In Memory-Ms. Dot

Jimmy's grandmother, Ms. Dot passed away on Friday, June 25. She was 94 years old! She was born June 10, 1916 to the late Mary Deck and James William Lupo in Dalton GA. She graduated from Brenau College in Gainesville, GA in 1936 where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She was a music teacher in Wrens, GA for over 35 years. She also taught private piano lessons well into her 80's. She was a faithful servant of Wrens United Methodist Church and was the organist and choir director for 51 years! Jimmy recalls "Dot Kelley Day" in 1982 where they honored Ms. Dot for all of her hard work and dedication to the church. Jimmy, at 7 years old thought it was the coolest thing that his Grandmama had her own day!

The funeral service was a wonderful celebration of her life. Dr. Ben Martin, a past pastor of Wrens UMC church came back to do the funeral and it was a very personal service. Ms. Dot was very found of the "young" pastor that came to Wrens many years ago. I think one of the most touching parts of the funeral was when the minister asked anyone who had been taught by Ms. Dot or led in the choir to stand up and almost everyone in the church stood up. What an amazing legacy!

We visited Ms. Dot back in February and she was able to meet all of her great-grandchildren. I am so glad that we have the pictures. I know Jimmy, Cecilia and Amelia will appreciate them in years to come.

I copied some excerpts from the guestbook from her online obituary:

"Miss Dot did her best to teach us all to appreciate and enjoy music. I even learned to play two songs on the flute"


"Mrs. Kelley was the music teacher for all of my brothers and sisters. She taught us to love music. Mrs. Kelley encouraged us all to sing even though some of us could not carry a "tune" in a bucket."


Miss Dot gave us a love for music... and encouraged all of her students to do their very best. She was a kind, loving, and nurturing person and will be missed."

Passy

The Passy saved our lives. The second night in the hospital, after Jimmy was born, he just cried and cried. I begged the nurse to take him to the nursery but she said that she wasn't able to because there was a special needs child. After she told me that I just cried and cried some more and I guess she finally felt sorry for me and took him to hang out at the nurses station with her. When he came back to us the next morning he was sucking on a little orange passy, just happy as a clam.




The orange passy became our lifesaver. We only had one and we could not find it at any of the stores. It was called a Gum Drop pacifier and we quickly Googled them and began ordering them in bulk. In the week or two before they arrived we had eyes on passy at all times. We could NOT lose it or we would be knocking on the door of the nursery of Memorial Hospital.



I have no idea how many passys we have gone through in 3 1/2 years-maybe 50?? Sometimes they would get lost along the way or "broken" because Jimmy chewed on them. Every night he would want passy and Meek (his blanket) to go to sleep. Every car ride passy and Meek would come along. As much as he loved passy and as much as passy has been with us along the way, it was time, last night for the...Passy Fairy. Our big boy is no longer a baby and it was time.

We collected all of the passys and put them in a bag and hung them on a tree.



Then the Passy Fairy came and got them during the night and she gave them to all of the babies that needed them. She left Jimmy a big surprise and thank you gift.

When Jimmy woke little Jimmy up this morning the first thing he said, "did the Passy Fairy come?" We went outside and look what we found...Woody!



Jimmy was so excited. A new Woody doll.



It's been a good day for the most part. I am very proud of my little buddy. He's had his passy since day 2 so I think he has done such a good job making the transition. He was a little weepy last night (heck, I was little weepy too!) and it was hard for him to fall asleep. He asked for his passy a few times today and we just kept reminding him that the Passy Fairy came to get them. Tonight was a little easier and so will each day to come. He still has his Meek. He can have that for as long as he wants. I hope his wife won't mind or that his college roommate won't make fun of him.

Feeling Nostalgic

I was looking through some old boxes my parents gave me when they moved from VA to Savannah to find some of my childhood books and I came across lots of old photos from high school. There were a ton but I fear the embarrassment of high school pictures being posted so I found a couple that I thought were nostalgic and I hope everyone in the photos feels the same way too!



Hamilton Elementary Peeps:

Photo credit Bob Updegrove

Yearbook with Mrs. Akers:


Loudoun Valley High School class of 1996:

Photo credit Bob Updegrove

Jimmy and Cecilia (8 months)

This past month has flown by! Cecilia is now 8 months and not only on the move but now has TWO teeth! She is pulling up on everything and it won't be too long before she is walking I am sure. We finally moved her room upstairs so now both Jimmy and Cecilia are upstairs and we have a room dedicated to all the toys, etc downstairs. We rearranged some more furniture and now the playroom has a new tv, dvd player.

Jimmy has been taking private swimming lessons and is loving it. He is doing so well and I am so proud of him! He can hold his breath and go under water. We got him a swim vest for when we go to the pool and this past weekend he swan from one side to the other without any help! Way to go buddy!

See my new teeth:


8 months and all smiles:



Jimmy at 8 months (August 2007):



Exhausted after an afternoon of swimming:


We like to call this her "Daisy Duke" look. Huggies just came out with the "jean" diaper:


Jimmy loves his baby sister:

Pickin' Blackberries

We went to pick blackberries today at the Bamboo Farm. We went with Gin Gin and Amelia. We both just wanted to get out of the house and do something the kids would enjoy. Jimmy and Amelia had a great time and did so well picking the blackberries. They picked only the ripe ones and left the red ones on the bush. They also managed not to get pricked by the bushes. Jimmy wouldn't eat any of them. He just liked picking them and putting them in his bucket. It was fun but it was HOT! A little crazy taking 3 kids that are three and younger but it was worth it. Stopped by Chick-fil-a on the way home for lunch to round out a great morning.

Books

I haven't blogged about books lately. For our past book club we read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.

The next book club pick is Shutter Island. I finished it in THREE days. Great book. I didn't watch the movie, but from the trailer it didn't seem anything like the book. It made it seem more scary and I didn't think the book was scary.

I decided to start the Twilight series. My first book arrived a couple of weeks ago and I plan to take it to the beach.

The Brooks Family

We love the Brooks family! We love all of our friends, actually. We got to spend some QT with the Brooks' family tonight. We had pizza (and maybe Eliza and I had some wine too..). Here is a great shot of the kiddos that Eliza took.


Jimmy, Cecilia, Mary Margaret and Katherine (or Kak Kak as Jimmy would say)

Wil and Tory's Wedding

We made a quick trip to Atlanta this weekend for Wil and Tory's wedding. Wil is Jimmy's first cousin. It was such a lovely, sweet and small wedding with lots of personal touches. Tory, a gardner extroadinaire, had plants that she grew from seedlings for all of the guests as favors. What a thoughtful little gift! We got to see lots of friends and family so it was a fabulous afternoon.

Cecilia stayed with Mimi and Papa Joe and Jimmy made the trip with us. He loves to stay in hotel rooms!


Gin Gin and Uncle Marty



Jimmy and his cousin Henry. I think they look like they could be brothers.



Jimmy's parents with Tory and Wil. Jimmy's mom and Wil's mom are sisters.



Will, Tory and Jimmy's aunt (Wil's mom) Clara



Us. Crazy to think we will have been married nine years on the 23rd! We were so happy to celebrate with Tory and Wil!

Cecilia on the move!