Thanks be to God

The last ten days are just proof again of how blessed I am. A few of the highlights are:

• The women's trip to Savannah which included great architecture, great history, great fall foliage, and great food. It was a fun trip. I did win one major "ditzy" mark when I could not find the car after eating at Paula Deen's restaurant. 
• Decorating the house for Christmas started soon as I walked into the house. Tonight it is 90 percent finished. The boys got the lights on and lit the very first time. Never has this happened.

• There was never a dull moment with the boys around for four days. Rick and I came home Friday to find this coyote hanging in our back yard. (Greg and Chad, thanks for all your work on the Christmas and on the retaining wall. You saved our backs from some major pain.)
• Thanksgiving with my family and the Fergusons. I love the time when the cousins are together. The kids still crack me up.  
• Food - Savannah food, Thanksgiving food, Greg's birthday meal at the Angry Catfish, Saturday night's meal with Rick after all the hoopla was over.
• This afternoon  "Grandparents' time" with Cade, Cali, and Keylyn.

Thanks be to God for the good life. I give Him all the glory.

I am a (sick) Princess

Yesterday I heard three of the worst words you can hear next to "you have Cancer." I was told that I have diabetes. I have been loosing weight since the summer. I drink water continuously and am always thirsty -day and night. However, the worst part is I have no energy. Yes, I know you are thinking that I am an old lady. I understand that I am not going to have to go through the treatments and the insulin shots. My diet will be changed. NO MORE sugar and the table scraps will have to be watched more carefully. I will be put on a high protein, high fiber, and low fat diet. I understand that I may have to share my domain with another lady really soon. They want me to teach her how to be a guard dog on the hill. I just hope that she is a quick learner and not too pesty. I would hate to put her in her place too early.
I am the Princess!

This post was guest authored by Princess, my 14 year old lab.

One Mean "Motor-Scooter"

Well, the farm is a little calmer today. Yesterday, Rickie and I took off "one mean Motor-Scooter". In other words, this cow was wild. Until several weeks ago she had never been in the corral. Only with Rick's patience and perserverance did she go in this weekend. While we were moving hay, he caught her in there. So she got locked up for the night. Yesterday was the challenge; she had to go in the trailer. After a hour of pacing, prodding, and kicking, Rick finally wore her butt down. Once she was loaded she went straight to the sale barn. There was no stopping - not even for a Diet Coke. I think Daddy was smiling.

Another Fun-filled Week

I was so blessed last week with some very fun activities.

• Rick and I got to go see the game that the Rangers lost in the World Series on Monday. I have to admit my theory was wrong; I just knew the Rangers would win. My thought was that it was a money thing and the series would go at least one more game. Especially so the SF Giants could win at home.

• We went to the thank you rally for the the Rangers on Wednesday night with two of his daughters and two grandsons. I love what Nolan Ryan has done with Rangers baseball. This truly put the "period" on the finale of a great baseball season.

• We finished the week off with our Redneck weekend. This is the first time that Di and I had all four of our kids there. Each race weekend is totally different and memorable. This one was no disappointment. The races were good - even though there were no bad wrecks. We celebrated Chad's birthday. Food was delicious. Karaoke was entertaining. Fun was had by all. 

Life is good!!! 

The Soldiers Came

The dedication service was more spectacular than I could even imagine. Diana and I got there one hour and fifteen minutes early. We were greeted by two men dressed up and a buglar. I was impressed. Shortly another soldier appeared. At this time we were so excited that we started texting a few friends that the Confederates had arrived. However, that was not the end. In the next forty-five minutes, eighteen more solders and three widows appeared. We felt like we were a part of "Sweet Home, Alabama" when they did the war re-enactment scenes.

The service was a perfect tribute to Lindsey and Julia. Nelda had the Eulagy memorized. Marlon's solo and  "Taps" by the buglar brought tears to my eyes. WOW! is all that could be said about the soldiers, the 21 gun salute, and the three cannon shots. Then when we thought we had experienced it all, the widows performed the "Black Rose ceremony".

It was a perfect the day. We met more Scoggin/Scogginses and visited with the ones we were already familiar with. I did appreciated that Chad and Tara were with me to experience this day in history (I did NOT make him come).  The lady from the funeral home summed the event up best by saying that this was by far the neatest thing that she had ever witnessed at a memorial service.

Crazy and Getting Crazier by the Day

There is no doubt that I can be and have been called the crazy "mom," "sister," or"aunt." I now have a new title; I am now the "crazy cousin." But that is ok with me. I and some of my very distant cousins are planning a tombstone dedication ceremony this Saturday for my Great-great grandfather and mother. They were buried over 100 years ago. He fought in the Civil War, which it is 150th anniversary of the Civil War, so we are having a special ceremony for this, too.

He never had a marker, and hers had broken into three pieces. We have had both of them a new marker made and her old marker set in a cradle to preserve it.

With the genealogy that I am involved with, each new piece of information that I come across is a jewel. This last week I received several jewels to take to the ceremony to share with others. I have my grandparents' family Bible, Papa's pocket watch, and Granny's glasses.

The New England States - again

Rick and I just got back from his sprinkler show in Providence, Rhode Island. I had another great experience. Highlights for me from the trip are as follows:

We got to stay at a nice hotel, which was next door to a three-story mall. The time I spend in this mall while Rick was in his show is more time than I have spent in a mall in the last five years total. I am no longer a shopper. The amazing fact is I did NOT buy anything but lunch and a coke either day.

The touristy thing that Rick and I probably enjoyed the most was the mansions at Newport. We did tour four of them. All were spectacular in their own way. The other item we toured with the show was Gillette stadium where the New England Patriots play ball.

The food was delicious. The seafood and cheesecake were to die far. I even splurged on a chocolate turtle walnut cluster blizzard just for the girls back at home.

We were a little early for "leaf peeping," but that did not stop us from driving. On Saturday, Rick wanted to travel to all the New England states so that he could get stars on these states. We have on our bucket list to visit each of the the 50 states. We did hit Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine all in one day.

Sunday was our Boston day. We did a Freedom Trail walking tour, the USS Constitution tour, and a Hop-A-Bus tour of the city. I just wish that I could remember a fraction of the facts that I have heard from my travels.

Rick did not enjoy the trip nearly as much as I did. There were way too many people, too much traffic, and Sunday in Boston was way too cold for him. He can relate to Dorothy with the thought that "there is no place like home."