2011 in Review

Whew! It has been a long time since I posted on this blog. We are already sailing headlong into the new year, and I have yet to put up any pictures of Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas. If this blog is supposed to reflect my real life, then I suppose it is fitting. Recently, there has been no time to document...life has just come at us too quickly. A quick look back over 2011, and just a few of the events that are worth remembering:

~A February snowstorm



~Meeting Henry (my very adorable nephew!)



~My first grandchild born, sweet Madison Renae !



~Took many, many field trips...to name a few: Museum of Biblical Antiquities, Spivey Hall Children's Concerts, Tellus Museum, Southern Belle strawberry farm, Nash Farm Civil War museum, Greenville Zoo, Southern Railway Train Museum among others!


~Rachel turned 19

~Rachel graduated from Veritas Classical School and homeschooling,


...so Nana, the aunts & uncles and the cousins came



~Irene turns 8 !


~Abbie & Irene's first ballet recital with Miss Anna's class




~Summer fun with friends




~Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street !




~ We said a hello in our hearts to our sixth child, and then said goodbye until we meet our sweet baby in Heaven. If I could speak to our child now, I would say that you are loved every bit as much as your brothers and sisters, and we miss you greatly. We look ahead with rejoicing to the day when we can meet you face to face!

~Ben & Kayla's wedding




~Mike turns 40 !!!!!



~ Wished the Means family blessings as they moved ahead to the next chapter in their lives!

~ Matthew turns 13 !




~Matthew's FIRST CONCERT !!! (Third Day & Tenth Avenue North @ Macon Arena)



~Abbie & Irene send "baby Moses" down the river (that was funnier than a blog post can capture...one of the reasons I love my girls so much is because they think up crazy stuff like this!)


~Abbie turns SIX!


~Fall fun and festivals






~Trip to Covenant College and camping at Cloudland Canyon (Land of a Million Steps)



~Mickey, Abby & Madison come to stay with us for a while, just in time for Thanksgiving!



~South Point Youth went to Windy Gap Camp, in N.C.


~Went with Madison to go see Santa on the Square:



~Spending Maddie's first Christmas with her and her mommy & daddy was such a blessing!!


Goodbye, 2011...you were a good, crazy, terrible, wonderful year! Thank you Lord, for sustaining us with your grace through another year of life's joys and pains!