May!!

I don't believe we could have added one more thing into the month of May!!  Crazy Busy!!

May 1st was our daughter, Rachel Ann's 34th Birthday.  So proud of the woman she has become!

We love you, Rachel!! 💖

Our BMAA National Meeting was held May 6-8 at the John Q Hammonds Convention Center in Rogers, AR

Jeff served his first year as our Associational President and did a great job

(and was re-elected to serve another year)

 

 It was good to have family at the meeting this week (also Adrienne, Lincoln and Graham were there for the events on Wednesday, but I didn't get a picture)

 Little Mack turned 11 months old on the 9th!  

 Our annual FBC Mother's Day Banquet was on the 11th.  "When You Have Lemons, Make Lemonade."  Another wonderful event!!

 My friend, Janet gave me a sweet gift she had painted.  Thanks, Janet!

 A collage in honor of Mother's Day:  So thankful for my Mom, for the privilege of being Mom to Josh, Andy and Rachel and for the great Mom's that Rachel, Michelle and Carman are to my grandkids!

 May 15th, we received the sad news that Mom's brother, my Uncle Harry, had passed away.  That was 3 deaths in our family in 6-7 weeks.  Tough!  Mom is the only living sibling now.  Uncle Harry's wife Betty, Mom's sister-in-law still lives, but is in poor health and in our prayers.

 Carman celebrated a birthday on May 17th!  We love you, Carm, and so very thankful you are a part of our family!! 💝💝

 Avi went to her first formal in May.  Gorgeous!! 💟

 On the 18th, we attended the fun Graduation Party for Josh Thompson (in the green).  He and his brother, Nate, are fine young men!  Congrats, Josh!

 MAY 19th WAS COPELAND'S 6TH BIRTHDAY!!

Our first grandson 💙💙 and we love you lots!

 May 19th was Mom's last Sunday at First Baptist

 Bev and Kaye both arrived that afternoon and we headed to Girard.  First, we went to the cemetery to put flowers on Dad and our baby brother, Dwayne's graves.  Dad was very patriotic so Mom bought red, white and blue in his honor.

Baby Dwayne's grave (Mom and Dad's firstborn that died a few hours after birth) 😥

 It was VERY windy and VERY muddy!

 We then went to Uncle Harry's visitation

 Kaye took a few candid shots

 

 

 Monday, May 20th was my middle sister, Bev's birthday.  I've always loved this picture of us when we were little!  

 We went back to Girard that morning for Uncle Harry's sweet funeral service

 Jeff had the honor to preach it

 His daughter, Sandy, did a great job in talking about her Dad!

 At the funeral meal, we got some family pictures

So glad Aunt Betty was able to attend the funeral and meal

She is with her daughters, Pam and Sandy and son, Randy

 With the spouses added

 All of Uncle Harry/Aunt Betty's kids, grandkids, and great grands!

 Sister-in-laws

 Love you all!

 That night we had terrible rains and storms and again on Wednesday.

We worked a couple of days packing up Mom during that week (and even had a little time to play games!)

We ended up in the basement of the Oasis business next door for a couple of hours on Wed. night

 Jeff stood outside and watched the funnel go over Galena and hit nearby Carl Junction.  So sorry for those that had damage!  Along with probably 8-10 people in the basement, there was a new litter of puppies!

 Kipling turned 7 months old on the 23rd -- Cutie Pie! 😍

 The last day before the big move, we had a little fun.  Visited some things on Route 66 here in Galena and took some pics:

 As my sister posted on Facebook....if a tornado doesn't blow her away, Dorothy is leaving Kansas (where she has lived her whole life!)

 

 That afternoon, we traveled to Pittsburg to take care of some banking, we stopped at the Veteran's Memorial, then met many from the "Boore" family for dinner at Chicken Mary's:

 Mom purchased a stone many years ago in memory of Dad

 Always a fun time to visit with the Boores!

 

 

 Holly with her Aunt Dorothy 

 The Boore women:  Aunts Freda, Joan, Judy and Mom

 Friday, the 24th, we rose early and began the process of loading and moving Mom.  We are so thankful for Aaron Polok, Garrett Hall, Gabe Shoemaker, Dylan Watkins and Lane Moore for loading the truck at Mom's (and then coming to our house and loading some of our furniture to help when we move in a couple of months).  I was too busy and didn't think to get any pictures! Thanks, guys!!

It was a treat as we traveled south, that Josh's family was traveling north to spend the weekend with his in-laws.  So we stopped and got to see them for a short visit!

 Kaye had already gone ahead of us to Conway, so wasn't there for the visit

 We all arrived safely in Conway late that afternoon and were met by Mom's other son-in-laws, Rob and Don, and a couple of guys from Antioch Church and Rachel and her family who all helped unload!  Thanks to everyone for your help!

 Didn't take near as long to unload as it did to load (thankfully)!

 After eating dinner together, Jeff and I headed to Little Rock with Rachel's family to spend the weekend there.

 Good thing, Papa doesn't mind being sit on, wrestled, etc. 💚💛

 Saturday, Jeff and I did spend the day back in Conway helping to get Mom settled in--we also met with a family about renting their home, which was too expensive but it did open a door for another option.  I'll go into detail about that in a different post at a later date when it's all finalized.

Sunday, we went to church with the McCrary's at South City (formerly Temple Baptist).  Enjoyed the service and saw several old friends along with new friends, Pastor Drew and his wife Lori Cline.  

Gideon is having some separation issues right now, so he went to big church with us (and fell asleep!)  The other 3 kids did great in their classes.

Got a couple of pictures after church in Rachel's pretty yard: 

 

 Rachel fixed a delicious Sunday lunch for us and that evening, we had to go eat at Jeff's favorite Mexican restaurant - El Chico (not far from the kids).

 Monday, my sister, Kaye, invited us back to Conway for a delicious, bountiful Memorial Day meal.  It was so good!

Kids had a blast playing outside and inside with all her grandkid toys.

 

 

 Trying on Uncle Rob's wolf rug 😊

 

 Tuesday at noon, we met Josh and family once again in North Little Rock as they were traveling back to Tennessee.  So neat to get to spend time with both families!

 Sun was in our eyes!!

 

 And then Jeff and I headed to Texas!  So we got to see ALL our family/grandkids on the same day!  Considering the distance we all live from each other, that was pretty cool!!

 Andy and Carman have beautiful home in Ft. Worth and a wonderful church facility The Mount, in Keller.  I didn't get pictures of their home but did get a few of the church:

 

 Family shot on the church stage

 We started getting tornado warning alerts as we were driving home from Keller.  As soon as we pulled into their driveway, the sirens started blowing.  We ended up in the closet twice and lost power for a while.  Thankfully no tornado in their neighborhood but once again Jeff was standing outside and saw the funnel go over us and touchdown close by 😬😬

 Thursday, Jeff had a BMA meeting in Waxahachie; Andy went to work so Carman and I and the kids went to the neighborhood pool and had a great time!  The girls have made friends with some of the neighbor girls, which is wonderful.

 

 

 I didn't think to pack a swimsuit, so shorts and t-shirt had to do....

We also enjoyed some game playing during our visit

 

Sadly, the visit went too quick and we had to head home early Friday

 My sister, Bev, took a lot of pictures of Mom's new place in Conway, so I wanted to add those here:

It's a Senior Living Facility: Ridgemere

 They offer assisted living inside the building above and that is where Mom will go for meals, games, hair salon, etc.

Thankfully, she is still able to live on her own and has a beautiful independent cottage:

 

 There is a pretty lake and fountain in her backyard

 

 Pretty front door

 Inside pictures

 Mom's bedroom

Nice big master bathroom; 2 vanities, large walk in closet

 

 

 Guest bedroom

 Guest bathroom

 Office

 We came home from Texas just time for the second night of Galena Days....Jeff leading the opening prayer.  It's always a full weekend with a big chicken and noodle dinner on Sat. night that the Missions Team hosted.  We will miss that!

 Sunday, Asst. Fire Chief, Steve Hall (and Chairman of our FBC Deacons) presented Jeff with a plaque for his 10 years as Chaplain of the Galena Fire Dept.

 Had to take a picture in S.S. as we were twins:  Barbara Watson was a wonderful mentor to me as a young pastor's wife.  I will forever be grateful for her influence in my life!  

 We were thrilled to have our good friends, Hollis and Gilda Stanbery from Texas come for worship and dinner Sunday!  We met the Stanbery's over 11 years ago when we attended a Cross Church/Pinnacle small group together in Rogers.  We hit it off immediately and have remained close ever since!  Love you both - thank you for coming!  It will be our turn next to visit you in Texas!

 To close this out, some miscellaneous pictures that have been sent to us:

Shep attended Preschool this semester at his church.  This picture was taken at their closing program.

 A Mother's Day pic of Michelle and her girls

A Mother's Day pic of Carman and crew:

Picture of the McCrary's in their new home 

 And one of Rachel with her kiddos on Mother's Day

 Just got this one today--having a serious talk with Elmo! 💗

As I write this, we are already into June.....VBS begins Sunday.  This will be the first year in several that I won't have grandkids to go with me.  That makes me sad, but with everyone scattered so far away, it just didn't work out.  MacArthur Joshua Swart turns 1 year old on the 9th - WOW!  And the purging/packing process will begin for Jeff and I this month.  72 days til retirement!  Whew!

As always -- so very thankful to my Lord for His grace, strength, provision, leading and blessings unnumbered!!  Thank you, Jesus!!