Monday, November 15, 2010

Me

Christ Follower
Born Again
Loved Wife
Blessed Mother
Grateful Grandmother
Love Football
Love Swimming
Completely Southern
Pecan Pie (pronounced pea-can not pa-con)
boiled peanuts
fried shrimp
boiled crab
cheese grits
corn dodgers
flat cornbread
boogey boarding
beach walking
finding sanddollars
Allman Brothers
windows open
beach music
shag dancing
playing golf
pecan pralines
caramel cake (ka-ra-mel)
butter beans
fried okra
fried chicken
campground revival

Amen!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

The "I Know What You are Thinking Quilt"!

Today is Juliana's third birthday....I made her a quilt. 
Sometime over the past year, the girls have learned, and teased me about being afraid of frogs....they get the biggest kick out of it.  We would be playing or just hanging out and I could see little Juliana's brain working...I could tell she was trying to think of  what she was suppossed to say to make me be scared!  I'd look at her and say, "I Know What You are Thinking"! and she'd say "What"...I'd say "Ribbet" and she would just laugh and laugh.  One day as we were just hanging out...before I said anything....she said, "Honey....you know what I'm thinkin'???"  it was so adorable...so...this is the I know what you are thinking quilt!!!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Below is a letter I wrote to an old High School friend who is writing a book title, "How to live YES in a NO World"....for the few of you who actually read this blog, it is old news....but since today is the actually 6th anniversary, my brain is consumed with it and I decided today was the day to share this with Randy...

Well Randy….today just seems to be the right day to tell you how my family has learned to live Yes in a No world…it is a difficult story to tell in a condensed version because so many wonderful “GOD” things happened over the 52 days…

Six years ago today I ended up in the hospital in a coma for 14 days….it started as a simple stomach ache on Sunday night. By Tuesday night it had gotten worse….I woke my husband and told him that I thought we should head to the hospital…so I took a shower, fixed my hair, grabbed a huge Tupperware bowl, just in case….we got to the hospital and the last thing I remember is telling my husband to tell them to hurry...


I was in a coma….my blood platelets were down to 8,000 (250,000 being normal) – all my organs were shutting down, that’s what was causing the pain…not the chocolate ice cream that I gobbled down on Sunday. God had placed a hospitalists at this particular hospital that correctly diagnosed this wicked disease and called in the hematology team….they then transported me to another hospital

For 13 days my platelets stayed that low….many transfusions, plasma pharesis and everything they could think of.

Meanwhile, I had recently struggled with not being able to sleep, my feet were in crazy bad shape and hurt all the time. So I have to say that whining about all of this to GOD got an answer…so be careful what you pray for!

My daughter flies in from California not knowing what to expect because the outlook was not good. My Sunday School class rallied like you wouldn’t believe…my husband told me the ICU waiting area looked like a tailgate party everyday there was so much food…he still talks about how great all the food was. He had friends that were standing next to him every morning when he woke, with breakfast and always a prayer….I totally missed the party….GOD’s sense of humor was at it again because HE knows how I love a party!

On day 13, the kidney doctor told my husband and son that I wouldn’t make it til morning…
I have to jump back about 6 months because this is one of the GOD moments in this story that I must tell…it is definitely a “YES” moment….we go to a very large church and in SS one Sunday my husband asked if anyone remembered what the bleeding verse was…we had both heard it at a small church once but couldn’t remember where it was….fast forward back to night 13…late that night, after being told I was probably not going to make it until morning….my husband, children and a handful of friends were in the waiting room…a lady, a stranger, walked over to my husband and said. “GOD told me to tell you Ezekiel 16:6”….my husband knew immediately it was the bleeding verse….sent straight from GOD through a stranger( maybe an angel)! GOD is so good…so they all went into ICU, circled the bed, held hands and my wonderful praying husband prayed the house down with this verse! They turned around to walk out and the kidney Doc said she wouldn’t argue with our faith but I probably wouldn’t make it until morning….WRONG! our GOD is an awesome GOD…HE is the GREAT PHYSICIAN….The next morning for the first time in 14 days my platelets jumped from 8,000 to 24,000….I was on the mend…


It was a very long 52 days…many more GOD moments occurred and still are….GOD shut me up and got me out of the way and used this as a big fat “YES HE CAN” lesson for all of us. Only through JESUS CHRIST can we conquer the “No’s” of this world…..GOD wrapped HIS most loving arms around me and my family ….it is an unexplainable feeling…


So today is day one of bonus year 7! Praise to GOD!

Sixth Annivery....Day one of Bonus Year #7

Well Randy….today just seems to be the right day to tell you how my family has learned to live Yes in a No world…it is a difficult story to tell in a condensed version because so many wonderful “GOD” things happened over the 52 days…




Six years ago today I ended up in the hospital in a coma for 14 days….it started as a simple stomach ache on Sunday night. By Tuesday night it had gotten worse….I woke my husband and told him that I thought we should head to the hospital…so I took a shower, fixed my hair, grabbed a huge Tupperware bowl, just in case….we got to the hospital and the last thing I remember is telling my husband to tell them to hurry..

I was in a coma….my blood platelets were down to 8,000 (250,000 being normal) – all my organs were shutting down, that’s what was causing the pain…not the chocolate ice cream that I gobbled down on Sunday. God had placed a hospitalists at this particular hospital that correctly diagnosed this wicked disease and called in the hematology team….they then transported me to another hospital.



For 13 days my platelets stayed that low….many transfusions, plasma pharesis and everything they could think of.



Meanwhile, I had recently struggled with not being able to sleep, my feet were in crazy bad shape and hurt all the time. So I have to say that whining about all of this to GOD got an answer…so be careful what you pray for!



My daughter flies in from California not knowing what to expect because the outlook was not good. My Sunday School class rallied like you wouldn’t believe…my husband told me the ICU waiting area looked like a tailgate party everyday there was so much food…he still talks about how great all the food was. He had friends that were standing next to him every morning when he woke, with breakfast and always a prayer….I totally missed the party….GOD’s sense of humor was at it again because HE knows how I love a party!



On day 13, the kidney doctor told my husband and son that I wouldn’t make it til morning…



I have to jump back about 6 months because this is one of the GOD moments in this story that I must tell…it is definitely a “YES” moment….we go to a very large church and in SS one Sunday my husband asked if anyone remembered what the bleeding verse was…we had both heard it at a small church once but couldn’t remember where it was….fast forward back to night 13…late that night, after being told I was probably not going to make it until morning….my husband, children and a handful of friends were in the waiting room…a lady, a stranger, walked over to my husband and said. “GOD told me to tell you Ezekiel 16:6”….my husband knew immediately it was the bleeding verse….sent straight from GOD through a stranger( maybe an angel)! GOD is so good…so they all went into ICU, circled the bed, held hands and my wonderful praying husband prayed the house down with this verse! They turned around to walk out and the kidney Doc said she wouldn’t argue with our faith but I probably wouldn’t make it until morning….WRONG! our GOD is an awesome GOD…HE is the GREAT PHYSICIAN….The next morning for the first time in 14 days my platelets jumped from 8,000 to 24,000….I was on the mend…



It was a very long 52 days…many more GOD moments occurred and still are….GOD shut me up and got me out of the way and used this as a big fat “YES HE CAN” lesson for all of us. Only through JESUS CHRIST can we conquer the “No’s” of this world…..GOD wrapped HIS most loving arms around me and my family ….it is an unexplainable feeling…



So today is day one of bonus year 7! Praise to GOD!

Patti Brown

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

this is just how we do things....

In two weeks this is how it all happened....
Monday evening...."Honey, we need to sign our lease here for another year by the end of the month"...hubby, "find us another place, I want out of here"...Me, "o.k."...thirty minutes later, early evening, storming outside, I google homes for lease in our area and it sends me to craig"s list...
Me, "I found a place that looks kind of interesting"...hubby, "let's go look at it"...me, "it's gated, we can't get in"...hubby, "sure we can, I can talk my way in"....so we head over to see what the house really looks like , both in our pajamas!!!  We talked our way through the gate and the house is adorable....
Tuesday morning we set up a time to meet with the real estate agent that is managing the home...we loved it...we told her we wanted it...
Thursday we left for Baton Rouge to watch Tennessee almost beat L.S.U. but really we went to see CAndy.
Drove home on Sunday...we got a call from agent saying it was a go, we got the house...spent all that week packing up....Friday,  the movers come and take all of our belongings to the office warehouse to store because this place we rented is furnished...which is kind of weird but I'm getting over it...Saturday morning we left for Athens to once again watch our team get beat...we stayed in Sky Valley Georgia...we played golf on Sunday and then drove home through the mountains on Sunday....Monday we moved in!  Whew...makes me tired reliving it....my body is still exhausted, getting too old for all of this...but glad to be in such an adorable little home ....I can see sunrise and sunset...I can sit on the upstairs balcony and hear that ping of golf balls being hit...three minutes to the interstate, 35 minutes to the stadium...it was a very positive move!

Monday, September 20, 2010

ON THE FIELD!

Those of you that know me, know how much I love football...all football...but especially University of Tennessee Football...so it's no surprise that getting the opportunity to be on the field during haltime of the U.T. vs. Florida game was a once in a lifetime opportunity and made me very happy.  I've dreamed of being down there, but in most of my dreams I was running it in for a touchdown!  I was so nervous, but once I got down there I felt very like it was meant to be....how did I get down there you ask...well, it all started a couple of years ago when the opportunity arose to get our tickets upgraded to a new section that was under construction in the stadium.  CB surprised me with the seats last year...I love them so much...it makes going to the games so much easier and so much more fun for me.  CB still misses all the tailgating...not me...we did that for so many years and it got expensive and boring.  These tickets will be passed down to our kids and their kids.  It was especially important to me that we share the occassion with Hub & Christy and the girls since they are a part of all of this.  Juliana wasn't there because the noise hurts her little ear tube ears.  Addi was there and I loved sharing that with her....I hope she remembers  it forever....I tried  to help her understand all that was going on and share my excitement with her....doesn't she just look like she belongs there...I was able to relax a little after we got back to our seats and even though we got the blankity blank beat out of us, it was a U.T./Fla. game I'll never forget.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Fall

There's a touch of Fall in the air today....and how appropriate....today is the first home football game.  I can't wait to get out in the middle of all the tailgating and excitement, not to mention the games on t.v. before we head to the stadium.  I have the doors open and the air conditioner turned off ...what is it about having the windows and doors open that makes me so happy...I feel free....part of life....not  couped up....I guess that's why I love visitng Hannah & Jeff in California...they don't need air condition and the breeze and the sounds of  life just float through their condo...I love it, I sleep better and feel better....so here's to fresh Fall air and Football!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

School Days....

Here's another interesting fact about getting older....the anticipation of the kids going back to school is gone....the excitement of a new routine, new clothes, new friends, new deadlines....all vanished.  HOWEVER, the anticipation of FOOTBALL is still here and I'm still excited...two weeks from today...I do love me some football.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Tonsil Quilt

Today is tonsil removal day for Addi Grace.  They said she will have to just lay around for about a week or two to make sure there is no bleeding....so, being the worrier that I am, (yes, I know what the bible says about worrying) I started thinking of ways to make her more comfortable in the coming days....MAKE HER A QUILT...so three weeks ago I drug out all my scrap material and starting cutting squares.  I knew I needed to make much bigger squares than I made for Hannah's quilt because of the limited time ....so I cut the squares and stitched them together using my sewing machine....I then stretched the quilt top, batting and bottom on my frame and quilted around each square.  As I was quilting I wondered how it would look to quilt the design on the pink fabric with black dots....so I did one and thought it looked great...then I wondered about the purple & green flowers....those also looked cute quilted..  Well as usual, I got carried away and ended up hand quilting a design or pattern inside of every single square.  I worked two or three hours every night for at least 9 days and then last Friday I stitched for 12 hours...yes twelve hours!!!  My goal was to finish up on Saturday.  I was adding some decorate machine stitches on the border and ran out of pink thread on the last row at 6:30 Saturday night.  Oh gosh, what to do....so I drove to WalMart at 6:40 p.m....no luck....got back in the car and drove to Hobby Lobby which is 22 miles from home...got the pink thread and finished up yesterday afternoon.  Delivered the Tonsil Quilt to Addi last night....sure hope it brings her great comfort and that my love for her will be felt every time she snuggles with her quilt.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Never Too Old To Learn...

Years ago I decided I wanted to learn to play golf....so my sweet Hubby bought me a set of clubs...I was all set...THEN....life interruped that idea....so, five and a half years later, feeling better and ready to be active, I am pursuing that goal...well guess what....I LOVE IT!  We are trying to work on changing our lifestyle and golf is helping.  We have golfed every weekend at least once for the last month....I have never made it for 18 holes in one outing, but I am getting better....I can drive pretty good....my husband says it's controlled violence and I agree...I've got lots to learn, but we aren't sitting in the recliner and watching golf, now we're giving it a shot.  I look forward to going to the driving range after the sun gets a little lower every afternoon and hitting a bucket of balls....it is quality time together as a couple and we each try to out putt the other...it's so much fun.  Thanks to GOD for giving me this precious time.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Happy Birthday Sweet Addi

Our little red-headed doll turned five yesterday....she is such a joy...everytime I have her wrapped around my neck I thank GOD for the opportunity to spend this time with her. She is full of life and her sinful nature kicks in every now and then to remind us she is human! The picture of her in a skirt and a bracelet, climbing a tree, is the perfect illustration of who she is....the love for this grandchild is indescribable....and the great thing is, I have three more that I love as dearly....GOD is soooooooo good!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Pattern Picking

About two weeks ago I decided to take Addi, age 4.8, to Hobby Lobby to pick out some patterns...they were on sale that week for ninety-nine cents each...I sat her in my lap and started flipping through the pattern books. Guess I didn't put too much thought into it...everytime I'd ask her which one she liked, she'd say "the green one" or "the red one"..it took me a minute to realize she didn't understand anything about the style, she just liked the pictures and the fabric....that only lasted a few minutes because as she was looking her little sister was running around in the fabric department and that looked like much more fun. We decided on a few and with great surprise we found the same fabric as the picture of a dress on one of the patterns. So here they are....I decided to use the same fabric for both girls, but I switched it up a little. When I delivered the dresses this afternoon, the girls were hot sweaty and dirty...but who cares, they look so cute. In 1968 these were called peasant dresses...so there was a little flashback going on the whole time I was sewing.....next project...a dress for myself...this should be interesting!!!!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Another Dress Made From A Thrift Shop Shirt

Couldn't resist this man's shirt I found at Goodwill...my favorite part of course are the surfers on it because my daughter and her husband are both surfers. Didn't really know what to do with it, but last week all the Simplicity patterns were on sale at Hobby Lobby and after spending a little time and a little money, I came home with three or four patterns for my Granddaughters...so I de-constructed the shirt and just dove in...well I don't know what you think, but I think it turned out really cute! I can't wait to see Addi-Grace model it and I will take pictures and post....got about four or five projects waiting on me and will keep you posted.

Thrift Sho

Monday, April 12, 2010

PRETTY IN PINK

Just look at this preciousness! Could they get any cuter....love all the pink...it is after all my favorite color, except from September-December and then of course my color is all ORANGE!

WOMEN OF JOY!

I spent last Friday night and part of Saturday attending the Women of Joy conference in Sevierville with the ladies from Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. It was lots of fun...the hightlight for me, besides making new friends and spending quality time with my daughter-in-law and friends, was meeting Mrs. Kay Arthur. I have been attending precept bible studies for several years...they have changed my life...I was so happy to have the opportunity to thank her and tell her....she was so gracious...a beauty for sure...GOD is so good!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Special Times with Granddaddy

Saturday was our 34th wedding anniversary...the first day of Spring...that is our day. This year, we were joined by our Son and Daughter-in-law and their two little girls in the mountains for an evening of fun and then a wonderful hike up the Tremont Trail on Saturday. As I watched the interaction between the little girls and their Granddaddy, I thanked GOD that these two precious little gifts were experiencing joys and delights that I never had....I hope that they remember some of these times when they are older we we have made our way home to heaven...It was really hard to tell who was having the most fun but I was smiling inside and out....to see my best friend with his little Granddaughters wrapped around his neck, or building a dam in the creek, or running for goodness sake up the mountain, made for one of our best anniversaries ever. To love someone as deeply as I love him is a true gift from GOD!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Twirly Skirts

Made the two Granddaughters twirly skirts...they looked really cute!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Headbands and Bows

These are the latest ...I found packs of headbands at Wal-Mart for $1.00...then I took a small piece of ribbon and sewed it around the band and left a small loop on top for all bows and clips to attach to. These are so cute, so versatile, and fun!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

HAPPY VANENTINE'S DAY ADDI-GRACE AND JULIANA - HONEY & GRANDDADDY LOVE YOU!

I've been as busy as a bee around here sewing for my two favorite little girls. They came over today...not sure they were too excited, thank goodness they brought me some chocolate for Valentine's Day...that helped ease the fact that all they got were clothes! They sure looked cute and had a fashion show (sort of) for Granddaddy. They are for sure our little "Sweethearts"!

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