Anniversary

Nine years ago today, Amy and I were getting up and getting ready to head to the hair stylist to get some pretty flowers in my hair.  Gayla and Dana were on their way to "make me up".  Mom was fussing about making sure everyone had everything they needed.  Daddy and Jake had gone off with Ray to a pawn shop and then to lunch.  That's right.......that's how my wedding day started.

As the day progressed, various little issues arose.  Jake had to sew me into my wedding dress. The girls fixed me a great garter with something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.  Carla was checking in from D.C. all day.  The reception area was made ready at the Country Club.  I was still not sure that marriage was the right path, but I knew Ray Crass was the right man.

So, I did it.  I married Ray Crass.  It was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.  He is the rock that keeps me steady.  He is the calm in the storm.  He makes me laugh and makes me feel like I am truly a queen.  The last nine years have been quite a ride.  We've traveled the world, but love our home most of all.  We've enjoyed some of the finest dining around, but still love a hot dog or Frito chili pie.  We've weathered illness, death, and tragedy.  We've celebrated births, birthdays, and weddings.  But no matter what, we will stay together until death parts us.  

Blessed today is all I can say!

Friendship

I love August.  Not really!  It's hot.  I'm tired of summer and so ready to get college football kicked off. Plus, it's always so busy at work.  However, there are two special days in August that I always love to celebrate.

August has always been for as long as I can remember the month that Amy becomes as old as I do.  She is only 9 months younger than me, but we have celebrated every birthday since we were 2 years old together.  She makes me laugh, lets me cry, and has stood by me when I make some really goofy and embarrassing decisions.  Therefore, I am going to declare August 14th as Amy Beth Fox Day.  Reach out to her on Thursday and wish her a happy one.

Also, August 5th is the birthday of my sweet, sweet friend, Patty Taylor.  God blessed me so much when He brought her into my life.  She too has a special place in my heart.  She has taught me so many things and set an example for me on a daily basis.  She is the one who inspires me "to do right!."  It is her way of saying, "What would Jesus do"?  Everyone needs someone who is a living example of real goodness.  I'm blessed that she is mine.

So join with me in celebrating the lives of these two friends.  One has been in my life since the cradle and the other only a short time in my life.  I hope and pray that they both remain in my life for many more years.  They both remind me that August is great!

Father's Day

My Daddy passed away three years ago on June 4th.  This is the fourth Father's Day that I have not celebrated with him on earth.  However, I still celebrate Father's Day even though Daddy is in heaven with our Heavenly Father.  Even though Daddy is not here with me for me to take to lunch, buy him a silly gift or make him his favorite breakfast of bacon and eggs (against my Mother's will) I still want to remember and honor him because he is still my Daddy.

I've got friends who lost their Daddy a long time ago. Amy Beth and Carole come to mind immediately.  Tarene and Dana are still missing their Daddy like I do although its been only a few short years.  Pam and Denise have recent losses and are doing a first Father's Day without their Dad.  Losing your Dad just changes your life forever in a way that you can never understand until you live through it.  Death is a part of life, but losing your Daddy is just really life-changing if you were especially close to him.

However, just because your Daddy is not here on this earth physically doesn't mean you can't honor him on Father's Day.  My Dad would still want family to gather (not for Father's Day but because family should gather).  He would enjoy a great meal - so I will enjoy one as well.  He would want us to attend church on Sunday.  He would want us to be kind and loving to one another.  He would want us to do good, work hard and be a good example for our children as he was for us.  

Daddy was a great teacher, lifelong learner, fixer of anything but a broken heart, farmer, rancher, fisherman, and hunter.  He was known to many as a uncle, cousin relative or dear friend.  He was always ready to lend a helping hand, demanded the best out of everyone, and usually saw the good in most people.  He was determined to live life to the fullest, didn't let a thing like heart disease slow him down, and made sure that we could take care of ourselves.

So in honor of the best Daddy around, Roy W. "Buddy" Cagle, I plan to celebrate him this Father's Day as he would expect.  I will strive to be the Christian woman he would have wanted, the best wife to Ray I can be, and a loving mother to Jake.  I will be a good daughter, sister, aunt and friend. I will do what is right (even though it is not easy sometime) and hopefully live a life that would have made him proud.  I miss you, Daddy!

Six Degrees of MK

Last night Ray and I celebrated the wedding of Miss Mary Katherine Dickey to Mr. Wesley Jones.  As we moved through the ceremony and reception I realized that meeting Mary Katherine brought together so many people I knew at different times in my life.  Mer, as her little brother affectionately calls her, has a way of celebrating life to the fullest, and she did so last night at her wedding.  I am so honored to be included in her circle of friends.

I met MK through her mother, Kelley, when she served on the board at De Leon ISD.  Later as Ray served as Superintendent there, we got to be friends with her parents, Howard and Kelley, and just fell in love with Mary Katherine.  MK became friends with all of us at the Fort Worth Club when she became a member there.  Doc and Patty thought she was just delightful and we enjoyed kind of adopting her when she moved to Fort Worth.  Doc and Patty, Larry Don and Lori, and Ray and I traveled to Las Vegas one year to watch her run a marathon.  

As we became friends of the Dickey's, we got to know other friends who were at wedding also.  Peter and Susie, Nancy, and so many other folks from De Leon.  Shirley and Larry Simpson have been good friends with not only the Dickeys over the years but our good friends, Larry and Debbie Dyer from Granbury who now live in Hot Springs, Ark.  Such a small world!

It was also fun to run into our friends, the Millers, from White Settlement last night.  Mike Miller grew up down the street from MK's mother.  Jake and I attended church with the Millers when we lived in White Settlement.  Jake and Shayla Miller attended Brewer Middle School together.  Shayla and Laci lived together in college, and Shayla was a bridesmaid in Laci's wedding.  

As MK met and begin to date Wes, we discovered that Wes was a youth minister in Mansfield at the Church on Rush Creek.  Oddly enough, Kari Blankenship works as the children's minister at the same church.  Kari's mother, Susan Brooks Blankenship, was one of my childhood besties growing up in New Boston.  Susan's dad was the preacher at our church, and I spent a large part of my childhood at the parsonage with Susan.  I was Susan's matron of honor at her wedding when she and Vince married and was at the hospital the night Kari was born.  

When MK and Wes married, his parents and many of their friends also attended the wedding.  Wes' parents now live in the little town of Eldorado, Texas where our dear friend, Dr. Larry Blair grew up and later served as Superintendent of schools.  So many folks at the wedding last night know Blair and were excited to catch up on him and his family.  

I realize this story is a bit convoluted but what a fun night I had with so many people from so many different points in my life.  From my special friend, Pattycake,  and her connection to MK all the way back to my childhood with Susan was a special journey last night down memory lane while celebrating the union of Mary Katherine and Wes.  Besides the six degrees of MK, the wedding was beautiful as well!  And if you are on twitter, follow the trend at #weslovesmk.

Girls

Boy am I a lucky girl.  I've got girlfriends that are always there for you.  We've been through marriages, divorces, babies, grand-babies, death, disease, weight-loss, weight-gain, and everything in between.  I can't remember a time in my life that these girls were not a part of something going on in my world.  I've traveled with them, cried with them, laughed with them, lived with them, rejoiced with them and hurt with them over my lifetime.

They have wiped my tears, been my sounding board, made me laugh out loud til my sides hurt, hugged me close, snugged with me, scolded me, propped me up when I was ready to fall, and loved me in spite of myself.  What a blessing to have friends who remain in your life from childhood until forever!

Each one of us is different.  Each one of us brings something different to the group.  Each one of us has her faults and her talents.  But one thing we all have is a deep abiding sense of loyalty for our ability to stick together though thick and thin.  It's easy to rally around when times are tough, but the wonderful part of these friends is their ability to truly celebrate in the joys, accomplishments, and good things that have come to each us over time.

Blessed.  That is all!!!!!

January

What a month this has been!!!!  Just yesterday I was eating black eyed peas and cornbread, and today is ground hog day.  As I sit by the fire this cold afternoon and wonder where time has gone, I consider many things that have happened since my last blog.

I've seen death in the life of Ms. Shirley Brooks, a talented pianist and all around wonderful lady.  I know she is missed by her family, but also by her church family where she was part of the music team for 40+ years.

I've seen life as we celebrated at sweet Erin's baby shower.  My cousin, Brian, and his wife, Ashley, have doubled their joy with Rhett and Malia.  I've enjoyed Donna's pictures of Knox and watching him grow and change this first year.  I've watched Ellen's daughter, Elizabeth, and my friend, Ashley, as they both prepare for a second child in the spring.  2014 will bring about new and exciting life to our friends and families.

I've seen change in things from the weather to my daily walk with God.  One day it is 70 and then next day it is snowing.  But as they say in Texas, if you don't like the weather, it will change.  I've become convicted to really make a difference in my daily walk with Christ and spend more time in His Word.  I am a firm believer that the more time you spend reading your bible and praying that God will develop a true hunger in you for His Word.

I've seen old friends and new friends.  I've enjoyed spending time with new friends whether over an intimate dinner or just a glass of wine.  It's the connection and bonding of friends that are daily blessings to us.  I always in enjoy my Cleburne friends and those who live nearby that I can celebrate with daily the ups and downs that we experience in life.  I've had the opportunity to share an amazing weekend with girlfriends from childhood (one from the cradle).  It's like we still can make each other laugh over just the smallest of things.  We enjoy so many memories and love making new ones.

I've seen miracles.  Most of the miracles I've seen have to do with the life and death situations situations that friends have faced recently.  But they are here, alive and well with a promise of a future of happiness.

Finally, I've seen rodeo!  Boy have I seen rodeo.  From the Ranch Rodeo that kicked off the stock show to the Fort Worth Shootout and Bulls Night Out, I've see the legendary Fort Worth Rodeo several nights.  With only a week left to go, the rodeo will be over for another year.

I hope that I can spend more time in February blogging about things that cross my mind.  I hope you enjoy the musings of this simple country girl!

It's a New Year

Well, if you are reading this, I guess we  both survived 2013.  Who knows what 2014 has in store for us.  I do know that my Grannie Lester had several New Year's Day traditions that I am clinging to as always.  Grannie always cooked blackened peas with salt pork in a boiler on the stove.  She always made cabbage too.  Peas were for good luck and I can not for the life of me remember what cabbage is for.  I do know that she cooked turnip greens as they were supposed to be for money.  That is probably the reason I am not wealthy today is because I refuse to eat turnip greens.  I just don't like them.

Grannie also believed that if you washed clothes on New Year's Day that you would wash in bad luck.  My Momma never heeded that one as she said when we were growing up that if she skipped a day doing laundry that she would never get caught up again.  I have tried to adhere to that "not washing on New Year's Day" thing - but mostly because I just don't like doing laundry.

I hope you have a great New Year!  What traditions do you always follow?