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| Hell's Fire Iris |
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| Clarence Iris |
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| Blatant Iris |
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| Waltz Across Texas Iris |
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| Hemstitched Iris (my favorite out of this group) |
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| Max, Teacher Betsy, Sharon |
Anyhow--to make a long story short, through Facebook, I caught up with a couple of my favorite students. Max and Sharon were 'sweethearts' in high school. After they graduated and when I left Knoxville, I lost total contact with them. This past weekend, they came to Crossville to camp---so we met back up --after 43 years...
What JOY for me!!!! This couple did get married at age 18/19, and are still very much in love after all of these years. They have 2 married sons and I think, four grandchildren now. Both Max and Sharon are retired and live in Maryville, TN. They are such wonderful people --and I'm so glad that I could catch back up with them.
They were so complimentary of me ---and what a difference I had made in their lives. That makes me feel so good --since none of us know how we can affect others as we go through life. I do know that I loved teaching ---and tried to do a good job sharing my deep love of music with all that I taught.
The funny part now is that I'm only about 9 years older than they are... As their teacher, I'm sure they thought that I was much older back then!!!!! Isn't that a hoot??????
Thanks Max and Sharon for the wonderful visit!!!!! I am so proud of the great Christian people you became. You two have obviously done alot to make a difference in the lives of others. God Bless You both.
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| Dawn and Jeff |
Dawn is 'everything' a mother could ever ask for as a bride for her son. These two are like George and me----they are good for each other and compliment each other.
The picture above is one of MANY pictures they made to use as 'engagement photos'... Isn't it a great picture???? I'm sure I've mentioned this many times, but their wedding will be in October!!!!
Have a great day ---and thanks to so many of you for finding my two surprises (the heart and the teeth) in my last post... I often wonder how many people actually 'read' my blog --and how many just scan it. (I hate to admit it, but I have been guilty of scanning blogs too on occasion when I am in a hurry!!!! ha)
Hugs,
Betsy
75 comments:
What a wonderful story about Max and Sharon!
As a side note, I never skim posts. If I don't have time, I come back when I do. If someone takes the time to write, it's the least I can do. However, I'm not nearly as busy as some people. I don't know how some people find time to pass gas, with their busy lives!
Betsy,so many varieties of iris and so colourful!!!That story of Max and Sharon is so sweet and hope they stay happy that way...you must have been so very excited in catching up after all these years:)Have a great day!!!
Shantana
Okay, I love that you met up with your former students after all this time! I know I had one teacher in 5th grade that I'd love to see again :-)
Your hell's fire iris is gorgeous!
I've been really sick (horrendous throat infection!) so I'm guilty of scanning posts this week. The antibiotics are finally starting to kick in, so hopefully I'll be a little more together in a day or two!
Love the Iris photos. I sometimes meet up with adults who's diapers I changed in my daycare, and to see them with children is very strange. I am sure you made a positive impact on many lives Ms. Betsy. I have been encouraged by you and Mr. George many times just through blogging. Congrats on the upcoming wedding. May the love and joy that shines through that photo always be a halo around their hearts and minds for one another. I didn't read your other post. I think we have to scan here and there to get all of our visiting in, plus photos sometimes need no words, lol.
It's always great to meet up with previous students and find out what has happen in the years since you had them. I've met a couple of mine, some good, some not so good, but enjoyed each encounter.
Love your flowers. Irises remind me so of my mother, they were one of her favorites.
Love bearded iris. I will have to enjoy yours ... I can't grow them here (had a yard full in New Mexico). Wonderful story about Max and Sharon. I know you are proud and excited for your son and the upcoming wedding.
As a teacher, I of course, loved this post! And your irises!
I strongly suspect that when (notice I said, "when," not "if") we meet, we will discover several mutual acquaintances. Had no idea you taught at West and Choral Music to boot!!
Loved the picture of Dawn & Jeff. They certainly do look like a happy duo. I wish the informal engagement pictures had been "in" when I got married almost 35 years ago. They reflect so much more of the personality of the couple than the newspaper photos us old-timers had made!
What beautiful flowers and a wonderful story this morning Betsy!
"It's as if I'm almost getting married again"--------that's a great feeling. And great frame of mind if you ask me!!
I LOVE your iris. Dawn, a blogging friend, sent me some iris rhizomes a couple of years back 'cause I had mentioned that my father had acres of them and I didn't have any. Guess she felt sorry for me. And they bloomed the very first year. I love 'em so. Your Hell's Fire is absolutely astounding!!!! [that doesn't sound like good English at all...but you know what I mean]
My Wednesday Link: FEEDING FRENZY
Hi Betsy,
Oh, I love those irises - adorable colours.
It's wonderful to have met up with your old students, that is so cool. Yes, sometimes we meet people and we just connect!!
I'm happy for your son, they look very happy on their photo.
Have a lovely day my friend, and I always looking forward to your posts, and lovely pictures. I might be a little slow for the coming days when having no internet access at home. but i am peeking in now while at work [tehee]
Big hugs
Eva
Love your beautiful Iris, Hell's Fire! I have a group of the Clarence Iris growing in the wooded area behind the house, where I threw them because I thought they were dead! Boy was I surprised to see them come up the next Spring!
I did see the upside down heart and teeth, but I didn't comment on them. There is a reason I call the title of my blog list, "MY READING LIST", because the only ones I put there are the ones I enjoy reading with my morning coffee...and you my dear are in that list!
The colorful array of Irises you two have is amazing and beautiful, Betsy.
Its always wonderful to visit with friends and family.
I love the sweet picture of Jeff and Dawn!
How cool to find out how your students "turned out". That has to be the most rewarding part of teaching.
So happy that your son has found happiness. You and George are great examples.
Still laughing at Mrs. A's remark about really busy people.
I like the blatant iris best. It must be lovely to have so many different colours. How exciting to meet up with students after so many years. It does make you feel good when students tell you how good you were for them. happiness all round in this post. I'm glad your son has found such a nice partner. I hear excitement in your tone.
LOVE the story of Max and Sharon. Incredible! Thanks for sharing it with us. Dawn and Jeff look so happy! Congrats to them and to the proud mom! :)
Maybe you could do a whole post about finding pictures in pictures--heart and teeth. We love to do that around here!
Love the blatant, the bicolors are real fun.This is a flower I couldn't have enough of.I always smell them especially the purples to see if they are grape scented.
That is a wonderful story about Max and Sharon. I am also so happy for your son and future daughter-in-law. The iris pictures are the best I have ever see. I saw the heart and the teeth but just didn't comment on them. Have a great day!
How great to meet your former students! I bet you're excited about the upcoming wedding, they look like a great couple.
Romance in the spring...great! My iris are just in green bud and yours are already in full bloom!
Wonderful blog, Betsy, and I DID read every word:-) Your favorite Iris is mine, too! So nice to meet your students after all these years!
I know you are excited about the upcoming marriage of Dawn and Jeff in October!!!
So neat that you could make this great connection with former students. There is a teacher I had tha I've wondered about and would like to see again. She was my favorite.
And that purple and yellow Iris?? Wow. Beautiful.
All your iris are lovely, Betsy, but the Hell's Fire is stunning. I think I like the name as much as the flower!:-) And I love the story about your former students. I know is must be so gratifying to know that you had such a profound influence on those you taught. Congratulations to Dawn and Jeff! May they always be as joyful together as they look in the wonderful photo!
how great of you to meet up with your former students again. and so great they are together all these years.
your future daughter-in-law is a sweet beauty. congrats to you and your son!
How fun to see people after so many years, and to realize what a difference you made in their lives. I can remember several of my teachers, and their influence on me. Glad you got to see them. And your son and future daughter-in-law look very happy. So nice that you think they're perfect for each other. Mothers know!
Great story of meeting former students! I love it when I reconnect with someone I taught many years ago. Facebook brings people together!
Best wishes to your son and his fiance! Your irises are just gorgeous!
My iris are weeks away, but your's are ever so lovely. Best wishes to your son and his new to be wife!!!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Being a former teacher myself, I know what fun it is to meet up with old students and what a fun time for all of you!! And I'm so happy for your son and future daughter-in-law! Wonderful to find love and happiness after a bad time! My very best to them! I hope the week is going well for you and George! Your daffodils are gorgeous!
Sylvia
Oooopps!! I meant Iris, not daffodils! Think I wrote the same thing on George's blog!! It's obviously too early for me to be reading blogs!!!
Sylvia
That's so nice to see your students after a long years. Did you miss teaching? misses my old students in Thailand where I taught.
I like the photo shots of the flowers.
The iris are so pretty, Betsy. I loved reading about your visits with old friends. How nice to know they are still so happy.
Your DIL-to-be and son look so happy. She looks really sweet and they are a beautiful couple!
Have a wonderful day!
Hemstitched Iris is my favorite also, I cannot believe how many iris varieties you have!!!!! And they probably don't all bloom at the same time so you could not post them all at once, that would be a fabulous post! The couple that you taught, I had thought you all looked close in age, what a wonderful surprise visit, I would have been over the moon!!! And this is such a sweet picture of Jeff and Dawn, are you involved in any of the wedding planning? I imagine you will be buying new dress, because you are such a tiny slip of a thing now!!!! And yes, I did read the whole post!
Hi Betsy, Such lovely, lovely flowers all around your property. I just commented on FB about that wonderful reunion with your former students. How blessed that must have been for all of you. The picture of Dawn and Jeff is a testimony to love. We, as moms always want our children to be happy, but even more so when their lives were unhappy the first time around. You know, like us, been there done that and hate to see our children have to go through it too. Yes, you can tell Dawn just adores Jeff and that is awesome. So what is the wedding going to be like? I can tell you are excited and you have every right to be. What a fantastic weekend you had. Thank you for sharing with us all. Blessings.
Congrats on meeting such nice former students. And best wishes to your son and his fiancee. Always a good time when love is in the air! Your flowers are beautiful, Betsy!
I love all the Iris pictures! This type flower is my mother's favorite. George did them good!!
WOW, Betsy, how amazing to meet up with your students after all those years. And congrats to that couple for still being married. True love is AWESOME! I use to live in Knoxville in the early 70s. It's amazing to me how we have been in the same areas during the same period of times and never met...LOL!
Congratulations to your son and his new bride to be!! They look great together!!
Hugs to you!
Brenda
The irises are beautiful.
How great for you that you got to meet some of your students after so long. Must make you feel so good knowing you played a part in their lives.
Congratulations to your son and future daughter in law. They look a happy couple. : )
Wow how neat to get to catch up with a couple students from your teaching years. Your future d-in-love is a beautiful girl and your son is so handsome they make a terrific looking couple. Isn't it great when you know they have chosen a mate that is so good for them.
Wish we could have shared some rain with you as we got more than our share over night and this morning.
Blessings
Marilyn
The iris's are gorgeous! I love the 'love' story of your two students, so wonderful that you were able to reconnect with them again. Facebook at it's finest.
So happy for JEff and Dawn, I love a good love story. May they have a blessed marriage and life together.
xo
As always the Irises are gorgeous. I am so happy that you got to meet these former students. You must have been and still are a good teacher.You may not be teaching in a classroom,but the teaching goes on.
Betsy, your irises are all gorgeous. So many beautiful colors. How cool to meet up with your old students on facebook. It is great that you all were able to meet again. Congrats to your Jeff and Dawn, I wish them all the best. Great post and beautiful photos.
How neat and what a good story! FB has really been a terrific source for reconnecting friendships. I'll bet there was a lot of old memories shared between all of you...
Sam and I where High School sweethearts...We graduated in 1971.
Gorgeous pictures of your flowers..
hugs..
Shug
Wonderful post Betsy - love the Blatant iris, and what a tremendous catch-up story!! Not much age difference at all, but 9 years would have seems heaps back then. So happy for your lovely son too.
I love the Irises.. Your story is so touching, We never know who we might run across on Fb.. Congrats to your son and his fiance..My son is getting married in August..This to will be his second marriage..Like you this one seems to have been made for him..I love her..I know you feel the same as I do, we just want our children to be happy with someone that will walk beside them and work together..Hugs, Susie
Betsy, that is marvelous that you reconnected with your previous students! Isn't face book wonderful? I am loving it for you! and them because I know what a thrill it was to connect with my English teacher after all those years. How fantastic!
PS, you flowers are lovely...love the blatant iris...that's a beauty!
How wonderful that you got to meet up with your students from way back. It's always nice to hear about couples who have stayed together for that many years too.
Your iris are beautiful, Betsy. How wonderful that you got to catch up with your former students. Congratulations to your son and his fiance! :)
Beautiful flowers, friends and their story. I am not a skimmer. I do read most of the blogs. I do hope your son has found the right person and they will be as happy as your and George. Not many like you two.
You and George have so many wonderful flowers - I know you have beautiful roses coming too.
How cool to see that couple again after what 43 years. Amazing.
And congrats to your son and fiance. And to you - MIL to be!
Love, sandie
So happy for your son and his bride to be! Everyone deserves their piece of happiness!
Your irises are lovely. I have buds on my taller ones and a couple of the short ones have bloomed but not the full display yet.
How cool to reconnect to former students. Don't think that will quite happen with me since I taught 4th graders.
I read your blogs Betsy, if they are funny and not very long, haha! I must say your photo with your student don't show the age difference, you look like classmates! And your son and daughter-in-law look really healthy! But what i love most and delirious about is your first iris photo, oh the color is really great! It can be a choice next to a waterfall.
Hi Betsy, Beautiful blooms! So nice you had a happy tie with former students and also with your family.
I so enjoy hearing from my former students. My pupils were six or seven when I taught them and now some have graduated from college! Time flies! Have a great day tomorrow!
First of all, I'm impressed you know the names of your irises. All of my irises were shared by friends and I have no names other than what I call them.
Awesome to reconnect with your students. And, cute almost weds!
I completley missed your last post. Off to read it now.
I missed your last post. I will have to go back and read it. I'm having a hard time keeping up with blogs lately. Too much going on in life.
The story of the two students with whom you reconnected is great! I can only imagine what a great teacher you were. I love that you found these two, or they found you, on facebook. Funny about the age difference. That is how I felt about a former teacher. I was shocked when I saw her recently and realized she was that much older than we were when she taught us.
Your son and his future bride are a beautiful couple. I wish them much happiness.
What a great story Betsy!!! It's bizarre to think of students as students when there is only a 9 year difference. I have the same thing going on in my own classroom. I have "kids" in their early 30's. It's a bit of a shock to my system. What a wonderful reunion! PS. I love your Iris'. They are my Moms' favorites!
LOve reading happy ending stories and your story is in eof them. happy for your son and his fiance and for your former students that you met again. I can see that you are a woman with many talents and a lady with a good heart. it shows in your post. I am glad that our path crossed and I can follow your exciting life.
dear betsy, absolutely loved seeing so many varieties of iris and so beautiful! and what a wonderful story about max and sharon. so great they are together all these years.
congrats to your son and his fiance!
i wish them much happiness!
your flower are lovely!
have a great day from start to finish!
hugs!!
It's great fun catching up with old friends and students.
What lovely spring flowers!
Love your pictures. What a great story...meeting students from long ago.
Your flowers are so pretty Betsy. And how wonderful to catch up with former students. Congratulations to your son and his fiance. Wonderful!
xo Catherine
thanks for the headsup i missed this post, it was not in my reader yesterday, and i wondered why george posted and you did not. this is wonderful. and amazing you found them again. i agree the photo of your son and his bride to be is very good. you are blessed for sure.
Beautiful Irises and most of all a beautiful story. I knew you were a special lady and now it is confirmed. You always remember that special Teacher and you were to them that one. Glad to see your son has meet his soul mate. That is the most important thing. Both Prince and I had the same thing happen as your son, he was married and I was only dating. Makes you appreciate a really good loving person. Peace be with you and yours.
First I love to see your flowers...Wow what a story with the connection of Facebook...it is neat
Your Iris shots are beautiful. Do you have the deep purple that smells so heavenly?
How wonderful to meet up with some former students---the age difference is a hoot isn't it. I worked 18 years in an elementary school and on occasion I have run into some former students---They recognize me but oh my they have grown up so. haha!!
I love reading your posts Betsy. Even though I don't get to it every day, I always leave smiling. Wonderful about your son and his bride-to-be, can just feel your happiness. Great meeting up with your students, and as always your photos are magnificent. Wow! Those iris' are breath-taking. Have a great weekend!
Hi Ms Betsy, you must be blessed to have a variety of irises in your backyard. It must also be a wonderful experience to be meeting up after many years with old friends. Happy weekend! :)
I've been blogging for quite a while and decided to connect with other active bloggers. I hope to be back again in the future to read your interesting entries and hope you do the same. Farida
The flowers are beautiful, but I love the story more! I just love hearing reunion stories of any kind...and this one is really fun to read.
Your irises are all beautiful! My Mother always had irises growing in her yard.
What a nice thing for you to meet former students who remembered you fondly, Besty! Teachers so make a difference in so mnay lives!
Congratulations to your son and future daughter-in-law! Dawn is so pretty! October is a lovely month in which to get married -- my 38 anniversary is coming up this October! :)
Hi Betsy,
I'm glad I was one of those who saw your surprises..hehe..
Lovely Irises especially the hemstitched iris.
All the best to your son and fiance..may they be happy together like you and George.
Have a pleasant weekend.
:-)
Betsy, that is so exciting that you were reunited with two of your students after all these years. You must have had fun catching up. And even more exciting news about Jeff and Dawn. They do make a cute couple and their love shines through in the photo.
I love all your beautiful irises.
The irisis are gorgeous! I have TWO blooming - yes, only two. :)
I think about some of my memorable students and wonder where they are and what they are doing. What a wonderful opportunity you got to meet up with yours. When I was in high school I remember having school girl crushes on a couple of student teachers. I was seventeen and they couldn't have been more than maybe twenty three but we always thought of them as being so much older. :)
Dawn and Jeff have wonderful examples in you and George - they're going to be wonderful!
Iris are gorgeous.
How fun that you could meet up with a couple of your students and what a lovely testimony they brought.
So happy too for your son and his fiance ... lovely to find a kindred spirit. I always think how wonderful it is that you and George found each other and that you have such adventures and fun together. God is good.
I am loving your Iris'.... My favorite is the Blatant Iris! Love that deep purple and the hint of blue with that yellow... oh my! Gorgeous! I planted quite a few bulbs in one of my beds and I am not sure what happened but I have only seen 5 irises ... I also only got 1 tulip out of all those bulbs! Maybe next year....
Ok, how absolutely wonderful to have met your students. What a blessing to be able to hear what a difference you made in their lives! Really, a blessing on both ends! Their's is a fairy tale ending... and just like the movies ending that makes you feel so happy, their story is just like that! :) hope that makes sense LOL
Your Son Max and his fiancé are just beaming with Love in their eyes and even how they are holding each other :) There just isn't anything better than seeing & knowing our children are happy is there??
ESPECIALLY if they had to go through a rough time in order to find that happiness :)
Well, I think I wrote a whole page worth :0) LOL
Have a blessed weekend with your lovebug! ♥
Congats to your son and bride to be. I hope they have many years of happiness.I didnt know you use to teach at West High, my childrens dad taught NJROC there in the mid 90's for a few years when I lived in Knoxville...Small world
I love irises, too. We always had them growing alongside our house when I was growing up. I suspect that you and George keep yours looking neater than we did ours, though. I think my favorite of those you posted today is that very first one. Maybe I just like the name. :)
I'm so glad you reconnected with the couple from your teaching days. That's the neat part about Facebook.
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