Family Loss, A Community Loss

This morning my daughter called around 7:30. She told me that Matt's grandma Mo had passed away. Mo was in her 90's. She had surgery last week for a possible hernia. It turned out there was no hernia, but malignant tumors on her intestine. They closed her up and told the family the bad news. She was being sedated and she did not know the outcome of her surgery. The family decided they would tell her when she was a little better. The next day she took a turn for the worse and her kidneys were failing. They moved her to hospice and she passed away peacefully. What a life Mo had. She was married to a wonderful man. She had three children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Mo was a character and she was a good christian woman. You never had to guess what Mo was thinking, because she was going to tell you like it or not. Mo was in my circle at the church and although she was 90 she wanted to help in the kitchen when it was our turn to have our monthly gathering. We would put her on a stool and give her some napkins to fold or anything she could do sitting down she just wanted to help. Mo started to lose her sight many years ago and had to move in with her daughter. I know it wasn't easy on her to leave her home and it wasn't easy on her daughter to take in a 90 year old who was set in her ways. I love to hear my son-in-law tell stories about her. They would eat at her house once a week. Matt said she had been a fantastic cook in her day, but as she lost her vision sometimes meals had sugar in the meat loaf and salt in the chocolate cake. She loved her family and they loved her. She had a zest for life that made her an avid Kentucky fan and a great fan of the Lord. Her family knows that she is home with her Heavenly Father, her husband is there as is her son who passed away a few years ago. Dolly is in the presence of the Lord and surrounded by her loved ones who passed before her. Think about how many years since she got hugged by her mom and dad, brothers and sisters, husband and child. Dolly was the lady who always sang and many more at the end of Happy Birthday. I will never forget that about her. I am happy she will now have forever and ever to sing and dance and be surrounded by those who love her. I know her family here will miss her, but God is gracious and good and they can know they will see her again someday...

Valentine's Day Wish

I have thought long and hard about Valentine's Day and what it is about. My 11 year old grandson came in today and said they don't celebrate Valentine's day in Jr. High. He is much to cool for cards and candy. Isn't that sad... My 7 year old granddaughter came in a little later and was so excited. She had a card holder shaped like a Valentine that she had made filled with cards and another bag filled with candy and leftover brownies and cookies. She was so thrilled and wanted to show me every card and who gave them to her and how one little boy turned red when he gave her his card with a sentiment that read Ride with me on our bicycle for two. Cute,but certainly not anything to turn red over. She said he turned red because he loved her and now the whole class knew. I loved it and I remember treasuring those valentines when I was about her age. I just thought isn't it sad that in just a few short years she will be 11 and will no longer get the cards and treats and sentiments that let her know how much her friends love her. When I told her Troy didn't get any cards or candy she quickly dug in her bag and gave him a piece of a Hershey bar given to her by her teacher. He didn't realize the importance of that little sacrifice. I want them to always love each other that way. She felt kind of bad he didn't have a bag of cards and a bag of treats. She shared her most valuable gift of the day. I wish we would could remember everyday to let those around us know how much they are loved. It doesn't take much to remind them, a piece of a hersey bar, a cup of coffee brought to them with love, ironing a shirt and bringing it to them when they get out of the shower, or just a kiss on the cheek and a thank you. I'm not into a huge fanfare over Valentine's day. I have those little moments everyday from the man I love that let me know how much I am loved. My kids and grandkids show me with pictures for my refrigerator or little hearts cut out for my mantel. God has truly blessed me with a loving family and loving friends. Love is everything.....This Valentine's Day I wish you Love.

Valentine

My Faith

It's been three years since Bill became an elder in our church. We now understand how God does use people with absolutely no talent or skills to do His will. We are solid proof of that. On a much smaller scale we see how poor old Moses felt when he was asked to lead his people out of Egypt. Scared, unqualified and overwhelmed with the task ahead. With God's help we both grew so much in our abilities to serve. I felt like I can't, but I knew God could. Amazingly God worked a small miracle in us and put the most amazing people in our path. Bill, whose best kitchen skill was making coffee and occasionally washing the dishes was now in charge of every kitchen detail in the church, from buying groceries to cooking food, clean up and most importantly organizing lots of people to do big jobs. Bill had never been in charge of big or small projects and here he was in charge of every fellowship event in the church. God's plan is sometimes not our plan, but He knew how much we would grow in our faith by our service to others. We have made so many friends through this experience that we wouldn't have made if we had not taken this path. I never felt so blessed as when we would have people come up and be so grateful for whatever event was going on. It seemed like when we needed something it was there before we even asked. God is working all the time to do good for his people. We got tired and we are ready for a little break. I am not sure what God has planned for me next. I feel like we need to take a little time to spend with our children and grandchildren. We need to be more focused on helping Bill's mom. We mostly need to take some time for each other. I love my God so much and I trust him with my life and the lives of those people I love. I have seen his face in those precious people who have worked by our side and I have seen his hands work through those people doing his work. I have been lucky enough to feel his arms around me with the many hugs I have received from the wonderful Christian friends I have met within this church. I see Him in my children and my grandchildren even when they don't know he is there. There love and giving ways are Christ working through them. I hope they will recognize how much they are loved not only by us, but by the Lord. My faith has grown and my spiritual walk has just started and I pray for good health, patience, and the strength to continue moving forward.

Lucas

Lucas spent the night with us for the first time since he was a tiny baby. He is two years old and he is so precious. Seems like when the other four would come he was just a little to small to keep up with the chaos. It was just he and I for a while and we had so much fun just playing in the playroom. BB came home and we decided to go to the grocery store to pick up some things for Mema and us. Bill got into the drivers seat and Lucas wanted to know why BB was drivning Mimi's car. I told him I gave him permission, because he had been such a good boy. When we pulled into the parking lot at Publix Lucas saw the giant truck with the basket on the front grocery cart and had a fit to ride in it. It has been a while since I pushed one of those big boys and I probably would have been given a ticket for careless driving, they are really hard to control. We raced up and down the aisles and got what we needed. We loaded up the car and headed to McDonalds. Bill and I are so out of touch we could hardly get the seat belt on the car seat open. Lucas looked at us helplessly like its a seat belt get me out of here. Bill finally got it open with the help of his pocket knife. He did break his fingernail in his many attempts of getting my boy free. Once inside all was good. We had our cheeseburgers, nuggets and fries. Lucas was more interested in the Alvin toy than in eating and being the wonderful grandma I am I let him have the toy and we took the food home with us. Then we had to make a quick stop at Mema's house to drop off her groceries. We were finally going to go home and Lucas was making himself sleepy by playing the little phrase that the Alvin toy made over and over and over. It wasn't making me sleepy it was driving me crazy. When we got home he was ready for bed, but I encouraged him to get his bath first. Once we emptied the toy box into the tub he was there until the water was cold and his teeth were chattering. After I don't know how long I got him out, he was a little blue, I got him into his little p.j.s with the feet in them. He was so cute and cuddley. We snuggled on the couch with Barney singing and dancing on T.V. He asked could he get in Mimi's bed. I got him all tucked in and BB was on the computer next to him. I figured he would be up in a few minutes, but he went right to sleep with BB tapping away next to him. We all slept great, yes, Lucas said he wanted to sleep in the middle. I think he and Ollie our dog duked it out for that spot, but Lucas was there between us in the morning. Ollie had been booted to the foot of the bed. Lucas spent the day with us and we had a great time with him. We picked up Josie and Hayden at noon and he had fun with them playing the afternoon away. Lucas is now one of the big guys and the next time we have boys night, he will be there. He is not a baby anymore....

Trip to the mountains

The Tuesday after Christmas and two days after the Family Egg Nog Party Jill, Syd and I headed for the mountains. We were on a quest for snow. We didn't even make a reservation which is a little more spontaneous than usual for me. I get that little bit of craziness from my dad. It is the adventurous side of us Fullertons and I think we all feel the call every once in a while and I was definitely feeling it. We were in Lake City getting ready to head up 441 to Maggie Valley. We had heard snow was coming that way. We took a bathroom break and got a cup of coffee for the road when Jill called Tray. The discussion was about a friend who had a place in Blue Ridge. Jill wan't calling, but Tray was sure that noone was using it. Tray hung up and called back before we had pulled out of the parking lot at Hardees. The cabin was ours and the door would be open for us when we got there. Our plan was changed, but at least we knew we had a roof over our heads although we had no idea where this cabin was. Later we received our sketchy directions, but were confident we would be able to find it. The problem as I saw it was now I had to drive on Interstate 75. I was admittedly nervous, but this was not going to deter my fun. It was busy on 75, but we made it through downtown Atlanta using the diamond lane. When we got onto 575 the unthinkable happened, it started sleeting. I was a little nervous about the roads getting icy, but not to worry. The sleet turned into rain and now I was driving on wet roads, but no ice. Sydney was awesome on the trip. She sat in her car seat and we played 20 questions for the next 100 miles. When we arrived at Blue Ridge we decided to go to the Ingles there. It was crazy crowded, but we knew we would need food and drinks. It was to our surprise that it gets dark in the mountains a little earlier than it does in Fl. and now we were on an unfamiliar road heading to a cabin on a mountain out there somewhere. This may have been a little more adventure than I had bargained for. We followed our directions which were scribbled onto a piece of scrap paper. McCayseville sign then turn and head for a cabin at the end of a road....Even though it was dark we found our way down around the clay roads of north Ga. The house was not lit up the contractor must have forgotten to turn on the light. We fumbled around and found an open door and turned on the light inside the door. The cabin was freezing. I went immediately to the thermostat and saw that it was 48 degrees in the house. I turned the thermostat up to 68 and I also got the gas logs going in the living room. We had to wear our coats in the house until it finally got up to 67 degrees. We enjoyed our fried chicken and mashed potatoes by the fire. We decided to stay in the bedroom on the main floor. We all slept pretty good. It was still misting and cold the next day, but we all got ready and went out exploring. We went to Murphy for lunch at a cute little place called ShoeBooties. I got a phone call while we were eating and it was Jan Hood. She asked where we were in the mountains and I told her in Murphy. She said she and Charlie, Daniel and Charlene, and Don and Charlotte were right across the street. We visited with them and they asked us to come to their house for New Years Eve and stay over. We told them we would come New Years Day and stay over. Today we had to go to Tennessee, North Carolina and Ga. and find some snow. The only snow we saw was a little bit on this ridge called Topton. I don't even know what state we were in. We were all a little disappointed. We got home late and watched some T.V. and played Yahtze. Who knew a seven year old knew so much about poker and what beat what. I was impressed and a little disturbed. We sat in front of the T.V. and saw the ball fall. Dick Clark looked pretty good and I was glad he was doing so much better. We drank too much champaign, but it was fun. Jill had turned on the hot water heater to the jacuzzi that night,but it didn't get warm enough so she and Syd had to wait until the next day to take a dip. It was still only 90 degrees, but they were determined to get in. They had so much fun even though it was 39 degrees outside. Jill had to swim in her p.j.s and Syd just jumped in in her panties. It was cold, but they had a ball. They got out and dried off and after I took a few tylenol we packed up the car, Jill had to do most of the hauling, because of the stairs, but we got everything in the car. I wasn't sure we were going to be able to pull the hill. We had had trouble with the wheels spinning in the wet gravel and the clay road. We prayed and God helped us pull that hill with all that luggage and we made our way to Blue Ridge. It was soooo cold, but we were dressed in the warmest things we owned. We went to this little shop called Glitzy Chickz. Sydney loved it...They had purses, hats, scarves, jewelry. She had here Christmas money and she meant to get her some bling. I bought her the cutest red barret to go with her red coat. Jill bought her a black pocket book with black bangles on it. Syd bought herself a black knit scarf and a necklace. She was decked out and posed in front of every Christmas decor in Blue Ridge. We got directions to Jans and we arrived about 5:00. Her home is so beautiful and so welcoming. The table was set and people started arriving about 6;00 for dinner. Charlene, Jan, Daniel and Charlie had prepared prime rib, greens, black eyed peas and rice. Marie Evers had brought her potatoe casserole, and others brought wonderful dishes. Sydney had fun with the daughters of the other couples there. She was so cute and she was being so friendly with Marie. She loved telling her about her cows and Marie told her about her bulls. She even joked around with that man, Charlie. I think she is over being scared of him. We watched the Gators big victory over Cincinnati and enjoyed seeing Tim Tebow having such a great game. Every one there was thrilled for Urban Meyer and the rest of the team. We also were so happy for Bobby Bowden's win. He will certainly be missed, but I have a feeling he will be going head to head with Lou Holtz over sports broadcasting. I found my way to bed, but woke up about 2:30 in the morning. I looked outside to see the sky getting really cloudy, but no snow. When I woke up the next morning I looked out front and it was windy and then I saw a few flakes. It wasn't long before it really started snowing hard. I went downstairs and woke up Syd and Jill. They were sleeping in the bunk room. Jill wouldn't come upstairs until she showered, but Syd and I hurried up to see the blowing snow. It was beautiful. I don't know if I will ever see it again, but we found it. Our quest for snow was fulfilled. Jill came up and we bundled up and went outside in the freezing (13 degree)weather to take pictures and play in the snow. It was to cold to stay out long so we went back and forth from the front porch to the back. It was time to pack up and get ready to leave. We loaded up and decided to go to Frankln, N.C. We had to go over a big mountain to get there. When we neared the top it began to snow again. We pulled over, because there was snow all the way up the side of the mountain and Jill and Syd wanted to see if they could make a snowman. The snow on top was soft, but the snow underneath was hard and when they stepped on it they slid down pulling each other to the ground. We stayed and took some pictures. They said they saw bear tracks in the snow so we decided maybe it was time to go. We took 441 and headed back to Florida. We made a quick stop in Dillard to buy the guys some souveniers and drove on toward Florida. Jill was determined we were going to make it back to Fl. by midnight, but I wanted to stop. I was so tired and a little sick. She took over driving and we had to go through the Okefenokee Swamp and our cell ph. wouldn't even work there. We passed more deer than we did cars. I swear we didn't see a car in front or behind us for 100 miles or more. We saw at least 5 or 6 deer staring at us like we were crazy. They were right we were. I will never do that again...ever. We made it home by midnight and it felt good to be back safe and sound. I know God was protecting us, because he knew we didn't have sense enough to do all we did in 4 days and come home safe without him. Thanks for the time I got to spend with Syd and Jill and thank you Lord for your special care.

Christmas Day

Christmas day was so wonderful. We had around 28 people coming for dinner at 4:00 in the afternoon. Bill and I got up early and sat by the tree and had our coffee. He had already put on some Christmas music. It was nice except for Mema sleeping on the couch in between us. Oh well, it was still nice and of course we ended up waking her up, but were so happy she had slept through the night. Sleeping pills are a wonderful thing especially on Christmas eve when you have so much to do the next day and need your rest. Mema has a tendency to get up and down all night long and tends to plunder and possibly go outside. This night she slept snug as a bug in a rug and so did we. I got dressed and immediately went to setting up tables and getting food prepped. Carolyn agreed to cook one of the prime ribs so I got them rubbed and ready and took it over to her house for cooking. I got mine ready and cooked. I peeled 15 pound of potatoes while watching Christmas Story and got my peas in the crockpot. Everyone started to arrive at 4:00, but I was nowhere near ready. The meat wasn't getting done and how was I ever going to get that many potatoes mashed and on the table hot. God is good and lots of hands helped me. Jay got the meat cut and I must say it was awesome. The potatoes got mashed and served and were actually hot. Everyone brought their wonderful Christmas dishes. I managed to get through the Christmas blessing without crying, something I usually do. Everyone got a plate and went through the buffet style line. I think we all even got a place to sit down. It was so nice to have Aunt Pat and Uncle Punk, Aunt Nell and Mema and Bob with us this year. Of course Bill's brother Kenny, Carolyn and Beverly were here as well as my brother Clay, Dawn, and Devan and Chase (we were so happy to have them) and all my children, wives, husbands and grandchildren. We ate and talked and then headed outside to the firepit. Beverly was in charge of the ingredients for the somemores and I had the wires for the marshmellows. The kids really enjoyed this. Hayden had gotten a flashlight for Christmas and they all played flashlight tag. We had great help from the Fullertons with cleanup and everyone had pulled out by 9:00. I was tired, but so glad our family could all be together for another Christmas celebration. I thank God so much that I have so many people to love and to love me.
Family is everything to me as it is to our heavenly Father. He gave us the best Christmas gift of all and I thank him everyday for Him. Merry Christmas Everyone.