A Great Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day.  The family members that live nearby all came over and we played games for over 2 hours.  We all enjoy this, but as everyone's families have grown, it is harder to be able to get together.  I loved having everyone here.  To top off the evening, Bryan called just as everyone else was leaving to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  I will be in Birmingham to see them later this week as a surprise for Noah.

The grandchildren are all so much fun.  I love the smiles on their faces when they see me and call out Nana.  They are so sweet and so full of energy. 

I have been enjoying Caitlin's softball games.  She has learned so much this season and seems to be having a lot of fun.  I know I have been having fun watching her play.  It makes me remember all the years of softball, baseball and football games and practices with my active bunch.  

Spring 2012

Looks pretty, doesn't it? It is nice to look at, but these trees and a million others in the area are killing us with pollen right now. It doesn't even have to have a bloom to drop a ton of pollen. We had a record warm March and now the pollen is just ridiculous! Oh, well, this will pass and then we will have tornados to worry about.

Happy Spring everyone.

Merry Christmas

I guess I haven't felt like I had much to say since May. I was surprised to see it had been that long since I had posted.

I spent a lovely Thanksgiving with Bryan's family in Birmingham. Other than Snowball briefly turning into psycho-dog over a bone, it was a great holiday. Thanks, Bryan, Lisa, Noah and Eli. I look forward to seeing you again later this month.

I came back from Alabama to spend much of the next week decorating for Christmas. It is a bit of work, but it makes my busy Christmas holiday much happier to have a merry looking home. It looks nice while I am home and it greets me joyfully whenever I come home from being out.

It has been a busy musical season. We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of our performances of Handel's Messiah. I have been involved in all 25. So, there have been many rehearsals. We had one successful performance last weekend and have one more to go this weekend. Added to that we also did a separate Christmas concert last weekend and will be singing for Stake Conference this Sunday. "Busy" may have been a bit of an understatement. At any rate it is winding down, and soon there will be time to Christmas shop and wrap gifts.

Merry Christmas from my house to yours.

Ten days in Pennsylvania

I returned a few days ago from a ten day trip to Pennsylvania with my friends, Jim and Renee Richeson. Our base was their time-share condo in the Poconos. Each day we saw something different. Some days it was beautiful scenery (mountain views and waterfalls), and other days it was historical sites like Philadelphia, Valley Forge, Washington Crossing, and Gettysburg. In the picture above we were taking a carriage ride around Philadelphia. We also saw the beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch area in Lancaster County filled with Amish farms and the picturesque towns of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. Also, not to be serious all the time, we went to Hershey World in Hershey, Pennsylvania. That was an experience!

I had a great time and took lots of pictures. All of us were 65 or older, so we had to do things slowly and with a minimum of walking. Still, it was fun to see a different part of the country and celebrate some of our American history.

Spring???

It's spring, no it's winter, no it's spring...

And so we enter what could be called "severe storm season" here in Tennessee. The yoyo weather has begun, and with it will be all the variety of winds and rain, hopefully not tornadoes and floods like last year. It is starting pretty early this year. I hope we will all be safe for the next three months. Last May's floods were devastating and too many people still have not recovered.

Snow

I love to take pictures of snow, and it is even better when I don't have to get out and try to drive in it. These first two were taken on Christmas morning. The snow was thin, but there was enough to call it a White Christmas. Noah and Eli had a good time playing in it.

Then we had snow again on January 10. This time we got more than a dusting. I measured 3 1/2 to 4 inches. More is expected for the next two days.

Screened Porch

This is a work in progress, but when finished it should be a comfortable screened porch. Eventually there will be cushions and an outdoor rug. I want to move an electric outlet inside the screened area, too. It will be so nice to be able to be outside in good weather without all the bugs.