PLAY BALL!

Welcome back Glavine.

Okay Braves, you're not off to a very good start.

GO BRAVES!

Leading the Music?

Wonder what song Angie was going to lead us in? Maybe, "God Bless America." Maybe she was signing, I know some sign language and I don't recognize that as any sign I know. Do you talk with your hands. Are you expressive? As children, we use to laugh at my mama when she was talking on the phone. Her hand's were always flying this way or that. We would tell her if we cut her hands off she couldn't talk. She'd get so mad at us.

I took these pictures of some of the family on Friday. We went to Jekyll Island beach for a few hours. Crazy Aunt Betsy was calling every Utah relative (that would answer their phones) and telling them that she was at the beach and it was 82*. It had snowed out there the day before.

The Cowboys Go Home

BJ Newland, Aunt Betsy, their grandmother and Travis Newland.

Pictured from left to right, bottom row: BJ Newland, Christon and Harrison, and Travis Newland. Back row: September, Travis and Jordan. The Newland brothers are the kids and Laura's cousin's from Utah. They are as close as if they grew up together but they grew up in Utah and our kids here in Brunswick. Aunt Betsy is their grandmother. They will all fly home this afternoon. It has been wonderful to have them in town as we all go through the tragic loss of our Laura. Roger, Lori, Tara and her little ones, Angie and her son Andrew, and Farrel's nephews, Brett and Kenny Goodrich all left going to their homes yesterday. Farrel's sister and husband, Carolyn and Jay are here till Wednesday. It's been a blessing to have them here. I hate to see them go, but go they must, because for all of us, life goes on....

Crocs

These are my favorite shoes. I have them in 4 colors!

I can't help it. They are Crocs , they are so comfortable.

So, Aunt Betsy is here from Utah, along with many other

relatives that came for Laura's funeral.

Today I'm taking her to buy several pairs

for Utah relatives that haven't seen this style.

It's still snowing out there, they might get to wear them in August.

SHOPPING UPDATE: So I took Aunt Betsy to the mall to buy her Croc's.

She bought the black ones for herself. Linda couldn't

wait until Betsy gets home tomorrow and ordered hers

on line. So aunt Betsy bought Sherry the brown/pink ones.

Aunt Betsy had the salesman to cut the tags off and she wore

them out of the store. We leave the store and just walk

down the mall and end up going into Belk. As we are walking

and talking we run into my friend Beth. ( Beth helped serve and clean up for the dinner after Laura's funeral. Her daughter went to school with Laura and they were at the visitation and funeral) Well she knows aunt Betsy

from when we took Beth to Utah, (we stayed with

aunt Betsy.) Beth had seen on my blog that we were going

Croc shopping and thought that she would try and

find us. She did! We talked her into trying on my Croc's

and she decided to go back down to the sports store

and buy herself a pair too! She bought a black pair also.

She had the salesman cut the tags off hers and

she wore them out of the store too.

Maybe I should ask for commission. As we were

headed back down the Mall we ran into Jordan and

her sister Brittney. (Brittney and her mother drove

down from Lynchburg, Virginia to attend Laura's funeral.

Brittney also went to school with Laura) No need to talk

them into buying a pair of the Cleo Croc's they already have some.

Talked to Beth and aunt Betsy later in the day and they both

just might sleep in them tonight.

They are that comfortable!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY #1 SON

Happy 29 Birthday Carlos Harrison Griffis

Laura Leigh Kirkland

March 16, 1983 - March 24, 2008

Laura was killed in a head-on collision on the St Simons Island causeway. I have no other words right now, just great sadness. Please enjoy a few pictures I have of Laura.

I am still here

When tomorrow starts without me,
And I am not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry
The way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn’t get to say.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you
And each time you think of me,
I know you’ll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I’d have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.
But as I turn to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life I’d always thought,
I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for,
So much yet left to do,
It seemed almost impossible
That I was leaving you.
I thought of all those yesterdays
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
All the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I’d say goodbye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile.
But then I’d fully realize
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did
My heart was filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through those gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne.
He said, "This is eternity, And all I've promised you.
"Today your life on earth has past
But here life starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day’s the same way
There’s no longing for the past.
You have been so faithful,
So trusting and so true.
Though there were times
You did some things you know you shouldn’t do
But you have been forgiven,
And at last you are free
So won’t you come and take my hand
And share my life with me?
So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don’t think we are far apart,
For every time you think of me
I’m right here in your heart.

Kite Flying School

Here's proof that a 3 year old can fly a kite!
I had a great day teaching the kite flying class
on Jekyll Island Beach. It turned out to be a great day for kite flying
except it was a little cold. I think that it got up
to about 60* today but with the sun shining it was perfect.

Class participants and first time kite flyer's
were, Anna Adams, Shelby, Jackson, Madi and Jonathan Kirkland. Not pictured, Mother Kirkland, "Amanda." Reagan and Emma Mae were just along
for the free wagon ride. Class went really well and all were
able to get their kites in the air and maintained.
I think that they were all very pleased with
themselves and would like to try and fly again some time.
I for one am always up for teaching kite flying school.

Notice the little pink suit in the upper left hand corner? It's Emma Mae crawling away.

Kite Flying (memory from daddy)
Yeah, when I was a boy on the mill village, we used to make our own kites, a roll of twine from the cotton mill and we would fly them for hours. We would fly them out of sight, you could not see them but could still feel the pull. What fun we had in 'Kite flying season' as we called it. The materials we used was dried fennel sticks, the best paper was the kind that the meat market wrapped the meat in, and cotton string. Tie the sticks together in shape of a cross, run the string around the four points of the sticks, lay it down on the paper, cut about an inch or so outside the string all away around. Mix some flour and water and spread it all away around the string and fold it over. After it dried, it was glued tight. IF you needed a tail, just tear some strips of some old cloth together and attach it to the tail(bottom) of the kite. Next you would need a 'bridle', a string attached to the top of the center stick to the bottom of the kite . Then find just the right place to tie the ball of string to the bridle.We never 'ran' that much to get it up in the air, if the wind was blowing good, we put our backs to it and started 'juking' it as the wind caught it and before you knew it, it was up in the air. Oh what fun it was. I learned it from my older brothers and the older boys from the mill village. Great great fun. Billy Crenshaw/Daddy/Papa

Easter Sunday

Oldest son's little family, Reagan (1 year) Christon,

Shelby ( 3 years) and Harrison.

Reagan

We have no idea why Shelby threw herself down on the grass?

Now that I've thought about it, it might be that none of us have

that nice of grass around our yards. Who knows?

Thanks Jordan for taking these pictures for me.

As we know this is almost an impossible assignment.

These two little ones didn't want any thing to do with a picture together.

He Lives!

Happy Easter!

Captain and Tennille

Captain and Tennille!

No wait a minute, it's Captain and Shelby.

No, That's Kathrine and Shelby.

Since Shelby was just learning to talk she has called Kathrine, Captain. Even now when there isn't anything she can't say, she still calls Kathrine, Captain. Kathrine doesn't mind she actually likes it and thinks it's cute. I think that she likes it better than Jessica likes being called Jesup. These are Christon's friends from when they were little and in school.

Best Sticker Ever! / Hair

So, I have Anemia and I've been taking IV iron treatments, therapy or what ever you call it, at the hospital for the last 2 weeks. I've had 6 treatments. This is a picture of Nurse Judith. No matter how little your vein is she sticks it on the first try! Yeah! She's the best sticker ever! So if you have to go to SGHS (our hospital here in Brunswick) and you are afraid of needles and or you have little veins, ask for Judith! Not that she would come to your rescue, she works in the Oncology unit and they need her there and she is very very good and very very busy. That's where I have taken my treatments, it's been very humbling to be just getting iron when most everyone else has been taking chemo.

This morning as most mornings, I just couldn't get my hair to do what I wanted it to do. Just life with curly hair in the humid south. I didn't think much about it until later. I was running about 5 minutes late for my appointment at the hospital to get my last iron treatment. Because I made the nurses a pan of those wonderful Apple Dumplings! I just needed to bring a little joy into a few more peoples lives. They were excited, loved them and now need the recipe, which I forgot to take with me in my hurry to get there on time. Which I didn't. I'll take it by next week, I promised. Today I sat in the first cubicle right across from where they weigh and take the vitals of the patients as they come in. (I refused to weigh every time after they took my blood pressure, they never made me either) I was reading when a rather tall very thin lady wearing a baseball cap came in. She stopped and sat down. I looked up and smiled at her and went back to reading. The nurse came over and did her job and then told the lady to follow her. Before she did, the lady stepped over to my area and said, "I love your hair." As I looked up at her I saw that her baseball hat covered her very bald head. My emotions got the best of me and I teared up and found it very hard to speak back to her. I told her who does my hair and she said that she wanted hers done like mine when she got hers back. I said that she sure could and that it would look really cute on her. I know it was a complement but I felt so guilty for always fussing about my stubborn hair and it made me ever so grateful that I have a head full of dyed, very chopped, and wacky hair. As she walked away, I said a little prayer and asked our loving Heavenly Father that if it be his will , that she could have hair back again someday. I've been very emotional all morning about meeting this particular individual.

50th Post!

This is my 50th post, so in honor of that, here are some things you might or might not know about me. (I really couldn't come up with 50 things)

1. I love to white water raft. I like the eastern rivers that I have raft-ed better than the western rivers. Although I would really love to raft the Grand Canyon on one of those week long trips.

2. I hate greens, turnip, collard or mustard. I hate the way they taste and especially the way they smell when they have cooked in your house. But I love almost every other vegetable I can think of, from artichokes to beets to asparagus, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, spinach, broccoli and on and on. I really don't know why I hate greens.

3. I have a license to carry a gun, it's a "Georgia Firearms License." Let's just leave it at that.

4. I love rocking chairs. I love rocking chairs on front porches, even though I don't have one on my porch, they are very inviting. I love to rock sleepy babies.

5. I love the beach. I love the way it sounds and smells and feels. (although I don't like sand in my bathing suit bottom)

6. I can't really swim. Well if you call dog paddling swimming then I guess I can. I float pretty good and can save myself if I fall over board or in a pool.

7. I love to fly kites at the beach. I'm good at it and I taught by boys how to fly kites. I loved it when the cub scouts had their Kite flying contest. One or both boys would always win something like highest flying or longest time flying kite. That's another real important and helpful skill I learned from my parents.

8. When I'm in the mood I love to sew and craft.

9. I love a good sale! Anything and everything, I just can't pass it up, no matter what it seems to be, I know that I can find someone who needs it even though I don't.

10. I just can't stand the thoughts of running out of anything like toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, batteries, food, you know things like that. I love being prepared or having extra of things. It annoys me so bad if I'm not prepared.

So now may be you know me a little better or maybe you don't even care to, but this is my blog.

From The Cotton Patch

My Uncle Sam Crenshaw, (my dad's youngest brother) writes a news paper column for the "Hawkinsville Dispatch and News" in Hawkinsville, GA. It's called "From the Cotton Patch." He always has funny stories about living in a small town in middle GA. and all kinds of other things. He's even written a book or two filled with these stories. He and my daddy have a very funny since of humor. Well, last week I see on our family web site that my mother keeps, this article about Sea Gulls, flip flops and grandchildren. He liked my story about Shelby and the bird stealing her flip flop so well that he included it in his column for Wed. March 5, 2008. I made the "News!" I thought that was pretty cool! Thanks Uncle Sam!

Let's don't and Say We Did!

"Let's don't and Say We Did!"

Now what kind of statement is that to tell your children?! But my parents, especially my silly daddy use to tell us that all the time! When ever we would ask to do something or asked to go somewhere he'd say,

"Let's don't and say we did!"

Well we got a little smart and after a while we realized that it works both ways and we would say back to them, "Let's Do and Say We Didn't!"

You know I've found that I also said that to my children and now I say the same things to my grandchildren. But when you think about it what kind of thing is that to say to a kid??

Here's another Mailman story that my daddy wrote.

It's a pretty funny one!

THE LONG LOST BASKETBALL

Did I ever tell y'all about the long lost basketball that Santa brought Sandy for Christmas one year? After opening his gift we took a perminate marker and wrote on it "Billy Sanford Crenshaw, Jr" on it two or three times. After a year or two it was never seen around the house anymore. One day while delivering mail on my route on Little Acre's Drive, I pull up to a mail box, put the mail in the box and notice a basketball on the ground outside a fenced yard. Something looked very familiar about it. After further examination of it, I could make out the name "Billy Sanford Crenshaw, Jr" on it. I said to myself, Well I'll be doggone, it's Sandy's basketball so I just toss it back into the mail truck and go on my way. Little did I know the lady of the house was watching me so when I got back to the post office that afternoon there was a note on my desk from the Post Master that said "See Me". We always cringed when we saw such a message. So I walk in 'on the Carpet' and he tells me that a women on my route called in and said the mailcarrier 'Stole' her son's basketball. I tried to explain that it had my son's name all over it. He said "Well you better go see her and straigten it out. So I go see the lady and she tells me she had bought the basketball at a yard sale for 50 cents. I asked her where the yard sale was and she said it was at the Gould's residents, around on Green Drive, a coule of blocks away(O.K. now I get it. Richy Gould was Sandy's best buddy). Well I offered to give her back the basketball or buy her son a new one, she was mad and would not have either.I asked Sandy about it and he said he had given the ball for the yard sale.I knew the lady, not real personal but when I saw her. She was a cashier at Publix where I usely shopped. One day, years later, I was going through her line and I asked her if she remembered the basketball incident and she laughed and said yes and we both got a good laugh from it. So maybe she forgave me for 'stealing' her son's basketball. Another of one of my many funny experiences or stories. Billy S. Crenshaw, 3/17/2008

"The Vanishing Mail Truck"One day on the mailroute I stopped at the very first house on the route. The mailbox was on the house next to the door and no more than 15 feet from the curb. I dismounted the with mail and walked up to the house, when I turned to go back to the truck, it was not there, vanished, capute, gone. I say to myself, "What the hey, where's my mailtruck?" I look to the left, nothing, to the right and there it was in the yard of the next house, stopped by a huge oak tree. Some how it had jumped out of 'Park' into gear and rolled off. I walk over inspect it and the front right bumper was bent back almost to the tire. Since it was not touching tire, I continued on my route till I got to this service station. I asked the guy if he had a sledge hammer, yes, he said in the garage. With seven or eight good shots I had it back to almost perfect. I thank the guy and went on my way, no harm done, not even to the oak tree. Just another day in the life of our U.S.Postal Carriers.Love Y'all,Papa