Today we went to Teresa
& Johnny’s for a potluck.
While the food was terrific,
the highlight of the day was spending time with Teresa and Johnny, family friends Laurie and Willie
Wooten, Teresa and Johnny's three daughters, Missy (oldest), Teri (middle), and Jennifer (youngest)
and several of their children (Teri’s oldest Kamryn and her daughter Landrie,
and Teri’s youngest – Ryan, Jennifer’s son JD, and Missy’s youngest, Anna). Laurie
is Jennifer’s best friend. Her husband, Willie
(Or Preacher Willie), is the preacher at the church the family attends and they
have all adopted each other. Laurie and Willie have three older children ranging
in ages from twenty to twenty-eight. Seven years ago, they were blessed with surprise
twin boys - Jase and Jaxson whom we also met today.
Even though we were at
different tables we could easily interact with each other during the meal. After
dinner, the younger generation went off to hang out together. Missy, Teri, and
Jennifer put away the food, did dishes, and put away tables and chairs. Teresa
and I visited while Johnny napped in his recliner and Joe napped sitting up on the couch.
The food for the day was excellent.
Jennifer’s husband, Jay, cooked ribs, sausage, brisket, and Boudin. Teri made up
a mixed green salad with colorful peppers and tomatoes, Jennifer made macaroni
& cheese, Missy made cheesy potatoes, and Laurie made the best baked beans.
There were also dinner rolls and Teresa had prepared banana pudding and a sweet
potato pie. Joe and I contributed Blue Bell Butter Crunch ice cream.
Oops I forgot the deviled
eggs! Ryan, Teri’s youngest wanted eggs so Teresa threw some together at the
last moment. The consensus was that the eggs had too much salt. Johnny was the
first to mention it, and he since he likes to tease, I figured he was just
saying they were too salty so no one else would eat them – more for him. Nope, others
began to comment. It seems Teresa had used Pink Himalayan salt this time and
the eggs were indeed saltier than usual. Still, those eggs disappeared quickly,
and the good news was that Missy got two servings after having missed out at
their recent Easter celebration.
Of course, family members
were having so much fun giving Teresa a hard time that they found ways to work the salty
eggs into multiple conversations throughout the meal. Teresa took it in stride.
A little time would pass, and people would comment on how good the other dishes
tasted and then out of the blue one of the grandkids would say something about
the salty eggs – as if they were the first to discover the eggs were salty. Comments
about the eggs would start all over again. We all laughed a lot during the meal,
mostly about salty eggs.
After everything was
cleaned up, Missy, Teri, and Jennifer came into the living room, and we sat and
talked. They answered my gazillion questions and were as sweet as could be. We
talked about birth order – they are all close in age only 18 months to two
years between each of them among other topics. It was fun to sit and hear their
stories of growing up, marriage, and their children. I appreciated their openness
and willingness to chat with an older family member they had never met
face-to-face. They each happen to be friends with me on Facebook.
Joe, Jennifer, and Teresa
snapped some photos of us all together. The last few photos are bloopers. It
seems the Johnson girls are all a bit on the sweet-silly side and getting them
(okay and me) to stand still and smile for the camera was like herding cats.
MIssy, Jennifer, Beth (me), Teresa, and Teri
Tomorrow morning we plan to have coffee with Teresa and Johnny. Then we are hoping to be able to see Kathy again before we leave on Tuesday morning to go to New Orleans.
We have appreciated all of the time that Teresa, Johnny, Kathy, Joe and their families have made for us this trip. I saw this meme today and thought it appropriate to end with tonight.
We had a great visit! Glad you rolled into town. Best wishes on your adventures and safe travels. Missy
ReplyDelete