Granddaddy, Father, Uncle, Brother

This post is a little difficult for me to write.  My Granddaddy turned 90 this past December.  He still gets around fairly well.  He still goes to the store and gets his biscuit and gets his gossip for the day.  

My family moved to Greenville, SC 18 years ago.  We left behind all of our family, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.  It was one of the hardest times of my teenage years.  At first we went every weekend.  Every time we went to visit, we always had a wonderful time but, when it came time to leave, we cried all the way home.  

Our first Christmas after we moved, we spent the night at Grandma's house.  Santa was still able to find us even though we weren't at our own home.  That's one of the Christmas' that I will never forget.  It was awesome.  We got to stay at their house and get presents, go to Nannie's and spend time with all of them, then go back to Grandma's that afternoon.  It was a day full of Family.  I loved it!!

Over the years, our trips have become less frequent.  During the Holidays, we go down once or twice a month.  At other times we don't get to go as often.  We've gone to school, gotten married, gotten jobs, and had babies.  We've let life get in the way of spending time with those that matter most.  I've missed so much because of what I thought mattered.  Boyfriends, social matters, parties...At times, yes, some ended up being important.  I married one of those boyfriends and had a baby with him. 

 Granddaddy Dancing with me at my wedding.

Even better, a baby boy.  The first baby boy in the family since my uncle over 50 years ago.  This little man and all the other grands and great-grands that walk into his house make his face light up!

For Granddaddy's birthday, we were going to take him to Bojangles for dinner (his favorite place).  Alex and I had made the trip down earlier that day and spent some time with Noel and the girls. As luck would have it, there was a bad storm that evening.  Since we weren't going to have the big blow out, Noel and I decided to go to Ward's, The barbecue place, and pick up some hash and rice and a sandwich for Granddaddy.  We piled all the kids into 2 cars and hit the road.  The look on Granddaddy's face was worth all the rain.  We spent a very wet, happy, and loud evening with him.  Noel, my Grandparents, and I sat around the table eating, talking, laughing, and listening to the children play.  That was one of the most memorable nights I will have for a while.

Nannio and the Camping Trip

We went camping a few weekends ago with the fam.  As I was walking around the camp site, I picked up some pine cones for later crafting.  This brought back memories of staying at Nannie's house over the summer and picking up pine cones for a quarter a bag.  My cousins and I picked up as many as we could and usually ended up with about 2 bags a piece.  Even though the yard had about 20 Pine Trees in the yard, that was about all we could muster with the prickles and all.  That was one of the first jobs I ever had.  :)

Here are some pics from our camping trip.

Throwing rocks in the water.

Alex playing on the playground with his new friend Alexis.

Photo hog.  :)

Posing with the scarecrow.

Part of The Crew. 

Had to put one in with me and Brian.

Starry Night

After going to a Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner tonight, little man and I came home and made our way to the back deck.  I was drawn outside by the crescent moon hovering in the trees.  It seemed to be playing peek-a-boo through the leaves.  Monkey man and I pulled out our bag chairs, lit some candles and counted stars.  For such a simple moment, it was also one of the best moments!  Monkey man was not only interested in the stars but quite fascinated by the candles.  He found out that if he stood in front of the big candle, it made a huge shadow on the outside wall of the house.  Of course I had to race in to get my camera. 

Such a sweet boy!!  Hope everyone has a great night and weekend!  We'll be helping prepare for a wedding tomorrow. 

 Congratulations Ashley and Andy!!

Football 2012

Just some pics from our trip to Clemson for Alex's first Football Game.  I couldn't get him to smile for any pictures.  When I asked him to smile, he said " This is my smile.".

Beautiful Necklace

My sweet friend Cindi Driggers made me a beautiful necklace out of some sea shells that my son Alex and his 2 cousins picked up on his first trip to the beach.  I asked Cindi if she could come up with something out of some of the shells and this is what she came up with.

This is one of the most precious pieces of Jewelry that I own.  Thank you so much!!!

To see some more of Cindi's jewelry, visit http://stringsattachedcindi.blogspot.com/

Etsy

I'm trying my hand at the etsy thing.  I have started a shop here.  We'll see.  It's just starting so, I'll have some more stuff coming on soon.  Here are some examples.

We'll get better with the pictures.  What do you think??

July 2012

My Mother, Colleen, Alex, and I went to my sisters the day after July 4th.  We spent the afternoon with them.  The next day we went down to Surfside to spend the day with my cousin Ethan and his family.  Aunt Pam went down that day, too.  We had the best time!  Here are some pics.

He passed out as soon as he finished his ice cream.  :)