Happy 4th everybody.. Blair

Hey Family
Yeah, Kittie, aren't memories fun--later in life--.Our family does have lots of really good memories and stories. Thanks for sharing yours. I had forgotten about ya'll setting off the whole sack of Blackcats. It sounded like the SWAT team had moved in. Ha. God does indeed watch over us!!! Maw

Hey,

Well if we are telling 4th of July stories here are a couple....

One year (before Gary and I were married) WOW..that has been a long time ago...haha....He and I were outside my house sitting on my car (old car thank goodness) and we had a sack of blackcats and were reaching in the sack and pulling out one at a time and lighting them...well somehow a spark from one flew into the sack and ALL OF "JULY" BROKE OUT!!! I bet there were 200 blackcats in that sack and they all started going off....Daddy came running out of the house and Gary and I took off running for our lives!!! From the fireworks and DADDY!! haha...It burned spots all over the hood of my car.....Thank god, my daddy thought I could do no wrong....I don't remember him getting really mad, but Gary sure was scared!!! hahaha
And when I was really young and all us cousins used to play, Arvin, Ricky and Kelton...I remember one year Ricky had some fireworks go off in his hand and I will never forget his burned swollen fingers....and the boys would also put blackcats in the mouth of frogs and light them....we sure were mean little devils!! I wouldn't dare let Boston do that....so don't tell him!!! It is a wonder we survived some of the 4ths.....We had some great Forth of July times.....
And Blair I remember that same time you were talking about too....that would have been Chick Edwards house....
love to all,
kittie

Hey Maw, really glad Papa is feeling better. Yeah, I took off all the great grandkids page. I am going to be re doing some things over next few weeks and stuff.

I am very proud to be an American. I can remember the 4th as a kid and how magical it always was. I'll never forget the year that Gary Lee, Gary Dale and Mike (Dad) were shooting off bottle rockets in yes "Glass Coke 2 litter bottles", okay I'm showing my age, hehehe. The kind of bottles that you took back to George's and got more cokes. Anyway, that night they shot those fireworks off and caught the old man across the street from Maw's house, wooden shingles on fire. Maw, that's the house that the hillbillies live across the street from you now. Hehehehehe
Love, Bear

HEY FAMILY
THANKS BEAR FOR THE OOOOH FOR PAPA. HE IS DOING PRETTY GOOD RIGHT NOW, JUST HAS LOTS OF PAIN IN HIS LEG. I WAS WONDERING WHERE THE PAGES ON THE GREAT-GRANDKIDS WENT ON THE GRIFFIN SISTERS SITE. ARE YOU RE-DOING THEM, DID YOU TAKE THEM OFF FOR GOOD???JUST WONDERING. I LOVE THE JULY 4TH STUFF YOU HAVE ON. WE ARE ALL SO GRATEFUL TO BE AN AMERICAN AND YES WE ARE ALL SPOILED ROTTEN. WE NEED TO BE SO HUMBLE AS WE THINK ABOUT OUR FREEDOM AND THINK OF ALL OUR VERY OWN FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE SERVED IN THE ARMED SERVICES TO KEEP US FREE AND SAFE. UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN THERE IT REALLY TAKES A BIG BITE OUT OF A FAMILIES LIFE, EXAMPLE, MIKE DID NOT GET TO KNOW HIS DADDY UNTIL HE WAS ONE YEAR OLD. MAYBE THIS IS WHY DALMER ALWAYS MADE A BIG THING OUT OF JULY 4 AND THE FLAG. IT IS A "BIG" THING AND MAKES ME REALLY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. MAW

OOOOhhh shingles....I've had those before.....I would never wish that on anybody....They are painful. Tell him to take care..... Love, Blair

HEY FAMILY
UPDATE ON PAPA, THE DOCTOR HAS NOW DECIDED HE HAS SHINGLES AND THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE PAIN IN HIS HIP AND THIGH. HE HAS TWO SMALL PLACES OF RASH (SIZE OF A QUARTER)ANYWAY, HE NOW HAS SOME MEDICINE TO TAKE SO MAYBE IT WILL CLEAR UP QUICKLY. BEEN BY MYSELF THIS WEEK AT THE OFFICE SO FAR THIS WEEK SO I HAVE BEEN BUSY. ALL OF RYAN'S IGUANAS DIED, SLOWLY,ONE AT A TIME (YEAH) HE WAS SAD ABOUT IT THO. HE THINKS THEY GOT TOO COLD WITH THE AC GOING. FLOWER IS THE CUTEST LITTLE PUPPY AND INTO EVERYTHING. LATER, LOVE-MAW

Kittie....Maggie's trip sounds like a ton of fun. Yeah I hope she takes lots of pictures and sends them to me for the web....
Congrats to Boston on coming in 2nd place.....Way to Rangers and Boston!!!

Hope everyone has a great week.
Blair

Maggie's best friend, Cornelia, is a Spanish major at Tech and she did a semester (June) in Spain. She finished last week and Maggie flew to Madrid to meet her and then they are going up to Paris to spent two weeks. They rented an apartment for two weeks and are there just for the fun and experience. They have been planning this trip for about six months or so. I got an email from her yesterday and she said she is safe and sound in Madrid and would keep me posted everyday about what they are doing and getting to see....She will be making lots of pictures so maybe she can share some of them with you when she gets back....I am so excited that she got to go...
Well, I got to spend 9 hours in Petersburg yesterday!!! That is how exciting my life is...hahaha...after a very long, very hot day the Rangers came in second place....but they played great and Boston was happy....So now that baseball is over for the summer we are planning on spending alot more time in the pool!!!!!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
love,
kittie

Hey Kittie, thanks for baseball pic of Boston. It's on CTown everybody.....Hope they did good today.......Hey glad you've got your yard the way you want it too. I can't wait to see it....Hey is Maggie going to Spain for fun or work???? Wow, that sounds exciting..... Love, Blair

Hey,

First a note to MIKE...I was just sitting in my backyard this evening and I thought man how I wish Mike was here because.....WE HAVE GRASS!! Yes it is true!! and where the dug up sewer line was when you were here is now covered with an 18 foot wide swimming pool with crystal clear water!!! Yes Mike it is true...we have a backyard again...so maybe the next time you come to visit you won't have to pee in the backyard mud hole with a pitbull sniffing your ass!!!

Well long story short is that Maggie is FINALLY on the plane to Madrid!! I will have to explain to those of you that don't know the whole story some other time....with plane delays, bad weather and missing her flight to Madrid yesterday she has been stranded in New Jersey...the airline even ran out of rooms to accommodate the stranded fliers....In a nutshell she spent over 24 hours in the New Jersey airport....I told her sometimes you have to PAY to PLAY!! hahaha..but anyway she texted me just a little while ago and said "I AM ON THE PLANE!!! MADRID HERE I COME!!!

Boston's baseball team in playing tomorrow in Petersburg for the Championship!!! GO RANGERS!!!!

OK, that is all for now.....
love to all,
kittie

Hey Maw and everybody........Glad Papa is doing better. He needs to just take it slow and easy. I'm gonna have to get him on a slow exercise program to build his strength up. Make sure he gets his water intake. Love, Bear
P.S. Thanks for the thoughts on the website. Will take into consideration.

Hey Family
Just a quick post to let you know Papa got out of hospital yesterday. He is still feeling weak and pain in his hip but hopefully he is okay. Thanks to Blair and Kittie for checking on us. Blair I don't really have any ideas to up-grade your web site, you do such a wonderful job. I do know you need family to send you pics so you can take off old ones and update that way. Please feel free to take off any I have sent you in the past and when I get the film in my camera developed I will send you some more. I still have to do things the "old" way.It takes quite awhile to open each persons page so some may tend to only open one or two and may overlook something good on the others, just a thought??Got to get to work, later....Maw

Hey Everybody......Making some changes and new things here on website.....Let me know what you like to see or anything new you would like????? Blair

Looks like the one week I'm not getting on the blog to check in on everyone is the week Jared and Betsy make their baby announcement. I can't believe we're the last to find out!!!

Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know that the two of you have wanted this and you will be great parents. There's nothing like a new baby, but when it's yours it makes the world a much sweeter place!!! Betsy, I'm sorry to hear about the morning sickness. I don't know if you tried any remedies but they say that ginger works best. I don't care for ginger but thought I'd share that chamomile or peppermint caffine free tea helped me out tremendously, maybe it'll work for you too.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying dry! We've been getting crazy amounts of rain this year and so far it looks like the storms blow through here and straight to the Fort Worth/ Arlington crowd. Oh yeah, my cousin's wedding is July 22- a Sunday. We're hoping to come down maybe on that Saturday and stay until Monday, it just depends on James' work. We'll let ya'll know though, we'd love to get together with everyone down there! Take care family. . .
Much love sent your way from us three,
James Lee, Shavonne, and Brock

Maw, tell Papa we are thinkin' about him. He did so well while he was here. Tell him we all love him and take care of himself.

Glad Ryan is enjoying his doggie from Maggie. Speaking of puppies, Kittie how is your doggie doing? Not sick anymore right?????

How's everyone elses' doin?? Jill how's Bear....... Susan how's your doggie's? Aunt Peg what about your precious doggies and cats? James and Shavonne what about your doggies??? Maggie, what about your doggies???? OKay, sorry little crazy there. I want a doggy, well kind of>>>hehehehehe.......
Love, Bear

Hey Family
Guess I spoke too quick, had to take Papa to the hospital this morning. He was having another of his sort of "panic" spells. I don't know what to call them. He has trouble breathing, feels really weak, feels weird in his head, etc. They decided to keep him to make sure he is okay. He is on oxygen, heart monitor, etc. but hopefully he is okay. The trip and then the mowing may have been too much for him. He is in good hands and will keep things posted.
Love, Maw

Hey Family
Seems like we have been on the road a lot lately, with the trip to Paris for Sissy's funeral and then we wanted to go to Kathy & Billy Joe's 50th wedding anniversary at Granbury this past Sat. It was a surprise for them and it was really nice. They had it at the Country Club in Granbury. Thanks Mike & Eletia for putting us up, the wonder supper April cooked for all of us and Mike & Eletia giving up their wonderful king size bed. You are wonderful host!!Thanks to Blair & Jay for fixing lunch for us Sat. Blair you are a good cook!!Caden & Toby are growing and so sweet. Caden can sing several songs now with the right words and he can sure carry a tune. Thanks Jared for sharing your news and it was good to get to visit with you too and your directions to get to the right spot when we got lost. Ha.Hope Betsy is feeling okay. I know ya'll are very excited as all of us are for you.I feel another baby quilt coming on. Ha. Zac sorry you had to go to work Sunday morn without us saying bye to you. Ryan is enjoying his new puppy from Maggie, Miss Flower. Papa mowed the lawn today so he is getting back to his old self again. Thinking of Maggie and her trip. I know she will really enjoy it and make great memories for a lifetime. Megan, about time I come by for a new pair of shoes, eh? Have you found homes for all of your kittens?Keep up the good work Bear, Love to all, Maw

Hey family.......Glad you are blogging. Good to hear from everybody. Aunt Susan, thanks for the nice words. I really enjoy doing this for everybody. Glad Brice and Connie are doing good. Wow, Judy and Jo moving to Lubbock. That's awesome.

Aunt Kittie, good to hear from you too. I'm really excited for Maggie and Kraig. How's Boston's summer going???

Maw and Papa J, so good to see ya'll this weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe we can all get together soon.....

Yeah, I'm going to be an uncle again. I'm very excited. Yeah Jared and Betsy.

I can't wait to see Stormy, Brock again soon. Just like Caden and Toby, I bet they are growing like wildfire.

Well going pretty good in my world right now. I'm really enjoying my job right now. Lot's of big things going on right now.......Love it!!! Well good to hear from everybody.
Love,
Bear

Thank you everyone for your prayers and congrats from everyone. Betsy and I are very excited and cannot wait until around February. Betsy is feeling a little sickness kindof everyother day, but overall she is doing great. Of course, she cant wait to get past the first trimaster. I am excited to hear about Maggie and Craig! Please let us know the date when you set it and we will be there. We love you all and hopefully will see you soon. It was great to see Maw and JW. Sorry Maw that I didnt get to see you longer. Susan, tell Gary Lee that dad and I want to meet him for some golf sometime soon. We were just talking about that on friday. Well, I better go.....love Jared!

Wow we are really excited about Jared and Betsy news. There is just nothing like a baby in the house. Betsy hope you are feeling OK. Blair, your blog is a God send for us. We can keep up with all the family and all the wonderful news and pics. Maggie we are also very proud for you. Nothing very exciting at our house, always busy with the kids, grandkids, and all the dogs. Brice and Connie seem to be improving everyday and it is quite a miracle. Our latest new is that Judy and Jo are moving to Lubbock. They have bought a house and will be in Lubbock on June 29th. Wow both sister close!!!! I better get back to work. Love to all. Susan

Hey,

Just wanted to say CONGRATS!! to Jared and Betsy....We are very happy for you both...I know this child will be such a blessing to you and to all of us.....

love,
kittie

Good morning to all. It is early Sat morning. Maw and JW are here and asleep. All are still asleep but me, I got up and gave Toby B his morning bottle. It just came a flood outside and is so nice and muggy.
Kittie, congrats on the new job, glad all is going well and busy. Just the way we like it.
Maggie, Kraig and Boston, Congratulations!!!! Cant wait. Glad to have all new members to our family.
Jared and Betsy are going to be new parents, I'M going to be NANNA, again, sometime in February. It will be hard to wait.
Just like last year. NEW BABIES, NEW MEMBERS BY MARRIAGE. That is what make life so sweet and special. Something nice and new to plan for.
Mike has to work today and has 3 funerals. Get um in and get um out.
Has anyone decided if we can get together sometime this summer?
Gary, Susan, how are all you guys doing? Shavonne, it is always great to read your blog and so sweet to see Brocks pictures. He is growing up really fast. You two are such good parents and so nice to see how much you love him.
I have been working long hours, doing a flex schedule and there is a contest going on, so I have to compete. Thought my kids got that mode just from MIKE, guess not, hum.
Hope all you DADs have a great FATHERS DAY.
Love you guys. Eletia

Wow!!! Congratualations to Maggie and Kraig! That's great!
And can I say to Megan, you've got more guts than all of us for going out for summer league. It sounds like a blast though! My senior year of high school a bunch of us senior girls put together an indoor soccer team of ten girls with only three having any soccer experience. . .smart move!!! We got creamed alot and sometimes it was by teams of women old enough to be our mothers! It was a sight, but we enjoyed every minute of it and it kept us in shape. Gosh, if only I had the energy and athletic ability now (5 years and a baby later)!!!
We're doing well. Blair, I've enjoyed all the new themes you've had up lately!!! It's that busy time of year where we go from one holiday/ celebration to the next, you're doing an awesome job at keeping it up. I'm learning the ropes with Brock's webpage. I try to update it as much as possible to keep everyone coming back, sometimes it just doesn't seem like all the work put in is appreciated but you and I both know that it's worth every minute put into it. Even though we don't always have the time to stop to write doesn't mean we don't stop in, I've learned that one!!!
Hope everyone is doing well, we've been praying for Ryan and his family for their strength during their loss of his sister. It's never easy to lose a family member or anyone at that.
Looking forward to hearing from you all soon, I posted recent pictures of Brock on his webpage last week. Maybe everyone can get a chance to see them before I add newer ones, I'm constatnly taking pictures and having to deleate the "older" ones to make room for the new!!!
God Bless,
James, Shavonne, and The Brockster

Congratulations Maggie, Kraig and Boston......I'm happy for ya'll. Welcome to the family Kraig......Guess you know now that you have to blog, hehehehe.... For real, congratulations!!!
Love, Blair

Me again!!!

I forgot to let you know that Maggie and Kraig are "officially" engaged now!!!! and we are thrilled to death about it....Kraig is "one of the last of the good guys" and we will be very proud to have him officially in the family!!! Kraig took Boston with him to pick out the ring and then let Boston be there when he asked Maggie....Boston is very excited about it too....

They will be planning a small wedding sometime next spring!!!

love,
kittie

Hey Blair,

Well I actually have a few minutes today so HELLO!!!

By the way, Thanks so much for the website Blair...you are doing an awesome job whether anyone responds to it or not...I know it takes a lot of time and energy and me for one appreciates it!! Keep up the good work!!
As for your question about the summer...We actually don't have any plans...we might try to bring Boston to Six Flags sometime later....but with the new job and never enough money not sure exactly when....but we will let ya'll know.....
As for the girls, Maggie will be flying to Madrid next week and then on to Paris (yes in France!) for a two week stay...she is very excited and we are excited for her....I have to admit that I will worry the whole time she is gone but I know this is a once in a lifetime trip so we hope she has a wonderful time....As for Megan, bless her heart, she is just working, working, working.....She is playing summer league basketball and she called last night and said they played a team of Ex-Lady Raiders and got KILLED!!! She was going to take a shower and lick her wounds!!! But she is having fun doing that...
Blair, thank you so much for calling Ryan....I know that it means alot to him that you care....I am sure it is very hard to lose a sibling and he will miss her. The trip was long and hard on them all....You are one of a kind Blair...always thinking of others....Thanks again and I know that they all appreciated it....
love,
kittie

Hey Everybody, hope you're having a great weekend. Really hot and muggy here in DFW. Blair

Hey,

I have been totally swamped but wanted to drop a short note to say "hi to all"...hope everyone is having a great summer so far.

love,
kittie

Hey all......Thanks Maw for the pics you sent of you and April's boys and Buddy....He is such a precious little dog. I put the pics on Maw's Moments when you get to check it out.

Well love everybody......Bear

Whats up family??????????????????? Where's the blog?????? Where's the pics??? Hope everyone is okay,,,,,,,,wouldn't know it by the blog.
Blair

Hey family! Happy Friday, hope you all had a great week and have a great weekend. We plan on staying in and just spending time together. Seems like the past few weekends have been so crazy that the three of us haven't had any time for just us. I'm sure you all can relate!

Brock is laying down for his afternoon nap (which I might add, he's not asleep just playing in his bed talking to his monkey). If you all haven't been to his webpage this week, he cut another tooth last Friday. . . and then there were three! Since he has his two bottom front teeth and now the one on top he is a TOTAL snaggle tooth!!! It's pretty funny, but of course it's super cute.

I have a cousin who's getting married this summer in Frisco so hopefully James, Brock, and I will be there one weekend. Hopefully we can manage to see everyone, I have to meet Toby! I can't believe we still haven't gotten to meet him, and we can introduce Brock to the "Gowens bunch" that hasn't met him yet!!! I'm still not sure if it's in June or July but I'm in the process of finding out so James can make arrangements at work.

Well I guess that's about all! I hope everyone is doing well.
Miss you and love you lots,
Shavonne

*Blair, thanks for your notes on Brock's webpage, we do read them!!!