My Grandkids' Dani

Projects I’ve finished lately…

2010-08-16T13:59:00.001-05:00

This is a quilt I made for some friends who used to be students at Baxter. This was my first attempt at “free-motion” machine quilting.

I’ve been wanting to make a “pillowcase dress”. You can make these out of actual pillowcases, and I do want to find a pretty vintage one. But this dress was made from cute Sesame Street Halloween fabric I found at Hancock Fabrics here in town. This one is for Georgia!

Nolan Ford White is here!!!

2010-08-07T21:06:00.001-05:00

He entered the world on Saturday morning at 10:39. Kinda surprised us by coming a little early. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz and was 21 inches long. He. Is. Precious!!!

So, without further ado…meet our sweet grandson, Nolan…

Here’s mommy and daddy:

And finally, big sister, Georgia…reading in her mommy’s bed.

One Thing, One Week:1 Finished

2010-07-27T11:47:00.002-05:00

Update: I got this pattern from the following site: http://www.ucquilts.com/bommarch2006.htm

Last week I took the One Thing, One Week:1 Challenge from over at Amy’s Creative Side blog.

Click below to see what others have completed this week.

My goal was to finish Nolan’s quilt. He’s my grandson who is due the middle of August.
Well, I reached my goal and just last night put the last of the millions? of hand quilted stitches in the Kite quilt, using the Chirp Collection by Katie Hennagir.
I cannot wait to meet baby Nolan and give him his quilt!

I’ve left out the day on the tag below…I’ll have to carefully stitch that in when he gets here!

Little Artist

2010-07-24T18:42:00.001-05:00

Georgia is so creative.

She loves to paint.

Ooh, look at all the colors!

She likes to paint herself, too.

Look at the nice picture she painted for Mama and Daddy.

And now?.....

Bathtime!

Luke & Georgia Enjoying Being Together

2010-07-20T19:18:00.001-05:00

"One Thing - One Week Challenge"

2010-07-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

Next week, I'll be posting pictures of the newest grandbaby quilt! I'm participating in the "One Thing - One Week Challenge" from Amy's Creative Side. So, I plan to finish up this baby quilt by then. Just a little more hand quilting to do. Here's a little preview...

Blogger’s Quilt Festival #3

2010-05-23T22:13:00.001-05:00

Amy over at Amy’s Creative Side has organized another online quilt festival. You can click on this button to get to the list of, so far, 475 links. Each one will take you to an individual blog, showcasing one quilt and the story behind it from the blogger. I can spend literally hours at a time reading these posts and drooling over the quilts. But what usually happens is this:
I click on a link………I read the post………I look at the quilt………Then I start reading everything the blogger has written! Suffice it to say, it is taking me a while to get through that list!
Here’s the quilt I made for our 13-month-old granddaughter, Georgia:

The first completed square -- 6”, machine pieced, hand appliquéd and hand embroidered

I made this quilt while my husband and I were living in Honduras. My sweet daughter-in-law picked out the beautiful red and pink fabrics and gave me free reign as far as the pattern.

Finished top.

I decided on a very traditional pattern, “Grandmother’s Fan” because my daughter-in-law and son love all things old. (Guess that’s why they love me!) I liked how it turned out and loved doing all the hand work on it.

So, now it’s quilted and washed and ready for Georgia…she loves it! Can you tell? :)

Now she’s happy!

Mother’s Day…Remembering

2010-05-09T00:17:00.001-05:00

Thinking of my sweet mama on Mother’s Day. She’s been gone for 33 years and I still miss her so much.

AQS Paducah Quilt Show

2010-04-24T11:51:00.001-05:00

Friday I drove to Paducah all by myself to attend the 2010 American Quilter’s Society quilt show. I’ve lived in Kentucky for 21 years and this was my first time to ever attend this show…shame on me!

But, I did have a wonderful day (wish it could have been 2 or 3 days) looking at beautiful quilts, drooling over all the gadgets, fabrics and a long-arm quilting machine, visiting the famous Hancock’s of Paducah fabric store AND taking a class on “Beginning Free-Motion Quilting”! Whew!

I arrived home at midnight and sent Steve off to Nicaragua for a mission trip at 2 a.m. It was a BIG day!

I want so badly to post photos of some of the quilts from yesterday, but I just read the Photograph Policy for AQS and it states that I can’t post photos online without permission. (You can go HERE to see the winners of the Paducah show)

But….I can post a picture of the lovely reproduction 30’s fabrics I could not resist buying!!! I didn’t go with a plan really, but before long…as I perused the vender booths…I realized I was drawn to these fabrics. I just kept picking up little bundles and fat quarters of the pretty little “feed sack” lookalikes and before you know it, I had this (sorry about the shadow on the pic):

Now I have to resist cutting into them until I have finished a couple of other projects I’ve already started…including a baby quilt for the new little grandson due in August. But I definitely see a quilt with these sweet fabrics in my future!

Here’s a sneek peek of Nolen’s Quilt:

And last, but certainly not least……here is my masterpiece from the free-motion quilting class I had yesterday. I’m not very good at it yet – hence, the class…

Catching up with a few photos

2010-04-17T23:13:00.001-05:00

So, it’s been a while since I posted any pictures, so here I go catching up a little bit.

Melanie’s Birthday

Easter Sunday (I made the boys matching airplane ties. I actually made one for the baby, too, but then decided on the little romper with matching bib instead.

The week after Easter, Georgia came up (oh, and her parents, too!) I made Maddy and Georgia pink with white polkadot dresses. They were so cute! Unfortunately, my camera didn’t show the details (maybe operator error…)

Georgia’s 1st Birthday:

David’s 30th Birthday and Patrick’s (Maggie’s brother)

Granddaughters

2010-03-27T00:11:00.001-05:00

Maddy went with Steve and me to play with Georgia last weekend. It was so sweet to watch those two sweet girls. They both adore one another. Enough words…

I Love Fabric Giveaways!

2010-02-16T09:34:00.001-06:00

My blog world friend, Dena, over at Tales of Wayne Manor, is celebrating her 300th blog post by giving away some cute fabric. Go here to see for yourself!

February Happenings

2010-02-15T16:33:00.001-06:00

I turned 59 on the 4th. I haven’t decided whether I’ll move on to 60 next year or just stay in my 50’s for a while. We’ll see. I spent the day with baby Georgia and she gave me lots of kisses and hugs for my birthday! She and I went to dinner with her mommy and daddy (aka David & Maggie) and they sent me some beautiful flowers while I was there. I didn’t take pictures of the flowers, but here’s a cute picture of G, reading her book.

While I was in Hendersonville, Melanie and the kids left surprises at my house! They made me cards, too, which were very sweet. Maddy’s said, “I named you ‘Dani’ and I’m glad I did!” Precious!

I went to visit my daddy in Florida last week. He’s 84 and doing pretty well, considering. I love him so much and enjoy our time together. We talked a lot and ate a lot of cheesecake. It was fun. Oh, and I really enjoyed visiting with my 2 brothers and sister-in-law. (I forgot my camera…)

Oh, and it has been snowing a lot in Bowling Green. I love it!

Grandbabies

2010-01-29T14:26:00.001-06:00

I spent some fun time with some of the grandbabies this week. First, on Tuesday, I kept Georgia at her house. She’s so sweet! I can ask her to give me hugs and kisses and she lays her little head on my shoulder. Sometimes she gives kisses or offers you her cheek.

Yesterday, while Noah & Maddy were at school, I met Melanie, Jack and Luke for lunch. Luke enjoyed finishing off Jack’s ice cream cone.

Jack enjoys chewing ice……and taking pictures with my camera:

Those are their balloons up on the ceiling

Unflattering picture of Dani (sigh…)

I really like this one…it’s inside Jack’s drink cup. Pretty cool, huh?

Future Quilt for Our Bed!!!

2010-01-29T12:46:00.001-06:00

I am member of an online quilting bee and my month won’t be until December! I know that I still have 11 months to decide what type of blocks I’d like the other participants to make for me…but I’ve already decided that the quilt will go on our King-size bed. This is the Queen size quilt I finished over 20 years ago…

…it was my very first quilt ever. I used Georgia Bonesteel’s lap quilting method and it was hand quilted. It took me about 6 years of starting and stopping to finally finish it!

But, alas! We have had a king size bed now for several years and it needs a quilt!

Sweet daughter, Melanie, gave me a gift certificate to my favorite online fabric store, Hawthorne Threads, for Christmas and I decided to take advantage and start collecting fabrics for this quilt. I decided on browns and teals and here they are!!!

What do you think??? Should I add some green?

Sewing in December and January

2010-01-25T21:48:00.001-06:00

I’ve really been wanting to make a string quilt for the guest bed at our house. After seeing this post and this one on string quilting, here’s what I came up with.

I think I have about 30 5” squares and would like to make a queen size quilt. It will take me a while… I’ll post pictures one day when I finish it!

You may have noticed that there are several very old, very traditional (country…yikes!) pieces of fabric here. Yes! I am using up fabric from very old stashes. I’m not kidding…some of those pieces are at least 20 years old. Isn’t that ridiculous?

I went through boxes, plastic bags and containers, paper sacks…you name it! I spent the better part of 2 days pressing and folding that fabric and couldn’t believe how much I actually had! Here are my old pinks…I know, they look peach. I’m not a great photographer, sorry.I have several ideas for quilts and sewing projects requiring new, cute fabric. But this string quilt will definitely be made of (dare I call it?) vintage fabric.

Here’s a lap quilt I also made with old scraps. I used Sharyn Craig’s book, “Layer ‘em Up”. So fun and easy! This is a gift for a friend who helped in our mission work in Honduras.

Here’s my little tote I made from a charm pack of Mary Engelbreit’s “Recipe for Friendship” by Moda. Notice the cute little bottom corners? Yeah, they were supposed to be boxed. I totally sewed the corners the wrong direction. Oh well, I like it anyway. I lined it with denim. This is based on this tutorial.

Family Photos from Christmas

2010-01-21T23:16:00.001-06:00

Nearly a month later…here are pictures from our family Christmas Eve celebration.

Melanie got a new fancy camera for Christmas, so all the rest of the pictures are ones she took.

All my precious grandchildren!

…and here’s all of us!

Quiet

2009-12-25T13:27:00.001-06:00

Sometimes quiet is really, really nice. Sometimes it’s overrated.

Our Christmas celebration with our kids and grandkids is over. Our cabin in the woods is quiet. Steve and I are in and out of sleep as we sit in our chairs.

Last night at our house was fun, crazy, loud, awesome, special and more…We were yelling over the craziness and still had trouble getting each other’s attention. Wrapping paper was flying, kids were squealing…there were lots of smiles, giggles, hugs…It was wonderful!

Maddy and Jack were explaining their sweet gifts they each bought me…Maddy at her school store and Jack on his school field trip to Mighty Dollar.

Noah had to wait until the very end to open his *huge* gift…the largest under the tree…until every other gift was opened! He was almost beside himself.

Luke enjoyed his 2nd Christmas and, though he doesn’t actually “get it”, he had fun unwrapping and playing with his toys!

Georgia enjoyed hers and Luke’s toys and…ate wrapping paper!

Being together like this brings memories of Christmases past to mind. Our three little kiddos “chomping at the bit”, waiting for Mama and Daddy to get up so they could go see what Santa had left them.

I was also reminded of some Christmases spent with our parents…in N. Carolina with Steve’s mom and stepdad…Melanie took her first steps at their house the Christmas of 1978…and in Florida with my daddy and stepmom. I remember Daddy saying how much fun it was to have children in his house for Christmas and that it just wasn’t the same without little kids squealing with delight on Christmas morning.

And, of course, there are those really special memories of my childhood…Until my 2 brothers and I were practically all teenagers, my aunt, uncle and 2 cousins from Texas spent Christmas Eve night with us in Arkansas and we all 5 would try to stay up to see Santa but then were a little afraid that if we did, he wouldn’t leave us anything. I remember times when we swore we heard him on the roof! After the parents took turns coming in (usually about 5 times) to tell us to be quiet or Santa was not coming, we’d finally drift off to sleep.

Our parents, aunt and uncle would stay up late talking and laughing…waiting for us to go to sleep so they could work their Santa magic. And it *was* magical! The Christmas I remember the most was the one where I got a little red record player!

After breakfast we would drive the 15 miles to my grandmother’s house where all the aunts, uncles and cousins would be…a house full! I remember my grandmothers chicken and dressing and all the pies and cakes up high on the buffet. I remember that my grandmother never sat down. She waited on everyone the entire meal.

It was never quiet at my grandmother’s house when we were all there. And I think the adults had as much fun as we did…

So, yes…I’m enjoying the quiet right now. And as soon as I finish this post, I’m going to take a little nap. But honestly, I love the noise and craziness that happens when we are all together. I do. I love it…

I finally won something!

2009-12-25T08:39:00.001-06:00

I’m always entering contests on the wonderful sewing/quilting/crafting blogs and websites I read. And I finally won!!!

On the Piece N Quilt Homespun Holiday Show & Tell I entered this blog post of my stockings, etc. And I won a $20 gift certificate from Piece N Quilt! I’m so excited! They’ve got some fun fabrics, patterns and stuff on their site! Merry Christmas to me!!!

A Day of Christmas Cookies

2009-12-22T20:52:00.001-06:00

Today Melanie brought Maddy, Noah, Jack & Luke to our house to make Christmas cookies. Luke didn’t actually help but he did sample the finished product!
I have very fond memories of making cookies with my own kids…the cutout kind. The cookies, not the kids. :) I remember how they would put sprinkles on them until you could hardly even see the cookie. I liked the iced kind, but the kids really liked those sprinkles!
Making cookies with my grandchildren was very special. They did a great job, too! Maddy and Noah completely made the Snickerdoodles. I gave them a little guidance and information but that’s it!
Jack and I worked together on the Christmas cutout cookie dough. He measured all the flour himself, 1/2 cupfuls at a time and placed it in a big pile on the waxed paper. He really loved cracking the egg! (By the way, the lovely cobalt blue Kitchenaid Artisan mixer is my early Christmas present!)
The kids worked hard, the cookies were delicious and beautiful…it was a good day.

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

2009-12-21T23:55:00.001-06:00

CHRISTMAS!!!
My favorite time of the year to live in a log cabin is Christmas! It just seems these 200-year-old logs were meant to be decorated with greenery and Christmassy things.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been sewing and quilting. I can’t show all my projects right now because some are for Christmas presents! But my biggest sewing project has been to make 13 new stockings for our family…These were made using a tutorial I found at Park City Girl. I ordered fabrics from www.fabric.com and I just love them!
You might notice the space on the right side. The real reason for this is that I put 1 too many little nails up. But…that’s okay because….Georgia’s going to be a big sister next summer and so that space will be filled next Christmas!!! Yay! (And, yes…I did put nails in that 200-year-old piece of wood!)
Oh, and I made Ornament Wreaths for us and our kids’ families. I used another tutorial I found from Eddie Ross.
Mine is the one on the far right. I changed the bow and now it looks like this: (should have used wider ribbon…oh well…)
To see lots of other Christmas projects, go over to Piece N Quilt for a “Home Spun Holiday Show N Tell”.

Maddy is 10!

2009-12-20T22:33:00.001-06:00

I can hardly believe that my "Precious Angel" is 10! She made me a grandmother.

Last week, on Friday (the day before her birthday) her mama picked her up from school early and met her Poppi and me, her Memaw and her Daddy for lunch.

She was excited to get out of school for lunch. She was hoping she would get to stay out for the rest of the day.

She did.

But she didn’t know this was in the plan:

We left after lunch for Atlanta, where we spent 2 days and we had a wonderful time!

This is Maddy with Samantha. She got her a couple of years ago.

She added beautiful “Kaya” to her American Girl doll family. For some reason, I didn’t get a picture of them together, but this is Kaya:

Sweet Maddy, your Dani has loved every minute of the past 10 years. Watching you turn into this beautiful, caring young lady has been a joy. I love you so much and loved sharing this special weekend with you and your mama.

Preparing for Christmas

2009-12-09T22:39:00.001-06:00

Well, for the past 5 Christmases, we lived in Honduras and came home after Baxter’s graduation, somewhere around the 8-10th of December. Except for Christmas 2007, I was usually pretty late getting the house decorated and was always wrapping presents on Christmas Eve.
Look what’s been up for a week now…

Do you see those presents???
It is fun having time to do Christmasy things…like…

The first of 13 Christmas stockings I plan to make this year. (The tutorial is from Park City Girl) As you can see, this one is Melanie’s. I was going to let everyone decide which one they wanted after I made them, but then I decided I’d pick! I have lots of fun fabrics I purchased on sale from Fabric.com so they will all be different.
Now, if only we have a White Christmas, I’ll be even happier!!!

Day 2 with the Munchkins

2009-11-19T10:06:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Jack’s Thanksgiving program and lunch at his school. He was a turkey…pretty appropriate, I’d say! :)

He was so happy to see Luke and me and gave us both lots of hugs and dimpled smiles!

We spent a lot of time in the car yesterday. Took Maddy and Noah to school…Jack to school…back home…Luke’s nap…back to Jack’s school for Thanksgiving…picked up big kids from school and then back to Jack’s school to pick him up! Whew! Bible class last night and finally home for the night!

When Noah and Maddy got in the car after school, Noah told us that he had a part in the Christmas program and proceeded to rummage through his backpack to find the information. After reading about his part, he announces excitedly, “I’m a Martian!” Well, duh!!! No news there! :)

But it was Lukey-Pants…yes, the angelic littlest Smalling…who took the cake yesterday. He pulled all the freshly-cut pizza slices down to the floor! I was standing right there but he’s fast! (Noah and Jack literally cried like babies…even though Dani salvaged it and we all ate pizza for dinner!

After dinner, Luke followed me to the bathroom as I *~~brushed my teeth~~ tried to do something with my hair before church. He didn’t stay in there long before he ran out. I reached down to get my glasses and found they were gone! Uh oh! “Luuuuke…do you have Dani’s glasses?!” Yep…thank goodness they were in his chubby little hands but not broken or bent!

*Thought for the Day: “Is is actually possible for mothers (or Danies) to find the time to be both hygienic AND punctual at the same time?” Hmmm…

Maddy continues to be my great helper! She is growing up so much and I love who I see her becoming as a “young lady”.

Luke’s asleep, Jack is playing “Mousetrap” and explaining every step in detail as he goes, I’m going to rest with my eyes closed for a few minutes before it’s time to get the boys and myself ready to go to Noah’s school for *his* Thanksgiving lunch!

…a blessed Dani

One down, two to go…

2009-11-17T20:46:00.001-06:00

I just single-handedly put 4 kids to bed and they are all asleep! Woo-hoo!

Let me just say that I now have more respect for my daughter, Melanie, than ever and am pretty much in awe of her superpowers as a mommy of 4 very active kiddos!

I’m keeping them while she’s basking in the sun in Florida…well, she’s in Florida…more like holed up in her room reading or sleeping or watching t.v. while Jared is in classes.

I. Am. Tired.

But we had a great day! The hardest part of doing it alone is getting everyone ready for bed. But…wow…once they were down, I did not hear one peep from anyone…I guess they were tired, too!

This one…

is just really starting to talk and gets his “magic” words mixed up. Like today I was handing him french fries in his car seat (don’t judge!) while waiting in line to pick up the 2 big kids from school. When he wanted one, instead of saying, “Please”…he would say, “Sorry”. Cute!

We decided to have chocolate chip pancakes and bacon/sausage (bacon and sausage provided by leftovers from the Lads to Leaders breakfast last weekend…again…don’t judge!) Noah wanted to do the “liquids” (milk and eggs). He kept telling me he was going to break the eggs and how much he liked breaking the eggs, etc. Then he immediately got distracted…and then said, “I know what you’re thinking, Dani. ‘Those eggs aren’t going to break themselves!’” Funny boy!

Now, Melanie, when you read this, don’t be sad…you know how Jack is. He usually only misses you when I’ve told him “no” or made him mad about something. I don’t know what it was I did or said, but tonight he came over and sat with me in the chair in the L.R. and said, “I don’t even remember what she looks like”. I asked, “Who?” He said, sadly, “Mommy!”

Oh. My. Goodness! You’ve been gone less than a day and he can’t remember what you look like? HI-larious! He got over it pretty quickly though.

Oh, here are the two younger boys wrestling and playing around:

Maddy didn’t say anything particularly cute…she just IS cute!

So goodnight all…maybe I’ll blog tomorrow night too…if I’m not too tired. I may get Poppi to come over and help me get everyone off to church!

The Grandkids!

2009-11-11T10:49:00.001-06:00

Well, this blog IS called “My Grandkids’ Dani” and here I’ve been posting all about quilting and sewing and fabric giveaways…

So, here are some pictures of my real treasures.

Maddy is “Trixie, the Halloween Fairy”; Noah is “Wolverine”; Jack is “Spiderman” and Luke is “Incredible Hulk”. By the way, Noah wasn’t mad. He says “that’s the way Wolverine looks!” Aren’t they precious!?

I don’t have a picture of Georgia in her full costume, but here she is in her little peasant dress (precious!) and witch’s hat. Well, you can’t really see the hat, but…isn’t she cute?! And here she is eating leaves in our backyard!

Here’s some of Jack’s 5th birthday! This one is Jack with friend on the Hayride!

Jack painting a pumpkin

Luke looks confused

Jared driving the tractor for the hayride.

Another hayride picture…Maddy top left and Noah in costume.

Uncle Pip (Philip) and Aunt Sarah – trying to hide from the camera.

Two cute boys (Luke and Jack) eating at the little table during a family Sunday lunch.

This week keeping Georgia…

Giveaway on Hawthorne Threads.com!

2009-11-10T09:30:00.000-06:00

1st Prize:

FIRENZE BAG KIT!!

This kit includes a pattern with instructions, fabrics, muslin, cording, color coordinated thread and zipper - all necessary materials except interfacing!
What a great splurge for yourself, or gift for the sewist in your life!

2nd & 3rd Prizes:

One Fat Quarter set of GIRLY GIRL Fabrics each! (sweet colorway)

"Girly Girl blends flirty flower designs with geometric lines creating a charming look. These playful and bubbly prints will inspire you to create beautiful designs for your sweet girl."

To register for their giveaway, simply click on their site HERE.

Fabric Giveaway!

2009-11-03T16:01:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading online about "virtual quilting bees" and "block swaps". I've actually joined a block swap recently that will begin soon.

Block Party is having a quilt along and they are kicking it off by a fabric giveaway! Visit their website and you might win.

Dinner in 30 Minutes…more or less

2009-11-03T09:44:00.001-06:00

"Recipe Swap" from Park City Girl

I don’t have kids at home anymore and have more time to spend in the kitchen, but sometimes I still want to get in and out quickly!

Here are 3 of my *go-to* recipes for quick stove-to-stomach suppers:

Black Beans & Rice (vegetarian)

**I usually double this recipe**

1 tbls. vegetable oil

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 med. Onion, chopped

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 small green pepper, chopped

¼ tsp. dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 ¾ cups cooked & drained black beans (canned is fine)

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup uncooked long-grain rice

Heat vegetable oil. Add onion and pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic, beans, rice, broth, red pepper flakes, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle with cheese.

Jeanne's Version of Martha Stewart’s Spaghetti 101

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (use a good brand)
8 ounces thin spaghetti
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, cut into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, loosely packed and torn -- *or* about 1 Tbls. dried basil
Parmesan cheese

Put water on to boil for spaghetti. Put olive oil in skillet, heat on medium and add garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir them into the oil for just a minute. Do not burn the garlic! Add tomatoes, 1/4 tsp. salt (optional) and basil (if using dried).

When spaghetti water is boiling, add 2 Tbls. salt, then add spaghetti. Cook according to package directions.

Sauce will cook down while spaghetti is cooking. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the basil, if you’re using fresh. Cook another minute and top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

“Tastes Like Fried” Tilapia (or any other fish fillets you like)

4 boneless Tilapia fillets

2 Tbls. olive oil

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

I love to buy the frozen Tilapia in individually-wrapped fillets. I take out the fillets about 15 minutes before I need them, place them in a big bowl of cold tap water and they thaw quickly!

Heat (on medium) 2 Tbls. olive oil in non-stick skillet. Pat Tilapia dry with paper towels.

Mix cornmeal, salt, pepper, cumin and ground red pepper together on small plate. Dredge fillets in this mixture, covering both sides. Shake off extra.

Lay the fillets into the hot oil, cover (if the fillets are thick) and cook for about 5 minutes, until golden brown. Flip and do the same with the other side.

Delish!

2009-10-17T21:44:00.001-05:00

After posting the photos of the Sunbonnet Sue Quilt recently, it got me thinking about the quilts I've made for my own grandchildren.

I made Maddy's (almost 10) quilt before she was born and, since I didn't know that she was going to be baby girl, I decided to do generic yellow and green. Melanie wanted duckies and, since I couldn't find a duck pattern I liked, I decided to cross stitch the squares. The ducky in this photo is upside down, but you get the idea.

Noah (7 1/2) was the first grandson! Unfortunately, I have only scanned one photo of his quilt. (Hand appliqued Fishing Boy as the center motif surrounded with hand appliqued fish.)

Jack's (5 in a few days!) quilt has a story behind it...

Steve and I moved to Honduras to do mission work 4 months before our Jack was born. I thought it would be neat to purchase the fabric AND make his quilt *in* Honduras. Maybe it was just that I didn't know where to look at that time, but I could not find 100% cottons in Honduras! I ended up buying a cheap, poly cotton blend and the only baby blue I could find had these little white flowers on it. I went to all the trouble of cutting tons of 1 1/2 inch squares out of the blue and also a white -- I was going to do an Irish Chain pattern -- and even started sewing blocks together when I decided it was horrible and put it aside.

Sadly, Jack did not get his baby quilt. It was only when we were awaiting the birth of his brother, Luke, the 3rd grandson, that I hustled to get Jack a quilt made before Baby Luke arrived! Since he was no longer a baby, I decided to make a quilt I thought he'd love NOW. He was totally into everything *pirate* at that time and I found a cute fabric in the U.S. while on a visit that I knew he'd love. It's simple. You can see the fabric I used on the back of the quilt. For the front, I just cut out individual images and hand appliqued them onto solid blue blocks. He loves it still!

So, on another trip home from Honduras, I purchased the fabric for Luke's (16 months) quilt. His is "Overall Bill", using several different blues on a white background. The little guys are also hand appliqued (can you tell I LOVE to hand applique???). Here's finishing up the quilting after arriving in the U.S.
And here I am holding the little darling.

...and little Luke at one year with his quilt.Okay, those are all of Melanie's & Jared's kiddos! Whew!

Now for Georgia's (6 months)! She belongs to Maggie & David and her quilt, too, was made in Honduras. Again, fabrics were purchased in the U.S. I adored making this quilt! First, it was the first girly one I had done for a grandchild and we were all so excited to have another girl...especially after losing our precious Ruby about 2 1/2 years earlier. Maggie chose the fabrics (mostly reproduction 20's and 30's) but wanted me to decide on the pattern. Since I knew how much she loved all things old, I chose a traditional "Grandmother's Fan" pattern and used 5 or 6 inch blocks (can't remember which). After hand quilting (all of the 5 were, by the way) it, I embellished across the top of each fan, where each of the pieces met, with embroidered flowers.

Doesn't she look like she's really excited about the quilt her Dani made her?!

Georgia at 3 months, me at...ahem...
Wonder who'll be next?????? Oh Philip.....Sarah.....

I Heart Quilts!

2009-10-12T21:25:00.000-05:00

Although this isn’t a quilting or sewing blog, those are two of my passions. I have been perusing sewing blogs lately and came across some incredible ones!

Amy at Park City Girl is hosting a Bloggers’ Quilt Festival. As of right now, there are 477 links to blogs, each displaying one particular quilt. If you love quilts, you need to go click on 2 or 200 of those links!

I have made several quilts and the one I’m sending over to be included in the Bloggers’ Quilt Festival is a Sunbonnet Sue baby quilt I made for a friend’s granddaughter. It’s the only quilt I’ve ever been paid to make and I don’t know that I’d do it again. Making a hand-quilted and hand-appliquéd quilt is very time consuming!

So, here are the 12 individual appliquéd blocks:

Silly to Sweet

2009-09-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a blog in me lately. Sorry for any of you who might actually ever check to see if there is a new one here...

But...daughter, Melanie, has two really amazing blogs and she's written on both. On her family blog, "It's a Smalling World", she has written an absolutely hilarious story about Jack. Actually it's by Jack...some of his thoughts and a list of rules for his birthday party. You'll laugh...I promise!

Her other blog, "Mommie Momments" was started when she was asked to write a "weekly" (sometimes she forgets...who? my daughter???) blog to go along with the website "The Titus 2 Group". Anyway, her blog this week is about my precious granddaughter, Maddy. It is very sweet and will make you think about letting your light shine wherever you are.

Just click on the links underlined above to read these.

Thanks! Maybe I'll actually write something myself one of these days.

One-Year-Old Luke

2009-08-05T23:23:00.001-05:00

Precious pictures of a precious baby boy!

Georgia’s 3 Month Pictures

2009-08-05T09:42:00.001-05:00

Get ready for some amazing cuteness!

Jack, the Scientist

2009-07-27T14:06:00.000-05:00

I guess I haven't been in a writing mood much lately. But I have enjoyed videoing my cute grandkids! Today, Jack is explaining how to do science experiments. You have to understand that he combines "real" scientific info with various cartoons he watches, so...don't feel bad if you don't get everything...really, try not to feel dumb or anything. It's probably not you...

Georgia Entertaining Mommy & Dani

2009-07-18T17:09:00.000-05:00

This is one cute baby girl! Maggie and I get really tickled when Georgia starts sucking her bottom lip!

Videos of the Babies

2009-07-13T15:21:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of cute videos of the babies, Luke and Georgia. I hope you enjoy them half as much as I do!

Luke's 1st Birthday

Georgia Playing

"Not Me!" Monday

2009-07-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

First of all, let me say that, even though we live in the country...we definitely DO NOT have mice! That being said, it would be impossible for there to be mouse traps...SET mouse traps...in our house. Glad we got that straight!

So, I absolutely DID NOT forget to put a mouse trap up, out of the path of a very curious one-year-old grandson when he came over to play! That's just NOT something I'd forget...that would be very responsible.

I also did NOT take my eyes off said one-year-old long enough for him to find the "set" mouse trap...NOT ME! I'm a much better grandmother than that!

And, of course, it DID NOT happen that this little guy.....

found the mouse trap, picked it up, screamed and came running to me with it hanging off his thumb!!! NOPE!!! Didn't Happen!!! (I'm a great Dani!) If it had happened (which it did NOT), I of course, would have immediately taken it off his little sweet hand, kissed it and said, "Oh baby!!!! Dani's so, so sorry!!!"

Therefore....since none of this happened (whew! thank goodness!...'cause I'd have some 'splainin' to do if it had...

He most certainly DID NOT stop crying as soon as he noticed his peanut-butter covered thumb (because, IF I had set a mouse trap, that's what I would have put on it...) and he for sure did NOT start happily eating the peanut butter off this little thumb.

NOPE...DID. NOT. HAPPEN. I'm a really good Dani...

Photos of the Babies

2009-07-05T22:58:00.001-05:00

Okay…since all of my “tens” of followers are NOT on Facebook [you know who you are] and canNOT see pictures of my adorable little grandchildren there…I am now going to post several pictures of the 2 babies, Luke and Georgia.

Get ready…there is a lot of cuteness happening here. Be ready to smile…

Little Georgia Grace

“Little” Luke Wesley

Looky What I Found…

2009-07-04T23:05:00.001-05:00

I’ve been cleaning out closets, drawers and…yes, still suitcases from our move back from Honduras! While cleaning out a dresser drawer, I found a box with old pictures in it. I’m talking friends’ pictures from high school old!

But also, I found these two pictures. Do you even recognize these “kids”??? I hardly do, but I do remember my life in 1975 and that’s the year both these pictures were taken.

Trust

2009-07-04T15:01:00.001-05:00

Tonight Steve and I went to Melanie and Jared’s house to celebrate Independence Day a day early. We all sat outside in the gloriously cool night air as the children retreated inside to play. Well…all except for Jack, who was catching fireflies.

He was finally able to hold on to one…maybe because it could no longer fly after being in a small boy’s loving hands for so long. He even named it…He told stories about it…He really wanted to keep it as a pet.

But then he decided to go inside to play with the other kids. Mommy told him he couldn’t take it inside… “No, not even in your pocket.” What to do? There were 8 of us adults outside and he came to me, his Dani, and asked in that sweet Jack voice that I cannot resist, “Dani, would you hold my lightening bug for me?” Of course, I said “Yes”. I took it and he looked up at me and asked, “Dani, you won’t let it go, will you?” “No, Jack, I promise that I will not let go.” And I didn’t.

Our Trip to Alaska

2009-07-04T14:56:00.001-05:00

Even before we moved back to Bowling Green on June 1, Steve and I talked about taking a vacation once we got back. After spending a couple of weeks playing with grandbabies, enjoying being with our children and visiting with friends, we were ready to do it!

And we didn’t wait long…I started looking online at Alaskan cruises one week and we were there the next week! The good thing about our last-minute cruise was: we got a good deal on the cruise…with a balcony stateroom. The bad thing about our last-minute cruise was: we did not get a good deal on our flight to Seattle! Oh well…

We spent 2 days in Seattle and then on June 20, we boarded the Norwegian Star and began our adventure along Alaska’s Inside Passage. Ketchikan, Juneau, Dawes Glacier, Skagway and Prince Rupert, B.C., Canada. So, here are some pictures:

SEATTLE:

Hanging Peppers from Choice Produce & Peppers at Pike’s Market

Space Needle

Top of the Space Needle overlooking the pier

This is Seattle Grace Hospital from “Gray’s Anatomy”…Only it isn’t even a hospital! It’s Channel 4 News!

Puget Sound

ALASKA:

Ketchikan, AK

Somewhere between Ketchikan and Juneau

Juneau, AK

The Governor’s House (The big one in the middle)

Dawes Glacier

from our balcony

Big iceberg

Somewhere between the glacier and Skagway

Skagway, AK

My favorite—A Quilt Shop!

Prince Rupert, B.C., Canada

The Norwegian Star (our cruise ship)

Our little housekeeping guys made this cute monkey out of hand towels and a wash cloth and hung it in our bathroom our last day on the ship! The eyes are Andes mints.

This is the pretty atrium…looking down from an elevator. It was a beautiful ship!

Home

2009-06-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

Leaving our work in Honduras after 5 years was hard. If you’re interested, you can read my other blog, JeanneInHonduras. I’ve written a lot the last few weeks and still need to write a couple of final posts.

But…coming home was easy, and this is why:

*This little buddy will be one year old tomorrow. I’m going to get to be at his birthday party!

*These little guys are happy that they get to spend lots of time at their Dani & Poppi’s house this summer!

*I get to see every phase of this precious baby girl’s life as she grows up.

*This! This is a very good reason...

Coming Home!

2009-05-15T17:44:00.000-05:00

For those of you who do not know, Steve and I are leaving Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Baxter Institute and those we have grown to love and admire here on June 1, 2009! Notice the countdown at the top of the page???

My efforts at blogging at this time are on my Honduras blog in case you want to follow along these next 2 1/2 weeks with me!

Georgia's Room

2009-05-02T12:21:00.001-05:00

David remade/painted/repurposed the bookshelf, changing table and chest of drawers.

Oh, and of course...here's Georgia enjoying her Boppy!

Our Expressive Little Model & Her New Spring Dress

2009-04-28T22:49:00.001-05:00

My Nest

2009-04-23T02:16:00.001-05:00

God has blessed our family these past 5 years as Steve & I did mission work in Honduras, and now it is time to come home.

On June 1 the new president of Baxter begins and we are returning to our family!

Here are some recent pictures of my greatest blessings. My nest is full and my heart is even fuller.

Celebrating Sarah's Birthday

Melanie & Maddy

David, Maggie & Georgia Grace

Philip, Noah, Jack & Luke

Sarah with Georgia

Jared & His Posse

Steve & Melanie

(like father; like daughter)

Lukey-pants!

Miss Georgia Grace

Precious Little Georgia

2009-04-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

Is it possible that you think this is as absolutely adorable as I do??? I don't think so, but I know you're going to enjoy it!!!

Sweet Georgia Grace

2009-04-18T00:28:00.001-05:00

A day with Georgia...

right after her bath

eyes like Mommy; mouth like Daddy

David bought her this "drama queen" t-shirt

She loooooves her fingers!

the quilt I made her

she really does like it, I promise!

Content baby girl!

her great-great grandmother also slept in this cradle

Isn't she precious???

More Georgia Grace Pics

2009-04-11T10:06:00.001-05:00

Brand New Georgia

Georgia with Aunt Sarah

Georgia with Uncle Pip (Philip)

Stay tuned for more after today's visit!

Welcome, G.G.!

2009-04-11T01:22:00.001-05:00

Georgia Grace White was born April 10, 2009 (on her Uncle Patrick's birthday!), at 5:25 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs., 13 oz., and was 20 in. long.

She has some dark hair and is just absolutely gorgeous!!!

In the picture above, she fell asleep in my arms sucking her little fingers...she just couldn't let go! She just believes her fingers should be near her mouth at all times!

A few more pictures and then I've got to go to bed!

Proud Mommy & Daddy

G.G.

David, the "Baby Daddy"!

Maggie, the "Baby Mama"!

Tom & Lisa Connor, Maggie's Parents (or "Junior" and "Grandma")

Steve White (Poppi)

Me (Dani)

Sorry, I don't have the energy to post pictures of aunts and uncles...later.

It's a Winter Wonderland Here in Kentucky!

2009-01-27T11:55:00.001-06:00

Our Backyard

Frozen English Ivy in the Frontyard

Not Me! Monday!

2009-01-26T14:05:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Here's how my week went:

No way did I completely lose my van at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital last Tuesday while having lunch inside with a friend! I didn't walk all over levels 1 and 2 twice looking for it in below freezing temperatures. I certainly did not go back inside 3 times to keep from having frostbite. And while I was not inside getting warm, my stupid cell phone battery did not start dying on me. Therefore, when I didn't try to call my friend, Erin, crying and asking for help, I DID NOT start wondering if they'd let me have a bed for the night! God did not miraculously allow my phone to work just long enough to get Erin on the phone so that I could (NOT) pitifully say, "I need you...I'm down in the lobby!" And, please...don't even start thinking that it was my friend...almost 2 hours after our lunch...who finally walked me up to level 3 to find my van, just where I'd left it! Because, believe me...that DID NOT happen! No stuffy, sneezy, drippy head cold resulted either...

Funny Jack Sayings

2009-01-24T20:06:00.001-06:00

Jack was taking a bath tonight at our house and wanted to "slip" after all the water went out. So, after he had watched every single drop of water drain out of the tub, we pulled up the non-slip mat and he began to slide all over the place. He said, "Dani, you HAVE to get in here and slip with me; it's so much fun!" No thank you! Can you imagine his therapy bills years from now?

Later I got out my knitting to practice (I'm not very good) and he was watching me. I said, "This is hard." Jack said, "When I was little, it wasn't hard for me." I remember not having any concept of time or age when I was little. I thought I'd marry my older brother when I grew up and I thought that one day, I'd be the mother and my mama would be the little girl and I'd boss her around.

Kids...what a blessing!

Addition to "Who Needs a Party...?" Post

2009-01-01T22:48:00.001-06:00

I forgot to add one of the very sweet and random things little Jack said to me yesterday. I was lying on the couch watching a movie with them when he came over and laid down pretty much on top of me, nestling in all cozy. Out of the blue, he asks very quietly, "Dani, what do you smell?" I said, "Nothing, what do you smell?" He said, "You." I asked, "What do I smell like?" He said, "Dani". I asked, "Is that good or bad?" "Good" he says and then goes back to his movie...very Jack-like...

Who Needs a Party on New Year's Eve???

2009-01-01T12:07:00.001-06:00

Not me! I didn't even make it until midnight. I think I went to bed at 10:30 or so. Melanie and Jared (and baby Luke) were at their house this year with some of their friends, playing games and eating lots of good food. Steve and I kept Maddy, Noah and Jack at our house. Maddy really wanted to stay up until midnight but I said, "No way!" I know how she gets when she doesn't sleep enough. I did let her and Noah stay up until 8:30 when Poppi got home from the Music City Bowl in Nashville so they could get some Poppi snuggles before going to bed. Everyone went to bed very nicely.

Jack went to bed at 7:30. I knew when I first saw him in his carseat with his thumb in his mouth that he had missed his nap. So, I got them home and we watched "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday", had grilled cheese sandwiches and milk, watercolored and then I got Jack's p.j.'s ready. "He didn't return a word" (that's an expression my mother used to say meaning "he didn't argue with me") when I asked him to follow me to the bathroom. The little bugger was tired! We got all ready and I put him in my bed to start out (he and Noah slept together in the "boys' room"). Jack does not like dark! So, I left the hall light on and our bathroom light on, reminding him that the bathroom light stays on if he stays in bed. I looked over at him, so little in our big king sized bed, and he already had that thumb in his mouth. He said, very quietly, "But, Dani, what if I get scared?"

I'm not always a pushover, but that little boy knows just what buttons to push. I didn't say a word but laid down beside him. He didn't say anything else either, just snuggled into me, kept sucking his right thumb and put his left hand in mine. He was asleep in 5 minutes or less. I took this picture before I put him in his bed.

Maddy and Noah thought it was just hilarious to say, "See you next year!" as they went to bed. Their Poppi taught them that. And they laughed this morning (really...they didn't think he was being dorky or anything) when Steve said to them, "Man, I haven't seen you guys since last year!"

Here's cute Noah, missing his 2 front teeth. (Santa didn't bring him new ones for Christmas this year because he wasn't given enough notice. Noah just lost the 2nd one on Christmas Eve!)

And here's Maddy with her American Girl Doll, Samantha, wearing their pretty gowns that Santa brought them.

I can't think of a better way to begin 2009 than making chocolate chip pancakes for my grandchildren! Jack was my helper. They each ate 3!

I look forward to 2009 for many reasons but mainly because we are expecting our new granddaughter, Georgia Grace White, in early April! I know it will be a great year!

The White Family's Christmas

2008-12-26T14:08:00.001-06:00

When Melanie first got married, I wondered how holidays would change for our family. Fortunately, Jared's family had their big celebration on Christmas Day, so we were all still able to be together on Christmas Eve. As the years have passed and the boys, David and Philip, married...we have continued our White Family Christmas Celebration on Christmas Eve. Each year I wonder if that will change, but so far we have been blessed to all be together the night before Christmas.

About every other year or so since our first grandchild, Madeline, was born we have added an additional baby to the party! This year it was baby Luke. Of course, he was only interested in the wrapping paper and cried when Melanie wouldn't let him eat it...but we all enjoyed watching him sit alone and "crawl". He is a precious, fat little baby!!!

Next year, Lord willing, little Georgia Grace (David's & Maggie's) will be with us. She should be about 9 months old by then, so that will be fun! Your Dani is waiting for you, G.G.!!!

This Christmas was the first one since Maddy has been born that the Smalling family didn't spend the night at our house. Since they have now moved to Bowling Green from Nashville, they were able to go home and begin their new family tradition of having Santa visit the children at their own house. We missed them, but more than being sad about them not being here, I was really excited for them to have those memories at their home.

Here are a few pictures:

THE SMALLINGS

L to R - Jack, Melanie, Maddy, Noah, Jared and Luke

DAVID & MAGGIE WHITE (and little G.G.)

PHILIP & SARAH WHITE

SANTA & MRS. CLAUSE

In Florida with my Daddy

2008-11-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to update all of you who keep up with my blog. I have really let it slide lately but I've been very busy.

I flew from Honduras to Orlando, FL a week ago to spend 2 weeks with my daddy as he had surgery. He had hip replacement surgery over 20 years ago and had to have all the old stuff removed and new added. He was in surgery 5 hours and it was another 5 hours before we saw him, but he got through the surgery just fine.

He spent almost 4 days at the hospital in Sebring, FL and now is in a rehab hospital in Wauchula, FL, about 20 miles from his house in Avon Park. We were pretty much with him constantly during the first 5 days but now not as much because his rehab takes up about 4 hours a day.

I will be returning to Honduras on Dec. 1 and on the 3rd, many U.S. visitors will be on campus for graduation festivities.

Please pray for my daddy, that he will continue to recuperate and that his 2-3 weeks of rehab will be successful. Pray that he will be able to do more than he has in the past physically and that his state of mind will also improve as his body does.

After Baxter graduation, I hope to do more blogging. I have things to say, just not a lot of time to write.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY TO ALL!

Awaiting GG

2008-11-10T14:16:00.001-06:00

Our next grandbaby will be a GIRL!

Her name is Georgia Grace and David is

already calling her GG. I cannot wait

until she arrives sometime in April '09!

Thanks (in advance) David & Maggie!

I'm not really political but...

2008-11-05T13:22:00.001-06:00

Right up front I'll say that I voted for John McCain/Sarah Palin. (Our ballets were mailed to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, we voted and mailed them back. I assume they made it; one never knows with the mail here.) I lean more right than left. I am pro life, pro smaller federal government and pro more powerful local government (thanks to my son, David, who made me realize how important this is), among some other conservative issues.

I am very proud to be an American. I've lived in Honduras for more than 4 years now. I love the people here so much but there is no place on earth I'd rather be than in the good ol' U.S.A.!

But beyond being a Republican or a Democrat, I AM A CHRISTIAN! God is in charge of my life and nothing that any president, congressman, senator or mayor does changes the fact that I answer to the living God and He alone is the one in whom I put my trust and faith.

I am proud of our country. Live in a third world country before you are too quick to criticize the U.S. government. It is not perfect but nothing on this earth is.

I choose to put my faith in God and my life in His hands. I will respect and honor the man, Barack Hussein Obama, as my president. Never in a million years as a girl growing up in south Arkansas did I believe I would see this day. A black man in the White House! Politics aside, I am proud of this fact...proud that our country has come this far and has truly accepted America as the "melting pot" it has always been.

I believe God has a plan. I want to follow that plan. But most of all, I want to go to Heaven. Thank God that there will be no politics there! Our Lord will reign supreme.

Tagged

2008-10-24T10:43:00.000-05:00

I agree with Kate...since I haven't blogged lately on anything else...might as well take the "tagged" challenge. Here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? in my purse
2. Where is your significant other? in his office (right down the hall from me!)
3. Your hair color? Dark blonde with more gray than I'd like to admit.
4. Your mother? She's in heaven .
5. Your father? 83 living in Florida
6. Your favorite thing? playing with grandbabies
7. Your dream last night? that my eyelashes were coming out in clumps :)
8. Your dream/goal? to go to heaven with as many family members and friends as possible
9. The room you're in? my office in Honduras
10. Your hobby? sewing/quilting
11. Your fear? Alzheimer's
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Living in Bowling Green, KY, retired, playing with grandbabies
13. Where were you last night? having dinner with one of our Baxter families
14. What you're not? confrontational
15. One of your wish-list items? a massage!!!
16. Where you grew up? ElDorado, Arkansas
17. The last thing you did? Check blogs
18. What are you wearing? brown skirt, white tank, brown/white floral shirt
19. Your TV? is resting
20. Your pet? none...Libby lives with Maggie and David now
21. Your computer? Compaq Presario V6000
22. Your mood? ready to get to work
23. Missing someone? my grandbabies and my children and my friends in Bowling Green
24. Your car? 1999 Dodge Caravan in U.S./199? Mitsubishi Montero Sport
25. Something you're not wearing? heels
26. Favorite store? Wal-Mart
27. Your summer? spent in Bowling Green with family
28. Love someone? my honey, Steve
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? about 20 minutes ago
31. Last time you cried? Monday...couldn't sleep, joints hurt, was frustrated

I tag whoever reads my blog and wants to do this...

Losers, Coffee and being the Best Dani

2008-09-19T23:11:00.001-05:00

"Jack was here!"

When you hear those words, you can be sure that

Lots of fun was had
Lots of laughing occurred
Someone needs a nap (more than likely the person/s receiving the visit)
Someone may have gotten pinched or put in "timeout"
The visitee is remembering the little boy who is so full of life

Jack spent 2 nights with Steve and me Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday before I left from Melanie's, I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe when Jack said (about something I can't even remember...but a competition to him), "I winned; you woosed; you're woosers!" Then I laughed even more because of the confused look he gave me. I don't think he'd ever seen me laughing so hard I cried and didn't know what to think of me.

Later that evening, we picked up a pizza on our way into Bowling Green, took it home and shared it with Poppi. Seriously, everything is a competition with him and he had about half a piece of pizza left when he happened to remember that fact about himself and "sung", "I'm gonna wi-in". I took my last bite and said, "Hum, looks like Dani won". He folded his arms, looked at Poppi and said, "Oh man...we're woosers, Poppi!"

Jack has developed a taste for coffee. Yes, I know that he's not even 4 years old yet, but what can I say? Evidently, his Granddaddy and I would occasionally (at least on my part) let him take a sip of our cooled coffee. Then one day Poppi gave him a piece of the coffee-flavored candy that we buy in Honduras (it's yummy!) and he LOVED it! So I gave him a piece while he was here and he told Poppi, "I have coffee. Not the kind you drink. The kind you crunch and suck on."

You may remember the picture of Jack eating Scooby-Doo Snacks out of a "dog bowl". Well, he wanted shredded cheese in a bowl this time, pretending he was a mouse.

Jack is a big boy and can certainly dress himself. But, he will take an hour to do it if you let him. We were getting ready to go out and he was supposed to be getting ready but I looked over and he only had on his underwear. I asked, "Jack, do you want me to help you get dressed?" He smiled and said he did. He brought me his shorts, shirt, socks and shoes. We started with the shorts. I backed him up against me, as I was sitting and began to put his little shorts on him. He leaned into me and said, oh so sweetly, "You're the best Dani in the whole world!"

Enough said.

Blog Fog...

2008-09-17T14:46:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if that's the appropriate way to express it, but I feel like that's what I've been in...a "blog fog".

Maybe it's that I'm on Facebook now and communicate on there more often.

Maybe it's that after Gerald's death, I just don't feel like writing.

Maybe the new has worn off of blogging...I hope not because I would be disappointed if others stopped writing on their blogs...I love reading what others are up to.

Or, maybe I just don't have anything "blogworthy" to write about these days.

Who knows? But...get ready...because Jack is visiting and I will definitely have a few things to write about soon! :)

I just realized that I wrote a blog post totally about not writing blog posts. That's pathetic!

The angels are rejoicing...

2008-08-29T10:47:00.001-05:00

Gerald Smalling, father of our son-in-law, Jared, died in Centennial Hospital in Nashville last night.

He was a precious man and he will be missed by us all.

Noah's Visit

2008-08-13T15:24:00.001-05:00

Throughout the summer while I was in the U.S., the 3 older grandkids got their special turns staying with me in Bowling Green. They each got a short visit and a longer visit (about 4-5 days).

Noah's turn came last and we had a great time together. Noah is an easy child, especially when there are no siblings to bother him or for him to bother! :) He's laid back, likes to play superhero, watch t.v., play with play doh and help me cook.

Of course, we had our pancake day, as usual and Noah was glad that we were making them from scratch. He does not like them from a mix...not nearly as much fun.

His best superhero feat this visit was when he found the t.v./satellite remote control. It's kinda pitiful that we were so very happy when he found it...but we were. I had literally searched 3 or more times in each room for the missing treasure when Noah finally found it lying in the floor next to the Noah's Ark in the "boys' room". We rejoiced!

Our one big day out was to the toy store, craft store, post office, library and ice cream store. The toy and craft stores consisted of finding fun things that all the kiddos could do and things that we'd leave at our house in B.G. He reminded me that Memaw has a lot more toys at her house! :)

I think he went to the library just to please me but didn't seem too excited about that. However, when we got there, he found a cute little nook where he immediately took a book and started reading out loud. He had just finished saying, "I'm not a good reader." Well, that was definitely not true...the boy is a great reader for someone just about to enter 1st grade!

When I insisted that he help me pick out books, he reluctantly brought me one and laid it down in front of me...it was "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV", which I thought was kinda funny. Was he trying to tell me something??

I made my 3rd trip in a couple of weeks to Chaney's for ice cream ...not good for the diet! (Oh yeah...I'm not on a diet!! Yikes! I need to be after this summer...) Maddy had mint chocolate chip, Jack had chocolate and, of course, Noah had vanilla. I say "of course" because that's what his Uncle David would have ordered at that age (maybe still now).

Noah is sooo much like David! Always has reminded us of him. They especially look alike, but Noah says funny things and does things that bring back memories of David at that age.

Do they look alike or what???

I am back in Honduras now with Steve. I love being here and doing the work we do here. I love the people who work here, the students, the student wives and children.

But I treasure the time I was able to spend in Bowling Green and Nashville helping Melanie a little with the kids after the birth of Luke. I look forward to more visits from the grandkids in the future. It is one of the great joys of my life!

My Son is Going to be a Daddy!

2008-08-04T12:05:00.001-05:00

This is our first-born son, David...born on April 12, 1980, in Springdale, Arkansas. We delighted in him as he took his first steps, began to talk, developed a very funny personality...

We watched him grow, kissed his boo-boos, sent him to school and helped him know God. We watched as he became a man...and were so proud when he married Maggie in 2004.

David has given us joy and, yes, a little pain over the years. We are very proud of our son, David, and could not be happier at this time to share in the joy of his and Maggie's news of their baby who is due in April 2009!

I absolutely adore being a grandmother! I cannot wait to meet this new little baby...

Blogs are Down All Over the Place!

2008-08-02T08:44:00.001-05:00

If you have been trying to get on my site since last night, there is a good chance that you couldn’t get on my site and a WHOLE lot of others.

According to this article, it is a Sitemeter glitch that is causing sites all over the internet to stop loading and get the error message “IE cannot load this page. Operation aborted”

If you have a blog that is experiencing the same problems, simply remove your Sitemeter widget and it should be back to normal!

Go to Melanie's Blog

2008-07-31T00:45:00.000-05:00

I know I need to post current pictures of baby Luke, but...

Please go to Melanie's blog entry: http://smallingworld.blogspot.com/2008/07/looney-lukey-7-20-08.html You will see some funny pictures of Luke and if you go to the "Comments" you can read my captions for them.

I know it's midnight, and that's probably why I thought they were especially funny, but I have to tell you...I laughed until I cried as I was writing them. Enjoy!

Maybe I'll write a "real" blog entry soon...

Maddy's Visit

2008-07-25T00:15:00.001-05:00

Well, I took Jack home on Monday and brought Maddy back with me the same day. Tomorrow I will take her to meet Memaw (Jared's mom) when she gets off work and Maddy will spend a couple of nights with them.

We have had a good time! Maddy may not be as funny as Jack, but she's my girl and we always enjoy being together.

Maddy is growing up much too fast to suit me. However, it is kind of nice to be able to do more grownup things with her. Tuesday she went with me to get my hair cut and the girls at the shop raved about her hair color. Maddy does have unusually gorgeous auburn hair!

Afterwards, we met Aunt Sarah for lunch and enjoyed having a girl's day out. The 3 of us went for ice cream later. It was the same shop where Jack and I had gone the week before, however, Maddy didn't feel the need to eat hers faster than 80-year-old ladies like Jack did...and then tell them they lost!

I try to cook what the kids like to eat, to my best ability, as long as it is reasonable. Like, Jack would eat cookies for lunch and Maddy would be happy with mashed potatoes and rolls at every meal. :)

Of course, our first breakfast consisted of chocolate chip pancakes. I had asked Maddy earlier what things she would like. The first thing she wanted was Baleadas! A baleada is a typical Honduran food which consists of a flour tortilla filled with refried beans, a cream similar to a rich sour cream and then sometimes a salty cheese or eggs or just about anything you want to put in it. Maddy and I like ours to have the beans, sour cream and sliced avocados. Yum! We even made our own homemade flour tortillas! That was Tuesday night for dinner. She also wanted them for Wednesday lunch, so...that's what we had...

Tuesday afternoon Maddy wanted to do girl stuff so we played beauty shop. We did makeup and then I hot-rolled her hair. I have a picture of her in curlers, but she made me promise I would not put it on my blog! :)

Wednesday afternoon I treated Maddy to a spa manicure and pedicure at the soon-to-be-famous "Dani's Loving Care Spa", located conveniently (and economically) in my kitchen! We used the foot spa that David gave me for Mother's Day a few years ago. While she was soaking her hands and feet, I prepared her a dish of cubed watermelon and Sprite in a pretty glass with lime. She got the royal treatment complete with bright blue polish!

Thursday we watched movies and grilled burgers with Uncle Philip and Aunt Sarah out here in the country.

Tomorrow we'll talk and laugh eat and play and probably watch a movie and then I'll take her to meet her Memaw. It has been a wonderful time together, as always. Until next time, Precious Angel!

Jack's Visit (Part II) "The Park & Chocolate Ice Cream"

2008-07-19T22:35:00.001-05:00

Today I took Jack to the park to play. Since it was almost 11 a.m., I took PB&J sandwiches in the car and we ended up eating them before we got to the park! Jack asked, "Dani, did you make this sandwich with the peanut kind of peanut butter (crunchy)? I said yes and he said, "I wuv them...you're a good Dani"...

Uncle Philip & Aunt Sarah met us there. Aunt Sarah played with Jack on the playground equipment and encouraged him to do some things he didn't think he could do.

After less than an hour, he was so hot that Uncle Pip used his water bottle to cool Jack's head and neck, then asked if he wanted him to pour some of the water over his head. Well, duh...of course, Jack thought that was a great idea, so Philip poured just a little over his head and then spiked his hair! He took him over to his car mirror to see the new do and Jack, of course, loved it! He thought it was so funny!

We left the park and went to Chaney's Dairy Barn (the one on Fairview Ave.) for ice cream. Jack wanted chocolate on a cone and we sat down inside the store to eat. Jack really, really wanted to eat the cone but I held him off as long as I could, knowing that if he started eating it too soon, the ice cream wouldn't have anyplace to be...

He couldn't wait until he had all the ice cream eaten, took a bite and, of course, got ice cream in his nose. I don't guess it bothered him much because he kept doing that. We went through about 8 napkins...

These two elderly ladies came in for ice cream. The eldest sat down at the table beside us while her friend ordered their ice cream. You could just see this lady's eyes light up when she saw Jack. She talked to him and asked him lots of questions and Jack told her all about his trip to the park and about his Uncle Philip putting water in his hair and spiking it.

He finally finished his chocolate ice cream cone and immediately looked over at his new friend and said, "I winned! You "woosed" (in his best "nanny, nanny, boo-boo" voice.) Everything is a competition for him. Of course it is...he lives with 2 older siblings! The lady thought it was very funny!

I took him to the restroom to wash the chocolate off his face, hands and out of his nose...and he was laughing, saying, "Dani, I beat da wadies!"

I told him he should tell the ladies to enjoy their ice cream when we left and also to tell the nice "ice cream girl" (as he called her) thank you for your ice cream. I had to remind him to say thank you to the employee and then he had a conversation with a male customer about his Batman shirt (Jack's) and then, as we were leaving, he remembered and turned around to the sweet little ladies and said in his biggest boy voice, "Enjoy your ice cream!"

Jack's Visit (Part I) "The Bug Catcher"

2008-07-19T22:12:00.001-05:00

As I've said before, I love to keep the grandchildren one at a time at my house! You really get to see what they are like...their personalities shine when you get them by themselves, away from siblings...

It's Jack's turn. Well, actually, it was Jack's turn last week but Noah came instead because Jack wasn't exactly on his best behavior and, after many "second chances", Melanie finally decided he had to stay home.

He has been here since Thursday and I am thinking I will keep him until Monday, so that he can go to VBS at Greenwood Park tomorrow (Sunday). His congregation in Nashville had their VBS recently and the two bigger kids got to go, but Jack wasn't quite old enough. But don't tell him he didn't go because after hearing Maddy and Noah talk about it, he thinks he went, too! :) That reminds me of the time we were all in Florida, staying at my daddy's house, and Melanie and Jared took Maddy to Disney World. Noah was still a little young, but after Maddy brought him back a Pirate's hat, he thought he went, too. I don't know if he realizes yet that he didn't...But I digress...

So, Jack is here and we've had a great time! It's amazing how $2.12 spent to buy 2 toys at the Dollar Tree can make a 3 1/2-year-old so happy. His two toys were a "Minja" Turtle (it WAS some sort of ninja, but a knockoff at best) and a bug catching kit complete with the bug container, little net and tweezers.

The first several hours he played with the "Minja", then yesterday afternoon he decided to go outside to try and catch some bugs. He wasn't successful...He tried and tried to first catch a big butterfly, then a moth, then a cricket. He was so disgusted with his failure that he found what he thought was a dead spider in my kitchen floor and proceeded to try and pick it up with the tweezers to put in his "catcher". I had to explain to him that, #1 he didn't need to mess with spiders, #2 he probably should try for something live and #3 unfortunately, what he thought to be a dead spider was really just a crumb of some sort on his Dani's not-so-clean kitchen floor.

I finally found the boy a slow moth and he was happy for about 2 minutes until the moth flew up to the lid and for some reason he decided he needed to free it.

So, here are some very cute pictures of Jack, the Bug Catcher (or not)

An Open Letter to My Son-in-Law, Jared

2008-07-06T15:32:00.001-05:00

Dear Jared,

I hope I don't embarrass you too much by publishing this letter for the world (or the tens of people who read my blog) to see. But this is something I feel like sharing because otherwise, many people may never know what an exceptional person you are.

Each year that you are married to our precious daughter, Melanie, I love you more. I think many people know the "funny Jared" and several know the "hard-working Jared"...but I'm not sure how many know the "sensitive Jared".

It's this side of you...the sensitive side...that I want to celebrate in this letter.

And so, I love and appreciate you for :

Loving our daughter and our grandchildren with all your heart
Wanting to be with family on holidays and regular days and embracing our extended family as your own
Giving Steve a precious letter in the airport before we left for Honduras (He still keeps that letter in his Bible and reads it often)
Being so emotional when little Madeline was born. You seemed to be overcome by the awesomeness of bringing a child into the world
Handing little Noah to your dad minutes after he was born and saying, through tears, "I'd like you to meet your grandson, Noah Murl Smalling..."
Agreeing with Melanie when she wanted to be induced with Jack so that Steve "Poppi" could be in the country for the birth
Holding the tiny bundle that was Ruby to your chest, with your face buried in her blanket, crying because your heart was breaking.
Embracing the fact that she would always be a part of the family
Allowing Melanie to grieve for as long as it took...
Being strong for your family when you, too, were grieving...
Being Melanie's "focal point" when she was in labor with Luke...The way you were talking to her constantly in a sweet, soothing voice and she, eyes closed, listening and following, made it seem you were experiencing the contractions along with her
Taking the first week off work after Melanie and Luke came home from the hospital to take care of everything
Putting your family before your job...

Those are just a few reasons why I am thankful to have you in our family. May God richly bless you as you continue to lead your family to heaven.

Love,

Jeanne

Torn Between Two Countries...

2008-07-06T14:02:00.001-05:00

I love my country! We just had a wonderful 4th of July celebration at our house, with all the kids and grandkids present. Only Steve was missing...

He's in Honduras...my other country...and I am still here in the U.S. Before I dropped him off at the airport in Nashville a few weeks ago, he told me that there was nothing I could do right now that was more important than helping our daughter...that she probably needs me more right now than she will ever need me again.

I think that's probably true and I've chosen to stay here at least until the big kids go back to school.

I feel like I NEED to be here...and I definitely WANT to be here, but I do miss Steve and the people in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Our 4th year students have just returned from their 6-month internships and I would love to see them all...especially the children!

But on the other hand, being able to bond with baby Luke the way I have is a gift that I cannot explain in words. I am grateful for this time...not only to help Melanie and Jared but also to get to know this precious baby and feel a connection that is only possible because of the time I've spent with him.

So, although I miss my life in Honduras, I will forever be thankful for this time that I was given to spend with our family here.

Jack Explaining the "Wuvie Wam"

2008-06-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

While I was holding Luke at the Smalling house last week, I made this video of Jack explaining the tiny white lamb blankie that Luke is "holding". Some call it a Lovie Lamb but I like Jack's little dirty-faced pronunciation best..."Wuvie Wam". And I did my best to get him to say it as many times as possible on the video. I hope you enjoy this half as much as I did.

I'll translate the last couple of Jack's sentences: (after I ask him what it is again a couple of times), he says: "uh huh, that's what Nathan has, a Lovie Lamb, Like Luke" And then..."It's for sleeping when you got a blanket on it."

And he's off...

After my week with the grandkids...

2008-06-23T11:54:00.001-05:00

I just spent a week with Melanie, Jared and the kids. Jared took time off from work during the first week Melanie and baby Luke were home. I was honored to be there to help out during the second week. It was an awesome time...fun, hard, hilarious, tiring, special...unforgettable! I loved it!!!

I have several good blog ideas after my time with the grandkids! I also have a couple of good ones about Melanie and Jared. But this one is about how I felt when the week was over. I had three almost simultaneous thoughts/feelings as I returned to our home in Bowling Green:

*How extremely blessed I am

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the grandchildren. Sure, there were a few meltdowns, some tattling and whining that I helped deal with, but the hugs & kisses, bright morning faces, cooking together and tucking in at night definitely outweighed those little incidents.

I loved watching Melanie with baby Luke. She's a nurturing, precious mother who loves her children dearly. It was neat when Jared came home every evening to "Daddy!" from the kiddos and to see him holding the "little" one.

*How I love peace and quiet

As I walked into the house in B.G., I actually said, "Ahhhh..." For the first time in several days, I had complete peace and quiet. If I wanted to go to bed, I could. If I wanted to watch t.v., read, go shopping or do absolutely nothing, I could.

*That Melanie rarely gets to experience this peace and quiet but will one day be where I am.

Melanie can't "go home" to the freedom, peace and quiet I described above. She IS home! Home is an 8 1/2-year-old (going on 13) daughter who is into "all things fairy" right now.

Home is a 6-year-old son (Melanie calls him "her happiness") who is finding his place in the middle of the family.

Home is a 3 1/2-year-old son who is loud, constantly busy and likes to annoy his big brother and sister...but...is just the sweetest, cutest and funniest little boy ever!

Home is a precious 2-week-old baby son who, of course, takes up most of her time right now.

But one day she will turn around and they will be adults! There will be no more toys strewn all over the house or children arguing and tattling or complaining about what she's fixing for supper. One day she, too, will have a peaceful and quiet home, get reacquainted with her husband, enjoy being a grandmother, go to the bathroom alone, have a telephone conversation without a dozen interruptions, do pretty much as she pleases...

That day is not today...

I love you and respect you and Jared so much!

Luke with his best friends

2008-06-09T11:18:00.001-05:00

Maddy wanted a sister...But the minute she saw her new brother, she was totally in love with him! Looks like the feeling is mutual...

She's pretty excited!

Noah also loves his baby brother!

He always wants to be close to him.

Little Jack is so excited to hold Luke! (I have to add that he was the first to "run" into the hospital room and immediately asked to hold him! He kept saying, "I think he wikes me!"

The grandmothers let Jack kiss his baby brother

Mommy is so happy to have all her babies together!

"Let's all see if we can make Luke happy..."

More Luke photos

2008-06-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

Daddy rocking in the hospital

Home with Mommy

Poppi holding Luke in the hospital

Dani holding Luke in the hospital

Two boys chillin' in mom's hospital bed

"I'm fat!"

"I'm VERY fat!"

"My eyes are even fat!"

"But, oh, how adorable I am!"

Luke is hungry....duh!

2008-06-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

I'm hungry, people!

Maybe there's food over here...

How about this side...

My paci...that's nice, but...

My paci AND my big sister, it's getting better...

But.....WHERE'S MOMMY????!!!!

The Story of LUKE, according to Dani

2008-06-09T00:54:00.001-05:00

I like my paci!

All hands on Luke!

They're sticking my foot!

Precious Baby

I will post more photos later...

Luke Wesley Smalling, aka "Blueberry" or "Little Boy Blue", entered safely into this world at 10:15 p.m., Friday, June 6, 2008. THANK YOU, GOD!

You can also read Melanie's and Jared's posts on www.smallingworld.blogspot.com.

As a friend mentioned to me today, if the Smalling family had really wanted to name this baby boy after a fruit, "Blueberry" wouldn't have worked..."Watermelon" would be more appropriate. Funny, Sandra!

Are you sitting down? Our beautiful new grandson weighed 11 pounds, 1 1/4 ounces and is 22 inches long!!! No...I'm not kidding. Our Melanie delivered this son of theirs without the benefit of drugs. What an amazing woman!

I've been waiting for her to blog first because I felt that after what she went through, she should have first blogging rights!

She's still a little tired and for some reason just doesn't have a whole lot of time to write a long blog at this moment, so I'll give some details.

Luke was nice enough to begin hinting to his mommy that it might be time to head for the hospital after we all woke up on Friday morning. We got "the call" from Melanie around 8 a.m. or so (can't remember exactly). Steve and I got ready, picked up Shirley and Gerald (Jared's parents) and headed for Nashville!

On the way, I talked to Melanie and/or Jared a couple of times and realized we had plenty of time to take S & G to the house to keep the kids. We also made a side trip to David & Maggie's house in Hendersonville to let Libby (their dog--formerly ours--we were keeping while they were on vacation) stay at her own house while we were at the hospital.

Anyway...when Steve and I finally got to the hospital around lunchtime, we were hoping things had progressed a lot, but they hadn't. This labor was really different from Melanie's previous ones, which had been pretty fast. With the three full-term babies, she never had time to walk or enjoy her big nice room or laugh and visit and get terribly hungry. The other times, they pretty much got to the hospital and things went fast from there. Coming from Bowling Green each time, we barely made it with Noah and Jack!

Throughout the day, Melanie felt okay...had contractions...sometimes fairly regular; sometimes not, but most of them weren't real strong. She was able to walk around as much as she wanted to and only had to be hooked up to the monitor for 15 minutes out of every hour. Jared and Steve actually felt quite safe in going to a restaurant away from the hospital for dinner. Melanie rested some but was beginning to be pretty tired and HUNGRY!

The guys got back with my dinner around 7:00 p.m. (I'm guessing). Steve and I went to the waiting room so Melanie wouldn't have to smell my food. When we returned, Melanie was in good labor ("good" meaning the kind that gets babies born). She was in the middle of a contraction and deep concentration with Jared inches from her, softly talking her through it.

"Talking her through it" doesn't even begin to describe what my sweet son-in-law was actually doing. I have a feeling Melanie will blog about that experience, so I won't go into great detail here. I will say, however, that I have never loved that boy more than I did during those last few hard hours of labor.

So...Friday night, June 6, 2008, at 10:15, I was blessed to again witness the birth of a grandchild...our daughter's 5th delivery! What an awesome experience to watch MY "baby girl" joyfully, painfully, gratefully bringing a healthy baby of HERS into this world.

Saturday night after I read to, prayed with and tucked in Maddy, Noah and Jack, it hit me...really for the first time since Luke's birth...how smoothly Melanie's pregnancy had gone; how God had seen her through this incredible miracle of childbirth safely; and how He had blessed us all with a perfect, healthy baby boy. Finally, the emotions stored up in this mother/grandmother came pouring out and I hit my knees, thanking God over and over...

More to come later. Right now I'm going to bed!

Melanie is in the hospital!

2008-06-06T16:54:00.000-05:00

Just a minute to let you know Melanie is in labor and is at Baptist Hospital. This one is going to be a little different...she's usually not here long before the babies arrive, but this one is going a little slower. So, we're enjoying getting to just visit at the moment. Will let you know when our new grandson gets here. It is now almost 6 p.m., Friday...

A Family Tradition...

2008-06-03T17:26:00.001-05:00

We always make pancakes for breakfast when the grandkids are here...it started when Maddy was little and I made her bear-shaped pancakes and put mini chocolate chips for the eyes and nose. She has asked for them ever since.

She began helping me make them when she was really young and, as she's gotten older, isn't quite as interested, so the job/privilege has gone to the boys.

But this past visit, she wanted to help.

We usually make them from scratch (even though my favorite taste and texture is from a mix...Aunt Jemima's Original) They don't think the mix is nearly as much fun because they don't have as much to do, I guess.

We will continue to have pancakes for breakfast when grandkids are here...not always bear shaped but always with chocolate chips...as long as they keep asking for them.

Summer Haircuts for Noah and Jack

2008-06-03T17:11:00.001-05:00

Are these not the cutest little boys ever???

Even with Jack and his little dirty face...

I just wanted to eat them up!!!

Madeline, the seamstress

2008-06-03T17:05:00.001-05:00

maddy spent 4 nights at our house this past week. when she was here with the boys a week ago, she asked if we could make a dress together.

she has made pillows in the past, as you can see in this picture. (she made the 2 little pillows in front.) she got a real barbie sewing machine for christmas from her dani and, unfortunately, we haven't had that much time to sew together since then.

but now she wanted to make a dress. not just any dress, though...she wanted to make a water fairy dress! it seems she and some friends at school are into fairies and since maddy is a water fairy, her dress of course needed to be sea blue. it also needed to be sparkly.

we went to the fabric store and found all the perfect items to make this dress. i cut it out but maddy actually sewed the seams of the skirt and helped glue on the sequins.

she did not use her barbie sewing machine for this dress because i was afraid the seams wouldn't be strong enough. she actually used my little singer and she did a great job!

sweet water fairy

water fairy with an attitude!

with poppi

when we got to her house, she couldn't wait to model her new dress for her mama and brothers--complete with lip gloss, without which she wouldn't come out of her room.

with brother, noah

i have been looking forward to the day when we would sew together ever since i took her to joann's when she was about a year and a half and let her feel, smell and play with drapery fabric that i would roll around her and hoped the sales ladies didn't see us... :) she just "ooh'd and ahh'd" over it and would say "piddy"...

i got my wish...

Jack, the "interesting" one

2008-05-28T01:02:00.001-05:00

Let me preface this by saying none of the pictures below were made this weekend. I don't know how Melanie ever remembers to take pictures AND take care of 3 young'uns!

After Noah was at our house for 2 nights, Monday afternoon I went over to Shirley's to pick up the other two grandchildren, since Shirley had to go to work Tuesday morning.

Everyone was already tired from having been at grandparents' houses over the weekend, so I didn't expect it to be smooth sailing after all 3 got together. The boys are extremely competitive and really love to pick on each other. Maddy, of course, is just the normal first-born, bossy sister, mother-type!

But today I want to focus on Jack. He is absolutely precious, funny, truly "interesting", (I'm not just using that word so I don't have to use a negative one...) loving, etc. But...(you knew there was one coming didn't you?) he can be a "challenge" sometimes. (In this case, I did use that word instead of a negative one...) :)

Almost as soon as we got to the house, and while I was trying to fix one of their favorite dinners...chicken fingers and mashed potatoes...Jack sort of had one of his "meltdowns". He kept ramming a little riding toy into furniture, cabinets, people...I gave him a couple of warnings, actually, and told him if he did it again, he had to sit in the "time-out chair".

He did it again. Duh! He's 3 1/2! I found out just how strong he is! As he was lying in the floor having a little hissy fit, saying, "No! No! No!", the other 2 were rather enjoying the fact that they weren't the ones getting in trouble. Maddy was being her little bossy self and trying to get him to get up while Noah was grinning and saying, "He does that all the time."

I pointed away from the kitchen and said, "Go!" They went...

Well, I just made up my mind I was going to come out the winner in round 1 so, hopefully, there wouldn't be a round 2! Picking up a strong, solid 3 1/2 year old (who would prefer to eat the dead bug on the floor over by the window rather than sit in that chair) and setting him in the chair...and...keeping him there is no easy feat! He tried his best to get down but I held him in the chair and during a lull in his saying, "No! No! No!...", I explained that his 3 minutes did not start until he was quiet and staying in the chair.

Well, miracle of miracles happened and he just "let go". Sweet as he could be...sat in that chair like a little man without saying a word while I set the timer. Good boy, Jack! And congrats to Dani for winning Round 1!

But.....there was a round 2 about 15 minutes later...same issue...ramming the riding toy into everything in site. The difference in Round 2 was that all I had to say was, "Jack, 3 minutes in the 'time-out chair'". I led him to it with absolutely no resistance!

Awesome! So, what's the big deal with taking care of 3 kids? It's a sinch, right? ... Um...no...not really. We did the time-out chair a couple more times before we took the grandkids home today. And we had a couple of other little battles about other issues, but...

Besides the fact that we love these kids with all our hearts and enjoy nothing better than having them stay with us and just being around them...following are a couple of reasons that everything I described above is totally worth it!

I was lying down with Jack this afternoon for his nap...I don't always do this but I didn't sleep well last night and needed a nap, too! I was almost asleep when I felt this little hand on my shoulder and it gently made it's way down my arm to my hand...several times...Very sweet plus it felt great. Then the little hand was on top of my head and gently stroking my face. After a bit, I opened my eyes and asked, "Jack, why are you being so sweet to Dani?" He replied, "Because I wuv you..."------scene fades to Dani's heart melting...
I don't know this whole story because it happened to Steve and you know...he's a man of few words...But Jack walked up to him and said, "You're a good Poppi!" ...scene fades to Poppi's heart melting...
3) Putting him to bed at night. He always says, "Dani, sweep wis me"...hard to resist, but I did. We read, sang and prayed and, with threat of turning off the hall light, he settled in with the big white bear in bed with him...I didn't hear a peep the whole night. What a good boy!

I don't think he has any idea what's about to happen in his life...he's about to be a big brother. We're not expecting too terribly much in the way of help from him...we're just really hoping he doesn't try to teach Luke to sword fight anytime soon...

Note to grandmothers and future grandmothers:

You absolutely have no idea how awesome it is to see a child that is in this world partly because of you! The love I felt the first time i laid eyes on each grandbaby is completely indescribable. Just wait...if you don't already, you'll understand one day...

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of children and grandchildren! I pray that I can just be a tiny bit worthy of such wonderful blessings.

My Funny Noah

2008-05-27T00:37:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Bowling Green from Honduras very early on Saturday morning. (As Melanie's high school band teacher, Mr. Morrison, used to say, at "O'Dark-Thirty"!

Jared brought the kiddos to Shirley's (Memaw) house on Saturday afternoon and, since Noah had reminded Melanie several times that it was "his" turn for the special "1 kid at a time visit" at Dani's and Poppi's, we went over to pick him up later that afternoon.

First, let me say that Shirley is wonder-woman when it comes to keeping all three kids at the same time and giving Melanie, in particular, a break. Since it was going to be a holiday weekend and she had Monday off, she had wanted to keep them all for the weekend.

Second, it's not that I don't ever keep all three, but since we're out of the country most of the time, we really, really love having "one-on-one" (or I guess I should say, "two-on-one") time with the kids. They seem to really enjoy this, too, because with 3 active kids in the family (soon to be 4!), it's ~~sometimes~~ always (I got that from Melanie...the strike-through one word and change to another; also, the "putting half my words in parentheses...) lol I can't remember what I was going to say now...anyway, you get the picture.

Okay, so anyway...to the subject of this post...

Noah is really funny!

Here are some of the memorable conversations we had this weekend:

Noah (with sad look): "Dani, I'm kinda worried about something."

Dani: "Oh, honey, what are you worried about?"

Noah: "Well, I'm not ready to go home yet."

Dani: "Well, you're in luck...it's Saturday and you don't have to go home until Tuesday"

Sad look disappears; Noah goes off to play

Steve: "Noah, do you have a girlfriend?"

Noah (in a matter-of-fact manner): "Yes."

Dani: "Does she like you, too?"

Noah: "Yes."

Dani: "Noah, why do the little girls always like you?"

Noah (without missing a beat, and quite serious): "Because I'm so cute!"

Noah: walks into the kitchen where I was on the computer and says, "Dani, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

(Let me interject that he asked Melanie the same question out of the blue Saturday before leaving for Bowling Green...she laughed and said, "I doubt it; what are you thinking" to which he replied, "I think that the baby is going to come while I'm at Dani's house. (Pause) Do I have to come home if he does?")

...back to our conversation...

Dani (laughing hysterically...remembering the story above): "You little funny boy! I don't know, what are you thinking???"

Noah: "No, you tell me what you are thinking."

Dani: "I'm thinking what a handsome little boy you are!"

Noah: "Me too!"

God love him....I know I sure do!

Thank you, God, for Friends...

2008-05-21T14:24:00.001-05:00

I have many wonderful friends and one day I'll write about them...

But today I just want to tell Melanie's friends how much I love and appreciate them for all they've done for my precious daughter.

I know you probably don't read my blog, but maybe Melanie will link to it so you'll see it and read this post.

In September 2006, when Melanie and Jared's little angel baby, Ruby Anne, died about 3 1/2 months before she was due, their friends were amazing! I don't know how to really explain in words just how amazing they were...but let's just say they there for them in every way. Melanie's girlfriends gave her precious and incredible gifts, they picked up the other children and took them home to play with their children, they brought food, they took Melanie out for lunch or just dropped by to chat for a few minutes, they sent her notes and cards and prayed for her and with her. Steve and I were so amazed by how much these friends looked like Jesus during this time. We will absolutely NEVER forget this! I would mention your names but I'm sure I'd leave someone out and I'd never want to do that.

Last week some of Melanie's sweet friends gave her a baby shower for little Luke Wesley Smalling who will, God willing, be welcomed by all of us into the world very soon. What a precious thing to do for a mama who is almost 9 months pregnant, tired, doesn't sleep much, takes care of 3 other very active children and a husband and is waiting patiently for this new little miracle to arrive...all the while, still remembering the baby she wasn't allowed to keep.

"Thank you" just isn't sufficient to express how much I appreciate you for this, but it will have to do, I guess. It and these words I have written. Steve and I both love you all for loving our daughter and her family with the love of Christ.

God bless each of you and your families!

Bible Reading

2008-05-06T13:32:00.001-05:00

I just began "reading through the Psalms every month"...again. There are 150 Psalms and if you read 5 of them each day, you will finish the book in 30 days.

Today I read Chapters 26-30 and here are the verses that "jumped out": (All are from New International Version)

26:2-3 "Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, an I walk continually in your truth."

27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?"

27:4 "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

27:11 "Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path..."

27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord"

28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

30:4-5 "Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

30:11-12 "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark

2008-05-06T10:29:00.001-05:00

A friend sent this to me and I just love it!!! Thanks, Elaine...

ONE: Don't miss the boat.

TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat.

THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, Someone may ask you to do something really big.

FIVE: Don't listen to critics; Just get on with the job that needs to be done.

SIX: Build your future on high ground.

SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.

TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; The Titanic by professionals.

ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Jack's Visit

2008-05-05T14:27:00.001-05:00

In March, little Jack got his turn to come visit at our house in B.G. all by himself. I love having each of the children individually because it gives us such a special time together. Especially with Jack, I try to not have anything else on my agenda for the time he's there. He is so much fun! He's very funny, cuddly and just an interesting little boy.

So, anyway, I was checking my email or something on the computer and had just given him a package of Scooby Doo snacks which are shaped like doggie bones. He came over and asked, "Dani, can I have a dog bowl for these?" Well, I gave him a bowl, thinking he was pretending to feed his "pretend" dog. No... This is why he wanted it...

If a tree falls in the forest...

2008-05-04T00:06:00.001-05:00

Well, our house in B.G. isn't technically in the forest, but it IS a log cabin in the woods and a tree DID fall this spring in the front yard. It's pretty big, huh?

Jack's Pirate Quilt

2008-05-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

I posted not long ago about needing to make a baby quilt for the new baby boy due around the end of this month. I also mentioned that I first needed to make Jack's, who is 3 1/2!!!

I forgot to take pictures but Melanie did for me and here it is...front and back. I used the pirate fabric for the back and cut out figures from that same fabric and hand appliqued them to blocks on the front.

I'm working on the new baby boy's quilt now. I'm using lots of different blue prints to make 12 squares of "Overall Bill". The back will be solid blue.

Another Tag

2008-04-23T11:45:00.001-05:00

This came from Melanie's (my daughter) blog: www.smallingworld.blogspot.com

Welcome to the 2008 edition of Getting to Know Your Friends! Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:10…without my alarm

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Bucket Dreams

4. What is your favorite TV show? Biggest Loser; Lost; American Idol

5. What did you have for breakfast? Leftover homemade rolls, split and toasted in a skillet with butter and strawberry jelly

6. What is your middle name? Carol

7. What food do you dislike? Liver

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? It’s weird, but I’m not really a CD person… However, sometimes I just turn Melanie’s music on that’s on her blog and listen to that while I’m working

9. What kind of car do you drive? 1999 Dodge Caravan (in the U.S.); I don’t drive in Honduras (I should blog about why sometime…)

10. Favorite sandwich? Smoked turkey on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and avacado

11. What characteristic do you despise? dishonesty

12. Favorite item of clothing? A black skirt that I seem to wear often in Honduras with a variety of shirts

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy--Tuscany

14. Favorite brand of clothing? n/a…I buy what’s on sale and looks decent on me

15. Where would you retire to? Bowling Green, KY or Nashville, TN probably

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? When I turned 53, in 2004. That meant I had lived longer than my mother who died at 52.

17. Favorite sport to watch? College basketball

18. What is the farthest place this email will go? The farthest place this “blog” will go is probably to the U.S. (I’m writing it in Honduras)

19. Person you expect to send it back first? ?

20. When is your birthday? February 4

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night most definitely!

22. What is your shoe size? 9

23. Pets? U.S.— We had Libby (Boston Terrier) but she lives with David and Maggie now. Honduras – a little gecko who lives in the window above Steve’s chair in the living room! J They eat mosquitos…

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Nothing now, but I’ll be sure to let everyone know when my new grandbaby is born!

25. What did you want to be when you were little? teacher, mommy, nurse, missionary

26. How are you today? Better rested than usual…I actually got more than 4 hours sleep!

27. What is your favorite candy? Something with milk chocolate and nuts

28. What is your favorite flower? rose

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Whichever day my new grandson will be born…end of May/first of June!!!

30. What is your full name? Jeanne Carol (Segraves) White

31. What are you listening to right now? Our messenger at Baxter leaving on his motorcycle…the outside sounds of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

32. What was the last thing you ate? See #5

33. Do you wish on stars? no

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? bittersweet

35. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Melanie

36. Favorite soft drink? Diet fountain Coke with just a little root beer (non-diet) mixed in

37. Favorite restaurant? La Cumbre (on a mountaintop outside of Tegucigalpa, overlooking the city)

38. Hair color? Hum….until recently it was highlighted with blonde, then I decided I wanted to see how much gray I had, so I am currently letting it get back to natural. Answer to my own question? LOTS!!!

39. What was your favorite toy as a child? My little red record player I got for Christmas one year. My daddy worked in a café with a jukebox and the guy who serviced it gave him about 100 records (singles)!!! Oldies…even then

40. Summer or winter? Winter

41. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

42. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate

43. Coffee or tea? Hot: coffee/Cold:tea

44. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes

45. When was the last time you cried? Monday when I read the blog that Melanie mentioned on her post http://conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com

46. What is under your bed? Nothing…unless you count dust bunnies

47. What did you do last night? Had dinner at home (chicken/black bean quesadillas), watched NCIS and worked on the new grandson’s quilt!

48. What are you afraid of? heights

49. Salty or sweet? Sweet…then salty…then sweet…then salty…you get the picture…

50. How many keys on your key ring? 6

51. How many years at your current job? 3 years, 9 months

52. Favorite day of the week? Saturday when I just spend time doing stuff at our apartment

53. How many towns have you lived in? 6 (some of those multiple times)

54. Do you make friends easily? I make acquaintances easily…good friends with a little more difficulty

55. How many people will you send this to? Whoever reads my blog.

56. How many will respond? 2 maybe 3

Tagged

2008-04-21T11:41:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged!

Here's how this one works...
1. The rules are posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and ask them to read your blog.

What I was doing 10 years ago:
1) Spending time with the Hilltoppers for Christ as secretary at the Christian Student Center in Bowling Green
2) Got my first passport and made my first trip to Honduras (Steve had major surgery in Tegucigalpa!)
3) Sent 2 children to Harding University (David’s 1st year of college and Melanie’s 3rd year, transferring from WKU)

Five things on my to do list for today:
1) See Michelle off at the airport in Tegucigalpa
2) Call Melanie to check on my new grandson-to-be
3) Finish the post for my “jeanneinhonduras” blog
4) “Food Saver” all the meat I bought yesterday
5) Have a quiet evening at home with Steve (after having company for the past 4 days)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1) Build an awesome new clinic here at Baxter
2) Build new married student apartments and a visitor’s center at Baxter
3) Give lots to local congregation
4) Give each of our children $1 million
5) Send all of our grandchildren to college
6) Buy a low-maintenance house to retire in, big enough for all the current and future grandkids…with a pool, and lots of fun stuff for them to do
7) Travel
8) Have a live-in masseuse! (That might be #1)

Three of my bad habits:
1) eating while I’m reading
2) leaving my shoes wherever I take them off
3) picking my toenails (that was hard to admit!)

Five places I have lived:
1) El Dorado, Arkansas
2) Searcy, Arkansas
3) Oxford, Mississippi
4) Farmington, Arkansas
5) Bowling Green, Kentucky
6) Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Five jobs I have had:
1) Working in a florist
2) Secretary
3) Receptionist
4) Billing clerk
5) Missionary

Five People I Want to Know More About:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

My crazy sons

2008-04-14T11:30:00.001-05:00

Melanie wrote about the birthday celebration on Saturday. It was David's actual birthday and such fun getting together, even if for a short time. We also celebrated Sarah's birthday, April 23, which is after we return to Honduras.

When my boys get together, they are ~~crazy~~ crazier than usual. It's like they are a comic team...each taking his turn as comic and side kick. They were all sitting down already in the restaurant when Steve and I arrived and shortly after I sat down, David said (loud enough for others sitting around us to hear), "Well, Mom's been sober for 2 weeks now," to which Philip replied (without missing a beat), "It hasn't been 2 weeks!" Those boys! Gotta love 'em...they're too old to put up for adoption!

This is not the most flattering picture of my boys, but...hey...it serves them right, don't you think?

I love you guys!

Time with my Daddy

2008-04-11T11:46:00.001-05:00

I spent a week in Florida visiting my daddy recently. I was born and spent the first 18 years of my life in ElDorado, Arkansas but Daddy has lived in Florida for 30 years.

This is my daddy. Isn't he handsome?

He is 82...born during the depression, was in WWII and is the greatest story-teller I know. I could just sit and listen to him for hours (and actually, I do!) talking about his childhood, his father dying when he was 15, working in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and his year in Burma and China during WWII.

He was 18 years old in this photo which was taken when he first joined the U.S. Army. He asked my mother to wait for him before "going off to war" and when he returned home in 1945, they were married.

I love hearing Daddy talk about "the war", his life with my mama, Jean,

raising 3 children during the 50's and 60's, working at Woody's Grill in El Dorado, Arkansas and later owning The Coffee Cup, losing my mother to cancer when she was only 52,

marrying Betty in 1978 and moving to Florida, losing his Betty in 1999 and continuing with his life in the little town in Florida.

Daddy sometimes talks of going back to his old stompin' grounds of Walnut Ridge and Lynn, Arkansas. Everyone needs to dream and he dreams of having a house in the country, going to town every couple of weeks or so but otherwise, pretty much being a hermit. His home would include a little piece of land, a plow, a dog and a mule. (I wanted to include a photo here of the house he was born in, but my scanner isn't working at the moment.)

Daddy loves living in Florida...he loves warm weather and doesn't miss the cold at all. Both my brothers live in the same town as Daddy and he really loves that! But he still considers himself an Arkansan and always will. He loves the people, the way of life there, his family ties and roots and even the dirt. Things just grow better in Arkansas dirt, you know...

After my week in Florida, Daddy spent a week at our house in Bowling Green, Kentucky. We took a little road trip together and visited his oldest sister, Lucille, who is in a nursing home in Sedalia, Missouri. We also had lunch with Daddy's childhood sweetheart, Wanda, who lives in St. Louis.

My times with my daddy grow more special with each year, each visit.

...I treasure you, Daddy...

How Can I Have Been Married 33 Years When I'm Only 25!!!???

2008-03-10T16:09:00.000-05:00

Thirty-three years have gone by since I married the love of my life. I’d love to post some pictures from way back then, but since we didn’t have digital cameras in the dark ages and all my photos are in the U.S. and I’m in Honduras right now…that’s not possible. Maybe someday I’ll do that. But, believe me…we were young…very young!

Just as God’s hand can be seen in so many areas of my life, it definitely is obvious in how Steve and I came to be.

I graduated from Harding University in 1974, moved back home to ElDorado, Arkansas and went to work at J.M. Poultry Packing Co., Ltd. as a receptionist. My major was “Secretarial Science”. I know, I know…it’s what we called a “rinky-dink major” back in the day. But, it’s what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to stay in my hometown, living with my parents but really didn’t know what else to do at the time.

In October, I received a call from David Burks (current president of Harding) who was a teacher in the Business Department and Director of Placement at that time. He needed a secretary and my major business teacher had recommended me for the job. Dr. Burks had offered me a job and asked me to move back to Searcy, Arkansas.

The week before I received that phone call, I had prayed this prayer (basically): “Lord, I have tried to make plans for my life and they’ve fallen through. I now turn my life over to you. Please show me where you want me to go. Please help me find the person I am to spend the rest of my life with…But above all, please let me be content wherever I am, even if it is in ElDorado, Arkansas!”

Also, about that same time, I had been offered a promotion from receptionist to secretary which I turned down. My reason was that I did not plan to stay in ElDorado.

When I received the call from Harding, I immediately said, “Yes!” When I hung up the phone, I thought to myself, “What have I done?! I just spent the last 4 ½ years of my life in the little town of Searcy, Arkansas. Why did I just agree to go back there?” But, deep down I knew why. I believed that this was God’s answer to prayer.

My first day of work was, I believe, Monday, October 14, 1974. Since I worked in the Placement Office, there were constantly senior business majors in the office interviewing with companies who came on campus for the purpose of possibly hiring these students when they graduated.

So, on that first day a tall guy walked into the office named Steve White. I wasn’t impressed…He had on what could be considered today the ugliest suit ever…however, at the time, it was only mildly repulsive. He wore thick-framed glasses and was wearing a brace because he had broken his collarbone in a game of “rag-tag” football with his club over the weekend. His hair was still wet from his morning shower (or was it “Brylcreem…a little dab’ll do ya”?).

There was another secretary working in the office named Linda. She, her husband, Bob, and Steve had all lived in Tempe, Arizona a couple of years before and got to know each other at church. Anyway, Linda was always trying to “fix him up” with one girl or another on campus. I was no exception.

As soon as Steve came into the office, Linda said, “Steve, I’d like you to meet Jeanne, our new SINGLE secretary, to which Steve replied, “Hum…I was trying to see her left hand.” She and her husband proceeded to talk to Steve every chance they got, encouraging (bugging!?) him to ask me out. They just knew we’d be the perfect couple. Actually, I don’t think it mattered who I was…they just wanted him to “find someone”.

It took a while…but not that long. On Saturday, November 2, we had our first date. Steve gave me a rose when he came to pick me up. We went to “The Pizza House” for dinner and then to a concert on campus. The group was pretty good…I can’t remember if they were Elvis or Beatles impersonators. When he took me home, he talked about how he was tired of the “dating games” and was ready to find the person he would marry. I remember thinking, “Thank you, God!”

We were older than most of our single friends. He was 26 and I was 23. Anyway, he said a prayer and then kissed my hand. I told a friend the next day, after she asked how my date went, that I hoped we fell in love because I thought Steve was the kind of man I wanted to marry.

To make a long story short (oh…too late for that…), we were engaged in December, the night before Steve left to go home for Christmas break. We were married on March 8, 1975!

I had been telling my mother about this fellow I was dating and that we were getting serious. So, when I went home for Christmas, we went shopping for my wedding dress! At this time, she had still never met Steve. People ask how my parents handled the news that I was engaged after only knowing this person for less than 2 months. What can I say? They trusted me and my decision.

Our wedding was simple. I only had one attendant. Karen Crawford Kilmer, a long-time friend from home, was my matron of honor. Steve’s stepfather, Tom Cochran, was his best man. My brother, Jen, married us. We spent our first night not 2 miles from my parents’ house at a King’s Inn. The next morning, we drove 15 miles to Smackover, Arkansas and went to church before heading off on our honeymoon.

We didn’t have any money. As a matter of fact, I didn’t get an engagement ring. Steve said we could either get married without the engagement ring or I could get a ring but we’d have to wait to get married. I chose not to have the ring.

Steve was going to school on the G.I. Bill and his part-time job on campus. I had a job that paid $400 a month (before deductions)! We bought our wedding bands (which we still both wear) from Sears in Little Rock, Arkansas. We decided to just drive to the gulf coast of Louisiana for our honeymoon. So, that’s what we did. When we got there, it was cool and cloudy, so all we did was wade in the water and then head back to Arkansas. Exciting, huh? Oh, but that’s not the best part…

We went to Avery Island near New Iberia, Louisiana, and toured the Tabasco Factory. Exciting, huh? I always say…we had a “hot” time on our honeymoon. By the way, if you’d like to see how Tabasco sauce is made, go to http://www.tabasco.com/popup/auth_audio_tour/ . Now, don’t you all bombard the website all at once! When asked why Steve decided to take his bride to the Tabasco Plant on their honeymoon, he replies, “It was free!”

Steve had a Conoco credit card which, at that time, you could use for gas and also at Best Western motels. So, that’s where we stayed! On the way home, we stopped at my parents’ house in ElDorado and spend the night. Then we got back to Searcy and to our apartment (which we lovingly called “the bomb shelter”) on either March 13 or 14…maybe I have this written down somewhere but I cannot remember the date exactly. We woke up the next morning to a gorgeous winter wonderland of snow! Several inches of the white stuff all over Harding’s campus in the middle of March. We got married the weekend before Spring Break so the campus was deserted when we took our walk through the snow that day! We truly felt that we were the only two people in the world at that moment…

Well, we’ve had our ups and downs over the years, just as everyone does. When telling people how many years we’ve been married, Steve thinks it’s funny to say, “Yep…we’ve had 25 happy years together!” (He says that even when we’ve been married 33!) Funny boy… But I wouldn’t trade all of our experiences together…good and bad…for anything in the world.

I remember wondering back when we were raising kids what our life would be like together after the kids were gone. You read and hear of so many couples who completely lose touch with each other and, after the kids are gone, find they have nothing in common anymore. Thank God that did not happen with us! We are closer now and have more fun together now than we ever have.

We also talk about our aches and pains. We talk about our kids and grandkids. We talk about our work here at Baxter. We talk about what we will do when our time at Baxter is done. We aren’t quite to the point…yet… where we talk seriously about long-term care, etc., etc...but that time is coming. If it is God’s will, we still have lots of talking to do, lots of places to see and several new grandchildren in our future. But only He knows how many more anniversaries we will celebrate together.

All I know is that, we’ve had 33 great ones! Thanks for putting up with my eccentricity, honey…