Thursday, September 24, 2009
The pond where Heaven began. . .
August 15th had a bit of a somber twist as we headed up the winding road to the pond. It had been seven months since we had been there. This time we carried along four beautiful crosses crafted by Mose Byler and two little stuffed animals. The bear I had chosen from Anthony's room, and the dog I had seen in Caroline's.
The thought that lingered with me that afternoon was the innocence of the future regarding the Biggers on January 9th. They had no idea what was in store for them as they followed that mountain road. . . Who would have been thinking of death following a family outing?! I doubt any of us would be. Yet as I focus on that pond being the entrance to Heaven for Patricia, Caroline, and Anthony, I feel such a sense of joy for them! I still hurt thinking of the pain that Brent endured after losing them on earth, and that is why I asked Mose to make a fourth cross. Brent's heart died at the pond. . . His soul left the earth weeks later, but I think his heart preceded it.
Upon our arrival, we found the original stuffed animals we took right after the accident, and another set of three crosses. I am not sure who brought them, but it was such a kind gesture of remembrance.
Brent, accompanied by Troy, made a visit to the pond on Valentine's Day and took gifts for his family. The flowers for Patricia have died, but the kids' gifts were still there. The dinosaur was for Anthony, and the dog he bought for Caroline.
I love and miss you guys. I also plan to see you
again!
Monday, September 14, 2009
World's Longest Blog Post!
At least for me it is. Thanks to my kind hubby, I was able to get the pics from the broken camera to our computer. . . and voila! Here is a bit of what has been happening the last few months. I am not sure why the pics are different sizes. It could be due to the trauma they received when the camera was killed. :-) Enjoy a pictorial journey of the events where I remembered and used the camera. Many times I was too busy saying my adieus. Sniff. Sniff. For your sanity, I refrained from including millions of pics of boxes, boxes, and more boxes.
All good things must come to an end, but in the South, we were not bid "farewell." Not a chance. It was "farwell." I had a good laugh over this!!!! A true Southerner was decorating that cake. For all of the Vera fans out there, the cake's colors were inspired by my Vera Bradley Java Blue purse.
Ahhhhh, yes, another one of my projects. Above is the lovely piece after I had started changing its face. This armoire was purchased from Craigslist for only $100, but I could not handle the color! Might fit in someone else's house, but it was a major clash with my distressed furniture.
I slapped some paint on that oak finish, and it now fits perfectly!!!!! :-) Great style of furniture when you have kids. They take a chunk out of it, and it looks like it belongs there. This close-up of a door gives a better idea.
Pre-poly state of being.
South Carolina summers call for cold treats!
Passing the time in our temporary housing. As you can see, Silas was thrilled to stop for a picture! Yes, that is the new church steeple in the background. We really don't collect them.
We were able to visit our spot in GA one more time! Josh also spent part of the time with us and added to our fun. I loooove eating on this porch! It is surrounded by trees and mountain views, and I couldn't be much happier.
Vacation? Fun and memorable. In fact, some of us laughed until we cried!
And some people really love their jeans! :-)
Afternoon hike spot. Any takers?! Perfect trail for kids. It isn't too difficult, beautiful view, lake in the middle, creek streaming into it, nature. . .
My little hiking buddy! He is a trooper.
Yikes!!!! How did that get in here?! ;-)
Even Vera Bradley went on the hike. (Love those backsacks.)
This place calls my name!
No move is complete without all of those last minute excursions with friends! Here is the Jolly Green Giant with a friend.
I soon discovered that movies make gun slinging look much easier than it is. Watch out, "bad guys!" My shot was a bit more accurate at the end of the day!
Seth was living for this evening of shooting. In fact, he told me that he really hoped Jesus wouldn't come back before he had a chance to shoot a gun. :-)
And what would we be without some drama?! I have no nasty arm pictures of me to post, but I just might blog one of the scar later. (I know you all are just wanting to see that one, right?!) Ethan almost needed stitches in his head. Sigh. . .I am not sure if my heart can handle all of his antics!
"It was the first day (clap) in the First Grade. (Clap. Clap.)"You have to be a Veggie fan to get that one. We launched another year while waiting to move.
Our treat from the Easley Church Board! Whew! What a meal!
The day finally came. It. Was. Time. Strange how attached you get to people/places in three years!
Our little caravan of worldy possessions and family left SC on August 19th. It was bittersweet as we had to leave, yet exciting as we headed into the last phase of schooling for Troy. During the moving trip I was enjoying some wonderful time of solitude in the car when I decided to ask God for a rainbow. I needed some reassurance for some fears and worries I had been experiencing. In a few moments . . .it was there! We had just pulled over for a stop, and to make sure it was my rainbow, I asked God to have it gone by the time I got out of the restroom. It was. :-) Some call it a coinicidence, but I choose to believe it really was mine.
Oh the joys that empty moving trucks and ramps bring to little boys!
First meal (I think.) together in the new house. Food at its finest. (Gag!)
We were fortunate that a group of guys from our new church helped us unload. The only snag we really ran into was there was no fridge. That got old after a few days! Sears rewarded us with the gift of a room sized fridge and a $50 gift certificate. For that, I can handle five days in a cooler!
Reassembling. Ugh! Not sure why I am griping since I really didn't have to do much of that.
"Uncle Tracy" was a huge help, and you know he is a good uncle as well when he agrees to play Play Doh with a little boy. :-)Soon to come:new house pictures.(If I get my act together! :-)
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Flip flopping for a good cause!
I am finally sitting here and signed in as an official resident of VA. At least I guess I am. Not sure when one actually becomes a resident. Any ideas?
Beautiful country. Lovely house. Still no camera. :-( For the readers who are not Facebookers, a certain child of mine accidentally ended the life of our camera. Sad day as I had so many pictures to upload and tales to tell! I hope to work out something before I have two month's worth of pics. Yikes! Since I cannot really tell of our adventures without photos, I thought I'd mention the boys' latest compassion project. Maybe you'd like to be a part. . .
Pardon the post title regarding our new acitivty! I was hoping it wouldn't bring back too many nauseating memories of former presidential campaigns. :-) The idea came to me during a missionary service with this family. Since something as small as a pair of flip flops can bring delight to a shoeless person, we decided to send the boys walking for money. For every five minutes they take strides, they will be given $1 to help buy flip flops which will in turn be sent to the Stetlers for their ministry in Mexico. If you'd like to sponsor these bundles of energy, I will email you our address as I am not fond of plastering it on the Internet. The boys will be delighted with your encouragement! Blessings.
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