Happy Anniversary!

Dave & Sandy

Happy Birthday, Jeff! 

Flashback Friday...XO XO XO's

If you see these Birthday Girls today...

I hope you give them a hug and a kiss!

I'm glad their birthday fell on a Friday...

so I could Flashback Friday them and give them a great big virtual Hug and a virtual Kiss and thank them for all the hugs and kisses they have brought to our family over the years!

I don't know if this is completely true...

but growing up...

I remember our family being kind to each other, but no one was overly affectionate or openly expressive of their emotions. 

Don't get me wrong. 

We loved our parents.

Our parents loved us and us kids loved each other

...but we just didn't "do" affection or share emotions.

Enter the Blondes. 

There are three Blondes that joined our family and changed the dynamic forever.

And, in my opinion, changed it for the better.

The blonde twins that married our cousin and my older brother....

brought our family hugs and kisses.

And the blonde girl and amateur stand up comedian that married my other brother...

brought to us the gift of humor and with it gave us the ability to laugh at ourselves and expand our expressing of emotions.

I cannot imagine how our family would be without them!

Steph and Verna, (I'll flashback the 3rd blonde...maybe on her birthday), showed up with big smiles, lots of laughs and said their hellos with hugs and said their goodbyes with kisses.

I can still remember watching Verna give "Uncle Bob" a hug. 

He stood there straight as a board...with both arms hanging at his sides.

Once he sort of got used to it...he would maybe, hug with one arm and pat her back.

By the end of his life, even he had gotten over it even got to the point that he would hug you back!

Us, Vandercars have come a long way, thanks to those three Blondes!

So, thanks Steph and Verna (and Sandy) for loving on us...and for all the smiles, (the laughs) and all the hugs and all the kisses!

Have a great Birthday!!!!
XO XO

Flashback Friday....The Friday of all Fridays

Happy One!

Seeing this face always makes my day happier!

Happy One Year Birthday,

Happy One,

Deandra!

Ruby Tuesday.....

It started with a promise.

Standing on a hill in Orchard Grove Cemetery...

A grave marker leaning up against a tree....

a familiar, yet unknown name...

an overwhelming sense of the beautiful sadness of the circle of life...

and the genetic make up of a melancholy memory seeker soon to turn keeper.

The above ingredients compelled me to re-connect with the professional memory keeper in the Kenney/Tilton/Vandercar family....Ruby Lawson.

Ruby's genealogy book of names and dates, another book about the Kenney family history, several visits with the "Elders," all coupled with Grandma Fern's pictures, have made that corner of Orchard Grove filled with gravestones...come alive.

I hope to keep gathering and sharing stories....so keep telling and listening!

April's Fool

directions to here:

sometimes...you find the perfect gift.

thank you for the shirt, Sister Susie!

Flashback Friday...."Got Aqua Net?"

Directions to here:

Protecting the guilty and innocent...
You'll have to ask your parents/grandparents for the story...recently being discussed via email.
Which by the way has peeked my curiosity as to whereabouts...I may just have to do some detective work.
no name revealing comments, please...email me your info and questions!!

Birthday greetings for the newest Mrs. Vandercar

Totally missed getting a shot of the Birthday girl at Sunday dinner.

The cake came out, song sung and candles blown out before I could get across the room to get my camera!

Have a Happy Birthday, Ali !!

Flashback Friday....Nights in Columbus

It doesn't seem that long ago that we all headed to Columbus for Matt and Chari's wedding....

But we all look so young!

my, oh, my...

we have added a lot of people to this family since then!

St. Patty's girls.

Now, that we've established that we are Irish, it seems fitting that those Great Great Irish Grandparents should have not one, but two grand children born on St. Patrick's day.

I got to spend time with one of them on Saturday:

 and helped her out with this "Birthday Cake."

I heard the other one had some green pancakes on her plate!

Happy Birthday

to my two wonderful Irish Birthday nieces!

Flashback Friday....Kiss us, we're Irish (for real)

So...we're Irish.

This is the first year that I can really say that I know for sure that any one of us can say

and not just be saying a popular phrase.

I guess I knew this all along, but this is the first Saint Patrick's Day that it hit me that our maternal Great Great Grandparents lived in another country....called Ireland.

 According to most records....here's where we come from.

Oh, how I would have loved to hear our Great Grandparents Irish accent!

and....

Matt & Chari turned eleven!

Happy Anniversary, Matt and Chari!

...and this boy too...

Happy Belated Birthday Darold!

So very glad to be wishing 

THIS BOY 

a Happy 5th Birthday!

March...marches on...leaving me behind.

I had great plans for spending some time on blogging and catching up here, while I was on vacation.
But alas...March marched in and is marching right out as fast as it came.

While we were Texas bound I missed some birthdays....so here's some belated greetings!

Flashback Friday...Hey, there George.

The story has been told that Albert and Hattie Vandercar had picked out the name Ray for a boy.

However that baby boy decided to make his entrance into the world on George Washington's Birthday and they decided to name him George.

So, on February 22, 1895...

George Ray Vandercar 

was born.

117 years later, on February 22, 2012, George's Great Great Grand daughter, 

Aelah Mae Vandercar, 

was born! 

So, little Aelah, in the future...when your crazy Aunt Nancy sees you and bursts into singing "Hey there, Georgie Girl,"...bear with me, I know your name is Aelah...it just makes me happy to look 

backward, 

forward and 

up 

and see a whole lot of branches...

sharing the same tree and the same roots.

Congratulations, Joshua & Adrienne!

And welcome to the world, Baby Aelah!

Directions to here:

f.y.i.
this story was told to me by: Gladys MAE
and written in Georgia font

Happy Birthday, Kelly!!

Happy Anniversary

Patty & Jeff

Watching...and...Waiting