We’re not quite sure how to actually write our letter, so there will probably be some trial and error. There may end up not even being very much consistency in how we accomplish our goal, but we are committed to the idea of recording the events of our lives on a monthly basis. Since my last letter was written in early November, I will do a brief (for me) overview of what has happened since – that I can remember. With that said, here goes:
Joe and I attended an Eagle Banquet the first of November for William Hale and Jared King. It was a very nice event and we enjoyed visiting with several of the folks who were there. Darlene came and we were so happy to see her out and about so soon after Dr. Caten’s death. For all of us who know Darlene, we know how giving she is, the countless ways she loves and serves others, and her tendency to very quickly become very tearful. After learning of Dr. Caten’s death, I prayed repeatedly for her, that she would have the strength and the composure to face the public responsibilities that would come at the funeral home, etc. As Joe and I went to the funeral home that night, I was dreading so much to see her hurting so deeply. My concern for her was very quickly put to rest. There were tears, of course, and deeply felt grief. But there was also composure. And she looked so nice. I think the word “miracle” gets tossed around so much that it loses its deeply significant meaning. I prefer the phrase “tender mercy” that Elder Bednar helped me to understand better in a talk a few years ago. I think what I witnessed with Darlene was indeed a “tender mercy.” I felt so grateful to the Lord that she was being held up by His omnipotent hand. I have loved her and looked to her as an example for as long as I’ve known her. Joe was with the family when the casket was closed. He said that Darlene gathered her grandchildren around her and used that setting as a time to teach them. That’s Darlene – always teaching the principles of the Gospel that have been her anchor in times of both happiness and sorrow.
We were invited to William’s first birthday party and couldn’t say “no” to cake. He was asleep when we arrived and was none too happy to see the family members who had assembled in his living room while he was sleeping. He eventually warmed up to the idea of so many people invading his space. Lori made the cutest caterpillar cake for him.
I took Mom to the memorial for June at Raintree Manor one Sunday afternoon in November. It was a very nice event and I think June would have been pleased to be remembered in such a nice way. She found a lot of joy in caring for the elderly and sharing with them something she loved so much – the outdoors. She loved to garden — cultivating both flowers and veggies. For those residents who were able, and the weather was permitting, she would take them outside. I guess she thought they could benefit from something that brought so much pleasure to her. So, after she lost her own battle with cancer, a walkway was constructed in her memory. She would be so pleased.
Mom’s bathroom was due an overhaul and Joe asked Glenn if he was available for a little (a lot) of remodeling. Thankfully, he was. We spent a week with him tearing out everything down to the original rough lumber. It was a trip down memory lane as I saw wallpaper and floor coverings of days gone by. What a job it was! But, thankfully, there was no structural damage due to moisture and no sign of termites. It turned out nicely and Mom seemed to like the fixtures, wall board, etc. that we picked out for her. She cooked for us every day and kept us motivated. It was great to spend that much time with Glenn, as well.
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we cooked a meal here for those of my bunch who were around. Blake and Brett were here and the Joneses joined us as well. The next morning, the annual McM Ward Turkey Bowl was held in the field next to our house. Quite a crowd showed up and seemed to enjoy getting dirty and developing sore muscles. We drove up to Oak Ridge to enjoy a nice meal and the rest of the day with the Whites, Shepherds (including Justin’s parents) and Eric, who rode with us.
In December, Joe spent part of one day with Eric and a cow that was having great difficulty in delivering a calf. After that excitement was over, he put shelves in the storage room at the Little House and we did enough to the walkway in front of the house to make it useable until we can actually finish it in the spring. We spent the night out there the first weekend of the month. We watched Prince Caspian that night. On Saturday, after Joe got his “honey-do” list finished, he mostly took it easy while I re-made a curtain to hang on the back door, did some Christmas decorating, and did some touch-up painting in the bedroom. Because all the things that I wanted to get done took me waaaaay longer to do than I had thought, and since we only had one DVD with us, we watched/listened/slept through Prince Caspian several times!!!
We went to Smithville to deliver Christmas gifts to our home teaching/visiting teaching folks the next day. We’ve been doing that route for several years now and we’ve seen a lot of people come and go. Sis. Spencer has been the one constant and we’ve come to love her very much. She’s 77 and the tiniest little thing. Joe says that if she were blue, she could be a Smurf. She’s about that feisty. She dates EVERYTHING and can talk and talk and talk about people in her family and friendship circle like we know them as well as she does, but we don’t. She will tell us who so-and -so’s mother was and we don’t even know who so-and-so is!
We went to the temple on the 10th. It’s always such a positive experience when we do that. It’s so good to always be able to see “old” friends there. Afterwards, I shopped some at a few different places while Joe waited patiently for me in the car (with a book, of course). I think he passed some of the time talking to Leah, too. We ate at “Joe’s Place” in Woodbury on the way home. We really like the cheeseburgers there.
We baked and baked and baked on the 12th to get ready for the ward Christmas activity. We, along with Lori and Patrick, were assigned to the bakery. What we thought we had originally agreed to turned out to be a lot more involved at the last minute. We survived, though, and even enjoyed the evening. If there’s a repeat next year, we’re going to remember that that was way too much to take on – especially with everything else that is going on that time of year. Next year, we will happily help, but we want to “spread the baking wealth.”
The next day was Patrick’s graduation from Tennessee Tech. Way to go, Patrick! Now, Grandma Miller can quit worrying about you working full-time and going to school full-time. Well, maybe not, since now you’re going to be working two full-time jobs! We were kind of dreading the graduation ceremony since we still have vivid memories of how awful Mandy’s was, but this one turned out to be pretty nice. The speaker was SO MUCH better. Afterwards, we all met at Cracker Barrel for a looooog wait and a late lunch. Patrick’s parents joined us and we had a nice meal together. Lori and I wanted to stay in Cookeville to shop, so Joe rode back with Patrick, William, and Brett. Smart man. I bought a new pair of shoes when I shopped after we went to the temple and immediately started wearing them. Don’t know if it was a coincidence or not, but something crazy happened to my right foot. After walking on it so much that Saturday, I could barely walk on Sunday. I needed to wear my tennis shoes to church the next day, but just couldn’t swallow my vanity enough to do so. I sure didn’t wear heels, though.
The next week, Mom and I spent a nice day in Cookeville/Sparta after her appointment with Dr. Epley. The weather was really nice and she got quite a bit of shopping done. We also kept William one day while his parents went to the temple and did some shopping.
The 18th was the last day of seminary before Christmas break. We had a breakfast and auction and had the best time. Adrian was the auctioneer and Joe was the banker. The parents and some ward funds provided about 30 items and a nice breakfast. The kids spent about “$3000” and had a blast. Sis. Mead, who teaches in Smyrna, had been my inspiration and encourager to do an auction. I was so pleased with how everything turned out – we’ll definitely be doing it again in the spring.
Blake got home the following Friday night, and Mandy brought Layla and Olivia to the house the next morning to stay with us while she went to get her hair cut. It was so wonderful to see them. Layla gave me the biggest hug and Olivia was right behind her – and was quickly on her way to give Roxie an even bigger hug. For all that she used to put Roxie through, she was as happy to see Olivia as Olivia was to see her. Joe needed to raise the flag and Olivia wanted to make it official. So, she led us all in the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang exuberantly, You’re a Grand Old Flag. Priceless.
We spent the afternoon preparing soups, salad, and desserts for the dinner following Layla’s baptism that evening. There were lots of family and friends there to show their support for Layla at this very special time in her life. Everything turned out very nice even though there was no hot water. Layla looked beautiful in her white dress. Thanks, Katie, for helping Olivia sing “I Am A Child of God.” As much as Olivia likes to sing, she got cold feet after she saw how many people were there.
The next day, Sunday, we all went to Grandma Miller’s (except the Joneses who went to Patrick’s grandmother’s Christmas gathering) to share our lunch with her. Joe made his famous Chicken a la King. Mom made a yummy orange salad and I made Ritz/peanut butter/white chocolate treats. We enjoyed our afternoon with her very much. We had Layla and Olivia with us on the way home and decided to invite Katie and Chas to join us at the Little House to watch the Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Thanks, Eric, for bringing them. We had so much fun together. They watched the movie, ate lots of popcorn, drank hot chocolate, played hide ‘n seek and rocked around the Christmas tree while Joe and I sang.
On the 23rd, Lori, William, Layla, Olivia and I had a PJ party at Rocky River—complete with new PJ’s. We ate and snacked and watched movies and played Old Maid and Twister and had a great time. Sweet memories. The next morning, Lori and William left to go visit Grandma Miller, Mandy came to get the girls, and I met Joe at Opal’s for the Moffitt Christmas breakfast. What a buffet! Just about everything that could be on a breakfast menu was there. It was good to see everyone and the best part was getting hugs from all the kids. Even Seth came running and gave me the biggest hug! I had a reality check when I swooped him up to hug him – probably more than he had bargained for. He’s solid! After we left, we came back by the Little House to put things aright, stopped at Kroger to do some last minute grocery shopping, and then came home to finish our preparations for our get-together the next day.
It was so good to have so many of you here on Christmas Day. Joe did the reading from Luke this year and the grandchildren acted out the Nativity story while Christy played the piano and all of us sang some Primary Christmas songs. What poignant and sweet ways to be reminded of that sacred night so long ago when the Savior of the world was born. After the little kids got their loot, they ran off to play while the big kids played the “Right-Left” game and had the White Elephant exchange. After all that, it was fun to see and hear the “musicians” in the bunch play Guitar Hero. Ashley has some real entertainer blood coursing through her veins. I think she reveled in her adoring fans! Jacob shares some of the same blood, I think! As with all good things, our time together came to an end. Joe met the Shepherds and the Whites at the Little House after they left so that Justin’s parents could see the place. It was nice to have them with us that day, too.
The weather was unseasonably warm on the 30th so we decided to burn some brush and make hobo meals at Rocky River. We had quite a crowd for it to be a last-minute thing. Eric and his kids came, Blake and Kyle came, and Brett and three of his friends. I’ll let Joe tell you about the gun shooting that went on, but I will say, that thanks to Kyle Stuart, I now know how to shoot a .22 rifle – and that milk jug won’t ever be the same. Thanks, Blake, for wading through the freezing water to put the targets in place. We also took the dresser out there and Eric helped Joe get it in the bedroom. After it got too dark to do anything outside, there were some exciting games of Balderdash played while I cleaned the kitchen area and we got the drawers and things put away in the bedroom. Nice evening. Oh, let me tell you about mine and Katie’s conversation earlier. She wanted me to go exploring with her along the river. Since that was an offer I couldn’t refuse, off we went – as far as we could go without getting our feet wet. We were out on that little “rock island” and I said, “Katie, this is a good time to explore since we don’t have to worry about snakes and ticks.” Katie: “Ticks are worse.” Me: “They are? Why is that?” Katie: “Ticks suck your blood, but snakes won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.” Me: “I’m afraid the snakes might not know the rule and the snakes and I might have a different idea of what ‘bother’ means.” Katie: “Well, ticks are worse.” Me: “OK.”
New Year’s Eve was pretty quiet around her. Brett went to friend’s house, but the Joneses and Blake were here. We had pizza and played Rummikub as we waited for 2009 to arrive. On New Year’s Day, I made a black-eyed pea recipe that has become a tradition along with creamed potatoes, corn casserole, orange salad, and corn bread. It was so nice to eat real food again after all the holiday stuff. Oh, and Joe fried hog jowl. How could I forget that? Later that day, we had fun with Guitar Hero once again. I sang a few songs and did OK. Lori sang some and did better. Gracie beat us all. Joe – after much coaxing – sang Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” and did a great job. He just wants to be begged, I guess.
That seems like a good stopping place that gets us through the holidays. I told Joe that this letter would be long since it would cover two months. He said it would be long just because…
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