Small Weekend Trip--Big Time

We had a holiday Friday off from school in April.  It seemed like a great opportunity to make a camping road trip with a 3-day weekend.  I approached Collin with this great idea to head to Branson. The Sight and Sound Theater opened the season with the production of Moses and we could get in a little shopping.  He was all in.  Additionally, it was a short trip and I thought my mom would love an outing.  To add to the excitement, she has never been camping in a 5th-wheel RV and I thought she should live on the edge.  I promised she would have a comfortable bed to sleep in and Collin would do all the cooking.  She couldn't resist and we had a grand time.

We left early Friday morning, picked up Mom at her house and headed out.  We arrived in Branson at the RV park, unhooked, and settled in around 1:00.  We had a sandwich for lunch and headed out to the 3:30 matinee.  We had to stop and pick up our tickets.  The show was outstanding.  We had previously seen Jonah and had enjoyed it so we didn't expect any less from this presentation.  Mom really enjoyed it as we did.

Upon leaving the show, we headed back to the campgrounds and Collin grilled hamburgers.  We watched a little TV, but everyone was tired and we weren't too long making Mom's bed as promised and we all called it a night.

Saturday morning, Collin cooked a great breakfast and we headed to the malls for a day of shopping. We had a great time and found lots of bargains.  Mom and I both got some new clothes and Collin found some tools.  Needless to say, by nightfall, we were all tired and hungry. Collin grilled some steaks for our dinner and soon, we all turned in again.  

Sunday morning, we loaded up and headed home.  Even the drive there and back was so enjoyable. We picked the perfect weekend to see hundreds of Dogwood trees blooming.  The drive was spectacular.

I think my mom might be just a little bit hooked on the camping experience.  She has never camped in an RV before and I know it was much more enjoyable than the early days of my childhood when we slept in the open air, or the truck, and carried everything out of the kitchen with us which had to be carried in and washed up before finding its way back into the cabinets.

She just might go with us another time.  We hope so because we enjoyed taking her and sharing the great outdoors Elder style.

The view from our swing

Marcia

Refreshed and Renewed

I had good intentions.  I really enjoy blogging.  The topic of my last post was Christmas.  Now some three to four months later, here I am.  We've experienced a difficult time as I lost my dad in January and Collin lost his dad in March.  I have truly needed a time to "Refresh and Renew" so not quite two weeks ago, we packed up and headed south, deep south, NOLA.

We had planned a trip spring break, but that of course, didn't work out.  Traveling a week ago was somewhat unexpected and last minute.  There are some things and some circumstances that arise in life you don't need to over analyze; you just do it.  This was one of those times.  Collin couldn't go, but Mom had never been to Micah's house, so she packed up and we hit the road.  It didn't take much to convince her to join me.  I worked until almost noon on Wednesday.  I called to tell her I was headed to her house and when I pulled into the driveway, this was what I saw.  Do you think she was just a bit excited and definitely ready to go?

We had a great drive down on I55.  It was overcast, but no rain.  We stopped a couple of times for a short break and enjoyed lunch at Cracker Barrel in Batesville, Mississippi.  We made Micah's house shortly after 7.

Rhyne had a conference in Dallas so it was the girls and Ben.  We had a great time.  We ate, shopped, and played.

Thursday began bright and sunny so we went shopping and hit a few dress shops.  We were successful.  Mom and I both found some clothes.  After we got home and enjoyed some chicken strips and fries, we headed to the park where Ben drove his truck for awhile.

Friday was rain, rain, rain, all day long so we all stayed in our comfy clothes, rested, and played a lot. Ben and I had a number of rounds with Hungry, Hungry Hippos.  I don't know; we played so much, he may need a new game.  Those hippos were really hungry.  We also spent several hours cutting shapes, figures, and writing our names in play dough.

Ben is also a practicing physician.  He gave Grandmother so many shots that she can cancel her medical checkups for the next year.  No doubt she will be very healthy from all her immunizations.

Saturday was another nice day and we decided to make another trip to town.  We wanted to visit the pretty stores.  I was particularly interested in finding a couple of things for the house.  Micah is a great tour guide and I gotta tell ya, Ben is a good shopper.  He never complained; he's quite the little trooper.

Sunday came all to quickly and it was time to head home.  We rarely leave without some last minutes photos to make a few memories.  

It was another beautiful, sunny down to drive home and we arrived about 5:15.  We had a great time and lots of fun.  Best of all, Grandmother finally got to see Micah's house and had some time to play with Ben.

I'm grateful for family and catching precious moments to play, laugh, and make memories.  When I'm sitting outside and reflecting, I get to live it all over again even though my loved ones are miles away and growing up too fast.

Just a swingin'

Marcia

Christmas Greetings and Shared Traditions--The Trees

It's truly the most wonderful time of the year.  I haven't posted in ages, but our life has had many changes and has been very chaotic.  In spite of all situations, one of the greatest things about Christmas is that while it can be exciting and busy, there is still some time to slow down, consider the reason for celebrating, and to be more aware and thankful for family and friends.  This afternoon is one of those times.

I've been busy in the kitchen today preparing breakfast dishes for one of my favorite holiday traditions, Christmas Eve brunch.  I'll have all my family in the morning to enjoy breakfast casserole, potato casserole, fruit salad, and some pastries.  Everything is prepared and the kitchen is clean for now so I thought it was a good time to update and extend Christmas wishes of good cheer from our home to yours.

Our Christmas is old fashion and full of tradition, very family centered.  We don't have a lot of holiday parties or events to attend.  I decorate the house early at the end of Thanksgiving week so that we can enjoy the tree and decorations as long as we can.  Evenings in front of the lighted tree and glowing fireplace is mine and Collin's idea of "it doesn't get any better than this."  We like to keep it simple.

Since I mentioned the Christmas trees and I believe that to be the focal point in all decorating, I thought I'd share ours with you today and a bit of tradition around all the trees in our house--four to be exact.

This is the focal tree in our living area that we enjoy the most in late evening or early morning as we enjoy our coffee.  It hosts a variety of ornaments that are all unique having been given to us by friends, families, or bought personally.  Many are souvenirs of trips and some made by our kiddos when they were in school. It has traditional colored lights and holds all the gifts for our family until Christmas Day.

This is Bryan's John Deere tree.  It is the second tree of tradition in our home.  It actually rests in Bryan's bathroom on the vanity.  It was his first tree when he was a toddler wanting to have a tree in his room because his big sister had her own tree in her bedroom.  When I first purchased this little 24 incher, it had tiny little ornaments on it and I added a string of colored lights.  Let me be clear that at the time, Bryan didn't like white lights.  They were "scary" and "ghosty".  Only colored lights would do.  Being little and playing with the tree, the original ornaments bit the dust.  The tree stayed stored for a while until he began collecting John Deere ornaments and his mom had this brilliant idea.  Every year, we decorate this little tree with green and yellow, and now, we add a string of white lights.  It's tradition how it looks and where it is to sit.  No changes.

The third tree of tradition.  As Bryan got a little older, he also began to notice that Micah's tree was bigger and we graduated to a tree of larger size, about 4 foot.  It stayed in his room with colored lights, no less until his middle teen years when it didn't seem quite as important as it had once upon a time.  In the meantime, Bryan began playing the drums and we began collecting new ornaments accordingly.  Once again, mom had a great idea of pulling this tree out of storage and putting all the drum ornaments on it making it a specialty tree.  We put it to the side of the French doors in the dining area, with colored lights I might add, and it was a hit.  It goes in that same spot every year.  No changes.

Last year, we added the fourth little tree.  Now in his late twenties, he has become an avid duck hunter.  You guessed it; we now collect duck hunting ornaments.  Last year, I went and bought this little tree, pre-lit, and we we started another specialty tree.  Our camo snowman is a new feature this year. The way this collection is growing, I may have to get a bigger tree next year.  This one is setting on the hearth by the fire place.  If we have to get a bigger tree, I'm not sure where it will set. Otherwise, B likes everything just the way it is.  No changes.

Now, sadly, I so wish I had a picture of Micah's tree that stayed in her room during the tweens and teens.  It was so cute--it looked a bit like and we called it, her Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  It didn't get decorated quite as often when she started college and moved to the dorm.  I think she may have taken it out to her room once or twice.  At any rate, mom has stored the tree, and you can never tell, I might pull it out of storage again sometime and decorate it.  If I do, I'm sure it will become tradition to do so every year. Or, you never know, she may ask to take the tree to her home one day to start some new traditions with her family.

Well, that's our tour of the trees and just a tidbit of our shared family favorites that I hope you'll enjoy.  We like cozy and warm.  From our house to yours. . .

Merry Christmas,

Marcia

In Search of Summer

I always say that as soon as Christmas is over, I'm ready for May.  I do not like winter--I'm always cold.  I get anxious for projects that revolve around warmer days; things I want to do outside and things I want to accomplish on the inside.  Collin and I also start thinking about summer trips we'd like to make in our RV and where we can enjoy peace and quiet in the great outdoors.  We've started thinking and looking.

Last Saturday, we hooked up and headed to the dealership in Memphis to drop off the RV for a spring maintenance checkup.  We had a few things that needed to be checked out and updated.  When Memorial Day arrives, we want to be ready to hit the open road.  After dropping it off, Collin and I drove a little further to Southhaven to shop in a couple of stores.  Mid afternoon we decided it was time to eat and here we are at Red Lobster.  We had a fun day; it was great to get out and have a change of scenery without any rush.

This weekend, we hit the open road again.  We're in search of summer time adventure and other great parks in the state where we might be able to camp this summer. Bryan went with us since he didn't have plans for the day.  We stopped mid-morning at Bald Knob.  We heard the Bull Dog had a great shake.  Collin tried it out and said his source was right while Bryan and I got a snack as well.

We traveled to Greenbriar and found the Woolly Hollow State Park.  It is pretty nice.

We traveled on on Petit Jean State Park as well.  We know it will be beautiful this summer as we explored a bit on the mountain.  Mid-afternoon, we had dinner at the Mather Lodge within the park.

 Our food was delicious and the view was magnificent.  We decided it had been a great day, but we had better head back home. The weekend was great.

Marcia

Christmas Recap and More

It has been a wonderful Christmas celebration time and a pleasant vacation from school. While the temps are really low, it looks as though tomorrow will dawn as a school day. With the exception of snow days, it will be 11 weeks until Spring Break. I look forward with anticipation to the "Spring" part. After Christmas is over, I'm ready for May and warmer temperatures. It has been a busy two weeks. When school dismissed for the holidays, I still had some shopping to do, groceries to buy, and some entertaining plans to organize. All packages were wrapped by Christmas Eve.

On Sunday, we began officially celebrating by having lunch with my mom and dad. Our children from NOLA joined us and we enjoyed a great time.

On Monday evening, we were invited to enjoy dinner with the Putman family.

Tuesday morning, we had Christmas Eve brunch for my family and invited the Putman family to join us. It's a pleasant time to enjoy family and create memories minus the excitement of opening the gifts saved for Christmas day.

We started Christmas day about 11 having lunch with my mom and dad.

After sharing gifts, we made a afternoon trip home for Ben to get a nap. Once he was awake, we went to share the afternoon with Collin's mom and dad for a while.

Getting back to our house, we got comfortable and opened our gifts. It was a great day.

Our kiddos left for NOLA Saturday morning. I had several errands and left behind them. In the afternoon, Colln and I attended a wedding, but upon arriving home, we decided to take down the tree and decorations. It was time to take down, clean up, and put away. This led to a week long adventure of cleaning our storage, shop, and house. We have stacked items for a rummage sale, but have also cleaned out and thrown away. It is amazing how things accumulate. I've also had some time to ponder, evaluate, and consider goals for the new year. We have been blessed this last year and we are thankful. We are rich with family and friends.

 Happy New Year

Family Celebrations Commence

Micah and Ben came home early to celebrate Thanksgiving. Rhyne joined later in the week after concluding a conference. We had a wonderful visit and I meant to post a few pictures and update, but as is the norm, my good intentions were sidelined when my life got busier. Here are just a couple of shots.

Since Thanksgiving, we've had the Living Christmas Tree at church, attended the Riceland banquet, I've been to basketball games, weathered a mini ice and snow vacation from school, attended a school Christmas program, decorated the house and done Christmas shopping.

This is my short list. There have been a number of other things going on as well.

However, to get to the main point of interest, the Putman family is home from NOLA to celebrate Christmas and we are delighted to have them back. While they have other family to visit, we were blessed to enjoy Sunday lunch together with my mom and dad. Here we are before sitting down to a wonderful lunch. My mom is still the best cook in the world. We had to trade out to see all the family so Collin is in one picture and I'm in another. Ben was really hungry and he continued to eat one of Grandmother's rolls. We couldn't possibly interrupt such a high priority task for a Kodak moment.

After lunch, we grabbed a few quick photos before the Putmans had to run to make another family Christmas get-together. 

We'll have more excitement in the next few days.   We hope your holidays are special.

Marcia