George and I left our home on June 7th and headed to a marvelous bed and breakfast called White Stone Inn in Kingston, TN and it was one of the nicest B&B we’ve ever visited. Since we had the anniversary package, we got a one hour massage each, half hour carriage ride around the farm, and a dozen long stem red roses!  The different rooms were all so big and had everything you’d need plus more (hot tub for us)…the grounds were full of gorgeous flowers and things to do…trails to walk…hammocks to relax in…deer to watch, etc. The meals we had were great and they were so accommodating to me with my having to eat gluten free. We had a most relaxing two days to celebrate by ourselves and that was so nice!!!
On Saturday, June 9th, we headed to Tuscumbia, AL. where we were blessed to have four of our five children join us…along with12 of our 15 grandchildren…for four days of family fun. Sunday the kids hosted a BIG anniversary party for us and it was so fun. We were blessed to have George’s cousins Jerry, Jimmy, Rita, Gary Don…George’s brother Chipper, Marjorie, Jordan…my brother Lawrence, Linda, and Buddy…my sister Linda, Jim, Jimbo, Danna, Zane, Emma, Michael, Amy, Gavin, Sadie…and our friends from MO., via Louisville, Isaac, Jennie, Josiah, Terza, Bethel, Derby. We had a house full and there was a great meal of bar-b-q with all the fixings. They also had a beautiful cake made that they all enjoyed…even made gluten free cup cakes for me…and punch. No one went away hungry, that’s for sure! We all missed Clark, Vanessa, Sean, Branden, and Lacey but Clark’s job scheduled a big audit that prevented them from coming and the long distance prevented the kids from joining us….they were there in spirit and phone calls, along with several text messages that were being sent often. They, also, had a video playing during the party that made me cry the first time I saw it. It was so sweet and depicted our lives from childhood to today…even included pictures of some of our precious foster children…and some photo’s of people we didn’t quite know that would be in the great-grandparent stages. Priceless!
We enjoyed the “over-the-top” house the kids rented…5 bedrooms, plus a bonus room that would sleep 8…4 or 5 full baths and 2 1/2 baths…two kitchens…and two family rooms plus a big front porch, large upper back deck and a lower deck plus a nice size boat dock. We got to wave at a lot of the “big” boats, as the twins called them, and caught a few fish in the process. I guess Carter caught the biggest cat fish from here but not the biggest fish of the trip. Several went over by the dam to fish on Tuesday morning and Meredith caught a big drum while Grayson caught a BIG bass. The entire time I fished, I caught ONE fair size bluegill but it was fun trying…until the bait got stinky and then I quit!
We spent quite a bit of time on a tour of Florence on Monday so George could show us where he grew up, along where his family lived, his high school, and where his dad worked. It was fun and I think enjoyed by everyone.
We all headed for our individual homes on Wednesday and are now back to the reality of what our life consist of at home. It was so fun, appreciated more that you can imagine, and we have fond memories that will last us the remainder of our lives. Thanks to our Lord and Savior for blessing us with such great children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends. We got so many cards, notes, a check, crystal bowl, and gift cards. so we feel so blessed and pampered. Thank you, thank you.
Guess that’s about sums it up and I’m sure George can post some pictures later. Melissa took a bunch and will be putting them in a album for us to down load at some point. Have a great week-end and stay cool!
Blessings…….