Lost my password.  Now I am in.  Don't look for a flood, but I plan to add a blog or two.

Sturgis and my mower.

I recently acquired a Brand New Craftsman Lawn Mower.
It is wonderful.  It starts on the first pull.  It is self propelled.
It has plenty of power. 

Highway 183 is a major highway going north to Sturgis,
Harley Davidsonville.  We see people going by quite often
during this time of the summer on their Harley's

Saturday when I was mowing with my new mower I felt
like a guy with a new Harley heading for Sturgis.  It was
pretty cool and I was proudly mowing my lawn.

Just thought I would share.

Chapters of my life closed today.
Will write more later

Mom Ate the Backs.

I want to tell you a little something about my Mom.

Randy Travis has as a song entitled, "Angels". In that song there is a question being asked about whether there are or are not angels around us. Some of the words go like this, "... are you telling me that you've never seen a angel?...Man are you blind? Just look in your Mother's eyes." Now I know she is not an angel, and I know she is not perfect, but I do think she is pretty special.

Fried chicken used be one of my favorite meals when I was growing up. It still is. Now, I do love the Wood/Vice family fried chicken that Sharlene cooks, but I am very partial to my Mom's fried chicken. One thing I remember about fried chicken when I was at home was that it seemed to me that Mom always ate the backs. To those of you who remember or still do cut up a chicken to fry, what do you think of the back, or the neck for that matter? Mom used to cook it all. Unless I am going to make some kind of soup, I feel the backs and necks are usless. Just not much there. Well, the way I remember it, Mom ate the backs. There were legs, (that is what we called them) thighs, breasts and wings. For a family of 7 one chicken did not let anyone overeat. I think Mom thought if she ate a less desirable piece of chicken there would be something better for the rest of the family. I think that is the way Mom thinks about lots of things in this life. She spends time and energy thinking about and doing for others. My Mom is special because she ate the backs.

She is pretty well known for that angel food cake that she makes. Maybe there is a reason for that too.

Mom loves her kids. Mom loves her grandkids. She loves her great-grandchildren. Mom loved my Dad. And she has a love for the Lord and a desire to serve him and to serve others. Back to another song. Glen Campbell sings a song that is entitled, "The Hand that rocks the cradle." That song has a line that says there ought to be a hall of fame for Mommas. I don't know about the hall of fame, but if there were one, I would nominate my Mom to be there.

June 22, 1972

June 22, 1972 It was my first summer home from college. My Dad said he could find me something to do at his real estate and insurance office. I thought that was o.k. I did not know how special it would be to have one of your children work with you until now. I believe he was proud. The pictures are from that June in 1972. The tall one on the right is me. June 22, 1972, is also a birthday. I was able to buy my first car that summer. It cost $2,300.00. It has less than 50 miles on it. The sales tax was 3%. It did not have air conditioning. I used to take 4 girls to A & W for root beer while in college and our family drove it until it had 100,000 miles on it. I know I have mentioned it before but I loved that car. I still have it rusting out on the hill east of town. After going out last night to take a picture I know that dream of restoring it is fading more and more each day.

A lot can happen in three years

Three years! A lot of joy has come my way in the last 3 years. Sharlene and I have had four grandchildren brought our way. It has been a wonderful, new experience to have them. The future seems so bright anticipating watching them grow. I am also pretty sure more will be on the way soon. That will be pretty cool too.

I have also had the pleasure to watch my beautiful inside and out daughters bloom into motherhood. It is such a blessing that they all live close enough so that we can be with daughters and their families.

The last three years have also been a long time to be without my Dad. He would have loved to hold these little grandkids and their mommies. I found this picture the other day. I think it expresses what his feelings might be if he could let us know today.





I

Not even tagged (part 4)

O.K. here is my final bit for the "Tagged" blog from Jacqueline:

Here are my 11 questions:
1. When is the last time you laughed until you cried?

2. What are four things that are always in your refrigerator?

3. Based on your past experiences and on your responsibility as a parent, would you be willing to send your children or go on a camping trip with your parents?

4. Do you sleep on your stomach, back or side?

5. What is your favorite romantic movie?

6. What is your favorite home cooked meal?

7. Other than home, where is your favorite place to eat?

8. What has been your most memorable vacation?

9. What would you do if you were given $100,000.00 and all of your bills were already paid?

10. When you travel would you rather drive or be the navigator?

11. What is something you do to relax?

There we go. All done. Now, I will try to do some other things on a more regular basis.