Praying for my Grandmother today...

I am devoting this entire day to praying for my grandmother. I always pray for her, but today, God gets to hear me talk about her all day.

My grandmother is 90, but has never acted a day over 30! This past year there have been many times when her aging body has let her down, and those times are more frequent now and the "rebounding" is not as long. This week I have spent a lot of time with her in the hospital. She is not doing very well, and seems to be so restless. While she sleeps many hours of the day, and is too tired to speak to me, we are communicating in a very unique way. When I announce that I am in the room, she will blink and look my way. As I rub her back, stroke her hair and kiss her forehead, she smiles. Each time I lay my hand on her, I thank my God for her life and pray that she is not in pain.

Wanted to share a few pictures of my beautiful grandmother. Did I mention that she has no wrinkles on her face for 90?? Wow...gotta stay outta that sun! What an amazing legacy she is to all of us!

Here she is at the beach with the kiddos in 2007

With my kids at Thanksgiving this year.

Here is what she wanted to do for her 90th birthday!

Her party with my son

Campbell and Grandmother have a very special relationship

For the LOVE of pillows!

Here she is! The FIRST Valentine's pillow!

Snowballs!

Don't laugh... it is a RECIPE from me! These are delicious!!

Here is a good ol' southern recipe for cake balls, but I think that sounds gross, so I call them "snowballs". YUM!!!

I got this recipe from blogger Kelly, and her pictures were so good, that I used those too!

You can use any kind of cake and icing, but the red velvet are my favorite (Carla).


FIRST....

Here are the "extra" items you will need, and you just bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box.

When it's still warm - crumble it up in a bowl and mix in a can of frosting (I used cream cheese with the red velvet!)IMPORTANT STEP: Refrigerate the cake and frosting for about an hour before you start to make the balls.

Handy little Pampered Chef scooper to make balls.

Melt almond bark (either vanilla or chocolate - depending on your cake) and dip balls in the bark. You could use toothpicks or a fork - but I used this egg separator and it worked GREAT!

VOILA!

Hi Ya'll (Part 2)

Here ya go! This is the second list I have compiled of things that make me appreciate (or maybe just think about) the SOUTH. It seems funny to me that it doesn't take a long time for me to think of these things!

We all love BLUE BELL ICE CREAM!!! I bet they love it in the North too, but it is found in all our grocery stores, and originated in the South.

When referring to the Piggly Wiggly super market, we simply refer to it as "The Pig".

Our grandmother's and mother's silver includes true "teaspoons". They have longer handles to reach the bottom of those tall glasses of tea.

Enough said!

We wear our Lilly from birth!

Azalea bushes line our streets and homes.

We hope the NEVER stop showing Andy Griffith reruns!

Wicked Friday

Tonight I have a date with my husband... and a musical that I have been wanting to see for so long. We are very excited and are ready to enjoy a night away. Have any of you seen it?

Fancy Piper Ann-cy!

This weekend was a lot of fun! My niece Piper Ann turned the big 6 this Saturday, and you know what that means... two hands to tell people how old you are! Anyway, she decided to go with the OH SO FUN, Fancy Nancy theme! Little princesses with boas, pearls, glitter finger nail polish, and sunglasses were running all around with giggles of glee, and of course... pinky's up!

Aunt Meg (my younger sister) was told to dress like the actual Fancy Nancy... I think that she is a pretty close match. Such a trooper! Piper Ann is to the left, and my daughter, Campbell, on the right.

"Frenchy" the posh puppy

I loved the tu-tu!


Campbell was so ready to get the party started!

One of the table decorations

My mom, GranAnn painted all the nails.

Shopping at Piper's Posh boutique.

GranAnn read stories about Fancy Nancy.

What a bunch of cuties!

They were so stylish!

Pick your crown!

My sister set up a store, where they could shop for goods to make themselves "fancy".

Cousins that love each other!

Hi Ya'll!

I often find myself drawn to things that remind me that I was born and raised in the South. I love ALL things southern, whether I eat them, own them, visit them, or say them! Can YA'LL hear what I am a sayin'?

Therefor, I pledge to to come up with twenty (or so) things that I love about being a southerner each week and to post them for you to enjoy. Maybe a few of these will remind you of how great it is to be in the SOUTH!

1. Kentucky Derby Hats and Derby Pies

2. Lazy Susan's on your grandmothers table

3. Farmer's Markets in the Fall and Spring

4. Before meals, always asking who would like to say "Grace"

5. Everyone trying a Bourbon Ball at Christmas (even if you don't drink or if you are only 12 years old).

6. French Doors

7. Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cream sandwiches

8. Subscribing to Southern Living Magazine, even if you don't read it.

9. Waving to people whether you know them or not.

10. White Linen (not before Easter or after Labor Day)

11. Not just attending VBS in the summer, but actually having a VBS commencement at the end of the week.

12. Coca-Cola in the glass bottle

13. Casserole compassion for the bereaved

14. Men who will wear seersucker suits

15. Deviled Eggs served on fancy plates

16. Anyone who greets you with "Mornin' Ya'll"

17. Gravy Boats at the table

18. CHEERWINE

19. Handwritten Thank-You notes

20. Framed copy of your momma's spattered recipe.

ENJOY!!!

Amy