Made in Japan Salt & Pepper Shakers

I love vintage Made In Japan collectibles. My sweet sister, Raini got me the cutest set for Christmas. Aren't they precious!?!

Sisters

Twin sisters
Originally uploaded by thepinkpiggylux

It's a cold and blustery sort of day here in central Virginia. Days like this make me miss my baby sister all the more. I read a quote the other day that totally summed up my love for her.

There is no better friend than a sister. And there is no better sister than you.

I love you, Raini!

Loser Lawyer

This is a picture of a loser attorney, Rick Hinnant of Winston Salem, NC who owes my dad 500.00 for failing to do anything with my dad's case.
He probably cheats at golf, too.

My dad lost just about everything he owned in a fire this fall. It kills me to know that he reached out to an attorney for help dealing with his insurance company, paying him 500.00 and then the attorney did nothing and refuses to even call my dad back.

My dad paid this attorney named W. Rickert Hinnant $500.00 and this jerk did nothing. How is this not robbery?

This attorney won't even return my dad's calls. He has not made ANY attempt to contact my dad's insurance company either.

So on top of losing just about everything he owned to the fire, my father was also hosed for another 500.00 from this piece of crap attorney who on further inspection has been disciplined twice from the NC Bar Association for not staying in contact with clients and for improperly settling a clients case.

I will not rest until this man repays my father. I will be filing complaints with the NC BAR ASSOCIATION and will continue to let residents of the Winston Salem area know NOT TO USE THIS MAN FOR ANY LAW needs. I'm super ticked.

****UPDATE****
Rick Hinnant just phoned my dad and offered to give him his 500.00 back (funny how a little facebook & twitter & blogging works like that!

After 10 days and many emails, he finally paid my dad back. But this is not a trust worthy attorney and I would never recommend him to anyone. He cost my dad a ton of stress, possible insurance money. My dad is considering his legal options and I hope Mr. Hinnant finds a new job because he is not lawyer material.
My dad hired Mr Hinnant in November and he did nothing. To pay him back in February without so much as an apology is flat out wrong!

Little One @ 5 months

My baby will be 5 months old in two days!

Karsen is amazing. I love her so much. She continues to bless me in ways that I know I do not deserve.

She loves to cuddle. She loves to nurse. She refuses to take a bottle. She loves to sleep with me, refuses to sleep in her pack n play. She has the sweetest smile. She has only laughed out loud once. She tries to turn over but can't. She likes to chew on her hands and feet. She is a little spoiled....OK a lot spoiled but that's ok with me. She is loved and she is love.

Nancy Ann 1938 Bisque Doll

At Thanksgiving, while playing around on Ebay, I found an original Nancy Ann MADE IN JAPAN 1938 bisque doll! I won her for $177.00.

I ended up selling her a few weeks later because we had Christmas to buy for all of the kids but OH MY GOSH I couldn't believe that I had her!

The 1938 Nancy Ann's are super rare. They quit production once the war began and were later made in the USA. This one was marked MADE IN JAPAN 1146...super rare.

She was an Around the World Series Doll "Portuguese".

My Nancy Ann collection has GROWN to over 30 dolls. I will have to get around to photographing them. I usually end up reselling the jointed ones I find because it is too hard not to turn down the money and with a growing family like ours, money is usually needed more than the dolls.

Sick

Karsen at the doctor

It was bound to happen. Karsen is sick. Double ear infection.

Last week, Tate & Ashton both had bouts of bronchitis. I tried to keep baby Karsen away from them. I tried to keep the house as clean as I could. But she still got sick.

I had forgotten how helpless you feel when you have a sick baby that cannot tell you what is hurting them. It isn't a good feeling.

Lost

I was doing some after Christmas cleaning when I ran across a card someone had mailed my husband, John this summer after his father (PawPaw Hanson) died. It was a touching card from dear friends. It meant so much that they had mailed it.

On the front of a very beautifully illustrated scene of (ironically) a lighthouse read the words, "In the Loss of Your Father".

It made me think.

For one, when someone dies....we all say we "lost" him or her. But I know where PawPaw is. I don't believe he is "lost". I also know where Papa Bud is, he isn't "lost" either. I firmly believe they are in the hands of my God.

If anyone is "lost" during a loved ones death....it's the family members.

Even now, a year and a half from losing my rock, Papa Bud, some days I still feel so lost without him. Nothing is the same....not birthdays, holidays or even regular days. Everything I do I always think, "If only Papa could have been here", or "What would Papa say about this", or "I wonder what Papa would think....".

My entire family took two hard hits losing these wonderful men. And in a way, months later, we are all still "lost" trying to find our way around in a new life without them. Its hard. We are learning, surviving and appreciating our family even more than ever...but at times, we are lost.

The Old Barn

This beautiful old barn sits in a valley in Vilas, NC.

It belonged to my Great Grandfather----Grandpa Brown. He was Mama Jo's daddy.

Countless hours were spent playing here as a little girl. Every summer we would spend several weeks visiting our family here. As we would round the curvy road to their home, the graceful silhouette of that old barn would be the first thing we would see. It sat across the road from my Great Grandparents house. As we would pull up, my Grandpa Brown would already be walking up the hill to the road to greet us. I never knew how he must have known we were close by---there was no cell phones back then. My mom said it was because he would sit on the front porch and wait until he saw us. He would greet us with a great big hug and then we would race down the driveway into his home to hug and kiss other relatives who were awaiting us.

The barn was home to a few horses, lots of little mice and some mean chickens. My cousins and I would climb the hills surrounding the barn in search of blackberries. We would slide down the dirt banks, explore the different rooms of the barn, and jump from the hay bale hole to the ground below. The smell of freshly cured tobacco was an amazing scent. It was a child's dream to play in that old barn. We didn't need Ipods or Xboxes. Our play came from our imagination, stimulated by the wonderful setting of that old barn.

I share the same birthday as my Great Grandpa. His name was Olen Grady Brown and he was amazing. Even Papa Bud told me many times over that he had never met a man greater than Olen Brown.

He died in 1986. I was 12. Shortly after he passed, my Great Grandmother died too. And I'm ashamed to tell you that after they died, our families quit getting together. We only went back and stayed in their home one time after they both were gone.

They would be so disappointed in us for that. I love my family in Boone, especially my little cousin Kara who took this picture. We need to plan a reunion of some sorts. That would make Pa proud.

Kara took this picture and shared it with our family on facebook. It was amazing to see the response it created. So many cousins, so many wonderful memories of the old days.

Grandpa Brown and his horse & carriage, giving rides at Cove Creek School

Karsen is not a vegetarian!

Little One @ 4 Months!

15 lbs & 24" long. My girl is growing FAST!
It's so hard to believe that just a year ago, on New Years Eve, we found out we were going to be parents again...and now she is here. Thank you God for unexpected blessings!

Happy 2011!