10/15/99
Well, you asked for it...
We are both Christians, saved by the grace of our Lord, and serve Him as active members of First Baptist Church in Salt Springs, Florida. Among other things, it is our privilege to praise Him through the ringing of English handbells, as a part of The Redemption Ringers, our church bell choir. This in itself is a miracle, because neither of us reads music!
Our immediate family is composed of:
two grown daughters ~ Lisa and Andra (short for "Alexandra");
two sons-in-law ~ Clint (who is married to Lisa)
and Kerry (who is married to Andra);
four grandchildren (at the moment) ~ Gunner, Katie, Payten, and Meagan*;
three dawgs ~ Poo Dog, Tigger, and Reject**,
one GrandDog ~ Carter***,
and four calling birds, three french hens, two turtledoves,
and a partridge in a pear tree...
Okay, I'm kidding about all the birds!!! :o)
DAN is a very private person, and didn't want me to say a whole lot about him. He did consent to letting me say that he was born and raised in the Constantine/White Pigeon/Three Rivers area of Michigan. When he was about 20 years old, he moved to Dallas (TEXAS, not Georgia), met the love-of-his-life (me!) when he was 22, and his life has never been the same since...
MARYLOU, on the other hand, will share anything with anyone. (That's me, if you haven't guessed!!!) I was born in December 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland, and was raised until the age of 13 in Wheaton, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Well, it used to be a suburb...now it's all one big city! At age 13, my family moved to Dallas (Texas, as you will remember), where I lived for 31 years -- which, for those of you unfamiliar with Texas Law, makes me a Naturalized Texan (the next-best thing to being a Native-born Texan, and a whole lot better than being a "yankee," which is a term used for everyone who is neither native nor naturalized -- synonymous with being an "outsider"). I spread my college education over a period of 25 years, and graduated in 1991 with a B.B.A in Accounting from Texas Woman's University. I promptly sat for, and passed, the national CPA exam, and was licensed by the Great State of Texas in 1992.
Now, thanks to a drunk driver who ran a red light a crashed into my car in 1999,, I am permanently brain-damaged and was forced to "retire". I am now exercising the creative side of my brain ... among other things, I have taught myself how to design web sites, and am now "webmaster" for seven or so web sites (and still growing!!!) If you would like to see what OTHER things I am up to, just click HERE ... This link will open up in a new browser page.
Six years ago, Dan and I moved to Palatka, Florida. Well, okay ... to be perfectly honest, we were aiming for St. Augustine (28 miles away), but we missed! The plan was to live in beautiful St. Augustine, and to commute to work in Jacksonville. But I have a sister who (at the time) was living here in Palatka, and offered to put us up until we could locate just the right house to buy. Within three months, I found this one, and fell in love ... the house of my dreams, a Victorian house in dire need of being "loved back to life." As an extra bonus, it is only two blocks off the St. Johns River -- we can sit on our front porch and watch the "diamonds" sparkle on the river, the colorful sail boats, the jet skis...
And as they say, "The rest was history."
I bought the house before Dan ever saw it ... a good thing, too! He was absolutely appalled at its condition. But, he bit his tongue, and tried to figure out why I had bought such a dump... (Six months later, when I saw the "before" pictures of the interior, I was also shocked! I never saw what was here, I "saw" what was going to be here ... no wonder he was upset with me!) However, after a few months of cleaning, painting, and wallpapering, he admitted he now feels more "at home" here than any place he has ever lived.
'Course, it goes without saying, anybody who buys an "old" house with the intention of restoring it, is more-than-half-cracked anyway. It is a disease, or at least another form of insanity, which hasn't been categoried in the medical journals yet.
to see a photo of me...
of our precious, beautiful granddaughter, Kathryn Elisabeth Davis.
*Katie was born on March 12, 1997, and is our oldest granddaughter.
They moved to Orange Springs, Florida (about 30 miles away) in 1999 from Atlanta.
We get to visit with them often -- although not near as much as we would like to!
Katie, you see, is the apple of "GrandDan's" eye...
they have quite a "Mutual Admiration Society" going!
They are parents of:
Kerry Lee Mills, Jr. (aka *Gunner), our one-and-only grandson,
and first-born of the grandchildren.
This not-so-little redheaded spitfire was born
on August 9, 1995.
*Payten Alexandra Mills, blond and blue-eyed sweetheart,
who was born June 5, 1998.
-- and, last, but certainly not least --
Our newest family member, dark-haired and delicate
*Meagan Mackenzie Mills, who was born
on August 20, 1999.
Since they ae still living back in Texas,
we don't get to visit with them as often as we would like, either.
Click on the Name to see a photo.
There's Poo Dog ~ He is a miniature "Benji" dog, half Lhasa Apso, half some kind of terrier. We bought Poo from a local pet store when he was six weeks old. He was the runt of the litter, and has no tail. He has been a part of our family and a good friend for sixteen years (in November). He remembers the scent of everyone who has ever visited our house, and runs to greet them when they come to visit. Bless his heart! He is almost totally blind, mostly deaf, and has a large tumor in his abdomen. He's not in pain ... so I can't bring myself to having him "put out of his misery". He sleeps most of the time now, either in front of the fire, or on the softest place he can find ...
UPDATE: Poo Dog crossed over The Rainbow Bridge
on Tuesday, November 23, 1999.
He is now celebrating his new body and his new dog house,
and is probably cavorting like a pup with his new friends.
Tigger is Black Lab and Sharpei ... he looks like a very worried Labrador retriever! We adopted Tigger after he had been chained to a street sign and abandoned as a six-week-old puppy. That was eleven years ago. Yes, he is a house dog. He has a very loving, gentle, affectionate spirit, and if he had his "druthers," he would be a lap dog. It is his deep-throated bark that warns strangers they better not mess with HIS family and his house...
And then there is Reject ... so named because he was rejected from two homes before he came to us as a three-month-old pup. Shoot! He's now seven years old, and he's still a puppy! He is a caramel-colored "Heinz 57", who resembles a miniature Golden Lab. Reject is the only "morning person" in the family, and also the "Class Clown". We affectionately refer to him as "the no-nuffin' boy". He has now decided that he is my primary protector ... I don't go anywhere that this dog is not glued to me! And yet, you've never met a bigger chicken when it comes to protecting his house!
Yeah, you guessed it! Granny and GrandDog have a "thing" going on!
We are so blessed to be able to care for him and enjoy his company...
My only question is: How did a cat lover end up with so many dogs ????
"My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!"
Bible Verse: Joshua 1:9b NLT
"Do not be afraid or discouraged
for the LORD your God is with you
wherever you go."
Movie: Somewhere In Time,
which also happens to feature my favorite movie stars...
Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
Music: So many favorites, so little time!
Classical ~ Rhapsody On a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff
(You've been listening to it all this time...)
Contemporary Christian Artist ~ Babbie Mason,
especially her "What Can Separate You?" and "Shopping List"
Popular Artists ~ Michael Bolton ("I Said I Loved You, But I Lied")
and Barbra Streisand (Any thing she wants to sing...)
Rap Artist ~ M. C. Hammer (Hammertime!) He now records Contemporary Christian music.
Country Artists ~ Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
... you mean there are others???
Food: Alaskan Snow crab legs, blue crab, Alaskan King crab legs stone crab,
shrimp ... you get the idea!
Pastimes: Decorative Painting, Desktop Publishing, and very soon,
Creating Tubes!!!
Passions: Beth Moore's Bible Studies. Home restoration. Woodworking. Do-It-Yourself projects. Classical Ballet. Coffee. Avoiding housework.
that I automatically speak, read, and write Spanish.
Being considered to be a Senior Citizen at the age of 50
... has anybody else noticed that
"Youth" refers to the first 20 years of your life,
"Adulthood" is the time between age 20 and 40, and
"Middle Age" begins at age 40, but only lasts until you are 50???
I wonder if they realize that I will spend the majority of my life
as a "Senior Citizen" ???
Boom boxes ... period.
Send me an email and ask ...
