Yummy, with old friends!

We met on the porch for hugs and them moved inside for lunch!  This place is beautiful!  I love walking in the front door and catching a glimpse of the buffet!  There is SO much to chose from!  I ate a salad and ONE plate of yummylicious food!  My favorite of all was the fried green tomatoes!  They are SOOOOOO good with the tomato chutney!

I almost cropped this picture but then you wouldn't be able to see how beautiful this place is!  The Blue Willow Inn, Social Circle Georgia!  We took this picture before we ate, then sat and chatted for hours:), laughing and reminiscing!

Then we sat on the front porch, did a little rocking and more giggling!  Another photo shoot!  Back row L-R Joan Irvin, Teresa Coley, Linda Downs, Wanda Wright, Katie Kay, Melanie Todd  Front row rockers:) L-R Me, Lynn Gary, Reesa Smith and Charlotte Turner!

My friend Lynn and Me!  She used to be my Husband's right arm at work!

AND my friend Joan and Me!  Our friendship is everlasting:)  I love you Joan!  Thank you for making that long drive to have lunch with us!

These ladies are OLD friends, some I have known for more than 30 years!  Friendships to last a lifetime!  I can't wait to get together with them again!  Have a blessed day my friends!

We talked to Justin yesterday and he is good!  Keep those prayer wheels turning!  Love you all!

Lunch at the Blue Willow!

Oh my goodness, I can't wait!  No dieting for me today:)  This is the Blue Willow Restaurant in Social Circle Georgia!  SERIOUSLY good food!

Fried chicken, fried green tomatoes...

Yummy desserts....

I have loads of pictures of lunch with my friends from work!  Most of the people in this picture will be there today!  This picture was made in 2007!

The last time I was at the Blue Willow, the fountain was frozen!

I met these two, Reesa and Katie on that chilly day!

Another lunch with the ladies from a couple years ago!

And another!  ALL of these ladies have RSVP'd for today!  I am so excited!

See this friend, Joan and I have been friends FOREVER!  She loves me and I love her!  She makes HOWELL style chicken dumplings that are so yummy!  She is driving over TWO hours to have lunch with us! 
I can't wait to give her a ginormous HUG! 
She has always called me "Lil Bit"! 

SO, FUN day ahead for me... I'll be posting new pictures of an old place and old friends tomorrow! 

Love you all and thank you so much for your prayers for Justin!  I know you are praying, I feel it!  HUGS!

She would have been 86!

It is my Mama's Birthday today and she would have been 86!  She passed away in 1988 at 63 years old!  WAYYYYYYY too young!  I miss her so much and think about her daily!  It seems like a short time and yet a long time too, if you know what I mean!  She LOVED her Birthday and we always did it up BIG for her!  I have shown many pictures over the years but not this one that I recall!  This was a Christmas after she had the stroke!  I made ducks for her with all of our birth dates on them!  Oh how she loved them AND we put them in her casket so that we would always be with her:) 

I love you Mama, I know you are with Daddy, Jesus and the heavenly angels... NO DOUBT!

Happy Birthday to the BESTEST MAMA, I love you forever and always!

Stay safe Justin, Praying for you!

Happy Birthday Sis!

Happy Birthday to my Sister, Barbara!  I love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

Today is my Sister's Birthday!  My Dear Sister, Barbara (aka Nanny) is 69 years old today!  She is and always has been so precious to me! 

Happy Happy Birthday!

This is OUR favorite picture of us together!

Enjoy your day, I love you!

Praying for you Justin!  Love you and stay safe!

Smiles make me happy:)

We celebrated my Sister Barbara's 69th Birthday!  We smiled, we giggled, we laughed!

More importantly, she smiled, she giggled, she laughed!

My Sister LOVES purses, and she got a Vera Bradley PURSE and Wallet to match!  And a HOMEMADE chocolate cake which really made her smile!

My Daughter and my Baby Sister, the Weight Watcher gals!  SUCH great Friends!

FOUR Sisters!  How blessed we are!  AND we have TWO brothers! 

How blessed we are!

It was a wonderful day, lots of smiles and great food!

Love you Justin!  Praying for you, stay safe!

Shopping is good!

Borders is going out of business and while that is sad, it makes shopping fun!  Tracy called me yesterday and said that it was now 50-70% off!  OK, I'll go back and so did she:)  We shopped til we dropped and were both happy with our purchases!  I bought lots of goodies for birthdays and even Christmas!  The good thing about Borders is that they have a HUGE kids section with great toys, learning sets and games!  I happen to have LOTS of Grandchildren who love toys, learning sets and games:)  SO... it was a great shopping day! 

I mailed packages to Justin and the book that Bobbi won!  While at the post office I looked up at this flag against the blue sky!  Be still my heart!

We are having lunch today with SWEET family for my Sister Barbara's Birthday!  Can't wait for some wonderful food and even better fellowship with loved ones!

Have a blessed day and stay safe all in Irene's path!

Love you Justin, Praying for your safety!

Good Morning World!

Good morning everyone!  I hope this Thursday finds you well and happy!  I know that lots of you are waiting to see if Irene is coming your way!  I will pray for your safety!

This is a picture I took on a trip to Helen a couple of years ago!  I have been itching to take a drive up there, enjoy a walk down the streets, a little shopping and some good food at Paul's Steakhouse on the river!  I just might have to get up there real soon!  We have spent our anniversary up there for MANY of our 26 years together! 

Last year we were in Las Vegas for number 25 and our 26th will be spent at the Beach with our Knoxville Grandbabies!  Do you ever start thinking about going somewhere and just can't stop?  Yep, Helen... get ready for a visit from us:)

This morning... I am off to the post office to mail packages!  Hope you have a blessed day!  HUGS!

Praying for you Justin!  Stay Safe!

Alarm clock on Wednesday...

For 30 years I got up and went to work and have been retired for 9 years!  I am so thankful for both my working and retired part of my life!  The working part was long in some ways and looking back was short too!  Now that I am retired, I get up when I want to... mostly early!  On Wednesday's I take Four of my Grandkids to school, so I actually set my clock... the ONLY day I do that!  So when I am missing on Wednesday mornings, that is why! 

Autumn and Austin BOTH had ballgames last night!  Autumn's team won 10-2 and Austin's team won 17-2!  Darn, they both played awesome!  Autumn has started catching some, not so sure I could do that... too much squatting and jumping up but she did a great job!

We go to ALL of the games and we get home a little late sometimes!  When we have two in one day, we end up eating late!  Not such a healthy dinner but it sure was good, SONIC Chili-cheese hot dogs... YUMMM!

So, I am home from the ride to school, Target for swimsuits on clearance and packing boxes for Justin!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!  Our weather is darn-right pleasant this morning!  I rode home with the sunroof OPEN!  Sweet HUGS and lots of LOVE! 

Please continue to pray for my Nephew Justin when you pray!

A little of this and a little of that...

My Monday wasn't much to write about but as you all know, I will write about it anyway:)  This is my journal and even the days that weren't SO exciting are still special!  It was a slow morning getting started, I slept later than usual and enjoyed my morning coffee as always!  Then it was time to get the old motor running:)  I had to get to the grocery store to pack Justin some more goodies!  And that is what I did, my coupon binder and I headed to the grocery store!  Coupon shopping takes time!  I am not an extreme couponer but enjoy saving money where I can!  My phone rings and Tracy asked me to pick up some flour for her, she said you ARE on the baking aisle... right?  I look around and don't see her, I knew it was time for her to be heading to the school for the kiddos!  I said Yeah?  Where are you?  She said that she was on her way to school... I was a bit puzzled as to how she knew EXACTLY where I was:-?  Then popping around the end of the aisle, smiling and giggling was my Sister Cindy... she was there for the same reason I was, packing boxes for Justin:) 

They are more like Sisters than Aunt and Niece!  They are always good for a laugh:) They got me:)

We all had a good laugh, Cindy and I shopped a little together, she helped me get some good deals and we hugged, right there in the store!  I got my box packed up and ready to mail!  It is hard to send just one, it won't all fit:)  So, I will be packing the other one this morning to take to the Post Office!  Autumn has a ballgame this afternoon, love watching her play!

That's it for Monday, I am enjoying my hot coffee, watching the Today Show and planning my day!  Hope your day will be a wonderful one!  Big hugs and lots of love!

Stay safe Justin Simmons, I love you and pray for you always!

Number generator says that...

I kinda like printing out the comments, putting them in a jar, asking someone to pick one out... BUT so many of you use RANDOM.ORG!  I decided to give it a try!  Here is the number that was generated!

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True Random Number Generator

Min: 1

Max: 17

Result: 4

Powered by RANDOM.ORG
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There were 17 comments, the 4th comment was Bobbi!  She has the sweetest blog and her gorgeous puppy, Gracie runs her life:)  Gracie is so talented and sometimes has comments on Bobbi's blog!  Send me your address, Bobbi and I will get the book in the mail to you!

Here is Bobbi's comment...
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Will be praying for Justin and his sister!

You're morning sounds just great. I love the Today show with Kathie Lee and Hoda but I rarely get to watch it anymore.

This book looks like a really good read. It's exactly what I like to read.. I love Memoir and learning about others lives.. Right now I'm reading Come To The Edge by Christina Haag. She was a former girlfriend to JFK Jr. It's pretty good but soon to finish.

I actually went on Amazon to read about this book you mentioned. So sad! I will definatley look into this one... bless her heart.

Have a beautiful weekend!

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I hope you all are having a marvelous Monday!  I am heading out to pack more boxes for Justin!  Love you Justin, praying for your safety!

Good Sunday Morning!

Ahhhhh, sweet Sunday morning!  Not much going on here this morning!  Some hot coffee and a little news on TV!  I will be getting ready for Church shortly but wanted to say GOOD MORNING!  I had a leisurely Saturday morning just piddling around the house, chatting with Justin on Facebook:), wrapping some Birthday gifts and enjoying a light rain:)  Then, I got myself ready for a 90th Birthday Party!  My Niece, Kelly's Father-in-law turned 90!  WOW, he is such a great guy... his MEMORY is amazing and I was happy to party with them!

Here he is with my two GREAT-Nephews, Ross and Cameron!  He was telling stories about when they were little and I really enjoyed it!  They boys keep me in stitches:)  Kelly typed a HUGE book narrated by ED, I can't wait to read it!  His Memory of details makes me jealous:)

AND then I leave to go home, the most gorgeous SUNSET... no picture because I was driving!  I tried to get to a place to stop, but in an instant it was gone!  When I get home, barbecue plate in tow for my Husband... he says "Did you see up front"?  I said no, WHAT?  A young driver in a brand new sports car, plowed down our mailbox and yucca plant!  Not concerned about that, I asked was the young guy OK?  He said yes, they were sorry that the mailbox was destroyed and offered to replace it!  In an instant, his new sports car was wrecked...  BUT, he wasn't injured!  Drive safely everyone, our road is curvy and hilly!

Have a blessed day my friends, something tells me we will be off to do some mailbox shopping this afternoon:)

Justin, you sweet Nephew of mine... thank you for making my Saturday so special!  Stay safe!  Love you to pieces!

I asked hundreds of questions...

My GREAT Saturday morning was getting to chat with Justin on Facebook!  Cindy sent me a text message that he was on!  I almost broke my fingers trying to type fast enough to say HI to him!  We chatted back and forth and he made me have tears several times, GOOD TEARS!  I asked him if he needed anything to read... HE SAID "I have my Bible, that's ALL I need"!

He had gotten some packages today!  I asked him what else I could send, HE SAID "Pictures of the kids"!  He is talking about my Grandkids who he adores!  I already sent him pictures in a card this week:)  He said his buddies are already talking about how many packages he gets... oh that makes me smile!

It makes me so happy to hear from him, even if it is typing a message back and forth!  Thank you all for your prayers!  I appreciate each and every prayer sent up on his behalf!

Have a blessed day my friends!  BIG HUGS!

When you think you've had a bad day...

I have been reading this book AND I happen to have an extra one!  It isn't a happy read, it is actually hard to read but what this child endured is AWFUL!  BUT... she endured it and is alive today, back with her family and planning on living the rest of her life after losing many years!  I am giving the extra book away!  If you would like to have it, just leave a comment and I will choose a name and get it out to you!

Our bad day doesn't even start to compare with one of her good ones while she was held captive!

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I slept until 8:15AM this morning!  It was way too late for me to get my day started!  I am sitting in my favorite chair, sipping coffee from my favorite cup and watching the Today Show!  I hope you are having a wonderful morning!  Love you all!

Keep the prayers going up for my Nephew, Justin in Afghanistan!  His sister Britani is sick today, Please pray for both of them!  Thanks!

Not a blog hog:)

I KNEW yesterday when I posted that Justin had called his Mama BUT not wanting to be a "BLOG HOG", I didn't mention it!  He is good and she is HAPPY, as are we:) 

We did this when he was deployed last time and we are doing it again!  SENDING him packages, lots and lots of packages!

  Whatever he wants, whatever he needs!  It helps OUR hearts and he loves getting our goodies! 

I dropped the kids at school, went straight to Walmart, bought yummy goodies, packed them and mailed two boxes straight to Afghanistan:)  He lets us know what he wants, Ramen noodles was on his list! 

He is getting mail and packages and we are steady sending them!  Thank you all for the prayers, keep 'em going!

Love you Justin, Happy to hear that you are doing good!  One day at a time! 

Keep praying!!!  PLEASE!

Drab to fab!

My front porch is drab!  The pickets get dirty too quick and are a real pain to clean!  The concrete floor is not too pretty and the bushes are too tall ALL around the porch!  SO... here is what I did to spruce up my porch!  On one of my recent Antique Mall shopping trips, I spotted this little table!  I have a thing for tables and shelves:) 

Well, there was a price on the table but not on the chairs!  I gave my number and waited on the call!  NOBODY called me!  Did I give up?  Nope, I went back... table still there and still no price on the chairs!  As I walked around, I saw two more chairs just like these... bingo there was a price for all 4 chairs!  I loaded them into my car, placed them on my front porch, decorated them with the place mats that I won from Marydon, added some cut hydrangeas and gardenias and some rose teacups! 

Drab to fab:)

Even the horseflies loved it!  These two were there for a long time!  Hmmmmm, I finally swatted them off of my nice tea towels!  

AND here is another drab to fab!  My tea olive tree/bush was too bushy beside the sidewalk!  Tracy's gardener told me about limbing them up and that is what I did!  I am so much happier with them!  This is the sweetest smelling bush!  You can smell it all over the yard!

This is my day to take the kids to school! 

Gotta run!  Have a blessed day, HUGS!

Praying for you Justin, sending more packages today! 

Love you and stay safe!

Up early and ready to learn!

First day of School!  I always ride along!  Up early, book bags packed and smiles along with a few tired eyes!  Mine and Tracy's included:)  They were happy to be going to School!

The school discourages you from walking them in!  So we dropped them off with the car rider ladies!  Alex knew where to go and helped her little Sister get into the Cafeteria!  The Teachers take them from there:)  They enjoyed it and couldn't wait to go back today!

Autumn had so much stuff to carry, her Handsome boyfriend assisted her with her books!  She had practice and her first School ballgame is today!

The rest of the day was spent clipping coupons and buying groceries!  It was a good day, the weather was perfect and I settled in for the Braves game after dinner!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!  Praying for you, Justin!  Love you and stay safe!

I'm all about a group shot:)

Those of you who know me, follow me or have popped in often to check on my blog... KNOW that I am gonna hustle a group together to take a picture!  I LOVE looking back and seeing who was there at celebrations!  Even the Six Flags trip, group photo (previous post)!  The park takes a shot when you come in and it just so happened that we all arrived at the same time because Tracy got our tickets:) Thanks Tracy!  Well, Alex and Avery came home with Ganky and Pa AND spent the night!  Sunday morning, Alex asked "Ganky, where is your IPhone"?  This is what she used it for... a group photo of the characters they were playing with! 

I told Pa, "Alex will be the one to take the group photos when she gets older"!  It is important:)  Sometimes I get a moan or two when I set up the camera on the tripod, set the timer, run to get in the picture, make everyone stand still until I see if it took!  It is important!  Kids notice stuff and follow our lead:) 

They played until bedtime and got up playing!  I made cheese croissants!  Avery said "Ganky, you make the BEST breakfast ever"!  Thanks precious Avery! 
It was a sweet Sunday morning! 

Sweetness times two!

Now, here is my prayer request for today!  My Sister Cindy hasn't heard from Justin in weeks!  He is on the battlefield in Afghanistan and we know that his turn just hasn't come for the phone call!  Please pray that he calls her!  She is sick and tired of people (ME) telling her to be patient and that he will call when he can!  WE KNOW he WILL but I am seriously considering calling someone high up and asking them to tell Justin to call home:)  Come on Justin, your Mama is needing to hear your sweet voice!

Love you all and thanks for your Prayers!  HUGS!

FUN but hot day at Six Flags 2011!

Large group for our Six Flags trip!  WHY... did we go on such a hot day?  Because we always go and had waited until the last day we could go before school starts!

Bradley and his girlfriend Tiffany, Me, Tiffany's brother, Brittany Dalton, Cindylou, Britani and her boyfriend Jonathan, Tiffany's Mom Teresa, Jeff, Pa, Tracy, Avery, Alex, Austin, Autumn and her boyfriend Justin and Austin's friend Garrett!

Tracy and the girls having fun on the Merry-Go-Round!

Cindylou and Alex enjoying a cooling ride!

The Bumper Car Bunch!
Tracy, Alex, Avery AND Pa!

Cindy and I are snapping each other's picture!

Autumn and her fella Justin!

Bradley and Tiffany!

Britani and Jonathan!

Austin posing with a funny hat:)

Alex and Avery in the Ferris wheel:)

Pa enjoying, hehe, the Looney Tunes show:)

This was a fun time to sit and watch the show!

There were misting stations, Alex getting a mist!  Avery done with that and Cindy on the right snapping a picture... just like me!

AND Six Flags done!  It was hot, a little crowded but we did it!

Have a blessed day my friends!  Please continue to pray for my Nephew Justin in Afghanistan!  I appreciate you all!  HUGS!