Thanksgiving 2021

Look who showed up for Thanksgiving.  Our wonderful son, darling wife, and 3 little sassy little girls (Lyra, Lucy, and Lexi).  They drove for 2 days to get her and spent 4 days with us. Suzy and Tim hosted them at their house and as exceptional grandparents,  we did our best to spoil them rotten.  It had been over 2years since we last saw them, so we were thrilled to have them come.  They always like to have their picture taken on the swing on the front porch.  Some things are traditional and must be upheld.

Uncle Andy and Oz

I've got lots of posts to catch up on but this one is about the special relationship between my boys....Andy and Oscar. Andy is thrilled to be an active part of Oz's life and is already making plans to take him to his first Mets game.

Uncle Andy was thrilled when Suzy found a cap similar to Andy's favorite cap. This cap belonged to my dad (the grandfather he is named after) and he wears it whenever I'm in town. I think he wants me to know he didn't lose it.


Suzy had a Cowboy birthday party for Oscar's first birthday. We all wore cowboy hats, bandannas, and jeans.....except for Andy. He decided that a cowboy party would not be complete without an Indian. So.....you guessed it. He rented an Indian costume for the party. Oscar loved it but Andy did manage to scare two little girls at the party.
Now I ask you? How many uncles would dress up for a little kid's party? What a sweet guy.



As you can see "Cowboy Oscar" tamed that wild Indian with one of his smiles...There's a whole post coming about the party with lots of pictures and links so don't worry I'm in no fear of losing my "Diva" status.

Now for some unsolicited bragging about Uncle Andy. Boy Wonder is taking college courses to get a degree in business . He is paying his own tuition and is really doing well. He has raised his grade point average to 3.6. Bear in mind, he hates to study and hates math and is taking courses in accounting and statistics. He works all night and has 8 o'clock classes. He goes to every class and has even gone in for tutoring. He wants to get a "big boy job" and he knows he needs a degree to be taken seriously. We are so proud of him for his perseverance and maturity.

I enjoy watching Andy with Oscar. He is very protective with him and even babysat one evening so Suzy and Tim could out to a movie. Oscar was already down for the night and Andy did call me and asked me to pray that Oscar would sleep the whole time his parents were out cause he was pretty nervous about child care. God is good, Oscar slept and both uncle and nephew survived the outing. Good job Andy!

Monday Memories....Strawberry Fields Forever!

I drove by the Strawberry Fields today and saw lots of little white blossoms on the plants that one day soon will be red delicious strawberries. There is something wonderful about eating field ripen strawberries, is there anything sweeter?

Our Canadians enjoy coming to see us during berry picking time. We tease our daughter and tell her she must have been a migrant worker in another life. She can certainly pick a lot of berries in a very short time. Not to mention that she makes wonderful shortcakes, muffins, and pies. Excuse me while I drool!


When Boy Wonder was 4 he and I went with a friend to pick strawberries from the field. They weighed the containers before you went out in the field and then weighed them after you finished picking. They should have weighed Andy before and after too. I do believe he ate more than he picked. By the time we checked out he had ruby red lips and red stains all down his shirt.


The farmer looked sternly over at him and asked him directly, "Son, did you eat any of my strawberries?"

Andy suddenly got very scared and became shy and guilty-looking but looked up at the farmer and shook his head while saying, "No Sir!"

The farmer looked at his red-stained hands and winked at him and said with a smile...."Looks like you've been caught red-handed to me! Say, how old are you anyway?" He asked.

Looking miserable at having been caught in a lie, Andy held up 4 fingers and grabbed my leg to hide behind me.

"Well, "said the farmer, " Too bad you didn't eat any of my berries because I always let 4-year-old boys eat all the berries they want." " Here," he said, handing Andy a huge ripe strawberry "Try this one."

Moral of the story: Always tell the truth, especially when you are caught with red hands, red lips, and strawberry stains down your shirt.

Wordless Wednesday...National Library Week

Our children loved to be read to as children....so much so that they still take every opportunity to hear a story. Suzy grew up to be a children's librarian and her brother never could resist a good story.

The statue is in Central Park and is Hans Christian Anderson.

Shout Out to Boy Wonder

Today Boy Wonder goes back to college! We think it is a good decision on his part and has been a long time in coming. He dropped out when he was 20 as he told us , "I'm just wasting my time and your money."

No parent likes to see their child drop out of college and flounder around for a while. In Boy Wonder's case it has probably helped him mature, helped him develop a strong work ethic and taught him the importance of an education. Studying doesn't come easily to him but he has always been determined and once he sets his mind on a project there is no stopping him.

Andy is pretty laid back till he decides to "throw the switch" and then he becomes very focused. When he was a small boy playing soccer his coach would yell at him, "Andy use your head!" to which he would respond....."I'm thinking coach, I'm thinking!"

"NO!" yelled the coach, "Hit the ball with your head!"

Andy's soccer playing was also laid back until the first time he got knocked down by another player. He would pick himself up and mentally "throw the switch". Immediately he would be focused, determined, and all over the field.

This is Andy's first grade picture......I can hardly wait to attend his college graduation. "Use your head son!" Stay focused and determined!

Signed your biggest fan,

MOMS

Monday Memory.....Christmas Earrings

I am the proud owner of a collection of Christmas earrings. I have plastic candy canes, wreaths, red high-top tennis shoes with a Christmas teddy bear sitting in them, bells, angels, bows, snowmen, snowflakes, and Christmas trees.

 My collection was started by a little blond hair boy who bought them for me at the school's "Christmas Store". Every year he would add to my collection being very careful not to repeat the same ones I already owned.

I love Christmas and any gift the children picked out was always highly praised and worn with great pride. Now that they are grown I still love looking back and remembering how proud Boy Wonder was to have "picked them out" all by himself.

 He would probably disown me now if he saw me wearing them. His fashion sense has greatly improved now that he works in the Big Apple. If you hear jingling in the background it's just me with my sleigh bell earrings looking over my collection and trying to decide which pair to wear next. Did your children ever give you "special" Christmas gifts?

This picture of me and Poppa taken on Christmas day 2020 has me wearing light bulb earrings given to me years ago by boy wonder. 

Wordless Wednesday...My Pilgrim and Indians

Emma Indian with braids

Suzy Pilgrim

Andy Indian

It's Official.....the Chicks have left the nest!

The last of our family left this morning. We were up at 3:30 a.m. and on the road by 4 to reach the Richmond airport for their flight. It's a 12 hour trip for eldest daughter and baby Emma. They are flying into some really cold winter weather which will be a major change from the balmy sweater weather we have had in Virginia.

The house is unusually quiet....there is no run on the bathroom, no toys on the floor, and no squeals, giggles and smiles to greet me. I do have a picture ornament with Emma's voice recorded that I've listened to a lot today while looking at the tons of pictures we took while we were all together.


Emma loves Little People so of course not wanting her to forget her beloved Poppa and Diva I was thrilled when I found these for her. They actually do kind of look like us! I got really tickled when she picked up the Diva and kissed her! (What a clever girl!)




Uncle Andy bought Miss Emma her beautiful red dress so Saturday we took her to the Mall for her visit with Santa. She was in a really good mood when we got there but unfortunately Santa had pressing business at the North Pole so it was quite a while till we were able to get a picture with the two. Poppa was very good at amusing Emma by one of the giant Christmas trees.


Emma's Christmas shirt says, "Best Present Ever" and has a big bow on it. I certainly can say that she is the best present ever for our family. It was a thrilling experience to have my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one one big eventful week. I may never get over it...I hope not! I can look at the pictures and be transported right back to the fun and laughter.

I was gently reminded that Thanksgiving is every day. Thank you family for the sacrifice of time and travel. All of you may me feel very special and very loved.

All the Chicks in the Nest!

Here they are! All my babies home at one time except for SIL Jerry (husband and father to Emma still in Canada.)



Boy Wonder had not been home in three years so of course we had to kill the fatted pizza at his return. Suzy and Tim join us Tuesday afternoon after a brief visit with friends in Tennessee.



Tuesday night we ate at Cracker Barrel (family favorite and not available in New York or Canada). Oldest daughter and Emma love that you can eat breakfast at any time of the day there. It's also fun to look around while you wait for a table. No one went away hungry!

We were able to borrow a pop-up camper from a friend so it made for an extra bedroom in our drive-way. It worked pretty well till the temperatures dropped and the heaters tripped the breaker. I had some cold kids the next morning!

All of caught a "bug" of some kind, at various times, so some were well when other were feeling bad. Becky and Tim with the help of good ole Dad came through with the Thanksgiving Feast. Mr. Wonderful did the bird and Tim and Becky did all the side dishes. It was a wonderful feast made better by having every one home.

Auntie Suzy made Emma an Indian outfit to celebrate the day. She even made a head dress with feathers and braids.
Emma seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and also got two board books for Thanksgiving. One us called the Five Silly Turkeys and the other was about The first Thanksgiving.

Uncle Andy had to leave Friday afternoon so immediately after
our Thanksgiving feast the house was decorated for Christmas. The girls and Tim put up the tress and some decorations to make the house look very festive. Christmas came early at our house. It was nice to share the celebration with family and Emma doesn't know one day from another right now.



This is one of Boy Wonder's gifts....."A Man, A Can and Microwave!" He tends to eat out most meals so this is a cook
book for men.



More later....all the chicks have left the nest except for Becky and Emma and they leave really early tomorrow morning. This will be one sad daisy after everyone has left the patch.

Red Flaged Baby

Our son Andy was born with a collapsed lung. He was taken by ambulance to Bismark, North Dakota to the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) about 100 miles from where we lived.

 It was a frightening time for us, as there was some speculation that he might have Newborn Emphysema which is fatal. My dad had emphysema, and eventually died from it, so he was miles away thinking that he has somehow transmitted the disease to his namesake, through me.

 My mom had come from Virginia to care for the girls so Mr. Wonderful and I followed the ambulance on the long drive to Bismark. It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had to go through....leaving the hospital without my baby. Our small community of Dickinson was predominately a Catholic community. Our son was born at St. Joseph's Hospital (also a Catholic Hospital). Mr. Wonderful and I are not Catholic and do not practice the concept of infant baptism. When the x-rays, revealed that the lung was collapsed we were asked by the nurse if we wanted our son baptized.

 We graciously thanked her for her concern and calmly explained that we believed that our son had been prayed for and dedicated to the Lord since his conception so baptism was not necessary. She looked at us somewhat alarmed but returned to the nursery. 

 The next time I saw our son I noticed, written boldly above our last name on his bed, was this phrase, "Unbaptized Protestant". Our baby had been red-flagged to all the Catholic nurses that worked in the nursery that this sick baby had pagan parents who did not understand the eternal consequences of not being baptized. 

 I can only imagine the number of times that our little boy was baptized by sweet, caring Catholic nurses on every shift! The baptisms continued in the NICU unit as he was again red-flagged with "Unbaptized Protestant" on his nameplate at the Catholic hospital in Bismark. After speaking with the only Neonatalogist in North Dakota, we were assured that it indeed looked to be a collapsed lung and he was put under an Oxyi -hood that delivered concentrated oxygen for 24 hours.

 The lung re-inflated itself and we were able to take Boy Wonder home. Our son Andy, is quite the charmer and has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. He is kind and incredibly sensitive to those around him and especially his friends and family. I sometimes wonder if the prayers and "baptisms" of all the nurses he encountered in the first few days of his life have made a lasting imprint on our boy. It amazes me how sometimes being red-flagged actually works to your advantage!

Saturday Photo Hunt.....Dirty

Boy Wonder loved riding his big wheel through mud puddles. He looks like a "Tide needed here commercial " Boy Wonder is currently 26 years old now.

Happy Birthday Boy Wonder!

From the time he was just a little boy he dreamed of super heroes. He always loved Superman, Batman, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He loved walking around with towel around his neck as a cape and flew all around the house as the Cape Crusader.

He rescued me from imagined beasts and bad men. He will tell you to this day that his dad is his hero.

He was always a charmer with his big brown trusting eyes and chubby cheeks. His smile would melt any mother's heart and it was always hard to discipline him because he would make you laugh at his naughtiness , because he was always so sincerely sorry.

He adored his sisters and put up with a lot of abuse just so they would play with him. Many days I watched him play "Sweet Valley High" board game or Barbie's just so they would pay attention to him.

He played his best sports after someone on the other team knocked him down. His determination intensified and so did his skill level. I've seen him play soccer in the snow, in intense heat and with a raging case of poison ivy.

I saw the coach pitch" Star" become hitless in Little League but it never dampened his enthusiasm. I still laugh when I remember one game where he played to the crowds, tipping his hat and bowing out in right field (where the dandy lions grow and no action occurred!) I remember that his prayer life grew in Little League. He would come to the plate and pray that they would walk him!

Now as a man, I still see the little boy in you but I am impressed by the maturity that is there also. Happy Birthday Bud. I was thrilled and totally captivated by you the moment I held you in my arms and know you are never far from my thoughts and my heart.

Wordless Wednesday...My Birthday babies!

My two youngest children have birthdays this month. Aren't they adorable!

Monday Memories...kid planned vacation

Two of my three children have birthdays this week and I'm feeling very sentimental. The picture on the side occurred the summer Mr. Wonderful and I decided to let the kids plan our Summer Vacation.

I was homeschooling the children so we made it a class project. They decided they wanted to go to Atlanta and North Georgia so the first thing they did was put together a jigsaw puzzle of the city of Atlanta. The puzzle had icons where various sightseeing sites were located. After the puzzle was completed they looked up the sites that intrigued them to see how far they were, the cost and how much time they wanted to spend at that location.

Before we left our home in Savannah, each child was given a camera, film, and a notebook to record their trip. Their itinerary was well thought out and of course, had many sites of interest.

Our first day was spent entirely at 6 Flags Over Georgia. They rode every ride and we left the park exhausted. On the second day, we went to the Atlanta Zoo, Cyclorama, and Stone Mountain.

We stayed to see the laser show that evening and went to our motel exhausted. The next day we went to Sci-Tech (a kid-friendly, hands-on museum of science and technology) Underground Atlanta, the World of Coca Cola, and the museum located in Atlanta's City Hall, and that night we went to a Braves game (their first major league game.) Again we were exhausted by the time we reach our motel.

The following day we headed for the North Georgia mountains and to the city of Dahlonega. Dahlonega was the place of the first gold rush in the Nation so naturally, the kids wanted to try their hand at gold mining. They soon found out it was hard work so we toured the gold mine museum and other nearby sites including Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia (home of the Cabbage Patch Dolls) and Amicalola Falls State Park where this picture was taken.

Mr. Wonderful and I had to agree that it was a great vacation the children had planned. I'm wondering if that how Suzy's interest in planning unusual itineraries started. She is really good at finding interesting places to visit where ever they travel.

Daisy and The Big Apple.

After spending our morning in the 17 Century we spent the afternoon and evening in Manhattan. Andy joined us and I finally got to see some of the City that I had missed viewing earlier.

We walked all over the city and it was amazing. I certainly felt like a tourist as I spent most of time looking up at all the tall buildings, signs and sights.

Mr. Wonderful does not like crowds so he had his "don't mess with me" face on. We did get him to loosen up a little especially when we went to F.A.O. Schwarz toy store.

Times Square always gives me "goose bumps". There is always so much going on and the city is in constant motion. We went to the new M&M store at Times Square as well as the Hershey Store. The store smells like chocolate and reminded us of the chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Wonderful is a Fox News guy so he and Andy had to have a picture in front of the studio. They took it especially for our Becky's amusement (they just wished she could have been there!) This one's for you babe!

Suzy and I are hamming it up with the door man at F.A.O. Schwarz .

Who doesn't enjoy a toy store? It certainly brings out the kid in all of us (even Mr. Wonderful). Mr. Wonderful enjoys calamari and is always talking about eating octopus. So he enjoyed hanging out with this stuffed Octopus version. (They do look like pals, don't they?)




Not to be out done by Dad....Andy and Suzy look like they have the catch of the day.


I even got to "hang With Hagrid" who is made entirely of Lego's. Do you see a family resemblance?

We ate at John's Pizza and had New York style pizza thanks to connections of our son Andy. We had the best booth and great service. It was a great day full of fun and great memories.

Monday Memory...the beaded curtain

We lived in Savannah, Georgia for 17 years. Our children grew up there and it's amazing to me how many stories I didn't know till they grew up and started reminiscing about their childhood.

Slowly some of their erratic behaviour began to make sense. We lived in a three bedroom home. We had two girls and one boy so it only made sense that the girls share a bedroom and the boy got his own bedroom. When the children were small we had the younger two in bunk beds in the same room giving Becky (our oldest) her own bedroom for a brief time.

When the time came for the girls to share the bedroom Becky told her brother ( about 8 at the time) that if any burglars broke in during the night that his bedroom was the first one they would go into and he would most likely be killed. Shortly after this big reveal we noticed that our son would sneak into our bedroom in the middle of the night and sleep on the floor by our bed. I would invariably almost step on him on my way to the bathroom.

Having no idea that his older sister had implanted this thought into his young impressionable mind Mr. Wonderful started locking him out of our bedroom. The next morning we would find him asleep on the floor between his sisters' beds. They soon tired of finding Andy on their floor and found navigating around him in the middle of the night to be just as cumbersome so they also began to lock him out of their bedroom at night.

We would then find Boy Wonder asleep on the floor in the hallway between both bedrooms. Mr. Wonderful tried talking to him to find out why he wouldn't sleep in his bedroom during the night but to no avail.

One Saturday Mr. Wonderful and Suzy went to local garage sales (their favorite father-daughter bonding time together) and came back with a beaded curtain. Boy Wonder claimed it immediately and made Dad put it over his doorway that same day. It would rattle every time you went in or out of his bedroom.

We discovered years later that it was Andy's burglar alarm. He decided that if he heard the beads rattle in the night that it would mean that a burglar was coming to his room. It would give him enough warning that he could jump out the window or scream for help!

The rattling beads was enough to let him sleep peacefully in his bedroom every night afterwards. Who knew that a few strings of beads hanging over the door way would provide security and a good night's rest?

(Side note: Older sister Becky disavows any memory of this incident!)

Did your children have monsters under their beds or night terrors? How did you handle them?

Monday Memories.....A jolting wake-up

I am a registered nurse who worked the night shift. It worked out well for us as someone was always home with the children. However, we occasionally would run into some difficulties with transportation.

One New Year's Eve I was scheduled to work 11 to 7. It was icy and cold in North Dakota and our car was quite temperamental in the cold weather. I knew that if it stalled out on me I would never get it restarted and would be stranded . So I casually informed Mr. Wonderful that he would have to drive me to work and pick me up in the morning.

Somewhat annoyed, he informed me that everything would be alright and that if he was going to drive me that we would have to wake up the kids and put them in the car. Without arguing with him I started bundling up the kids and he reluctantly went out to warm up the car.  

I was right and of course the car decided to act up several times on the way to work. I was so glad that he was there to get it started again and coax it down the icy streets of Dickinson, North Dakota. He dropped me off and I didn't think anymore about it till I was interrupted in report with an emergency call from home.

Fearing the worst (possibly being hit by a drunk driver) I grabbed the phone only to hear Boy Wondering screaming in the background. "What's wrong? I asked in silent terror.

"I just killed our son!" was the answer from a very frustrated and angry Mr. Wonderful. "You've got to come home now!"

"If you killed our son, who's that screaming in the background?" I asked trying to calm him down and knowing the sound of an angry scared cry.

"That's him," he said, "I dropped him while I was carrying him in from the car, you've got to come home now" he insisted.

" You dropped him?" I said.

"Yes," he said, trying to calm Boy Wonder down. " I was carrying him into the house and my boots had snow on them. When I carried him into the warm kitchen the snow melted and I slipped and dropped him. "

" Is he bleeding or just startled?" I coaxed knowing that he was in a padded snow suit and had several quilts surrounding him.

" He was asleep when I dropped him." "He's not bleeding but he needs his mom and I've got to get the girls out of the car now, so come home" he insisted.

"Honey," I said, very slowly ," in order for me to come home you'll have to put the kids back in the car and come get me, remember?"

"Just never mind then," he said. "I don't know why I married a nurse, you're never home when I need you!"and he hung up abruptly.

I called after report and found out that all was quiet and the kids were sleeping. Mr. Wonderful had calmed down and other than being jolted out of a sound sleep Andy was perfectly alright. He had been totally padded with all the quilts and buntings.

A standing joke in our household now is Andy telling his dad, "Just think how brilliant I might have been if you hadn't dropped me on my head when I was a baby!"

Monday Memories...Baseball Blues

As our children were growing up all of them were involved in team sports. They all played soccer and were on various softball and baseball teams. Some years were definitely "character building" years where their teams didn't win a single game but at the end of the season walked away with big trophies for perseverance.

One such season was a baseball team in which Boy Wonder was a member. Baseball season in the South starts early and ends early because of the heat in the summer. This particular team did not win a single game during the regular season. I personally was glad to see the season end and had signed Boy Wonder up for Boy Scout Camp several miles away.

Before the season was officially over there was a final tournament of all the teams. It was a single-game elimination, so I figured "OK, they play one game, lose and the season is officially over." It sounded simple and I was not prepared when his team won their game!

We celebrated by going out for ice cream and again I thought. "OK, they were overdue for a win they will lose their next game and the season will officially be over."

Two days later his team again won their game. We celebrated with pizza and I thought, "This is getting annoying! Andy leaves for Camp on Saturday. Surly they will lose their next game and the season will be over."

Again, his team won much to the surprise and dismay of the parents who were now juggling vacation schedules, camp dates, Bible School obligations, and personal commitments. Andy left for scout camp, and we breathed easier that our commitment to baseball was over.

However, my kind-hearted hubby was told by the coach that the team would have to forfeit the game unless the Boy Scouts came back for the game. So, Mr. Wonderful drove an hour and a half to pick up our son and some of his teammates from camp. Again, they won and celebrated with hamburgers on the way back to camp. Mr. Wonderful sighed and knew he would be making the round trip back to camp on Thursday for the championship game.

The boys lost the championship game but came in second place overall. It was a memorable season after all, but we remember it because even though we were cheering for the team we all secretly wanted them to lose.

My Day was bad, His was worse!

Yesterday evening before we were ready to go to bed Mr. Wonderful gets a strange look on his face and suddenly asks me...."If something really gross happens to one of the kids would you want to know?"

Now I ask you what kind of question is that to ask a Mom? So I start asking him questions. Where any of the kids hurt? (no) Did they hurt anyone? (no) Have you talked with the child? (Yes) Are they doing everything that is feasible for the situation? (Yes)

Since the child has specifically asked him not to tell me I trust his judgment but remind him he really needs to follow up on the situation or I'll be mad.

I go to sleep thinking gross....maybe gross is finding a mouse nest in your stove. It may mean eating something spoiled and getting food poisoning or having really bad diarrhea.

So this morning I was very surprised when I read this.

Don't tell mom but tell the Internet! Kids, you got to love em!

Yes Sir that's my baby!

If you are a Country and Western fan or can't get enough of "Coal Miner's Daughter" then check out Women's Entertainment network Saturday at noon.

Boy Wonder (name misspelled) is breaking into television as one of the men on 3 Men and a Chick Flick.

I was very surprised to see he is listed as a country singer. ( I've heard him sing in the shower and can testify that he is not. ) I don't know why I should be surprised at that especially since he is answering questions about a movie he has never seen.

Unfortunately we don't get that station on our cable so he will have to tape it for us so we can watch Boy Wonder on TV. If you watch it, he'll be the cute one that never answers any of the questions first.