MckMama Giveaway!!

You all know I have posted before about Stellan and MckMama and how much I admire her blog. Well, she is now what is known as a "professional blogger" otherwise known as "compensated blogger". I know she has gotten much criticism for it. Not from me, I wish I was a "compensated blogger". I think if you can do it and stay home with the little ones, then do it. God gave her this talent and she is using it. It's a good thing she wasn't working outside the home with all that "went" on with Stellan (past tense, he is SVT free now, Thank God) what would she have done, probably lost her job.

Anyway, on to the reason for this post (hey, it got me back on here, more to come, I promise). She is having a HUGE giveaway from now until Christmas Eve for an HP Touchsmart computer. I know my chances are slim (last night after only a few hours she had over 10,000 comments. You get entered for commenting, facebooking, blogging or tweeting. So you can get 4 chances total. (well, I get 3 since I don't tweet) So here goes nothing. If you are reading this and you need a new Cadillac computer go on over to MckMama@www.MckGiveaways.blogspot.com and read all about it. And if you don't need a new computer go ahead and try anyway and you can give it to me. HaHa!! or should I say HoHo!!Best of Luck (if we believed in luck) and may the best man (or woman) win!!

Jay'v had a Birthday, too!!

I'm sorry it has taken so long to post about Jay'von's birthday. I wanted to have the time to do a good post, but that will never happen, so here goes.


Jay'von turned 2 years old on September 29. We had a party for him and C.J. together at Castle Creek Park in Grafton. The kids love it because there is so much for them to do. The adults love it because we don't have to worry about them. Everything is safe and within sight of where we are. (And you don't have the mess at home.)


Jay'von after blowing out his candle. He wanted that cake.




Jay'v loves to swing and this is the perfect place to do it. How do you like that swing.



Jay'von and C.J. with all their little friends.

Jay'v is 2 going on 12. He is such a little man. We are having so much fun with him. He is with us Sunday evening through Friday afternoon because Courtney goes to school during the day and works at night. She has to sleep in between, so this works for now.

He has changed so much in the last few weeks. It is like he knew he was 2 and had to act the part. He loves to do anything Papa (or Pop Pop as he has started calling him) does and Uncle George and Uncle Chuck are his favorite people. He will go to them from anyone. He also loves his Aunties very much. He is just a loving little guy. He has started to bring me to the chair and say rock when he gets tired. He is a real cuddle bug.


He had one of his bags of goodies, he was ready to go! This is how he carries his little bag into church. He is such a cutie

We love you Jay'von and hope you have a wonder year. You keep our life cheerful and funny every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, C.J.!!

C.J. had a birthday on Friday, September 25. He was 7 years old. We had a party for him and Jay'von together at the local park.




C.J. at his 7th birthday party.


As you can see, C.J. is kind of shy and backward until he get comfortable around you. But don't mistake that shyness for not being all boy. C.J. is definitely all boy. The messier the mess he loves it. He likes playing outside, riding his bike, hunting with Daddy and he loves playing tennis with Daddy and Uncle George. I guess I should say he loves to do anything with Uncle George.

He still says he is going to grow up to fly a "yellow Cabella's plane". Mom and Neena both don't fly. He has asked Mommy if she will fly with him and she said if he becomes a pilot she will trust him to fly her. He hasn't asked me yet. I'm not sure how I will answer.



C.J. with his best friend Breanna.


C.J. teaching Jay'v how to slide.

We hope you had a Happy Birthday, C.J. We love you bunches. We enjoyed celebrating with you.

SPECIAL DAY!

Every year on the last Saturday of June there is a reunion south of Charleston in a little place known as Mulberry/Robson. I believe it is Mulberry Holler in the community of Robson.

This is a community reunion started about 14 years ago by 3 or 4 men (including my Dad) who wanted to keep the memories alive. This is the community my folks grew up in. There was a one room school house there that the local children attended. A couple of years ago there were four or five elderly people at the reunion that attended this first school.

The picture below is of that school house as it looks today.





They were in a 2 room school house after that. That is the one that most of the people living today remember. I remember this building but am sorry to say that it burned down a number of years ago. For a long time before it burned it was used as a dwelling for a family. It was a beautiful old building. It had the great big tall windows and everything you would think of in an old schoolhouse. I loved it and miss it being there. I have a picture of this building but can't put my hands on it right now.

This little "holler" has so much character and lots of memories for me. My Grandma lived in a little red house about half way up the holler right next to this house.



The man that lived in this house was called "Beehead". I'm not sure why (guess that is another story), but he was somehow related to my Dad. We always went to visit him when we were in the area. I have spent hours upon hours on the swing on that front porch. I was so disappointed to find out that I actually talked to one of his daughters when I took this picture and didn't realize who she was.

To get to this house you have to cross this.




This bridge is know as a "footlog" to the local people. I have never heard that term anywhere else, but have heard it there all my life. This one is new and looks great. I wish I had a picture of the ones that used to be there. I remember crying and refusing to walk across. I would have to be carried. When I got to big someone led me across because I was scared. Usually it was 2 logs (hence the footlog, I assume) with some boards nailed across them. They were usually wobbly and none too steady, but served the purpose.

These footlogs were necessary because in this area there is a creek that flows along all the roads it seems. The road is on one side of the creek and the houses are on the other, so you need the little bridge to get to the houses. I can't imagine what it is like in the winter since I don't ever remember being there in the winter time.

I have really taken a bunny trail from what I really wanted to write about. Charlie and I go to this community reunion just about every year to help my folks. We have done it so many years now that we are just part of it. Some years some of the kids go with us and some years it is just us. Just about every year I say that I would like to ride up the "holler" with my Dad and let him point out some things to me that I'm not real sure of. It has just never been possible since we most times just go down on that morning and come home that evening. But this year we decided to stay down there on Saturday night so we had some extra time at the end of the reunion. I got in the truck with my Dad and we had our ride. I wasn't sure exactly where my grandma's house actually had been since it has been gone for many years. He reminded me of the rock that had been right outside her back door. He said he had not been to that rock in years, so we decided to visit it.




The lower edge of this rock was just a few feet from the back of the house. I think it was a special time for him to go there and I was so happy to be part of it.





This maple tree was in the front yard and he said he used to notch it out and collect sap for syrup. He actually found the marks where the notches were.

It was such a great experience to share with my dad and see how excited he was to be there. It is one of those things that he just doesn't take time to do even though he is down there often.

It made a very special memory for me and I will always be glad we took the time to do it.

Every year I preach that we need to keep our heritage alive and listen to the stories our folks have to tell. Write them down and pass them on to our children. That is what these special days are all about.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GEORGE!

Carolyn and George with his cake from Coldstone


Today is my son-in-law Nideep George Cheriyan's birthday.


This post is a little harder to write since I have only known George (Nid to his family) for a few years but here goes.

George's parents are Indian but he grew up in the country of Bahrain. It is an English speaking island country in the Persian Gulf. I think I have that right. George, you will have to correct me if I am wrong. He came to the states about 6 years ago to go to WVU. He graduated in Dec of 2007 with a computer engineering degree.

Being around George has taught me a lot. I tend to live in my little box called life in the USA and don't really venture out much. I'm not saying we all need to travel to a foreign country but we are a country that is now made up of many different cultures so we need to accept that and learn from others. He probably gets tired of us constantly asking questions about his country, "Do you do this....do you have that...?" i think the funniest one was actually asked by Carolyn at Christmas while they were helping put up my tree. She asked him if they put up a real or artificial tree. He so sweetly said, "Honey, we live in the desert, there are no evergreen trees." It was hilarious. He is very understanding and never seems to get tired of it or upset with us.

George seems kind of quiet at first but has a great sense of humor and he is wonderful with the kids. C.J. and Breanna would rather be at Carolyn and George's house then mine. About the first thing they ask when they come in the door is "Are Care Care and George home?" C.J. along with Jay'v think George is their own person playmate, and he doesn't seem to mind. I'm sure if he did they wouldn't feel like that.

George likes sports, but doesn't care for football. (Good for you, George) Soccer is his passion. (His grooms cake was a soccer ball). I've never really watched a soccer game but I don't think it is 300# guys running into each other trying to knock each other down and give a concussion. All over a little pig skin! That right there would make me a soccer fan instead of football. I know there are other sports he likes, but since I am not a sports fan I'm sure to get them wrong, so I won't go there. I will probably hear I should have left well enough alone anyway.

So now you know a little bit about George.

Happy Birthday George. We are so glad you are now part of our family.




Jay'von was asleep when we had George's birthday cake yesterday. Carolyn wanted him to help George blow out candles so she put 2 in a cupcake. This was really funny, he was fascinated with the flames. I think he was still half asleep. He did eventually blow them out.

COURTNEY'S GRADUATION!!

A real nurse?

This was quite an eyeopener for me. I had not seen Courtney in this uniform until we got to graduation and that was my response. "She looks like a real nurse!"

Of course I had seen her in the scrubs they wore for clinical. But this was different. My mom saw Courtney in her scrubs once and said she looked like a kid playing dress up. (And she was right)

I guess that needs some explanation. Courtney is 4'11" tall. (or should I say short). Not very big, huh. Jay'von weighed almost 9 pounds and Courtney gained a lot while she was carrying him. When she started nursing school last June she decided she was going to try to take off the extra pounds while she was in school. I would show you a before and after picture but she would kill me. They ordered their scrubs in April and she needed an extra large. By the time they finished she needed an extra small. I took them in but she kept losing and you can only do that so many times. I think she has lost around 90 pounds and looks great, but being so short she does look like a little kid. And with the scrubs being kind of big she did look "like a kid playing dress up".

Now, back to the subject. The graduation was beautiful and meaningful. I don't think I had ever read the nursing pledge. It is quite a vow. One of their teachers spoke about what they have done in the last year and how much of it is hands on. That makes it possible for them to go right into working without a problem. They are ready. I finally realized, the show is over, she is a REAL nurse. We are not talking about it anymore. She is not a nursing student. She is a nurse and needs respected as such.

I also respect her for getting through a very difficult year to get to this place in her life. Courtney made up her mind that she was going to do this and she did. She lived with us until March of this year so we could help with the baby while she studied. But in March an apartment came available in Clarksburg and she decided to try it on her own since it was close to school. I've already written about how difficult that was for us, but have to admit now it was a good decision. She came up with a routine that worked for her and her little man and she succeeded. She actually graduated with a very good average and we are proud of her accomplishment.

Courtney has not been able to get a job yet. She is scheduled for a hernia repair on Monday, July 6, (I told you Jay'v was big) so she will not be able to work until late summer. But she has started applying and I'm sure she will get the job that is right for her.

Congratulations, Courtney! You have done well and we are hoping the best for your future.

Dad, Daddy, Papa, Pap!!

Sorry this is late. There are lots of excuses, but since this is my blog and probably not read much, I can post whenever. Thanks for being patient if you are reading this. LOL




This is my Dad doing what Pap's do best!



These handsome guys sure don't look like the rough and tough carpenters I write about below!!


Special days, don't you just love them. I know there are people that complain about all the days to observe everything from a food to a people group. (such as fathers) I like them because it give us a reminder, excuse, or whatever you want to call it, to recognize those special people in our lives. We as a nation are to caught up in life to take the time to tell those we love how much we appreciate them. These days give us that reason. Soooooo-------Dad, Charlie, and Chuck, we love you and appreciate all you do for us as a family.

Each of these people are unique in their own way. I'm going to kind of run down some of the unique things about each one.

I just recently posted for Dad and Charlies birthday so some of this might be the same. But that's OK because some of you might not have read those.

My Dad is amazing. He is much older then you would think to look at him. (Especially if he has a hat on. (And if the sun is shining and you don't have your sunglasses on you want him to have a hat on.) It seem like he works more now then before he retired. He does everything from build houses, to remodeling, to driveways. When he is not working his favorite place to be is on the River bank (usually somewhere around the New River) with his friend Carlos Taylor. They grew up together (I think the are somehow related) and have had a friendly competition for years about who will catch the most fish. My Dad usually goes down there a few times a year to spend some time and just relax and fish. As a matter of fact, I did not get to spend Father's Day with my dad this year because he is down south. He told me yesterday that Carlos is one up on him so he has to get busy. He also likes to hunt, but I think fishing is his real love and it has to be more relaxing then chasing a deer through the woods. :0)

Dad, I love you and appreciate all you have done and the example you have been for your family through the years.

Charlie (my husband, my children's Dad) is like the proverbial energizer bunny. While he was off work recently for a few days I posted on facebook that I could not keep up with him and if that is what retirement will be like he had better keep working. Well-----even when he retires he will keep busy, I 'm sure. I hear women say that their husbands retire and sit around the house all day and they can't get anything done. For one thing, I wouldn't mind since he is gone so much now working and I have always enjoyed him being home. For another thing, he won't sit around the house and do nothing. He never stops. He just goes and goes and goes and goes......I think you know what I mean. Most people stop working outside when it gets dark. Not Charlie, he doesn't stop, he just gets out the lights. You know those little headlight things that hunters wear, well, they were invented just for Charlie. I think he has two or three of them. They are wonderful. And he has a light mounted on a pole that he can pull out of the basement when he needs more light. I tell you I think it will light up half the hill. Thankfully we don't have neighbors close enough to bother.

He works hard at his job also. He is very rarely off work. There have been many times when he would finish up a job and make a call as he was leaving and find a job for the next day, even before he called to tell me he as off. I really appreciate how he works so hard to provide for his family. He is one of those people that love their job. He is constantly trying to mentor other carpenters who are just getting started or those trying to decide if that is what they want to do. I just wouldn't be able to say how many carpenters there are out there because Charlie worked with them and directed them to the right resources.

Charlie loves his job and he is good at it and he has passed that along to Chuck. Chuck is a carpenter also, although he learned something else from his dad. Charlie says he is a recovered workaholic who did not spend as much time with his family as he should have when they were young. I think Chuck learned from that and he does spend time with his family. He loves to build, but he really loves to do things with his family. Chuck has a lot of knowledge because he is such an avid reader. It has always been to his detriment because he would rather read the whole book then just do the part he was supposed to at that time, so he was always behind. He still loves to research things and study about anything that takes his fancy, from carpentry to reloading, to checking out something one of us wants to buy and let us know which one is the best but he has learned how to channel that in the right direction most of time.

His love of books probably came from both grandfathers. My dad loves to read and Charlie's dad had an awesome library. We are still stying to sort those books out and decide what to keep and what to give away. Chuck is having a hard time not keeping them all, but none of us has room for that. It is hard to sort them out because he starts reading one and all of a sudden the sorting is on hold. I think that is a trait he got from his mother. He is passing that love of books on to his children, also.

All three of these fathers are trying to lead their family in the right way and take them to heaven with them. Of course they have all made mistakes (we all have because none of us are perfect) but they want to do what is pleasing to God and that is the ultimate goal in life.

Thanks guys, for being such great Dad's! We love you very much. You make life great for your family and we appreciate you for it. Happy Father's Day!!

FRUSTRATION!!

Have you ever done something dumb and knew the chaos it caused was your fault. This is where I am today.

If you follow me of facebook you know that I had a major computer crash this week. It was my fault totally. I wish I could say otherwise. I am a very cautious person when it comes to where I go and what I open on the Internet. I would rather err on the side of caution. I do that with a lot of things. But because I trusted the person that this item was "supposed" to be from and it seemed that she thought I had sent her something inappropriate I decided to open it. Immediately I realized I was in trouble, but thought I was covered with a "good" antivirus software so ultimately should be OK.

Well, I soon found out that I was totally wrong. My first mistake was not just leaving her a message saying I did not send her a video instead of trying to see what she thought I sent. It was a wolf in sheeps clothing. She had not sent the message at all, someone had hacked her account and used her name for bad instead of good. My second mistake was trusting my anti virus software to protect me when I made a bad judgement. (It was not sufficient for the problem) It is just like with our salvation, we need to make sure we are protected, but also need to make right decision to not sin and put ourselves in a wrong position to cause our life to crash like my computer.

Back to my computer. After being in the shop for 2 days and costing $190.00 it is now like new. But (also just like life) I now have to back up and try to put all the stuff on the computer that was there originally. I tried to save pictures and some things that I thought I could not replace. It was kind of like running out of a burning building. What do you try to save in a really short time. They said they could keep it all for a price, but I was trying to be as frugal as possible since it was costing me so much. I realize now that I should have had them keep it all because I have already ran into things that I needed. But looking back does us no good. Just go forward and hope for the best. Again, just like in life. We make mistakes, but have to suffer the consequences and keep going forward. God can fix the problems, we just have to pay the price and go on with our life.

What have I learned through this? As far as my computer of course I have learned the obvious, "Don't open things that you aren't sure about and make sure your protection is up to date." As far as my salvation, "Use good judgement and make sure what is in my heart is up to date and sufficient to carry me through all that life throws me."

Sorry I don't have a any pictures with this post. I would be crying and that is not good. Charlie realized real fast that this is not an incident to tease about. I am still beating myself up about it. Now I just need to put it behind me and get on with more important things. This has been a real "Listen Lesson" (as Sis. Vogt used to say) and hopefully I will heed what I have learned.

Sorry this post has gotten so long. They say most people do not like to read long posts, but that is OK, I just needed to get it all out. I will post something more positive and uplifting soon. Maybe some pictures of Graduation Sunday at church tomorrow. Courtney will be involved since she graduates from nursing school in 2 weeks. YEA!

Have a great weekend and stay safe.

Memorial Day!

We had a great weekend for Memorial Day. Charlie and Chuck finished a job working six 12 hour days on Friday so they were ready to have some relaxing family time. Charlie and I went to French Creek Wildlife Center with Chuck and Danielle and the kids on Saturday morning.

These pictures are from French Creek.


This is Charlie, Breanna and C.J. in front of Jack, the 700 lb. black bear that died a few years ago. He is now mounted and displayed in the gift shop.




This picture is of Charlie, Chuck, Danielle, Breanna and C.J. as French Creek.


We have a tradition on holidays where we have Monday off to build a fire after church on Sunday and roast hot dogs and make smores.

Here are a few pictures of our after church fire this memorial day.




This is Breanna and C.J. with sparklers. Carolyn cannot have a fire without sparklers.




Charlie and Chuck tending the fire.





This is Jay'von ready to go with mommy to the parade.

It was a very relaxing, but busy weekend. We celebrated Charlie's birthday with the family on Sunday. Then on Monday we had a BIG picnic with family and friends at my sisters and celebrated my Dad's birthday. So between our little family doings and the extended family get togethers we were busy but had lots of fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Yesterday, May 28, was my Dad's birthday. I will not say how old he is because everyone thinks he is younger and I wouldn't want to burst any bubbles. I will say that he is still working just about every day and should have quit years ago. There! Enough said about that!

My Dad has worked hard all his life both on the job and off. He taught us how to be a giving person. He probably works as much for free as he does for pay. He has always done this. I have heard him say may times he is "sending up timber" for his mansion in heaven. He also taught us that those works aren't what is going to get us there. Salvation through Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven. The good works are just an added bonus.

He has been a wonderful Father and a rock that never changes. Thanks, Dad, for all you do. We hope you had a Happy Birthday and look for many, many more! We love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE!

I just thought I would tell you a few things about Charlie you might not already know. Today is his 51st birthday and he would not mind me saying how old he is because he says you are only as old as you feel and he doesn't feel that old.






He is:

My husband of over 31 years.

A father of 1 boy and 2 girls, a grandfather of 1 girl and 2 boys.

A recovered workaholic. (mostly)

The best carpenter I know, and I know quite a few.

A very laid back type of person who does not like a fight, so I guess that makes him a lover not a fighter.

My best friend, I would rather spend the day with him then anyone I know.

An awesome ice skater. He one time skated down the hill of McKinley Monument in Canton without falling. (Yes, I know there are signs posted not to do this so don't try it.)

A fair weather hunter.

A loud snorer.

A morning person who has whistled in the shower at 4:00 am before.

A person not afraid to say I love you.

A goal setter.

A better shopper than I am.

An awesome chicken griller.

A great Cookie baker.

A wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.

We love you, Charlie, and hope you have a wonderful birthday. May God bless you with many, many more.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

My Mother (Ginny Miller)

I just want to wish my Mother Happy Mothers Day!!

She is the mother of 6, grandmother of 16 and great-grandmother of 12 1/2 ?. (you never know for sure right now)

My mother never worked outside the home. She always was there when we got home from school. Can you believe it, we never went to daycare. I guess that is why I have such a problem with daycare. Our job is to raise our kids ourselves whenever possible. I didn't work outside the home until Courtney was in 1st grade and then it was in the school where my kids attended. I guess I learned this from my Mom.

I appreciate all my Mom has done for our family through the years. My brother Curt always jokes and says he was 10 years old before he knew he wasn't in an orphanage. We were a lot of people in a very small space (by our standards today at least) but we had a good time and there was lots of laughter. That is something kids today are sometimes lacking. I could tell you lots of stories about funny things my Mom did over the years, but she reads this and I don't want to embarrass her.

I just hope to be as good a Mother and have as good an influence on my family as my Mom has had on me.

I love you Mom. Happy Mothers Day!

Kids!

My Aunt and Uncle went to Virginia Beach and all I got was this Tee shirt!! (But they loved it.)



Cool Dude Jay'v!!

These were actually a few weeks ago when Carolyn and George went to Virginia Beach while she was on spring break. Better late then never.

Have a great day!

Pray for our Friend!

These are our best friends, Gib and Ellie Norris.

Gib has suffered some kind of an attack almost 2 weeks ago where he lost his memory. At first they thought it was a stroke, but at this time they have ruled that out. He has been in a Cleveland Clinic Hospital since last Friday (it happened the Sunday before) and they still can not find out what the problem is. He is going to be transferred to a rehab facility in the next couple of days.

Gib is such a big hearted fellow. He would do anything for anyone. No one knows how many people he has helped. I'm sure Ellie doesn't even know because he was just like that. He never made a big deal of it. I think he would give away the last dime he had if he thought someone needed it more then he did. They have two children of their own, but have taken many more (not sure how many) into their home and raised them when they had no place else to go or were in trouble and needed help. Most people don't want the ones that are in trouble, but Gib and Ellie were up for it and did a good job. Those kids are better people now because of the years they spent with Gib and Ellie.

I say all that to say this. Gib was there for others, now he needs others to be there for him. Let's rally and stand in the gap and fill in the hedge. Let's bombard heaven on Gib's behalf. We serve a miracle working God and Gib needs a miracle right now.

Our God is able!

I wish I could be there with them, but that is not possible, so the least I can do is pray and ask others to pray also.


Please pray:

That the doctors will be able to find out what caused the problem. It is very hard not knowing what it was and if it will happen again.

That God will help him as he goes to rehab and they try to reteach him things that he needs to know to function in everyday life. At this point he doesn't even know his family (at least not their names). Also that he does not suffer depression during this time as this is a real concern. It is very difficult for him.

Pray for Ellie and the family. As you can imagine, it is very hard to stand before your husband or father and have him not know who you are. Charlie and I went to see him Saturday and experienced this ourselves and it is not easy. Someone as vital as Gib laying there pretty helpless is hard to see. And we are just friends, not family so it would be harder on them.

Pray for special strength for Ellie as she is by his side almost constantly. Although this is where she wants to be it is still tiring emotionally and physically.

Pray that God will provide for their needs. It would be hard to go from two incomes to none (Ellie is needing to be by his side right now).

I know God's ways are best and he does everything for a reason, so I don't doubt him. Ellie said this also. She is trusting God to work things out in his time.

Thank you for remembering this family and praying for them.

Wordless Wednesday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLYN!

This was taken when Carolyn and George went on a little vacation to Virginia Beach when she was on spring break. It was a break, but they about froze to death. I don't think she is celebrating becoming 27 but we can pretend.




You can see her a little better in this one. She will kill me for the first. I took pictures of her yesterday at the family birthday celebration, but my camera has disappeared. Hopefully she has it. These will have to do because I wanted to do this today.

Carolyn turned 27 years old on Friday. She said she doesn't like every year since 25 but I told her to enjoy them. She is still young.

Carolyn is finishing her 4th year in a 5 year masters program in Spanish Education at WVU. She will graduate in 2010. We are very proud of her. After a lot of starts and stops she decided what she wanted and went after it. She has done a variety of things with her life since high school. She has experience in road crew flagging. She is a dental assistant and a CNA and now works for a cleaning service in management. She studied a semester in Costa Rica, and spent a month in Venezuela. Last year she got married to George Cheriyan. George is from the country of Bahrain. His parents are from India. Bahrain is an English speaking country so he can speak very good English. That is good since Carolyn does not do well trying to speak another language (other then English or Spanish), she puts a spanish accent to everything.

Carolyn and George now live in the trailer that Charlie's Dad lived in while he was living. So she is right next door to us. She works for a company in Morgantown that does commercial and residential cleaning. She manages the residential work. So basically she goes to school full time, does student teaching 3 - 4 mornings a week and works as many hours as she can find time for. Plus taking care of George. LOL. Some days she does all of those in the same day. She is a busy girl looking forward to summer when things will slow down a little since she won't have school.

We are proud of her and look forward to seeing what the future holds for her. We love you Carolyn and hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

I am most blessed. I have been married to my best friend for 31 years yesterday. I should say he has put up with me for 31 years. He is a hard worker who provides well for his family who he loves dearly. He has been a great husband, father and now grandfather.

Thank you Charlie, for 31 great years. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, the years have flown so fast. Hopefully we have many, many more. I really never thought I would be married to a Papa but that's OK, I guess that means you're married to a "Neena"! I love you!

NEW YORK CITY!!

I guess you could say "Sherry finally got out of her comfort zone." My daughters and son-in-law went to New York City back in the fall while on a weekend with George's brother in Philly. They loved it and Courtney came home saying we were all going when she had spring break. I have always said I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, but did not want to go to NYC to see it. But plans proceeded and last Thursday morning I found myself on my way to New York City with Charlie, Carolyn and George, and Court and Jay'von.

We actually stayed in Manhattan right next to the United Nation and across the street from the Trump World Tower. It was an experience I will never forget. I'm not sure if I will do it again, but have to admit I am glad I went.

I had said I would not ride a subway and did not want to do the Empire State building and I did both. We used every means of transportation available (subway, taxi, city bus, and open top tour bus) except a train.

It is amazing to see and realize that what you see in movies is how these people live. The tour guide said that they stop on the way home and buy what they need for the evening meal and breakfast the next day. Then do the same tomorrow because they don't have supermarkets, just little shops. There is the bakery, the green grocer, the meat market, etc. There is only one supermarket on the island because with using public transportation you don't want to stock up on a weeks worth of groceries at a time. You couldn't get them home. It is almost like being in another world. We were sitting in a Pizza shop eating lunch by a window and I saw many people go by carrying brown paper shopping bags full of long loaves of bread. These loaves weren't wrapped in plastic and sealed with a twist tie. They were just stuck in the bag. One guy was eating on a piece that he had broken off. It was in the neighborhood of this picture.



This lady was about 4 stories up, just looking out the window at the people on the street. It just looked like something you would see in an old movie.

We did find that bakery and try some of their scones and brownies. I wanted a loaf of fresh bread, but by the time I would have gotten it home it would not have been fresh and probably would have been crushed.

This was in Greenwich Village. It is just like you would imagine. A quaint little village with row houses and those little shops I mentioned above. Courtney mentioned wanting to go to Magnolia bakery. (I guess there is something on a TV show about buying cupcakes there). We found the bakery, but also found a line around the building about 1/2 a block long. (I did say these were "little" shops) There could only be maybe 8 people in there at once and then you could hardly move around. There was a man at the door letting people in as others came out. We all bought our favorite things there. Courtney did get her cupcakes and said they were worth the wait.

We spent quite a little time in Greenwich Village. It is so unique. It is also home of John's Pizza, the place everyone told us to go for New York Pizza. Everyone loved it except Charlie. He is a deep dish man and New York Pizza is thin crust.




Carolyn, George and Courtney in front of John's Pizza in Greenwich Village.



I could go on and on about all we did, but I am not writing a book. I'll just post a few pictures of us this time and maybe next time I'll do our hotel and some of the buildings.



This is Carolyn, George, Court and Jay'v on the steps of the largest Post office in the US.




Jay'von setting on the steps looking like the little man that he is.




Carolyn and George on the observation deck of the Empire State Building.





Charlie and I on Times Square.






These are on the tour bus. They have an open top. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try it but they go pretty slow and you really could see the city well.




This one is the kids with the statue of Liberty in the background. We did not go to the island because of a 3-4 hour wait. Our time was limited.

I think I have bored you enough for now. I hope you enjoyed my little tour as much as I enjoyed giving it.

Until next time.

EASTER

We had a wonderful Easter. Our services at church were such a blessing. I am so glad we serve a God that still lives. The tomb is empty, but they did not just move Him, He's still alive today. Thank God.

We celebrated Breanna's birthday with our family on Sunday also, so I will post her birthday pictures and Easter pictures.




Breanna with her Birthday cupcakes.




Breanna and C.J. all dressed up after church.




This is the best we could do for a picture of Jay'von dressed up. He was sick all weekend and just starting to feel better. He fell asleep before we left church.








Carolyn and Courtney in their Easter finery. Aren't they beautiful.

No one else wanted to be photographed, so that is it for Easter. We did have an enjoyable day and the weather was beautiful, even though a little cool.

Courtney is on spring break this week, so we will get to see them a little more. Jay'von is feeling better, but still really fussy so it is a good thing he has a few days off of daycare. Hopefully it will give his system a break from all the germs he seems to pick up there.

Now that the holiday is over, and hopefully everyone is better, I'll try to post a little more often. LOL.

Click on the comment button right below this and let me know who is visiting us. I know it is easy to just read, I do that also. But since I am blogging myself, I have started to comment on others because I now know what it is like to have 20 hits in a day and not know who is reading. Thanks. That helps my obsessive behavior that goes crazy when that happens.

Until next time.

Breanna Story

Quote of the day:

"One of my ears is longer then the other. I think it is still 7 and the other one is 8. Maybe by the time I am 9 or 10 it will catch up to the other and they will be the same length again."

Said by Breanna the other day. She says this very seriously and there is no convincing her that the ears are the same.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BREANNA!

Our granddaughter, Breanna, turned 8 years old last Saturday. They spent the weekend with Danielle's family in Pennsylvania (for a wedding) so we don't get to celebrate until this weekend, but I wanted to go ahead and post this so I can show it to her. I will post pictures of her with her cake later.

Breanna is such a blessing to our family. She is our mother hen. She tends to mother everyone and try to keep us all in shape. She never forgets anything and will remind you (very kindly) if you forget something. She loves her little brother and you usually never see one without the other. I had to crop this picture because I did not have one of her alone. (I'll have to remedy that)

Breanna seems at first glance to be backward, but that is just until she gets to know you. Until she had her heart surgery in August she was very laid back. Now I have a hard time keeping up with all the questions she asks and how active she is. She definitely keeps up with C.J. We just thank God every day for helping her do so well and "fixing her heart" as she says.

Breanna loves to sing and do art. She is very good at both.

Happy Birthday Breanna. We love you bunches. You're our little Princess!

WE ARE SO BLESSED!!

Have you ever felt guilty for something that you knew you had no control over and really had nothing to do with you. That is exactly how I have felt this week. There are two things involved in those feelings.

First of all is Stellan, the little 4 month that I posted about earlier this week. He is still in very serious condition. If you want details use the link I posted and read all about it. But I will say that he had to have a transfusion this morning to try to saves his life. He is just very sick.

Secondly, our little guy has had the stomach bug since last Thursday. I mean he was really sick- had the whole nine yards. It was a miserable weekend. At one point as I was praying for him to get better because of course we don't like to see them suffer I thought of Stellan. You know, we are just so ungrateful for what we have. What is a little stomach bug in light of what this family is going through.

Yes, I know, a stomach bug not treated right can cause dehydration and lots of problems, but really we aren't going to let that happen. His illness was just a bump in the road compared to what so many others are going through. I just had to stop and thank God for His blessings.

We could have been going through some of those problems ourselves. In May of last year Breanna was diagnosed with a heart condition that would require open heart surgery. This condition was found while checking her for a virus. Thank God for that virus because we were told if her problem was not taken care of while she was young she would have had major problems as she got older and could have developed a condition with a life expectancy of 25 - 30 years. She had surgery in August and is a different little girl. What we thought was just being laid back was actually lack of oxygen. We are blessed.

My nephew's son, Devin, had major heart defects at birth and had to have 3 major heart surgeries before he was 3 years old. If you were to see him now you would not know there was anything wrong with him. We are blessed.

Between my siblings and I we have 16 children and 12 grandchildren. All of them are relatively healthy at this time. (We call Devin and Breanna healthy because their problems were fixed and they are both doing great.) We are blessed beyond measure.

Do I think it is wrong to pray for a child with a stomach virus? No I don't, but this week has really made me stop and count my blessing. So next time I will pray, but with a new prospective on it. I will also thank God for ONLY a stomach virus and remember to ALSO pray for those less fortunate then we because it could be any of us. We are not immune just blessed at this time.

PRAY FOR STELLAN!

I have mentioned McMama before and how I admire her blog. I also mentioned her son who was diagnosed with major heart problems before birth and she was told he would not live. He was born with no heart problems AT ALL. They checked him completely and he was fine. Sunday night Stellan was having some breathing difficulties after a weekend of having a cold and they took him to the ER. He is suffering from SVT. His heart rate is between 250 and 300 and has been since Sunday night. He is in very serious condition. His heart is now enlarged and he is suffering with the same problems he had while in the womb. This is very hard on the whole family. He is only 4 months old. I am posting a link to go to her blog if you are interested. If not just pray for Stellan when you think of it. I can not imagine watching a baby go through all that he is right now.

Just click on the picture to go to her blog.

JAVY'S FINGER?

I guess I didn't have any takers that wanted to guess what Javy was doing with that little finger in the picture I posted yesterday. Actually I wasn't out there when they took the picture, so I am just guessing myself, but knowing Jay'von as I do, I am sure he was either singing "This Little Light of Mine", or saying he is one year old. It might have been David's sling going around, also. He is a very active little guy and (like his Nina) likes to wave his hands around when he talks.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday!!

What do you think Javy is doing with that little finger?

Happy Birthday Danielle!

Danielle and Javy and her birthday cheesecake.


I just want to wish Danielle (my favorite daughter-in-law) a very Happy Birthday. Her birthday was actually on Friday (the 13th). I didn't get to post on that day because I kept the kids so she and Chuck could take a little trip for her birthday. I have to say she is the best thing that ever happened to Chuck. She takes very good care of him and don't you even try to criticize him. She will straighten you out. One of the girls got him a card that said they thought about getting her a gag gift but then they remembered she already had their brother. She didn't even want to read it out loud. We all thought it was hilarious.

She is a stay at home Mom who also home schools her children, so she is very busy lady. Thanks Danielle for all you do for Chuck, Breanna, and C.J. We love you and are glad you are part of our family.