Happy Anniversary

It was 10 years ago today that we were married. As we stood on the river walk in Columbia, Louisiana and exchanged our vows pledging our love to one another for the rest of our lives, I had no idea at that time that you would complete my life the way you have. When you ask what I would like to have as a gift for one occasion  or another you have no idea how difficult it is to think of something. The reason being because I have you. What more could I ask for? You are my husband, best friend, confidant, soul mate and my happiness all rolled into one. We have laughed together, cried together and held on tightly to each other when the loss of loved ones felt as if we would be crushed by the pain we  were dealing with. There isn't a day that passes that I don't thank God for you. 

"  Across the years

I will walk with you~

In deep green forests;

On shores of sand;

And when our time

On earth is through,

In Heaven, too,

You will have my hand." 

~ Robert Sexton

Happy Anniversary J.D.

You are the love of my life! 

Birthday Thank Yous

I did indeed have a Happy Birthday not only yesterday, but on Friday too. I was treated to a birthday celebration with J.D., my children and grandchildren on Friday evening. As soon as Tersie got home from work, she and the girls joined us at Chris and Melody's. I thought it was wonderful that Britt was able to be there. She has a very busy life. Of course Seth Day is on Fridays so J.D. and I were already there. Chris got home early because they got rained out at work and even Alley Oop got there for the weekend a little earlier than usual. Melody and Chris offered to cook anything I wanted. Hmmm...... I thought of the one meal that I seldom fix, but have enjoyed since I was a child. We had Sloppy Joes, corn, and chips. That was followed by my birthday cake with a very few candles on it. I think they were afraid to use 59 candles for fear of the smoke detectors going off. Riley and T-Bear helped me blow out the candles. I opened my cards and then opened the gift that I had been teased with for weeks before from all of them. It was a digital picture frame. I loved it.

'Jo 1952'

I had an appointment with my ENT doctor on my birthday. There were signs on all of the doors to be sure to wish Dr. Cosenza a Happy Birthday. I thought that was pretty neat. For my birthday gift he told me that the medication he has me on for the acid reflux seems to be doing the job, because he couldn't see any irritation to my throat. After leaving his office J.D. treated me to lunch at the Olive Garden. It just doesn't get much better than that. From there we headed home to the mountain with a quick stop to pick up medication. It seems as if the older I get the more I enjoy the peace, quiet and comforts of home. Thank you to my husband, children and grandchildren for making my birthday special. I also thank all of you that left birthday wishes for me here. A special thank you to Pea since she is the one that let everyone know it was my birthday...... You can't get much by her. :-)

'Joe and Bertha Riley 1935'

This is a picture of my parents taken around 1935 just prior to their wedding day April 11th. It was taken along Camp Creek here in southern Ohio. Grandpa Riley ran his still down by the creek where it was nice and wooded and not very likely to be stumbled upon. If you are able to click on the picture to make it larger, you will see that my mother is holding a gun on my dad. Not two weeks after they were married, my uncle came running into the house telling Grandpa Riley that the law was on their way and they had found out where the still was. He in turn sent my uncle and my dad to tear the still apart and hide everything. It might have worked if they had done what Grandpa told them to do. Instead, as they were tearing things apart, they got into one of the jugs of moonshine. Needless to say this slowed things down quite a bit. My uncle got antsy about the law showing up and took off, leaving Dad there alone with the still. The law really did know the location of the still, they did show up and they questioned Dad about the ownership of the still. Being the loyal son that he was, he claimed ownership of it. The sheriff kept telling him that they knew it belonged to Grandpa and if he insisted on claiming that still as his it would mean he was going to do time in prison for it. So it was, that two weeks after my parents were married, my dad went to prison for six months. My Dad died in 1978 and my Mom in 2001. Tomorrow would have been their 73rd wedding anniversary.

Have a blessed day!

~Jo

Happy Anniversay!!

Today is our eighth wedding anniversary.
J.D. and I both agree that it doesn't seem like we have been married any where near eight years. Since the day that J.D. walked into my life I have been experiencing what true love and happiness is all about.


When we decided that we were going to get married and spend the rest of our lives together we needed to then decide where we would get married. At the time we were living in SW Louisiana. J.D.'s earliest years of life was spent in Columbia, Louisiana. He had so many fond memories of his childhood and friendships that he had back then. I wanted to tie our wedding day into those wonderful memories that he had when he thought of Columbia.

After agreeing on the where, I got busy and made arrangements for a Justice Of Peace to marry us. J.D.'s niece by marriage, Sharon Jones and one of his childhood friends who still lived in Columbia, Don Gregory were our witnesses. It had rained all night the night before, but on the day of our wedding the sun was shining and the sky was that beautiful color of blue that you can only find in Louisiana, filled with fluffy white clouds. It was on the river walk of the Ouachita River in Columbia, Louisiana that J.D. and I promised each other our love, devotion and loyalty for the rest of our lives.

We were even fashionably late for our wedding. April 2nd was the first Sunday of the month, as well as the day the clocks were to spring ahead by one hour. We hadn't even given that a thought. Fortunately the Justice of Peace and Don figured that we had forgotten about the time change and waited for us.

I would be telling you a lie if I were to say that we live our lives here on the mountain with never a cross word or disagreement between us. We have a few little disagreements and from time to time. One or the other of us (usually me because I am too tender hearted) will get our feelings hurt, but the important thing is that we love each other enough to not let these little things fester and become big problems. I think J.D. would agree with me when I say that it is always important to be considerate of each other in all that we do.

I look forward to each new day that we have together. J.D. is not only the love of my life, but also my best friend. Since the day that we met, we seem to be so in tune with each other that if one of us thinks it the other can say it in most cases. On more than one occasion J.D. has told me that I scare him...lol

I am so glad that God's plan included our spending the rest of our lives together. I am truly 'Blessed'.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!

Puff..Puff..Puff... That Cigarette

This is going to be a very short and to the point posting. I was so wrapped up in our surprise snowfall over the weekend that I didn't even realize until this morning that Saturday was an anniversary for me. It was six months ago Saturday that I laid my cigarettes down on the screened in porch and walked away from them. I did this with the help of a drug called Chantix and a lot of prayer on my part. I had tried quite a few times before to quit smoking and failed miserably.

Now here it is six months after the fact. The cigarette pack still lays untouched on the porch. I guess I really can't say they are untouched, because about a month after I quit Riley picked them up and brought them to me saying, "Here Grandma, you forgot your cigarettes on the porch." It felt good to tell him that I hadn't forgotten them, that I left them there because I don't want to smoke them any more. He told me o.k., then put them back where he found them.

I can honestly say that there has only been a few times that I had a craving for one, but tthat craving came and went rather quickly. The worse craving I had was the day I lost my mind due to that musical drug, Lyrica. That too passed though.

Note to Jo: It does feel good to no longer be a slave to tobacco.