CTR

It was a special Christmas!

The first time we've all been together for Christmas in 13 years!  What a year it's been but everyone was present and accounted for and feeling pretty darn good!

We did the usual things that most families do on holidays.

I took HK to her first "big girl" movie at a theater.  We saw "The Good Dragon" while the rest of our crew saw "Star Wars".

We played games.

Opened gifts.

And ate waaay too much.
This is a photo of Chicken Fried Steak.

Even though it doesn't photograph very well I had to post it since I spent 2+ hours over the stove frying it and making all the trimmings.  Next time I will go for something simpler when feeding such a large group.  Live and learn.

This is our oldest daughter, Amy, her husband Brent, and our three Tulsa Granddolls.  Look how those girls have grown!

Our son, Grey and wife Antoinette.

They live in Washington state.

Our son, Tate, front and center.
He's a Joker - always clowning around.
Will seldom let me take his photo.
Oh, and he lives in Atlanta, GA.

(This is me and Mister with our brood.)

Youngest daughter, Stashia, her husband Izaiha, and our two youngest Granddolls.  They live in Louisiana.

It's not so much what you do on Christmas, but who you do it with, don't you think?  So glad they all made it home for Christmas.  Despite the expense, the inconvenience, and the miles they had to travel, they made their way to us in Oklahoma.

And, did you notice my Mom, front and center in the family photo?  Her 86th Christmas!

Feeling very blessed!

This was a CtR (Christmas To remember)

About my friend

I have this friend who moved with her family to a different state in June.  She's a busy girl and has spent a lot of the time since then getting settled into her new surroundings.  She has a lot of family, but none of them live in her area.  She also has a lot of friends, but none of them live near her either.  Word has it that my friend has become very lonely.  She's not bored,'cause she has lots to do, but she longs for a friend in her new community.

If you happen to see her, remember to say "Hello", and if you are so inclined to go the extra mile then ask her to join you for lunch, or to go to a movie, or to go shopping, or ask about her family, or her thoughts, or her opinions..  Ask my friend anything!!  I think she would love to join you in doing whatever you would like to do.  Ya see, she's feeling pretty needy.  The world is a lonely place when you don't have a friend nearby.  And we all know that even the best of husbands is not the same as having a girlfriend. And, if you happen to not live near my friend in Oklahoma, remember there are lots of people like my friend, so take the time to include anyone you're aware of who doesn't seem connected.  There are a lot of really nice people out there just waiting to be included.

My friend is a little whiny today.

"Sweet dreams are made of this..."

*Computer problems so many photos are taken from my Instagram account.  ((Sorry))

An ice storm embraced our Thanksgiving, but other than some tree damage we weren't hindered in the slightest.

First time to host Thanksgiving in our new-to-us house.

Our oldest daughter and favorite SIL.

A sofa of Granddolls!

Our youngest daughter and favorite SIL.

Mister and yet more Granddolls.

Our youngest son, looking good and feeling good after recovering from a stroke in mid-July!

Oh, Jane. Look, look, look.

Five months.
That's how long we've lived in our house.
I'm still working on getting things put on the walls.

Today I got serious about it.

Look what I did!

It doesn't look like a lot of work,

but it was.

It's hard to get everything lined up and even, doncha know?!  These prints aren't new.  I had them in our previous home.  They're my favorite group of photos (other than family ones).

Do you remember these characters?

If you're of  a "certain age" you probably remember these as your first Reader.  What a joy it was to finally be able to read a story on my own!  These pictures bring back memories of little chairs pulled together to make a reading circle.  Remember?  

These are my "happy pictures".

AND, speaking of happy,

I hope you have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

OCD Girl Scout

Ok, so I'm a little OCD.
I like to call it "being prepared",

I was once a Girl Scout, ya know!

(We order a pre-cooked, smoked Turkey, so we must buy broth.)

I love the fact that many stores are going to be closed on Thanksgiving.  I never (and have never) shopped on Thanksgiving, or the day after, for that matter.  Not judging anyone, just saying that I  like the idea of people getting to spend their holiday time as they want.  However, it seems that every year there is something that I must send Mister to the store for early on Thanksgiving Day - something I've forgotten.  I hate it but I do it.  This year I'm trying to label things to avoid this holiday blunder.

What about you?
Is there something that usually requires a last minute run to the store?  If so, what?  (You're among friends, so you can tell us.)  

To answer my own question - extra ICE is one of the common things I forget.

Update

Some suspicious characters have been hanging around our house...

The trees have been so nervous that they shivered and dropped all their leaves.

It appears that Summer 2015 is now history

and Fall has definitely arrived.

Not everyone is thrilled by these events,

Our little micro preemie, Lady G, turned three months old today.  She is now weighing in at a hefty 7lbs 2 oz.  Lil' Mama sent me a video today which showed her rolling over.  Have I mentioned how amazing this sweet miracle baby is?  She's a visual reminder of God's power and love.

HK and Lady G

We made the drive to see them last week.

Pure joy to get our hands on these granddolls!

They are thriving.

Lil' Mama - not so much.
She's still battling the ecoli infection that has had her in its grip for the past eight months. It's actually turned VERY serious.  (I could go on and on and on with details, but I won't.)   I ended up spending the week there to give them some back-up help.  It was very difficult to leave and come home knowing how fragile things are there.  We're praying God will intervene and help her find her way to good medical help so she can regain her health.  These sweet baby girls need their Mama and her hubby needs his bride.

Murderers Not Welcome!

Looking oh-so-lovely as I color my hair today.

Covering my gray roots means I've got exactly 45 minutes to blog, so here I go!!

Last Saturday Mister and I decided to go exploring around our new area. 

We made the short 30 minute drive to Guthrie, OK.

It was a beautiful sunny  day for exploring.

Tiny little town it was, it was rich in history.

We took a Trolley tour and learned all about  this town which had once been the capital of Oklahoma, before Oklahoma City took on the honor.

Afterwards we ate lunch at "Lizzie's Bluebelle Saloon", notice the sign on the upper right of the window, "Murderer's Not Welcome".  We ate quickly and got outta Dodge Guthrie.  

I'm thinking maybe I should capitalize on Lizzie's sign, and start making lots of these signs to sell.  Who wouldn't want a sign for their house that says, "Murderers Not Welcome"?    

Lizzie is one smart Dudette!

Never have I ever. . .

Do you watch "Ellen"?
She often plays the game, "Never Have I ever" with her guests.  So, here's to you, Ellen.

"Never have I ever got around to making Christmas Crafts before Halloween".

Yes!  I'm bragging (I have no shame)!
I also have no Christmas presents bought yet but that's beside the point.  

Let's hear it for me!!

The worst Halloween costume EVER!!

*This hardly needs words*.
This is our youngest son, when he was five, dressed as the "Tree of Good & Evil".  My children see to it that I'm haunted by the memory of this costume every-single-Halloween.

It was a different time.
I was young.
I was stupid.

I "drank the koolaid".
Guilty to all the above.

Poor kid is almost 40 now.
He is phoebic of green netting, but with a few more years of therapy he's gonna be fine.

Have a wonderful Halloween!

~Sweet Tea

No Fault Decor

Have you been visiting blogs looking at all the beautiful Fall/Halloween decorations.  I could browse for hours.  Thank you to those who let us peek inside your house to see all the Fall beauty!!  It's alright to be a Voyeur in Blogland.  Right!?

I think Fall is the easiest time of year to decorate.  When one decorates for Fall/Halloween it's what I call "No Fault Decor".  You got a pumpkin?  You got a decoration!  It's that simple.  For that reason I'm gonna give you a little peek inside my house.  Most of my Fall decorations are still packed away in a box in the garage (from our recent move).  But, I've got a pumpkin, so I "got a decoration" or two.

Can you find the two little pumpkins balanced

on a candlestick?

Stray flowers beat no flowers.

Are you with me??!!

This little shelf could use a bit more fluffing,

but what makes it special is that the framed picture

is my Mom's.

There just really is no way to decorate badly for Fall, is there?  The colors are warm and friendly and even if you're a "Summer-kind-of-gal" who drags and kicks her way into Fall like I do there is always something festive about a new season.  Plus, by marking the seasons it tells us that regardless of what is happening in our life, time is still marching on and we are blessed to be living in the moment.

Thanks for stopping by.

I've been very sporadic posting lately and have lost a lot of Followers.  So, if you've stayed with me and are reading this I want you to know that I do soooooo appreciate you and count you as a Friend.  That's especially important to me now.  Since the move my local friend count is pretty much at a zero, but I'm working on it!  Hope you're having a wonderful Fall and I'll soon be by to visit you at your blog.  I PROMISE!!

~Sweet Tea

24 Hours!

Mister will be home in 24 hours!
Things have changed a little since he's been away.

Summer

has turned into. . .

Fall.

The change of seasons has found our family much healthier.  Atlanta son, who had a stroke, went back to work last Monday.  He drives himself to work and is working 1/2 days for a couple of weeks to transition back into full time.  He celebrated his birthday yesterday! Praise God!

Gentry is now pushing 6 lbs and doing VERY well.  She was born Aug. 16, weighing 2 lb 13 oz.  Her due date was Dec.1st. She is our miracle baby!

Lil' Mama is still struggling to regain her health but has some wonderful doctors tending to her and she is making progress.  We are confident God is gonna bless her with renewed strength.

Oh!  Did I mention that Mister will be home in 24 hours!! He's been in Atlanta with our son for 2 1/2 months. I've missed that Rascal!

Risky Business

Floor.

I'm not asking you to get excited about seeing a corner of my living room floor, but I'm showing it to you as a point of reference.  Got it?  Of course you do!

Life has been messy on a personal level for several months now.  Though we've lived in our new-to-us house for four months I just now feel like I'm really getting acquainted with it.  Gotta say the better I get to know it the more I enjoy it.  I guess most relationships are like that...

Last week I had an entire day set aside to fluff the house.  First thing on my list was to make these wood floors sparkle.  I had my cleaner, a mop, and a bucket.  I worked and it shined.  I took my time and was careful not to miss a spot...I moved on to some other things while the floor dried.  Went back to admire my work on the floor, but it wasn't quite dry...Came back again and it was drier, but something was WRONG.  The floor looked nice but it felt extremely STICKY. 

I looked at my bottle of cleaner and much to my surprise I had used a product intended for wood FURNITURE, not wood floors.  UGH!  So, I mopped that  *&%#  darn floor 3 more times trying to get the sticky up.  At last it was all gone, but what was left behind was a floor as slick as glass.

Two of my older granddolls were here last week.  

They had lots of fun doing their Tom Cruise, "Risky Business" slide across the floor in their socks.  Me?  I bought some new house shoes with a good traction sole. That's how I roll, errrr, slide. NOT!

You may have heard the rumor. . .

I'm a Stripper.

(someone's gotta do it)

It's not a pretty job.

And it's messy.

Today was day #3 of this big undertaking.

This is BIG work.

This is my first project since our move in June.  It's been sort of a bonding  experience with this house.  It's not fun but I knew when we bought this house that the horrid wallpaper had to go.  (what you see is not the actual wallpaper but instead the lining after the print was removed.)  This is the layer that's so hard to remove.  I'm gonna "getter done" and it will be all ready for the holidays.  That's my motivation.   Never mind that there are two more rooms with wallpaper to be removed.  ...All in due time..

* * * * * * * * * * * 

For my Followers, just want you to know that sweet little Gentry is home now and weighing in at 5 lbs as of today...Also my Atlanta son is soon to return to work - one more week.  What a journey this has been (since early August).  Not a day goes by that I don't count my blessings!!

Family Dynamics

I love seeing how people within a
family react to each other.
Some would call this "being nosey"
but I prefer to call it "curiosity".

If you follow me regularly you know that our family is very scrambled at the moment and has been for over a month now.  HK is with me, and Mister is with our youngest son (in Atlanta).  HK is 2 and here's a couple of our recent conversations:

Me:  Can you put that paper in the trash, please?
HK:  No thank you.

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Me:  You Go Girl!
HK: (shaking head, sadly) I don't wanna go.

   * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now that youngest son is feeling better I get the occasional text or phone call from him which begins with "Can you tell Dad...".  Then I have to find a way to discreetly tell Dad whatever it was that son didn't actually want to look his Dad in the eyes and say.

   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And, if any of my family is reading this please make note:
"I know I am never on time with birthday cards and the like.  I used to be, but that ship has sailed and it's never coming back to port.  From now until eternity you can count on a call on your birthday, then expect to receive your card/gift the next week."
You can blame it on one of the following:
(Choose one)
     a.  Weather
     b.  Your Dad
     c.  Menopause
     d.  None of the above

Cinderella Moment

Tuesday I packed up my sidekick, HK, and we took a little two hour drive to my Tulsa daughter's to attend the town Homecoming Parade.  Our oldest granddoll, Kaylee, is a high school queen candidate.  She looked so pretty all dolled up and seated on the back of a convertible.  It truly was a "Cinderella Moment". . .

They had no sooner  (pun intended) taken their place in the parade line-up, when it happened.  The thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and the parade was cancelled before it even officially began.  Alas (love that word), it was rescheduled for next weekend.  HK and I won't be making the trip again, so we'll miss it, but we enjoyed the rainy preview.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Just one more thing. . . 

I really like to think I've matured and grown above petty snobbery, but the truth is, sometimes I like to  brag a bit  flaunt my privilege a bit.  This is one of those times. 

This year I have my own personal "Fall Decorator" decorating

my house for the season.

"Eat your heart out Martha Stewart!"