A Fantastic Week

Amanda and I (Rebekah) flew to Maryland 

the week before last, to spend a week with

these two precious little ones and their parents.

Eva - age 4         Hudson - age 2

(Have you ever seen anything more precious?!)

Here we are, on the Memphis-to-Baltimore flight

-I think the selfie is a bit cheesey, but maybe our smiles

show how excited we were! 

We had such a grand time with these two!

Here they are holding their beloved lanterns - gifts from Mama Flo

We were on our way to the cave...

And here we are, peering into the cave...

Inside the cave, with the kids' lanterns. posing with Eva

Amanda and Hudson, on the bridge over part of the canal

Big boy Hudson wanted to take a turn pulling the wagon

 We finally arrived at our destination - the Potomac River!

(That's West Virginia across the river)

Eva turned four on August 4th, but she had another little 

celebration on August 24th with a couple of her Aunties...

who brought gifts from everyone "back home"

Anna and Eva read one of her cards

 Hudson was thrilled with one of Eva's gift from Mama Flo

- a bag of "Lollipops"!!

They were both delighted with them!

 One day while we were there, Steven's grandparents invited 

us all for a delicious lunch at their house.  It was wonderful,
but we forgot to take pictures until it was almost too late!

 Here is what's left after everyone had fixed their plates...

...and here is Eva, with her great-great-grandmother, Nanny.

We feel bad that we have no more pictures of Nanny.  Spending time

with her was one of the highlights of our trip!  She is just wonderful!

One afternoon we went for a boat ride

Hudson, Anna, and Amanda

Eva with me

Here is a BEAUTIFUL view from up in the mountains.
That's their house and farm you see

 Friday morning, as we prepared to say our sad goodbyes

...to this precious girlie....

...and her adorable baby brother

 One last picture with "our" babies...

...and one with our darling babies plus their terrific parents!

Thank you so very much, Anna and Steven, for a tremendous week!

Happy Birthday, Eva!!!

Evelyn Grace

4 years ago today we welcomed this darling little girl into the family!

She was so tiny and sweet!

Eva is the first grandchild in the family.

Eva is SOOO sweet, compassionate, joyful, and kind!

She is a wonderful big sister to Hudson!

Anna took all of these pictures yesterday and sent them to us.

Their home is a beautiful location for pictures!

Beautiful little girl!

She looks so big in this picture!

Eva loves to spend time with her kittens!

 The beautiful birthday girl and her handsome brother had a birthday tea party!

We love you so much, Eva, and we wish we were there with you today!  Happy 4th Birthday!

Hugh at Four Months

Race!

Amanda and I try to run the 4-miler at Shiloh Battlefield each spring.

We love races, and this one is especially exciting, and a beautiful one to run.  To make it even better, our sweet cousin, Amy, comes down from Paris, TN to run it with us every year.

Races are such fun when I am able to take one of my special little buddies along, either riding in my stroller, or running along beside me.

Let me introduce my partner in this race...

Meet Joleigh!

Precious Joleigh is one of my very dearest and best little buddies. Oh, wait!  I have about 20 of these "dearest and best" buddies..... and any one of them who can fit in my big stroller (it holds up to 65 pounds) or wants to run along with me, is invited!

I'm not sure the number of racers this year, but it seemed to be fewer than in previous years.

Here the race is just beginning.  I don't see any of our clan toward the front.  Joleigh and I were in the very back, with the stroller.

Here is the only picture we have of Amy during the race, speeding out ahead...

...followed by Amanda, zipping past

This was the first year that Amy's husband ran the Shiloh race with us

 No picture of his finish, but he ran the 4 mile course in 36 minutes!

Again, no picture, but Amy finished in 40 minutes...

...and here I come, with my sweetie pie...

We crossed the finish line in 41 minutes and 35 seconds

Now Amanda is coming...

....crossing the finish line in 42 minutes and 5 seconds

                             

                 Finally, after an hour and 20 minutes, the last racers finish and the awards ceremony began

                             

Amanda earned a medal for her age group!!!

  Ahhhhh..... How happy Joleigh and I feel!

                Finally finished running!