Willie and Helen were now in their first home, a little one room shotgun house.  To the average person, it didn't look like much (maybe even a "shack") , but to the newlyweds, it was home.  Up to this point in their marriage, everywhere they lived, there were other people around.  They finally had a place to be as silly as they wanted to be and Willie could kiss Helen before he went to work every morning.

Helen's first order of business was to make this place look like home by making some curtains and seeing what she could find for furniture.  Her dad had given them that unfinished rocker, so that was a great start..... Her Aunt Pauline thought they needed some  linoleum on their floor (you could see holes in the floor without it), and definitely needed a little table so she made sure they had both.  Helen's mom had an old buffet sitting outside her place that was broken, so she gave the top of it to Helen to use as the top of a vanity.  She took that top, put it on two orange crates, and made a skirt out of material that matched her curtains and wah lah...a vanity.  She found an oval mirror to hang on the wall above it.  Next she found an old wooden keg that she decided could be used as a stool in front of her vanity.   She added a skirt, and turned that ugly ole keg into a cute little stool.  Her father in law gave them a kitchen table and 2 cane bottom chairs that had needed repair, so he covered them with the tanned hide of a goat.

Polly (Willie's sister) loved to visit with Willie and Helen.  It was during one of her visits that the couple had their first spat.  Helen had made her famous biscuits, but they were kind of tough.  Let's be honest here...they were hard as a rock!  Willie tried to take his first bite on the biscuit, but he noticed they were pretty hard...he pecked the biscuit on the table and said, "I could throw this biscuit out that window there and kill a rooster!"  Well, that didn't sit well with Helen and she said, "If you throw that biscuit, you'll have to get someone else to make your next one!"  That "come back" from Helen made Willie mad...but Polly calmed him down.  They made up after that first spat, which must have worked pretty good, because Helen found out she was pregnant in that little house.

Willie and Helen had been anticipating the birth of their first child, and knew when the time came they would have the doctor come to the house for the delivery.   Since they had never been through this before, they had no idea how much it was going to cost.  It was September 17, 1941, the doctor came to their home and delivered their beautiful baby boy.  They decided that his name would be Larry William Tollison and were so happy that they were now a family.

The doctor charged them $30, but came back a few days later and told them that he had overcharged them and gave them $5 back. (more tomorrow)
 


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    Paula Tollison Andrews Maupin
    I am married to Bobby and live in the Nashville, TN area, working as Executive Assistant to both the Director of Sales and General Manager of FOX17, MyTV30 & CW58 television
    _I have 3 wonderful sons and daughters in love (Brad & Holly Andrews, Bryan & Stacy Andrews and Brandon & Ashley Andrews) from Tulsa, St. Louis & Springfield respectively. They have given me 9 precious grandbabies.  (Joseph, Cooper, Margo, Sloan, Jonas, Nora, Everett, Lawson and Blythe & Gma loves them so much) I also have 2 great stepsons and daughter in love (Jonathan & Kathryn Maupin and William Maupin) from Lexington, Kentucky.

    As a lady who's lived through both good & bad circumstances in my life, I've learned and continue to learn a lot of "life lessons".  Along the way I have been inspired to be a better me.  God is faithful in ALL circumstances and His love covers all.   My hope is that you will be inspired to be who you were meant to be. 

    I have been writing this blog about my mom and dad since September of 2011.

    You can find their story from the beginning by going to the Stories link.  Happy Reading!!!
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