~ Wilkins Family Reunion July 9, 2011 ~

Here's the gang, well, except me, I was behind the camera, don't know why I didn't use my timer ...

Above, Marge, Ronnie and Donna Wilkins  (Uncle Henry & Aunt Olene's  family)

And below is Mom (Inez Wilkins) ...

Isaac, Stehanie and Allison Wilkins (Jim & Inez' grandson and family) ...

Mary's family  (Jim & Inez's daughter)  Byron, Macie, Mary, Chad, Mandy, Ella, Elizabeth and baby Mason ...

Me and my husband, Gary ...

Timothy (Jim & Inez's oldest son) and his wife Rachel) ...

Tim and two of his children, Isaac and Hannah ...

Had to add this one too because I thought it was so sweet ...   (and besides its my blog and I admit, I am biased ...)

Timothy, Me, Mom, and Mary ....

Nip and his family ... 

Isaac and Allison ...  (again biased ...  sorry!)

Mary and her grandbabies ...  

 

Elizabeth and Ella Collum  ...

Margie, Terry, Hilda and John Thurston ...

More photos of Nip's family ...

Tiny  (because he weighed 3 lbs when born I learned) & Nip (well, he doesn't know how he got that name - his real name is Stancell, but we all know him as Nip!)  ...  (Aunt Polly and Uncle Tap's sons)

Freddie (Barron) and Jan Scott ...  (Aunt Sue and Uncle Scottie's son and daughter-in-law)

Some of Uncle Bert & Aunt Miriam's family ...  Josh, Butch, Barbara and Randy (whose wife and daughter was here too, but had left before the photos...) 

I know I missed some people, like Sandy and Larry, Nava Jean and her family who were there, my sister-in-law's daughter Hannah, and a few others, but I tried!

It was a good time and it was good to catch up with family.  We missed the ones who could not make it and hope they will be able to be with us next time.

Looking forward to next year!

~ Fourth of July ~

My neighbors had a 4th of July party on Saturday, they built a 150 ft slip and slide that you could drive a car down, (their side yard is on a hill) and made a pool at the bottom with logs and tarps and filled it full of water.  They had sprinklers all along the side of the "slide" and they used no more tear baby shampoo to keep the slide slippery  Yes, it was totally deserving of a You Might be a Redneck if ...  joke of some sort,  or CMT top redneck moments ... there was tons of grilling, alot of kids running around with visible bruising all up and down their back sides (think about it a thin sheet of plastic on top of dirt and patchy grass, sliding at a somewhat high speed for yard sliding anyway ... alot a bruising - I don't know why they kept doing it) and alot of drinking,  There were about 40 - 50 people there.

We went over and ate and traveled back and forth from our house to theirs for most of the day, watched the fireworks and the party lasted way into the night - I could hear it all while I tried to sleep in my bedroom next door ... 

The highlight of the evening was when the lady of the house came out and yelled across her yard ...  "WHICH ONE OF YOU IDIOTS THREW UP IN MY BATHROOM AND DIDN'T CLEAN IT UP ???!!!???"   To which at least 5 guys all raised their hands .....

Hope everyone else's 4th of July was fun!

~ Done ~

Done.

I don't think painting donkeys are my "thing".    I will find my "thing" one day ...  I have faith!

~ View from the Boat ~

We finally christened G's canoe - a Christmas present from me to him - took us a long time, but the day was pretty, a little on the hot side, but we went early, finished early and enjoyed it. (Madison County Lake)

Here's a few photos from the boat ... 

My favorite shot:   (plus it was really shady here!)

A trip to the beach and no photos to prove it!

Honest I really did go to the beach - it was beautiful the entire week we were there.  Nice refreshing breezes blowing in from the ocean keeping us cool as we hung out on the beach with our toes in the sand, we saw dolphins every single day splashing east in the mornings and west in the afternoons.  They even put on an amazing jumping show for us for a few minutes one afternoon.  We saw a sea turtle ... in  the water about 20 feet from us - kind of freaked us out at first because we didn't know what it was and it was a large dark shape coming toward us and then veered west and its green and yellow head popped up above the water, that was when we could tell what it was.  Whew!  Still glad it veered west.  And glad it was a turtle.   Do sea turtles bite?   We were on floats, and I just don't think they would have offered much protection.  We saw two sharks - we could have done without those little viewings.  They were both within 5 feet of the shore and swimming along quite fast.  Pam said she thought they were nurse shark, whatever that is, all I know is that they were shark and large enough to take a huge chunk of meat from my body, if it so chose, and intruding on my vacation peace of mind.  Amazingly, I still got in the water, more than once after spotting them.  I felt quite brave, or stupid, I guess.

My friend Pam, from Houston, met Gary and I down there and we had a really good time together.  But no photos, I am really letting myself down with my camera.

I did, however, bring it out to snap a photo of her new art purchase.   They were having Artquest in Seaside and she bought this ...  I had to take the photo in 3 pieces so the whole thing could be enjoyed ...  the artist incorporated decoupaged papers with her art, some of her other pieces had beautiful pieces of glass that she made herself ...  here it is:

I loved it!

This is trees.  She used wall paper scraps to make the tree tops and it looked like squeeze paint to outline them.  They were so whimsical and fun.Look close and you will see she decoupaged a piece of map from the emerald coast and then painted faintly on top of it ...

See how she decoupaged paper cut outs in this part of it?

It was painted on wood, she spread paintable caulk on it for the texture, let it dry, then painted her base color, the orangy coral color that peeks through, and then the rest of her colors on top of that.  She was very informative on her technique - Pam and I became her art groupies and went back to her booth at least 4 times to examine and drool over her art and talk to her.  She was pretty interesting to talk to.

Then, when we left, we went to Lowes, bought ourselves a piece of wood, some paintable caulk and we went back to the beach house, and proceeded to create our own master pieces  *-*  of mixed media art ...   This is mine:

I couldn't get a good photo of it.  But I liked it enough to hang it in my office, for now anyway.  I loved the texture the caulk added to the art - I have a hard time loading enough paint onto my canvas to get texture, so this was definitely a tip I will use again.

I started my donkey painting too, but its still in the early stages.

So, anyway, that's all the photos I took from my beach vacation.  You'll just have to take my word on how pretty the beach was ....  wish I was there again right now ...  with no worries that is.

Til later, V

Post note:  Mojitos - good!

~ Blessed ~

Blessed.  That is the best word I can think of.   We had little damage, a couple of trees down, lots of limbs down, yard a mess - and we think we have a leak in the roof - this rain will tell!   My family in Cullman all survived without harm or damage to their homes too.

We - and by we, I mean Gary - cleaned up the yard, cut up the trees and our yard now looks almost normal again.   He loves his chain saw!  It took him 3 days of constant work - which he seemed to really like (I don't get it!), and he was done!   There is still some little things to be done, but for the most part, he took care of all of it.  

I cleaned the fridge and freezer out - little by little - trying to save or cook what we could - in the end - we lost both freezers of stuff - which wasn't a huge loss and most everything in the fridge - we had three coolers packed with ice and fridge stuff.  Thanks to our camper, we had hot water to take showers (heats by propane!), and thanks to all of Gary's Boy Scout skills and supplies, we survived quite well with no power - just missed the TV for news updates - we survived by radio.

By Saturday afternoon we needed some normalcy, so we took off to Murphreesboro for an overnight of normal - on the way back we went to a park in Manchester - Old Stone Fort State Park - we like checking out any potential camping grounds.  It was so pretty. 

"The Old Stone Fort is a 2000 year-old American Indian ceremonial site. It consists of mounds and walls that combine with cliffs and rivers to form an enclosure measuring 1-1/4 miles around. The 50-acre hilltop enclosure mound site is believed to have served as a central ceremonial gathering place for some 500 years. It has been identified as, perhaps, the most spectacularly sited sacred area of its period in the United States and the largest and most complex hilltop enclosure in the south. Settlers tended to name such enclosures “forts.” "

It was beautiful.   In the middle of the walls and mounds - which you could not see anymore was an open field that was just spectacular.   It was a nice diversion.  Gary wants to go back and camp there sometime, so we will most likely return.  

Our power came back on within an hour of returning home on Sunday, and I returned to work on Monday.  Gary is still out.

Gary (who grew up in Tuscaloosa and still has family there) lost one of his best friends to the tornado in Tuscaloosa, his dog found his body in the wreckage of his home.  They grew up in each others homes from early childhood on.  Also, one of his aunts and two of his cousins lost their homes in Tuscaloosa.  He is going down on Wednesday for the funeral and to check on his family.

Considering all of the losses of lives and homes, yes, I can say we are blessed.

~ Beautiful Morning ~

I opened my door to leave for work this morning and felt like I have opened the door to Snow White's forest.   Everything was so green, the flowers so vibrant and little critters scattered all over my yard, 2 squirrels, 1 rabbit, and several birds.  It was beautiful.  What an awesome way to start my day.

~ Flowers and Dogs ~

My wisteria is blooming - so pretty - and the bumblebees are a buzzing like crazy!

We took our boxer Maggie for a play date with other boxers at a dog park in Madison, it was so much fun to watch them all play - I was worried about fighting, but they were all great!  There were other breeds, not just boxers ...   I wish it wasn't so far away, I would take her often!

~ Art ~

I have sketched my donkeys ...  this is on paper ...  it was a fun sketch ...    haven't started the painting yet, but I will.

I worked on my spring bouquet - I just wasn't quite happy with it, but now I am and I gave it to my sister.  She liked it.

I

And I finished my recent cow, I gave it to Michelle W. and Keira named it "Moo".  Appropriate don't ya think!

Fun stuff, wish I had more time to just do "fun stuff"!

Til later, V

~ Mondays with Mom ... and sister too ~

So, I made my weekly trek to Cullman last night.  My sister came over and after dinner we sat around the kitchen table playing cards.    About an hour into the game my sister looked over at me and said if I didn't get control of my mustache on  my upper lip, I was going to look like a man one day ...   so a few minutes later I told her that she really should not dye her hair that color anymore because it accentuated her balding scalp and the glare was hurting my eyes ...   Sisters!  We have such a great relationship!

Oh, and Mom won the game of cards!

~ Brown Sugar ~

I have read the label of brown sugar for the first time today and I feel so ignorant for not doing so before. 

I was in the middle of preparing a dish that called for brown sugar and when I took down my box from the cabinet, which admittedly had been in my cabinet for many months ... I was stumped on what to do when the contents were hard as a brick.   I sent G off to the store and while he was gone, I started to google how to soften brown sugar  - also something I had never done - when I finally decided to read the box.  Duh!!! and Double duh!!!!

Place the desired amount of hardened brown sugar in a bowl, cover this with two damp paper towels, microwave for 30 seconds and walah!  softened brown sugar.   I was amazed, shocked, and delighted!!  It worked!!!! YAY!  You can also do the same thing without the microwave part, but just leave it in the bowl overnight - however, I have not tested that method.

I now feel really stupid for all of the hardened boxes of brown sugar I have thrown away over the years.

I really do need to start reading labels more often.

~ Photo Blog ~

My husband and I took a day and went "lallygagging" - we went riding around on back country roads, wound up in Guntersville, ate an awesome meal at Top of the River and these were the only photos I took - at Lake Guntersville ... 

Snowbird weekend at Smith Lake ...  I made Laurie pose for me, I personally think she could be a model ...

The house was awesome, the stairs to the lake were long and steep, the weather was beautiful, and being with friends was a blast!

See, she really could be a model, very photogenic and an awesome smile!

Til later, V

~ Randomness ~

It's 1:45 AM, bolted awake about 45 minutes ago in the middle of a horrid dream, being attacked, nasty way to wake up.  Prayed for bit and when I couldn't go back to sleep, I got my pillow and blanket and took to the couch.   Its like a second bedroom - at least 5 out of 7 nights, I am in here at some point in the middle of the night - wide awake - for at least a couple hours or more.  Menopause?  Probably.  Especially since I recently made fun of one of my best friends when she told me her doctor told she was in it.  Actually I burst out laughing and then started singing, "your in menopause" over and over.     Well, we are 50 and its bound to happen sooner and later. 

I'm tired of the rain, well, really I'm not.  I could have stayed in my PJs all day today and watched old movies and ate junk food and been quite happy, but I'm stressing with the dogs - getting them to go outside in the rain to do their business is sooo aggravating.  I usually wind up putting on my rain boots, grabbing an umbrella and walking around in the yard with them, just so they'll leave the cover of the back door "stoop".

I got my hair cut off today and colored.  It looks much healthier.  I wanted variations of blonde with some warm caramel like colors thrown in, but I am a brunette with some auburn/caramel like colors instead.  I'm good with it though, change is nice, plus its going to fade and in a week or so, and it will probably look like what I had in mind anyway.

I was standing in line at Walmart behind 3 young men last night.  They were all buying huge cans of some sort of power/energy drinks and large boxes of condoms - each.

There.  That is what I will leave you with.

Good night, I hope.

~ A day with my son & his family ~

Ribs
Potatoes
Cup cakes
Ice cream
Dog slobber
Blowing bubbles
Building forts with rocks & twigs
Batman
Robin
Evil rabbit
Tinker Bell
More dog slobber
Hugs
More dog slobber
What a great day ....

~ Praising God in My Car ~

Driving to work this morning listening to a CD that a young lady with an awesome voice recorded (and who works in our office); I was praising the Lord in my car all the way here!     Found out after I got here it is a song done by Casting Crowns - I had never heard it before.  Awesome song, awesome lyrics ...

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me


Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are


I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am

I am Yours, I am Yours


Enough said - Huh!

Til later, V

~ Facebook ~

I have decided that it may not be such a great idea to be a "friend" to your children on Facebook ... sometimes you read stuff that you just wish you hadn't.

Just my thoughts here ....

Til later, V

PS:  No, Lisa, I am not talking about you.  ~.~

~ A woman's opinion ~

I love going to my mom's every Monday night.  We always have just "us" time, which is nice; PLUS, after I get ready for work on Tuesday morning, I have the bonus of having another woman's opinion on how I look before I leave the house. 

For example, this morning as I was walking out the front door, she told me I looked like a chicken with my wings dragging behind me; of course, this was after she had looked at my hair and said "you didn't do much to your hair this morning did you?".

Yes, these Tuesday mornings are such a nice way to start my mornings; and really a man would never give us an honest opinion like that would he?  (Well, at least he'd better not!)

Just keeping it real chics!

Til later, V

~ Couch Shopping ~

I have been couch shopping for over a year.  In spurts, I will make the rounds to the furniture stores, looking for "the one" only to come away unsatisfied with the offerings these stores have on their sales floor.  They are too firm, too soft, the couch cushions and sewn to the couch and not loose and re-adjustable, too short, too long, not the right color, and on and on.

The problem is that I already have the perfect couch and its in my living room.  Its worn in just right, its the perfect size, and I like the colors.  If only the seat cushions were not ragged, snagged, and actually has some shredded holes in them, all thanks to my wonderful dogs, oh and it smells ever so slightly of ....  wait for it ...  dogs!

It perfect for sleeping, for curling up in the corner with a good book and a cup of coffee, or a remote control and a glass of sprite. 

We went again today looking for that perfect couch.  I found an almost perfect one -  but it was burgundy, solid burgundy, do I want to get stuck with burgundy as my main color scheme in my living room for the next several years?????   I sat on it, I even laid on it, while I pondered on this almost perfect couch ....

Then we came back home, and we both agree, we have the perfect couch ...

We just need to consider recovering it, maybe, but we haven't been to the furniture stores in Athens yet ....


Til later, V

~ Internet Cafe Devotions ~

I subscribed to receive Internet Cafe Devotions delivered to my email daily (also on facebook); sometimes I read them, sometimes I skim them; sometimes I say I simply don't have time today and hit delete; and sometime I read them and read them again.  

If you have just a few minutes a day for a quick read, and sometime a read again, I recommend it.

Website:   http://internetcafedevotions.com/

Here are a few excerpts from today that were just for ME:

“God is searching for people who want to grow spiritually. The parable of the seeds and the sower is really a story on spiritual growth. We decide what kind of soil our heart will be by how we hear the word of God. We determine if our heart will be responsive or not. If you want to grow spiritually you will. If you don’t, you won’t.”


"Perhaps…


…salvation has more to do with God’s plans than our own.
…His timing is perfect and He meets His children exactly where they are.
…the way God reveals His glory to each of us is a mystery. (Ephesians 6:19)

And perhaps… you or I may plant or water seeds, but ultimately God is the one who makes them grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-8)
We plant the seeds. God brings the harvest—in His time, according to His plan.
What a comforting and freeing truth this is."

That's all I got for today, but I think its enough ... for now.

Til later, V

~ Longings ~

Oh how I long to ....

be organized ....  I remember when I was...
be more energetic .... I remember this too!
make more time for Him ... you know who I am talking about ... the man upstairs
get off the couch more often ....
sleep all night and without sweating ...
sleep all night ....
wake up early enough to go work out, come home shower and have a nice healthy breakfast and still make it to work on time ...   hahahahahahahahaha    ...

okay, I think I can continue now ...

finish so many unfinished projects ...
be able to take time off from work without guilt ....
be able to take time off from work without having to work myself into a frenzy the week before ...


well as long as I am being silly, may as well add  ... slimmer, financially secure, and healthy to this list!

But really, even though I have these longings, I have a good life, a blessed life, a happy life and that counts for so much more than alot of those longings up there ... well except for the 3rd one, it's not that I don't  - I just feel the need for more.

Later, V

~ Snow Days Again ~

I was a dud on snow days this time, I went outside looked for cardinals in the snow, snapped a photo of Peyton running in the snow ...

And, finally painted a cow ....

And then unlike so many others, I was back at work on Tuesday.   Wish I had a government job.

~ Painting for a Friend ~

My friend wanted a painting of a sand crab for Christmas ...  so I did my best.  I hope she enjoys it. 

~ Snowmen on Parade ~

How often do we get snow in Alabama, much less on Christmas day!  It was great.  I kept seeing all of these cool snowmen, so today I went out looking for the snowmen still standing ... here is what I found ... enjoy!

These were about on their last snow ball ... 

No fear of falling when you are already laying down!

I am sure I missed some awesome snowmen, but I thought these were pretty cool!

~ Merry Christmas ~

Why is it that Christmas can bring on such melancholy feelings. One minute, I am happy and excited about the season, the family gatherings, the beautiful gift of the Christ child and all that changed with His birth; the expectation of the small children in my life of Christmas morning and presents and all that goes with it; and then all of that can fall away in a heartbeat and I can be filled with sadness over the most diverse things, my children who love to celebrate this time of year, but don’t seem to carry the true reason in their hearts or lives, nor are they sharing it with their own children; the resumes we have received in response to an ad for a part time runner – people with college degrees are applying for this job, people who have retired but now need to supplement their income, so many people who are so over qualified for this position, out of work, needing money, wanting a job, and I wish we could employ all of them, one day that could be me – I can’t help but think. My mother’s finances without my father; the children in my life who really only recognize Christmas as a time to gather in all of the loot they can think of to ask for. Shopping – need I say more. And then there is my fish that is wobbling around in it’s tank as if its on it last fin; and I know its silly to get upset about a silly betta fish, but I just want to cry because I don’t know what to do for him.

I think I may need antidepressants. Well, no I really don't.

And then I read this ... an excerpt of something someone who passed away last week after suffering from pancreatic cancer ".... Life happens and the devil is always there to take advantage of a situation. He is there to whisper desperation and hopelessness into your life any way he can.
Realizing this I slowly stopped wallowing in self-pity and started to see the truth as I know it. God is good! He can take the most horrible, hopeless situation and make it better. He offers strength and guidance to all who seek it and as you can imagine, I did." I didn't know this person, but she touched me through her story.

Perspective. I needed this. God is good. What a gift He gave us.


Merry Christmas y’all. My wish for anyone reading this is that you can hang on to the “happy” in this time of the year. Celebrate with your family and friends and always always remember the real reason we actually celebrate this time of year. That is what I am aiming for. Sometimes, it’s too easy to forget that, or not necessarily "forget", but to lose focus, you know what I mean?

~ A visit with a friend ~

I went to Houston last weekend and had a wonderful visit with one of my oldest and best friends.  We had a great time; but can you believe it, I, who usually am a camera bug, only took a couple of shots of her beautiful dogs and none of us!

This is Sophie, a gorgeous Wheaten ... 

And this is Jasmine, an Airdale - gorgeous!

Had to take two of Sophie!  She was sooo sweet!

~ Working late - life on the square after hours ... ~

I had to work late tonight, stuff that needed to be done before I go out of town.  Going to visit my friend in Houston - yay!!!  Total girls weekend.

Anyway, back to working late - I work downtown and I have to drive around the courthouse square to get to I565 to take me home; it was about 8:30 PM;  and as I was coming up on  a red traffic light on the east side of the square, I looked over and there was a young man, standing in the back of a pickup truck with his pants down around his ankles and his hands on his "you know what" and that is all I will put in print about what he was doing.  There was a crowd gathered around him all laughing and taking photos of him with their cell phones. This lasted the whole time I was stuck at the light and was still going on as I drove away.

I was stunned by what I saw, but more than that I was so overcome with sadness that I began to cry; for the young man, for the crowd encouraging him and well just for the world and what has become of us. 

I had an older co-worker who once said, that if society gets much worse, God may have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah - you know, the cities He destroyed because of the sins of their inhabitants ...   it was said in jest, but her saying always comes back to me when I see or witness something so harsh.

By the way, this is the most current photo I could find on the web of the ruins of Sodom and Gommorah


you know it was destroyed by fire and brimstone, from the heavens, sent down by God ... 

Genesis 19:24-25 (New International Version, ©2010)

²⁴ Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. ²⁵ Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.

I worry for our children and their children ...  it was just a distressing thing to witness.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chron. 7:14

Oh that we would.

~ Thanksgiving Day ~

It was a great day to share with family.  The only ones missing were my kids and my oldest niece and her family, who lives out of state.

So glad the rain held off until evening!

~ Thankful ~

So, its that time of year ... as I read recently ... that your family ties you to a chair, forces you to recite reasons to be thankful and then stuffs cooked Turkey and dressing down you until you go into a 6 hour coma ...

Well, to be honest, we do actually do this, or did in the past. Dad would have us stand in a circle, holding hands, getting ready to bless the food before we gorge ourselves into oblivion, and tell what we are thankful for or say a prayer of thankfulness. I didn't mind, I actually enjoyed it, I do have alot to be thankful for; even in bad times, there is so much to be thankful for. Salvation, great husband, awesome parents, sister and brothers, plus more family, friends, and so much more.

My problem was trying to decide which thankful thing do I recite aloud, because after all, there is some awesome food waiting for us in the kitchen! And we were all really thankful for that too!

I hope you all have a wonderfully thankful and happy thanksgiving holiday.

~ Crap Day ~

I had a crap day yesterday. Problems with a co-worker. I needed to vent and I needed a second opinion. I called 3 friends to lay all of my negativity on them and get feed back. All 3 friends were not available to talk. So I stewed, then went home - talked it all out with my husband. And I felt better. And I was able to come to work today and be civil and even friendly.

Really, I think I just wanted someone to affirm my feelings and get aggravated with me. Which my husband did a fairly good job of and gave me some totally man advice " just blow it off ".

Which I have.

So, if any of my 3 friends that I called yesterday and could not talk, read this ... no worries - my husband did a great job and really that is what he signed on for, right?

~ Office Birthday Lunch ~

My boss' wife, sweet Kelli, upper right corner, planned an office lunch for my birthday at Cotton Row, with champagne and all the works, great fun!