Finally Updating Installment 2 - July, August, September & October 2008

This is going to be another long one since I'm ready to get back on track and get my other two blogs going as well. So, to recap the last 4 months...

July

Independence Day - We celebrated with our children coming over for a swim in our newly rennovated pool. Steph invited some friends over and we grilled and celebrated our country's independence.

Steph was blowing up this pool toy and I looked over and Ashley had stuck her head through the opening. I just had to take a picture! I love these spontaneous pics.

Here are Steph's friends, Lisa and Lizzy, with Steph and Jasmine.

Just relaxing in the pool and enjoying the day.

Ashley and Sabrina just chillin' by the pool.

July is a big month for Birthdays - On the 26th Rob turned 29 & my Mom was 69 (yes, he was born on her 40th birthday!) & Wayne turned 51 on the 31st.

One of the funniest things on Wayne's birthday was a card that Rob got Wayne from "Sandy", our cat. Wayne takes the cat on "field trips" to Lowes. Neither of them really like it, but that doesn't stop Wayne from putting her in his truck and going. He gets the biggest kick out of the stares and the kids pointing at the crazy guy with the cat in his truck!

July

Memomer's Memorial/Family Reunion - My grandmother passed away May 8th of this year but it was not possible to have the memorial at that time. So, the first weekend of August we had all of our family come up to 0ur home for the memorial. We have a family cemetery in Concord, GA and on Sunday, August 3rd, all 26 of us went to Concord to take her ashes to the cemetery. It was a private service were we sang, prayed, shared what she meant to each of us and how she impacted our lives and what we need to do to carry on her legacy. Oh and of course, took lots of pictures.

The children of Ed & Helen Maynard - Judy, Nancy & Ed (Skeeter)

The Grandchildren of Ed & Helen Maynard - Kim (Judy), Rick (Nancy), Amy & Rob (Ed). I was the only grandchild for 12 years then came my 3 wonderful cousins. I love them all so much!

The Great-grandchildren of Ed & Helen Maynard - Rob, Steph, Ashley (Kim), Sean & Samantha (Rick), Maddy (Rob), Lexi (Amy) & Campbell (Rob)

The loving family of Ed & Helen Maynard

This is a picture of my grandparents

This is a beautiful statue that my wonderful friends from work gave to me in memory of my grandmother.

This little cemetery is so incredible. I just had to show this headstone of my great-grandmother's sister, Pearle. My great-grandmother didn't pass away until I was 17 and she took care of me when I was a young child. I remember her talking about her sister dying during childbirth. We had this beautiful picture of her and had to put it on her headstone to take a picture.

During the family time together we had so much fun sharing stories, eating, swimming, etc. I don't know what we would have done without Wayne. He was the self-designated life guard and BBQ Grill King. He couldn't wait for all of the kids to get there so he could play! Here are some pics of those good times.

Bryant & Campbell

Everyone got out their laptops and it was so funny I had to take a picture! Two days before Ashley moved to Athens, she was rear-ended in her new car. It has been a nightmare getting the car fixed and dealing with her neck pain & stress from all of this. However, 3 monhts later, things are finally improving!

Shawn Sullivans wedding - 8-8-08 - One of Rob's closest friends from high school got married the night before Ashley moved. Rob was one of the groomsmen. It was a beautiful wedding and it was a joy to see Shawn so happy.

Rob & Sabby

Doug (Rob's good friend and roommate) and his sweet Mama, "Toots", who was visiting from Washington state. I had talked to her and e-mailed with her a few times but was so excited to finally meet her. She gave me the sweetedst gift. it was a beautiful Willow Tree Angel.

Ashley's UGA moving Day - 8/9/08

The siblings...Steph, Ashley & Rob. It was an exhausting day but it was awesome to see them together and so excited for their baby sister.

Okay, now tha tthe first week of August is over...Whew! I started a weight loss program on August 23rd. We had a lot going on in August but as my 50th birthday was approaching I decided to set my goal on eating healthy and losing some weight. I have a place on my side bar that I'll keep updated on

September

My 50th birthday was Thursday, September 4th. However, on Saturday August 30th, my family gave me a surprise birthday party at our church. It was great. There was great food, stories, card, presents & lots of pictures.

Several people had already left by the time we thought to take a group picture but got one of those who were still there.

Me and my party planner & daughter, Steph. Me & Wayne. Probably the biggest surprise was having my Mom and Cousins, Amy & Lexi there. Some friends from Atlanta also came down which was so special.

The weekend after my birthday Steph and I drove to Athens to see Ashley and to give Steph's BFF, Heather her bridal shower. We made these cute little favors for each guest. They were adorable!

Steph and I embellished some wine glasses with clay grape leaves. They were a big hit!

Heather & Steph (Matron of Honor) have been best friends for 10 years. Here is Heather with her bridesmaids.

FSU Game - September 13th

Wayne and Rob have had FSU season tickets for many, many years. They go to most of the home games but occasionally we'll get an extra ticket or Rob will have guard duty so some other family member goes. Well, as it worked out, we ended up with 4 tickets so Wayne, Steph, her friend Lizzy & I went to the game. We had a great time!

We actually had a B2 fly over at pregame. It was awesome. FSU got a new scoreboard.

No pictures for this one but I have to tell you that on September 19th Stephanie was let go from her job. She had no idea this was coming and they waited until 10 minutes 'til 5:00 p.m. on Friday to tell her. She was devastated. She still doesn't have a job but is looking. It's not a great time to be looking for a job but I know God has a plan!

Trip to Monticello Genealogy Research & Tallahassee Memories - September 18-20. Steph, Jody (one of our dogs) and I met my Mom in Monticello, FL to do some geneaology research on my maternal great-grandfather's side of the family - Partridge. We found a lot of information on his ancestors and even found the old house where they lived.

This is a picture my Mom found of the house after it was turned into a hotel. The other picture is what it looks like now.

This is a picture of the back of the house then and the other is now. They added a big staircase and made this old house into some really nice apartments. Be sure to notice the old tree then and now.

These stairs are a beautiful addition. I just loved this chimney. It was so unusual looking.

Here are pics of us as we were leaving the hotel after our awesome trip.

We weren't too far (20 minutes) from Tallahassee so I asked Steph if she minded if we tried to find the student housing Wayne, Rob and I lived in while Wayne was attending FSU. Of course, she didn't so I took several pictures of where we lived. This old tree was the background for many pictures while we lived there. The other picture was the actual apartment we occupied from Nov 1981 - April 1984.

Then, we called my wonderful friend, Lynna who lives near Tallahassee and we met for lunch. We may go a couple of years without seeing each other but we just pick right back up where we left off again. It is awesome to have such a great friendship. Lynna, Kim & Steph

October

Wedding in Hilton Head Island, SC - Heather & Chris - October 4th, 2008

First of all, Steph and I enhanced this bric-a-vin with clay to go with the wine glasses we gave her at her shower. It was so pretty!

The weather was beautiful for the wedding. However, the ring slipped off of the best man's finger into the sand and wasn't found until after the wedding. It will be a special memory for them and something to talk about for years to come.

This is Abby, the sweet little flower girl. She was so photogenic. My camera followed her around for hours! I was afraid they thought I was the Paparatzzi! I love this picture of Steph and I.

I just had to take a picture of the groom's cake!

Wicked - On October 11th, Rob, Sabby, Steph and I went to the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta to see the musical, Wicket!. It was an early birthday present to Stephanie. Sabby had wanted to see it and Rob agreed to go. Stephanie is a HUGE Wizard of Oz fan so we knew she'd love Wicked, which is a kind of prequel to the WoO. It's the story of the two wiches. Very well done!

Trips to Athens - October was a crazy month because we had so much going on and several trips but we also had to make some unexpected trips to Athens to be with Ashley. She has had a really hard time with homesickness since going to UGA. Though she loves it up there, home wasn't so bad and she misses everyone so much. She and her boyfriend of 2 years broke up and kind of pushed her over the edge with the stress from school and her car accident issues. Steph and I tag-teamed for a couple of weeks, which she couldn't have done if she would have been working. I painted some while there and took some pictures of their apartment.

I also have to share this picture of what it looked like while Steph and I were there painting and scrapbooking. Sorry roommate Ashley! (Our Ashley's roommate's name is Ashley also!) I hope we cleaned it up okay!?!?

So, here is another example of how God is in control. I met a girl, Beth, at the wedding in Hilton Head who lives in the same apartment complex (which is huge) as Ashley and her building right across the street from Ash. Turns out she is the flower-girl's Aunt. When Ashley was feeling so sad, I contacted Abby's Mom and got Beth's information and we met for dinner. They have since gone out together and talked several times. Ashley really likes her and loves having a new friend so close to her.

Beth & Ashley

These pictures were taken right before I headed home.

Surprise Trip to Destin, FL...

A friend of ours gave us a few days at his time-share. We left on Wednesday night Oct 29th then drove to Tallahassee on Saturday so Wayne could go to the FSU game. We had a wonderful time and just relaxed and enjoyed the down-time. The weather was rainy the whole time except for the day we left, but it was still a great get-away!

I took this cool picture going home on I-75 @ 80 miles an hour.

Bryant's oral surgery - Bryant had to have some oral surgery while we were in Destin to remove some baby teeth that he has had some problems with. He was a real trooper and said he liked the shot! CRAZY kid!

Halloween - Papa & Bryant being goofy!

I thought this would be an appropriate place to add these http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ pictures I did of myself.

The first one is from the 1960s and the second one is from the 1990s. It's pretty fun! (Thanks, Terry!)

Thanks for visiting and please leave me a comment so I know you stopped by. I'll try to keep up with my updating. Hugs to all, Kim

Happy Birthday, my Beloved Memomer...

Today, October 26th, is my wonderful grandmother's 88th birthday!

Many knew her as Helen W. Maynard, but to me she'll always be, My Memomer!

She was many things to those who had the blessing of knowing this incredible lady. She was so easy to talk to and was a great encourager. She always offered a listening ear and a caring heart. You never had to wonder where you stood with her and she wouldn't hesitate to let you know if you did something that didn't please her. That was part of the beauty of her character.

Though her mind was still sharp at 87 years old, her body had become very frail. Over the years, as her health declined, she still loved to participate in family activities. In her time at home she would read, watch TV or catch up on her correspondence which included sending birthday cards to all of our family and her friends. There were certain programs that she enjoyed watching and she would let you konw ahead of time when NOT to call so she wouldn't miss the next episode. :o) As her hearing continued to fail she relied more on reading than watching TV. However, eventually her eyes failed her as well. The Lord took her frail body home on May 8th of this year. I was so thankful to be by her side when the Lord took her home. Today we celebrate her birthday for the first time without her. It is hard to not be able to pick up the phone and call her, but I KNOW she is celebrating in heaven with all of our family and friends who arrived in heaven before her.

Also, October 21st would have been Memomer & Grandy's 70th wedding anniversary.My loving & funny grandfather, "Grandy", who was a devoted husband and beloved father & grandfather, passed away in 1996. I know they are celebrating in heaven.

I will post my next update this week, so please check back and leave a comment so I know you were here. Wayne and I were able to take an unexpected (Thanks, Mick!) quick trip to Destin last week so I'm a little behind on things.

Big Hugs & God's Blessings to all, Kim

Finally Updating...Installment # 1 - May, June 2008

I've been a VERY bad blogger over the summer. Please forgive me for not updating but it's been a little crazy. Some good things and some not so good things, but, in everything, God is in Control! What I have realized though is I have 3 major things that I like to write about, 1 - my family, 2 -my creativity (painting, clay, etc.) & 3 - my faith. What I have determined is, I feel guilty about posting my creative projects if I haven't updated on my family or some amazing inspiration if I promised, with good intentions that I would post some painting or clay work. So, I'm going to start 2 more blogs, one for my creating and another for my inspiration. I hope to do this very soon but at the latest the end of the year. So, keep checking. I managed to make a couple of updates during the last 5 months like Ashley's graduation with her Associates Degree & my birthday. However, so much more has been going on that I'll have to fill in the blanks. This is the first installment, May & June 2008.

May 2008 - First Plane Ride & Graduation in Ohio

Bryant and I flew to Ohio for a friend's high school graduation. This was Bryant's first plane ride and it was a real joy to be able to share that with him.

Me, Bryant & Tiffany. Tiff is so special. She is sweet, smart, funny and loves the Lord.

This is a wooden box from HL that I painted for her. I also wrote her a note and glued it with a picture of the two of us on the inside cover. Of course no graduation gift is complete without a little money! :o)

I just had to take the picture on the 'moving sidewalk' at the airport. Bryant thought this was so cool. Luckily there weren't too many people on it. He had so much fun just being a kid and I enjoyed watching him. Thanks again, Jessica, for allowing me to have him for a few days!

June 2008 - Male Creativity, Mother Nature, Anniversary, UGA, Surgery, Swimming Pool Make-over & Family Challenges

Okay, so, I left the house for a while and when I came home, I had a checker-board lawn! My husband was so proud! He'd always wanted to try this. A couple of days after he did this he had to go on travel for work. I typically help him mow the grass and was so afraid he wanted me to try to keep this checkerboad thing going. However, he did not. What a relief!

While Wayne was gone, our neighbors dead tree fell during the bad storm we had. My husband had been asking them to take care of the tree because he was afraid someone was going to get hurt or it was going to cause some major damage when it finally fell. We were very lucky that it just damaged the fence. I think it scared them to death because I don't think they realized how much damage these things can cause. Now they know and no real harm was done. Thank you Lord!

A bird nest built in one of my plants on our porch every year. This year our little feathered friends chose a plant that was just starting to come back so I could stand on a stool, without touching anything and get some really good shots. Here is a quick look at the first few weeks of their new little lives...

There were about 4 eggs but only 2 on them hatched and grew. They were so cute. The picture on the right is the 2nd bird getting ready to fly. I just happened to be near and grabbed my camera. Empty Nesters Argument...

Our 30th wedding anniversary was June 24th. We went to the new Italian Restaurant in town, Santinas, and it was absolutely delicious. The walls had the most beautiful murals on them and the atmosphere and food were wonderful. I highly recommend it! We looked so-o-o-o-o young! What am I saying, we were young! He was 20 & I was 19. We made a couple of trips to Athens in June to sign Ashley's apartment lease and UGA Transfer Student Orientation. Here is Ashley in front of her apartment at lease signing. She was going to room with 3 other girls then met someone who wanted just one roommate, which worked better for Ashley as well, but is more expensive.

I took these pictures at the UGA College of Education.

In January we had an extremely heavy rainstorm. Due to a ground-water problem, our pool liner was just about destroyed. We brought someone in to fix it but it was beyond repair. We decided to put off replacing the liner until the weather got warmer. So, to try to divert some of the water, it was suggested that we dig a ditch on the high side of our property to divert some of the water during a heavy storm. So, $450 later, we have a "lovely" ditch. So far so good.

This is what the pool looked like before the new liner...

This is work in progress... ...a close up of the new liner pattern and finally...

...the new liner. I'll show more pool pics later in this post.

One of the reasons I have not updated in so long is that we've had many family trials over the last few months. I guess it all started the day Ashley and I went to her UGA orientation in June. Some of you know the details but I won't go into it in a public forum, at least not right now. The immediate result was, our daughter that got married in March, Stephanie, separated from her husband. It has been a very difficult situation and many prayers have been lifted with their names.

I told her from day # 1 to pray for God's will and not her own. I have done the same. God has been working overtime in all of our lives and Stephanie and Brian are no exception. Please pray for God's direction and His will in this situation. I'll probably share more later.

Fortunately, I don't have any pictures to share for this event, but I did have some "female" surgery in June. After a blood test in May showed I was VERY anemic, I was sent on the journey to find out why, which included many tests, biopsies, & doctor visits. I'll spare you the details but I ended up having to have an endometrial ablation. I am due to have more blood work to make sure this fixed the problem.

I'll start working on the second installment soon. Please leave a comment and let me know you were here!

Happy 50th Birthday to me!

40 years ago!

My wonderful family threw me a surprise birthday party on Saturday, August 30th at our church. I was very surprised and so touched by the 35+ that were able to attend and those who wanted to be there but because it was a holiday weekend were unable to come. I received many cards and gifts. My friend took pictures but I haven't gotten them from her yet. I'll post them on Sunday after Steph and I return from Athens. I have lots to post but finding the time has been more difficult lately.

Any chance of getting 50 birthday wishes from my family and friends? :o)

FYI - I've lost 15 lbs (again!). Happy Birthday to me! I'm hoping it's for good this time! Stay tuned for updates!

Ashley's Graduation from GMC . . . She's UGA bound!

A LOT has happened since my last post but I don't have time right now to do so. Instead, I'll post the most important - Ashley's Graduation from GMC last Saturday, 6-14-08. She graduated with honors, GPA 3.69, magna cum laude, with her Associate of Science Degree in Secondary Math Education.

Yes, that is Frank Malloy on the right. He was the guest speaker.

Unfortunately Wayne was in California for work so he was unable to attend. Sabrina was out of town with her Mom and Brian was at work. This was the Ashley Thompson cheering section! Here is a short video of her actual "walk" to get her degree. To stop the music so you can hear the video, just click the pause, first button, on the music player.

After graduation we all went to the new Olive Garden in town for a small celebration. Ashley and I are going to UGA for her orientation next Friday and went a couple of weeks ago to sign her apartment lease. She'll be leaving before we know it. We are sure proud of you, baby! Keep up the good work and study hard! Hugs ~ Kim