Things I am missing...

With my Pappaw being so ill the past year it's taken me (mentally) away from some things that I find joyful and theraputic. I am going to get back to that....like yesterday. I have been all consumed in everyone elses business that it's time to self consume so here is my list:

I am truly missing my photograhy so that is going to start again soon!!



Church! I have missed a couple of Sundays now. I need to get back to my people.



Fall Fashion!! I am itching to get all of my fall clothes out and start wearing them!!

Fall Leaves -- So beautiful

HALLOWEEN!!!! I can't wait to decorate!

Baking and decorating Halloween sweets with Victoria

Going to Marks Melon Patch to pick out our family pumpkins <3

Getting a good book and reading it start to finish....promise.

Coffee Dates at Starbucks <3 <3 <3

Georgia On My Mind and in My Heart

Got Georgia on my mind....can't wait to get back to my home, husband and daughter.

~ My Life and all things in it are good ~

Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I'm say Georgia
Georgia
A song of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pines

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

I said Georgia,
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

Georgia,
Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I said just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind

James Martin Carriker (A Family Tribute)

Today we laid my Pappaw to rest and the following Eulogy was written and read by my Great Aunt Janet Green whom did a wonderful job this afternoon.


James Martin Carriker was born on October 26, 1931, to Allison Conner and Mary Elizabeth Cullins Carriker. He was their second son and fifth child. He was little brother to Nellie, Todd, Dean and Son and big brother to DeWitt, Ivey, Janet, Bill and Shelia. Named for both of his grandfathers, James Monroe Carriker and Martin Luther Carriker, he was proud of his heritage, coming from a strong Irish, German and Scottish lineages. Mama always felt like he looked like her side of the family with his dark Irish looks. He loved his big family and remembered fondly growing up during the hard depression years with a loving Mama and Daddy who managed to feed their household and any of their friends who happened to be at the house during meal time.

Jim was educated in Concord City schools; however, he had innate skills that were not taught in the classroom at that time. He understood construction and could build an addition to his house or even a garage with little or no training. He loved to refurbish old cars and trucks throughout his adult years and had an active business reselling them. It seemed he could do anything with his hands that one could ask of him. At an early age he went to work for Cannon Mills and later trained as an electrician. During his career, he worked as an electrician for both Cannon Mills and Jim Vending Company.

As a young man, Jim was infatuated with cars. I understand that he may have received a few tickets after he got his drivers license. He was even known to out run the police one night when he did a strange rigging of a bicycle inner tube to his tail pipe and evidently was disturbing the sleepy town of Concord's evening peace. The only problem was the police knew where we lived and was parked in the driveway when he got home. And as we all know that did NOT set well with Daddy. I can remember Mama telling me that after a boy turned 16, you just had to give them to God and let Him take care of him. I think she was referring to her errant son Jim, just to name one of them.

However, it did not take long for him to leave his adolescence behind him and settle down. He met Eva Bell Carroll, the love of his life, and they married shortly thereafter in April of 1951. She was his loving companion for 55 years until her death in 2006. They gave birth to their one and only child, James Delany Carriker, whom his Grandmother Carriker renamed Jimbo as a little boy. When he outgrew that "love name," we later called him Little Jimmy. Jim remained a proud Daddy as long as he lived, welcoming Terry into his family as his only daughter upon hers and Jimmy's marriage. The birth of a granddaughter, Jamie Cullins Carriker, gave him great delight. He eas her Pappaw, and she was his little darling. She did little to no wrong in his eyes and together they were quiet a pair. When she married Michael, he immediately became family as Jim's grandson and Victoria, his great granddaughter. They became part of his loving family. He lived to see little Brody, his great grandson, born and took great pride in telling me what a special little one he was and chuckled when he told me what mischief he could get into.

Jim's hobbies included hunting and fishing, collecting guns, NASCAR races, cars and the New York Yankees. He also loved listening to and singing Gospel music. He was one of the few Carrikers of our branch of the family who could carry a tune. He loved the Statler Brothers and the Statesman Quartets in particular. Jimmy had a hard time making him appreciate Rock music with the exception of the Creedance Clearwater Revival. He loved teaching Jamie and Brody their childhood songs.

Jim, as is characteristic in our family, loved children. He used to tease me and say "Just let me have Jay and Jann for about two weeks, and I will spoil them so badly, you will never get it out of them. I'll make them mean as snakes." He loved to tease and play with all of our children. He was always a supportive big brother to me, and I always loved seeing him. He and Eva always welcomed me into their home. When I needed to earn money to return to college between my freshman and sophmore years, they hired me as their summer babysitter for Jimmy. When Marty was running for Judge , they manned a voting station, believing in him and convincing others that he was the best man for the job. Those who knew Jim knew that if you did not want his full opinion on a subject that you better not ask him. He was a straight talker. He told you what he believed was "God's Truth".

Jim stole our hearts and at our last "Most Like Momma's Cooking Contest, when he won first place for the dish he entered in the contest. And he cooked it himself. He took probably the hardest dish he could have chosen and made it taste the most like Momma's. He even made her turnip greens and cornbread dumplings. However, we did learn his secret. He boldly told us that Eva Bell taught him how to make it. He said that after she got so sickand could not cookthat she would sit at the dining room table and would dictate every detailand technique he needed to know in order to cook their meals. And that was how he learned to make the turnip greens and dumplings.

When Jim was fearful that he may have had cancer last December, he told me he was ready to die and meet his maker, but he did not want to die. Once he was diagnosed he gave it a valiant fight. He told me more than once during his struggle that he had lived to see another day and was grateful. Although he was noticeably growing weaker, he told me just last week on Monday that his pain was great and each day was gift. We talked at length that day, sharing family stories and reminiscing about growing up. His mind was sharp, but his body was weak. Just three days later he was in a coma, fighting for every breath with Jimmy, Terry, Jamie and Brody rarely leaving his bedside. They were great caregivers (second to Scooter, his pet dachshund), giving back the love that they had known from him and Eva Bell.

Now Jim is cancer-free and joined Ivey this week in rejoicing in Paradise in  the loving and welcoming arms of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is now reunited with Eva Bell, Mama and Daddy, Todd and Ray, Dean and Elmer, Son and Frankie, Terry, Ivey and Dewey. He now knows that joy unspeakable. Let's work on trading in our grief for his joy and rejoice with him.

Written by:
Janet Green

A Trip to Hodges Pumpkin Patch

Since it's OFFICIALLY my most anticipated season we *had* to visit the local pumpkin patch for some Fall fun! We visited the Hodges Family Farm & Pumpkin Patch in Charlotte, NC and we were not disappointed.

I had never heard of this local patch but my artsy friend, Beth Feedback told me about it and turns out she was setting up a face painting and pumpkin painting booth at the farm for the season.....so that was a bonus!

We rolled up to the farm thanks to my handy GPS system and I was not disappointed. Red wagons were waiting on families to fill them up with pumpkins of every size!! And believe me.....they had every size imaginable and Brody wanted one of every size available.

Mom and him settled on one large one, one mid-size and two smaller gourd like pumpkins. Brody walked away a happy camper and Mom was just as happy to have pumpkins this early to adorn her front porch. 

We battled the breezy weather and took our pumpkins home to decorate the front steps of the Carriker bungaolow....pine cones were added by Brody. I think that the steps turned out good for being decorated by a 3 year old! He was mighty proud of himself!!

After arranging the front steps it was time to do our evening ritual.....feeding the deer in my parents back yard. Even though they live in the city they still have a family of deer that come and eat dinner in their backyard every night that corn is laid out for them to dine on. There are 4 smaller deer and one large Buck that makes his nightly appearance. As usual, Alex slept through the whole ordeal but Brody was squealing from the inside out with excitement.  He loves feeding the deer just as much as the deer love the corn.

Groupon Love and Painted Ladies

Several weeks back I purchased a Groupon that I couldn't pass up from Insect Lore. It was a coupon that was for hatching your own butterflies. I am not sure if "hatching" is the correct term (I'm sure it's not) but that is what it felt like we were doing.

I was probably more excited than anyone in our house when the larvae finally arrived! We had 5 tiny wormy like things that turned into HUGE caterpillars overnight. It was o-mazing! After a few days they do their thing and bundle up in a cocoon for several days. Before you know it you have 5 pretty orange butterflies fluttering around in your butterfly net house. It was so cool. We all enjoyed the experience....even us big kids! It is definitely worth buying the kit if your little ones love bugs! It's neat to see them start as little tiny worms and end up beautiful Painted Ladies!

Oh, My Darlin'

Well, I am on day #3 of taking care of my Pappaw and it's been a humbling experience. The once strong man that I thought could move mountains sits hunched over on his sofa looking like a bag of bones. His clothes are sagging and missing the once fuller figure they adorned.

Skin, Bones and pain patches are what my Pappaw currently consist of because of a terrible disease that we can't seem to find a cure for.....CANCER.

Pappaw was diagnosed with bone and lung cancer a little over a year ago. The lung cancer portion didn't come as a surprise because my Pappaw has been smoking close to 70 years (I believe he was 10 when he had his first cigarette); and a heavy smoker at that.

My parents have been caring for him over the past 12 months and it's been hard on them. My father is the only child so the support system we have to fall back on is rather small. My parents are worn out from multiple trips a day to his house to fix something that he has broken while being impaired by the heavy doses of drugs he has to take consume to help alleviate the pain from his rotting bones and lung.

The week before my Mother flew into Albany she suggested that I come home for a few weeks to help with Pappaw so they could have a little break. Both my Mother and Father are worn out and need some help and as their only child and as my Pappaw's only granddaughter it's what I should do...it's the right thing to do. I didn't help with my Mammaw like I should have so I wanted to do the right thing this time around.

I have only been here for 4 days and I am already exhausted so I don't see how my parents have dealt with this for an entire year! He has a ton of pills to keep up with as well as 3 different pain patched that have to be worn on a daily basis. His appetite is all over the place; some days he doesn't want to eat a thing and other days you can't bring enough food over to please his wants.

His mood is all over the place; as it should be. He has good days and bad days. Most days consist of both good and bad moods. He gets agitated easy so you feel like your walking on egg shells when you visit him. He tries his best to be in a good mood when I am there but I can tell when he just playing the part and is really in pain. Cancer pain can't easily be hidden; it's written all over the person.

My Pappaws once sun kissed skin is now an ugly shade of yellow and brown. He is bruised from his head to his toes. It looks like he was in a fight and came out of it as the loser. He is still smoking so his once silky white hair is now a distasteful shade of yellow; his nails are the same. At first I didn't understand how or why he would want to smoke after being diagnosed with cancer since that (smoking) was the obvious source of his disease but his prognosis is terminal so his thinking is what's the difference. He's going to die either way....might as well die happy doing what he likes to do; which is smoking a carton of cigerettes every 5 days.

I am so thankful that my I am able to take the time away from my daily life in Albany to come and spend some time with my Pappaw. I need some closure and I know that this is time that I will never get back. With living so far away it's realistic that I may not be here when he passes so I need to take this time to soak up as many memories as I can with him.

This man has been calling me "Pappaw's Darlin" as long as I can remember. And this "Darlin"will continue to help support him with the biggest battle of his life. He needs my support and strength. After all, he thinks I hung the moon and stars so I need to continue to do so as long as he lives. He took care of me growing up so now it's only natural I should take care of him when he's sick.....and that is exactly what I am going to do.

Footlight Series

Tonight my Dad's band "Route 66" will be performing at Davis Theatre tonight. Below is an article from the from the Charlotte Observer.

A band born in 1966 at Concord's Green Dragon Teen Club will play this week at the Davis Theatre in downtown Concord.

Route 66 will open the Cabarrus Arts Council's 2011-12 "Footlights" performing arts series with a 7:30 p.m. show Sept. 22 in the theater, located in Cabarrus County's historic courthouse at 65 Union St. S.

Tickets are $10, available online at www.CabarrusArtsCouncil.org, in person at the Davis Theatre box office 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays, or by phone at 704-920-2753.

That 1966 band, The West Wind, was made up of four junior high school friends. Besides the teen club, it played at the Moose Lodge, local bowling alleys and private parties. The group disbanded after about three years as members went on to high school, college, careers and families.

"We'd see each other around town and talk about getting together," said bassist Jim Carriker, who graduated from Concord High School in 1971. After a reunion jam session in 2003, "some of us started practicing every week." They added members and changed their name to Route 66 in honor of the year the original band was formed.

Besides Carriker, original members Shane Atwell and Lauren Connell form the heart of Route 66. (Original member Bill Cody had to drop out because of limited time.) It performs covers of classic rock 'n' roll favorites ranging from the 1960s through today.

The current lineup is Carriker, bass; Connell, vocals/percussion; Atwell, guitar/vocals; Bob Wade, guitar/vocals; Jet Taylor, drums; Jeff Carroll, vocals/harmonica; Christine Nichols, vocals/guitar; and John Culbreath, violin/mandolin/banjo/guitar/vocals. For the Davis Theatre show, Michael Flaherty will be guest keyboard player.

Not everyone is from Concord. Nichols, for example, played in a band that toured the Jersey Shore when she was in high school.

The band plays because it's fun and has gone a lot further since the reunion than he had dreamed possible, according to Carriker.

"My dream was to get together to see if we could still do it and play out somewhere once or twice," he said.

"It's the passion for the music, the friendships, old and new, and the chance to do what we couldn't manage as 14-year-old kids," said Atwell, who is well-known in the region as radio personality Jack Daniel on 106.5 The End.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/09/18/2611227/concord-60s-band-to-play-at-davis.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1YgVQc6wb

Pappaw's Darlin'

Today I will be heading back to Concord for two weeks to help take care of my ailing Pappaw. Last year he was diagnosed with lung and bone cancer and he is slowly getting more feeble.

My Dad is the only child so a lot has been put on my parents regarding Pappaw's care; he's not a really good "patient". Is is old, stubborn and set in his ways which most are not appropriate but that 's my Pappaw.

These two weeks will probably be the last "good" weeks that I will spend with him since he is going downhill on a weekly basis. Living 8 hours away is hard on  the heart because I know I can't be there as much as I would like to be so this trip is something I am looking forward to.

I am NOT looking forward to leaving Mike and Vicki for 10 days but they know this is something that I have to do. I will need closure in his passing and this is part of it. I don't want to sit here while he still has some good days and my only excuse is that I am 8 hours away. I don't know how well that would sit with me once he is gone.

I do pray that God keeps him as comfortable as he can and this isn't a long process where my Pappaw has to suffer more than he already is. He is in pain and it seems to get worse every week. Pain is entering areas like his arm/shoulder and foot where I am sure the cancer has now taken over once healthy bones. It's a sad situation but I am blessed to be able to go back home....this is what I need and maybe he does too.

Oh, how I've missed me!

It's been 10 days since my last blog post and I have surely missed venting on here! Things got a little out of whack for the past 10 days but we're back on track and moving back in the fast last. As you know, I take medicine for anxiety and depression and at my last appointment (2 weeks ago) they changed some things around that really didn't help matters and made them worse so I kind of just huddled back into my shell until yesterday.

Two good things happened back to back this week....Mom flew in on Thursday and I had a Doctors appointment on Friday to fix my medicines. WOO HOO!!!!! With that combo how can I not feel like new?!?!? I feel so much better that my meds were the reason I was in a funk and my heart feels happy my Momma is here.

Mom is staying until Tuesday and then I will be going back to Concord with her for 2 weeks to help take care of my Pappaw. My parents have been his sole caregiver for almost a year and they need a break and I have the time so it's the only option. I don't mind, it will give me some time with him while he is still in somewhat a good frame of mind and may give me some closure on the situation as it's probable that I won't be home when he does pass away. It will give him and Brody some time too...they both love each other to pieces.

While Mom has been here Brody has kept her pretty busy. He doesn't leave her side which is cute but draining! He loves his Nannee and she is overly in love with him. It's sweet to watch. We went to the Zoo today so we all could ride the train together. He loved it.

Tomorrow our family is taking a BIG step and becoming official members of our church. Brody, Victoria and myself will be Baptized tomorrow and then it will be official!!!! We will finally be members of FUMC-Albany. I am really excited about it and I think Victoria is too! This is something we all have been wanting over the past several months and it's finally here. Mom is excited to be a witness to all of it so I am happy she is here to watch it....just missing Dad but someone had to stay in Concord with Pappaw.

Well, I will wrap up for now but I am determined not to wait 10 days before my next blog post!

Whirlwind

I can't believe how busy my life has gotten in the past few weeks. Seems like it's a whirlwind spinning out of control at times. I don't know if I am coming or going. Hence why I am doing bullet points again for the blog. I can't seem to put down entire thoughts that flow well in a paragraph form so here is what's happening in the Beemer house:

* Victoria came home yesterday with very good progress reports.....A's and B's so we can't complain too much. She is so busy that we usually only see her before she heads upstairs to bed or if we are graced with her presence at the dinner table.

* Mike is loving being a Dad that can attend football games so we will be going to every.single.home.game until the season is over. Yay, me.

* Brody is on week 2 of Preschool and has already learned parts of the "Pledge of Allegiance" and days of the week. I am super proud of him.

* Momma is coming next Thursday to spend 5 long days with us and I can't wait to see her! I have missed both my parents terribly lately. I wish my Dad was coming too but someone has to stay with my ailing Pappaw.

* Pappaw is still doing okay considering the type of cancer he has. I just pray that he doesn't have to suffer too long with this. I have heard bone cancer is very painful.

* My new anxiety medicine makes me eat like a cow and I have went from 76 pounds to 100 pounds in 2 months. I just put over 30 pairs of jeans up in my closet and had to buy 10 new pair so I would have a fall wardrobe. I am now a size 3 and can't even get a size 0/1 up over my thighs. Go me!

* Church is going awesomely well. We are all enjoying the service and social activities. Vic stays busy in youth and we are so proud of her for that. Hopefully some of his good grace will rub off some of her teen attitude ;)


* I couldn't hold out any longer.....ALL of my Fall decorations are out minus the pumpkins that will be added in the very near future!!!! (No matter what my husband says)