Beginning of Summer 2010

Memorial Day marks the beginning of Summer and we kicked it off today with a trip to the lake. What a fun day we had with Memaw, Madison, Uncle Larry, Aunt Diane, Chris & Caroline, and Knox!

Preschool Graduation

On May 18th, Brieanna graduated from Tipton County Preschool! She has attended the preschool since she was 3. It is a fantastic program and she will miss it and the friends she has made as they all go different ways to different schools for Kindergarten in the fall.

Friends...

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiates 4:9-10

I saw this tonight and it made me think of the great friends that I have. The friends I have had for years and years, and the many newer ones that I get the pleasure of seeing each and every day. This bible verse holds so true. It is wonderful to know that there are friends there to make your day brighter with their crazy stories, encourage you, be compasionate, smile, or lend a hand.

Awana's

Tonight Brie finished up Cubbies at Awana's at Oak Grove Baptist. She has learned so much and had some wonderful teachers!

Bailey loves FROGS!

Since Bailey has been able to walk, the boy has loved frogs. When he was two, they were his best friend! He caught frogs and carried them everywhere. It's no wonder we're constantly freezing warts!

Yesterday after church while memaw was cooking lunch Bailey found these frogs in the pool, he thought it was great!

Field trip to Huntsville, AL Space Museum

Ready to shoot up!

Noah & Brent

... a little rock climbing

these boys are going to be a mess!

Today I went with Brent on his 4th grade field trip to the Space Museum. It was quite a long bus ride, even if it was a charter bus! I was exhausted and Brent was too, as he slept the last hour or so. Even so, I enjoyed being able to spend my day with Brent on his field trip, however next year if 4th grade goes again with Bailey, it will be Jason's turn to go and ride that bus for 5 hours there!

Mother's Day

this is only the beginning of the morning, before the dirt

Brent catching

Bailey

Brent pitching

What is better than spending Mother's Day watching two handsome boys play ball all day and watch a little princess see how dirty she can get. I wish I'd gotten a picture of her as we left and she was covered in dirt from head to toe!

Tadpoles

of course Maisy had to ride with us tonight to Memaws

Memaw and Honey had to have all of their concrete around the pool tore out and repoured this year, so needless to say the pool is quite a mess! Last night Honey was draining the pool and there were tons of tadpoles swimming around in there. Brie and I caught lots of them and she can't way to take them to school tomorrow! She is so excited that her class is going to watch them turn into frogs hopefully before the last day day of preschool on May 20th!

Growing up

Yesterday was a big day for Brie, we registered her for Kindergarten! She is so excited. I can't believe that it is already time for her to go to big school in August. Seems like just yesterday she was sleeping in the bed with us as a baby... but wait, that is still happening! Occasionally she will sleep in her own bed, but not too often. Everyone has their opinion on this subject, but for me I don't really care. This is our last little one and if it makes her feel safe to sleep with us most nights then that is fine with me! I love to look over at her and see the sweet little girl asleep beside me.

It's scary for me to think that my kids are growing up so fast. This week while looking for Brie's documents to register her for kindergarten I found a couple of pictures I used to have on my desk of the boys when they were little. Like 2 and 3 little... boy were they cute! It's hard now to remember exactly everything about that time when they were that little, it seems so long ago. don't get me wrong, I remember those times and have lots of memories, but when I try to think about it it is hard for me to exactly remember just having 1 child and everything about each one of them. When they're babies you think you will remember EVERYTHING, and 10 years later that just isn't the case! Too bad this blog wasn't around when the boys were born! I guess I will have to get my picture books in order to make up for that!

May 1 Flood

Bridge on Holly Grove Road washed out (the day after)

Canal way over at Gilt Edge, the day after, Sunday!

Singleton Parkway exit off 385

BCI in Brighton

Candy Lane and Turkey Scratch

Creek by my Grandmothers, VERY high!

Hwy. 51 & 385

supposed to be a field behind Jason's Uncle Kyle Hanks

Saturday morning we woke to a lot of flooding. I have never seen anything like it. Jason had to be at work Saturday morning at the VA for a shutdown and he called to tell me it was getting bad and that the VA's first floor had water pouring in and it took him 1 1/2 hours to get to work! I already had plans to go and visit Grandmother at Baptist East as she was recuperating from her open heart surgery. Brie and I waited until around 1pm and decided to go ahead and try to go. I had no idea how bad it was really going to be. I couldn't get to Memphis through Candy Lane because it was completely under water, as was 59 west through Gilt Edge. Tried Holly Grove, but the canal was over the road there too and had washed out huge drops along the road. Finally we made it to 51 and I thought we were clear! As I turned off Navy Rd. onto Raleigh Millington, the road was being closed in front of the railroad tracks. We were rerouted through a neighborhood back to Navy Rd. Brie couldn't believe all the kids playing in their flooded streets with floats! It was crazy!

We went up 51 to 385, only to learn that not only was Raleigh Millington flooded but water was half way up Munford Funeral Home! Singleton road was completely under water!

We managed to get there through Brunswick Rd., no problems at all. Of course we had to stop by Target and Once Upon a Child, and while we were in there the sirens began to sound! Tornado had been spotted!

After much excitement we made it to Baptist East and Grandmother was excited that I had driven by her house and took lots of pictures to show her that her house was completely fine, but that what was once a field across the road was now a beautiful lake! It saddened her to see it look like that knowing the Baskins had just planted it that week.

Grandmother was adimate that I get myself and Brie home before dark, but little did I know that would not be the case. I thought it would be an easy trip, but now Brunswick was closed due to the bridge there being flooded. I was routed through a road I had never been down and ended up making my way to Highway 14 long enough to get on 385. Once we hit Hwy 51 I was not excited that I had to go through lots of water over the exit just to get onto the highway. I couldn't believe how much had changed in a few hours. Police were everywhere, Los Reyes parking lot was under water and all of the apartments there were too. It was such a sad sight.

The kids were out of school on Monday due to roads being washed out, but teachers reported to clean up leaks and such. At BHS we have several students who lost everything, one of the students I came to know well this year lost not just her house, but all of her new baby's everything and they already didn't have much.

We take it for granted, and something happens so quick. President Obama declared Tipton County along with many other counties a disaster. FEMA has moved in to help and I hope we don't see anything else like this again. I believe the last time anything like this happened was 1939.

Nashville was also hit extremely hard, it is horrifying to look at pictures of Nashville and see that downtown is under water. The Opryland Hotel, the Titan's stadium, etc. Tennessee has a long cleanup ahead.