A Baker's Dozen - Oh So Cute!

Wednesday - September 16, 2009

How much is that doggie in the window? Arf! Arf!

The one with the wiggly tail! Arf! Arf!

How much is that doggie in the window? Arf! Arf!

I do hope that doggie's for sale! Arf! Arf!

Meghan's dog - Shelby, who is half boxer - is the proud mother of 13 puppies. That's right, you read it correctly - THIRTEEN puppies!! The father, Tyson - is a full blooded boxer - so I guess the puppies are 3/4 boxer! :):)

The puppies arrived yesterday. The first one arrived around one o'clock yesterday afternoon, and the last one was born around ten o'clock last night! Whew - was a loooooong day for Shelby and Meghan!!!!!! Meghan was there by herself when pup #1 arrived, but then the reinforcements came in for the others arrival!!! Thanks to Grant's mother, Meghan had someone there with her. I'm sure that by the time #13 arrived Shelby and Meghan were experts as to what needed to be done. Meg said that Shelby did great and the mother instinct kicked in and she started tending to her new family.

I love Mom's thoughts on this "birthing" experience. Meghan is attending St. Mary's Nursing School, so Mom thinks this will give some experience for when she becomes a nurse! :):) Okay Meghan - Mammaw thinks you will be a great nurse now! :):)

The following pictures are some Meghan took and shared with us - for which I am grateful!

A very tired Shelby with her "baker's dozen!"

It looks as if Shelby is counting to make sure all her babies are there.

Shelby did not stray far from her little ones.


Don't they look adorable???

Rolling over and only a day old! :):)

Oh so cute is all I can say!

A very protective Shelby keeping guard over her litter. She looks a little more rested in this picture than she did in the first one I posted!!!

I'm sure I will be posting more pictures as the puppies get older!! Meghan, you will need to help me here!!!!

Oh, by the way, DOES ANYONE WANT A PUPPY?????????? Okay Meg, I'm trying to help you!

Growing, Grinning, And Beautiful - Our Cora Ann

Tuesday - September 15, 2009

It's past time for updated pictures of our precious Cora Ann. She will soon be 6 months old. As it has been said so many times - "where has the time gone?" It seems as if you blink your eye the little ones have grown an inch or two, and their development has expanded beyond belief. Today they don't realize they have toes, and tomorrow they are the most interesting thing around them! :):)

Sadly, we don't get to see Cora everyday as many grandparents do, so we have to rely on pictures - which her parents are doing well with in posting! Thanks to their posting of pictures, I am able to share some with you. Sometimes I just love modern technology!!!! We love this baby girl so much and wish the situation was that we could be close enough to see her more often and give her hugs and kisses every day!!!

The following pictures (thanks to her Cora's mommy and daddy) are of Cora during her fifth and into her sixth month of life. You will see a beautiful grin, a couple of teeth, and a happy baby!! We love you Cora Ann Hardin!!

Good Morning world, I'm ready to begin my day - how about you Dad????

Ready to get going - what's on the agenda today?

Love this picture - Jeni said they had been shopping; the hat was a sun cover, and Cora decided to take some shut-eye! Priceless!!!!

There's that beautiful smile!

She had just gotten that "Jumparoo" on our last visit! She was really starting to get into the "jump" of things by the time we left!!!

Starting into her sixth month - hmmm, eating her book instead of reading it - teething will cause this to happen for sure!

Look everyone - I have toes and feet I can reach!!! :):)

Ahhh - that beautiful smile! (Which had been hard to capture with the camera!)

No smile, but look how pretty!

Ahhh - a new Herd Fan n the making!!!!

There they are - her two teeth in front!!!!!

Love this!

Wheeeeeeeeee!

A family picture!!!!!

Looking back at earlier postings which include pictures of Cora Ann, you can see just how much she has grown!!!!

Mom - Rosie the Riveter Interview!

Thursday - September 10, 2009

Mom and her "Rosie the Riveter" look! (Relma Irene Whitman Layne)

Yesterday was a very interesting and exciting day for Mom. Some of you may know that during WWII Mom was one of the many women who manned the workforce due to the exit of the men who were off fighting to preserve our freedoms. She was one of the millions of women who became known as "Rosie the Riveter."

“Rosie the Riveter” is the name of a fictional woman who came to symbolize the millions of real women who filled America’s factories, munitions plants, and shipyards during World War II. It was after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 that the male workforce was depleted and there was a need to fill the empty spots. There was a demand for factories to manufacture and produce munitions and machinery needed to help with the war effort. There was an extensive campaign to encourage the woman to join the workforce and to fill the vacated spaces of the men who were now soldiers fighting in the war.

There are two artist - Norman Rockwell and J. Howard Miller - who created posters using a "Rosie the Riveter" image to entice woman to join the workforce and to help their country. Miller's image was actually based on a real "Rosie," Geraldine Doyle, who was a Michigan factory worker. It is this image that has become the image we see when we think about the women who worked in theses factories during WWII. Mom was one of those "Rosie" who worked in a factory.
The following poster is one that has become well known and was used extensively to get the women to join the workforce!

Mom, along with Aunt Keller (Mary K Whitman Butcher) and Aunt Ella (Ellen Whitman), went to Ypsilanti, MI to work in the Ford Bomber Plant. Mom was a "riveter" who put the rivets in the inner wing of a B-24 Bomber. She said she never saw a completed plane. The Army personnel would come and inspect the plane and then off it would go - more than likely overseas to help our troops!

Mom was asked many questions about what she remembered about that time. She was a little nervous, but as the time went on she started telling "little" stories about what she remembered while in MI. She was also asked why she went; how long she was there; who she went with; what was a typical day like; what was her job; who did she work with; what type of transportation did she use; what did she do for entertainment; and even if she had dates! :):) I think the purpose for that question was to basically say that there were very few men around, thus there was no one to really go out on a date with!!!! Mom and Dad were not officially engaged, but apparently there was a commitment already there for them. They were not married until 1946 - Dad was hit in Nov. 1944; spent over a year in Walter Reed Hospital; and then came back to WV. He apparently worked around the mines for a little while before he and Mom were married in 1946.

The interview was almost two hours in length. They won't use all of the footage, but they will document what Mom said. The finished product will be included with all the other "Rosie's" stories who are still living here in WV. The documentary and/or written works will be placed in the libraries and the historical societies. From my understanding, WV is the first state to actually research and document the stories of their "Rosie's." We are to be kept informed as to what is happening with this project, as well as when the finished product is available!!

We are all so proud of what Mom did and the part she did during that time in America's history. She and the other women of that time played as big a part in the war effort as our soldiers!

She and Dad are truly my American heroes!!!!!!!

Mom - about 1940

Mom and Dad - before he left for the army! Dad's hair is combed straight back which means prewar!!!

Mom and Dad - Dad on furlough from Walter Reed - his hair is parted which means it was taken after he was wounded. Looks like an Elvis style!

Mom and dad shortly after they were married - August 17, 1946.

Mom today - 2009

Labor Day Memories

Monday - September 7, 2009

Did you realize that labor Day has been celebrated here in the United States for over a hundred years? It was a celebration and parade that had been organized by the Knights of Labor in 1882 in New York City. Through the years in eventually evolved from a labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festivals. Families gather together for one last cookout - providing the weather cooperates. There are labor organizations that will put together a day of entertainment with well known musicians performing as a means to tell their employees how important they are to them and to say "thank you". It is also the realization to most that summer is almost officially over and back to work we go with fall and winter right around the corner!

Bill thinks of his dad on Labor Day. He was a strong union man, and secretary for his local UMWA District 50 for many years.

I think of my younger days when Dad would take us all up to my grandparents for a day of "labor" in the potato patch!!! Labor Day was the day Pappaw would dig up the huge rows of potatoes and store them for the winter. These rows were at least the length of a football field. There had to have been at least a dozen rows!!!! We had to gather up all the bushel baskets so we could put the potatoes in once they were out of the ground.

During the summer, we would go with Pappaw to the potato patch and he would "gravel" out enough potatoes for supper! He used the hoe and we would pick them up and place them in a small basket. We thought that was fun - it didn't take long and we knew that Mammaw was going to fix the best fried "taters" you could ever imagine!!!

Uncle Pete would bring his horse he had at that time - I remember Daisy being the horse's name - and hook her up to the plow! Whew - we didn't have to dig the potatoes by hand!!! Once the rows had been plowed we would place the baskets out between the rows. The the fun times would begin!! Right - glad our backs were young and strong!!!!! Actually, Dink, John, and I - can't remember Mike doing it for a long period of time (he was the baby) - would start filling the baskets full with potatoes. Uncle Pete and Dad would then go and hook the sled up to Daisy and would come back and load the baskets on the sled. They would take the baskets to the crib, where Pappaw would spread them out on the benches and in the floor to dry off!!!!

There was a lot of hard "labor" done that day by all of us, but as Mammaw always said, "They will taste better than snowballs this winter!" She was right!!!

Not only did we work hard that day, but Uncle Pete and dad would let us have a little fun when the work was completed! They would take us a ride on the sled with Daisy pulling us around the bottom!! For "city" kids, this was a blast - we tended to forget just how much work we had done!!!

For a very long time as I was growing up, I always connected Labor Day as a day of hard work for us, and as school beginning the next day. Both thoughts at that time in my life never brought a smile to my face. But today, when I think back on those memories, not only do I have a smile remembering how much fun we really did have, but tears in my eyes that so many those I love are not here any longer! These are memories I will always cherish. Pictures are embedded in my mind, and I wish I had access to a digital camera way back then!!!! :):)

Hope you are all making memories today!!!!!!

Life - Leaving this World and Being So Young!

Saturday - September 5, 2009

When watching the news today, Bill and I discovered that another former student of ours - age 24 - had died in what they are saying was a murder/suicide. It is so sad that two lives have ended so tragically. Reading through some of the comments for the story, you soon realize how insensitive some people can be!!! Apparently the young lady had some problems in the past, but was trying to get her life in order. I am not about to make judgement on either one of the victims as some of those who left comments have, but will offer a prayer up for the families as they deal with what has happened to their loved ones.

This is just so sad to see young lives taken in such a manner. We have lost many former students due to tragic accidents. To read about a student who sat in our classroom for at least a year - and in some cases we had them three years in a row (6th, 7th, & 8th grade) - makes me think not to take life for granted! Such young lives lost in what at times appeared to be in a senseless manner. Two boys died riding four-wheelers on a school day during school hours. Why were they home? They had opted out of a public education and were being home schooled.

We have both had several who have died as the result of a car accident. The latest being two sisters who apparently hit "black ice" on a bridge, lost control of the car, and ran into a moving train. So many lives have been affected by these tragedies.

It is during these times that a quote from Corrie ten Boom - a concentration camp survivor - might help those who are grieving at the untimely death a loved one taken at what we deem as "too young" to leave this world.
She said, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."

It is during these intense moments of sadness that we should all remember to keep our focus on God and His Word. These are the type of days that we may feel we just can't go on to face another day alone - but remember, you are never alone!

Being older and seeing the death of our former students in the newspaper, reminds me age has no bearing on when we leave this world! We all must remember that when trying to get beyond the blackness of this moment in our lives to rely on our Lord and Savior.

"He gives power to the weak, and to those

who have no might He increases strength."

Isaiah 40:29 (NKJV)