SURPRISE!!!!!!

What an amazing group of women.........I am SO blessed!!!!! On the back row: Jackie, Judy, Mom, Me, (holding a picture of Lora, who couldn't be there), my sister Harelda, Cheryl, Katie, and in front is Heather, my sister Cindy, and Kathy.

Jackie and I have known each other LITERALLY all our lives.......from the day I was born..She had us cracking up with her story telling. Love you, girl!!!

Opening gifts...................

And PILES of cards..................

Well, knock me over with a feather.........my precious daughter and my precious baby sister put their heads together and threw me a surprise party for my 50th birthday on Saturday. And a good, old fashioned SLUMBER party at that!! And to top it off, the house was full of my girlfriends that I went to school with. We are still a very close group of girls, and we get together once in a while to catch up on each other, and laugh and act silly. I am blessed beyond measure to have these adorable girls to go through life with. We've seen each other through everything you can imagine, and we are always there for each other at a moments notice. It is a very rare and precious gift that I treasure in my heart, and each passing year just gets even sweeter.
That being said, let me tell you about the wonderful evening we had........I arrived at Heather's house shortly before 7:00, and of course, everyone was already there, huddled in the kitchen , and when I came around the corner, there they were, and I was (almost) speechless! They wasted no time in getting the party started, and we ate pizza, drank soda's, and I had TWO cakes!! Angel food, of course, one was a confetti cake, and the other a strawberry flavored with pink frosting, and a tiara on top!! There was a GIANT tiara shaped helium balloon, all set out on a pink tablecloth, with pink plates, glasses, napkins,.......everything!!!! I was in my little pink happy world!!!! It was beautiful!!! After eating our pizza and visiting, we all gathered in the living room to open my gifts, and cards galore!! Each one was so special, and so personal, and I will keep them all forever!!! Some were tear-jerkers, (which I made Jackie read for me, 'cause I couldn't read them through my tears), and some were hysterically funny, and we laughed till our sides ached! Heather even gave me some cute new jammies to wear that night, since she couldn't tell me ahead of time to bring mine! LOL. She thought of everything!!! So then we snacked, and got to telling stories from our school days, and sharing memories that had the whole room just rolling!! Then, alas, the ones who couldn't stay all night started getting ready to leave, and the crowd thinned out a bit.........but not the fun and laughter!! Heather, Mom, Jackie, Kathy and I put our jammies on, and got our second wind, and got out the Wii, and laughed till we could hardly breathe!!!! I couldn't BELIEVE that James slept through the gales of laughter and whooping and hollering that was going on!!! Finally, around 2:00, we decided we better get some sleep, since James would be up early to wake us up. But then he slept in till almost 7:30, so it wasn't so bad. Breakfast was served........banana nut muffins, apple danish, and we needed the coffee!! I took my first sip of coffee, and my eyes bugged out..........come to find out, Jackie made the coffee, and as she puts it, she likes her coffee to "snap her head up", and lemme tell ya........IT DOES!!!!!! But we drank it, and then made yet another pot, this time flavored........I don't remember what it was, but it was YUMMY!!!! All good things must come to an end, and this was no exception. People started leaving around mid-morning, and I got home about 11:00.
My mind is still reeling.........and I have so many sweet, new memories to recall at any time, and trust me, it will be OFTEN!!! I have no words to express my love and gratitude to Heather, Cindy, Mom, Harelda, Susan, Cheryl, Katie, Judy, Kathy, Jackie, and sweet baby James. And I can't tell this story without telling you what my son-in-law did.........he actually went out and slept in his semi-truck in the driveway, so "the girls" could have the house to ourselves!!!! Have you ever heard of such???? Thank you, Rick!!! Yur a sweetie!!!!
On a side note........I knew at the party that Cindy wasn't being "cindy", but little did we know at the time how sick she was, and how much pain she was in. She wound up in the E.R. the next morning with a RAGING bladder infection!!!! Thankfully, she is feeling better today, and should be just fine by Thanksgiving. I love you, baby sister, more than you'll ever know!!!

Not a baby anymore.......

It breaks my heart to say it, but I believe we have officially left the baby era. My little lovebug is growing so fast, and I can hardly keep up! We have made several changes around the house to accomodate a little boy, and removed the baby items. Exciting and sad all in one breath. This past weekend we bought a booster seat that straps to the dining room chair, and he is happily sitting right at the table with us now. He is in a phase of not eating much right now, and I'm hoping this will improve now that he is at the table. We have several different typs of toddler silverware, but yesterday he made it perfectly clear that he wants to use the "big people" fork, thank you!! After I gave him a fork like ours, he ate much better. And we now have little chairs and rockers for him to sit in, and he is SO proud when he sits in them! The little wooden chair was actually mine when I was little, and it has held many, many babies in our family. It has been repaired more than once, and my Mom even strung a new rope seat in it years ago. If that little chair could talk,........oh, the stories it could tell!!! And, of course, he is big enough now to climb right up onto the furniture, and I'm pretty sure we have learned the "sit, don't stand" rule. It's been a long time since he last tried it, anyway. (crossing fingers). He went in for a check-up yesterday, and he weighs 28 1/2 pounds, and is 33 1/2 inches tall. So, that's what is going on in my little corner of the world right now. Thanks be to God for new blessings with each sunrise.
Love to all................

Conversations with Elmo

We received a package in the mail yesterday from our beloved Lora, aka Big Bird. She has been up to her usual.........spoiling our James! She is far too generous, but then, that's just who she is,........and we all love her to bits and pieces!! Thank you, dear one, for loving us the way you do!
Anyway, she sent James the newest Elmo, and he fell in love with it! He's CRAZY about Elmo, and has several different ones, but this one quickly became his new favorite.......and he just had Heather and I cracking up when he began to have a conversation! Enjoy!!!

"They call me the fireman"........

While in town this past weekend, Pa-Pa and I met up with my precious daughter and her precious son at Wal-Mart. WELL, that meant we just HAD to go check out the toy department!
Pa-pa and James had the best time trying on all kinds of hats, but the fireman hat seemed to be the favorite. Being the crazy in love Gammo that I am, I just happened to have my camera in my purse, and captured the moment! LOL. I'm so glad I did......

Problem Solving

When James started playing with his new "kitchen", I got out some dishes, etc., for him to play with. One of them was a blue enamel cup, which he loves. But he got rather put out with me when I wouldn't just pour his milk in the cup for him to drink.......so he came up with his own resolution. He got his sippy cup out of the fridge, and put it IN the blue cup, and was pleased as punch with himself when he could drink from it that way. I just adore watching his little wheels turn as he problem solves!! GO, COOTER, GO!!!

Toddler Mania!!

Sharing his "pretend" juice with Barney.

"James, are you a goofy boy?" This is his reply.........

Somehow, wrestling with Grams turned into singing and finger-plays.

Gammo makes GOOD chile, but it's even better when I get to feed myself.....

The first order of business after getting his new stove and refridgerator? Putting his
cup of milk in the fridge, silly!!!!

Oh, how I wish you could hear the goings-on at my house on Thursdays!! The walls just
reverberate with peals of laughter and mayhem!! And I love every sweet, crazy, NOISY
second of it!! Sometimes I don't know who eggs whom on the most.....LOL. My little Mom
is SUCH a kid at heart, and when you mix that with an overactive toddler, you never
know WHAT the day will bring! James has enjoyed "cooking" for quite a while now, and
I've been wanting to get a kitchen set for him, but they are always pink, and while pink
happens to be MY favorite color, I'm not about to push it on James. LOL. So, when I
found this little set last weekend at an auction, I nabbed it up! I do believe it's one of
the best dollars I've ever spent on him. That's right.......a WHOLE dollar! Woo-Hoo!!!!
Gotta love a bargain!!! There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with it, all I had to do was
wash it up and Lysol it, and we were good to go. To be honest, we get alot of razzing about
all the "stuff" James has, but the truth is, at least 95% of it has come from auctions and
garage sales and such. Hey, I've EARNED the right to spoil him, and we ARE teaching him
to take care of his things, even if they ARE cheap. He will still learn to appreciate what he
has, and at the same time, learn that used can be just as good as brand new. And in the
meantime, "Pa-pa" and I are having a ball! No harm, no foul, is how I look at it.

O.K., it's getting late, and I need to re-charge for another big day tomorrow. Thank you
for spending a few minutes with us. God Bless!!!!

For the love of Bella......

Our sweet Cheryl, manning the money table.

I just adore that smile.....Grams helping in the kitchen during J's nap.

My darling daughter, SO excited, getting the trailers ready the night before the sale.

YUM!!!! The house smelled SO good all day Friday while these baked!

And here is the princess of our hearts......isn't she just beautiful? We love you, sweet girl!

Wow! The past 2 weeks have just flown by! We had a big yard sale/bake sale in honor of our precious little Bella, who is facing a bone marrow transplant in about 6 weeks. First of all, I have a list of people to thank:
Mom............without you here to care for James, we never could have pulled this off. I know we wore you out, but as usual, you just kept smiling, and helping wherever you could. I LOVE YOU!

Cheryl...........The fact that you have taken Bella into your heart just melts mine! You have been a tremendous help, and a simple thank you doesn't begin to express my gratitude. I LOVE YOU!

Beryl............Honey, you always support me in whatever I want to do, and you will never know how much that means to me. You are always there for me, and just roll with the flow, and I don't know what I would do without you. I LOVE YOU!

Phil...............Bubba, you have so little time to be with your family, and yet you always have the time to help out whenever the need presents itself. You not only helped with the sale, but you also found the time to go over and help my Mom, and we are so grateful for that. You have a huge, loving, generous heart, and I'm so thankful to have you and your family living near us again. I LOVE YOU!

Heather...............Heather, Heather, Heather,........you simply amaze me! How in the world did I get so lucky as to have the best daughter in the whole world? Your love and generosity for others simply shines in your beautiful eyes, and is a wonderful example for your son to witness as he grows up. Oh, the lessons we learn from our children! Not every Mother can claim to be able to look UP to her child, and I am one of the lucky few. You continue to be the brightest beacon of light in my life, and I am so proud to be your Mom. I LOVE YOU!

And to the countless people who came to the sale, and gave so generously, and showed such concern for a little girl that you don't even know.........God Bless You!

With that being said, the sale went well overall. The Kansas wind reared it's ugly head and gave us quite a challenge! But the GOOD stress is that because of the cold wind, we were selling chile by 10:00, and even had to go back to the kitchen to make more! The baked goods sold out, and made me wish I had made even more. We sold 4 dozen cinnamon rolls, 8 pans of brownies, and 6 cakes, and I never got a nibble of any of it! I was proud of myself for not even licking the spoons while I was baking! LOL. That is HUGE for me! And here it is, 2 days post sale, and I'm still tired and sore. But it was worth every minute of it for our little princess! Please keep Bella and her family in your prayers, as they are battling the insurance company now to get Bella to the University of Minnesota for her transplant. Corporate red tape and greed just makes me furious!! Don't get me started!! GGRRRRRRRR!!!!!

O.K., my friends, I really need to go do some more cleaning, and get ready for another day of James mania tomorrow. He is such a little love, and a joy to my heart that grows and grows with each new day. Thank you for checking in on my little corner of the world. God Bless You All!!

New member of the family!!

Hello to all.....
Meet Gypsy!! She "found" Beryl out in the oilfields this morning, and followed him all around.
He told me all about her at lunch, and so I sent our scraps and even a nice juicy pork chop with him this afternoon in case she was still there.......and she was! He gave her some water, and then fed her the food I sent, and, of course, they became instant pals!! When he got ready to leave, she tried to get in the truck with him, and he wouldn't let her, but then she followed him for so long, he finally caved in and went back and opened the truck door, and she just hopped right in, and settled into the passenger seat like she was born there. She laid in the seat with her head on the armrest and just loooooked at him, and he melted. LOL. So he brought her to my house to meet me, and she is SUCH a sweetie! She even sits already when she's told. So, Gypsy has a new home now, at the farm, with a huge pen, and a fancy dog house with windows and a porch, that Beryl built for his last dog, Rex, (which he found in the fields). Rex has been gone for almost 2 years now, and we were all heartbroken when he died.
He was HUGE, and the best guard dog I've ever seen! I'm so glad that Beryl found her before something happened to her! I just will never understand how people can dump these poor animals out in the country and leave them. SO, next week will be busy with getting her into a vet, to make sure she is O.K., and get her shots before we introduce her to James. I hope and pray all goes well, as Beryl is already so taken with her!

It's about time!!!

Wow, has it really been a month since my last entry?? Hard to believe! Obviously, I've been busy, but I don't even know where to begin to bring you up to date! Suffice it to say there have been alot of us sick with various illnesses, and some very dear friends of ours moved to our little town, actually found a house just 2 doors from me!! I've been working on the house again, making it more toddler friendly for my little man. He has really enjoyed the new set-up, with much more space to run and explore. And we are trying to get ready for the annual city-wide garage sale coming up. Along with a 4 family sale here in my yard, we are also planning a bake sale that day with 100% of the proceeds to go to my daughters best friend and her family in Florida. They have a beautiful daughter named Isabella who is the same age as our James, and has recently been diagnosed with Hurlers Disease. This is a devastating illness that is actually an enzyme disorder, and treatment is hard in and of itself, beginning with enzyme replacement therapy, (which begins tomorrow), and will eventually lead to a bone marrow transplant. Please keep our precious "Bella Bean" in your fervent prayers, as well as her parents.......they have a very long and scarey road ahead of them. We love you, Bella!

My very dear and precious friend, Lora and her husband, "sweet Charlie" were here for a visit, and as usual, we enjoyed and treasured the time spent with them. We just love to shower them with love, and no matter how hard we try, they always seem to shower us in return, only much bigger!! The trip was very hard on her this time, and I am certain I will be going back to Ok. to see HER the next time. I am hoping for some good weather in October, and take Mom back again, we really love our "road trips" together!! Please remember Lora in your prayers as well, as she is in constant pain now, and relief, if any is only fleeting. I would give anything to endure this for her, and I love and miss her so much.

O.K., my friends, I think that is enough for tonight......I still have some housework to do, and need to get ready for another day of "toddler mania" tomorrow. He is growing so fast, and really keeps me on the run now! But I love and cherish every day with him, and we continue to have so darn much fun together! He is still such a little love, full of hugs and kisses, and I just soak it up like a sponge!! Thank you for checking in on me, and God Bless You All...

I was gone that day.....

Cooter's new workbench........

Actually, it's 2 separate ones, the one
on top that opens up is a unit to be used
while sitting on the floor.

Paw-paw thought it was just the ticket!!!

This is the big one, and the table turns over to
be able to work on the car engine.

It's no secret that we are addicted to going to auctions, and sometimes
we hit the jackpot..........or rather,.........James does! LOL. We used to tease my Daddy about his dog being so spoiled, and he would tell us that he was gone the day it happened.
That's what I tell everyone now about James..........and the truth is, Paw-paw is the big hearted
pushover when it comes to his little buddy. He HAD to get this set up tonight so that James could see it first thing in the morning. And I happen to know that Paw-paw can hardly wait to
spend time with his Cooter playing with it. And I can hardly wait to watch them........(and get
pictures, of course.) We are so blessed to be loved by a man who genuinely adores us, and has fun spoiling us!!! I thank God for him every single day!!

My grown up wuss......

Isn't she just gorgeous??!!

Have a GREAT year, "Miss Meyers"!

Mom, April and I in her classroom.

Oh, how I'd LOVE to sit in on her class one day!!

I was unexpectedly and suddenly so overcome with emotion and genuine pride for her,
and really NEEDED this hug!! Where HAVE the years gone?????


I've still more pics and stories to share, but for tonight, I think I need to go and get ready
for another busy day tomorrow. Thank you for sharing my little corner of the world, and
know that I love you all............God Bless!!!

My Favorite Wuss....

I'd like you to meet my friend April. She is the daughter of my very dear friend, Lora. I've known April literally ALL her life........and I just love her to pieces. It is a thrill to get to know her as an adult, all grown up, and teaching school. I had the priveledge of going to see her new classroom for this year while we were in Ok. last weekend. This is her first year to teach the fourth grade, and she is so excited! I just know in my heart that she will be an excellent example to her young charges, and years from now, there will be students of hers getting their own teaching degrees because of her influence on their lives. Little do they know right now just how lucky they are. I'm so very proud of you, April, but I want you to know that in MY heart, you will always and forever be my tiny little ballerina, dancing all in pink, with the most precious smile on your face, and "angel kisses" sprinkeled across your cute little nose. I can still hear your little girl voice in my head, calling me your "favorite wuss". And you will always be mine, also.

The Renshaw resort...part 2.

The base of the Jesus statue......
I was so drawn to this statue.....I didn't want to leave.

The tokens of love left on the fence are heart-wrenching.

This tree sits across the street from the point of the blast, but it survived, and is now a sign of strength to the survivors of the blast, and to all the people who lost loved ones that tragic day. God Bless them all...............

The field of chairs sits on the actual site where the building stood. A chair for each victim, with their name on it. The small chairs signify the precious children who were taken from this world that day. At night, the bases of the chairs light up, and I want to one day see it at night......

The bomb went off at 9:02, so these gates represent the timeline of the event...
the first picture above is the gate representing 9:01,.....everything was fine........the pool of shallow water represents the time of the blast, and the street actually was where the pool is now. The truck that held the device was sitting just about right in the middle of the pool......and then the gate in the above picture represents 9:03, when nothing would ever be the same again.


As promised, here are some more pics of our trip. The bombing site is such an emotional place, and is just beautiful. We didn't stay long, because the heat and humidity were brutal that day, and Lora and Mom were both having trouble breathing. There is no way to see it all in one trip anyway, and I will hopefully get to take Mom back in the fall, and spend more time. I've been there twice now, and I must say, I come away each time a different human being. The senselessness of it all is very hard to process. The first time I was there, I was also with Heather and James, and it hit me VERY hard to see the field of chairs. I decided then that each time I visited, I would choose a small chair to kneel next to and say a prayer. And so I did again this time. But I don't think I will ever get used to it. And actually, I hope I don't. That would mean that my heart would be hardened, and I pray that NEVER happens.
So that is just a small part of our tour, meet me here again to see April's classroom that she will be teaching 4th grade in, and my first visit to the famous Eskimo Joe's. Thank you for visiting me, and ya'll come back soon! (i picked up my Okie accent while i was there!) Love to all, and God Bless You!

The Renshaw Resort.

Lookin' good, there, Grams! Hubba, Hubba!!!

O.K., so I finally learned what the big deal is with 4-wheeling!

Sharing cheese fries at Eskimo Joe's. YUM!!!!

The survivor tree at the OKC bombing memorial.

One of the gates at the memorial site.

Mom and I made it back home just fine tonight, but neither one of us really wanted to leave.....we had the time of our lives! Here is a sneak peek of our weekend, and I will post more pics and the stories that go with them over the next few days. Thank you, Lora and Charlie for sharing your home and your love with us! I love you both!