Galveston 2007

For the past several years we have gone to Galveston the day after Thanksgiving to see some family friends. Mrs. Norman and her family to be exact. My mom and Mrs. Norman have known each other since they were in grade school......I will not tell anyone's age, but it would be safe to say it is well over 60 years of friendship. Funny note here, I call her Mrs. Norman. I always have and always will, even though she has given me permission to do otherwise. Jennifer calls her Beverly.............is this a sign of the times? I digress....

Anyway, Mrs. Beverly Norman has three sons. Bill, Bob and Brent. They are there along with Bob's lovely daughter, Molly, and Brent's three charming young sons, Brandon, Lucas and Nicholas and his wife Denise. The Norman's all come together for a week at the beach, where they rent a really large house and spend family time. The we go and crash the party for a day! It is always a nice visit, even though it is short.

So here are some pictures of the beach. I believe I do not need to comment on the weather that day for the pictures speak louder than any words I might have.




JUMPING FOR JOY AT THE BEACH





REX AMD MIA, HAND IN HAND



MIA LOVES SEASHELLS, DOWN AT THE SEASHORE



LITTLE BABY, BIG WATER



NEW FAMILY "LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE" (corny I know, but hey..I get to write here)



MIA LOVES SAND AS WELL AS DIRT AND MUD PUDDLES



HE LOVES HER, EVEN WHEN SHE IS FUSSY.........COULD SHE/WE HAVE GOTTEN BETTER?

Hair Obsession

Some folks might think I am obsessed with Mia's hair, or lack there of. I would not use the word "obsessed", but I have been waiting with baited breath for it to grow. So today, she actually let me put it up. We went down to her great grandparents house to show them how cute it was. As you can see from this picture, even Mia thought it was cute!







Granted, we have a ways to go before we can really have an "updo", but for now, this just makes me smile from ear to ear. Oh, and have I mentioned before that her mom's hair was the same way..........got thicker and thicker, but not longer and longer, and now, Jennifer has a wonderful full head of hair! Jennifer's Grannie Barton use to ask us "why do you cut that baby's hair?" every time we saw her, and every time, we had to tell her that we didn't cut it, it just doesn't grow! Of course Grannie always asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee, and I always said, "no thank you, I do not drink coffee" and every time she said, "You don't drink coffee?"..........It just made me laugh. It is ashame that Grannie passed away before she met Mia, and really so long ago that my kids have small memories. She and Grandpa Barton were a hoot! I loved visiting with them!

Jennifer is 28 years old

So when your children get older, does that automatically make you get older? Chronologically, yes, it does, but not mentally, because we can control our mental state. Jennifer wanted to stay home for her 28th instead of going out to eat, so I cooked down at Mom and Dad's house. We had Oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed gravy, ranch style beans, yeast rolls and brownies with ice cream. My brothers birthday was just a few days ago. I think everyone believes that his birthday and Jennifer's are just practice shots for Mia's upcoming 2nd birthday. Notice in the video she gets to blow out the candles and notice how many candles there are!


Don't pay attention to her diaper, she decided she needed to "sag" them. I tried to keep the camera positioned where she would not be embarrassed some day when she gets older!

Where's the beef?

I should take more pictures. When Catherine lived at home, she was the one who took lots of pictures of Mia, and I just used hers for the blog. She fusses at me all of the time now, because I do not have pictures of Mia here. I am not a good picture taker.

JoelandJenny.blogspot.com


CatherineatBrown.blogspot.com:


and my friend Dorothy Schmidt has an amazing daughter-in-law. I have never really met Brigitte, but reading her blog, gives me a glimpse into her life. She has two very little boys and she writes with such a gift of getting to the point. Her blog is called Spit Up, if that gives you any idea:
Barrettsmom.blogspot.com

I save it on my tool bar as "Dorthy Schmidts babies", but that is because of the bond we grandmothers share..........they are our babies babies after all.

Anyway, the point to this is, Jenny and Bridgett always seem to have a camera ready for great shots. I can not find mine half the time. I need to take more pictures.

Bad mom ! Bad, bad mom!!!!

Truth be told, I did tell Catherine I would send her some "care packages" when she went off to college. You know, home baked cookies, boxes of popcorn, bags of coffee, sweet notes, telling her I love and miss her................

Truth be told, I have yet to send anything..........bad, bad mom.........

I am appealing to anyone who reads my blog.......if you could, please write to Catherine, please be the mom that I obviously am not! I mean well, but, I have so many of those "roundtoit's" that my pockets are full!

Catherine's mailing address is:

Catherine Waldrop
Box 2247
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912

Oh, and this is a secret so please don't tell Catherine I did this.

Thanks a bunch!

The Circus

The circus came to town today. According to the newspaper, if you went a little before 9am you could watch the elephants help set up the tent. We left the house at 8:30am (Mia was knocking at my bedroom door before that, saying, "GG, I ready to go see elephants"). Due to a combination of mis-information and Houston traffic, the elephants did not arrive until 11am. Needless to say, it was a long morning waiting. Mia had a blast running around, playing outside and all, (the photo is of her "mixing it up" with the kindergarten kiddos that came to watch) but it would have been nice to see the pachyderms and get home before 11am.




As it was, we saw the elephants, but left before they helped set up the tent.

This is Mia telling the elephants bye.



We went home and Mia took a much needed nap. A little short for my liking, but she awoke in a fine mood, grinning ear to ear.

We left the house again, a little before 4 pm to attend the actual circus. Mia and her GG, off to see the magic of the circus.

Mia rode the elephant with absolutely no fear. In fact, I had to keep her from cutting in line and explain the whole "wait your turn" concept again.



After the VERY short ride (I apologize for the video. I have some others that are cute, and if anyone can tell me how to rotate a video clip I would certainly appreciate it), we went inside the big top to see the circus. At first, Mia was, as I had hoped, awestruck! (again apologies for the photo, I do not have the same knack that Catherine has for "self portrait" line ups with the camera!)



And then we watched the circus, with interest for about 7 minutes!



And then she said "I ready to go home", took off out of the stands, flew out the circus tent well before GG could catch her! I have no photos of this, for I was grabbing my purse and in hot pursuit of the fastest little legs this side of the Pecos!


I wonder how many times I drug (is this how you spell taking them kicking and screaming kind of taking, it doesn't seem right, oh well, once again I digress) my girls to things they had no interest in, yet took them because I was interested, or I thought they SHOULD be interested. It is possible that the outing to the Circus could be one of those times, but this time I drug Mia. This is not to say she didn't have fun seeing the elephants and riding one. But, she will not remember it. Besides, the clowns scared her. Not afraid of a 2000 lb elephant, but a man with a red nose and big feet sent her skittering behind my back or between my legs. She did not cry, but she did not want them seeing her either!

Oh well, another memory for me to forget (alas, it happens with age). I just hope Mia remembers it fondly some day.......

More babbling thoughts about being a Grandmother

I am having the wonderful experience of watching Mia during the day while her mom goes to school. I, like all new moms, just become overwhelmed with love and sweetness that exudes from my little Mia's pores. So I am going to babble a bit about those little things that make my day with her.

This morning, snuggled together in my bed, her drinking her morning "hot tea" and we were watching Clifford, or Seasame Street,(I can't remember and it does not matter), I was caressing her little arms and hands and looking at the pure sweetness of it all. The delicate hands, so perfect, and the soft skin covering the sweetest arm. I just wanted to eat it up and remember it forever.

Yesterday, while out shopping with her mom and myself, Mia was sitting in her car seat in the back, and out of the clear blue said, "Mia happy". She was smiling such a big smile at us both. Thought my heart would burst with love.

Today, Mia had to go to time out. She did not mind me. I sat her on the couch, told her why she had to sit there for a minute. She cried and my heart about broke for being the one to make her cry (but, believe it or not, I know it is necessary to make her mind). Anyway, after about 30 seconds of crying (which seemed like HOURS!), she stopped crying, smiled really big and said "Mia happy". Well, how could I refuse that! Of course she was allowed to get up off the couch, of course she was allowed to hug me, and of course, I told her I was happy too! I am after all, her Grandmother.

Tonight, she tried on six pairs of socks (all pulled from her drawer) and 5 pairs of shoes (pulled from a different drawer). The child loves shoes and socks. She also left 5 pairs of shoes in the floor and 6 pairs of socks ended up piled on the couch.....but the pay off was, her sitting in my lap that many times (times two actually, because for every pair we put on, we had to take them off!), me getting to put my arms around her to steady her while we put those socks and shoes on, and me getting to hold those little feet or legs or sweet body.

Soon, Mia will be moving with her mom and Rex to Tomball. They will no longer live here, and I will no longer be her day care taker. I will miss her terribly. My time with her will be so little compared to now. She will be with her mom and Rex, or with her daddy and Christina (CC), or at her much beloved PaPa's (he adores her grandfather, Larry Hegar). I wonder if she will even remember that she lived here. She is so young. It will be up to me to remind her that this was/is/ and always will be her home. I am, after all, her Grandmother.

Purple Bobbies

I was trying to get a video clip specifically for Catherine. Unfortunately it was almost 9 Pm when I did this, so Mia is not overly chatty..........but here is something anyway, Catherine!

Literally

Literally, this is how toddlers think. This may be one of those stories that you had to be there, or at least be a better writer/story teller than I am, but I am going to give it a shot anyway. Last night, having supper at mom's, Jennifer went and got Mia out of "her room", and brought her to the supper table. Jennifer told Mia "you need to eat and we need to put some food in your tummy". Mia did not seem to want to eat. Again, Jennifer stressed the importance of putting food in Mia's tummy to make her grow big and strong. Mia looked very concerned, and really wanted nothing to do with coming to the table. Jennifer said" Mia, we need to put some food in your tummy", and Mia, still looking worried, said "No food in tummy, food in mouth"!......No wonder she didn't want to come to the table!

Pony Tails

It must be noted that Jennifer did not have much hair until she was three, almost four. Now she has a head full. Mia is a chip off the old block, except Jennifer had dark hair and Mia's is light. Mia's hair is getting thicker, and a little longer, but still, not much. Being the impatient GG that I am, I put what she does have (mostly in the back) into a pony tail, and I took these photos.

Update on Potty Training and other unnessary thoughts

We currently have no interest in wearing panties any longer. We have no interest in going on the potty. It seems we like to tee tee in our diaper and wear our poop. I often wonder what makes toddlers tick. Likes and dislikes change daily.

For the first 18 + months of her life, if Mia had an interest in any animated movie, it was "HAPPY FEET". Over and over again she would request that...........up until this past week or so. She is expanding her viewing requests to include "101 Dalmatians", referred by her as "doggie movie", and then last night she really enjoyed "The Fox and the Hound". I know, I know...........TV is just a glorified babysitter. But honestly, my kids would watch Disney's animated "Robin Hood" up to six times in one day......over and over and over again. They seem to have turned out pretty smart and as emotionally stable as one could expect from my kids. It is not like she is watching Jerry Springer!

Which brings me to my last thought of the night. How cool is it that your name becomes a thing.........I mean "Disney"....he was Walt Disney, and now his last name is all you have to know.......it is more of a "thing". A "Disney" movie....what if it were a "Dauphin" movie, or "McCay", or "Klentzman", or "Schmid" or "Schoepf"....see, it just lacks something.......but a "Disney" movie, now that does have a certain ring to it...........anyway, I think it is way cool.

Toddler Language

So those of you with little ones in your life know that sometimes when we are always around those little ones, only we know what they are saying. I mean, it is as clear as crystal to us, especially when spoken in context of the situation. Mia's dad came by tonight to see her, and she was talking to him and kept saying something that I had no clue as to what it was. And I think I am pretty good with Mia talk. Well, her dad was talking to her like he understood, and so, we asked him, what is she saying........she was saying "round bale"! For heavens sake........round bale! It is important here to know that her father is a hay farmer. It is all about the context clues! He teaches her about round and square bales of hay..........for heavens sake, who knew!

Kissing Cousins

Mia and her cousin Kendall were innocently taking a moonlight ride in the John Deer gator, when, someone ( I have yet to hear a name), called out, "Kendall, give Mia a kiss". As the pictures show, we have a loss of innocence.



Looking at the Moon



And he GRABS her................


And lays one on her


WAIT !! I think she LIKES it!



Sharing memories of that special moment


Riding off into the Sunset (wait, I mean moonlight)

We Miss Aunt Catherine

Quiet Country Living

So for those of you who know, earlier this year, our quiet peaceful country living was lost forever. A bar, a "biker" and "redneck" bar opened right next door. They seem to have no respect for those of us who were living quietly before they opened next to us, the infamous "Harley's and Horses" bar. I wanted to include this video I took from my front porch, just in case you ever wondered " how is it living next to a bar ?".


ENOUGH SAID

Mia's Mommie is Engaged

So Mia was instructed by Rex to "run give that to your mommie". Mia is the first official "ring bearer" ! I think it was special to include Mia, because she is a part of the new family. That is a ring box she hands to Jennifer, just in case it is not clear.

Potty training and panties

So the really big news is potty training. We were not in a hurry, and really neither is Mia, it just so happens that she got the hang of it really quick. We can not decide for sure if she is blaming my dog for her poop, or just stating that she poops like the dog.....but she sees it in her potty and says "meg". She actually wore panties out the other day and went all morning without one single accident! She still sleeps in a diaper and still wears them around the house some(typical female, she is fickle about the whole thing right now), and we do not fight her daily decision. She prefers to be naked, and her mom keeps telling her that she can not just run around naked. Needless to say, when she and I are home alone, I let her. Jennifer told me I had to quit letting her do that, because she is getting mixed messages. I will say, being naked makes going to the potty easier! I think we expected the potty training to happen after she turned 2, which will not be until December. How nice to have it done before that!

Cindy made me clean my room. !!...(whine)

Here is my attempt at explaining one of my very special friendships. Cindy is a friend who offered to spend her day helping me complete a task that is, well, awful. (like cleaning my room). She spent her day seeing my dust, and grime and junk and never once said "oh my gosh, what were you thinking!". I actually feel comfortable enough to let her see the worst of my worst. ( I am still not sure what some of the things we found started out being!) She listened to me whine about having to clean my room.(numerous times) Not only did she moderate my overwhelming task, but gave me some great suggestions for making my limited space more functional. I kept wanting to leave to go either buy something(supposedly to make organization easier) or eat something. Cindy made me stay on task. You would think as a functioning adult I could do this on my own. My bedroom/office is(was) evidence that this is not the case. I had been putting off cleaning my room since I moved in my home in 1998. "Thank you Cindy" seems a little insufficient.

I do not have before and after pictures. you just have to use your imagination.....

Empathy

Mia has always had an issue with other babies crying, or sad noises in general. Do not mistake her sadness in this video as being sad for going to bed. It is the music that makes her sad, not the topic.

Mia and You Tube

Catherine has a really cool laptop. She can take videos right on the computer. This is a link to a posting on You Tube where Catherine was talking to Mia and Mia was watching herself on the computer.............

Add on to previous post

A while back I talked about Catherine's college choice, Brown University, and how they have this really cool building, that is "Harry Potter like." Brown has virtual tours available on some of its facilities. I am including a link to their virtual tour thingy. What you have to do is go to the website, and begin the tour..........but you do not have to see the whole Brown Campus............the really cool building is called "Sayles Hall". It is on "view 4"............if you open that and click on it, you can move your mouse around and see then entire building, walls with portraits and the high beautiful ceiling and even the really cool organ. A great tour if you have time.

http://www.brown.edu/Students/Bruin_Club/vtour/

Warm Fuzzy's

So my last blog was kind of a downer, and I promised new pictures of Mia. Those of you who are parents, or grandparents, all understand the difficulty in selecting a picture to post. Heck, we all know our kids/grandkids are the cutest, and each picture is the best ever!

This should explain why I have added quite a few.


Catherine put Mia's "hair ?" in piggytails.



Mia loves shoes. Usually one at a time, but when she agrees to wear two, they very seldom are a matching pair!


Playing outside at Memaw's house, it was hot, and a cool drink was called for.


When you are 19 months, and have a mouthfull of water, what better way to make use of it than to spit it out and water the grass!



Remember the movie "Cool Hand Luke".......this is "Cool Head Mia"




Mia has beautiful green eyes, like her mother. I think you could call this her "mischievous" look. That is much more politically correct than saying she was being a "toot" !


Catherine took several really cute pictures on this day with Mia in the play area. It is all about the eyes in this one.

And last but not least, Tata and MiMi. Tata is what Mia calls Catherine and MiMi is what she calls herself. They were playing in the car. Mia loves to drive up the driveway from Memaw and Grand Dads house.

Not so Much Fun

After 48 years, I finally got called to jury duty when I didn't have a nursing baby, or wasn't a full time college student. So, with willing heart I went downtown Houston. That is not true. I willingly went to jury duty, I was not willing to go downtown Houston, but I had no choice. Which lead me to riding the Metro bus for the first time ever in my life. After a full day of questions and such by the judge and both sides of the attorneys, I got picked. Let me say, I was the one and only one who wanted to be there and wanted to be selected for jury duty. We were told the trial could take a full week, it was a criminal case. I saw it as an adventure and a privilege, and I know that if I were accused of doing something wrong, or I was taking someone to court for something they did wrong, I would want someone like me on the jury.......someone who did not mind being there! Enough of my soap box........


Listening to the testimony, hearing the evidence, listening to real live CSI type of policemen, riding metro, visiting with fellow jurors..............all of that was exactly what I thought it would be like.

The case was Aggravated robbery. Which is robbery with a deadly weapon. Punishable 5 to 99 years in prison. It took us less than 30 minutes to deliberate on guilt or innocence. They had finger prints along with the eye witness(the victim in this case).

It took us over 4 hours to deliberate on the punishment, and honestly we could have gone on for days, for we were VERY divided at first. After much discussion and cussin' and debate, we settled on 10 years in prison.

As jury foreman, I was the one who told the judge we had come to a verdict and what it was. I made sure as the sentence was being read, I looked the young man and his family in the eyes. The judge read our verdict out loud, he and his family cried some more, and they lead him off in handcuffs.

We walked back to the jury room and I felt as emotionally drained and as emotionally confused as the day I stood in front of the judge to get my divorce. (It actually took me a while to place where I had felt like that before............I kept thinking "childbirth" and going "nope" in my head, and then "car wreck" and going "nope" again, and then like a punch in the gut............divorce.

The finality of both decisions. The life changes brought on by both decisions. The sadness of the whole affair. These are the common threads. I was on my way to really breaking down and sobbing, like I did after the judge basically said" I now pronounce you NOT man and wife any longer"...............but what saved me was both the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney coming into the jury room and speaking with us all. We had done a good thing. We had made the right decision. Everything was as it should be. Once again, similar to "THE END" of my marriage.

I learned a whole lot. I once again appreciate my country and my rights as a citizen of this great country. Next time, I just hope its traffic court!



As soon as I catch up on work, I have some new great pictures of Mia.......

Catherine has a Blog

Catherine, being the thoughtful person she is, realized that it would be a great way for people to know what is going on with her while she is far far away at Brown. She has created her own blog. So, if you are interested check her out at:



http://catherineatbrown.blogspot.com

Mia saying "I love you"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nkUWNKR1Fv4

Likes and Dislikes

I find the whole personality development thing very interesting. Not interesting enough to take a class or read a book about it.....just interesting enough to think about it on occasion. Since I do not want to read a book or actually LEARN the specifics, I am only able to go on my own experiences. So here is what I think..............it must be around the 18 month old age that we develop specific likes and dislikes about what we wear. It seems odd that at such a young age, we humans have the cognitive ability to develop specific likes and dislikes about clothing choices. We have all seen the small children out and about, wearing clothes and accessories that in societies eyes, should not be worn either together, or at least out in public. So this is the really cool thing about being 18 months old, we have developed enough of a personality to have VERY specific likes and dislikes regarding our wardrobe, BUT.........we are not yet held within the constraints that society would place on us.


Mia loves these cotton striped stockings. She specifically chose to wear this outfit down to her great grandparents (Memaw and Grand dad). She loves wearing just one shoe (or boot as the case may be). The stocking cap (two sizes too small) was in my opinion, the cherry on top! It is like pink is the theme, but I think the black rain boot indicates that there may be a little "skater" kid just waiting to pop out!

Mirror Twins

We have been thinking about twins a whole lot around my house lately. Some dear friends of ours had twins, and after two months in the NICU they finally both got to come home. Anyone who has ever had a baby, knows the hard work, sleepless nights and joyful love you feel that happens when you bring that new gift home. Now imagine all of it exponentially. I do not believe that all of those emotions just double with twins, I think it must be much more.



Catherine just happened to take this picture this week-end. So, here is the closest thing to twins that we have......mirror twins! Mia playing with Rex.

Mia

Mia's other grandmother, Juda, takes some wonderful pictures. She has shared some of the photos with Jennifer before, but this is the first one I have gotten digitally, and it is so sweet and special. Thank you Juda and thank you Mia.

Star Treks

Today was Catherine's graduation from High School. For a while now, some folks have been asking me if I was going to cry, after all, my "baby" was graduating. And today was no different. I heard, are you sad? are you going to cry? are you nervous ? (She was giving the salutatory speech)...blah, blah, blah, blah. I sat and pondered for several hours ( I went two hours early to save seats for the rest of the family) about my NOT feeling sad at all. I even began to say things to myself like "maybe you are dead inside".....I spoke with another mom, who said she cried the entire year of her youngest child. I am thinking to myself, "wow, you should have seen a psychologist for that depression, or separation anxiety". Then , she says, she was "crying because she was so happy".

OK, so I get that I guess. I know it is done, I have just never experienced that phenomenon myself. I have cried at happy times, BUT, truth be told, I was not crying because I was so happy...............let me try and explain a little better. Each time, right after each of my babies were born I cried. I was happy, beyond words. Happy they were healthy, happy labor was over. But, the crying was because I was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and hormonally imbalanced!

So, back to the issue. I did not cry. I was and am over joyed with the accomplishments of my daughter Catherine. I am a proud parent. I am so excited for her that the limitations that high school puts on her, are now gone, and that the world is now hers to explore and learn from and I hope, contribute to. I am excited for her to keep setting new goals and finding those rewarding. I am excited for her that she can now go beyond what boundaries this conservative mom, and this small town have had to offer. Oh, do not get me wrong. I think this mom and this town will have served her well in her future. She will always love the open spaces and farmland and corn growing as high as an elephants eye, and the stars on a clear night, and she will always love me. But, I want her to learn to love New England in the fall, Rhode Island in the winter, and New York in the spring time.

I want her to grow to be the adult God intended her to be from the beginning of time. I am anxious to get to meet and know that adult. To laugh and learn from that adult. I want her to find someone who loves her, like my mom and dad love each other. (They will be married 60 years this year). I want her to have and see and do and go every where and anywhere she has ever or will ever dream of going and seeing and doing.

I can not cry with regret, cry with sadness, or cry with happiness. I am only emitting vibes of exuberant anticipation.

I want what Spock wants for her........."to live long and prosper".

Pictures of Things I have already Mentioned

So I talked of the wedding we went to in Wimberly. I have finally put the photos here for you to see. Since this site is titled "Perfectly Mia" it is appropriate that these photos include her. This is Jennifer with her friend Rex, and Mia.






I do not have a picture of the great cake, or the beautiful wedding. What I do have is this blurry picture of Jennifer, Rex and Joyce..... So, this photo will have to do.



And now for a picture from graduation. I want to know who is the short,old, fat lady in my cap and gown?


Last but not least, a photo from the trip to Brown University that Catherine and I took. I did appreciate the history and the buildings that are older than Methuselah, and this photo does nothing for what it truly looks like, but inside this building, is the most spectacular pipe organ (I think Catherine said it's a one of a kind in the US), and block wood paneling and oil paintings of people in the history of Brown. The inside actually reminded me of the great dining hall seen in the Harry Potter movies.

Cheerio's to Catching Up and Sliding Down

Today is my 48th birthday. I believe I like the idea of turning 50.

I did not realize how long it had been since I made an entry on this blog. Life has been very busy as it is with everyone. I seem to find time several times a day to read Jenny Hunts blog and keep an almost "stalking" watch for new pictures of her new tiny babies.

I will start with the most recent news and go backwards perhaps.

I found out on Thursday, May 3rd, my Aunt Kay passed away. I can not begin to tell you how sad I was. I have not seen my Aunt for many years, she has been living in California and I have had my life here in Texas. I always thought I would go there and see her again, and like many other plans I make, time just got away from me. My Aunt Kay is the grandmother of Corey,(daughter of Katy) whom I have previously talked about in my postings. For me, the passing of Aunt Kay is like the passing of my childhood. I loved Aunt Kay and Uncle George and all the warm family memories I have of growing up with them in my life. Uncle George was my mothers brother. Always a unique individual, and to a child, he was as tall as a giant redwood. As an adult, I realized that he was not that tall, he just wore his pants up to his armpits! This was the mildest of his "uniqueness". Aunt Kay had a laugh that always made me smile, and she called my daddy "Jimmy", and she and my Uncle George teased each other and made me laugh in doing so. I love you Aunt Kay and you will always be a part of my memories and my life.

Enough of the sad........

This weekend, May 5th, Jennifer and Mia and I went to Wimberly to see a friend get married. It was a beautiful wedding and the best wedding cake I have EVER had! Way to go Robin! I did not get a chance to talk to the bride, but if I had, I sure would have complemented her not only on her taste of cake, but husbands as well. I had a chance to see my dear friend Joyce. I love Joyce. She introduced me to someone as "her sweet friend, Jami". I laughed, because I know Joyce introduces everyone has "her sweet friend". Those of you who know me, I do not believe that "sweet" is a word you would use to describe me. I think Joyce uses that word, because she is sweet..............I admitted to being the "best" of her friends, meaning, not her"best friend, like BFF", but simply "the best"! This of course contradicted her introduction of me as being "sweet". But, thanks for trying Joyce!

This coming Saturday, May 12th, Jennifer and I will walk across the stage at Prairie View A & M University and accept our bachelor degrees in our chosen fields. Hers, psychology, mine, Management Information Systems (MIS). We will get to sit by each other, and walk one after the other............this I believe to be really really cool. I am excited. Not about sitting through the long and drawn out ceremony, but about sharing this day with my daughter. Jennifer has been accepted into the University of Houston's clinical psychology doctoral program, so her education is not over. I on the other hand, plan to take a break. Our plan as of today, is for me to stay home and watch Mia, while she attends school. This plan could change tomorrow, but as of today, this is it.

Jessica has changed jobs and is now in the IT department at the University of Texas. She is writing computer code and has a 6 month training period. I think she likes it just fine. She has a very nice boyfriend, and seems to be really happy. What more could a parent ask for?! Jessica has known Tommy, her boyfriend, since they were in pre-school, and so the irony of them dating now is funny. Isn't life just funny period.

Catherine and I went to Rhode Island April 17-19 to visit Brown University. It was an interesting trip. I think she will really love it there. The history of the college and the surrounding area offers days upon days of exploration. We have been more than blessed with the financing of her Ivy League education. As of today's date, she has been awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship, which will pay for her tuition up through and including her Masters and Doctorate if she so desires. She has also been awarded a scholarship from Brown that includes all living expenses. She found out this weekend that she received a Wal-Mart scholarship for $1000.00 and the George and Mary Josephine Hammon Scholarship, for the amount of $12,000.00 over 4 years. There are still a few pending, but these scholarships will mean that Catherine will not have to take out student loans to complete her education. For those of you who have student loans like I do, you know what a huge deal this is. Catherine's hard work in school and time spent completing the applications and essay's have paid off.

Catherine, Mighty Drum Major

Catherine is but a few months away from graduating ~ football season has come and gone. Her days of Drum Major are just memories. I am glad there are photos like this to help her remember the special moments, especially when she gets to be my age!

Feeding Time

I wonder why it is that we have to learn to eat with etiquette. I watch Mia learn to eat with a spoon and she has such a joyful experience being unexperienced! As adults, when we spill food on our shirts, we tend to feel like a baffoon. As you might can tell from these photos, Mia does not care that she has Banana Pie yogurt on her belly, nose, hands, or face. She does not care that the yogurt is dripping off the spoon, or that she forgot to pull the spoon from her mouth. In the most primal way,for her, eating is a joyful messy experience. Maybe when we feel stressed, we should all try putting a little yogurt on our bellys. I bet it would make you laugh!

How can I even show my face in public?

Confessions of an almost college graduate. My degree will be a business degree, my major is MIS, or Management Information Systems. I am suppose to be an IT person. I know nothing! I can not even figure out how to make this blogsite layout what I want..........so I am asking those of you who know to please share your knowledge with me. If you will scroll to the bottom of my blog, you will see a slide show. This is the only location I can get it where you can actually see the book. I have gone to the settings and template and all areas that seem to make sense. I have clicked and dragged until I do not want to drag anymore...........will some one please just FIX it!!!

Oh and here is a picture of Mia....

Friends and Family

Sometimes, if you are lucky enough, you met people in your life who you call friend. If you are really blessed, they become family. I think that those family members are the most special people in the world, because you were not born into it, you are not stuck with it, but instead you get to choose, and they also get to choose. So, this blog is dedicated to those people I have been blessed to met, who became friends, and many moons ago, crossed that river and became my family.

I have written about Jenny Hunt before. She is the other true girl friend besides Jackie I have known Jennifer to have for a long time. (see previous blog). Jennifer and Jenny became friends first, and then as God would have it, I was blessed with meeting and falling in love with her family. So I took them for my own. And there are no take backs here. This is a picture of when we went to Wimberly for JohnMike's wedding reception. JohnMike is Jenny's little brother. Jenny is 13 weeks pregnant here, but you can not tell. She found out a few weeks after this picture was taken that she is having twins!

Another thing I love about this picture, is if you look closely in the back ground you can see Jenny's mom's Christmas tree. That is right folks! It is a silver, metal tree ( the really old kind) and she even has the multicolored light wheel that shines on it. I love Joyce (Jenny's mom). I suppose the tree is just a reflection of Joyce. I wish there was a pink flamingo as the tree topper! If you ever need a sweet heart to embrace you, just go see Joyce. Her warmth is sent from God above I believe. I love you Joyce.

The other picture is of more of my chosen family. Mia is in the tub with her friend Ali. Ali is about 7 weeks older than Mia. Her mom is Quenby, and Quenby's mom and I went to college together. Becky (the mom) and I have been friends now for almost 30 years! Quenby is Jessica's age. Quenby lived with Catherine and myself for about a year. She is a sweet girl, who would carry a bug outside and set it free before she would squash it!

Becky is a warden at Gatesville Prison (for women). She gets to retire in about 6 months, about the time I have to go to work. Well, Becky deserves it. She has worked hard keeping the prisoners BEHIND bars! I love the idea that Becky and I are chosen family, and Quenby and Jessica are friends, and now, there is Mia and Ali. Three generations of chosen family is pretty special to me. Becky knew me when I was thin, and she thinks I was a snob when we first met, and I was just shy. I thought she a snoot, and come to find out she was just Becky…. Oh, and never ever ask Becky about what a "steady" job is........I love you Becky.

Mud, Mud, and more Mud

Outside is once again the theme here. Forgive me for not keeping this to one picture, but striving for being the model grandmother, I could not pick my favorite!

Flower Power

Mia is most happy when she is outside.

Sweet Big Eyes

This is one of the few pictures that we have of Mia so far that she is being still! Oh my goodness that is one BUSY baby! Her eyes look huge here. I think she reminds me in this picture of an Ewok from Star Wars. Like a big cute cuddley teddy bear!

Thanksgiving in a Trash Can

This is a little out of sequence, but I felt worth posting. What you see is a picture of the turkey that we cooked for Thanksgiving. It was cooked in a trash can (if interested, email me and I will be happy to explain more on that issue). Anyway, Catherine took this picture of the turkey before it was cooked. I thought the sun glasses was a nice touch! And the turkey was delicious!