My mom was a dreamer with none of them realized because with 9 kids ,dreams seem to fade ,espically in those years .

My dad was a builder/stone mason and could play the fiddle ,banjo ,guitar,piano ....well... you name it and he could play it.He was a Fiddle Playing Champion in our area for years in all the contests .He said he would stop the day he lost and he taught a boy to play ,lost to him a few years later ,so he entered no more contest .That was my dad .

I ,being the eldest had the responsibility to take care of all my brothers and sisters .I wanted a cat .I got 8 siblings .I helped with baths and feeding and brushed all the hair and one day I cut all the girls hair off ." A new style " I told my mom after the fireworks settled down . the truth was I was just tired of  brushing and trying to keep neat all that hair .

When I was about 14 I started singing in a Family Gospel group ,toured all the nearby churches  in several different states.For a long time we sang live every Sunday on a Local radio station .Music was a large part of my life and still is ,my favorites are older rock and roll( the 50s and 60s  and classical ,Bach ,Betoven and others ,my roots are in Gospel,country ,blues . .Gradually I went into Country music and sang with another Uncle at a Dance every Friday and Saturday night .

I was married at 18 the first time ...lasted 16 yrs ..A bummer from the start .We divorced and I moved to Texas .There I met my now husband Robert .Proud Texan with a romantic streak and a love for his family and friends that is rare in men ,(or so I am told by women )LOL !

In our Wedding picture above I was 35 .The next picture was just about 6 yrs ago .I was 45.Boy have I changed in the last few years !

We moved back to Alabama and settled on "family land " .We live on top of a mountain ,overlooking the Tennessee River and there are still some old Apple trees ,Peach trees and grape vines that my family used on the farm that still give us the sweetest peaches , apples and grapes each year .

My family is considered a "first family "  ,as they settled the area amoung the first settlers here .We are proud to be who we are . The street I live on has our family name .

I have a long abiding love for animals ,espically dogs and cats .(Yes ,I finally got a cat ,several of them ) .As a child we had a collie and his name (yes a he ) was Lassie .Weren't they all ? I remember the first movie I went to see with my first date (too young to date so we were left at the Theatre by parents ,a group of us ) .Flipper was the movie and I was thrilled !

I love to fish ,sing ,play the piano  and autoharp ,paint ,write essays and poems and be a wife and mother and friend and I LOVE my Dogs and Cats and my birds.I hate to cook ,clean or sew ...not a good thing for me to do as I just had rather be with the animals .My Grandmother once told me " Be what you want to be ,do what you want to do ,you won't  be happy no other way "She always did what she wanted and never looked back .Had a temper that could rival anyand  was a big influence on me .I miss her a great deal .

I was a mischievious child ,always asking questions ,looking for something new ,searching for an answer .I am still that way .

Special Note :

Coming soon will be pictures of Misty and her baby boy Seth .Misty is a neice of mine that lived with us after my sister  Ronda was killed in a car accident .Adam is my nephew that I rasied  from the time he was a baby .I get so many people that say "Adam looks like his dad " Robert is just the kind man that Adam calls "Dad" .Adam's dad died when he was a baby and my sister  Shelia could not take care of him ,so he moved to Texas with me and has been a great joy and pain (as all children are) to me ever since .Those that  do not know me ask why I raised a neice and nephew and not any of my own .I was one of those that was not blessed with the ability to have children .So ,God granted me the loan of these two and I feel as if they were my own .A mother is the person that raises you ,cares for you , laughs and cries with you and for you .Adam and Misty are my children ,if only in my heart .

I have many other neices and nephews ...13 more .Then I have 1 great neice and 1 great nephew .

On Roberts side of the family I have 2 neices and 2 nephews ,1 great neice ,one great nephew and 2 step neices .

I also have some special friends in my life ,saying hi and God Bless to

Linda,Lisa,Cindy ,Debbie ,(Jamie ,Courtney (my babies  and children of close friends in Texas ) and to all the people that have poos from Poo-4-U ..you are my family also and I am proud that you are .

Also ..I will never forget ...Verlon Lemaster ...Chief of Police here at Grant ,shot and killed by 2 teens from another area .Good friend and dear to my heart .All the community here loved him as all had known him and his kindness from childhood .Special note to him " I think of you each day  and when we meet again ,I won't forget to wave "

And a note to my sister Ronda " I hope you can see what a beautiful grandson you have ,I miss you "

 

PS .....HI Cora ! See you in group talk !