Seems We Just Got Started

If you have or had a child that has gone to Iuka Elementary School, y'all know what this is all about. For you out-of-towners, here in Iuka (probably other schools too) if your child stays on a green dot all week that was a good thing, 'cause they could get in the treasure box. Oh they got other colors to but green was the highest and our goal. As long as I can remember, on Fridays our kids got a treat. Nikki and Beth didn't do dots when they were in school. Someone thought that up later, so we would go get a snow cone on Fridays. I know when Jay and I (substitute teacher) were in school we had dots. Now some of you may not like them dots but I did. Lord, in our room you had to really do something awful to get your card turned past yellow, and I can honestly say no one got below a yellow. I think we would threaten you 3 times then... yellow was your color after that. No gettin' in that treasure box that Friday. :(  Those dots worked in our house. If you stayed on gre...

3 lbs 11oz  16 1/2 inches long In the late fall of '93 I had gotten the kids off to school, and at the time they went to two different school. I got back home and started feeling a little different.  Sick as a dog. I don't know about y'all but I knew after kid #2 the difference between a virus and a pregnancy virus. Oh my goodness, I thought we were done. However we certainly didn't do anything to prevent this but nine years had gone by and Nothing. I remember it was Jay's birthday and we decided to let him have his day.  Later that evening we broke the news. We told the kids to go sit in the den we had some news to tell them. Me: Y'all see those pictures on the wall. Kids: Uh huh Me: Well we are gonna be adding another one up there. Nikki: Oh my gosh, HOW EMBARRASSING !!! I am in the 8th grade!!! And she stomps off. The other two were pretty cool about this. I don't know if it was because I was older or what but this pregnancy knocked me on m...

Y'all remember practicing for your big day "getting your drivers licence". I would dream of the day Mama would be in the kitchen cooking and would need me to drive to the grocery store (by myself) and pick up some milk, just milk. I don't remember that ever happening but that was my dream ride. You see I could take the back road and it was gravel at the time. I figured out real quick if I hit the brake real hard the car would slide a little (ok, a lot sometimes). She must have known better; that's why she got her own milk. I remember having my licence only a week and we were coming back from a family reunion near Cross Roads. Y'all know Grisham Hill on 25 North (back then that hill was bigger I do believe)? I was behind a log truck (yes, a log truck on Sunday) and I thought I needed to pass it. I had never passed before and, needless to say, I forgot to run this idea by Mama. Well it was all clear, so here I go. Mama must have been looking down or swattin...

Laura Nicole  Darwin 7lbs, 11oz and 20 inches long Back in '80 we were living in Jacksonville, Florida and I was working at a store called Woolco, it was alot  like Wal-mart is today, in case you're not as old as me. One day I was telling a co-worker about me staying hungry all the time. She then says maybe you're pregnant. We get to figurin' things up and she then tells me I need to have a pregnancy test done. Well, now, back in-the-day they didn't sell them sticks you pee on, so I had to go to the doctor's office. Sammy did the morning show, so he would leave around 4 in the morning so he could prepare for his on air show at 6 a m. I didn't tell him that morning what I was up to 'cause I wasn't sure I'd go. I really didn't think I was pregnant, but to ease my mind I went. I think I help them open up the office that morning 'cause I just wanted to get it over with and get on to work. They let me stay in the lab and wait f...

A few months before I got married Daddy and Mama bought some land and a double wide trailer at Eastport lake. I remember telling Daddy, you would get this when I'm leaving home. He said well you don't have to get married. Huh!! I got married! That summer we saved some money and bought a boat. Most of the time we would drive down (45 mins away) on Saturday night but this one particular weekend we got to Iuka just in time for church and we were so excited about showing off our boat. I'll never forget this. Now I  grew up going to the United Methodist Church here in town and Lord, I reckon' Daddy and Mama have sat in the same pew as long as I can remember.(that would be left side as you enter the church, 4th row from the back and sat near the window). Do y'all have a favorite spot? Well it made things easier for finding your parents. For example; if you were up front singing, you could look in that direction and see them gloating, not at me, cause I couldn't carr...

Alex turned one year old Tuesday, March 19th. Wow! Somebody pinch me. When Nathaniel and Nikki got married we offered them our house at Eastport to live till they could find a place.  The understanding was that we would be coming back in late April to live for the summer, so move over. One morning (July 12th to be exact) I hear Nikki running down the stairs just a mouthing. I could tell she was excited. When she got to me she was shaking a pregnancy stick. POSITIVE! WooHoo! # 2 grand baby on the way. Shhhhh! I couldn't tell anyone. Get this, she took a pregnancy test everyday till her first doctors visit. One Sunday, Nathaniel and Nikki invited us all, Richard, Cheryl, (Nate's parents) Jackie, Burnette (Nikki's grandparents, Sammy and me out to eat. We all met at Gillian's, a little restaurant at Eastport Marnia. Nikki and Beth worked there in the summers while in high school, so guess who was working there that year? Yep, Kinsley. Kinsley and a few of her friends wo...

The night that you left us, our heart were split in two.  One side was filled with memories, the other side went with you.  As I lay awake at night and all around me is asleep,  I just take a walk down memory lane with tears upon my cheek.  Remembering is so easy,  I do it all the time, but missing you is a ache in my heart that never goes away.  I hold you tightly in my heart and there you will remain,   life may go on without you but I assure you it will never be the same.                                                                                                                     Dear Lord, I could never get through the days withou...