Togetherness

DaisypathAnniversary Years Ticker

7/30/08

Did I Do That?

All I can say is...how did that happen? Here is my story and I am sticking to it. I had just arrived at the Quality Inn in Ocean Springs, MS. Upon entering my room I discovered to flush the commode I had to do the old fashion...take the back off and pull the chain inside! OK...I can handle that.

I turned the TV on to watch my favorite...So You Think You Can Dance...Katee and Josh are paired together again...my gosh I had to...down to the last 6. Charles and I spoke on the phone to decide who we thought may make it on.

My computer was set up on the little table by the TV Console. It was on a swivel table and I swiveled it toward me as I was working on my computer...I had promised the last call I had before I left the RCU that I would have him in Blackboard site tonight so he could get ready for school tomorrow.

WELL...as I touched the TV to swivel...down it came to the floor. I called the front desk and said, "Ahhh...You aren't going to believe what just happened! The TV has fallen out and is busted!" And then I asked the first thing I could think of..."You do have insurance for something like this, don't you?" NO MA'M YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THE TV! I tried to explain I was an almost 60 year old woman who wasn't jumping on the bed (yet) and the TV was not secured very well. I don't think I am going to win my case. She said she would have to talk to her manager.

I called back and said...well?? Could you come down and help me? She said..."I'm busy right now!" Oh she was busy alright...checking in Denise and Laura. The clerk told them someone from MSU had just busted a TV! Denise asked..."is it Marilyn Bowen???" Thank goodness Denise was next door...I am staying with her. I don't care what is on TV...I AM NOT touching it!

I walked up to the front one more time in tears and was confirmed that the busted TV is now mine...but I can talk to the manager in the morning. I called Charles and he said...get me the corporate number...I will be glad to call! Sweet Hubbie! Well, I will keep you posted what happens.

Laura, Denise and I are going to have a bite to eat...go to sleep. Poor Denise...I hope I don't keep her awake bawling...what an experience. OK..goodnight.

7/20/08

Surveys, Surveys, Surveys

Following is a survey that I saw on other people's blogs....(not necessarily people I am friends with either...that's right...I lurk!)

Survey One Word.

1. Where is your cell phone? mantle
2. Significant other? snoozing
3. Your hair? blondish-brown
4. Your mother? heaven
5. Your father? eighty-four
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? children
8. Your favorite drink? diet-coke
9. Your dream/goal? retirement
10. Room you're in? den
11. Your hobby? outside
12. Your fear? loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? retired
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you're not? mean
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? camera
18. Where grew up? Natchez
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your pets? several
21. Your computer? addictive
22. Your life? content
23. Your mood? anxious
24. Missing someone? Kacy
25. Your car? Avalon
26. Something you're not wearing? socks
27. Favorite store? Books-A-Million
28. Your summer? hot
29. Your favorite color? green
30. Last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today

32. Who do you want to tag? Glenda

7/19/08

Tie Dye Duds

Here is Daley in his Tie Dye T-Shirt. This is one of the ones he created. Thanks Andrea for sending me his picture. Now all I need to do is get Brett's from Natalie.

May I make a suggestion. The
kit from Walmart was very strong dye. I guess that was good for the shirts...but bad for the hands. Even using the plastic hand gloves...was trouble.

Remembering back to the old days when I used
RIT for summer crafts when the kids were young...I don't remember having to wear dye on my hands for weeks.

It was fun doing it with 2nd Generation. Will add Brett's picture of his shirt.

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7/17/08

Blog Redo

As you can tell...I have had fun making my blog "stylish!" I noticed how cute Morgan Abraham had made their blog...so I asked her for help to make mine pretty too!!! She sent me to a wonderful blog designer's website. Please visit Leelou Blogs. There are several free designs on the right side bar of her site. Have a Ball!!

Leelou Blogs


Thank you Leelou for sharing your designs. I would love to learn how to create the different designs. Maybe soon...

I have been following So You Think You Can Dance The Top 10 show July 17 paired my favorite Katee with Will. The last dance they preformed was called Pas De Deux. It was absolutely beautiful. I posted it here...for one reason, so I can view at will! ;-) Well...I guess I will have to wait until I figure out HOW! HA...Donna Manning, I need you to tell me how to add a YouTube video to my blog!!!

Video coming attraction...until then here is the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSKshNlWx0

So...if you are watching SYTYCD...who do you want to win???

7/11/08

Flash Rain



When I got home from Il, I had to take Rain a happy from Aunt Kacy...notice finger puppets! He had to show me his FLASH suit...too cute!

Pat and Chuck

We had a great visit on our way back from Chicago with Chuck and Pat Sexton (Charles' sister) in Decatur, Il. The weather was wonderful we sat out in the breeze most of our visit. They have 3 schnauzers also...Gracie (silver), Misty (small white...one of Greta's puppies) and Chantilly Lace (black).

7/7/08

WAY BEHIND

The last few weeks have been jam packed with wonderful family fun. The boys came and what a GREAT time we had. I am ashamed...the grandmother NEVER stopped long enough to get the camera out, charge it up, and take pictures. I have asked their mothers to take a picture with them in their tie-dyed T-shirts that we made. Coming Attraction.

Charles and I left, Saturday morning, June 28, 2008 for Chicago. We arrived at Kacy's apartment around 9:00pm...tired...but was so glad to see her. She lives in a precious apartment with Huxley, her dog and Talula (SP?), the cat. I can't believe we stayed 4 nights with her. Here is an overview of what we did...Charles and I braved the Red Line to downtown Chicago. I appreciate my two light town even more! We got off the line at the square of the Water Tower (the only building that survived the Chicago fire). As you can see, the jacket indicates it was a bit rainy and chilly. I thought it was GREAT!

Being the Chocoholics we are...it was such fund to find ourselves and the corner of Hershey's and Ghiradelli. Of course whe headed in to Ghirdelli and sampled the wares. We looked across the
street and I spotted a store that would have caused Kacy as a young girl to go wild, so I thought of my 3 granddaughers and convinced Charles that we could go up a notch in the grand parent meter if we visted American Girl. Not only did we vist, but Christmas is now taken care of for the girls. Charles kept looking at me with skeptism, until you noticed a lilttle black velvet coat ensemble and picked it out for one of the dolls. We really did have a good time. The dolls we found were created to match the doll to the child. We studied each of the 30 or so possibilites to find one that matched Claire's suacy smile, Kali's dark eyes, and Alie Grace's animated face. As I was cashing out...he found a seat and watched hundreds come an go with a doll in tow. When we got back to Kacy's apartment and shared our advneture, she had a look of "wish I had been with you." She started reading American Girl books when they first came out...I guess at 12? It has gone a long way from a book collection. I have never seen as many outfits, different hair styles, a beauty shop for worn out har, and an emergency room for dolls who may have been handled too roughly by a brother or the family pet.
Kacy had gone with some friends so Charles and I decided to find lunch. The rainy weather made the SOUP BOX sign pop out! We both enjoyed soup and sourdough bread. So simple...so good. I wonder if I could open up a SoupBox in Eupora?

After the fun day, we went underground to catch the Red Line and listened to a young man play and sing for money. American Idol maybe?

Kacy, Charles, and I all chipped in to tasks to create a wonderful evening meal. Amy (who came to Mississippi to buy one of Greta's puppies...Eloise) came over to eat. Huxley and Eloise were so funny playing together. Off to sleep went Charles and Kacy and I visited until after midnight. On Monday morning I had such a wonderful experience. OK...this will bring grandmotherhood to a whole new level...Please view the next photos and imagine 30 or 40 dogs runnig the beach with owners near by throwing frisbies, tennis balls, wading in the COOOL water, and sunning.


The rules are posted...
Huxley sniffing out the big dogs. You can see others running by. It was such fun watching these dogs have so much fun.

After the beach we picked up Charles to go eat pizza that we have waited all year for. Last year we ate at Leona's and we couldn't wait for a return visit. Charles odered the ravioli he had before and Kacy and I shared a spinach pizza. It was as good this year as last. After Leona's it was tennis shoe shopping time. Made it back to the apartment...sleep...wake up to another fun day. We decided to forgo the TASTE of CHICAGO due to the crowds and too much walking. We will have to consider that on our next trip up.


Instead we went back downtown on the Red Line and found a Louisiana restaurant...Heaven on Seven. Needless to say...we ate good again. I can't believe it is getting close to leaving. We had to walk down to Fannie May's Candy Store to purchase Amy Sesser (daughter-in-law) her favorite Trinidads. Of course we got us some also. ;-)

I haven't mentioned that early every morning I would get Huxley and he and I would go walking. It was very comical to notice passerby's reactions when I would say, "Hello" or "Good Morning!" It was almost like a shock went across their face to be spoken to...I loved it!

OK...back to the downtown visit...here are a few snapshots!

Michigan Ave Big City...Tall Buildings
Well...it goes without saying we had a great time in Chicago!!! Please visit the Photo Album located somewhere on the blog for more pictures. Kacy...we will be back next year if I haven't convinced you to come back closer to home!

6/21/08

Next Week With the Boys

It is Saturday and I am thinking of all the things I want to do with my 2 grandsons Daley - (my son Ryan's son who just turned 12) and Brett (Charles' son Toby's son who will be 12 in October) I have created a poster for each day to allow some sort of AGENDA (boy am I controlling or just nervous since it has been so long having young ones!) I will include a picture later of my HALL of Posters! I know swimming will be on the agenda often...not just for the boys! Charles and I have really been enjoying the pool!

OK...here are some ideas of what is in store for the week: Swimming, making cookies, tie-dyeing t-shirts (what a memory...that was something I did with my children at the first of each summer to have t-shirts alike) and pillow cases to take home, cooking out with Brandon, Amy, Rain, Ryan and PawPaw, watching a good movie, playing games with Mimi and PawPaw and catching fire flies. (I don't remember ever seeing as many as I am seeing this summer.)

I pray that the time they spend with Charles and I will be a fond memory of their childhood. Thank you God for these two boys! Pictures to come!

6/12/08

Happy Anniversary Charles

The old saying "MY HOW TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN!" has never been so true. Charles and I have been married for 10 years! So much has happened in those 10 years...marriages, births, deaths, happiness, sadness, losses, and victories. But, the constant through it all is having a husband like Charles to be by my side with loving support.

We have fun together. I know alot has to do with both sets of children being grown and gone, but we have a lot of time to drive around, find a new gravel road we haven't investigated, walking through old cemeteries, walk through the woods (OK...not my favorite ;-)), travel, watching TV shows together...I am so grateful for this marriage.

6/1/08

Laminin - God's Glue

I want to share an email I received from a 7th Grade ICT1 teacher I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with this year. I asked if I could post it on my blog because it really ministered to me and I want anyone who reads my blog to be ministered to also...so Alice Rainwater, I THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WITH ME!


A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking....'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???'

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.


And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!! It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin. Here is how wikipedia describes them :'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see....laminins are what hold us together. ...LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules.They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE.

But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already).... Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...