Mother's Day

Being a mother is the greatest gift possible.  It is a love that is simply hard to explain.   I feel so blessed to be both a mother and now a grandmother.  I feel the love for my children and grandchildren every day, but it is quite nice to have a day set aside to honor this special gift. The older I get, the more I value the time with my children and grandchildren.  Before I was a mom I didn't know so much warmth, joy, love or satisfaction was possible. And before I was a Nana, I didn't know that all those "Mom" feelings would double!


The day began with a little facetime with the girls and ended with a supper for Grandmother.  In between I got to spend some quality time with Caleb and Reed.  Pretty close to a perfect day!

Papa

Reed and Uncle Tony

Grandmother ready to eat!

Caleb and Aunt Sandra-Quite a pair!!

Papa and Aunt Di

Grandmother with her children

And then Papa joined the group!

And on a personal note, I would like to share a little about the gifts my sweet family gave me for this special day.  Caleb and his sweet self gave me a beautiful evergreen tree that he planted surrounded with salvia and petunias, along with a beautiful lantern.  I also picked out some new outdoor cushions and another lantern.  (This time of the year, my family knows I am only thinking about outside "stuff".)

And then there was this -Mine is the one with the sparkles!

I am blessed!

All Good Things Must Come to An End

Maddie had her last TBall game last week. I was able to make it to 4 of her games. (It would have been 5, but it was cancelled.) They really improved as the season progressed.  Lots of memories were made!  I am already looking forward to next year's season!

Entertaining Little Bit at the park is lots of fun! Josh has a wonderful aunt that kept her during most of the games.

Running the bases-Every time she crossed home plate, she looked at the stands and smiled!

Batting

Playing in the pitcher's circle - Mom got to help!

Dad got to help when she was at shortstop.

Learning about good sportsmanship!

Three and Four year old TBall was lots of fun!  No outs, everyone bats, everyone scores, and everyone plays in the field!

What a Ride!

On the way to the field for her last game, Maddie gave Lillian the ride of her life!  Other than Lillian's hair blowing in the breeze, you can't really tell just how fast they are going by the pictures! Both were all smiles!

Sometimes you just have to hold on and enjoy the ride!

Next up, the final game of the season!

Then We Celebrate

Caleb is not one for bringing much attention to himself, but he did let us have a small celebration supper!  Lots of fun with family and some people that have been very special to him along the way!

Congrats Caleb!

This one enjoyed the festivities!

The aunts both tried crawfish for the first time!

Friends and family -

Next, we moved in to open presents. 

I am pretty sure he wouldn't have made it without the help he got from these two in high school!

Maddie was great help as he opened his presents!

Thanks up to all who helped us celebrate!
Caleb said it's time for me to stop blogging about him, so next up is more on our sweet, sweet girls!

The Ceremony

Friday night marked the end of a special journey and the beginning of endless possibilities.  Time flies! It seems like yesterday that he was beginning kindergarten at Mrs. Dot's.  Even though it was a cold, rainy night, it was such a beautiful and special ceremony!

It's not official until you see the name in the program!  I found it on page 44!

A little pre-ceremony entertainment!

Walking in- I had scoped out the seating chart on the UA website, so we sat right in front of his section. Low and behold, he was on the front row!!! It would have been perfect except for the bush that was right in front of him!

Walking across the stage and receiving his well earned diploma!  Officially, his degrees are Accounting with a major concentration in Professional Accounting and Finance with a major concentration in Banking and Financial Services.

The moving of the tassle!

Heading out with Diploma in Hand!!

Congratulating Uncle C!

Our Graduate!

We are so very proud of you!! 



It's All Over But the Shouting

Caleb had quite a hard time deciding where he wanted to go to college and determining what his major would be.  After stints at both Shelton and UWA, he took the plunge 3 years ago and pursued his dream of graduating from the University of Alabama.  He hasn't looked back since!  On May 3, he will graduate with degrees in both accounting and finance.  After a couple of months off  to study for the CPA, he will begin working in Birmingham at Deloitte, which is one of the top accounting firms in the nation.  (Excuse me while I brag.)  We are humbled, proud and oh so grateful! 

I wish you

the strength to

face challenges with confidence,

along with the wisdom to

choose your battles carefully......

I wish you adventure on your journey, and may you always

stop to help someone along the way.....

Listen to your heart and take risks  carefully.....

Remember how much you are loved.....

I am so proud of you!!

Just Like Old Times

Baseball and softball with Lindsey and Caleb were such a big part of our lives for many years!  We made so many great friends and memories from those days.  I am pretty sure that if we lived closer Reed would love to help coach the girls!  Since that's not going to happen, he recently got to do the next best thing - he got to be on the field and help her during one of her games! 

A little pregame fun and encouragement from Mom!

Pregame warmups with Pop!  She's making an x with her foot in the sand, so she'll know where to stand.

Swing batter swing!

 The first picture below is a little blurry, but she's looking back at Lindsey and me as she heads to first! Precious!

I love this!  She crosses homeplate and then decides to slide!

A little help from Pop in the field-

While running to the dugout between innings, she decided to help smooth out the chalk lines!

Now we're off to get ice cream!

Her last game is this Thursday, and Pop and Nana can't wait!

Go Rockies!!