A Family Gathering and Dinner

On Tuesday, George and I drove back to Hendersonville (3rd trip this month) ---but this time, we had a "Family Reunion" at the Cracker Barrel in Gallatin. George's brother and wife were visiting from northern Indiana, and George's sister and hubby drove up from Tullahoma., TN. You can imagine how happy Mom and Dad were to have their three siblings together --even for a short time. Dad had told George on the phone that he didn't know how much longer the family would be able to get to be together. We all hope it will be many more years ---but since Dad is alomst 97 and Mom is 89, who knows?????


Above is a picture of Dad and Mom (seated ) and the kids: George, Janet and Ken. George is the oldest; Ken is two years younger; Janet is about 10 yrs. younger than George. The youngest child in the family, Jimmy (2 yrs. younger than Janet), died when he was a teen. Below are more pictures from the 'party'...









This is a picture of Janet with hubby, Charlie. Charlie suffers from Huntington's Disease-- so, as you can imagine, Janet has her hands full.









This is Ken and his wife, Bonnie. They come to Nashville every year to attend the Country Music Festival. They are HUGE country music fans!









Our good friends, Judy and Charlie, joined the party. They are honorary family members since they do so much to help Mom and Dad. They are also GREAT friends of George and me. As you can see, they brought their 5 month old grandbabies with them. These fraternal twins are just adorable. The one pictured here is Gabriel. He's the ACTIVE one!!!!









This is Charlie with Christian, the calm and easy-going one. Both babies are just gorgeous!!!









This is George's beautiful sister, Janet.











Betsy had to take her turn with Gabriel. Look at that expression on his face!!!!!! ha ha ha









I love this picture of Mom and Dad. They are two incredible people!!!!






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In closing, I introduce you to one of my all-time favorite Roses. This one is named MR. LINCOLN---and it smells fabulous!!!! Out of our 48 different rose bushes, 46 of them have now bloomed. Isn't this a beautiful rose????


Hope you are having a great week.
Hugs,

I met another Blogger Friend... WOW!!!

This past Sunday, George and I had some visitors at our house... Blogger friend, KELLY , hubby Rick, and his mom, Mary, stopped by to see our Roses and Lilies---and hopefully to see US too!!!! ha


Kelly and I have been bloggy friends for a short time ---and realized while emailing that her inlaws have just moved to Fairfield Glade, not far from where we live. SO---on their way home from vacation near Hilton Head, Kelly and Rick stopped by to see his parents. I invited all of them to come over to see us---and luckily, they DID (except for Rick's father who had taken their son fishing).


Kelly is a fairly new blogger ---and is looking for more bloggy friends, especially birders. She and Rick and their son live in Cincinnati. Here's what Kelly says about herself on her profile:

"Every Day the Bird Lover’s Way" became my mantra when I decided to take my love of birds and my desire to protect their habitat to the next level. This blog helps me unite my birdy friends and family with the wonderful world of birds…and helps me connect with other bird and nature lovers so I can learn more about the field and conservation. Thanks for stopping by!

Some of Kelly's interests besides Birding are: Yoga, Painting, Low-salt and Healthy Cooking/Eating, her hubby's and son's hockey and tennis involvement, Cornish Rex Cats, Nature, Hiking, Reading, Pottery, Conservation, Recycling, Biking, and Cello


You can see that this is one smart, well-rounded gal. I just love her to pieces!!!! The very first thing I noticed was that huge, fabulous, marvelous camera that all good birders have. Amazing!!!! (Guess my little 'point and shoot' doesn't make me a good birder, huh???? ha )


Kelly posted her visit to our house HERE if you'd like to read it. She got some great photos of our roses and lilies... She and Rick have just returned from Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge in SC. She saw some amazing birds---and said that she'll be posting them for the next few weeks. Yesterday, she posted a Painted Bunting. Wow--what a gorgeous bird. Hope you'll check out her blog.


Above is a picture of Kelly and me ---and below are a few more.







Here's Kelly and her sweetie, Rick, who also is a blogger







Above is Rick, Kelly and Rick's mom, Mary. As I said, Mary and hubby, Ron, just moved to our area. Hope they love it as much as we do.







I love this photo of Kelly and Rick with our roses and lilies in the background!!!!! (Look at her camera!!!! Wow!!!)


As I said, after meeting Leedra and Shelley this past week, it is such a JOY to meet blogger friends in person. Since Kelly and Rick have family here, I hope they will visit often. In the meantime, check out Kelly's blog.


Hugs,