News Flash!

Aidan and Keegan have the Swine Flu! Please send prayers and good thoughts to these precious family members. (Mary, Joe and Issy have already had it.)

May God Bless you, Boys. I'll write more about your soccer playing later.

Mimi

Other weekend activities...

Andrew (and crew, Emily) complete an excellent run of "How to Eat Like A Child".

Issy continued to set a glowing example of team spirit and enthuactic support.

Joe's team won 31 to 0! "Joe caught 3 passes, one extra point and played great!", emailed his dad.

After a tough loss of Saturday's game (and not pitching), Ford pitched first three innings Sunday and struck out 6. His team won 12-3!

Morgan showed her delightful, lighter side in the soccer game she refereed on Saturday.

A Groovy Day at the Corn Maze

For the last three or four years a few members of the family gather and head for the corn maze to celebrate Fall. This year Tom's sister joined us with her three children. Some of the maze had been flooded and maps had to be redrawn. They were a little hard to follow but our fearless leader, Andrew (after an hour and a half diligent map reading) lead us out of the maze and into the opening once again.

We encountered but one problem. Grandad and young 4 1/2 year old Patrick, got separated from the group at the beginning, never to be found again! I'm not sure how long it took G'diddy to give up, find a forbidden short cut out and go sit himself down in a chair while watching his charge play on the tractor tires, but we all had faith that he would.

All-in-all, it was a really good memory. Come join us next year!

Uncle Shucks Corn Maze 2009 from Croft on Vimeo.

"Adios Amigo!"

More transformation from the "Nursery" to the "Green room", today. And I gotta tell ya, I live in a dream world where stuffed animals become family and are loved! I felt like a traitor packing them away and taking them off to another home...and yes, there were a few tears. Oh, and these don't represent all the babies that I took out of the three tiered table in the Nursery kitchen! (It pains my heart when I think of Emily having to do this one day.)
Some stayed. Kate granted a pardon and I rationalized keeping a few more under the pretense that they were special because...yada, yada, but let me tell you, it was a hard day letting go of the memories each one held. Also, I am like a child when it comes to wanting cute cuddly life like animals. (Where do you think Emily and Issy got it from?) So please don't feed the addiction! I never want to do this again...(except for that large lamb I have been waiting for that won't come in until December.)

One funny thing did happen. As I quickly lowered the animals into the large black plastic bag , so as not to think too long about it, one toy in particular grabbed me with laughter! It was a large, beautifully colored parrot that hadn't been played with in years, but when I threw him into the bag, he hollered, "Adios Amigo!" (who knew the battery still worked!) and I let out a loud chuckle and ran to tell Kate viva email. I knew then that someone else was going to get a smile from that bird, not just me.

So, Adios Amigos, it's been really good having you around with all the children that have played here.

Mimi

P.S. There are still a few stuffed friends in Kate's basement room that have been granted immunity as well. I still have enough for a party! ;)

How To Eat Like a Child

STARRING (in Mimi's mind)

ANDREW S-C

Oct. 20th - 24th

With Andrew's comedic timing and months of rehearsals; this play should prove to be a winner.

BREAK-A-LEG, ANDREW!

October events

Isabelle had a yummy belated birthday party today at Chamberlain Chocolate Factory!

She is also a top cheerleader for the Fourth Grade Colts football team.

Andrew was invited to participate in the Duke 7th grade talent search for scoring so high on his CTP4 testing last spring.

Emily is working on the tech crew for Andrew's up-coming play this weekend. She also had the winning concept for the playbill!


William was moved into an accelerated program in math and reading due to his high scores. This will mean he accelerates into 1st grade curriculum while staying in his kindergarten class. Last week, Will also got 4...count 'em...1,2,3,4, green lights in a row, for good behavior! He has really been working on that for some time. Good job William!!


Morgan is making some $$ this fall by being a referee for soccer games. She took a class and is now official. The best part is that she has a whistle!! Morgan also went to Tallahassee this past weekend, with friends of her family, for two more soap box derby events. She continues to rock climb too.

Ford is having a successful baseball fall season with the Medlock Park IronBirds and Joe is all fired up in his football season with the Fifth Grade Colts. Go Teams!

I know there is a lot more family news to be broadcast, IE...environmental news, big cases, new decorating clients, winter workout classes. I hear Shannon's new job at GT is going great! How are things in CA going for our newly married family?

Got news? We want to know! I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

The Nursery

Today marked a milestone for me. I gave away Kate’s baby furniture and started the process of changing the “Nursery” into just another bedroom.

I surprised myself (and everyone else!) when the tears started to fall as the men took the 25 year old nursery bedroom set down the stairs. I could almost feel Baby Kate (4/28/84) the day I so proudly brought her home from the hospital and placed her in the crib I had prepared for her. Then I thought of the day we moved a twin bed onto her room. She refused to leave her cozy, familiar crib even though she was old enough to read books alone at bed time. It took her forever to make the transition.

After Kate left the nursery and moved next door into her big girl room, the wicker-filled room still served as her play area, but the crib sat childless and waited for the first grand baby to arrive. I remember the first time Ford (7/2/95) came to the new nursery at Farmington. Grandad and I acted adoringly like new parents as we tried to endear ourselves to him. I was never sure if I was allowed to act as a “real” grandmother or not, but my instincts couldn’t wait to love and talk with him as he lay in the nursery bed.

One by one the other grandchildren came. It was Kim that first asked me to witness a grandchild’s birth. Secretly, I couldn’t believe my good fortune that I would be invited into such an intimate, precious moment; my daughter’s first baby being born! I witnessed Andrew’s birth (11-8-96) with the pain of a mother and the incredible excitement of a grandmother! Every difficult experience I had endured to that point in life seemed worth it, just to be there for that moment.

When Mary, asked me to be in the delivery room for Joey’s birth (4/7/98), I thought life could be no better. I had always wanted her to trust me like that, and I dreamed it would bond us together forever. I might have failed her in my excitement, taking pictures of such a special event in her life, but I was so overwhelmed at the privilege that perfection just couldn’t be achieved with my photographs. I had another child to fill the nursery bed.

Then 1999 we were blessed fully and overflowing! First, I received birth pictures of Keegan (2/3). I felt so privileged to share Kristin’s journey through a photographic journal, even though she and Keegan were so far away and my arms ached to hold him. They were filled, three day later when I witnessed Emily (2/5) being born, my first granddaughter, the spitting image of her mother. Sweet little Morgan (4/13) came next, being special because she was born on her Grandfather’s birthday. At that time her parents lived close to Emily’s, so they shared this delight of daughters and a baby sitter as well; when the moms had to return to work. The girls loved each other at an early age.

It wasn’t long before Isabelle (9-5-00), who looked just like her dark haired father, arrived. Mary and Mike again shared the experience with me and I realized fully that love is the only thing that you have more of, the more you give away. I was in love again! Aidan (8/25/01) followed almost a year later, again, too far away to touch but the perfect brother for Keegan to fill the nursery with when they came home. He also was born on the very day of my beloved son, Michael.

The family had exploded and nursery was alive with children, playing, sleeping, and reading books from the book shelves. The babies were little people when, last, but certainly not least, came our dear William (1/18/04); William, who keeps us from growing old too fast, who reminds us, it ain’t over ‘till it’s over. The thrill of watching his birth and having a ninth grandchild was no less than the first.

Each child has laid his or her head in Kate’s crib. Twenty-five years have passed and I don’t want to let go…until I think about today, how proud I am of all the things my children and grandchildren have accomplished and who they are as people.

Today, as the men were packing the perfectly preserved 25 year old furniture into their van, I told them, through my tears, to keep the mattress in plastic, every child deserved a clean mattress and, “Don’t scratch it, for goodness sake!"… The mother that is receiving this furniture is a 16 years old girl, a year younger than I was when I was pregnant with Michael. I told them to tell that mother to take good care of her baby and to know that I would be praying that her child would be loved as much as all the babies that had lain in this crib before her. I have named her Hope, for my prayer purposes, and I pray she will be healthy, happy and do great things in this life. After all, that bed must be blessed by God himself! I was promised a picture of her in the wicker crib.

Now, to the time at hand-- Kim is helping me turn the nursery into, what I have decided to call the “Green Room”. You sometimes wait in a Green Room before going on stage; therefore it will wait for Kate to come home again to visit, and I will add another crib if it is ever needed. It will also honor the new, “Green” way of thinking for the young people (grown-up grandchildren) who I hope will come and visit whenever they like. Oh, and it’s also painted green.

I feel better now. I’m so grateful that those babies have grown up to be so fine and I will continue to try and find ways to make them proud of me. I am reminded of lyrics from a favorite song; ..."Some say love is holding on and some say letting go. Some say love is everything and some say they don't know"....

Well, I know and in my heart I will hold on to every one of you, forever...

Mama/Mimi/Merry Croft

Happy Birthday Tom!

You have to love a big family, we get to celebrate more days than not!

Just a quick shout out to our Tom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (Your face won't tell your age so I won't give it away either.) Today, we will just celebrate you and the day you joined our family.