SNOW DAY!!!

YEAH!!! THE WEATHER MAN WAS RIGHT!
They had been forecasting all week that Thursday night into Friday was going to bring a pretty strong Winter storm for most of the northern half of the state of AR. I stayed up late Thursday night (10:30 PM in hopes of things starting early so I would not have to wonder and wake up early on Friday to see if indeed we were going to get a Snow Day.) But, to my dismay, nothing was going on or at least nothing significant. Since Little Rock is right in the middle we are always on the edge of the line of the snow. Most times we get the ice and sleet and only a minimal amount of snow. This storm was to be no different. So, I went to bed to dream of snow and getting a day off. I got up at my normal time, 5 AM and looked out the window..nothing! Aghhh! So, decided that I may as well go on and begin the readying process for the day because my superintendent usually doesn't call before 5:45 AM and if I waited that long, I would be very late getting to school. However, at 5:05 I got a call from him. He decided it was just too risky. Even though nothing was happening at that point, the temp was hovering at 31 degrees and it was raining. The forecast was for the temp to continue to fall and precipitation was to be 100% for the day. So, he decided WE WOULD NOT HAVE SCHOOL. Oh yeah! wonderful words to my ears. Now, it was my responsibility to get the word out to my teachers and our families through emails and text messages. By the time I did all that, I was wide awake and could not go back to sleep. Oh well, I still got to enjoy a quiet day inside my warm house doing a little card making, watching of TV, and washing of clothes. In the following pictures you can see how things progressed at my house over the course of the day and into Saturday morning. Not a tremendous amount of snow, but enough to make everything white. I am thankful for my warm home and that I got the day to do what I wanted as I watched God's orchestration of the weather.

The sleet begins to cover our street around 1 PM

Our back patio and deck covered in sleet

Saturday morning when I let Jacye out. This was so crunchy and sleet covered that her paw prints did not even show.

You can tell a little difference...more white coverage than before

Looking out our front door

Norman's company car and his truck

Water frozen as it ran out of our hose.

Jacye's favorite place on snow days!

A very Special moment in life...

There are some moments in life that are just so special that they are plain indescribable. Camryn's acceptance of Jesus Christ as her Savior and then her being baptized in obedience to God's leading was just such a moment. The knowledge that she will now be in heaven with all of us when God sees fit to call us home is such a comfort. Knowing that she will forever be in God's protecting hand as she lives her life is a wonderful assurance for this Nanna.
This occasion was also special because her Papaw got to perform her baptism. Her Pastor, Wayne Kocourek preached a wonderful sermon and then she was baptized. She smiled through the whole process. Her Papaw, who is very emotional, was able to hold it together and make it through. David and Billie sang her favorite song. Our whole family was in attendance along with Barbara and Ronnie. Just an all round super day in our lives.

Somehow I missed getting Alison and John in the pictures. They were talking to some old friends and we didn't get them in.

Christmas..2009

This was a very special Christmas for Camryn. She had told everyone that she wanted a Yorkie puppy for Christmas. She and her mother had already picked out a name if it was a girl (Gabriella and they would call her Ella)and an alternate name if it was a boy (Gabriel Austin and call him Gabe). Well, Santa was listening and she got her wish. She got Gabriel Austin.

Here is Camryn with her puppy, Gabe.

In this picture, Jacye and Gabe are checking one another out.

We had a great day enjoying one another's company and opening our gifts. Then we had our traditional breakfast casserole.
Saturday morning, Andrea, Camryn, Gabe, Norman and I headed out to Birmingham, AL for Christmas with his side of the family. Andrea had not seen her grandparents and cousins for 6 years. After a meal at Lloyds on Sunday afternoon we all went back to the house to have desserts and enjoy one another's company. Below are a few of the pictures I took of each family and then the kids with Memaw and Papaw.

This is Paul's group. Angela and Nick were not able to be with us. They were at a wrestling match. We missed seeing them and hope we can catch up with them another time. Anyway, this is Paul, Norman's younger brother, with Jake, Ashley and Josh.

And here is our family. Camryn is holding Gabe, our newest grand-dog.

This is Tricia's family. Seated on the couch: Christiana, Anthony, Tricia, and Anthony Jr. (Ant). On the floor: Benjamin and Joseph.

Mom and Dad with the kids

The grandkids and one great-grand-daughter with Memaw and Papaw.

Little Gabe

Isn't he a doll?

(You can see her open her presents on Youtube. Just type in, Camryn gets her wish... in the search bar. It should come up.)

We also had an opportunity to get with two of my college roommates from my freshmen year. Here we are looking as good as ever...me, Jackie and Linda.

Each of us with our husbands and daughters.

The 3 couples....John and Jackie Wise, and Laura; Norman, me and Andrea; Glenn and Linda Miller and Kara. We all met at Souheastern Bible College, dated during our time there and all but me graduated from there. We had a great time renewing our friendships. We ate at Cracker Barrel and then went to Jackie and John's for delicious desserts. It was so good to be able to visit with all of them and recall our great times at SBC, freshmen initiation, choir tours, doctrine class, library times, dating...etc. We have all vowed that we must do this again before another 36 years pass by. Although it had been almost 4 decades since we had seen one another it was like we had never been apart. Great memories and just an inkling of what it will be like when we all gather in Heaven together. What a reunion that will be!!!