Random Randomness

I woke up this morning to a wrecked yard and some huge branches down.  Most of my butterfly bush is destroyed.  Several other flowering plants have been pummeled.  I have no idea what happened last night, but it looks eerily familiar to what your yard looks like after a hurricane.  Oh, like I say so often, it could be worse.  Yes, Anita, it could be better, but sometimes one has to settle for the other phrase.  The guys and I will get the chain saw going as soon as we can - one branch fell directly on top of one of my favorite Japanese maple trees and I want to get to it and nurse it and make sure it is okay.  Poor thing.

Chris is milking a friend's cow again this week.  He has such a great attitude about it and it makes me proud.  You can learn right here and now that milking a cow is not done in five minutes.  Well, if you have a milking machine, sure.  But hand milking?  It is an hour long job.  A hand cramping hour long JOB.  Virginia is a very sweet heifer and is very patient. 

Chris is also taking one summer class at college.  He needed to reach 30 credit hours in order to qualify for HOPE scholarship funds.  It is so nice of the State of Georgia to treat home schoolers in such a discriminatory manner.  I loved knowing that all of the government schooled kids get immediate access to HOPE funds.  Why is there no outrage over this BLATANT discrimination???  Don't get me started.  But, he is taking it like a man and doing so well in college!!!

Andrew is getting closer to the date of his advanced pilot training classes in Del Rio, TX.  It should be very fun and educational.  He will be staying on the Laughlin Air Force Base and should get to fly the slick little E-1 if he plays his cards right.  When he returns, we plan on meeting with the recruiter and getting the ball rolling on his Air Force career.  He is hoping to get into Dalton State this fall and take about 15 credits to help him get into the Air Force....  Please, pray for this for us. We need all the prayer we can get!

Michael finished the year with all A's and one B.  He is the typical middle child.  Easy going, go with the flow and pretty much, he stays out of trouble.  He is always quick to apologize for any offenses and he is always the fastest at trying to right any wrongs.  I can remember when he was very young, he used to tire me out, but in his teen years, he has been an absolute ANGEL.  Thank you, Lord!!!!

James is my constant.  He can ride the waves, go with the flow and just be constant through it all.  Although he is doing well in his school work, he tends to skip things and avoid things.  I have to stay on top of him and really check his work....  Such a weasel.

Keith is still hoping this expansion at the plant is going to happen.  The company has invested huge amounts of money in the pre-expansion.....  We are only days or weeks away from the final decision.  If it be His will, we say bring it on.  This would surely open up the opportunity for one of our sons to work there, and of course it would make Keith's plant very attractive.  They would be making a newly marketed product that promises to be a profit maker.

I am finally working on our king sized quilt.  We've had the same quilt on our bed for almost 19 years and it is showing its age.  Our 20th anniversary is in September and so I am doing a remake of the quilt I made for Keith as a wedding gift.  I think it is going to be very pretty and will be sure to post a picture once it is completed.

Ok, I've got to get busy - we have Keith's sisters due to arrive tomorrow and there are lots of last minute things to do.  I love how deeply cleaned I get the house when people come in to stay!!!   Keith and Chris painted our front porch banisters (ARGH, was that a long, tedious job!!!) and we're ready for the glove test!  LOL!  I am really looking forward to visiting with them!   Safe travels, ladies!

Ya'll have a blessed day!

A Mom Worth Remembering

I feel so blessed and so fortunate to have had a fantastic mom. She was the most selfless and hardest working person I have ever met. Although she has been gone over 22 years now, not a day goes by that I don't think of her. Just about 5 feet high, beckoning brown eye and had one of the best senses of humor on the planet. She and my dad both loved to laugh, and I guess they passed that love of laughter onto their twelve children, because that is how I remember all of our gatherings. Full of laughter. Some people might say she never worked a day in her life, since she never held a paying job. We all know how false that statement would be. I rarely saw her sit down, and she was always the last to eat. She would handwash the dishes every night with no help. Nope, not even from me. I honestly thought she enjoyed it and I rarely offered to help. The kitchen was her domain. I would often cook and bake with her, but cleaning up? Nah. Sorry, mom, I figured you wanted it done your way and by the way you would often sing, I figured you liked it.

In my early years, I remember my mom wore mostly dresses and fancy white gloves. When she started wearing pants, it was the topic of conversation until we were all used to it. Poor thing had to have all of her pants hemmed since she had such short legs. She was always reminding me to sit like a lady and would give table manner lessons to me and my nephews. Good manners were important to her and I can remember her saying often, "you are never too poor, or too rich to have good manners and a good sense of humor." Brilliant.

 Mom was a true "stay at home mom". She never obtained a driver's license, which I think probably saved us on car repairs and auto insurance..... That's all I'm going to say about that. But being at home every day was her calling. She loved taking care of the home, taking care of our dad and putting good food on the table. I am sure she complained occasionally, but I simply don't remember much complaining coming from her. Yes, I tend to memorialize her with only the good memories, but to me, she was nearly perfect. She had an easy laugh and a devilishness about her that I have never seen in any other person. To this day, no one has ever come close to being as special as she was to me.

 Some of the attributes she had that I am most thankful for are: her humility, her sympathy and her listening and compassionate ear. She never tooted her horn about what she could do, and she would give graciously to others, never asking for anything in return. It seemed like she would listen to me ramble for hours and really listen. And she had this amazing ability to feel your feelings alongside you. In many ways, since I was the youngest, we were so close I often felt as if we were one. Nothing really mattered to me until I shared it with her, even the simplest thing was such fun to share with her. I remember the day I got that dreaded phone call that she had died, I immediately knew my life would never be the same. And it hasn't been. I do praise God, however, that He blessed me with my hubby and four sons. They give me a measure of hope and delight that I could have never known. But, nobody loves you like your mother, and I knew this to be true all of my life.

I praise you, God, for the many gifts you gave me through my mom. She taught me what real, unconditional love was and it lead me to You. I pray for all of my friends whom are mothers and I lift them up to your throne for a special measure of blessing that moms need. Happy Mother's Day, Ya'll!