Happy Fall' Y'all!!!

First, I would like to give my apologies for not blogging for the past two weeks.  I know I am falling down on the job and I have got to try to do better!  

So, I know I have talked about how much I love Fall.  It has always been my favorite season!  It is almost the end of October and I think that Fall has finally arrived!  We had our first day where it started out cool and stayed cool from daylight til dark.  That day was this past Friday, October 25, 2013.  

That day started out a wonderful weekend!  Johnnie and I met some friends for a camping trip.  We LOVE to go camping.  We have camped all over the country, but this was a really great trip because we live about five miles away from a really nice state park.  Johnnie was off on Friday so he got the camper all packed up and took it to the park where he had it set up by the time I got home from school.  There were no "Are we there yets?" or "How much longers?"  I simply stepped out of my car and was THERE!!!

This was a special weekend at Lake Claiborne State Park.  This was the weekend when they did their Halloween festivities.  Campers decorated their campsites and children came round on a hayride to trick or treat.  We also had a visit by some good friends.  It was fun to fellowship with them.  Now we are working on getting them into camping.  I know they would LOVE it! (Hint Hint Jennifer!)

My dad and step mother were at the campground too.  They come to camp host every October.  The weekend was kinda packed with stuff to do but it was still good to get to spend a little time with them.  Daddy cooked a jambalaya and it was FABULOUS!!!  

Katie and Beckham also came to spend the day.  I was so very glad to see them!  I hate living so far away and not being around that baby more.  I do know, however, that he knows who his Yaya is!  I was really worried that he would see me as some stranger since I don't see him daily.  He made it clear, however, that he does know Yaya!  That makes my heart happy because I love that little baby boy with my whole heart!  

He is so smart!  His vocabulary is HUGE for his age and it's wild to watch how he actually listens to you when you're talking to him.  He follows directions (most of the time) and I can't help it but it is a little funny to me how he ignores when he doesn't want to do what he is being asked to do.  Typical boy!!!  He loves outside!  He is so good natured!  I am really thankful because I know how spoiled he is and it would be easy for him to be a difficult baby.  We are so blessed that he is NOT!!!

As happy as I am with the way this weekend turned out, I also have a heavy heart!  My mama's older brother (Uncle Harold) is really sick and will likely not be with us much longer.  I could be all philosophical and say "He won't be suffering ..... bla bla bla..." but the truth is my heart hurts for my aunt and cousins.  My faith tells me exactly where he is going and I know, without a doubt, that my mama will be waiting for him when his time comes.  If there is a bright spot to all of this, that is it!  I can hear her saying "Genie is here!!!!"  I know she will be so happy to see him again!

Mama and Uncle Harold were probably the closest of the Robertson siblings.  I believe their closeness came from them having to protect one another from eating foods that might make them sick when they were children.  They both shared some really weird food allergies.  

I just got a phone call and my uncle passed away this morning.  I am thankful and sad at the same time.  I have said it before and I will say it again... I AM SOOOOOO READY FOR JESUS TO COME BACK FOR US!!!  No more sickness, no more heartache and NO MORE DEATH!!!  At least I do have the assurance that Jesus died on a cross for me so that my sins could be forgiven and I be promised everlasting life!!!  

Lastly, I have signed up to participate in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure!!!  This is something I have always wanted to do.  Katie, Beckham and I will be strolling the 5K route next Saturday.  I feel blessed to be able to participate in this with my sweet girl and grand baby!  I hope to post pictures of the event and blogging about it next week!  I do promise to do better with my blogging!!!

Here is a link if you are interested in donating to the Susan G Koman foundation!  Let's cure ALL cancers!!!  I HATE CANCER!!!!!

https://secure.info-komen.org/site/Donation2?idb=1533885247&df_id=9942&9942.donation=form1&DONATION_LEVEL_ID_SELECTED=3461&idb=1373665404&9942.donation=root&df_id=9942

Now for the photo bomb!!!  It was a great weekend!

HAPPY!

I know I haven't blogged since Mama's birthday, and it's not that I didn't want to, but you know life gets in the way sometimes!  Anyway, I am here at my daughter and son-in-law's and I am spending part of my fall break doing the thing I love best!  I am being Yaya to my sweet Beckham.  The timing is perfect since my Fall break came right at Johnnie's birthday.  I was able to spend quality time with him and then able to travel and have a little time with the other ones who are so precious to me!

He is growing like a weed!  I am amazed at his vocabulary and that his receptive language skills are so amazing!  I know most of the children I work with are delayed, but I still feel like he is a little ahead of the curve!  I know he is the cutest thing I've been around since his mama was in diapers! LOL  He is so happy and funny and becoming so animated.  I know I am going to hate leaving tomorrow!!!  Oh well, the holidays are coming and there will be lots of Yaya time in the near future!  I know his grump loves him too and I am so thankful that he understands that sometimes I just need some baby-kisses!

I think my insides are starting to calm down some from the rocky start of my school year.  I have to admit that this isn't happening without some professional help and advice!  I finally broke down and went to see my doctor to talk to him about what all's been going on in my head.  I am very relieved to find out that he doesn't agree with my self-diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease!  I think I had nerved myself up into convincing myself that I was in the early stages of the horrible disease that stole my mother from me all those years ago. It did give me some relief when he told me that he didn't think that I could be that unlucky!  I know he was a little tongue in cheek with me, and it is something that is on my mind, but maybe I am being a little premature! I think I have to agree with his recommendation that I stop trying to borrow trouble!  I think there is even a scripture about just that thing.  Matthew 6:24 talks about  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." NIV   I really need to remember that!

We are just now coming up into what I consider to be my most favorite time of year.  I know I have talked about Fall before and now that it is here I am even more excited about it!  I got to bring my sweet Beckham a very large pumpkin and I really think he liked it!  Katie's back porch is so cutely decorated for fall.  I can't wait to see what she does with the pumpkin, and I can not wait to see my sweet baby in his costume! He will be the cutest Scooby Doo there ever was!

The first part of Fall Break was a huge success!   Johnnie and I were able to celebrate his birthday in Hot Springs with a few friends.  We rode scooters and did a little sight seeing and just really enjoyed some down time.  It didn't even matter that we had to ride in the rain one day.  I think the older I get the more I understand that sometimes it is just a good thing to get out and play in the rain!  It cleanses the soul!  I love that we are coming into the best camping weather.  I hope there are many more trips in our future (before it gets too cold and yucky).

All I know is that I really needed this break!  I needed ALL OF IT!!!

I know this blog is a little fractured.  I think part of the reason for it is that I haven't blogged for a little while.  I guess my head was just in a bad place and I really didn't want to just spill it out in my blog.  I wanted to wait until the storm passed and I am happy to say that it finally did!

So, here's what else that is on my mind:

• I still have not smoked since before Labor Day!  This e-cig is really working!  Maybe one day I will be able to put it down, but for now it is doing what I need it to do.  I am not smoking and I am not feeling like I want to hurt anybody!  I have shared my find with some friends and family and I think it is working for them as well.  Johnnie's even trying to turn this new find into a small business venture.  I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I can say so far so good!  We just might have stumbled onto something really great!

• I am still enjoying my Sunday drives to West Monroe for church.  I think that being able to be with family more is doing me a lot of good!  I am coming to realize that when my mother died I really tried to isolate myself and avoid family for a long time.  I am not sure exactly why I did that, but I have some ideas.  At any rate, I know that while that might be a quick fix to avoid some heartache, it is hardly a long term solution.  There was a time when I thought that coming from a family that was close was a kind of curse.  I felt like everybody knew everything about everybody else and it was just pressure that I didn't want to have on myself at that time.  I know now that it's not a curse at all, rather it is a blessing.  It is good to know where I  come from.  Sometimes a hug from an aunt or uncle is just what I need to keep myself grounded.  I come from a really great family.  I think I took them for granted for a while but I am working to fix that!

• I know that I am not alone in feeling a big perturbed over the fact that our government is currently shut down.  Grown men and women in Washington DC are acting like spoiled children.  It is common knowledge that there are lots of problems in the society in which are living.  The bottom line is that we (the working folks) simply can not afford much more of this!  The people who were elected to govern this country are all talking out of both sides of their head and it leaves me feeling like I just don't trust any of them anymore!   I am a fiscal conservative.  I do, however, feel it my duty as a Christian to take care of those in need.  That's where the trouble starts.  The definition of NEED has drastically changed and what we have now is something we simply can not afford!  It's simple economics.  When my family's money gets "funny", we get little.  We tighten the belt and do what we need to do to make ends meet again.  Unfortunately the government does not follow the same blueprint.  The result, is what we are seeing now.  The wheels have stopped and this side is left pointing at that side and that side is calling this side names..... Progress stops!  My faith tells me that this is part of God's plan.  I don't understand the book of Revelations, but I can't help but think that this is part of the means to that end.  I guess I would be afraid if I didn't know that my debt had already been paid.  Jesus died on the cross so that I don't have to be afraid of what lies ahead!   I didn't deserve such a sacrifice, but I am so thankful for it!  

So that's where I will wind it up for now.  Beckham is up and it's time to PLAY!!!!!  This grandma thing is probably the funnest thing I have ever been a part of in my whole life!!!!!!  Life is good!