Sorry, I guess I forgot to attach the pics. Have a great day everyone.
Debbie

>
>Hey everyone,
> I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We sure did. We took a
>last
>minute trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia and stayed in a cabin for a few days.
>The cabin was gorgeous and so was the view. I would recommend it to
>anyone wanting to take a vacation. We also saw Amicalola Falls (a huge
>waterfall) and we went horseback riding in the mountains. We stayed at the
>cabin on Christmas Day and opened our presents by the fireplace. We also
>drove through Newnan, Georgia on the way home and stopped by Mama Ruth's
>house. We took a few pictures outside and the next thing we knew we saw
>Genie (her dog) come out barking and a few seconds later here came Mama
>Ruth
>walking down her driveway! We couldn't believe it! I mean, I knew that
>others had been able to visit with her but it didn't look like anyone was
>home and I thought with the holidays and all she might not want visitors.
>But she invited us in like we were old friends. She is so sweet. Buddy and
>Heather were just as excited as I was. They couldn't believe that they were
>getting to talk to Alan's mother! Her grandson (Carol's son Doug) and wife
>(Diane) were there visiting with her so we didn't stay too long. She said
>that Diane was expecting their first child and that would be the first
>great-grandchild so Mama Ruth was very excited about that. She gave us a
>tour of the house and showed us the "tool shed" area and her kitchen and
>den
>area. She seemed so proud to tell us all about her grandchildren and the
>things Alan has done. Alan gave her a life-sized standup of Daddy Gene for
>Christmas. She has it in her den area between the fireplace and the
>Christmas tree. There is a chair right beside him and she said that
>sometimes she sits in there and has coffee with Gene. You can tell that she
>really loved him and misses him. She didn't show us down the hallway to the
>other bedrooms so they must have been messy or she just didn't feel like
>showing them to us. But she did show us to the first bedroom (I'm guessing
>that was hers). She pulled out boxes and boxes of Alan "stuff" and said to
>help myself. I told her that if I wanted to be honest I would love one of
>everything! She said "sure take whatever you want". So I took one of
>everything that I didn't already have. I kind of felt guilty taking so much
>but she had a lot of stuff and you could tell that she enjoyed giving it
>away. I got a t-shirt, some keychains, magnets, pins, mousepads, pencil, a
>deck of cards and an 8X10 signed photo. I think I already have it but she
>had tons of them. Heather even wanted one of the photos. Mama Ruth also
>handed me a framed photo of Alan sitting on a bench. The one from his album
>I think. She also gave me one of those square notepads with his picture on
>all sides. I don't want to use any of them though because then his pictures
>go away. She also gave me some AJ Christmas ornaments. She said they were
>new but I could tell that she wanted me to have them. She even went and got
>me a grocery bag to put everything in. She offered us some chocolates and
>nuts that she received from fans that she had on the dining room table.
>She
>also offered us some "cheese cookies" that she makes for Alan every year
>because he loves them. We were stuffed from eating at the "Dairy Queen" but
>we tried one anyway just so we could say that we ate something that Mama
>Ruth made! They were kind of spicy but we ate them anyway. She also showed
>us all the birds that come in her yard. She said that she loves seeing the
>birds come to the feeder every morning. She also showed us a quilt that one
>of the daughters had made for her from Daddy Gene's old clothes. It was
>really cute and had pockets from pants he had worn in the corners with his
>name on it. She said that all the children had one just like it. She also
>showed us another Christmas present that one of her daughters gave her. It
>was a clock with all the pictures of the grandchildren (from oldest to
>youngest) in place of the numbers. And when it is 3 o'clock, his nephew
>Adam
>says "Hello Mama Ruth, it is now 3 o'clock". They are fixing it with all
>the
>grandchildrens voices on it to say what time it is when it is on their
>picture. Such a nice present. Well, I have talked enough I guess. Just had
>to share my excitement with everyone.
>Debbie
>P.S. I am attaching a few pics of our stay with Mama Ruth. :)
>

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