lingering cold that we kept exchanging between us. It finally got tired of us and left...probably thought we were too boring. Since we have been bug free now for several days, we can now have visitors. Whooopie!

Peanut is here watching U.K. Wildcats play basketball with her dad and Megan will be coming over after the game for a visit and a bite to eat. Chris is still hanging on to life, but a decision is waiting to be made to remove her from life support. Her husband does not have an easy decision and I wouldn't wish that decision on anyone having already been put in those circumstances myself. Please pray for Chris and for the decision that is being placed upon her husband's shoulders.

a little bit of everything

I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions and recommendations and helping me to make a decision on a new camera. I'm still reading camera reviews and I must say that bad reviews have helped me decide against the camera I was intending on buying. So now I'm just going to take my time in making a decision and not rush into anything hastily. The pictures below (except for the first picture) I took using my cell phone and that will have to do for now.I need this sign in my kitchen. I don't know what's happened to me but I no longer love to cook. I'd much rather go out to eat and occasionally eat at home when I want something really good. Everyone knows that the really good food can only be made at home, so I do sometimes take time to make something I really like at home.

These last two weeks have really been busy around here. We've had a buzz of grandchildren in and out, watching basketball games, taking us out to eat and then coming over for what they call, 'game night.' The barn work had been halted because of bad weather and some illnesses until yesterday, when the men worked all day on it. It's still far from being completed. Jimmy makes a point of watching every Wildcat basketball game, but Jimmy missed yesterday's win...Megan and I watched it together. It was a very exciting win and one of the few this season. Of course sometimes you have to miss a game and work on the barn when weather permits, and I'm sure that Jimmy was secretly praying for snow, rain or extremely windy conditions yesterday under his breath. hehehe

You can't please me more than to offer me pizza and when grandson Zac arrived he brought two with him. Of course he brought HIS favorite, which is cheese. The one above in the picture is my favorite with lots of fresh veggies on it. There's also some Canadian bacon & Italian sausage on it too.

This week something unfortunate happened to one of our pretty little red Cardinals, but at the same time it was very interesting to watch a hawk in action. He swooped down to what is now his feeding ground...our bird feeders....and grabbed the Cardinal in mid air. The hawk, which I thought was rather small for a hawk, then came down to the ground in front of my window and proceeded to pull out the beautiful feathers from the bird and then he ate it. I tried to get a picture of the hawk as he sat there, but what shows up most with my cell phone picture are all the little squares of the window screen. I knew if I tried to open the door he would fly away so I just watched from inside.
I don't crochet as a rule, but I had some left-over yarn in a closet so I decided that Daisy needed a bed. I first tried to make a square, but soon ripped it back out and decided on a circle. I of course didn't know how many stitches to add for each round so I just guessed and of course it doesn't lay perfectly flat. In the picture it is lining a box, but I had to take it out of the box because Daisy liked it best just resting on top of her usual corner where she sleeps next to our bed. It only took me a couple of hours to make it and don't say, "it looks like it!" hehehehehe
Next time I try anything I'm bringing out the "How To Crochet" book.
Another thing that happened this past Thursday was that it snowed a little and I stepped outside with my phone and snapped this picture. Later when I let Jybow our kitty out, I wish you could have seen her. She acted like a dog in the snow running, sliding and jumping around. I've never seen a cat act like that before and I don't remember her playing in the snow last year like that either. She surprises us daily with the things she does. Her latest trick is to have Jimmy hunt her down with a flashlight at 2 a.m...A cat form of hide 'n' seek. Imagine what the neighbors must think with Jimmy scouting the creek banks and clapping his hands for her at that hour. He taught her to come when he claps his hands and she usually does, but a couple of times this week he has had to hunt her down...And Jimmy will NOT go to bed until his kitty is in the house for the night.

Two other bits of news that I forgot to mention above are that granddaughter Sarah is 14 weeks pregnant with her first child and what will be out fourth great-grandchild. The baby is scheduled to arrive sometime in July and we are all excited about that. Valerie also announced her engagement and her upcoming marriage to a nice boy named Jimmy.

I am so thankful and feel so blessed that Jimmy & I have been able to watch our grandchildren grow up, get married and give us beautiful great grands. They're not done yet by any means as we still have more grands to go, and we plan on being here for all their weddings, graduations and for the births of their children too.