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Madison’s Aunt Amy gave her a swimming pool as part of her 3rd birthday gift and Madison certainly has enjoyed it.  Today after I got home from work I watched Madison playing and just had to grab the camera and snap some pictures and these are 3 of the best ones.

The first picture shows Madison when she first got into the pool and as you can see,  the water was just a bit chilly, but in the next 2 pictures she had gotten use to the water and was having a great time.  She sure is a cutie and wanted GranGran to get in with her, but I had to tell her that it is a ‘kiddie pool’, not a GranGran size pool.  Maybe one of these days we can put in a pool that we can all enjoy. 

Love you Madison and have a great childhood.

A few days ago I left Madison sitting on the couch watching TV while I was cleaning in the kitchen and when I went back to check on her she had disappeared.  I felt sure that she was in the office with Papaw Rick, but nope, she wasn’t there.  Finally, after hearing a giggle I found her at the end of the hallway which leads to our bedrooms, sitting in the corner playing with her doll.  I ran to grab the camera and when I came back to take a picture I found her laying on the blanket and if I had not known better, I would have thought that she was sound asleep.  Nope…she was playing ‘possum’.  She is sooooo adoreable and a great little actress.  Just so happens the door she is laying in front of is the bedroom where she sleeps as does her sissy Olivia and Aunt Amy when they sleep over.  Love ya Madison!!

As seen in the previous writing, Olivia has spruced up her hair and Madison calls her either “Rainbow” or “Skittles”.  Olivia really loves her new coloring and the rest of use like to tease her about it.  I figure she is a teen-ager for a short while, so let her have a few things that are out of the ordinary.

The first time Rick saw her hair he told her that she looked like she had been standing in a ‘paint store’ underneath a ladder and the paint cans had fallen on her.  She just made one of those “you’re crazy’ looks and went on her way.

No matter what color the hair I will always love and be proud of Olivia and probably continue teasing her as long as I live.

As a 15 year old Olivia has become just a bit picky about who she lets hug and give her kisses, but Madison loves to give and receive them still (most of the time).   As you can see, Olivia still loves getting hugs and kisses from her sissy as much as Madison loves to give them.

A couple of days ago Olivia decided to have her hair spruced up a bit and she has now acquired the nickname of “Rainbow” or “Skittles” which she seems to be enjoying, and Madison is quick to correct anyone who says she has red hair…it is STRAWBERRY BLONDE.

Those two girls are so very precious and I never realized I could love any kids as much as I do my daughters Amy and Tami until Olivia and Madison came along.  I thank God every day for letting me be Mom to two great girls and GranGran to two fantastic granddaughters.  And Papaw Rick is just as proud of all of them.

Mrs. Gay Helton is one of our most precious friends, along with her son Teddy and his wife Phyllis.  From the time we first met them we felt as if they were family and Rick and I thank God for sending us such great folks into our lives.  The three of them live the true meaning of what a christian should be.

Unfortunately Mrs Helton had a very serious fall and broke her hip a few weeks ago, so she isn’t getting around very well right now.  We pray for her quick recovery and when she is up and about again I’m certain she will be out doing the things she loves most.  While visiting her this past Saturday, Phyllis asked if we had seen the picture of her wearing a wig and when we  hadn’t she emailed the above picture.  I loved it so much that I just had to get her permission to use it here.  This was taken recently at the Bristol Mall before a “Pickin’ Porch” show and it shows just the type of lady Mrs Helton is…full of fun as well as a serious lady.

The next picture shows Mrs Helton just as you see her everyday when she is not being funny and all this from a lady that has been on this earth over 90 years. And the third picture is Teddy and Phyllis, who always have a smile on their faces (I won’t tell their ages).

We love you and your family and hope you get to feeling better real soon…and thanks to the three of you for being such great friends.

Madison is always changing clothes and loves to dress up, mostly in her own clothing, but a few days ago I had left one of my shirts laying beside my computer.  As you can see, Madison decided to wear it for a while and I have to say that even though it is rather large on her, she still looks cute as can be.  You never know what that little red-head is going to be doing, but it will always be interesting for sure.

Rick and I were in our kitchen this morning and I was getting ready to leave for work when we heard a loud noise and soon realized that a bird had hit the glass on our door going outside onto our back patio.  There sat one bird and just a few inches from it was another lying on its back.  I just knew it had been injured so badly that it would be singing with the birds in heaven.  It appeared that the other one was watching over it and was not about to move, even as I approached the door.  I walked away and told Rick that when the one flew away that he would have to move the deceased one.

Well……I walked back into another room and a few minutes later checked to see if the bird had left and found both sitting facing each other, but still neither of them moved as I approached the door.  I left the area again and then approached the door and the one took one look toward me as I snapped the first picture and then flew off into an apple tree.  The injured bird was still sitting alone when I went outside to go to work and Rick came back inside and took a picture of the injured bird and he said it sat there for a few minutes later and then joined its friend in the apple tree.

I’m certainly happy that this little fellow survived its head-on collision with our door and wish it a very long and happy life in our back yard.  I don’t know what breed of birds they are, but they certainly appeared to be caring about each other (Rick said may be young doves).

As a 15 year old Olivia’s dress style is not exactly what I would like, but she is a teenager and as such she will probably have several styles thru the next few years.  Some of those I will love and some I will not be so fond of, but I will love Olivia, no matter what.  She recently graduated from middle school and received some money as gifts and never would she think of saving some of it…it just might burn a hole in her pocket.  She ran a little short of having enough to pay for these hot pink boots, so her mom and I helped her.  They are not my favorite, but I’m sure she could have found something I would hate more.  As long as Olivia likes them I suppose that is all that matters.  Love ya Olivia !!!

I do believe that Madison got some of that “Cook” talent (and some from her Dad also) as she is shown playing her keyboard and singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.  She loves singing and we love hearing her and hope that she continues to love it as she matures.  She has 3 favorite songs which are “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, “Jesus Loves Me” and “The B-I-B-L-E” and she can’t stop at singing one of them at a time, but has to sing them all before stopping and they are sung in that order.  Keep up the singing Madison…love ya.

It seems only yesterday that I was holding Olivia in my arms as a newborn and being so happy and proud to have her as my very first granddaughter.  Now she is maturing into a very special young lady and I’m still just as proud of her (believe me that will never change).  Tonight she went from being a middle school student and this fall will enter the high school stage of life.  She graduated from EB Stanley Middle School and will begin her high school years attending Abingdon High School.

The first picture shows Olivia receiving her certificate of graduation and the second picture shows her leaving the ceremony and her friend Alexis is following behind.  They are not sisters or even related, but they do have the same last name which is Hall.  Congratulations girls…Papaw Rick and I love you Olivia and are so proud of you!!!