Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Life passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.
9.

What is your favorite holiday? How do you celebrate?

My favorite holiday is definately Thanksgiving. The three of us travel down to my hometown to celebrate with my family. Most of my sisters live close by, so there is always a big crowd with lots of cousins for the Little Prince to play with.

There are cute Thanksgiving decorations and, of course, a family tradition. For the past 4 years, everyone has written something that they are thankful for on a strip of material. This year, it was made into a table cloth.

This is a close up of the section from 2006. The Little Prince traced his hand and wrote his name and I wrote what he was thankful for (Mom-Mom and Pappy). This year, each person got a handmade name card, made by the younger children. They are laminated so we can use them again next year.

I love the smells of Thanksgiving that make themselves known as you are walking up the driveway. All the girls (and guys) help out by making turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, ham, green beans, corn, sweet potato casserole, fresh rolls and cranberry salad. Oh, and desserts which include, but are not limited to, blueberry pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and brownies.

Each year, I get to see the newest little ones (this little angel just turned 1 in October). The Little Prince spends most of the visit, after eating, playing outside with his cousins. They run and jump and scream as much as they can. The rest of us stay inside and play games and put away the leftovers while we catch up with the latest news. Before the first people had to leave, we all gathered around the piano and sang one of Dad's favorite songs, "All That Thrills My Soul Is Jesus". Even though he is not physically with us, he is a part of each of us and always in our hearts.

Best of all, Thanksgiving is another chance to be with Mom, whom I love dearly. Now that all her girls are grown, she can enjoy the day without having to worry about doing any of the work. For so many years, she worked for us. Now all she needs to do is sit back and enjoy herself and the wonderful family she and Dad raised. It is worth the 2 1/2 hour one-way drive to spend this special holiday with the family I love.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Life passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

8.

Do you and your mother share any interests? Tell about your relationship.

Mom is a wonderful seamstress. I can remember as a little girl, sitting next to her sewing machine watching the wonderful outfits she created. She made most of my dresses growing up, including this one. Mine was blue and white and my little sister's was red and white. She made the bridesmaids dresses for my wedding, as well as for several of my sisters' weddings. When I was in college, I wrote one of my papers about her sewing table.

Making kitchen curtains and hemming the Little Prince's pants is pretty much the extent of my sewing expertise. However, as you can see by this photo from 1998 (I think), Mom and I have a great time when she comes to visit and we do one of my sewing projects. We were putting together patches for a lap quilt, which I still keep in my truck. It comes in handy when the Little Prince gets cold or wants to keep the sun out of his eyes so he can take a nap on road trips.

Mom and I have a great relationship. She was a true mother when I was growing up and now we have become wonderful friends. I wish I could see her more often, but we get to talk several times a week. She has great knowledge and advice on a wide variety of subjects: the latest news, cooking, sewing (obviously), raising the Little Prince, etc. It makes me feel very special to know that she will always make time to talk to me no matter what time I call or for what reason. She never seems to be too busy to chat and I love that! Love you, Mom, my friend.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Life passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for The Little Prince to enjoy.

7.

Describe your Sundays as a mother.

Unless we are sick or out of town, every Sunday morning is spent in Church. If we have time, the Little Prince likes to make scrambled eggs for lunch.

***

As for the rest of our Sunday afternoon, it depends. Back when the Little Prince was younger, our Sundays were spent taking naps or quietly visiting with family while he took a nap. These days, since it is soccer season, we spend the afternoons at the game watching the Little Prince run and kick. The past couple of games, he has been goalie.

Next month starts baseketball season and then baseball will start in the spring. Remember those days? I'm sure next year will be much the same.

***

If for some reason we do not have anything happening on a Sunday afternoon, we would probably spend our time together just hanging out. If the weather is nice, we may go for a drive.

***

Before bedtime, we check the Little Prince's backpack to make sure we have everything signed and ready for the next day at school and he fills out his lunch envelope for the next week.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Life passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

6.
Where do you like to go to eat out? What do you order?

What a delicious question! There are so many places I love, I cannot pick just one. I love Red Lobster's Stuffed Mushrooms, Garlic Cheese Biscuits and Endless Shrimp. I don't have a favorite dessert there because I never have room. I've shared what we like to eat in the summer. We love Red Robin, as you saw earlier. I get the Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap and New England Clam Chowder and we share the Towering Onion Rings. For my birthday, the Little Prince and my sweetie took me to the Outback for a Bloomin' Onion and some steak and shrimp on the barbie. The Little Prince let me have some of his Speckled Dog Sundae.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Time passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

5.
How did you become engaged?

A very interesting topic, especially considering the last question. Reese and I went to the City Park quite often during our 3 years of dating. We fed the ducks and walked the paths looking at the beautiful trees and gardens. One evening during our walk, we stopped at our favorite garden. We sat on a park bench talking and suddenly, he knelt down on one knee in front of me. He told me how glad he was that we had become friends. Then he asked me if I would be his friend forever; if I would marry him. All together now, "Awwwww". I said yes and here we are, 13 years later. Still happily married and with the Little Prince as a bonus.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Time passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

4.

What was a favorite place to go with your family when you were young?

First of all, I am still young, even though I did have yet another birthday yesterday. And as the birthday girl, I am choosing to post a Treasured Memory early this week.

***

My fondest memories are of the Sunday afternoons we spent at the City Park. Sometimes we would go after lunch to spend the afternoon in the Museum, to feed the ducks, to swing on the swings or just run around. My favorite times were when we would stop at KFC first for a bucket of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and eat them at the picnic table in the Park. I suppose they were my favorite times because they did not happen very often. That made them even more special. But no matter where we are or what we are doing, any time spent with family is special. Being the birthday girl just adds a little more sweetness. Be sure to tell your family that you love them, every chance you get.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Time passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

3.

Tell about favorite games you played as a child.

I grew up without TV, so my sisters and I had many games to play. The ones I remember most were card games like Uno, Old Maid and Concentration and board games like Sorry, Candyland and Clue. We had imaginary friends and they had friends: JB and NaBe (the twins) and their friend, Snowball. They all had such amazing adventures. We spent hours outside using our imagination to ride horses and take shopping trips. Down the road from our house was a huge pit. We called it "the hole". There was a section in the middle that was almost always filled with about 6 inches of water. We put on our jelly shoes and went wading or captured tadpoles. We explored up and down the sides of the hole and through the surrounding trees on our bikes. Soon "the hole" became "Spain" to us. I'm not really sure about the story behind that, maybe we were studying Spain in school? Whatever the reason, it was a wonderful place for hide-and-seek or cops and robbers.

The Little Prince has a totally different lifestyle from mine. He has TV and video games and also participates in sports. But we still try to keep a bit of the "good old days" alive. We play Uno, Old Maid and Crazy Eights. He has his dad's Shoots and Ladders game as well as Sorry Sliders, a cooler version of Sorry. This past week, the three of us played Monolopy. As you can see, it's not the original Monolopy we all know and love, but the concept is the same. The Little Prince old enough now to understand the rules, sort of, and begs to be the banker, which allows us to sneak in a little bit of math practice.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Time passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

2.

Tell a courtship story about your parents, how they met, etc. Then tell the same about you.

My Mom and Dad met at Church. Once or twice a year, Mom and her family drove to Hagerstown, MD, to go shopping in the big city. While there, they would visit with Mr. Marquiss, who was the editor of the "Way of Truth" magazine that her family read, and his sister. Mom said she knew Sister Ruth had several boys and thought it would be nice to meet some of them. She didn't think she had a chance, however, because there were so many girls in the congregation.

***
One day, Mom and her family went to a campmeeting in Burnside, PA. There was a dinner on the grounds, but the family was eating their lunch in their car. Imagine her surprise when my Dad came over to the car and asked if she would like to sit with him in Church that night! She does not remember much of the service, but was very proud to be sitting next to such a handsome young man.

***

Three days letter, she got a letter in the mail from this young man asking if she would like to be his friend. And the rest, as they say, is history. They got married, had 9 girls (I am #8) and many more adventures that she tells of in her own collection of Treasured Memories.

Reese and I met at Church. The Youth Group was having a special service one Wednesday night and a friend of ours (who is now the Little Prince's godmother) brought him to meet some nice girls. We were introduced after the service. I did think he was cute, but never imagined anything more would come of our meeting.

***

Several days later, I got a call from our friend, inviting us to the zoo with her and some family members. "Just as friends," she said. We went the following weekend and had a wonderful time. He asked me out to dinner and then ice cream and then miniature golf. Three years and one day after our first date, we were married.

Treasured Memories - Moments of a Lifetime

Time passes so quickly and there are so many things I want the Little Prince to know about my life. Each week, I reflect on one question and answer it here, hoping to create a treasure chest full of glittering memories for the Little Prince to enjoy.

1.

Tell how you feel about water - playing in it, seeing it, using it. Tell about various bodies of water you have seen and an experience or feeling.

I never learned to swim, but I like to float and don't mind being in the water as long as I know I can touch the bottom. I like to walk along the beach and feel my feet sink in the sand as the waves go out. I like to watch waterfalls and the sound of the surf is very relaxing. Our sound machine is set to "surf" for sleeping. There are so many ways we use water, but my favorite is using it for drinking. Nothing more refreshing than cold water on a hot summer day.

***

In December of 1984 or 1985, I visited the Cayman Islands with my sister, Rebecca, and a couple cousins. We drove down to Miami, FL, then flew over the Atlantic Ocean to the Islands. As you can see from the photo above, the ocean was beautiful. We spent a lot of time at Seven Mile Beach. I would definately like to go back.

***

In August of 1997, Reese and I went to Niagra Falls for our honeymoon. We had a hotel room overlooking the falls and it was amazing that the water never, never stopped flowing. It just never ran out. During our vacation, we took a walk through a small town and I got to wade in Lake Ontario. Very cool. Reese was worried about dirty medical needles. Apparently, there was a dirty needle scare for the area.

***

In August of 1999, we spent our 3rd anniversary in Yellowstone National Park. On our anniversary day, we took a picnic lunch to Silvan Lake. Just before dusk, we saw a grizzly bear. Fortunately, he was swimming away from us.