It's been a minute.....

Hi. It's been a while, I know.

Life has a way of creating some pretty heavy ebbs and flow that can sometime take you out of the game.

Spring 2013 was absolutely brutal for my family. We had to deal with some serious teen angst issues that ripped my heart apart. I lost the will to be creative and crawled into a safe hole of my own emotions. Thankfully, things are much better now. We survived and my relationship with our teen is stronger than ever. But wow, that was a doozy. I will never take for granted my strong relationships with my children ever again.

When I started this blog in 2008, Facebook was a novelty. There wasn't an Instagram or Twitter. Blogs were blogs. Not so much now. Even some of my favorite bloggers have pulled the plug updating readers through other social media formats.

I thought about deleting my blog many times. But each time I was racked with guilt about closing a chapter of my life that had brought me so much joy.

And there are a lot of reflections recorded here that I need to keep close. When Papa Bud died, when Karsen was born. Many memories that make me smile (and cry) when I read them. Sort of like an online diary.

Since my last post, I now have two high school graduates. My oldest is a junior in college, still pre-med. I have a rising 9th and 7th grader this fall and Karsen will begin Kindergarten!

Life today vs. 2013 is pretty smooth sailing.

So, I'm still here. I guess I am tougher than I thought.

Beach Trip

My little sister and mom surprised me and the kids with a quick 3 day trip to the beach. They knew that money was extra tight with Jonathan heading to the University of Charleston. So they graciously paid for our hotel room and gas.

We spent 3 glorious days at Holden Beach. We laughed, played in the sun and made wonderful memories. It was the first time we had all been to the beach together in over 10 years!

My mom even surprised me with  a Sea Shell book my Papa Bud had given me over 30 years ago. I was determined to find a Sand Dollar. Something Papa Bud and I enjoyed looking together for. I searched, dug holes and walked endlessly searching for a Sand Dollar to no avail. On our way off the beach to head home, my mom looked down and found a dollar bill stuck in the sand. We figured that was Papa's funny way of showing us a sand dollar. That was his sense of humor. It made us smile.

Karsen and my mom

Too Busy!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We have stayed on the go. We had a great time at Easter despite not having our beloved Paw Paw with us. The kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt on Saturday and Sunday we went to church and dinner. 

It was so much fun being together. Then the kids were out for Spring Break and we took a trip to North Carolina. We stayed for four days. Not nearly enough time for me & Raini to get all of our shopping and thrift store hunting done but we savored the time none the less. 

Now we are trying to get ready for Jonathan's upcoming graduation. He was also accepted into the University of Charleston and we are trying to get all the financial arrangements made and then he must make a decision. Either Marshall University or UC and also to find out if he wants to enlist in the Air Guard. 

A lot of big choices to make. Keep us in your prayers that we make the right choices for this young man. I am so proud of him. Not many kids can move and attend 3 different high schools in 3 states in a four year period and still maintain honor roll status. 

He is a great kid and I want him to go where he wants to and not let the lack of money hold him back. Here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks!

Gracie Turns 5!

My sweet little Gracie turned 5 last weekend!


She is such a little priss pot!


So much like Ashton. =)


It was so much fun to help Raini plan her party.


We used a vintage Strawberry Shortcake theme and I found her a vintage Strawberry Shortcake miniature set for her birthday.


We made a cake shaped like Strawberry Shortcake's house and even the paper gift boxes were shaped like strawberries! 


We all had a great time!


Raini even made all the little girls matching t shirts, hair bo's and tutu skirts.

Spring!

It's Spring!
The days are longer and the nights aren't so chilly.

Last week my mom, grandmother and sister spent the week with us.
We had so much fun.
We took all the little kids to the Children's Museum of Richmond.
We had a blast.

The museum was featuring original artwork from Golden Book's. I was especially excited to see Richard Scarry's artwork! The detail in his art was beyond belief!

My sister and I also managed to sneak off for a couple of hours of shopping at our favorite antique store in Virginia.

Time always flies when they are in town. Before we know it, the week ends and they have to drive back to NC. It is always bittersweet when they leave. The memories however, last much longer! And I am very thankful for that!

The Old Barn

This beautiful old barn sits in a valley in Vilas, NC.

It belonged to my Great Grandfather----Grandpa Brown. He was Mama Jo's daddy.

Countless hours were spent playing here as a little girl. Every summer we would spend several weeks visiting our family here. As we would round the curvy road to their home, the graceful silhouette of that old barn would be the first thing we would see. It sat across the road from my Great Grandparents house. As we would pull up, my Grandpa Brown would already be walking up the hill to the road to greet us. I never knew how he must have known we were close by---there was no cell phones back then. My mom said it was because he would sit on the front porch and wait until he saw us. He would greet us with a great big hug and then we would race down the driveway into his home to hug and kiss other relatives who were awaiting us.

The barn was home to a few horses, lots of little mice and some mean chickens. My cousins and I would climb the hills surrounding the barn in search of blackberries. We would slide down the dirt banks, explore the different rooms of the barn, and jump from the hay bale hole to the ground below. The smell of freshly cured tobacco was an amazing scent. It was a child's dream to play in that old barn. We didn't need Ipods or Xboxes. Our play came from our imagination, stimulated by the wonderful setting of that old barn.

I share the same birthday as my Great Grandpa. His name was Olen Grady Brown and he was amazing. Even Papa Bud told me many times over that he had never met a man greater than Olen Brown.

He died in 1986. I was 12. Shortly after he passed, my Great Grandmother died too. And I'm ashamed to tell you that after they died, our families quit getting together. We only went back and stayed in their home one time after they both were gone.

They would be so disappointed in us for that. I love my family in Boone, especially my little cousin Kara who took this picture. We need to plan a reunion of some sorts. That would make Pa proud.

Kara took this picture and shared it with our family on facebook. It was amazing to see the response it created. So many cousins, so many wonderful memories of the old days.

Grandpa Brown and his horse & carriage, giving rides at Cove Creek School

Sisters are Forever

My Mother's Day present was that my little sister Raini came to visit me for a couple of days.

It was a mini vackay for her too. Her husband Tom generously offered to let her travel to Richmond and he would stay home and watch their 3 children.

We had lots of fun. She went with me to Target to register for the new baby. Something I would not have done had she not went with me. Since I live so far away from all of my family & friends, and everyone keeps asking me where I was registered, I decided to go ahead and have fun with it. Picking out baby gear for Baby Bean was a lot of fun. It also reminded me that in the 7 years since I was pregnant with Ashton, so many new baby things have come out! We had a blast.

The next day was my sono. I was so nervous. It wasn't a typical sono. It was done by a high risk perinatal doctor. They spent a lot of time looking at my cervix and the baby's heart but they reassured me everything was looking normal. Again, thank goodness Raini was there with me for that. The appointment took well over an hour.

We had lunch and stopped by our favorite antique stores. We spent so much time laughing and sharing stories that it made me realize how much alike we are becoming.

She is by far my best friend. No one could do more for me than her. She brings me so much joy. It is awful when she leaves. I cry, she cries. We just miss each other so much. Before we moved to Richmond last fall, we were close but not this close. The move to Richmond almost forced us to bond in a way we never had to before. Before Richmond, we totally took it for granted that we lived 15 minutes away. Not now. We treasure every second.

I love her so much. I am so proud that she is my baby sister.

Here are some pics we took while browsing around the antique malls: