"I Remember You" A poem written for my Mee Maw by my brother Chris Plummer

I remember you.
When I close my eyes and reach back into the corners of my mind.
Focusing on the details of your face I am able to grab hold of the memory, pulling it out and holding it up to the sunlight.
It gleams and sparkles as the beams dance around it.
I remember the swirl of ice cubes in sweet tea, the cicada heralding the onslaught of summer, and sipping from green plastic cups on the swing under the horse apple tree.
I remember Easter egg hunts and the pride of a young boy showing his memaw the fruits of his cleverness.
I remember that feeling of bright afternoon sun streaming into your eyes causing you to shade them so as to get a better look.
I remember with wonderment the big brown car and the cb within it on our short ride up the hill to cool off from the heat of the day with crisp clean water.
You would wade in for a dip as we circled you like the little fishes we were.
You were shucking peas in the kitchen into a large green bowl while the brown TV relayed the slow moving story about a day in someone’s life.
There was Marlena, John, Bo, Hope, and Stephano, who conspired against us all.
I remember fried chicken, white bread with butter, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, potato salad, and of course chocolate pie.
I remember our mischief and the sudden end of it with the phrase “I’ll tell your daddy”.
Yes I remember you.
I have these things these memories and I have tucked them away inside me.
I have given them a secret place so that they may stay safe.
Your song was such a sweet song and these memories are but a bitter sweet refrain.
However, from time to time though it is so nice to hum along.
So I will hum and I will remember.
Perhaps it is that yours have a slightly different melody than mine.
Regardless grab hold of these moments and hold them up into the sun, letting them burn brightly.
And remember.

Written by Chris Plummer

Soccer Star!

CT warming up before the game.
CT scoring his very first goal.
Going after the ball.

This past weekend was CT's very first soccer game. He was so excited! It was windy and cold, but that didn't stop their team. They played really well together. CT scored the very first goal of the game. He was SOOO excited! So were we! :) The other team was not too thrilled to be there. They wanted their snack and wanted to get warm. CT ended up scoring 6 out of the 11 goals their team made. They beat the other team 11-1. We will see if we can keep our winning streak up. :) It is so fun to watch, and the kids have a great time.

My MeeMaw

My Dad, KG, and MeeMaw
The kids helping MeeMaw open presents this past Christmas.

Today is a day I have been dreading for a long while. Today my MeeMaw got to be with Jesus. Can you even imagine what she is experiencing right now? I am completely jealous and sad all at the same time. I would not wish her back for anything. Though I know one day I will see her again, my human mind makes it hard to comprehend just how soon that will be. I wanted to write down for mysake some fun memories that I had of her. Most of all I am grateful to her for the legacy she left for me. You see my MeeMaw loved Jesus more than anything else in this world, and she taught her sons and grandchildren about that love she had. I am forever grateful, and can't wait until one day we can all share in that joy!

I have been very priviledged to have a close relationship with my MeeMaw. I would definitely say that she loved all of her grandchildren equally, but I got to spend a LOT of time with her and my PeePaw growing up. MeeMaw never had a lot of money, but she NEVER let that get in the way of living and enjoying life. That woman was always the life of the party, and always found a way to make you laugh. People just enjoyed being around her.

I can remember her taking me to Wilkes, a little grocery store not far from her house, when I was little. There was a picture in the paper of her and me as a little girl at Wilkes. I will have to see if I can find it. I remember her leaning on the cart and slowly strolling through the store as if she had nothing else to do. She would always "test" out the grapes before she bought any. :) Back then you could do that. She also always let me pick out some candy. Don't ask me why, but I always wanted the bubblegum candy cigarettes. I got to get them several times until my mom put a stop to that. ha! They had this powder in them that when you puffed on them they would make smoke. :) Since I couldn't get those I reverted to the small candy gum chicklets. I would eat the whole pack at one time until the flavor ran out, and then spit it out. Of course that didn't last very long.

MeeMaw kept us a lot when we were little. The routine was at 12:00 ring the bell on the outside of the house to let PeePaw know it was time for lunch-all fried and fabulous food of course. He would come in from the shop, we would eat, and then we had to be quiet because he would lay down for a nap. :) In the meantime they were watching Mrs. Polly (whom I hated-a local celebrity news lady) and then Days of our Lives. My MeeMaw got me hooked. :) I haven't watched that in a long time. I'm sure the story is not too far off from what was going on back then. ha! Also when she would get annoyed with us she would tell us to go play in yonder. We have yet to figure out where that is. :)I remember also her getting so mad at us when we would go in and out of the house. She would say that we were letting all the cold air out of the house. She would also pay us a quarter to "mash" her feet and hands. We would always do it, although I don't ever remember getting paid. :)

MeeMaw had the best neighbors in the world. The Sellers. They lived up on top of the hill and had a pool. During the summer she would always take us up there to swim. Of course we had to wait 30 minutes after lunch to make sure we didn't cramp up. :) Also the Sellers owned a bakery in town. She would take us down to the bakery and Virgil would let us pick out any donut/cookie that we wanted. We thought we were really cool!

We planted strawberries out back in the pasture, hunted easter eggs every year, and spent many an aftenoon on the old tire swing under the BIG tree down by the garden. MeeMaw always had her cabinets stocked with pringles, moonpies of every flavor, and cornflakes. The freezer always contained fudgesicles. Every meal came complete with a big ole' pitcher of SWEET tea. I think she put at least a cup of sugar if not two in her tea. She was also a fabulous cook. Most of it was fried, but it was GOOD! Some of the family favorites are her potato salad and chocolate pie. My cousin Pam can make the potato salad, and I mastered the chocolate pie. You know the important things in life. Also, when I was older we rented the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, and fried some green tomatoes while we watched the movie.

These are just some of the many memories that I have with my MeeMaw. I'm sure I will think of more and add them to this blog as I do. I am so blessed to have such a Jesus loving grandma. I will miss her greatly, but know I will see her again. I'm sure she is dancing away. She liked to do that too. :) One day in our kitchen she grabbed the lid to a pan and started doing some kind of jig. She did is just to make us laugh. :) She got her laugh.

She would always tell me "Don't get old" (Like I have a choice) She said it's no fun to get old and have arthritis. Well MeeMaw, You are no longer old! You are all new and perfect! We will miss you, but will see you sooner than we know. LOVE YOU!!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll love ya tomorrow.....

KG has totally fallen in love with little orphan Annie. She got the movie for Christmas and wants to watch it every chance she gets. We often catch her running around the house singing Tomorrow at the top of her lungs. Another favorite song of hers is "Dumb dog, why are you followin' me? I ain't. Dumb Dog" That's the only line she knows of that song. We will have to work on it. :) I got her to "sit" still long enough to sing Dumb Dog and Tomorrow for you. We normally don't allow jumping on the bed, but I didn't think me getting on to her would add to the cuteness of the video. It's a little dark, but you can still see. :) Enjoy!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Waking up to a fun Valentine surprise!
KG and her little friends at "her" Valentine's party.
CT and one of his buddies from school.
Happy Valentine's Day!!

This morning the kids were so excited that it was Valentine's Day and KG was just positive they were having a party at Wee-School just for her. :) When the kids got up they had balloons and a little surprise waiting for them at the breakfast table. My mom used to do that for us, so I thought I would carry on the tradition. We ate cinnamon rolls and then headed off to Wee-School. On the way out the door, T told KG he liked her dress. She informed him that it was not a dress it was her Balentimes Day Outfit. :) They had a great time at school and got enough sugar to last us the rest of the year.

Motorcycle Mania

Vroom! Vroom!
Karla and KG on the motorcycle.
CT getting ready to ride.
"Wook ate me Mommy, Wook at me!"
CT and KG jumping. It was so hard to get her to say in the middle. Luckily no one fell off.

Yesterday the weather was so pretty that we could not stay inside any longer. Plus it was hotter in the house than it was outside, and who turns on the AC in February? Well, I did but it stunk so bad that I turned it off. :) ha! So we opened some windows. We went over to the neighbor's house to see how many dangerous toys we could play on. The kids were taking turns jumping on the trampoline, while Karla was giving rides on the motorcycle. KG LOVED the motorcycle. She kept saying, "Faster, Faster, Faster." CT had a good time on it too. Today is back to winter weather and rain. It was fun while it lasted.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

CT and KG pumped about playing in the snow!
KG not quite sure about all of this.

CT figuring out how to make a snowball.
Coming after mommy with the snowballs.
KG thinks its lots of fun to throw snow at mommy. ;)
CT excited he found something he can throw at people and not get into trouble.
Our Snowman. This snow was GREAT snow for snowball fights and making a snowman.

It started snowing this morning and it's still snowing here. It is so pretty! The kids were super excited to get out and play in it. As we were walking out the door CT proclaims, "This is the best time I've ever had in my life. I've never did this before." OK we will work on the grammar later. They had a blast figuring out how to make snowballs and throwing them at each other. KG got mad when she got hit with one. She would say, "Don't frow dat at me." She didn't have a problem throwing them at me and CT though. :) CT was none to happy that we had to come in, but they were getting cold and it was time for a nap. I hope it sticks around for awhile.