Don't give up on me, yet!!

It's difficult to put cool pictures on the blog without a cool camera of which I do NOT have. This cute camera I have doesn't take good pictures at all! Sometimes you can't even see the pictures! But, no more excuses because I am buying a good camera this week as not to become the "don't look at her blog because she never updates it" person!

OR - I could use the excuse....I have not fully recovered yet from the big wreck!

OR - I could use the excuse....I have not fully recovered yet from the big Easter week...and it was big! Johnny and I spent a few days in the Riveria....red neck Riveria..PCB and went home in time to go to Jake and Deanna's first race of the season which was very exciting to see the new car run for the first time. (Can't wait until next weekend for the next one in Dillon, SC which will bring back sweet memories because it was in the Dillon Courthouse where Johnny and I were married and I have not been back to Dillon since 1970!) We got home around 1:30am on Sunday morning, Easter morning! Went to church....great service...then had all the family over for lunch including Eddie and Terrie and Cody and Katie. We had a good lunch and then had the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard. The older the children get the harder it is for the 'hiders' to find all the eggs they hid! It was a fun time.

We were going to return to the Riveria on Sunday afternoon, but our dear friend, Gary Stewart, went to be with the Lord on Good Friday so we had his funeral service on Monday morning. Monday afternoon we headed back to PCB and stayed until Friday. Again, another friend in heaven! This time our sweet friend, Jane Audia. Her funeral service was today, Saturday.

She had a very sweet service to say, "Goodnight, Jane. We'll see you in the morning!"

Tonight Hopie is spending the night with me and will go to church with me in the morning. We have had a lot of fun tonight. She is such a delightful child.

Here are a few pictures from Easter:

Expert Driving Skills Come in Handy!

Friday, March 14th: Yes, I know, women drivers have a bad reputation for not being able to drive, but honestly, this was NOT my fault! I was driving along, minding my own business, in my lane, not talking on the phone and driving below the speed limit when out of NO WHERE a car slammed into the side of me! I was not badly hurt, except for my feelings! The crazy person didn't even stop! He went across the median and took off in the opposite direction! I very impatiently waited for the police to arrive to fill out the police report but I could not even give him a description of the car or the tag number because it was soooo dark and there were no other cars around at the time to give light from their headlights. However, later I came to the conclusion that he was driving crazy enough to hit me and didn't stop because he was being chased by two police cars that came racing by me right after I pulled off the road. I first thought that they must have either seen what happened or was called by someone who saw it and they were just that close by, but they didn't even slow down when they got to me so they were not coming to my accident after all! I really believe they were chasing that person who hit me! Well, enough of the sob story! At least I will get some massages out of the whole ordeal! I am very sore! It may not look like much from the picture, but it was a very hard it. I am just glad that my expert driving skills helped me to maneuver the car back into control so that the car was not damaged any worse!

Saturday, March 15th :

Our dear friend, Greg Moss, had a birthday this week so we took him to dinner at Aspen's on Saturday night since the Winter Jam concert was cancelled, to our dismay! We were determined to have a great Saturday night with the concert or without it so we had one with Greg and Stephanie. They are great friends and we thank God for their friendship. Happy Birthday, Greg!

What a Fun Week!

Tuesday, March 11 am: Did you see Good Morning America on Monday morning? If so, you got to catch our sweet friend, Anita Renfroe on there with Diane Sawyer! Anita is now a regular contributor for that show! Anita is just the best....so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. Deanna and I had lunch with Anita and her cool, fun Mother, Kay, at the Tea Room then went for a bit of therapy...shopping in downtown Woodstock. We had a blast together. We better see Anita while we can because she is getting big....as in famous! Go for it...but please don't forget us..the common folks in Woodcock!! (see the article below about our visit to Washington, DC to understand Woodcock!)

Tuesday, March 11 pm: Schedules!! We all live by a calendar with very busy schedules but we do get to see our families quite a bit. However, getting all three families together at the same time for a family outing is not always easy. So, Hollie devised a plan where we each family gets to choose where we will go and what we will do one night each month. Hollie was first and she chose for us to go to Kani House and then bowling. It was a surprise that she chose bowling because she has to be the worse bowler there has ever been! She was really really bad! Even Addie had a higher score than Hollie! But, if she had been good, the evening would not have been nearly as much fun! We enjoyed laughing at her and making fun of her! She is a barrel of laughs anyway and was not offended by our comments of her total inability to knock down more than one pin at a time! I can't remember what her total score was, but it was in the range of 25!! It was a great family night. Deanna is next to chose the when, where and what and I can't wait to see what is next in store for the Hunt, Carswell, Hixson night out...stay tuned!

Sunday, March 9: Everyone kept saying, "I guess you are going to the race at AMS this week?" My answer had been, "No, the weather is always so unpredictable so I am waiting for someone to offer me some suite passes so I can be inside where the weather doesn't matter!" Of course, I was only kidding because how many people do we know who have suite tickets and will actually offer them to us?? Not many....I can't think of even one....BUT, someone in another state did call on Friday before the race on Sunday and offer us some suite tickets they were not going to be able to use! Do you think I would pass them up! Right!! So, they overnighted them, but to my dismay they arrived via the US Mail and someone had to be home to sign for them, which we were not, so they ended up back at the post office with a note left that said we could pick up the envelope after 9am on Monday morning....after the race!!! You think I was happy? Do you think I was extremely frustrated? But God is good...all the time! After many calls and many prayers, just by me I am sure, we managed to get to the right person...a very nice person....who spoke with another very nice person....who delivered the envelope to my home on Sunday morning! God is good... He must also like racing! Deanna and Jake already had tickets and had some friends going with them so after church on Sunday morning, we all headed for Hampton. Hollie was able to go with me and we had a great day at the races.

Saturday, March 8: Hollie and Pete went away for the night for a 'special surprise getaway' and I kept Hope for them and Addie stayed with her special aunt, Deanna. Johnny was away doing a men's conference so Hope and I had some special time together starting with going to the Alliance Theater to see Seussical the Musical. I tried to explain what a 'play' was, but must not have gotten the message through to her because she kept referring to the "sing-a-long" we were going to. We both really enjoyed the play. It was only an hour and 10 minutes long which was great for children of that age. We arrived about an hour before needing to be seated in the theater so we had a delightful lunch at a special restaurant in the Woodruff Arts Center.

Missing Dr. Falwell

This past Tuesday we flew to Lynchburg, Va. (on a King Air owned by Liberty University) for Johnny to attend the Liberty University Board of Trustees Meeting. For the first time, the wives of the trustees were invited to attend a brunch given by Becki Falwell, the wife of Jerry, Jr.. We had a delightful brunch and tour of the new Montview Mansion (formerly the Carter Glass Mansion). This is where Dr. Falwell's office was which is now roped off and left just as it was when he died. The house has been remodeled and will open soon for guests of Liberty University. Just outside the Montview Mansion is the eternal flame and burial spot of Dr. Falwell. It was my privilege to sit with Mrs. Falwell at the brunch and hear her entertaining stories of the past. She certainly truly misses Dr. Falwell and has experienced many 'firsts' this year....Dr. Falwell died on May 15 of 2007. She seems to be doing well and has a very close relationship with her sister who lives close by and takes great care of her. I know she is proud of her two sons, Jonathan and Jerry, Jr. who have picked up and carried on the legacy of a great father. We all miss him.

The trip home.....due to the stormy weather and the size of the plane we were traveling on (small) we decided to rent a car and drive home! The plane did make it safely into Atlanta, thank the Lord, and so did we....a few hours after the plane...but we made it without the fearfactor of the storms!

P.S. Of course, we were fortunate to have a delightful dinner with my niece, Lindsey and some other Liberty students from FBCW.