Girl's Getaway..

Early last week, the girls and I spent a couple of days with my Grandma Yount in Cincinnati.  We wanted to go down earlier in the summer, but between her schedule and ours, things were a bit crazy!About three weeks ago, she went into the hospital for some physical issues.  It ended up being a virus, but while they were running tests they found some very suspicious stuff.  Scary stuff.  She had a large and aggressive cancerous tumor, and the hospital physicians were unsure of how far it had spread.

Major surgery is hard on a young woman, not to mention a great-great-grandma, so she spent a few days thinking about whether or not she wanted to put herself through the emotional and physical implications of it.  We squeezed our visit in after her kids had all gone home, and helped her get some things in order while giving her a bit of companionship.  It was hard see her at that point of decision, and the girls and I made sure to give her plenty of space to think and pray.  The morning of the day we came home, she decided to go ahead with surgery.

Here are a few pics of our time together:

The girls know they are allowed to have coffee at
Grandma's house, and they make the best of it. 

All coffee'd up and ready for bed.  :-)

                                                                                                                      

Waking up after a good night's sleep...and playing with
every stuffed animal they can find.

Kaitlynn's favorite thing about being at Grandma's is helping her fix breakfast!  Grandma always lets the girls work right along with her, and that makes them feel really special. 

 

Another round of coffee...



And every proper girl knows this is how you are supposed to place your cup/spoon when you are finished taking tea (coffee).  :-)

Grandma's neighborhood is wildly populated with deer.  This little guy was sitting in a front yard, undisturbed by nearby construction and traffic. 

Having a tea (coffee) party on the patio.  The girls always use an English accent during their parties, and Grandma even gave it a try.  I'm terrible at it, so they always get a good laugh when I try to say a word or two. 

Let's just say Alli was a little buzzed out on coffee at this point...lol!  I think they had 2 pots between the two of them within about 48 hours.

Kaitlynn found a decorative deer in Grandma's house and this was her reenactment of the what we saw earlier in the front yard.  :-)

Grandma and I...through the lens of a 4-year-old photographer.

Allison loves scarves, and Grandma had an extra for her to wear.  She thought she was big stuff. 

Before we left, we took a bit of a trip down memory lane, which included a stop in Hyde Park to see the house where Grandma and Grandpa lived.  Grandpa Yount passed away just before I turned 4, and Grandma stayed in the house until I was probably 10 or 12.  Some of my favorite memories come from 2850 Erie Avenue.  :-)  We made a brief stop at the lower lookout of Eden Park, another place I love to go as a kid.

Exactly a week later (three days ago), Grandma Yount had surgery.  She is recovering at home, and doing well.  There is a bit of a road ahead, but her body and her faith are both very strong, and we are so thankful for how God's Hand could be seen in so many ways in her behalf this week!  If you think of it, keep her in your prayers as she prepares to undergo a round of chemotherapy about a month from now.

July - Part 3

My dad had celebrated his 59th birthday last Sunday.  It was a great week for him, made complete with a visit from his aunt and uncle, Rick and Deena Brown, from Illinois.  They did a couple of day trips, and then on Saturday we gathered for a family meal.  My great-uncle Rick is my Grandma Nichols' youngest brother.  He is only 6 years older than my dad, so they look more like brothers.

And there's nothing finer on a hot afternoon than chilled watermelon!

Most of the elites in my parents neighborhood cruise around on golf carts.  We're a little more rednecky...lol.

And that pretty much sums up July!  Stay tuned for pics from Grandma Yount's house - the girls and I spent a couple of days there earlier in the week.  Special times!

Happy 15th Anniversary to Us!

Even though the quality isn't so great, I wanted to share a few pics from our wedding day. Our photographer gave us all of the negatives (yeah, that was back in the Dark Ages), and I'm fixing to have them transferred to disc if that works better than scanning. These are just pics of the pics, but it's the best I have today. :-)

In a time where marriages are falling apart in mass, we are both humbled and blessed to be able to celebrate this milestone. Our parents gave us the foundation, and we have done our best to build upon that to create a God-honoring marriage and home.

Our humongo wedding party

Jennifer Bailey - miniature bride

Joseph Bailey - miniature groom

Over 300 people came to celebrate with us.

~August 2, 1997~

July - Part 2

Our niece, Suzanna Kate Nichols, turned 4 this month!  Suzie is one of the sweetest little people on the planet, and she loves to celebrate birthdays with her family.  It was fun for her to be able to celebrate her very own birthday on this day!  Remember how loooong the year seemed to stretch when you were a kid?  I smiled as I realized that Suzanna probably felt like she was waiting forever for this day to come.  :-) 



One night we decided to pull out all of the Thomas the Tank stuff that Evan had accumulated, and get it ready for Craigslist.  After setting most of it up, we were all having so much fun that we decided to keep it.  When we move, we'll set it up in the basement and entertain lil' visitors by taking them straight to the Island of Sodor.  :-)



We attended a bridal shower for our good friend, Jennifer Bailey.  I babysat Jenn when she was tiny.  I was sixteen, and her mom had to have surgery right after she was born.  We bonded big time.  :-)  She was my miniature bride, and Allison will be her flower girl later this month!

Jennifer at our wedding ~1997~

July - Part 3 coming soon!





July-Part 1

The last Friday in June, a group of ladies from our church took a day trip to Holmes County. I've never really done something like that, but it was so much fun! Definitely something to do again. We laughed, shopped, ate, talked, and walked, and repeated that cycle often throughout the day. :-)

Then came the 4th of July.  It was waaaay too hot to go camping, so we chilled out at home, went to prayer meeting, and then enjoyed Lima's great fireworks display with our friends Rob and Stephanie Cantrell.

The girls

The guys

Stephanie playing a game with Kait, Halie, and Alli

Burl and Evan

And of course, fireworks.  :-)

Then the miserably hot summer days continued, and we prepared for VBS.  This was my 3rd year to coordinate VBS, and we did another Answers in Genesis kit.  I was never fond of "VBS in a box" until I met their curriculum.  We haven't been disappointed.  Our team did an amazing job again this year, and here are a few pics -

To do our backdrops, we always use large styrofoam panels that hang from the ceiling with wire.  I always hated dropped ceilings, but now that we are in a facility that is full of them, I've learned they can be great for decor.  :-)

The stage was the bridge of a spaceship and provided the backdrop for the nightly drama.  At the program we always redo the drama in its entirety.  The kids love it. 

Our group was divided into three teams and did rotations.  There were stations for snacks, games, Bible teaching, and crafts.  We met in the chapel for opening and closing assemblies. 

Hope you enjoyed a taste of our VBS!  July has stayed busy, and today begins a new month.  I will try to be back tomorrow with Part 2...cause August proves to be be pretty busy and I'm looking toward a {mostly} media free vacation with my husband in just a couple of days!  Yeah!