Remembering Jodi

My sweet cousin, Jodi, passed away on March 10 after battling cancer for a couple of years. If you knew Jodi, you loved her. She was the most welcoming and hospitable woman. She always seemed to truly listen in a conversation. She learned how to make her Grandmother Rakestraw's tea cakes perfectly, and those were always welcome at any family gathering. She had a beautiful smile that she quickly and often shared. She was a great wife to Michael and wonderful mother to Bo, Sophie, and Reed. Best of all though, she knew the Lord as her Savior. She relied heavily on her faith, and was such an encouragement and faithful witness to others throughout her illness. Some of the very last words she spoke were "don't be scared" to a sweet friend of theirs who was clearly upset at trying to say goodbye while she was in the hospital. Jodi knew exactly where she was going after her passing, and we are confident she is healed and in Heaven with Jesus now.

It feels incredibly strange to say "she had a wonderful funeral" but she did. The church was packed out which means over 800 people were there. We know several hundred more came to visitation but couldn't make it to the funeral. She and her family are loved by so many; it's a result of the love they give to others. A small group sang worship songs before the service, as the family processed in, and during the service. Michael and all three of the kids spoke as did Wayne and Madi. They all did a wonderful job of honoring and remembering her. Lee delivered a heartfelt message pointing everyone there to Christ. It ended with a video that was a close up of Jodi's hands as she played the ukulele; it was a little hobby she picked up while she was sick. She was playing the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds" though it's better known as the "Everything little thing is going to be alright" song. As that song ended, Mark Miller came out to play the ukulele and sing the same song as everyone was dismissed. As we walked out, each person was given a mug that Wayne had made up that had a great quote by Jodi on it: "Do small things with great love." I can almost see Jodi smiling and hear her say "I love it."

Thank you Lord for this precious woman. Thank you for the life she lived, and your love that poured through her to so many others. Thank you Lord for healing her and drawing her to you for eternity.

Marching Right Along

March was quite a hectic month.

Both of the girls got to go on pretty cool trips with their classes. Mia and the 9th graders went to Washington DC. They got to see so many cool things! They visited multiple museums and landmarks. I've always thought this trip is such a great combination of education and fun.

Lily and the 11th and 12th graders took a couple of days to go on a Civil Rights Tour through Alabama; they visited Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham. This is such an important aspect of history for them to investigate and understand further.

David and Jan sent me beautiful flowers and delicious truffles for my birthday! These always brighten up tax season.

The girls were on their school trips over my birthday, so we waited until the returned to celebrate as a family. Ryan grilled up this fabulous wagyu steak (thanks Goldbelly!). Combine this with mashed potatoes, garlic broccoli, and italian crispy bread, and you have a great birthday meal!

The girls gave me a new family game called Wavelength, and we played it immediately. I love playing games, and this one is a lot of fun!

Beetlejuice came to The Fox at the of the month. Unfortunately, I couldn't get away from work, so Lauren got to fill in for me. I heard it was a great show (though not quite as great as New York's). I have no doubt it was wonderful. 

Mom, Dad, and I were happy to meet up with Wayne for lunch at Atkin's Park to celebrate his 50th birthday! Hard to believe it's been a half-century for him. He's a great brother, and I'm very thankful for him.

Lily loves babysitting the sweet Hanbury girls - Ellen, Elizabeth, and Emma!

Easter fell at the end of the month. Ryan and Lily enjoyed serving at the church's helicopter egg drop event. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day!

We love going to church each Sunday, but there's definitely something special about Easter Sunday. We are thankful each day that Jesus conquered the grave to overcome death. What an undeserved blessing He has given us.

Of course, it's always fun for the girls to get baskets full of goodies. They each received some fluffy shorts, candy, and a Chick-fil-a gift card. Lily's basket also had a hat, shower steamers, and a book. Mia's basket also contained a candle, watch, and Beetlejuice worm light.

Time keeps right on moving.

February Happenings

It was a beautiful February. It seemed to go by pretty quickly, but here's some of things we were up to. Lily wanted to go on a tour of Auburn, so Ryan and I were excited to take a day trip with her and get the official tour. We got to go up on the Eagle's Nest which is on the top of a building where you can get lots of great view of campus, including looking over the football stadium. They are on the smaller side of the SEC schools which we all really liked. It was fun that it was a whole college town, but it wasn't overwhelming and huge.

You can't go to Auburn and not stop in at Toomer's Drugs to try their famous lemonade. This is one of Southern Living's 50 Southern Things to Do Before You Die list! Ryan and Lily both loved the strawberry lemonade while I thoroughly enjoyed my blackberry lemonade. This alone might be worth the trip to Auburn. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Hound, and then made a stop in the gift shop on our way out. This was a very fun day!

Lily co-captained the Mock Trial team this year with Nene Harvey. They've been preparing for several months to get their case and their witnesses ready. Mia was witness Alex Epps. The competition came around in early February. I love that the school totally hyped them up the day before!

This team was ready!

I absolutely loved watching these three trials, and I was so proud of them! Both girls did a great job, but it was pretty clear that Lily was in her element. It was a lot of fun. Awards are handed out at the end of the evening. Unfortunately, the team didn't advance to state (which was a little surprising because they were really good). However Lily won an award for Outstanding Attorney for her work in Round 2. How cool is that?! Way to go Lily! 

We were happy to host a mock trial team party a couple of weeks later. It was a fun celebration of their season. How cute is this cookie cake we got for dessert?

Ryan and David met up in Nashville to attend a Milk Carton Kids concert together at The Ryman Auditorium. They both love this group. David has previously purchased a Pattengale guitar which was designed by one of the band members, Kenneth Pattengale. David worked hard to and found a connection so that they were actually able to meet Kenneth before the concert. On top of that, Kenneth actually signed the guitar for David. How cool! Then, David actually gave the guitar to Ryan which was a really special gift that Ryan will treasure. Ryan took the guitar back to the hotel for safekeeping, and then they enjoyed the concert. This was a wonderful adventure for them!

We were excited to see that Hamilton was included in the season tickets at The Fox. This show is incredibly well done. We were excited to get to see it together.

Ryan found a program at AMC Theaters called "Screen Unscene." You buy a $5 ticket and have no idea what the movie is going to be. We went one evening and enjoyed up enjoying the surprise movie, Ordinary Angels. It was a touching, based on a true story, movie. I'm so glad we tried this!

One of my fun Goldbelly finds was a cacio e pepe pizza from Los Angeles. We love cacio e pepe, and we love pizza, so I thought "why not?" It was a great call! This was delicious, and I'll look forward to having it again.

Decker cracks me up. He apparently loves to lay on Ryan's side of the bed when we're not around. I've found him snoozing here a few times. If Ryan's at home, you can bet Decker will be by his side instead of on the bed!

I ordered a King Cake through Goldbelly, and it did not disappoint. It was so good! We had our small group over that evening, and we all cut a slice out. Whoever got the baby would also be the lucky receipient of a $25 Chick-fil-a gift card. We had enough for everyone to take a slice, and there was only one piece left...that slice was the one with the baby! Since none of us actually pulled it, we decided to give the gift card to Jeff Pennington as a small thank you for pastoring our church.

I always like to make a fun dinner for Valentine's Day. This year we made some cheese tortellini in a butter sauce; I died the water red, so it would die the pasta. This was a cute little twist.

I absolutely love putting hearts on the girls' doors as we count down to Valentine's Day. Each heart states an attribute that we admire in them along with a Bible verse. We hope these encourage them to continue to develop and use those gifts to God's glory. 

Sweet Mia made cookies to take to her friends one evening, and she left these out for me to see when I got home after a late night at work. Such a sweetheart!

Another Goldbelly find was this wonderful spaghetti carbonara from Rome.

All four of us took a day to visit Berry College in late February. This was Mia's first college visit! This campus is gorgeous. We all really enjoyed this tour and discovered how much we like this college. It seems like such a great place.

Go Cambridge Geography Bee team! Mrs. Hobson sponsored this team made up of Lily, Liam Harvey, Luke Denny, and Liam Hobson. A powerhouse team for sure.

Ryan and I went back to AMC for a second Screen Unscene, and it turned out to be the movie One Life. This was an absolutely incredible movie, and it has become one of our favorites. The acting was fantastic, and the storytelling is amazing. Sir Nicholas Winton was a true hero, and I'm grateful his story has been told.

Tostatadas were the first Piquant Post recipe we received, and they're still our favorite. SO GOOD!!!

Out and about...

It's been a lovely month.