The Baptisms

Today my babies made a public

testimony of their faith in Christ

through baptism. Shiloh United

Methodist Church in Mantachie,

Mississippi, is the church I

attended for the first 19

years of my life: it is still

the church my immediate

family call home.

Joining Caryn and Beth at the

front of the sanctuary are--from

left to right in the photo that

follows--Papa Jim (the kids'

father's stepfather), Grandy

(Louise--their grandmother on

their father's side), my sister

Susan (their mom), my Aunt

Louise (my mother's sister and

the girls' great-aunt), and

Mama (Jo Ann).

Pastor Ronnie sprinkles

Beth first...


...and Caryn next.


Beth turns 10 tomorrow,
and Caryn turns 12
on August 1.




Below, the congregation comes
forward to welcome the girls
into the body of Christ. (I can
remember when Mrs. Ethyl Smith
shared a hug with me when
I professed Christ as Lord
thirty years ago.)



The two grandmothers share
a moment with the girls.



Aunt Louise gets a hug
in as well...

Many, many thanks to my cousin

Cindy Reynolds for taking these

photos for me and sending them

via email so quickly...Love you!

A-B-C Celebration!

I dreamed up this A-B-C party theme

to celebrate three events in my friends'

lives and in my own life.

The only problem was that, through

unforeseen circumstances,

the C part of the celebration

had to be kept secret until now...

I held the event on January 20th --

one day before my ANNIVERSARY

of moving to Columbus, Jim's 45th

BIRTHDAY, and...

Menu:

APPETIZERS:

APPLE CHIPS &

CANTALOUPE W/ COTTAGE CHEESE

BEVERAGES:

CORONA BEER &

BUDWEISER BEER

CHIEF COURSE:

CHILI CON CARNE &

CHILI BLANCO

CONDIMENTS:

CRACKERS, CORNBREAD,

ACIDIC CREAM, &

CHEDDAR CHEESE

CONFECTION:

CHOCOLATE PIE W/

CARAMEL COULIS

In the BACKGROUND,

we played the following

BROADWAY CDs:

ANNIE, AVENUE Q,

BEAUTY & THE BEAST,

CAMELOT, CHICAGO,

& A CHORUS LINE.

The shot of the bathroom above

really has no significance to the

party except perhaps I wanted

to show off my ASIATIC lilies. :)

Happy ANNIVERSARY to me!



Happy BIRTHDAY, Jim!



The gentleman sitting on the couch
by Sandi is my friend Max Moore.
He found out today what I knew
more than 10 days ago: Max will
begin working at Nationwide
Children's Hospital Foundation
with me starting in February!


CONGRATULATIONS, MAX!!!

Cat and Mouse

My friend Ione Katz from Memphis

sent Maria a stocking home for

Christmas. Within it was a play

mouse, which itself was in

a ziplock bag of catnip.

Enjoy the show!!!

The Big--and Wonderful--4-0!

I started celebrating my 40th

birthday on Birthday Eve.

(Most people use the term

"New Year's Day," but

I can't help their inability

to recognize the more

important designation.)

My friends Sandi Smith

and Greg Blausey--

the Narrator and Pharoah

from Joseph--invited me to

Greg's home for a little

Northern meets Southern

cooking...

In the shot above, you can see

the pork with apple and onion

stuffing, the cornbread, and

the blackeyed peas with hog jowl.

What you can't see are the collard

greens and the sauerkraut.

(Pork and sauerkraut bring

my Northern friends good luck

while the blackeyed peas and

hog jowl bring this Southern

boy fortune in the new year.)

Above are Max Moore

and Sandi with

Greg in the background.

Below are Jim Keller and Max.

Jim looks on as Greg

continues to prepare

the final steps of the meal.

The four on my cake is

representive of DECADES!

I even had four new Ohio

friends to help me celebrate.

(I love you, guys!)





It had been snowing all evening,

but I wasn't expecting this

much snow when I stepped

outside to go home!

Whoopie! A snowy birthday!!!




Today Brent and Amy Yekisa

took me to the Old Mohawk

in German Village for lunch.

Amy is expecting their first

child--a DAUGHTER--in May.



We all opted for the Mother

Mohawk, which is a roast beef

and chicken salad sandwich on

rye with horseradish dressing.

YUM!!!



Tonight Bob Dudics took me

to the Columbus Fish Market

for supper. I'd been wanting

to go there since I moved here.








Bob had a seafood feast...

and I had the crusted salmon.

DELICIOUS!!!

Bob insisted I order dessert.

I wasn't hungry, but when the

waitress said it was

complimentary for my

birthday, I chose the

seven-layer carrot cake.

These photos do not

do it justice. Oh, my gosh!

Emily, I promise to take you

here for the cake when you

make your next trip...

All in all, a great way to

start the second half of my life!

Christmas in Dixie

CHRISTMAS AT HOME...

CARYN

MAMA (JO ANN)

YOURS TRULY...

BETH

Uncle Bob isn't too happy

with this gift. It's rated "T"

for Teen, and Caryn's only 11.

I gave Caryn a copy of Hairspray.



SUSAN

I gave Mama an Ole

Miss windbreaker.

My lovely sister again...

Uncle Bob also got the girls

lap desks. This was not

their favorite gift. :)

I thought my mother was

being a bit modest by

covering the model's

midsection. Later on you'll

understand her motive.

My attempt at free-hand

on Christmas Eve...

Hannah Montana...

"Wicked Awesome!"

Brother Bob's practical

but useful black scrubs for work...

Modesty revealed...

The Cheetah Girls...

Pet Shop Monopoly...

The best gift of the day:

CELL PHONES!!!

My treasure trove...

(including a heated cushion

and a $40 gift card to Chili's)

CHRISTMAS AT AUNT LOUISE'S...

Uncle Carlos is praying

that we will soon make our

way to the table.

AUNT LOUISE

UNCLE CARLOS:

"I hope it's not another

stupid flashlight!"

No, much better...a NY

Yankees cap!!!

COUSIN CINDY

(who is 40 years old...

Cindy is 2 1/2 months older

than me and always a year

older than me on Christmas

Day since my birthday in

January 2!)

BETH: "Great...clothes..."

LOUISE: "OOO-WEE!

Flannel sheets!"

Back home after a long day...