First and Last Day!

Here we are - first day and last day pictures! Today's pictures aren't the best. We were in a hurry this morning because Scott had a dermatologist appt at 7:30am, so I had to take Kate to school today before work. She said there were only 9 kids out of 17 there today! :( But, she didn't want to miss her last day with Ms. Knott.

Welcome to 1st grade!

Jasmine Hill favorites

The Eulogy for Granddaddy from the Grandchildren, as read at his funeral

A child of God, a son, a brother, a cousin, a friend, an uncle, a husband, a father. Tom Conway was a man in full. He was many things throughout his life. But, to those of us standing here now, he was Grandaddy.

Ever since I can remember, summertime meant Grandmama and Grandaddy. It was the same for all of us: we didn't go away to camp; we went to Grandmama and Grandaddy's. Many of you gathered here today may remember those summer visits. To say that our summers were fun would be a tremendous understatement. In a word, they were magical. Grandmama and Grandaddy made it so.

First, a word about Grandmama. Our Grandmama is a strong woman, and she loves her grandchildren, and she wanted us for the summer. Think about that statement for a moment. She wanted us - and in those days, there were just five of us - for the summer. There was no question of where would we all sleep, or bathe, or what would we eat, or however would they corral all of those children and maintain their sanity. They just did it. And to this day, it is lasting bond we all share.

It would be easy to say that Grandmama was the one who made it work; and she did. But the secret we can share today is this: so did Grandaddy. It was hard to figure who had more fun during our summer visits. To our parents' great surprise and delight, Grandaddy was very involved with all of us. No matter how many years go by, the fabric of our lives is woven on memories of weekly trips to Aunt Frankie's, with Grandaddy stuffing our bags full of even more candy; Friday night trips to McDonald's for supper; re-naming the Seven Sisters during every trip to Greenville; walks in the pasture to pick wild blackberries; change for a cold soda pop from the Coke machine at Uncle Max's sawmill; picking crabapples from the tree; eating watermelon on the back porch; doodlebugs; roly poly houses; pepper soupy; fishing trips where Micah always caught more fish; tape recorded snores that were played back during supper - he always denied those snores, but he laughed all the same; rides in the purple International - no car seats or seat belts necessary; trips on the "Bug"; and so many more that are so personal and precious to all of us.

Forty years with a Grandaddy whose lasting legacy is a strong family that will pass on to our children the love of life, nature, family and God.

Can kindergarten really be over?

It really does seem like YESTERDAY that we were in orientation in Kate's K5 class. And, I was trying so hard not to cry. And, this is her last week of school. We couldn't have been more pleased with her year. Ms. Knott was the best teacher there is for Kate. She has thrived and learned so much this year.

Ms. Knott gave all the children their own individual awards. Kate was given "The Friendship Award" because she was always gracious and kind to everyone in her class.

Next, there were 2 awards given to 2 students: Most Improved and The Good Citizenship Award.

And, Kate won the Good Citizenship Award! Ms. Knott said she gave this to Kate because: "She never heard an ugly word or phrase come out of her mouth the entire school year".

Can you tell we are super proud of our girl? :)

Kate and Ms. Knott

Kate with her Good Citizenship Award - special indeed!

MacKenna, Kate and Zara (Kate's favorite friends)

Mom, Dad and Kate going over her Memory Book. This is a booklet with photo memories of the year. It is like a yearbook for their class! It also had a neat page of questions she answered: like, what do you want to be when you grow up? (veterinarian) If you could have any wish, what would it be? (to find a penny).

Granddaddy's legacy

Today was a good day.

We celebrated our love for Granddaddy and his love for us.

We started the day with attending services in Fort Deposit. Their building is so pretty since it has been remodeled. It still had that hint of the older one - just much prettier. It was so nice to have the family together this morning. Grandmama looked good, but tired.

After church we had a great lunch provided by the ladies at the church. The kids got to run and play in the fellowship hall - and it was good for them. The cousins visited and caught up. Paige worked a tribute of the memories of us and Granddaddy, which when read was just perfect.

There were many people at the building. There were happy tears shed! Stan Foster lead the singing. I like congregational singing at funerals. Uncle Tommy read his obituary, and we as grandchildren went up front and gave our love. Raymond Elliott spoke the main portion of the service, and spoke as a true friend of Granddaddy. He also read the article I wrote of Granddaddy and Grandmama in Donnie Hilliard's magazine - which got many laughs and lightened the service. Graveside was short because of the heat.

Being back at their house was great. Like I have written before - their home is just home to me. I love the way it smells. I love the sounds that come from it. They were all so familiar. It felt good to be there, even though Granddaddy was not. In presence, that is. It still felt like he was. I wish he were. But, it is OK.

I wish that everyone could say goodbye to their loved one KNOWING that they are in Heaven. It makes these difficult times so much easier. I have thought so often these past few days of the family he is seeing: his parents, his siblings. God's face.

What a day. Glorious day that will be.

The top 5 grandkids: Casey, me, Rick, Paige, Ashley

Some of the great-grands: Brooks, Todd, Kate, Kyle, Sophia

Todd and Kate

Sweet Caroline

More pictures...

This morning I took the kids to Jasmine Hill Gardens. It is a phenomenal reproduction of Greek gardens that dates back to the 1930's. I heard it was beautiful but it is spectacular!

The kids were semi-cooperative. I don't know why I thought they would be better! :) Here is one of Kate that I edited:

before

after

Editing practice

I have had some nice editing software for a few months but I haven't learned to use it at it's potential. I practiced a bit this morning and this is what I got.

Before:

After:

Grandaddy had a safe trip to Heaven

Kate started praying months ago that Grandaddy would have a safe trip to Heaven. He went there this morning with Mom and Grandmama at his side.

When I told the kids on the way home - at first they didn't say anything, and I followed with, "Guess what Grandaddy got to see? God's face!" and Kate just burst out laughing. Then we named all the Bible men and women that he has gotten to meet. They are happy for him. Me too. I will just miss him.

my friend Jessica

Jessica has been working at our clinic for 4 years now. Almost as long as I've been there. She got accepted to Auburn CVM for this fall. I'm proud of her for getting into school - but I am more proud of the fine Christian she is. I am certainly going to miss her at work this Fall.

When she asked me to take some pictures of her and Alan, I was so excited. The best part of the day is that they were ready for pictures - unlike my children who I usually have to bribe to get some good pictures of. She and Alan seem very happy together and I am so excited for them.

I'm so proud of you Jessica!

Brooks

1. Brooks is 4 1/2 years old.
2. He is getting smarter everyday!
3. He is an expert at the Wii - his favorite games are tennis and ping pong.
4. I am secretly glad that he doesn't start school until next Fall.
5. He has my teeth (and will also, I'm sure, have braces)
6. This boy was a champ this past Fall when he got his flu shot. Didn't even cry.
7. He loves to pick out his own clothes. Come to think of it, when has he not. :)
8. I have gotten him to try green beans and corn a few times in the past few months.
9. He says he likes the green beans but not the corn.
10. He is the best at saying yes ma'am and no ma'am.
11. He still sleeps with his blanket. Every night. No exceptions.
12. He is learning a lot about spelling from Kate.
13. We got the best compliment about his behavior at church a few weeks ago!
14. He LOVES playing with ball with Scott. Either throwing the tennis ball or hitting it.
15. He still cries every time he gets hurt. :(
16. He tells me he loves me everyday. And, 90% of the time he does it unprompted.
17. He and I play kissing games - when we kiss each other we see who can wipe it off the fastest.
18. I can see his stubbornness is giving in just.a.bit.
19. I am seeing what my Mom meant when she said how special a son is to his Mom.
20. I don't know what I will do when I have to go to the dentist by myself, without him in my lap while getting work done.
21. He goes to class by himself. He still won't go to kidsing.
22. His friends at church are Cooper, Reese, Jamie and Laura.
23. Dad says he is going to be a smart, good boy. Dad is usually right about these things. :)
24. He still likes being called Brooksie. One day he will hate it. Kate nicknamed him Brooksie.

Friends and birthdays

This past weekend was our friend Maddox's 3rd birthday. We had a fun time with our friends! I took some pictures and these were the best. This first one of Laura is my favorite of all. She is a beautiful child!

The picture below is of all the girls. I really like how the focus varies from each girl. Kate doesn't look like herself in the picture... but that happens sometimes!

Relay for life

I have been unable to add type to my blog for so long! So, here is the low down from Relay this year.

Our team was comprised from University CofC. Relay was held at the Faulkner football field (as opposed to AUM in years past) and it was really nice there. The field is so nice and soft - almost as if you could bounce on it! Kate and Brooks ran and ran around the track. It was embarrassing that I couldn't keep up! But, I'll enlighten more on that at a later date.

We raised over $2,000.00 as a team. The Montgomery totals were over $53,000.00. Although this year I was cramped for time, the fund raising totals took on a more special meaning this year with Grandaddy being diagnosed with cancer, and my friend Sara being diagnosed with colon cancer. I was glad to be able to help them out.