They're here

When I was a punk kid, I would stand at the window and watch for Bet and Joe or Joy and Al or Nita and Lee--well, all of my relatives--when we were waiting for company to arrive at the little house out on the Redfield Road. When they'd pull up in the circle drive, I'd yell, "They're here." And the excitement would follow.

Well, it was like that Monday, on Memorial Day, when the twins arrived. I never am at a loss for words--don't remember when I was at a loss for words--but I find it hard to find the right words even now when I describe the arrival of grandchildren. Luke was the first and what a wonderful, uplifting treasure he has become. And now Geneva and Lexa, Leslie's and Patrick's twin girls.

We got the important phone call that morning. I was scheduled to play golf but plans were put on hold because of the rain and then the site of our scheduled match was moved from Hot Springs to Pine Bluff. But I told my playing buds I better not go because I had a feeling that the babies were about to make an appearance. About five minutes after cancelling my golf outing, the phone rang and Peanut and I were missiling out of Sheridan en route to Fayetteville. She wanted to drive because she says I don't drive fast enough, but we made it in time. I'm afraid as nervous as she was, if she had driven we might have overshot the hospital runway.

We got there about an hour before the girls were born. And before the day was out, we were in the room looking at them. What an unbelievable sight, two of them, both little darlings. One blonde and one brunette. Healthy, pretty, plump and just a beautiful orangy color.

We all marveled at the sight. I mean, one baby is miracle enough beyond words and now we have two, these tiny little babies that belong to us. And one of them named Lexa Joy after sister Joy. Man, you talk about heaven singing all day long and don't you know Joy is smiling that wonderful smile of hers.

I look back a lot more these days, on life, on my many blessings, on my missteps, on my wonderful family and now I've lived thru a lot of god-awful things long enough to see this, my second and third grandkids. Who would have thunk it. I sing the good Lord's praises and I'm so thankful for the wonderful people in my life who make each day a joyous and wonderful experience. I love every breath I get and I sure am breathing a lot easier now, now that Leslie is ok and her little girls are here and they are ok, too. They are so pretty and little Luke is accepting the fact now that his two new cousins are both girls, although he held out hope until the end that one might turn out to be a boy. He just wants to know now when he can see them. Now that will be some photo.

Eric made it to the hospital in time for the births, too. He was about 45 minutes behind us. He just grinned all afternoon, real proud of his little sister and all. He sure is comforting to have around. Just like me, Peanut says, and that makes me proud when she says that. Now we'll have little babies to pass around Christmas at Bob and Martha's. That'll make Martha happy. She's lost without a baby to cuddle. She was excited on the phone when I told her all about the girls. If it works out, we might even get to have the Fourth of July gathering. Leslie likes that one and now that the girls got here a little early, that holiday celebration might be a consideration again. We'll just have to wait and see if they're up to traveling by then. Might not be.

Well, that's about all now. I do have some golf coming up...three days with my old Senate buddies and then on to Batesville for a weekend tournament. All of that was on hold pending the birth of the twins, but I suppose I'll get to go now. Maybe I'll play good, not having so much on my mind an all now.

That's all for this time, til' next time, thanks for your time.

miss california

Do any of us really care what Miss California thinks about marriage? She's entitled to her opinion but the news media need to get a life when it comes to pageant contestant views on marriage or anything else, really.





Speaking of which...isn't this rain something? I'm long in tooth now but this relentless rain has been the beatin-nest thing. Arkansans always talk about the weather, but this time it may be justified. Big Bro and Bro-n-law are about ready to throw in the towel on their gardenspots and my bass fishing has been put on hold because of, yep, too much water! Whoever heard of such nonsense. Fish bout to drown.





I spect we'll be beggin for rain by August when we be parched and dry. Bout the time Les and Pat are knee deep in diapers. That's gonna be something, a family doubling in size overnight. What a blessing.





Went to grandson's second-grade program and he got a certificate for making all A's. He also had a dandy poster on wildlife, including some informative displays about snakes. Hard to believe he'll be a third grader next year. I remember the third grade and it was a big step up from the second. Start to learn things in third grade, lifetime things. It was about the time I started reading my books instead of chasing the little redhead around the reading table.





The church is looking toward a "homecoming" celebration around Christmas time so you can look for future announcements. We want to dedicate our new stained-glass windows, two of which were named for family members--Joy and Harold. They are so pretty and the little church sure stands out now. I hope all of our family members can plan on coming--we need you.





Sandi's boys are still achieving great things in sports--baseball and golf. We're all proud of them. I've been on the links more and I'm hitting it a ton (for me) with my new equipment and added stamina from my weight-loss and weight lifting workouts. Yep, you heard right. I'm trying hard to improve and so far, so good. Golf is truly an amazing game and most humbling. Some days, well, you think you're better than ever and the very next day, it turns and you leave the course shaking your head. You would think hitting a little ball which is sitting perfectly still would be easy, but it can be the biggest of all sports challenges. It's why great athletes from other sports go crazy when they take up golf, but I sure enjoy it. And the courses are so pretty, too.





As I said, my fishing has been put on hold because of the flooding, but my springtime fishing was perhaps the best ever. Tons of big bass and Peanut's dad went with me one time and landed a limit (20) of the biggest crappie you'll ever see. Some weighed over 3 pounds. I'm so fired up I bought another boat and even had a new outbuilding put up for storage. Too bad we didn't have pro bass fishing when I was younger--I would have tried it.





I see Karen out walking one of her dogs. I hope she's feeling better. She's having a very rough time since her fall. I worry all the time about her. Maybe better luck is around the corner.





I'll close with grandson Luke story. I sent him a check for making all A's. His dad asked him what he was going to do with the money and he said, "I think I'll just go to Wal*Mart." His dad asked again, what he intended to buy once he got there. "I don't know," the boy said. "I might just go wild!"





That's all for this time, til next time, thanks for your time.