We got a phone call today (Wednesday) from the breeder saying Barkley would like to move in with us this Friday. So Norman, Karen, JoAnne and Ralph will all make the journey to Oak Ridge, NC (north of the Greensboro airport) to bring him home. Watch for pictures on a regular basis.
The engagement of their daughter Amy Ward to Christopher E. Davis of Dallas, Texas. Amy is the only child of Jack and Patsy Ward from Odessa Texas.
The engagement was formally announced at a garden party given by the prospective grooms family at 5110 Milam Street in Dallas, Texas, on April 24th, 2009. 
It was a lovely evening - thankfully the weather cooperated.
There were just over 30 guests, a keg of beer, and casual menu were thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Champagne toasts given by the respective fathers of the Bride and Groom, Best Man Wes Grinter, and many of the grooms friends.
The party went well into the night and continued on at the Bride and Grooms home in Dallas. 
A small July 4th wedding is planned in Las Vegas, Nevada. A reception will be given by the Bride's family in Odessa Texas on the first or second weekend in August.
Karen and I have two very busy weekends upcoming. This weekend we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of National Golf Club. The festivities begin tomorrow evening (Friday the 24th) with a special social; Saturday with a barbeque and Sunday with a golf tournament and dinner. The following weekend our friends Peter and Terry will be spending Friday evening with us as they drive from their winter home in Florida back to New York. They leave Saturday and then Karen and I are playing in the Kentucky Derby golf tournament on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning, bright and early, I leave for Greensboro with about 7 or so of my golf buddies for a round of golf and an afternoon minor league baseball game beginning at 4PM. The Greensboro Grasshoppers is the name of the team. After the game, it's dinner and then home. Looking forward to both weekends, for sure.
I'm sure that she will be here on her due date because she knows how excited her Grandmother is to meet her.
Ali and Mike are busily getting the nursery ready for her arrival and Kelly is having a shower this weekend for them. The Goff basket is ready to fulfill the role of centerpiece that it has played so many times in the past. Check back next week for pictures.
I know I've kept it a secret from all of you but - I really like kids.
I'm so excited!!
JoAnne and Ralph visited the breeder from whom they got Sandy and Bailey to pick out a new puppy. They chose one of the six boy puppies that were available (see picture.) It was a difficult choice since all were adorable. The pups are 5 weeks old, so they won't be able to bring him home for another couple of weeks. Any name ideas?
It pours. This was the case both literally and figuratively this weekend in Kansas City, as temperatures dropped into the 40s with freezing rain, and it seemed like nothing would go quite right! First Anne's car broke down (in all fairness, this is probably more attributable to 6 months of no oil changes than to bad luck). It is still in the shop. Then, Friday night, Izzy got very sick - unable to eat for two days and vomiting constantly Friday and Saturday night. Finally, at about 3 am on Easter morning, we decided she needed to go to the Emergency Vet. It was there that we spent the next 3 hours, on zero sleep, waiting for her to get prodded and X-Rayed. She spent the latter part of Easter looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame from the fluids they injected into her shoulder, and we're still not sure what caused the sickness, but she seems to be feeling somewhat better now.
Meanwhile, the rain was pouring steadily in Prairie Village as we cooked an early Easter dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, and tomato casserole. Somewhere in the middle of dinner, a curtain rod managed to pull itself out from the wall in our bedroom, bringing down a nice chunk of plaster with it. Izzy was drugged and grumpy and Dylan, no doubt feeling left out from all the attention he was NOT getting, decided to throw up on the carpet in a show of brotherly solidarity. We crashed at 9, exhausted from 2 days of no sleep and the events of the weekend. No sooner had I closed my eyes than....drip, drip....just the skylight leaking water directly over my head!
Look who the Easter Bunny brought us!
Her foster mother called her Mattie because she was covered with mats and over 100 ticks. 
Now she lives with Walter and needs a name befitting a princess. She is at least four years old and a Schnauzer mix of some kind (Maybe a Schnoodle -- Schnauzer + Poodle )
The following choices have been put forward:
Madison nickname Maddie
Madeline nickname Maddie
Margaret nickname Maggy
Things to consider:
She's pretty, smart, energetic, and very sweet. She will have a rhinestone collar and sleep on a pink fluffy bed. She already has a cute sweater that her foster mom sent with her - there will be more.
We are currently test driving Maggy and she seems pretty OK with it -- So what do you think?
Better pictures to follow.
I was so sorry to hear about the loss of a wonderful dog and friend. Bailey was a sweet, gentle puppy who not only brought joy to his family, but brought joy to complete strangers who were lucky enough to spend time with him. Grandma and Grandpa, I am so sorry about what happened. I have no doubt that Bailey, Cory and Sandy are all playing together right now, in the best shape of their lives.
Dear family,
I was very sad when I learned that Bailey had to go live on the farm. I lost my friend Rocky when I was 3, and I know that when a dog dies, it takes a long time to stop sniffing for him. I never met Bailey, because I understand that he didn't like to go in the car, but everyone who had ever met him, everyone in my family said that he was a very good friend. I remember his pictures, and his stories, and whenever I saw Grandma JoAnn and Grandpa Ralph, I could tell that they were very well dog-loved, and that alone is enough to gain my respect.
But Bailey also had a job. Not just sniffing, and cuddling, and catching, and bringing back. He also taught people to read by listening. I think that's really cool. Bailey got up and went in the car even though he didn't like it, in order to sniff and listen for people and kids who didn't have anyone to sniff them or listen to them. I think Bailey was a really good dog, and I hope that I can be as cool as him someday.
Grandpa Ralph and Grandma JoAnn, I wish you didn't have to lose your friend. But what a great friend you had. We'll all miss you, Bailey!
Love, Henry and my family too.
Bailey was such a special part of our family. One of my favorite memories of Bailey is from the last time I came to visit this past December. Mom and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house and Grandpa told us all about Bailey's charity work. It made me want to cry when Grandpa said how kids with learning disabilities would be too shy or embarrassed to read in front of the class but how they would get with Bailey one on one and read out loud to him. Bailey would lie down and just listen and make the kid feel totally at ease. For the holiday season, the class gave Bailey and Grandpa cards and cookies. This to me sums up the kind of dog Bailey was. He wasn't the "need to be in the center of the spotlight" star of the football team like Dylan is or the goofy, lovable class clown like Sandy. Bailey was the gentlest, sweetest dog, easy to talk to because he was such a good listener. He liked to give kisses, he never complained, and never misbehaved (unless Grandpa just didn't tell those stories.) Bailey made a difference in our lives and in the lives of so many others, young and old and brought happiness to everyone he met. I will miss him very very much.
As most of you have probably heard, we lost our sweet little, hoppity, skippity Bailey yesterday. His illness was so aggressive and so quick to take him that we are still in shock. He brought lots of joy to Ralph and JoAnne, which in turn made us all love him as much as they did. In remembrance, I thought it would be nice to take a step back in time . . .
The baby bassinet that first held a tiny newborn in July 1931 has yet to be retired. Every ten years or so, the white wicker basket gets stored in someone's attic, forgotten, collecting dust, when all of a sudden a new baby is on the way and the urgency to find the basket is intense and immediate! Though Emmy Taylor was the last to sleep in the tiny bed, somehow it found it's way into Karen and Norman's basement in Southern Pines. That's where Rick and Wendy found it - anxious to get it for Ali and Mike's little girl, due to make her appearance in June. In great shape, but missing the stand, Karen had the basket safely boxed and UPS'd to Dallas, with the assurance that Grandpa Rick (clever DIYselfer that he is!) will make a new stand. It is expected to arrive today. WOW. Someone (this would be you, Mom and Aunt Mary!) really should put together a list of all of the different babies who have spent their first few weeks in the Traveling Basket. And Mike, I think this story would make a great children's book. Wanna collaborate?
