a new year...

...to claim joy and enjoy God's blessings. today's special blessing was new year's lunch at Aunt Nellie's!

Tea or lemonade?

The feast.

Time to be thankful & eat.

Daddy's seriously illegal plate...especially turnip greens, BLACK EYED PEAS, cornbread and probably the cranberry relish (i kept my mouth shut and let him eat...that was a new year miracle).

"In moderation" is not daddy's strong suit! he said "I'd like just another bite of turnip greens" until I folded.

Daddy's dessert bowl, have no clue how he had room!


Only possibility after a lunch "fit for a king" (daddy's line). Notice, there are no women in this picture.
Happy New Year!
-holly

tennessee?

guess you can say we're officially snowed in. our "officer dan" made a pass around the house to help "clear a way" but you can't tell from this angle. daddy has treatment today, that's gonna present a challenge, i've already had a blood pressure surge since he told mama that the snow is soft, he can drive himself...oh my goodness! troy is even home! and we had to bring the little cat in, snow is deeper than she is tall! can you even sled in this stuff? i'll have an answer to that question before too long, i'm guessing. :)

home.

we may all be grown, have our own families and our own homes but...for me, this will always be home.

thursday morning mama had a surgical vein procedure on her left leg, i had the privilege of taking them and ushering them back home. i ended up staying the day, not because they needed me, (mama makes it very clear they DON'T!), but because i NEEDED to be there just to be sure she (they) were ok. this was pretty much where we were all day, they napped, took casual strolls around the house and i worked on the bulletin for church from the couch, it was good and mama's leg is doing just fine. :)
FRIDAY. gail came home and spent the day, she was much more productive than i was the day before. she brought some green containers small enough for mama and daddy to handle easily to pack up the Christmas decorations and cleared them out upstairs, still have the basement to go. mama has never been in a hurry to get the decorations down and i'm glad. (that's what makes it ok that my outdoor decorations just came down yesterday.) it was a productive but fairly quiet day. gail has started a blog and is trying to learn how to add pictures and stuff, so we had a training session in the sunroom mid afternoon. the kitchen door opened and in walked jerry! he leaned in the sunroom and we lept from our seats like we had springs as behinds. another one of us, walking in the door...at home. he had been close for work so we got the gift of him for little while. mama was so pleased and glad to see him, it was his first week in a new job and we got to hear all about it. they landed a goldmine in him, sure they'll find that out! he stayed until daddy got home from treatment and then headed to his home with his gail. the other gail and i fixed supper for us all, troy came in after work, we cleaned everything up, kissed the folks goodbye and headed to our homes. i love living so close, i get to go home every day if i want, to sit a while, drop something by or just breeze through for a minute...one of my greatest blessings. people say that a house is a house and it's the people that make a home but, for me, it's the whole package. this house is home and the couple inside? well, they're home too. here's everyone that made it "home" for Christmas this year...

a new year.

hi.
may to january, that's a pretty big gap.
2010 was eventful and a whole lotta out of control. thankfully, mom and dad continue to do well and last year held no big medical stuff for either of them but emotionally it has been a rollercoaster. upheavel within their church...my/our church (all my life and ours, to include troy, since marriage). mom and dad remain in their church but troy and i have made a change.
i'm writing this because this is mom and dad's blog and i have something to say about them. they are amazing, some parents most definitely aren't, but we are most definitely blessed. when troy and i decided to leave winchester cp and join owens chapel cp we talked with mom and dad about our decision, this is what they said, "please let us be there." i was blown away. a perfect example of unconditional love. OF COURSE they would be there, as they always had been, to love, support and encourage us. leaving the winchester church felt like experiencing the death of a loved one. i tried for weeks to enter and go sit in the chapel to pray like i used to, so often, but there has been so much anger and injustice that i felt a huge weight every time i tried to walk through the door. it quickly became very clear, it wasn't where God wanted me to be.
i have been loved unconditionally all my life, every day, down here, by the family God blessed me with and the last year has taught me what conditional love looks like. it is ugly and, definitely, NOT of God...such a disappointment. i can say that i have learned, fully realize and know for sure that people will always fail you, always let you down, sad but true. WE ARE ALL...human. hello God, He's it...strong, steady, consistent, unwavering, not giving us what we want but what He wants for us, even if it hurts, and often, it does, very much.
2011 finds me still here, testing the ground, seeking firm footing and my place in His grand plan, surrounded by a loving family, thankful for my parents and their unconditional love.
2010 is in the books so...
happy new year, enjoy new glimpses into what IS...this life: joyful challenge.
here's to 2011...
-holly

Sunday lunch at a favorite spot...

Aunt Nellie is seriously down in her back, so Daddy fixed bbq & mama made her potato salad, baked beans and such and we went to Aunt Nellies for lunch. Of course, we had to play a hand of continental and if you have a minute...you must watch the video below. Setting the stage...this is the final hand and you have to lay down 3 straights of different suits and discard. THIS HAND IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE and usually lasts FOREVER with much frustration but Troy captured a historical moment on his blackberry...so glad he did!

supper downtown.

mama & daddy at john t's, a new place in an old building on the square...nice.

always eating...

you'd think he's 6 ft. tall with a hollow leg! at this point daddy had already had a stretched hamburger on a bun...trimmed the burgers in the pan, eaten the "trimmings" and helped himself to one more for good measure. mama had to step in and package the leftovers, while there were leftovers to package! :) thankful for his VERY healthy appetite! by the way, he had a very productive couple of days, cleaned & applied sealer to all the peagravel and mowed that big yard! mama's good too, she called and asked me to notice the windows when i come over...they are sparkling! no wonder they nap when they sit for a spell. :)

here a tipps, there a tipps...

everywhere a tipps tipps. almost everyone journeyed home for Christmas. we missed our dukes; jacki, james and stetson, and our kellys: sunni, ed, sloan and kate. it was wild abandon and over way too soon. here's Christmas morning at the hoods followed by tippsness in abundance...

the usual with one addition, karen, a long-time family friend.

troy and holly's favorite gift, brandon...home, and his (and our) sweet girl, tiffani.

daddy reading this blog in book form. :)

everyone came home day after Christmas and here's a little of what i managed to capture amidst the chaos...

the girls...vicki (steve's), haley (adam's), gail (jerry's), andrea (heath's).

jax (josh & jennifer's) and grey (jarrod & blair's) watching gigi & gida starring as elves of the blog. they wanted to watch it over, and over, and over, and over.

troy (holly's).

robin and amy.

jennifer (josh's) and mama.

watchful eye on the climbin' cousins. josh with liam (chase & rosalie's) and jax (josh & jennifer's).

tossing the pigskin. heath, adam and jarrod. rosalie keepin' a watchful eye toward the creek.

reason for the watchful eye, cousins at the creek. jax (josh & jen's), liam (chase & rosalie's), josh, and barrett (adam & haley's).

cousins. liam, grey and jax. :)

playin'. chase and adam.
haley (adam's) and her baby jace.

sweet noah (jarrod & blair's).making necklaces. precious ashlyn (josh & jen's) and noah.

playin' cousins. barrett (adam & haley's) and liam (chase & rosalie's).

brandon (troy & holly's), holly and tiffani. brothers. jerry and steven.
kitchen help. :)
chase.
boys and their girls. josh & ashlyn. jarrod & noah.

playin' catch-up...celebrating mama.

mama's birthday, we gathered for a cracker barrel breakfast in manchester. we had a very full table! joining mama and daddy were jerry, gail, al, gail, jennifer, ashlyn, jax, noah, grey, robin, amy and me. mama (gigi) was showered with birthday love, wishes and fruit topped pancakes. :)

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annual pigeonforgefest.

the whole wacky crew. a long weekend of football+movie watchin', continental+mexican train playin', Christmas shoppin', sale findin', eatin', eatin'+ more eatin' gabfest. the name of the cabin we stay in is "as good as it gets" and they ain't lyin'. uncle merky had a cold+had to stay home, steve had to work so we were minus he+vicki too...we missed them. thanks glenda for all you do to make this happen every year...we love you.