Ain't Life Grand?: January 2010

(written by Debby)

As is always the case with the month of December, last month was full. It started with William’s and my date (we did let his mommy go as a chaperone). We went to Christmas in the Park, an annual downtown McM event. There were some fun moments, but overall, we left a little frustrated at what seemed to us, a lack of organization. We drowned our sorrows with a milkshake from Hardee’s, though, and that put everything right. We did get to see Katie perform with Paula’s Dance Academy, but we were on the wrong side of the street to watch the routine from the front.

At the end of that week, we visited both our moms and spent a couple of nights at Rocky River. We awakened to a pretty snowfall on Saturday morning and took a nice walk along the river before we left. As beautiful and relaxing as it was for us, that same little winter storm was causing a lot of problems for a lot of folks on the interstates, etc. We made it just fine to Franklin and met Elizabeth and her family at the temple. The Whites were there, too. We enjoyed a nice meal at Cracker Barrel afterwards with Betsy’s family and Justin’s parents.

Three of my seminary students are in the WCHS band. We went for their winter concert at the WCMS auditorium one night. It was fun to see and hear them doing something that they invest so much time in and enjoy so much. There were lots of people there. We (along with Brett) also went to the Community Chorus performance at the downtown Methodist church. By the time we got there (and that was my fault) all the seats were taken. We were really disappointed. It’s a favorite thing to do each Christmas season.

Blake’s graduation from UTK took place on Sunday the 13^th. We went to church here and then Joe, Brett, and I made our way to the Boling Arena for the ceremony. It was so good to be there and watch Blake reach such an important milestone. It’s the only graduation I’ve ever attended that did not include a processional, which is my favorite part. I think they need to reinstate that and do away with the very time consuming ruse of presenting diplomas. I think that should be done everywhere when there is such a large number of graduates – even at high schools. Anyway, Blake looked great and I am so proud of him and this latest accomplishment

Friday the 18^th was our seminary Christmas party/auction. The kids had lots of “money” to spend and there was a big variety of things to bid on. It was a lot of fun.

We went to Jenny Laxton’s wedding in Franklin on the 23^rd. She is a daughter in one of mine and Joe’s home teaching families. We’ve been visiting them monthly for almost as long as we’ve been married. We were honored to be invited and are so happy for her. We went to her reception that night here in McM at the church house

Joe went to Opal’s for the Moffitt Christmas Eve breakfast. Since we’d been gone almost the whole day before, I stayed home to finish the preparations for the Hitchcock/Moffitt gathering that afternoon. This year we had the Whites, Betsy & kids, Eric & kids, Matthew’s family, Bryce’s family, Lori’s family, Blake, and Brett. We enjoyed lots of good food together and then did some of the things that have become traditions for our blended family. Joe read some scriptures about Christ’s birth, we sang some songs together, Joe read the story of the Grinch, the grandkids got their loot, and then the big kids played the Right/Left game (Eric M was the winner) and had fun with the White Elephant gifts. All the cousins had great fun playing together. For the few who were still here later that night, we played Wits and Wagers.

On Christmas Day, we took it easy and it was nice. We continued to enjoy having Blake and Brett home with us.

The next day, some of us were able to go for a visit with Grandma M. We took Tomato Basil Soup to share with her and made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it once we got there. We had a nice afternoon with her.

On the 30^th, we went to pick up Lori, Will, and Jack & headed to Julee’s. Brett drove to Blake’s in Knoxville and rode with Blake to VA. The little boys made the trip remarkably well. I think Lori was the happiest one of all to finally arrive at our destination. There was still quite a bit of snow at Julee’s left from the two feet they received earlier. Her house looked so pretty with the snow and all her Christmas decorations. It was so nice to be there together and we were excited for Mandy’s family to arrive the next day.

On New Year’s Eve, we helped Julee make some really good French Toast for breakfast. It was stuffed with a cranberry/cream cheese mixture and served with maple syrup. YUM! After that, we got busy with other food preparations, shopping, etc. for our New Year’s celebration. I wanted to make a few things for that evening and the next day, so Joe and I left so that I could do a little shopping at Target and Harris Teeter’s. While at HT’s, we got the call from Agnes that Mom had been found non-responsive and subsequently transported to the ER at River Park. Suddenly, her well-being moved to center stage. Everyone began to regroup at that point. We still enjoyed being together that evening, but preparations were also being made to leave bright and early the next morning. At the time of this writing, Mom is in rehab and has done remarkably well considering the seriousness of her condition not quite two weeks ago, now.

Joe’s Addendum

I went to Katie’s dance program on the 12^th. Debby wasn’t feeling well and had to stay in. It was a great show and I was so proud of our Katie. When she spotted me in the crowd she flashed a smile my way that warmed me all the way to my heart. That has left me with a sweet memory. Katie’s hugs and smiles can make a feller feel really important.

Blake graduated! He has zoomed right through the tough computer science program at the University of Tennessee. Also, he has had so many scholarships that he has been a pretty cheap project for mom and Joe. We had a nice day with him and enjoyed the pomp that is part of graduation. We also got to witness the commissioning ceremony for a few Army and Air Force officers who were part of the graduation ceremony. It was touching to see how they were honored by the attending audience and their fellow graduates.

Brett came home from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga with some bragging grades also. They were so good that he gets to keep his Hope Scholarship. He particularly likes his English and Humanities courses. I enjoy hearing his reports. I am still trying to determine what I will major in when I return to college.

We got to be at the temple with Elizabeth, her mom and dad, her Shepherd grandparents, and many of her church friends from Knoxville. This was another special memory to be tucked away in a warm spot of the heart. It is hard to believe that our little Elizabeth has become such a lovely young woman. Afterwards we got to have lunch with the whole family. What a nice day.

I continue to go with the missionaries on occasion. I enjoy being with them when they have someone to teach who wants them there. I don’t like being with them later in the evening—after they have finished their appointments. Then they want to go knock on doors of people who, I know, don’t want to be bothered by an unannounced visit after dark. I have found how to control that, however. After they are through with their appointments, I say, “how about we go to find some greasy catfish”. They are always ready to drop their plans and go with mine. That way, we get to feed the missionaries and I keep them from calling on people unannounced.

We sure enjoyed our Christmas get together. Debby says it was too short. By the time she got out of the kitchen, everyone was packing up to leave. She said her only visiting was with Christy and Betsy in the kitchen. She wanted to go from family to family to visit with kids (and some adults too). It is such a rushed time of year and I guess that is just the way it is. The kids played well together, but maybe they wouldn’t have if they had had time to get on each other’s nerves. Anyway, it is nice to see everyone comfortable and having fun.

December has been a time of concern for my old buddy Arthur Hale. I love him. He is such a good friend. He has been in and out of the hospital with various heart related problems during the month. I went with Bishop Weeter to visit him one day. We weren’t sure we should go because we knew he was very weak and just getting out of critical care. When we arrived the nurses had just cleaned him up from a lot of blood loss that had occurred when they removed a catheter from his neck. But, after a few minutes, even though he couldn’t move very much at all, we had him laughing and he had us laughing. He is loved by a lot of people. I continue to ask the Lord to bless his heart.

It was a nice cozy comfortable visit at the Crosby’s for our annual Christmas Eve breakfast. Mom had to leave early for a doctor visit. Opal left with her about 10:30. Later they determined that she was having a negative reaction to some steroids she was taking. It was good to see everyone and have a little time together.

On New Year’s Eve, we loaded up to drive to Ruckersville (near Charlottesville), Virginia. Julee invited Mandy’s family, and the rest of the clan, to her house for the week-end. It is about an eight hour drive for us. Lori and her boys decided to ride with us and the boys nearly made it there event free. Will declared for the last 30 minutes that he wanted “out” “out” “out”. He had had it with his car seat! Then Jack woke up mad and attempted to assert his independence for the last few miles. But, over-all, they traveled remarkably well. The day after we arrived we received the call from Debby’s sister, Agnes, that her mother had been rushed to the emergency room so we started making arrangements to return quickly. We drove home quickly, leaving Lori and boys to follow later with Julee. We found Ms. Miller in a very critical condition and at this date in January, she is still in the hospital re-hab unit but progressing nicely.