The Energizer Bunny......Or Honey.....Is Twenty-four Today!

Imagine what it must be like to have an actual "Ray of Pure Sunshine" in your life.....

This has been my good fortune since June 30, 1986.

On that marvelous day Noah Stephen McGinley blessed his father and I with his presence.

If you are a stranger to Noah, he will shake your hand and say,"How are you? Hope you are having a great day!"

If Noah is your friend or sibling, he will say, "Hey, what's up? or Hey, Bro!"

Noah genuinely cares about people.... There's nothing fake about Noah.

Noah is a Seeker.......Noah is an Optimist.....Noah is Everyone's Friend..

This is my beloved son....

I love you, Noah..

Mom

Noah is an artist....check out some of his pics.....

at

 http://www.bredmultimedia.com/

and below

Father's Day 2010

Tim was born to be a dad.

He has devoted his life to building a great life for our twenty-one kids and me.

He's the Go - To Person for Everyone in our family!! His cell phone is permanently attached to his body so our kids can reach him day or night......

He loves to watch movies with all the kids gathered around.

He makes great homemade hamburgers.

He spent hours in the emergency room when they were little and had all kinds of bumps and scrapes.

He has a personal relationship with the personnel at WalMart because he goes there to buy something or another for one or the other of us......over and over......every day.

He fixes all his kid's cars.....all Volvos, of course.

He even fixes the cars of their girlfriends and boyfriends!

He cooks a whole lot of dinners!

He will drive two hundred miles to rescue them if their car breaks down on the side of some dark and dreary country road.

He helps them with their homework....even homeschooling them in trigonometry.

He helps them get their FAFSA completed.

He drives them to Chicago or Boston to attend college.

He visits our kids in Dallas, Bedford, Chicago, Ft. Worth, Boston, Austin....whereever they may be....because His Kids Are Important!

He believes every child deserves a decent start in life.  He's adopted twelve children traveling as far away as the Philippines to bring them home.

He has taken our kids to Six Flags and ridden the Texas Giant more times than we can count.

He takes double digit kids to Texas Rangers games......all by himself!

He's totally devoted to our daughter Grace who has spastic quadraplegia. He is her primary caregiver. He's amazing!

He plays Foosball with the kids at family gatherings and mostly wins.

He NEVER gives up on our kids ..........No Matter What!

I LOVE THIS MAN.............HE ROCKS MY WORLD!

Photos from the party our kids gave Tim on Father's Day

A Long Lunch at the Haunted Catfish Plantation in Waxahachie

Okay....let me start off by clearly establishing that " I DON'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS".  But, I do believe in "spirits", and not the alcoholic kind.

In Waxahachie, there is a famous restaurant, well known for being haunted by not one, but several ghosts....

I'm going to call them spirits.......

Are they real.......Yes, I believe they are.

Yesterday, Penny, BossyBoots, and I decided that we would have lunch at the nationally famous haunted restaurant. BossyBoots said he was certain he would be able to immediately sense if the place were haunted. He had been in a haunted basement before........no doubt....

Now, even though I have lived in Waxahachie for over twenty years, this was only the second time I had been inside the house/restaurant. The first time was when we first moved here and were "house-hunting". Our real estate agent wanted us to have a "taste"  of Waxahachie and took us there...

Penny, BossyBoots, and my experience was favorable and eeery at the same time.....The food, while taking forever to be delivered to our table, was absolutely delicious......

But.......with all the stories of flying pans, forks, and fires......I found myself feeling a bit unsettled. At one point I definitely felt an ice cold breeze float over me.....I mentioned this to BossyBoots and Penny. BossyBoots, with an eloquent delivery said he, too, felt something......Then, he pointed out the air conditioning register was located directly above our table. We all burst out laughing at that ....... Was I nervous or what?????

Check out http://www.catfishplantation.com/history1.html
if you want to read the official "Chilling Tale".......

Grace Is 38 Today!!

It's hard for me to comprehend that Grace has been our daughter for twenty-two years. She was sixteen when she came from South Korea. Grace was our third adoption. We had only moved to Waxahachie the previous year. Tim and I had eight children. Grace became our ninth child and our oldest all at the same time!!

 Initially, Grace, who has spastic quadraplegia, did not want to be here. She didn't speak English and required almost total care. Coming to America and being adopted was overwhelming for her. She required a major surgery immediately upon her arrival.......It was to be the first of many surgeries. Her first year here was daunting for her......and us.

Now, she is happy and healthy. She scoots all over the house in her motorized wheelchair. She has her own small business selling soft drinks to her siblings. From that tiny business, she buys all her own clothes and any "electronic toys" she wants. She arranges all her own doctor's appointments. She keeps up with her siblings that no longer live at home by texting them. Her "texting" fingers are lightning fast!!  Grace has a good life.

Most doctors told us that they would be surprised if she lived to be thirty. I can understand that because she not only was spastic, but had severe scoliosis. When she was in her early twenties, she had a serious surgery that placed two metal rods in her back. That surgery straightened her spine from a 120 degree curve to a 70 degree curve. While that still might sound like a lot, it was enough to take the pressure off her internal organs. That surgery, Grace's upbeat attitude about life, and the Grace of God is why she is alive today.  

Happy Birthday, Grace!! We love you!

I want to devote two posts a month to questions. You may contact me at:

sjmcgin@gmail.com

Hanging Out With Penny and BossyBoots

Normally, my day is more than overflowing with a "to do list", as I'm sure your day is as well. But....for the past week, Penny and BossyBoots have been at my house visiting........This you already know if you've been reading my posts. We've been packing in the activities......I only get to see Penny three to four times a year, so when she comes home, time is suspended and we do mom and daughter stuff together......
Yesterday, Penny, BossyBoots, and myself spent the day on the square in Waxahachie and then went to Ft. Worth for dinner.
Here are some great pictures of the antique stores around Waxahachie.....and, the Bass Performance Hall in Ft. Worth at night.

             Lunch at the Dove's Nest Tea Room

                                              

                Scenes from Old Town Villiage Antique Mall

The Webb Art Gallery

Bass Performance Hall in Ft. Worth

Thanks for looking. I hope you have a great day!!

I want to devote two blogs a month to answering your questions. You can e-mail me at:

sjmcgin@gmail.com

A Lovely Wedding...............

This weekend Ali, Lindsay, Penny, BossyBoots, and I went to my nephew's wedding. I don't have much extended family left. My parents are both in Heaven leaving only my two brothers, three nephews, a niece, an aunt, my cousin, and two second cousins......I don't have the opportunity to see my extended family that often. So....when one of the cousin's (my or my brother's children marry) we all make every effort to be there. It is our Family Reunion.

Here's some pictures of the wedding......

Ali and Lindsay

Penny, BossyBoots, and me

 Breakfast on Sunday morning

I Love My Family!!!!

An Evening at the Estate Auction with Penny and BossyBoots

For more than a decade I've been attending antique, estate, model home furniture, and consignment auctions. For most of that time I've been searching for beautiful, rare, or unique items for my antique and collectible business. However, lately my auction shopping has been on the decline....mainly because I have taken a break from the antique and collectible market. I plan to go back some day when my youngest child gets into high school. But, occasionally, when I'm shopping for an item for my home, I head off to an auction.

 This past Friday, Penny and BossyBoots were in Texas so they went to an estate auction with me. It was WONDERFUL..............NOT so much for the dazzling items that were up for bidding, but because I WAS NOT ALONE......No one in my family wants to hang out at an auction. My husband thinks it is unbearable torture.....He can't imagine why any sane person would want to sit still for three or four hours while over four hundred or so items are auctioned off. Well...........BossyBoots is as crazy as I am because he requested to accompany me to an auction.

 He, Penny, and I went to my favorite estate auction. Here's some of the items up for bid.

A beautiful bowl from Bavaria

Two phrenology heads.......If you don't know what phrenology is, you could "google" it. I did.

A lovely Victorian parlor chair in stunning blue brocade fabric.

A beautiful print

A footstool in velvet green fabric......I actually won this. I paid $20.00!

Two planters

A handmade rug

An entire cart of concrete architectural pieces

Two curved Iron fence type pieces. I wanted to bid on these, but they were so heavy........My husband would have Not Appreciated having to get these home!!!!!!!!!!

A large piece of stained glass

This auction lasted four hours.  This did not include the hour drive there and the hour drive home. We were tired, but happy. BossyBoots bought a great box of rooky baseball cards, Penny bought a decanter set, and I bought my stool. But, most of all I enjoyed spending time sharing my love for antiques with two of my favorite people!!