My Mother's Garden

~Betty Lynn Patton Willard ~

(5/2/46 -10/30/02)

My Mother kept a garden,
A garden of the heart,
She planted all the good things
That gave my life its start.

She turned me to the sunshine
And encouraged me to dream,
Fostering and nurturing
The seeds of self-esteem…
Her constant good example
Always taught me right from wrong-
Markers for my pathway
That will last a lifetime long.

I am my Mother’s garden.
I am her legacy-
And I hope today she feels the love
Reflected back from me.

Everyone has a garden, a garden of their own. Each garden reflects the true heart of that person, a glimpse into their very soul. This year instead of recollecting memories, I am choosing instead to bring my Mother’s garden out for all to see… a garden that was watered with among other things, beanie babies, sports, antiques, NASCAR, and nature. Our Mother’s Garden….. Her children:

November 13, 1963 Ken came in loud and proud. Even today he makes sure that everyone knows he was first and was the apple of his mother’s eye. He was watered with baseball, basketball, the love of ‘fixing things’ and of nature. Ken, with his wonderful wife Anna have started their own garden. Casey Patton Willard. If Ken was the apple of his mother’s eye, it is safe to say that Casey was the cherry that was on the topping.

June 18, 1969 Leigh, yes that’s me.. Arrived, I feel bold and ready. I can say I was watered with the love of children and family, and a readiness that keeps me prepared for anything that could come my way. I was able to bless my Mother with 3 boys, Thomas Green, Jacob Faulkner, and Mickenna Lee. Each were special to their Nanny in their own way, each bringing pride in her voice every time she spoke of them. Today, I am able to bring to my Mother a new section for her garden; a wonderful husband Mike and the addition of two more grandchildren, Autumn Michelle and Michael Todd. Both of whom she would love and appreciate as if they were her own.


April 25, 1977, Jason…Mr. Adventure. I can never remember a time that Jason didn’t have a plan for one thing or another. He was watered with the love of sports and the sense of love. Jason blessed our Mother, with his son, Jaylen Xavier. Jaylen was our Mother’s last grandchild to hold, the last grandchild to steal a piece of her heart. She held him near and dear to her heart. Our Mother would be so very proud to see what a wonderful Father Jason has become.

September 29, 1978, Matthew Owen Patton… Who would ever believe that Matthew would today be the big ex-Air Force body-builder that he is. Matthew was the cutest baby with the biggest personality anyone could ever find. Matthew was watered with self-esteem, and the gift of humor. Matthew blessed our Mother with memories and pride like no other.

August 31, 1986, Joseph….Joseph came in a quiet way, the child that very sweetly walked beside you holding your hand. He would smile at you and your heart would melt. Joseph brought our Mother youth, one of the most impressive gifts of all.

Last but not least, at the center of her garden was our father, Aubrey. My Father brought our Mother strength, security, love beyond reason, and friendship. His love for her has to this day been strong and has never wavered. My Mother called him “The Wind Beneath Her Wings”. It has taken me many years to truly understand her meaning of this. Today, I am proud to say that the two of them are my parents.

My Garden Keepers

My Mother, Betty Lynn,
And my Father, Aubrey Kenneth.

Happy Birthday to My Mother, from the many petals of her garden.

Love, Ken, Anna, Leigh, Jason, Matthew, and Joseph
And her grandchildren, Thomas, Casey, Jacob, Mickenna, and Jaylen~

Written by Leigh, with love.

Betty, my Betty

Betty with her devoted husband of 38 years.

Sadly Betty will get no older but she will always be part of the stair steps that formed Betty, Merry, Judy and Hugh, and before she died in 2002, she and Aubrey put together the family that became her focus and passion.

Betty's son, Ken and his wife, Anna.

Ken has been with Bridgestone many, many years and

Anna has been with National Health most all her

adult life. Both are valuable to their employers.

Ken and Anna's son Casey.

Betty's daughter, Leigh and her husband, Mike.
Leigh is manager at Maggie Moo's and Mike is employed

with USA Today

Leigh and Mike's beautifully combined family:
Mickenna, Todd, Autumn, Thomas, Leigh, Jacob and Mike (center)

Betty and Aubrey's sons by Divine love.

Betty's heart and home had an over abundance of love for three boys that came to her as babies and learned to call her Mama. Boy, was she proud!

<- Pictured here with Betty and the boy's grandparents are: Joseph, Matthew and Jason.

This is Jason's son Jaylyn, another grandchild she wanted so badly to spoil!

The heart story behind the drummer boy...

When planning a service for Betty, Hugh said he felt like he needed to eulogize Betty. I said fine and she would like nothing better than for him to sing. He did both, singing "Look for me for I will be there too." During his eulogy he said that a Deputy posted at the Courthouse said he did not know who would stand up and take her place. Hugh told him that he would have to do that because he had been taught by the best. The Deputy said that she certainly marched to the tune of a different drummer. Hugh said he thought a lot about that overnight and he decided that "Betty was the drummer." I started the next week looking for little drummers for my children for Christmas.

Note: Aubrey has done a good job keeping the family together since Betty's death and we are grateful to him. He is now recovering from a recent open heart surgery operation and once again God has blessed us with his strength and perseverance.

GOOD NIGHT LITTLE DRUMMER

Judy, my third daughter and child...

Judy found her Prince Charming in 2000. He swept her off her feet and they have been riding the white horse ever since.

Judy came with three beautiful children, Rob, Abby and Chad

Chad, the oldest, is a Special Agent with a service, but it a secret. Among many other things, he guarded and protected our presidential candidates and now travels with our president,

when needed with his security team.

Chad married Lisa who is a personal trainer and the mother of Kyle and Gaege.

The grands are Judy's pride and joy.

Rob, came next and has been on the move ever since. This talented young man loves travel and spends much of his time with his camera exploring the world!

How can we put Abby into a few words. The protected sister of her brothers, beautiful, a runner, a business tycoon (she owns her own house cleaning business) a teacher since the age of three and after graduation in May, a real life teacher! Abby is also the best friend to the family dog, Allie .

Judy is a highly regarded dental hygienist and Louis, a retired employee of Procter and Gamble (he designed the Crisco Oil bottle) and now is better known as the perfectionist, "General Nuisance", to the workman that built the couples dream house in Williamson County. Upon total completion of this beautiful antebellum home; they plan to live there happily ever after... I hope to visit often.

In no particular order...Merry is next

Merry and Terrence reside in Atlanta, GA with children in Atlanta, California, and New York.

Merry and Terrence's family.

Merry, is the supporting wife, for 31 years, of Terrence, Esq., the proud mother of this fine family, the grandmother of its nine, the keeper of family archives, the caretaker of two homes, a painter and number two daughter. Painting by Merry->

Merry and Terr's grandchildren; "The best of the best." mpc


<-Mike and Mary (Attorney and Personal Trainer), children: Joe and Isabelle

Shannon and Molly (Doctor and Fund Raiser for GA Tech), children: Morgan and Ford ->



<-Tom & Kim (Graphic Artist and Designer), children: Emily, Andrew & William

Kristin (Attorney), children: Keegan, Aidan->




<-Kate & Jeremy(Consultant to Eat Well Guide and Enviomentalist)

Beth (Paralegal, who has just taken the CA Bar exam! GOOD LUCK BETH!) ->


Schedules. Commitments. So much to do, so little time. Take, for instance, spring break. This family will be so scattered, doing their own personal things, such as baseball stuff, for Ford and Shannon, rock climbing for Molly and Morgan. The Florida sun for the Mike Regas' . Then there is Disney World, which will be William's first time, for the Sabonis-Chafee's. I am sure the rest also have plans for the Spring Fling.

Have you ever wanted to escape the pressures of the fast lane? Spending time in solitude and contemplation--to truly stop and smell the roses? Walking the tranquil hills, spraying waterfalls, humble dwellings, grazing cattle or sheep? Getting a fresh perspective and spiritual insight and experience the harmony and beauty of nature. You could also search out the heart and mind of nature's Creator and come to know Him in a deeper way.

HEAD FOR NORTHCROFT DURING SPRING BREAK!!!

My Children and Theirs

Starting with Hugh...
Hugh and Natali live on the knoll of a beautiful hillside, complete with barn, horses, a wonderful dog and warm log cabin. Their

Golden Retriever, Murphy, is pictured here at the barn.

He is certain to smile at you when you arrive for a visit.
Natali is from Russia and is teaching Russian by Internet,

looking at the student face to face.

Soon after she came into our family, they lost their historic

farmhouse by fire, while on a little vacation in Gatlinburg
Afterwards they rebuilt on the site, a charming log cabin.

The oldest Patton child, Josh, lives close by and his sister, Becca

owns her own home in Marietta, Ga.

Josh married soul-mate Melissa

a couple of years ago. We love her dearly. She has added much to our family.

A year after Natali came from Russia, her two sons
came and joined our family, upon arrival they had
dreams of joining the US Marines on their mind. After applying for GreenCards, waiting 9 months for that,
they returned abroad to visit with friends before committing
to four years in service. Returning home first was Kirill, who
had conversation with a Navy Officer on flight home, and
had changed his mind to Navy when he got back. He has just
finished six month aboard the USS Ronald Reagan,
as you have read before on this blog. Kirill and Elan>>>>>>>

Yegor returned home and joined the Marines and was injured
in basic training, was in sick bay for several months trying to heal and was finally given a medical
discharge and came home to heal 18 months. He finally
had to go into VA Hospital for surgery and has healed nicely.
Last year Krill married a beautiful girl Elana
who lives in Los Angles and is pictured when Kirill returned
from six months at sea. At present, Kirill, Elana,
and Yegor are visiting in Russia.

We miss them. Yegor & Becca>>>>
To be continued.

Good Day! Goodby Paul Harvey

Following Orders

To blog that is...
I stop somewhere in the middle of my thoughts and dreams and wonder where the wonder went. Where the wonderful moments with my husband went? Where my babies went?
Where are my teenagers?
As I reminiscence- - -I relive lots of important events that made my life so sweet.
One such moment- - - -My sweetheart came home one day at lunchtime. He began talking
about a song he kept hearing parts of every day on his car radio. He had not heard enough
of it to know the name of it nor the man singing it. As his job required him stopping and
starting very often he could never hear the whole song which he had been hearing for a few
day. He only remembered these two phases,"That's you, That's you"and "Cotton Ball
Soft." He said that every word in the song made him think of me, He just knew it was
written for me. That afternoon I sat out on a mission

to find this song that was written about me. I called a D.J. in Nashville and told him the two phases and he came up with Tennessee
Ernie Ford's song "Honey Eyed Girl." Of course we bought the album, a "78, and since
he has been gone I have found it on a CD.
Hear the words and know his precious heart. And especially know the love he had for me.

I am happy to know that each of you have such love.

"Honey Eyed Girl"
"Cotton soft - Baby cheek tender

Dew drop fresh, the whole year through

Rose bud sweet, are your lips that surrender

Honey Eyed Girl, That's you, That's you.


Fireside warm, and your arms around me

Puppy dog glad when I come home.

Always there when trouble surrounds me

Smiling through, That's you, That's you


Oak tree strong, is the love that you give me

You pillow my mind the whole day through

Tree top tall, is the feeling you give me

Blue Bird true, That's you, That's you


Cotton soft, baby cheek tender

Dew drop fresh the whole year through

And when I do wrong, who's the first to forgive me.

Honey Eyed Girl, That's you, That's you

Honey Eyed Girl------I love you.

Yesterday marked the 103rd year of my

Mothers birth. I would have loved to have seen

her at 100. She was so ageless.

Always a good sport.

My brother gave the ladies garnets for Christmas

in memory and honor of Mothers birth month.

I wore mine yesterday very proudly and

I hope the rest of you did the same.

"I still miss you"