This is a day that RT and I have been looking forward to for a long, long time.  The grandgirls are sleeping over tonight.  Their room and bathroom were the first rooms we completely decorated.  The walls are a pale, pale pink, there’s a little pink chandelier, a pink princess nightlight, and there are pink and white striped towels in their bathroom.  There is a beautiful quilt - white with light pink and rose crocheted flowers - for their bed.

Their mom (our daughter) and dad brought them over this afternoon, and we will take them back home tomorrow morning.  It has been such fun!  At the supper table, we took turns telling what we’re thankful for.  Then we had chicken fingers (homemade) and rolls (Sister Schubert) - and lots of cinnamon apples for dessert.  No vegetables in there, I know - but I just didn’t get any vegetables cooked.  They were STARVING (or so they said - repeatedly) so I just got the chicken and rolls on the table and let ‘em eat.

After dinner we made some videos using my new web camera.  I guess I need to open a YouTube account so I can post some of my videos.  I wouldn’t post one of the girls, of course.  I never post pictures of them online. The girls loved making the videos and became quite dramatic.  I never realized they were such hams!

Then it was bathtime.  They wanted to use the shower (Sweet Stuff) and the jacuzzi (Sunshine) in the master bath rather than the tub in their bathroom.  So I sat on my vanity stool while they took their merry time with their shower/bath.  They just chatted away and were in such a good mood.

Then it was bedtime prayers and I tucked them into bed.  They wanted the TV on while they fell asleep.  Terrible habit for children to get into - and I wish their mom and dad didn’t let them do that.  However, both my children have spouses who have to have the TV on in order to fall asleep.  Is that a common thing?  A TV keeps me awake rather than puts me to sleep. 

The grandgirls are asleep now, though, and the TV is off.  My only concern is that in this house, the guest room is on one side of the house, and the master bedroom is on the other.  I’ve lit the way with night lights, and I’ve left the doors open.  Before they went to sleep, we went over what they should do if they need us during the night (i.e. Come to our room and wake us up).  I’m just afraid I won’t hear them if they call for me.  The guest room was immediately across the hall from the master bedroom at the cabin.  So that was never an issue.  I’m sure everything will be all right - just first night worries, I guess.

It has been a wonderful evening.  In the morning I’ll make them pancakes - in the shape of their initials, and in the shape of a girl or a bear - or whatever shape they tell me they’d like.  We’ll have a good time together, and then we’ll take them home.  Our pastor, Pastor Tom, is in the hospital for surgery, and the girls want to draw him a picture before they leave in the morning.  So we’ll make time for that.

Life is good.

This Veterans Day I celebrated by reading my favorite post about World War II.  It’s the story of my parents when they were a young married couple.  My father was in San Diego - waiting to ship out to the south Pacific.  My mother was in Georgia - missing her Marine husband.  So she took the week-long train trip from one side of the country to the other in order to visit him.  Here her story - from her blog, Ruthlace.

A Glimspe of Romance during World War II

During World War II, I made a week long train trip from Georgia to San Diego, California to be with my Marine husband before he was to be shipped out for action in the South Pacific.

Charles told me “girls” were a major topic of conversation among these young marines in the barracks. This close knit unit of men passed around and pinned up pictures of girl friends and wives for the admiration of their brothers.

“The greatest generation” is a label that was later to be conferred on them. At this point they were just “men in the making” and still preparing for overseas duty and combat.

My husband was happy to announce to his buddies that a real Georgia peach was on her way to California. It was a week long train trip with crowds of soldiers and their wives as weary travelers.

Alas, soon after my arrival, I was quarantined at the Naval Hospital with Scarlet Fever. My Marine could only come over to sit on a wall outside the hospital window and look longingly inside and speak through the window.

One afternoon he brought a buddy to see his “pin up girl.” On this afternoon, the “Georgia Peach” was lying on her stomach with her feet toward the window. The only thing my husband’s buddy could think to say was, “She sure has beautiful feet.”

The photo above is of my mother during that time. I definitely come form “good stock,” don’t I?  No wonder my father was so crazy in love with her.

My mother talks about the exuberant patriotism of the times.  There were no pseudo-authorities in the news pontificating against the war.  Rather than highlighting and exaggerating every possible negative happening as the news agencies do today, the news shows were filled with positive news and supportive commentary.  It’s sad to see how the liberals have come to believe they’re “cool” by denouncing their own country - how they bastardize their free speech rights.  The contrast of our country from World War II times and now is disheartening.

My father came home from the war, and he and Mother went on to raise seven children together and to see all seven of their kids grow up, marry and do well on their own - and they welcomed a bunch of grandchildren before my father died in 1986.  God bless all our service folks - both past and present.

We’ve got closets.  What we don’t have are shelves in the closets, and that poses somewhat of a problem.  Thankfully, it’s a temporary problem.  Sigh!  WHY does it cost so much to put a few simple shelves in closets?  It looks like RT and I will be doing the work ourselves.  Even doing it ourselves, though, it’s going to be costly.  As we looked at closet units at Lowe’s today, RT kept declaring, “We’re building our dream!”  He’s like that.  One of the things I love about him is his sense of humor.

We have put towel racks in only one bathroom - and that one bathroom is not the master bath.  So that’s a project that we’ll get around to real soon.

We’ve now spent a full week in the new house.  The newness hasn’t worn off.  I think it will be a long time before we stop marveling every day at the wonder of actually living here.  Our new bed (and mattress and box springs) were delivered this past week.  It is THE most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on.  Oh. My. Goodness, it is comfortable.  During the day we work like crazy, but we’ve both been sleeping great every night.  Truly - it is one of the best investments we’ve ever made. 

We’ve completely emptied my two storage rooms.  YEA!!! That’s SUCH a huge milestone.  We’ve gotten the “big stuff” out of the cabin.  When we started to move the furniture from the small guest room at the cabin - the room we rarely even entered, we found that it HAD been entered - and frequently - by mice.  They had eaten through the sheets on the bed (sheets, mattress, boxsprings were subsequently thrown away - they were old anyway), they had gotten into the chest of drawers and eaten through papers and left lots of lots of evidence of their existence.  So we still have THAT to deal with.  Or rather, RT still has that to deal with.  I never particularly liked that cabin, but since I knew my tenure there would be only about a year, I was okay with it.  However, now my negative feelings have skyrocketed.  I’m so thankful to be out of that place.  We not-so-fondly call it “the rat house” now - and RT gave it that nickname - not me.  RT to me earlier this evening, “I’m going over to the rat house to get that clothes rack from the laundry room.”  It’s a little funny.

I’ve been absolutely obsessive about cleaning everything before I allowed it inside the new house.   I vacuumed spider webs and dust off everything that had been in storage.  I checked drawers and under cabinets. 

Tomorrow (Sunday) is my family reunion (my father’s side) in Georgia.  RT and I decided today that we’re just too tired to fly down there tomorrow, spend a few hours and then fly home.  RT has to go out of town for the week - leaving on Monday.  I have to go to work Monday.  And there’s so much to do here.  Mostly, though, we’re both just exhausted.  It’s a hard decision, though, because I try to make sure I do the important things in my life - and family is at the top of the list of important things in my life.  I really would love to see my uncle - my father’s only surviving brother.  Not to mention my mother and my siblings.  Out of the past year, only last weekend would have been a worse weekend for a family reunion.  So we will likely stay home.  Thanksgiving is just three weeks away, though.  So I’ll see most of my family then.

The past four days, RT and I have been slowly emptying the two storage rooms I’ve had rented since July 2006 when I moved in with him.  Fifteen months of paying monthly storage room fees.  Each time we uncovered another item, I was thrilled to see yet another old friend.  It has been like Christmas in October.  My dining rooms suite - I LOVE it!  My curio cabinet, my antique desk - the pretty rose-colored bowl that belonged to my grandmother.  My favorite bedroom suite - my first furniture purchase when I was newly single ten years ago - is now set up in the girls’ bedroom (i.e. downstairs guest room).  I’ve dusted and cleaned, vaccuumed and sorted, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.  And there are still a few more items left.  So Christmas will continue for a few more days.

The past two days I’ve been off work - my two personal leave days for the year.  Tomorrow I will get back into the routine of work.  I sure wish I had a couple weeks at home with nothing to do but work on getting this house exactly like we want it.  It is a lot of fun.  Exhausting, but fun.

Joey is still my sweet baby boy, despite the fact that he’s now twenty-nine years old, he’s a successful business man, he’s been married for five years, and he no longer needs to be mothered.

I wrote about him last year in this post, and I wrote about him two years ago, too.  I won’t repeat all I’ve written before.  You can follow the links to read about my unique, loving and cherished son.

Happy birthday to my wonderful, compassionate, funny and good son.

My daughter gave me a recipe for crock pot mac & cheese.  This morning my mother made it for the family reunion we’re having later today.  I just came from the kitchen where I sampled it.  You know it’s important for cooks to sample food to make sure it’s good.  So I was only taking care of my responsibility when I tasted it.  And I am pleased to report that the mac and cheese is FANTASTIC!  Here’s the recipe:

Larisa’s Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

16 oz. pkg elbow macaroni - cooked and drained

8 cups shredded sharp cheese

2 cans evaporated milk

3 cups milk

4 eggs, beaten

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Spray crock pot with nonstick spray.  Place noodles in the crock pot.  Set aside one cup of the shredded cheese, and then mix everything else well , and add it to the pot.  Top the mixture with the reserved shredded cheese.  Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.

Sweet Stuff and Sunshine went to Sunday School and church with us yesterday.  During the last hymn,  I was aware that Sweet Stuff was looking up at me.   So I smiled at her.  When the song was over, she whispered in my ear, “You’re pretty, Grandma Carol.”

Now I had a boyfriend once whose nickname for me was “Pretty” and I’ve had my share of compliments.  However, there has never been a compliment that touched my heart and made me feel better about myself than those sincere and heartfelt words from Sweet Stuff.   It doesn’t matter what I look like to anyone else.  To my precious Sweet Stuff, I am pretty.

This past Saturday morning RT and I flew in his small Bonanza down to Destin, FL for a few days of R&R with our children.  Our son and his wife left Friday night - drove part way and finished the drive on Saturday.  Our daughter, her husband and the two grandgirls did the same.  We all arrived at the condo within ten minutes of each other.

It was beautiful.  That’s an understatement.  The condo was perfect for our little family.   The kids are staying through Saturday.  RT and I had to come home Monday because there was just too much going on with the new house and school starting next week for us to be gone all week.

So it is strange not having our children in town.   Today RT flew to Indiana on business.  And I’m here in TN without any other family around.  Usually when he’s out of town, our daughter and son are just a few minutes away at their respective homes.  This week, though, they’re still in Florida enjoying the beach.  Strange feeling to have them so far away.

One quick cute story.  No, make that three.  On Sunday morning, Sunshine woke up early and RT asked her if she wanted to go to church.  She looked at him as though he was crazy.  RT said something about God being everywhere, and she replied, “No he’s not.  He’s at church in Nashville, Tennessee!”  Four year olds are very literal.

Later, she was sitting next to RT on the sofa, and she felt his stomach and proceeded to ask him if he was expecting a baby.  When he replied that he wasn’t, she answered as she rubbed his stomach, “Yes, you are.  I can feel the head.”  I hasten to add that while RT might have a little bit of a stomach, he is not overweight at all. 

Third story.  Hmmm - all three stories are about Sunshine!  We visited a shopping area along the beach that had a “Bears on the Beach” store - which is a make-your-own-teddy-bear place (Like “Build A Bear Workshop”).  I let both girls select and dress a teddy bear to keep.  They each named their bears.  Sweet Stuff named hers Gabriella - from “High School Musical.”  Sunshine named her Sarah Grandma Carol.  To her “Grandma” is just part of my name, and she was honoring me.  Such sweetness!

RT and I were talking with a flooring contractor today, and the topic of conversation got around to some of the huge houses in our area of Tennessee.  We’re talking about a couple (no children) living in a 10-15 bedroom house with 10,000 or more square feet.  Every city has those - the couple that feel the need to build a monument of a house.

The contractor commented:

“I drive past one of those big houses on a Thursday night, and no one is home.  They’re both still at work.  I go past a trailer, and the whole family is in the yard grilling out, playing games and having fun.  What use is a big house if you have to work all the time to afford it?  I want to live in a trailer.”

This Father’s Day I’m thankful for the fathers in my life:

(1) For my own father whose life was an example of how to live

(2) For my husband, the father of our two children, for being such a strong and loving father

(3) For my son-in-law - for being such a loving father for my two grandgirls and a good husband to my daughter

(4) For my father-in-law, who has been gone even longer than my father, but whose last words (that I heard) were sweet ones to my children as we left his bedside: “Bye, bye, sugar-pie.”

(5) For my two brothers who are wonderful fathers.  My youngest brother visited me on Friday, and it was so pleasant to be able to take a walk with him and then sit and talk with him for awhile before he continued his business trip.

(6) My grandfather - Daddy Shaw - my father’s father who owned a barbershop where we always hurried whenever we  visited.

(7) My mother’s father - who I never knew since he died when my mother was 9 years old - but who influenced me through my mother.