What? Where? When? How?

2011-07-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

I love summer! Summer is a time of fun for the family. Don't get me wrong because we have special times all seasons of the year but summer seems to provide more opportunity to get together. Days are longer and warmer for outdoors activities.

One of our special times this summer was the 4th of July weekend.

We were all together for the long weekend. We swam, we ate, we fed the fish at the lake and just enjoyed each other's company. The kids loved just being together.

ANTICIPATION!!

2011-02-17T05:30:00.001-08:00

Today we are traveling to Decatur, Il to see our other two grandchildren (ok, and their parents, Ha, ha). We have had several days of great weather and managed dust off the clubs and play several rounds of golf and today will be the best weather of all. Nice day for travel to Decatur. I hope the warm weather will follow us up.

Speaking of Decatur, it's amazing how quickly our children grow up. It seems like almost yesterday when we were rushing up to meet our little baby girl being born and I'm referring to Isabelle and now she's 4 years old.

Now we have another, Adalyn and she brings us so much joy.

Addy is the youngest at 9 months and she and her big sister are a delight to be around. It seems she grows a ton from each time we see her and we try to see her each month. She is now crawling, eating meat (even though she doesn't like meat very much as the video above will testify). She laughs a lot, plays with her big sister and loves to take naps with her daddy. Yes, Addy is such a joyful addition to our family.

Frankie's first basket!

Just another side note, Our 5 year old grandson just made his first basket in a basketball game. As a matter of fact, he made 3. Frankie is full of energy and always ready to play. We usually practice with him on Wednesdays when his Mom is working at her real estate job. We knew it was just a matter of time.

Later...

GFP

OK, so enough of this snow (but)

2011-01-29T06:18:00.000-08:00

I love golf and this winter hasn't been a golf friendly winter in Franklin. I even tried to play in Florida but the winter cold and wind followed me there too.

But, since I'm not in control of the winter or the temperatures I've decided to enjoy the day no matter what the weather brings and with that I find even more blessings of life.

We had another snow this past week and with our grandchildren out of school, we decided to have a play day in the snow. We had a wonderful day walking with the dogs, throwing snowballs, exploring the woods, and finally enjoying a "hot" cup of chocolate. It was a great day and we enjoyed our little ones so much. I have shared some of the pictures on my facebook account but here are some additional ones I snapped.

Our dog Max (the basset) has bad feet, bad back, and besides that, a little lazy. He loves the beginning of the walk but after just a few minutes he starts lagging back. On the other hand, Misty (the miniature dachshund) is always ready for a walk (run - her legs are shorter). She's a leader and will not be left behind. Our grandchildren love to take them for walks, especially in the snow.

The fish were scarce this day but we still had fun walking, running and just hanging out.

Well, I hope you got the idea. We love having our over. It is such a blessing to watch them grow and explore and have fun.

More later...

GFP

My Wall of Love

2010-03-14T05:13:00.001-07:00

As you can tell from browsing my facebook profile, pages you will note I love pictures and video. I even have a special wall where I hang "Special" pictures, drawings, or other projects created by my grandchildren. It's special to me and provides me memories of special days and occasions with my family. Well We just had another special day in the birth of my new granddaughter, Adalyn Malia Patterson. Adalyn came as no surprise but she did surprise us on the day she was born. During the pregnancy it was discovered that her mommy, Kristin, had a condition which prevented a natural birth and c-section was in order. The date was all set and we were prepared to go up on a certain date and come back several days later after everything had settled down. Then the condition cleared up and back to the original due date (estimated of course) but God decided he was ready to present his new creation to the world. That created a little excitement (even to the extent of not getting the name correct on a hurried phone call from our son). After sending our numerous emails with the incorrect name, we found our error (on facebook believe it or not) and tried to resend corrections all around. Anyway it was a blessed day and we are so excited to have the newest addition to our family.

Welcome to the world Adalyn. We have loved you even before you were born (Ps. 139:14 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well) but we love you even more now. We look forward watching you grow up and seeing what plan our Heavenly Father (For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11) has for you. A special plan that only "you" can fulfill. We will watch every day to see this blessed plan.

I love you Adalyn.

Granddaddy

Looking Forward To a New Golf Season

2010-02-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

It's currently sunny out side but the thermometer reminds me that spring hasn't sprung yet. With all the talk about global warming, I think I heard somewhere that we are experiencing one of the coldest winters on record. However, my golf clubs are all clean, my power caddy is all charged up and I'm all set for what I am expecting to be a fantastic summer at Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tn. (http://www.golfwesthaven.com/)

It seems I have been waiting for a while to be able to enjoy what Golf Magazine has rated one of the greatest golf courses in the country. I've watched this course from it's inception and watched as Mr. Arthur Hills meticulously manipulated the construction to see his creativity become a reality. In the early stages of construction I regularly road my bicycle over the layout observing the changes and literally watched as the course blossomed into shape.

It was amazing watching as the rolling fields of Historic Franklin became luscious manicured fairways and greens for our new golf course. Eighteen holes of terror or elation, depending on how you play the hole. But all in all a golfer's paradise where the only disturbance may be a deer running out of the neighboring woods or the flutter of wild turkeys frolicking in the neighboring greenland - (notice I didn't mention houses or highly traffic areas near the course).

This video will give you a glimpse of the early stages of the course under construction.

This is a view of number one tee moving southwest from the clubhouse area. With four tees , a challenge for any level golfer. The key is to hit a nice drive to enable you to see the green for your approach.

Same view looking from number one tee after completion.

Historic wall guards the elevated green from golf carts.

Wow! Am I excited. Although like I said previously, it's 40 degrees now but the calendar assures me that in a few weeks I will be walking my five miles +, enjoying the birds singing in the trees and the beautiful eruption of spring all around while enjoying one of the greatest games ever invented.

Getting ready for Golf - FORE!!

It's going to be a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are Jan. 6th of a new decade (2010). I guess I need time to reflect on my blessings as we all tend to dwell on the shortcomings of each other rather than the positive things. We don't like the government, or the way someone just cut us off in traffic, or gas prices... well you get my drift.

I just wanted to post this thought of BLESSINGS as we start off the new year. I am truly blessed! Especially with My Family. My family is most special to me and I am truly thankful for the Christmas we had this year. I loved watching the kids waking up at 4:30 am, just to be sent back to bed for another two hours (even though they couldn't sleep). It was fun waking to the sound of my Granddaughter racing into our bedroom at 6:30 am exclaiming that Santa had been in our house and we must get up and see what he brought. I must say that our days we shared with our family during the holidays were SPECIAL to me and I look forward to the next time we can all be under the same roof for the next special occasion. I hope that I can keep this same spirit of appreciation of how God has richly blessed me and my family. We intend to enjoy each moment and cherish the special times we have in 2010.

2 Cor. 9:15

My New Golf Club

2009-02-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

With spring approaching and more warm and sunny days, I thought I will tell you about a new purchase I made last week. It's a new putter. Yes, a putter. A putter is a very important club maybe the most important club in your bag. If you practice and take your time, without dragging of course and slowing down play of other golfers, the putter will provide you with much happiness and your score will benefit from it. A putter produces pars, birdies, and even eagles for some of the long knockers. Even when you fail to reach the green in regulation, (that means one shot for par three, second shot for a par four, and third shot for a par five) you may still have an opportunity for par if you make a great putt. Wow! a par. You can get all the best drivers or irons and always hit the green in regulation, but the putt is important for any level player. Just ask the professionals. The putt is typically the most important stroke which helps them make the cut and play on the weekend. Normally the one who putts best will win the tournament or at least high on the final "tournament leader board".

So, my advise for the day is to practice, practice, practice and if you do your score will improve greatly and make the game of golf even more enjoyable. I plan to enjoy the next warm day practicing with my new putter and I hope you hit 'em long and straight. But most of all keep dropping those putts.

Have a Great Day!

A day in the sunshine!

2009-02-19T12:16:00.001-08:00

You know grandchildren are wonderful, especially at the age of ours. We have three you know and we love them all so much. They are something special, especially to us. We really love being around them and try share their every experience as they develop their God given character and charm. Take for example Frankie. Frankie is so special and he loves to take walks with his grandmother. (I think she enjoys the walks also and so does Max, our basset hound.)

We are blessed to have a country meadow and trail through the woods with a spring and all the birds and animals you can imagine. Yes, I said imagine. We will imagine to see all types of things as we walk the trail. Tigers, elephants, lions, monkeys, well you get the idea. You just make certain to have a stick in your hand as you walk to be able to fight off all those creatures. Frankie also enjoys feeding the fish at the lake. We try to remember to always take a couple of pieces of bread to feed the fish. They jump, splash and beg for more. I look forward to the days ahead when Frankie & I will be able to catch some of those little guys (who will then be pan size) and have a nice meal together. I can see that Frankie is already thinking ahead to those times when he can go fishing a

and catch the big one. His sister Annabelle is also and explorer but she was busy at school when we took this little walk. But she has her times when she will go and explore the same. Max is a hound dog and he loves to sniff to see what may have been in the area. A deer, a squirrel, a rabbit, or any other thing or being. He is always ready to go walking and exploring with the kids or even just Jean when the kids aren't around. We have even gone to spelling the word "walk" around him because he gets so excited when he hears us say it. Yes, it's a good day in the sunshine and we as so blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful out doors with our family. I hope you are having a great day and you will have the opportunity to do the same.

Happy Valentines

2009-02-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

Well I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day. Here we are in Franklin and thinking how blessed we are. Granted there are a lot of stress and turmoil in the world today but just to realize that we are in better hands than (Allstate - remember that old commercial?).
We had a nice Valentines Dinner last night with Vic and Kyle. I love being with them. And now we will have our grandchildren for the weekend - two nights, woo-hoo!! They are so cute. (There you go again counting those blessings.)
I wish you all a Happy Valentines and a great weekend...

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-12T19:57:00.001-08:00

Memorial Day Weekend in Frankin, Tn

2007-05-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Memorial Day Weekend in Franklin, Tn. and the living is easy. The weather is perfect, cool nights and mornings - warm afternoons suitable for the pool. Our whole family has gathered here to enjoy the weekend. My wife has done a great job - so far - with the food. I helped her out by barbecued two pork shoulders Friday night and we ate them on Saturday, M'mmmm good. We went to the pool yesterday with the kids and it was great sliding down the water slide and just hanging out in and out of the pool. We drove around the neighborhood looking a paint skemes for my Son and his wife's new home they are building.

Life is good!!!

P.S. I hope to add Pictures as soon as I figure out how to insert them.

My First Blog

2007-05-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well I heard a presentation on the power of blogging today and have heard much about this phenomenon so I decided to start one myself.
My plan is to share some of my thoughts on a number of issues that are important to me. There are several things which are very important to me and it does me good to share these thoughts with the entire world.

How's the real estate market, you ask. Well prices are up, showings are down and so is activity. Inventories are up, especially in the high end properties but that just means there are some bargains out there at the moment.

We'll have to see what happens when schools are out and hopefully more activity will come. In the meantime, the real estate market is kind of like a roller coaster, up and down and then back up again. The video on this blog will give you a perspective of just how much change has occurred since the 1800's. plus it may give you that funny feeling in your stomach as you go on a wild ride. enjoy -