Movie Night

Saturday night my friend, Kelly, and I went to see The Secret Lives of Bees and then out to dinner. We were celebrating her birthday which was in July so that shows you how bad we are about getting our time organized!!

Anyway - what an excellent movie - the book was really good - and I really enjoyed the movie - Queen Latifah is really perfect - the whole cast was - and we got popcorn with "butter" (we don't really want to know what it is) all the way through it - Kelly asked the girl to stop and put butter on it as she was filling the bag. We both got Diet Cokes - trying to be good. You know how sometimes Diet Coke just tastes like medicine? Well this was the best Diet Coke - started thinking that maybe they gave us real Coke! We went out to dinner afterwards and just enjoyed catching up on all of our news - she used to work at the newspaper with me.

Sunday my Mom, sister and myself went to hear the Long Bay Symphony - it was really great - the performers were excellent - violinist, Asmira Woodward-Page - the whole event. We all had a good time!

Friends

Monday morning I was leaving my home early and got in my car only to have it do that ominous "click click" as I turned the key in the ignition. I immediately tried to call my sister who lives nearby to catch a ride with her but she had already left for work. I then called Kik at work and explained what had happened and she said she would call her husband right away. I hung up and then thought to call my friend, Kelly, who also lives nearby and when I got a hold of her she immediately told me she would be right over. I called Kik back and told her Kelly was coming - and Ken who was going to come to help me didn't need to.

Kelly arrived in her brand new Hyundai Sonata - drove back to her house with me - handed me the keys and told me to keep the car for the day - she didn't need it - and that her husband, Dana, would be over to look at my car later (she took my car keys). I drove her great car with fabulous pick up!!! and when I got home that night they came over - he had a charger to charge my battery - then went back to his office and got a battery tester so he could test my battery and make sure that it wasnn't something more serious - he said I apparently had left the dome light on inside the car - and did I mention that a light rain was falling this whole time?

One of my daughters said that Kelly never stops at square one when she is helping a someone - she always goes right to the limit - without any hesitation. Dana was once driving past our house when he saw that April had a flat and immediately stopped and changed the tire for her - then went and got her new tires on her car!!! They come running everytime someone needs help - no matter who you are - she once noticed an elderly woman in the supermarket and she began helping her and visiting her at her home nearby - there are just countless stories of their willingness to help you when you're in trouble.

Friends like Kelly and Dana are pure gold.

The visit to Mount Vernon with all of our family was my first. The home sits on top of a high bluff overlooking the Potomac River. This is the front of the house - and across the back - which overlooks the river - is a long porch with rocking chairs that anyone can sit in and watch the river.

We were in a line that slowly went through the home and if you look at the main door above you will see a door to the left - that is the doorway we entered to view the first room which was a wonderful formal dining room with some original furniture from George Washington's home. The woman that greeted us told us some really interesting things about the room and as we were ready to leave the room to go to the next she said, "Let me stand back so you may look into the same mirror that George Washington looked into." With those words I looked across from where I was standing directly into a very large gilt framed mirror at myself and had such a sense of history - being able to view a part of his life and time - and tears came to my eyes as it just seemed that I was able to look into who he was - to feel history just wrap itself around me and then I moved on to the next room.

A River Runs Through It

First time posting photos and Heather and I are having problems - but forging ahead anyway - this is the river that is one block from her home - the Delaware. We are having beautiful fall weather!

This is a building in the National Park near their home - rest rooms - the stone work was great.

I loved the light in this photo - Heather took the top one and I took these two - I hope to post more tomorrow!

Road Trip!!!

My Mom, sister, Kik, Ken and myself are all leaving tomorrow for D.C. for a mini-family reunion to visit my daughter, April, and my other daughter, Lauren, and her husband and son in D.C. My younger brother, his wife and their four daughters and their new granddaughter will be meeting us there!!! We are all so excited - and then after the weekend I get to go home with my daughter, Heather, and her family and I get to spend the week in Pennsylvania in the Fall!!! I fly home on the 19th!!! So this is really going to be fun!!! I love taking a road trip with family - good conversation - lots of laughs - and always good snacks!!

Heather's Birthday!!!

Her older sister, Kik, started this with all the memories and today is a good day for us to remember all the fun and joy she has brought to the family.

Heather was my first C-section - after being induced for many hours they decided to do a C-section so she wouldn' get over 10 lbs. - her older sister, Kik, had been 9 lbs. 6 oz. - so they delivered her and she was 11 lbs. 14 ozs. and 23 in. long!!! and the fun began. The nurses asked me to have my husband bring in one of his T-shirts so they would have something to dress her in - they all fought over her and she was carried all over the place.

Everyone in our family has a great sense of humor (it is required) but Heather is the one who could really do stand-up comedy - one of my favorite phone calls from her after she had her son - came to me at work and she was whispering on the phone saying, "Mom, this is the worst baby-sitting job I have ever had - the baby won't stop crying and the parents are late coming home - will you come pick me up as soon as the Mom gets home????" I knew we were in for a wild ride after that! She is unbelievable with the faces she can make and the voices she can use - we still laugh when she does the voice of an old employer she can imitate when she was waitressing in NYC.

Heather can laugh with you and she can cry with you - her heart is so tender - I remember when a boy was making her life miserable in elementary school and she began to pray for him - and I was able to see the whole situation change. I also remember hearing about how the sisters went to their younger sister's school one day and threatened someone who was bullying their sister - Kik and Heather were always protective of their younger sisters. I just remembered the time I caught Heather and a friend playing with a can of hairspray!!!! - Heather and her escapades with her best friend, Trisha!!!

We have a tradition in our family that when we bring the new baby home the child before gets to be the first one to hold the new baby when we get in the door - I have so many great photos of that moment - and I love the one where Kik is holding Heather.

Heather has grown as a woman, wife, mother, sister, daughter and most important of all it has been a blessing to me as a mother to see her grow as a woman of faith - one who can counsel - one who is ready to drop everything and babysit for your kids - give you a ride - cook a dinner - and is always ready to pray with or for you. God bless you dear Heather - we all love you!

Thank you!

I just want to say thank you to the wonderful world of blogging - it is so great to learn about each other - find out great titles of books - recipes - craft ideas - and really just be able to share some part of our lives with each other. There are really so many intelligent, caring, creative women out there and I am really impressed and sometimes wish I could start all over again with motherhood and being able to blog - so much help is available and I really love to see the caring that is expressed.

I know I am not including Rock Chef in this - but I really appreciate being able to see into his world too and get his view on his life and our lives.

The writing is so well done everywhere I go - the photos - videos - artwork - layout is just great - thank you all!