Yesterday was so much fun.  Well, all week for that matter.  It is my spring break, and I am in Georgia visiting my mother.  Four of my six siblings live in the same town as my mother.  So last night, there were five out of seven of us who were here for dinner together – along with my mother.  I made sweet and sour chicken, broccoli with cheese sauce, brown rice and rolls – and for dessert we had my famous apple pie.  Unfortunately I didn’t make enough food – and my nephew and his family got here late – saw the food was almost gone – and so they visited for a few minutes and then left to go elsewhere to eat – despite our protests that we could have more food ready for them in just a few minutes.  Sigh!  Usually we have so much food left over.  So I felt bad that they had to go somewhere else to get a meal.  They got here after everyone else had already eaten and gone back for seconds.  If they’d been here on time, they would have had plenty of food.

Anyway – back to the family visit.  I brought the two grandgirls to Georgia with me.  I love being with them, and it gives their mommy and daddy a few days together without childcare concerns.  They have been so good.  When their cousin, AG, was here last night, they loved having a little bit older girl (AG is in 4th grade) here to play with them.  I hope AG can come over again today.  This is her spring break, too.

In one of my mother’s guest bedrooms, she has two twin beds and one double bed.  That’s perfect for us.  The girls love having their own beds – and then I get the double bed – and they love having me sleep in the room with them.

And I loved sitting around with my mother and four siblings and talking.  It is nice being with my mother and visiting in between visits from the other family members.

RT flew down yesterday afternoon to join us since he had a business meeting today just an hour away.  The girls went with me to the airport, and we heard his plane first, then we saw it and watched it land.  They were literally jumping up and down in excitement as they waved at him – and after he was safely landed, he waved back at them.  Later, they sat in the cockpit and let him take their picture.  I’ll try to post one of the photos later.

When I mentioned that I would sleep with PawPaw in another bedroom last night, they both insisted they wanted me to sleep in that double bed in their room.  So that’s what I ended up doing – which was fine, really.  RT slept in the other room, and I slept in the girls’ room.

It is so nice visiting family and catching up on each other’s lives.

This is a photo taken in the 1960’s when we lived in Ellijay, Georgia.  My mother made matching robes for all the girls in the family, and she also made matching robes for all the guys in the family.  Somewhere I have the photo of all the girls.  Here’s the photo of the guys in the family: my older brother, Terrell; my father, Charles; and my younger brother, David.  My goodness, but my father was a handsome man!  And Terrell and David were both cute kids – and have, in turn, become handsome men.

I came across this photo of my parents when they were young.  I’m guessing it was around 1938 – the year they were married.  Maybe it was after they were married – around 1940 or so.  I’m sure that when my mother reads this, she’ll let me know when the photo was taken.  They look so young, so in love, so happy.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  I definitely come from “good stock.”

I was looking through the photos on my Photobucket album when I came across this photo:

The photo was taken on Saturday morning, November 29, 1986, at RT’s and my home in Tennessee.  It is a photo of my father and mother with five of their granddaughters.  When the photo was taken, we had no idea that in less than a week my father would die suddenly and we would all be gathered again  – this time in Georgia – for his funeral.  This is the last photo we have of my father.  When I see a meaningful photo such as this, I immediately start thinking not only of the events surrounding that photo, but also of all that has happened since the photo was taken.

The oldest granddaughter in the photo is my daughter.  She’s now married and has two little girls of her own.  The youngest granddaughter in the photo – the one my mother is holding (the daughter of my younger non-blogging brother, David) – just got married this past year.   She and her husband live on a farm in Alabama.  The curly-haired blonde immediately in front of my daughter is now a teacher/missionary in Kenya (and yes, with the situation in Kenya, we are all worried about her).  She’s the daughter of my non-blogging sister, Debi.  The one sitting in my father’s lap (The daughter of my sister, Beth) with her hands clasped in front of her face is now living on her own in California.  And the granddaughter standing beside the chair holding her doll is the daughter of my brother Terrell.  She is now living in New York City – working as a nanny and hoping to work in musical theater.

Over twenty-one years have passed.  Four new grandchildren have been born since my father’s death, along with lots of great-grandchildren.  My father had such a robust attitude towards life, and he loved his children and grandchildren.  I would give anything to share with him the joy I feel for my own grandgirls.  No major point here – just the observation that life goes very quickly.   

On December 31, 1974, RT and I were thrilled to become the parents of our precious Larisa, affectionately nicknamed Stinkeroo by her Grandshaw.  Before her birth, RT and I would listen to her heartbeat with a stethoscope.  1974 was before the days of periodic sonograms.  So we had no idea whether or not our baby would be a boy or a girl until after the birth.  We went into the labor room at the hospital knowing that we’d either walk out with a Paul or a Larisa – we didn’t know which.  Ever since I had seen the movie Dr. Zhivago, I knew that I wanted to name the daughter I hoped to have someday Larisa.  For awhile we toyed around with calling her by the nickname for Larisa – Lara – but then decided to stick with Larisa.  When she was born and we found out that our first child was a girl, we were so happy and we knew immediately her name.  The baby was our Larisa that we had been looking forward to for years.  She was basically bald for the first three years of her life, but as she grew, she also grew dark curly hair and beautiful brown eyes.  She was happy and energetic and a parent’s dream.  She thoroughly wrapped her dad and me around her little finger.

The above photo is one of my favorites.  It shows her enthusiastic and mischievous nature.  I’ve always loved her smile.

This picture is also a favorite.  It shows Larisa with her younger brother, Joey.  The pigtails were typical.  She was an athletic go-getter child – always interested in life, sports, being with friends, and she was/is a great sister to her brother.  They had their spats, but have always remained close to each other.

This is how she often slept as a baby – on her back with her arms flung out to her sides. As in everything, she put herself wholeheartedly into sleep, too.  She was confident and happy.

This is one of the photos from her wedding to Steve – along with their “baby” (at the time), Caesar.   Caesar passed on to doggie heaven quite a few years ago, and they now have two human babies – my wonderful grandgirls – pictured below. 

I first wrote about Stinkeroo’s birthday on December 31, 2005, and then on December 31, 2006, I wrote about her again.  I hope you have a wonderful birthday, my precious Larisa!

On the day after Christmas, my family had our annual Christmas get-together.  In addition to having the family altogether, it was also a mini-convention of bloggers.  There was Ruthlace (my mother), Daddy’s Roses (my sister, Joan) , Alone on a Limb (my brother, Terrell), Blue Star Chronicles (my sister, Beth) and The Median Sib (me).  I was probably a pest, but I kept asking until my brother, Terrell, sang “O Holy Night” for us.  I’m so glad he did.  Here is the history, lyrics – and you can click on this link to listen to the music.  My all-time favorite Christmas song.

The words and lyrics of the old carol ‘O Holy Night’ were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He obliged and wrote the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realised that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856). He agreed and the music for the poem was therefore composed by Adolphe Charles Adams. Adolphe had attended the Paris conservatoire and forged a brilliant career as a composer. It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893).

O Holy Night 

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

You might recall that a few weeks ago I wrote about playing my mother’s piano while I was visiting her at Thanksgiving.  RT listened to me play the piano then, and just a couple days later my son sent me an email telling me about how much he enjoyed listening to me play the piano when he was growing up.  So pianos have been on our minds lately.

This morning I heard a truck drive up in the driveway, and I told RT’s mother (who’s spending a couple weeks with us) that I hoped it was the things I’d ordered from Lands End.  I went outside, and RT was there.  He smiled at me, and said, “Merry Christmas.  Here’s your Christmas present.”   The men on the truck brought out a beautiful piano which they brought inside the house and set up in the library. Below is a photo I just took of my Christmas present.  It’s a wonderful Baldwin piano.  I immediately played “Silent Night, Holy Night” which is the only song I have memorized.  Then I spent about an hour going through boxes in the barn until I finally found the one with my collection of hymnals.  And I’ve played the piano off and on all afternoon.

I called my daughter to tell her about the piano, and Sweet Stuff answered the phone.  Her mom was in the shower and so I told Sweet Stuff to tell her mom that PawPaw had given me a piano for Christmas.  I told her that when she comes to visit she can play it.  I taught her one simple song a few months ago, and she still remembers how to play it.  My daughter called me later to tell me that Sweet Stuff was beside herself with excitement.  She plays the simple little song I taught her whenever she visits anyone who has a piano.  She wants to take piano lessons now that she can practice on my piano. 

This week I am writing about seven Christmas traditions that I am thankful for:

(1) Christmas stockings – I love planning and shopping for items to go in everyone’s stockings.  It’s just fun.

(2) Christmas Tree – There’s nothing more beautiful than a pretty Christmas tree.  Everytime I look at our Christmas tree, I like to squint my eyes so that only the lights stand out – and they look softer and beautiful.

(3) Colored lights on the Christmas tree – While all white lights look pretty, there is just nothing more Christmasy than colored lights.

(4)  The star that our daughter (now almost 33 years old) used in a pre-school Christmas play 30 years ago.  Each year it is the star at the top of our Christmas tree.

(5) And next to that star on top of the tree is the angel our son made in school 25 years ago.  So we have a doubly wonderful tree-topper each year.

(6) We have always had the tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve.  Everything else has to wait till Christmas Day.  It’s always fun selecting the one gift we want to open early.

(7)  Christmas caroling…There is absolutely no music more beautiful than Christmas music.  “Silent Night”  “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”  “O Holy Night” ” Hark the Herald Angels Sing”  “Mary Did You Know?”  “Away in a Manger”  – along with the more secular “Christmas in Dixie” “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” and “Tender Tennessee Christmas”

My lovely daughter, Stinkeroo, is 32 years old – almost 33 – and it’s scary how much we think alike.  Last week I found a purse that I love on eBay, and so I bought it.  I bought it because it is very similar to a purse that she has – just a different style, but the same pattern/fabric.  Everytime I’ve seen her purse the past couple months, I’ve commented on how much I like it.  The purse I ordered arrived on Friday, and I love it as much as I thought I would!  So yesterday I called my daughter to tell her about it – only to find out that she had already bought the exact same purse for me as a Christmas present. 

Another example:  Last week we were talking and she said she’d found the perfect gift for my mother.  It turns out that her gift was exactly the same thing that I had already bought for my mother for Christmas.  I told her I’d get something different. 

Stuff like that happens all the time, and I feel a little guilty about it.  Now don’t ask me WHY I should feel guilty that I went ahead and bought the purse that I wanted – I had no idea she’d already bought it for me – or why I should feel guilty that I had bought my mother the same gift that she had bought her.  Still, though, I feel a little guilty about it.  Like maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to handle things sometimes.

I keep trying to convince myself that this is a GOOD thing – that we are so similar in nature and thoughts.  However, it does get to be a problem at times.

I was watching TV and working on a blog post, when my computer beeped to let me know that I had an email.  I clicked over to the email program and found the following  from my wonderful and loving son.  It’s no wonder I adore him:

Hey Moma, 

I was just remembering how you used to play the piano every once in while when I
was younger.  I love the sound of a piano, most of my favorite songs have a
piano in the background.  I remember watching tv and hearing you play, it wasn’t
for a long time or often but it left an impression on me and I love the sound of
a piano because it reminds me of you. 

I love you mom.

Joey 

Yes, it made me cry. He’s a very fine 29-year old young man. I’m so proud of him.

Now for the coincidence.  This past Saturday RT and I were visiting my mother.  My mother had just bought a piano.  She wants to take lessons, and she got a great deal on a used piano.  She’d also just had it tuned.  So as my mother, RT and I sat in her living room chatting, she said I should play the piano for her.  I sat at the piano, opened the Methodist Hymnal and started playing some hymns – not very well, but I muddled my way through about 10 or 12 of my favorite hymns before calling it a day.  I told RT that someday I want a small piano to go in our library at home.  I don’t play well, but I really enjoy occasionally playing the songs I know.  It’s just a relaxing and happy thing to do.  Even when I do it poorly, it puts me in a good mood.  I’m not sure why except that I love the sound of a piano.  I just talked with RT and told him about Joey’s email, and he swore he had not mentioned at all to Joey that I had played the piano at my mother’s just a few days ago.

What are the chances of those two occurences happening so close together?