Dearest Isabella, Part 10

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a greatcloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let’s pretend that this is my final letter to you. I say pretend, because I know that there will be many more letters to you, Jack, Sarah and “Cupcake.” By the time that you read this, you will know “Cupcake’s” real name and whether Cupcake is a girl or a boy. Several months before you were born, Coach and I were in Dallas and having dinner with your Mom and Dad and your Uncle Curt and Aunt Margo and your cousins, Jack and Sarah. It was the evening that Aunt Margo and Uncle Curt shared the good news with your Mom and Dad that Aunt Margo was soon going to have another baby and that you would have a new cousin just a few months after you were born. That evening, Sarah announced that “Aunt Kristen’s baby” (That would be you) was going to be named “Queso” and that new little brother or sister –to –be would be named “Cupcake.” I often laugh about “Queso” and “Cupcake.”

So, as I said, there will be many more letters that I write to you, Jack, Sarah and Cupcake but this is the last of your “Isabella Rose McGee has been born” letters. I have found great joy in writing to my sweet, adorable grandchildren. (Now I am sounding like Grandmother Beryldine again.)

As I took these few weeks to write to you and recall the strong women that have been in my life, I couldn’t help but pull it all together with a verse from Hebrews. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run the race that is set before us.” The funny thing is that Coach used this verse at your Mom and Dad’s wedding. When the minister asked, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” Coach did not answer with the typical response of “Her mother and I do.” Because he believed that many people had invested in and enriched your mother’s life, he had a different answer. He referenced the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1. Coach referenced that great cloud of witnesses that surround us and proceeded to list the people that supported and gave away your Mother to be married to your Dad. He said something like this: “Her Grandfather Curtis, her Grandmother Doris, her Grandmother Beryldine, her Papa Tom, her cousin, Heather, her brother, Curt, her sister-in-law Margo, her nephew Jack (Sarah wasn’t born yet, but did attend the wedding in your Aunt Margo’s tummy) and (big breath) her mother and I do.” No one was expecting this and you could hear the people in the sanctuary. It is something that I hold very dear to my heart. Coach practiced and practiced and we all had a visual picture of all of those that had gone on before us that were gathered that day to celebrate with us. I hope that when you get married, Isabella Rose McGee, (and Sarah Margaret Crofford and Jackson Bailey Crofford and Cupcake Crofford and all your other little brothers or sisters and cousins to come) you will feel and think about this story of all the people that have loved you through the years and supported and encouraged you as you have grown up and are gathered to give their love and support to you as you marry.

But what writing this has done for me is that it made me list some of the great cloud of witnesses that are cheering me on as I run this race. I no longer have this nebulous (big word for ‘not clear’) picture of the crowd, but actual faces that are lined up as I run the race that has been put before me. One time, Sarah was cheering for Jack at a soccer game. She would jump up, bend her arm, pump it back and forth and say, “Go, Jack, Go!” I got such a kick out of her precious little smile, tow headed blonde bouncy hair and cheerleader style rooting for her big brother Jack. Now I see Connie, Dixie, Hays, Rella, Bessie, Mrs. Prescott, Brickey, Mildred, Iris, Marylou, Grandmother, Aunt Evelyn, Grandma Beryldine. And, my Uncle Luke, my Uncle Glenn, my Daddy. Others that I didn’t meet until I was almost an adult like your other two great grandparents – Coach’s parents, Grandma Doris, who is still with us, and Granddaddy. And, a host of others that I have failed to mention. All waving their arms and shouting, like Sarah, “Go, Cindy, Go!” This verse has come alive to me. Isabella, you and I will cross that finish line together someday, along with all the people that have come into our lives, and finish the race.

“Go, Isabella, Go! Go Jack, Go! Go, Sarah, Go! and Go, Cupcake, Go!”

Joys Ahead,

Cici/Çease

Dearest Isabella, Part 9

Thomas Jackson Lynn: Well, this could also fill a book. My dad, Tom or sometimes TJ, if Mother was flirting with him, grew up in the Great Depression. Again, I’ll let Coach tell you all about that later. His mother died when he was about six from tuberculosis and he was raised by his older sister, Mabel. They were very poor and he remembered living in a tent, traveling to Florida for work and watching his dog disappear down the road because they couldn’t take the dog with them while he sat in the back of a pick up truck, and having the only quarter in his pocket that his family had at the time. He noticed that the men he admired the most were men that were involved in church. He chose to pattern his life after them and he was an elder in the First Christian Church in Amarillo for as long as I can remember. He had more sayings than you can imagine. At the time, I thought they were bothersome, but now I would love to hear him say them again and tell him how smart I think he was. When we were leaving on a trip he would say, “Now would be a good time to get those things you forgot.” Not long ago I heard Uncle Curt tell Jack and Sarah that. When I complained about steak being tough, he would say, “I’ll tell you when it’s tough, it’s tough when you don’t have any.” He always looked out for people that were less fortunate than he was and when he died, friends made donations to the Salvation Army. One of my favorite memories is that he called my mother “My Lady” and “Honeychile” My mother bought some silverware that was called “My Lady” just because of its name. Maybe someday you, Sarah or Jack will have it. I love to think about them when their love was new and before the war took such a toll on him. Mother said he was never quite the same jovial man after the war. When I would ask him about WWII, he would shake his head and say “It was awful. It was awful.” He did manage to secretly tell my mom where he was on a ship in the South Pacific. The government censored the letters but he managed to tell her to tell the new girl Callie something or other. Dona you remember her or something like that. He was in New Caladona and mother figured it out. I have attached some pictures that were taken after the war. Mother and Evelyn were beautiful and Daddy and Uncle Luke were handsome and dashing. I sometimes see my dad in your Uncle Curt. He used to regularly send Grandmother Beryldine flowers, but Grandma Beryldine stopped that and said they needed to save the money. He graduated from Amarillo High School, the same high school Grandma Beryldine, Coach and I graduated from, when he was 21. Talk about perservance. He never had a college degree but he managed to save a considerable amount of money on a very modest salary. He used to charge me a penny when I left the lights on and to this day, I turn off lights when I leave a room….or at least most of the time. If your mom or Uncle Curt would save some money, he would match it and put it in savings. He was frugal, but generous. One of the funniest stories was when he ask Coach to go with him to do his shopping on Christmas Eve. Coach remembers going into a Rexall drugstore right before they locked the door. He looked up and down the aisles and settled on a bottle of Great Body Hair Conditioner. He said he didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was good because it was expensive. Your great grandmother was perplexed when she opened it and said she didn’t know whether she should rub it on or drink it. Before you are too harsh on him, remember Grandmother Beryldine took back a mink coat that he bought her. Note to Isabella, Jack and Sarah….love the gift and love the gift giver. The night he died, I called him and told him I loved him. We had a good talk and he said he wanted me to call again the next night. I said I would try. Later that night he had a massive heart attack and was gone quickly. I wish I had said “Sure, I will call you.” Grandmother Beryldine said that she wished she could have told him one more time that she loved him. When it’s all said and done, Sarah, Jack and Isabella, the greatest of these is love. He was a good Daddy and I’m so happy that Jack bears his name.

Dearest Isabella, Part 8

Just a few other people to mention. There seem to be so many, but I am going to limit myself. You may continue to receive e-mails over the years of people that I have thought of and want to tell you about. Right now, I will limit it to four more people.

Glenn Davis Broaddus My mother’s brother and prank player deluxe. I have heard more stories than I can count about the pranks that he played on my mom. He loosened the cinch on the saddle of the horse that my mother and Uncle Glenn road to school. Mother would get on and promptly fall off as the saddle came off the horse. He figured out a way to hotwire the seat of their old Model T Ford that they drove to school later on and would shock my mother. He laughed how he would watch her squirm. Again, not a complainer, Mother never said a word. When I ask him to sign my autograph book, he wrote “To the little girl that needs a moving van every time she goes out of town.” Apparently, this characteristic was begun early and one of the first “discussions” Coach and I had was all the luggage that I took on our honeymoon. When the valet man at the Village Inn in Lubbock opened the truck, he looked at Gary and said “All of this?” You never know when there is going to be a formal and I wasn’t going to be caught short.

Luther Earl Sheldon Aunt Evelyn’s husband from Des Moines, Iowa. I could write a book, but will keep it to a few lines. The way he treated Aunt Evelyn stands out most. While he was in the war, he arranged for a florist to send her flowers every week while he was away. He always bought her the prettiest gifts at Christmas and I admired their 50 plus year love affair. One time I remember him drilling Mollie and I on the state capitals while we rode a jeep up a narrow mountain in Lake City, Colorado. Why that stands out, I don’t know. He just expected a lot out of us and helped us achieve it. There were family vacations in Colorado and holidays in San Angelo or Amarillo and a two week vacation to California with six people in a small car. Mollie and I were promised a motel with a swimming pool the last night of the trip. When we would get unruly, my Dad would say “Do you want Uncle Luke to ‘lay down the law’? I didn’t know what that entailed but I was pretty sure I didn’t want to find out. He worked for Phillips 66 all his life in San Angelo, was a elder in the church and was a community leader. I can’t pass a Phillips 66 station without thinking of him.

Dearest Isabella, Part 7

You are now twenty four days old. Soon you will be a month and then six months and before you know it we will be driving to Dallas to celebrate your first birthday. Well, I promised that I would tell you about the people that influenced me after I married. I think I will combine the men and the women. At least for now, I’ll try that. I lay in bed or am driving the car and all the sudden I think of someone else I want to tell you all about.

Probably the two people that I would put near the top of the list would be your other great Grandmother and great Grandfather, Doris Cash Crofford and Curtis Alvin Crofford. They (guess what) always made me feel welcome and loved---are you seeing the pattern to great admiration? Sounds a lot like Jesus’ commandment of “The Greatest of these is Love.” Your great Grandmother Doris has a lot of spunk. Maybe Sarah got a double dose of spunk—Grandmother Doris’ AND Great Great Grandmother B’s (Broaddus). But I rather like the idea of the women in our family being full of spunk. A strong powerful woman is very appealing. That doesn’t mean she isn’t a Godly woman, but she is no push over and knows who she is. There is a difference between being Godly and being squished. But I am rambling and I intended to tell you about Grandmother Doris. Her house was and still is immaculate. We always joked that you could operate in her kitchen if the hospitals ever got full. Every time she came down she would clean out my refrigerator. No one does it better and if she is still around when you get married, I bet she would be willing to clean yours out and show you how. I never was interested in knowing how. She always did it to perfection and you can’t beat perfection. She was always willing to jump on a plane when your Mother and Uncle Curt were little to come babysit. I owe part of my photography career to my total lack of worry when I would go to Texas School, a class that was held each year for photographers, or any other seminar or weeklong school that was offered or even a vacation with Coach. I never worried once about whether your mother or Uncle Curt were well cared for or if the house was running smoothly. Hey, it was probably running smoother than when I was in charge. She was still driving by herself to Oklahoma City or coming in at 2:00 a.m. from a card game with her friends into her 80’s. She says she has the best looking grandchildren in the world and I hear her making those same claims about her great grandchildren.

Curtis Alvin Crofford This is one of the men that your Uncle Curt was named after. (The other was my dad, Thomas Jackson Lynn.) One of the things that I remember him saying was “Nothing good ever happens at the back of the bus.” So he chose to sit at the front of the bus where he could stay out of trouble. I’m afraid that I would have been turned around to at least see what was going on “back there”. He was a very moral and highly principled man. He was on the city council and when the mayoral race was approaching, a group of men talked him into running for mayor due to his high standards of conduct. He was an elder in Southside Church of Christ and later Southwest Church of Christ when it combined with another church. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and evened booed the Lion’s Club one time when we went by a sign with their logo. Coach can give you all the details, but he worked very hard all his life. He started out working for Pepsi Cola but broke his back when a garage door fell on it while he was unloading the truck. He was confined to a cast from under his arms to his pelvis with a brace on his neck. He couldn’t ever go back to his manual labor job. His boss, being a kind man (and I am betting recognizing quality when he saw it) said he had a new distributorship in Amarillo and needed a bookkeeper. Your great granddaddy began to learn bookkeeping and eventually studied and passed the CPA exam. Coach says it took him along time to pass all the parts, but he preserved. I think perservance would be one of the characteristics that he has passed on to our family. But the greatest lesson that he ever taught me was his faith in God. Not just saying he had faith, but living like he had faith for all to see. One scripture that sums Granddaddy up would be “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” He lived by that. I bet he was quoting it when he broke his back and I know he quoted it (because I heard him) when it looked like Coach was headed straight for Vietnam. Again, Coach can tell you the long version, but Coach was all but assured that he would be accepted into the Navy’s Judge Advocate program. He had a very high LSAT score, a test that he took to get in law school. He turned down a place in the army reserve to gamble on the Judge Advocate program. He heard a few days later that he was turned down for the JAG program and by all accounts, he was headed for the front lines of Vietnam. Granddaddy pulled that verse out like Dad was just headed for the grocery store. Again and again, he quoted it and refused to panic and refused to not trust God. I’ll tell you the rest of that story in a few minutes. So, one of the verses that you will need to lay claim to is “All things work together for good, for those who love the Lord.” I even bet your great Granddaddy will help you learn it.

Dearest Isabella, Part 5

 Mabel Faye Davis Broaddus. Isabella, this is my grandmother and she is your great, great Grandmother.  She was wonderful.  I stayed with her a lot and rarely had babysitters, other than Mrs. Prescott.  Grandmother would braid my hair, make snow ice cream and wonderful sugar cookies, baked squash and home made rolls and burnt sugar cake.  Oh yes, and wonderful fried chicken!  I wish I had paid more attention to her cooking skills.  Mother said that during the Depression (Another terrible time that your great grandparents lived through and something that I pray that you will NEVER have to experience!) she always fed anyone that came to her backdoor that was hungry.  When she was a young single woman still living with her parents, she was not allowed to date my grandfather because he drove his horses too fast.  He trapped furs and sold them to buy her a bracelet, which she hid in the attic.  She wasn’t allowed to accept gifts from men.  I guess that bracelet was just too pretty to turn down and I have it now.  I wear it a lot and think of her and the great story that went with it.  She got caught dating him because she had someone else pick her up in a one horse wagon but my grandfather, Tom Broaddus, brought her home in a two horse buggy.  Grandmother’s Dad saw the tracks in the mud or snow (They lived in cold, cold Missouri).  Not long after that they married and moved to Amarillo, Texas from Missouri.  I have a picture of her as a teacher in a one room school house that I will show you when you are older.  She always bought Mollie, my cousin (Aunt Evelyn’s daughter), and me Easter bonnets and we always hunted Easter eggs at her house.  She was a wonderful part of our life. On a very cold and snowy day in Amarillo when Coach and I were first dating, we were trying to drag a sled behind a car on the expressway (which hadn’t opened yet).  All we needed was a rope.  I figured that Grandmother would give me one.  When I knocked on her door, she asked me if my mother knew about this. “Well, of course not, that is why I came to you!”  She went and got the rope.  You will see her type of spunk as you get to know your cousin Sarah.  My grandfather died on Father’s Day in June before I was born in October.  I never knew him or any of my other grandparents.  Isn’t it ironic that you were born on Father’s Day 60 years later?  God always makes “sad” sweet.

My Grandmother's Class That She Taught in the One Room School in Rural Missouri.

My Grandmother's Three Children- Aunt Evelyn, My Mother, and My Uncle Glenn

Dearest Isabella, Part 6

Ilma Beryldine Broaddus Lynn. There were, and are, so many wonderful women in my life but the best was and is my Mom. Isabella, she is one of your great grandmothers -- Grandma Beryldine. At age 92, she still has a beautiful smile and sweet spirit. She doesn't remember very well anymore and has lived in a home for people with memory loss for about a year. The other day when I was there visiting the activity director there told me that Grandma Beryldine tells her regularly how blessed she is and how happy she is to have such a nice place to live. Never a bit of grumbling about her circumstances or where she now lives! And the activity director said that Grandma Beryldine is the only resident who ever tells her that. She is the most unselfish person I have ever known! She always does what is best for everyone else rather than herself. When she moved to Houston, she said she wanted to do it before she “had to” and when she could still make friends rather than just rely on Coach and me to entertain her. Her attitude has always been such an example to me and to Coach and your Uncle Curt and your Mom. She always wanted me to go out and learn how to be with people; then she would add “all kinds of people.” She is the reason that I so love meeting and being with people! She lived on the farm and could not participate in after school activities because she had to ride the school bus home right after the school day ended. So, I got to do any activity I ever wanted to try. She did not spoil me (At least I don't think that I am spoiled. Ha) by indulging me but she encouraged me and supported me in everything that I ever did. She was always my biggest supporter. When your Mom and Uncle Curt came along, she was their biggest supporters as well. She was the minister’s secretary all my life. She started out keeping the books accounting for the Church's money and when Daddy gave her a mink coat for Christmas one year, she made him take it back because she didn’t want anyone to think she was stealing money from the collection plate and buying a mink coat with it. Trust me! Everyone at that Church loved her and admired her so much that that thought would never have occurred to anyone. People would sometimes stop in the Church office unannounced to visit with the minister about a complaint that they had. She would listen to the person talk while they waited for the minister to be available and, often, by the time the minister was available, the person was satisfied just by having had Grandma Beryldine listen to them sympathetically. She was a life long worrier, but also a life long encourager. I am honored to have called her Mother.

Well, Isabella, these are just some of the women that influenced me growing up. It was a good exercise to think about them with such pleasant memories that night that I held you for the first time. I hope when you are holding your grandbabies, you will be able to recall all the women in your life that made you the person you will have become. You won’t remember that night when you were ten days old and I held you in my arms most of the night and prayed over you but it was one of God’s sweetest gifts to me.

I will love you forever.

Cici (Cease)

P.S. Another time I will tell you about more people that influenced me as I was an adult. Remember, I wasn’t really much of an adult when I got married. I was 18 (Almost 19, I like to point out) and Coach was 21. We have pretty much grown up together. Another time I will tell you about people that I have met along the way that helped me become who I am today.

My Mom ("Grandma Beryldine") and Dad ("Papa") - Nov. 1945

Grandma Beryldine at home in approximately 1992 or '93. She was about 75 at this time

Aunt Evelyn and Grandma Beryldine having fun in San Angelo in about 2004

Dearest Isabella, Part 4

p> Evelyn Louise Sheldon:  My wonderful Aunt Evelyn!  Isabella, she was your Grandma Beryldine’s only sister and would be your great, great aunt. She also had beautiful dishes, perfect posture and great style.  I used to watch her paint her fingernails with red fingernail polish and she wore Chanel No. 5 perfume.  She was elegant and my Mom wanted me to grow up and be like Aunt Evelyn.  She said that Aunt Evelyn didn’t know how to do stuff at home when she was young but became the best housekeeper and cook after she got married.  I am not sure if there is a time limit on when those housekeeping talents will appear. I am still waiting! Mother used to talk about how they didn’t go to the USO during the war (World War II, a terrible time that your great grandparents lived through and something that I pray that you will NEVER have to experience!), the USO came to them because Aunt Evelyn could jitterbug so well. She was beautiful! My only girl cousin, Mollie, and I used to spend lots of weekends and Summer vacations together. I had been begging my mother to let me “frost” my hair to no avail.  One Summer while I was visiting them in San Angelo, Aunt Evelyn let me put lemon juice on my hair to bleach it out.  I was sure that I was a lot blonder!  She and Mother didn’t ever make Mollie and me do the dishes and they didn’t even get mad when Mollie and I (or it might have just been me) opened a box of marbles during the church service and the marbles hit the sloped concrete floor and rolled all the way to the front of the sanctuary.  The preacher thanked us for waking up the folks that were sleeping.  What was I doing with marbles in church? She gave me a wonderful bridesmaid’s luncheon at the Amarillo Country Club the day of my wedding and it was as elegant as everything else that she did!  But don’t be confused!  Aunt Evelyn WAS NOT just a person of beauty and style but no substance.  She was involved in her community and church and a leader in all in which she was involved.  She never met a stranger and was outgoing and friendly and inviting to all.  Coach says that when we began dating and he first became involved with my family, he was a little shy and uncomfortable but Aunt Evelyn always made him feel special and welcome.  She treated him as family, right from the beginning.  As you grow a little older and get to know your cousin Jack, you will see these leadership and friendliness traits in him.  He often talks about his family.  I wonder if Aunt Evelyn is coaching him.  My beautiful Aunt Evelyn died just a few days before your Mom and Dad’s wedding and I will forever be disappointed that she was not there to share that wonderful day with us. But, I am sure that she was looking down from heaven and smiling with approval at how beautiful the wedding was!  Grandma Beryldine often can’t remember that Aunt Evelyn has died and she asks about her. I don’t have the heart to remind her that Aunt Evelyn is no longer here.   Grandma Beryldine sometimes introduces me as her sister.  I just smile and relish in the compliment.  Maybe I’m turning out like Aunt Evelyn after all.

My Cousin Mollie and Me.

Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Luke Right After World War II, Late 1945.

Aunt Evelyn's Favorite

Dearest Isabella, Part 3

Mildred Callaway: When I was growing up, the Callaways lived next door to us on Monroe Street in Amarillo. Mildred’s daughter, Becky, was my best friend as I grew up. I was at their house ALOT. They had three boys and I was always jealous that Becky had brothers. I dreamed one night that we bought their house and wrote the brothers into the contract and got them along with the house. (One time I remember telling Mary Lou, see below, that Mother and Daddy were adopting a child---complete wishful thinking also know as a lie. I also told Mary Lou that they were building an expressway from Amarillo to San Angelo. Mary Lou must have been a GOOD listener with a straight face—back to Mildred) Mildred was so much fun. At night their family would have Bible stories and a devotional. Burl always prayed with great vigor for a LONG time. They had wonderful purple Wisteria hanging off latticework on their backyard porch. They had a huge brick barbeque grill in the backyard and a really big plastic swimming pool that you could stand up in. I remember lots of good times at their house. I ate a lot of meals with the Callaways and I loved all the fun at the table mostly lead by Mildred.

Iris Wherry: Iris was another of my mom and dad’s best friends. She was married to Gerald and Gerald used to date a woman named Violet but he married Iris. I always thought that was the best story. Gerald was the best man at my Mother and Dad’s wedding on Easter Sunday of 1941. My Mother and Daddy and Iris and Gerald played lots of bridge together. She loved pretty dishes and I loved to eat at her house. Her table was set with a one -of –a- kind glass at each plate. I loved how colorful it was at her house. She was way ahead of Baskin & Robbins Ice Cream. She would take vanilla ice cream and mix in coffee, or orange juice or grape juice to make a swirl. I couldn’t wait to see what she had made. She gave me a party when I got married and I remember how pretty everything looked.

Marylou McGregor: Mary Lou was, and still is, one of Grandma Beryldine’s very best friends. Mary Lou and I still talk to this day. She and her husband Joe played a lot of bridge with your great grandparents as well. She sewed beautifully and made your Mom the cutest little yellow print dress when she was born. I’ll show you the picture of your mom in the dress someday. She wrote me a note and told me how having a little girl was wonderful---that she would bring me so much joy and break my heart at the same time. I e-mailed Mary Lou when your Mom had you. Such a wonderfully caring lady! She calls or e-mails me often to check on Grandma Beryldine’s condition and I appreciate it so much. Her daughter, Shirley, lives in Houston and we talk often. I am photographing Mary Lou’s grandson, Ben, next week for his senior picture. I love that I have that connection to Mary Lou!

TO BE CONTINUED

Dearest Isabella, Part 2

Hays Williams: One of my Mother’s (Your great-grandmother, known to our family as “Grandma Beryldine”) co-workers at the church. Hays and Mother were such good friends. She always acted happy to see me when I would run in and out of the church office. Even later in her life when she would write Mother, she called her “Dear Friend” and longed to see her. She passed away a year or so ago and I can’t bear to tell Grandma Beryldine that she is gone. I value their example of lifelong friendship.

Bessie Hart: Another one of Mother’s good friends and co-workers at the church. She always made me lots of custom designed doll clothes. I remember my mother taking time to go visit her, even when she moved to the Juliette Fowler Home in Dallas. I am beginning to see a pattern of very giving people.

Rella Nugent: One of my Sunday School teachers. She was so sweet and I think my love of scripture and felt boards for storytelling came from her. She was another one that made me feel loved every time I saw her. I am beginning to figure out that they loved my mom and therefore they loved me. She became blind or almost blind at some point but I don’t ever remember hearing her complain whenever I saw her.

Iris Prescott: My babysitter when my Grandmother wasn’t keeping me, which was rare. She had a hair coming out of her chin that always seemed to be there. But out of her mouth came wonderful Bible stories any time I was with her. I can remember sitting on the floor listening to them any time I was with her. We also found empty locust shells and made locust parades. I have not thought of this until your Uncle Curt told me about Jack and Sarah finding locust shells the other night. The best memories pop up out of nowhere.

Brickey Bearden: She was a fiery red head with a great laugh. She was another of my Sunday School teachers and she always scared me just a little. She was earthy and bold and there was something that I liked about her. She was always at church helping someone. She even adopted two young Vietnamese children at a time when adopting children of a different nationality was rare.



TO BE CONTINUED

Dearest Isabella

  I gotta  warn you: This is going to be pretty long.  In fact, I think that I will break it up into several installments posted over the next couple of weeks. That way it won’t require such an investment of your time. Thanks for indulging me and reading!  I hope you will find it was definitely worth your time.

Dearest Isabella,

I flew to Dallas on the Tuesday morning that you were 10 days old to help your Mom and to get to know you. I was sooo excited to hold you for the first time because when I saw you in the hospital the day that you were born no one was allowed to hold you in the NICU where you spent the first couple of days. That first Tuesday getting to hold and kiss you and just look in your beautiful face was FANTASTIC!

Unfortunately, your Mom was not feeling very peppy so I thought that my timing in coming was pretty good. How true that proved to be! By 9:00 that night, your Mom had passed out and your Dad had called 911.  Your Mom and Dad left in an ambulance and your Mom wound up having to spend the night and most of the next day in the hospital.  Of course, your Dad went to the hospital and stayed with your Mom so, guess who had a brand new baby to care for all on her own!?

One of your Mom and Dad’s neighbors came over and helped me figure out all of the bottles that I would need to feed you that night. One of your Mom’s best friends since childhood, Sarah, came over to lend a little moral support. I sent Sarah home around 1:00 am and the rest of the night, I proceeded to hold/rock/feed and listen to you to see if you were breathing, Isabella.  I prayed some specific scriptures over you.  One was "The Lord is my Protector and Defender."  As I held you and stared at your beautiful face I couldn’t help but ponder all the people that would come into your life, which lead me to remember all the amazing women that had been in my life.  I wished for you some one like these women (They are in no particular order of importance, except for the last few):

Connie Stark:  My church choir teacher.  I always thought she was beautiful and boy could she lead the pack of unruly church kids in some wonderful songs to sing in the sanctuary.  I can’t sing “Fairest Lord Jesus” without thinking of how Connie tapped her foot on the floor to keep time and made us watch her as she directed us with flamboyant style.  She could also lead us in the best fun songs ever.  I still sing “Do your Ears Hang Low” and “The Grand Old Duke of York” while I am photographing kids or playing with your cousins, Jack and Sarah.

Dixie Dice:  Dixie was my kind of woman!  Another foot tapper, she was my tap dance teacher and owned Dixie Dice School of Dance.  Her married name was Dixie Watson but she went by her maiden name (Go Dixie—way back in the 50’s!).  She would fly to New York, go to Broadway plays and then lock herself in a hotel room and write our dance recital.  I can still see her now as she pulled her skirt above her knees and taught us shuffle ball changes until we got it right.  I can still see my Mom in the waiting room with all the other moms sewing sequins on our costumes.  Thank goodness that your Mom didn’t know about Dixie because I would have failed sequin sewing.  I have vivid memories of wild tap music and sparkly costumes. I can still remember the smell of the greenroom at her studio!  Jane, her daughter, taught us ballet but it was that wild tap dancing taught by Dixie that made my heart sing.  A love of Broadway musicals was deeply instilled at a very young age.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Isabella Rose

Isabella Rose McGee entered this world on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 12:14 a.m.  Happy first Father’s Day, Sam!

She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 20 inches long.  My friend, Judy, thinks she might have been pointing her toes in order to slip into some nice fancy shoes. I had hoped that she would come on Father’s Day in order for Sam to always be reminded about the greatest gift a Dad could ever ask for….a precious baby.  When Kristen was born 30 years ago, Gary brought her yellow roses.  For every special occasion since then, he has continued the tradition.  The last time he gave her yellow roses was the night of the rehearsal dinner.  I think that he thought his job was complete.  However, about two weeks before Izzy arrived, I dreamed that Gary brought the baby yellow roses.  Was it a girl?  Was God giving us a heads up?  You know he is a master at details and I can’t help but wonder if he was chuckling, as he knew how much pleasure it would bring Gary to restart the tradition.  So, when Izzy was born Gary brought her a single yellow, all they had down in the hospital florist shop on a Sunday morning.   He even talked them into taking it out of an arrangement.  When Kristen, Sam and Isabella left the hospital for home on Wednesday, he had a florist arrange a brand new dozen yellow roses for Izzy’s arrival at her new home.  I can’t help but wonder about all the special occasions that will “require” that little love language between a father and a daughter and now a grandfather (or Coach, as he is called) and a granddaughter.  

I have been reading a book by an author whose first book I first read thirty years ago when I had young children.   Prudence Macintosh is the author and her first book was about the trials and tribulations, but mostly joys, of raising three young boys. Her later book that I am now reading is about watching her boys launch into adulthood while also telling her aging parents goodbye.  Prudence was very close to her dad and grew up at his knees as the editor of a small town newspaper.  When her dad was at the very end of his life, he asked her the question, “Do you know why I want to live forever?”  She guessed so that he could wear that Brooks Brothers’ suit that wasn’t worn out yet or to go to the Master’s Golf Tournament again.  His answer was beautiful…….”So I could love you forever.”  Well, Isabella Rose McGee, I can assure you that Coach and Cici will love you forever.  It will be an imperfect love unlike the love of our Heavenly Father, but it will be steadfast and unwavering.  You can always come to us as you are and we will love, listen and help in any way we can.  I hope we have dozens and dozens of yellow roses occasions ahead.

JOYS AHEAD.

Cindy    Cici   Cease

Final Countdown

This is the week that we have all been waiting for……Kristen, my daughter, well, I guess that would be our daughter, and Sam are expecting their first child and the due date is Friday, June 12th. The doc says that she will probably go another week past June 12----so June 19th. We are ready to drive to see our third grandbaby when we get the word that he or she is ready to enter this world. I can’t help but have Psalm 139 go around and around in my mind…..Psalm 139:13-14
 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

God has been busy at work from the very instant that baby McGee was conceived. He has created a unique and beautiful person and we will get to watch as that life is presented to us in a few days and be a part of the miracle. What’s the song? ”I Stand Amazed!” Well, I stand amazed that within a few days, our family will have a third grandbaby and another little somebody to love! Here are the last of the maternity pictures before we welcome him/her into the world. There really are joys ahead!

Lili is Dos

Lilli’s two year old birthday party was Saturday.  I started my business photographing children’s birthday parties 29 or so years ago.  I’ve come full circle and man was it fun.  They are such a pleasant family and there were so many great details that Joan, the grandmother and Jenni, the aunt had made to make the birthday special.  It was a tutu party and there were tutus and boas for all ages.  We did the invitations and I couldn’t stand to not see the final result.  Enjoy the fun of Lilli turning two.

Today I was made an honorary member of the Thurmond family. Jeannie has three grown girls and they are adorable. The grandmother, Jeannie, the great grandmother, MeMaw, Shelley and her two children, Bonnie and her two children and Tracy were here for a BIG “girl members of the family” session (As my granddaughter, Sarah, would say, “Dirls only!”). Oh wait, boy children were allowed to participate. Jeannie and all her girls. And a few grandsons. They were so much fun to be with and were so much fun with each other. Being an only child, I am very envious of all that fun. SOOO they made me an honorary member of their family. Take a look at all the fun of five adults and four children ----two two year-olds and two two month-olds. MeMaw is one good looking great grandmother!

Whose your Coach

Sometime in March, Gary and I received a letter from the school that Jack and Sarah attend. Grandparent’s Day was scheduled in April and we were invited to come . We had been to Dallas several times and had several more trips scheduled and felt like we just couldn’t attend. Normally, we would have crawled on our knees if we had to, but this time it just wasn’t possible. On Monday, Gary received a call from Curt that Jack was hysterical that none of his grandparents were coming. Was there any way that Gary could jump on a plane and come for the day? Gary had a hearing and I had a shoot, so we were out. The other grandparents were equally tied up and it was Aunt Kristen, (who lives in Dallas) to the rescue. There was only one other little boy that didn’t have any grandparents attending and they paired him with Jack and Kristen. I am thinking that Aunt Kristen was the only pregnant grandparent rep there, but that is another story and another blog on families being families. One of the activities was doing a family tree. If you remember, Jack calls Gary, Coach. The other boy didn’t have anyone to help, so Jack ask him “Who’s your Coach?” Of course, he must have had a coach somewhere in his tree and before the activity was over, the guest little boy had Coach written in his family tree. I keep laughing about someday when he finds his pre-K family tree, there will be listed Coach in one branch. Can you imagine the confusion? I also keep thinking about how easy it is to ask “Who’s your Coach?” and share with them someone you treasure.

Joys Ahead

Kristen and Sam came to Houston last weekend for two reasons. Sam was riding in the MS150 and Kristen was being given a baby shower. On Friday, we had maternity pictures scheduled, as this would be the last trip to Houston before the baby, Queso, is born. Queso is the name that my granddaughter, Sarah, gave to Kristen and Sam’s unborn baby. Sarah’s mom, Margo, is also pregnant and Sarah gave that baby the name of Cupcake. Wouldn’t you know that we would have food items to describe our family, even by a three year old! Oh, well. Back to the shoot…..we started about 11:30 and around 12:30 Sam left to meet some of his friends. About another hour to 1 ½ hours of shooting should allow us to capture everything that we needed. I am usually the one saying “Let’s just do a few more….and a few more, well, and just a few more.” But this would be my young, energetic full of mommy hormones daughter. By 4:30 we had to stop because we had a manicure/pedicure appointment that we had already moved once. Let me say, or as Jimmy Buffett says, “The party lasted way too long, and I had too much fun.” I was out in the pedicure chair…..sound asleep. Kristen did treat me to a mani/pedi for all the “hard” work.

Well, the first day of the MS150 was cancelled and we got to have Sam around a little longer. But here’s the summation of this entry…..At the shower, they had a picture frame with a big mat for everyone to write something to the baby. My friend, Liz Ellis, wrote something that captured my attention and my heart. All she said was “Joys ahead. Liz Ellis.” I have been captivated by that simple expression now all week. If we had a road map of our days, shouldn’t every sign that we see say

“Joys Ahead.” So what if there are a few curves ahead, we know that the Joys Ahead sign is always there. So my new closing phrase is born as well as the new grandbaby in June. Keep your eyes on Liz’s sign and let’s celebrate all the reasons that we have to be thankful.

Joys Ahead,

Cindy

Baby Passion!

So many good things to write about! Let me combine two exciting and motivating updates. First of all my daughter, Kristen, gave us some exciting news Thanksgiving. Her husband, Sam, and our son, Curt, share late November birthdays and we were gathered together in Dallas to celebrate. Sam suggested that we all gather around the table and snap a quick pic, as he often says. We were all smiling at the camera set on a timer on the staircase. As we were watching the blinking light, Sam said “Everybody say ‘Kristen’s pregnant!’” Smiles turned to screams with mouths wide open. Not a good look for the family picture but great for capturing joy. I immediately cried and jumped up and down. He had set the camera on burst and he captured all the joy in a series of several pictures. I’m afraid my chins are going to need some retouching since my mouth was the widest of all. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby McGee in June. Any extra prayers that you have time to offer will be greatly appreciated.

Following this big announcement, I have been in baby mode in full gear. Gary and I just spent a week in Phoenix, Arizona at the Professional Photographer’s Convention with two days in Sedona. I took a day long class with a husband and wife team. It is so good to stay current with all the up and coming ideas. The convention and trade show are brimming with new ideas and exciting products. We have some wonderful new products that we will be implementing in the next month along with a new session called Rise and Shine, a new maternity/newborn plan and a baby plan. The convention was topped off with a two hour presentation by Anne Geddes. I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of babies in flower pots; however, she spoke of her passion to be herself and develop her own style, despite criticism to do something else—basically, to follow her instincts – and she inspired me! What we do have in common is her passion for children and the sense to follow our instincts. She absolutely is passionate about infants. She ended her presentation with a video of babies and songs sung by Celine Dion. Now I am a fan of Anne Geddes and Celine Dion. Such passion, gentleness and kindness! Since I have babies on the brain, I am passionately planning all the images of Baby McGee. I might even pull out a flower pot or two. Stay tuned for how I can let Anne influence me without being a copy cat. I have always believed “to thine own self be true” was a great motto. We shall see how these images emerge. Ride the wave with us with your baby if you are so inclined. I promise you some priceless images.

Happy Birthday, Mother

Wow, it is January 15, 2009 and I have had so much to write about that I have written nothing. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to say or talk fast enough about all the good things that have been happening. Let me start with a few today and continue with more in the NEAR future. First of all, today is my Mother’s birthday. Ilma Beryldine Broaddus Lynn is 92 years young today. My heart is full of love for this Godly woman. She is the most unselfish woman that you will ever meet and I am honored to be her daughter. She grew up in the Depression and lived on a farm out in the country. She talked about how she couldn’t participate in after-school activities because she didn’t have a way to get home from them. As a consequence she was shy. As I was growing up, she used to say to me repeatedly, “I want you to go out and learn how to be with people…..all kinds of people.” I was even grounded one time for about 10 minutes until my friend Carol came by and honked the horn in her Metallic Blue Mustang convertible and wanted me to go get a Coke at the Ranger drive-in in Amarillo (Sometimes we went to Stanley’s, too). Mother stuck her head in the door of my room and said, “Carol’s here and wants you to go get a Coke.” I thought “She doesn’t know how this grounding thing works.” Looking back, I think she just had so much love in her heart that she couldn’t stand for me to miss out. Miss out on all the things that she had missed out on. She said she always thought that I would have a bunch of children. I had two and two amazing ones, at that. But I think one reason, I love my business so much is that I consider all the wonderful people that walk through my studio door to be family. Family that I love and take an interest in their lives, love to watch grow from little scamps (another word that my mom uses a lot) into beautiful young adults with families of their own. Anyway, my Mom moved down to Houston after my Dad died, almost 20 years ago. She was the minister’s secretary at First Christian Church in Amarillo. She typed more sermons than I can imagine and always had a listening ear for the people that came in to see Dr. Robinson and Dr. Bridwell and a few others. By the time the minister could see them, they had forgotten what they were upset about. She was a great listener. When she moved to Houston, she was not interested in retiring. That woman loves to work! She helped me number negatives for many years until I “went digital” and there were no more negatives to number. She always greeted people at the door when I worked out of my house and many of you to this day, ask about her. Now she lives at a memory loss center and the people out there tell me she is one of the sweetest ladies they have. One told me that she is appreciative for even the smallest thing they do for her. I am so grateful for her example to be grateful and for encouraging me to go out and be with people….all kinds of people….people just like all of you. Happy New Year and I am so grateful that YOU are in my life.