Sugar Bear

When I was a little boy I used to spend every day with my Granny and Papa Hall.  They would pick me up from school and they would take me to their house until my mom would get off work and come to pick me up.  I loved them and they loved me.  It was a great arrangement in my book.  I got to stay with two people who would play with me and spoil me and in exchange I would sit in their laps and hug and kiss them.  Sweet Deal.  The only down side that I could find with the arrangement was that they felt that I needed a nap in the afternoon (usually about the time that Granny's "stories" would come on) and I felt that I was completely rested up!!  I would lay on the couch and close my eyes and try to sleep.  Usually Papa would take pity on me and would "wake" me after about fifteen minutes of my squirming and sighing.  He would then take me on walks in the woods or we would sit on his front porch and talk about catching alligators in a ditch that was close to his house.  In reality the nearest alligator was probably about an hour away in the Okefenokee Swamp but he and I would swear that we saw them lurking in the six inches of water that flowed through that old ditch!  It was during our talks and walks that he introduced me to Sugar Bear.

Sugar Bear was a bear that lived in the woods and he loved good little boys and if he ever met one he would lick the little boy's face to get his sugar.  However, if he met up with a mean little boy or one that did not listen to his grandparents then he would eat him!!  I realize that nowadays people would think that this was a cruel thing for a grandparent to tell a little kid but I thought it was wonderful!  I KNEW that I was a good little boy (no matter how many spankings that I received) because my Papa told me so.  It was with this knowledge that I grew to love stories about this bear and his exploits.  Papa would take me for walks and show me where he slept and where he ate.  He would show me where he fished or where he had ate crackers.  Papa watered my imagination with his stories and his time.  As I grew older and our family added other cousins and a little brother he would take them along on our walks and we would all hear about this crafty, mysterious bear.  I was about eight or nine when my Papa died.  I will never forget my mom telling me that he had went to heaven.  I was devastated.  Who would help me catch those gators?  Who would tell me about Sugar Bear?

I realized that it would be me.  I would take over the stories about Sugar Bear.  I would tell of his exploits.  My cousins and little brother would walk with ME and I would spin the stories of his late night explorations and would point out where he fished and took naps.  Sugar Bear is now a part of my children's lives.  I take them for walks and tell them stories.  I answer their thousands of questions about him.  He takes them on rides at night in their dreams and they know this because they wake up with leaves in their beds on those nights he stops by.  He leaves them notes and tells them how proud he is of their accomplishments.  I am watering their imaginations with MY stories and MY time.  My Papa's legacy of love lives on with every story I tell . . .

I want to be THAT man . . .

There is a man from my hometown that seems to be walking magic to my children.  They only see him at Church but every time they do see him he is smiling and he gives them a "gold" coin!  In reality it is a one dollar golden coin but you can't get Trey Sellers to believe that it is not a gold doubloon!  He is convinced that this man is a pirate and has untold treasures buried somewhere in his yard.  This gentleman gives every child at church one of these coins but he makes them feel like they are special.  I love kindness.  I love people who are kind.  If there is a trait that I hope to horde it is that.  Stanford Tillman is one of those people that I hope to one day be.  He is one of those people that when you meet him and walk away all you can think is "Wow.  What a nice guy."  More importantly he is ALWAYS this way.  I have seen people who put on their "Sunday Face" and appear kind and benevolent and then walk out the door and revert to a completely different persona.  Mr. Tillman lives his "Sunday Face".   Every time that I run into him I can promise you two things.  One:  He will be smiling.  Two:  His conversation will center around how you are doing and how he is so proud of what you are doing.  I believe that he is checking on his "investments".  He vests himself in others.    From a one dollar coin to a one minute conversation he invests in the people around him.  He cares about people . . . . and it shows.  I believe that there is a special place in Heaven for people like him.  He is such a blessing to me.

Mr. Stanford Tillman getting ready for a Church Performance

Mr. Stanford Tillman and his beautiful wife Barbara

I said . . . . HANG ON!!!!

I feel that my friends and I are solely responsible for my brother's toughness.   We believed in the carrot and stick method of motivation . . . . minus the carrot!  This was never more apparent than when we taught him how to water ski.  Chuck Overstreet and I would ski at a small lake near our town almost daily during the summer.  We were reckless daredevils that would try anything on water.  We would jump ramps on knee boards, barefoot, trick ski . . . . you name it and we would try it.  One day during that summer (Brian was probably about 13) Chuck and I took Brian with us to the lake with the intentions of teaching him to ski.  After we put the boat in I gave Brian his instructions.  I said, "Brian, lean back, keep the ski tips straight up, and hold on.  The boat will pull you up."  We tightened up the rope and asked was he ready to which he nodded in the affirmative.  We took off!!  Brian was starting to come up out of the water and then he just . . . . let go.  Cursing heavily we circled back around and I told Brian again "You have to HOLD ON!  The boat will pull you up!"  We tighten up and try again.  Brian is almost up when he lets go again.  This time when we pull up to him I tell him that not only does he have to hold on but that if he lets go again then we were going to jump in and beat his butt!  We tighten back up and take off again.  Again he is almost up and he just lets go . . .  As we drive back up, Chuck cuts the engine and we dive in and proceed to beat Brian's tail!  After we had ducked him and popped him a few times we got back in the boat and I told him, "You had better HANG ON!  If you don't we are going to come back around and do that again."  This time as we took off Brian pops right up and ski's like a pro.  He makes it almost all the way around the Lake when (and it happens to everybody) he just fell.  Well instead of letting go he just hung on and torpedoed for about 25 yards!!!  Brian became a great skier.  He would pop right up but if he ever fell you knew to hurry and stop the boat or he might drown!  He tends to be tenacious.  How could he be anything else??

My Very Own Christmas Angel . . .

Our Christmas Card!

My Christmas Angel

I married a Christmas Angel.  I have never seen a person who lives for a season so much as my wife lives for Christmas!  We are up to 6 trees (yes I said 6) and absolutely more Christmas paraphernalia than a team of Gypsies (no offense to the Travelers over in Edgefield) could carry off in a week.  She begins before Thanksgiving and if the truth is known she starts listening to Christmas music at Halloween!!  If you mention that this may be excessive she will mutter "Bah humbug" and call you a Grinch.  To her credit she doesn't ask for any help with the decorations but I truly believe that this is because she wants every little dab of this experience for herself.  She paints my world with color!  She is the epitome of Christmas to me.  She is generous and kind.  She loves laughter and children.  She lives a Christ-like life without passing judgement on others.  I am so glad that she is in my life and that my children are experiencing "her" Christmases.  I believe that she has already converted another angel.  This was the first year that Abby really took ownership of the decorations.  Abby helped decorate and pass judgement on her brother's inability to decorate.  She has impeccable taste (UGA and anything red and black were pretty common themes for her.).  I don't know if I've ever seen Angie so proud as when Abby picked out an ornament to buy for the tree that symbolized our new life in Augusta . . . It kinda makes me a little teary-eyed my dang self.

I have experienced Christmases where I have received more gifts and had more money to spend on others but I can honestly say that I have never had a Christmas that was as good to me as this one.  It wasn't the gifts (for me it really never is) or the food, or the decorations (sorry Angie!) that made this such a special time for me.  What made it for me was the time with my family.  I spent time with my parents, brother and his family, my grandmother, all of my wife's family, but most importantly my three kids and my very own Christmas Angel!  We had Santa in Augusta (first time in my 41 years where the jolly old man had to find me outside of the Land of Milk and Honey!) and I lived through it.  My Uncle Wayne said something to me this year that really rang true.  He said, "I never thought I would see the day when giving made me happier than receiving . . . but it does now."  I understand exactly what he means.  I used to wonder how my Dad could be so happy to receive a pair of socks when I was receiving all of these cool gifts but now I know.  When Peyton would open a gift and smile or Trey would open something special and do his little wiggle dance or when Abby opened a gift that was "just what she wanted" it was better than any gift that I have ever received.  I don't want you to think that this is nothing because I have received some GREAT gifts in my day (Evil Kneivel wind-up motorcycle, Stretch Armstrong, Pinball Machine, rifles, bicycles, etc..) but they pale in comparison to my children's joy!  I love Christmas.  Always have . . . . Always will.

Daddy's Boy!

The Wiggle Dance

Open Wide!!

Did someone call Spiderman???

Precious!!!

Total Concentration!!

Last but certainly not least . . .

Blond headed, cute little devil, talks ALL the time (don't know where he gets that from) and stingy with the sugar . . . . these are all traits of the youngest member of my tribe.  Richard Peyton Sellers was born on December 18, 2008.  I have always said that if you are going to get married or have a child that the month of June is perfect for those things because NOTHING is going on in June . . . So obviously my Peyton was a bit of a surprise!!  I blame this inopportune conception on Joel and Leigh Poe and a hunch punch party that they held for my cousin Chase's upcoming wedding.  Angie took advantage of me . . . enough said and totally believable.  I was told that having three children was just as easy as having two.  I don't remember who told me that (that is probably God's way of keeping me from killing them) but they LIED.  We went from a Man to Man Coverage to a Zone Defense with the addition of the third child.  I swear that my zone always has two receivers . . . With that said, Peyton has been the very best Christmas gift that I have ever received.  He is a true joy.  He can be the epitome of sweetness and he is our family's "baby".  Translation:  We have to feed him with a sling-shot because he is so rotten!  He is Angie's last everything.  Her last pregnancy. Her last baby in a crib.  Her last baby bottle . . . You get the picture.  He is so easy to love.  His brother and sister dote on him and have even offered to take his spankings in order to spare this poor mistreated little fellow.  Out of all my children he is the only one that has had any negative feedback from our move to Augusta.  He was used to being taken care of by a sweet lady who would come to our house that we lovingly refer to as "T".  She wanted him to call her Aunty but all he could say when he was little was "T".  She would wait on him hand and foot.  She cooked his favorites and then would hand feed it to him . . . I swear, you can't make this kind of stuff up!  Now he is in a Day School with 10 other little kids and he misses "T" and all of her spoiling ways.  He will probably require Therapy.  He is a mess.  I have been blessed with another little boy who loves the things that I do.  He loves any kind of ball and anything that has to do with the outdoors.  If his brother does it then he is right behind him.  He reminds me so much of my brother Brian.  Peyton not only looks like Brian did when he was a little boy but I can remember Brian following me around doing everything that I did when he was about that age.  I have a feeling that I may be in for quite a ride with this one!  He tells me that I am his "Best Fwiend" and I hope that I always will be.  They say that it is always the last one that gets you . . . I will have to agree because my last one has got me . . . . wrapped around his finger.

Trey Love

He is a whirlwind of energy with just a little bit of dirt on him . . . . This is my description of my middle child and my name-sake.  Kenneth Steve Sellers, III  was born on June 26, 2006. We call him Trey, Trey Love, Daddy's Boy, and sometimes I just call him Perfect.  He didn't have the drama that his sister brought with her on her birth.   He was a C-section baby as well but at least we knew what time and day to be there!  That is not to say that he was slighted.  He had just as many people waiting on his arrival as did his sister.  When he made his appearance I was in the delivery room and all I could think about was how much Abby was going to love having her own doll to play with.  I had been a little conflicted about his name because as a Jr. I knew the complications that he will face with tax bill mix-ups, phone calls from people looking for the other person, etc..  When I saw this little man-child all I could think of was . . . his name fits!!  It is such an unreal thing to watch your mini-me grow up!  I see him do things or say things or sometimes just stand a certain way and it is like I am looking in a mirror.  That is exciting and scary at the same time!!  I want him to experience all of the joys that I have had but I also want him to miss all of the pain.  I know that to have one you MUST have the other but it kills me to even think about that.  He has the BEST personality and sense of humor!  He will say things and I will get so tickled because even when I don't think they are funny he does!  His laughter is my drug of choice!!  I have been lucky with him.  For the past two years I have been in school and this has allowed me to spend so much free time with him that I didn't get to do with Abby.  Every Friday (before Dental School started) I was able to pick him up from his Pre-School and those were HIS days.  We would go anywhere and do anything that he wanted to do.  Our schedule started out (most of the time) with lunch at Buzzy's.  This was a convenience store in Uvalda that had good food but more importantly (to Trey) it had lots of Big Bucks on the walls!  I also think that he loved that place because the ladies who ran it always doted on him and gave him candy and ice cream.   Next we would go see Papa at his bank and get suckers and let Papa steal his kisses.  Then we would go to the Court House in Hazlehurst and ride the only elevator in town!  He loved that!!  I think Judge Wilkes on the upstairs floor thought that we were stalking him.  After that we would have to go to the post office and he HAD to open our P.O. box with the key all by himself.  There were many other stops along the way but as we did all these things he would hold my hand and tell me things that were important to him.  I will always treasure this time.  He is my hunter, football player, golfer and all-around riding partner.  He loves these things and it thrills my heart because I do too!

To be such a rough and tumble boy he surprises me with his tender heart.  I have often watched his feelings get hurt by a harsh word or a critical comment.  I think this is his most valuable asset.  I want him to grow up to be tough but I never want him to lose his compassion for others.  You can't have that compassion without a tender heart.  He makes good decisions for one so young.  I'll never forget watching him at his Pre-School party playing on the water slides that they had brought in for the occasion.  Everyone was running around willy-nilly and having a fine old time.  The big hit was the slide.  I watched as everyone raced down the slide and then raced back to the line to do it again.  There was a point when this little girl wasn't paying attention and had let a gap form between her and the next one in line.  Trey came up, assessed the situation, and instead of cutting in front of her (like a few before him had) he took the little girl and moved her to where she should be and then dutifully got behind her. He didn't know I was watching but in that moment I saw greatness.  In order to be great you must not only know right from wrong but practice it . . . even when nobody is looking.

I always joke that out of all my kids that Trey is the most loving.  I say this because I love to kiss on them and Abby and Peyton  will grudgingly give me sugar but Trey . . . well Trey you have to worry about him giving you the tongue!!!  He always meets me at the door and is the first to kiss me good night.  He takes up for his brother and sister and he also torments them (which is what brothers do!).  He doesn't like naps or baby-sitters but he does love to run.  He eats in spurts and by that I mean that one day you can't fill him up and the next day he may not eat 3 bites!  He is extremely smart and hard working.  He has more patience than I have ever had and I think that I may need to thank Angie for that!  I look forward to his future but I dread him growing up!

The Princess is in the HOUSE!!

I feel that there may be a special place in Hell for a man that won't write an entry about his beautiful daughter  . . . so here it is!  We were a family that was rich with boys and poor in girls and by that I mean we had ZERO girls in the Sellers Family.  My Papa Sellers had 3 boys and those boys each had 2 boys.  Brian had 2 boys and then I stepped in and saved the day!!  Abbigail Caitlyn Sellers arrived on June 14, 2004 and my life has never been the same.  She was well received and much in demand!  Let me stop here and tell the story of her birth.  We Sellers Children tend to come into this world with a BANG not a whimper!  I have always been told that the two happiest days of your life are the day you get married and the day you have your first child.  Well I would like to correct this misconception because that is a lie . . . no not a lie . . . that is a damn lie!!  Those are the two most stressful days of your life!  On one of those days you are making promises to God in front of ALL of your family and friends about FOREVER and on the other one of those days you have the woman you love in a lot of pain and in a very dangerous situation!  Now I am not saying that I regret those days but while they are happening you are stressed beyond belief!!!  It was only appropriate that the beginning of Abby's birthday would start with one of Angie's "I told you so" moments.  It had been a long day for me in the Coffee Business and I wanted to go straight to bed.  Angie told me you need to make sure we have gas in my car and take a bath before bed because I am PREGNANT and you never know . . .!!  Long story short, I didn't do either and at about 11pm she was in the bathroom and her water broke.  I was excited and nervous and . . . and CRAZY because to quote a very popular film, "I don't know nothing 'bout birthing no babies!"  Angie (who remained calm) told me we were in no rush.  Take a bath.  Let's go get gas.  Call our parents. Put the bag that I have packed into the car and most importantly "It's going to be alright!" (I would like to say here that this is normal for our lives.  I am the one that gets "worked up" and she is ALWAYS the one that calms me down and keeps me sane.)  We made a very large caravan heading to Douglas, Ga. for "The Birth".   My parents, her parents, my brother and his family, her sister and her family, and many cousins (from all over the state) descended on that hospital to greet our newest addition!!  Once we arrived we were placed on a "hurry up and wait" schedule.  Angie's body wasn't quite as ready as Abby was for her arrival.  Angie was in pain so I reminded the hospital staff that we had signed up for ALL of the drugs and that she could use a little help!  If I had been in my right mind I would have tempered Angie's pain scale.  She said she was at about an 8 and for most people that means about a 3 but in my current state I forgot to tell the staff and they gave her a large dose of the good stuff!  Angie (who never takes more than an aspirin) started talking crazy!   The dog was eating rocks and she was pissed because I couldn't understand her!  About this time Abby's heart rate went crazy and doctor's and nurses came from EVERYWHERE!!  After about 15 minutes of VERY tense and stressful activity everything leveled out and danger was averted!  Everyone left the room for us to rest (Angie was asleep) and after all of that stressful activity I felt just a touch of gas so I thought "nobody here . . . why not?"  It was AWFUL!!  About that time a nurse came back in and I just looked at her and said, "Is that normal?"  She said, "Don't you say anything!  She doesn't even know she did it!"  I said, "Oh . . . O.K.." (I wouldn't share this story with Angie until AFTER we left the hospital for fear she would want to straighten this misinformation out!)  The next day after many hours they decided that Abby would enter this world through a C-section.  I was told to dress in this surgical attire and that they would come to get me when they were ready for me in the operating room.  After about 15 minutes this man comes and tells me that there had been a complication and that I can't come in with them but for me instead to wait in the lobby with the rest of the family.  So here I am.  Dressed for surgery.  Blood Pressure is through the roof with a wife in surgery with complications awaiting my first child.  Can anyone understand why I say this is stressful and not a very "heehee" happy moment??  They finally came wheeling Abby out after about 30 minutes and I see this little person with a misshapen head and very LARGE genitalia.  I am standing there not saying anything with a million questions running through my mind when my Mom who knows me comes up to me and says, "It's O.K. baby.  They are supposed to look like that and she is beautiful!"  I was too stressed to appreciate the "beauty" all I could think about was "How is my wife?"  She was fine.  It was at this point that I could start to appreciate the event.  I finally got to hold my little princess and kiss her (I have been the first to kiss all of my children on their arrival from Heaven).  It may have been one of my most stressful moments but she is one of my best accomplishments.  
                                                                                                                                                      Everyone kept saying that it was so much fun to buy for a little girl and it seemed like the UPS man could not pass my house without dropping off a dress for Abby!  It was only fitting that I (who had just a touch of hellion in me during my youth) would be the one with a beautiful girl-child!  I can remember that I had wanted a boy but after she came I kept wanting more little girls!  It didn't take her long to ensnare me with those long eye lashes and sweet little smile.  She knew what she was doing when she would tell whoever we were talking to that she was "Daddy's Heart!"  Before she was born, Angie and I were driving to the hospital and I told Angie that if there was a complication that I would tell the doctor to save her and not to worry about the baby.  At Abby's first birthday Angie jokingly asked me how I felt about that statement to which I replied, "If that happened now . . . we sure would miss you!"  The thing that I love the most about her is that she is a mixture of the very best of both her Mother and myself.  She is compassionate, smart, driven, thoughtful and VERY determined.  I am never surprised when I find that she has given her money to someone that doesn't have any or gives her toys to someone that doesn't have as much as she does. She hones her sales ability by working me like nobody else can.  I sit back at times and shake my head at sales tactics that took me years to perfect and to which she seems to use with an ease and the practice of an adult!  Her abilities have left me with anything from painted toenails to catalogue orders place on my AMEX.  I am SURE this does not bode well for my financial future but I simply can not resist her charms!  She is now the Mother Hen for her two brothers and in return they adore her and would fight you tooth and nail over her.  Her talents are endless and my life is so much richer because of her presence.