Wow! Time Flies

I find it hard to believe that it has been four months since I have added anything to my blog, but I am not into it as much as some people. I keep up with facebook....well....I stay on facebook too much, but thought I would catch up a bit with this. Things have been really busy for us during the spring and summer, but there have been a number of good things happening.

A very proud Mom and Dad with their honor graduate.

Reagan granduated from Mississippi College in May. We are so proud of her and the entire family was able to be there. My how time flies! When did she grow up on us?

Our Family

Good friends, Elizabeth Halford, Dana Holloway, Rachel Moore, Reagan and Dru Anderson

Reagan with her Swannanoa family, minus Rebecca Moore. 

That was an especially memorable day because we found out that Bryant and LeAnna are going to be parents in December. Yeah for grandbaby #2.

The parents-to-be!

The week after Reagan's graduation, Willie and I traveled to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for the MS Self Storage Association meeting held at Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis, MS.  It was an informative meeting and a nice chance to get away for a few days.

A pretty little town on the MS Gulf Coast.

At the Mockingbird Cafe one morning.

Waiting on our order at the Mockingbird Cafe. 

It has been nearly a year since I started working part-time at Northside Self Storage.  Oh, what an interesting job that is-working with my 85 year old father-in-law, who owns the business, and one of his younger brothers.  There is never a dull moment when it comes to those two and the computer. 

We traveled to Memphis weekend after Reagan's graduation to help take care of Ellington so Lane and Robert could enjoy the festivities surrounding the wedding of Robert's brother, Daniel, and Laura Barclay.

Ellington, Robert and Lane

Ellington with her Uncle Daniel and Aunt Laura

Bryant and LeAnna, also, became homeowners and bought there first home in May. Wow! How time flies? They are really grown ups now....a house and a baby.

The daughter of our dear friends, Frank and Janet Moore, was married on May 22nd. I had the privilege of hosting the bridesmaids' luncheon on the day before the wedding. Rachel and Reagan have been friends since they were little girls. My how time flies! When did they grow up?

Sweet girls.  Rachel's sisters and great friends from Mississippi College.

I loved using my china, crystal and linen tablecloths.  We don't do that nearly enough.    I think it was a success!

It was such a pleasure to host the bridesmaids' luncheon for this beautiful bride.  What a joy to have watched her grow up and become a lovely young lady.

Reagan Erin Jackson and Rachel Margaret Moore.  Sweet friends!

Jace and Rachel Roberts

Our annual trip to Destin for the Southern Feed and Grain Convention included the first beach trip for our Ellington. I think we all wondered how she would make it on the trip to Florida and while we were there, but she did great. Not to mention the fact that she is such a cutie. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with our friends, Frank and Janet, in their beach house. It was a real treat having them fix supper for us and going with us to the beach to take some pics of Ellington.

This is the view from our balcony at the Sandestin Resort.

Ellington enjoying some pool time.

Such a sweet family, Lane, Ellington and Robert Connerley.

Our sweet Ellington Elise Connerley

Willie, Reagan and Susan Jackson, Lane, Ellington and Robert Connerley

Willie and I with Frank and Janet Moore.  The Lord truly blessed us when He provided these two for friends.

Can Ellington really be 9 months old?  Surely not!  Wasn't she just born?  My how time flies.

Ellington-What a privilege to be grandparents! 

We are now getting ready for the Neshoba County Fair and I think I will do a post on how our weeks turns out. My how time flies! Is it time for the fair again? The next thing you know, it will be Christmas.

Babies Are Like That! Yes, They Are

A recent weekend was made much better by Lane and Ellington coming to visit while Robert was in Memphis for a "Guys Weekend" for his brother who will be getting married in May. Ellington had not had a good week. She seemed to not feel well part of the time. After taking her to the doctor to make sure it wasn't the beginning of another ear infection, we blamed it on teething because she was slobbering all over the place. Since she can't actually tell us, we are just guessing. It was evident from the moment of their arrival that Ellington wasn't really interested in socializing. She did a little bit, but not much. She didn't seem to want anyone to have anything much to do with her other than her mother. But we know, babies are like that. Yes, they are! You can't get your feelings hurt. It's just a phase they go through, but is sure is frustrating when you want to help your daughter out by taking care of the little munchkin for a while only to have her scream bloody murder. But, babies are like that. We were delighted to have Lane and Ellington visit even if I felt I wasn't able to help Lane any by taking care of Ellington and giving her a little break from the responsibilities of motherhood.

The weather was pretty darn nice on Friday so an evening trip to the pond with Pop was in order. Lane fed the fish while her dog Gus eyed the deck. He wants to go out on it so bad, but he is really scared of it for some reason. I guess he thinks he might fall off and I don't think he has had swimming lessons.

Reagan and I spent Saturday scrapbooking and Lane and Ellington joined us to visit, so they wouldn't be at my house by themselves. Reagan kindly fixed supper for us which is always a treat when someone else does that.

I bought a jumperoo from a friend. It was a good deal and I figured that if Lane didn't want to take it to Starkville we could keep it here for Ellington to use when she came to Gigi and Pop's house. Of course, Ellington hasn't figured out the jumping part of it, but it won't be too long before she is jumping like a kangaroo.

We think she is such a cutie. Grandchildren are definitely GRAND!

Reagan has been so busy with her last year of college that she hasn't been able to spend a lot of time getting to know Ellington, but I can tell they are going to be big buddies one day. I think the term will be, "Partners in Crime."

Ellington was pretty stingy with her smiles this weekend, but her Mom could usually coax one out of her.

All in all it was a good weekend, but I sure will be happy when Ellington is a little more social.  She really is a sweetie, but it is hard to be sociable when you don't feel well.  Not to mention just being in that phase where she only wants Mom or Dad.  We understand....and this too, shall pass. Babies are like that. Yes, they are!

Isn't She Grand?!?

What can I say about my first grandchild? She is truly grand. It is so wonderful to be able to spend time with her and watch her grown. Ellington has provided some challenges for her parents, but she is so sweet, too. She can't help it that she developed colic or that she was so big that her mom had a hard time delivering her and then recuperating. None of that was her fault. She is wary of strangers and can be stingy with her smiles when she wants to be.



It is a delight to watch her parents interact with her. They both love her so much and I am so proud of them for weathering the storms that have come their way... a difficult recovery period, colic, ear infections, and a Dad that works at night and goes to class. They are handling their responsibilities so well. What a blessing to observe them grow into their role of parents.










She's such a cutie. I love her so much.

One of My Passions

So, yes, I am a passionate person. I might not look passionate to you, but there are several things I can really get worked up about. Since I was a young teenager living in Virginia I have been wildly passionate about college basketball...especially March Madness.



MARCH MADNESS

Nestled in the middle of the ACC, I couldn't help but fall in love with University of North Carolins (UNC). They were my favorite and I firmly felt that if "God was not a Tarheel, why was the sky Carolina blue." I remember finally beating UCLA which was a major accomplishment and loving me some Phil Ford. As life would have it, I moved from that area in 1978, so after a while my love for ACC basketball was replaced by my love for the SEC and Mississippi State in particular. This past weekend found five of us, Willie, Bryant, LeAnna, Reagan and me in Nashville for the SEC Tournament.


I remembered how exciting a tournament can be, how I HATE Kentucky blue and how scalpers can cause you to watch a championship game from your hotel room.


Mississippi State had a fabulous run in the tournament and should have won....would have won, except for 1 second. Not the first time KY has beat us at the last second. They have done it several times, but I sure was furious on Sunday afternoon. Our loss left us out of the NCAA Tournament. KY was assured of a bid. Now, just think about it, KY ranked no. 2 in the nation. We take them to overtime on two different games this season and would have won the tournament if not for ONE second. Now I know you can say that we should have taken care of business, but boy my boys were playing their hearts out. This loss didn't just mean they were not SEC tournament champions, we discovered a couple hours later, it meant no NCAA bid. That just wasn't right.



Bryant taking some pics from the rafters.


Now back to my beloved UNC, who has had an awful season for them...Guess who MSU plays on Saturday??!! Yes, that's right, the Tarheels will be at the Hump. I never thought I'd see that happen. It will be such an exciting atmosphere and while there was a time I never thought I would say anything like this, I sure hope we can beat the stew out of them. Actually, I hope we beat the stew out of everyone and win the NIT....Take that you NCAA Selection Committee, who apparently was too busy filling out their brackets with their predetermined winners that they didn't have time to watch our game. I called them nincompoops on facebook and I think that is a good description. They really messed up and I hope they figure that out in a few days.

On another note, when we were traveling to Nashville, we were about one hour out, when what to our wondering eyes did appear, but roadkill surrounded by some large buzzards. As we approached, they naturally too flight and one managed to fly right into our windshield. It shattered, but fortunately didn't end up in our laps and the buzzard didn't end up in the car with us. But we did have to turn around, drive back to Philadelphia, switch everything to Reagan's car then head out again. Bottom line is that we weren't hurt, we have a new windshield and we still made it to Nashville in time to get checked into our hotel, get tickets and see the Bulldogs defeat Florida---who did make it into the NCAA Tournament and who has been put out in the first round....but to their credit, they were a 16 seed, playing a 1 seed and took them to overtime.

--Reagan and LeAnna

March, Already???

Can it possibly be the first day of March? What in the world happened to January and February? Oh, I know, we were shivering through them. Yes, Mississippi has actually had a winter this year. We even had some snow! As you can imagine, that doesn't happen very often in the Magnolia State.
We began the month of January by celebrating the 85th birthday of my father-in-law, O. D. Jackson. It was a cold, cold day, but our hearts were warmed as so many of his family and friends braved the very frigid temperatures to celebrate with us. And our entire immediate family was here, too...me, Willie, Bryant, LeAnna, Lane, Robert, Ellington and Reagan. It just doesn't get much better than having us all together.

For some reason, I have spent a good deal of time contemplating some things recently. Nothing earth shattering, but at the same time important. I have come to realize that small things are often the most important. You know, kindnesses shown to each other, finding time to just help out a little, or time for a short visit. Things like sitting and reading, sharing your wisdom with others and encouraging people you meet....maybe with just a smile, but oh, how important that can be. I hope my children understand that and as they have children and raise families, I hope they can impart that to their offspring. I have come to understand that we do not always have to be on the go and your children don't have to do everything. Of course, we desire to give them opportunities, but sometimes the best thing we can do is just be still. How can we ever hear that still small voice of our Lord, if we are always on the go and always doing the talking? It won't happen. Then we will wonder where we went wrong, only to discover that it was in our busy-ness of life that prevented us from attaining the most important...insights from God. Remember, if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy....The tyranny of the urgent will prevent you from taking time for the important. I also have come to a greater understanding of the value of friendship. Sometimes I think we feel friends are there for our enjoyment, but oh, how important for them to be there for our trials. Cherish your friendships. Value the old and always look to make new ones. You may need their help one day just as they may need yours. God gives us friends for a reason. As I said, nothing here is earth shattering, but just things we all need to remind ourselves of from time to time.

We continue to find much enjoyment out of our new role as grandparents. We have not seen Ellington quite as much lately and I am sure she will be a different child the next time we do see her. She needs to come to Gigi and Pop's for a couple of days. As soon as I can get finished with some of the classroom demonstrations I am doing for the MSU Writing/Thinking Institute and we get Uncle Windell back to work at Northside Self Storage, we will be in the business of providing Lane and Robert with a couple of days break from parent duty.

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I am so looking forward to warmer weather. I saw some jonquils blooming today on my way home from Meridian where I was doing classroom demonstrations in two different schools. They always warm my heart even if has started turning colder and begun to rain .... again. They say we may have some snow tonight.... Crazy, we have had several snow "events" this year although only one amounted to anything.
Looking forward to spring. It can't get here soon enough.