Remembering Grandad

I'm 36 years old and have lived every day of these last 36 years with all four of my grandparents. That is until February 23, 2012. On February 23rd, I lost my Grandad, Glenn Wheeler Mimms, affectionately known as Pete. Today is his funeral and since I'm not able to be there, I wanted to remember his life and his legacy in this way.

I've been so incredibly blessed to have all of my grandparents for so long. My life has been so full because of the wonderful people they are. Now that my Grandad is no longer with me, I wonder what life looks like without him. Oh, I know that God is good and that my life is full and will continue to be so because of God's goodness. That truth will never be shaken in me. But what will my trips home be like without a visit with one of the men who helped make home what it is to me? How will I ever fully explain my home to my children without his presence?

I knew I would have to face these questions, and so many more, at some point. Grandad was 93 years old when he went to be with Jesus. I just wasn't planning on staring these questions in the face on February 23, 2012. I joyfully anticipated introducing my daughter to Grandad and had confidence I would be able to do so. His death was sudden and took us by surprise. He was strong and healthy. Even though his passing wasn't expected, I can't imagine him leaving this world in any other way. I've never known my Grandad to be weak, so him leaving this world while remaining strong is true to who he was.

Grandad was full of life, full of love and full of personality. I'm not sure Grandad ever met a stranger. His life was too short to not make friends with everyone he met and he was always full of stories and laughter. Grandad loved my Grandmother in such an amazing, powerful way; a way that helped me know how I should be loved by my Vernon. Grandad always introduced Grandmother as his "first wife" for the almost 67 years they were married. Grandad was one of the hardest working men I've ever known. He loved working outside in this beautiful Earth we've all been given. He could make anything grow and had the most amazing gardens you have ever seen. He grew so much squash every summer that all of his friends at church knew to keep their car doors locked unless they wanted a back seat full of squash! My Grandad always had a confidence in who he was and never questioned that. He knew his ideas were brilliant and would work. He knew that his life was good and that everyone should have that same joy. He knew that his source of joy was in the Lord. My Grandad was an evangelist until the day he died. He intended for everyone he met to meet the Lord and live their lives with Him. His faith was strong. His knowledge of the Bible was extensive . . . he loved reading the Word of God. My Grandad made sure the Lord was his top priority and brought that into every aspect of his life.

I've learned a lot from my Grandad. I'm sure my awareness of all he has poured into my life will only be strengthened over the next several weeks and months as I live my life without his presence. I pray for that to be the case. I don't want to miss anything he left for me.

My mother-in-law told me on the day that Grandad died that of all of the wonderful images she had of my Grandad in her head, her favorite was the one she carried with her of him working on the roof of his house at 90 years old. It's one of my favorites too! That's such a "Grandad thing" to do. Nothing ever really got in his way and there were no excuses to not get the job done. Thinking of that spurred me on to finishing the curtains in Olivia's room. I know that might sound like a strange way to grieve or cope with his loss, but somehow it helped. The night he fought for his life and the day he passed from this life to the next, I spent in my basement working relentlessly on those curtains until I got them finished. For whatever reason, they had been hanging over my head as a job I just couldn't get motivated to finish. My Grandad's spirit motivated me and spurred me on to complete my work so I could enjoy the fruit of my labor.

My heart is broken for the loss that our entire family has suffered. My heart is broken that my sister, myself and our families are not able to be at Grandad's funeral because of the new lives that we are celebrating in Audrey and Olivia. But I praise God that we can celebrate life. New life. Grandad's life. The life of Jesus that makes it a reality that my Grandad has been received into Glory. Grandad knows Victory now. He knows true Life and true Love now. He was an amazing minister of all those things on Earth, but for him to know them fully now gives me so much peace and joy. So, on this day that my family buries my Grandad's body in the Earth, we rejoice that his spirit is alive and well in Heaven; singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!"

We love you, Grandad! Your legacy lives on in the lives of your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. May all you have poured into us, overflow into the world to the glory of God.

Ian's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Ian's 2nd birthday with a party for his friends at MANE . . . Montgomery Area Non-Traditional Equestrian Horse Project. One of Ian's favorite toys is his stick horse. A cowboy and horse themed party seemed like just the ticket and MANE was the perfect location for such a fun event!

Since I am clearly VERY pregnant, I wanted this party to be as stress free as possible . . . a location other than my house so I wouldn't have to clean it for a group of 2 year olds, easy food that didn't take much preparation, and decor from around my house. We were on our way to the perfect, stress free party and it all changed for me at Publix when we were filling our balloons with helium. They lady was SUPER nice and gave us the balloons for free for the inconvenience, but it took FOREVER to get our balloons filled. And, then she lost a couple on the ceiling and it took FOREVER to get them down. We finally left Publix at 9:40 am. The party was at 10:00. We arrived at our party location about 5 minutes before the party was supposed to start and one of our sweet guests had just beat us there. For a lot of people, this would be a little stressful, but not devastating. For me in my NORMAL state, this would have been really stressful, but something I could overcome. For me in my CURRENT state, I had a hard time bouncing back to be honest. I felt so overwhelmed and out of control. However, the party came together; my amazing friends are priceless for helping things move along and not judging me; the kids had fun running around and looking at horses; my son thanked God for his birthday party in his prayers at the end of the day. I would call that a success.

Our food consisted of cupcakes (of course!), a Happy Trails Mix (goldfish, pretzels, cheerios, Craisins and M&M's), a Horse Delight Tray (carrots with ranch dressing and apples with caramel dip) and Lil' Doggies (sausage biscuits). It was all pretty yummy and seemed to be a hit with the kids and adults alike.

We had the sweetest friends at our party and they made the day perfect for my little boy who loves his friends.

It was cloudy and overcast, but we got to play outside and see the horses before the rain settled in.

We opened gifts from family after we got home. The pile had grown huge by his actual birthday and he was SO SWEET to wait to open them all! And, what is even sweeter is that he continued to be happy and patient as we spread the opening of gifts out over a few days so he could enjoy all of his new toys to the fullest. He truly loved everything he received and has played with all of it until it has been broken in completely! Don't you just love the look of delight on his face as he sees all of his new things??? Love that sweet boy!

Ian just had to call Mam and GranPappy to thank them for his present. He did it while being hauled around in his new wagon! Adorable!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped make Ian's 2nd birthday a huge hit! We are blessed immeasurably with wonderful family and friends!

It's Her Birthday

My beautiful niece arrived into the world today at 3:43 pm. Oh, I cannot wait to meet her and hold her!!! I can't wait to know her name too! Sadly, I'm going to have to wait a while on all fronts though. (Hopefully, not too terribly long on the name!) Lynsey gave birth to this beauty all naturally (she's AMAZING like that!) and it was such a blessed delivery. It looks like baby girl has red hair like her big sister . . . HALLELUJAH!!! What a blessing this sweet baby girl is! Happy Birthday, sweet one.

Her name is Audrey Allison!
We love you, Audrey!

Happy Birthday, Ian!

Our sweet Ian is two years old today. It's been the greatest two years of my life by far! Our boy is full of smiles, full of energy, full of compassion, and full of joy. He's not just a happy boy, he's a joyful boy . . . a joy that is deep and that we pray never leaves him. Ian loves people and has a sweet and empathetic heart. He loves to pray for his friends and family. Ian loves his schedule and needs his routines and therefore, he does best in calm environments. He definitely gets nervous when his friends are upset or screaming . . . part of that empathetic heart, I think. Ian tends to be a rule follower and not much of a risk taker, but he's getting more and more brave in his risk taking as the days go on. Ian loves to talk and is the most verbal little boy I have ever met in my life! He says the most amazing things and keeps us on our toes with what new things he's learning and interested in. Our boy is beyond amazing and we're so honored to call him our son. I love watching him grow and cannot wait to see what all the Lord has in store for his life!

On his 2nd birthday, I wanted to document what all of his favorite things are and what some of the hilarious things he's doing are. It's a long list!

• Favorite Foods: PIZZA! Corn on the Cob, Cookies, Muffins, Oranges, Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Bananas, Peanut Butter Crackers, Green Beans, Lemons, Blackberries, Cherries, Sweet Pickles, Bacon, Black Olives, Chips, Goldfish, Milk, Tuna Salad, and a salad made of lettuce, Fritos, cheese, Ranch Style Beans and Catalina dressing.
• Favorite Toys: Balls, Cars, Barn, Stick Horses, and of course, his Lawn Mower.
• Favorite Activities: Watching Barney - the episodes about Hawaii and Greece are his favorites; Playing Outside - especially riding in his wagon and swinging; Going to Church and School; Praying; Reading his Bible stories at night - his favorites right now are Noah, Zacchaeus, and Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob; Helping his Daddy in the yard - especially getting to use the blower; Playing with the Vacuum Cleaner and Eating! Snuggling with his "baby" and sucking on his paci are still at the top of Ian's list of things to do.
• Ian truly loves all of his little friends and talks about each of them off and on. His best little friends right now though are Aislinn and Karlie.
• Ian has learned how to say his entire name. It's adorable! Next time you see him, ask him what his name is and hopefully he'll say the whole thing.
• Uncle Joe has always called Ian "Boo" or "Boo Boo". Ian has decided to call everyone by their name with a "boo" on the end . . . Daddy-boo, Mama-boo, Baby Bop-boo, Aislinn-boo, Ian-boo. You get the idea!
• If he falls down or runs into something and I don't ask if he's okay, he say, "You okay, Ian?" in a really sweet, concerned voice. I'll ask if he's okay and he immediately says, "YES!!!" in a really energetic voice that couldn't possibly be hurt at all!
• When we (usually me) yawn, Ian asks, "You sleepy, Mama?" Yes. Yes, I am. :)
• Everything "smells good" and Ian always feels good too. Basically, his life is good!
• Ian is sweet to tell me I look pretty, to tell his Daddy to be careful when he leaves for work, and he's starting to say, "Love you, Mama!" and "Love you, Daddy!" He melts my heart!

I plan on taking some "formal" pictures of Ian for 2 year old portraits in a dressy outfit. It will be my last chance to take pictures of him in traditional Southern dress since I promised my husband I would stop dressing him that way at age two. For now, I have pictures of him that I took for his birthday party . . . LOVE our sweet boy!!!









And, this picture is the reality of this group of pictures . . . a skinned up nose and a little boy who really wasn't too excited to have pictures taken. He wasn't grumpy, just uninterested and too busy to be bothered. I had intended to leave the skinned nose unedited in all of the pictures because it's pretty poetic, don't you think? A skinned nose for 2 year old pictures. I couldn't do it though. I like his regular face way too much! I'm pretty much a sucker for this one too though.

Taking a Look Back

Ian's 2nd birthday is this weekend. I had to take a small walk down memory lane, so I chose one of my favorite pictures of Ian from each month of the last year. What a hard job!!! There were so many favorites and I probably could've had at least 5 faves from each month. For today though, these are my favorites of my boy throughout the last year. He's just amazing!