OMG! where's the gas????

it just boggles the mind that we are such crazy people that we talk ourselves into such a mess. the folks in charge are asking people to drive only if they have to, NOT call 911 to find out which stations have gas and not to top off their tanks! commonsense, which we in this country seem to be in short supply of.

keith had a wonderful idea, he suggested that schools could add an extra hour to our day and go to a 4 day school week and save gas by not running the buses. those things take an enormous amount of gas to run. we only have about 12 buses here but atlanta has 100s. think of the gas that would be saved if we took one day off from the buses.

wonder what would happen if this continues? i have a bike and only work about 3 miles from home. i guess i could ride... i just finished a science fiction book about what life would be like if we had been attacked by nuclear bombs. there was no gas, no electricity, no coffee!, no food other than what was available at the stores in canned food, no resupplies of medicine. it really made me think about how much we depend on technology and modern conveniences. how many people these days know how to can food, cook over an open fire, preserve meat? i think of all the things we take for granted that make our life so easy. with that in mind i am going to learn how to can food, and i am going to make my garden bigger and better next year. it really made me think about things.

oh my poor dawgs!

oh my poor dawgs! it is so hard to be a devoted fan and see your beloved team having their fannies handed to them on a silver platter. but you accept the good with the bad.

i love my dawgs!! woof, woof, woof!

fall in the mountains

in just about 3 weeks this is what our mountains are going to look like. i cannot tell you how sweet it is to live here during the fall season. the highs are in the low 70s to 80 degrees during the day with blue skies that go on forever. the mountains are so clear they seem almost to be within reach of your hand. the evenings are crisp and clean. it's sweater weather and on some evenings, fire in the fireplace weather.

we sleep under blankets that keep us toasty warm and make it very hard to get up on these chilly mornings. the temp this morning was 48! the coffee seems better on cool mornings : )

this savannah girl gets kidded about the weather b/c what i think of as down right cold everyone here thinks is "just cool." i do believe, however, that i might be being persuaded t0 become a "mountain girl."

blue grass weekend

we had a wonderful weekend. there was a blue grass festival in blairsville. we went and enjoyed some wonderful music. it is interesting to me that i don't, and i mean don't, like country music but i love blue grass. when we were listening to some of the music i was reminded again how much the music sounds irish and how much that particular style influenced this area's music.

there were also some arts and crafts folks there. one was from england. he had the most interesting material that he made into a candle holder. it was from a seed pod from western australia. i have never seen anything like it. his story about how he wound up in murphy,nc was interesting, also. he and his wife were on their up north when they stopped in murphy. by the end of the day they had put a bid on a house! they never made it up north. they sold their condo in florida and moved within the month.

we went friday evening to see the play "our town." for a small theater group it was good. i love this play b/c it reminds us that we only have this one life to live so we need to live it to the fullest everyday. btw, i have offered to accompany the theater production of "the fantastics" next summer. i think it will be fun. i played this when we lived in dublin. it should be challenging and fun: )

brenna bunny

we had so much fun with brenna this weekend! she has grown so much and she is such a wonderful little individual.

it was interesting to see that the "mom" gene was still intact. it was strange when she first arrived,
it was like, what do i do with this little child. i'll
admit, i was a little nervous, would i remember what to do with a child of 2 again? interestingly enough, it only took a couple of hours to feel comfortable with her in the house. i even had the "i will kill anyone who wakes her up!" moment.

as you can see, g-daddy had fun, too. we took her to the lake and surprisingly we had the lake to ourselves except for a couple way away from us. she loves the water! we brought bubbles, which uncle matt liked as much as brenna, we had a ball and goggles. she loved the goggles! i think she may be part fish.

we took her to church and she stayed for awhile in big church. she was a very good girl. she sat with uncle matt, aunt tasha and tasha's parents and sister. she had a lot of attention which allowed me not to worry about her and play the piano. everyone thought she was so pretty, of course ; )

she did have to sit in the naughty chair for just a little while sunday evening. she seemed so surprised that nonnie had a naughty chair. her expression was like, "how did that happen?" i had asked her to leave something alone and she wouldn't, typical 2 year old. after she sat i went to her and told her why she had to sit in time-out and asked her if she was sorry. she was so cute, she said, "i sorry, nonnie." i told her i loved her and she said, "i nuv you nonnie." she had me at i'm sorry : )

i am so glad that she has 2 loving parents that love her, that discipline her, that teach her, and are raising her to be a wonderful person. they are doing such a good job!!! thank you for sharing her with us. i love being a grandparent!!!

not a happy momma

i have got to tell you, this momma ain't happy! i do not like the fact that my middle child will only be 100 miles inland from a possible cat 4 hurricane!! thankfully brenna and kayla will be here in georgia when this thing hits texas.

i know, i know, nathan is an adult and is perfectly capable of taking care of himself but that doesn't mean i have to like it!!!

here's matthew

as i said i'm still learning how to upload pictures and edit blogs. anyway, here's my youngest!!

to bj

first of all i apologize that all my pictures are christmas pictures but i haven't loaded any others on my computer.

anyway, to my oldest! you probably don't know this but you almost weren't. your daddy was a youth minister and we had just about decided to not have kids of our own because we had 30 kids at the time but God had other ideas. we are soooo glad he did! (i thought you were the flu : )

there are so many things i love about you it's hard to know where to start. first, i love your humor. you are one of the wittiest and funniest people i know. your mind is so quick! i think you should have a vent all your own with just your comments on it! second, you are so tender hearted. i still remember when we got lady and you wanted to take all the kittens, cats, puppies and dogs home from the shelter! we had to send you out to wait in the car. next would have to be your musical ability. you don't use it much but you do have it. i love that you're a reader. i like sharing books with you and discussing them with you. i like the fact that you take your lumps in life without complaint. if it was your fault then you have always manned up and said so.

i love how much family means to you. you aren't afraid to tell people that you love your family. i am very proud of you. you have always worked hard and i am very proud of the fact that you are going to tackle going back to school. from experience i will tell you that the hardest part is walking into that first class. it will be worth it. the first step is the hardest.

you have always been my child who believes all things are possible. i believe that God gave you that ability. i love the fact that God has His hand on you and you're not shrugging it off. i love that you love Him.

one last thing, i love how you are such a people person! that is such a gift. people just naturally flock around you. you are honest, even when it hurts you. you are trustworthy, caring and a wonderful son.

God bless you, my firstborn.

here's nathan

sorry, i'm still learning some stuff ; )

this one is for nathan

this one goes out to my middle child. you handle that role so well. you have always been the one who sits back and scopes out the situation and then decides whether it is worth your commitment or not. i think that is a valuable asset to have.

i love so many things about you but here are a few : ) i think your commitment to the Lord is awesome. you are a mature Christian beyond your years. i was afraid that when you left to move to texas and had to leave compass that you would just give church a pass and only go when you could go to a comparable church but i was wrong. you seemed to innately know that it was not the how of worship but the what of worship, namely, honoring God on the Sabbath.

i love that we share a love of music, a music tie. both of us would rather play than eat especially if it's new music. i have loved watching you grow as a musician. i am glad that you have this talent and use it.

i think you are a wonderful teacher. you have an ability to reach a very tough age group. you are developing skills that will make you a great teacher. you are willing to listen, watch, and learn and that's what it takes to be a great teacher. great teachers never stop learning.

i love how much you love kayla and brenna. you are good husband and father. i love how you make your girls laugh : )

i love your perseverance. you were knocked down but you were not knocked out! that is important b/c life is full of knock downs. the important lesson you learned was to get back up, rely on God and go forward.

you are a joy to all who know you. i love you, my middle son.

tributes continued

this one is for my youngest (don't worry guys, your time will come: ). my minky! your nana has always said that people should know this about you: they could either lead, follow, or get out of your way. matt, you have always seemed to know what you wanted. sometimes it has been very hard to get there but you persevere and reach those goals.

if someone needs to get something done they just need to see you. you have always had that bulldog tenacity, sometimes to your brothers dismay! you're very sensitive and care very deeply. i love the love you have for God. even when church was hard to endure you never lost your faith.

i know that the fact that your brothers always seemed to be more popular than you was difficult for you at times but you learned that to have several close friends was just as good as having a lot of friends. and the wonderful thing is you married your best friend! i can't tell you how happy i am for you for that fact.

i love the ability you have in music. i love to hear you sing and play. i like the fact that you like to hang out with your family, too.we really have fun together. i like the fact that family is important to you. i think that it is neat that you love history and you are so knowledgeable about it. you have a lot of your pepere in you. you want to get ahead. you're always looking for the best way to do something, willing to go the extra mile. i love the way you love and care about your wife. and i am so happy that you are so happy.

i am so proud of you, my youngest. i love you very much!!

tributes

this tribute is for my dad. my dad is my hero! he is the bravest and strongest person in the world.

let me tell you just a few things about my dad. he served in vietnam twice. that was hard because it was not a popular war but daddy felt that it was the right thing to do. his country called and he answered. i have learned patriotism from my dad.

he always made me feel safe and secure. even now i know my daddy is there for me. as dr. phil says, he provided me with a safe place to land. i learned how to be a good parent from my dad.

he is absolutely one of the funniest people on this earth. if you have never had the privilege of being on the receiving end of one of daddy's stories you have definitely missed a treat. my favorite story is the one about the "ghost" train that was really my dad in a plane! i learned to have a good sense of humor from my dad.

my dad is a leader. whenever something needs doing people look to my dad. he is conscientious, dependable, and gets things done. i learned my work ethic from my dad.

my dad is deeply committed to God. he doesn't talk about his relationship with God very much but i have watched my dad through the years and his actions speak volumes. he will and has risked his life for others, greater love has no man than to lay down his life for another. he is always helping others. his charity runs deep. he is always willing to give someone another chance. i learned many of my values as a Christian from my dad.

these are just few things that i love about my dad. again, i could go on and on but these are the things i thought of today : )

tributes

i haven't figured out yet how to upload pictures but if i had i would put a big heart here. i've been thinking that i want to let my family know how wonderful and special they are and let others know how wonderful they are. my family is my heart.

the first, of course, is my fantastic husband. i love him for so many reasons. first is that he saved me. many of you don't know much about my life when i first went to college. my parents got a divorce and i was pretty much left to my own devices. the summer before i left for college my dad came home from vietnam for the second time. my parents had not had a very good marriage for awhile and it all came to a head when daddy came home. mom and dad got a divorce and my mom went a little "wild." just suffice it to say that home was not home anymore. i lost most of the contact with my dad. i was somewhat adrift when i got to college. i met keith and he helped me work through a lot of things. he loved me and believed in me.

he has always believed that i could do more than i ever thought i could. he has always been there for me. when i went back to college he did so much so that i could study, work and when i wanted to quit he wouldn't let me! he is now encouraging me to continue my education by getting my specialist degree. yet again when i said i didn't see how he said of course i could. it so nice to have someone affirm you.

he is a fantastic father. he is the man that i dreamed of for my children, although he is a soft touch : ) he's never been afraid to tell his sons that he loves them and give them hugs and kisses, even now! he loves them unconditionally and they know they can trust him always.

he is the smartest man i know, alive or dead!!! he's horrible to play trivial pursuit with unless he's on your side. he has helped me with so many papers and research projects that would have taken hours to find information for. he's also my editor which has gotten me more than one A in school. he even went to school for me one time when i was sick to take notes. my professor wanted to know if he could come back!

i think i knew he was truly the man God had for me when we could sit without talking and there was not an awkward feeling about that. even now, if we are driving or sitting and neither of us is talking it just feels comfortable.

these are just a few of the things i love about him. i could go on and on but these are the most important things: he is a man of God, a good father, a wonderful husband, the best person i've ever met and i am fortunate enough to call him my husband.

i love you with all my heart!

your deb