I found a new photo blog to participate in on Thursdays! It’s called You Capture. Every week there is a new theme. This weeks was “Your Happy Story.”

Click on the link here to read about how to play along. Then do your best to visit the other participants’ sites – everyone loves the traffic, the comments and the feedback (not just you!) Next week’s photo challenge is Lines! I have no clue what that is going to be, but I’m curious to find out.

My oldest son and his wife have been married for four years. That is a long time to be trying to have a baby, when you are in your thirties. My beautiful daughter-in-law has wanted a baby more than anything else in the world, for as long as she can remember.

This picture was taken last month at their baby shower. Kyle is holding a sign that I ordered for them, with the baby’s name and the words, “Dreams Do Come True.”

Kole was due January 1, so we thought we were going to have a New Year’s baby. Then Erika developed preeclampsia and had to be hospitalized in the middle of November.

She didn’t even have time to finish putting her shower gifts away, y’all.

This is my husband and myself on our anniversary, the day before Thanksgiving. I got a call that morning from Kyle, saying Erika was being induced that day! All of a sudden, it looked like we were going to have an Anniversary baby!

We spent the whole day at the hospital, waiting. At dinnertime, she was not very far along (still) so we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant.

Thanksgiving morning, she was still in labor. Thankfully, my mother-in-law was fixing our meal, so I didn’t have to cook. Thanksgiving Day was spent at the hospital, still waiting.

At suppertime, she was still not very far along, so we went to have Thanksgiving dinner with family.

We returned to the hospital at 10 pm. Kyle met us at the door of Erika’s room.

“They are prepping her right now for a C section,” he said.

He weighed in at just barely fives pounds. I took this photo right after he was born and I still can’t believe that a face so tiny could be so expressive.

It was a couple of days before mom was strong enough to visit him.

And I was not too happy about having to wait to hold him. It was a few days before he was strong enough to be held. But, as you can see, it was worth the wait!

Kyle is already a wonderful Daddy to the little guy. He has been with him every minute, filling in for Erika until she was strong enough to visit him in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

And so, that is my happy story about how, at 11:04 pm last Thursday night, our New Year’s/Anniversary baby became, instead, our Thanksgiving baby! And we are so darn thankful for him.

Welcome to the world, little Kole.

This week’s photo challenge theme on I Heart Faces is “Tooshies.” I guess the folks over there got tired of looking at faces, and wanted to do something a little *ahem* different.

My husband loves to take pictures of my backside, y’all. I had so many to choose from, and he really really wanted me to post one he took of me climbing the stairs inside the NORTH CAROLINA Battleship. I was wearing a long skirt that day, and there was a draft inside the stairwell, which resulted in a Marilyn Monroe in a dress on the sidewalk  type moment, if you get my drift.

My husband is quite proud of having the camera ready to capture it. However the photo he captured, while quite interesting and artistic, might not be appropriate for the family oriented I heart Faces blog.

So I chose this one of my step daughter instead. It is one of my all time favorite photos so I hope y’all like it too.

I Heart Faces is a photography sharing forum that focuses on the art of capturing faces and their various emotions. Each week, people from across the world enter their favorite face photos. This week there are already 174 entries.

Click on the picture for a better view and click the button to check out lots of other tooshies, or to enter a photo of your own!

This week’s Spin Cycle topic was Thankful.  Who, or what we are thankful for. A few days ago, I wrote that my three sons are always what I am most thankful for. After that, I am thankful for my marriage to my second husband.

This past year I became a grandmother, which adds a whole new deminsion to  life. When it comes to being thankful, grand babies are in a whole other category, y’all.

Last Wednesday was especially poignant because it was my nine year wedding anniversary and that  morning, my oldest son called to tell me that his wife, who had been in the hospital with pre eclampsia for six days, was being induced .

We rushed to the hospital, sure that our anniversary was also going to be our grandson’s birthday. But I guess it was not meant to be. Even though Erika exhibited the strength and patience of a true heroine, the doctors made the painful decision late Thursday night to do a Ceasarian Section. And so, at 11:04 pm, on Thanksgiving Day, we had a Thanksgiving baby.

I know I’m coming in a bit late for the Spin Cycle, but I wanted to share this wonderful news.

This week’s Spin Cycle topic is Thankful.  Who, or what we are thankful for. My three sons are always what I am most thankful for. After that, I am thankful for my marriage to my second husband.

Today is especially poignant because it is my nine year wedding anniversary and my oldest son just called to tell me that his wife, who has been in the hospital with pre eclampsia since Friday, is being induced today.

That means, with any luck, y’all, my anniversary is also going to be my grandson’s birthday!!

You are the trip I did not take;
You are the pearls I cannot buy;
You are my blue Italian lake; You are my piece of foreign sky.

My oldest son, Kyle, was born on October 19, 1978. I wrote the above verse in his baby book. Then I went on to have two more boys. They were all precious to me then, and they are still precious to me now. They have been, and always will be, the loves of my life. I knew when I first held Kyle in my arms that I was never going to be rich, never going to be famous and never going to be able to see the world.

I also knew that looking into his little eyes, and feeling his little fist curl around my finger, was far more rewarding than anything else would ever be.

Today, Kyle is going to become a parent. In a few hours, he will know the secret that the rest of us parents know. That nothing else he has done so far in his life can compare to this. And that from today on, his life is forever changed.

My youngest, Klinton, is a currently Physics Major a ECU. He recently wrote this:

“In the laboratory setting, the more common unit of pressure is measured not in
atmospheres (atm) but is in units called torr. One atm will support a column of mercury 760
millimeters. One torr will support a column of mercury one millimeter. The purpose for using
high vacuum methods with the accelerator is to reduce air pressure within a chamber; lower
pressure within a chamber creates a greater mean free path. Mean free path refers to the average
distance between the interactions of two gas molecules in a given area.”

See? He’s practically a genius. He has to be, because who else could understand any of that, much less write it? Not only is he is able to understand complex scientific theories, but he can just as easily offer solutions to  complex relationship problems. He has a knack of being able to see things from everyone else’s point of view, and this has made him our family peace-keeper on may occasions.

A bit of a dare devil, his adventures have included jumping out of an airplane, touring France and camping on the side of a mountain in the wintertime. He is fearless, whether he is confronting a physical challenge or an agitated border guard wearing a gun!

He was very active in drama in high school, and when asked to star in the play during his senior year, Klinton tackled that task with his usual, good nature and fearless aplomb. Most young men would have been mortified to dress as a bunny rabbit and stand on stage delivering hundreds of lines form memory, but not my confident youngest son! Not only was he hilarious, but he was the handsomest rabbit since Bugs Bunny.

Speaking of that, he’s so handsome that it almost hurts my eyes to look at him. He was once asked to be a double for one of the leading men of One Tree Hill. And his girlfriend is not too shabby either, is she?

My middle son, Ryan, is a master of thinking outside the box. When he was little, he couldn’t understand why it mattered if he wore his sweater upside-down and inside-out, and he is still questioning why we do things the way we do today. He is adamantly opposed to simply accepting the norm, whether it be our government, our dress styles, or what we eat.

He is a talented guitarist and a music composer. As a member of a Ska band, The Madd Hatters, he has played at the famous CBGB’s in New York City. He has also recorded music as a “one man band” and occasionally is a street entertainer. As a chef for the movie studio, he has cooked for and served celebrities such as Queen Latifa and  he can cook a meal that can rival any famous chef out there!

This past year he had a daughter and I have never seen a man be more tender with a baby than he is with Freya. His devotion to her, and to his beliefs, is awe inspiring. He may never become rich or famous, but there are few men that can hold a candle to his determination, his unique outlook, his willingness to make sacrifices and his strength of character.

In other words, I would be proud of him and love him like crazy, even if he hadn’t given me the prettiest grand daughter on the face of the earth!

And then there is Kyle, my first love and the oldest brother. Always the most serious, the most responsible, the most protective because that’s what the oldest child just does. His brothers know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no matter how much they may irritate Kyle, or get on his nerves….Kyle will always be there for them if they ever need their big brother.

It was evident that my son Kyle was  incredibly smart, when he was still in diapers. He had a vocabulary at a year old that a lot of adults will never attain. He taught himself to read before he was four by studying Scrabble tiles. He was at the top of his class in high school, a member of the debate team and graduated with honors.

He was offered a scholarship to study law, but he was only seventeen at the time. When he decided that he was ready to hunker down and go to college, he was on the President’s List and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class.

Like his younger brothers, he always has a unique and refreshing outlook and I can always count on him to have a strong, definite opinion on any topic imaginable. I value his advice more than advice from men twice his age. He is a solid, dependable rock of a man – and a  loving, protective husband. I know he will be a phenomenal father to his soon-to-be-born son.

And on top of all that, he married the sweetest, most wonderful, family oriented girl I’ve ever met. I couldn’t love her more if she was own daughter and I love how excited she is about becoming a mother to my grandson!

So as y’all can see, I have so much to be thankful for. I have been blessed with a wealth that far exceeds earthly riches or fame. My children are all, each one in his own unique way, impressive. They are all  different but they all share the qualities of being intelligent, talented, courageous, loyal and strong.

I love you, my pearls, my sons – Kyle, Ryan and Klinton.

But today my heart, my prayers and my time is going to be with this beautiful jewel.

When y’all hear form me again, this lovely smiling woman will have made me a grandma….again!

Erika, I love you, Honey. I’m so happy that your life-long dream of having a child… is about to come true.

This week’s photo challenge theme on I Heart Faces is “Sun Flare.” This is a hard enough subject to tackle, but they made it even tougher by insisting the photos have some kind of a face in them.

This is the only one I had, but you know what? I kind of like it, y’all. It’s a photo of my husband that captures the real him, in his own element. He is on the street behind Sharkey’s in Binghamton, NY, after eating the most wonderful food on the planet, spiedies, having a smoke and making a quick call.  I’m sure it won’t win the  contest, but it’s fun to participate and see what everyone else comes up with.

I Heart Faces is a photography sharing forum that focuses on the art of capturing faces and their various emotions. Each week, people from across the world enter their favorite face photos. This week there are already 200 entries.

Click on the picture for a better view and click the button to check out lots of other candid faces, or to enter a photo of your own.

I chose these photos for Sunday in My City, a photo forum that has folks posting pictures on Sunday of their cities. I thought Wilmington NC should be included.

To participate, visit Unknown Mami and link up! Let’s visit and travel the world together.

Wilmington is a beautiful city, rich in history and natural scenery. As a Wilmington native, I am so proud to show off my hometown. I love it so much that I have another blog called Wilmington Daily Photo. It keeps me busy posting a new photo of the Wilmington area every day. I hope y’all will check it out and see for yourselves why I think this place is so spectacular.

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If the pictures make you feel a little like, Deja vu, it might be because you’ve already visited here, without realizing it. You’ve probably already seen one or more things that have been filmed in Wilmington. Known as “Wilmywood,” it is one of the largest motion picture and television production studios in the United States, outside of Hollywood, CA.

Some of the stuff that has been filmed here: One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Part I and Part II), Domestic Disturbance, Nights in Rodanthe, Sleeping With The Enemy, Lolita, Cape Fear, Firestarter, Blue Velvet and Surface.

This photo was taken from the Battleship Park, where scenes on the basketball court on One Tree Hill are shot.

One Tree Hill is an American  television drama about teens and young adults, which premiered on September 23, 2003 on The WB Television Network. The show is set in fictional town of Tree Hill in North Carolina and originally follows the lives of two half-brothers.

The show’s interiors are filmed at the EUE/Screen Gems studios in Wilmington, North Carolina and exteriors are filmed in and around Wilmington.

Fans have written messages all over the bleachers at the small Battleship Park.

The Battleship NORTH CAROLINA Memorial is a preserved World War II vessel serving as her state’s World War II memorial and a museum interpreting the history of all ships named NORTH CAROLINA.

“Standing with quiet dignity and majesty across the river from downtown Wilmington, NC, the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA beckons visitors to walk her decks and envision daily life as well as fierce combat that her crew faced in the Pacific Theater during World War II.” (Taken form the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA’s website. Please visit the website for more fascinating information on the history and heritage of this Memorial.)

Hey Y’all. These two little guys are my grand dogs, Bubba Joe and Chewy Pooey. They are half brothers. Their mom was a Cock-a-poo.  Bubba’s dad was a Shih Tzu and Chewy’s dad was a Bichon Frise. They are two of the most overactive, and overloaded with personality, little dogs y’all ever saw.

These two are the only children that my oldest son and my daughter-in-law have. Yet. Sometime in the near future, they are going to be bringing home a baby boy! After years of trying and wishing and dreaming, there is finally going to be a real baby in their home.

I hope Chewy and Bubba are ready for this. A friend who fosters rescue dogs told us to bring a cloth or blanket that the baby has been wrapped in to the dogs and let them smell it and lick it before the baby comes home from the hospital. This is supposed to help them become familiar with the baby’s odor before he arrives, and make it less stressful for the dogs.

I know these two are going to be wonderful parents to my grandson and I can’t wait to see his little face.

I found a new photo blog to participate in on Thursdays! It’s called You Capture. Every week there is new theme. This week’s was “Sunrise/Sunset.”

Click on the link here to read about how to play along. Then, do your best to visit the other participants’ site – everyone loves the traffic, the comments and the feedback (not just you!) Next week’s photo challenge is FOOD! Won’t that be fun to capture!

This is the view from the 18th hole at Lockwood Folly Country Club. Built upon a former hunting preserve, the golf course and community borders the Lockwood Folly River, the Intra-Coastal Waterway and is close enough to the Atlantic Ocean that you can hear the waves breaking in the distance.

We went there to play this past Tuesday. It was a gorgeous fall day and I took lots of photos. We were finishing up right about dark.

While I’m sure this would be a beautiful view anytime of the day, I think it was spectacular at sunset.

Do you have a special place that you love, more than any other spot in the world?

Maybe you are like Dorothy in the Wiazard of Oz, and think that “there is no place like home.” Or maybe you are like me, and would rather be at the beach than any other place in the world.

Ever since I was a small girl, I have been visiting the beach in this photo – Wrightsville Beach, NC. I guess you could say it is just like home to me.

What do you feel when you look at this photo? Can  you smell the salty air and hear the birds calling? The wind gently ruffling your hair and the cool sand between your toes? Imagine you are standing near the shore, staring out over the ocean. Do you feel the majestic power in the great expanse of water, and marvel at the mystery? Many scholars think that the Atlantic Ocean, which cover one fifth of the world’s surface, was named after the lost city of Atlantis. Maybe it is the lost souls of Atlantis that tug at my heart and give me the desire to return to the sea.

Mary the Teach has another photo blog, besides Ruby Tuesday. It is called Sepia Scenes. Every Wednesday, she posts a picture in sepia, and invites everyone else to do the same. She also has a tutorial on her blog on how to produce good photos in sepia. I you are into photography, like I am, go on over and check it out.

This week’s photo challenge on I Heart Faces is “Autumn Beauty.” This photo is of my son and his bride at their beautiful October wedding in 2005. I’m sure I’ll never win any of these photo contests, but it’s fun to participate and see what everyone else comes up with.

I Heart Faces is a photography sharing forum that focuses on the art of capturing faces and their various emotions. Each week, people from across the world enter their favorite face photos. This week there are almost 400 photos entered already! How so many folks can come up with cute little kids sitting in pumpkin patches, or beautiful girls with autumn leaves int their hair is beyond me, y’all.

Click on the picture for a better view and click the button to check out lots of other candid faces, or to enter a photo of your own.