{We saw Our Lovely 2014 Magnolias for 1 Day...}

Each year our magnolias, Magnolia x soulangeana bloom around my Mom's Birthday of February 12...

Gorgeous blooms we got to see on February 26, in the morning as we had come home by 22:15 the day before.

Our cat-sitter did send us the above photo, while we were still in The Netherlands.

So lovely, we had been waiting now for several years as we all lost them to frost the previous years.

Next to the new retainer wall for blocking the rain water.

Even on a dreary, rainy day they look gorgeous!

What a sight after all those years!

With our new roof and the exterior painted it looks very nice.

The tiles need still to be put onto the concrete around the house.

BUT... the next night it turned into 23°F RealFeel by 6:44 AM!

So dreary the next day after FROST!

All brown again...

Blue sky but all those buds are brown...

Maybe spring 2015 will finally yield us fully opened, gorgeous Japanese magnolias...?

Related link:
{Only 4 Magnolia Blossoms for 2013} | previous post by me with more links to our magnolia blossoms

{February 21, 2014 Tornado in our Subdivision}

While we were still in The Netherlands on Friday morning, February 21, there was quite a strong tornado in our subdivision.

We were having dinner with our Goddaughter as I got a message on my iPhone from our cat-sitter, back home in Georgia.

I called her right away and learned about her ordeal that morning as she could not even enter the subdivision... The police had blocked off all entrance roads!

But they graciously let her pass via a different route so our kitties could get fed!!!

This is what we still found 5 days later, after having returned from The Netherlands from Mom & Dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary...
We did drive around our neighborhood for taking some photos...
Of course, most of the chaos had been cleaned up and hauled off already.

Yes, our Winfield Road is mentioned above in the newspaper article from Friday, February 21...

It also had rained excessively, still puddles of water after 5 days!

We are so blessed that our home and garden had no damage at all.

Our 6 felines were all found safe inside by our cat-sitter, once she could get through.

The heavy equipment from the county and the city also caused quite some damage...

We can only imagine how it must have looked right after the tornado came through.

Huge trees snapped off like matches...

 Most has been hauled away...

Sad sight in our neighborhood...

So muddy...

Wet - wet...

No wonder; 4.69 inches or 11.9 cm of rain in the time that we were gone!

How blessed we were for having finished all the water projects in time!

Our home stayed dry so all the back breaking hard work did pay off!

The force with which huge trees got uprooted...

Unreal...

Our entire subdivision in a way still has been blessed; only one injury...

Related link:
Severe Weather Hits North and Central Georgia | National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
{Water Control Project Finished} | previous post by me about 4 projects to protect our home
{Fighting the Water + Scanning Slides} | previous post by me about Flood Water problem last year
{Our Damage from Tornado spin off of Hurricane Earl, 2003} | previous post by me

{Mom & Dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary}

As mentioned in my previous post, we did go for a very special reason to The Netherlands, this 64th trip for family and friends.

 It was my dear Parents' 65th  Wedding Anniversary!

My siblings had decorated the front door prior to an official visit by the Mayor.

Here Mom & Dad enjoy a serenade by the elderly choir 'Levensvreugd' or Life's Joy in English.

Mom has been singing with them for some 30 years and Dad joined at a much later time.

Mom filled the void of my Paternal Grandmother's soprano voice...

This photo I took on the day of celebration with the entire family of 51 present.

My husband Pieter is looking on, behind Mom & Dad.

Since this is such a rare occasion, my Parents did receive some Royal Mail...

From the King and Queen of The Netherlands...

Also from the King's Commissioner of the Province of Limburg...

Such an embossed seal is quite impressive!

We all together celebrated this remarkable and very rare milestone of a 65th Wedding Anniversary.

A Blissful Relationship with its usual ups and downs.

Even the day after the celebration with dinner in the restaurant, Mom & Dad had a special Mass at Church to say thanks for God's Blessings for such a long Marriage together.

Heeroom, my Great-Uncle Priest, did bless my Parents' marriage, when he was on leave from his mission in Indonesia.

This photo above and below is taken right after Mass with Mom & Dad.

Funny that Mother and Daughter did wear the same colors...

This would be the VERY LAST TIME with Mom together (alive)!

Both in Royal Blue!

St. Lambertus Church in Horst

Our German Son and family did pay Mom & Dad a visit with a large basket of regional foods from the Eifel area.

Below I show you some Dutch Government statistics about the approx. 7% of marriages that will last 60 years or more, as of 2001.



 Almost 14,000 of the entire population of some 16.7 million reached 60 or more years of marriage.

Over 200 couples reached 70 years or more... so there is still hope from Mom & Dad!

Below you see that it did drop for 2010 to only 6,000 couples that reached 60 or more...
Image is from Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek
Image below is also from page 68 in Pdf from CBS

Very proud of both my Parents!

They do belong to a very rare group of couples that stayed married for 65 years together.

Quite some role models - through thick and thin...

The fruits of a simple lifestyle and hard work together!

Related link:

{March 14, Written Life Message for me by my Favorite Great-Uncle} | previous post by me