BELOVED FRIEND - BARBARA 7-30-36 - 7-25-13

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends.  I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."  Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey

 No, it is not my nature, and it was not Barbara's nature. 

Funny how friendships begin: ours began in 1975.  Don & Barbara had their house on the market for sale.  I was showing clients a house in the area and we saw the sign in front of their property.  I did not have an appointment but my clients wanted to see it so I went to the door and knocked.  (This was WAY before having cell phones.)  Don came to the door and the answer was, "We're in the kitchen in the middle of canning beans, but if you can overlook the mess come on in."

I apparently made an impression on them, even though my clients did not purchase their house, and Don later called me and wanted me to list a 2 1/2 acre lot they owned.

Thus began a friendship that remains unto this day.  By July, 1976, after Mickey & I opened our own small JJ Realty Don obtained his license and worked part-time for us.

In 1984 we moved to Albuquerque.  There were a few telephone calls and on Marc's 16th birthday, in August,1985, Don, Barbara, daughter Sabrina, and son Victor, were there.  This trip for them also included a ride in our hot-air balloon, Suzy Blue.  Although we had to sort of "trick" Barb to get in...but she loved it!!!!

This friendship endured with our move to NM and back to Tulsa, their moves to Houston, and then Springfield, Mo, and back to Tulsa.  We visited them in Houston and we visited them several time in Springfield.

In 2000 we took a trip to Canada: us in our 5th wheel and them in their motorhome.  It was great.  We would travel a ways together, then we'd part for a few days, or a week, and then we'd hook up together again. Our time with them covered August & September.

The highlight of that trip was Nova Scotia.   

 Here they are at our most northern point, Meat Cove on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

All of the trip was fantastic but the highlight was at Pictou, Birthplace of New Scotland, where we "stumbled" on the launching of the exact replica of the Ship Hector that had brought those first Scotts to North America on September 15, 1773.  

 I had been told, before we left on this trip, to be sure to see a Tattoo: a Scottish production of bagpipes, dancers and marching bands, etc.  This event was part of the celebration but it was raining literally cats & dogs.  We didn't care!!  We sat under our umbrella's and enjoyed every second of this fantastic, one of a kind show.  Our clothes were literally so soaked we had to wring them out when we got back to our campers that night.

 This picture was taken at Ron & Doty's, some other friends that bought our Dodge 1 Ton Truck after we parked the RV in 2005.  I choose this picture of Mickey & Barb because they had a running game of picking on each other.  They both loved it!!! 

 This picture was taken as the 8 of us:  Don & Barb, Jack & Mary, Ron & Doty, Mickey & I were celebrating Don's 72nd birthday September, 2010.  The reason this picture is so significant is we had just learned the evening before, September 29th, that our beloved daughter, Suzette, had lung cancer.  This group of friends were the first to be told that night.  Believe me, they were with us every step of the way during that 7 month battle and at Suzette's memorial.

 Got these out of order.  This is at Ron's big 70th birthday bash in 2008.  Don & Barb, like Mickey & I, were always together so I don't have many single pictures of just Barb.

 September, 2011 when my forever friend from New Mexico, Joan & her husband Jim, visited us.  We took them out for steaks and invited Don & Barb to join us.  They had met Joan while on that visit to NM in 1985.

 This is an earlier picture of them in their Owasso home before they moved to Houston.  They loved each other dearly and were always smiling. 

Last picture I choose was this one from that trip to Canada.  Not even sure where we were but we were touring an old town with replica's.  This one is so perfect because besides being a wonderful wife, mom, grandma, sister, and friend, Barbara was a teacher for some 32 years.  She was named Teacher of the Year before her retirement when they made their move to Houston.

This one is so perfect for us because Barbara is chiding Mickey and I am acting out.

What I have shown here is all the fun times but Don & Barbara were those friends we shared EVERYTHING with and together.  We've had a lot of laughs but we've also shed tears together and all our joys and problems.  We all love the Lord and a lot of the things we did together were Church programs and singings.  One thing I am so grateful for is after Mickey & I quit traveling and resettled in Coweta the 4 of us would hold hands and pray together before we would leave each time we were together.

The last time we saw Barb was on Friday night, July 19th, when the 4 of us celebrated Ron's 75th birthday at their motorhome  clubhouse in Flint Ridge. Mary was not with us because she had prior plans.  After the party we also met their son Victor for a few brief minutes to make a delivery from Don to him.  We were sitting in Don's car and Victor was standing outside the window and open doors talking and visiting with us.  Just as we were to leave Barbara said, "I'm getting out to give you a hug.  I can't be this close and not hug you."  She did!!!!

On Wednesday evening, July 25th, at 8:30 we came in from church to a message on our recorder:  "Hi this is Don.  I'm at St. Francis.  Barbara had a stroke about 6:30 and they brought her here by ambulance.  I have not seen her since."  Mickey & I took one look at each other and said, "We've going".  We did, and were there with Don, Sabrina and her husband Chon just as they got the horrible news that Barbara could not survive.  We remained until her sister and brother-in-law, and Sabrina's childhood friend of 40 years arrived.  We waited for Barbara to be moved from emergency to her room.  We said our final "good-bye's" and I KNOW she heard us.  Mickey told her to tell Suzette hi because she was going to get to see her before we got to.  I told her what a wonderful friend she had been. We left at midnight.

When Mickey, Marc & I arrived at the hospital the next day around 12:30 we were told by a nurse.  Barbara meet her LORD & SAVIOR that morning around 10:45.  

Mickey & son Marc were honored to serve as Pall Bearers at the beautiful service, attended by MANY family members and friends, Saturday, July 27th.    

It's not "good-bye" Barb, it's "see ya soon"!

Now it's not 8 of us, but only 6, because Mary/we lost our beloved Jack just one year prior, July 21, 2012.  

Friends - one of God's most precious gifts.

FAMILY PICTURES of the 4 of us July 27, 2013

It is so seldom we are all dressed up and together at the same time that we over did it with the pictures!!  But they are special to us.

 Daughter Jacque - Mom Susan

(she had on a little wedge heel and I did not but I've also lost 1 1/2" from my original 5' 6 1/2" frame!)

 Dad Mickey - Daughter Jacque

 My beloved Mickey - Me 

 Jacque - Mickey - Susan

(Daughter - Dad - Mom)

 Mickey - Susan - Marc

(Dad - Mom - Son)

 Mickey - Jacque - Marc

(Dad - Daughter - Son)

 Susan - Marc - Jacque

(Mom - Son - Daughter)

Daughter Jacque - Son Marc

(Sister & Brother sharing a meal and having a great time with Mom & Dad)

 Dad & Mom

(Our favorite TITLES)

Nothing more precious on this earth to Mickey & I 

than our family~~~

                  We are blessed with 2 daughters                                                                           2 sons 

                                                  2 granddaughters

                                                  1 grandson    

25 TIPS FOR A BEAUTIFUL LIFE

1. Take 1 10-30 minute walk every day, and while you walk, SMILE.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. When you wake up in the morning, pray to ask God's guidance      for your purpose today.

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less for    that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of Water.  Eat blueberries,            broccoli & almonds.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires,      issued of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot        control.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like    a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.  Forgive them     for everything!

11. Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.

12. You don't have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what         their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five         years, will this matter?'  (My personal addition to this is      'Will it even matter a day, or a week from now?')

17. Help the needy.  Be generous! Be a 'Giver' not a 'Taker'

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. Time heals everything.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your         friends will.  Stay in touch. 

22. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed, pray to God and be thankful     for what you've accomplished today. 24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. Share this with others to help them lead a happier life !!!l

I LOVE WEEDING ~~~

I dislike yard work very much.  Mickey does all the mowing, gardening, etc but I LOVE TO WEED. 

The Lord blessed us with a several very heavy downpours of rain through the night so the ground was super wet and moist.  And, as a bonus, the temperature is very low for July 15th in Oklahoma. I took advantage of these blessings and decided to weed a section of fence line in our back yard that desperately needed it.  

 One of the piles of pulled weeds. (Mickey was dead heading the climbing rose bush so that's what the red roses are.)

This was from the first 6' of bed I pulled.  Then I had to rest my back a minute so went in, sat down, & had a cup of coffee.

 The second big pile of weeds I pulled.

I went out to pull another 6' or so.  I was tired and my back was telling me about it, but I thought "no", I'm going to finish this now, so I finished the other 12' section.

 If you could put the above 3 pictures together you would have the total area I weeded.

The long shot of the entire area.

Ok - now the main point of this blog.  Not to show off my accomplishment, even though I am very pleased with it, but to expand on why I love weeding.

Over the years God ALWAYS speaks to me when I weed.  There is such a lesson and connection between weeds in our yard and sin in our lives.

When weeding you MUST pull-up the root!!!  To just take a hoe or not pull hard enough to get the entire root is self defeating... because that weed will almost immediately begin growing again.

So it is with sin!  If we just "cut out" what can be seen with the visible eye we may be making an impression on those around us, and worse yet, we are deceiving ourselves that we are tackling the issue or sin. But, that ugly root, where it all began, is still there to quickly rear it's ugly head and ensnare us.

God created the world even before He created man on the 6th day. God speaks to us ALL the time through creation: the sun, moon, stars, clouds, mountains, plains, rocks, animals, plants.  All of His creation. 

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead:  so that they are without excuse.  Romans 1:19-20

&

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.  Psalm 19 1-2

I am so thankful that God loves us so much that He speaks to us all the time, IF we will only have eyes to see & ears to hear.

Thank you Father God for speaking to my heart, and my life,  once again, even while doing such a simple task as weeding.  

Front Yard & flower-bed project DONE

I am going to show various pictures of the entire front yard and the final finishing touches. 

 These two pictures show the area around the flag pole and our angel.

This flower bed is closest to the street.  A large maple tree.  We placed the little white cross in one end where we have two shades of sweet potato vines.  There are 2 patches of money grass and the dirt area in between has early spring bulbs that have already bloomed and died.  Around the end of the tree trunk are some big orange day lilies.

TThe area along the walk has these bushes and a bayberry thorn bush that has not grown well because it doesn't get enough sun.

The picture below is a large bayberry thorn bush on the other corner of the garage

T

 The old battered mail box we took down.  Mickey repainted the black wrought iron base.

 We purchased a new, bright white mail box and I did the lettering on both sides. 

 The front porch that needed a face lift.

 Mickey, hard at work as always!!! It is reddish and has a rough texture.  Took 2 coats and we love it!!!

 CAPS FOR THIS ONE - THE CROWNING SHRUB OF THE FLOWER BED PROJECT

A CREPE MYRTLE with rust/dark green leaves and a very dainty pink bloom.  It is going to be sooo pretty as it grows BIG.

 The finished porch.

The (almost) total front view. 

My dear husband worked so hard on this and we are so very pleased and happy with how it turned out.

Thanks for following along with us!!!

This is a picture I received in the mail today from a cousin, Bob Wishon, who lives in Missouri.  I had never seen this photo before and am thrilled to receive it!!  

From left to right:  My Uncle Jake & Aunt Ardith Wishon ~ my Mother Pauline Dickey Errett ~ my 1/2 Sister Marion June Banta Errett ~ my father Henry Harrison Errett - that would be me in front.

It looks to be like I am probably about 3 which would have meant Marion was 15 (today - June 13th - would have been her birthday!). My mother would be 34 and my father 55.  Aunt Ardith was 2 years younger than my mother, who was the eldest of the 6 Dickey children - 5 girls and then 2 younger brothers.  Ardith & Jake were the parents of my cousin Bob who sent me this picture.  

This would have been a very rare visit as we lived far away in Santa Fe, New Mexico and all our relatives lived in Missouri.  I only remember seeing my Grandparents maybe 4 times.  My mother & Ardith were very close and they did visit us in New Mexico several times.  Our little family did visit my grandparents in Missouri when I was 9 years old.  Marion, who was 21 and married, did not make the trip with us. I remember one other time going by train with my mother for a visit but do not remember what age I was. 

Even though our family was very small and isolated. I had a wonderful childhood and mother & father.  I also was very close to my sister, Marion, whom I adored and thought was beautiful!!  I am so grateful for my upbringing and all the values my parents taught and instilled in me.  

My father (who went by the name "HH") served in the 5th New Mexico State Legislature.  After that he had his own Real Estate & Insurance Company with offices right on the Plaza in Santa Fe. I learned a lot of my future skills for office work during my childhood of spending a lot of time with my daddy at his office.  

Strange how just receiving a picture in the mail today has fired up so many wonderful memories. 

Thanks for letting me share them with you.      

#14 - Meeting another blog friend!!!

As I have said, many times over, blogging has been such a fun adventure for me and added so very much to my life.  One thing that still amazes me is that I have been able to meet some of these blog friends in REAL LIFE.  And you know what???  I am never disappointed.

So I was delighted early this week when I received a message from Joy, of Joy In The Burbs, telling me she was making a trip from her home in Houston to Branson and wondering if I was anywhere near to her route.  I IMMEDIATELY replied that yes we were not that far and would be more than happy to meet her in either Muskogee or Wagoner for dinner.  Then the next day, when I found out she was talking about staying overnight at Muskogee invited her to come and be our guest in our little guest room. 

Sharing a couple of the little snippets of our messages:  Joy to me:I can't believe I will finally get to see you in person this week. What a blessing! I've always told you if it works out I would do it. My husband thinks its strange I would stay with someone I just know thru the internet. But I feel like I know you and I'm good with it. 

My reply:Oh good!!! Yes, people think it is strange but they just don't understand the spiritual connection that God makes and has made with some of us through blogging and HIS Spirit!!

Can you tell by the happy faces the good time we were having and the wonderful connection!!!!  

Joy arrived on Thursday around 6 o'clock.  We brought her stuff in and let her rest a little bit from her long ride.  We also introduced her to grandson, Aric, and granddog, Shasha who had come over Wednesday to stay a couple of days with us when Marc had to go to OKC on business.  

I had prepared a simple dinner:  tossed salad, baked chicken breasts, mixed vegetables, mashed potato, whole wheat rolls.  For a later dessert with decaf coffee I had purchased a Red Velvet Cake roll. 

 I knew from keeping up with Joy on fb, since she no longer blogs, that she was interested in the Jewish faith and was actually studying Hebrew!!!  I am so impressed with anyone who does, or can study Hebrew.  If I were about 25 years younger I would be doing so!!! So, needless to say, we spent most of our time talking along those lines and sharing parts of what we are each learning.  Aric & Shasha had retreated to the office but Mickey was right there with us participating in and enjoying our discussion.  I just never cease to be amazed at the connections and workings that God makes in our lives. 

We ended up going to bed about 10:45.  We could have visited all night, but that wouldn't have been very wise or prudent!!

The next morning I served a breakfast of orange juice, biscuits, bacon & scrambled eggs and we got to visit a wee bit more and learning about Joy's husband and two daughters, Paige-17, and Leah-14.  Joy's trip to Branson was to pick up Paige who had been attending a Christian Camp there for 2 weeks.   

Saying our good-byes.

Joy had to leave around 10 so the visit was short, but oh so sweet!!!  

Thank you Joy for thinking of us and taking the time to bless us with meeting you personally and getting to know you a little better. 

Yes, Joy is #14 I've been blessed to meet.  Now, I wonder who will be #15 and wait patiently for God to bring it about!!!!

SPEECHLESS ----- Yes!!!!

You can see by the article this award was presented to us at the 10:45 a.m. service at our church, Coweta Assembly, on Sunday, June 30th.

Now for what, and how,  it really happened and why we were totally shocked and surprised and yes, for one of the few times in my life I was TOTALLY speechless!!

On Sunday evening, June 2nd after church, Pastor Steve Lee stopped me outside and said he needed to talk to me.  He then stated, "You know the Chamber of Commerce gives a community award each year and we always attend as representatives of our church.  Michelle and I are going to be on vacation and unable to attend this year, so we would like you and Mickey to go in our place.  Would you be willing to do that?"  I replied, "Yes, of course!!  When is it?"  Pastor Steve,"Friday evening June 21st, at 7 p.m., but it's at the casino."  Susan, "Oh Pastor Steve we are going to be in Dallas for a conference the 21st, 22nd & 23rd.  We have been planning this for months and have already paid our registration fees and hotel charges.  I'm so sorry.  You know we would be glad and honored to do it."   Pastor Steve, "That's okay, we'll make other arrangements."

Well, the real story is:  the annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet is held at Riverside Casino.  Jennifer knows we are getting the award but goes to Pastor Steve with "How in the world am I ever going to come up with some way to get Mickey & Susan to come to "the casino" without telling them why?"  Needless to say, the casino is not our normal hangout!!

So, due to God's planning we missed the delicious banquet meal  and the occasion when our names were announced as winners of the 2013 Community Volunteers Award.  

The plaque is a lovely, very heavy etched glass on a thick glass base.  It was impossible to get a picture of because of being see through so we did our best by putting a piece of colored construction paper behind it so the etched letters would show.  

2013

Community Volunteers

of the Year

for excellence in teamwork and

dedication to serving others

in the Lord's name

is awarded to

Mickey & Susan Joyce

King's Kitchen

by

COWETA

Chamber of Commerce

June 21, 2013

What pleased us the most, as Jennifer shared with the congregation as she presented the award to us, was the plaques given each year read, "serving others in the community: but Jennifer had it changed to read "in the Lord's name".  The other thing that so touched my heart was Jennifer was in tears as she made the presentation.  I know Jennifer well and she is not one to cry!!!  Yes, our hearts were greatly touched with such an honor.

Of course, there should have been 34 awards handed out:  3 to the main cooks, 3 for the extra's who help each week packaging up the meals, 10 to the 2 people who run the 5 routes, and 20 to the woman who volunteer to provide a dessert once a month. Plus extra's who step in when needed. 

YES - as I finally said when I got my voice back - "King's Kitchen is NOT a 2 man/woman show.  

It is a joint effort of many FAITHFUL workers, most who have been with us for the entire 3 years and 4 months that The King's Kitchen has been in operation.