Christmas 2009

Friday, November 19, 2010

SUCCESS!


I feel certain I have mentioned the "El Dorado Promise", a program funded by Murphy Oil Corporation. Every graduate of EHS, who is accepted into college, is given tuition equal to the amount charged by the most expensive state school in Arkansas. Three of my grandchildren will benefit from Murphy's generosity! Cash awards are also given for achievement on a variety of examinations. During this past week, DanMan received Murphy Money as as result of his 4th grade benchmark scores! CONGRATULATIONS, DANIEL BUCHANAN JOHNSON!!!




CONGRATULATIONS, too, to the EHS Wildcats! They were victorious tonight over Van Buren, 48-21!! A Van Buren sportscaster is reported to have told his audience, sometime prior to the game, that El Dorado hadn't had to face any real competiton so far this season. BIG mistake, fella!

Next Friday we will have a rematch with Lake Hamilton! They are a good, strong team and we have already beaten them once this season. It will hard to beat them a second time. This is the school that beat us in the state championship game in 2008. GO WILDCATS!!!!
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Misc. Sunday!



BREAK TIME!!!!




Uncle Bo got into a "raspberry conversation" with Hattie; looks like she is positioning her tongue to reply, doesn't it?



Thought Hattie's Uncle Bo and her Aunt Julie were going to have a tug-of-war over her but they agreed to share! This picture gives you a good idea of the progress Julie has made since her surgery. I think she was terrifically pleased by the comments of her brother-in-law, Eric; a large part of his practice is surgeries like hers. Way to go, Betsy!
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OUTSIDE on Sunday!


Saturday had been a dreary, kind of chilly, day but Sunday was beautiful! Before DanMan came to play, Lucy and Papa had visited the tire swing horse. Lucy had decided her name was Cinderelly and that they should feed her a combination of rice krispies and muffins with ice cream for dessert. You can see her dish in the photo below



When DanMan arrived, Tom turned "swinger duty" over to him!





I love the expressions on Maddy's face in the two pictures above. I'd say that girl was having fun, wouldn't you!?





I added this picture just to show you the effort DanMan was putting into making sure his cousins had a good time.
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INSIDE on Sunday!


On the Sunday morning after the wedding, the Junior Johnsons, the Nolans, and the Pauls were able to spend some time relaxing and playing at Papa and Nannah's.




Jenny and Eric did not bring Hattie's boppy chair to El Dorado. She looks perfectly happy using Papa's popcorn bowl as a substitute!




Lucy's favorite breakfast is bagels with cream cheese. I think part of the attraction is being able to use the cream cheese as face paint.


Hannah had been afraid she wouldn't get in any snuggle time with Hattie during the weekend because she was at a Girls' Retreat Friday evening through church time on Sunday morning.



As I have said before, I LOVE how my grandchildren love their cousins!!!
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Monday, November 15, 2010

Weavie and Wendy's wedding, Part VI

This photo was supposed to be included in my last post. Since I had 'borrowed" the pictures from the photographer, I was not using Picasa and thought I could upload more than four at once. (I know I have before - re Tom's retirement!) Anyway, this picture, which should have been exactly in the middle, third out of five, did not post. I wanted you to be able to see how happy the minister, the groom's younger brother, was about this marriage.


This family has been close to us for many years, ever since we moved to El Dorado in June of '79. When we decided I needed to go back to work Jenny was about twenty months old; Spud announced, "If you're going to work, my mom wants Peaches". I was so relieved!!! Turns out his mother, Dianne (Di-Nan to Jenny) had no idea her son was volunteering her - but she decided to try babysitting and it worked out wonderfully well.
Dianne died in 2001. Spud was married by then and the father of four beautiful children. Weavie was a chemical engineer in Baton Rouge; he has always been shy and his mother so wanted him to find the right woman and have a family of his own. We all did! We are so happy now that he waited until he was 44 and found just the right wife for himself! (He found her in Rochester, NY!!!! We always tease Jimmy that he had to go all the way to Canada to find a woman who would have him. At least Weav didn't have to go that far!) Larry Cottrell, the boys' father, was the best man; you can barely see him, and his big smile, at the right of this picture.

Weavie and Wendy's wedding, Part V

Our neighbor, Greg Owens, is a photographer. Weavie and Wendy signed a contract with him when they visited in July. I had thought Jimmy and Tanya had casually mentioned him as they walked with the engaged couple from our house to theirs. Not so. W and W had already done online research and came to town determined to search out this particular photographer! Imagine everyone's surprise when the subject came up right by his house way out in the country! He posted fifteen photos on facebook last night as, what he calls, teasers. I hope he'll consider it good advertising if I share some of them with you.





Wendy's father, Terry Anderson, escorts her to meet her groom. Didn't the tree lights look wonderful? (The bride too, of course!)




It didn't look this dark to me during the ceremony. I thought I was also posting another picture of this scene closer up. I will have to do that in a minute because I love how the minister, Weavie's brother, Spud, (Kevin in the professional world) is laughing.






This wonderful picture shows the boys from the neighborhood all grown up! From left to right we have Rue (Carroll Brantley), Weavie (Steve Cottrell), Spud (Kevin Cottrell), and Bo (Jimmy Johnson)! Rue, Spud, and Jimmy were talking and laughing so sicced the photographer on them - and then I went in search of the groom. I hope the guest from Baton Rouge will forgive me for snatching him away but I HAD to have this picture! (Nickname explanations: RUE - his sister called him K-Rue when be was little because she couldn't pronounce Carroll; WEAVIE - same sort of origination - Kevin could not say Stevie correctly; SPUD - so called by a neighborbor because of the number of Spudnuts (El Dorado's version of doughnuts) the kid could put away when he was little; BO - a shortening of Jimbo, what I have called my baby boy for years.




During the week, as people have been coming and going, Zucchini made herself very popular. Wendy had been disappointed not to meet our dogs when she was in town in July but Tom had boarded them because we had so much going on and were out of town for several days. (Jenny's move from Atlanta, then Julie's surgery, and Jimmy's birthday) She made much of both dogs when she got here this time but Candy was not given free-rein of the territory the way Zucci was; we knew the damage she could do if the decided to rearrange the decorations. We suggested putting Zucchini in the house Friday night for the rehearsal but that idea was quickly vetoed. As a result, she was the official greeter and joined the groomsment during the practice. The first thing Wendy said to me after she finished rehearsing was, "We want Zucchini to come to the wedding!" I am not sure if she actually joined the wedding party during the ceremony; Jenny had a coughing spell and I was concerned about her as she snuck off into the bushes, holding Hattie, so as not to disturb anyone. Tom did not notice Zucci either but DanMan swears she was wandering around up there making sure everything was done correctly! I guess she figured that, since she had been invited, she really ought to join in the festivities at the reception too!

Weavie and Wendy's wedding, Part IV



This table was just to your right as you entered the reception tent. It held to place cards and seating assignments.





Tom and I found this hanging basket at the new Pittman's in Magnolia. We hoped it would look very welcoming as guests came up our dirt road driveway - and it did!




We, also, found the flag there. We were really probably kind of rushing the season but it doesn't say CHRISTMAS anywhere. Tommy is so fond of our bird neighbors that, even though he is not big on garden flags, he hung this one the minute we got home. I hope you can see the blue jays. We bought lots of yellow mums and purple, yellow, and LSU pansies too! I'll have to take some pictures of the front of the house, where we thought we were supposed to be dressing up the scenery!
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