Soulful Friday-A surprise visit from a sibling makes life wonderful.

Looking back over this week 


Made this Lemon no cook icebox cake for Easter Sunday.
It was delicious.

It was great having most of our family gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday together, but looking over some photos that I had taken this week, I realized the day that my brother stopped by and we had odds and ends for lunch really was food for my soul.

We are the only two left of our family.

Mom and dad gone and only other sister died almost 40 years ago.

We talk on the phone often and visit back and forth several times a year. They have 2 adult children but no grands and won't be having any.

My children have filled that hole in their hearts and therefore made them closer to me.

We were raised by a single mother in a home with our grandparents.

It was not easy for her or us.

The month of April is our wedding anniversary.
My only sister and I married in a double wedding.
My brother was 14 years old when we were married.
April is a full month for us.

Many birthdays, our sister who is deceased, 2 of our children and our wedding anniversary.
 
He is my family and I love him forever.

Linking up with A Soulful Life
here.       

Enjoy the Easter Holiday with kids and grands.

Such a beautiful day on Easter Sunday.

Good food and loved ones.

Finally the Weeping cherry budding out.

 Papaw, grandson and son-in-law.

Haven't seen much of the sweet boy since he started college.

 Five out of our ten grands were here. They are all in college. Busy, busy, busy.  

Notice, no flowers yet.

Just too early to safely put any out. Maybe some pansies  tomorrow.

Sweet Abby with flowers.

My dear, only brother with his sweet Linda.

They are always fun.

I am so grateful for the beautiful day we had to enjoy our family.

It is late as I write this and it is storming big time.

So grateful for today.

Joining up with Grandma's Briefs

here

Christmas lasts as long as it takes to see all loved ones.

So far our plan for an Open House on

Christmas day is having it's advantages.

As I have said our family is getting bigger and grands are getting married and so on and they are having more responsibilities and more family members to visit.

One granddaughter cannot be with us Christmas day so in a wonderful surprise visit, look who showed up Sunday.

ggson loves baskets and boxes with tops on them.

On and off is his favorite pastime. 

I love the shot as the sun shines through the window he appears to have a halo around him.

Dear granddaughter Cindy and son-in-love

Jeremy.

I can remember when we began our family and then as we all grew older, grands married and our extended family became very extended.

So have to go out of town to see all family members.

Playing hide and seek with papaw.

Could eat those little cheeks up.

 Since we asked for RSVPs our families are making plans to visit at different times this week.

Have 2 fridges filled with food.

Our daughter and her family are coming tomorrow since they take turns going out of town every other years for Christmas day.

Can't believe our babies are all grown up. 

From Kentucky 

Visit Grand Social

here

Share the JOY-PJ party

Nothing gives me more JOY than spending time with my family.
We all love to dance.

All the men were gone somewhere out of town so we had an all girls PJ party.

Yours truly, daughter and granddaughter.

Doing the bring on spring dance.

Go here for more JOY sharing

A big booboo

We had our family fish fry on the lake Saturday.

Some were not there that have been there in the past and some new faces showed up.

Princess Holly doing some corn shucking.

Papaw holding court with all his funny tales.

And the cousins catching up with the new college going grands.

After all the loving folks that are there the favorite thing is the food and the wonderful fish brother Joe just keeps putting out.

Granddaughter Cindy with her cute baby bump,
down front left.

And my big boo boo, I forgot to take our annual picture of us all on the front steps.

 Just putting last year's photo on for old times sake.


Nothing beats family, food and fun.


Go here for more grand socializing.

Share the JOY=Me and my brother

Family is of utmost importance to me.

My brother is 8 years younger than I and never lived with our father.

I was 8, our sister was 6 and he was en utero when we moved in with our grandparents and our mother.

Our only sister died when I was 34 and he was 26.

It was hard for us to reminiscence about our childhood since we did not have the same things to remember.
 

Since our children have grown we have been able to grow closer together.

Our children want them to be present at every holiday and my brother and SIL have been like another set of grands for our children since they do not have any grandchildren of their own.

My family brings such JOY.
 

This was taken at my 75th birthday party
in November.

He, his wife Linda, who I love like a sister, and myself spent the day together on Tuesday and had lunch at our favorite Cracker Barrel. 

What JOY to be with these folks whom I love so much.

Go here to spread the JOY  

Neck warmer I made for our gddtr Cindy.
I looked and looked for a pattern.
Could not find what I wanted so had to make this up.
Guess what, one week later one almost exactly like this showed up on my Free Crochet site.
Even the same color.

 Bet I make some more of these.


So I know it is in style.
She loved it. 

 

 

Sharing the joy and tea with ruth and friends.

Having........my Lemon Zinger tea in my white and pink china cup.

Feeling.........full of joy thinking of all the work we did to get ready for the father's day celebration at our house. Yes it was planning and cooking and cleaning the yard and wondering if it would rain but being with all the loved ones made it all worth while.

Thinking...........how blessed we all are to have each other.

Watching these grands in the swing enjoying each other made the cleaning and scrubbing, to rid the patio of all the evidence of the many birds, worthwhile.

"Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourself begin all over again, in them, with them, and so there is something more to the world again."

William Saroyan

Photographs are such a wonderful thing to remind and enable us to relive the most joyful times in our lives.
For me
The greatest JOY is time with family.

Linking up with
Meri here at Share the Joy



and Ruth at Tea Talk 


Get out there and catch the JOY GERM.

For the man who has everything and Mother's Day cookout and swim.

I know I am a little behind the times but when I saw this I had a good laugh.

 A really big man's flip flop?

A really big man's beer bottle opener.

Love it and love him.
Dear SIL

Fruit and desert bar at our Mother's day cookout and swim.

 Cheese, dips and crackers bar.

When our daughter asked me what I would like for mother's day cookout I knew what I had been yearning for.

Brats with peppers and onions. 
We had to have something the men could cook since most of the ladies were mothers.
Our SIL's mom agreed on the Brats too.

And these are my favorites.

And just to top it off

 My favorite sour drink.

Hooking up with Share the Joy and Tea Talk with Ruth.

Our daughter and SIL hosted the Mother's Day celebration for both sides of their family.
All siblings and grands on both sides and both Moms and Dads were there.

It brings me great joy for our families to be friends.

It sprinkled rain for awhile but the pool water was warm and some of the daring grands hit the pool for swimming.
As long as there was no lightening it is permitted.

Tea Talk with Ruth


Having....Lemon Zinger in my favorite china cup. I like this tea it needs no sweetener and has the lemon zing.

Feeling........very good. Had an upper gastric upset earlier this week and it knocked me back for a few days. No it was not following the menu mentioned in this post but 2 weeks later.
I felt like I had food poison on Sunday but had eaten at home all week-end.
Just one of those things.

Thinking..........I am looking forward to the retreat I am involved in this week-end for the terminally and chronically ill patients. I miss nursing and this will give me a chance to use my favorite part of  nursing, TLC.

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

Jane Howard

Go here for Share the Joy with Meri and friends

Go here for Tea Talk with Ruth and friends.