Hard Candy Christmas

That is the title of a Dolly Parton song. And the way I feel this year. Even with car trouble, working, little money and my Soldier away from home, Christmas was still sweet. We had Krysta, Cotton and the grandbabies over for Christmas Eve. Jacob and Lucy really know how to "make the season bright" We had a nice dinner and a lot of laughs. It was really good to get to sit down with Krysta and Cotton and visit for a while. I called my Mom this morning and let her know I love her. And I woke Aaron up, I found out that just because it is 9:00 here in Texas doesn't mean it is 9:00 in Washington. As a matter of fact, it is only 7:00 there. Any way, I had to talk to Aaron later, when he was actually awake.
On my way home from work, I heard a song on the radio that made me cry. It was a country song about Christmas. The guy sang about children, gifts, lights and decorations, then he sang the first few words of the chorus, "All I want for Christmas is a soldier, coming home."
Needless to say, I boo-hooed half the way home. I really missed my son. I feel so bad for him. I know he must be so lonesome for his family. He has never been away for so long and especially at Christmas. I'm not sure if I was sad for me or for him. Maybe both of us.
When I got home from work, my sweet husband had cleaned house and cooked for me. He grilled Bacon-wrapped Elk Medallions. YUMMY!!!!!! No kidding, they were great!! What a great guy. Who could possibly be sad when you know you are loved this much!!!
Like Dolly says,"I'll be fine and dandy, Lord it's like a hard candy Christmas, I'm barely gettin' through tomorrow, still I won't let sorrow get me way down."
And we still have the gift of love, that is the whole reason for Christmas. And God's promises to see us through. Thank you Lord, for the gift of your Son and the promise eternal salvation. Thank you for my beautiful family, my adorable grandchildren, my loving husband. Thank you for a good job, a warm home and plenty to eat. Thank you for caring friends and our new and wonderful church family.
Than you for this past year, thank you for new beginnings. In Jesus name, Amen

Okay, I'm caving in to pressure and updating my blog for those who are interested. We had a great Thanksgiving. As you can see, it was quite a spread. We had everyones favorites. We also had all my favorites. Jerry, Krysta, Geri, Aaron, Tish and of course, Jacob and Lucy. Cotton was even able to join us. We went to Missouri and picked Aaron up, Nov. 21, the ride home was excrutiatingly long. Aaron went to sleep, I had an awful time trying to stay awake and I felt terrible because Jerry was driving and he was tired too. We finally made it home around 3:oo in the morning. I didn't have to be at work until 2:00 in the afternoon so I was able to get some sleep. It was definately worth it to have everyone together for the holiday. Aaron leaves for Fort Lewis, in Washington, this Wed. I have really enjoyed having him home and I'm going to miss him when he leaves. I am so proud of him and what he is doing with his life. anyway, I will try to put some more family holiday photos on here for you later, Mom. Hope every one had a great Thanksgiving.

Priceless!

1 pound of lean hamburger $3.00
2 medium sweet potatoes $1.50
1 loaf garlic bread $2.00
1 Cherry cobbler $2.50
Whipped cream .89
_________________________
Cooking a simple, quiet dinner for two.
PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How Old is grown?

How old is grown?

At 12 years old, society considers a child old enough to be left at home alone, while their parents are at work. If there is a younger sibling in the house, they are left to care for the little one. Does that mean they are grown?

At 16, the law says, we can send our children to Driver's Ed, get them a license and hand over the keys to a large dangerous machine. They can get a job and a bank account. Does that mean they are grown?

At 17, if a child commits a crime, they are arrested and tried as an adult. Unless of course, they are caught buying or in possession of tobacco products, then they get a ticket and their parents are required to go to court with them. Mom and Dad are held responsible for making sure they attend court ordered classes. Obviously, they are not yet grown.

At 18, they are old enough to sign up for the military; they are trained to kill, given guns and taken thousands of miles away from their families. They are old enough to vote, old enough now, to buy cigarettes and get credit cards. But, they are still not old enough to buy alcohol. If they are caught buying or consuming alcohol, again, they are issued a ticket and their parents are required to go with them to court. Most of our children are still seniors in high school at this time and we, as parents, are responsible for their attendance. We can be issued citations for too many absences. Are they grown, yet? Of course not.

At 21, they are old enough to buy alcohol, attend clubs, make major life decisions and more than half, still live with their parents. Grown? Not really.

If our children stay in school, full time, we can carry them on our health insurance until they are 23 years old. Additionally, it usually falls to the parents to pay for or aquire funding for their education. Grown?

If they manage to drive safely, not get any tickets and not get into any accidents, their auto insurance rates will decrease by the time they are 25 years old. Is that the age when they are considered grown?

So, how old is grown? My opinion, grown is when you are mature enough and responsible enough to hold a regular, full-time job, buy your own car, pay your own bills and make responsible decisions about your life. Grown is when you realize that your parents raised you the best way they knew how and did without many things so that you would not have to. Grown is when you come to terms with the fact that life is not just one big party and sometimes it's downright difficult.

The Bible says, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11

For parents, the Bible tells us,"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Maybe then, we can consider our children grown.

For the record, I am very proud of my four GROWN children.

Spideys

At least, this one was in the street. The last one was in the dining room!

Little Helpers

We went driving this morning and stopped at several garage sales. I bought a huge box of fabric for $10.00. Then I found a box of lace. We got it for $2.00. After that we got 45 spools of ribbon for $5.00. When we got home, Candy and Spike were more than happy to help me sort through the loot. I love helpers!

Lera Mae Wynn

Age: 16

Thoughts from Lera Mae, at age 84.

I'M GETTING OLD

I remember how, when not so long ago, that I picked cotton, cut wood and washed clothes on a rub board. I was blessed with eight children, and raised seven of them to be grown. Five of them were boys, Oh My! They were sweet, so were my girls, and I still kept doing anything I wanted to. I spaded up garden plots and grew tomatoes and peppers. I cut grass with a sling blade, and it didn't seem so bad. I still had time to enjoy my children and as they got older we did things together. They would fold their clothes and rake grass. But now, they are all grown and gone from home and I can't seem to get anything done. No yard work, and I like getting in the dirt. I sew a little when I can get the needle threaded. Either, the eye is too little or the thread is too big. I'll figure that out someday. I do the laundry and wash dishes. I've always had dishpan hands. But worst of all, I can't hear too well, and I forget. The doctor says that goes with aging, but it makes me mad, just real mad at times. I'm thankful that I can still read my Bible and listen to the TV. I know I turn the remote up loud sometimes but I don't read lips, and I need to hear my sermons. Most of all I am thanful I still have my family. They have brought me a lot of happiness, so when I don't hear too well and don't remember like I should, just be patient and please don't scold. Just love me and remember, "I'm getting old".

I love everyone of you Very, Very Much.

I just got home from attending my brother, Roger's funeral service in Shreveport, LA. Although the reason for my visit was a very sad one for all of our family, I was blessed while I was there. My Mom, my stepdad, my little sister,Beth, my brother, Frankie, my step-sister, Vickie and of course, their families and all of my aunts, uncles and my Grandma, were all very happy to see Tish and me. It was an interesting visit for Tish, since she has grown up without ever meeting most of this extensive and extended family.
I found a couple of old photos, and thought this one might be very interesting. Especially, to Krysta. We know know why our little Lucy is such a little ball of fire. Not only does she favor me at her age, but she also has an amazing resemblence to your Grandma Margaret, when she was 2 1/2 years old. Note the hair.
The picture on the right is my mother, with her grandmother. I am trying to see if we can find a picture of my grandmother at that age, then we'll know for sure, the Woodard gene has been passed down for 5 generations. Or maybe that is the Wynn gene, since my Grandma's maiden name is Wynn. Never-the-less, after our visit this week, I am convinced that the hard-headedness that I am accused of and apparently passed on to my oldest daughter and my granddaughter came from one 84 year-old spitfire in Shreveport by the name of Lera Mae.
I love you Grandma, and you are perfect, still, in every way. I am so glad that you are healthy and bossy as ever. I know that your faith and your hard head is what has kept you going all these years and I admire you for raising 7 children to be such a loving and closeknit family, especially the little curly headed one, you named, Margaret.

So serious and soooo cute. That was last year.

This year, he is all grown up.

He goes to school now.

I'll bet he is going to be a dynamo at his first soccer game of the season. I can't wait to see him out there.

Way to go, Jacob. Grandma and Grandpa are very proud of their Mighty Munchkin!

Teaching Jacob to Hunt!

My son-in-law is a great guy. In Jacob's eyes, he is bigger than Shrek, more powerful than Superman, and more righteous than the Lone Ranger.
The thing is, my son-in-law is also a funny guy, one of his favorite subjects is "me". It is not often that I get an opportunity to pay him back. However, I had a conversation with my star-struck granson the other day about their latest hunting trip, and this is what he said,"Me and Daddy went huntin' the other day. My Daddy can shoot anything. We got lots of birds. One bird flew over. Daddy said, "Watch this, son, I'm gonna show you how to shoot that bird." Daddy aimed his gun and fired. The bird flew on by. "Son," my Daddy said, "you are witnessing a great miracle, that there, dead bird is still a-flyin'." All kidding aside, Cotton and I have a strange and wonderful relationship. He's strange, and I'm wonderful. But, he loves me anyway.

Maybe, it's just me. But, I can see a little "Grandma" in my little Lucy. What do you think?

I Love Surprises!!

I got a present in the mail. The Dragon on the right is the mascot for Aaron's company. The dragon on the left came in the mail Friday. I have been collecting dragons for a long time. Aaron saw this one and thought I would like it. Of course, I love it. But, the cool thing about it is that it is green and gold, like his mascot. I talked to him tonight for a little while and he didn't even realize they were the same until I pointed it out to him. He has bought me dragons as gifts for some time now, but this one, I think is the most special. I am really proud of my soldier. He starts his school for Chemical Operations, tomorrow. I know he will do great.

When it rains it pours!

That's what Jerry said, tonight, when he called me. I thought it would be something about my family again, never dreaming what he was about to tell me.
Tom and Lynn are friends of ours. Jerry and Tom ran the sound system at our church in Little Elm, together. They also work together and have the kind of friendship where you confide in one another and support one another through the various trials in your life. Lynn and I don't know each other that well. But, I consider her a friend. We all love good fried catfish and have had several couples dates.
Tom had to rush Lynn to the hospital today. After examining her, the doctors told Tom the tragic news. Lynn had severe bleeding on her brain. They can't stop the bleeding. She is not expected to live through the night. Almost all brain activity has ceased. They are just waiting for her heart to figure that out.
The last time, I saw Lynn, she was sitting across the table from me, making jokes over a plate of fried catfish. It just doesn't seem real.
My only real consolation is that I know she is a Christian and that she already has a place set aside for her in Heaven. Her crown is waiting.
My selfish side wants all this tragedy to stop. First, Tish's best friend, Sage, loses her mother to a long debilitating disease, then my brother is hospitalized with a brain tumor, I still don't know any more that that and then a good friend is taken away unexpectedly by an anurism. Add to all of that, I still haven't got to play with my grandchildren and life seems pretty miserable.
But, I don't want to be miserable. That is why I have Christ in my life. He is the one who gives me the strength to deal with all of this. He is the one who gives me peace and hope when there is no where else to turn. He is my Lord and my salvation.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
"Therefore, having been justfied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perserverance;
And perserverance, character: and character, hope.
Now, hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:1-5

I grieve for my family and my friends, but I will not despair, for my Lord and Savior is with me and I have the Holy Spirit to comfort me. There are so many words of comfort in the Bible, it would take me all night to write them down here with my typical "hunt and peck" method of typing but there is one more that I would really like to share, "Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:4-5

Pray for my family and friends that God will help them through these trying times.

A New Heartache

The night before Halloween, 1977, my Dad died. I was 17 years old and had been married all of 10 months. Two weeks earlier, Jerry and I had recieved a frantic call from my Mom. She said that he had collapsed in the bedroom after taking some medication that he had recieved from the doctor for migraine headaches. She had called for an ambulance but they refused to transport him for some stupid reason. We rushed to South Dallas from Irving. Jerry carried my Dad down a long flight of stairs and put him im my Mom's car. We put my two younger brothers in the back of our little pick-up truck and headed to the V.A. Hospital with him. They found a large inoperable tumor on his brain. He died two weeks later. I had a really rough childhood. Dad was an alcoholic and was extremely abusive. It took me years to forgive him for the hurt that he caused me. But, we were trying to make things right, and then he died.
Today, Jerry called me at work, he had gotten a phone call from my Mother in Shreveport, La. My brother, Roger, collasped at work . They rushed him to the Hospital. He has a tumor on his brain. That is all I know.
I am the oldest, Roger is two years younger than me, Frankie was the youngest until Elizabeth was born, she is twenty now. Growing up, Roger was definately the middle child. He was very tempermental and easily angered. He would fight anybody. But, he loved me. He never got angry with me. After Dad died. Roger and Frankie went wild. Without going into detail, I stayed away from them as much as possible. Just last year, I saw Roger again for the first time in probably 25 years. He had grown up, he is married to a really sweet Christian woman and life is so much better for him. We talked about getting together. We never have. And now, I sit here thinking about what is going on with him. I think about all those lost years and how much I love my brother. I think about the pain of my Dad dying and how that must have affected him at the ripe old age of 15. I think about how I wish we could take all those years back and start over. I love you, Roger. and I am praying for your recovery.

the serenity prayer

Lord. give me the strength to accept the things, I cannot change.
The courage to change the things, I can
and the wisdom, to know the difference. Amen.
It has been nearly two months since my daughter and my grandchildren have crossed the threshold of my home. I can only pray that at some point. Love and forgiveness will heal the wounds that were opened by thoughtless words in the heat of a passionate argument and my world will be complete again with the laughter and chattering of little voices while we create the magic of homebaked cookies to share with Daddy and Papoo. It's time to let old hurts heal and look toward a bright and happy future as we all intended when we left our home of nearly 20 years (total) to start a new and exciting adventure close to the ones we love the best.

Wish I could have been there.

Jerry and Tish went to Missouri to see Aaron graduate from Basic Training

They brought back some really cool pictures.

I am really proud of my son.

Hairy personalities!

Pretty Candy, thinks she's the queen.

Spike, telling me, that he is hungry.

20 pound, Candy, tattling on poor little Spike.

This is Snickers, my yorkie/poodle mix. he has a super funny personality.

This is my funny boy, after he came in from playing in the rain.

New Job

Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Pslam 37:4
I have been looking for a job for about two weeks. I finally found one. I was happy to be working so close to home, but disappointed in the pay rate. I took the job anyway trusting God to make things work out. He has always been there for us and there is no reason to believe that He would abandon us now. Anyway, I oriented on Wednesday. The people that I worked with were friendly, the work was not hard and I felt like I would enjoy it, even though I hadn't made such a small salary in the past ten years. There were pluses. It is only a two minute drive from home and I would be able to come home for dinner at night. So, I was good with it. Then... Thursday afternoon, as I was getting ready for my second day at my new job, I got a phone call. It was the Director of Nursing for another facility. She had an opening for a charge nurse and wanted me to start right away. This facility is only 15 miles from my home. Not a bad drive. I would be working on the secured unit. That is basically, the Alzheimers' unit. I like Alzheimers'. I would be by myself, but there are only 20 beds, so it is a very small unit. All good. The best part is that she offered me approximately 33% more an hour than what I would be making if I stayed where I am at. Not much of a decision there. I told her I would take the job and regretfully explained to the nice people down the street that although they were great, I could not pass up this other opportunity. They understood and wished me well. I am now extremely excited about this new job and the ability to pay my bills without undo distress and having a little bit left over to spend on my home, my grandchildren and of course Starbucks, YUMMMM. Like the Psalmist said, "Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart." Even though we don't always know exactly what that may be until we recieve it.
Other news, We got a package from Aaron in the mail today. He sent some pictures of his Company and some of him in his uniform. He looks so handsome. He also sent me such a sweet card, it made me cry. I am so proud of him. Another desire answered by God.

A letter from Aaron!

I finally got a letter today. Aaron was very excited about what he has been doing. He wrote first about the Church he is attending and about he friend getting saved. Then he wrote to tell me about what they are doing in basic right now, "On Monday we went to a grenade range and practiced with a bunch a cheap small ones for ever, then we got to throw one real grenade. That was a whole lot of fun. Tuesday, we went to a range and learned how to fire a lot of machine guns and got to shoot a lot of machine guns that day. Which included the 50 cal. which was a blast. Today we learned how to use grenade launchers and an Anti-tank weapon. We didn't get to use any live rounds for the things we shot today, but it was still a lot of fun. " HE goes on to tell me about 8k marches and sleeping in the field for 3 days. Again, he calls it "FUN". I am so proud of my soldier. I am proud of what he is doing. They graduate from basic on August 30. I wish we could go and see him. It just isn't possible for us to travel to Missouri right now. Oh yeah, Pictures are courtesy of the company web site.

Meeting the hairy bunch.

Krysta came to visit last night. She brought with her, of course, the rug rats. She also brought Emmitt. She had brought him over before and we introduced him to Saul, our 75 pound german shepherd. This time we decided to let them play. Emmitt is big enough to handle it now. We also met the newest member of the Hamon Family. His name is Spike and he is 8 weeks old. Jacob and Lucy really had a good time carrying him around wrapped in a blanket. He is a baby after all.

Meeting the hairy bunch!

Emmitt and Uncle Saul, making friends.
It's Baby's turn to hold the kitty.
Holding Spike, I like him, he's little.
Grandma has a new Kitty


Krysta and Emmitt, visiting Grandma.

O-kay, so now I am officially irritated. I haven't gotten a letter from Aaron in over a week. Krysta got one, Tish got one, Geri got her birthday present and I can bet, he has written his girlfriend. WHERE'S MY LETTER? I write him twice a week.
Well, maybe I am pouting (a little) but I am his Mom, and I want my letter. Maybe I miss the big turd just a little.

We got a letter from Aaron's Commander this last week. Included in with all the other stuff was a great website.This is Echo Company arriving at processing.You can just see Aaron's face over the big guys right shoulder. It looks like he is being addressed in this picture.
Here, everyone one running out of that "cool" gas chamber, They don't look like they had as much fun as Aaron did.
Oh yeah, Climbing ropes.
The picture on the top left, looks like they are practicing a rescue. Aaron is standing alone to the left of the picture. Well, that's all for now. I'll keep everyone posted with new pics as soon as I get them.

And Lucy says:
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake
Little Baker Man
bake me a cookie
as fast as you can.

Roll it up and cut it out
and put it in a pan
then put it in the oven
Hurry, Little Baker Man

Cover it with icing
as pretty as you please
and soon we'll have a cookie
for Jacob and me.

It may be old and outdated but it is kid-friendly and obviously Mother approved.
I Love "Sonic the Hedgehog!"

MOM? "I'm just going to get you out of this hole."

Hey, What Happened?

Just one more ring.