Family Jewels

Clayton's response to my first story is precious.

This is the first time Obi-Wan Kenobi was teaching Luke to be a jedi so he would be good. Then Darth Vader came out of the glass door. Then Luke and Obi-Wan were fighting him.

I plan to continue this epic.

Wade's birthday was great according to all accounts. Rebecca was there and totally enjoyed the rad celebration. Check out Sarah's blog: www.carpenterscorner.blogspot.com

Valentine's day was memorable. We visited with Rebecca; she and JD did a Sam's date to get food to prepare for her friend Jenny's baby shower. We got precious pictures and a card from Clayton and Drew. JD surprised me with a Charlie Brown card, flowers, and my favorite chocolate covered strawberries. What a treat!



Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

The Glass Door

This is my first story for Clayton:

In a land far, far away many years ago, Luke decided to embark on a journey to say thank you to Obi-Wan Kenobi for teaching him to be a Jedi Knight. The lessons were invaluable; Luke could never have reached his goal without these many secrets told to him by such a good friend and mentor. How could Luke ever be able to truly thank His Master?

The answer finally popped in his head. Luke would complete a mission Obi-Wan Kenobi could only dream about. Obi could no longer travel like he once was able to do. He was getting too old and feeble. It was too difficult to fly his space craft to the planet with the glass door. Luke knew that dreaming of the secrets behind the door was not good enough; he must open the door, walk through it, and find the treasures. Luke packed his gear: his protective suit, his light saber, his professional digital camera and a unmanned instant video camera. His video camera was a recent invention by Luke. It would send instant projections to Obi of the complete interior of the room behind the glass door.

Luke, Leia, Hans, and Chewy loaded Luke's necessary cargo and tools. All of the travelers zoomed off to a destination that would put a smile on Obi-Wan Kenobi's troubled face. He had given up on the ability to ever reach his goal of the secrets behind the glass door.

After many light years, the friends reached the destination. Luke could hardly contain his eagerness to grant his Master's wish. After landing on the planet, the journey to the Glass Door was perilous. There were fiery furnaces to go through, giants to fight, armies to defeat, and struggles with the unknown. Luke and his band of friends were finally able to see the Glass Door. It was enticing; what a mysterious sight. Luke knocked on the door trying to gain entrance. No one responded to his knock. Tentatively, Luke pulled on the handle. It opened. There was an unique, decorated truck just inside the door. The room surrounding them was amazing. The crew had never seen such a place. The walls, floor, and ceiling were adorned with gold, silver, and every precious jewel known to man.

They all were in awe. Luke approached the trunk. What could possibly be contained within? Could the contents put a smile on Obi's face, a spring in his step. but mostly joy in his heart? He had been so unselfish to give unconditional (agape) love to Luke. Very carefully Luke opened the truck. He was dumbfounded at the contents. Obi-Wan Kenobi had telatransported himself to the trunk. With tears in his eyes and a smile Luke had never seen, Obi began to speak. "Luke my son, you have proven to me that all I tried to teach you was to no avail. You are the man I knew you could be. You embarked on this difficult and unknown journey to discover what would truly make me happy. I love you Luke."

The journey returning to Obi was much faster and less frightening. Luke was most anxious to thank Obi-Wan Kenobi for his journey to manhood.

The End.

PS
Gran loves my boys!

Stories from Gran

Our grandson is enthralled with Star Wars which is interesting because I have been a fan since 1979. I conned my husband into taking his very pregnant wife to see the first Star Wars movie.

At Christmas time, Clayton "covinced" me to tell him creative original stories based on Star Wars. (Is conning hereditary?) Even though the characters have been updated somewhat, I was able to come up with acceptable stories. It was as much fun for me as it was for Clayton. This story telling adventure all started with his Dad speaking over the baby monior in a most accurate Darth Vader voice "Luke, I am your father". Now it is obvious where Clayton gets his love for the whole Star Wars obsession. Both he and Clayton got light sabers for Christmas.

Clayton made me promise to come up with new stories for the next time he came to see us. You might see some of them here on the blog. Below is a picture of our 3+ year old storm trooper.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas at our house was wonderful. Rebecca and Jeff came over. Our grandsons, Sarah, Wade, and Sydney came to visit. Each day was an uplifting experience.



Clayton sat in my magic bed listing to Star Wars stories and talking about anything that his wonderful mind could think of for hours.



Drew is now 2 months old. He is so gentle and precious. I think of the carol "Away in the Manger" when I look at him. I am in awe.

It was so much fun. Each person made our Christmas special. Thank you Family for making our Christmas perfect.

Drew update

Drew is one week and 3 days old. He already seems to be growing up - way too fast for grandparents. Our daughter keeps her blog current which helps, but we still miss seeing them day to day. I miss them.



Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays, but I enjoy seeing "my boys" enjoying it. Clayton was Captain America; Drew was a dinosaur. Clayton and his dad carved an amazing pumkin. Truly amazing work, Wade.

Andrew Michael

We just returned from seeing, holding, kissing Grandson #2. I did not think any baby could compare to #1. I was right. #1 is no longer a baby; he is a fabulous grown-up big brother.




#1 dressed in full scrubs for the birth. He was "treated" like a real doctor by the nurses and even other new fathers. One father even asked him the directions to the nurses. Without any hesitation, #1 said "Go down this way and turn to the left." When the father returned to say that he did not find the nurses, he was told "You went the wrong way!" When Drew came to the room before he had to go to the NICU because of a minor problem, all Clayton could do was tell his mom and his brother "I love you."



Clayton wore his Big Brother shirt and Drew wore his Little Brother shirt when Drew was able to room in with mom.



I am not the least a proud grandmother. I am truly blessed.

OK, Sarah...

I just finished my training to be an SAT reader, so now I can fill my afternoon with this tag. My life is pretty normal, but here goes:

1. When my dad came home from World War II, he and my mom moved into a Jim Walter home that my Papa gave them. My older brother and sister did not live close to my grandparents when they were growing up, so Papa bribed my parents into having another baby by promising them a new car. I am the car!

2. I was a spoiled, rotten brat, so anything I wanted Papa would see that I got it. He built a stye (a set of steps over the fence between his house and ours). I could get to his house without having to walk by a highway. I would visit them daily. He would feed me like a baby bird home grown green beans. My MoMo would bake blackberry cobbler and old fashioned tea cakes.

3. Papa and I would go fishing in a john boat weekly. I was so excited when he taught me how to run the motor. When I was about thirteen, the "bubbas" on the bayou started noticing me. The day they started whistling I remember Papa saying something like "Well, there goes my fishing buddy". I continued to fish with him, though, even when JD and I were dating. We would always cook a feast on the bank which included our catch that day. I remember always bringing bacon to cook just in case we didn't catch any fish.

4. I went to a tiny rural high school in a quaint Louisiana town. There were only thirteen in my entire class until my school was consolidated. Then we has sixy-three seniors. We had a movie theater, one grocery store, one gas station, an antique shop, and a DAIRY QUEEN. We had to find strange ways to occupy our time. One way was for all of my friends to stand on the plate that triggered the stop light to change. At night, we would wait for a eighteen wheeler to come barreling through town, then we would all jump on the plate. It was fun to watch the poor driver slam on his breaks. My little town had no real way of funding the necessities of the running of the town except traffic tickets. We had just purchased a new police car, so Bubba (his real name and our only policeman) loved our antics because he could double the city's treasury.

5. When JD and I were dating(I met him while he was "going steady" with my cousin - but that's another story), we didn't have much money to spend on a date so we had to be creative. One night was particularly eventful. We were in a parking lot after we had gone to a movie. All of a sudden JD spotted a grocery cart. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the cart being madly wheeled around the parking lot. JD and I still laugh about that night.

6. When I was student teaching, I taught an advanced Senior English class. I was not much older than my students. One young man came up to me wanting advice. I had no idea what the problem was. He shared that he was going into the Marines but wanted to marry his girlfriend before he left. He was so insistent because she was pregnant. I was not sure how to counsel him, so I asked my supervisor from the college what to do. He was visibly shaken. After stammering around, he admitted that he didn't have a clue. His biggest worry when he was in the classroom was stopping a student from throwing paper around the room!

Now, Sarah, I've fulfilled my duty. However, I don't know any bloggers that I can tag...

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people
4. Please pass it on for fun...

Drew is almost here!

I am going to be a grandmother again on October 23. Yesterday my daughter and Drew were blessed with a family shower. My younger daughter and her husband represented Gran and Papa D. My daughter's blog helped me visualize the grand occasion.

Drew's birth brings back special memories. I was obsessed over older daughter feeling left out when younger daughter was born - a feeling not unique in my situation. I enjoyed reading books to my older daughter daily; this special time brought me joy. How could I continue this traditional story time when I was away from her? I decided to audio tape my reading those stories to her. The page turner was a simple bell being rung. Even if this did not help her, it did convince me that I would not be missed as much.

My older daughter allowed me to give Clayton a big brother shirt to assure him that he was not to left out.



I am so blessed with amazing daughters, son-in laws, and the first two of I hope many grandchildren.

Galveston Pre-Ike

My grandson visited the beach in Galveston when he was younger. The water is often less than pristine, but he does not seem to care. This picture at sunset was an amazing reminder to me of God's amazing power. I choose to remember Galveston through the eyes of a child, not post Ike.

After Ike

Ike has left his mark on south Texas. He was only a Cat 2, but his destruction was more like cat 4 or 5. Ike was huge. I can still hear the crashing and moaning of our trees and house. The eye was eerily silent. Then he rived his motor again. Thankfully, our fence and broken limbs were the only destructive remnants of Ike at our house. We had to do without electricity for five long days. The first two were typical Houston - hot and humid. The last three were unseasonably cool. Open widows at night provided welcomed relief. All of Houston was not so blessed. The unruly lines for ice, water, and gas were everywhere. Tempers had a short fuse. Fist fights and even gun shots were not unusual.

My younger daughter and her husband offered us refuge when their electricity came on in Day 2. Their house is a fairly newly constructed home. My wheelchair made it difficult to maneuver around in their home. A hospital bed is a necessity for me; therefore, returning to our hot house was the only option. Medical emergency power need must be register for with our electricity provider, paperwork filled out by me and my doctor, documents returned, and then and only then will the request be even considered. I was quite perplexed. I had registered my need for assistance with the city and county. I did receive phone calls of concern by both.

Galveston felt the most destruction. Only 60% evacuated. The other 40 stayed on the island. Galveston had weathered worse they thought. The evacuation was reminiscent of Rita.




Ike struck with a vengeance. The west end was destroyed. People clung to rooftops and each other as the surge engulfed the usual hussel and bussel of the gulf shores. Visions of Katrina slapped us all in the face. Will this serene cost line ever return?