July 2009

This past week was a week of firsts!! This was the first week that I spent helping take care of my new granddaughters without Amy to help. Nikki is doing a great job as the mother of twins. I knew she would. The babies are thriving and becoming more "little girls" everyday. Eli is such a joy to be around. He makes me laugh everyday. Even though MY little boy (Josh) is a man with a family of his own, I still appreciate the time we spend together. Below is a picture I took of the girls with their bunnies that my niece Christie gave them.

This week was also the week that my oldest grandson Trip started to kindergarten. His elementary school is year around. So on Thursday he boarded the school bus (or Twinkie as my kids called it) and was off to a whole new world. It is hard to let go but exciting to see him change and grow as an individual. His younger brother Quinn is anticipating starting to school in a couple of years. He can't wait to ride the bus.

This week I started on Baby Scoggins' quilt. I love making them for my family. I hope that when they look at them years from now they will see the love I try to add.

Grandmother of Five!

Those precious girls are finally here! Annabel June and Harper Naomi were born June 19, 2009. The above video is Eli and his sisters' first photo session. Before Amy & Chuck got married, I wanted to make something for them. I don't sew well, I always think I sew better than I do and then am disappointed with the results. I am sure it is because it is a skill that I don't practice enough. I love to cross stitch and saw a movie where the women were discussing that in the 1800's someone would make a appliqued quilt for the bride that would “tell her story”. So I decided to tell Amy & Chuck's story with cross stitch. I created a large center square with their names and when they would be married. The left side is Amy's, the right is Chuck's, there are smaller squares with the name of the hospitals and dates they were born, schools, street addresses where they lived, churches, friend's names, hobbies, etc. I wanted it to be a snapshot of their life up to that point. After it was done, two of my aunts quilted it for me. When Trip was born, I made a baby quilt for him. My aunts were no longer quilting, so I had it machine quilted. Since then I have made a similar wedding quilt for Nikki & Josh and baby quilts for Quinn & Eli. When I found out that the twins were both girls, I got started on their quilts. I wondered at times if I wasn't a little over ambitious but I was already committed by that time. It took me 4 months (almost to the day). I worked most weeks, 7 days, 6 hours a day. I have no idea how many stitches were crossed, but I do know that the hedgehog alone in Harper's quilt had more than 6000 stitches. When I took it in to have the machine quilting done, the owner was showing the quilts to some customers. This man looked at me said, “you should make these and sell them”. The owner laughed and said, “this is a labor of love, no one would pay what these are worth”. Below are my labors of love.

You can click on them to enlarge.

Ready for the Masters?

The last time we were visiting Josh & family, Josh was working late. Eli got out his new putting green that his PawPaw had given him. After just a few missed shots and one two-putt shot, he got a hole in one!! I am saving this for his Masters reel, shown around the world. Ignore Grandpap in the background and enjoy.

Symmetry

I have been thinking about symmetry lately. I find comfort in symmetry, balance, patterns. I guess it is just part of my personality. Scott is a people person, I am much more of a people observer. I think I am trying to find the patterns in people's responses and actions. In my working life, the two careers that lasted the longest was a caseworker for Family & Children Services and a computer programmer/analyst. As a caseworker I dealt with chaos every day. It was very stressful for me and I was very happy to leave that job. But with computers, I enjoyed the symmetry and logic of programming and analysis. I love working on puzzles. The process is just as enjoyable for me as finding the solution. I love cross stitching, for every left to right stitch, there is a right to left stitch, symmetry. The wonderful news of doubling the number of our grandchildren this year led me to thinking about patterns. I know you are wondering what patterns are involved (also probably thinking, how weird, but it is who I am).

We have 2 children
Our children will each have 3 children
Trip was born in 2003 (1)
Quinn & Eli in 2005 (2 more after 2 years)
Annabel, Harper and Baby Scoggins in 2009 (3 more after 4 years)
Oh... and I have no problem getting more weird – (in order of their birth) Trip (4 letters), Quinn (5), Elijah (6), Annabel (7), Harper (6), so I guess that means Amy & Chuck should be thinking about a 5 letter name.

My grandchildren – symmetry:

Mulan

This past weekend we went to Roswell to see our niece, Lauren, in the play Mulan at the Rosewater Theatre. Lauren is a very talented 14 year old and did a wonderful job. It was also an occasion for all of my sisters to get together. I am always glad when those opportunities occur. Below is a picture of Lauren after the play and one of "the sisters".

Babies Shower

Christy gave a baby(ies) shower for Nikki this past Saturday. As expected, she received lots of pink girly things, as well as actual practical things. The following are some pics I took. The first is Nikki & Christy. Hanging behind them are Nikki's baby dresses. The second is Eli & Christy releasing the shower balloons. Eli loves Curious George books. In one George floated away after grabbing a bunch of balloons, so Eli would only hold and release a few at a time. The last one is Eli doing a victory dance after scoring a soccer goal in the living room with Uncle Burt & Daddy. His dad suggested the dance.

Trip's First Soccer Game

Today was the first organized sports game of my oldest grandchild!! Trip is playing in Upward Soccer at their church. His team is 4 & 5 year old boys. I thought they did really well since they only had one practice and didn't play an actual game until this morning. Their second practice was rained out. Trip is in a blue shirt with a long sleeve white shirt underneath. Go Beavers!!

Eli Singing and His Sisters

While visiting Josh, Nikki & Eli this past weekend, Eli starting singing the theme song from the TV show Cops. Nikki asked him where he learned it and he said from one of the boys at daycare. I thought I would share it. He is really communicating with and about his sisters. He will go up to Nikki and say, "I want to give my babies a kiss", and kiss her belly. One time he told her he wanted to feel his babies move. He put his hand on her belly and laughed when he felt it. I asked him if they were dancing and he said, "no, one of my sisters made the other one laugh".

Circle of Life

Last weekend we were going to visit Josh, Nikki & Eli in Buford and attend a surprise birthday party for our friend, Eddie Mayfield. Eli had a virus all week and Nikki kept him home. We drove down on Thursday night, so we could keep Eli and they could both work on Friday. We arrived after he had gone to bed, so the first time I saw him was when he woke up Friday morning. The video below is what he was wearing. It is an old little league ball uniform that Josh had worn many years ago. It won't be long until it fits him and he is stepping up to bat just like his dad. I can't believe how fast my grandchildren are growing!

Juror No. 5

I received a summons for jury duty a few weeks ago. I have been a registered voter for 38 years. I have received only 3 jury summons previously. Two, I called the night before I was to report as directed and was told they didn't need me. One, I went but when they found out my husband was a police officer, they sent me home. I was not surprised that they called me but was surprised when both the state and defense chose me. They asked my job as well as Scott's before we retired. The case was about a home invasion. The family who did not speak a lot of English were asleep in their beds, parents and two small children, when 4 men with guns kicked open their door at around 3:00 in the morning. The parents were tied up, the children were put in a closet. Both parents cried on the stand as they told how they believed they all would be killed. I can not imagine the terror of the situation, with it only compounded by the fact that these men were screaming at them and they didn't understand most of what was being said. One man, a drug addict, confessed and named the defendant in our case as being the leader. The defendant was an admitted drug dealer. Our duty was to listen to all of these people from a world that is so different from our own. Take all of the evidence and try to decide which of these unsavory people were likely to be telling the truth more than another. I felt like taking a shower each night when I got home. The case was finished and we started our deliberations on Thursday around 10:00 am. We took an inital vote and it was 6 guilty, 3 not guilty, 3 unsure. By the time they sent us home it was 9 guilty and 3 not guilty. This morning it was 10 guilty and 2 not guilty, by 11:00 it was 11 guilty and 1 not guilty. We got a chalk board and diagramed and discussed for hours. It seemed that the not guilty votes were a result of not understanding some of the testimony or evidence. Once we found out what the misunderstandings were, everyone agreed to a guilty verdict. We all talked about how uneasy we were going back to the community, many have jobs where they contact the public everyday. We knew that the defendant's family and friends were remembering our faces, checking out our cars, and just generally trying to intimidate us. It was scary, but I have done my due diligence and am very glad it is over.

Snow 2009

We had our first snowfall last night. It was only about an inch, maybe two. I know for you who live further north (or midwest) this is nothing. I am sure it is because we get so little that we still love it! Scott said that he had problems getting the truck out of our driveway. We have two hills between the house and the road, one is steeper than the other so we had to pave it. It was very icy but there was hardly any snow the closer he got to town. The schools are closed today for a teacher's workday, so the kids that did get snow won't even benefit.

Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas!! It is rare and very special when all of our family can be together. We enjoyed our "new" traditions, cookie making for Santa on Christmas Eve, cookout at the firepit, and mandatory pictures. Thanks to those who photographed and allowed us to photograph. Below are a few of the pictures.

Top Five Things I am Thankful For

I may be biased but this is one cute kid!!

As I was being thankful this past weekend, I guess my top five would be:

1. God and His unending and amazing mercy and love

2. My family

3. My friends

4. Good health

5. My memories of my life so far and my dreams of the future

I was going to put Georgia Tech beating Georgia for the first time in SEVEN years but that would just be tacky. We had a great Thanksgiving. Those of us who could went to our family cabin in Ellijay. We missed Carol & her family and Amy & hers. We celebrated the fact that our family will increase next year (see Number 2 above). When I thought of Number 5, I thought of all of our past that makes us what we are and without hopes and dreams the future seems very dismal. So thank you God, family and friends for Thanksgiving 2008.

Eli is THREE!

Saturday was Eli's third birthday. He is the youngest of our grandsons (15 days younger than Quinn). We had a wonderful celebration with family and friends. Sharon, Nikki and Christy all contributed to the making of his cake - Rocket from the Little Einsteins. He sang the theme song for us while they were decorating the cake. I don't know why in this photo Rocket looks orange, it wasn't. Sharon got the red color perfect. See Nikki's blog for his 3 year old pictures.

Three Unplanned Reunions

Last weekend we had three unplanned reunions. Scott's mom died after a short illness. She was our last surviving parent. Carolyn Rae Bryner Puckett became my mother-in-law almost 36 years ago. She told me on our wedding day to call her Mom because I was her daughter now. Scott's dad was from Carrollton, GA and is buried there, so Scott's mom was buried beside him. We celebrated her life and mourned her death on Friday. We had not seen the Carrollton relatives for several years. It was really good to reconnect with them, swap email addresses and phone numbers. Scott's sister, Rhonda, and her family (13) came from New Jersey; his brother, Bryan, and his family (4) from Illinois; his brother, Glenn, and his family from N.C. (3). That was our first unplanned reunion. Quinn celebrated his THIRD birthday during that time, so we had a party for him on Sunday. Several members of my family (sisters, nieces) came. That was reunion number two. Amy, Chuck, Trip & Quinn had not planned on coming back South until Christmas, so that was our third reunion. We took the boys to the park on Saturday.

The Cabin

About 35 years ago Daddy built a cabin in the North Georgia mountains, located between Ellijay and Blue Ridge on the Ellijay River. It has one bedroom, one bath, a large room with living room, kitchen & dining room areas. We soon started spending all of the summer holiday weekends there as a family, as well as Thanksgiving. We had Daddy's annual family reunions there. We spent weekends there with friends, as they got older our kids did too. After Daddy's death, we lost some of the glue that held us together as a family. Our family weekends have all but stopped. As with any home, it needs regular upkeep. This year was the year of the Renovation. Susan & Joey did almost all of it themselves (with some help from their friends). It needed a new roof, new carpet, new refrigerator. They accomplished all of that as well as did dozens of improvements inside. It looks amazing. Those of us who could went on Saturday for a workday. From the time my kids were born, we lived in 5 different houses. The cabin is the place where they see their childhood when they visit. Amy worries that with Daddy gone and changes being made that she will lose that. Don't worry Amy, when I walked up on the porch I could still see Daddy sitting in the swing, Mama standing in the kitchen, smell Mamaw's yeast rolls rising on the fireplace hearth, hear the cheers & moans of a late night Rook game, the screams & laughter as the bat circled the room, Bucky's wild stories, shouts as the tubes came into sight on the river, the complete darkness sleeping wall to wall in the living room, giggles & shouts as the biscuitmaker was awakened, babies being bathed in the sink, growth chart on the bedroom door, hammock swinging, lightning bugs and campfires. So many memories are all still there. Thank you Daddy for giving us this gift.

Over The River and Through The Woods........

Amy, Chuck & the boys went to Florida with Chuck's parents for a week. They came through Atlanta and stayed with Josh & Nikki for a couple of days. THEN, came to our house!! We were so excited to have them here for 5 days. As if that couldn't get any better, Eli came with them! So we had ALL of our grandchildren here at the same time. On Tuesday we went to Hollywild in Inman, SC. It is an animal park with some exotic animals that have been in movies, tv shows, or commericals. Wednesday we went to a kid's museum here, Kid's Senses. Thursday we made crafts for feeding the birds. The boys saw deer and turkeys in the backyard. Then Thursday evening we had a cookout in our backyard firepit.

Josh & Nikki came after work Thursday night. Friday we went to Carol & Phil's house for a family get together. All my sisters were there and my Aunt Margie, Uncle Bud, and cousin Pam. While there, Phil's youngest son, Rob, came home from his second and final tour to Iraq. We went to the airport to wave flags and cheer him home.

It was such a wonderful week. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone involved.

Two Birthdays & A Carousel

Saturday we went to Ron's 60th Birthday Party. We had a great time. Nikki and Sharon will be posting pics of the party. Ron and Josh share the same birthday, August 13th. Sunday we took Josh out to eat for his birthday at the Foodworks in Chattanooga. It is an old converted knitting mill.

Sharon, Nikki's mom, among all the very crafty things she does, carves carousel animals. She carved a horse for the Coolidge Park Carousel in Chattanooga. This year she finished a baby rhino for the Endangered Species Carousel at the Chattanooga Zoo in Warner Park. We went there on Sunday so that we could see the new carousel and Eli could ride the rhino. See Sharon's blog for pictures of Ronnie B.

Hailstorm

We have gotten a few storms in the past few weeks, but not the gentle rain that would be the most beneficial. Even at that, they seem to go around us most of the time. We will hear thunder and the wind will start blowing the leaves and then nothing. Today we were getting severe thunderstorm warnings on TV for our county. Finally, it started raining and then the hail. I haven't seen many hailstorms, certainly not this much. Below are some pictures I took. The last one is a hailstone that bounced off the front door (we have a wide porch). It had already started melting but is shown next to a quarter. Sorry it is blurred, I was getting pelted as I was taking the picture.

Smoky Mountains

This weekend I am house/dog sitting for Carol & Phil in Arden near Asheville.

This morning I drank my coffee on their back porch watching the sun rise. This was my view.

I do love the mountains!