December and some reflections on Mema

Our precious Mema went to be with the Lord on Dec 16...just 3 short weeks after Nanny. This has been the hardest month of our family's life and we miss those 2 ladies terribly. BUT, we rejoice that they are together in heaven and their bodies are well again!
Reflections about Mema:

-We have always referred to Mema as a saint because she truly was. She was an amazing Christian lady and she lived it out daily.

-She was the biggest prayer warrior I knew, and she was such an inspiration to me.

-She was my hero because she raised ALL (4) boys and did a great job!!!

-For 2 years, we had such an honor of being able to attend the same church with Mema and Papa. When we lived in Indian Land, I was the Children's Minister at their church and it was such a special time. Tyler was a baby through age 2 1/2 and she loved helping me with him and seeing him at church. Scott came along during that time until we moved here when he was 9 months old.

-Mema made the absolute best chocolate cakes and everyone knew it!! I remember as a child helping her make biscuits. She was a great cook and made the best corn in the world straight from their garden!

Here is a sweet, sweet picture of my 2 amazing gradmothers whom I miss more than ever! This was taken 5 years ago at Mema and Papa's 80th birthday party. Aren't they beautiful? :)


Despite our sadness, we have had some really fun times together as a family. Andy, Tiffany, Anna and Caroline have been here since the 17th and it has been nonstop fun! A couple of weeks ago we helped Memaw (Robbie's mom) decorate her Christmas tree. The boys also had their church choir performance a few Sundays ago. Here are some pictures over the last couple of weeks!

Snuggling in front of the Christmas tree


Scott's school program (he is 3rd from the right on the front row)


Tyler's choir at church (he is on top row 2nd from left)


Christmas picture in front of tree at church


Aunt RaRa helping Scott decorate Memaw's tree


GreyGrey enjoyed helping, too


Memaw lifted Tyler up to hang an ornament at the top


Scott's party at school


Tyler and his buddy Jack at their class party/pajama day


Silly Katie and Scott


Papa and some of his grandchildren and great grandchildren! I feel sure Mema was smiling down on this picture!!


Fun with Mimi dipping pretzels in white chocolate


Greyson thought he needed to sample a few


Oldest and youngest cousin/grandchild (for now....Katie is pregnant!!!!!!!!!)


Sweet cousin picture


Me and my sweet sister in law, Tiffany


Our trip to the zoo...Anna feeding the giraffe


As many times as we have been to the zoo, we have never been inside the bird cage! Tiffany was sweet and bought Tyler a cup of nectar to take inside. He loved every minute of it! Scott and Anna weren't quite sure about it!


I love this picture! :)


Such a cool experience!! I'm so thankful we live in a city with an amazing zoo!


Last night we went to Carrabas and did a fun gift exchange with my mom's sister and her whole family! This was the 5 of us at Carrabas!


Greyson and Caroline! :)


Fun gift exchange at our house


My cousin Sally, Tori (my cousin Drew's girlfriend), and my cousin Amanda




Sisters


Look what Robbie ended up with at the gift exchange....plus a pair of boxers that say One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish....hahahaha!


A cute picture this morning after our sleep over with Anna!

November

Where do I even begin? November was here and now almost gone in no time. It's been a very hard month for our family, but in the midst of our hard times, God has once again been faithful. He has brought us times of joy and laughter amist our sadness of losing a precious, precious lady in our lives. Our sweet Nanny went to be with Jesus last Monday, Nov 22. We are going to miss her terribly, but we have the hope of knowing that we will be with her again in heaven for eternity!

Over these last several weeks I have had lots of time to reflect on Nanny's life and the wonderful memories I have of her. I'm going to share just a few:

-She was a faithful, loving grandmother who was there for us as often as she could be. She and my grandaddy attended many of our choir programs, dance recitals, etc over the years. They even traveled to Disney World when my dance team performed there in high school. When I was 13, she and my grandaddy took me on an unforgettable trip to England and Scotland!!

-She was a believer and shared with us her love for God throughout her life.

-We loved going to her house as children and even into adulthood. She knew how to entertain and was very hospitable.

-She was there for the birth of all 3 of my children and that is super special to me. She held my babies, rocked them, bathed them and absolutely loved them! I feel so honored that they knew her and were able to spend time with her over the years. We will share with Greyson as he gets older about how special she was and how much she loved him.

-She allowed Robbie, Tyler and myself to live with her for 4 months when we moved up her way. Tyler was just a baby and it was such a special time for me. She thoroughly enjoyed the company and she was so gracious in allowing us to be there. I have so many great memories of that time.

-Over the last 10-12 years, Robbie has thought of Nanny as his own grandmother. She adored him and loved that he was an educator. Robbie has many fun memories of Nanny. He loved her homemade pimento cheese and loved having her make his lunches when we lived with her. She loved to fill his belly! :)

I miss you and love you, Nanny!!!

Our Thanksgiving was different this year, but we were together and that's what matters. We have a lot to be thankful for!!! This past weekend, we spent time decorating for Christmas! The boys have been super excited and loved helping with the decorating. Here are some recent pictures:

Robbie and Greyson on a "tractor" ride around Memaw's yard


Tyler wearing the blower and blowing the leaves in Memaw's yard


Me and my boys


Robbie and his boys


Memaw and the boys


Al (Robbie's uncle) and the boys


The 5 of us!


The 2 of us!


Mimi and her boys


Pop, Mimi and GreyGrey


On our way to get the tree!! They all 3 wanted to sit in the "way back" together. It was cute and Greyson thought he was big stuff!


Picking out our tree


Robbie strapping it to the top of the van


Yay! The tree is up and decorated! The boys had fun! They have their own little tree upstairs in their room this year, too that they are proud of.

October

Just a quick recap of mid October through the end of October for us....

Robbie and I were able to enjoy a day to ourselves at Clemson a few weekends ago! Robin came and kept the boys for us! They had a blast with her! Here is how the morning began.....



We arrived!


CJ Spiller's jersey was being retired at the game. We had up close and personal seats very near where he was on the field. Here is a picture of CJ with Ellington after his long touchdown run! It was really cool!


I turned the big 3-2! Robbie and Tyler got up early and made pancakes! :)


On the 30th we went to a fall festival at the church where Scott goes to school. Here is an individual picture of Scooby Doo, Spiderman and a Cowboy/Farmer! We were going to do the whole theme thing and Scott was going to be Shaggy and Greyson was going to be Scrappy Doo, BUT that all changed when Greyson wanted nothing to do with his costume and Scott just really wanted to be Spiderman! :) Oh well, it was worth a try!







Greyson and his "girl"


Tyler, Scott and their sweet, fun cousin Anna...all in the dugout at Tyler's game last Sunday!


Halloween was so fun this year because we were able to share it with Andy, Tiffany, Anna and Caroline! What a great memory!