Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love spending time with family and remembering everything that happened throughout the year. I love taking a moment to really think about all of the things I’m thankful for. This morning I woke up and thought about how thankful I am for him:

Photo credit: Kamee June Photography

You know what he did for me recently? I had a really rough 3 weeks. Well, I’ve really had a rough couple months since I started teaching. But about a month ago I got the flu. It was really bad for a week, then got a little better for a week, and came back full force for the 3rd week. I was still teaching the entire 3 weeks because getting a substitute is more work than just being there. It was really hard on me. I felt horrible and I was exhausted and yes, my students completely took advantage of my weakness. After a trip to the doctor, I finally started to feel better and thankfully, it’s gone away now.

Well, Rudy decided that because I was having a horrible time (and complaining about how cold my classroom was) that he’d get me a present.

I have yet to go a morning without using it.

I’m incredibly thankful for the year I’ve had. It has been stressful and challenging, in so many ways, but this is a year that I know I’ll look back on and appreciate, in all its challenging goodness. Happy Thanksgiving!

As mentioned in my previous post, Mema loved photos. Because I obviously also love photos, I was given the task (which I happily accepted) of going through the thousands of photos my grandma had. She was really an awesome photographer. Here are just a couple favorites from the pictures I’ve gone through so far.

My super handsome grandpa:

My mom and her siblings:

I’ll be back to blogging regularly soon! Coming up: Chris & Jenny, Darin & Brenda and Bosley!

I had a different post planned today but then I received some sad news…my grandma (Mema) passed away this afternoon. It’s hard to write a post like this because I don’t really know what I can say that’ll express how I’m feeling. So instead of trying, I want to write this to help myself remember the grandma I knew and loved.

The Mema I remember loved yard sales and good deals. She was generous and loved to give presents. She crocheted pot holders and quilted. She loved to play the guitar and had this great soprano voice. She had a signature disapproving look, that I think has been passed down throughout the family. She made the best homemade biscuits I’ve ever had (and gave me the best breakfast memories with both my grandparents). She also made smelly gross food, like fried okra. She never thought things should be thrown away. She was incredibly sentimental. She was blunt. She had a goofy side. She liked to get approval on new outfits she put together. She always had a perm. She always remembered birthdays. She loved to socialize. Friends and family were incredibly important to her. She loved pictures. I never had to wash a dish with her around. She only had one way to fold a towel and I still fold them that way to this day. She loved God and her church. At one point she was taller than me and liked to rub it in my face…until she wasn’t taller than me anymore (because she got shorter, not because I grew). She was a great mom…the kind that gave and gave, even when she didn’t have anything to give.

And one of my favorite pictures of us together (with a point and shoot camera) on Christmas in 2008…as well as one not too long ago.