Flashback Friday

Ahhhhh Summer

 

Summer is officially in full swing!!

Deck Plans

Let the decking begin!! Getting ready for Papa to work his decking magic soon :)

Butterfly Baby

This is what happens when the 3 year old is in charge of "getting dressed"-haha

Grieving

 

 

 

 

 

My heart hurts for S right now. She really had a tough weekend missing Ian. She asked everyday if we could go visit him...sigh. I told her that we would not be visiting anytime soon, so she asked if she could write him a letter. I mailed it for her today.

I am praying that his mom allows him to see it and to write back. Ian should know that we didn't just "forget" about him. He should know that we all still care about him. I hope his mom feels the same way, and allows some form of communication soon.

Pudding Bandit

Hey E, any idea who ate this chocolate pudding?

 

"No Mom, who ate it?"

It's Here!

 

Well I guess by now you all have figured out that the kids traded in their week of Disn3y W0rld, for a new swimming pool. The kids are loving it!!!

We are hoping that Papa will come though with a new deck plan soon. I know the kids can't wait to be able to jump in and out all day long from the sides. Right now they are simply enjoying having their very own swimming pool right in the backyard :)

He Made It

 

Congratulations Austin!!  We are all SO very proud of you. 

Getting Ready

 

Backyard is ready for the big install tomorrow. It will be 24' round and 54" deep :). Will hold around 12,000 gallons of salt water soon...can't wait!!

Reflections

 

 

 

 

 

 

My nephew Austin will be graduating high school tonight.  WOW, where does the time go?!  I was reflecting a bit this morning as to how my sister must feel watching her baby graduate.  Not sure how you watch without crying the whole time.  I would think pride of raising such an accomplished person would take over instead of tears, but still…

 

These are some pics of how I still see Austin in my head.  Always older than my boys, but still just a BOY.  Reality is that he has grown up into an awesome young man.  I will of course post some pics later of the graduation.  But today, I just wanted to reflect on my sister and the great job she has done raising such a great kid.  These pics remind me to cherish the times now with my young boys while they will still sit next to their moma ;)  I don't want my babies to ever leave me.  Funny how teenagerism will change that thought for me soon though, I am sure-lol. 

 

Congratulations Sheila and Austin for one of life's greatest milestones.  I hope you don't ever forget to give your mom a hug ever now and then, and remember to thank her for helping you become the great person you are!!

P.S-After reading it sounded like Sheila was a single mom...oops!  Scott gets some credit for raising up Austin too-lol

Walking the Walk

We have been blessed with the BEST neighbors in the world...Frank and Betty.  I wanted to share with you a letter that Frank wrote to S while she was on the other side of the world.  We had only known about her a few months, and we were waiting to travel for her.  Here is the letter I received:

 

08/05/07

This is for Shelby Ann:

We are Frank and Betty and we will live next door to you.  We are happy, at last, that we are close to getting a little girl.  We have six boys already … two sons, two grandsons and two “next door grandsons – Caleb and Travis”.  As you can see, we will be especially thrilled to have a little girl also!

There are a few things that we will require from you…Visitation – Every day if possible – We must have our “Shelby fix”.  “Skeezes” (squeezes) – We realize it will take awhile to get to know each other.  However, Caleb and Travis were very good at giving “skeezes”…Travis more so than Caleb.  But we do manage to get in at least one per visit.  If it’s OK with you, we can certainly use more!

Treats – We always have a variety of treats to offer (with Mom and Dad’s permission).  If there is something special you like to eat, we’ll be sure to try to have it in the goody bowl.  When Travis was little, he had his special pillow (2 phone books) that needed to be added to his chair so he could reach the table.  “Baddy (Betty)” could always handle that.

Toys - We have our own special toy box for Caleb and Travis.  At times, the floor is covered.  But, we will probably have to come up with some “girl” toys to add to these.

Yard Work – Your brothers have their own special gloves and tools for yard work at our house.  Yard work consists of digging for worms to give the goldfish.  Caleb is OK without gloves.  However, Travis does NOT handle worms without his own special gloves.  We’re not too sure if little girls like to dig for worms, but it won’t take long to find out.

Fishing – Since Caleb could barely talk and walk, he has been a very good fishing partner for me.  If you decide this is something you like, we will be happy to teach you how to fish too.  Travis likes to play with the bait and is not as patient as Caleb at catching fish.

We have been blessed with having Caleb and Travis live next door.  We’ve been able to watch them grow since birth and be a part of their lives.  We certainly look forward to you being a part of our lives as well.  You’ll have a multitude of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and most importantly a new Dad, Mom and brothers to love and care for you.

We hope you’ll be able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in your new Georgia home!

Thanks to Donna and C.J. for sharing their most prized possessions (Caleb and Travis) with us.  And again, we look forward to you becoming an important part of our life as well.

Love,

Frank

 

Is that not the sweetest letter ever?!!?  Now not only did they "say" they would do all these things with S, they DO them every. single. day.  Oh and now they have 5 kids that they share their lives with regularly.  They didn't just talk the talk, they are definitely walking the walk.  They have attended all the kids' birthday parties, sports events, concerts, and more.  Such amazing people who are pouring goodness into my kiddos.  I am so very grateful for Frank and Betty.  Thank you for making a difference in the lives of my children :)

 

 

Symphonic Band

 

 

 

 

 

 

C had his big concert this week in the county's new concert hall that just opened. It was a fabulous performance in a VERY nice facility. It was great for the kids to get the feel of playing in a real symphony. I must say that I thought the 7th grade sounded magnificent to have only been

playing for 2 years. C plays the baritone/euphonium and holds 1st chair in the advanced band. I am so very proud of him! He is already looking forward to band next year (I think mainly because of their Disney trip a the end of the year-lol) and I can't wait to hear what they sound like after another year of practicing.

Thank you to everyone who made it out to support my big boy. You all made him feel special on his big night, he totally deserved the night focused on just him and his accomplishments :)