Friends from Oregon

My NEW friends from Oregon, the Brock Family, thought they were coming to the sunny south and ended up in our Snowflake Wonderland at VeryVera today.  Mom & Dad Brock brought 3 sons, a daughter and son-in-law and most importantly 2 precious granddaughters to enjoy lunch in our Cafe.  I teased them about “what do folks do in Oregon…climb mountains?  Do you have the Internet there?”  The quick response was “yes, we climb mountains, drink coffee, beer and we found YOU on the Internet!!  I love 2012!!!

Family Traditions

Set your watch…it’s not Christmas at our house without Breakfast Casserole and Pluck It Cake.  As I keep guard on the oven as these two dishes bake on Christmas morning, I’m reminded of the couple of times it didn’t work, the time I forgot to buy the ingredients and Daniel and John were off on Christmas Eve night looking for these items at the 7-11 stores.  It didn’t taste the same that year but at least we had one.  This year, I think….IT WAS THE BEST ONE EVER!!!  But then again, I’m reminded I say that almost every year.

Quite the Tradition

VeryVera was recently in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Logan Nalley for a spectacular Holiday Party.  Upon entering the front grounds and walking onto the porch, you knew immediately that “Christmas was Coming!”  Every detail of a traditional Christmas was present from the aroma in their home to the beautiful appointments of Christmas Past and Present in every room.  Their home is just gorgeous and so truly representative of what an old-fashioned Christmas would be all about.  I left there that night excited about the season and proud of the work that VeryVera did as well.

Remembering Friends at Christmas

Sunday my granddaughter, Jane, joined her friends from “school” to participate in the Columbia County Christmas Parade.  The students from PSA were so excited to be part of the big parade and Jane was no exception.  She had the cutest little red & white striped suit with a Reindoor on the bottom.  Her friend Lilly made sure Jane was ready to go and as you can see, was going no where without her!  “Come on Jane….we don’t want to miss Santa!”

Tis The Season!

It’s that time of year again…the time to count our blessings and reach out to those that might need our help.  My precious daughter in law, Catherine, will be heading up the Radiothon again this year to raise $$ for the Children’s Miracle Network.  What a great way to get started today by having this darling two-year old contribute $400 to “help the children that have bad colds!”  She asked for $$$ instead of gifts for her birthday in order to help other children.  Let’s pass it on!

Lead by Example

Dana Keen is our School of Good Taste Director and also our Chef for VeryVera’s Cafe.  Her leadership is as big as her smile right now and she constantly reinforces the company motto “IT WILL GET DONE.”  I am so proud of the example Dana sets for all of our young people and she’s obviously very proud of her spider web!!  If you have a young person between the ages of 8 & 14, they need a “Dose of Dana!”

A Great Georgia Day!

Raising two sons that both graduated from the University of Georgia, having a husband that did, too, and also receiving my degree from there along with my mother and one of my brothers, Saturdays in the Fall are all about UGA.  Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten off to a really good start but this past Saturday my sons went back to the good ole days when they caught a glimpse of Herschel Walker and he poised for a photo.  How about THAT DAWG!!

A Very Special Bond

Oh My Goodness!  To see Melissa holding little Mae Margaret was such a thrill!  Her exhuberance on being a new Mom and her implementation of all of the preparation to get to this joyous occasion was so classic Melissa.  From the favors in the room for guests to the perfect delivery, Melissa continues to exceed expectations no matter what!!

Something to Shout About

We are “Over the Moon” excited today as our former VP of Commissary Operations, Melissa Carden gave birth early today to a precious baby girl:  Mae Margaret.  Only fitting that the name would be so Southern!!  We can’t wait to meet her and let her know how lucky she is to have Melissa and Chase as her parents!

First Storm

This past weekend in Beaufort, we had the great opportunity to introduce Jane to the perfect summer storm.  As we sat on the porch in the rocking chairs, the rain was spraying us gently and the lightning was popping in the distance.  She didn’t seem to be scared of the thunder and made it so much more fun for all of us.  She even watched Daddy catch a rain frog!