Mama Mia what a night! Our daughters will never be the same!

Once a year we as sisters try to get together to have a good time. And we like to have the next generation coming along to join with us. Sometimes life throws unexpected curves at you, sometimes you just need to let your hair down and relax a little, and sometimes you need a good friend to share your life with. We're a group of sisters that call ourselves the Hicksey Chicks and we decided Saturday night would be our night to shine! ! And we rented the movie "Mama Mia" cause it is so good to dance to. So come along and have some fun with us! Grab something to use as a microphone. We like to use remote controls but anything will do...

It's the Hicksey Chicks live....

We're kinda like the Supremes, only better....

We're gonna teach the little ones how to dance and have fun. First you lift your leg...

throw those inhibitions out the window...

maybe grab a partner..

and let the good times roll...

cause "WE ARE FAMILY" MY NIECES AND MY SISTERS AND ME...

It's time to laugh and let your cares go out the window for one night...

Bashful....We'll help. First, you lift your arms over your head..

Then you shake you butt......

Little Gracie is gonna show us how.... even the little ones can shake it...

My sister's grandson is not too sure about this party ....wait till I tell my dad!
My momma is gonna be in big trouble when she gets back home...

Boy all that dancing was hard work....
It's been a long day. But we'll get together once again this time next year and do it all over again. Just a small break from each of our worlds of stress and problems and challenges and accomplishments. And a time to be silly and laugh lots. So till next year, good night from "The Hicksey Chicks!"

Thanksgiving 2009

We planned it a week early, combined both family lines this year for Thanksgiving and had about 55 people show up for our annual dinner. I got to see nieces and nephews and cousins met cousins they had never met before. I cooked the meats and everyone else brought food and what a dinner it was!
I like to separate my turkey breast from the dark meat and cook them separately. So here is my breast waiting for the dressing to be added around it. This year I took my grandmother's dressing recipe, modified it by adding cut up apples and then added the store bought packages of dressing. Tasted excellent. I am sure my grandmother would have done the same if she was living in this day and age.

Remember that Pork Tenderloin that our friends smoked for us a few weeks ago and I froze. Unthawed it, heated it and it was excellent. Gonna throw another one on the smoker this week cause they have called and said they will be firing it up!

Baked several half hams and they are sliced and waiting to be heated also.

Table is laden with desserts. We had so much food that you couldn't get it all on your plate the first trip. There was the meats, rolls with butter, varied salads, mashed potatoes with gravy, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, broccoli and rice casserole, baked beans, dressing, noodles, chicken and dumplings and on and on. But, it all tasted so wonderful..

In the Bible they always blew the shofar to rally the troops. We have something kinda like that and Lonnie likes to blow it every year. Works right?

Have to practice a few times first. Here's my dad and Lonnie enjoying this moment. I remember my dad calling in the dogs with one of these.

So here goes. And what a sound it makes. Good thing we only blow it once a year!

And line up we did.

Here's my sister with her little grand-daughter enjoying their dinner

Tye is probably texting while he waits in line. He's either going deer hunting or already been.

The gazebo is finally done and the chairs and tables are set up out there as well as in the entryway and out on the porch.

My nephew Josh plays by ear so he and his mom were checking out my piano.

It was a beautiful day outside and the cousins had a great time playing together. I noticed they all had to check out the chickens and ducks also. For some of these kids that is quite a novelty--going to the chicken house and gathering the eggs.

Now it is time to find a recliner and sit back and visit and take a short nap. Aah, life is good and let's never forget it!

More grandkids pictures...

Loved this photo of my son Kevin's kids. Their mother is a great photographer and I am sure she is the one who took this picture. They are doing a great job of raising their kids in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" as the Bible says. Hope they always stay as close as they are to one another now. They are growing up fast! The next generation!

Old barns will someday be a thing of the past...

 My dad's old barn....

I remember sitting on the steps to this old barn and cracking walnuts and picking the nuts out with a nail and eating them as I went when I was a little girl....

Here is his wood pile all stacked and ready for the winter. Wow!

I am afraid of heights and even though our old barn isn't all that tall, I could never go up and see what the loft looked like cause I was too chicken to climb the ladder.

Did I ever tell you how much I enjoy old barns? Probably so. Anyway....

Take time to let the elderly tell their stories...

Went to visit my Great-Aunt Myrtle who I have always called Grandma Myrtle today. She is 91 years old and spent a lot of time today staring up at the ceiling like she was in another world. She was married to my Great Uncle who worked for the railroad in his younger days and he build models of trains that kids could ride. They operated a "kiddie land" for years and years and my Great Uncle made the rides for this park. There was airplanes, the train, a Ferris wheel and merry-go-rounds. My Great Uncle passed away in 1980 and she has lived alone ever since. They never had any children of their own and I am her guardian. God told me one day she was to be my responsibility and that is O.K. with me because I love her very much.

My Great Aunt rode all over the country in a side car while her husband drove a Indian motorcycle. She kept a journal of their trip across Kansas when they were first married and I love to read of her travels. She has owned many neat cars including a pink Cadillac. Myrtle was 20 years younger than her husband and my guess is he treated her like a queen. She has always been a little spit fire and usually came out on top if you crossed her. Yet, she has a sweet spirit and always volunteered with Meals on Wheels and helped with the Red Cross blood mobile in her younger days. She was a Sunday School teacher for years and years and as she stares intently at something I cannot see above her, I wonder if God is showing her something special.

Take time to visit the older generation and let them tell you the stories of their lives. Most of them have lived in a day and time totally different than today. They are the generation that lived through the great depression and it changed them forever. We can learn a lot from them if we will take the time to sit and listen to what they have to say.