We Pulled Off a Big Surprise

A couple of months ago we started planning a special ceremony at the church to honor my mother, Bernice. She has been a member of the same church since 1946 and has played the piano for every choir and all manner of solo, duet, trio, etc. for over 50 years. This morning, all our plans came together and it was great. After bringing her up out of the audience and giving her a crown and some roses, we treated her to her very own version of "This is your Life." We started coming out from behind closed doors to surprise her. We read poetic tributes and shed some tears. We presented her with a scrapbook full of notes from family and friends and a certificate that said "you put the grand in grandma." Then, finally, her sister (who lives about 400 miles away) came out and it was priceless. I can't believe we have been putting this together all this time and she had no clue.

Anyway, my point is that she never wanted or expected such recognition. That's what makes her so special. She doesn't even realize how special she is!! I told everyone at church that if the writer in Proverbs who wrote about the excellent wife had been my mother's son, he would have written something like this:

Who can find an excellent mother, for her value is greater than rare jewels
Her children trust in her, and they will have no lack of love and attention
She makes them feel safe and protected all the days of her life
She seeks out fabric and makes them clothing with her own hands - yea, they have A-line skirts in every color
Her kitchen is like a fine restaurant, her menu covering everything from pinto beans to lasagna - her dumplings and prune cakes are known throughout the land
She rises while it is still night to make cocoa for her daughters' friends, and no pajama party is complete without her popcorn
She stands in the cold to watch for the school bus while all the children of the neighborhood wait inside her warm house
She makes cookies and cupcakes for every school party, and serves as room mother without complaint
Her arms are strong from stirring the p-nut butter candy which spells the end of many attempted diets
She is a shrewd shopper, drawn like a magnet to clearance sales
She is generous and giving and opens her hands to the needy
She is not afraid of the snow, for her children always have warm coats and hats and gloves and sleds
Her bed is always warm and welcome to any child having a bad dream
Her family is well known in the community as she walks them to church
She teaches Sunday School and leads the Young People in music and Bible study
She clothes herself with dignity
She doesn't fear the future, for her freezer is filled to overflowing with leftovers
She speaks with wisdom and teaches kindness to her children and grand-children
She does endless loads of laundry and her kitchen floor is mopped and waxed
Her four daughters rise up and call her blessed and try to make her proud
Many mothers have done excellently, but you surpass them all
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain
but a mother who fears the Lord is to be praised

Problem Solved???

Does anybody even remember my first post where I was lamenting the fact that I could not find a toilet seat to match my bathroom shower curtain? Does anybody really care? Well, I finally solved the problem by changing both shower curtain and toilet seat. I should have done that a long time ago, but the green shower curtain was so nice. Anyway, as you can see, I changed everything to maroon and I really love this shower curtain with it's little stripes that pick up all the colors in the laundry border. But believe it or not, I can't find a rug that matches it just right!!!

OH NOOOOO!!!

My laptop has a problem, so I have been without access for several days. The battery is dead and will not charge, but even with the power cord plugged in, the computer will not come on. So I may have a problem with the cord or worse, the laptop itself. So I'm taking it to the laptop doctor this afternoon.

In other news, Kirby and I are home for a couple of days to attend the funeral of our 101 year old next door neighbor. Her birthday was last week, but she has been in very poor health for a couple of months following a stroke. Before that, she was getting around better than most 60 year olds. She was amazing because she still got up everyday and came out to sit on the front porch. She loved having us come over to talk with her and she was always good for a few funny comments. Her family will miss her and so will we. She was a great Christian woman and we were blessed to know her. Happy Homecoming with the Lord, Mrs. Howe.

On the Beach

I love this picture of Maverick on the beach. Looks like he is the only person for miles (except for that grandma with the camera). He didn't really know how to react to all that sand, so he tasted it then spit it out. As you can see from the other picture, Bailey knows exactly what to do with all that water - Run for it!!!

Myrtle Beach Aquarium

We took Bailey and Maverick to the aquarium today in Myrtle Beach and they had a great time. Bailey's favorite part of the trip was putting his hands in the water to pet the horseshoe crabs and stingrays, as you can see by this picture.

Later, he came across some yellow fish that he was fascinated by. I'm not sure why, after looking at so many different fish, he was so interested in these little yellow ones, but they were very pretty and bright. You can also see how wet his shirt is from petting the crabs!!

Maverick doesn't know what all the fuss is about with "finding Nemo" because he went into the gift shop and found him with no problem at all. He was just sitting there in plain sight.

Random Events

I am supposed to be packing for our trip to Myrtle Beach. We are leaving early in the morning, so now is my last chance to get everything ready to go. But as you can see from the picture below, I have been playing with my dining room table instead. If you know me at all, you know that I am crazy about table settings and napkins and napkin rings, etc. I love changing my table for the seasons. I found this pretty fall pumpkin spice potpourri at Walmart last night and just had to get my Thanksgiving stuff out and set the table. It smells soooo good. As you can see, my guests are four little turkeys dressed as Pilgrams.

Here is the other thing I bought last night. The sewing machine on the right belonged to my Grandmother and is probably 40 years old. I have been using it for the past 10 years and it works most of the time. But lately it has been making very strange noises and the tension adjustment doesn't work. So, I broke down and bought the machine on the left. It was one of the cheaper ones they had at Walmart, but I only really use it to make repairs or sew simple projects that are mostly straight stitches. I haven't even plugged it in yet and I'm not sure I will have time to before we leave for the beach. Maybe I should stop playing tea party with the turkeys and try sewing up the hole in the back of my capri pants. I pulled the tag off because it was itchy and now I have a hole that forces me to wear long shirts with these pants.

I hope to post some pictures from the beach this week of Bailey and Maverick playing in the sand and surf. But, of course, I need to pack first.

We finally got to see the boys!!!

We delivered our load in El Paso and Jen picked us up from a parking lot where we left our truck. Both the boys were a little shy at first, but warmed up to us within minutes. Maverick has grown so much and his hair is blonder than ever. Bailey impressed us with his growing vocabulary and showed off how smart he is by naming the alphabet letters for us. Maverick made Pop's day when he crawled over to him and climbed up on his lap, then played with his hat and glasses. We took them to Toys R Us and got them a wagon (more for Mommy, I think). At least now she can pull them all over the neighborhood without having to carry one or both of them home. And, of course, we had our Rudy's BBQ. It all ended too soon, but we will see them again in Myrtle Beach in just a week, so we can start looking forward to that. Bailey's answer to everything is "no" but when we got back to our truck, Jen asked if he wanted to get in Pop's big truck and to our surprise, he answered "yes". So we let him climb up in the cab for a few minutes. He loves Mack on the Cars movie, so I guess he enjoyed getting inside a real truck. But our truck was saying, "Mack?" "I'm an International, for durn sake!" Pop is still talking about how Bailey blew us kisses and said "Bye, Pop!" over and over as they left the parking lot. I'm just glad they only wanted a wagon. Pop would have bought one of everything in the store if they had asked for it. Hope they don't start talking before they get to Myrtle Beach!!! I just know Jen is saying, "Bailey, say Titan, Nissan Titan." LOL We enjoyed seeing Jake, too. Kirby hadn't seen him since Maverick was born. Hope we get to see him again during the holidays this year, along with all our other relatives in Texas.