Ahhhhh, Jamaica......

Bo and I just returned from a week long trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was the first time we have ever visited the island, and we certainly intend to go back. We went on a couple of excursions while in Jamaica. One day we took a tubing trip down the Great River in Montego Bay, which runs through the mountains, and on another day, we took a trip to Ocho Rios where we shopped and climbed Dunn's River Falls. This is a limestone waterfall that tumbles into the ocean. It was a tough climb, but it was beautiful and a lot of fun. One thing we did not do, that we regret, is not taking the zip line through the canopy of the rain forest. We saw others doing it, and it looked like so much fun. We have put this on the list of things to do when we go back to Jamaica, and I'm sure we will add others.

This is the view from the beach at the resort where we stayed. Can you believe how beautiful the water is? It rained every day, but only in short showers, so we were able to still get plenty of sun and relax at length on the beach or by the pool. Who wouldn't want to spend as much time as possible by this beautiful ocean?

The next few pictures are of the resort where we stayed, the Riu Montego Bay. It opened last Fall and is spectacular. The staff is great and the food delicious. If you go hungry here, it is your own fault because food was readily available almost all of the time.



There are 4 restaurants here, 3 of which lie along this corridor. Three require reservations, an Asian, an Italian, and a steakhouse, and one is a buffet. We tried the steakhouse and Italian place, and they were both delicious. All of our other dinners and breakfasts were eaten at the buffet. The food in the buffet restaurant was very good.


The grounds were beautiful.





And the views spectacular.

A couple of nights during the week, these gentleman came and seranaded everyone during dinner. They were very talented, and we loved listening to them.

A couple of photos of Bo and me after dinner a couple of nights.

Our week flew by, but we had so much fun. We can't wait to go back. If you've never been to Jamaica, we highly recommend it!

Family Day 2009

This past weekend was a busy, but fun one. It was full of cleaning, moving, unpacking, and playing.

We started out the weekend with a quick meeting with our social worker to update our homestudy. It has been two years since our last update, and we hope it's our last update before we travel to China.

On Saturday, we helped Michael and Jessica move into their new house. The weather was perfect, and things went very smoothly. We love their new house and know that they will enjoy all of the extra room they have now. Merrill will especially enjoy the swingset in the backyard. Nicholas and Anna Kay tried it out, just to make sure it worked okay.

After the move was complete, we loaded up and headed to the Family Day celebration that our company has every year. This was the first year any of our grandchildren were able to go with us to family day, and Nicholas had a blast. He jumped in the air jumpy things, rode the bumper cars twice, the roller coaster, the bumble bees, the ponies, and slid down the really big slide with me and Pawpaw Bo. Anna Kay and Nicholas both rode the carousel and the train. The food was great, and we all went home completely pooped!

It was a really fun weekend, and we look forward to many more Family Day celebrations with all of our grandchildren.

Happy Easter!

This year's Easter celebration has covered a couple of weeks. It first began last Sunday with our grandkids', Tyler and Brianne, second annual Easter party. Bo was working and unable to go with me, but we had fun just the same. We had lots of good food and a really cute Easter bunny cake with ice cream. After lunch, the kids hunted eggs. Due to inclement weather, the easter egg hunt was held in the garage, but plenty of eggs were found by everyone.

Let's go find some eggs!

Tyler finds some eggs

Brianne finding her share of eggs

Look what was inside my egg!

The next part of our Easter celebration came on Thursday when my mother went to Birmingham for CT scans to see if the cancer treatment is working. We were told in February that it could take up to a year to see any change in her tumors and to not be disappointed if we did not see any improvement, since my mom just started the treatment in January. Well, on Thursday, the CT scans showed that the lesions on her pancreas are shrinking and that the other areas the doctors are watching are still stable. We are so thankful for this good news and answered prayers. What a better reminder that Jesus rose from the dead and is with us everyday, where ever we are.

The third part of our Easter celebration took place over the weekend. On Saturday, Tim, Michele, Nicholas and Anna Kay came to spend the weekend with us. We had so much fun! We played with Playdough, drove the golf cart, drew on the sidewalk with chalk, planted flowers, and hunted Easter eggs. On Saturday night, Michael, Jessica, and Merrill came to have dinner with all of us. Merrill is growing up so quickly and is just adorable.

Nicholas with his sweet little smile


Pawpaw Bo and Merrill~Look how big she is getting!

Anna Kay, Pawpaw Bo, Merrill, and Nicholas

(This one will look great on Pawpaw's desk, don't you think?)

Did the Easter Bunny come visit everyone on Saturday night? He knew exactly where to find Anna Kay and Nicholas, although they were not at home. He came to Pawpaw and Bebe's house! Nicholas and Anna Kay got lots of great stuff, especially the chocolate candy :)

Look at all of the loot that the Easter Bunny brought to Nicholas and Anna Kay

Mmmmm.....Reese's Peanut Butter egg

The breakfast of champions!

After breakfast, no we didn't all eat Reese's peanut butter eggs for breakfast, we all got ready and went to church. It was the first time any of our grandchildren have ever been to church with us, which was very special. Nicholas was so handsome in his Easter outfit, and Anna Kay so pretty in hers. After church, my parents, sisters, and family came over to have an Easter/Birthday lunch with us and to hunt Easter eggs. The birthday celebration was for my mom, whose birthday is tomorrow, April 13, and my niece, Amy, whose birthday is April 23, and for Nicholas, whose birthday is May 6. We really enjoyed having everyone over this weekend and hope to do it again very soon!

Waiting to go to church~How sweet is this picture?

Did anyone see which way that bunny went?

Anna Kay found some eggs!

The new way to hunt Easter eggs

- have Pawpaw carry you to the eggs

Found an orange egg!

Basket is getting full!

Wonder what is in this egg

Found another one!

Come on Pawpaw! It's my turn to drive!

Amy, Emily, Beth, Mom, myself, and Brenda

(nieces, sisters, and my mom)

Anna Kay, Tim, Nicholas, and Michele resting

after the weekend festivities

It's Finally Spring!

It seems like forever since I've updated last. We have had lots of things going on and are so glad that Spring is finally here. This weekend was beautiful, and we were so glad to be able to enjoy some of it with Tim, Michele, Nicholas, and Anna Kay. Nicholas had fun driving Pawpaw Bo and Anna Kay on the golf cart, while the rest of us looked on. In the collage below you will see pictures of our newest granddaughter, Merrill, along with Anna Kay and Nicholas. Merrill is almost 3 months old now. She is growing and changing every day. We can't wait to have all of our grandkids at our house at one time. It will be a house full of joy!

Enjoy some pics from yesterday and the last few months.

Happy Birthday to My Wonderful Husband

Today is Bo's birthday. Unfortunately, we had to work today, but we are planning to go to dinner with some of his siblings tonight.

Thank you, Bo, for the life that you have given me and for being such a wonderful and loving husband and father. Sophie is going to be one lucky little girl. I love with all of my heart!

Trishia and Brett are going to Kenya!

A friend from our church and her husband are going to Kenya. They are missionaries with an organization called Vapor Sports. I have added a link to the Vapor Sports web site and a link to Trishia and Brett's blog, so please check them out. They are following God's calling, so please keep them in your prayers.

In Memory of Mary Aline Hinson Rigby

June 5, 1918 - January 4, 2009

On January 4, 2009, Bo's mother, Mary Aline Hinson Rigby, passed away. Born June 5, 1918, Mrs. Rigby leaves behind 11 children and 46 grandchildren and great grandchildren. She had been sick for some time. It is a very sad time, although we know that she is in a better place and no longer suffering.

I hate that Sophie will not meet her grandmother in this lifetime, but she will know the legacy of her namesake and what a fine woman she was.

Our Last Christmas Celebration for the Year

The first weekend of the New Year we had Christmas with Lee, Regina, Tyler, and Brianne. We played with Playdough, and I cooked dinner. Brianne started this new thing of wanting everyone to pick her up. I told her we were going to change her name to "Pick Me Up" since that was what she said most of the time. We had a lot of fun and opened the last gifts for the year. Enjoy the few pictures I was able to take.

 

Post Christmas Shopping

On Monday, Bo and I went on a little post Christmas shopping trip with my mom, sisters, and nieces. We stayed at the Rossbridge Resort and Spa in Birmingham, which is absolutely beautiful! It sits on one the of Robert Trent Jones golf courses among rolling hills and a beautiful landscape. Photography by Selma native, Katherine Tucker Windam, was displayed throughout the hotel, as were some very interesting pieces of art. Each room has a balcony overlooking the golf course or pool area. Our room overlooked the pool, and we were able to open the doors and sit out on the balcony and relax. Right after we checked into our rooms, we went out on the balcony to have a quick look around. We all heard music, but thought it was being playing on an audio system. The music kept getting a little louder and a little louder. We caught a glimpse of something walking from a distance, and lo and behold, it was someone walking the grounds playing a bagpipe. It was so neat!

We relaxed for a while at the hotel and then decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Our brother-in-law, Shannon, joined us there. The food was delicious, and the cheesecake was absolutely out of this world. We all made pigs of ourselves. To work off the cheesecake, we shopped! What a way to exercise! It was a lot of fun spending a few days with my mom, sisters, and nieces. I hope we get to have many more trips just like this!

 

The Birthday Girl!

On Sunday, we celebrated Anna Kay's first birthday! It's hard to believe that she is already a year old. Where does the time go?

The party was a lot of fun, and the food was delicious. As always, the cake was precious. Anna Kay had lots of help opening her gifts. Her big brother, Nicholas, and cousins, Ava Grace and Maddie, made sure that all the gifts were opened and enjoyed. I'll bet she won't need any help next year!

 

Christmas Day

We started out the day bright and early with breakfast at my grandmother's house. She is 92 years old and has a birthday right around the corner. All of my mother's sisters and most of their families were there for breakfast, so the house was full.

After breakfast, we drove to my older sister's house for lunch and to enjoy the rest of Christmas day. We spent the day chatting, eating, catching up with everything that is going on with my nieces and opening gifts. My brother-in-law was working, so unfortunately, we had to open gifts without him. :(

Sophie got a couple of Christmas gifts again this year. My family is always so sweet to remember her, even though she is not with us yet. My older sister and her family gave Sophie the book, The Mitten. I had never heard of the book, but I read it when we got home. It is a very cute book, and I know we will enjoy reading it to Sophie. My parents and younger sister gave Sophie her very first jewelry, a silver cross necklace. It is beautiful, and we just love it! Thanks to all of you for thinking of her and us.

We really enjoyed getting to spend the day with my sister and her family, and we hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the pics!

May I Open A Present Pleeeeeease?

Last night we had Christmas with Tim, Michele, Nicholas, Anna Kay, Michael, and Jessica in Spanish Fort. We started out by going with Michele to take Nicholas and Anna Kay to see Santa Claus. Michele was afraid that Nicholas would not sit in Santa's lap, but to our surprise, he did! He was such a big boy and told Santa what he wanted for Christmas and had his picture made. Anna Kay liked Santa too! They are both getting so big.

After we got back from seeing Santa, Nicholas wanted to start opening presents. We told him we had to wait until after dinner to open gifts. He could hardly stand the wait. He begged and begged. Well, since we couldn't open presents, we played with them. We made a Christmas present train, and we shook and squeezed the presents to see if we could guess what was inside. We even tried to peak into some to see if we could catch a glimpse of what they were. Anna Kay stole some of the bows and decided to chew on a couple, but who doesn't love a little baby chew on their gifts? Especially such a cute baby at that!

After everyone finally finished their dinner, which was quite delicious, we opened gifts. The wait was definitely worth it! We had a blast!

Thanks to Tim and Michele for having us over! It was great spending time with everyone.

Enjoy the pics!

A Christmas Carol the Musical

As we continued to celebrate my Dad and sister's birthdays, today we went to the Shakespeare Festival to see A Christmas Carol the Musical. It was terrific! The actors and actresses did a wonderful job. I am ashamed to say that at the age of 40, this was the first time I have ever visited the Shakespeare Festival, although it is only an hour and a half away from where we live. There are several really good plays scheduled, so I hope to get to go again soon. If you have never been and want to know more about the Shakespeare Festival, click here.