Happy Birthday SanFran S!

Happy Birthday SanFran S!

I'm so glad to have had you to grow up with! It is now so special to have you as such an important part of Baby B and Barkley's lives.

Even though you're a 28 year old Tia now, you'll always be my "little" sister!

We love you so much and can't wait to see you again soon! Have a great trip and enjoy your birthday weekend!

Love you!

~Mommy M, Baby B and Barkkey

Put On Your Birthday Shoes

Tomorrow will be my 28th birthday. Although I have been quite silly lately about dreading getting older on this day, my family has made it so special. I'm SO lucky and blessed to have been born to such a caring family that makes me feel loved every day and especially so on my birthday. From time to time, the philosopher in me ponders how possibly easy it could have been for me to have been born in another family, another place and completely different circumstances. And then I feel so extremely thankful for all God has given me in my life. Anyone who knows me, or worked close to me, has noticed and commented on how sweet my mom is for sending me something in the mail every week since I left home at age 18. Maybe it's just a sweet note or an article she found interesting or a care package with food and other thoughtful gifts. I can't tell you how many times in my life I've heard "Wow, you're mom is SO sweet! My mom doesn't do things like that for me!" I've gotten these comments throughout my life whenever I talk about things my family has done for me. So why should I be down about only having 2 more years left in my twenties? I should be celebrating the fact that I have Cici, SS, Mommy M, Auntie J, Uncle R, Baby B, Daddy L, and…I couldn't forget my little Barkkey, in my life! I thank God for being blessed with my Pamela’s Girls.

I received my sweet cards and gifts at my office this week, which I didn’t hesitate to put right into use and display the cards on my desk. I have to add that I feel especially proud now having an “Aunt card" to show off.

With my money from Auntie J and Uncle R, I decided to buy a shoe trend that I’ve been dying to be a part of. At Urban Outfitters I got these cute, off-white oxfords that are also completely animal-cruelty free, yay! Tomorrow I will be putting on my birthday shoes for a trip. My present from Bing is a trip to Monterey and the Big Sur for my birthday! We’ll take the drive down the scenic Highway 1.
I have picked this place that I want to go first thing Saturday morning.
Here’s a link to the waterfall view I want to see first: http://www.hikinginbigsur.com/hikes_mcwayfalls.html

Being a big lover of the beach and views, I will have a great time seeing all the beach scenes. Also, thanks to Auntie J for the sweetest blog for my birthday! It made me feel so special and kind of “chokey” as some would say.

Thanks and much love, Pamela’s Girls.

Love,
SanFran S

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANFRAN S!

Because I live so far from home and my sister, I am rarely told that I have a “family resemblance” to anyone around me. If I visit SC, I sometimes have the treat of hearing that – and I love it! It gives my heart a little tug to have anyone say that Mommy M or SanFran S look like me. And to be said that I look like my sister… well, that seriously makes my day!

What CiCi says about me and SanFran S is that, perhaps… just maybe… I was a bad influence. Well, maybe just in the “moving far away from home” category. (I hope.) As a teenager, I longed to move to Nashville and work in the music business and as soon as the time came to head to college and plan a career – off I went to Tennessee and have been a resident ever since. As a matter of fact, I have lived in Nashville longer than I ever lived in my home town. And although I miss the wonderful state of South Carolina and family there – I really love Nashville.

SanFran S seems to have caught my same love for travel, international foods and living in a big city, multicultural environment. She of course lives in a far larger pool of multicultural variety, but I think that there probably is a common current between us in finding ourselves drawn to discover what life is like far beyond our roots. Our roots are precious to us, but we’re somehow gravitationally attracted to foreign towns and international interests and wonder how the far off lands in our ancestors’ past have made us who we are.

I see SanFran S as a lovely combination of a creative urban fashionista and a warm & magnolia soft-complexioned young woman with a sweet tea smile and the savvy to find her way across a teeming metropolis. She is beautiful, exotic, poised and has developed her own style that sets her apart from those of us who stare into their closet and think “jeans and long sleeved t-shirt… yep, that works”. She is her own creative woman - full of sparkle and color!

It doesn’t seem that long ago that SanFran S would curl up in my lap when I came to visit. Her soft little voice and large thoughtful eyes could charm anyone and they always especially worked on me. One of the favorite quotes that I will carry through my entire life (and Uncle R & I occasionally say this to each other & smile) is one that CiCi related of the time when little girl SanFran S was exasperated one day and said; “Don’t say I’m coot! It makes me an-gee when people say I’m coot!” But the inescapable problem was… she really was coot… I mean, cute!

Although her current creative efforts benefit a worthwhile non-profit organization, I often wonder if the world of fashion will lure her back. Might she ever become a world famous stylist to the stars? Or develop a fashion line of her own? Have Paris Fashion Week runway shows in the City of Lights?!? If so…..SanFran S,… don’t forget your poor ol auntie would LOVE to have a Paris apartment to visit, so pick a nice one!

Happy Birthday to SanFran S! I'll be thinking of you on Saturday!

You are loved by your Your Auntie J

Making a House a Home

We are finally starting to get the house like we want it. I've been working hard decorating the inside and Daddy L is working hard on the outside. Cici went with Baby B and me to Hobby Lobby last night to pick out a frame for Baby B's room because I felt like his giraffe paintings were lost against the blue wall. I really love the new look. While we were gone, Daddy L spruced up a very leafy yard. It looks so pretty now! I also painted a sign to decorate our front porch. The house had not been lived in for a long time, so it has taken a lot of work but its really coming together.

I'm reading Numbers now in my "Bible in a Year" program. My favorite verse from this week is my wish for each of my Pamela's Girls: "The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee." Numbers 6:24-25

~Mommy M

Looking Forward To SanFran S's Birthday This Week!

THE ORIGINAL PAMELA'S GIRLS!

Happy to have new little SanFran S with us!

Spring is Coming!

Song of Solomon 2:11-12: For lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of singing has come,

And the voice of the turtledove

Is heard in our land.

After a particulary cold, wet winter, it is wonderful to feel the first few warm breezes on a blue-sky, sunny day. It is my time to put away the things of winter and bring out the colorful, spring decorations. So it was, that I relegated the "snowman" china back to the top of the cabinet for another year. I store them under some beautiful, delicate pink glass dishes that Pamela purchased just a few months before her passing. She used it for her birthday on December 15, 1982, and she told me that she had bought it to use when she had her granddaughters over for special little occasions.

It was indescribably precious to me that my sweet little mother, always so frugal in spending on things for herself - always buying clothes on clearance at Midnight Madness (after 11:00 at night) or Early Bird Special (8:00 in the morning) sales- would buy a special set of lovely dishes to use to create special memories for her much-loved and adored granddaughters. Next time all of us Pamela's Girls get together, let's send the guys out and have a special tea party in memory of Pamela!

With love and springtime wishes for all my Pamela's Girls,
CiCi

BREAKFAST AT THE PFUNKY GRIDDLE IN NASHVILLE

Last Saturday morning Uncle R & I tried a new breakfast/lunch restaurant that had been strongly recommended by some friends from church – The Pfunky Griddle.

We had heard about this restaurant before – an innovative eatery located in a small house situated in the midst of the sprawling, residential/commercial Berry Hill area just south of downtown Nashville. I was a bit intimidated when I heard about the restaurant’s premise – an all-you-can-eat/make-your-own pancake place.

Cook my own pancakes? At a restaurant? Really?!? Yipes!

But it was actually fun. This tiny restaurant is outfitted with custom-built tables that double as griddles and for $6.99 a person, you are given a spatula to wield over them with unlimited pitchers of either a normal, white flour batter or a 5-grain batter made of organic buckwheat, rice flour, whole wheat, rye and corn and you can choose from toppings of blueberries, chocolate chips, walnuts, M & Ms, banana slices, pecans, coconut flakes and more.

The little room where we were seated was a riotous happy pandemonium of families & kids, college students and groupings of laughing friends. I could hardly hear Uncle R. across the tiled table and griddle, but that was OK, because we were seriously concentrated on not burning our pancakes and the hash browns that the cheerful and welcoming owner tempted us with as we had gaped at the menu. We didn’t order an egg, but if we had, we would have received one – shell-clad – to cook ourselves. French toast? You make it – right there - on the griddle.

Again – yipes. But it’s a slightly less nervous yipes than the one I felt before we visited. Our pancakes were good and we didn’t burn a one! Now Uncle R. and I are planning who we will take back with us to this fun breakfast spot.

Mommy M? I think Baby B would like it!!!

Love to Pamela's Girls,
Auntie J.