Cousin Charlie gets his black belt

 

What a wonderful celebration today watching 10-year-old Charlie get his black belt at Olsen's Martial Arts.  He had a private celebration with his family and Diva and Poppa.  He has been waiting a long time because of Covid restriction but has persisted in his training with Zoom on-line lessons and private lessons.  He was able to show off all his skills.  I was amazed at how agile he is and graceful with his forms.  He spared with Oscar and actually knocked him on his bottom.  I later told Oz it was really nice of him to take a dive to make his brother look better.

We loved watching his kicks, twirls, confidence, and agility.  I was impressed by his ability to break a board with his hand and break the last one with his heel. He earned his black belt and was given two words...Determination and Patience both of which he displayed to earn his belt.

   Lucy, you never met my mom, your Great Grandmother Janet Carden Watson.

  Mom came to stay with us while my sister went to see the Ark in Kentucky.  Bobbie and Uncle Joe brought their grandsons Reid and Jay with them. 

She lives in a nursing home now in Alabama.  She just turned 94. . She is in good health but has Alzheimer's disease that has robbed her of her memories.  When I am able to see her I tell her my favorite stories about her and things I remember she did.  She will laugh and say, I did that?  I haven't been able to visit her in over a year now because of the Covid pandemic.  So these are the heart stories of my memories of her when I was growing up.

Dear Mom,                                                                    January 12, 2021

 

This is your middle daughter Kathy. I am the one who is named after you ...Janet Kathleen. I live in Tennessee with my husband Charlie.  I asked you once when I was growing up why you called me Kathy when my name was Janet.  You told me that you were always going to call me Kathy but  Kathleen Janet didn’t flow like Janet Kathleen.  Your mom, my grandmother, would send me a birthday card every year with Kathleen Janet Watson on it.  It always secretly made me laugh that she didn’t really know my name.

   One childhood memory I have of you, mom is that you would write to your mom every week.  I remember watching you type your letters on an electric typewriter.  So for your birthday, I have decided to follow your example and write you a weekly letter.  Not so much what we are doing but to remember the stories of my heart.  These are the stories I will tell my grandchildren about my     Momma and Daddy.

  Since we just had a New Years' celebration, Bobbie and I were talking about the New Year Celebration we had in Idaho when I was 5 and Bobbie was 8.  You and Dad had a New Year’s adult party the year before so you promised that we girls could have our own party the following year.  I think we just had friends who were our age that lived on the base.  I remember we had Beverly and Cami Nickel and another little girl that Bobbie knew.  We all got dressed up and went to the base movies.  We got to see “There’s No Business Like Show Business” with Ethel Merman. 

Dad got all of us popcorn and drinks and we thought we were so grown up.  The movie ended at 9pm and we got to drive around town with party hats and noisemakers yelling, “Happy New Year”. I am pretty sure we were all home and in our beds long before the New Year’s countdown.  It made me feel really grown up and important.

    Your granddaughter Suzy, my middle child and the one most like her grandmother (YOU), loves to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her boys.  They all get dressed up and she plans special food and games till midnight and she has a balloon drop from her ceiling.  This year they had a confetti cannon in her living room.  She says she is still vacuuming up paper shreds! 

     We miss you, we love you, we pray for you every day.  Much love….Kathy

Merry Christmas Lucy Mae-Mae

Lucy did you like your Ribbon this year?  Did you like the candy or the toys?  Poppa and I miss our girls so much. We are always so happy to talk with you on the phone or watch you dance.  

Poppa and I know you like to dress up in Princess Dresses and that you love Disney princess movies.  We suspected that maybe it is hard to share dolls so thought maybe having extra dolls so everyone could play with their favorite might be fun.  We love seeing your smiling faces and miss you so very much. We are so happy that you live so close to Pops and Deedee.

Did you like the warm bathrobes that Auntie Suzy made you?  I thought she did a wonderful job.  I love that they have your name on them too.  They will help keep you warm after your baths or when you go swimming this summer in Pops and Deedee's pool.  I like the pretty colors.  I bet they are very soft too.

We know you had a really fun Christmas morning.  We miss your hugs and kisses.  We love you and pray for you every single day.

Your Diva

A Bennetch Tradition

  A Bennetch Christmas Tradition. 12 days of Christmas ribbon

 Years ago when our children were very young and had no sense of time they would get up every morning hoping it was Christmas.  They were so excited and would follow up with the next question such as......" Will it be Christmas tomorrow?"   

 So being a very poor pastor's wife we would make a paper chain with the exact number of links till it would be  Christmas. We would hang it by the table and every day we would cut off one link.  That way they could see how many sleeps till Christmas day.

As they grew older we would write an activity on each link to do for that day.  There were activities such as baking cookies, make Christmas cards, watch a Christmas movie, have a snowball fight, or sing a silly Christmas song.

As the children grew older each one wanted to make his or her own Christmas chain and write their own activity. Of course, they never wanted to do the same thing at the same time so that idea was quickly abandoned.

The next improvement was each child would tell me what colors they wanted their chain to be.  I would cut the strips and number them so one child got to be the leader in an activity, another got to be the one to pick out the book we would read together and the third child got a special message ( either a compliment or a  timed challenge with a reward ).  As you can easily see this led to hurt feelings with 3 preschoolers so this was quickly abandoned for our present-day solution.  

  

Now, Mom wraps candy with a  special note inside for each kid and glues it on a ribbon.   It used to be 25 notes times 3.  Each note had to be heartfelt, funny, or what I admired about them. And yes, they would compare them with each other to see who mom loved best.   

Our kids are grown now with kids of their own. I still make them ribbons every year as well as for each grandchild. The tradition is now the 12 days of Christmas. 

I also decorate and make some ribbons for extended family and friends.  Of course the older I get the more friends I've made.  So if you receive an Advent ribbon from me know that you are holding a special piece of my heart.

Lucy's Advent Ribbon 2020

Lucy Mae-Mae, this is your Poppa.  He loves you very much because you remind him of your Daddy man.  He prays for you and your family every day and loves to see pictures of all of you.  Love Diva

 

 Lucy, when your Daddy was little he had two big sisters that liked to boss him around.  We told him that one day he would be bigger than both of his sisters.  I hope you will always look up to him because he loves you so very much.  Diva’s Secret

 

Lucy, how do you like school?  Do you like hearing stories, and making crafts?  I bet you get to sing and play with your friends.  School can be fun.  You are a very smart girl and we are so proud of you. Diva and Poppa

 

 
Lucy, what a cute scarecrow you were this Halloween.  We liked your outfit.  Mommy was very pretty as the good witch and Daddy was funny as the tin man.  I hope you will always enjoy dressing up in costumes.  Diva

 

  

Lucy, did you know that your cousins Oscar, Charlie, and Henry all like to wear costumes too?  They like to play lots of games and would read to you and let you play Legos with them.  Diva

 

 

 

Lucy, Poppa, and I love to see pictures of smiling girls.  We are so happy that you are a good helper and good playmate with Lexi.  Mommy and Daddy need good helpers and it makes them happy.  Love you, sweet girl.  Your Di
va

 

 Lucy, I love your Spiderman costume.  Can you climb up walls and swing on webs?  Daddy always loved Super Man.  We think you are a super sweet and kind sister.   Diva and Poppa

 

 

Lucy, I love your princess costumes.  Daddy says you like to sing really loud and dance. I heard you have dance parties with Daddy.  Does he dance funny?  Your daddy could always make Diva laugh.  Would love to see you dance.  Diva and Poppa

 

 

 Lucy, I love dancing girls.  Auntie Suzy wanted to take dance lessons when she was little.  She reminds me about that even now.  I am glad you can enjoy it with Lyra.  Miss you Diva and Poppa

 

 

Lucy, did you know that Diva loves Polka Dots?  When I was a little girl I watched a Cartoon called Mighty Mouse.  His girlfriend was called Polka Dotty so that’s when I started liking them.  I love my Polka Dotty girls.  I am so glad you like to play with Lexi.  It makes my heart happy!  Happy Diva

 

 

Lucy, this is one of my favorite pictures of you.  You are a beautiful young lady and we love you very much.  We miss you so much.  Diva and Poppa

 

 

 

Lucy, such a sad face.  We love
you and miss you so much.  Please know that even when you don’t feel happy hugs always help.  Your sweet Mommy and Daddy are the best huggers ever.  Diva and Poppa

 

 

 

 

Lucy, did you get to help put up the Christmas tree?  Did you get to put on some of the decorations?  You, Daddy,
like to decorate himself with the Christmas balls and lights.  We miss you.  Be sweet and enjoy your surprises.  Diva and Poppa

 

Advent Ribbon 2019

 

Lucy Mae-Mae….This is one of my favorite pictures of you.  We get to see lots of pictures of you and your sisters.  It makes us laugh and smile to watch you grow and change.  We love you very much and pray for you every single day.  Poppa and Diva

 

 

Lucy, I love girls in polka dots and big bows who push doll strollers.  Do you know anyone who does that?  It’s you….silly goose.  Love your smiles.  Diva

 

 

Who is Poppa reading to?  You are right...that cute little girl is you.  Poppa loves to read books to his girls.  We miss you.  Stay sweet.  Diva and Poppa

 

 

Poppa and Diva love visiting you and your family.  We have such a good time playing games with you and your sisters.  I am so glad you have Deedee and Pops nearby.  You are a lucky girl to have so many people who love you.  Diva

 

 

Lucy Mae-Mae, This is a picture of your Daddy when he was your age.  I think you look a lot like him.  Your Daddy knows lots of games and silly things to do that will make you laugh even when you are grumpy or tired.  Make sure you give Mommy and Daddylots of hugs and kisses.   Poppa and Diva

 

 

Do you remember going to the mall to take a picture with your sisters?  You liked riding the Duck merry-go-round.  It was a fun day.  Diva

 

 

 

 

Lucy Mae, I am glad you get to be a Big sister to Lexi Anne as well as a little sister to Lyra Jane.  I was a middle sister growing up, so was your Auntie Suzy.  Being in the middle is hard sometimes but you will always have built-in playmates.  Love, Diva, and Poppa

 

Lucy, what cute cheerleaders you and your sisters are in your TCU outfits.  I bet you make everyone smile at the game.  Love you, Diva and Poppa

 

 

 

Lucy, I love this picture of you.  I am so glad you like to be outside.  I love the joy on your face and the wind in your hair.  Diva

 

 

What a big smile you have on your face.  It makes me want to smile.  You are funny honey.  I also love to hear you sing in the car.  Diva

 

 

 

 

Lucy, we love you and miss you.  We hope you have a happy Christmas. 

Diva and Poppa

 

 

 

 

 

Just me wishing you Merry Christmas.  Diva

 

How I met your Poppa

 I met your Poppa at church in a Sunday School class for College and Career.  I was new to the church and had seen him singing in the church choir.  I liked him instantly and decided to meet him.

I was working as a night nurse (11 to 7) shift at a hospital in Virginia Beach.  I had every other weekend off but decided I couldn't wait for a weekend that I was off so the following Sunday (after working all night) I went home and prepared "to meet HIM".  Yes, dear children, I stalked your Poppa!  I showered, curled my hair, wore my best dress, sprayed on Shalamar perfume, grabbed my Bible, and headed out the door on my quest to meet my Mr. Wonderful.

I arrived early and eagerly waited for him to show up.  He was late. Class started and after a preliminary welcome, we were encouraged to mingle and meet newcomers.  At last, my moment had come and I started my quest to meet him only to be stopped 4 times by people wanting to meet me.  My momma did not raise me to be rude so I missed my opportunity to meet him.

It was a big class (about 25 people) so we were divided into groups by counting off into groups of four.  I listen to whatever number he said and went directly to his group as soon as we broke up. I sat next to him and marveled at how smart and articulate he was.  (I should add that your Diva is attracted to Nerds.)

After class, I asked him if he was going to go to church so I could sit next to him.  He smiled sweetly and said "Yes, I am, I sing in the choir!  ( Rats!  I forgot about that.)   I gave him my best smile but it didn't persuade him to skip choir and sit with me.  So I sat by myself and dozed off and on through the sermon since I had been up all night long.  Hopefully, it looked like I was in deep meditation or prayer!

After church," I lingered longer" in hopes of accidentally bumping into him.  When that didn't happen I decided to give up and go home to bed defeated in my purpose.  When I got to my car, guess who was parked behind me?  Yes, dear children, it was your future Poppa.  God is good!

We talked, I flirted, and then he asked me to join him for lunch!  I forgot how tired I was and instantly agreed.  We went out for pizza and it felt very comfortable talking with him.  We laughed, and conversation seemed to flow in both directions. 

 When the bill arrived he discovered the restaurant didn't take credit cards and he only had a dollar in his pocket.  So yes dear children, I ended up paying for our first date and as I like to remind him....I've been paying for it ever since! 

 We met in March, got engaged in April, and were married in July. So you can see that even though your Poppa was shy and quiet when we met he definitely was just waiting for me.  We just celebrated our 46th anniversary this year.