The Final Analysis

I saw this poem this morning in a business as I was waiting on my change. I loved it.

The FINAL Analysis

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the FINAL analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Written by Dr. Kent M. Keith

Winter Weather & Signs

This is our 5th winter in North Carolina. Previous to the current one, we have had very little snow fall. Summer 2008, our county was one of 6 in the state to be rated as Exceptional Drought conditions. Then Winter of 2008 the rains came and the lakes and rivers began to rise little by little. Fast forward to the week before Christmas 2009, we got 6 inches of snow. Last weekend while in Buford, we got at least another 6 inches here. Thursday night it snowed another couple of inches. The weather forecasters had predicted earlier in the week an ice storm for this weekend. Thankfully we only got a little snow and the rest rain. I am not sure the amount of total precipitation we have received this winter but I know it is a lot. We can't seem to dry out before it starts again. I am looking forward to a beautiful Spring and a lush Summer in the Smokey Mountains.

On a different note (or if you believe that our weather is a sign, then it is not so different), I am fascinated by small businesses that advertise things that don't appear to me to be related. The first one I saw after we moved to NC was a business on Main St. that advertises sheet music & pet supplies. I saw a sign in the front yard of a farmhouse that said "Fresh eggs & Used Computers". I am glad the adjectives weren't switched. The other day I saw a new business that wanted you to be sure and shop there for Valentines Day. The sign read, "Flowers, Gifts & Knives". I could only think that the last one was in case you forgot the first two.

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas. The addition of THREE new babies this year made it even better. We made cookies for Santa Christmas Eve, Christmas Day dinner and presents after Josh & family arrive, Jesus' birthday cake complete with the blowing out of the candles, and a cookout at the firepit one evening. A stomach bug attacked and caused some problems. I missed the cookout Sunday night. Chuck got it on Monday morning and they stayed an extra day so he could recover. I always take a picture of the kids and all of the grandkids before they leave. Since Chuck was sick, we took two separate pictures this year and combined them (thanks Nikki).

December Snow

We got a little over 6 inches of snow yesterday. We are officially snowed in! The temperature is about 34 degrees today but the sun is melting it some. Scott parked the truck at the other end of the driveway so if we need to get out we can hike a quarter of a mile (uphill both ways, I kid you not) to the truck. I am glad I finished my Christmas shopping other than the couple of things that are coming in the mail. We certainly wouldn't be shopping today. I guess it is the perfect day to get all the presents wrapped!! The second picture is the driveway.

Double the Grandchildren in 2009

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. For the past four Christmases we have had 3 grandchildren to enjoy the excitement of the season. This year we will have 6! I thought I would put pictures of them right after they were born with their big brothers. Both pictures were taken by my very talented daughter-in-law Nikki. The first one is Eli with his sisters, Annabel & Harper. The second one is Trip and Quinn with their new brother, Webb.

Happy Birthday, Webb

On Friday, November 20th, Amy gave birth to my sixth grandchild - Webb McBrayer Scoggins. He weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz and was 22 inches long. Sharon (Chuck's mom) and I were thrilled when Amy asked us if we wanted to stay in the delivery room for the birth of our last (??) grandchild. This was the first birth that Sharon and I had ever witnessed since we had not seen our own children's birth. It is amazing to see God's hand in the miraculous birth of a child. To the left is Amy and Webb, minutes after his birth and one of the quilt I made him. It is called Beatrix Potter's Colors.

I'm The Favorite

As I was getting the girls dressed this morning, I found these shirts. I bought them before they were born. My mother did not live long enough to hold any of my grandchildren, but I know she watches over them. Everyone of her eight grandchildren loved her very much. I didn't realize until she died that she had made each one feel like they were her favorite. It is a challenge that I try to achieve with mine.

Babies!!

I finished Baby Scoggins' quilt top on Monday and took it to the quilter yesterday. I will post a photo later. My children are telling me this may be my last one. I was thinking about that as I finished it. I don't think I will be cross stitching when my grandchildren are old enough to get married..... so no wedding quilts. My time is running out for keeping the girls every other week, too. They are such a joy. Two of the most precious sights, sleeping babies and giggling babies. It just fills my heart everytime. I am eagerly awaiting the call to go to Missouri to meet my newest joy, just a few more weeks. Life is good. God is good, all the time.

Myrtle Beach 2009

The whole family went to Myrtle Beach last week. I love watching the grandchildren interact. They aren't together very often, so everytime it is different. I didn't take many pictures. Nikki & Amy were taking much better ones. I did take a few videos. Nikki took some with my recorder too. I put together a few of them below. Besides the ones on the beach, there are some moments at Alligator Adventure and Barefoot Landing. I tried to upload it here but it was big and taking too long, so I put it on Youtube. Click on the sunrise from our balcony to see our vacation video.

The following video was taken the morning that we left. Quinn and Eli were doctors examining Harper. They both put on their swim goggles to see better. I am not sure what Quinn said he saw in her ear. Scott thought it was a kitty cat - maybe Amy will know.

Calling Dr. Eli and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Men

The Girls and their Bumbos

Nikki tried sitting the girls in their Bumbo seats today. Annabel was first. She was happier about it until I got my camera, then she she decided that was enough. Harper is in the second video and she was all smiles. Both girls are growing and changing every week. They both have the sweetest smiles.

Puckett Reunion

Last weekend we, along with Josh's family, drove to Carrollton, Ga. to attend a family reunion. Scott's dad was one of the 10 children of Scott and Freddie Puckett. All but two have died and of those, one is in a nursing home. Scott & Freddie's grandchildren decided to get together for an occasion other than a funeral. I don't know how many people were there but I counted more than 80 in the photo below and that wasn't everyone. Uncle Owen was there to represent his siblings. He is in the center front with the dark cap. There were lots of food, picking & grinning from a bluegrass band (teenagers), memories and hugs. A number of people wore the reunion t-shirts. It has a family reunion picture that was taken 50 years ago in 1959. I posted it below, too. That is a nine year old Scott on the first row, second from the left.

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!