The Golden 50th

Last Saturday, we responded to this invitation by joining in the celebration.

Upon receiving the invitation, my first thought was, "What a wonderful way to celebrate!  Combining the anniversary celebrations! Excellent idea!  Cut down costs, only requiring a trip made once by loved ones, etc.  That's a great idea!  Wonder if it would work for Donnie & Steph's anniversary celebration to combine with ours?"  (I've since decided it would not be so ideal; we don't live in the same town nor go to the same church like my cousins Aubrey and Dean. Otherwise....)

Aubrey and Dean were quite a bit older than Donnie and me.  Their dad, Arvin (my dad's oldest brother), was 12 years older that my dad, who was the youngest in that family.  I was 6 years old when Aubrey and Janice married.  If memory serves me correctly, Bernita and Dean were married by the Justice of the Peace...in other words, they snuck off to get married.  On January 1?  Cool!  But Bernita mentioned that she had a milestone birthday coming up.  (It can't be 60, because I'll be 57 in a month...so it must be 70?  How can that be??!!  ...and she's probably the youngest of the honorees... Wow!)

Anyway, all that bird-walking to say my real message:  I come from a really awesome family.  I've had a rich heritage and many awesome examples of what it means to be a part of a committed and God-centered marriage.  I remember writing a card to Nanny (my mom's mom) the Christmas before Bob and I married in which I was thanking her for the example she and Pampa had left for us.  (They actually celebrated their 70th anniversary before death separated them!)

Granny and Grandad (my dad's parents) celebrated their 50th in December 1961 (if the information I gleaned from Saturday's celebration is correct.)  That means that the "new" dishes in my cabinet which my grandmother received on that anniversary are now over 50 years old!  Whoa!  My grandad died 4 years later which prevented them from celebrating anymore milestone anniversaries.

My mom and dad celebrated their 59th anniversary on July 6, 2008 before my dad's death in August of that year.

On Bob's side of the family...his parents were prevented from celebrating their Golden 50th by his dad's death in 1973.  (I think that's the date.)  I also believe that his Oma and Opa (his mom's parents) were kept away from that event by the death of Oma.  (Don't you just love that their names were German for Grandma and Grandpa?)  ...and there's a picture... of Grandmother and Grandfather Spies celebrating their 40th or 50th with the cake on "the" table.  (If/when I come across that photo, I'll insert it. The table now resides in Ira and Kelley's home.)  But I do know that death separated that dear couple also.

All that to say I'm very thankful for this example which has pervaded my whole way of thinking in the midst of a world where things other than death are often the cause of the termination of marriages.  Hopefully, by the grace of God, Bob and I will continue this rather sacred heritage.  This would be an awesome way to be an inspiration to our children and grandchildren...  July 23 will mark 35 years!  The best 35 years of my life!  I'm very blessed....

Hot Caps

I'm here at home at 11:30 on a Tuesday morning. It is 20 degrees outside and we have snow flurries. You guessed it: A Snow Day! (Actually, it's more of a sleet/ice day.)

My sweet little, hard-working, organic-farming husband worked so hard last weekend for this:



What you're seeing here is 102 broccoli, 25 lettuce, and 25 spinach plants all tucked neatly under their "hot caps". (Plus an abundance of onion plants--for all but you, Chris!)

Last year, Bob remembered that his grandfather had used "hotcaps" in his garden and did a little internet research and found a site that sold them. He used them last year and was able to plant early, avoid freeze and frost damage, and harvest a bit early. He tried it again this year: Planted on a day in late January--the 28th-- when the the temperatures were close to 80...and then the next week (whoops!): well, we're expecting a low of 9 degrees tomorrow night... Hmmm....will the hot caps be "hot" enough?? We're gonna have to wait and see!

The "story" behind all of this?

Well, I was visiting a bit with Aunt Ruby (that's Gwe-Gwe's [Bob's mother] sister) last spring. I had just assumed that Bob's grandfather from which he had the memories was Opah (Bob's mom's dad). But, it wasn't! It was Grandpa Spies.

Turns out that Grandpa Spies made part of his living by selling produce to the stores in town: The earlier you were able to harvest things like broccoli, lettuces, and tomatoes, the higher price you could expect. So, I'm thinking Grandpa Spies was quite progressive in his thinking and his risk-taking...way to go Grandpa! Hope it works in Glen Rose, Texas in 2011, too!

I hope to find a picture of Grandpa Spies to add to this post...

An addendum:
Bob added his additional memories: He said his Grandpa and Granny Spies had this little business after their "retirement". They sold their farm in Carmine and moved to Brenham where Grandpa farmed the lot and 2 others (about an acre in all) and sold his produce to the grocery stores. The "hot caps" were his ticket to being one of the first to be able to deliver fresh, home-grown tomatoes to the stores.

Bob also added that while his Grandpa and Granny still lived on the farm, his Grandpa had a "giant" broiler house. (How big is "giant" to a kid?) No need to wonder any longer why Bob Spies has this drive to raise chickens and garden....

Flower Fix

The date is August 23, 2010.
It is my first day of full-time teaching after taking off for a year and a half to care for my mom and recoup after her death and the death of my mother-in-law.
About half way through the day, the secretary brought me this:



Gotta share the story with you:
About 8 years ago, I had to move from my comfortable little job of Content Mastery teacher into a not-so-comfortable job as 3rd grade classroom teacher. (Actually, I guess the phraseology should be that I got to make the move; but believe me, I just wasn't feeling it!)

Even though I was very stressed about this change, I did not feel that I had any right to complain about it. My prayer had always been that I could stay out of the classroom (and away from the extra demand of time and expense that it requires) as long as I had children at home. I was reassigned the summer after Jodi graduated from high school. Kind of hard to respond (outloud anyway) with anything but, "Thank you, God!"

After watching me agonize day after day, night after night, and weekend after weekend over my job and all the responsibility of getting those 3rd graders to pass the TAKS test, my sweet husband came up with the perfect Christmas gift. He arranged for the local florist to deliver flowers to me at school every two weeks for the remainder of the school year. Oh, how that brightened up my day and life! (and probably his, too!)

I suppose I showed my appreciation adequately, because he then gave me a Mother's Day gift of flowers for the Fall. He has continued to arrange for my "fix" of fresh flowers to be delivered to me at school each subsequent year, interrupted only by my time at home.

Yes, I enjoy the flowers. They remind me of a beautiful life outside of school. And I love it when people ask me about the flowers. I get a chance to brag on my sweet, thoughtful husband.

Love you, Bobby!