Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day was a busy weekend! I think we went to a cookout everyday of the 3 day weekend! Good food, friends, and a kiddie pool...that's all you need. Here is a collective selection from the weekend.



Kyler on Amy's shoulders playing peek.a.boo.



This was the week before Laura & Chance moved to Roanoke, VA.
This group has been friends for close to 10 years now, some before that.
Most of the guys were Timmy's friends before I came along.

From Left to Right, Front:
Sally. Brady. Drew. Rebecca . Henry . Kyler . Amy . Penny . Julia . Jake . Sam . Tim
From Left to Right, standing:
Jay . Chance . Laura (holding Rufus)




Penny trying to hold Kylers hand (noticed his swift movement of rejection).
Amy & I were pregnant together.
They were born 10 weeks apart.
We think they might get married one day...
unless Brady steals her heart first...



Chance teaching Brady how to throw a stick for Rufus.






Kyler & Penny posing...SOOO cute!



Kyler giving Amy high fives with his feet (big fives as he says)



hurry penny, get some before they eat it all!!



brady. kyler & penny



Jake is REALLy into music right now, he's always asking for good bands to check out.
With music fans like Chance. Drew & Sam around, he had to get out a pad & pen.



Brady & Henry.




Yep...one day, I see it, coming down the isle!

arrow.saw.doll

If anyone did'nt already know, my sister ROCKS!
She has an art show this weekend in Wilmington.
She has worked really hard on her pieces and I am very proud of her!
My mom and oldest son, Jake, plans to go down & support her.
I really hate I can't be there!
Here are details incase your in Wilmington this weekend:
7pm-10pm sunday May 27th at bella festa, dj dr jones will spin the beats, tango wil provide the food, and other artists are candy pegram, and jason jones & ARROWSAWDOLL (johnna)!
Good Luck Johnna!
I love you!

this first piece is my Favro!

we'll miss you!

top: grandma, maryjane holding brady, Julia, Kyler with Tim
on bed: TJ, Sally, Jake, Susan


Grandma Stella passed away last week. Although we are sad to be without her, everyone knows it was her time. She was 89 years old and as I mentioned in an earlier blog had suffered a stroke that left her blind. Just last week she had another stroke, heart attack, broke her hip and her kidneys were failing. This left her very angry and irritated, which was not the Stella we knew. This to me was a sign her body could no longer keep up with her spirit.

The services were beautiful, a wonderful celebration of the life she lived and the values & memories she left behind. She was and still is an inspiration to those who knew her. I was thinking about our last visit with her and the photos posted below. Although I knew it may be one of the last times we got to be in her presences, I couldn't have known it would be the last. Now I look back at those photos again, where we said good bye and she had all of us laughing with her playful personality. And lastly, the thought that sticks with me the most, is the image of her hand and how it symbolizes her life. All the babies she held and loved, the countless times she gently placed them together to pray, the endless meals she cooked for her four boys and others she welcomed in her home, the fun arts & crafts she proudly made in her assisted living home, the harsh hand that disciplined her children, the letters she wrote to friends and family, and the small, petite ring she wore around her fragile, aging finger that represents her marriage & family. That's all she ever wanted in life, a simple girl from a small town, with alot of love to give. Stella's family was everything to her, just as she was to us. These are life's riches and she was a wealthy woman.

a sassy girl

Johnna's daughter, Nia just turned four in Feb. I was on the phone the other day with Johnna and I hear Nia in the background giving an elaborate reenactment of something that had happened to her that day. She explained,"It scared me so bad it made me nervous". How much truth is there than that? She's great. Here are some photos Johnna sent me recently with her new camera mom & I got her for her 30th birthday!