My, My, My...It's been too long!!!!!

My brother has a blog site as well, and, since he's blogging again, I felt the need to get back in the game, too. I've been meaning to write, but just haven't made time to do so. Having said that, I didn't realize that it had been so long since I had written...my, my, my! So, for this one, I'll try to catch you up on my life. A lot has happened since 2008! Wow! It really has been a long time! This past May, Vicki and I moved back to Tennessee. After much prayer and soul searching, we truly felt this was the place to be. We prayed that if moving to Tennessee was God's will, we would find jobs and a home within 3 weeks. We prayed that everything would fall into place if it was God's will. Within a week, I found a wonderful job, and within 3 weeks, Vicki had her job and a place to live. I am working at Smoky Mountain Babies in Gatlinburg for two of the greatest bosses in the world! And I sincerely mean that! I have been so blessed. Vicki found a job for the Gatehouse Condominiums in Gatlinburg as property manager...with this job comes a furnished condo as well as a salary. She has an incredible boss as well and we're both so happy to be back "home". I don't feel guilty in saying that Tennessee is definitely HOME to us. How can anyone ever take a drive around this area and not feel God's presence?!

Since my last blog, I have been blessed with 2 additional grandchildren!!!!! Kim had her second boy in July...Noah Daniel.....so Kyle is a big brother. Kyle and Noah have the greatest mom on the planet. I'm so proud of the woman that Kim has become.

My youngest daughter, Kasey, had her first child in October...Emma Eileen!!! So, I have 2 beautiful grandsons and a beautiful granddaughter! We were blessed to have Kasey and Emma with us here in Gatlinburg for about a month around the holidays, and that was a blessing!

The only downside to all of this is that I don't get to see the kids as much as I want to due to my work schedule and such, but I'm hoping that I can change that in this new year by figuring out ways to get up there more often.

I'm still truly blessed with all that God has given me, and I feel as if for the first time in my life, I'm finally settled and I'm finally doing exactly what God has planned for me. Vicki and I have big plans for the next year, for which I will share in the months to come, but the future looks great!

Until next time.....

A favorite memory

As I write these blogs, I'm trying to remember some of my favorite memories as a child so that my girls will have something to have in writing. It's something I always wanted to do with my mom and dad, but never got around to doing it. So, without further ado...here's one of my favorite memories...

My mom had 2 sisters....Lou and Geneva. Both of my aunts were very different women from my mom, but I loved them nonetheless. Lou was probably the most like my mom personality wise. Anyway, when I was little, my parent and I (and my brother, Steve) would drive to my Aunt Lou and Uncle Elvie's house in Santoy, Ohio. It's no bigger than a minute (the town, that is). I believe, if memory serves me correctly, that it was an old mining town at one time. Anway, we'd go to Santoy, and we'd drive up the gravel driveway to their house. They had a modest home, with 2 actual bedrooms, a bathroom (with no plumbing, so I guess it was there for looks), a family room, living room and kitchen. It had a front porch and and big back porch, and for a bathroom, there was an outhouse. I loved everything about our visits there except for that....the outhouse. I had horrible visions every time I had to go out there of something crawling up out of that hole...or of me falling in...or spiders on the walls....or snakes...your imagination runs wild when you're sitting there in the dark! Anyway, aside from that, I enjoyed going there. My dad especially enjoyed going to Santoy, I think because it was remote and quiet. And he enjoyed visiting with Elvie. My mom enjoyed being able to see her sister Lou, and at one time, Geneva lived "over the hill" in her home, so mom would get to see both of her sisters. When Geneva lived "over the hill", she'd come up to Lou's and the three of them would sit at the kitchen table and play "Trouble" until the wee hours of the morning. I can remember laying in the feather bed (which Steve and I usually fought over) and when the windows were open, you could hear that "popper" from the Trouble game, and you'd here the three sisters playing that game and laughing and carrying on. My Aunt Lou was also a great cook, and she could make the best fried chicken around. For someone that had no running water, Lou did an amazing job of raising 8 kids in that house! She'd boil some water (which she got from the well), and they had a big wash basin in the bathroom, and that's how they would bathe. I can remember when we would visit that we'd take a cup of the well water outside with our toothbrush and brush our teeth and rinse out our mouth. My dad and I would go for long walks around Santoy...well....let's just say we'd walk several times around Santoy...and that was time that I treasured with my dad. I think he wanted mom to be able to just spend as much time as she could with her sisters, so we'd go off and have our own time. Simpler times...I miss those! I loved going here because every time we went for a visit, there was a lot of laughter....and there was nothing more contagious than my mom and her 2 sisters laughing together....you couldn't help but join in on the laughter when you heard them. My Aunt Lou also had a pump organ in her bedroom, and when Steve joined us on these trips, he and I would see who could get back to that organ the fastest to play it! It was such a simple house, but it felt like home when we visited. I loved going there because you could be yourself. Everyone there accepted you for who you were.

To my girls....I hope to be able to take you both there someday just so you can see it, and see the area that your grandma grew up in. I hope we take the time to do that someday. My next story will be about your Aunt Geneva.......now there's a story!!! :)

Until next time.....

It has been a long time.....

It has been a long time for a lot of things.....for instance, it has been a long time since my last blog. Life happens! I've taken some time off to get to know myself! After a lot of soul searching, I've discovered that I'm actually not a bad person, and I'm beginning to like who I see when I look into the mirror. People in my life may not always agree with my way of life, but I'm happy, and that's all that should really matter. Anyway...that's not what I'm writing about.

If you've read any of my previous blogs from the past, you know that I have struggled with depression. I think my mom's death was like the "icing on the cake" for me, and I've had to dig deep to keep from going back into a very dark, black hole.

I was in Walmart (go figure) the other day, and they had started to work on their Christmas aisle on the grocery side...you know, the one that has all the weird gift sets that really no one wants, but you feel compelled to go down the aisle anyway because, you know, it's your civic duty or something. Even though I wouldn't buy 99.9% of those gift sets (I'm talking about the ones with food in them), I found myself getting excited for the holidays! Namely, Christmas. My mom passed away on Christmas Day, so this holiday has been a real struggle for me and I've become somewhat of a scrooge. However, since moving back to Findlay and being near Kim and my grandson, Kyle, I see things in a different light. For the first time in what seems like forever, I can't wait until Christmas! Kyle has been the biggest blessing in my life, and he's made me see everything differently. He is such a joy! I'm looking forward to being able to see him open his gifts, seeing Santa, etc...and I'm hoping that we can start some of our own traditions that Kim, Kyle, and my baby daughter, Kasey, can take with them as they get older, and, when I'm gone, will have memories to hold onto. One thing I'm hoping to do is to have a day when I can go out to Kim's house and we can bake Christmas cookies all day, and I hope we can start doing this every year. I hope we can take an evening and go driving around looking at the Christmas lights. I hope for a lot of things. And there's the key word! HOPE! For the first time in a long time, I have HOPE again...I feel alive again and I feel like a young child seeing things for the first time. It's such a great feeling, and I hope it never ends.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving as well, even though I have to work. It's the forgotten holiday, it seems, but it, to me, is the beginning of the all important Christmas holiday. We all need to remember, though, the true meaning of Christmas...because without the birth of Jesus, we would have never had Christmas...something to think about.

Until next time.....

Where were you?

Is there anyone who won't remember September 11th for the rest of their lives? Where were YOU? If you're like me, you can remember everything about that day...where you were when the towers were hit...what you were doing....and how you felt the rest of the day...every minute ticking by slowly...walking around in a "fog"...going through a wide range of emotion from sadness to anger. I was at work...I hadn't been there very long when one of my co-workers called back to my desk and told me that 2 planes had flown into the twin towers....and at that time, they were trying to determine if it was an accident or an attack...I remember calling Vicki at her job to see if she had heard...I turned on my radio in my office to see if there had been any new updates on what was happening....I remember being extremely upset and really didn't know why at that time because everyone was still waiting to hear what was really going on.....I worked at a garden center at the time....a beautiful place full of plants, flowers, trees....all natural beauty...and our staff was very close knit...we were a family...so if I couldn't be at home with my own family, this was the next best place to be. It didn't take long for the news to travel and we found out that this was NOT an accident...this was an attack....soon after we found out about the other attacks as well on the Pentagon and the plane in Pennsylvania that went down. I remember that by this time, no one felt like working...everyone was calling their families and making sure that they were ok.....I called my daughter Kasey at school and asked her if she wanted to come home and she did...so I left work to pick up Kasey and then I had to go back to work. I felt safer having her home. I called my daughter, Kim in Findlay and made sure that she was ok, and she was. By the time I returned to work, one of the managers had gone home to pick up a television and he put it up at one of the cash registers for employees and shoppers to see...the only shoppers we had were ones who had not heard the news of the attacks...why we stayed open is beyond me! No one did anything that day...we all just stood and watched the horror before our eyes on that television set...and all we wanted to do was go home and be with our own families. In the days and weeks that followed, we watched the nation come together...everyone attended prayer services...everyone was nicer to strangers on the street....appreciating each other more...hugging their children a little tighter...holding them little longer...smiling a little more....going out of their way to help with care packages to the troops...or sending financial help to those people who were involved in the attacks in new york, washington, and pennsylvania. We all came together as a nation and it was a beautiful thing to see. But, like everything else....that passed...slowly but surely, life went back to "normal". Now, sadly, the only time we remember to be a little bit nicer and appreciate life is on the anniversary of September 11th. My oldest daughter reminded me that even the troops aren't getting the "care packages" like they used to from complete strangers that just did it in support of the troops and out of the kindness of their hearts. I'm just as guilty as anyone out there! We all got back into the routine of life after 9/11 and it's not that we don't still care....we just don't MAKE the time to do things that we should. So, my goal, in honor of this horrible anniversary is to MAKE the time to send care packages to the troops throughout the year...and, from time to time...to stop and say a prayer for ALL who have lost family members and friends in this horrible disaster...I don't care how long it has been...the wounds are still fresh, and I don't think that will ever go away. So, remember where you were on that September day and make a goal for yourself to do something nice more often out of the kindness of your heart...it doesn't matter how little a task it is...the point is to be more giving to others...and maybe, just maybe, the nation will unite again. Take a moment to remember all that have been lost.....and take a moment to be thankful for everyone in your life............

Until next time........

Looking back.....

A few weeks ago, my oldest daughter and I (and Kyle) went to McComb to the community garage sale. McComb is where I grew up from 2nd grade until the beginning of my 9th grade year. With the exception of my daughter's wedding, I hadn't been back to McComb in quite some time. So, as we were walking and driving around McComb to look for bargains (of which we found many!), it brought back a lot of fond memories of my younger days. As we were walking, I was pointing out to Kim where I used to live...where my best friend lived down the street...where the high school principal lived...where I took piano lessons...etc, etc, etc! It truly was a stroll down memory lane and it made me realize what a simple time in life it was. McComb is a small community where everyone knows each other. But I can remember my growing up years in that town as if it were yesterday. I remember my best friend coming to my house in the summer to watch "The Young & Restless" every day...and as soon as it was over, we'd get on our bikes and go to the pool for the rest of the day! I can remember on rainy days, Paula coming to my house or I'd go down to her house to play Barbies all day long. I can remember playing baseball in my back yard with various friends and we'd pretend that we were the Cincinnati Reds! I can remember going up to the school and playing basketball with 7 other boys (yes, I was the only girl)...and we'd play all day long until dark. I can remember walking home from piano lessons at Christmas time and seeing all the Christmas lights shining through the windows of each house that I passed by. I remember our house at Christmas time and my mom would put electric candles in each window and the bulbs were blue. I loved the way those candles looked in our windows and I loved walking up to the house and seeing the Christmas tree lights through the window. I can remember when it snowed, playing outside until my mom would force me to come inside. She always used to say that I was so healthy because I played outside all the time...even in the winter. I remember an elderly couple living across the street from us and I'd go over there every night to watch "Truth or Consequences" with them, or we'd play dominoes. Simple times....full of such fond memories. Oh, to go back to those simpler days! It would be so nice...no worries...just good times.....but I'll always have those memories to fall back on and they will always bring a smile to my face.

Until next time............

My little guy is growing up too fast!

My grandson, Kyle Matthew, turned 1 on July 19th! He celebrated his first birthday in a big way, with family and friends. The picture to the left shows him digging into his birthday cake....he quite sure why so many people were standing around, singing to him and watching him eat cake! It's hard to believe that this little man is a year old already! Where does the time go?! I remember only a few months ago, when Kyle learned to crawl! Then a couple months after that, he started to walk. I could sit and watch him play all day! He's starting to say words now, so it won't be long before he's actually "talking". Kim got his hair cut for his birthday, and it really made him look like a little boy, instead of a baby. Kyle is such a joy to be around, and while I love watching him grow and learn, there's a big part of me that wishes he could stay in the baby stage! Where do the years go!? I can still remember Kim's (Kyle's mommy) first birthday. We had had a house fire, so we had to move the birthday party to the multi-purpose room at the library. Looking at this picture of Kyle and his cake, I can remember Kim sitting in her high chair with the identical expression on her face....."who are all these people, and why are they staring at me!?" I can even remember the dress she had on, too, which was one of my favorites. 23 years later...Kim is now a mommy and her baby is a year old! And before Kim realizes, she will turn around, and Kyle will be starting school, making friends...the years flying by....and before she knows it, he will be all grown up.

This is for Kyle, from your grandma Mary. Grandma loves you, Kyle so very much, and I'm so glad that I have had the opportunity to be here and watch you grow....changing each day. Grandma adores you, Kyle, and you will never know how much you have helped me to feel better when I was having a bad time. Just being around you, watching you play, playing with you helped me a lot, and just seeing your precious smile made my day brighter. I'm not just saying this because you are my grandson, but you are the cutest little boy on the planet, and I just want you to know how very much I love you.

To everyone out there who has grandkids...enjoy every second that you can with them....they are truly a gift from God.

Until next time.......

My dog, the considerate pooper!

Every morning, while it's still relatively cool outside, Peanut and I go for a walk on a trail just across the street from my house. It's one of my favorite times of the day, because it's just me and my dog....everything is quiet...and it gives me some "me" time...time to think, gather my thoughts, just think! It's the one time of the day where there are no interruptions...........it's just me, myself and I and I love the solitude, if only for a few minutes. Peanut loves this time, too...he gets to pee on every blade of grass, every post, every flower....and when he poops, he is the most considerate dog on the trail! When it's time to do his business, he wants to be as close to a bush as he can get and will do his little circle dance until he finds the right spot...then, he back up into the bush and does his business...he doesn't poop in the middle of the sidewalk or in the middle of the grass where everyone can step in it...he gets it as far out of the way as possible. I've trained him well! (I take that back...he learned that on his own, because to say that I trained him well would imply that I actually SHOWED him how to poop in a bush!) Anyway.....I know, an odd topic for today...but I thought everyone could use a little chuckle! I know I can! I think the old saying is true...the more I know people, the more I love my dog! So, here's to you, Peanut! Good Boy!!!

Until next time..............