Tuesday 4~ Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!
Let's start off the year with some questions about you....

1. What was your dream job when you were a little kid? Alternatively.. what is a dream date?

My dream job when I was a little kid was...well, all I can think of is I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse apparently, because getting a doctor kit for Christmas was all I wanted when I was about 7 years old.

At one time I did think I wanted to be a nurse and started taking some courses to become one, but life changed and with three babies and a hubby studying for the ministry in seminary and becoming a pastor's wife...well,  I had all I could handle! Being a Pastor's Wife apparently was the "dream job" God had in mind for me since that is where He lead me.  It wasn't an easy job by any means, but God gave me the "strength" and faith to make it through, and I have no regrets.  

Regarding the alternative question about a 'dream date', well, another hard question. Most of my "dates" were while I was still in high school and first year of college, and then I got married. No one had any money for a 'dream date' at that time. We were happy if we could go to a movie and get something to eat.  I've told my hubby that now that we are retired we ought to go on some "real dates" where we get dressed up and go to a fancy place or something...but we still don't have any money and we are quite content to enjoy our dates right here at our own home with each other after all these 55 years of knowing each other, 54 + years of marriage. I can't think of anything dreamier than that. I am very thankful to still have my "dream date" right here with me.

2. Who is going to play you in the movie about your life?

Oh jeepers, I can't imagine who would want that role.  I am trying hard to think of someone. How about Maureen O'Hara?  She's the only redhead I can think of that I liked!  Here she is in "The Quiet Man".  That reminds me of me when I was younger. LOL. Well, maybe just a little.

3.What is the best life lesson you have learned so far?

These questions are pretty difficult for the beginning of the new year.  One thing I've learned in life is to think before speaking or writing.  I try hard to follow that rule, but sometimes I fail. If you have ever noticed the Bible verse at the bottom of my blog page, you will see that is my life verse, and the rule I've tried hard to live by, especially when writing.

Psalm 19:14 KJV

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, 

be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

HERE is a link to a story about this verse. (and why it is so special to me)

4. What is your favorite name for a girl.. how about for a boy? 

Oh dear, this is another hard question.  We never had any little girls, but if we had, the names we had picked out were as follows:  Robin Noelle if she was a redhead like me, and Amanda Danielle if she was a brunette like my hubby.  

Now, we were blessed to have three sons, (all with brown hair like their daddy, LOL)  and I love all of their names equally:

William Benton, named for both of his grandfathers and two of his great-grandfathers. We called him Benton because there were already too many "Billy's" around the family, and Benton is my maternal grandfather's name, and it is a name that it seems as though every one of my mother's siblings named one of their sons Benton for either a first or middle name, so we wanted to carry on the tradition. My mother was very pleased.

 

Matthew Everette, was not named for anyone in particular, we just loved the name Matthew, which means, "Gift of God", and he truly was.  The middle name of Everette just went well with Matthew, and for some reason I thought there was supposed to be an "e" on the end of the name, so there you have it.  Matthew once asked us why he wasn't named for anyone special like a grandfather or someone we knew, and we told him because he was unique and special and deserved his very own name, and that seemed to satisfy him.  I am sure Jesus knows his name well as Matthew in the Bible was one of His disciples, and now our Matthew is up there in heaven with Jesus, so I am sure they are on a "first name basis".

 

Our youngest son is John Scott.  When he was born we didn't have any boys names picked out because we were just sure we'd have a girl the third time around! Boy, were we surprised when that 10 lb. 9oz. baby boy came bouncing out!  Since we didn't have a name in mind, we asked our other two very young sons what they would like to name him, and they said "Scotty", because there was a little boy across the street named Scotty and they liked that name.  We liked it too, but wanted to give one of our sons their father's name of John.  So he became John Scott, but we call him Scott. Turns out the little boy across the street's name was also John Scott! Go figure! LOL.  

Thank you for making Tuesday 4 a success and for helping to keep Toni's project going. I know she would be pleased. I am so grateful for all of you.

Thank you, Annie, for keeping this tradition alive and well!  You outdid yourself with hard questions this time, but it was fun thinking about it and coming up with answers.

Now for some pictures from our New Year's Day gathering.  As I said in my New Year's post, our plans were changed from having the extended family here at our house for a Christmas/New Year's gathering because my sister Doris got sick with a sore throat and wasn't well enough to travel. So we will plan to get together with them at a later date yet to be determined.  Meanwhile, we went over to Benton and Rose's house for our New Year's Day dinner of  "Hoppin' John" (Black Eyed Peas and rice) and Ham and Collard Greens,  deviled eggs and rolls and I made a ginger bread for dessert with whipped cream. It was all so good and we had a perfect day! It warmed up to the high 60's and was sunny and gorgeous outside! Hard to believe it was New Year's Day! So here are the pictures:

Their lovely Christmas tree

The Nativity that we gave them when they were first married

It was chilly enough this morning for a fire in the fireplace! Very welcoming!

The Grandpups were all tuckered out and taking a nap, while they waited for the doggy beds to be washed and dried. LOL.

The table was set and ready!

Our lovely hostess and host...

Yours truly and hubby John:

My plate of Collard Greens, Hoppin' John and Rice and Ham:

Rose and Benton while we took a walk around their yard in the sunshine:

All in all a wonderful start to the New Year of 2024.  We look forward to all that God has in store for our family in the New Year, knowing that He is with us and will guide us each step of the way!

I hope you enjoyed the Tuesday 4 Meme and our little family New Year's Day.