~Part 3 - JUNEAU AK~

Today we arrive in Juneau, the capitol of Alaska, It is raining..... Going to be a wet, kinda cold day... Before leaving the ship we "HUNT" for somewhere to get some breakfast... HAHA.... After breakfast we are off the ship and on our way to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls (off to the right of the glacier).. Soon after arriving there the rain stops.. Great now we just have cool weather... What a HUGE chunk of ice... It is beautiful coming out of the mountains.. What a gorgeous view of God's creative imagination... This is a receiding glacier, it is getting smaller.

Now back on the bus for a narrated trip on down the road to Auke Bay, where we board a boat for Whale Watching.. What HUGE amazing creatures they are.. I LOVE watching them.. They feed in the waters of Alaska and then travel to the warm waters of Hawaii to have their babies. I was up on the open observation deck of the boat we were on taking pictures.. It was cold up there, but it was amazing to see these whales... Now back on the bus to head back into town.. We do a little shopping and looking around before heading back to the ship and Dinner.... I wish there were someway I could tell you every little detail of everything we did and saw, but there are just not words to describe it accurately.. It was just spectacular... And to be able to share this with my parents is beyond words... I only have about 1000 pics of this trip... and not one of them does justice to what it is of... So let's see where are we off to next... I believe Skagway....

~Part 2 ALL ABOARD~

Sept 3rd, we headed for the Pier and to board "Rhapsody of the Seas" for Alaska... I had done most of the checking in online before we left for Seattle.. So we got checked in and on the ship... You should have seen the look on mom and dad's face when they saw the ship.. WOW... It was spectacular.. So we are on board and found our cabins.. We are on Deck 7 with Balcony cabins.. They are ajoining so there was a door between our cabins.. Then it was off to expore the ship and grab a bite of lunch.. We headed for the Windjammer for a buffet lunch of all kinds of food, salads, desserts, and breads... Eat all you want and walk out, no waiting for the check.... Just as we were leaving the pier we had to Muster, a safety drill so you know what to do in the "Unlikely" event of an emergency.. So off to our lifeboat stations we go.. We made sure we were on deck 4 when the alarm sounded, so we did not have to go up or down alot of stairs, easier on mom's knees... After Muster, it was off to dinner we go... We went to the dining room this time. I heard the people seated at the table next to us talking about beans, cornbread, fried potatoes. I said, "You must be from the South" and guess what, they were from Berryville AR. they knew Sister Yarbrough and all her family. Small world we live in... We enjoyed chatting with them..

Now we are off to the Welcome Aboard show in the Theater with the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers.. Great show.. But it's time for a snack before going off to bed... Are you beginning to see a pattern here with "Food".. Yes, you can literally eat 24 hours a day somewhere on the ship... Tomorrow we are at Sea all day... Nothing to see but the Sea on every side... No sight of land...

~Where to START?? Part 1 Seattle ~

I am so far behind in posting.. I may break this up into several... Back on Sept. 1, mom, dad and I left for Seattle, met Larry at the airport as he was getting on his flight... He hung out with us for awhile, then headed home to regroup, print boarding passes and get ready to head out the next day to join us in Seattle...

We had a long travel day,, but finally made it to Seattle and our Hotel... Hotel shuttle took us to a local restaurant called "the Roaster" for dinner. Then it was time to turn in, because we had a busy day planned the next day..


Charles, Mashelle, Nick and Joe, picked us up around 9 and we headed for Snoqualmie Falls, beautiful place.. LOVED IT... we walked around the area and viewed the falls from all angles and waundered through the gift shop before heading out to our next stop..



On to the Seattle Space Needle. They were getting ready for the Labor Day festival that weekend.. Great park... Had lunch at the Food Court there in the park. Waundered around some of the street vendors, in the Space Needle gift shop (no one went up in it)... Weather was great, Not too hot and not too cold.. Got some great PICS....

Then on to a drive along the coast, where we saw beautiful parks and GORGEOUS hanging basket planters... Then back to the Hotel to wait for Larry to arrive... Then to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory... WOW,,, What a great dinner... We laughed and had a great time.. Thanks Charles and Mashelle for a WONDERFUL day aroud Seattle... It was great seeing them and getting to meet your 2 youngest sons.. I had not seen Charles and Mashelle since Josh was about 2 weeks old, that is A LONG TIME!!!! Hope it is not that long till I see you again...
Then we called it a nite. Tomorrow onto the Ship and North to Alaska....

~21 DAYS~ and stuff....

21 days from today, right now, we will be on a ship with my parents headed to Alaska. We will probably just be finishing up with the Mandatory Muster (Emergency Drill)... I am so excited, but sad at the same time. Larry's favorite Aunt and Uncle are not going to be able to join us. I totally understand the circumstances, but still sad about it.
Larry and I have been on an Alaskan Cruise before, but this time will be SUPER special. We get to experience it through my parents eyes (remember to take your glasses)... They have never been on a cruise nor have they ever been to Alaska. This is going to be SPECTACULAR...

Things at work have been just absolutely crazy. One of the secretaries, that thinks she runs the entire show there (only been there a little over a year) has filed a grevience and I, along with several others has been named in it. We all had to write a statement about things that have been going on. We really want her out the door. She is just a real piece of work... It has been a really bad atmosphere to work in. Hopefully they will have a hearing soon and things will change..

This past month, I have had some health issues and all the doctors are pointing their finger at other doctors, it's not what I treat, it's what you treat... etc.... It has been crazy, but I think we may be getting somewhere now. I have had a COMPLETE cardiac workup, stress echo and all, and it is not my heart, My heart is in excellent shape according to the cardiologist, but they did pulmonary function tests and found Reactive Lung Disease, caused by exposure to toxin.. I go Monday to talk about a plan of treatment, but until then I have an inhaler I have to use twice daily. In looking back over my records the doc says I have been complaining of most of these same symptoms for almost 3 years now.. So I probably got it when we were building the house and I had pneumonia and spent alot of time out here with all the paint, glue, grout, etc in the house with my lungs already compromised with the pneumonia. It took me almost 6 months to get well from that... I was beginning to think I was allergic to my new home.. Heat aggravates it alot and we have had ALOT of triple digit temps the past month. The cooler weather in Alaska will be great for it.

All the kids go back to school on Thursday. They are all back in the same school again this year, except Kelsey and she is still in Day care, but next year will be Kindergarten... That is going to be something... Not ready for that...

Well better get off here and fix my husband some supper...

NIte All.

OH Tomorrow mom, dad, larry and I are off to the LawnMower races in Hope. Another exciting outing.. Can't wait. Gonna be a HOT ONE!!!!!!!!

~Only 47 Days~

This is Mendenhall Glacier...

Got an e-mail from Royal Caribbean today. Our travel documents are ready for printing. I did not realize it was only 47 days, I was counting weeks, 7 weeks from last Friday. Mom dad and I fly out on Sept. 1st.. Then Larry will follow on the 2nd. then we board the ship on the 3rd and head for Alaska... I cannot wait. I am a little anxious about this trip. There are some things that Larry and I have not seen and some that we have. But to see mom and dad's reaction to it all will be (I Hope) AMAZING... Larry and I LOVE to cruise, this will be mom and dad's first and hopefully not their last... We have picked out some shore excursions we think they will enjoy and we have enjoyed them on past trips.. One is Whale Watching, those creatures are AMAZING.. We LOVE to watch them... We have seen them double breech (2 at once), we have seen a mom playing with her calf and a calf playing with a Sea Lion.. They are so HUGE and yet so graceful... I hope we get to see alot of them.. Then we are looking at one for some glaciers, those are just gorgeous. The first time we went on the Alaskan, was the first anniversary of 9/11. We were at Hubbard Glacier that day and at noon, the captain called for a moment of silence, then they played the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. as the last note ended, a huge piece of ice fell into the ocean, now who was the orchestrator of that event??? You got it God Almighty... You could have heard a pin drop anywhere on that ship at that instant.. We will NEVER forget that day... Then at another port there is a train ride up to the yukon we want to take.. I just want so bad for them to have a good time, and I want my husbands Favorite Aunt and Uncle to join us... We had a WONDERFUL trip last year and I want this one to be equally as WONDERFUL as last years... We will also be cruising Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glacier and then visit Victoria British Columbia, these are places Larry and I have not see before and to experience them with my parents and hopefully my Aunt and Uncle will just be THE BEST!!!!!!!!! So we are on the COUNT DOWN to our New Adventure, but prior to that we still have another tractor show and Lawn mower races to attend.. that will be coming up on August 14th...

But for now, I am off here to get my stuff ready for work tomorrow... It has been a lazy weekend. Larry and I almost finished up 2 more tractor seat bar stools yesterday. Mom found a bargain on some Fun fur yarn for me. I love it, can't wait to decide what I am making with some of it and get started...

For now. God Night and May God Bless and Keep each one of you....

~Summer Happenings~

What a busy summer it has been so far.. Our Alaskan Cruise with mom and dad is coming up so fast. But I bet the last few weeks will DRAG!!!!!!!! I am really anxious about this trip. I want mom and dad to have the time of their life.. Last years trip was GREAT!!!!!!!, But I want this one to top that.... Alaska has some AWESOME scenary. The Redwoods last year was Spectacular. and the visit with Larry's FAVORITE Aunt and Uncle was GREAT!!!!!!. Hopefully we will get to see Charles and his family, hopefully for dinner one nite.. I will send our travel information to them as soon as final plans are made...

Now for what has been going on this summer.... Mom, dad, Larry and I attended the Tractor shows at Nashville AR in May, and the Purple Hull Pea Festival in Emerson AR last weekend. They were really good days.. We however, did NOT get homemade ice cream in Emerson this year, but we did have purple hull peas for lunch. Then they had a cook off and we got to eat after the judges finished. They had a Cream Cheese Peach Cobbler that was really good. Not sure why they did not have any, but oh well, it was a good time anyway. Got to see more tiller races this year than last, but did not get there intime to see the kids race.. Oh well.. There is always next year... They were both FULL days. We left home around 7 AM and returned around 7 PM.. The tractor show at Nashville, had almost 200 tractors there. They had SLOW races to see which tractor could run the slowest and remain running.. Larry Harrington (Sheridan) won for the oldest tractor. He had a 1934 John Deere.. He and Pinkie had restored it. It looked GREAT!! Hopefully one day we will have the 1931 Farmall Regular running and take that trophy away from him.. But we will have to find a trailer wide enough to haul it.. The served a BBQ lunch that was REALLY GOOD. They also had a snow cone stand that had homemade ice cream snow cones, they were really good, I think mom and I had 2 each...

Larry and I were on Vacation for the past 5 days and we have finished restoring the Farmall Super A and have it i the Big Pout house with the rest of the tractors. It is looking REALLY RED in there.. When the 31 is completed it will be battleship gray with red wheels. Then we have an F-12 that we bought restored, but it is red and should be gray. Someday we will repaint it the correct color, but for now, it is OK.. We also got 2 of our milk can tractor seat stools completed.. They look kewl.. Now we have 2 more to finish.. Gotta get a seat for one of them and go to the lake house and get he lid for the other milk can..

We have at least one more Tractor event prior to our cruise, that will be the Watermelon Festival in Hope on August 14th,to see Antique Tractors and watch the Lawn Mower Races.. Boy can they go fast.... Can't get my pics to move where I want them to. The lawnmower at the top is one we saw last year.. It has 5 engines on it.

Then it is OFF to ALASKA~~~~~

~LET"S NOT HAVE A STROKE HERE~

It has been forever since I have posted anything here. Just a really busy time. Trying to close out this Fiscal year at work, Convention in Hot Springs, To Nashville (Vanderbilt Univ) with Cember on a school trip, Tractor shows, rebuilding a tractor, making bar stools out of old Milk Cans and Tractor Seats,, Watering the neighbors plants and garden while he is in the hospital. Just lots of BUSY things going on...



Spent 4 days in Hot Springs early May at our annual Public Health Assoc, Convention. That is always fun, but alot of work..



Mom, dad, Larry and I went to the Tractor show and races in Nashville AR on the 15th of May. That was a FULL WONDERFUL DAY!!!!! I am so excited that mom and dad enjoy (or seem to) going to those Tractor shows with us. They had over 150 tractors on display, a man from Sheridan, Larry Harrington, won the trophy for the oldest tractor, a 1934 Model A John Deer (Wrong Color Tractor), Crops are Green, Tractors are RED!!!!!!! , then they had a raffle for a restored Ford Tractor, another Sheridan man, Ken West, Won that.. GO SHERIDAN!!!!!! They had a bbq lunch plate that was really good, then they had a Snow cone booth, that had the most WONDERFUL homemade Icecream Snow cone, I have ever had. Did not know they had such a flavor until mom mentioned it.. It was GREAT!!!!!



Then Mother's Day, mom and dad were camping at Pendleton, Larry and I went and pulled their camper home for them on Mother's Day... They took us down to the dam where everyone was fishing... Beautiful camping area..



Then Memorial Day,, We just stayed around the house and worked on our Farmall Super A Tractor, getting it restored.. We are almost finished.. Having to rebuild a seat for it, but I think it is going to be GREAT!!!!! I will post before and after pics when we finish it. Larry said if this seat does not work, he is going to cut some plywood, paint it red and bolt it on so I can drive it... I am not very patient when we are this close to being finished and some little something stalls us out..



Then I got to go to Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN for a Aspirnauts Fieldtrip. That was a great 3 days. Loved it. I got to have 3 pre-teens ride back with me. Boy did I learn ALOT!!!!! Really they were real good. I thoroughly enjoyed having them. We got to do alot of hands on experiments, see how alot of Cancer research is performed, Go up on the Helipad and see a medical helicopter, We had a heart seminar and got to see actual human hearts, some that were healthy, or with a little plaque, or alot of plaque and even one with 2 bypasses.. Very interesting... We had a complete tour of the beautiful campus and dorms..

Then last Sunday was Father's Day. Again, my parents are at the Lake... I am so very excited they are going and doing and staying at lakes and campgrounds.. I miss them being just across town, but I am so very proud for them... I did call my dad and I told him I would buy him some Ice Cream on Saturday. As you see, they are going with us again on Saturday to the Purple Hull Pea Festival in Emerson, AR. We went last year and had a great time, they have Tiller races, you should see the kids with those Mantis tillers, they are out for Blood... Then they have tillers with motorcycle engines on them. did not get to see those but once. A LADY let it get loose from her and it was damaged, she luckily was OK, It DRUG her down the course, until she finally let go. They also had tractors there and they had a parade with them. They had a contest and the winner of it had their wedding at the Festival, That was kinda neat, but they had the BEST HOMEMADE ICE CREAM there.. Dad and I about made ourself sick on it. Can't wait to get some more...

Well, guess I have taken up enough time. I will post pics later, right now I cannot get them to upload... Will try later..

LOVE TO ALL!!!!!!

~The OLD MILL~

Ever seen the Movie "Gone With the Wind"?? Well, the Old Mill in North Little Rock was built for that movie. Part of it was filmed here. I LOVE that movie, but I had never been to the Old Mill. I decided to take off work on Wednesday of the girls Spring Break and spend the day with them. I brought them up to the office to show them off and then we got a picnic lunch and went to the Old Mill. The weather was Perfect that day. What an absolute AWESOME place.. It was beautiful, but will be even more so when the Dogwoods and Azaleas are in bloom in a week or so. May have to try to go back then. We had a WONDERFUL DAY>.. After we got back home, we had to sit down and watch that movie to see where this was in there.. We will definitely have to go back there. All the bridges were built out of concrete and made to look like wood.. This is a popular Wedding site in this area and I can definitely see why. It is an awesome place to take spring pics.. I think I took about 150 and then the girls, asked if they could just go play for a bit without me saying wait, Look here, Cheese!!! Imagine me saying that??? Love to take pics...

~Dad's Party~

It turned out really good. Had alot of people there from Church and Family.. Tons of food,,,, Cake, sandwiches, chips, dips, cinnamon rolls, brownies, snacky stuff.. Just LOTS OF FOOD!!! we decorated with all the party favors, table cloths, hats, plates, napkins, etc. that we had left over from all the kids birthday parties over the years. turned out kinda neat.. It is hard to believe my dad is "70", his oldest child is "50" and his oldest Grand child is "30" and his oldest Great Grandchild is "11, almost 12" yeah, I know it did not follow all the way through. Oh well.. We got 3 out of 4.... two of my boys did not get to be there, They were working 7 days a week 12-16 hours a day.. Pam's son was not there, but other than that, the rest of the immediate family got to be there.. Several of mom's brothers and sisters and their spouses were there. It was a GREAT TURNOUT and I think everyone had a good time and Plenty to eat..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD>>>> WE LOVE YOU....

~Moms' Entertaining Debut~

Here are a few pics from the Show mom got called on Stage for>>> Dad and I were laughing so hard. This was a very FUN Evening. Just a good CLEAN Family Show.. Lots of laughs. Lots of Old Rock songs, Thank you so much for including me in this evening... LOVED IT!!!!!!

This is Mom and Buford Presley...

~I'm BACK~

Sorry for the long delay not posting. Just crazy times.. SO much has happened... We got our water back at work, so we have working toilets, no more PORTAS!!!!!

Had something go wrong with my eyes, alot of pressure behind them. Went to the Eye doc, and they seemed to think it was just extremely dry eyes, I could not open them but just a sliver. I did manage to work everyday. Had to start using Restasis, hot wet compresses and natural tears eye drops, like 10-15 times a day,,, After 4 weeks of that, they finally eased up and I could open them all the way again. I am continuing all I was doing,, to keep them opened, that was miserable, especially when you have to be on a computer all day long...But I survived.

Bruce turned 27 on the 5th of March, Still living at home (I kinda like that). At least I know someone will be there sometime during the nite...

Rocky turned 29 on the 10th and Daddy turned "70" on the 10th... So now Dad is 70, his oldest Child (Me) is "50" and his Oldest Grand Child (Buck) is "30".. Kinda Neat....

Mom, Dad and I went to the Ray Lynn Theater in Hot Springs last Thursday nite (March 11). Their investment group was having a Thanks for being our Client appreciation thing... It was alot of fun. THey had Free POpcorn, cokes, hot dogs, and candy bars. Then they did their little sales pitch and showed somethings they can assist you with in your investing and how to protect your money for retirement. Larry may need to talk to them, he handles all that for us, it is greek to me... THen they turned over the show to the Wilkins Music and Comedy show. It was really good, just good clean joking and singing.. Mom even got called on the stage to be serenaded by Buford Presley,, yeap the one and ONLY, Bare jello belly and all.. Dad and I laughed SO HARD... Mom seemed to be having a good time, Never would have believed she would do that.... I got black mail photos, but promised I would not post them... I even got serenaded, but I got to remain in my seat. I was sitting there watching the show and this guy come crawling in around my chair with a flash light and asked me if I had his seat... then the guy on the stage asked him what he was doing and told him he was not supposed to crawling around ladies legs, and he made the statement: "Well those legs ain't seen a razor in months"... He was part of the show. It was a really FUN Evening.. Thanks Mom and dad for asking me to go... I really ENJOYED It.... Mom, PLEASE let me post some pics....

Then Friday got up with an elephant on my chest.... Went to the doctor. I have become my MOther,, Not a bad thing all in all, but the past 3 years, I have had allergies (never before), and they have turned into Bronchitis,,,, Just like MOm does EVERY YEAR!!!!!! So after I got back home, I went to sleep on the couch and slept for 6 hours, then Larry woke me up and I went to bed and slept for another 12 hours... Saturday afternoon, Mom and I went down to decorate for Dad's Birthday Party on Sunday... That was alot of fun.... We took party favors left over from all the kids parties and put them on the tables. even had some table clothes that were used at a couple of them... Hung balloons,,, fixed food.. decided where to place all the FOOD!!!!!! Boy did we have FOOD,

Sunday morning, I get up wait for mom and dad to leave for church, go by their house, get the cake, cinnamon rolls, and crock pots and head to Wally World to get chips, ice cream and hellium balloons.. Then kill time and wait for them to leave the church... Then I go down there and start putting out all the food, oops I forgot the pinwheels in the freezer, and the pickles on the cabinet, but I don't think anyone missed them... we had so much food. Everyone pitched in and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!!!!!!!! so many people showed up, so much food... Tony brought his big 52" TV and we showd a dvd of dad and then we showed the one from their 50th Anniversary, we also had their scrap books of their Anniversary and the Redwoods on display for everyone to view... I really enjoyed the day... I went home and crashed.... I was worn out, but it was a good WORN out feeling... I will post some pics from yesterday when I slow down long enough to get them off the camera.. Maybe tonite. I am going to help mom finish cleaning up when I get in from work, We left most of the food for a snack after church last night...

I will try to post more often... But for now enjoy this one...

~Water - Water - Where's The WATER????~

Well, There was a major water leak in our building. So guess What..... They shut off the water today at 11:00 and it will be off the remainder of the day>... SO you got it, NO BATHROOMS!!!!! Oh, but the did bring in these lovlies??? Aren't we so special??? NOT!!!!!!!! I do not do Port-a-Potties... That is just a NOT GONNA DO thing with me... There are 3 of them for a 9 story building full of WOMEN!! Of course, most of them are like me and just not gonna do it. However, I did bring baby wipes and hand sanitizer just in case of emergency. I received some LOVELY DEPENDS for my birthday about a month ago and stuck them away for emergencies. Well, I have had 3 people in my office this morning wanting to know where they were, I have them stuck back in case I NEED them... THis has been a big joke in our office since we found out about it early yesterday.. Mom, Dad and Larry have had a large time with this. I have had one of the nurses in the field, e-mail me every hour, then half hour, then quarter hour down to the minute prior to it being shut off, about how much longer till we were Waterless.... You better go one more time, Get that last drink of water, etc... just cause she could. When they did shut off the water, she wrote about her nice warm, running water bathroom she had right across the hall... Oh, well. I am going to take lunch and leave at 1:00. I am going home to my own PRIVATE Bathroom with RUNNING WATER>>>.

~UPDATE and TIME FOR A CHANGE~

Ok, I know I am really far behind... But,, Things have been crazy.. I have not been able to stay on the computer for very long for over a week now. My eyes have been giving me FITS!!!! They hurt, burn, scratchy,,, etc... really bad and the bright light make it even worse. Was supposed to have an eye doc appt. yesterday, but due to ICE, they were closed and we could not get to Little Rock anyway.. So here I sit, at least for a bit, then I have to get off...



As I am sure you have read on mom's blog, her and I went to Batesville to a HUGE fabric store on the 25th of January. What a wonderful day. They had every type, color of fabric, trim, thread, lace, ribbon,, etc.... you could imagine.. You could buy it by the yard, or by the bolt or by the BUNDLE.. What a neat store.. We had a ball in there, or at least I did. Then we had lunch and headed home, stopping North Little Rock at Sams, then to Joann's (another fabric store) and Hobby Lobby ( I needed cake stuff for Lil Bits Bday cake).... We arrived home around 7ish... It was a full day and I LOVED it..



January 28th, Larry came in from a 2 week trip to Iowa, Nebraska and S Dakota, where he had lots of SNOW the entire time he was there (that is why he did not drive home on Friday to turn around and drive back on Sunday, he just stayed there.. When the alarm went off at 5 AM on the 29th, He told me to go back to sleep, he had already looked outside and decided I was not going to work... He had apparently brought it with him from up north.. We lost power about 2 pm on Friday and did not get it back until 6 pm Saturday. Our house was not bad cold, it never got below 55 and it was like below 20 outside.. It just being him and I (Bruce was at duck tails for the weekend), we just got a blanket and sat and looked at each other till it was too dark to do that then we threw an extra quilt on the bed and went to sleep..

Sunday, Jan. 31 was my baby grand daughters "4" Birthday. We had it at Playtime PIzza and it was all Tinkerbell. She had a wonderful time. Here papaw Mike (my Ex) asked for a hug and he was told: "All my hugs are for Nana today" he then turned to me and asked "How did you rank so high today" . We had so much fun.. Hard to believe she is "4" and only weighs "32 lbs" She is just tiny petite. But she can do most anything the bigger girls can do...

Last week was good, I got to work all week,, Then Here we are again, we woke up to Ice yesterday moring (Feb. 8th). State offices were on incement weather (in by 10 and you are not docked), but Larry decided I was not going at all. Then Got an e-mail last night about 9:15, that state offices were closed for today. So here I sit in the office, with the sun shining in the window. It is cold outside, and real windy, but there is no ice or snow.. Feel a little guilty about not being at work, but you cannot get there, maybe tomorrow will be better, then they are calling for more snow on Thursday and Friday... We will see..

Before After

Now for the Change: As you know mom and I have been making alot of quilts, well I did one to be used as a spead on my bed. It finally got finished.. So here is the before and the after: Let me know what you think..

~Hats Delivered~

I have delivered all the hats to Children's Hospital. I talked with the Knittin for Noggins Coordinator. They have given away between 27 & 28 THOUSAND hats since Mid Sept. 09.. That is AMAZING.. of course they not only give them to patients, but also to siblings of patients.. Just thought I would let you know.. They have collected over 30 thousand hats since July 1... So there is alot of KNITTIN/CROCHET going on in AR.... Keep them needles/hooks going...

~HATS HATS & MORE HATS~

Every year AR Children's Hospital has a "Knittin for Noggin's" campaign. I try to donate as many as I can each year, this hospital is so very dear to me. I had a niece that spent alot of time there with Cystic Fibrosis and they did so much good for her, then my niece was taken there just a week after she was born, prematurely for a blood transfusion and they did so much good for her, then my grand daughter was there for surgery at 6 weeks old and she too was taken very good care of, then my daughter in laws brother was in there after a bad car accident, 1 of my cousins was in there for burn treatments after an accident, I had an aunt that was in the burn unit after a can exploded in a burn pile. This hospital does SO MUCH good for so many families. So you see this hospital holds a very dear place in my heart... This year I have 125 that I am taking there this week.. I love to crochet, NO i do not knit... I use yarn that I find on sale through out the year, or some I have left from other projects or some that is given to me. I have made all sizes from Premmie to adult.. All colors.. It is fun to do this.. Last year I had 7 in there that were red/white santa style. I was told later by a nurse that I know that works there, they sent 7 premies home for Christmas wearing those hats.. When you turn these in, you leave no identifying marks with them as to who made them. I had told her I turned those in and she told me they were all used on Christmas Eve. That warms my heart to be able to make a child smile with something as simple as these.. I have already started a bag for next year... So if you know of someone that is looking for something to do with some yarn they have laying around, this is a very worth while thing to do with it. or send it to me and I will do some with it. Larry and I found 3 baskets of yarn at a junk shop and I am still trying to get the lady to give me a DEAL on it to be used for these. She wants a new price for it and some of it has been used, if I am going to do that, I am going to buy it at Walmart and pick out the colors I want.. Well gotta go for now. Tomorrow is a work day,,,

Wait,,, gotta tell you about my day.. The boys decided they were not working on the shop today, because Rocky had a HOG in his trap and needed some assistance in cleaning and cutting it up.. So they went to help him, I am fine with that.. It does me so much GOOD to see them doing things together.. So I called mom and asked her if she wanted to go running around. So we went to Benton/Bryant to Kohl's, Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Penney's. We found several bargains, I got Kelsey 5 pair of jeans for $5 each at Penneys, they were all embroidered differently... I also got me a couple of tops, then we got dad some jeans and shirts... Then we ended the afternoon with dinner. It was a WONDERFUL DAY. Thanks mom for spending it with ME!!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!! Now can't wait to go to Batesville.. Sorry that did not work out for today, but you and Jeanette needed to feel better...

NOw I gotta go and make another hat or two....

Nite everyone...

~50 YEARS in REVIEW~ Super Condensed....

Where do I start... On Monday, Jan 11, 2010, I turned "50". Wow what a milestone. I feel so BLESSED to have lived this long and be in as good a health that I am.. There is not much about my real young years that I remember, but I am going to see what I can do here...

My first Real memories are after we moved to California when I was about 5, I remember living in Red Bluff and walking to School, I remember playing on the "RINGS" on the playground and falling, hitting my head on the step and having to have stitches,, I remember being scared when we had to cross the bridge after a rain and the water was almost to the bridge.
THen we moved to Redding into a little house, Pam got a new bicycle for Christmas in 65 and in Feb or Mar '66 she had it turned upside down turning the peddles, decided to grab the chain to stop the tires and ended up cutting off her finger, lost the first joint and had to have stitches, they could not get her to go to sleep, so she watched them clean and stitch it.. then we moved to the California Motel, we swam alot, we were at the pool when we got the news that my cousin had drown on James's birthday, May 18th 1966, March 1967 my dad and Uncle David were hit by a Train on their way home from work. There were not crossing arms and they did not see the train coming, Dad was in a coma for along time, Uncle David got his arm hurt real bad, both were in the hospital for a while, then after recooperation, they both went to college. Then we bought our first house out there. It was a ranch style accross the road from a golf course.
Dad went to work for Hertz at the airport and had to go to Southern CA for training. We all got to go with him and went to Marine World where we saw a REAL Elephant ski... We had some horses, one was named Cricket and she would pull us in a buggy, but when she got tired, she would lay down and would not get up until the buggy was unhooked then she would get up and walk back to the field. Silly Horse. Mom had a White Apaloosa that would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but would not step in Water. YOu could not make him. We sold that house and rented a house on Yana, It had a tree house in the back yard, We tried to sleep in it several times, but never succeeded... THen we bought a house trailer and 26 acres just down the hill from the ranch house. This is where we lived when Tony was born. We had 9 acres of english walnuts. PIcked them up every day after school when they would fall. We had horses, cows, and pigs that we raised. One litter of pigs had a runt that we brought in the house and tried to raise it, but did not succeed.. We bought a double wide and put it in across the drive from the trailer house and moved into that. We lived there until Sept. 1972, then we moved back to Arkansas. Tony decided to potty train himself on this move. I rode mostly with mom and Tony in the car and dad drove a Uhaul and pulled his truck. We stopped at night. One night we were in Amarillo TX, the hitch broke off the Uhaul and we had to wait till morning to get it fixed. We stayed in a Campground that night, I went into the Bathroom and dad had to come get me, because there were FROGS EVERYWHERE, I am deathly afraid of them, I know they will not hurt me, but I am terrified of them, real, pictures, glad, wood,, it does not matter.. Made it to AR, Lived with Grandma Brown until mom and dad found a house and bought it. Really nice brick with a fireplace.. Daddy owned a service station.
in '73 I fell MADLY in LOve. Now, I realize I had NO IDEA what LOVE really was. We would break up and get back together, break up and get back together, should have seen a pattern here, DUMB kid... Bought my first Car in Feb. '76 a '72 Chevy Nova, with air shocks on the back.. LOVED it, Mike hated it because it was a sports car and at the time we were broke up.. see the pattern here.. Got engaged Nov. 1977, started building our home, Graduated from High School May 13, 1978 and got married June 15, 1978.. DUMB KID,,,, Moved into our house Jan. 9, 1979. My first Son was born June 17, 1979 On Fathers Day, making a new Father and 2 new Grand Fathers on Fathers Day. Our Second son was born, March 10th, 1981 on my dad's Birthday. Pam married on June 17, 1982 on Buck's 3rd Birthday, He was ring bearer and played Hot wheels on the Alter during the ceremony. Then our third son was born March 5, 1983. Had Mom and Dad a 25th Anniversary Celebration Dec 1983. Grandma McLemore passed in April '85 when the Dogwoods were in Full Bloom. Mom and dad had a wreck in Tucomcary NM on the way out there. Mom and Pam were in the hospital, Pam's father in law had to go get them in his handicap accessible van. Both recovered fully. Mike and I separated on Dec. 3, 1985 and divorced Oct. 1, 1986. James and Anne married Jan. '86. Pam had Chris July 23, 1986. I had to go to work in Sept. '86 to help support the boys, Child support was not getting it, but at least I got to stay home with them until Rocky started school. Bruce went to Daycare where he made a friendship that is still strong today (this minute they are working together)... Made my first MAJOR purchase in MY NAME (with Moms Help) in OCt. '86, A Chevy NOva, not a souped up one like the first one.
Met Larry in "87 when I was working at Fisers (local Grocery store). He came in every Friday and bought Rib eyes to cook for some friends.. I left the Grocery store in March 88 and went to work for the State of AR in April 88. Then Larry and I met up again at the Post Office one morning. We began talking just casual. He had left work with a mutual friend for me to call him. I finally did call and actually talk to him. We had our First DATE, Aug. 3, 1988,had dinner at Steak and Ale. The next day my home was sold on Public Auction. Larry called to check on me and sent me flowers. Mike bought it and that meant I had to MOVE... In Sept. mom, dad, the boys and I went to Disney world on Vacation. WHen we came back, I began packing and moving. We moved in with mom and dad.. I convinced Larry to sell me his double wide, then he was going to buy him something SMALLER,, NOT,, We moved him out and us in on Nov. 8, 1988..
James and Anne divorced in '9. February '91 I bought a POntiac Grand Am. Tony and Pam Drake married May '91, David was killed Sept. '91, Grandma Brown had just gotten out of the hospital and was staying with mom. Tony and Pam divorced Oct.'91. Dad had a wreck on Dec. 14, '91 (Tony's 21st Birthday). James and Amie married Jan 11, 1992 (my Birthday) We have a lot of different events on the same dates... James and Amie had Shawn Oct. 22, 1992, James and Amie had Austin, March 17, 1994. Tony and Vanessa got married Sept. '94. Larry and I married Dec. 27, '95. We moved into his "SMALLER" house, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath brick.. Bought a Chevy Custom Van Feb. 96. We outgrew the Grand Am when we got married. The 9 1/2 years I drove the Van, the 5 of us were only in there 1 time. I had it full alot with all the kids going to ball games, but as far as "the Family" we only used it 1 time. Sold my doublewide in OCt. 96. Tony and Vanessa had Kiefer, Feb. 13, '97. Buck and Mandy had Cember April 3, '98, James and Amie had Justin, Nov. 2, '98. Pam and Dewayne had Briauna, Jan 6, '99, Buck and Mandy got married, May 22, '99. Tony and Vanessa had Maranda, May 24, '99 (7 1/2 weeks premature),and 8 minutes after giving birth, Vanessa died. Grandma Brown went into the HOspital with Sepsis. She passed on July 10, '99. Tony went to Ohio August 18, '99, mom and dad took over raising Kiefer and Maranda. Leonard had a heart transplant Aug. 19, '99. Buck and Mandy had Gabby, Sept. 4, '99. Wow, I think that is ALOT of babies in a short time, 6 in 2 1/2 years... for 18 years all we had were boys and in 17 months we got 4 girls.. Gabby had surgery the day she was 6 weeks old, MOm and dad had gone to a Histology convention. I had Kiefer and Maranda, But we managed. I was at the hospital for her surgery and then I went and picked up Kiefer, Maranda and Cember and kept them all.
Wow, 40 down just 10 more to go. HOw am I doing??? Got to witness the turn of a new Century.. We saw 2000 come in.. Then I turned "40"...
July 3, '00 I caught mom and dad's kitchen on fire cooking chicken nuggets for Kiefer, did about 35,000 dollars in damage. Insurance came in cleaned and packed everything up, remodeled the house. MOm and dad never moved back into it, they bought one close to town. I moved them in and had most everything unpacked when they came back from a trip, the least I could do since I "BURNED their HOUSE"
Uncle Leonard passed away in Sept. 2000. Busy times with all the trips to Ohio, spent lots of time with all the little ones.. LOVED IT....
March 2001, Rocky left for a Peace Keeping mission in Bosnia.. He was there when 9/11, 01 happened.. When that happened, they cut all communication with our troops in Bosnia, I freaked out.. It delayed them coming home by 4 weeks. Their replacements were coming from New York and Virginia, the 2 states hit hardest by 9/11. He finally got home in Nov. '01. February 3, '02 Buck and Mandy's house burned to the ground. Rocky and Deanna married Sept. 28, '02
Pam and Dewayne separated and divorced in 2003. Pam was having ALOT of medical problems (most of them self inflicted). So mom and dad were doing alot of running for her along with taking care of Kiefer and Maranda. April '03 Rocky and Deanna came over to tell me that Rocky was going to be sent to IRAQ soon.. Bosnia was bad enough and that was peace time. How was I EVER going to SURVIVE IRAQ in a WAR!!!!!!! I cried for weeks... then Oct. 31, '03 Rocky left for Ft Hood TX for additional training and deployment. We made lots of weekend turnaround trips down there. all piled in the VAN... Then in Feb, he left the US for IRAQ.... He had SO MANY close calls, one time someone pulled up beside them and opened fire inside their hum v, no one was hit (who had control of that situation, NO ONE BUT OUR GREAT LORD)... He was protected more times than I can count... June 1, 04 Larry and I bought a cabin close to Lake Degray and Buck and Bruce began helping us rebuild some of it. Rocky got to come home on a 2 weeks R&R on (you got it) 9/11. We were all at the airport on pins and needles until his plane was safely on the ground..
I bought my Yukon XL on NOv. 2nd took it to Ohio for a release hearing Nov. 17 '04. TOny was released, but we had to wait for transfer paperwork to be completed before they would release him. the finally released him to the bail bondsman at noon on the 24th. I stayed on the phone for 3 days and on Wednesday, the 24th at 4 PM, we got it all done and were told we could head for AR. it took us 30 min to pack up 2 hotel rooms and head for home. We drove in mom and dad's drive way at 4 AM on THANKSGIVING morning. What a Thanksgiving that was..
We had Christmas with Rocky on the computer, we had a webcam set up and so did he with mics. so we could see and hear him and he could us.. We had sent his Christmas package to him and we all opened presents together. It was GREAT... Christmas by computer 7000 miles apart.
Tony and Rochelle married on Feb. 12,'05. Rocky came home March 20, '05. Rocky and Deanna had Kelsey, Jan 31, 06. August '07 Larry and I decided to have a new home built. Footers were dug on Oct. 1. We watched every day as it went up. I would go out every day, Larry usually just on the weekends, but I would be on the phone telling him what they had done that day. On March 24th we closed on it. On the 26th, Rocky, mom and dad helped me get us moved in, we hired movers, so it was just mainly directing traffic. MOm and dad were at the new house waiting on the new furniture to be delivered and Rocky and I were at the other house. Larry came home on his 55th Birthday to a new house where everything we NEEDED had been unpacked and put away and the boxes destroyed.. He did not have alot of unpacking to do..
August 3, '08 we purchased a Farmall Cub tractor, like his dad used to have.... Sept. we purchased a 1960 Farmall Cub (because it was made the year I was born, so I had to have it). We restored them and loved doing it. Just a couple days after purchasing the 60 model, I got a call that my Cousin Jeffrey had been killed. Another tragedy that did not have to happen, a Hunter being careless cost him his life and his family a tragic loss. In April, '09 I saw a kid riding a "wheelHorse" (baby tractor, smaller than a riding lawn mower) and I decided I had to have one of them as well. In May we went to Michigan and bought 2 of them. THen on Friday, May 22, I went with Larry for a check up... Guess WHAT!! We ended up in Baptist Hospital for a Heart Cath and By-pass surgery the next morning.. Boy did that turn my WORLD UPSIDE DOWN..... But that too we survived.. We even went to CA with mom and dad to visit and to see the Redwoods. We thoroughly enjoyed that trip and plan to make many more trips. Dec. we hired the boys to build us another Pout House to store the restored tractors in now that we currently have 9, 6 fully restored and 3 to restore.. and so here we are Jan 2010 and the BIG "50" and Life goes on!!!!!!!


OK so it is not SO CONDENSED... but I think I got most of the HIGHLIGHTS....

~The Neatest Sign~

Here is what the boys gave Larry and I for Christmas... Most of you know we have gotten into restoring OLD tractors. We currently have 4 completed, 2 that we bought already restored and 3 that we are going to restore.. We absolutely LOVE doing them. We tear them down, clean off the grease and oil, sand, scrape, prime and paint them. It is alot of WORK and even more FUN... All of ours are RED.. after all Crops are Green, Tractors are RED... Mom and dad got Larry a t-shirt that says that. He loves it and I have been threatened with my life if I get caught wearing it, but the key word here is CAUGHT and we all know how much Larry is away from HOME!!! So the possiblities of getting caught are SLIM..... The boys also got us a Die Cast Farmall Model H tractor with the trailer. We love it, but Kelsey wants to take it out of the box and play with it. We got her mind off it and put it away, I think it will go in the Big Pout House with all the other Tractors. Can't wait till it is finished. They are decking the roof today.. Can't wait to get home and check it out..
Let me know what you think of the sign...

LOVE TO ALL and May God Richly Bless You this Year..

~SNOW~

It is snowing like crazy here today. Just a dry powdery snow.. Not sticking to anything, just BEAUTIFUL... I left for work at my normal time and about the time I got to work, MOm called and said we were on Inclement Weather policy. GREAT... I was at work at 6:40 and did not have to be here till 10. I could have slept LONGER.... Oh well, after being off 11 days, I have lots to catch up on... But all I want to do watch the snow falling. It is so pretty... Sheri, I am JEALOUS that you have so much... We hardly ever get SNOW, we mostly get ICE>. that is just not fun... I will try to get a pic of it with my phone. Left the camera at home, dumb me. I always have my camera with me. Larry and I were out "touring" (Running the roads) yesterday and I had the camera, got pics of deer and turkey on the side of the road. Larry had slept the 2 days previous and he got up feeling better and said we are getting out of this house and going somewhere. So we did. Sorry, we were not home Jeanette...

I am SO IN THE DOG HOUSE... I forgot a very important event that took place last week..... Larry and I celebrated our 14th Anniversary... Boy where did that time go. While we were touring yesterday, we were talking about things that had come about in the last 14 years and how we would have done somethings differently and how we had handled somethings totally wrong, and how through it "ALL" we have been so blessed... We do not have a PERFECT marriage, but I think we have a "GOOD" marriage.. We do not always agree, but we agree to disagree and go on. We try to make the best decision possible for us, not always what we want, but what is best and still be affordable.. Sometime we have to totally scrap an idea and go to something else. But through it all we have been BLESSED....

So here's PRAYING for a HAPPY, HEALTHY, PROFITABLE NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!!!!