This week was a hard week.
Andy's grandfather passed away Wednesday night.
He was 79 years old.
He had a full life on so many levels.
He dressed up as a lion for the kids every year at Halloween and always came to his great grandkids' birthday parties.
He brought me back 10 pounds of green peanuts to boil from a visit down south after he found out about my love for boiled peanuts.
He smiled with his whole body and a true twinkle in his eye as he spoke.
A smile that could only come from the depth of someone's soul.
A soul with a true love and appreciation for life.
He was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, a Christian, a friend, a neighbor...
He was a southern gentleman.
He was down to earth and loved the little things in life.
He did and was so much more than I could ever capture in a blog post.
My simple words do not do him justice.
He was a person whose life and presence in this world has positively impacted so many lives.
He loved and comforted his wife with a strength and compassion that inspires me to nurture and foster such love in my marriage.
God created man to love and show love.
And I believe that your life is your message.
Ed loved fiercely, showed so much love, and taught others to love.
His love will continue to have a ripple effect through generations to come.
Leaving a legacy.
And that is powerful.
As we honor and celebrate his life, I know he is eternally restored and experiencing the most powerful of all love in God's presence.
Such an emotional week always makes me feel things with a greater intensity. Love with a deeper love...appreciate the beauty in the chaos more...be more thankful for our blessings.
Blessings like being home with the kids, laughing with them, teaching them, loving them, and just soaking it all in.
I love that they get to grow up with a stay-at-home mom.
I love that we spend our days running around the back yard and reading books and caring for the garden.
I love that the kids get so excited to eat a fresh tomato or see a new bloom each day.
I love that Andy supports my passions and surprises me with gifts like canning magazines. Such a fun magazine to flip through and makes plans from.
I love sewing days with friends.
I just love sewing. I love everything from the spark of inspiration a new pattern can ignite, to the fabric selection, to actual process of creating something, to the pride of a finished product!
It's fulfilling.
I made this shirt last weekend.
I kinda love it. It has a fun peasant top/vintage/retro chic feel to it.
Great for jeans and boots this fall.
Which the thought of just makes me plain giddy.
(Ignore the pattern markings on it. They will wash out.)
I love to see AJ's passions develop.
He is currently into Hot Wheels wall tracks.
Which makes for a great addition to our decor.
I love Abby's strong independent spirit.
I came downstairs one morning to find her making herself "a little snack".
Unfortunately for her, mom has veto power over kid made "snacks".
She gave me her very spirited opinion on that one let me tell ya.
I love blasts from the past.
Remember punch balloons as kids?
The fun boom, boom, boom sound they make as they ricocheted off your hand over and over?
Love these things.
They are still as much fun as they were when I was a kid.
Good times.
Love Brody's passion for food.
We always joke about his love of food and how shovels it in. Ha!
That kid cracks me up all day long.
Aunt Jess' bday gift arrived this week.
A worm farm. Totally perfect for a 7 year old boy.
I think it's awesome. Till I see the worms. Then I want to throw up.
But it's still fun. I just can't look at it. Or think about it too much.
We went to the museum of nature and science this week.
We love that place.
It was a fabulous way to spend 4 hours.
The space odyssey never gets old.
Brody loved the dinosaurs.
And kept trying to climb in with them.
I can't take my eye off him for a second.
I just knew I was going to turn around and he was going to be running around in there...and then I'd be running around in there trying to catch him. This kind of thing happens to me.
We pulled out the board games one raining afternoon because the natives were getting restless. It's always funny to watch their thought processes as they play. AJ is always pretty strategic. Abby swings from cut throat competitive to la-dee-dah spastic, impulsive placement of her pieces...sometimes picking a spot on the board simply because it looks pretty. Then we have to deal with the fallout when she doesn't win. It's entertaining to say the least.
We indulged in ice cream out on the patio.
Now that is one of life's simple pleasures.
Andy surprised me with Starbucks one morning.
Such a lovely way to start the day.
Love that man.
I went school supply shopping.
I love getting school supplies.
I love all the newness of it.
The perfection of a smooth, fresh box of crayons without chips or dull blunt tips...untouched paints without the colors all mixed...ready to create kid art.
The blank, unwrinkled pages in composition notebooks...ready to be filled with kid writing and drawings.
All the promise of a new school year.
New friends. New adventures.
We ate comfort food this week.
That package of cookies only lasted minutes in this house.
But they were joyful minutes.
Abby is really into writing "letters" to her friends right now and was asking for an envelope about every five minutes.
It.was.driving.me.crazy.
Now she has her own envelopes and is one happy camper.
And I am one happy mama...with a few less interruptions.
Seriously why do we buy fancy toys when a $1 box of envelopes keeps her entertained for hours? They don't need gaming systems, they need office supplies.
This weekend we gear up for a fun filled week next week when two of my sisters come to visit!!! We are talking sorella bonding at the max.
Poor Andy.
Pedicures, skating, movie nights, cheesecake, tattoos...
It's going to be epic.
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2 comments:
Wow, what a busy full week full of memories. What a homage to what is surely a great man. I enjoyed reading what you had to say. Now, look at this worm! :)
Hello!
I'm a big fan of your blog! =) I love love love your sewing projects and the latest lunch boxes you've been putting together.
I used to write letters to my nieces when they were younger. I'd put together packages and letters and sign them as random fairy tale characters. My youngest niece actually had the "letter from Benjamin Bunny" (a character from one of the Peter Rabbit books) framed. I wrote it on bunny themed stationary and included a plastic carrot and some dried leaves "straight from Mr. McGregor's garden." She also got a huge kick out of the tooth fairy's poems. :)
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