Katie's Ordination

We now have 2 revs in the family! We celebrated Katie's ordination on March 11 with family and friends at Wilshire Baptist Church. She had asked Wilshire to ordain her since it was the church family that had nurtured her call to ministry. She met with the ordaining council in Jan. and they recommended her ordination to the deacons and then to the church for approval. The service was on Sunday afternoon at 3pm in the chapel. Those in attendance included her "other mothers", Baylor girls, several high school friends, her in-laws and family.


There were many who participated in the service. Folks were welcomed by George Mason, pastor at Wilshire. Tiffany Wright and Mary Beth read scripture with LeAnn Hampton and Carol Causey leading litanies. Carolyn Shapard gave the charge to Katie. Then Katie and Matt led in the benediction. It was a wonderful service of blessing and affirming of her call to ministry and her gifts for ministry. It was certainly fun to have both girls home together for about 48 hours. We enjoyed being together if only for a little while!

I was one proud mama! Katie's ordination was 20 years after my own. As I sat there watching people bless her, I was remembering my own time of blessing and how special that day was for me. She will remember this day for a long time to come and especially when those tough times come in ministry. Bless you Katie and thanks be to God for you life!

The Gilbert/Lacey/Foust Family

Loved having my family all in one place for just a few days!

The Grubb Family Tree

The Grubb families were the host of the party and we had the party at my sister, Jocelyn's (nickname - Monkey) house. We did get a few pictures of our family also. These are my siblings, from left to right (youngest to oldest), Beverly, Jocelyn, Johnny and me! Our families have grown as we welcome childrens' spouses. We're missing several in this picture - Monk's son, Brian and his wife, Caroline, who were married last May and Taylor, Bev's son. missed you! What fun to have us all in the same place for just a little while.

Wilkinson Family Party

I was so glad to be able to attend the family party while in Richmond! I am reminded that I'm the oldest grandchild/cousin and the only family member who doesn't live in Richmond at these gatherings. My grandmother, Lois Wilkinson, had three daughters. My mother was one of those daughters and was an identical twin. Mama's sisters are still living and were able to attend the party. Auntie, the one on the right, is Mama's twin and Aunt Phyllis, on the left, is their younger sister. They both have married children and grandchildren. This year, Auntie became a great-grandmother twice! I had fun visiting with everyone and getting caught up on all the happenings.
These are all my 1st cousins on my mother's side of the family! It was good to see you all!

Christmas Fiesta

Did you know that there was a

Christmas pattern in Fiestaware?

I found this Christmas pattern and it's so cute. It's a Christmas tree with the decorations on the tree all the colors of the Fiesta dishes. Katie and Mary Beth have now started the Christmas pattern to go with their Fiesta!

Christmas Morning in B'ham & R'mond!

Christmas 2011 found us driving across the country to spend time with Katie and Matt and Mary Beth and Caleb! We left Fort Worth on Friday, Dec. 22, and drove to Birmingham, AL. We stayed in B'ham for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day before driving on to Richmond, VA to spend the week.

We enjoyed "church hopping" for the Christmas services, Christmas Eve at Katie's church and then Matt's church, Christmas morning with Katie at First Methodist. We celebrated the coming of the Christ child in several different ways - all meaningful!

Early Monday morning, we loaded the car with luggage, gifts, food, 4 adults and 1 dog and headed to Richmond, VA. It was a long drive which made for a long day but we arrived around 7pm. Mary Beth had declared Monday to be Christmas Eve and Tuesday to be Christmas for our family celebration! So, we enjoyed Christmas Eve goodies at Mary Beth's and then all moved to our "home away from home" for the holidays! Thank you to Ron and Cyndi Crawford for the gift of their home while we were in Richmond.

Christmas morning came with all the traditions - matching pajama pants, cinnamon and orange rolls and opening presents. Tim tried out his Nook, Katie and Matt explored their sushi making instrument and Mary Beth and Caleb liked their gift card to P.F. Chang's.

We went to work cooking for lunch - Grandma Gilbert's potato salad, fruit salad and German Chocolate cake along with dressing, green bean casserole and ham for us meat eaters! It was a feast! We laughed, told stories and enjoyed our Christmas Day together!

Katie's Visit

Big Tex says "Howdy Y'all!" to all who enter the state fair grounds in Dallas. We spent an afternoon at the fair when Katie passed through for a 24 hour visit! She was passing through on her way to a wedding in Colorado and wanted to go to the fair. So, Tim and I rested up and did pretty well walking the fair grounds for the afternoon.

Now there was some resting and checking out the fair exhibits. Of course, there was some eating, too! I had my carmal apple and corny dog. Katie had her dippin' dots and funnel cake and Tim didn't have a food request. He just wanted to see the Birds of Prey show. We did it all!

We sure did enjoy our afternoon outing to the fair. I'm not going to say we made it through with flying colors but we did make it through. I was worn out and slept well that night. It was fun to be able to spend a little time with Katie and talk as we drove, walked and watched -people watching is always a favorite past time! Always glad to have you home, Katie, even if it's only for a few hours. Thanks for making the trip!