Day 90 - 3/31/2011

Kellyanne

My daughter called me this afternoon to see if I would watch Kellyanne while her and her husband went to a wake for a friend of theirs' father.  Naturally I said that I would.  I played with my little precious for just a bit and rubbed her tummy a bit--she seemed to have a little bit of a gassy tummy.  We had our little Nonna and granddaughter playtime and then I put her up on my shoulder for a little while.  Before I knew it, she was out . . .  Once I was sure that she was asleep, I put her in her bed.

Kelly told me that the cute little stinker doesn't want to sleep in her bed, especially on her back, but basically in her bed period.  So, I thought I would try her in her bed anyway.  The first time we weren't very successful, but the second time was a charm.  Kelly and Bill had come home, and we ate some Lasagna while she slept.  She stirred once, and I went in and gave her her passafier, rubbed her face and tummy a bit and she fell on off to sleep once again.  Now, how long she slept, that I don't know.  But I felt good that we got her to sleep in her bed for a little while.

It was nice babysitting Kellyanne tonight, and it gave her mother and daddy a little time to go out without having to pack her up just for a short trip down the road.

This isn't the best angle, but I wasn't about to put that flash in her face and take a chance on waking her up, not when I had been successful in getting her to sleep in her bed.  So, even though it's not the best shot, it will have to do as my picture of the day.  :-)    (Especially since that's the only picture that I took  lol)

Day 89 - 3/30/2011

I took quite a few pictures yesterday, but didn't really like the way many of them came out.  This little guy sitting in the tree is one of the few photos that came out pretty good, and even then I had to crop the pic a bit.  I really didn't have time to take any other pictures, so this one had to do.

The squirrels were really cute running from tree to tree, but they rarely sat still long enough to get a good pic of them.  I still haven't seen but one bird near my bird feeders, and even that one didn't stay around but a second.  Well, it's still early . . .

Day 88 - 3/29/2011

Dottie B. feeding Kellyanne

My daughter Kelly brought my granddaughter (Kellyanne) to campus today to for show and tell.  lol  The divisional secretaries always eat lunch in the caf on Tuesdays and I told Kelly that this would be a great to bring Kellyanne to campus.  I would buy her lunch and we could let everone see Kellyanne at the same time.  It worked out great!  Becky and Dottie had a great time holding the baby and feeding her and talking to her. Kellyanne was just eyeing everyone and everything.

Kellyanne seemed to enjoy her visit to SHC.  At least she didn't misbehave on campus like her mother did when she was a student there.  lol   You'd better hope that this little lady doesn't follow in your footsteps, Kelly girl.  :-)

Day 87 - 3/28/2011

This is one of those days when just one photo will not tell the story.  My friend Becky told me about how beautiful the azaleas were lining the walkway to the grotto.  So, after lunch we took a walk for a photo shoot.  While at the grotto, we ran into one of her work study students.  Here they are looking at the statue of Mary.

The Grotto on SHC Campus





The grotto is a beautiful place to visit, whether you or Catholic or of another denomination.  And this time of year the colors of the azaleas and other flowers that are in bloom are so rich, one can't help but see God's hand in the creation. The statue of Mary is beautiful as well. There is a bench nearby, and in the alcove part of the grotto people have placed angels, crucifix, nativity scenes, photos, etc.

Imagine yourself walking down the row of azaleas and sitting on that bench.  You are taking that quiet moment to spend some time alone with God. As a Baptist, I do not pray to Mary, but I do pray to God and you can too.  Tell him what is on your heart.  He will meet you here and will listen to whatever you want to talk to him about.

Day 86 - 3/27/2011

Easter at the Fairgrouds

This Easter a local church will hold their church service at the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds in conjunction with this year's Mayfest.  Anyone interested in more information can go to http://www.easteratthefairgrounds.com/    It should be a great Sunday.  That morning the church will serve a free breakfast, then we will meet for the Easter service, and close with big Easter egg hunt.

While this may not be one of my better photos, I am about photo'd out for the day.  Working in the yard yesterday pretty much wore me out!  It was a little hard to be very creative with this sign.  I placed this sign in my yard this afternoon after I got home from church today, then I got out my trusty camera and took a couple of shots.  The ground is a little hard and I'm not sure that it is secure enough in the ground--we'll see.

One thing I can say, I can hardly wait for Easter Sunday, when we celebrate our risen Lord at Easter at the Fairground!

Come and join us!

Day 85 - 3/26/2011

I worked in the yard all day on Saturday, so even though I took several pictures I never got around to posting them.  I liked both of these picture and couldn't decided which one I liked the best.  Since I have posted quite a few flower photos, I thought I would post the squirrel and the flower photo.  The squirrel photo would have been better without the small tree in the background, but the squirrel didn't give me the opportunity to set up the shot, and I didn't have time to adjust what few settings I have that might have blurred the background--it might not have worked anyway.  lol   I still was happy that I was able to catch a close up of a squirrel (course, I did have to crop the photo a bit).

Day 84 - 3/25/2011

Regina Dunnam & Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody

My baby sister turns 49 today.  I thought since today is her birthday, I would post a photo of her holding my sweet granddaughter.  Happy Birthday, Sista!  Love ya!!!

Next year, watch out--yep, she'll be the big 5-0!  :-))  The pictures of her will be quite different.  lol

Day 83 - 3/24/2011

Prunus Shirotae aka Japanese Flowering Cherry Tree

When I first saw this tree, I thought it might be a dogwood.  But a closer look at the blooms told me different.  Well, I knew that this wasn't a dogwood tree, but I didn't know what it could be.  So, I did a little research on the internet.  My search informed me that it is a Mt. Fuji Japanese Flowering Cherry Tree.  From what I read, the name of this double-flowering tree (Shirotae) means "snow white."

 The cascade of beautiful white blossoms on this tree are absolutely gorgeous!

God's creations are so beautiful, even if I didn't get a picture of a dogwood tree!  Who knows, I might even find one of those on campus.  The campus is so bright with a variety so many flowers in bloom.

Day 82 - 3/23/2011

The ride of a college student . . .(?)    A college student's BMW.

Day 81 - 3/22/2011

I know this is another flower, but I couldn't get the photo that I wanted to post to upload.  Once again, I don't know what type of flower this is, but when it's filled out it is really pretty.

Day 80 - 3/21/2011

Day 79 - 3/20/2011

I have seen Laura and others of you take some great photos of birds, but I can't even get close to a bird.  Melvin decided that in order for me to attract more birds (close enough to photogragh), I needed a bird feeder.  He's been talking about getting me one, so Saturday night we made a stop by Lowe's and got me a bird feeder and some bird seed.  Today, he hung it in the tree in my front yard, and we filled it with seed.  He is so handy to have around--he has built shelves in my closet, hung the gutters on the front of my house--just to name a few things.

New Bird Feeder

I was having trouble getting a good shot of the bird feeder because I couldn't get a very shallow depth of field with my camera.  Fortunately, he had brought his Nikon D5000 and I used it to take some photos.  I took a pic of the bird feeder and also took quite a few pics of him too.  He cut down some limbs out of the tree in order to be able to hang the bird feeder.  I took the pics of him while he was taking a rest in the rocker on the front porch.

Melvin Moseley

Isn't he handsome?!

Day 78 - 3/19/2011

Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody

Melvin and I went over to visit Kellyanne, since he hadn't seen her since she was born.  He also gave her a little camo cap that read, "Future hunting princess."  I meant to get a couple of pics of Melvin and Kellyanne, but I totally forget.  However, I take a few photos of her.  She and I had a nice little chat.  Of course, I did most of the talking and she did most of the listening, with a little cooing here and there.  lol  Either way, I could tell that she was already recognizing my voice and that's so wonderful!

Have I mentioned that I love being a grandmother?  :)

Day 77 - 3/18/2011

Melvin Moseley

Melvin and I went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants--Longhorn in Daphne.  Afterwards, we stopped by Bass Pro Shop.  We could spend hour in that store.  But since we didn't get there until 9:15 and the store closed at 10:00 p.m., we didn't get a chance to unload much money.  As we left the store we spotted what appeared to be an old '49 Chevrolet pick up truck.  You know me, I thought this was a great photo opp.  So, I asked Melvin to be my model.  A rusty old truck and a good looking man, you just can't beat that, can you?  :-)

Day 76 - 3/17/2011

Dr. Cynthia Blum Schneider

So, how does one celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  Well, you start by making sure you wear green so that you don't get pinched, which my friend Cindy and I both made sure we did today.  Then, you grab your friend(s) and go out and eat Mexican food.  :-)  Huh?  Yep, Mexican food!

Cindy and I met when I needed to take an English class for college and, fortunately for me, she happened to be my English professor.  We really hit it off and started hanging out together once the class was over.  We found out that we had a lot in common.  We are both born in the same month, our ex husbands have the same first name and so do our mothers.  She has a daughter named Gina and a cat named Mitchell.  I have a sister named Gina, and she has a son named Mitchell.  That's just the few things I can think about off of the top of my head. We just enjoyed each others company and could talk for hours!

This morning I saw Misty's blog where she had photographed an avocado.  It reminded me of this great Mexican restaurant down the road from where I work that serves the best fix-at-your-table guacamole dip.  I always thought that I hated guacamole until I tried this--that was the moment that I became a lover of guacamole.  It made me think of Cindy because we have frequented this restaurant so many times.  Well, I must have been on her mind too because she called me to go out for dinner and, well, you know where we ended up going . . .




Cindy & Cheryl at our favorite Mexican restaurant

 So, Cindy and I met up for a good meal, some fresh guacamole, some green refreshments, and a lot of  heart-warming laughs.  As I've said before, laughter is good for the soul. I enjoyed catching up with you, my friend!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Day 75 - 3/16/2011

Kelly Michelle Kirkland Moody & Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody

My girls!  You just can't understand a mother's love until you become a mother yourself!!!

Day 74 - 3/15/2011

Rhododendron 'Pride of Mobile' (Azalea)

Nothing says spring and the South like azalea bushes.  Although they don't last that long, the blooms on these azaleas are beautiful!  There are many different colors of azalea bushes, but this variety (I have always been told) is known as the Pride of Mobile.

Day 73 - 3/14/2011

Snapdragons?

I don't remember the name of these flowers, but they sure are beautiful!

Kerry, one of my daughter's friends and a new 365er told me they are snapdragons.  Checkout her blog if you get a chance. 

Day 72 - 3/13/2011

Althea tree (botanically known as Hybiscus syriacus)

Signs of new life are everywhere.  All of the trees and shrubs are sprouting new growth, flowers are budding, weeds are sprouting flowers.  I am so glad that spring is on it's way.

Of course, that means that I will also be pulling out the lawn mower soon to rake up all of the leaves in the front yard and mow down some of those pesky weeds that are sprouting up all over the place.  Some of them are already taller than my little dog!  lol

Day 71 - 3/12/2011

Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody aka Nonna's angel

Today began with a photo shoot with my little angel.  My niece Amanda is a superb photographer.  Not only did she photograph my daughter's engagement and wedding pictures, today she took some wonderful pictures of my precious little angel.  My daughter called me to see if I wanted to have my picture made with her and the baby.  Well, you know that I got myself ready and headed over to her house for a photo shoot.  And naturally, I brought my camera for a few photos as well.  I must have taken 40 photos of my little angel before I could help myself.  :-)

Although we were having fun taking pictures of Kellyanne, I can't say that she enjoyed her first real photo shoot.  (well, I guess it's not really her first photo shoot since she's been having her picture taken since the very moment she was born.).  Anyway, we had to take time to comfort her between set ups and, once again, I volunteered for that duty!

Amanda and I spent so much time taking pictures of the Kellyanne that I lost track of time.  I needed to be at the funeral home at 1 p.m. for the visitation of our Sunday School classmate and friend, Bobby Shaw.  I had cooked some purple hull peas that I had put up over the summer and needed to bring the peas over to Bobby's house for the gathering afterwards.  We had a wonderful gathering after the funeral--eating and enjoying fellowship together.  We shared our memories of Bobby and the mix of feelings over the loss of our friend!

Gathering after Bobby's funeral.

Day 70 - 3/11/2011



I AM LOVED!


Today has been a really rough day for me, but instead of saying, "I don't know how I'm going to make it, I said, God will provide."  And you know what?  That's exactly what he did. 

A good friend called me this afternoon and took me to dinner.  We talked and laughed for the longest time while consuming what I know must have been an entire pot of coffee.  You know what they say, laughter is the best medicine.  I am thankful that God provided me with a wonderful friend to help ease my burden--to show me, that I wasn't alone.

I am also thankful for my family.  God has blessed me with two wonderful children, a son-in-law, and two beautiful grandchildren.  I feel so blessed beyond measure!  Since I now have the title of grandmother, one of my co-worker bought me this beautiful pillow that reads: "When a child is born so is a grandmother."  I display that pillow proudly, and even though it's probably not the "best" photo that I've ever taken, it fit my mood for today--a grandmother who loves her family!!!

I am so thankful that long, long ago, God loved me so much that He gave his one and only Son to die on a cross for me to purchase my salvation--the ultimate gift of love.  He has provided for me in the past, and He will continue to provide for me in the future.  And that confidence in my Lord gives me peace and joy.  

So, even though today was a toughy, as has been the past couple of months (some days more than others), I have only to look at the friend across the table from me tonight who talked and laughed with me for hours, or glance at the pillow that sits in my chair reminding me of my wonderful children and grandchildren, or remember the cross and empty tomb where my savior died and rose from the grave to know just what a blessed woman that I truly am.  When I count such blessings the tough things become a little easier and the heavy load becomes a little lighter.

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen!

Jesus Loves Me
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.

I'm so glad that Jesus loves me.  He always has and always will!

Day 69 - 3/10/2011

Yesterday the weather in the area was dreadful!  A tornado hit a service station, a grocery store and a hardware store in Theodore, probably 2-3 miles from my house.  I am thankful that no one was seriously hurt.  Today the weather was absolutely gorgeous!  Although the students are on spring break, neighborhood families were taking the opportunity to ride bikes on campus or stroll around campus.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a very close-up shot, but I liked that it showed people out enjoying the nice sunny day, even though the front that came through turned the temperatures a bit cooler.

Day 68 - 3/9/2011

Bonnie Porter

Bonnie Porter is a local licensed therapist.  She has been such a blessing to our Sunday School class.  She recently taught a class on emotionally healthy spirituality. Unfortunately, I was only able to siet in a couple of the classes due to staying home with mother.  Still, I enjoyed the few classes that I sat in on.

Bonnie provided must needed help to our class on Sunday as she led us through a grief counseling session due to the unexpected death of our classmate, Robert "Bobby"Shaw.  She helped us to talk out our feelings about Bobby and to walked us through how to deal with our grief.

Thanks, Bonnie!  We really appreciate all that you have done for us!!!

Day 67 - 3/8/2011

Even the weeds have such lovely color this time of year.  Pretty soon though, I'll need to get my weed killer out and start getting rid of all of this lucious color so that the grass can shine through.

Day 66 - 3/7/2011

Margaret Payne

Margaret is in my singles Sunday School class, but we've know each other for a long, long time.  We knew each other back in the day when we were newlyweds with small children.  We went to the same church and played softball together.  She was one of the ladies on the team who actually played good ball.  I, on the otherhand, played right field because I couldn't do much but back up first base.  I occassionally hit the ball or managed to get a walk to first base, but I could not for the life of me catch a fly ball.  If someone was choosing up their team, I would probably have been the last one chosen.  lol  Although I enjoyed playing, playing softball just wasn't my thing.  We ran back into each other years later at our current church.  Many things have changed in our lives but not our friendship.

Since we both needed to have our cars worked on, we decided to get up on the Monday of Mardi Gras break to take care of car repairs.  We sat waiting on our cars for several hours then went to eat lunch together at the Tiny Diny (a great eating establishment that serves home-cooked meals).  It was nice to have a friend to chat with while I waited.  Thanks, Margaret, for the company and for your many years of friendship!

Day 65 - 3/6/2011

Azalea blossom

In my previous post, I said that I didn't take any photos on Sunday.  Actually that's not true, when I began to look through the few pictures that I had taken, I saw that I had taken two photos of a female cardinal. And although she really was that far away from me, my point-and-shoot camera just didn't have the capacity to capture a good shot of her.  I tried to crop the shot, but the photo began to get out of focus.  So, I grabbed a photo from last week that I had taken and didn't use.

I played around with the photo in post-editing until I got a look that I was okay with.  The original shot wasn't anything to write home about.  The azalea bushes were just beginning to bloom and so there were only a few blooms on the bushes.  I leaned over to capture this shot.  I had hoped the single blossom would stand out, but it didn't.  So, I went into Photoscape and started playing around with it--resizing it, brightening it, making the colors richer . . .  I don't recall all that I did in the editing process, but this is the finished product.  I never did accomplish exactly what I wanted, but in the end, it came out okay.

Thank goodness for those days when we are photo hounds and have some photos in reserve!  In the beginning I didn't think I would need "reserve photos," but life happens and photgraphy is a wonderful tool to capture those moments, but it is only a wonderful hobby!

Day 64 - 3/5/2011

Loropetalum

Friday evening began a four-day weekend.  One would think that I would have had lots of time for taking pictures and visiting other blogs, but that just hasn't been the case.  It seems as though I have kept the roads hot since I have been off. 

On Saturday, I did some shopping and cooked a meal for my daughter and her family since they just came home from the hospital on Friday.  They were tired of eating fast food, so I made them a homemade chicken pot pie.  I brought it over and spent some time with my daughter and granddaughter (my son-in-law was sacked out--he hasn't been feeling well for a while).  Sunday was filled with church activities and visiting my mother at the nursing home and another Sunday School member who broke her leg in four places.  She is in a rehab center across the bay. By the time I got home I realized that although I had plenty of photo opps that day, I don't think I had even taken my camera out of the case. 

Sunday was also a sad day for those in my Sunday School class and church family.  Bobby Shaw, a leader in my Sunday School class was found dead at his home.  We were all saddened by the loss of our friend.  Many of us went out to lunch together just to be together.  Perhaps that's another reason why I never even thought about my camera.  My mother didn't recognize me when she first saw me either.  Somehow, it just didn't feel like a camera day.

Over half of Monday was spent at the auto mechanics getting my car repaired.  I did remember to take a pic or two there, which I will post for Monday.  So, I've got a lot of catching up to do, although I might have to do it a little along.  I enjoy looking at your photos and want to, as time permits, go back through what I've missed and see what you have been photographing.

Thank you so much for your comments on my work.  You have been so encouraging to me as I try to hone my skills and have fun taking pictures.

Day 63 - 3/4/2011

ground covering (not sure if it has a specific name)

No matter where I look about my yard or on the campus at SHC, everything is beginning to bloom.  My eyes behold such beauty in the variety of colors and shapes of all of the flowers that come from the trees, bushes, and even the ground covering of God's beautiful creation.

Day 62 - 3/3/2011

Toothbrush blossom?

While walking back from lunch on Thursday, a co-worker and I noticed the strangest thing--most of the pansies in this flower planter had been pulled up and the ones that remained were beginning to wither.  Of course, that wasn't the strange part.  We looked down to notice that in the planter the soil seemed to be sprouting a toothbrush.  Yep, you heard right. My co-worker, knowing that I snap pictures of anything that is standing still said to me, you should take a picture of that; where's your camera?  Well, because I rarely, if never, leave home without out, I pulled my camera out of the pouch and begin taking pictures.  So, there you have it.  We are now growing toothbrushes.  lol

You never know what students will do or where they will put things.  I wish they had planted some money!  I could have used a couple hundred bucks!!!  lol

Day 61 - 3/2/2011



Nonna and her precious granddaughter, Kellyanne Elizabeth

Many months back friends begin to ask me what grandmother name I wanted to be called--it seems there's quite a variety these days.  Well, I really hadn't thought much about it.  I knew that I didn't want to be called Ma-maw, since my my kids called my mother Ma-Maw and I called my dad's mother Mamaw.  My children called their dad's mother Nanny, but somehow that just didn't seem to fit me.  I don't know exactly why, but perhaps it was because I just didn't feel that I could ever fill Nanny's shoes.  She was quite a woman!  Not that the other grandmothers weren't; it's just that Nanny really had a way with my children. Okay, so I knew the names I didn't want to be called, but I still had to decided what I wanted my grandchildren to call me.

I had heard some of my friends being called  Mimi, Cici, Gigi, Nanna (short a sound), & Nana (nah-nah), and perhaps a few names that I just can't recall at the moment.  But the name that stuck out to me came from one of my co-workers who is Italian.   Her grandchildren call her Nonna, which is Italian for grandmother.  I just love to here her say, Nonna (no - nah)--of course, it might sound so lovely because of her beautiful Italitan accent.  Anyway, I liked it so much, that I chose to be called Nonna myself.  Besides, I've always liked to be different than everyone else.  Seems like I knew a lot of Mimi's and Nanna's. But, a lot will depend on what Miss Kellyanne and Mr. Lachlan can and will say.  Whatever they choose, I know that I will love it.  I'm so very proud to be a grandmother, however they choose to say it!

God has blessed me with two precious grandchildren.  This is a picture of me with Kellyanne.  Obviously, I didn't take it.  My daughter Kelly took it. But I thought it was too special for it not to be my photo of the day.   I hope soon to post a photo of me and Lachlan, Clint's son.  His birthday is coming up later this month and, just maybe, we will get to take a road trip for his birthday.

Well, it's nite nite for this grandmother!  I know that I'm behind on visiting all of my 365 neighbors' blogs, but I hope to visit each of your sites over the next couple of days.

Goodnight and God Bless you,
Nonna (aka, Cheryl)

Day 60 - 3/1/11

Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody

Born March 1, 2011, at 11:26 p.m. at Providence Hospital.  She weighed 8 lbs & 11 ozs.; 21 & 1/2 inches long.  I am not real sure that I took this picture, but I did crop it so that it was all about her.

Bill Moody & daughter Kellyanne

After mother and father had a little bonding time with Miss Kellyanne, we got to go to the room to visit with the family.  We entered the room to find the proud daddy holding his little girl.  What a sweet moment.  Then we all took turns holding her.  I think I left the hospital sometime around 2ish.  Was I a tired puppy today!

Kelly Kirkland Moody and daughter Kellyanne

After everyone had taken a turn loving on our sweet girl, we gave her back to her momma for a little bit.  Just as we were all getting ready to leave the nurse game to get her to take her to her warm bed in the nursery for a while.   Momma gave her little angel a kiss before she gave her to the nurse.

What a long day we all had, especially Kelly!  But when it was all over, we had a precious little girl--a wonderful gift from God.  Thank you Lord for Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody!

I feel so blessed that God has given me two great children, a wonderful son-in-law, and now two precious grandchildren--all whom I love dearly!  It just doesn't get any better than that!!!