letters to your great grandmother

 

Dear Mom,                                                February 19,2021

This has been a busy week for us in Tennessee.  My husband  Charlie turned 71 on Monday.  Our daughter (your granddaughter Suzy) baked him a Chocolate cake and her boys ( your great-grandsons) put 10 relighting candles on the cake.  He kept blowing them out and they kept relighting.  Thankfully they didn’t put on 71 candles or we might have had to get the fire department to put the flames out.

Barbara reminded me that your mom (our grandmother)  put relighting candles on her birthday cake when she was a teenager (over 60 years ago).  We were visiting her in Harlingen, Texas, and Bobbie’s birthday is in late August.  None of us had ever seen relighting candles so we were amazed the first 3 or 4 times they kept lighting back up. It wasn’t nearly as funny by the 10th or 12th time. It generated a lot of smoke in the room and I   remember Dad finally got a glass of water and took the candles off the cake one at a time and submerged them in the water to put them out completely.  We all had to laugh as we never suspected Grandmother to be such a jokester!

Speaking of Cakes I remember the weekend Bobbie brought Joe home from North Texas State to meet you and Dad.  She was really nervous and hoped that you would like him.  You had lots of food and multiple desserts but Bobbie decided she wanted to make a Boston Cream pie from a mix.  You whispered to me, “Stay in the kitchen with her and make sure she does it right.”  She mixed the cake batter, made the cream filling and put it in the refrigerator, and lined the pan with wax paper the way you always did.

 By the time she got it in the oven and set the timer, I felt like she could manage the rest.  That night we had a  wonderful dinner and when it came time for dessert    Bobbie was the only one who chose Boston Cream Pie.  It looked really pretty. The cream filling was in the center and iced with chocolate frosting.  Imagine our surprise when she ate a mouthful of cake and disappeared into the kitchen.

 You gave me “ the look” which meant what’s wrong with the cake? I gave you the “I don’t know shrug!”  In a few minutes, she returned to the table with the cake but no frosting on it.  She looked embarrassed but finally said, “I forgot to take the wax paper off the cake and after I split the cake and put the filling in, I frosted over the wax paper! “  We all laughed because my beautiful brainy sister was so twitter-pated she put frosting on top of wax paper.  Later on, we found out why she was so nervous when Joe asked Dad if he could have his permission to ask her to marry him

Bobbie is certainly a good cook now.  They have been married for over 50 years.  When I first brought Charlie over to meet you and dad,  you looked at his baby face and said, “How old is this guy, 16?”  We were both out of college by then and we have been together for 47 years.

I hope this brought you some moments of laughter.  You and Dad certainly were good role models for us girls.  We love you, Momma,
and pray for you every single day.  We look forward to when we can see you and catch up on all our missed hugs.

Kathy (the one who looks like Dad) and Charlie ( the now not-so baby faced hubby)

 

 

 

 

 

Be an example

 Oscar, this is what your dad said about you on Facebook today.

This kid is going to be taller than me. At least a few times a week our clothes match - gray T-shirt and jeans, but today it was intentional. It’s a big responsibility to have someone look up to you and want to be like you. I’m so proud of the young man he is becoming. He makes me want to be a better version of myself

(I think he is right to walk a little taller and set a good example for you what Godly manhood is all about.  You have a great teacher .)  

Proud of you too Buddy.

Your Diva and Poppa

Cousin Lexi turns two

 Dear Lexi Anne,

You and your Poppa have birthdays very close together.  He is my late Valentine because his birthday is the day after Valentine's day. He turned 71 and of course, you big boy cousins put relighting candles on his cake.  Fortunately, there were only 10 candles instead of 71 or it might have taken the fire department to put them out. 

We miss you and your sisters very much.  We are so lucky that your parents take lots of photos of you and your sisters so we can watch you grow and change right before our eyes.

Poppa has made treasure chests for all of our grandchildren.  He wrote you a note to go with it that I am posting in your blog as it will probably be misplaced as you grow.  Please know that you are a precious gift to our family and Diva and Poppa pray for you every single day.

February 10, 2021

Dear Lexi,

This is a special treasure box for a very special young lady, you. Diva and I have made it for you, to store your treasures.  There is not another box just like this in the whole world, just like there is only on Lexi.

We hope that you remember that you are dearly loved by us, and by so many others.

Your smiles light up a room, and we enjoy hearing you say, "Hi" when we are talking to your mom or dad on the phone.  We look forward to seeing pictures of you with your sisters.

Did you know that your daddy was our baby boy many years ago?  He was a good baby, and now he has grown into a wonderful man and father.  We haven't known your mother for as long, but we love her now as our 3rd daughter.

May the Lord bless you as you grow into the godly woman we hope you will become.  With all our love, Poppa and Diva

Happy Birthday to our Curly Girly.  Can't wait to see you again.  Your Diva

Poppa birthday blowout

 

Happy birthday to my late Valentine ( February 15th).  We enjoyed celebrating with Tim, Suzy, and the grandsons.  The boys made Poppa birthday cards.  Oscar's said, Poppa, you are the best! (Sorry Diva).  Suzy baked him a chocolate cake and the boys put relighting candles on the cake.  Check out the hilarious video and Poppa's faces.  We are blessed to have family close by.

Your Birthday Card to Poppa

 

 
We love homemade cards from our boys.  This is by far my favorite of Poppa's 71st birthday.  

Note the Bold printing on the Card.

The inside picture is taking apart old keyboards and old electronics which is what Poppa and Oscar like to do on their playdates.

Oscar's writing is not the best so let me interrupt.

Dear Popps,  Happy Birthday!

You are the Best! (sorry Diva)

Have a great day!  Love Oscar 

                                

Dear Mom ,                                                                              February 13, 2021

This is your daughter Kathy again.  I have been writing you weekly memories that I have of you growing up and of you as a grandmother or memories of visiting you when you lived alone in Virginia Beach.  Years ago I started a blog that I would write frequently, so I have been going back into some old posts to get a glimpse of daily life.  I found this one and it made me laugh.  It was dated November13,2008, it was titled “Have some More” and pretty much describes you and your wonderful gift of hospitality.

“Just got back from visiting with family this past weekend. I was happy to see my older sister and her husband from Alabama (Barbara and Joe.)  However, the crowning glory was visiting my mom. My mom, also known as "Have some more, you know I made it just for you!" Queen of Guilt.

Now before you say, "oh come on now, no one put a gun to your head to make you overeat."  Let me tell you about the Queen of Guilt.

My mom will be 80 in January.  She has been a widow and lived alone for over 20 years.  She is very active in her church and does lots of volunteer work.  My mom is the hub of my extended family.  She loves to email and talk on the phone so we allow her to be the "mouthpiece of the family".  It doesn't matter if I have just talked to both of my sisters in the last half hour, we all know to just sit down and listen to the recap from mom.

It can't be Sunday with family visiting unless there is fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, green beans, and at least 3 desserts served on her best china in the dining room.  To eat less than your share at the dinner table makes her feel like she is slipping in her hospitality skills and (God forbid) getting too old to provide for the family that she has sacrificed for all her life.

My mom grew up during the depression, so always having plenty of food on the table is vastly important to her.  She is terrified that someone may actually leave her table hungry.  Being a gracious southern lady requires her to "kill the fatted calf" and make all your favorite foods.  It is her way to show love and affection.

Diets to mom simply mean you eat only one dessert.  My mom will also make little statements like:  "You know it does my heart good, to see you all enjoying my food.  Did you have a plenty?  Do you think I should whip up some cornbread with that?  The ritual continued this past weekend and she continues to reign supreme. "Betty Crocker, move over..Meet my Momma!"

Mom, not only were you a great cook, gracious hostess, and wonderful mom you also sent us home loaded down with our favorite food and gas money.

We love you and miss you and pray for you daily.  I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of your old life.  You are greatly loved.

Kathy (that middle girl) and Charlie (Mr. Fix-it)



Great grandmother Watson

 Dear Oscar,

This is the last picture I have of your great grandmother Watson.  She is your mom's grandmother and my mom.  She turned 94 in January ( she shares a birthday with Henry).  Great grandmother lives in a nursing home in Alabama close to my sister Barbara.

Great grandmother has lost all her memories so I write to her weekly and share my memories of growing up.  I have not been able to see her in over a year because of the Pandemic.

Most of the time she doesn't know who I am.  She thinks I am a nice lady and that makes me happy.

Dear Mom                                          February 7, 2021

It’s time for your weekly letter from your adorable middle daughter Kathy.  It snowed last night here in Tennessee and I woke up to beautiful pristine snow on the tree branches and ground.  It almost takes away your breath by the purity of it.  It reminds me of the hymn “Brighter than snow, Yes brighter than snow, now wash me and I will be brighter than snow.”  Today is Sunday, a calm restful day of church services on the computer of our local church and of your grandson Andy’s church in Fort Worth, Texas.

I am writing memories and stories for our grandchildren (your great-grandchildren) so they will know a little bit more about you and dad and the memories I had as a child. This is part of a story I wrote about my favorite memories of church.  This occurred while Charlie and I were working at Equipping the Saints in Virginia.

‘Several days ago we had a new volunteer ( a 17-year-old girl that was very quiet) she was working on scraping off loose paint from the window sills before we could caulk, sand, and paint them. Our Suzy always plays questions and answers whenever we are on a road trip so I started asking everyone questions trying to draw her out and learn a little more about her.

The question asked was, "What is one of your first memories of the church?"

Various answers followed, VBS, church camp, a wedding, stain glass windows in the sanctuary.

[I was transported back to my childhood and the one memory that stood out in my mind was sitting next to my dad in the church service. I was a wiggler and a giggler so was assigned to sit next to my dad so he could give me "the eye" when I got too antsy. I was intrigued by my Dad's big hand compared to mine. I would study it and play with his hand. Occasionally we would play a game where he would suddenly grab my fingers and my job was to keep him from entrapping them in his grasp.

This normally would keep me entertained and quiet for at least 20 minutes till I would suddenly break into gales of laughter causing my mom to give both of us

"the look" that instantly brought both of us to attention and make my Dad suddenly stop playing and start looking stern. We both knew it was to satisfy my mom because there was always a twinkle in those merry blue eyes.

I miss my Father's Hands. He was a good hugger, tickler, coach, adviser, sports enthusiast, friend, and the first man in my life. I miss his "Dutch Uncle" talks where he would tell me what he was thinking and why without trying to spare my feelings.

Our son was named after Dad  (Andrew Wallace) and I see many characteristics in him that were in dad.  I miss him every day.}

 We love and miss you,
Momma.  Hope this was a nice story of the man we all loved.  Same time next week?  Gotcha all prayed up sweet lady.    Kathy