What a blur

The past few months really have flown by. I'm pretty sure I just finished wrapping Christmas presents yesterday, so how is it mid MAY already?? After the rush of Valentine's Day and Small's Birthday extravaganza, I had the hopes of things settling down a bit. Little did I know, things were just ramping up! We moved right into G's JV softball season with games at least twice a week. Toss in Diva's senior end-of-school events and some family health issues and BOOM! Here we are. 

My brother and I spent many a summer day at Mawmaw's (Mom's mom) apartment watching David the Gnome, Maya the Bee, The Elephant Show, and all the other fabulous 90s Nick Jr shows. Mawmaw had air conditioning AND cable! Two things we didn't have at home! We were living the dream!!! However, please note that this dream life had a mandatory outside break from 11:30-3 so that Mawmaw could watch her "soaps." During this outside time, we would play in the yard and be careful to avoid the 7,000 flowers planted all over the place! After Guiding Light, we were back in business with Hey Dude, Doug, and let's not forget the creepiest show ever, Are You Afraid of the Dark!

Earlier this year, Mawmaw had some serious health issues that needed a pretty serious surgery. It was scary considering her age and not-so-healthy body, but that woman showed us what she was made of! Not only did she make it through surgery, but she soared through recovery like a champ and was back home in no time! That's just how she rolls!

At the end of April, Mawmaw started to get sick again and was not doing well at all. I packed my bags...expecting a full recovery, but preparing for the worst. During my drive up, they moved Mawmaw from the nursing home to the hospital. Still, in the back of my mind, I was thinking "oh, good! The hospital. She does well in there. She'll be good to go in no time!"

Sadly that was not the case this time. When I got to the hospital that Sunday afternoon, she was heavily sedated and struggling for breath. My Mom and Aunt and Uncle had been there all day and the night before, so they agreed to let me spend the night while they all got some much needed rest. 

First of all, let me just tell you that nothing says 'hello, I'm a legit adult now' quite like spending an uncertain evening at the hospital with your sick Mawmaw. Secondly, the nurses came in and out every other hour, so there was no sleeping. Oh, aaaaand it was supposed to be a very stormy night! So, between my book, the weather channel, and lots of prayers Mawmaw and I made it through the night. 

Uncle Bruce came back to the hospital around 4:30 the next morning and while we were talking, her heart started to slow down and she peacefully passed away. It is like she was waiting on Uncle Bruce to get there so I wouldn't be there alone. From that moment on, I guess adrenaline kicked in and put me in task mode, because I'm not really sure how I kept going for two days with only a couple of naps at the hospital. 

This was the last picture we had taken of the four of us. You can tell by her sneaky little grin, that Mawmaw was feeling good that day and enjoyed seeing her great grand daughter, and it's that grin that I want to remember :)

We had a great week full of support from friends and family and lots of fun memories of Mawmaw, who was quite the Diva herself...back in the day! That next week Smalls and I went back to my parents' house to help out while Dad had a heart cath and Mom had a treatment. They are both doing well and hopefully everyone will stay out of the hospital now for a while!  

After about two weeks away, we're home and now in full swing graduation mode with Diva, so things have yet to slow down, but we're making it! I'm just taking things one day at a time and choosing to see the good in every situation and praising the Lord for all the opportunities He gives us to show us His Love for us. Thank you all for your continued prayers for our family. We are feeling them!

Wadley

 Wadley. My hometown. The place my college friends affectionately called Mayberry. 

Where I graduated from a (public) high school with a class of 23 students.

No traffic lights. Two police cars. Virtually NO cell service...until recently. And if you needed anything, you better get it early, because they roll the sidewalks up at 8 pm!!

Here's a little known fact. I didn't learn how to pump gas until I went off to college, because I always stopped at George's Texaco and they pumped it for you! 

A couple of weekends ago, my girl went to spend the weekend with my parents. She slept in a crib in my old room and had her Papa and Honey at her beck and call. Basically she was on vacation! I went up that Monday and stayed a few days before taking her home. 

That Monday night we had a terrible storm and the power was out ALL EVENING LONG! So we enjoyed  an old fashioned dinner by lantern light and good conversation. 

We also got to go visit with Mowmow in the nursing home. I love this picture because it looks like they are in deep conversation.  

Smalls enjoyed jumping on the bed, pushing buttons, and waving at the nurses as they walked by. 

I know this is a terrible iPhone snap, but I LOVE Mowmow's expression in this one! We actually caught a smile!

Four generations! It was truly a special day. 

Afterwards, we had dinner with Little Grandmother....and I'm not sure how I failed to get a picture with her. (It may have had something to do with the fact that MC ate her weight in green beans that night and got food all over herself and the floor!) 

If you'll remember, Little Grandmother lives just across the road, so I walked over for coffee and biscuits in the morning too! Just a perk of having a Grandmother at arm's reach! 

While I was home, I drove up to have dinner with some high school friends. Seeing these guys and catching up was good for the heart!!! A lot has changed over the past 12 years but I love the way we pick right up where we left off like it was just yesterday! 

Smalls got to help Papa in the yard!

She loved riding the lawn mower and playing with Troy, their rather large dog. And by playing, I mean he would walk by and she would say "woof, woof." 

I think Papa enjoyed his little sidekick too!

Just wait till you get a little bigger, Baby Girl, and he really will put you to work :)

We had a fun visit, and Papa and Honey were sad to see us leave...but Daddy and the Big Sisters were ready for this little one to come back home!

An Upcoming Event

There's a big deal event coming up this weekend!

Little Brother is about to marry this wonderful, and very lovely, lady!

Pardon me, while we go enjoy the wedding festivities.

I'll be back with lots of October updates soon.

Mowmow's Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Mowmow's 83rd Birthday! Although, Mowmow wasn't too keen on the idea of a party at first....as soon as she saw her balloons and hot-pink-with-feathers-light-up crown she changed her tune.

What is the best part about turning 83 you might ask? Well, for one, you can wear your favorite house coat and slippers to your party and no one will say a word!

Look at that smile! I'd say she perked right up about being the center of attention.

We had cake and ice cream and she had her picture made with each family. Here's ours:

Mom, Mowmow (who is Mom's Mom), Dad, me, and little Brother.

He really loves when I call him little brother. He out grew me in, like, the 8th grade, so this is how I remind him who's boss.

And all of her favorite grandchildren were there!

This is Mowmow and her brother, Jean...we think he's 89. You have to watch this guy because you never know when you're going to come home one day and find him in your barn. He loves to go through old stuff and look for treasures.

There were 12 of these kids growing up!!!! Can you imagine!?!? These days, they'd have

their own reality show!



Slay House

Picking up where we left off at the Slay's farm...

We spotted this...barn? building? house? Place...

It was hard to tell what exactly this was hidden behind the large pomegranate bush.

So Dad just asked Mr. Slay about it.

With a sly chuckle, Mr. Slay replied, "Well, now! That is a long story...come on in and I'll show ya."

"This is where my wife and I first set up house keeping when we got married..." he explained, "...but it wasn't located right here."  As it turned out, when he and his wife moved to their current house, they just

picked this house up and moved it with them! "My wife has a lot of old stuff," he told us, "and this is where I let her keep it all." He proudly showed us around this starter home and our tour revealed many treasures collected over their lifetime together.

Sewing machine...lamp...books...furniture...

... the heater in the corner of the living room...

...bedroom with a cotton mattress made in the 1920s...wooden ironing  board...

...toys from their own childhoods stashed in the corner and a wooden chest that he built...

...and tucked under the dresser was the wash pot where Mr. Slay's mother used to bathe her children!

...their old stove...

Mrs. Slay's original (manual) butter churn.

Mr. Slay explained to us that Mrs. Slay spent a lot of time churning butter, so he bought her this new butter churn (below) and he knew that she'd never leave him because of it! :)

Mrs. Slay's pie safe full of their first dishes.

...."washer" on the back porch...

...the back porch well...

...and even an out house!

Just past their old house was a barn with a car that 'has never been any further than Opelika."

Don't think that this house of treasures has been forgotten. Mr. and Mrs. Slay have opened their home and give tours to groups of elementary school kids so that they can learn about life back in the day.

Mr. Slay's Greenhouse

Husband and I made a trek to my neck of the woods for the weekend to visit my parents and grandmothers. For this particular venture, Dad made arrangements for us to tour Mr. Slay's Greenhouse.

He and his wife have been in the Greenhouse Tomato business for the past seven years and before that they ran Slay's Apple Orchard.

Mr. Slay was gracious enough to give us a tour of his farm and even a few quick lessons on tomato farming.

There were rows and rows of tomato vines tied to support cables that were suspended from the ceiling. In the center of the greenhouse was the thermostat that controlled the temperature inside as well as the watering and fertilizing schedule.

The tomatoes are actually planted in bags (two plants per bag) above ground and the "body" of the plant is trained to grow sideways along the cables. The arms of the plant grow up, diagonally, and are attached to strings hanging from the top cables. (you can see the orange strings in the picture above) The water system consists of pipes that run down each row and have smaller tubes that carry water into each bag. When the thermostat gives the signal, the water runs through fertilizer barrels to pick up the fertilizer before spraying the bags for a couple of seconds at a time. Who knew greenhouses were so technical!?!?

Then the tomatoes are on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday picking schedule.

Perhaps my favorite thing about the whole process was Mr. Slay's store. He has a section of a barn with shelves of tomatoes just like a grocery store. Anyone can come up at anytime and get what they need.

His cash register runs on the honor system!!

It was such a neat place, and this was just part one of our tour. As we were walking out we passed an old house that was mostly covered by a pomegranate bush. There's a neat story behind this old house...

...but I think that story deserves a post of its own. Stand by :)