"The Holidays" Part 1

Well, it has been quite a while, hasn't it? So, here are some pictures of the last few weeks in our family.  We traveled to Missouri/Arkansas in October/November to see our children and the beautiful leaves changing. After a couple weeks, we headed back to Florida for a couple of weeks, then back to Missouri for Thanksgiving. What a blessed, though busy, time that was!

The picture above won't go anywhere else, so I am leaving it there. When we came home to Florida between jaunts to Missouri, sweet Sarah came back with us.  What a treat for Grandmother and Granddaddy! Here she adorns an old pecan tree at the Red Barn Pecan Farm in Leesburg, GA.  We loved stopping there on the way up and back! Delicious, fresh pecans, and the manager had gone to Bible School near our home in FL, so we had common interests.  God has His people everywhere!

On the way up and back, we were blessed to stop at the Powers' home in Georgia. They sweetly feed us and offer the most pleasant sleeping room for us. We love stopping there, and hope to return the hospitality someday, if we can convince them to travel to Florida.

Sweeties Mary and Callie Stricklen came up to Missouri for Thanksgiving with their family. What a blessing to have the family together for Thanksgiving! The Stricklens loved spending time with their cousins and getting to know the little ones better.

Three Little Sisters (I titled this one because of another pictures further down!)  How precious to have all three of my little girls together!

Daughter Molly and me at Thanksgiving time in Missouri

Well, how's this for out of order?  Darlin' Child Margaret Anne on our lovely trip to the Barn Antiques in Florida before Christmas. We girls love going to the Barn every December, and it has become an anticipated tradition!

What fun to get into "Cranium" as a family! We even got some of the "men" to do charades, act out songs, draw blindfolded -- what fun!  It turns out that everyone now wants Abby and Gracie on their team -- they have become the champs -- Grandmother loses her title!

Cranium is serious business, y'all!

On the way home, mid-November, Sarah in front of the Langston House, one of our favorite places to stop (part of Henderson Village in Georgia). It is such a lovely place -- a collection of old Georgia homes, now a bed and breakfast and wonderful restaurant.

Can you tell Grandmother is basking in the attention of darlin' grandsons who have become men of God! I love spending time with them, and it is far too rare!

On the way home with Sarah, we also stopped at the Whiddon home in Georgia. What a precious family! They always welcome us like they love us (which they do!) and make our stay blessed, whether long or short! Thank you, dear Whiddon family!

Back to Missouri:  Granddaddy loves getting down on the floor with the little ones. Here, the hallway makes a great staging area for building with blocks. It is so precious how the little ones from Florida just fit right in within a few minutes, and they are best of friends before they have to leave.

Sweet Ashley turned out to be a real animated Cranium player!

While we were in Missouri, a friend of the Dischers turned 90, we were invited to go with them for her birthday celebration.  The Discher girls chose to honor her with an Andrews sisters song, "Three Little Sisters", from the '40s era.  Here they are dressed in Army, Navy, and Marine (kinda) outfits, which portray the song well.  They did an absolutely fabulous job! Well done, girls!

Okay, one more Cranium picture!  Even the little ones loved getting into the act! Can you tell Abigail is quite engaged?

Granddaddy and C J at the Red Barn. C J learned a lot about how the pecans are picked and processed, and we loved having him and Abby on one of our trips home.

 Thank you, Lord, for enabling us to travel back and forth to see our dear ones, and for your hand of mercy on our travels!   Coming soon (hopefully!) Holidays Part 2 !

Another Trip to Arkasouri!

 What a blessing to be able to travel back and forth between Florida and Arkansas/Missouri to visit children and grandchildren!  Especially in this season, I love the fact that we can go up to see the leaves change -- "leaf peeping!"  Before we left, though, I wanted to post a little of Florida's fall colors.  Above is a beautiful golden rain tree in the town near us, and every year, it turns glorious yellow in the fall. 

Shortly after, it begins changing to soft pink, above, or deep pink, and the blossoms turn into funny little Chinese-lanternish little blossoms. I love it -- it is so unique!  The tree above is the same tree as the previous picture, only a week or so later.  You can still see some of the yellow in the middle of the tree. Florida does have wonderful fall color, even though it's not maple or hickory or sumac!

The sweet Stricklen family (well, not sure where Mary is) and "cousin" Amanda saying goodbye as we get ready to leave. Below, we board the RV for another exciting trip!

The faithful cleaning and packing crew left little surprises we discovered all along the way.  When we opened the Lipton box, out jumped . . .!

Not sure what kind of trees these are, but we loved seeing them.

This was the best welcome, though!  Little sweeties (plus Sarah's new goat!)  And below, not-as-little sweeties, Kitty and Gracie, making things all autumny.  Beautiful girls! So glad to see you!

Granddaddy got his hands on a couple of little rascals.  Clay and Paul have grown so much since last we saw them!  What a contrast in personalities!  Clay is quieter (Ashley says not all the time!) and more placid than Paul, who is always on the go, banging on something!  What precious little men of God in training!

Markie's home-raised pumpkin anchors a wonderful centerpiece that says "Fall" to me!  Our trip was a perfect Fall adventure for this grandmother!  More to come.  Thank you, Lord, for traveling mercies and the blessing of family who welcome you with open arms!

La abuelita es Escurridizo

Well, I am finally the owner of a new camera, one I don't have to share with the "business"!  Hopefully, I will learn its ins and outs so I can take pictures like Mary! (As grandson Daniel used to say "airquotes -- yeah, right!") Anyway, I love the picture above, and think it is pretty good. It is our dear friends, Patrick and Kellipaige Franklin in our breakfast room one Sunday after church. What a lovely time we always have with them!

So, we'll see if  you can teach an old dinosaur new tricks, and if new cameras can make up for old incompetencies!   Oh, I figured if Mary titles her post in Spanish, maybe I should, too.  I mean, it will be especially meaningful to three young ladies who forgot I would get my camera back from them!

 

Molly and Chris stayed for dinner the same day, and I thought this was such a good picture of them! I love the clarity of this new camera, as compared to my phone camera!

Beautiful Callie Sue! Love your sweet smile and curly hair, girl!

O-o-o-kay! My camera ended up at a sleep-over, and I think we have discovered some hidden . . . ummm, talents??  Wackiness?? Latent tendencies??  Abby's true identity:  The Fonz meets ... Dr. Jeckyll??

 Mary, Lois Lane in disguise?? Nancy Drew's no-nonsense best friend?? Sarah Palin wannabee??

Mandie Sunshine -- what can I say?  Future Red Hat Lady?

Oh, my starz!!  You don't want to meet these women in a dark alley!

Don't mess with the Stricklen Girls!

Okay, ladies, if you are desperate at midnight, I will personally buy you a gallon bag of gumballs!

Let's end this whole escapade with the Charmer, Mr. Grins, Nathaniel!  He never fails to give you the most heart-warming smile!  Love you, little boy, and miss you!

 

Thank you, Lord, for the peace and blessings you have placed in my life.  Why would anyone not want to serve You with all her heart!

Hey, Guess What??

 (hopefully) These are the last pictures from my cell phone camera!  My sweet husband bought me a camera that I don't have to share with the business!  So, here's a little of what I have left on the cell phone . . .

 First day at the beautiful Englewood Beach cottage. I didn't spend much time out in the sun (hey, my prescription meds say "avoid sun exposure", okay??)  But this was the lovely view from the shaded patio.

Sweet Margaret Annie and her cherished sand dollar.  I think she said she collected over 80 shark teeth from the beach! Margaret Anne-style archaeology!

Adorable Nathaniel was happy inside the "donut" -- well, at least for a little while!

One of the fun restaurants at the beach -- it was actually very good homestyle Italian food. 

Nathaniel can't wait -- toes are just as good!

Last day -- a little relaxing after breakfast before packing up.

Load up the vehicles, time to head home!  For a beautiful shot of the family portrait right before this scene, and for many more wonderful pictures of our trip, go to the Stricklens' blog:  http://thestricklenfamilyblog.blogspot.com/

 

Back home, a sweet surprise after a morning yard-saling with the Stricklen women:  Lunch together out at the Barn/Back Porch! Here, we visit the gift shop, and Molly loves this clear platter with a poinsettia.  Nothing to get in the mood for the holidays like visiting the Barn!

If you know Margaret Anne, you know she has been collecting fake food for her little play kitchen for years (she may be outgrowing it, since she didn't beg for this!) Here, she admires a realistic slice of German Chocolate cake!

Okay, what in the world is this??  Well it's what is left of our very first muscadine crop!!  This represents about half of this year's total crop!  Well, the vines just got planted this year, so . . . whaddaya expect?  They ARE delicious, BTW!

Just added this to let Amanda know that we missed her while she was gone, and let her know that her cup is waiting for her. 

So, now to learn my new Sony camera and be a little more timely in posting new pictures!  God has been good to us and our family, and we will not forget His faithfulness.  Thank  you, Lord. (Okay, I'll be exploring what has happened to Blogger since I last posted and see how to increase the font size on the captions!)

More Cell Phone Camera Pictures from Arkasouri

Here is our primary reason for making the trip in July/August this year: precious little Hannah Frances Miller, born while we were there. We thank our gracious Heavenly Father for another providential addition to our family, grandbaby number 26. What a blessed family we are! For a complete account with lots of real pictures, go to the Discher's blog:

www.thedischerfamily.blogspot.com


Danny and I knew we were doing the big "rafting down the river" thing with the older ones, so we decided one day to take three little ones with us to town for some errands and . . .
BOWLING!! If you have never been bowling with a nine-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 3-year old, you don't know what you are missing! Rosie, Savannah, and Emma Jane will be happy to show you how to work those bumper lanes! Here, Savanna waits with great anticipation to see what happens with her turn.

Emma Jane just knows this will be the big one! They were fascinated!

Granddaddy shows Savannah how to hold the ball. Thank goodness, the lanes had the foresight to have some 5 lb. balls. Lofting them doesn't do quite as much damage to the wood!

Rosie caught on very quickly and had some pretty good scores! The men at the desk were just kept in stitches by the two little ones and their running commentary. What a nice thing that we had the whole place to ourselves! We loved it!

Every time we have been up for a visit, I have wanted to take a gravel road with a sign that says "Locust 2 miles". This time we did. It is a little community hidden in the bottom of a hollow, a very quaint little place with only a few cottages. Jason says it floods when the flash floods come, so I guess it isn't the best place to build. This is a picture of the old post office/general store. The sign says "Locust 1908 Store and Post Office" and it lists the Breeding family, founders of Locust.
Interesting.

"Big Man" Paul decides he is going to take us for a drive. He loves to make those Brrrrmmm, brrrmmmm sounds all little boys seem to be born knowing how to make! We miss you so much, Paul!

Silly girls! This must have been on the way to go bowling -- they are just too excited!

Well, the day for the big rafting trip came. The Missouri Frodges and Dischers (except Eddie) loaded up with Danny and I and off we went to the put in at Hodgson Mill, about 35 min. from the property. Kitty had been looking forward to this for a long time! So, everyone put in and left Grandmother (me) to drive down to the take out at Warren's Bridge.

It was an 8 mile run, which Danny assured me would take only a couple of hours. I had my doubts, based on a canoeing trip about 30 years ago! At any rate, what would I do by myself for those hours waiting at a strange, backwoods bridge, which turned out to be the local swimmin' hole for Darryl and my other brother Darryl (think "Newhart").

After about an hour or so wait, Beth, Ashley, and their babies appeared, thank God. when they had put in, the water was fast, and they just knew there was no way they could take those babies. So they joined me, and we waited. After another few hours, some kayakers got out, and we asked about the timing of the trip. They turned out to be experienced and they assured us our rafters would not be there until 9:30 pm or so! We had time, lots of time. So we went home to get Eddie and get dinner started.

About 8 pm, up pulled a pickup in the near dark with lots of girls waving at us vigorously. It was our girls! Granddaddy and 5 Discher girls had been smart. They saw lights near the creek and threw themselves on the mercy of a kindly couple, who drove them to the take out. "This isn't the first time", they assured us. Jason, Peter, and little Savannah had been ahead of them, so, after profusely thanking the rescuers, we knew the only thing to do was wait. . . . and wait . . . and, listening to the howling coyotes, wait.

At about 9:30, with truck lights shining on the creek, we finally saw and heard the long-lost rafters! Peter barely makes it from meal to meal as it is, but he was famished, so the peaches we had brought for snacks filled the need.

Jason was never so thankful for a towel! What a saga they had to tell! Little Savannah was quite a trooper -- of course, her daddy was pulling her in the raft, but he said she didn't whine or cry and trusted him completely. Home we went with the exhausted, but exhilarated, adventurers! Every generation needs an adventure story to tell the next, and this is this generation's -- until the next time!