2009 Huck and Hollaway Family Holiday Letter

C is for Crazy.... that's how 2009 started out it was pure madness. We were still getting settled into our new home and we couldn't find a thing we needed. we hadn't got everything unpacked and wasn't used to the placement of what we had already unpacked.

H is for health.... as the months moved forward we were reminded of a how fragile we are when Kaylee lost her step-dad after a year long battle to cancer.

R is for reconnection.... we reconnected with several family members and friends this year. Life is too short to hold grudges. Just pick up a phone and tell someone you love them.

I is for Independence... Our family had a nice little dinner on the fourth of July. We celebrated our Independence, Velma's 63rd and (Kaylee's Sister) Glenda's 43rd birthday with a nice sit down dinner.

S is for September... in September we {Shane, Kaylee, Debra (Shane's mom), and Velma (Kaylee's mom)} took a trip to Florida to visit Dottie (Kaylee's Sister) and her children.. We had a lovely time.. We visited Pensacola and Navarre Beach. We are going to do it again real soon.

T is for Tennessee... When we got back from Florida we picked up Cheyenne and headed to Chattanooga to spend Kaylee's birthday. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo.. It was wonderful..

M is for Mechanic.. Shane has turned into quite the mechanic. Kaylee's car took a beating with the trips so close together and had to have a little work.. She's purring like a kitten now.

A is for Arrival.. we are awaiting the arrival of the newest member of the Huck Family...Shawn and Sabrina's baby.. It should be here close to Christmas.

S is for Special.. This letter was written to remind you how Special you are.. We love you very much.. May your holiday season be full of wonderful surprises.. From our little family to yours Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The Huck and Hollaway Family
Kaylee, Shane, Debra, Velma, and Cheyenne

Friday the 13th

I know this is late I should have posted it yesterday.. I wrote it yesterday but I didn't get time to post.

I have never had a problem with Friday 13th.. well other than the excitement we had this morning about 5am... but I'll get to that in a minute.. I believe that nothing has power unless u put faith into it.. If you believe in it.. It will happen.. so I always keep a positive attitude toward Friday 13th and so far so good.. I can't really call what happened this morning BAD.. I mean.. We haven't laughed so Hard in a long time.. My mom went out onto the carport and she was yakkin on the phone well apparently she wasn't paying attention and SIMON or resident WILD CAT.. I mean, won't let u within feet of him without hissing decided he wanted in the house.. Well it went CRAZY after that.. I was standing there screaming for mom cause I just didn't know what to DO.. I couldn't pick him up and put him out This is Not in anyway a NICE Kitty.. Well MOM couldn't hear me So I stand screaming for my husband shane who was still in bed..Well Simon decides he wants to check out the livingroom only thing is waiting on the other side of the couch was DIXIE DAYTONA.. and she was None too happy about Simon coming into HER house.. they locked onto each other and was rolling in the floor.. I'm Screaming.. Fortunately Dixie listens to Vocal commands and I tell her to GO to BED.. which worked.. now that Dixie has let go of him SIMON has made his way up onto the bookcase.. I am going to try and shoo him toward the door only I shoo him behind the big screen TV.. and then it was ON because mom had placed a MICE GLUETRAP behind the TV... well to get u to really understand.. SIMON is a long haired cat.. well.. I'm like OH NO we gotta get him out without him getting stuck on it.. So I tell shane to get on one side of the tv I on the other and one of us will attempt to get the trap out without him attacking us.. FAILURE.. Simon moves and gets his tail stuck on the TRAP.. So I tell Shane to go get a broom.. and I look away for just one moment.. just one.. and then look back and no SIMON.. I was thinking it was immpossible for him to get under the TV(our tv is a floor model doesn't sit on a stand.... so we are looking everywhere.. Guess what No Simon.. Shane's like I think he has found a way to get under the TV.. I'm like NO way.. shane pulls the tv out a little and theres the tail still attached to the glue trap.. Shane takes the broom handle and sticks it in the trap and against the floor and pulls.. after several tries he gets it off without even a whimper from SIMON.. Thank goodness cause you do not want to make a WILD cat angry lol.. Well Shane has to Pick the TV up.. and I hafto Shoo him out.. and mom is over between the opening to the diningroom to run him toward the front door.. We manage to get him run out.. but not without a lot of laughs.. oh did I mention shane came straight from the bed and was chasing the cat with BRIGHT (construction) ORANGE Boxer briefs on.. it was Hilarious!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Me and Shane on the Beach

George the nurse shark

Shane and the Gator

My husband the retard

Shane

Shane and his mom

My birthday is tomorrow.. well, Saturday night we left out and went to Florida (shane is on vacation). We went to Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, and Navarre to visit with my Sister Dottie. We had tons of Fun I will be posting pics above. Tomorrow we are going to the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, and perhaps Jukebox Junction. I will take lots of pics.

Waterlogged, Worn out, and Did I Mention Waterlogged!!

Well it's been raining here for over a week and we still have a forecast for another full week of Rain.. Oh boy..... better start building that ark.. I really hafto say I've enjoyed all the days without the Sunshine but, I don't like the swamp my yard has become..

My birthday isn't until Oct 2nd but I got a pretty good present already.. Yesterday my mo-in-law came over for dinner.. and I got a 32 piece set of Better Homes and Gardens Dinnerware.. It was 2 boxes of 16 piece dinnerware sets. I have a large family so I needed to be able to serve at least 8. They each came with a 1 year subscription to Better Homes and Garden Magazine. I really really really like them.. Now I just need to get me some Green and Yellow serving bowls.. I attached a pic above.. We even used them to serve our dinner Sumi Chicken Salad w/ garlic toast. Sumi Chicken Salad is one of my favorite things I like just about any kind of Chicken Salad.

I'm getting ready to gear up for Halloween.. I can't wait I love this time of year.. My birthday (among about 20 other family members in October), Thanksgiving, Christmas, Anniversary then New Years!! It's like non-stop parties and family time.. I love that..

Until Next Time,
Kaylee

Us

Crazy Days and Lazy Nights

I tell ya the summer heat brings out the craziness. My days have been pure chaos lately.. Thank goodness it's starting to calm down.. Hurry up Fall!!!

My darling husband asked me tonight what I want for my birthday. My birthday is only a month and a week away (Oct 2) and I haven't a clue. You know when you get to that point when material things just don't seem to excite you anymore?.. well I'm there. I like lots of things but it doesn't mean I need it or could even use it. I am a firm believer in asking for things I can put to use. I try to give gifts the same way.. I guess it's my OCD that keeps me avoiding the clutter and useless things. The hubs likes having a idea of what I want, I mean it's not that I wouldn't like anything he got me. So I have been racking my brain trying to think of something I want.... I am getting nothing.. well at least I have another month and a week to think about it.


Until Next Time,

Kaylee

Laverne and Shirley

We had a bird to build a nest at the edge of our porch. The babies have grown and they are flying and have just recently left the nest. Before they left I was able to get a picture. The above picture is of Laverne and Shirley.

Happy 4th Of July!

We spent our 4th celebrating our Independence along with my mom's 63rd (June 28th) and my sister Glenda's 43rd (July 5th) birthdays. We had a small family gathering a mixture of my family and shane's family. Believe it or not it was very pleasant... quite the opposite of the Hatfields and McCoys LoL. We had grilled hotdogs and burgers, potato salad, rattlesnake beans, cole slaw, louisanna crunch cake, wallermelon and my flag cake (pic above). It was all really good. The kids played baseball with Shane followed by a Fireworks Show on the front lawn. Oh and Yes.. I call it wallermelon instead of watermelon cause it aint good unless you waller in it!

Until Next Time,

Kaylee

Bread and Butter Pickles

Ok so I couldn't help myself I just had to post a picture of my Pickles. I am so proud of them everyone has been asking for a jar after sampling.. I gotta get more Jars and Cucumbers.

Until Next Time,

Kaylee

Summer Heat Wave

If you have never been to Alabama. I cannot even begin to explain the effects of humidity lol. It will make you do some crazy things. We try our best to beat the hot summer days with Gallons of Sweet Tea, Chilled Watermelon, Homemade Ice Cream, Over sized Straw hats, and the good ole' Water hose occasionally attached a slip n slide for the kiddies. I always spent my summers as a child helping my Grannie can fresh vegetables from her garden. Pickles,Corn Relish, Pickled Squash, Chow Chow, and vegetable soup. My Grannie canned jellies and preserves but my favorite was her blackberry syrup nothing in this world compared to a morning at my grannies with fresh biscuits, Blackberry syrup and the occasional gossip. I never found a fondness for coffee but everyone and their brother could tell ya about my Grannie's Coffee. I swear you could stand a spoon up in it.. It was thicker than molasses but everyone came to my Grannie's and enjoyed it. I miss those days often especially in the summer. My Grannie would be proud of the jars of Pickled Squash and Bread and butter pickles I just canned. I never get them quite like hers but I won't stop trying.

Above are pics of the kids my niece and nephew Cheyenne(Mini Me) and Bo Lander on the slip in slide. Trying to Beat the Heat... Been in the 90s all week and the humidity almost unbearable.

Until Next Time *keep cool*,

Kaylee

Summer Time...

What's summer without Sweet Tea, Sleeveless Sundresses, and Fresh from the garden vegetables. Ms. Judie (my neighbor/Cousin) gave me some fresh cucumbers yesterday. I spent my night last night canning some Bread and Butter Pickles. Mmm Mmm Mmm They are so good I use the Microwave speed canning process for my bread and butter pickles cause I just can't wait to get into them. Want my recipe? just ask.
I have lots of pics to post from the past month or so but I am using a loaner computer because mine is in the shop. I really don't like uploading my pics to this computer and then hafto go back and delete them. I'll just wait for my computer to get back.. I sure wish they had this site setup like Facebook and Myspace I can upload pics from my mobile on there.

Until Next Time,
Kaylee

Groundhogs and Flowers

We discovered in March we have a groundhog living in the barn. We decide to name him Lucas Buck. The first Picture above is Lucas Buck. The other day we discovered that Lucas Buck has a mate living with him and they have 4 baby groundhogs. They are aboslutely adorable they look like little Pom Pom's lol.. Wish I could get a pic of them to post but, the mommy and daddy are really protective and won't let me close enough.

I also posted pics of my roses and flowers. I will tell ya I don't do good with any kind of plant so I try to stay as far as possible from them so maybe they will survive lol. Dixie just had to have her picture taken so I posted a pic of her and a rose also. The pink rose that I am holding and Dixie's picture was taken with broke off the bush during all the storms we have been having.

Until next time,
Kaylee

Why do you love me, when I have neglected you so much?

Well as you have all seen I haven't had any free time to update my blog. So much has happened I just don't know where to start. If you rewind a few weeks. We had a tragedy in our community and family. My 3rd cousin, his wife, and 3 children under 10 yrs died in a house fire. Within that same week we had 4 other members or our family to die bringing the total for the week to 9. Since then another 8 have passed away in our family and community bring the total to 17 of my family and friends. Just Wednesday last week my Stepfather who had raised me from the time I was 1yr and 4 months old passed away from Cancer. He was the only father I had in my life until I reached my teen years and met my biological father. So I wanna take a moment to mention this great man and his service to our country. He had 2 tours in Vietnam.


Travis Eugene Hollaway
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 18, 2009, at Glencoe-Hokes Bluff Chapel for Travis Eugene Hollaway, 61, Ragland, who passed away April 15, 2009. Pastor Tommy Hutt will officiate. Burial will follow in Macedonia Cemetery, Ragland. Glencoe-Hokes Bluff Funeral Home is in charge.


Travis was a resident of St. Clair County but lived most of his life in Etowah. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, earning awards such as the National Defense Service medal, Vietnam Service medal and the Vietnam Campaign medal. He was a beloved brother, father, uncle, grandfather and a devoted Christian.


Mr. Hollaway was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene Vernon and Lillie Margaret Hollaway; and a beloved baby sister.


He is survived by his daughters, April Michelle (Anthony) Sellers and Kaylee Gerilyn (Shane) Huck; grandchildren, Zoie and Nebula Sellers; sister, Judy Dianne (Calvin) Freeman; brothers, Randy Ray (Ann) Hollaway and James Thomas "Tommy" Hollaway; nieces and nephews, Nancy and James, Karen and Johnny, Sherry and Stephen, Cecil and Susanne, Dewayne, Joseph, Cody and James and Cheryl.


Pallbearers will be Shane Huck, Robert Lipscomb, Derrick Tinsley, Michael Tinsley, Ben Lipscomb and Allen Lipscomb.


Honorary pallbearers will be Glenn Bobbitt, Calvin Freeman, Ray Phillips and Willy Brumett.


Special thanks to Hospice Complete, nurse Amy and Kelly, Dr. Castillo and Dr. Harrison.

Thank You all for your thoughts and Prayers. I love each of you,
Kaylee

Cold = Sick

I went to the Doc today. I have Bronchitis yet again. It's so funny when you walk into the Doctors office and you say "ok I have Bronchitis I need Azithromycin and a albuterol inhaler" and she just says "OK". LOL.. Although she did suprise me with a prescription for steriods. I so should have been a Doctor. The doc and I put heads together today to try and figure out this rash I have on my arms. I've had it for months. I was thinking to start with it was contact dermatitis. I started buying everything from National allergy supply fragarance free products(costs a fortune by the way). It just wasn't going away. It doesn't itch it's just small red bumps looks like GOOSEBUMPS. We came to the conclusion that it is a genetic skin disorder called Keratosis Pilaris. I wanted to write about this in my blog because I have had these patches to come and go on my legs over my entire life and I never knew what it was. I did a little research on it and it says that 50% of adults have it or are carriers of it and never realize what they have. KP is not contagious. It is not an infection and is not caused by a fungus, bacterium, or virus. People do not give it to someone else through skin contact and do not catch it from anyone else. Some people are simply more prone to developing KP because of genetics and skin type. So Basically I got it from genetics. I can treat this to get relief and lessen the rash look but I will never be fully rid of it. Well just wanted to let ya know what was going on and I put up the information just in case it helps someone else recognize that they may have this disorder.

Until Next Time,
Kaylee

Cold Cold Cold

It's been sleeting and snowing most of the day. When it first started and was just real light snow, I dressed Dixie in her favorite sweater and let her romp in the yard chasin the snow flakes it was too cute for words. The pic above is her in her sweater playing near the steps. Don't mind her Fat Rolls.. She knows she's chunky. To be such a small dog she wears a X-Large Sweater.
I will be so glad when this Artic blast is outta here and we get back to warmer temps. It's been below Freezing all day long since like wednesday. I brought the boys in house and I'm crating them for the duration. They actually liked coming back into the house (No whining). They seem to think its fun to play chase when they hafto go out to potty. It isn't pleasant chasing them all over the backyard tryin to get them tired so you can bring them back in. I seem to get tired before they do. LOL.. I have realized that Peanut butter doggie cookies are the Best way to get them to come back in without the hassle.
Well I am outta here, Gonna try to keep warm. Thinking about either Chili or Hot Chocolate.. MMM..

Until Next Time,
Kaylee

Burr.. It's cold out there!!

I have been very neglectful to my blog lately. I haven't posted since before christmas shame on me. So what's been going on? Well, We survived the holidays without any major events. It's been raining ALOT. There was several days that shane was having to take a long way (nearly going to centre) just to get to work. The roads were flooded it wasn't pretty. They just recently put Tar and Gravel on Gnatville Rd which is a road he travels to work and now there is a area about 10-20ft long that is bare. The water just ate away at the road. It went from Rain to Extreme cold. We are suppose to have below freezing temps for the next couple of days and on thursday a wind chill of Zero. Boy, I can't wait for that ya know. The house is still a mess or maybe it's just me. I haven't had time to work on any hairbows or start any new projects. It's been busy busy busy around here.
Until Next Time,
Kaylee