Feb, March, April & May

Wow - I cannot believe how long it's been since I posted on here!  Not that I have a bunch of readers - but I am hoping that one day my children & grandchildren look back and see just how much they were my FAVORITE subject.  :0)

So, the next few entries will be an attempt to play "catch-up".....

February 12th

Our sweet little angel, Chloe - turned 6 years old!  Thanks to a bonus from my work, we had her celebration at 'Bounce Around' here in Cleveland.  We were able to have the party room for 1 1/2 hours and then all that wanted to were able to bounce as much as they wanted, and we gave them all 20 tokens each to play games.  SO very thankful for that bonus.  ;0) 

My dear, longtime friend, Donna Ellis owns Cupcake Divas here in Cleveland.  She made this huge cupcake cake for Chloe.  Ironic - about 20 years ago - she made Lydia's birthday cake.... 

We were so thankful that my Mom and Dad came.  As did about 75 other people. Good thing I also made cupcakes in a addition to having the cake and ice cream!  HUGE crowd - to say the least.  We were blessed with the presence of family, church friends, Chloe's school friends, my work friends and long time friends.  And, there were so many presents we didn't even have time to open them in the party room.  Thank you to EVERYONE for helping us celebrate Chloe's birthday. 

And, after the party - we had the pleasure of spending quality time with 5 of our grandkids.  Yes, Nana just had to give them some extra tokens.  Colby & Crystal generously donated their tickets to Chloe - so she was able to get some pretty cool "prizes". 

HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY!

Chloe's so lucky - she had a project from school and her big sister just happens to be artistic!
Thanks Sissy for helping Chloe make her Valentine for the Kindergarten school wall!

Yes, I realize it's past Valentines Day - but the love between these 2 sisters is an ongoing thing, I assure you. 
Matter of fact - Sissy took her shopping night before last, including buying her supper too.  They had a great time spending a gift card that Bubba had given her, along with most of the money Sissy had given her.

Thank you Lord for letting me see my children love each other.  Hope they'll always feel that way.

Chloe Got Glasses!

Actually she got her glasses in early December, but this picture is from just the other day.....

She's growing up WAY too fast!

Nails, Nails, Nails

 Chloe loves to look "girly" & pretty. 

Lately, she's on a kick of "fake" nails - I like them because they're not messy, they're easy to apply and she has tons of fun...... 

The smiles on her face tell it all.  :-)

She got this little "nail salon" for Christmas.  It even has a nail "dryer" that "dries" nail polish.  She thought it was pretty cool to go to such a "posh" nail salon and sip a glass of "fruity drink" (a.k.a. Kool-Aid). 

She's so much fun to play with & it's easy to add to her smiles.  :-)

Starting the New Year with SNOW!!!!

Can't believe we got more snow already!  And, again - more than enough to build a snow man! 

Curtis & the Snow Man (wearing a Georgia hat for some reason)

"Bubba" Terry helped "Sissy" Chloe build a BIG snow man

(you can't tell, but Chloe has a GA hat on but TENNESSEE orange pants & top)

Chloe LOVES her BIG Snow Man. 

Someone told Curtis that Chloe found a new hero. 

He said, "That's ok - that 'hero' will melt and leave her - but her daddy never will!"

This snow has finally faded - but we still have a big ball of snow in our front yard - almost 2 weeks later!

Even tho the snow may vanish and leave you, isn't it great to know that God will never leave you, nor forsake you!  Hebrews 13:5

I'm Dreaming of A White Christmas......

Oh Wait!  It's NOT a Dream!!!

SNOW on Christmas in Tennessee!  And, not just a few flurries - enough to build a snow man!

Curtis, Lydia and Chloe played in the snow and built a snow man.  I stayed inside and made hot chocolate.  It's rough to stay inside while all the fun is going on - hee, hee hee.  Oh, let's see, I also stayed warm and dry and still got to hear the laughter and watch the fun.  Hmm, the older I get, the more I think I LOVE my part. 

Christmas 2010 was so AWESOME!

The snow was PERFECT for building snowmen and sledding -

AND my children and grandchildren were able to join us - despite the weather conditions.

Thank you God for blessing us with CHRISTmas and for the extra blessing of snow!

SELFLESSNESS

Be SELFLESS - give of your time, your money, your listening ear, etc..... We all have something we can give!  You can baby sit for someone so they can have free time.  You can listen when your child, parent, sibling, friend speaks.  You can volunteer to help - and then DO it!

You might say - Life’s a bone grinding mill. It’s tough, and at the end of the day we go home, lick our wounds, and get back at it the next day. It’s hard to reach outside of ourselves and see others in need. And then to actually do something about it? Almost impossible - but not impossible.

You might say, but "How could it be possible?"   I say - it's possible because I have strength for the journey! And, you can have it too. Just read Isaiah 40:31. It says:

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength... mount up with wings like eagles... run and not be weary... walk and not faint.
 
So - get you some strength and go do something SelfLess! 
 

I Turned 45!

Can't believe my Mom and Dad are old enough to have a 45 year old daughter!  My, oh my, I didn't think they were much older than 45 themselves!

This year I was blessed with lots of cards/emails/texts, gifts, lunch dates, birthday cake and kind wishes.  I also got to have my mother sit beside me in church!

When I was born - Dad had to miss his first Sunday in the new church building at Tellico Plains Church of God.  He called Paul Fritts to speak that day.  I am happy to report that 45 years later I did not make my Dad miss church!  He is involved in the ministry again at Tellico Plains and now, the pastor is Paul Fritts.  So, although my Dad wasn't sitting with me in church - he was at church being used by God!

My step-son Terry and his wife Amie brought a couple of the grandkids over (Catelynn & Collin) and even brought birthday cake and ice cream!  I have a feeling my daughter-in-law made all of this happen.  :)  Amie's there - but you can't see her, because she took the picture.

Thanks everyone for remembering my birth date!







 

True Happiness

Doesn't Popaw Curtis look happy?  So do Chloe and Julian!

I just LOVE this picture. 

It really captures joy and happiness that can be felt just by being close to someone.
Even if you feel alone sometimes - you're never alone. 
The scriptures tell us - He will never leave us, nor forsake us.  Hebrews 13:5. 

I was working the other day and knew that Lydia and Julian had stopped by to visit.  It was very quiet - so I wondered what they were up to.  When I reached the end of my shift and traveled up the stairs (ain't it rough to have such a "long" travel time - lol) - I was still thinking - Man, they sure are quiet!  Low and behold this picture is what I saw.  3 perfectly content human beings - happy together.

Happy Halloween!

 

Chloe really enjoyed Halloween this year.  Which of course, allowed me to have lots of fun too.  She had a shirt for each day of the week (most I failed to take pics of).  Someone told me I should've worn this one....

(In case you can't read it - it says "I'm a Little Batty!" - lol)

Catelynn and Chloe got to go to their first pumpkin/slumber party at Kylie's house and they both wore a Halloween pajama set to sleep in.  They bobbed for apples, painted faces, had pillow fights and watched Casper the Ghost.  Kaydee & Jonathan from church did this for them.  What a fun pumpkin/slumber party!  Wish I had pictures, but I didn't go.

Chloe's school field trip took them to Guthrie Farms in Charleston, TN. She had a great time on a hay ride through fields of pumpkins. They got to pick out their own pumpkin and bring it home.  So, Saturday evening - Chloe called her big sister and asked her to come carve her pumpkin.  Even tho "Sissy" was on her way to a costume party - she gladly obliged her sister.  Here's the result...  Thanks Sissy!

Lydia, her friend Jacob and Chloe - aka Spider Girl

Since Sissy was dressed up as a "flapper girl from the 20's" - Chloe had to try on her outfit

 

More "try it out" pictures - Go "Spider Power"! 

Now, of course - the first thing we did on Halloween was go to church Sunday morning!  Yes, we have our priorities straight.  Then we ate a good lunch and the evening's fun began. 

Our first stop, of course, was to Memaw and Popaw's house.  Chloe's empty bag - was almost full by the time we left - thanks Memaw & Popaw!  After Memaw & Popaw's house, we went to the mall and trick-or-treated.  We like this option, as you make a circle around the mall, they have fun activities for the kids (sponsored by Westwood Baptist) and as long as they're little - it doesn't really matter how much candy they get.  Julian's other grandma (Joan) & his Pappy (Tony) help Westwood every year.  This year they were dressed as Mr and Mrs Potato Head.  Some of their friends were Little Bo Peep and a Pink Pig.

The kids really like getting their pictures taken with the characters.  Although Julian didn't go to the mall, we did get to see him dressed up as "Broby" (a character from a cartoon called "Yo Gabba Gabba").

We also went to "Aunt Rita's" house and had to empty Chloe's bag and it got filled again.  We then went home and had trick or treaters come to our house.  Julian was one.  Catelynn was dressed as the cutest witch I've ever seen.  Collin was a Ninja turtle.  Hailey was a kitty cat.  Some of the pics turned out a little dark, but maybe you can see how cute they were.

 

I think by now - you can see why we had so much fun.  Kids really do make things more fun!

Hope you had a great time too. 

Beginnings of Fall........

Ahhh, the cool crisp mornings - lots of sunshine during the day and the cool evenings - fall has arrived!

Fall began with an Open House and Bake Sale at Chloe's school.  Then we had her school's Fall Festival - complete with face painting, cake walks, "fishing", "duck pond", etc. etc. etc.  Curtis, Chloe and I were joined by Terry, Amie, Colby, Chelsea, Catelynn and Collin.  It was fun for me - hope it was for them too!

Then came the Cleveland Apple Festival.  I just love this festival.  It's a special little city festival that takes up a few blocks downtown around the courthouse.  There's singing, performances, home-made crafts, jellies, apple pies, apple cider, funnel cakes and mmmmmmmmmmmmm lots of good food.  There's also a petting zoo, hay ride and Chloe's favorite - riding horses (which she did several times).  Chloe and I went with this year with Lydia, Julian, Lydia's friend Jacob and my neice Jessica.

Happy 29th Birthday Kimberly!

My first born neice, Kimberly Christine Lawrence

(pictured with my sweet daughter, Chloe) 

Kimberly - you'll always hold a special place in my heart.  I still remember the sweetness of holding you when you were born.  You made me feel like a special aunt.  Although I didn't immediately start telling you that I was your "favorite" aunt - you made me feel like I was.  Aunt "Tee Tah" and Aunt Trish might disagree - but that's how I felt it was!  :0)

You'll forever be special to me! 

This year Memaw Brannen cooked lunch for her and I had the priveledge of baking the birthday cake!

2010 School Pictures - Kindergarten

Chloe had her Kindergarten pictures made - and of course, we bought some.

Times sure have changed - now you can select the background color, you can have their name printed on the wallet exchanges, etc., etc. I remember getting school pictures made - and yes, they were in color - but we sure didn't choose the background or even question it. Now, even in Kindergarten - that school picture goes in a year book. Year book? Who ever heard of getting a year book in Kindergarten! I think it costs MORE for Chloe to be in school than it costs when she went to day care and pre-school!

Oh well - she's worth EVERY penny and MORE!

HAPPY 74th BIRTHDAY MOMMA!

My sweet momma turned 74 on Tuesday!  Happy Birthday Momma!

Just like she typically does - she's been celebrating for over a week now!  Just a few of the things I know about - She got to go to Outback for dinner, she got to go to her daughter's place with family, she got calls from New York (and she's going to visit them soon), her mother-in-law cooked lunch for her, her sister cooked supper for her!  And, there are probably others that helped celebrate that I don't even know about! 

Some people are lonely on their birthdays - but I don't think my momma will ever have to worry about that.  Why?  Cause she makes other people feel special and they're happy for a chance to make her feel special!

When I was little, momma would correct me and I'd be pouting and mad.  Daddy would say - "Be kind to your mother - she's the best friend you'll ever have on earth" - I used to get so mad and think "Why are you taking up for her?"  But, Daddy was right - momma is the best friend on earth!

Love you Momma!