George's 80th Birthday Trip -March 7-15, 2022

Hello Blog Friends, How are you? George and I are doing fine and hoping for Spring to finally get here! In March we took a nine day trip to celebrate George's 80th Birthday (March 9).  We first drove to the beach (Ocean Isle) and spent two days.  We walked on the beach; Ate seafood and prime rib;  and Walked in our favorite park (Sunset Beach).

Then we drove to Florida (near Tampa) and visited George's son and daughter-in-law. We enjoyed LOTS of great food;  Relaxing in their gorgeous Gazebo; catching up with family; and enjoying the delicous Strawberry Cake!!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!! 

Hugs, 

Betsy💝💛💚💕

Here's a little collage I put together of the Birthday Boy!

Beautiful Sunset from our motel near Jacksonville, FL

Our favorite park near Sunset Beach, where it's always fun to walk and relax! Want to join us on the swing?????

The Gazebo at Islander Inn,  Ocean Isle Beach

We both enjoy walking on the beach --even when it's foggy and windy!

I love hearing and seeing the ROAR of the waves.

On George's actual birthday (March 9),  he chose to go to Boundary House in Calabash, NC for some of the best Prime Rib  EVER!!!!!  Yum!

And of course,  we had to check out all of the Christmas trees and decorations at Callahan's of Calabash... Oh how I love that store!!!!

Then it was off to sunny, beautiful, warm FLORIDA.  This is Bob and Melissa's back yard!!!  SO gorgeous!!

Relaxing in their comfy Gazebo was awesome!

The Birthday Boy is definitely RELAXED!!!!

Next came the beautiful Strawberry Cake for the Birthday Boy.

George and his son!!!!  (See how happy George was to be with Bob and Melissa.)

Beautiful Melissa,  George and Bob

Eat up Fellow --and have another piece!!!  Making it to EIGHTY is pretty darn special!!!!!   Hope you enjoyed your special birthday. I love you, more than life itself!!!!

What I LOVE about CHRISTMAS --even in 2020!!!!

We all need to remember the true meaning of Christmas.  Jesus Christ was Born. Hallelujah!!  (The Creche in our home)

Dear Blog Friends,  A belated Merry Christmas to you.   I hope that you had a good Christmas --even though it was probably very different this year.  George and I have stayed healthy --and we work hard to continue staying healthy!  

Today's post will show all of the JOYS and BLESSINGS I have experienced  this Christmas Season --even in 2020, with all of our changes.  The key:  STAY POSITIVE!!!!  

I hope you enjoy this post --as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.

On December 6, 2020,  George and I drove to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to have lunch with George's daughter, Kelly, and his sister, Janet.  We had a wonderful lunch and great conversation at Cheddar's Restaurant.  (NOTE: This picture of George and Kelly was taken in  December, 2019--because, in my excitement,  I forgot to take any pictures of this year's visit... ha)

On Dec.14 and 15, we visited the Biltmore Home and Gardens in Asheville, NC for their marvelous  "Christmas at Biltmore".  This has become a tradition for us--and it  'makes' our Christmas --if you know what I mean!  (This picture was taken in the Antler Hill Village area when we were walking after dark and enjoying the beautiful lights/decorations in that area.)

On December 20 ---two of my sons (Bert and Mark) and Mark's sweetheart, Robin, came to our home to celebrate Christmas with us...   (Thanks to Robin and George for remembering to take pictures of their visit.)

Robin and Mark,  feeling great after struggling with Covid last month!!! Prayers for all people who have been and are being affected by that wicked Virus.  Most of us know people who know someone who had/has it.  Right now,  I have a Granddaughter in Texas who has the virus,  and a good friend,  also in Texas,  who has Covid....  SCARY and SAD!

Robin is like a daughter to me.  She's the most caring/giving person I know. Mark is SO lucky to have her in his life.  SO AM I!!!!!!

On December 21st,  George and I drove to Chattanooga to see my 3rd and youngest son, Jeff, and his beautiful wife,  Dawn.  We met at Jeff's workplace, and then drove to Panera Bread for lunch and conversation.   It had been a long time since we have seen them --so it was FANTASTIC to see them on the 21st.  TWO AWESOME PEOPLE!!!!  (Picture was from Christmas 2019 --since again, for the millionth time,  I was too excited and forgot to take a picture... Geeshhhh.)

If these little Cuties in their Christmas "Jammies" won't make you smile at Christmas (even in 2020),  then nothing will!!!!  These are my Great Granddaughters:  Roni --age about 1 1/2,  and Vivian --almost age 3!!!!  They live in Eastern Virginia... Aren't they adorable?

I have about 27 Willow Tree figurines in my collection --but I've never had nor seen this one.  This is a music box named  PROMISE. See the little video below  (if it works)!

On Christmas Eve --and most of the day on Christmas Day---we had snow!!!!!   SO --for the first time since 2010,  we had a WHITE CHRISTMAS...  (Talk about making ME happy!!!! ha)

Do you see our SHIRTS?  They are SO appropriate for 2020!!!!  This will be a year that most of us will talk about for many years to come.  BUT--as you can see from the pictures in this post,  we always managed to find some JOY this year even when we had to drive to find it!!!!!!  Merry QUARANTINE Christmas to you!!!!!!

I thank God every single minute for this wonderful man in my life.  He makes every day like Christmas for me!!!!!   May God Bless my awesome husband, George.

 WELL--enough for today!!!!!  When I began working on this blog,  I knew that I couldn't possibly talk about ALL of the things I loved about Christmas this year,  (yes---even in 2020)...  SO --I just hit the 'highlights'...  First and most important:  The Birth of Jesus Christ (which is why we celebrate this holiday)...  Then comes my love for George Adams, my HUSBAND for almost 20 years.  Next is my love for  FAMILY...  I'm glad we got to see all of our family except George's son in FL.   

I hope you had a MERRY Christmas --even in 2020,  and I hope you stayed FAR AWAY from the terrible Covid Virus.  Instead of having family ALL together this year, the 3 different SMALL groups we saw gave us the opportunity to have THREE Christmas Celebrations with Family instead of one. 

George and I have been SO careful --due to Covid --and we have always worked hard to find joy through this unbelievable year.   

 Hope all of you had a very special Christmas --whatever you were able to do this year,  and let's all PRAY that 2021 is a much better year (although they are saying that the Covid Virus will be with us until late spring)... Let's stay patient and careful!!!

Hugs,

Betsy💝💛💚💕

   

Being Grateful for our many Blessings-- Thanksgiving, 2020

Dear Friends,  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours...  2020 has been a 'strange' year for so many of us.  The Covid virus is still around --and for many of us,  it seems to be getting worse instead of better..  As I say A LOT,  will it EVER END??????

As we enter into the holiday season,  most of us are seeing many changes in our lives and our families.. Instead of gathering among loved ones for Thanksgiving Dinner this year,  we are staying home and are talking to loved ones online.   It's just not the same.  

George and I thought we were one of the lucky ones this year,  hoping to spend Thanksgiving with son Mark and his gal,  Robin...  We were so excited... HOWEVER,  they called Tuesday night and gave us some bad news... Robin is the Director of a pre-school in Knoxville and just  found out that her assistant had tested positive for Covid. SO--Robin got tested Wednesday but won't get her results for about 4 days or longer.   THEREFORE,  our wonderful Thanksgiving with them has been postponed... We all were SO disappointed.  So---George and I will be home talking to all of the family on the phone and on Facetime...  Life is different for sure!

Many of you have been talking all month about showing gratitude --even through the rough times.  SO--today,  I have picked out some of my favorite quotes and ideas to share with you... I have always 'tried' to be POSITIVE with whatever life gives me/us... But I'll admit that I am one who needs to read these quotes over and over --each and every day!!!! Another quote which I love says that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for!!!!  Oh --how true that is... 

For me,  I am truly grateful for being out in nature  and experiencing God's Beauty all around us.  That is why I also included a couple pictures I took on 10/21/20 of the beautiful Fall colors... I hope they will bring a smile to your face on this Thanksgiving Day in the USA.    ENJOY!!!!!

I took this picture on 10/21/20 at Indian Boundary Recreation Area,  off of the Cherohala Skyway --not too far from Tellico Plains,  TN

On 10/21/20,  late in the afternoon --we were headed down the mountain toward home and stopped just to capture this incredible sky.  

Hope your day is WONDERFUL...  With God in our lives,  what more could we want!  George and I were supposed to go to the beach next week --but postponed that trip until March  due to so much Covid around (we have been very lucky so far and want to continue to stay lucky).  But--there's another reason:  Even though I had a Cardiac Ablation only 3 weeks ago,  I went back into A Fib already,  and was not feeling very good for about 20 hours --until I reverted back to Normal Sinus Rhythm.  Tis LIFE ---BUT I will continue to give it my best shot...  God continues to bless me in so many other ways!!!

Have a fabulous day --and weeks ahead... I won't blog again until December 7th...

God's Blessings on ALL of you.  Thank you for always being there for me/with me each and every month/year.   

Love,

Betsy💝💛💚💕

 

Son Mark is a "Happy CAMPER"

Why is MARK so happy on Valentine's Day??????????

Dear Friends,  As you can see from the picture above,  my son MARK is EXTREMELY happy these days... He absolutely loves the Smokies --and just being out in nature (whether he is hiking or driving his jeep,  or just sitting by a creek in his hammock)!!!!!

On Valentine's Day --he finally made a big purchase  (which he has been contemplating buying for quite some time).... He now is the proud owner of a POP-UP CAMPER.  He wanted something for camping that he can pull behind his 'purdy' Little RED JEEP...

He got a used one which had been used very little.   He loves it ---and was so excited that he invited George and me to come and see it.... Of course,  I don't want to miss an opportunity to see my sons....  So we drove to Maryville on Saturday  (2/15/20)  to check it out.     All I can say is "WOW".....  I am just SO excited for him/them.

He was still busy reading the manual and learning all about the bells and whistles...  This little beauty sleeps 4 easily and 6 if necessary.... There is a king bed on one end and a queen bed on the other.  There's a little stove and sink,  a small fridge,  and a table and benches which seat four. AND--the camper has AC/Heat, plus a small water heater.  To be an older camper,  this camper is in immaculate shape... He was lucky to get this one.. BUT--he has been looking for the 'perfect one' for him (and Bert and Robin) for a long time...

Besides "oohing and ahhing" over the new "TOY" ----we also just enjoyed seeing our kids for a few hours!!!!!   George and I took them to lunch --and they chose to go to Cheddar's.... Excellent choice --and we all enjoyed it...

Hope you enjoy seeing the pictures!!!!!   By the way,  they have invited us to go camping with them sometime.....  Hmmmmmm---sounds intriguing!!!!

There it is...  The new POP-UP CAMPER.  

Welcome to your new home,  Mr. Camper.... This one was taken when they first got home with it the night before.

Mark and another son, Bert (on left) showing the 'parents' the new TOY!!!

Mark and Robin are SO excited ---and ready to hit the road and do some camping!!

Come inside  and Mark and Robin will show you around...  We are looking toward the king sized bed in this picture.

Their little table with a bench on both sides

A small sink and stove  (They even have a small tank for hot water!!)

George and Bert are showing off the other end  --with stove/sink,  table/benches and queen sized bed.

They even have a TV out there now --which they hooked up!!!! 

After we left,  Mark hooked up the awning and brought out a couple of chairs...  (I 'think' that Robin even took a short nap inside!!!!!! ha)

My JOY---Being with 2 of my 3 sons!!!! 

Bert, George and Mark

Bert, George, Mark, and Robin

Bert, Mom, Mark, Robin

They are home!!!!!!!  (Taken on the evening of 2/14/20;  What a Valentine's Present!!)

I must tell you a story!!!!    Mr Fancy Red Jeep  whispered something in my ear which made me very very SAD!!!!!  He used to be the center of attention,  and the garage was his to enjoy--especially during these cold mornings!!!   NOW---he lost his 'home' and has to sit outside....    AND --- not only was he sad about being 'second fiddle' but he also has to pull that heavy thing around!!!!  POOR MR. JEEP!!!!!   Don't you feel sorry for him??????????   Tee Hee Hee!!!

Hope you enjoyed the happiness in our family on this special occasion!!!!   Mark is an outdoor person from top to bottom ---and I LOVE following him  (and Robin) on their hikes and 'adventures'...   Those two will REALLY enjoy the camper I'm sure!!!!

Have an awesome week, my Friends!!!
Hugs,