Happy Easter

We have spent time with family and friends the past few days. Mike and his brother went to the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. on Thursday and Friday and had a wonderful time. It is such an experience.

On Friday, we dyed eggs and decorated them for the Easter Egg tree. We have been adding eggs to this tree for 30+ years. Karen, Rheagan and I went to see Hannah Montana, The Movie ...take tissues with you. Later, Rheagan and I decorated cookies that we made. Pictures from this day are on Karen's camera!

On Saturday, we went next door and had an egg hunt with neighbors and their cousins...such fun!

Heidi and her children were in visiting and it always good to see them.


Today, we had a great day at church and then lunch at the Country Club. The costumed and really bunny added a lot to the day.

Tripp and Rheagan came over and found some eggs in our backyard.


Then it was time for another neighborhood egg hunt and good visiting.

d

Dogwood Winter

Today and tomorrow we are having such interesting weather! Blooming plants are covered with sheets to protect them from the freezing temperatures tonight. Last night, it just got down to 44 degrees, but never moved up. We had sleet and snow flurries all during the day...so this muct be dogwood winter. Beginning tomorrow afternoon, the temperatures should go up to the mid 60s.

Sports in Texas

Congratulations are in order!! On Saturday, both Payne and Jackson won their championship games in their basketball leagues.

Then they had opening ceremonies for their baseball season.

Back Home

We stayed up and visited until nearly 1:00a.m. and then got up at 5:00a.m. to go to the airport...so it was a skinny night! I got to Chattanooga a little after noon and Mike and I went to McAlister's for a wonderful lunch.

The trees have really burst forth in color while I was gone.

Even the cat seemed glad to see me!

Tonight we went to a CHS baseball game...they lost to the cross-town rival...maybe tomorrow night when they play again.

Sunday, March 22nd

I met my brother at his church. It is Cross Timbers Cowboy Church.

They have a wonderful fellowship and speak highly of my brother, which makes me feel good.They dress in jeans, cowboy boots and hats or anything that you feel comfortable wearing. I found it interesting that the men left their hats on all the time except for prayers.


The regular service was given up for Mike Hammock, a Christian vocal artist who sang and gave his testimony.

After church we ate at IHOP, where we both had breakfast. Then we went to visit a dear friend who is assisted living...it is always good to see her.

After another shopping spree, it was time for me to head to Houston. I stayed with our "adopted" daughter and son and their kids who live in Kingwood. It was great getting to visit with them, even though it was too short!

Saturday, March 21st

After a quick breakfast with E, I drove to Lufkin with a couple of stops along the way at historical markers...I even learned something about East Texas history!!

I went straight to my brother's house and we got started going through his closet and we made the 3 piles...throw away, give away and keep. When it was time for lunch, we had 3 bags ready to go to Goodwill. We had hamburgers at the Angelina County Airport. I had heard for several years how good their hamburgers were and now I can add my recommendations...big, juicy, fresh vegetables...very good!(I completely forgot to take a picture of our hamburgers and onion rings.) This is a small airport (no commercial flights) and so many people fly in just to eat! They serve breakfast and lunch and busy everyday, the lady told us. It was a beautiful day for being in the air and we enjoyed watching the small...1 or 2 passenger ...planes come and go.

While we were driving on the airport property, I was taken down memory lane by seeing the crawdad mounds.

After finishing up with my brother's closet, we tackled the dresser drawers and finally the rest of his bedroom. Another bag was ready for giving away and a couple of bags for the trash.

We drove by the 2 houses that we had lived in as we were growing up and enjoyed talking about memories we had. We went to a couple of stores to replace some of the clothes we had gotten rid of during the afternoon cleaning.

We went to Appleby's for dinner and we both got salads. He had the Fried Chicken Salad and I chose the Chili Lime Chicken Salad. They were both very good.

It was time to settle down for the night after a day of accomplishing much.

Friday

Hello Spring!!

I drove around Lufkin a little before leaving town. This are the azaleas on the side of the house I grew up living in...boy, have times changed!

I then drove to Nacogdoches to go to the Azalea Festival that I had seen advertised on a billboard driving up from Houston. Nacogdoches is where Mike lived for several years before his family moved to Lufkin when he was in the 9th grade. It is the oldest town in Texas and still has brick streets in the downtown area.

I got some information and drove one of the three driving tours through out the town. Some many of the homes were full of color...this is just a sample.

Then I went to an 8 acre public azalea garden...again so many beautiful colors and so many varieties of azaleas as well as hydrangeas, magnolias, iris, etc. It was pleasant to be able to walk the trails and enjoy God's magnificent beauty in the flowers and in the gorgeous weather.

I then headed to Tyler where I was staying with Mike's aunt. Along the way, I stopped at a Texas landmark...Dairy Queen!

E and I had a great visit and a good meal at a cafeteria before we returned to her house for a piece of delicious homemade lemon pie. It's always fun to be with her and be the beneficiary of her warm hospitality. Sorry I didn't get a picture of her to add to this.