Well....it's been quite a long, long time since I last "blogged" and have been contemplating whether or not to get back to it and I am "biting the bullet" and am going to give it another shot! :) I keep all of my pictures on facebook but still want to actually write about what's going on in life so I'll have something to look back on from time to time and what better way to do it so here goes nothing....
So the last post I made was in 2009 about Bryson's baptism and 4th of July and we all know a lot has happened in almost two years! Will still continued to attend Sunshine House and loved it there and was learning so much which we were very thankful for at the time! We had another fall season of Clemson football and most of you know we love this time of year for that reason alone! :) We of course celebrated another Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas by spending lots of time with family and friends which we love so much! I found out in November of 2009 that I was pregnant again but shortly after finding out I went back to the doctor for another ultrasound because the first one was so early on in the pregnancy and they couldn't find a heartbeat....this was devastating to me and was even harder on me because Rick was out of town (this also happened with the first miscarriage that I had before we became pregnant with Will) so I was dealing with it all on my own until he came home that day. This was and still is hard on me from time to time but I know that God has His reasons for everything and I'm trusting in His plans for me and our family!
In January of 2010 we registered Will for kindergarten!!! I know....I couldn't believe it myself that time had flown by so much and that my baby had grown that quickly! Will had his "graduation" from Sunshine House which was held at North Springs Elementary School...they had the cutest program and it would've been an almost perfect night if Will and some of the other boys could've behaved themselves on stage...no such luck though! Graduation from Sunshine House didn't mean the end though....Will still continued there throughout the summer for their summer camp program. He had a fun-filled summer with many wonderful field trips of which quite a few of them I was able to participate in which was so much fun for me too!
Will also started t-ball this year and it was a wonderful season! He learned so much and is quite the little athlete! His team was the Hooks! He loved it so much and we are continuing with it again this year because he loved it so much!
We also found out early this year (2010) that my grandfather had cancer which was very hard for all of us! We decided to have a celebration for he and my grandmother for their 61st wedding anniversary since we knew this would most likely be their last...we had a cake made for them and a delicious meal and had all the family over together! They were so surprised and loved everything so much! I'm glad that we were able to do this for them because we could tell it meant the world to them! Granddaddy was quite the fighter throughout the months that he was battling the cancer but on July 28th of 2010 he "went home to be with the Lord." This was a very hard time for all of our family and it's still hard on us from time to time....I catch myself tearing up every once in a while when I go through old pictures and see him in them....I miss him so much but do know that he's in a better place and not suffering anymore and just thinking about that makes me happy!
We celebrated Will's 5th birthday party and had a Clemson football themed party and had a blast!!! The Papp's rented a humongous water slide that was fun for all ages and it couldn't have been a better day weather wise! The food and cake was all wonderful and I can't wait to do it all over again this year! Will also started kindergarten 2 days before we had his party....such a bittersweet time for us! Our "little" Will was just not so "little" anymore! The first start of the school year was quite an adjustment for Will and rough from time to time but he did finally start working through some of his issues and is doing much better now....still has his days but it's still much better than the start of 2010's school year! :) He's learning so very much in kindergarten and his teacher, Ms. Holly Turner is an amazing teacher.....she's so very patient and does so many wonderful things for their class! We've been so very pleased with her and know that God placed Will with her for a reason!
September also brought about the start of another Clemson football season!!!
Ava was also born on September 24th and was just as precious as her big sister, Emma, and big brother, Bryson! I love them all so much and am so blessed to have such wonderful nieces and an amazing little nephew! :)
Our family friend/"mother," Jane Kimbrell went to have heart surgery in Cleveland, OH, in October 2010 and everything seemed to be going well but unfortunately she ended up with complications and we lost our dear friend in November of 2010! This loss hit me so very hard...this was not easy on me at all because she was such a close friend to our family and was really like another mother to me growing up. She is still missed so much and it's hard seeing picture of her too....I find myself with tears in my eyes every time. We loved her so much and again, the only thing that makes me happy about her being gone is knowing that she is with the Lord and is having the time of her life! At least we know we'll be with these loved ones again one day!
We headed to Florida over the Thanksgiving holidays this year (2010) to attend Rick's cousin, Tammy's wedding and since we were going to be going the Papp's planned for us to have a couple of days at Disney World also!!! This was Will's first time to Disney and it was so worth it!!! I can't wait for the day that we do it again because we all had so much fun together!!!
Christmas wasn't too far after this wonderful trip to Disney and the excitement just continued on for all of us! I love Christmas so much and am so fortunate to have a husband who loves it and giving just as much as I do! :) Thanksgiving and Christmas this year were the first holidays without Granddaddy (we weren't around for Thanksgiving though) so this was hard on all of us to not have him around....I know it will eventually get better on us but it definitely doesn't make it any easier right now.
We also lost Rick's grandmother, Erna Young, on December 16th (I believe), which was very hard on us....she had been battling cancer for about 3 years and man was she a fighter!!! She was trying so hard to make it until the 18th of December so she could be there for Rick's cousin Brian's wedding but unfortunately she didn't make it....she went "home" to be with the Lord and again, we know that she is in a better place and rejoicing!!!
We had our first snow of the winter months on the night of Christmas Day....it was beautiful!!! It didn't last very long but while it was there we enjoyed it!
So....as you can see the past two years have been quite eventful for us and we have joked about 2011 having to be better than 2010.....I sure hope that is the case for us all!!!
