Whew!!! It's Been a Long Time

I can not believe that I have failed as a blogger.  Oh wait, yes I can.  May 2013 was my last post.  A lot has changed.  Important people have died and babies have been born.  We added a new fur baby and we moved.  So, gonna do an update and try to start blogging more regularly.  Think I have said that before.

One of the best events that happened involved Elizabeth Ann Rivers.  Joey and Katie welcomed a new baby girl into the world on November 1, 2014.  Her two big sisters are doing a great job showing her the ropes and we are so blessed to have her here.

On November 17, 2014 our world crashed when sweet Liza was diagnosed with a brain bleed.  She spent some time at Batson's Children's Hospital in Jackson, and at the time, we were given lots of negative reports.  But Liza recently turned 1 and God has something big in store for this sweet girl.  She is doing great and I can't find anything wrong with her.

Josie flew through kindergarten and is now in first grade.  She loves to read and I love watching her read to Colbie.  This year she came and spent a weekend with us and I helped her with her book fair project.  She did it all, but I gave her lots of pointers.  I think we may make it a tradition.  Josie is a beautiful ballerina and she is adding gymnastics to her list of accomplishments.  She is such a wonderful big sister and that girl makes me so proud.

Colbie has adjusted to being the middle child and she is one little fireball.  She has personality plus and then some more.  This year she is going to preschool 5 days a week and taking dance with her big sister.  She loves Liza and showers her with attention.  Sometimes you will just catch her down on the floor loving on her baby sister.  I went to her program the other night and she was the star of the show.  Her smiles just made the stage light up.

Katie and Joey are doing great.  They both love their jobs and are the best parents three little girls could ask for.  Katie now works 3 days a week and is off on Thursday and Fridays.  This allows her to attend a lot of the girls school activities and parties.  Joey still plays softball on occasion but most of his time is spent at home when he gets off work.  They are now in the process of building a new house and will be moving in 2016.

Hunter grew up on us.  That boy is already a junior in high school.  He is still fishing and got his drivers license and a car.  I pray for him every day because I worry about him driving.  He hasn't decided yet what he is going to do when he graduates, but he still has a little time to make those decisions.  Right now, his biggest decision is whether he is going to fish in fresh water or salt water.

Fisher is not far behind Hunter.  He is a high school freshman.  He decided to take a year off from sports and get used to high school.  He has come to the camp several times since school started and stayed with us for a night or so.  Now that he doesn't have football practice or weight lifting he has a little more time for his grandparents.  He plans to play football next year, so we need him to come a little more often before his schedule gets booked.

Jennifer has a new man in her life.  His name is Brian Gilbert and we have known his family forever.  They are good people.  What makes us really really happy is that he makes Jennifer happy and he is good to the boys.  Jennifer stays active decorating her house, helping everybody out, taking care of the boys and Brian, and spoiling her pup, Roxie.

In January 2015, we lost Meme.  She lived a wonderful life and we have many happy memories.  It doesn't seem the same with her gone and I catch myself wanting to call her or make a note to myself to tell her something.  She is missed so much and I learned so much from her.  The fall before she died, Katie's mom and dad offered us their timeshare in the mountains.  We took her with us and I am so thankful we had that week together.  She had a great time and was able to see all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren be born.  We love you Meme.

The biggest change of all was our move.  After Meme passed away I just needed to get away from all the memories of the house.  We decided to remodel the camp and downsize.  It has been a wonderful change and I love my little camp.  I think we are happier than we have ever been and just love the simple life.

Glenn finally retired....AGAIN!!!  He gave his two weeks notice and then fell and hurt his shoulder and couldn't go back.  I was glad to get him home.  We bought the lot next to the camp and he spent about 4 or 5 months cleaning it up.  This was a real feat considering he couldn't raise his arm and he used a tractor and chainsaw each day.  I think the work was good for him, but now he is settling into fishing and relaxing and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren.

I am still healing from my broken leg.  I have had surgery on it twice and I will be finding out tomorrow what the new doctor recommends.

Glenn and I have traveled a little in the last few years.  We have been to the mountains, Key Biscaine and I got to go to Walt Disney World with two little princesses and their parents.  It was a dream come true for me and I will do a post just on that trip.

We also added a new fur baby to our brood.  I now have Sonja (14 year old doxie), Harley (3 year old rottie), and our new pup Ares (5 year old rottie) who is a 109 pounds of pure love.  They all love living the river life.

The best part of our lives is right now.  We are just enjoying the simple things around here and watching the river roll by.