Friday Favorites: Black-Eyed Susans

I drove by these pretty flowers at the Publix shopping center and had to take a picture. I have always loved these bright yellow flowers and they looked so cheery!

Black-Eyed Susans are the state flower of Maryland, where my mom was born and raised and where I was also born. I remember when I was a little girl and we'd be driving somewhere on vacation and Mom would point out these flowers to us when she'd spot them along the side of the road. Just one of the fun facts we'd learn while we drove the thousands of miles on our family vacations!

Frozen

See that sweet, little hand resting on her cheek, leaning on my leg? That's how I got sit to watch the movie, "Frozen" for the first time the other night (yes, I'm eight months behind). Mary Lane, Erica and Jeanette needed to spend the night at my house while Russell and some other guys painted their house, so I thought it would be fun to watch the movie together.

I loved the movie, but my two favorite parts were not on the screen. One was having Mary Lane cuddle next to me for the entire length of the movie (well, she got a little fidgety towards the end when she was trying keep from getting too sleepy). She would give me a little running commentary along the way. When it first started, she looked at me and said, "We only have the songs, not the movie," meaning that they watch videos of the songs on You Tube, but haven't gotten their own copy of the DVD (yet). We had fun laughing at Olaf the snowman and I comforted her when things got a little suspenseful. So sweet!

My other favorite part was when the first notes of "Let It Go" started playing. It may have taken me eight months to see the movie, but I haven't had my head in a cave all this time, so I knew what was coming. I think I may have even alerted Erica to what song was coming up (probably not, she's a smart cookie). She had been lying next to me on the couch, quietly watching the movie, but when those first notes of the song began, she got up and stood in front of the TV and sang along with Elsa and did the motions, too! It was a phenomenon I hadn't seen before! I couldn't decide whether to watch the movie or Erica. So cute!

I'm so glad that I waited to watch that movie with my nieces so that I could put that night in my memory bank for times when we can't sit together on the couch!

Friday Favorite: The Peach Truck

 I'm sure a lot of people in Nashville have been buying Georgia peaches from The Peach Truck for a while now, but I finally happened on their stand at the Nashville Farmer's Market and bought a bag.

All I can say is "YUM!"

In fact, I got the first bag and didn't even eat one out of hand, but used them to make a cobbler for my coworkers (every four or five years or so, I get into a mood to make something to bring to work--ha). I used a recipe from a cookbook I own, but the recipe on The Peach Truck website is very similar.

And again, YUM!

I checked where I could find The Peach Truck peaches closer to my house and discovered that they are set up at Farmin' in the Hall every Thursday from 5:00-8:00pm at the Crievewood United Methodist Church. Oh yeah, it's on my way home from work! And yes, I bought another bag last week. I've been eating those peaches with the juice dripping down my arm. YUM!

I guess I'll have to go buy some more, though, because I want to make what The Peach Truck people call "Peach Icebox Cake." It looks so delicious! And I'll need to share!

Roll Call

I've been blogging since February 19, 2008! This post makes 565 times that I've written something and hit "publish" (well, truth be told, I've written some things that I didn't let anyone else read).

Early on, blogs were a bigger deal than Facebook (gasp!). Back in 2008, Facebook was just starting to be on the radar of people outside of college campuses, so when people read blogs, they commented more. Now, I read some more popular blogs with large reader bases and those get lots of comments. In fact, I kind of worry about some of the people who comment because I'm not sure if they have forgotten that they aren't really friends with the bloggers. And some forget that the bloggers are real people with real feelings. Yikes! I've read some ugly comments that people make to a writer they haven't ever met in real life!

Back to my little blog, I haven't been getting many comments lately, so I wonder if anyone besides my dear mother and sister read what I'm writing. Granted, a lot of what I write about is for our family history, so to speak, but still, it would be nice to know if anyone else out there is reading.

So, I'd like to do a roll call! Please make a comment and let me know who you are and where you are from. I know that I can see some stats on my blog, but this will feel more personal.

And you never know, maybe I'll have some kind of surprise for you if you comment!

A whole lot of celebrating going on!

In the span of six days, we have celebrated Daniel's birthday, our nation's birthday and Mary Lane's birthday! That's a whole lot of celebrating! And it was fun!

First off, we had Daniel's requested dinner of barbeque (with all the fixings) and key lime pie! Jeanette and the girls blew up a bunch of balloons (did you know there's a helium shortage in Nashville?) and hung them around the dining room. Erica was thrilled when she discovered that she can blow up a balloon by herself. Mary Lane enjoyed blowing up as much as she could and then letting it go to have the air blow back in her face. Giggles followed!

On the Fourth of July, we all went to Grandma's apartment and had another feast of left-over barbeque, hot dogs and some yummy side dishes and dessert. After supper, we headed up to the rooftop (13th floor) to watch fireworks from every direction. We could have probably seen the downtown Nashville show, but it ended up starting late and we decided to call it a night. It was fun to party on the rooftop and to be able to see for miles across the Nashville area.

Last, but not least, today was Mary Lane's 4th birthday, so we got to have her birthday dinner tonight. Her only request was a cake, but her Mommy added some real food to balance things out. Mary Lane had fun opening presents and loved her pink cake with marshmallows and "MLB" written on top (Mary Lane's Birthday, of course!). It is a gift to be able to have all this family time together this summer!

Nineteen!

This little baby boy is turning nineteen today!

In some ways, it seems like just yesterday, and in other ways, I feel like he should be about thirty by now! I had no idea when I was holding him that first day in the hospital that the rest of his life would be a series of lessons in letting go. And that's how it's supposed to be. 

My baby boy has grown into a man and I am proud of his maturity and ability to go out into the world and do what God has planned for him to do. And I am thankful for how God has drawn Daniel to Himself and has guided us through each of those lessons (and continues to do that).

I have my spurts of "mom worrying," but most of it is just conjured up in my head. This year with Daniel away for his freshman year in college, I'd think of something to worry about and then I'd ask him about whatever it was the next time we talked. His response always set my mind at ease and I had to find something else to worry about. 

It's been a joy this year to watch Daniel make his way as a college student and find his new places on campus and in Knoxville. I realized earlier this year that God had truly answered my prayers for Daniel when I prayed that he would "grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52).

Happy Birthday, Daniel! I can't wait to continue to watch as God reveals all that He has in store for you this next year and into the next decade and beyond!

If you want to walk down memory lane with me, you can read some other birthday blog posts:
Eighteen
I Must Have Blinked
A Special Day in Our Family (Birth story)