We're Building!

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We're building a house!!!  I haven't blogged in years, but I thought it would be fun to record a little bit of this building journey so that we could look back on it later.  What a slow ride it has been!  We put our house on the market at the beginning of the summer 2015.  It sold in September but we had not found a house, so we moved into a rental house.  We have been looking in a specific area of town and the choices are limited.  We finally found 2 acres of land on a quiet street, so we decided to build.  I am really excited about getting a house with a front porch!!  <3 p="">

Clayton's Birthday

Abigail (my niece), my Mom, and Carrington

It has been 6 months since we said goodbye to my Mom.  She went to Heaven on May 5.  Our family misses her very much.  Since it is November and we have Thanksgiving coming up, I thought that I would list some things that I am thankful for about my precious Mom.

1.  I am thankful that she loved her family passionately, and taught my sisters and I to cherish our families  and to be "workers at home".

2.  I am thankful that she was a Christian, taught us about the Lord, and took us to church every Sunday.

3.  I am thankful that she made every holiday so fun and special, for her children and then for her grandchildren.

4.  I am thankful that she told us so many stories of growing up in the South in the 50's.  She had an awesome childhood!  :)

5.  I am thankful that she was a great cook and taught us that you NEVER take store-bought food to a pot-luck.

6.  I am thankful for all of the beautiful things she made for my children, from costumes, to dolls, to a small quilt.  They are special treasures.

7.  I am thankful that she was always interested in what was going on in our lives.  About 4 days before she died, she saw Clayton doing some karate moves in her hospital room, and she had a big smile on her face watching him.

8.  I am thankful that whenever my daughter was lonely, she could pick up the phone and call Grandma.

9.  I'm thankful that she saved babies from abortion through her work at a crisis pregnancy center for almost 20 years.

10.  I'm thankful that she was so much fun to be with and talk to.


I love you Mom!

Random Pictures With My Dad

My Uncle Herman and my Dad

My Dad with my Aunt Louise, his sister-in-law.

My Aunt Thelma's old house.  Lots of memories here.  :)

Me being a dork and posing on the train tracks behind my Aunt Thelma's old house.

This post is for my 2 sisters.  I recently took my Dad to see his brother, and then I took him to the town where he grew up.  The picture of Carrington and my Dad is in front of the church where my Dad went when he was a little boy.  He was baptized while attending that church, but in a nearby lake and not inside the church.  He was about 9 years old.
The bottom picture is of a house that my Dad lived in as a little boy.  I had a picture of another house on here, but I accidentally deleted it!
The second to the last picture of the trees is the location of a childhood prank my Dad has told us about numerous times.  There used to be a sidewalk there, and it was across the street from a big Victorian house that my Dad lived in.  He and his brother Herman, and a cousin, set up a dummy that they had dressed up and put it on the sidewalk to scare people.
The third picture from the bottom is of my cousin David with my Dad.  They are standing in front of a ball field that my Dad used to play at as a teenager.  He has told us stories of his brother-in-law E.W.  who also played baseball there and could have been a great ball player if he hadn't been killed in WW II.

Picnic at the Park

The Beach

Trip to South Georgia

We've had a lot of rain lately.

My husband Warren with his Mom.

My kids with their Papa.

My sweet mother-in-law and I.

I just love old buildings!

South Georgia  :o)

We finally made it down to my in-law's house recently.  They are very sweet people and it's always relaxing to visit them, except for the gnats.  :o)

4th of July at Grandma's House

My Mom was greatly missed.  She was always so good at making holidays and parties special, and loved it when all of her family came to visit.

Abigail, Carrington, and Lydia working in Grandma's kitchen.

Lily Kate, the birthday girl, turned 3 two days after the 4th.

Most of the girl cousins:  Mariah, Carrington, Madeline, Lydia, Abigail, and McKenzie. 

My sisters, Kellie, Marcy, and I.

My niece McKenzie surprised my sister Kellie with this beautiful baby blanket.  She made it out of some of my Mom's material.  Here she is showing it to my Dad.



We let the kids pick out some little trinkets that belonged to my Mom, starting with the youngest and going up.  It was so cute to see what they picked out.  They all miss my Mom very much.  She was the best Grandma!

Lydia and I made this lovely fruit basket.  Isn't it patriotic????  :o)



Spontaneity

One night we were traveling home from my Mom and Dad's house.  Yes, it will always be "Grandma's house".  We were driving along and saw this little fair in a small town.  The rides were all lit up.  My kids said, "Can we stop and just ride one ride Mom?"  I didn't hesitate to say yes.  I love to see my kids having fun.  They got to ride the bumper cars.  If I had to do it over again, I would let them ride another ride.  :o)  My Mom was fun, and I am inspired more than ever to do fun things with my kids.  I don't have fond memories of my childhood because we had an immaculate house.  My Mom wasn't a stickler about the house.  My fond memories are of the fun holidays and family outings we had.  And so........I will not stress out about the numerous boxes of family pictures that are stacked up in my office or the fact that Clayton's room needs painting really badly.  Right now we are having a crazy, busy, stressful time but I am going to try to be positive and make the best of it for my children.  My circumstances are rather out of my control right now, but I will keep trying to find little things to make the days fun for my sweet kiddos.  My Mom would like that.  :o)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Our family has made so many fun memories in this pool over the last 24 years.

My Dad buys Mandavillas every year to put by his pool.

My Dad and I.

Grandma's house.

The best Grandma in the world.

Today would have been my Mom's 68th birthday.  I went to Hobby Lobby to return something, and I wanted so badly to buy something for her.  I miss her terribly.  We all miss her terribly.  I am so happy for my Mom.  Really I am.  I know that today was the best birthday she has ever had.  She is in heaven and couldn't be happier.  It's just so hard not to be able to talk to her. 

In honor of her birthday, I thought I would list some things I love about my Mom.

1.  She loved her family more than anyone I know.

2.  She was so proud of her grandchildren and their accomplishments.

3.  She was always interested in whatever was going on in our lives.

4.  She loved holidays and made them fun and special.

5.  She did things for other people, even when she didn't feel good.

6.  She was an excellent Southern cook.

7. She was sentimental.

8. She was passionately pro-life, and saved many babies through her work at a crisis pregnancy center.

9. She was a Christ follower and spent her life working for the Lord.

10.She made many wonderful things for the people she loved, including quilts, dresses, raggedy-ann dolls, costumes, etc.

11. She took the time to write in journals for all of her grandchildren

12.  She taught her 3 daughters to love faith and family, home and motherhood.

14.  She genuinely cared about people.

15.  She gave us a love of family history.

16.  She was fun to be around.

17.  She taught us that you should never take store bought food to a potluck.

18.  She gave us a really fun childhood.

19.  She welcomed my prodigal brother back with open arms.

20.  She made many wonderful traditions for our family that we will always cherish.

We miss you so much Mom!  I can't wait to see you again some day.  I know that you will be there to greet each one of us when we reach those pearly gates.