m e a d o w l a r k

-lgc

Bill & I have returned from our visit to the South.

We are already missing Wil & Kris, it was fun living with them for a short time and sharing a part of their lives. They lead a life that is filled with:

Committments to school & work (Kristen is the most talented student in her school of design, I am not just saying that, she has so much talent it is almost hard to believe at times). Kristen is working on the ‘Vernon’s ‘ (lead singer of Rascal Flats) home in her work right now and although it is not her style, I know she is doing an incredible job. Wil… it’s such an honor to be his mom. We went to his Starbucks everyday (an addiction that I am missing very much, Kristen introduced me to Maple Lattes, YUM) He is so well liked and respected by the employees at Starbucks, they were all so kind and so happy to meet us. He is obviously not a boss who his staff cringes when he comes in. He knows just about every local in Franklin and we even got his Aunt Gail and Uncle Bernie in there to see him! Our kids are not only a beautiful couple, they are intelligent, interesting, fun and gifted. My heart is warmed, I know as they grow up and into a marriage that is filled with one another along with everything else in their lives, they will have love, joy and success!

A Mural in the History Exhibit in Old Downtown Franklin, painted by Kristen!

Wil in front of the Old town Franklin Starbucks (his store) it is a beautiful historical building

Good looking couple, the smokehouse at Carnton Plantation, where we saw NO ghosts, not even hogs!

Friends & Franklin. We enjoyed spending time with Wil’s great friend Jeff and his brother Andrew (they & Bill have a very fun business idea that they met about and brainstormed on, it was initiated at Wil’s bachelor party). Then for dinner one night we thoughougly enjoyed a full out vegan dinner (prepared entirely by Wil, and it was REALLY GOOD) and an evening of games playing with Mike and Cassie. Cassie is Kristen’s best friend in TN and Mike is her Italian boyfriend! we learned these four young adults are so much better at Trivial Pursuit than we are it is not even funny.

Many dining options! We really enjoyed all the yummy places to eat out, something we lack in a huge way here in Sisters. We had breakfast at a Jewsih diner in Nashville (Noshville) so good! Had a great Italian dinner with some fantastic Chianti at Mangiano’s (I can never have to much eggplant parmesan). We had lunch at some great places in downtown Franklin enjoying great ale at Wil’s favorite pub right near his work. The food was all so good and so much fun!

Great Ale, notice the clover pattern in the foam!

The gorgeous country of the south. I admit it is such a beautiful area, I go back there and I wonder…. why do I not live here. The rolling green countryside, the fall foliage was so pretty, the horse farms, the plantation style homes, the brick buildings everywhere. It is lovely. The people are genuinely warm, friendly, welcoming and interested in you and interesting to know. It’s a wonderful place. Everywhere we went the kids new people, Franklin has the small town feel I love so much along with a city close by and many things to do. I love it there!

The Carton Plantation. The setting of the historical novel, Widow of the South, a bestseller. It’s so lovely.

Gracie. She is so cute, so smart, so well behaved, so funny, so clumsy and yet so graceful. She is huge to say the least and is only five months old, so… she could possibly end up twice as big. It is a crazy thought although she is a very good dog and Kristen and Wil take so much time training her and loving her that her size is not an issue, it’s just noticeable because she is big and very cute. She is so funny because of her size she has a bit of clumsieness but when she runs she is so graceful it is unbelievable, it is like she is floating on air. Gracie is a sweet dog!

Gracie on her couch.

Bill & I had an opportunity to see some clients, and visit his bother and family also. The trip was good for us and we are grateful for the hospitality that was showed to us by Wil & Kristen. We will be back, we love the Franklin area so much!

lgc

I am having my live tutorial on how to use this website. Wil has changed my server so that my computer shows all the tabs and such that I was missing before. Wil (and Kristen) are pretty darn knowledgeable on computers.

So I am ghoing to attempt to post a couple of pictures from Friday night at the game. It was Senior presentation night, Homecoming procession type thing and a picture of Laura during the game. She was a beautiful princess and I was thankful that she was nominated since her sisters was also, way back when…

We are having a great time in Nashville. It is so beautiful, it must be 70 degrees outside (A real treat for us). We are enjoying all the wonderful dining out options, are planning on visiting a plantation today that served as a civil war hospital. Apparently there are MANY ghost stories around Wil & Kristen’s town (Franklin). There were major civil war battles that took place right here on this ground… spooky!

O.K. so I will try and post now. We will get some pictures of our trip here up in a day or two.

Renee, sorry you’ve been so sick, I hope you are feeling better. Drink lots of liquids!

lgc

It has just been a week and it is only Wednesday. I feel like the week should be over and done with, it has just been so event filled.
All of you know by now we had laura’s senior pictures shot on Monday. We used the same photgrapher Wil & Kristen chose for their wedding, he is a very cool young guy who does great work. If you haven’t seen the pics yet take a minute to look, they are really nice.

images are on-line @:
www.collages.net
Left hand side:
Username: laura
Password: 8533

Anyway… Monday morning I pulled my back out (REALLY BAD) this is the second time that has happened in the last few months. It causes me to be almost completely immobile )o: We had canceled our photo appointment 3 times previous and I just could not do it again (the weather IS turning here). So we did the pictures in my somewhat invilaid state.

I tried to taking somewhat easy yesterday after finishing at work. Basically moving as little as poissible and getting as comfy as I could and just staying put. It really helped a lot so I tried to do as much as the same as I could today… But there is laundry and dinner and…..ya know. I just keep thinking I have to spend several hours on a plane on Saturday (which I find very uncmfortable already) how on earth am i going to handle that with such a messed up back and legs! When you are healthy you really take these things for granted, it is a good wake up call and i hope I will be more sensitive of others who have pain!

In the meantime. Laura was nominated to Senior Court (it is Homecoming this week). So she is an official Princess and they announce Queen on Friday at the game. I am so proud of her, she has come along way in the last 6 months and I am thrilled that she has received this honour. It is a blessing that makes her feel special.

Then tonight……….. we lsot Sophey )o; She is my and Laura’s baby )o; Just 2 days ago some of our best friend had to put their dear sweet dog to rest )o; We have had trouble with her sneaking over to a lot they are building on ( I am sure those guys feed her cuz she hardly eats her food these days). I have to go fetch her a couple times a week. Well with my back and my place on the sofa, I did not realize she had sneaked off. Bill looked all over for her to no avail all we could figure was someone got her because she has tags on with her name and phone number. Last weekend when Laura was coming home she came in and said “Sophey is in a certain neighbors yard”, Bill and I went to fetch her and they had her on a lease like she was theirs. Bill just kept saying tonight “I know they have her”. i kept denying it knowing they know who we are and she is our dogs and she has her ID on!!! He finally (after all my tears and regrets) just deicided to go see. SURE ENOUGH!!!!!! They had her. She was in thier house like she lived there. I am going to have to invest in an electronic fench $$$$$$$ I have no choice.

That said, please leave other peoples dogs alone (Sophey NEVER does not come home) also, please take some time to blog and let us what is up in all of your lifes. It has been A WEEK here.

I look forward to the game on Friday night. Outlaws are still undefeated. Going to see my dear son and his lovely bride on Saturday and sharing thier life. At the same time I am crazy busy with Operation Christmas Child and attemping to pull it all together. I love it, it’s so great to serve.
Sorry about any typos. i need to get to bed, so i am not checking them…sorry….. Love me lgc

Ya know when you live in a small town, I mean a really small town.. and you have a good football team… it is a pretty fun thing. Laura has spent her fall cheering her heart out for the Sisters Outlaws and it is a blast to watch. Her parents are really proud of her. It is NO easy thing to be a cheerleader and stand infront of a crowd week afetr week after week, attemping to lead them into enthusiastic cheers the entire time of the game (atleast 3 hours) with little to no response, keeping a bright smile on your face and a loud voice for the crowd. I know there is a “sterotype” for cheerleaders but it is so wrong! They work so hard and get no thanks or recognition at all, yet firday night after friday night they are there freezing their —— whatever’s off, cheering till the end! Way to go Laura! By the way, the cheerleaders preformed a GREAT dance routine this Friday and Laura was HOT. That girl understands how to move her body and it is fun to watch. I should also add the ‘Outlaws’ are undefeated this year so far and watching those games makes a Friday night pretty darn fun!
I’d add a photo but I can not do that with the help of Wil )o: Hopefully when I am in Nashville he can show me the ropes!
lgc

Well Bill and I celebrated 20 years of marraige this last week. It is pretty amazing it has gone by so fast and we still feel so young. We are so grateful to the Lord for bringing us together and giving us alll the grace and mercy there is. We’ve managed to stay in love, committed and look forward to doing 2 times more! I know we’d be really quite old but hey, why not hope.

We took a very quick trip for our anniversary up to Seattle and hopped onto a cruise ship for 3 very fun nights. We enjoyed fantastic entertainment, fine dining, great dancing (well Bill IS a great dancer I really try but I just mostly have fun and look dorky) a wonderful suite with a huge veranda a personal butler (who understood very little english) cozy naps gazing out at the ocean and the beauty of Puget Sound. It was a wonderful few days and we were able to talk over many life issues that come upon you when you get to middle age.

Heidi and Joe came down (Joe just for the weekend) to stay with Michael and Laura. (Not that they need staying with, they don’t… just for the company and to stay connected) They took Laura shopping for a homecoming dress, it is VERY pretty but they spent WAY TO MUCH! And they ‘hung out’ with Mikey as much as they could (school and work occupy much of his time). It was so great to see Heidi and hear all about their lives. They are SO busy but seem really content and happy. Heidi left early this morning in a U-Haul (Yes all alone… Joe had to work) and drove all of thier ’stuff’ in storage down to CA. They also managed to do some shoppong for their new home while they were here and found a very nice new couch and other things. (Taking advantage of no sales tax Oregon!) She made it home to Joey safely about an hour ago. (o:

We are headed to Nashville at the end of this month to vsit our new GrandDog Gracie and Wil & Kristen too! (*/*) We are so thankful we will get some time to spend with them in their world and their married life. They have put so much into their home, we are excited to see it!

I think I am going to try to figure out how to post some pics now. Ta ta for now. lgc