Tuesday, May 13, 2014

So much!

Well, its been 2 whole months since my last post and SO MUCH has happened! I'll spare you the details of it all, but here are a few highlights :)

One last waterfront park date with the Blankenbickers in Beaufort...

Ring around the tree with Evan
Hugs all around!

Harper's 1st fishing trip with Daddy, Rowen and Captain Rick

Harper turned 3! The party festivities largely dominated our last few days in Beaufort...it was a crazy and beautiful going away.


Hugs from Miss Jessica!

Granny and Papa with the great grands!

Best buds!

Kirsten and I are convinced this will be their engagement photo :)


Just as she was celebrating her 15th birthday, 
Lady started having some health problems. 
But she's still kicking!

We moved! 
I won't begin to explain the chaos involved with the move but 
we did have some happy accidents along the way!

Time with The lovely Collins Family! 
Rowen, Harper and Porter had a slumber party :)

Time with sweet G'mama...

and Adventures with Grandpa and Grandma Snow!





Saying goodbye to Miss Jessica was hard. 
She took such wonderful and loving care of us. 
So very excited for her to welcome her new baby boy soon!


Leaving Beaufort was difficult. We brought a baby home from the hospital there. I've laid down strong bonds with precious friends there. We loved the lowcountry way of life. But our last weekend in Beaufort was pretty awesome. 
Harper's party + cookout with the Leslie's + 
time with Jen and Kirsten...






Besties 4-eva!
We sure miss this guy.
And, oh lovely friend, how I miss you! You have saved me countless times over the past 2 years. You made Beaufort wonderful.

Now that we're here in NC...Easter was lovely :)

Egg hunting at Old Salem


And at Gigi and Pop Pop's




On a different note, sadly my step-mother was taken from us suddenly and unexpectedly on April 26. Two days after my daddy's birthday. 2 weeks before her birthday. We are heartbroken. 
My daddy and Wanda's children have a hard road ahead. We all do.

Here's what I wrote about her for her funeral program:

Eleven years ago, an angel named Wanda captured my daddy’s heart and I knew right away that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. Wanda took loving care of her family, her friends and her patients. Wanda loved her family fiercely. She never tired of playing silly games with her grandchildren, nieces and nephews and always had trinkets and treasures to share with them. Wanda found beauty in the simple pleasures of life: a freshly plowed field, catching a glimpse of a deer crossing the yard in the early morning hours, patiently waiting for Easter chicks to hatch and chocolate covered cherries. LOTS of chocolate covered cherries.

On the morning of her passing into Heaven, Daddy held Wanda and pleaded for just five more minutes. Five more minutes to tell her just how much she meant to him, how deeply and completely he loved her. We won’t have our five more minutes with Wanda this side of heaven, but I would want her to know how thankful I am to have known her, to have loved her and to be loved by her. I would thank her for putting up with us all. I would inquire about the availability of chocolate covered cherries in heaven. I would tease her about being afraid to fly…maybe she’ll get around to that trip to Hawaii now that she has angel wings. I would thank her for the gift she gave us all—a love that is deep and wide and simple and beautiful. Wanda, thank you for the gift of you.



1 comment:

  1. Oh my Meryl, I had no idea about your step-mom. XXXXXs

    ReplyDelete