Cadence Grace Ivester's 1st Year In Retrospect

Happy Birthday, Cady!

Here's some pictures of the past year

Could this be your future husband? (That's what his shirt says!)

He gets my vote!

Abby is all smiles because of the epidural!

Cadence Grace

Born on 10-28-08 at 12:25 p.m.

Weight: 8# 7 oz.

1 month old

2 months old

3 months

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

8 months old

9 months old

10 months old

11 months old ("Touchdown!")

1 year old

What I love about my CadyBug:

• Your pleasant disposition
• When you say "tickle, tickle" as you crinkle your nose
• When you say "touchdown" and do your arms straight up
• Your dark eyes - reminds me of my entire family past & present
• Your olive skin - again reminds me of my family
• When you smile at me . . . I just melt away

Thanks for being my G. G. #2. Thanks for letting me snuggle with you. We will have a wonderful life together for years and years to come. I love you more than you could possibly understand.

Your Mimi

Cady's First Birthday Party

Sunday was Cady's first birthday party! Her birthday is Oct. 28. Lots of family and friends came and everyone had such a wonderful time, especially Cadence Grace. She had a blast!

The Birthday Hat

Strousner's did a great job matching the cake with Cady's pillowcase dress.

Abby, Cady & Matt


Abby had everything matching perfectly!

Just prior to the cake demolition!

The Babe loves sugar!

Sweet Brie with her cute bolero sweater.

After a mini-bath, Cady put on her "after party" attire.

My sweet little G.G.s

Cady and her new pink house

Looking forward to tomorrow and Cady's first birthday. More pictures to come. . .

Old Faithful. . . . . Gotta Love It . . . . .

Tom spent the day in Elberton visiting his mother at the nursing home. Then he visited two aunts and from there he spent time at our lake house just relaxing and watching Clemson football.

I spent the day washing clothes, grocery shopping, playing with Darby dog (who is spending the weekend with us), and going to Ab's on the pretense of borrowing something but really I wanted to see Cady & Katie. Off & on all day I've watched college football - one of my very favorite things to do.

When Tom arrived home, I was excited b/c we like to watch football together. We were watching the final minutes of Clemson when we realized USC was on the radio. I sat down with my bright red cd player/radio that I bought to play toddler tunes. I knew the two stations that were broadcasting the USC game, but I could not get a good reception at all. Very fuzzy. Here's our conversation:


Tom: You can't get the game?
Joy: Nope. It won't come in clearly.
Tom: Go get my radio; it'll pick up the game.
Joy: What do you mean, your radio? You don't have a radio.
Tom: Ya know, the old one with paint all over it.
Joy: You think you can get USC on that old thing?

Remember the old radio/cassette player we use when we paint and when we listen to our very old Christmas cassette tape? Read back to my Dec. 16, 2008 blog; #7 of Family Christmas Traditions is dedicated to that old radio.

I quickly found the old radio that still has the same old batteries from last century, still not corroded. Within 2 minutes Tom had the game on - clear as a bell.


Tom: Your radio may be pretty, but it's a piece of junk!!!

Gotta love Old Faithful. He takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. And so does the radio - hearty, ha ha.



You gotta see these precious shoes of my grand:

Aren't these adorable? Red & black, Velcro closure and skid-resistant bottoms. Guess who they belong to: I'll give you a hint............................

"Ultra Paws".........they are Darby's! My granddog!

Sweet Darby is psychotic during storms and rain. These boots protect floors and carpets from her pawing episodes. What will they come up with next?

I Cannot Keep This Secret Any Longer!

Katie Eckdahl Wasserman is coming to town!

Okay, I know you don't know who Katie is, but I wish you knew her. She a friend of Abby's. She is the kind of friend everyone needs. First, I'll tell you who she is not. She is not a former high school friend of Abby's. She's not a college friend of Abby's. She's never lived in the same state as Abby. She's never lived closer than 1,000 miles from Abby.

This is who Katie is: Katie is the dearest friend to Abby and a real dear to me. Katie is from Minnesota - a far cry from Simpleville. Abby met her through a former boyfriend of Katie's. As I recall, Katie and the X met at a Campus Crusade for Christ summer project (not sure of the C.C.C. , but a Christian project). X was from Seneca and a friend of Abby's. Just prior to the visit, their relationship began to cool a bit, but Katie came anyway. Abby & Katie spent time together since she & X weren't "clicking". How God works! Abby & Katie hit it off and a solid, wonderful friendship began to blossom. Those two kept a long-distance friendship and are close to this day. Abby has made several trips to Minnesota and Katie has made trips here. As a matter of fact, I believe God helped plan this one: Katie was here during my Mom's last days.

Abby & Katie kissing on Pappy.

Katie was able to be here and support Abby (and all of us) during some very dim days while we waited for Mom to enter Heaven. She was truly a Godsend. The picture above was taken just days before Mom died.

Against all odds, Katie & Abby have kept their friendship despite the distance. Katie was in Abby's wedding in 2005 .................

Katie is next to Abby

And Abby was in Katie's wedding in 2008.

Minnesota wedding.

Katie and Abby have always tried to see each other once a year. Back in August, Katie emailed me and said she just had to see Abby because it has been over a year and she has never seen Cady. She said she wanted to surprise Abby and come for Cady's first birthday. I was so excited to help her plan this surprise. Katie arrives in town this morning. Matt is getting her from the airport and will bring her to Anita's for lunch. Abby does not know anything about this. I will have tissue ready to wipe Abby's tears when she sees her dear friend after about 17 months! What a reunion this will be!

Don't know what they're eating, but I want some!


The two kindred spirits

By the way, Katie has the cutest accent! Love it. We've tried to introduce her to the finer things of life . . . . i.e., sweet tea and okra. . . . but to no avail.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Right now, it's 3:45 pm and the reunion went off without a hitch! To say Abby was totally surprised is an understatement. Matt walked into Anita's first with Katie behind him. At first Abby noticed a pretty girl behind him then quickly recognized Katie. She was thrilled and surprised!

This is moments after they first hugged. Look closely and you'll see tears in both sets of eyes.

Several minutes later they calmed down for a picture together.

Katie said she knew she was down south when the airlines attendant said to "cut off all mechanical devices."

Ab: What else should the attendant have said?

Katie: Turn off all mechanical devices.

I love the south.

A True Mountaintop Experience

I've been gone for close to two weeks. It's been the longest time away from home in my 50+ years. I'm a complete home-body so this was a test for me. We even camped in a tent that long - YIKES! Yes, and I'd stay longer if I didn't miss my family and my home so much. We spent 10 nights/11 days at Smokemont - one of our family's favorite places. We camped next to our friends who have a motor home with shower so when I tired of my own hot baths (which consisted of two dish pans of hot water - one for washing - one for rinsing), I used a real shower. I could never do that in the summertime b/c I sweat so badly, but in the cold weather - not a problem.



Before I tell about our trip, I'll show some pictures of Cady. (We're going to see Brie tomorrow so I'll post pictures of her in another blog.)

Cady, standing in front of the autumn scene in her yard.

Getting a jump-start to Halloween

Standing near the fireplace at her other grandmother's home.

Here are some pictures Abby took at the Apple Orchard last week.

Who wouldn't purchase this basket of preciousness???




Fashion-forward little CadyBug

Cady is such a ham!

Abby, Cady & Matt
(This picture makes Abby look like an amputee. Great boot, Ab)

Last time we camped at Smokemont, I mildly complained about the lack of organization with our camping "stuff". I helped Tom devise a contraption that houses my things. We had to drive separate vehicles to Smokemont, but this box is amazingly perfect. I can put more bins on the top of the box when the car is parked. Also, from inside the passenger doors, I can utilize the shelves for more storage. It's FABULOUS!

My organizational OCD.

The first weekend we were at Smokemont was our church's family campout. We resurrected this family campout from the late '80's. Several families came that were campers years ago at Smokemont. We also had several new families. All together we had about 55 people. Another lady and I were in charge of feeding two dinner meals and two breakfasts for the folks. Prior to leaving Simpleville, I fixed so much chili that I don't know if I'll ever eat chili again. Every room in my house smelled of chili for days and days.

We had a wonderful time meeting new families and rehashing old memories with old friends. Looking forward to next year and doing this all again.

After everyone else left (except for our friends with the motor home), we had a very relaxed week. It rained for several days, but it did not dampen our spirits. We had great meals. One night we cooked pinto beans over the fire in a black pot. See for yourself:

Pinto beans and cornbread. Yum.

One of the beautiful trees at the campground.

Night time fire. The best thing about camping.

The creek at Smokemont was very active after all the rain. Usually, this is a very placid creek.

On Thursday, Abby & Matt came. Chad & Michelle came on Friday. Mark, Andrea & Brie were unable to come and we really missed them.

Matt, Michelle, Abby & me. It was very chilly!

Ab & Matt

Chad, Michelle and baby Rucker

Chad and Abby walking across my favorite bridge.

Michelle, Chad, Ab & Matt

My mountaintop experience happened on the way home. Tom & I were in separate vehicles for the first time. Actually, it wasn't so bad. I listened to my music and Tom listened to . . . . well, ....... nothing. He enjoys silence. I enjoy non-silence. I turned my praise & worship music on full blast. While I was driving, I soaked in God's beautiful creation. He made gorgeous rolling hills and tremendous mountains. He made leaves in brilliant reds, yellows, oranges, and greens. As I continued on my drive, I noticed mountains displaying those wonderful colors, but also in the mountains behind the colorful mountains, on higher elevations, trees were covered with white snow. Double awesome!! No one can drive that highway and not know that God is alive and well. I was singing to the top of my lungs. Chris Tomlin is one of my favorite musicians. Whether in church or wherever, when I'm really worshipping, I close my eyes and glory in the presence of God. I really, really tried not to close my eyes while driving over the mountains! It was such a moving experience on Sunday. God is so good. His mercies endure forever.

My favorite song is "Glory In The Highest". Google "Chris Tomlin's Glory In The Highest" and give a listen. Be sure to listen through and absorb the words starting at 3:22. Close your eyes and imagine the mountains in vivid colors and snow-covered mountains. Amen and amen.