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Friday Favorites

It has been a busy week!

Richard, Emily, and the baby girls came to Jacksonville Saturday to spend the weekend and share in our annual Sunday before Thanksgiving Dinner.

A Saturday night slumber party commenced.  Lydia and Rory slept in Glammy’s room.  And they managed to get [maybe] six hours of sleep.  They were being OH So quiet Sunday morning; I thought they were getting some much needed sleep.

But when I sat up in bed I saw two little sets of bright eyes, wide awake and ready to PLAY

Favorite # ONE

Lively Little Girls

I assumed I would wake up and tiptoe out of the bedroom leaving them to have sweet dreams, but they were quick to jump up.  As I made my stop into the kitchen to make coffee they headed to the “Barbie room”.  It wasn’t long before they quickly returned to ask “Glammy won’t you come play Barbies?”

Well YES!

And we played various things throughout the day.  There was one “game” I particularly enjoyed

Favorite # TWO

Playing Sous-Chef

This little one assisted several times in the kitchen, she aided in egg cracking for breakfast, she [nearly] single-handedly prepared a corn casserole, and arranged the appetizer platter.

And because pumpkin pie and pecan bars were not acceptable choices for dessert that evening, she made chocolate pudding.

When all was finished she asked “what can we do next?”

We can do dinner!

Table setting courtesy of Emily

Favorite # THREE

Sunday before Thanksgiving Dinner

I love the almost traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the sides.

And nobody can carve a turkey like LB!

Favorite # FOUR

Leftovers on Monday

it was back to work as usual – I took leftovers for lunch

and LB enjoyed leftovers for dinner.I didn’t take a picture of my lunch as it was much less impressive.

Tuesday

was typical with the exception of an impromptu taco dinner party with Stephanie and Amanda.

Wednesday

was an exceptional day which included very light traffic, very light work, and a visit to the theater later that evening to see

Favorite # FIVE

Wicked

seated right behind the orchestraIt was an exciting way to begin our Thanksgiving holiday vacation!

~

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Thank You for Your Service

Veterans Day

is observed annually on November 11.

It is a day set aside to honor our military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died while in service, Veterans Day honors all military veterans, including those still with us.  Veterans Day encourages us to value our veterans for their service and sacrifice.  It is a reminder to all of us to stop and reflect on the value of peace in our country and in our lives.

I can’t help but think about my Grandpa today.  As I’ve mentioned quite a few times in earlier posts, my Grandpa was in the Army and served in WWII.

Grandpa didn’t lose his life while in service, but he returned home and enjoyed a long life that allowed him to raise children and later develop relationships with grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

It hasn’t been a month since he left us to be with Jesus.  At his funeral service there was an American flag draped over his casket, as is customary for a deceased veteran who has served honorably in the military.

It was at his service that I first experienced the

Folding of the American flag

I can’t explain why, but it touched my heart

Typically, the American flag is given to the next-of-kin, as a keepsake after its use during a funeral service.  And in this case, it was presented to Grandpa’s only surviving child, my Aunt Debbie.

~

After attending the service and later seeing the photos LB took, I was compelled to do a little research on the flag folding.

“Traditional flag etiquette recommends that before an American flag is stored or presented, its handlers should twice fold it in half lengthwise; then (from the end opposite the blue field) make a triangular fold, continuing to fold it in triangles until the other end is reached. This makes a triangular “pillow” of the flag with only the blue starred field showing on the outside, and it takes thirteen folds to produce: two lengthwise folds and eleven triangular ones.” (source)

Fold-us-flag-animated.gif

I thought there may be meaning behind the way the flag is folded.  While there is no official flag-folding ceremony script (offering the meaning to each of the folds), there are scripts which could be used.

As an example, one ceremony script includes this:

“The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of [his] life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world.” (source)

Very appropriate for today as an homage to all Veterans who have given “a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world”.

Thank you.

~

And thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Once upon a time there was a little boy

…who called me Ma

His little hands stole my heart, and his little feet ran away with it.

My sweet baby boy.And although he is no longer a baby, he is still the baby of the family.

Richard

came into the world 30 years ago today.  At the time we had been blessed with little girls, so to have a baby boy join the circle was an exciting event.

Those little girls weren’t completely excited about that event Although they changed their tune when they discovered it was fun to dress him up like a princess with a purseThey soon learned that they love him dearlyToday they are inseparable.

~

Richard had no interest in playing the part of the princess, but instead preferred to play the part of Batman

And still likes to play the part of Batman.

~

He had a handful of special friends as a little boy

Who continued to be friends through the years, and remain good friends to this day.

After he became part of the High School Ministry at First Baptist Jacksonville, Rich had the opportunity to participate in a few mission trips, including a trip Nicaragua to help minister to a small community and church there.  As the years passed his focus continued to be spiritual.

 After graduating from high school he earned a degree from Liberty University.  He then began working on a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, while he served as a Collegiate Missionary at Campus Church UNF Today he is living in South Carolina, managing a Maple Street Biscuit Company or two.

~

He is married to a beautiful young lady; His own Mama, couldn’t have chosen a more perfect mate for him. And now he has babies of his own.

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

I’ll Love You Forever.

I’ll Like You For Always.

As Long As I’m Living…

My Baby You’ll Be.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

The first full week of November began with a challenge from my November 1st  Birthday Girl

Stephanie

She sent me a pin on Pinterest which was a link to the current birthday cake of her dreams.

This qualifies as one of my Friday Favorites!

 🎂

Favorite # ONE

The Birthday Cake Challenge

I’m always up for a baking challenge and I’d likely be more successful if I’d follow the recipe.

The Frosted Animal Cookie Cake with four layers of cake, three layers of filling, and white chocolate buttercream frosting topped with pink ganache (pause to catch breath) took me three evenings to complete.

For the most part, I followed this recipe from lifeloveandsugar.com, however in order to finish quickly, I used a box white cake mix:I think she likes it!

Bonus information: 1,088 calories in 1 slice of a 14 serving cake

😱

Favorite # TWO

A

Birthday Dinner

with three of my favorite ladies

The family was scattered on Stephanie’s birthday and we weren’t able to gather together to celebrate.  In an attempt to make her day special, I had Mama, Stephanie, and Amanda come to my house for dinner.

We had something I never imagined I would include in my blog

🍟

Favorite # THREE

Poutine

It sounds weird and it is weird, but it was Stephanie’s request.

The meaning of the word poutine is from a Québécois slang word meaning “mess”.

It is fries with gravy and cheese curds and MUST be eaten with a fork.

THIS RECIPE is a good one!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Face-Time

While we were together, Emily and the baby girls face timed Stephanie to wish her a happy birthday.

We all enjoyed a teeny little visit together.

It is essential to stay in touch with family!

Moments after I left for work today, LB received the news that his Dad passed away early this morning.

For the past few years LB has made regular visits with his Dad, typically on Friday afternoons.  Although this is a heartbreaking time for him, LB is happy for making time to visit and maintain a close relationship with his Dad.

We have attended church with him on Father’s Day a few times and it was on one of those occasions that I snapped this photo

Favorite # FIVE

A picture is worth a  thousand words but the memories are priceless!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

November GIF

November is an exciting month because there are so many events to look forward to!

However there is one event to look back on that took place on October 31st.

LB and I went to the annual Ballasso Halloween Party last night where we encountered every kind of character you could imagine.

Dressing up is one of my favorite things; almost everyone enjoys getting into costume for Halloween.

Favorite # ONE

Dressing Up

Here are some members of my family who showed their Halloween spirit this year:

Sydney as Sally

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Dillon as the Joker

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Levi as Owen of Jurassic World

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Thea as Princess Anna from Arendelle

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Chynnaand her lil’ pumpkin

~

Gina and Sydney a Classic Halloween Witch and her Black Cat

~

Lydiaas Glinda the Good Witch

~

Rory as Dorothy Gale with her bothersome ruby slippers

~

and even McCartney (Amanda’s dog)there’s a dinosaur mask around here somewhere.

~

They are all fabulous!

One costume that I thought turned out particularly well is my

Favorite # TWO

LB as Woody

This may be the best costume LB has ever donned!

~

Favorite # THREE

Costume Concepts

The inspiration for this year’s Halloween costume came from a recently watched movie

Toy Story 4I had my heart set on being Bo Peep, but there were no Bo Peep costumes to be found.

Since LB already had his heart set on being WOODY, I chose to dress up as

Jessie the cowgirl.~

Richard, Emily, Lydia, and Rory were inspired by the Wizard of OZ

~

Favorite # FOUR

Trick or Treat

One of my favorite TREATS  this year is this ORANGE KIT KAT.Since it is TRICK-y to remove and replace my plastic mouthpieces, I’ve only had one…

but it was tasty!

~

 I would be remiss if I submitted a post on November 1st without mentioning  my firstborn.

Last but certainly not least

Favorite # FIVE

StephanieHappy Birthday Dear Stephanie!

 

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Saturday Special

This was my Saturday Special:

From the Maple Street Biscuit Company

it is called

The Squawking Goat 

It is a Maple Street biscuit with fried chicken, goat cheese and pepper jelly which was delivered to my table by my own yungin’.He also brought Rory her chocolate chip waffles with strawberries (which she enjoyed quite a lot).

~

Today is the last day of my annual FALL VACATION.

The Fall Vacation trip is the one that LB and I take annually to  do the same things in the same places.  Not because we can’t think of anything else to do, but because we love it.  However, on this Fall Vacation Trip, LB and I did something a little bit different: we detoured to Charleston.

Richard, Emily, Lydia, and Rory officially moved to South Carolina this past week.

  Because I know it is going to be difficult to live without seeing them regularly, LB rerouted us to Charleston and on Saturday afternoon….We met at the place where “Daddy is the BOSS”.

And Glammy got to see her girls!

Talk about a Saturday Special!

After enjoying our lunch, we followed Emily and the baby girls to see their new home.

The playground was especially fun to see!But there was more to do.

We opened housewarming presents (and put them together)Then we headed out to spend the afternoon having fun at a

Charleston Fall Festival

There were so many fun things to do!

There was

A Maze

and a prize if you were successful!

A Fun House

I was amazed that this little four year old marched herself into the fun house alone

and proceeded to run right through like a little pro.

There was

A Pumpkin Patch

which included an opportunity to pick a pumpkin to carve or paint.

Rory picked this one.Lydia did the paintingAnd she did an excellent job!

There were

Photo OpportunitiesBalloon Babies A HAUNTED HOUSE

I ain’t gonna lie… I didn’t want to go into the haunted house.  It was FINE WITH ME when Emily volunteered.  But as it turned out, it was a Haunted House especially designed for little ones, and Lydia asked me if I would go with her a second time.

The stop in Charleston was not planned well in advance, so LB and I would have to leave for Florida shortly after our visit had just begun.

 It was a HOT day, but a fun day with the baby girls!And we WILL be going back!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

Today a coworker asked me if I have stopped blogging:

“Are you still doing that, or did it run its course?”

(you know who you are and [even now] I’m glaring).

I explained that I enjoy blogging, but can’t seem to make time to publish my posts.

😢

Right now I have 52 drafts waiting to be finished.

Nevertheless, I try to add a Friday Favorites post each week.

That said, my Friday Favorites from last week is still unfinished.  Reason being, last Friday Rory spent the night.

And Glammy let her do whatever she wanted to do

which was…

watch Peppa Pig take a bubble bath with ducks… and eat scrambled eggs… The little angel is no trouble at all, and I loved every minute of her company, but she and Lydia have my undivided attention when they visit.

I’ll finish that blog post eventually.

As for this week…

Favorite # ONE

Sleepover at Glammy’s

Peppa was the word of the day.

If we were in the living room, the television was tuned in to Peppa Pig.[with the exception of the few times that I tried to find Toy Story].

If Rory said “Toy Story” once, she said it 100 times.

After an unsuccessful attempt to find Toy Story on YouTube, LB searched online and ordered all four DVDs:

On Saturday afternoon, Lydia joined the party at Glammy’s.

Or rather…

Lydia hosted the party

Favorite # TWO

Happy New Day Party

Lydia set the table for all of her guests.

Once everyone was comfortably seated, she declared a need for party hats. The only party hats available were Happy New Year hats, which she agreed would be fine.

Lydia exclaimed “Happy New Day!” and served a healthy helping of salad (Easter basket grass) to her guests.Lydia is very particular about when her picture is taken.

In addition, she is VERY imaginative and and creative.

Our Tuesday visit included a Barbie night out at the movies.  Glammy’s treadmill is in the “Barbie Room” but that is certainly not a hindrance.

The treadmill served as seating for the girls as they enjoyed a showing of My Little Pony.

Favorite # THREE

Movie Night~

Favorite # FOUR

With all the recent discussion of Mema Reid’s recipes, I decided [to attempt] to recreate her multi-layer cake with chocolate fudge frosting.

Don’t judge.Okay so I don’t know what I’m doing.

This is going to take some practice.

Fortunately it tastes pretty good.

~

Favorite # FIVE

I mentioned previously (here) that Grandpa left us on Monday.

He went to Heaven and we’ll see him again.

Members of my family have been sharing pictures of him on social media.

These are a few of of my favorites:

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

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