Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Weekend Wrap-Up, Blog Linkage, Way Back When... (Birthday Letters in A Shoe Box AND A MamMa Smith Story)

Good Tuesday evening!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Mike and I went to the sweetest wedding Friday night. My friend, Cam, has four children, and her baby, Peyton, married another friend's baby, Zack, in a picture-perfect ceremony outside in a meadow.

There were deer, People.

Two of them.

They jumped out of the edge of the woods, ran a few seconds and then jumped back into the woods.

It was all I could do to keep from screaming, "DEER!" in the middle of the ring vows.

You would have all been proud.

Also, I have a the new I-Phone S7800, Edition P43JJ. Friday night, I realized I had no idea how to turn the ringer off.

And because no one really helped me set my ringtone, I somehow ended up with the old-fashioned typewriter sound and bell.

After fiddling with it for a few minutes (and since I was not sitting near anyone I actually knew), I started to formulate a plan in case my phone started ringing.

I was sitting in a chair on the edge of the ceremony with the large meadow to my left. My "Plan" was simply to throw the phone as far as I could into the meadow on my left. People would still be able to hear the ringtone (because I throw like a girl, you see), but hopefully, everyone would not know it was my phone.

The second part of my "Plan" was to then stare at the young man sitting next to me with a, "What do you think you're doing? Are you crazy? Do you not know proper phone etiquette at a wedding?" look.

I'm serious.

That was the "Plan" my 53 year-old brain devised.

Sad, isn't it?

It never occurred to me I could hit the "Answer" button and then immediately hit the "Call Ended" button and then sit on the phone.

"Do you not know how to turn your phone off?" you may ask.

No.

No, I do not.

Thankfully, it never rang.

Or beeped.

Or talked to me. (Siri asks me questions at the most random times.)

Let's get back to the wedding, shall we?

Peyton was beautiful. Zack was beyond handsome. They have dated for years and seeing them begin this new chapter in their lives was wonderful.

The food was good. The weather cooperated. The reception was truly a celebration of young love. So much fun!

Mike and I enjoyed ourselves very, very much.

And in case you're wondering why Mikie wasn't sitting next to me during the ceremony, he drove in for the wedding straight from North Carolina. I had his change of clothes in the car. We met in the parking lot, he headed to the bathroom to change and I found a seat.

I didn't want you to think we had had a spat.

Because this time we did not!

RANDOMNESS #2 - It was a very busy weekend. On Saturday night, all of the kids scattered so Mike and I headed to the Dollar Movie and watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Can I just say...

I am now a lover of monkey movies.

Very, very good!

RANDOMNESS #3 - This just in... Austin sent me a text this morning, and he met Chloe O'Brien from 24 fame at the radio station!

So, so cool!

RANDOMNESS #4 - Okay. So we ended up eating at Slice after church on Sunday for Roxie's Family Birthday Celebration...

And here are just a few pics to prove it!


Roxie's selfie of Brad, Hunter and half of her face.


Hunter returning the favor.


Brad.


Smore's calzones for dessert. We ended up ordering just one more!

Yes. They are that good.


Roxie and Hunter.


Grandpa, Roxie and Grandma.


Uncle Tommy, Aunt Bev and Roxie.


Roxie, Katie and Zac.


Brad, Roxie and Stephanie.


Austin, Roxie and Melia.


Austin, Roxie and Melia... again.

It was a little too hot and muggy for a brotherly smooch.

In the end, Josh was unable to come at the last minute because of work. He had gotten off as instructed by The Chick, but was called in to work a double.

We were not happy, but we made the best of a sad situation!

Blog Linkage - Go to www.kellehampton.com and read the post entitled, "Bad Middles, Good Stories."

I like the way Kelle thinks.

Way Back When...

The following was first posted in September of 2009.

Birthday Letters In a Shoe Box

This idea was taken from another favorite book... 15 Minute Family Traditions and Memories by Emilie Barnes.

"When I was 21, my mother presented me with a very special birthday gift. Wrapped beautifully in a shoe box were 21 letters Mom had written to me. She had started this tradition the first year of my life, and it was her secret until my 21st birthday.

"The letters contained memories of the funny things I said and did over the years, the struggles during the teenage situations, times we spent together, differences we had, tears shed, and the love we enjoyed."

Now, this may seem a daunting task if you have elementary age children and you've never written a letter, but there isn't a rule about when to start this tradition. If you have an eight year-old girl and her birthday is coming up, write her a letter, seal it and put it in a box for her 21st birthday. Do the same with her younger siblings. It's not the number "21" that's important. If you give your child a box which contains only five letters, that will be a wonderful gift. But start this year. Make it a seasonal tradition you stick with, and give a most special gift on a most special birthday!

A MamMa Smith Story

I want to talk a little bit about my MamMa Smith. She's been gone a little over ten years now. She passed away when she was in her early 90s.

When I think about MamMa when I was a child, I remember her being an excellent storyteller. My cousin, Becky, and I would spend the night and she would tell stories about her two sisters and herself. Some were true and others... not so much, but we were enthralled (good word) with her tales.

In her later years, she did some pretty interesting things. She never drove a car, but well into her senior years, she rode on the back of a motorcycle with a cousin... and enjoyed it very much. During those years, she also decided to try her hand at pogo stick jumping. Luckily, a cousin caught her before an injury occurred since she wasn't a "natural" at pogo stick jumping. (Probably the same one who rode her on the back of his motorcycle.)

As I was looking at my "list" of things to do before I turn 90 recently, I thought about her and some of her escapades. The motorcycle and the pogo stick were obviously things on her own list. I doubt if she had written her list on paper like mine, but it was most definitely a list. Some little part of her that became a little part of me. That's what we get from family. The good, the bad, the funny, the sad... little pieces and parts from family members we know, and even from family we never met who lived years and years and years before we were born.

I look exactly like my Mom. I absolutely LOVE babies (all shapes and sizes) like my Dad. I'm a weather-watcher/news-watcher like my Granddaddy Bradley. I like telling stories like my MamMa Smith (some true and others... not so much).

And my kids...

Well, they're extra lucky.

They inherited some bits and pieces of me and Mikie, too.

But probably not the bits and pieces they would have chosen if given the chance!

I hope you had a fun Tuesday. I'll be back Friday with Weekend Happenings, some pictures from a little celebration Roxie has planned and quite possibly some more Wedding News.

Take care, and I'll talk to you the end of the week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

1 comment:

  1. Belinda, Thanks for the birthday letters idea and also sharing Kellie Hampton's post. I like the way she thinks, too. Andrea

    ReplyDelete

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