Thursday, February 1 - Friday, February 2
It's a new day and a new month, but we were back to some of the same old business.
Barbara is the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of our family, and the first of the month usually finds her combing through all of our financial transactions, bank, and credit card accounts to make sure that we are staying afloat. She does such a good job of it that I have found it is best to stay out of her way so I don't mess anything up.😁
So, while Barbara took care of business at the house these two days, I went to Tyler to continue working on the second new dormitory at Breckenridge Village. My job twas to frame windows, and boy, were there ever a bunch of them!!!
When I got back home and cleaned up, Barbara and I decided to get reacquainted and go for a dinner date at Jalapeno Tree.
Saturday, February 3
Planning a children's sermon and cleaning house were priority jobs today...not exciting, but very necessary.
Happy Birthday to son-in-law Andy Dondis!!!!
We were back at YFBC this morning to join our church family in the morning worship service.
Our children's sermon this morning came from 1st Corinthians 15: 36-38
Baptism isn’t what saves you. Baptism is your statement that Jesus has planted the seed of His love in your heart, and you want to follow Him.
Baptism is you standing in the water, ready to let others know that you want to give up your old life, be buried in the water, and raised to begin a new life through Christ’s love and power.
Baptismal waters don’t wash you clean. Baptism is simply a picture of God washing away your sins and giving you forgiveness and a clean start in a life of service to Him.
Since this was Super Bowl Sunday, we had our traditional Chili Cook-off and church gathering in the activities center this evening. Barbara and I went for a bit to share in the food and fellowship, but since we aren't great football fans, we left early and returned home.
Monday, February 5
While I went to Tyler with Jerry and Wayne from YFBC to try to finish up the Texas Baptist Men portion of the work at Breckenridge Village, Barbara, Angela, and TJ enjoyed a girls morning out for shopping and lunch.
During the morning we received word that our across-the-street neighbor, John, had suffered a heart attack last night and had been taken to the Heart Hospital in Tyler. We changed our plans slightly and Barbara drove to the work site at Breckenridge Village to pick me up around 3:30 (and take some photos of the work we were doing).
While the other men finished the project over the next couple of hours, Barbara and I went to the hospital to see John and Wanda. It was getting late in the afternoon when we finished our visit, and it was looking as if John wasn't going to be released today, so we said our goodbyes and left so others could come into the room.
We hadn't been home 5 minutes when the phone rang. It was John, calling to say that Wanda needed to come home, but he couldn't find whoever was supposed to bring her back to Mineola, so we said we'd drive back to Tyler (about a 45-minute drive in good conditions) to get her.
I decided that we'd just park in front of the building so I could run upstairs and get Wanda while Barbara stayed with the car. Imagine my surprise when I got to the room and John said, "We're going home." While we were on our way to Tyler, the doctor came in, and told them that John hadn't had a heart attack after all, just a severe reaction to a medication he'd taken yesterday.
It took a few minutes to get everything ready, but we were soon in the car and all headed home. We joked with John and told him that this was the last trip we were making to Tyler today, and that if they had released him after we picked Wanda up, he'd just have to tell them to keep him another night.
When we finally got settled in, I walked down to the mailbox to see if we had received anything important today, and we were delighted to find a box from one of my former band students, Jon Harvey (now Lt. Colonel Jonathan Harvey of the United States Army). Jon knows of our passion for the ETPGR Vest Project for Snowball Express, and he and his troops gathered a box full of specialized patches the we will be able to sew onto vests for the next SBE in December. Thank you, Colonel Harvey and your troops, for this generous contribution to the children who have lost a parent while serving on military active duty!!!
Tuesday, February 6
A little background information is necessary before getting into today's activities.
A couple of months ago, we received word that the daughter of our cousins Danny and Cindy was getting married on February 24. At that time, we were sure we would go, because it would give us a reason for a Taz Trip, something we missed out on in 2017. Our plan was to ride Taz to San Antonio around the 14th of February so I could attend the annual Texas Music Educators Convention/Clinic, and we would have time to visit with John, Carol, and Randi. And, if we got lucky, maybe Ryan, Leah, and Kaiden could come down for the weekend and we could finally celebrate Christmas.
Then, we would hop on Taz and ride I-10 from San Antonio to Tallahasse, Florida, for the big event.
We got everything lined out except for the hotel reservations, and were working on those when one night recently we got a call from Randi telling us that she and Nick were going to get married and wanted the family to join them on either a cruise or at a resort in Cozumel. Since we have never been on a cruise, we told Randi that would be our choice, but she called back the next day and said they had decided on Cozumel.
All of our other plans then went on hold, as what we would spend on them would now have to be saved for the Cozumel trip.
When we told Aunt TJ about the change in plans and that we were still going to San Antonio, but would be coming back to Mineola, she said that was great because now we could take her to Florida for the wedding. We explained that we couldn't afford to go to Florida, but she said she could take her car and she would pay for all expenses for the three of us. Well, after lots of conversations with everyone involved, that plan started shaping up...which leads us to today...
TJ was going to need some new clothes for the wedding trip to Florida, so this morning we took her to Beall's in Mineola to meet with Cousin Angela and get the things she would need.
After we took TJ home, I took Barbara to the house and then went to Ace Hardware to get some insulation rolls to put above the sun room. When the original screen room was built, no one thought of putting in insulation, so the temperature in that room pretty much mirrored whatever the temperature outside was, especially when it was broiling hot or freezing cold.
As I was leaving Ace, the skies opened up and we started receiving a downpour. I got back to the house, unloaded the rolls of insulation, and then we had some lunch and took a nap.
When we woke up, I headed for the garage and set up a table for cutting the insulation into 15-foot strips and started the nasty job of hauling fiberglass strips up to the attic, then across the studs to the back of the house, and rolling them out...not a lot of fun to be found in that job!
While I was playing in the attic, Barbara was working on a special "Pray for Grace Martinez" project to present to the young children at the youth activities at church tomorrow evening.
Wednesday, February 7
I spent about an hour finishing the insulation project upstairs this morning, and then both of us went to our "computer stations" in the living room to get to work on another project.
Our work on the journal/blog took a major hit since last June. In fact, we hadn't done anything with it in the last few months, but have been scrambling to get back to work on it since January, hoping to get it up-to-date as soon as possible.
Both of us spent most of today at our computers. As Barbara got photo collages done up and passed over to me, I would pound away at the keyboard to provide the text. We had to take several breaks during the day to clear our heads, but by the evening, we were just about ready for a publication.
One of our breaks came when the phone rang and we heard the voice of someone calling from the dermatology clinic. It seems that my biopsies from last week showed three pre-cancerous lesions on my face, but the one from my scalp tested positive for a squamous cell tumor. It had seemed like just my weird sense of humor when I told the doctor last week that it needed to be squamous because Aflac paid more for that...today it wasn't so funny.
The earliest I could have surgery was February 16, but since we were going to be in San Antonio and then Florida, we got on the schedule for March 2.
We were back in Yantis this evening for youth activities, Bible study, and praise band rehearsal. By the time we finally got home, we felt like it had been a l-o-n-g, l-o-n-g day!
Thursday, February 8
Finally, we both proofed the July, 2017 journal/blog and punched the button to publish it. It was way overdue, but at least it was a step in the right direction.
The day was full of a variety of activities...visited Angela and Ladd to talk about the upcoming trip with TJ...did some laundry...sorted out photos for future journals...and tonight was the weekly band rehearsal for the Lake Country Symphonic Band.
Friday, February 9
Today was another "inside" day. We worked together on preparing a draft and some handouts for Sunday's children's sermon, and then started work on the August journal/blog. Barbara had completed the August photo collages last night while I was at band, so I started writing the text and adding in the collages while she started doing collages for September.
Just an FYI...without serious interruptions, it takes 4-5 days to prepare a blog entry for publication, and that's if we don't have a mountain of photos for us to go through, or huge blocks of text to write and insert. When you get right down to it, the journal/blog is a time-consuming project...especially if it is put off too long.
Saturday, February 10
Today was a flurry of activity once again as we spent a couple of hours finishing everything we needed for tomorrow's children's sermon.
When that was done, we took a short break and then turned to the August journal/blog to see what we could do with it. It took most of the rest of the day to finish collages and text, but by late afternoon we had it edited, proofed, and ready to go...two months down and only six to go to get caught up!
Tonight was the annual Valentine's Banquet (now called the Friendship Banquet) at Yantis First Baptist Church. We considered not going this year, but changed our minds and drove out to Yantis to join in the food, fun, and fellowship (and take lots of photos). The food was great, but the entertainment was fantastic. Starring four people who looked remarkably like Pastor Craig and his wife Stacy, and youth pastor Chad and his wife Melaina, the "Imitations" had the crowd rolling in the aisles with their humorous presentations of songs by former stars.
Sunday, February 11
In Memoriam: Edith Marie Faulk Little Borsberry...Mother, Mother-In-Law, Grandmother, Great Grandmother (February 11, 1923 - June 5, 2013)...
We were back at Yantis this morning for Sunday school and the morning worship service.
Our children's sermon today was from 1st Corinthians 15:52
Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!!!
It's a new day and a new month, but we were back to some of the same old business.
Barbara is the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of our family, and the first of the month usually finds her combing through all of our financial transactions, bank, and credit card accounts to make sure that we are staying afloat. She does such a good job of it that I have found it is best to stay out of her way so I don't mess anything up.😁
So, while Barbara took care of business at the house these two days, I went to Tyler to continue working on the second new dormitory at Breckenridge Village. My job twas to frame windows, and boy, were there ever a bunch of them!!!
When I got back home and cleaned up, Barbara and I decided to get reacquainted and go for a dinner date at Jalapeno Tree.
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Saturday, February 3
Planning a children's sermon and cleaning house were priority jobs today...not exciting, but very necessary.
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Sunday, February 4Happy Birthday to son-in-law Andy Dondis!!!!
We were back at YFBC this morning to join our church family in the morning worship service.
Our children's sermon this morning came from 1st Corinthians 15: 36-38
Baptism and
Renewal/Resurrection
JIM: Last week, Brother Chad and Miss Melaina
talked to you a little about baptism, what it means, and how it is a picture of
the death, burial, and resurrection, or being raised to life, of Jesus Christ.
This
morning, Mrs. Little and I want to share more about baptism and the pictures it
shows. And we’ll do that by saying what
baptism isn’t, and what it is.
Baptism isn’t what saves you. Baptism is your statement that Jesus has planted the seed of His love in your heart, and you want to follow Him.
Baptism is you standing in the water, ready to let others know that you want to give up your old life, be buried in the water, and raised to begin a new life through Christ’s love and power.
Baptismal waters don’t wash you clean. Baptism is simply a picture of God washing away your sins and giving you forgiveness and a clean start in a life of service to Him.
And,
just as baptism is a picture of the death and resurrection of Christ, it is
also a personal picture of your faith that when the time comes for God to call
you to the home He has already prepared for you, you will be buried and raised
to a new life with Him in a Forever Home that we can only imagine. We don’t know what Heaven will look like and
we don’t know what our new bodies will look like, but we do know that all will
be beautiful and will last forever.
BARBARA: In
I Corinthians 15:36, Paul says, “When you put a seed into the ground, it
doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.” I had never really thought
about that idea. But, it makes so much sense now. If you take these sunflower
seeds and place them in the ground, they must die before a new plant can grow.
And, this ugly plain looking seed will grow into a beautiful flower.
That
is the same with you. When you are old enough to turn your life over to Christ,
your old self will change into a beautiful follower of the Lord.
Let
these sunflower seeds and the picture of the sunflower remind you of the beauty
of the resurrection.
Since this was Super Bowl Sunday, we had our traditional Chili Cook-off and church gathering in the activities center this evening. Barbara and I went for a bit to share in the food and fellowship, but since we aren't great football fans, we left early and returned home.
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Monday, February 5
While I went to Tyler with Jerry and Wayne from YFBC to try to finish up the Texas Baptist Men portion of the work at Breckenridge Village, Barbara, Angela, and TJ enjoyed a girls morning out for shopping and lunch.
During the morning we received word that our across-the-street neighbor, John, had suffered a heart attack last night and had been taken to the Heart Hospital in Tyler. We changed our plans slightly and Barbara drove to the work site at Breckenridge Village to pick me up around 3:30 (and take some photos of the work we were doing).
While the other men finished the project over the next couple of hours, Barbara and I went to the hospital to see John and Wanda. It was getting late in the afternoon when we finished our visit, and it was looking as if John wasn't going to be released today, so we said our goodbyes and left so others could come into the room.
We hadn't been home 5 minutes when the phone rang. It was John, calling to say that Wanda needed to come home, but he couldn't find whoever was supposed to bring her back to Mineola, so we said we'd drive back to Tyler (about a 45-minute drive in good conditions) to get her.
I decided that we'd just park in front of the building so I could run upstairs and get Wanda while Barbara stayed with the car. Imagine my surprise when I got to the room and John said, "We're going home." While we were on our way to Tyler, the doctor came in, and told them that John hadn't had a heart attack after all, just a severe reaction to a medication he'd taken yesterday.
It took a few minutes to get everything ready, but we were soon in the car and all headed home. We joked with John and told him that this was the last trip we were making to Tyler today, and that if they had released him after we picked Wanda up, he'd just have to tell them to keep him another night.
When we finally got settled in, I walked down to the mailbox to see if we had received anything important today, and we were delighted to find a box from one of my former band students, Jon Harvey (now Lt. Colonel Jonathan Harvey of the United States Army). Jon knows of our passion for the ETPGR Vest Project for Snowball Express, and he and his troops gathered a box full of specialized patches the we will be able to sew onto vests for the next SBE in December. Thank you, Colonel Harvey and your troops, for this generous contribution to the children who have lost a parent while serving on military active duty!!!
++++++++
Tuesday, February 6
A little background information is necessary before getting into today's activities.
A couple of months ago, we received word that the daughter of our cousins Danny and Cindy was getting married on February 24. At that time, we were sure we would go, because it would give us a reason for a Taz Trip, something we missed out on in 2017. Our plan was to ride Taz to San Antonio around the 14th of February so I could attend the annual Texas Music Educators Convention/Clinic, and we would have time to visit with John, Carol, and Randi. And, if we got lucky, maybe Ryan, Leah, and Kaiden could come down for the weekend and we could finally celebrate Christmas.
Then, we would hop on Taz and ride I-10 from San Antonio to Tallahasse, Florida, for the big event.
We got everything lined out except for the hotel reservations, and were working on those when one night recently we got a call from Randi telling us that she and Nick were going to get married and wanted the family to join them on either a cruise or at a resort in Cozumel. Since we have never been on a cruise, we told Randi that would be our choice, but she called back the next day and said they had decided on Cozumel.
All of our other plans then went on hold, as what we would spend on them would now have to be saved for the Cozumel trip.
When we told Aunt TJ about the change in plans and that we were still going to San Antonio, but would be coming back to Mineola, she said that was great because now we could take her to Florida for the wedding. We explained that we couldn't afford to go to Florida, but she said she could take her car and she would pay for all expenses for the three of us. Well, after lots of conversations with everyone involved, that plan started shaping up...which leads us to today...
TJ was going to need some new clothes for the wedding trip to Florida, so this morning we took her to Beall's in Mineola to meet with Cousin Angela and get the things she would need.
After we took TJ home, I took Barbara to the house and then went to Ace Hardware to get some insulation rolls to put above the sun room. When the original screen room was built, no one thought of putting in insulation, so the temperature in that room pretty much mirrored whatever the temperature outside was, especially when it was broiling hot or freezing cold.
As I was leaving Ace, the skies opened up and we started receiving a downpour. I got back to the house, unloaded the rolls of insulation, and then we had some lunch and took a nap.
When we woke up, I headed for the garage and set up a table for cutting the insulation into 15-foot strips and started the nasty job of hauling fiberglass strips up to the attic, then across the studs to the back of the house, and rolling them out...not a lot of fun to be found in that job!
++++++++
Wednesday, February 7
I spent about an hour finishing the insulation project upstairs this morning, and then both of us went to our "computer stations" in the living room to get to work on another project.
Our work on the journal/blog took a major hit since last June. In fact, we hadn't done anything with it in the last few months, but have been scrambling to get back to work on it since January, hoping to get it up-to-date as soon as possible.
Both of us spent most of today at our computers. As Barbara got photo collages done up and passed over to me, I would pound away at the keyboard to provide the text. We had to take several breaks during the day to clear our heads, but by the evening, we were just about ready for a publication.
One of our breaks came when the phone rang and we heard the voice of someone calling from the dermatology clinic. It seems that my biopsies from last week showed three pre-cancerous lesions on my face, but the one from my scalp tested positive for a squamous cell tumor. It had seemed like just my weird sense of humor when I told the doctor last week that it needed to be squamous because Aflac paid more for that...today it wasn't so funny.
The earliest I could have surgery was February 16, but since we were going to be in San Antonio and then Florida, we got on the schedule for March 2.
We were back in Yantis this evening for youth activities, Bible study, and praise band rehearsal. By the time we finally got home, we felt like it had been a l-o-n-g, l-o-n-g day!
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Thursday, February 8
Finally, we both proofed the July, 2017 journal/blog and punched the button to publish it. It was way overdue, but at least it was a step in the right direction.
The day was full of a variety of activities...visited Angela and Ladd to talk about the upcoming trip with TJ...did some laundry...sorted out photos for future journals...and tonight was the weekly band rehearsal for the Lake Country Symphonic Band.
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Friday, February 9
Today was another "inside" day. We worked together on preparing a draft and some handouts for Sunday's children's sermon, and then started work on the August journal/blog. Barbara had completed the August photo collages last night while I was at band, so I started writing the text and adding in the collages while she started doing collages for September.
Just an FYI...without serious interruptions, it takes 4-5 days to prepare a blog entry for publication, and that's if we don't have a mountain of photos for us to go through, or huge blocks of text to write and insert. When you get right down to it, the journal/blog is a time-consuming project...especially if it is put off too long.
++++++++
Saturday, February 10
Today was a flurry of activity once again as we spent a couple of hours finishing everything we needed for tomorrow's children's sermon.
When that was done, we took a short break and then turned to the August journal/blog to see what we could do with it. It took most of the rest of the day to finish collages and text, but by late afternoon we had it edited, proofed, and ready to go...two months down and only six to go to get caught up!
Tonight was the annual Valentine's Banquet (now called the Friendship Banquet) at Yantis First Baptist Church. We considered not going this year, but changed our minds and drove out to Yantis to join in the food, fun, and fellowship (and take lots of photos). The food was great, but the entertainment was fantastic. Starring four people who looked remarkably like Pastor Craig and his wife Stacy, and youth pastor Chad and his wife Melaina, the "Imitations" had the crowd rolling in the aisles with their humorous presentations of songs by former stars.
++++++++
Sunday, February 11
In Memoriam: Edith Marie Faulk Little Borsberry...Mother, Mother-In-Law, Grandmother, Great Grandmother (February 11, 1923 - June 5, 2013)...
We were back at Yantis this morning for Sunday school and the morning worship service.
Our children's sermon today was from 1st Corinthians 15:52
Complete
Change
JIM: Here’s
a question for you…Who likes to get new clothes? Of course, we all do…maybe the question
should be, “Who doesn’t like to get
new clothes?’ When Mrs. Little and I
were your age, we got new clothes twice a year.
We got new school clothes at the beginning of the school year (and they
were supposed to last us all year), and we got really nice new clothes to wear
to church at Easter (and then those were our church clothes until we outgrew
them).
Now, what does that have to do
with our lesson this morning. I’ll tell
you. The Easter message is the greatest story
we know, because it is all about Christ rising from the dead to save us from
our sins and guarantee an eternal life with Him for us if we accept him as our
Lord and Savior. Our new clothes were a
picture of the new life that we will have with Christ in Heaven. Paul was telling the church at Corinth that
when they passed from this life, they, too, would be resurrected to live an
eternal life in Heaven. And, they would
have new bodies. And he also says that
we will be clothed in the imperishable, or new clothes that will never grow old
or wear out. The folks in Corinth were
having a hard time understanding the message, but that’s okay, because even now
we have a hard time understanding how our own resurrection will happen and what
Heaven will be like, and how we will look.
But, we have faith to know that whatever God has planned for us is far
better than what we can imagine.
At the end of 1st
Corinthians 15, Paul tells us that what is most important for believers today
and every day is that we never quit working for the Lord. Whatever we say or do should honor and
glorify God and lead others to believe in Him.
BARBARA: Wow! So let’s think about what
Mr. Little said. The most important thing is for believers to never quit
working and by doing that, we will change...not only when we go to Heaven; but
now on Earth as we learn each day about the Lord.
Let’s say this lick-em stick
is you. And, you are growing each day. As you grow, you will need to stand firm
and learn about the Lord. So...as we pretend that this you....this is the Word
of God, the Bible. Then you have to open it...and prepare yourself to taste the
Word. As you get more and more into it, you will find that you are changing
little by little to follow the Lord.
As you enjoy this candy, we
hope that that it will remind you that we will also be changed as we follow
Jesus!
JIM: Heavenly Father, We thank you for bringing
us together today to study and grow in your word. Please give us the wisdom, courage, and
strength to continue to grow in your likeness as we teach others about you
through the way we live for you. It’s in
the name of Jesus that we pray, Amen
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Monday, February 12
Happy 7th Birthday to granddaughter Ava Little!!!!
The highlight of the day was a birthday FaceTime visit with Ava and her family!
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Tuesday, February 13
We drove to Tyler this morning for Barbara's follow-up visit with Dr. Olvera, the pain-management specialist. Barbara was in and out of the office almost before we knew what was going on, but the bottom line was that the procedure she had last fall is still working, and we don't have to go back unless there is another flare-up.
After the visit, we went to IHOP for breakfast to celebrate Pancake Day. In the civilized world, this is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), but in Liberal, Kansas, and Olney, England, it is known as Pancake Day, with timed races run by women from each city while they flip pancakes in a skillet, and the mass consumption of pancakes by citizens of both cities.
We usually have our own private remembrance of the years we lived and taught in Liberal, but since we were out and about today, we decided to do it up big.
It was a rainy day in East Texas, so after a little shop-looking, we drove back home to settle in for a few hours. When we got home, we found a package from Fed-Ex on the porch. When we went to New Orleans in December, we inadvertently left Barbara's favorite walking stick at the hotel. After weeks of negotiations and attempts to retrieve the stick, it finally showed up back home where it belongs. On a quick trip to Wally World, Barbara once again ran into our Holiday Village neighbor, Linda, and they decided they had to document said occasion!
This evening we drove up to Alba (still in the rain) to join Jerry and Diane Nickerson in an early Valentine's dinner at Verona's, our favorite Italian restaurant in the area.
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Wednesday, February 14
Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!!!
This was another rainy day, so we stayed inside to take care of business. Tax document gathering and organization, and finishing the September journal/blog were the major items on our to-do list.
Before we left for church and the Wednesday night activities at Yantis, we had the journal proofed and ready to go for publication tomorrow morning.
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Thursday, February 15
Job one this morning was to pull the trigger on the September journal/blog and get it published to the blogsite.
Other than that, today was all about packing for our upcoming trip to San Antonio and doing what housecleaning we could...nothing exciting.
Band rehearsal tonight to tie up some loose ends in preparation for our March concert.
Friday, February 16
We got up, loaded the car, grabbed some breakfast at Whataburger, and then headed out for San Antonio, hoping to get there before the afternoon rush hours.
This was a travel day, Point A to Point B, so we kept the pedal to the metal and made the minimum necessary stops along the way.
Barbara entertained us by taking some photos along the way, and we stopped for lunch at a Freddy's...
When we got to San Antonio we located our hotel (just had to take a roundabout way of getting to it, since the exit from I-410 was closed).
Even though it was after 3:00 pm, our room wasn't ready for us, so we had to sit in the lobby for another 30 minutes before we could get in and unpack for the next couple of days.
Tonight was family time with John, Carol, Randi, Nick, Ryan, Leah, Kaiden, Rhett, and Bowman...
Saturday, February 17
In Memoriam: Brother Joe Ernest (Ernie) Little (February 17, 1947 - March 18, 2017)
I got up early this morning and headed to downtown San Antonio to attend the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention...did a cursory walk-through of the exhibits, and then heard two superb bands, the Association of Texas Small School Bands All-State Concert and Symphonic Bands.
Meanwhile, Carol and Randi went to the hotel to pick Barbara up and take her to the house for breakfast and then a morning of shopping with the girls. Other activities during the day included just hanging around, taking family photos, going to the movie to see Peter Rabbit, playing games, celebrating our traditional late Christmas, and going out to eat at Biggz burger joint.
The biggest event seemed to have happened while the girls were in Target. Barbara saw from afar the card below which she read aloud, "You are a cutie pie." It just so happened that a guy was walking by and he said, "Well, thanks!" This led to laughter and documentation.
Sunday, February 18
We met John, Carol, and the boys as well as Leah, Ryan and Kaiden at church this morning. After the service, Randi and Nick joined the bunch for lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Helotes before Leah and family headed for home. Following lunch, John and I drove the boys to their home, and then we returned to the house for an evening of family fun and games.
Monday, February 19
Today was all about travel, as we got away from San Antonio and headed back to Mineola, about an 8-hour drive for us older folks who need extra stops along the way.
We got home, unloaded the car, started a load of wash, and began laying out clothes for the next trip.
This evening we drove to Quitman to join fellow church friends at a funeral visitation for one of our members.
Tuesday, February 20
As if we hadn't been on the road enough lately, today was another pack and load day. Barbara made up a batch of chicken salad and put some food items together so we could have lunch on the road the next two days.
By nightfall we had packed everything except what we would need tomorrow morning, and were ready for a good night's sleep.
Wednesday, February 21
Our days seem to be single-purpose. Today's purpose was to pick up TJ at 6:30 am, grab breakfast at Whataburger, and head down the road toward Biloxi as fast as possible. The fast part came to a huge slow-down as we got to Shreveport and ran into a massive thunderstorm, Visibility was so bad that we couldn't see the edge of the highway so we could pull over, and could see only the lights of the vehicles in front of us.
Luckily, we ran out of the worst rain a few miles down the road on I-49, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there to Biloxi.
By the time we got to Mississippi, it was time for a serious break at the I-10 Welcome Center.
Before we got to our hotel, we stopped at one of the beach pullouts to take some photos of the beach and the gulf waters. TJ hadn't seen this stretch of highway or the Gulf Coast since before Hurricane Katrina hit years ago, and was both amazed and disappointed in the changes.
We then went on to the hotel, checked in for the evening, and then went back down U.S. 90 to Wentzel's Seafood, where we enjoyed delicious food and dining on the deck...
Thursday, February 22
This was another Point A to Point B day. We got away from Biloxi after a good breakfast at the hotel. There was a brief stop just west of Mobile, Alabama, and then a really nice break at the Florida Welcome Center, where we also got some history lessons.
Then, it was on to Marianna, Florida, to pick up Aunt Glennis before making the final leg of the trip to Tallahassee, our home for three nights. After getting checked in at the hotel, we joined cousins Danny and Cindy for dinner at the Villlage Inn, right across the parking lot from the hotel.
And then returned to the hotel for a bit to rest up from two days of driving.
Later in the evening, we drove to Danny and Cindy's temporary home to see where they lived and to pick up some items to take to the wedding venue tomorrow morning.
Friday, February 23
Today was just a tourist day for us. After breakfast, we drove north into Georgia to Pebble Hill Plantation, the site of the big wedding tomorrow night. We helped Danny and Cindy unload some things, and then left them to figure out where everything went while we drove to Thomasville to do some sight-seeing.
We had a good time finding a 336 year-old oak tree, dining at Jonah's (the shrimp, grits, and cheese dish was especially good), and looking around the quaint downtown area.
Saturday, February 24
A long day, but a beautiful wedding as Anna Marie Wright and Ryan Timothy Shealy were married in an outdoor ceremony at Pebble Hill Plantation, surrounded by family and friends.
Sunday, February 25
Happy 5th Birthday to grandson Jack David Little!!!
A long travel day, lots of rain, and a couple of interesting and informative stops as we drove all the way from Tallahassee, Florida, to Alexandria, Virginia.
After we got checked into our hotel in Alexandria, we received a FaceTime call from Mike, Kelly, and the kids to let us know they had received some gifts we had sent earlier...what fun!!!
Monday, February 26
Happy Birthday to son John Colwell!!!
Today was another travel day...we made the dash from Lafayette to Mineola, getting home around noon. We quickly got all of our stuff out of TJ's car and into the house, and then we took TJ back to Autumn Wind, got her things into her apartment, and then drove to her house to drop off her car and pick up ours and get back to the house.
Gotta admit that we did some napping and relaxing this afternoon, and then I had a special Monday night band rehearsal to prepare for the upcoming concert.
Tuesday, February 27
Today was a day of just trying to get back to normal...whatever that is. It was a time to unpack, do several loads of laundry, put things away, pay bills and catch up on a week's worth of mail. We also worked in a couple of haircuts, and spent the afternoon and evening working on the October journal/blog.
Wednesday, February 28
We wrapped up the month by staying home and doing laundry and housework...not very exciting after the travels and events of the last couple of weeks, but that's okay, because we were ready for some non-exciting days.
Enjoying some down-time in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
Job one this morning was to pull the trigger on the September journal/blog and get it published to the blogsite.
Other than that, today was all about packing for our upcoming trip to San Antonio and doing what housecleaning we could...nothing exciting.
Band rehearsal tonight to tie up some loose ends in preparation for our March concert.
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Friday, February 16
We got up, loaded the car, grabbed some breakfast at Whataburger, and then headed out for San Antonio, hoping to get there before the afternoon rush hours.
This was a travel day, Point A to Point B, so we kept the pedal to the metal and made the minimum necessary stops along the way.
Barbara entertained us by taking some photos along the way, and we stopped for lunch at a Freddy's...
When we got to San Antonio we located our hotel (just had to take a roundabout way of getting to it, since the exit from I-410 was closed).
Even though it was after 3:00 pm, our room wasn't ready for us, so we had to sit in the lobby for another 30 minutes before we could get in and unpack for the next couple of days.
Tonight was family time with John, Carol, Randi, Nick, Ryan, Leah, Kaiden, Rhett, and Bowman...
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Saturday, February 17
In Memoriam: Brother Joe Ernest (Ernie) Little (February 17, 1947 - March 18, 2017)
I got up early this morning and headed to downtown San Antonio to attend the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention...did a cursory walk-through of the exhibits, and then heard two superb bands, the Association of Texas Small School Bands All-State Concert and Symphonic Bands.
Meanwhile, Carol and Randi went to the hotel to pick Barbara up and take her to the house for breakfast and then a morning of shopping with the girls. Other activities during the day included just hanging around, taking family photos, going to the movie to see Peter Rabbit, playing games, celebrating our traditional late Christmas, and going out to eat at Biggz burger joint.
The biggest event seemed to have happened while the girls were in Target. Barbara saw from afar the card below which she read aloud, "You are a cutie pie." It just so happened that a guy was walking by and he said, "Well, thanks!" This led to laughter and documentation.
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Sunday, February 18
We met John, Carol, and the boys as well as Leah, Ryan and Kaiden at church this morning. After the service, Randi and Nick joined the bunch for lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Helotes before Leah and family headed for home. Following lunch, John and I drove the boys to their home, and then we returned to the house for an evening of family fun and games.
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Monday, February 19
Today was all about travel, as we got away from San Antonio and headed back to Mineola, about an 8-hour drive for us older folks who need extra stops along the way.
We got home, unloaded the car, started a load of wash, and began laying out clothes for the next trip.
This evening we drove to Quitman to join fellow church friends at a funeral visitation for one of our members.
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Tuesday, February 20
As if we hadn't been on the road enough lately, today was another pack and load day. Barbara made up a batch of chicken salad and put some food items together so we could have lunch on the road the next two days.
By nightfall we had packed everything except what we would need tomorrow morning, and were ready for a good night's sleep.
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Wednesday, February 21
Our days seem to be single-purpose. Today's purpose was to pick up TJ at 6:30 am, grab breakfast at Whataburger, and head down the road toward Biloxi as fast as possible. The fast part came to a huge slow-down as we got to Shreveport and ran into a massive thunderstorm, Visibility was so bad that we couldn't see the edge of the highway so we could pull over, and could see only the lights of the vehicles in front of us.
Luckily, we ran out of the worst rain a few miles down the road on I-49, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there to Biloxi.
By the time we got to Mississippi, it was time for a serious break at the I-10 Welcome Center.
Before we got to our hotel, we stopped at one of the beach pullouts to take some photos of the beach and the gulf waters. TJ hadn't seen this stretch of highway or the Gulf Coast since before Hurricane Katrina hit years ago, and was both amazed and disappointed in the changes.
We then went on to the hotel, checked in for the evening, and then went back down U.S. 90 to Wentzel's Seafood, where we enjoyed delicious food and dining on the deck...
++++++++
Thursday, February 22
This was another Point A to Point B day. We got away from Biloxi after a good breakfast at the hotel. There was a brief stop just west of Mobile, Alabama, and then a really nice break at the Florida Welcome Center, where we also got some history lessons.
Then, it was on to Marianna, Florida, to pick up Aunt Glennis before making the final leg of the trip to Tallahassee, our home for three nights. After getting checked in at the hotel, we joined cousins Danny and Cindy for dinner at the Villlage Inn, right across the parking lot from the hotel.
And then returned to the hotel for a bit to rest up from two days of driving.
Later in the evening, we drove to Danny and Cindy's temporary home to see where they lived and to pick up some items to take to the wedding venue tomorrow morning.
++++++++
Friday, February 23
Today was just a tourist day for us. After breakfast, we drove north into Georgia to Pebble Hill Plantation, the site of the big wedding tomorrow night. We helped Danny and Cindy unload some things, and then left them to figure out where everything went while we drove to Thomasville to do some sight-seeing.
We had a good time finding a 336 year-old oak tree, dining at Jonah's (the shrimp, grits, and cheese dish was especially good), and looking around the quaint downtown area.
++++++++
Saturday, February 24
A long day, but a beautiful wedding as Anna Marie Wright and Ryan Timothy Shealy were married in an outdoor ceremony at Pebble Hill Plantation, surrounded by family and friends.
++++++++
Sunday, February 25
Happy 5th Birthday to grandson Jack David Little!!!
A long travel day, lots of rain, and a couple of interesting and informative stops as we drove all the way from Tallahassee, Florida, to Alexandria, Virginia.
After we got checked into our hotel in Alexandria, we received a FaceTime call from Mike, Kelly, and the kids to let us know they had received some gifts we had sent earlier...what fun!!!
++++++++
Monday, February 26
Happy Birthday to son John Colwell!!!
Today was another travel day...we made the dash from Lafayette to Mineola, getting home around noon. We quickly got all of our stuff out of TJ's car and into the house, and then we took TJ back to Autumn Wind, got her things into her apartment, and then drove to her house to drop off her car and pick up ours and get back to the house.
Gotta admit that we did some napping and relaxing this afternoon, and then I had a special Monday night band rehearsal to prepare for the upcoming concert.
++++++++
Tuesday, February 27
Today was a day of just trying to get back to normal...whatever that is. It was a time to unpack, do several loads of laundry, put things away, pay bills and catch up on a week's worth of mail. We also worked in a couple of haircuts, and spent the afternoon and evening working on the October journal/blog.
++++++++
Wednesday, February 28
We wrapped up the month by staying home and doing laundry and housework...not very exciting after the travels and events of the last couple of weeks, but that's okay, because we were ready for some non-exciting days.
++++++++
Enjoying some down-time in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
