HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY AND TOOK THE TIME TO REMEMBER THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

The Cycle of Life.

Paul relaxing after a tiring day.

Mark giving Paul a welcome kiss.

I have not posted in a while, mainly because I have to get motivated to sit down at the computer and put my thoughts into words. Sometimes it is because I have no words. Sometimes I have too many words going on in my head and I have to be sure that what I say is really appropriate. This time I am torn between overwhelming happiness and the sadness of losing people close to me.





On November the 8TH we were blessed with grandchild number eleven. He was born in Washington state and is all the way across the country from us. We are chaffing at the bits to see him. His name is Paul Atticus Sedlacek, he weighed 7 lbs and 13 oz and was just 19 inches long. Hopefully he grows taller like his dads side of the family. We plan to make the trip to Washington before the New Year. Thankfully Cody got to come home from Afghanistan to be with Sarah for the birth. We will be relieving him later this month at which time he will be returning to finish up his third deployment. The kids are loving having their dad home and Sarah is glad to have him there to bond with Paul and spend a little time with Luke, Charlotte and Mark.

This past week my cousin Ronnie Oldham passed away. He had been sick off and on for almost a year now. He died on 11/11/11. Ronnie was another one of the talented Oldham kids. He was a musician/songwriter and had worked with multiple artist including Percy Sledge, Hank Williams Jr, Narvel Felts and ZZ Hill to name a few. He was in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and had received other musical awards.

It always amazed me how much talent was in my family. My dad and all his brothers could play just about any instrument they picked up and could harmonized there voices so well. We had keyboard players, guitar players, drummers and songwriters. My cousin Judy had a beautiful voice when she was a teenager. She could sound just like Brenda Lee and Connie Francis and would always get up and belt out a few girl songs at dances we had at the rec center. But for all the talent in the family it was not evenly spread around. I myself took piano lessons for nine years and still can't play, even for my own enjoyment. I have numerous other cousins that are every bit as untalented as me. Maybe the talent is there somewhere but the rest of us just have not dug deep enough to find it.

Maybe the next generation will inherit some of the musical talent. Andrew is learning to play the piano, Matthew works at the guitar, Emily is in the chorus at school, John Pearson has a guitar, I think maybe David has some entertaining qualities in him and Luke has been told by his teacher that he has both a sense of rhythm and beat. Who knows maybe the talent is still hidden in one of my grand kids.

For Everything There Is a Season

For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

Pre Game Prayer

We are having a little controversy in our small town. I think the town of Killen Al. would rather not be thrown into the spotlight, but unfortunately that seems to be what has happened. We are a small southern town where probably 95% of the people here are sitting on a church pew every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. We have just about every denomination represented in our area. Everyone is basically tolerant of everyone else's beliefs.

We are accustom to praying for everything and everybody. I am happy if a friend being Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or any religious belief says to me "God bless you", because in reality God is God to all of us. It makes me feel closer to a person some how to know that they believe in a supreme being and that unites us in a world family. My problem is that the world consist of something like 95% of people that are considered believers in a higher power and less than 5% of people that profess to believe in nothing. Now my question is how do these 5% of the people wield so power over the other 95% of the rest of us that they can determine when and where we can pray?

There was an article in our local newspaper this past week that read, "Group complains about Brooks' pregame prayers".

Before each home game a student, teacher or local minister says a prayer usually asking God to watch over all the players from both teams. They will remember all the students, parents and everyone traveling to and from the game. They pray that the game will be played in good sportsmanship manner. They don't take these public prayers on the road. I have been to games where no prayers were said, but you better believe that I'm praying from the bleachers. It personally makes me feel better that my grandson is being prayed for before a game.

A young man was hurt at a game a few weeks ago and they thought he was going to have to be airlifted to Huntsville. The stadium was completely quiet even though there were several hundred people there. I knew that all these people were praying for that player. The only exception to the silence were three young girls sitting right behind us and they giggled and laughed the whole time the paramedics worked this boy. I felt that this was disrespectful. I guess no one had ever taught them to pray. I'm afraid this is what we will find when the "Freedom From Religion Foundation" digs it's claws into our rights.

In the complaint filed, this is part of what was written. "It is coercive and inappropriate to ask students to listen while a prayer is delivered at athletic events". I ask why? I felt it was inappropriate to listen to these girls talk, laugh and be disrespectful when there was an injury on the field, but I didn't file a complaint. Maybe I should have ask someone from the Freedom Of Religion Foundation to step in for me. Oh wait that is probably illegal to have a Freedom of Religion Foundation. The government has band everything else that pertains to 95% of our populations beliefs. If they can ask us not to pray at a game, why can't we ask them to come a few minutes late, after the pray has been said. And not to inconvenience these 5%, we can have a section marked off and a pair of ear plugs at each of these seats so they want be able to hear the words "One nation under God" when the "Pledge of Allegiance" is recited. Oh and an eye mask to take to the concession stand so they can't see "In God We Trust" when they pull out the money to pay for the food they buy.

You know I am feeling more and more like the masses are being controlled by the few. I don't ask that anyone believe, do or participate in anything that I do, but please do not take away my freedom to do it. You can continue to not pray, but I think I need all the help I can get. God bless us one and all.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLD WHEN

TRACY!!!! DON'T PUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER ON THERE!!!!!!

Favorite part of the evening.

Emily pretending to sit on a pumpkin

Emily waiting for Fair Food.

Getting ready for the fair

Last week was a busy week, but we also managed to get in a few fun things too. Tracy and Emily wanted us to go to the Lawrenceburg fair on Friday evening. We got to the fair around 7:00 o'clock and it was already so crowded you could hardly walk. Since none of us are big fans of the rides, we walked around for awhile, got something too eat ( Why does fair food always taste and smell so good?) and then went to look at the exhibits. There was a little bit of everything on display. We registered for all the give-a-ways, so we will probably be getting phone calls from every vendor that was at the fair.

Emily loves looking at the animals and was a little disappointed when there were only cows and rabbits on display. Usually she gets to pet goats, chickens and all kinds of little critters. Of course we had to play a few games to try to win a stuffed animal. We didn't walk away empty handed. She came out with a stuffed dog and a stuffed tiger.

It's always fun going to the fair. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and they actually let us out of school and loaded up the school buses and took us all to the fair. I would usually carry $10:00 and come home with $7:50. I loved to go, but I was afraid of most of the rides. You sure don't get out with $10:00 a person now. I can't even begin to estimate how much money is spent in one evening let along for the whole week.

The most enjoyable part of the evening was stopping at the Dairy Queen and getting a strawberry sundae.

On Saturday we carried some things over to the antique booth and later stopped a Stephano's and got a pizza. John and I are still laughing about the pizza adventure. John let me out at the Salvation Army thrift store and he went on down and ordered a pizza. After looking around for a while, I walked on down to the pizza place about the same time our pizza was ready. Well we started eating and as always it was delicious. We took another slice and ate it. I'm looking a the pizza and how much is left, but heck we usually eat the whole thing, so we each took another slice. Well it was all we could do to eat the third piece. I told John to get a to go box and we put what was left in it to carry home. I said, "John, I don't know why, but I just don't seem to have much appetite today. We usually don't have trouble finishing off a small pizza." He looked a little funny and then said "I do usually get a small one, don't I, but I ordered a medium today." Well so much for our loss of appetite. John did tell the lady behind the counter to remind him the next time we come in to only sell us a small unless we have someone with us.

We got in the car and left and got almost to Muscle Shoals when I realized I have left my purse at the restaurant, so we had to turn around and go back. Luckily the lady had found my purse and put it behind the counter. I'm sure she was wondering if we would make it home by ourselves. It gets a little freaky when you have more than one senior moment in one day.

We might as well laugh at ourselves, because everyone else does.

TIRED OF BEING A CHILD.

I AM 66 YEARS OLD!!!! When do I stop feeling like a child? I have raised a family of five children. I am the grand mother of eleven grand children. I have a handful of really good friends who would do just about anything for me. The people I work with think I'm strong, smart and determined. Why then, do I let myself be trampled on by the people who have been in my life longer than anyone else? By this I mean my original family, my mother, brother and sister.

When does family stop caring about each other? When I was at home, I felt I could argue and fuss with my siblings and by the end of the day everything would be forgotten. I would never have dreamed of disrespecting my mother or dad by back talking or doing anything that would upset them. Being the oldest girl in my family, I have always tried to be the peace maker and a try to pull everyone together. I always felt protective of my younger siblings and being fifteen years older than my sister, I was like a mother figure. I use to take my brother with me every where I went. He was seven years younger than me so this was not always cool when I was 18 and he was 11. Somewhere along the line everyone grew up and older and forgot what it means to still be a family.

My dad died 18 years ago and it has been a down hill slide since. I have tried to help my mother, but I have found the more you do the less you are appreciated. I have been screamed at, cussed at, accused of lying, stealing, cheating and berated by all of my original family. I am in a constant state of confusion and depression, feeling that maybe there is something I can do to change the situation, but apparently not.

I know that this may sound heartless to some, but I have to walk away from the situation. I cannot live without a feeling of peace in my heart and mind. I know this sounds like a really weird thing to blog about, but I have felt the need put my feelings into words. I want to feel like an adult and not A cowering child afraid to speak up for and defend myself.

FOUNDER'S DAY AND BALL GAMES

Me and John at the Killen Founder's Day celebration. We went out to the park on Friday night and listened to to the band Pioneer Drive.
We went back on Saturday to meet with some of my classmates from the 9TH grade class of 1960.


This picture was made following Andrew's ballgame. Andrew is a real go getter when it comes to playing ball. He seems to always be up against the biggest guy out there. I tell him, "Why do you get so upset when your little brother does something to you and then you go out on the field and let those big guys beat you up and act like nothing has happened"?







Matthew has not chosen a sport yet. Maybe he will get into bull riding. I'm sure he will find his niche one of these days. Aaron is a runner and can run like the wind.







The boys of fall have come out with a vengeance. The white team below is John Pearson's team. He is in the tenth grade this year . We went to his B team game on Monday evening and he played quiet a bit. One of the boys on the opposing team was hurt at the beginning of the 4Th quarter and they thought he was going to have to be med -vac ed to Huntsville. He later started to move and was taken to ECM hospital instead. The game was called thank goodness. I don't know if I could have watched anymore that night.


The crimson and white is Andrew's team. He plays on offence and defence.

This picture was made to prove that I am wearing the necklace that Sarah gave me and that I plan to drink the tea that Monica gave me. Where do my kids get this? They tell me "Now I'm going to give this to you put if you're not going to wear or use it, I'll give to to someone else".

Matthew putting a spit shine on the rims of his bicycle.

Aaron was excited to get these really big bucks.

I carried two old bikes up to Memphis for Matthew. The plan is to combine the parts and make one rideable bike. It was exciting for a little while. Who knows if he will continue to work on it.

It may be just something else for mom and dad to find a place for in the garage.

I think Andrew got into the dismantling in a big way. He got the wheels and seat off. It is always fun to tear something apart. It's the putting back together that is boring.

Mark and Paige came over . We stayed home with the kids while Monica, Tim, Mark and Paige had a night out. They went to play Trivia Pursuit at one of the churches in Mid Town.

Monica after her first week of teaching the 3k and 4k kids . After 12 years of being a stay at home mom she has decided to go back and get her masters and become teacher. I think maybe she should have decided to be a brain surgeon. Probably less stressful.

We decided to go to Memphis this weekend because Andrew only has a couple of weekend games and I was afraid if we didn't go to this first one, we something would come up and we would miss the next one. The weather was really great. It was still pretty hot, but the wind from the hurricane off the coast was sending a wonderful breeze right to us. We left just after the game was over and got home around 9:30 pm. It took us a little longer because we had to stop in Corinth MS and get a bite to eat. God forbid we make the three hour trip without stopping to eat something. Normally we stop at the Dairy Queen and get an ice cream treat, but this time we stopped at Wendy's and got a bowl of chili. It never gets to hot for Chili.

VACATION CONTINUES TO MEMPHIS

On our way back home.







Train ride.






Rolling hills of somewhere out west.






Wheat fields of somewhere out west.






Daniel and David wollering on the sofa.






Mountain just outside of a town that started with a U., somewhere out west.






Interesting mountain formation, somewhere out west.





Pasture land somewhere out west.









Don't fence me in.






On the back of the train with Luke and Charlotte.











We left Colorado Springs on Thursday around mid morning. The weather was very nice when we left and we were ready to begin our trip south. As the day wore on the temps got higher and higher and the scenery became more monotonous. There were time that day I was sure my head was going to nod right through the side window. I had determined that I would not go to sleep while we were riding, because John was doing the driving and he always likes to tell everyone that I sleep while he drives. I would be fine with driving awhile, but I think he is terrified of me getting behind the wheel. Several years ago I was driving and he had just dosed off when I accidentally ran up on a curb. Since then no matter how many times I offer he will say " Oh no I fine right now". Well alright, how long are you going to hold that against my driving skills?









We drove that day until about 9:00PM. We took a state route just to the south of Topeka Kansas and drove to a little town just north of Burlington. ( I hope I got the names right). We found a little motel called the Wyatt Earp Motel and stayed there for the night. The next morning we headed east to Nevada Mo.. We stopped at Buzz's BBQ and had lunch. We stopped at a couple of yard sales then drove around Cottey College where the girls went to school. We headed south to Joplin. We bypassed most of Joplin, so we really didn't see any of the storm damage. At one point during the day I looked at the thermometer and it was 110 degrees. I licked my lip to catch the sweat that was running down my face and I swear I tasted like pure salt. At that point I understood how Lots wife could have turned into a pillar of salt.







By this time we were heading toward Little Rock and I had talked to Monica and told her that we wouldn't be in until Sunday. The traffic was not as bad as usual and we were making better time than we had anticipated. When we got almost to West Memphis AR., I said to John, "What do you think about riding on down to Tunica and having the last big fling of our vacation." To my surprise he said that he was thinking the same thing. I almost passed out. When we got across the Mississippi River we headed south again and drove down to Tunica. We were able to get a room ( another surprise on a Saturday night). We played the slots until 2:00 AM then headed back to the room. House keeping had turned the air down to 50 degrees and when we finally turned in for the night it was so cold we could hardly stand to undress for bed. I told John, if we didn't get pneumonia from the extreme temperature change (110-50) it would be a miracle. Another thing I was concerned about was whether the kids would have us both committed to rehab for excessive trips to the casinos. Three time in three weeks was more then we usually go in a year. Oh by the way we still didn't win anything.






As you can see by the time we got home all the scenery had started to look the same and I couldn't even begin to tell you where the pictures were taken. I do remember the kids names and faces and that was what the trip was all about. I realize I did make one big boo-boo when we got to Memphis. I totally forgot to take pictures of Andrew, Matthew and Aaron. Sorry guys.

SUMMER VACATION COLORADO SPRINGS

At the Ice Cream Parlor.

Not so cool.

Parade

Keeping cool.

Monument Colorado parade.

Somewhere on the road.

Sondra making her great gucamole.

Daniel at McDonalds

Cripple Creek Colorado

In front of Sondra and Jonathan's house.

Rainbow over the subdivision

David at the computer

Beautiful scenery.

Jonathan's rose.

More pretty scenery.

Our trip from Washington to Colorado was filled with the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. I was honestly afraid to close my eyes because I would miss something. The ride was nice and comfortable weather wise. We Stayed one night in Pendelton Oregon. The next night we stayed just outside of Denver. We were close enough to drive on in to Co. Springs, but decided we needed a good nights rest before we started our visit with Sondra, Jonathan, David and Daniel.

We got to Sondra and Jonathan's house around 10:30 on Sunday morning. Again it was great to see kids and grand kids. And as always the little ones were excited and had a list of things for Maw Maw and granddaddy to do. I had to put David off until the next day because he had a recipe for the "Best every chocolate chip cookies" that he wanted to make right then. We ended up making the cookies and I believe they were the "Best ever Chocolate chip cookies". I have made them with Emily since we got home.

Sondra works from home and very seldom gets a day out without the kids, so we decided to take a drive over to Cripple Creek on the other side of the mountain. We got there around 10:00 in the morning, had lunch, and yet again spent money at the casino without winning. The main thing was that we had a day out with our daughter and she had a day away from work.

The weather started to really warm up while we were in Co. Springs. John and I hit a few thrift stores. Sondra and I managed a few walks while we were there. Mainly we kind of hung around the house and were entertained by David and Daniel. Jonathan grilled out a couple of nights. John, Sondra and I carried the kids to a Fourth of July parade in Monument Co.. There were and estimated 30 thousand people there. It was really great to see so many people celebrating, waving flags, eating hot dogs and all the things that go with the 4TH.

On Friday we left Co. Springs to begin our trip heading south. It always makes me sad to leave the grand kids. It takes a few days for them to warm up to you and seems as soon as they do, its time to leave. I guess that's the way it's meant to be....