In Loving Memory

Jewel Delores Carden Womack

Sunrise

May 21, 1931

Sunset

December 29, 2008

Billy Head and I are experiencing the saddest part of life, the loss of a parent. His precious mother went home to her Heavenly Father last Monday and there are no words to describe the loss.

At her memorial service, Billy Head read the following which I would like to share:

"It would be impossible to describe my mother and all she means to me in these few short minutes we are gathered this afternoon." So I will say this about my mom....

She was a Jewel..... my Jewel. She was a precious gift to our family. She was full of love, acceptance, kindess and most importantly faith. She endured much pain and loss in her life and through it all, she kept her faith. She was my Holy Poly Rolly.

Mom had a kind and gentle spirit which made her a likable little soul. She knew how to laugh and have fun. After all, she had me for a son. I often showed her my love and affection by picking on her. She would just laugh and play along. Don't get me wrong.... she had her limits. When I heard "Alan Dean" I knew exactly what that meant. It was time for me to stop but I would just laugh and keep it coming.

One of mom's favorite things was riding in the car and listening to music. She was the perfect date. She never got car sick, she never said "turn the music down", she never wanted to know where we were going and she never uttered the words "Are we there yet?" If you rode with us you would either gasp or laugh at some of the music I tortured her with. She was a good sport and never complained. Occasionally she would ask if she could hear some of her beloved Elvis.

I am grateful for the time I had to be available with her. I miss and love her deeply."

Grandmammma Jewel

Billy Head, Billy Dean and Grandmammma Jewel.

This is Billy Head's mom, Jewel. Little Billy #1 gave her the name Grandmammma Jewel when she was learning to talk and it stuck. I think she should be called Saint Jewel for putting up with a Billy Head for as long as she has. I'm sure he caused her many headaches and heartaches back in the day but TODAY he is the most caring, loving and devoted son one could imagine. And that's a good thing....because I've been told men who treat their mothers good make really good husbands. Hmmmm......I'm still waiting to see if that's true. He tells me the honeymoon is over but I'm still waiting for it to start. I can't quite get him over that commitment hurdle. I think he needs a good stiff kick in the you know what to get him moving. Know of any butt kickers? I pay really well and can keep my mouth shut.

On a serious note, Grandmammma Jewel is currently being cared for in a wonderful nursing home by a very caring and compassionate staff. Billy Head and I are both grateful for these wonderful people and the great job they do.

Billy Head and Grandmammma Jewel on her birthday 2007.

Billy Dean

This is Billy Head's son- Dean (a.k.a Billy Dean). He is styling and profiling with his new ride, just washed and detailed. Funny how guys always keep their rides spotless but when I ask them to wash mine you'd think I was asking for a kidney. Men.....

We have a thing for the name Dean in our little Billy world. Billy Head's name is actually Alan Dean and he hears that mostly from his mother when she is upset with him or from me when he gets on my nerves. His son is also Alan Dean, Jr. but we call him Dean. Knowing all this, can you guess our little Cody's middle name?

Whoooaaaa.... Did you say Dean???? How'd you guess?

I guess in the mind of a child if one Dean is good, two or three must be really good. So last week when I asked Little Billy #2 what my name was, of course he said "Nana Dean".

If you can't beat 'em , join 'em.

My Sister

This is Valerie, my one and only sister and she isn't a Billy. (I don't care what Billy Head says).


She is too cool to be a Billy.

Valerie is an awesome wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, therapist and cook. I know I can always count on her for anything including counseling sessions. And her rates are cheap.

She is the best sister a girl could want and then some. She and her husband, Steve, are loyal hokies and a perfect pair. (Although he may be a Billy. I'll have to ask Billy Head.)

(Steve and my grandbaby Lexi)

Since this blog is about cooking (sort of), you'll see many of her recipes here that she has given me and some that were probably hers that I claim as mine. Either way they are worth checking out. Especially Valerie's Chicken Chili Pasta and Valerie's Penne Pasta with Cream Sauce.

My Billy Parent's

In case you've taken time to look thru some or all of my posts I'm sure you will see that I love family photos. These two people are my parents, Eva Grey and Carlton. They are the best! Of course Billy Head says they are Billy's and they are but he has also named my mother Evil Grey. Which is funny, because that is what I called her when I was in high school. I thought she was the meanest mother in the world. Little did I know, parenting is a tough job. And that is putting it lightly. I am so glad my children are past those grueling years. I love them dearly but oh those teenage years. I would have sold them to the traveling circus for a nickel but they were full. I guess other parent's had the same idea.

I know I caused my parents many a sleepless night breaking curfew, backtalking, skipping school, hanging out with some very undesirable characters and some other things that don't deserve mentioning. Thankfully I did grow out of that stage and become a responsible adult. Most days. So if you're the parent of a teenager, take heart. This too shall pass. Keep your chin up and put the circus number on speed dial.

My Billy Son

This is my son, Jamerson.

He is my youngest and I always said if he had been my first there would have been no more. My daughter did everything by the book so to speak and was pretty easy to discipline(until the teenage years and that is a whole new chapter). Then this little guy came along and said the heck with a book....I write the book around here.

He was a tiny terror but cute as a button. See.

Where does time go? It certainly doesn't take long for kids to grow up, does it? I can remember this photo like it was yesterday. He was pouting because I told him to get out of the car.

Is it me or do you see a serious case of "ATTITUDE"? That's my boy!

My Billy Daughter

This is Greta, my firstborn. Isn't she sweet?

Today she is a mom herself to three little billy's, Carson, Hunter and Caden.

She is a beautiful girl and has her hands full raising kids as a single parent. I am very proud of her accomplishments and her stamina. Raising three kids is no easy task I don't care who you are. She and her brother were all I could handle. I can't imagine having a third one. I would probably have a few more gray hairs than I do. Did I say gray? I meant blonde. Blonde, Blonde, Blonde.

Little Billy #4

This is the baby for now. This is Caden and he is nine months old and is the last of my grandbabies. Like his big sissy he too has a birthday easy to remember. He was born on 10/10. I love it when that happens.

Makes life easier for me. You know, when old age comes a knock'n you tend to forget important dates among other things. For instance green means go at a stop light, or the butter goes in the fridge and not the pantry. Just wait, you'll understand one day. We used to laugh at my grandma when we were growing up. She raised 10 children and too many grandkids to count but when she would call one of us, she would call every name she knew before she finally got the right one. And now I find myself doing it. I never call the grandkids by their right name, it's always the name of a sibling or cousin or, I hate to say it, a dog. Yes, my dog is part of the family and I say his name as much as one of the kids. Recently his only name has been BAD DOG. I can't understand why a house-trained dog decides he doesn't like to pee outside anymore and uses my sofa as a peeing post. BAD BAD DOG!!!

Little Billy #3

This is grandbaby #3 and she belongs to my son and his wife. Her name is Alexis and we call her Lexi. This is their one and only so far but I'm hoping more will come in the future. My children make beautiful babies. Don't ya think?



This is my son, Jamerson and his wife, Charity and Baby Lexi at the Historic Railroad Festival.

Little Billy #1

This is Carson (aka Miss Priss). She is almost five and was my first grandchild. When it comes to remembering birthdays, hers is the easiest. Nine is her number. She was born on 9/9 at 9:09 pm. I have a thing for unique number events. Like, my birthday is 5/18 and Billy Head was born on 1/7 so if you subtract them you get 4/11 which is the date of our first date. Isn't that just too cool? Anyhooo back to Miss Priss. She is definitely her mother's daughter and very strong willed. I guess you know what they say about paybacks. Ahhh......Sweet Revenge.

It's not easy being this cute!!!

Little Billy #2

Meet my grandson Hunter. He is second in the line-up of my grandbabies and he just turned three on July 19th. Don't you just want to pinch those little cheeks. He is the sweetest little guy most days and other days well, I'll let the picture speak for itself.


This is Hunter in Time-Out.

And this was Hunter after seeing Nana grab her camera to capture the moment. How can you punish him after seeing that face?