Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

More VISITORS Came to See Us!

From the smiles on our faces,  you will know how happy we were to have visitors this week!!!
Besides our son's visit on Saturday,  we had two other sets of visitors this past week.  On Monday  (6/2/14),   a childhood friend (Big Stone Gap girl --from my hometown) and her hubby came to our area... Mary Elizabeth Quillen Claywell (we call her MEQ)  and hubby, Doyle,  spent the day with us and we had a fantastic time together.   George and I took them to Fall Creek Falls State Park (our special place) --and showed them around... Then we enjoyed dinner at the lodge restaurant!!!!

Here are some pictures from Fall Creek Falls.  Hope you enjoy them.  Click on them for enlargements.
I introduce you to MEQ and Doyle...  MEQ is a Big Stone Gap, Virginia gal (personable, happy,  fun to be around--like all BSG gals) and Doyle is a Kentucky boy.  Like George,  Doyle doesn't always quite understand us BSG gals!!!!! ha ha .... MEQ and Doyle met in college at LMU in Kentucky.



We could not go to Fall Creek Falls without showing them the MAIN waterfall there.  It was pretty although,  like our area,  it was DRY here at this time, so not much water was coming over the falls.



MEQ and Betsy checking out the gorge area at Fall Creek Falls



This gorge area at Fall Creek Falls is 'locally' called the Grand Canyon of TENNESSEE.  George got a great picture of the mountains.



Doylc, Betsy and MEQ at Fall Creek Falls State Park  (Buzzard's Roost Overlook)


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The other special visitor we had last week was a cousin of mine,  Sallie Strang.  Sallie was driving her RV from Colorado back to her home in Washington DC---and stopping along the way to see some family/friends.  We are so glad that she stopped in our area on Friday,  6/6/14.   We didn't have too much time with her ---but we were able to catch up on all of the family and enjoy a meal (her treat) at Cracker Barrel.

Sallie's grandmother  (Hattie Bruce Cummings) and my grandmother on Mom's side (Ida Bruce Ballard) were sisters...  That makes Sallie and I SECOND cousins.

Meet Sallie Strang---my 2nd cousin!



Bonnie, Betsy, Carol ---more 2nd cousins
This picture obviously wasn't taken recently.  This was in October of 2012 --when these two cousins visited us.  These are two more cousins in the same family.  Bonnie Grubb Sweigart  and Carol Cummings Levack have the same grandmother (Hattie Bruce Cummings) as Sallie Strang does---but all three of them belong to different siblings in Hattie and Howard Cummings' big family (of 9 children).

SO--now that you are thoroughly confused,  let me just say that Bonnie,  Carol and Sallie are all FIRST cousins --and I am the SECOND cousin to each/all of them....  Got it now????  Oh how I love Genealogy!!!!


Here is Sallie's little compact RV... Amazing how much they can get in those little RV's!!!!
At the campground not far from us where Sallie stayed,  there was a family of RABBITS all around... They were so cute!!!!  You can barely see the black one --but he is lying flat on his tummy with his feet hanging out...  So precious!!!


Another cute little chubby bunny;  They really liked being around people!!!!



Here is Sallie beside her RV ---talking to the bunnies!!!!
Well---as you can tell,  we've had a busy week (like all of them seem to be).  Hope you enjoyed meeting another cousin of mine --and a good friend today!

Have a glorious Wednesday.  Please say a prayer for blog friend, Sandie (Chatty Chrone) as she is having serious surgery today!  God Bless her!

Hugs,