ABouT oUR ChRIsTmaS...

CHRISTmas is Peace!

This is our story of CHRISTmas Day.

The Goodwins or F.A.T.S.

(Frank~Ann~Tyler~Samuel)

Ann~Samuel~Tyler~Frank

The Reeds

David ~ Susan

The Morrells

Will~Tammy~Steve~Nick~Ben Matthews

The Reeds

Chip~Alexandra~Christine~Zachary Brown

(Jacob was sick and in bed.)

The Franklins

Glenn~Garrett~Melanie

The Goodwins

Melanie Goodwin Franklin

Susan Goodwin Reed

Elise Jones Goodwin

Frank Goodwin, III

The Goodwin Family

...until next year.

Unsolved Questions...

Be patient

toward all that is unsolved

in your heart and

try to love the questions themselves

like locked rooms and

like books

that are written in a very foreign tongue.

Do not now seek the answers,

which cannot be given you because

you would not be able to live them.

And the point is,

to live everything.

Live the questions now.

Perhaps you will find them gradually,

without noticing it, and

live along some distant day

into the answer.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

   Letters to a Young Poet

He will always be my baby boy.

Happy 30th Birthday Son!

We love you!!!

57 and 54...

Today is a unique day.

I am 57 and my brother is NOW 54.

My mother reminds me of these facts...

"You were born in 54 and

Your brother was born in 57."

I remember the year I was 54 and

my son was 27.

Love these cool facts!

Now check out some "Yank" memories.

Thankful for 56 years...

You always liked the "Marlboro Man" against your tree.

So glad that you and I had "brain one" to take this picture.

Remembering memories of long ago Thanksgiving Days.

Love you Pa...

"pinning" treat...

A friend of mine recently introduced me to Pinterest, and I have been spending some time "pinning". It is really enjoyable and can be consuming of your time if you're not careful. Anyway, I made these little treats for Gayle and her family and for our family to have during the Thanksgiving holidays. Super Easy and good!!!

Now gather the following ingredients for this fun, easy treat.

p'nut butter cups, frosting, yellow food coloring,

orange tic tacs, and fudge striped cookies

mix 7 drops of yellow food coloring

to 1 C. frosting

unwrap the p'nut butter cups

lay cookies onto parchment paper with chocolate showing,

dip top part of p'nut butter cup into frosting and

place on top of cookie and press carefully.

take orange tic tac, cooking confetti, or whatever else you can find that is orange, and place on frosting around p'nut butter cup

a small pilgrim hat



Can't turn the blooming thing...sorry!

hAPpy BiRtHdAy To mE...!!!!!

Spending the day

shopping with my mom.

FALL...Patterson Avenue Memory

Leaves of red and leaves of gold.

Colors of Fall as we see nature unfold.

The raking of paths and making of forts.

Young kids as we were, we rarely played sports.

My days long ago you helped me shape and to mold.

I cling to the memories that my heart doth behold.

MGF

December 1997

Friends...

"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

Thank you girls for a delicious lunch and wonderful conversation.

Luv ya'll bunches!!!

Life

In all reality I knew this was life.

Life as it was meant to be.

Life given to us through an earthen vessel.

Life given to us by our Heavenly Father.

Life.

In all reality I prepared myself for such a journey.

A journey learned through His Word.

A journey expected.

A journey to rejoice.

But…separation hurts.

I am learning how God hurts

when WE separate ourselves from Him.

Favorites of Pa

 

A family man.

His very being expressed

through his character and ethics.

Hard working and trustworthy

with just a gentleman’s word or handshake.

Fun-loving and

always ready for a get-together.

A fixer-upper with no challenge too hard…

”Got Duct Tape”.

Loved and enjoyed life to the fullest.

Giving and caring to those he met.

Morning Bible study and

talks with love of 65 years.

Devoted, Loving, Honorable, Proud.

Husband, Daddy, Businessman, Grandfather.

My dad.

Frank G. Goodwin, Jr.

July 7, 1926 ~ September 30, 2011

"Blessed are they who have

the gift of making friends,

for it is one of God’s best gifts.

It involves many things, but above all,

the power of going out of one’s self, and

appreciating whatever is

noble and loving in another.” Thomas Hughes

Praise through tears...

With my love and my sadness

I come before You Lord

My heart’s in a thousand pieces

Maybe even more 

Yet I trust in this moment

You’re with me somehow

And You’ve always been faithful

So Lord even now

 When all that I can sing

Is a broken hallelujah

When my only offering

Is shattered praise

Still a song of adoration

Will rise up from these ruins

I will worship you and give You thanks

Even when my only praise

Is a broken hallelujah

Oh Father, You have given

Much more than I deserve

And I have felt Your hand of blessing

On me at every turn

How could I doubt Your goodness

Your wisdom, Your grace

So Lord hear my heart

In this painful place

Hallelujah

I lift my voice…

Your Spirit moves…

I raise my hands…

I reach for You…

"Broken Hallelujah"

Mandisa

...love me some thought questions with a sense of humor

Why do people press harder

on a remote control

when we know

the batteries are almost dead?

Why does someone

believe you when you say

there are four billion stars;

but have to check

when you say the paint is still wet?

Why doesn't Tarzan

have a beard?

If people evolved from apes,

why are there still apes?

How do those dead bugs

get into those enclosed light fixtures?

In winter why do we try

to keep the house

as warm as it was in summer

when we complained about the heat?

Source:  Born and Raised in the South

              http://ltc4940.blogspot.com/

For the first time in 25 years I will not have to..

select clothes nightly to wear the following day,

prepare a lunch meal after dinner,

retire early to bed,

get up early in the morning to get ready for school,

wonder if I have everything in my school bag,

stay late for school related meetings,

spend an afternoon grocery shopping

after a trying day at school,

spend my nights with household chores, and

be totally exhausted after the first week of school.

HOWEVER,  I will miss...

the children and my friends.

TO MY FRIENDS...

You know I'm praying daily for your upcoming school year.

I'm praying that you will...

continue to teach with excellence and creativity,

speak encouraging and motivating words,

recognize children as individuals

designed and purposed by God, and

have strength for the well doing

as well as the trials for discipline.

I now consider myself retired because

I'm home and it's 8AM.

A.to.Z...anniversary~atlanta~ aquarium~zoo

...a wonderful weekend with my best friend!

7.30.77

Thirty-four years ago I married my best friend.

We celebrate by spending a few days in Atlanta

visiting the aquarium and the zoo.

grace.thanks.joy

Take everything that God gives you as grace and

give thanks for it...experience great joy!

#400     Sweet friend (retired) who came to lunch @ GRA

to help cdelebrate my retirement

#425     hubby attending school board meeting to support me

#450     Gathering of friends @ Hardee's in Headland

#475     Lazy evening with hubby and Steak-Out Dinner

#500     cleaning difficult areas in the house for parents

#525     Early morning "Hellos" to fellow walkers

#550     Rain...TYL   (Thank You Lord)

Amy...

She was a very talented individual

yet she was destructive.

Coping with the flushes...

Today six friends began their morning with the musical "Menopause" on their mind. Five of us traveled together around 9AM as one was already in Montgomery, Alabama at Farmers Market to sell.

We arrived safely and lunched at Mimi's Cafe on quiche, grilled chicken salad, pot pie, roasted tomato basil and corn chowder soups, muffins of blueberry and buttermilk spice and other yummy foods. With 45 minutes to squeeze in some shopping, we headed to Coldwater Creek and found purchases reflecting 40% off.

The ASF parking lot was beginning to get crowded but we found a parking spot not too far away, Looking around as we made our way to the theater, I was surrounded by other women excitedly talking to their girlfriends and just having a great time being together. It made me thankful to have this day to share with some of my girlfriends from church.

BTW...we laughed our "tails" off.

For the past two weeks I have been on a medical roller coaster ride with my dad. What started out as a trip to celebrate dad's 85th birthday resulted in a 5-day ICU hospital stay with heart issues. He was released Monday (11th) and is getting stronger every day. We still have some health issues to resolve, and we begin this Wednesday and Thursday receiving instructions for this new journey.