May Visit to Virginia

Becky and I drove up to Charlottesville, Va to visit my mom during the last three days of May and, as always, had a great time with her.  We visited South Plains Presbyterian Church, had lunch in the upstairs dining room, dinner at Red Lobster and much discussion and sharing of pictures of the Tennessee P.E.O. State Convention and the status of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  We left her with many new pictures loaded in her digital frame.  The Grants were very gracious to allow us to use their downstairs apartment while they were in Roanoke on a church missions trip.  While at the Grants, we sneaked a peak of the doll house that Ken has been building for their granddaughter.

 I surely do miss him.  I wonder what he would say to 17 great grandchildren with one named with the first name of James and the another named Payne?

 South Plains Presbyterian Church is growing with two services and a completed administration and education wing.

 More construction at Westminster-Canterbury with a very deep hole where the side parking lot and Dad's raised garden use to be.  Glad Mom moved to the other side of the complex.

 A very pretty 97 year old lady

 Cheap gas in Charlottesville 

Ken's labor of love

Whitestone Country Inn Getaway

Three years ago, our children gave Becky and me a two night getaway gift for our 40th wedding anniversary and earlier this week we finally used it.  The Whitestone Country Inn is located near Kingston, TN and is a beautiful Christian retreat center overlooking Watts-Bar Lake and the Tennessee River.  The pictures don't do it justice since it was pretty hazy the day the pictures were taken but, hopefully, it will give you an idea of how beautiful it is.  We walked, played croquet, used a paddle boat, read and basically relaxed.  Becky did not mention P.E.O. once while we were on the property.  I was so proud of her.

 The School House where we checked in

 Becky in front of the Entrance Barn where our room, The Robins Nest Room, was located

 The Lion and Lamb Conference Center and the Good Shepherd Chapel

 Overlooking Watts Bar Lake

 The Farm House where the meals were served

 The Good Shepard Chapel.  They have a full time wedding coordinator on site.

 Beautiful sanctuary!  The chapel was built as an expanded replica of a small Anglican church that was built in the late 1800's in Rugby, TN near Big South Fork Recreation Area.

 Do you see the three crosses?

Holy Week 2013

Easter week brought our family together once again (except for Rachel and her family) with a gathering on Good Friday at Cassie's home that included great food and an inside Easter egg hunt.  The week started with snow on Monday, rain on Friday but a very pretty Resurrection Sunday.

A Good Friday picture for Rachel

Nonie catching up with the big girls

Visiting in Cassie's kitchen

Caleb is very proud of his new survival knife 

Caleb demonstrated all the items that can fit in the handle of his new knife

Some family members just don't like their picture taken

Christian and Caleb having quality time together.  I suspect they were texting each other.  Christian  had to ice and elevate his ankle due to a soccer injury.

Ann Blair and Rebecca with new puppy Holly

Josiah learning from the big boys 

A picture of our back deck on Monday.  We got about an inch of snow

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Cornerstone Presbyterian Church between services on Resurrection Sunday.  The couple in  the lower right are Richard and Vanessa Byrne, old friends from Memphis who surprised us with a visit.

Milk Run with the Milk Maid

My daughter, Cassie, is part of a milk co-op that purchases milk from several Amish families in Ethridge, TN.  To be a part of the co-op requires taking your turn driving to Ethridge to pick up the co-op's eggs, milk and other dairy products and this past Wednesday was Cassie's turn.  I asked if I could come along on her run to Amish country so at 7:15 am we were off to Ethridge.  In the past, Cassie had to drive to five different farms in the area but now she only has to visit one farm for the entire pickup.  After the truck was loaded and money exchanged, she texted all the co-op members with a time to meet in Brentwood and then received confirmation texts that they would be there.   The system worked great and all was distributed by 10:30 am.  It was a blessing to have some one-on-one time with a very busy mother of six children and also to interact with the Amish, a very interesting people group.

 The farm where we picked up the milk and other items.  The Amish don't like to have their pictures taken so I respected their privacy.  It was interesting in that all the males of the family dressed exactly alike, even the smalls boys.  It may also be the case with the females, but we only saw one teenage girl while at the farm.

 The area around Ethridge is flat compared to the Nashville area

 This is a one room Amish school house with an outhouse.  Cassie normally sees children playing outside but none today.

 We stopped at a small store while Cassie sent out the text messages to the co-op members

 The Milk Maid herself.

 Another Amish farm that we passed

 The local Ethridge economy tries to capitalize on the Amish community in the area

Cassie distributing the milk to her co-op members in Brentwood.

Dinner with the Fish Family

In February, Cassie invited Becky and I over for an outstanding dinner with her family.  I brought my new camera and captured part of a great evening.  Thanks Cassie.

Old Coronado and more

Several weeks ago the Grant's asked for the addresses of the three houses that my family lived in while in Coronado.  They were planning to visit their son, Trevor and his family in Coronado and wanted to try and take pictures of houses to share with mom.  I found several pictures and thought I would share with you all.   Also, some of you Duck Dynasty fans might also enjoy one of the pictures that has nothing to do with Coronado but thought I would add it.

 937 Alameda Blvd, Coronado, CA 1960

 The typical American family in 1960

The "typical" American family in 2013

Visit to See Mom

Last week I drove to Charlottesville, VA to visit my mom and also to take her to a doctor's appointment.  I enjoyed visiting with her and taking her out to dinner after her appointment.  

 I stayed at the Grant's home while they were visiting family in California and woke up after my drive to VA to find a light dusting of snow on the first full day of spring.

 Mom at the Tip Top Restaurant.  I ordered a pizza for us after she insisted that she only wanted a small slice but I had to fight her for the last slice and she almost won.  I think her appetite is back.  Note to self:  Tip Top has great pizza.

 Visited my Dad's grave at South Plains Presbyterian Church.  I sure do miss him.

 I have always loved this little chapel.

My beautiful mom at 97.  I hated to leave her but will be back for a visit in May with Becky after the P.E.O. State Convention.

Mom's 97th Birthday

This past Friday my mother celebrated her 97th birthday and Becky and I were honored to be a part of that great celebration for a loving and gracious lady.  We drove up to Charlottesville, VA on January 3rd and celebrated her birthday on January 4th with my brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Linda, as well as Ken and Brenda Grant, some very close family friends, at the Ivy Inn Restaurant.  I am enclosing some pictures that I took with my new camera and as you can tell, I am still getting use to it.

 Paul attempting to drive Mom's scooter with Linda directing

 Relaxing in Mom's Apartment

 Mom and her first born and favorite son

 Becky enjoying Mom's scooter.  It actually was pretty comfortable

 Mom's birthday dinner at the Ivy Inn near the UVA campus in Charlottesville, VA

 Mom's birthday cake

 Mom with Paul and Linda

 The birthday girl with Becky and me

 Mom with her two favorite daughter-in-laws

Mom with her two sons