Life on Taylor Street

Who are these people? And where do they fit in?

2010-10-06T21:26:00.004-04:00

All three of these photos were given to Big Daddy by a distant cousin. They were in an envelope marked, "Espy family". Nobody knows anything else about them. One thing's for sure, though, that last one sure does look like Goon, don't it?

The first 2 are on some sort of heavy paper with a matte frame over top of it. The last one is on some sort of metal, tin maybe? I am guessing it is much older than the other 2. You can't really tell it, but in the last picture his cheeks have been tinted pink.

The picture of the woman did not turn out well, not sure how to lighten it up. She and the older man both have the same eyes. The piercing Espy eyes that Goon had, that Carole, Mary and Katie have.

Wish I had a clue who they are!

YAY BABS! So proud of ya!!!!!!!

2010-05-15T17:57:00.000-04:00

2010-05-15T17:54:00.000-04:00

2010-05-15T17:45:00.000-04:00

2010-04-18T16:26:00.000-04:00

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2010-04-18T16:18:00.000-04:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T19:52:00.002-04:00

The Quilt

2009-11-16T19:31:00.001-05:00

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us, laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty,like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame.. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes. Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes,creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes.

He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!

2009-11-15T21:04:00.001-05:00

Saw Nana today and talked to both her and Goon about how I want turkey for Thanksgiving even though I know she and Goon are just planning on making ham. Long story short, I am bringing a turkey. I am going to bake it in the oven, not deep fry it like the boys do it.

Katie left to go back to Jacksonville, but not before she made me a batch of broccoli casserole. That stuff was purty gooooooood. I ate three helpings as a snack while watching tv.

Only a few more days before Joey leaves :(

2009-10-30T15:08:00.002-04:00

A man is walking home alone late one foggy night when behind him he hears bump... Bump... Bump... BUMP... Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him. Bump... Bump... BUMP... Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him Faster... Faster... FASTER... Bump... Bump... BUMP... BUMP... He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him. However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping... clappity-bump... clappity-BUMP... clappity-BUMP... on his heels. The terrified man runs. Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps. With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door. Bumping and clapping toward him... bump... Bump... BUMP... The man screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup. Desperate, he throws it at the casket, and, finally... the coffin stops.

2009-09-15T22:18:00.002-04:00

Went to the doctor today. Not much fun. I hurt my leg pretty bad last week and it keeps getting worse. Gave me muscle relaxers - which I cannot take while I work so they are pretty much useless! The good news is my leg should be better in another week or two (as if that is a good thing, 10-14 more days of pain !?!?!?!?!?!?). The bad news is that my bathroom scales and the doctor's scales are off by a little over 15 pounds so I am even fatter than I realized! Which is pretty bad considering I hurt my leg EXERCISING! Geeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz.

2009-09-06T19:07:00.001-04:00

Joey has a new name - Possum Rassler!

BUMMER

2009-08-05T20:58:00.002-04:00

Well, today was not a great day. Over the last few weeks Pepper has been going down hill. So, today after work I took her to the vet and had her euthanized. I hated to do it, but it was time. The Vet tech that was there seemed to think so, too. I am gonna miss her. She was the greatest dog that ever lived. Bummer. Big time.

WELCOME TREY!

2009-08-05T20:56:00.002-04:00

Hey there little buddy, and welcome to the outside world! I am so glad you're here. I am looking forward to the day you come to Nonna's and I feed you all kinds of things your mom doesn't allow! We are gonna have lots of fun over the next few decades! Make Mom bring you to visit often - and don't forget - you get to hunt Easter eggs in my field. Don't worry - I'll make them VERY easy for you to find!

2009-05-24T19:15:00.002-04:00

WOOHOO! The kids are back from their dad's. They flew in to Atlanta this morning. Katie came home with me, but Joey stayed behind so that he could go to a job interview on Tuesday. This would be a great job for him if he could get it.

This is the last week of school and I am leaving for vacation on Friday morning. YAY ME!

Josh's Birthday

2009-03-31T18:30:00.002-04:00

Josh's birthday is this weekend. Can you believe he is going to be 15 already?!? WOW! Where did the time go?

We are having a birthday party for him this Sunday, the 5th, at our house. Get here around 1 p.m. or just come straight on from church. We will have lunch and cake and just hang out.

The only thing he wants for his birthday is either money to put toward a pair of Chuck Taylors he wants, or sheet music for his keyboard. Used/printed off the internet for free is fine with him.

HAHAHA! GOTCHA!

2009-02-01T14:21:00.009-05:00

Well, Kathryn and I got to pull a really great fast one on Aimee and Tracy yesterday. We conned them in to coming over to the house to spend the day hanging out. What they didn't know, tho, was that Geoff, Maggie and Faith were coming in from West Virginia! Boy were they surprised!

We are spending today at Tracy and Kathryn's for a Super Bowl party.

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!

Hey Kathryn...

2009-01-19T19:59:00.002-05:00

Hey... just in case Tracy forgets to tell you... I took 2 bags of stuff over to the news office. One bag has a bunch of socks in it. The ones on top will probably fit Pink. The ones on bottom should fit the boys. I don't think any of them have been worn at all. The other bag has underwear in it. They are probably still too big for David, but I couldn't see throwing them away when they were brand new. There may be one or two pairs that were worn once or twice, but I doubt you can tell it. I was cleaning out Josh's drawers when I came across all of them.

I layed them on the light table, so you may have to go get them if he doesn't bring them home in the next day or two!

2009-01-04T21:07:00.002-05:00

Ok, Kathryn. You said I should post something on here because I haven't in so long... so here it is.

2008-12-04T21:06:00.001-05:00

Giggle! Giggle! I know your secret! I am SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-21T22:52:00.002-05:00

Ok, so Turkey Day is just a few days away. I talked to Nana the other night and this is what I am bringing: Slaw (both with and without tomatoes), Banana Pudding (OF COURSE! Pink wouldn't let me in the house if I didn't bring it!), cranberry jelly stuff, a cake of some sort and brussel sprouts.

Katie hopes that Uncle Tray and Aunt Kat will bring Cherry Delight (hint! hint!).

Katie swears she is not buttering rolls this year, but I think she should have that job at least a few more years, until Chloe is tall enough to take over the task.

I don't have a clue what time we are supposed to be there. Anyone have any idea?

2008-10-11T22:11:00.000-04:00

We went to the Enchanted Maize at Rock City today. It was really fun. The hay ride was pretty great, too. Josh and I decided the smell of the hay reminded us of being at Poppy's.

Yesterday at school Josh decided that the stitches were inconvenient, so he borrowed a pair of scissors from his friend and took them out. Unfortunately, either his finger wasn't as healed as we thought or it was cut much deeper than we realized because his cut gaped back open :( It's pretty gross. Went to the WalMart and bought some butterfly bandages and put a couple of them on it. I am gonna give it a day or two and see what happens.

2008-10-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

I went and picked Joey up today after I got off work. He has been in Atlanta all week wrapping up a few details at GA Tech. He had to fill out paperwork to let the school know he is done with his coursework and ready for his degree. Of course, no trip to Atlanta is complete without eating at the Varsity! As usual, their bacon cheeseburger was pretty good.

Josh has an away game tomorrow night and is going to ride Alan's bus. There are 3 buses, and they are all good drivers, but I always feel better knowing he is on Alan's bus. It also helps to know that he is going to keep an eye on Josh for me.

Today is day 8, so the stitches can come out any time. His finger doesn't look that healed, so I am going to wait and take them out Saturday morning. I still get the creepy feeling just thinking about it.

Saturday afternoon we are going to Rock City to the Enchanted Maze with the youth group from the church across the street. Josh really likes them and they have really reached out to the whole family. It is a good church. We have visited there several times. It is not necessarily the type church I would choose, but Josh is very happy there, so I can deal with it. They are very nice and he is preaching the word, so I guess that is all that counts.

I had fun at Aimee and Daniel's the other day and wonder when we are going to get back together for a little more Cranium?!?!?

This Evening

2008-09-30T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well, this evening around 6 p.m. Joey and I were polishing his resume, getting it ready to send to one of his professors at Tech. She has connections and has offered to help him. Josh comes in and says, "Mom, Oh, My God! You gotta see this!" I'm like, "See what?" He said, "This!" and held out his thumb. Which was split open on the end. Turns out he had cut it with his pocket knife while trying to saw a tree limb.

It was bleeding like crazy so we went to Redmond. The doctor could only put 3 stitches in it. He showed me where it is cut right beside the nail, but he didn't want to have to put a stitch through the nail so he said if Josh just babies it (Yeah right!) then it should heal up okay. Josh has to wear a bandage on it for a few days to keep it clean.

The doctor said the stitches should come out in 8 - 10 days, so I guess I will see you next Thursday for stitch removal, Uncle Pink.

This Weekend

2008-09-21T15:15:00.001-04:00

This weekend has been pretty good. Joey has been with Goon since Thursday night, helping with the SCV reenactment in Chickamauga. Josh has been very pleasant and polite. I have been a complete couch potato!

My new tv was sitting on the porch waiting for me when I came home from work Friday! YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY! I had forgotten just how much I love to sit and mindlessly stare at the stupid thing!

I talked to Katie and she has moved into a room with Megan, so all is well and she is happy.

Gotta go. Time for another episode of CSI !

FINALLY!

2008-09-17T20:10:00.001-04:00

Welp, I have FINALLY gotten a new tv. My old one died about a week ago and I have been using a gifted one since then. It has great color, but it being a 15" from the 1980s, it only shows channels up to 13. Everything after that is scrambled!

Thank goodness Walmart.com had a good sale going on! Now, if they would just hurry up and ship it. It is supposed to be here by Saturday, but I want it NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kudos to Katie for finding the best bargain!

Thank you Pink

2008-09-17T20:10:00.000-04:00

Hey Pink! Thanks for your help with my cards. That saved me about a kabillion hours of mindless work!

I know It's Tomorrow

2008-09-10T23:03:00.000-04:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO YOU
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO YOU
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY PINK AND KATHRYN
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TOOOOOO YYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Ok, so I know your anniversary is tomorrow the 11th, but I wanted to get this out in time for you to see it. So, happy anniversary you two.

September 7

2008-09-07T22:18:00.000-04:00

This is a very important week for Joey. They are having a job fair at Georgia Tech this week so he has gone to stay with JB in Atlanta so that he can attend. He told me he has enjoyed just lounging around for the last week or two, but that he is ready to go ahead and get a job and get on with life. I guess the newness of being a college graduate has worn off already! He has a few job prospects here in town, not for a career job, but for a source of income until he finds "the job".

Joey passed his driving test yesterday and is now a licensed driver! Yippee! He is thinking about how he can now drive to Tony's or Zach's or work farther away than Lyerly Highway. I am thinking now I can send him to Save-A-Lot for milk and bread or whatever!

Katie didn't get to room with Meagan this year. It seems they forgot to file the paperwork in time last year. But, they did file for a room transfer and it looks like they are going to let them move in a week or two. I am not sure which one's roommate will move, but one of them will swap so that they are together. Katie is pretty excited about it.

Josh is enjoying band and loves high school. I think Ag class is his favorite. He has always loved growing things. He is talking about going to college for horticulture. I think that would be fine. As long as he goes, I am happy.

Joey and I took Josh to the Rheumatologist in Atlanta this week. She said he is doing well and doesn't have to come back for 6 months. She also said that his shoulder and one of his knees appears to be improving. Yippee!

2008-09-07T22:17:00.000-04:00

Hey there world! It seems like everyone else I know has a blog, so maybe it is time I did, too.