Heather and Craig

Carolyn’s Birthday

Heather — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:03:33 +0000

Carolyn turned 71 on July 9th, we celebrated with her about a week prior. This was REALLY hard, ya’ll.
I can’t remember if I mentioned this or not, but my mom made the trip with us to Dallas to visit Carolyn. Didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say good-bye.
Cousin Jennifer picked up these delicious cupcakes.
Jennifer’s youngest, Cameron.
And what party is complete without some silly band trading?
This would be the last time we would see her. The next day we headed up to visit Craig’s dad, north of Dallas. And a few short weeks later, she would pass. It was nearly impossible to leave. So, so hard.
We went around the room and shared a favorite memory of Carolyn. It was hard for all of us, but especially for poor Uncle Brian.
And here is clueless again. All he cared about were the cupcakes. Good thing he’s so cute.

Carolyn in Hospital

Heather — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:50:31 +0000

Of course when we first arrived in Dallas, we went to visit Carolyn in the specialty care facility that she was staying in. This was hard, ya’ll.
I posted this photo on Twitter when we returned, it makes me really sad to think that he won’t remember his Mamaw. Yes, she lives on through the photos, blah, blah, but it’s not the same.
Loves her Uncle Brian.
Mr just kept looking at her, and he put stickers on her bed.
Carolyn looked good, something about not having hair or make-up made her look very youthful. If I hadn’t known her room number, however, I would have walked right by her. She was in good spirits when the kiddos were visiting.
The boys.
And meet my husband: the master at compartmentalizing. He has a way of distracting himself (in this case with fixing her laptop) so that he doesn’t feel the pain.
And meet my Mr: who has no clue what is going on or how to behave in a hospital.
And meet Uncle Brian: one of the best uncles in the world (just look at the poor guy), he distracted the kiddos so we could visit with mom.
Apparently riding in the wheelchair was fun.

Fourth of July

Heather — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:35:50 +0000

**Returning to the posts regarding our trip to Texas in early July.**

Ok, so Craig’s Uncle Ken and Aunt Mary own a golf course in Peeltown (happens to be the only thing in Peeltown). This lovely guest house where we stayed sits on the golf course.

The golf course is a compound of sorts… guest houses on one side, and Craig’s family on the other. In order to get to the other side, you must cross this bridge. There is a sign that cautions against any vehicle over 5,000lbs using the bridge.

And this is the behemoth of an urban assault vehicle that Craig rented. Most definitely exceeds the weight limit… probably by about 2-3,000lbs. But I have good news to report, the bridge held up well! And none of us plummeted to our deaths in the creek below!
Mr enjoyed playing on the pier by the pond.
Texas has beautiful sunsets.
We played with some sparklers and small fireworks on the Fourth of July.

First Day of THIRD Grade!!

Heather — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:34:51 +0000

(I am interrupting the Texas posts for this important announcement).
Oh my gosh, we cannot believe that we have a third grader!!!
Ella loves school and was very excited for the first day. So excited, in fact, that she set her own alarm for 6:22am (she catches the bus at 8:10).
Her on again/off again BFF.

Her REAL BFF.
Can you even believe how tall she is? CRAZINESS!!

Aunt Mary’s Pool

Heather — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:59:40 +0000

Even though our schedule was pretty full, we were able to spend some time just playing in the pool with the kids. They LOVED the pool.

Ella never wanted to get out of the water.

Aunt Mary’s pool is really nice and the kids especially loved hanging on Uncle Brian.

Of course when you are in Texas, you never know when an afternoon downpour may hit. Cousin Julia was crazy enough to stand it in so that I could take some photos. I was playing with a slow shutter speed to blur the motion of the water, it was really coming down!
I can’t believe I didn’t get a nice photo of Aunt Mary, but I did get one of Aunt Jane, Carolyn’s youngest sister. She lives right next to Carolyn and she said it’s been hard coming home from work knowing that the house is empty. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.