December 10 - tomorrow.

It was four years ago tomorrow that God literally dropped a present into my life. I had been single for 9 years, and was very happy and content. I had a lot of wonderful single friends and didn't feel a need for a new man. Well, God had other plans. Two people were working behind the scenes to try to get Bill and I to meet. Those two people were Ron Scruggs and Bill's brother Howard. Bill and I had both been through a lot of hurt in our short lives and we both had some baggage. Finally after months of hearing about each other, I got to work and there was a short email from Bill Russell. He wanted to call me on the phone that evening. Well, sure enough, he did and we talked for hours. We continued to talk for a couple of weeks and he mentioned that he had 2 weeks off for Christmas and was trying to decide what to do. I already had plans to go to Ohio to see my parents. Mom had been sick with cancer and I felt like I had to go. However, he mentioned that he might come to Ohio also (to visit his brother) and maybe we could meet for lunch or something. Well, as time went on, the girls really wanted me to come back for Christmas so, I decided to go to Ohio before Christmas and I invited Bill to come to Salisbury. After I invited him, I decided I was crazy. I was very upfront on the phone. What if we couldn't stand each other and I didn't want him around? I was having all kinds of thoughts. He flew in on Christmas day and was to leave on New Years day. Of course, I was a nervous wreck. Janelle helped me pick out "just the right outfit" etc. The girls made sure my hair was ok and I looked fine. Off I went to the Greensboro airport to pick up a man I had never laid eyes on before. He told me what he was wearing and I told him what I was wearing. After wearing a path in the floor, I finally called his cell phone and he informed me that he was coming down the escalator. I looked up and there was a man on a cell phone and I knew it had to be him. Well, after spending a wonderful week together we felt that it was a "match made in heaven." After having a long distance relationship for 1 year and 4 months, we were married on March 12, 2006. Our marriage is one of the most wonderful joys in my life. He is a wonderful husband, a wonderful provider, so considerate of me, a great listener and he makes me laugh all of time. I could say so many things.... we just have a wonderful relationship and I am so glad that 4 years ago, I answered a three line email from Bill Russell.

Mom turns 76.

Well, yesterday was mom's 76 birthday. We had a little celebration at my house with cake and ice cream. Everyone that lived in the area was able to attend.

Mom hasn't been feeling well, and we weren't sure we could have a celebration. But, she felt a little better by the end of the day. She is going back to the doctor today to see what is going on.

This woman has been my mom for 52 years. She has always been a wonderful example of godliness and has always had such a giving heart. She would always give of her time to help people in need. I remember many times when she gave of her time to help others. When her sister was left single at a young age, she babysat her two kids so that Evelyn could work. We became very close cousins and still to this day, remain close. She was always giving. She volunteered for years at our Christian School where we attended. She would drive us there everyday and then stay there and work in the office. She did this for years with no pay. She gave to the bus ministry at her church for years and years. She still at 76 years old, plays the piano at her church and gives endless hours to the Gideon ministry. She continues to give to her children daily. She has the whole family for dinner every Sunday without fail. She loves having the family together. She babysits the baby grandson when she has the energy to do so. He does take a lot of energy, I'll vouch for that. He is non-stop all the time. But we love him dearly.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday and hope you have many more!! We all love you!!

Family...

I love having family around. I think the older you get the more you cherish your times together. This past week, my father-in-law went to be with Jesus and we traveled to Pennsylvania for the funeral. We stayed a couple of extra days and just had a good time with Bill's family. I am just getting to know them all, as I am one of the newest members but I love them all dearly. There are 5 boys and 1 girl in Bill's family. Then there are 15 grandchildren and I think 38 grandchildren. EVERYONE was there except two grandsons and their children. It was a crowd. It was just a wonderful week-end. We laughed and cried at all the stories. When the wives are together, it is amazing how much the boys are alike. They hate the same foods and have a lot of the same traits. It is just so funny. The last evening we were there, one of the nephews built a bonfire. We sat around, sang, roasted marshmellows and laughed some more. It was just a wonderful time together even though were sad to say good-bye to Bill's dad. He is so much better off and we would never wish to have him back. He is running around on the streets of gold - something he has looked forward to all of his life.

Tropical Storm Fay

Well, thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, we have had some pretty heavy rains here in Salisbury. We heard we got between 8-10 inches and there was a lot of flooding. This was a picture of I-85 and the underpass. Traffic was stalled literally all day yesterday. Our pond behind our house overflowed and there was water everywhere. It has been interesting to say the least. I have lived in Salisbury for 25 years and have never seen it flood like this. They were actually taking people out in boats. Well, it is better today but who knows - they are calling for more rain.

Cell Phones

Have you ever had someone get very upset with you because you didn't answer your cell phone? Well, I must admit that I am pretty bad about it too. I leave it in my car, my purse, on the counter and miss a lot of calls by not wearing it on my side.

With all this talk about cell phones causing cancer...maybe I should just get rid of it.

A cell phone is for my convenience, not everyone elses. I have had the same cell phone number for years, so a lot of people have it. Unfortunately!! For example, I am right in the middle of my Sunday nap last Sunday and my cell phone continues to ring. The person kept leaving messages, so betwee the rings, it was beeping with messages. It really was trying to get my attention. It was very annoying, to say the least. Finally, very distrubed, I got off my easy chair to attend to my cell phone that is beeping and ringing and calling for my attention. I know that if it is one of the kids, they know the home number and Bill's number. If they really need to get us, they will try the other numbers. Who is needing my attention?

Well, it was a business call. Not only did I have to stop my napping, I had to get in the car and come to the work place. Two dumbies had parked Uhaul trucks in front of the gate at work and a semi was here to deliver the "Auto Trader" magazine into a storage unit and he couldn't get through. He was not a happy camper. I actually had to move 3 trucks so he could get through. The u-haul truck drivers were all men. Now I could see a woman parking in front of the gate ...but a man? Come on now. Oh, well, so much for the Sunday Afternoon nap.

These are Bill's two friends who sneaked across the fence with him.

Another picture

This is Bill standing in the bucket of Big Brutus.

BIG Brutus

We recently visited "Big Brutus." This was out close to Pittsburg, Ks where we were for 3 days while my husband was in training. We went to see it one evening after supper only to find it was closed. There were signs and fences up that you were not to trespass and all trespassers would be prosecuted. Well, my husband was dying to see this big digger. So, over the fence he went. I nervously watched for cars and policemen. Finally a couple guys from his class came and they also climbed the fence to see the big beast. So, while I stood guard, they took pictures and had a good time on Big Brutus. Apparently years ago, there were mines that this big guy dug out. They left them and they are now filled with water. The water looks pretty deep. They almost look like canals everywhere. It was very interesting.

Sculpture

This is one of his sculptures that was in his living room. It is made out of pewter and apparently years ago, he sold them for 6 to 7 thousand dollars each. He had several of these. I am sure he is a wealthy man, but he lives a very simple life. He has a lot of money invested in this Fox Fire Farm project. We also bought his book. It is his life story and I read it on our trip. He was converted after years of going through really dark waters. He let Bill pray with him when we left and was very touched that Bill would ask his permission to pray for him.

This was his old Ford truck

Can it really be you?

On our vacation, we went through Carthage, Mo. By husband is obsessed with John Deere stuff. Anything John Deere. We even got pulled away from our wedding in a manure spreader (John Deere of course). Bill's brother Howard is about as bad. We are on the main street and there is a flying manure spreader in the air on a big pole. Below are the words "crapduster" - Lowell Davis. While my husband is sitting in the car taking pictures, an old truck comes by with the words, "FOX FIRE FARMS, Red Oak, Missoura" (with an a) Bill recognizes all of this and gets out and asks the man, "Are you Lowell Davis?" He replied, "What's left of him." Well, he has created a lot of John Deere stuff for Ertyl and Bill had several magazines at home with his picture. He invited out to his little town. He has built a town called Red Oak and brought buildings in and refurbished them. So, on the way to his town, Bill calls his brother Howard to rub it in. Howard has his entire Christmas village. Howard told us he had gone crazy and burned his studio years ago. So, all the way out to Red Oak, I am freaking out thinking we are following a crazy man and he is going to harm us. Well, he ended up telling us his life story and he said he did loose it for awhile and burn up his studio. He invited us into his home and we just had a wonderful visit. Bill thought it was awesome, and I must admit it was a pretty cool experience. If you google his name, you can read all about him.

Friends from the past

We just returned from Branson. We first went to Pittsburg, Ks. Bill had three days of training at Pitsco for his new tech lab at his school. While he had three days of intensive training, I enjoyed reading and scrapbooking. Well, after the classes were over, we went on to Branson, Mo for the week-end. Bill's son met us there from Tinker Air Force Base and we had a delightful week-end. I have known for years that Ron Crooks lived in Branson and played the piano for the Mickey Gilley show in Branson and sang backup. I mentioned to my husband Bill how great it would be to reconnect with Ron after all these years. Well, I started off by looking in the phone book for a Ron Crooks. Bingo, there he was. We called up until 11:00 PM (no answer or machine) and started again the next morning early with no answer. We went to Hobe Sound Bible College together and he was one of my favorite people. I really would love to see him. Well, Bill lived in Kansas City for years and knew a lot of Ron's kin people. He ended up talking to Ron's sister Gloria and she gave us all of Ron's contact info. He manages a gym in Branson and is a personal trainer there. We finally reached him and asked him to squeeze us into his busy schedule. We were to meet at 1:00 (between clients). Well, we got there about 1:05 and he was at the front desk. I peeked in the window and was so tickled to see Ron sitting there acting busy. We had a wonderful visit with him. It was wonderful to see him again after 33 years. I will post more pictures later of our trip. We had some pretty awesome things happen, so stay tuned.

Here is a cute picture of Bill and his two kids while we were in Kansas City.

She is finished

Well, Deanna is officially finished. She graduated from mid-america nazarene university in Kansas City. This is Bill's baby. She is coming to live with us a few short days and we are very excited. For graduation, she bought herself a new car. We can't wait to see it. We are so happy to have the last one through school. Rah Rah Rah!!!!!!!!

More wedding pics

Nick and Martha Fair

Here is another picture from the wedding. This is Nick and Martha Fair. Martha is Kathy Addison's aunt. I hadn't seen her for 25 years. For 61 years old, she looked fabulous!!

The big wedding

The Addison wedding was held at our church Saturday and was just beautiful. Of course Kristen is a beautiful girl, inside and out and made a gorgeous bride. Most of the Addison family was here. It was amazing. Even Mrs. Addison's sisters were here. I have known the Addison's forever. They were Findley, Ohio and I was from Marion. We always went to the same camp meeting at Camp Gilead. I remember when the dad was killed by a drunk driver. He was a great preacher. He came to our home church for revival one time when I was a kid. Anyway, the boys give great tribute to their mom for raising them to be Godly kids. She was a great role model for everyone who knew her. I always thought she was so pretty and she still is. It was so much fun seeing everyone. I hadn't seen the other kids for a long time. We had a fun night of fellowship at the reception.

Another great-grandbaby

Well, we have another great grandbaby for mom and dad Mateer. It was a boy. This is Tony's (my brother) 9th grandchild. I think I will suggest that he share since I don't have any.

Isn't he a little doll? His name is Matthew Burt Jr. (after his dad). They haven't decided what to call him yet since the dad is Matt. I forgot the middle name. I think he looks like an angel.

Yucky Face

I just had to share this picture that my sister-in-law took of my niece and nephew. This is what Kyler does when you ask him to make a yucky face. He is so fun. We had him last night for a couple of hours and he got so excited because the kids were catching "real" fish out of the pond. He just pointed and squealed. I will have to post that picture later because it was just so funny.

Company

I always love having company and this week, our dear friends, Amy and Ashley Brush stopped by. They had been to SC to visit their dad, John and were on the way back to NY where they live. It was so good to see them. They grew up with my kids. We were always together and our kids became best of friends. Stephanie didn't get to come with them. Amy is now a mom - those are her two kids- who are absolutely adorable. Ashley has grown into a lovely young lady (she is 26) but is still single. We sure enjoyed them coming by. They are coming back in August and we will look forward to another visit.

What are we gonna do? Our gas here in NC is at $ 3.81. I think I will buy a bike. We haven't been going too far from home with the prices like this. It is just too much. I thought it was bad before when it got to $ 2.38 per gallon and look at it now. My Escape doesn't get the best gas mileage either. Maybe 17 or 18. My daughter has a 5 speed focus and gets 32 mpg. My oh my, I think I'll die.

Costa Rica

As you know, we had the privilege of going to Costa Rica to see Bill's dad and sister last month. It was absolutely wonderful. Probably the highlight of the trip was our visit to a volcano. It was smoking and huge boulders were spewing down the side of the mountain. It was a little nerve racking as we were only 3 miles away. Years ago, it erupted and destroyed a whole city. It was just amazing. I felt a little uneasy the whole time we were there. Bill's sister, Mary, told us the mountain was "showing off" for us. It usually isn't doing a lot. It was just so neat!!

These two made me a mother. It is a great thing to be a mother and now I am a step-mother.

We had a wonderful mother's day. I hadn't had both girls with me on Mother's day for years. I sure enjoyed it. We all just hung out for the day. I fixed a great meal : ) and fed the whole family - 11 in all. My first taste of motherhood was when I was 24. We had been married for 5 years and thought it might be time to have a kid around. We were both through college and I was teaching school. So, Michelle came into the world on 8-8-80 at 1:30 in the AM. She was 8 lbs 2 oz. When she was 2, we decided she might need a brother but the Lord gave us another girl. She entered the world on 9-1-83 at 9 lbs. 4 oz. at 9:30 PM. I have enjoyed being a mother. They kept me busy for years, running here and there. They were in a private school so, it kept me on the run. When they were 14 and 11, I became a "single" mom. That was a little more of a challenge as I tried to juggle a job, the home and them. I loved being a stay at home mom and if you are one - I am jealous. I would still like to stay at home. Then, 2 1/2 years ago, I became a step mom to two adult children. They are so much fun too and I have enjoyed being their step-mom.