Father's Dad

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but today I'm thinking about my dad...he was a wonderful man and I would give anything to be able to give him just one more hug and tell him how much I love him. He died in a motorcycle accident in 1983 (I think it was 1983). I can still see him sitting at the kitchen table drinking his coffee and talking to all the neighbors that stopped by. I remember the thrill it was the night he was baptized into Christ after so many years of mama taking all four of us to church and praying so hard that he would decided that he want to put on Christ in baptism. I remember going to town with him and every one throwing up a hand and calling hello to Tracy and being proud that he was my dad. I remember him making me chop cotton to earn money for things I wanted then him giving me not only the pay for the work but the money for what i was working for anyway. I remember his eyes lighting up when he would see Tamara Lynn or Laura or Joe(y) for he loved his grandchildren. You will always be my "diddy" and I will always hold a special place for you in my heart.

I was also blessed to have a step-daddy for 20 years. He never had children of his own so we were the children of his heart and he treated each of us and each grand child as if they were his very own. Our first Christmas with him was more fun...He was the biggest child of all there because he'd never had a big Christmas with a big family and it was so fun to watch his face and see the joy there. He took great care of our mother in her declining years and for that I will forever be grateful. He died of cancer in Dec. 2007. Mama died in Feb. of 2008. She lost her will to live after she lost him.

You know the old saying that anyone can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a daddy...well, thank you, Lord, that I have been blessed to have two daddys in my life. Here's to you: Tracy Skelton and Mutt Kemp!

Colorado Trip

This is the ceramic mug that I got served hot tea in in first class on the way to Colorado. I got bumped to first class for some reason. On the way home, Tim did, too. I had a lot of fun laughing at him when we got home because he didn't realize that all the food and drink in first class was free and he only had a cup of coffee. I had hot tea and sparking water and great snacks!
This is the guys waiting on Cathy and Noah to arrive.
Angie waiting.
The view from our condo. It was beautiful!
A bison light switch plate in the condo were we stayed. I wanted one like it really bad but I never got the chance to go shopping!

Canada Trip

These are the flowers Tim sent me for Valentines. I got to enjoy a couple of days before I left for Canada. They were still pretty when I got home but didn't last too much longer. It's the thought that counts!
At the first of the month, Tim went skiing in Utah on his annual man trip so I went to Canada to see Laura, John, and of course, Nigel. He's growing so much and getting to have such a sweet, cute personality!
I arrived on Sunday night and stayed all day Monday and Tuesday and left on Wednesday morning. John and Laura went out for coffee with friends on Monday afternoon and after Laura taught her class on Monday night, John met her for dinner and I got to keep Nigel all by myself. He was such a sweetie.

These "snow pictures" are for you, Wil. They were having a heat wave while I was there (36-40 degrees) and the snow was yucky and melty, but in some spots on the streets it was piled up as high as me! I could hardly believe how much was still piled up when it was so warm. Nigel likes to ride in his stroller almost standing up. That way he can see everything around him and the cold doesn't seem to bother him at all. He loves to be outside. On Tuesday, Laura and I went out for lunch. Nigel loved riding around but he didn't like it one bit when she tried to lay him back so he could sleep...he fell asleep just like he was! I'll have to go back in April so I can see them again. Can't let Nigel grow up without knowing his Grammie Tammie!

Family Gathering

Terri, Diana, Joy, Tammie
Lynn and Tim

My cousins, Joy and Lynn Rockenbach, from Little Rock and Terri Watkins from Merigold, MS came up today along with my sister, Diana from Corinth. It was so nice to be together and visit and have fun and replay the memories from our childhood and make new ones WITHOUT being at a funeral! It seems like in the last few years, that's the only time we get together any more. We need to have more fun times like this! Finding a place to eat lunch seemed to be a comedy of errors...First we went to the DMC Soul Food Cafe...it was closed so we decided we'd have Italian and we went to Polla Pasta. It's open every day for lunch except...you guessed it...Saturday, so we finally ended up at J Alexander's. We had a great time! We just need to gather more cousins and do it more often!

Favorite Video

This has to be one of my all time favorite videos. I can definitely identify with this woman! I think my favorite line is "Well, we didn't know it's be YOU! We were hoping for someone with a JOB!"

Lost Generation

I really like the message of this youtube video!

Wonderful Christmas Season!

Look at this beautiful smile! Nigel is such a cutie! We are really going to miss him and John and Laura, too. I'm already planning my next trip to Canada. Can't let that precious little one grow up without knowing me!
He's chewing on a toothbrush in this photo. What could be more appropriate?
Laura, John, and Nigel came in on December 22nd. As you can tell in this photo, it's a grandmother's joy to hold the sleeping grandbaby as long as she can.
We started our holidays with a surprise 30th birthday party for our "adopted" son, Daniel. His wife, Suzanne, put in lots of work to make it be a fun surprise party for him complete with an airplane cake. The only thing is that the cake maker didn't realize that she had to put wheels on the plane therefore, it appeared that he had a belly in landing, but like they say, any landing you can walk away from is a good one!

We had lots of family and friends in and out while the Hacker-Wrights were here and we enjoyed every minute of it. John's mom joined us from Austin, Texas a couple of days. My family all came and of course our Harding friends came for our annual sleep over.
It was a wonderful time!

Hope you all have a Happy 2009!