Three Years Home….

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
You get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

-Phillip Phillips

THREE Years.  THREE amazing, wonderful, hard, tearful, soul-searching, loving, life-changing years.  THREE years of learning her, learning us, finally seeing all of OUR sin, and all of us working to better ourselves.  THREE Years we would repeat in a heartbeat.

She has been HOME THREE years TODAY.

She is the youngest. She is the "What about ME?" child.  She never misses a beat and asks as many questions as possible.  Can you believe she will be in kindergarten next year?!

We have had many talks about her past…she asks hard questions already about her birth parents, her nannies, the way she looks sad when we first "got" her.  I love the hard questions.  No, I do not have answers, but I promise her she will NEVER BE ALONE in her questioning.  

I love the way her face has changed over the past few years.  She has gone from a nervous, terrified baby to an inquisitive, caring, and loving young girl with a spunky attitude!  We are so blessed to have her.

May 2011:

First Bath

Warm Hugs on First Night

Saying Goodbye to her Nanny

Visiting her hometown in China

May 2012:

Feeding the ducks

Time with Mommy

One of the gang

Her spirit is starting to shine 

May 2013:

Helping in the Kitchen

That Spirit has some SPUNK!

Conquering Hikes

May 2014:

Taking on Bugs, one butterfly at a time

Loves her FAMILY

Easter Morning

The change is amazing.  We are so thankful we said YES.  Happy 3rd FAMILY day, FLORIE! Just know you're not alone…we have made this place your HOME!

James 1:27  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Love,

Eve

Where Did 2013 Go?

Time keeps ticking, ticking away.  It seems like yesterday that we were ringing in 2013, and that I finally was able to remember to write 2013 instead of 2012.  Yet, here we are again. Another year passed.  A year filled with memories of family, friends, goals, silliness, and love.  Time comes and goes, but we are blessed.  We get to keep the memories…you know, the ones you really want to bottle up and never forget.

Where did we spend our 2013?  A little bit here and a lot bit there!

Florie snow skied for the first time

We took in the beauty of God's world

Alex ran a fantastic and fun campaign 

There were Daddy and daughter dates

We took the kids to my old stomping grounds…minus The Palms

We learned about our nation's history in Washington D.C.

We celebrated Jesus

We stopped at the St Louis Zoo in between soccer games

They even rode a rhinoceros beetle

Ben captured Izzy in as still of life as she gets

Alex perfected his mud pie

Ben moved into the double digits

Mommy and daughter dates always involved silly selfless

I got the best Mother's Day present ever from the cutest soccer player

Alex became a Duke Tip finalist

We played bats at the playground

Jack turned 8 and loved his very, very home made cake

Hilton Head was explored from head to toe

The waves were conquered

The fish were caught and released

The parents were relaxed

The beach was never the same

Ben's butterfly garden was built….and we even had Monarch butterflies hatch!

Florie made her first 3 mile hike all by herself

Grandad taught us about the farm

Alex became a referee and started his first job at age 13

School started which is a MUST time for silly photo op

Alex won a soccer tournament, on his 13th birthday

sigh.  a grown up dinner date with our teenager

Tough but tender times were spent outdoors

Ben mastered the hamster ball

We took on a camping trip with 6 adults and 12 kids

we survived, and are even planning the next!

Mommy and boys date to see Chris Tomlin

big girl finished her soccer season with a bang

Sneaking away to the Ryman

We mastered school projects

and drew many, many pictures of Mommy and Florie :)

The Ninja, Wolverine, and the Grim Reaper defended the Peacock Fairy on Halloween night, and were paid for their work in chocolate

Marathon PRs were made

Bones were broken

We said a very hard goodbye to our sweet Sadie, almost 17 years old

We visited family when Big B was sick

But, we lost Big B, my grandad I was blessed to have in my life for 41 years.  We gave thanks that he is at peace now.  What an amazing journey he had.  I miss you Big B!

William and the boys designed paper airplanes and made surprise attacks on me

Jack patrolled the house to maintain safe borders

Ben began cooking

We loved each other

I am excited to see what 2014 brings.  Skiing, home school, soccer tournaments, swim meets, running, art lessons, rugby and trail running for William, vegan cooking, reading, daily house chores, and just playing football in our street should keep us pretty busy….and create those little moments of time called memories.  I know the time will fly by.  That is the season our family is in now.  My prayer is that we stay PRESENT in the moment.  PRESENT meaning we put down the rectangles, we sit and truly listen to each other when talking (and not think about what is next on the list or what we want to say next….the list can wait :)).  So if you come to our house, know our door is open and we love visitors, you will likely hear the words ARE YOU PRESENT?  If not, you may be asked to leave your rectangle on the counter!

Wishing you and yours a very HAPPY NEW YEAR.  Here's to the memories yet to be made!

Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.  ~William Faulkner

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” 
― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenplay

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

Big B….A Day to Remember

Our memories are complicated….how we store them, what "triggers" pull them out for us to recall, and even what we truly remember.  I remember my Dad's farm whenever I smell gasoline, or oil, as it takes me back to the tractors around the shop.  I remember my grandfather, Big B, whenever I see a beautiful bird. He always had bird food out at his house.

Today, we laid to rest Big B.  He was my last grandparent.  He lived until he was 96 years old, had 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren at the time of his passing.  Big B was a tall man, and always seemed so BIG and powerful to me.  When we would visit when I was a young girl, I remember waiting for him to come home from work.  He owned a hardware store and it was so fun to go in there and touch all of the bolts, nuts, hammers, nails, etc…big bins of all of them.  But the best part of the day was when he came home from work.  I would wait on the front porch, and he would come out with his toddy.  Once he finished (when seemed to take FOREVER when I was 6!), we could walk up the street to see Leo the Lion at UNA.  I loved those walks…Big B would talk about stuff that I cannot recall now, but I know I loved going with him. Big B also would let me climb ALL OVER him as he sat in his recliner once we were home.  My grandmother, Ginger, would come in and say enough of the climbing, and then we would watch tv.  I have visions of Lawrence Welk that pop into my head randomly and they bring tears to my eyes today.  THEN, as a young child, I was pretty sure I was being tortured at times by having to watch, but the older, wiser me now is so thankful for those times.

During my teen years, I became busy, but was still able to go visit.  My mom would drive me to Memphis and Big B would meet me there.  I remember driving his car to Alabama for the first time.  I was so nervous! He reminded me to keep my hands on 10 and 2 at all times.  He also would speak to me about things like dating, about reputations, and about marriage.  I remember thinking then how I wished the conversation would just end.  Today, I would give anything to go back to my young, silly, naive self, and say, "Soak it in, sweetie.  Listen to his words.  Soak them in.  One day he will be gone and all you will have is his words."

Big B and Ginger were there for high school graduations, college graduations (what a fun night that was!  My friend drove over 25 miles with the parking break of Big B's rental car ON so when we pulled up for dinner, the car smelled terrible and was smoking :)  My brother's date spilled red wine all over herself…memories!).  They were present when life started getting busier for me.  Medical school and residency limited visits from me, but we still kept in touch. Then came KIDS.  I realized how much I wanted my kids to know their extended family if possible.  I started calling Big B and Ginger on Sunday mornings.  Little did I know how precious these calls would become to me.

Some days we talked football. Big B was always up on sports. He was a collegiate swimmer and an avid tennis player and golfer.  He loved to hear about my running, and I would often call on the way from a long run and tell him how many miles I had been.  Some days we talked birds, comparing what types we each had in our backyards.  Other times we talked about the kids, his friends, our family, or even how long it took him to stretch out his legs that morning.  For 13 years we talked almost every single Sunday (minus the time I was in China).  Those phone calls are what I treasure the most right now.  It kept us connected, and I will be ever grateful for them.

Big B lived in his house alone and drove to work until July of this year.  He was a strong, independent, commanding man, but he loved the simple things too.  He loved to sit on a chair on his front porch and watch my boys play football with William.  He would remark about the bright color in the cheeks and how healthy they looked. We picked him up once to come watch the boys play soccer in Huntsville.  It was SO windy and chilly that day, but Big B sat in his chair with Florie in his lap and a special bag of candy he had in his pocket, smiled, and soaked in the day.  

I last saw Big B the weekend before Thanksgiving.  His short term memory was very poor, but he knew all of us when we came in his room.  We talked about the soccer games in Huntsville, and about all the times we met at Cracker Barrel in Athens for a meal. We recalled how fun it was to play checkers, and he kept saying, "Let's do it again real soon." I knew that day that I may not see him again.  He passed away on December 5, 2013.  

Today after his funeral, we went to visit Leo the Lion.  UNA has changed, but I became that little girl holding her grandfather's hand and staring into the big cage in awe.  We drove past the house my mom, uncle, and aunt grew up in. It was the one with the porch I would wait for Big B.  It pulled out memories of Christmases past, where we would all be together, with my cousins, opening gifts and listening to Ginger recount the tale of how my uncle always wanted a pony for Christmas.  We had a lunch at Big B's current house, and I remembered so many things as I walked around, looking at pictures….what I treasure most is the memories I have.  As my brother stated in the eulogy today, how blessed are we to be in our 40s and have had this much time with our grandfather.  I think about all of the amazing memories I have of him, with him, about him.  Too many to write about it. I am thankful for every one.

I know Big B is up in Heaven, peaceful again, "doing the Charleston with Ginger", as my mom said.  I am a better person because I knew him.

• When someone you love becomes a 
• memory, the memory becomes a treasure.
• 
  

Cheers to you Big B.  I love you!