A Birthday Surprise in Charlotte!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT OLIVIA AND UNCLE BUS!
Today, March 22, Kit and I rode with Julie and Joel to
Charlotte for a very special surprise birthday party.
Marilyn and Ron met us there along with many others
from the Wade Family. My mother-in-law, Jeanette,
was a Wade from Charlotte before marrying my father-in-law,
Keith Boone. Jeanette had many brothers and sisters.
The ones who are still living were at the party.

We had great food to eat! The BBQ was delicious and we
all enjoyed the birthday cake also.

This is Uncle Bus (EE Wade, Jr.) - 89 years old on March 16.
Bus is short for Buster, his name since he was named after
his father. He's a sweet, precious man with lots of smiles.
We absolutely enjoyed the reading from Aunt Virginia,
Bus's wife, about his years in the Navy. He traveled to
many different places.

Here is Julie conversing with Aunt Olivia, who will be 88
tomorrow, March 23. She has always been a very special
lady. She's so much fun and easy to love.

Aunt Virginia, Aunt Betty and Lisa with all the balloons.

Here is Aunt Carolina with her children. She's the wife of

Uncle Don, another one of Jeanette's brothers. Uncle Don

had us laughing with great stories that he shared about

the mischief that he and Uncle Bus were into when they

were young.

Julie, Kit and Marilyn talking with Aunt Olivia

Aunt Theresa, Jeanette's sister, Beverly and Lance having a

discussion. Aunt Theresa and Aunt Olivia remind us so

much of Jeanette. They not only look alike, but have a

great sense of humor too.

Joel and Ron, the in-laws, in conversation.

Julie, Aunt Olivia, Kit and Marilyn prior to eating BBQ.

Uncle Robert, Aunt Theresa's husband is seated with

Uncle Bus. Uncle Don is standing and in conversation

with them.

Julie, Marilyn and Kit sharing fond memories of when they

were younger. Everyone had a chance to share any memories

that they had of Aunt Olivia and Uncle Bus.

Aunt Olivia opening her presents and many birthday cards.

Uncle Bus and Aunt Virginia listening to Uncle Don's stories.

It was a wonderful party and we all were blessed to be a

part of it. Thank you Aunt Virginia for planning this special

occasion to bring the Wade Family together once again.

Turner Visits Greensboro!

Turner came to Greensboro on March 12 and we had
a great time! I loved having time with my youngest
grandchild. He was so good, so pleasant and wonderful.
Grandad came home at lunchtime from the farm to
have a little time with Turner. Mamaw came over and
enjoy some Turner Time too.

What a cute boy! Those eyes are definitely brown now!

Posing for a picture! Almost smiling!

Turner had fun playing. Watching him use his hands and

legs to try to catch the toys hanging down was so entertaining.

Listening to him as he played was super. He's found his

own voice and expresses himself loudly at times!

Got that toy hanging down!

Tummy Time! WOW! What are those colorful things

on my playmat?

Grandad is to the right, watching this cute little boy play!

Watch me as I sit up! My newest trick!

Ooooh! When I sit up, I can see the toys and reach them

much easier.

Turner and Mamaw snuggling together.

What a loving shot - Great Grandson and Great Grandmother.

Dad's Daisy...Now Mom's Daisy

I've shared pictures of Daisy the Cat before. I wanted to
share this special feline once again along with one of her
special tricks! But first, let me share a really funny thing
that Daisy does. She will go to the den door waiting for you
to let her out, but when you open the door, she runs away.
She goes to the door two more times, teasing you, then goes
out the third time. Now when she wants back in, she does
one of two things. She may whine sitting at the top of the
steps waiting for someone to open the door. But if no one
hears her, she will climb up onto the handrailing of the steps
and knock on the door! I'm serious! She somehow makes
her paw hit the door to ask to be let back in the house! Mom,
Dad and I have laughed over that so many times.

Here is Daisy on the table in the den that sits between
Mom and Dad's matching recliners. This is not one of her
tricks, nor is it a favorite perch. I just captured her in a
special one-time moment. Daisy does have some favorite
places in the house. On top of the curio cabinet in the
Living Room is one of those. She jumps up on the seat of a
chair, then the back of the chair, then a big leap lands her
on top of the curio! The curio cabinet rocks from her
weight hitting it. But she sleeps there for long periods of time.

Daisy loves to go down into the basement too for long periods
of time. Her favorite place is under the stairwell where
Mom has stored...well, who knows what is under there!
Daisy likes something there because she will sleep there
for hours. But once she decides that it is time to come back
upstairs, she will stand at the top of the stairs and meow
over and over until someone hears her and opens the door.

The funniest trick is when Daisy is ready for a long nap in
a place that is very warm. I think she thinks that she is
hidden from anyone's view, but we all can see that big
hump under Mom's comforter! Somehow, Daisy jumps
and creeps under that comforter! One day when my
brother, Sherman, was painting Mom's den, he saw the
lump in Mom's bed. He asked Mom about it, and Mom
explained that it was Daisy. Sherman then petted her on
top of the comforter to see Daisy's reaction. She moved a
bit, but then kept on sleeping!

Here is another view of this silly, lovable cat enjoying the
comfort of Mom's bed. During the week that Dad was ill, no
longer home, and just after his passing, Daisy would go into
his room and we would hear a pitiful cry from her. She often would
sleep on the top of the covers with Dad. I know that she
has missed him so much. She was Dad's Daisy. But she has
realized that her new best friend is Mom. So typically
every night, she sleeps on top of the covers with Mom.
When I was there every night for awhile, she would often
visit me too. But she loves Mom, so she's Mom's Daisy now.
And Mom is happy to have Daisy around as her buddy.

A Saturday with Turner!

One beautiful Saturday in March...

While Chloe took a nap...

and Turner and I played...

Matt and Kit worked...

and worked...

Shoveling and dumping dirt...

To create multiple gardens for Kristen. Vegetables and
flowers will be growing this spring and summer at The
Boone House in Apex, NC!

So while the men worked and Kristen enjoyed a special
weekend with her sister Lauren in Concord, I was in
heaven taking care of Turner B! We enjoyed a walk in
the stroller around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful
day!

Such determined concentration as Turner "worked" the
many parts of his exersaucer!

Now just what story are you telling Turner?

And he was so happy and proud too!

Fun and wiggling around!

We also explored the Jungle Mat too.

That made the little boy happy! Of course, wearing his

Atlanta Braves t-shirt made him happy too!

A Snowy March 1, 2009

What a snow! Who would have thought that on March 1
we would have gotten such a big snow! It is a beautiful
snow too. Although so many people are left without power
and so many had to deal with the slick roads on their
way to work today. That is the bad part of this bright,
white stuff. Fortunately, I didn't have to brave the snow
and could stay home. Here are just a few pictures of the
snow around our house. Jenny, these are just for you!
I know that you have not had to deal with snow this year
except here in the States the day your flight left Raleigh
back in January. You have escaped those deep, daily
snows back in Russia, so I wanted to give you a taste of
this snow here in Greensboro!

This is a morning picture of our backyard.

We had some blue sky this morning too!

More blue sky with the white snow in our backyard.

The front yard this morning was beautiful too.

Another morning view of the front yard. Those blue skies
turned cloudy during the rest of the day. Then the sun
came out later in the evening.

The front steps were covered.

When the sun appeared during the late afternoon, the
sky was beautiful with those sunshine hues!

The front yard once again showing the beautiful background.

The upper part of this picture looks like a postcard!

And God did his beautiful artwork once again. I love this

view of our backyard with the sun going down.

The snow didn't melt very much on our deck today with

the cold temperatures.

What a gorgeous sky to view at the end of the day! I love

it when God gets out his paintbrush!!!