Giant Mother Garage Spider

Yet another horrible Mother of the Year spider.....I hate these things..but I love this guy!
I have no idea who he is...but I share his pain.

Will and Bern have these same spiders......My solution....RAID!

Giant Garage Spider

I love this video...makes me jump off the seat!

Bern and Will...I think this is your spider - Texas Wolf Spider!

Happy 8th Anniversary Will and Bernadette

Clowning Around On Jimmy's First Birthday!

Sweet Jimmy turned  ONE year old on June 9th!  Will turned 30 on June 13th...so  a joint party was enjoyed on Sunday afternoon, June 13th at HeltonTexas!

Lots of children and adults enjoyed all that you can imagine to do on this special day!

Enjoy these pictures from the event...but DON'T MISS THE LAST ONE!...story to follow......

Look closely in front of the clown's foot.....yes it is a BIG gun!!!!!!!   She was packing some major heat at this birthday party for a one year old!  It fell out of her dress while she dancing!!!  The  children saw it - she then quickly put her foot on it then picked it up..
Needless to say we are all still shocked over this irresponsible action!  She was paid a lot of money - we are asking for it back......ya think??????
Thank you, God for protecting us all from this idiot!  I guess even clowns in Texas carry a gun!

40th High School Reunion

I just got back to Pennsylvania from Tennessee and my 40 Year Class Reunion. 
What a great time visiting with my wonderful friends from high school.  From our small class of around 80,  there are 25 or so of us who are still very close.   We walked the halls of LCHS and the memories rushed thru my head.  There were so many stories - some I'd heard a million times and a few that I'd not heard before! 
One of my favorites was the day that our morning began with the playing of "God Save The Queen".....because of  a mischevious friend who flipped the record from "God Bless America"!  Our school secretary was so upset that she cried!  I thought it was hillarious at the time - as did just about everyone else.

40 years ago is a long time!  Lots have changed since 1970....I love the old stories - they are the threads that bind us together.  What a remarkable group of extraodinary people!

Missing Mother

My dearest sister, June, sent this to me this morning in an e-mail.  It expresses my thoughts and feelings exactly.  I had to repost this for Mother's Day.
I'm going "home" ... really "home" next weekend.  My high school class is having it's 40 year reunion....  I love all my "old" friends.  When I am with my "clique" as Paul calls them....I feel like I'm brought back down to the reality of where I came from.  They all knew and loved my Mother.  They are my "heart" family.
This will be my first trip back home since Mother died on November 3rd.  Bittersweet memories will consume me.  I dread the emptiness of home and the sadness that has overcome Daddy.  I dread going to the cemetery and seeing the memorial that bears her name.  June and I will go to the library to see the books that have been donated in her memory.  I could go on and on, but June said it all best.................

So far, day 3 of this Mother’s Day week…….I can’t shake this empty feeling and just miss mama so much. “They” say the first one is the hardest. Yes, it’s not easy at all……….I stay teary eyed and with a knot in my throat most all day.
We should have been on the phone already deciding whether we were all gonna go in together to buy mama one big gift or if we are going to do individual gifts for her Sunday……..Yesterday while I was shopping for myself, I was overwhelmed with the emptiness and sadness of not buying mother a gift.
Everywhere I looked I could see something she would like. She was so easy to buy for cause she loved just about anything. And always made a big deal out of it…..


Her funny expressions, her silly jokes, the happy look on her face when we’d walk in the back door. Always wanting to go riding around or to the dollar store to just piddle around. There’s just so many things I miss about her, I can’t even begin to put them all down.
Just being at the house when we go in…..so strange and so empty with her not there.


Anyway, this Mother’s Day……we’ll go visit her at New Haven, put fresh artificial flowers on her grave. Sit and talk to a granite head stone, rub my hand across her name and when I leave bend down and kiss it goodbye…….


And so, life goes on without mama on this earth…… but one thing for sure she sure left her mark on our heart.




Happy Mother’s Day, Mom……………

I love Skype!

We had the best video call with Will and Jaxon yesterday morning!  Here he was showing us him "muscles".

Will's been sick with a terrible sinus/congestion, etc.  ..... as have both the little boys.  Jimmy was napping at the time, so he couldn't talk to us.  Whether it be Skype, Logitec Vid, Messenger or whatever your choice of video calls is....give it try!  It's FREE!
Regardless of the cost......visiting with HeltonTexas live with video anytime......priceless!

Winter in PA

It wasn't finished yet....

Blurry....but it was cold!

18 - 20 inches of fresh snow

Lowe's parking lot...tons of snow!

Gotta feed the birds...

Dozier has fun...

Insane amount of snow....

Mr. H at Ski School....

This is my front door...it was so pretty...can't really see the snow on the wreath in this pic.

During the big blizzard of 10!

Rolling on I-81

WHAT A MORNING....
Mr. H and I had been to the local Cracker Barrel for breakfast and were driving down I-81 headed north just outside of Hazleton. We've had a lot of snow recently, but the roads appeared to be clear. The car in front of us began to spin out of control and flipped over .... we stopped to see if we could help. People were still in the car..car was smoking...wheels were turning... panic was everywhere! We helped them all we could by getting the children and mom in our warm car while all the details were worked out. No one was hurt other that minor cuts and scratches. Their Volvo was upside down. We prayed.

Firemen, ambulance, State Police, wrecker....you name it .....was on the scene. I had called 911. Then just in a blink.....here comes another car flipping and rolling toward the exact spot! This time an elderly man was alone in his car when he hit the "black ice"...and it sent him to the exact spot! Emergency personnel scattered! This gentleman had to have assistance from the firemen to be removed from his car. He was transported by ambulance with a head injury.

So......we drove s l o w l y back home!


Be careful out there, folks! Even when the road looks clear, it may be very slick.....slow down!!

Two Thousand Ten.....Seriously?

Being a child of the 50's....this sounds totally like a Space Odyssey..."In the Year 2010"! 
2009 was quite a year for me....Michael and Sarah were married on March 7.....James Andrew, "Jimmy" was born June 8.....I traveled back and forth to DFW so many times that I seriously lost count.  My year was great until November 3 when I lost my Mother.  That still seems so odd to say those words....lots of healing left to do.  I miss her so much.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the year....enjoy!

New Baby Jimmy

In DC..beautiful balls resting on the shrubs...like bubbles!

April....DC...Cherry Blossom Festival

At HeltonTexas in February...

Snowy Autumn in PA

My precious Mama in April

Flowers from Mama's funeral.....

Shannon taking shots of Jimmy in the leaves....

Jaxon at Mama's gravesite

Daddy actually holding Jimmy!   This was a rare shot!!

Paul's Mother holding Jimmy.....

Will at Don Ashton's "highway memorial" in Kansas....lovely crosses for Don and Jake Valek made by Jake's high school class.
We went there in November.

Grandad and Jaxon getting Jimmy kisses......

Some Grandad time in August......

Most adorable picture.....

This....is an angel!

Shot of the old Ridgely water tower "The Tin Man" it was called....the next month it was torn down.  I took this in September .... had no idea it would be gone soon!

My high school reunion in September....great old friends

Greatest kiss......

My precious Conway friends at Michael and Sarah's shower....

The handsome couple!

Just about the best picture ever.....I love my friends, the Wrens, but the precious girls...Whitney and Katie behind them stole the shot!

My sweet boys in Dallas....