Reflection

This is a panoramic shot that Paul took of the farm today.  There have been several ways we know God is in the details.  We had time with Paula that we did not think we were going to have.  We got to enjoy so many good times as a family over the past few months.  One night Paula told us the one good thing out of all this is we were getting in some good family time.  And we did, we saw her as much as possible and most times she was able to talk and share with us and us with her.  What a precious life she led.

It just so happens that Andrew and Mandi are in town this weekend for his best friend's wedding.  What a God send.  They are helping Mom with the kids in between wedding activities. There was a visitation tonight and we were overwhelmed with the love and support our family was shown.  We picked the kids up from Mom's in time for us to all go home and be together at bedtime.  The next few days are going to be emotionally and physically exhausting but we will make it through as that is  what Paula would want.

At Peace...

Paula is home today.  She is no longer in pain or sick or battling cancer.  She is rejoicing in heaven with our Father!  Although we have known this day has been coming for some time it does not make it any easier or less sad.  She passed into heaven peacefully this morning.  Paul and I arrived a few minutes after.  She was alone with Bill as it should have been.  The next days, weeks and months are going to be difficult.  The kids know Nene is in heaven and we know this will probably be hardest on them.  Praying for strength for all of us in the coming days.  

I had to include some happy pictures.  The first is the last we have of Nene and the kids shortly after she came home from the hospital in April.  The other is Katherine doing her "exercises" this morning before we left.  

He's Getting Big

Paul and I went to Gallatin this morning. Paula is not good now.  We stayed for a couple of hours and she seemed to stabilize and was resting well so we left.  I did some errands and Paul went on to work.  Paul went back to Gallatin tonight.  I cooked supper for the kids and me as usual.  Luke decided he did not want to eat what I made.  So, I told him I was not cooking anything else so if he wanted something else he would have to make it himself.  Well, he did...he made a PBJ.  I had to take a picture of him.  He is so independent now.  Paul got home well after the kids were in bed.  He planned to stay the night but Bill told him to come home.  Praying for peace right now...

First T-Ball Practice!

The first, of probably many, nights at the ballpark.

We signed Luke up for a co-ed t-ball team.  It is just an introduction to the game and has a short season which I liked. Six practices and six games.  Tonight was the first practice. He was pretty excited about it! I was surprised how many kids are on the team.  There are about 14.  Luke's two coaches are teachers at his school and there are actually 4 kids from his class on the team.  So, this should be interesting.  Katherine was excited to go to the ballpark because she will have three friends to play with.

Fishing Rodeo?

Someone in our Sunday School class mentioned that the City of Hendersonville was hosting a Fishing Rodeo today.  I had never heard of such a thing. Apparently they bring in all kinds of fish and let the kids fish free. There were clowns, booths and tents.  We tried our hand at the fishing for a little bit, but neither one of our kids have the patience for it.  Well, to be honest the parents don't have the patience either.  So, we left empty handed.  The kids wanted to hit the playground before we left.  I actually had not been since it has been completely renovated.  It is very cool.  Apparently Taylor Swift paid for the reno.  The kids loved it!

Next we went to Gallatin to see Nene and Pop.  We stopped and picked up Chik fil a on the way.  Paula slept most of the time but did wake up some and talk to the kids and us.  She ate some lunch and seemed so glad to see us.  We stayed for a few hours.  This afternoon we laid low and watched the Vanderbilt baseball game.  They are in the Super Regionals against Louisville but unfortunately they lost.  Luke really got in to and wanted to know all about baseball.  That is encouraging considering he has his first T-ball practice next week!

Fun on a Friday Night

We weren't really sure what to do tonight so we let the kids decide.  Luke picked Jet's Pizza for supper.  Since it is close to Verizon we went over afterwards and I finally got a new phone!  It didn't take much looking.  I was pretty sure I was going to stick with a droid and since I got a Samsung Tablet for my birthday this year I thought it made since to get a Samsung phone.  They are pretty much the same thing and it will be easy to learn and navigate.   The process of picking out the phone didn't take long but I had to get in line to actually purchase the phone and get it all set up so that took a while.

After that Katherine wanted ice cream so we went to Sonic.  I honestly don't know the last time we have gotten a treat there.  It was ok -- not my favorite.  By this time it was past the kiddos bedtime so we headed home.

Wired!

Katherine's bedtime story pick tonight -- thanks Gigi!

I spent the morning in Gallatin with Paula so Bill could do some errands and go to an appointment.  She slept most of the time I was there, but woke up a couple of times and talked with me.  I did a couple of things before heading home to do my typical Wednesday chores.  If I don't do at least some laundry on Wednesdays it is crazy by the time the weekend rolls around.

I also try to get a long walk in when I have the house to myself.  We recently signed up for a free NetFlix trial.  It is really cool you can stream movies, TV series (new and old) on any device.  That is my new motivation on the treadmill.  I am currently in the middle of watching the Wonder Years.  I can get a good long walk in by watching two episodes.  Man, I love that show!  It has something like 114 episodes so it will take me a bit to get through all of them, but I already have some other old series in mind when I finish these.

The kids both had good days again.  They played in a little blow up pool at our house last night.  Of course, we didn't realize it until bath time that the mosquitoes had a field day with them.  Poor things are both vulnerable to them.  Luke has a big welt on his back and Katherine has about 6 bites two of which are on her face.  When I picked K up her teacher told me she had not been herself today and had a very low grade temp (99.5) and had one "diarrhea" around nap time.  She has been fine all night -- running around and acting all kinds of crazy.  I think she is fine but time will tell.

The past two nights she has been wired when it is bedtime.  It is taking us forever to get her down and both she and Luke are exhausted.  Paul was in Gallatin again tonight so we laid low.  I wasn't about to let them outside again to get more bug bites so we played inside and actually watched an old Charlie Brown movie.  Paul got home about bedtime so that got them all riled up and it was 9 before they got in bed.  We have got to do better about getting them in the bed earlier.

Monday, Monday

Katherine made me a pancake

It's Monday again!  The weekends go by in a flash.  The kids both had good days at school.  Katherine has transitioned to the 3-year old room without much fuss.  She loves one of the teachers so that helps a lot.  She is getting used to the different rules in her new room and is having some difficulty keeping her "listening ears" on all the time.  She is progressing well though and already seems to be learning a lot of different things.  She makes her own cot at nap time and is becoming more and more independent.  Most mornings she gets herself dressed with just a little help from one of us.

Paul went to Gallatin tonight so the kids and I enjoyed some time together.  They helped me cook a good supper and then played together while I got everything cleaned up.  Luke wanted to play Candy Land so we did.  Katherine wanted to play with play dough.  I had just swept and scrubbed the kitchen so I wasn't too thrilled with the idea.  But, I remembered a vinyl tablecloth that I had.  We spread that on the floor and I let her go at it.  She cooked up all kinds of concoctions!

We are learning that Luke is pretty competitive.  He is fierce at Candy Land.  We played two games and each won one.  I forget what I fun, easy game that is.  They were both ready for bed by the time Paul got home!

Busy Saturday

Hard at work on his lawnmower pencil holder

Loving to paint

This girl never lets a sweet go untouched!

The view when we left the farm tonight --

We are having a great weekend so far.  Last night the kids and I went to Chik-fil-a for supper while Paul went to Gallatin.  Luke has been counting down to the first Saturday of June so we could go to Home Depot for their Kid's project.  They each made a lawnmower pencil holder for Father's Day.  It went pretty quickly so we had plenty of time to browse the store.  We picked out a new kickplate and hardware for the front door. Everything in our house is brass/gold which is outdated now.  After talking with the paint department we are going to hold off on painting the door.  It really needs be done on a low humidity day which are hard to come by in the Tennessee summer.  It also hit us that Paul gets a discount at Porter Paint so we will probably go by there next weekend and get the paint in case we do luck out and have a nice day to do it.

The kids were invited to a birthday party today at the jumpy place in Hendersonville.  They love those things!    After over an hour of jumping followed by pizza and cake they were exhausted and both fell asleep on the way home.  Katherine and I crawled in our bed and took a long nap while Luke and Paul napped on the couch upstairs.

After naps we headed out to pick up steaks to grill at the farm.  Paula was on the couch when we got there and was in a great, talkative mood.  Paul grilled the steaks while I baked some sweet potatoes and made a quick salad with lettuce from Pop's garden.  We all agreed the steak was great.  Paula even ate some.  Her favorite part was the fresh baked cookies and ice cream we had for dessert!

It has rained/stormed here off and on all day.  When we were leaving we stopped in the driveway to notice how beautiful the clouds and sky were.  The clouds were so low they looked like mountain tops!  The wheat is getting close to being harvested.  Luke hopes he is able to be up there when it happens. He loves seeing all the big equipment.

Pool's Open!

The neighborhood pool opened this past weekend and the kids have been itching to go.  Since it has been a bit cooler here lately we knew the water would be cold and it was.  I am such a chicken I didn't get in past my waist.  The kids and Paul warmed up pretty quickly though.  They both love the water.  I must say that Katherine is fearless!  She absolutely loved being in the pool.  Luke does too, but he is very cautious which is good.  I have a feeling K is going to be a handful this year!

Memorial Day Happenings

Luke's new favorite hobby -- basketball!

I have been saying for a couple of weeks that I wanted us to find somewhere fun to go eat breakfast today.  It isn't too often that Paul and I both have a 3-day weekend.  So, I thought it would be neat to get up and drive 30 mins - 1 hour away to a neat breakfast place and do some local touristy things.  All the places we were interested in were closed today. So, we opted for an old favorite -- Puckett's Grocery.  We decided to visit the downtown Nashville location this time.  It did not disappoint.  Although it is in the middle of all the city hub-bub it stayed true to its classic southern cooking.  They had a buffet available today.  Paul and Katherine ate that and Luke chose a Mickey Mouse pancake.  I love their bacon and biscuits!  We lingered over breakfast and definitely beat the holiday tourist crowd.  There was quite a wait when we left.

I had the great idea to go visit the new Music City Center which celebrated its Grand Opening earlier this week.  Unfortunately, it was not open to the public today. Next, we drove down to the train station at River Front thinking we could take a train ride, but it was closed for the holiday.  We finally ended up at the Bicentennial Mall.  They had dancing fountains to celebrate each of Tennessee's rivers.  Luke was begging to run through them but we didn't have a change of clothes for him.  We finally gave in and he and Katherine had a blast running through the water!  They would have stayed all day if we let them.  We let them  play for a long time since it was such a nice day.  They didn't put up too much of a fuss when we told them it was time to go.  We were in a dilemma with Luke and his clothes.  We stripped him down to his underwear and wrapped him up in one of my sweaters for the ride home.  Katherine had a change of clothes.  She is fully potty trained now with the exception of bedtime, but we always keep extra clothes on hand in case of an accident.  I am going to remember to put Luke some clothes in the car now, too.  In the Summer you just never know when a water play opportunity might present itself.

They were both worn out when we got home and took naps. We spent the rest of the day at home working on some outdoor and indoor projects.  I am currently obsessed with painting our front door so I spent a good bit of time researching door colors.  It is narrowed down to navy and black which are both safe, conservative choices.  We'll see when I get around to doing it.

It has been an absolutely fabulous weekend with fun had by all.  I love when we have an extended time off to enjoy being together!

The Tradition Lives On...

Katherine made some new friends -- adorable twin boys!

The National Cemetery 

We went to church this morning and, as expected, there was a lighter crowd because of the holiday.  Lunch was next followed by naps for all!  The gorgeous weather continued today.  It was a little warmer, but still below normal for this time of year.  This afternoon we went to the Reynolds' for their annual get together.  Mom went for the first time this year.  The food was excellent as usual.  I, of course, left the main ingredients of my salad at home on the counter so it was a bust.  Oh well, there's always next year!

Mr. Reynolds always gives a guided tour of the National Cemetery  behind their house.  Paul and I haven't been since well before we had kids.  Luke really wanted to go so we all tromped through the grounds listening to Mr. Reynolds narrate.  The kids mainly enjoyed the wide open space to run and play.  They both made some new friends which was cute.  By the time we got back it was past bedtime so we packed up and headed home.  It is always a fun time and are grateful for the invite every year!

Picture Perfect!

This weekend's weather has been absolutely picture perfect!  We were glad when Paula was feeling up to having company today to celebrate Memorial Day!  We all went up this afternoon and grilled burgers.  Paula always likes to celebrate.  Kristen and I set tables up outside and put the go-to standard red/white check cloths on.  Even though Paula wasn't able to come outside she enjoyed some of a burger and visiting with the family in the living room.  She was so glad to have us all there.

Paul made the first ice cream of the season -- it always tastes so good.  By the time we knew it it was close to dark.  It was such a beautiful day that none of us wanted to leave. The kids played and played.  Luke loves playing catch with Paul and JonJon.  It is great knowing we have two more days off from work!!!

A Day With Mommy!

After lunch treat!

Luke and Clifford!

Luke and I both had dentist appointments this morning.  We dropped Katherine off at school and ran a few errands before we went to see Dr. Barkley.  I was a little nervous since he had a cavity on his last check up. I didn't let him know I was nervous though.  He did awesome at the visit and didn't have any cavities!  They recommended he start using a fluoride mouthwash every night to get some extra cavity-prevention help.  Luke wanted to eat lunch with Paul so we stopped by to pick him up at the office.  He chose to go to Jason's Deli.  It was packed, but so good.  I love their salad bar and free ice cream!  Luke got a PB&J.  It was fun hanging out with Paul on a workday!

Our next stop was the Scholastic Book Warehouse Sale. It was completely overwhelming!  Luke had fun and picked up a few books for he and Katherine as well as one for his class at school.  Much to Luke's delight I had a quick return to make at Opry Mills.  He got a surprise Lego set from Nonna this week so I told him he could not buy one today.  I did let him go and look though!  After a quick stop at home it was time to go get Katherine.  Luke said the day went by too fast and I agreed! Love spending one on one time with my little guy!

Time for a Haircut

Katherine is getting into playing "haircut".  Her latest thing is to have anyone that will participate put a towel around their neck while she gives them a haircut.  She gives you a shampoo, cut and style and then asks for $20 -- Paul tells her she is overpriced.  She insisted Daddy needed a quick haircut before we went to church this morning!  I think he loves it!  I must admit it is nice when she brushes my hair and makes me "soooo pretty for the party Mama"!  Oh, how we wish we could just bottle this up!  She is so fun right now!

Mother's Day Festivities

Claudia, Luke and Jon

Hard to believe it is Mother's Day weekend already! The weather is absolutely beautiful here right now!
We went to Mom's this morning and I planted some flowers in her courtyard as her Mother's Day present.  I wasn't able to get everything I wanted, but it was a nice start.

This afternoon we went to the farm to grill out.  We have had this planned since shortly after Paula came home from the hospital in April.  It was great that she was excited we were coming.  Everything was low-key -- we just roasted hot dogs and s'mores.  We mainly stayed outside and took turns going in to visit with her. The kids rode bikes, trikes and ran around.  They loved roasting marshmallows!

We don't have much planned for tomorrow -- church and maybe lunch somewhere.  Just going to enjoy time as a family.

Preschool Graduation!

Getting ready!

Luke and Rylee -- together since infants!

Proud parents!

Luke and Connor -- going to miss him next year!

Luke's teachers - Ms. Katie and Ms. Sonja

So glad Luke's buddy could be there!

The cupcakes were a hit!

Showing off his new Lego from Nonna

Tonight was a BIG night around here -- Luke's Preschool Graduation!  He has been so excited about it for weeks.  He has been practicing his songs and talking about the reception afterwards.  The night did not disappoint.  We were so glad to have Nonna, Bill and JonJon there with us!  Luke looked so proud when he was walking down the aisle and saw all of us.

The ceremony was short and sweet.  Their was a slideshow of all the kids at different ages - infant, toddler and present.  Each child was also awarded a "superlative".  Luke was voted "Most Likely to Become President"!  WOW!  We were blown away.  He is such a special little guy!  We stayed at the reception for a bit.  Afterwards Mom, the kids and I went to Chik-fil-a for supper.  Paul went to see Nene and tell her all about it!

We are so proud of Luke and what a sweet little man he is.  So excited to see what God has in store for him!

Special Night

Paula and Bill have wanted a barn quilt for a long time, but had not been able to find anyone to make one for them.  They found someone in another state and helped with the design of a quilt for the farm.  Through a series of events it was able to be delivered this past weekend by a truck driver from Portland.  It is amazing how things work out.  Bill has been itching to get it up and so tonight Paul, Jon, Kristen and I met at the farm so the boys could hang it up.  It is beautiful!  We are praying that Paula will feel like getting out to go see it in the next few days.

We had a really nice visit with Paula tonight and it was good to be together.  We truly are blessed with a great family!

Another Saturday...Another Project

The first Saturday of the month can only mean one thing...Home Depot's Kids Workshop.  The kids look forward to this every month!  Today's project was a bird feeder.  Note to self..when painting is involved wear appropriate clothing.  This is the second time we have gotten pain on our clothes and it will not come out.  I find it strange that they don't use washable paint for a kid's project.  Luke had to find out what next month's project is so he can look forward to it -- a lawnmower pencil holder!

Top Hog

We went to Gallatin tonight to see Paula for a bit.  It was an impromptu visit so we didn't plan for supper.  When we got ready to leave Luke suggested we go to Top Hog.  It is a little Mom and Pop bbq place in Gallatin that would always go to when he spent the night at Bop Nene's.  I had never been there  but had heard all about it.  The waitress got a kick out of Luke ordering the fried catfish platter -- he and Nene usually split it.  I got the bbq with corn cakes which were so good. Katherine actually ate some of the bbq and a serving of mac and cheese.  Luke wanted his picture made with "Patty and Pickle".  That is what he named the paintings of the two pigs on the  building.

I ran in Walgreen's to pick up some things for Paula and Paul ran them back out to her.  We asked for a to-go box for the catfish so Paul offered it to her when he got back.  She ate several bites of it and the cornbread and said it tasted great!