Late But Still Thankful

Hey everyone! This is Ashley Ann Allee, Daughter of Amy Ruth Snow Allee and granddaughter of David Snow and Carolyn Sue Broadus Snow. I don't get on the internet much to look at this site, but I was brought to tears by some of your posts. The other day I was discussing family with "Granny" (Carolyn Sue Broadus Snow) and she admonished me because I do not like sharing my life with the family for fear that it might become the topic of public debate, but I like to join in on discussions the family has. I apologize for that. I am thankful that I have a family. This is going to sound like an excerpt from
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (Classic Seuss) but there are so many places I could be right now if I didn't have this wonderful support group. One of my roommates hasn't spoken to her mother since August, but I get to talk to mine on the phone nearly every day. I had a friend in Oklahoma who got pregnant and her parents told her that she had to have an abortion or they would disown her. We've all seen those commercials about the poor starving orphans in various countries around the world. Even in our own country there are children who are abused and neglected their entire lives because they have no one to love them. There are people who spend their entire lives so terribly alone because they have no family who cares about them. Despite our opinions of each other's activities and mistakes, we still love each other, and we still embrace each other. There is no shortage of advice whether we ask for it or not, and we are not afraid to call each other on our mistakes. Last year I did not get to spend Christmas with the family, and I haven't been home for Thanksgiving in four years. This year I will be working on Christmas. It has been hard on me, because I remember holidays with everyone in our small little branch of the family tree. I remember the way we started opening presents from youngest to oldest and I always hated doing that because by the time we got to Granny and Poppy there were hardly any gifts left under the tree. It still bothers me as an adult, but I know that the greatest gift they get year after year is seeing their descendents grow and change. New members join the family through marriage and birth and others may have departed through death or divorce, but we all still love each other, and we remember fondly the time spent with those departed even as we welcome the new arrivals with open arms and open hearts, and ever since this blog was started that love and acceptance can be spread throughout the family tree. We can communicate with people we cannot see in person. I am thankful for this as well. I appreciate and love the family I belong to, and I am so glad that I am a part of it. I love you all. I hope you all had great Thanksgivings and that your Christmas and New Years celebrations are happy and safe.

Now for pictures (I hope)

If this picture comes through as planned it is one of Mary (Broadus) Brown, (daughter of Paul and Ruth Broadus, sister of Edwin, Don, Carolyn and David) and Don Brown her husband of 51 years.
We are 72(Don) and 70 in 2 weeks(Mary) Sorry it is so fuzzy. And we don't have much gray hair.

I'm late but I am still thankful

I have been reading and enjoying all of your postings and it has filled my heart with joy. I am thankful that I have been granted nearly 70 years to enjoy this life and spent 51 of those years with a very patient and longsuffering husband who has gone above and beyond his duty and loved me without reseveration. I am thankful for our 3 wonderful children, Steve who is the computer guru in our family, Debbie who is the teacher and Tim who is in the printing business. He keeps everything running smoothly. They have each married great mates that have added so much to our family. I am thankful for their children, their spouses and children. We don't have as many great-grandchildren as Carolyn and Dave but then they had more children.

I am thankful that we were able to have brother David in our home as he was growing up. I don't think I have thanked him enough for what he contributed to our family and still does. Believe he suffered through a lot as we practiced our parenting skills on him. He made it and turned out very well in spite of us.

I am thankful that we are surviving this new phase in our life, apartment living. We kind of do things backwards. We have always had our own home or preacher's home with plenty of space of our own but now we are learning to share our walls with others. I miss our yard most of all but we couldn't keep it up so we don't have that pressure anymore. Also I can keep our space cleaner in spite of the fact we are full as we can be here. We are slowly getting to know our neighbors and most of them are really nice. Some of them come and go pretty quickly. David remined me that our smallest space was in the barracks at Pepperdine in Los Angeles. There were five of us in a 2 room apartment. (Actually it was one large room)(You know how barracks are)Thank goodness 2 of the 5 of us were real small. Then we also to share with all the roaches.

I am thankful that even though I am diabetic I am able to keep it under control with medication and diet. I am thankful that so much has been learned about the cause and how to treat it. Someday I believe they will find a way to correct the problem and cure it. I am thankful that every time I go to the doctor with a problem connected with it that I am not developing any of the complications that many people have. I am thankful that we found my heart problems in time to clean out my arteries and get me back to normal. (whatever that is).

I am thankful for my extended family, my siblings and their spouses, their families and an ex spouse that we all love and like to have around. Jean you will always be a part of our family. I am so glad that you and your children are part of this bunch. I am thankful that the 4 of us can get together from time to time. I think we are all growing old gracefully. I really miss brother Don.

I am thankful that I was taught early in life about our Lord and he has blessed me richly.

I am thankful that each morning I can get up! Some days are harder than others but I am joyful to be alive.

My Omissions

My apologies to my family: On our trip to Corpus Christi last summer we did visit Mary and Don briefly, and spent the night with David in Houston on the way home. Who knew that anyone would notice? Thanks for reading, David.

One of the things I am truly thankful for that did not make the list is that Randall has had safe travels and worktimes out in the Gulf. Considering all the tragedy this year with hurricanes, I am thankful that his company sent him home early twice (Katrina and Rita) and for all the other stints he has made it there and back and survived what has to be dangerous working conditions.

Another omission was the blessings we received from being able to work with the evacuees. The church opened the gym, and the first night we had over sixty people sleeping there. After having just heard the horror stories coming out of New Orleans and Houston, it was at first an uneasy experience to be the only two local people spending the night watching over these many road-weary and heartsick people. As we came to know them, it was a wonderful and inspiring experience. I am thankful, not that they had such trauma, but that we were in the right place at the right time to help.

WOW!!!

We just got home from Marshall, so I just saw the blog, and all I can say is WOW! This is what I missed, thank you all. I know it is after Thanksgiving, but I try to be thankful for something every day, even if it is just that I made it out of bed that day, so I also want to share what I am thankful for. I am thankful that after six or maybe 7 years all together, I am finally about to graduate college, I wasn't ever sure it would REALLY happen. I am thankful for my mother(Nancy), who at 17, decided to have a baby and not give it up, to either abortion or adoption. I am thankful for the many many years she worked to take care of me and the time she spent caring for me even when she was too tired to move. I am thankful for my grandfather(Dave) for his many lectures over the years, which I finally came to understand were just his way of saying,"I love you, so I care what happens to you". I am thankful for my grandmother(Carolyn aka my rock) for all the listening she has done over the years, and all the understanding she has shown to me in my tumultuous growing up. I am thankful for my new husband John who teaches me more about love and loving every day. I am thankful for my two beautiful children who are happy and healthy and never fail to amaze me with who they are becoming and the wonderful things they learn every day. It is a true miracle to be able to see life through a child's eyes. I am thankful for my extended family, many of whom I don't know but have heard of over the years. It never ceases to amaze me what a really awesome family I have. Most of all, I am thankful to God for holding me up and loving me even when I didn't love myself, and for choosing to bless me with this life and this family.