A Chrismas Fact

Down the stairs and through the house. Not a cobweb nor a speck of dirt could be found. Tomorrow relatives were arriving to spend Christmas day. It was a very white Christmas with snow falling everywhere. Guest begin to arrive covered with snow and snow boots caked with it. Kids may remember that particular Christmas for years to come, but not one person will remember the polished floors and dust free house.

Life Moves On

A little girl in an Orphanage in China

 Cora and Jim adopted her and named her Chloe

She isn't too sure about it

She is loving this life

A little older

Having a fun day with Dad

She just turned the big six and is in school

Her mannequin pose
All grown up in her heels

I believe she calls this one her boy friend

Proud grandma, grandpa, aunt Molly and aunt Emily

This is her 6th birthday party. They are adopting another little daughter from China. They will be getting her next month.

Fourth Birthday Party

Chloe 4th Birthday Party

Chloe with her Mommie and Daddy

Aunt Emily and Shelby(Chloe's cousin)

Molly, Shelby and Emily  (Molly is Shelby's mother)

Shelby and Aunt Emily

Yvonne(Chloe's Grandma H), Molly, Cora and other guest

Leah and Chloe

Chloe, friend, cousins, and great grandma (me)

 

Molly, Leah and Shelby taken a few months ago.

 

Shelby

The party was at the park and it was a beautiful day except for the wind. It was so bad we couldn't have the candle blowing part. We had fun. The food was delicious, and the cake was lip-smacking scrumptious.

A New Great Grandbaby

It's lullaby time with a new great granddaughter. I now have six great grandchildren, and six granddaughters. 

This is the new arrival. Her name is Shelby, born January 28, 2013.

This is Shelby's Mommy (Molly) and big sister, Leah.
I don't have a recent picture of her Daddy.

This is an old picture of three sister's. Cora is the bride. Shelby's mother on your right and Emily on your left. It's old, but I like it.

Celebrations

A more recent picture. 

Memorial day in the late 30’s and early 40’s was a day of real celebration. Anyway, it was if you lived in the country in Oklahoma. 
The country church we attended was located in the cemetery, called Bethel. I’m not sure which came first, the church or the cemetery.  The little brown shack was located behind the church. From there were the many graves, also by the side of the driveway. One side of the church was just a meadow, no graves were there at that time. There were a few cedar trees  along the driveway going into the church grounds. 
Preparing for memorial day started a day or so before, and it meant picking as many flowers as you had and putting them into buckets of water. Paper flowers made with crepe paper was another decoration that many created for the occasion. A gallon or two of lemonade and iced tea would be prepared and kept in a tub of ice. Ice came in blocks and if you wanted it crushed, you placed the block in a gunny sack and beat the heck out of it with whatever they used. I don't remember the details. 
It was an all day affair, because you met all the family members and neighbors. The kids ran around, and had a great time playing in the driveway. You were not allowed to run in the cemetery because stepping on a grave was a grave no-no. Adults milled around and visited all the graves of people they had known and much visiting and laughing and just catching up on each others lives. It would last most of the day and enjoyed by all. 
The church is no longer in the cemetery, and the part that was empty has now been filled. I have family buried there, my brothers, parents, grandparents, uncles. 
This is something I should have posted on Memorial day, but I’m always at least a day late. 
When I was a kid it was always referred to as Decoration day. Anyway, my mother called it that. She may have been the only one. 
My family started a family tradition several years ago. It was a family reunion that was celebrated in May. There were always strawberries galore, and somehow the special day was dubbed, Strawberry Day. I am not sure who named it, maybe someone in the family knows. It was one gigantic picnic in someone’s yard. The family grew larger and Strawberry Day grew larger. I think the day first started as a birthday party, because Dad and Ray (a son) shared the same birthday which was May 26th. Finally a grandson was born on Strawberry day. That made the day even more special.  There were other grand kids that came close to being born on the special day. When a baby was due in May, we all crossed our fingers, hoping it would be born on Strawberry day. The family has let Strawberry day slip away since our parents and a couple older siblings have passed away. It was nice while it lasted. I was only able to attend one Strawberry Day because I lived so far away. I think it was the last one they had. I remember it was so cold that day, we ended up in the house. It was at Gene and Glenda’s that year and the house was bulging at the seams.