Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day is a loving time to honor those who have passed on before. Living so far from my birthplace, I do not have the luxury of visiting Daddy's grave on Decoration Day. I want to dedicate my blog today to my loving Daddy who I miss dearly. Daddy was not big on flowers. We had some flowers that grew on the hill behind the well house and every spring, as soon as they arrived, Daddy would mow them down so they wouldn't take over the hill. Every year when I think about decorating at the cemetery and feel low because I cannot go, I start thinking about how Daddy wouldn't even care if there were flowers on his grave or not. However, he was a skilled craftsman and loved to piddle in his workshop, making various wooden home decorations for mom. Cardinals, signs, furniture, tulips. So instead of offering flowers in Daddy's memory today, I found a pot of wooden decorations. Had Daddy seen this, he definitely would have made some like them. My posting of the Memorial Day "Flower" Pot is my way of honoring my Daddy on Decoration Day.

In loving memory of Luther Harden Garretson 1923-1999 from Brenda, Rachel, Mom, Andy and Jack.

This is the cemetery where Daddy is laid to rest in the Veterans section.

Though he is gone, he is not forgotten.

Though he has passed, his love still remains.

Our memories keep us from now ever after.

Until one sweet day, we'll see you again.

I love you, Daddy.

Update on the "little bit of everything" room

If you will remember, I posted some pictures of our all purpose room when I redecorated. I wanted a throw quilt for the back of the couch to add to that comfy home feeling I'm going for. I found one on www.collectionsetc.com. It has arrived and I'm in love. It is exactly the look I wanted. I thought I'd share it with you.

Have a great day!

Where does the time go?

Where does the time go? Just yesterday, I was at the hospital holding my 4th grandchild. In 2 more months, she will be 2 years old. What happened? How did the time go by so fast? They are small for such a short time. We hold them and rock them and watch them grow. And before you know it, they are not babies any more. As they become more independent, it is fun watching their personalities develop. Shelby has very firm ideas about her hair. We have been working with pony tails and hair clips for quite some time, with no success. The best we did was about 10 minutes with a hair clip one day. But Saturday brought a huge milestone in her "growing up" years. We did pony tails .... and she kept them in for about 3 hours. CELEBRATION!! It was so adorable. She tried to pull them out several times, but was grabbing the pony tail and pulling it, not the hair piece keeping it in. So when she pulled, she pulled her hair instead. We got a quick "OW" and she let go. Slowly they started falling on their own later in the day, so I took them out. But it was priceless to see her in pony tails. The only problem was, it brought home to me the fact that she is not a little baby any more. Which reminded me that none of them are. Caleb just turned 7. Garret just turned 11 and Alexis just graduated kindergarten. Where did my babies go? I enjoy them all so much and each one's personality is different than the others. But I still miss the days of cuddling them on my lap and rocking for hours. Even the boys, as old as they are, still want to cuddle up against me and hug on me. I love it. I hope that closeness never fades.

Congratulations

Congratulations to our little graduation Miss Alexis Caroline Boyle. She graduated this morning from kindergarten and we are all so very proud of her.

She had a slight problem with the cap. It kept wanting to slide off.

A beaming Alexis with her proud Mommy, Jamie, and her proud Daddy, my son Chris.

We love you, precious. Congratulations.

Choosing the right words...

This weekend brought a good reminder to me that we should always be aware of what we are saying and make sure the other person knows what we are talking about. How many times do you make a statement or remark based on something you were just thinking about, only to realize the person you are speaking to can't read your mind so they have no clue what you are even talking about. Saturday, my phone rang and it showed up on caller ID as my husband's work number. I thought it was him calling for something and when I answered a man introduced himself and said he was from the safety department. He asked if I was with Allen. Since Allen was at work, I thought that was a strange question. He then told me he just had a couple of questions they forgot to ask Allen for the safety report before they took him to the hospital. Yes, you can gasp! at this point. I sure did. I was like, WHAT! What happened? What's wrong? Where is he? Major panic attack. The man then explained what had happened. Allen had fallen and hurt his arm. He told them he felt fine, but they require you have anything like that checked out so he went to the hospital to have an x-ray. Fast forward, he is fine. It was a bad sprain and is in a brace for a few days, but he is already felling better. But therein lies the point to my blog. Would it not have been easier for him to let me know what happened at the beginning of our conversation? Not after he had already giving me a heart attack. So many times, we blurt out what is on our mind and the other part is like "HUH?". So always be aware of your words. Approach delegate situations in a upfront manner. My daughter works at Knife Works and one time when she was still living at home, she got a long gash in her arm and it bled profusely. They had to rush her to the emergency room to get stitches. I didn't have a cell phone at that time and was on my way home from work when it happened. When I got home, Allen came out on the porch to tell me to go to the hospital. Now here is a man who knows how to phrase his words. He said "Diana is fine, but she got hurt at work and is getting stitches so you need to go to the hospital." That was much better than "We need some info on Allen for the safety report and he's already left for the hospital."

Southern Gospel Sunday

Music is a great passion of mine. From Conway Twitty and Porter Wagoner to Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney. I love everything from Beethoven to the Beatles, from Cher to Bon Jovi. I love music. I love rolling my car window down, cranking up the Eagles and listening to Take it to the Limit. But none touches my heart or soothes my soul like good old Southern gospel. Nothing can heal pain, relieve stress, or give you hope any better than songs whose lyrics include "He fought the battle. I've won." or "Sometimes He calms the storm; sometimes He calms me." And who can't be moved by Vestal Goodman as she belts out "God Walks the Dark Hills." Or The Hinson's as they sing "The Lighthouse". Can anyone sit dry-eyed through Squire Parsons as he sings Beulah Land"? As you attend church this morning and join in the singing, remember the words from Psalm 100:1-2. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Summertime

Summertime Favorites

Sunshine

Pool

Beach Vacation

Warm Sand

Cool Ocean Waves

Homemade Ice Cream

Picnics

Cook Outs

Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Potato Salad

Fresh Flowers

Lightning Bugs

Fireworks

Garden Vegetables

Fresh Peaches

Summer Storms