A Fathers' Day Tribute

Just as I posted for Mothers' Day, I am, also, surrounded with wonderful fathers!  The Family Proclamation states:  "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their homes in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.  Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.  In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."  Therefore, I want to pay tribute to the special fathers around me who fulfill these responsibilities:

My husband of 42 years--7 children married to 7 wonderful companions; 24 grandchildren.  Throughout these years, he has been such a great example of working hard to provide for our family, but still providing time for the family whether it be in coaching their team, supporting them in their activities, or taking them on wonderful adventures.  Not one child doubts his love for them nor his love for the Lord. 

My dad--at 87 years young, is receiving an award this summer for the longest practicing attorney in the state of Idaho.  He continues to be a source of inspiration and love to all of his family members which now number:  7 children, 7 wonderful companions, 38 grandchildren, and 60 great-grandchildren.  He and my mother served a mission in Idaho for six years on all the weekends while he continued to go to the law office during the week. 

George's dad--although he only had about a seventh grade education, he became a master plumber who was very well-known and respected in the Jacksonville area for his honesty and hard work.  A favorite memory of all the family is how he read his scriptures which were on his bed stand every night.  After retiring, he and Grandma served a mission in the Atlanta Temple for eight years.  He died in 1992--we truly miss his enthusiasm and fun stories he always told.   

Now to the seven wonderful fathers who raise our 24 grandchildren.  Not only do they provide for their children's necessities in life, they make a house a home through their love and attention to their wives and children.

Kevin

John

Kyle

Jeff

Cameron

Kent

Craig - this is his first Fathers' Day!

Thank you, dads, for all you do!  Tomorrow is your day--enjoy it and realize you are loved and appreciated!  Keep up the good work!

And They're Off!

Four years ago, I knew the day would come, but as always, I never knew it would be so hard!  As each of our children have left to go on to their careers, George and I have been so proud to know how hard they have worked to prepare for the next phase in their life, but each time as they have moved to where their chosen occupation took them, it was so difficult to see them go.  Craig, Cassie, and Baby Riley left yesterday for Dallas where he will be a dentist in a clinic there.  Here are some pictures of them saying "good-bye":

I will miss my little Riley Boy.  I guess he's trying to tell me just like Ethan did when he left:  "Grandma, you'll have to get new friends now!"  Hah!

Craig saying "So long," to Jeff and Lola

Garrett and Isaac are really going to miss Craig and Cassie.  They have loved having them come and going to their house to "burn."  (We always burned leaves at their house.)

The hugs and tears to Craig and Cassie from George (who had already said "good-bye" a couple of hours ago because he had board meeting), Amy, and I are just too personal.  I just couldn't take any pictures of that.  But here they are loading up:

 

The packed car before Riley and Cassie got in the back.  Notice the kitty-litter box that Cassie gets to put her feet around on the floor! 

Baby Riley is loaded.  They waited until after 8:00 p.m. to drive through the night for 11 hours so he would sleep most of the time.  (The next morning, we are so grateful to learn that he did, and they safely got to Cassie's parents home in Louisiana to see them and spend a day there.)

Now Mia is loaded.  She cannot figure this whole thing out.  She was just getting used to our porch for the last three weeks!

And Cassie gets in her little corner with her feet above the kitty-litter box and her hand holding Mia.  Wow!

Finally, Craig gets in and they are off to new adventures and "real life after school."  We will miss having them so close, but wish them the very best.  We love you, Craig, Cassie, and Riley!

SOME MEMORIES I WILL MISS:

Baby Riley's big smile--how happy he always is . . .

And seeing Baby Riley have new experiences like his first solids:

First, he opens his mouth . . .

Then he shuts his eyes and shivers, but . . .

then comes the big smile . . .

he opens his mouth again . . .

and again!  He likes it!  He likes it!

Soon he will be ready for this--

and this!  (Just kidding!)

And we will miss Craig and Cassie's love and support at special family events.

On Memorial Day, we visited Grandpa and Grandma Copeland's gravesite. 

This past Saturday night, Amy ran in the River Run downtown Jacksonville at the Landing.  Craig wished afterwards that he had participated, but they all came to support Amy--even though it was 8:00 p.m., the temperature was still in the 90s with 95 percent humidity!

We all waited for her to come in.  I thought I was watching so closely, but I totally missed her running past the finish line--at least a minute and a half faster than her last run.  Yeh, Amy!

We all went for ice cream afterwards to cool off.

Lola is proud of her mommy!

Thank goodness, we still have Jeff and Amy's family near by so that we are not completely alone.

Thank you, Craig and Cassie, for all you have done for us the past four years!  Sonny's business is definitely going to drop without the Copelands meeting half-way there for so many occasions!  Florida sports will go on, but will definitely miss some of their greatest supporters !  UF Dental School will not have a Copeland there for the first time in seven years--oh, my--maybe one of the grandkids will go!  All the bonfires we made and now won't likely make will probably make "Squeaky" happy!  (Private joke!) 

But enough of the past--on to the future!  We hope to make many more wonderful memories with Craig, Cassie, and Riley in Dallas.  We love you!

Lola and Her New Blanket

When Alison and Amy were young, the "Hello, Kitty" phase was just beginning to sweep across America, and they both loved anything to do with it.  Now, a few more years later and with another generation coming, it is getting a renewed emphasis, and it looks like this generation may love it like the generation ago did!  Alison sent some darling "Hello, Kitty" material from China to Amy, Amy picked out some trim in America, and then it was delivered to my home in Green Cove Springs--the result was this when presented to Lola . . .

Lola took a look at it . . .

Then she cheered!

Grandma Laura, Mommy Amy, and Lola

Yes, I think the blanket was a huge success!  Thank you, Alison, for continuing a tradition and for making a little girl so happy!

Memorial Weekend

After having a very busy week in Dallas, taking Sydney and Jaxon to school everyday,

and then stopping off at a convenience store for me a Diet Coke and Mason a Slurpee before spending about an hour in the park, keeping busy the rest of the day with kid activities, the house, laundry, etc.,

we finally got to go to the hospital to bring Anne home.  Before picking her up, however, we watched Sydney's softball game.  Cameron is her coach.  It was really fun. 

Picking Anne up was so exciting for all of us--especially for Mason.  He wasn't about to let her out of his sight any more.  He was letting me help him with everything before that, but after we picked his mommy up, no way--only she or his daddy could help him. 

I then took Sydney and Jaxon to see "Shrek 3-D" so Anne could rest while Mason slept.  We loved the movie!

Then Cameron and Anne drove me to Sam Moons which has a huge assortment of jewelry and handbags.  We only had a few minutes because it was closing time and they were literally vacuuming over our feet, but it was so fun to see and compare the jewelry that Alison brings from China.  It all comes from the same place, I'm sure. 

From there, they took me to see where Craig and Cassie would be living.  It looks like such a comfortable home, but I wasn't able to go in because the other renters are still there.  They will be moving to this home in Dallas about the middle of June.

They then took me to dinner at a really fun Mexican restaurant.  The kids had a great time outside until our table was ready.

Finally, I took Jaxon and Sydney to the pool at 9:00 p.m. because I had made a promise all day long that we would go swimming.  It was a beautiful warm evening and they had a great time.  Afterwards, I got to tell the last bedtime story, and it was lights out.  (They always wanted a Bible story, so it made me really brush up on the details before each night's bedtime story!) 

Cameron took me to the airport the next morning (Sunday) at 8:30 a.m.  I will miss everyone in Dallas.  I had such a great time, and it was so great being around Cameron and Anne's family again.  Craig, Cassie, and Baby Riley picked me up at the airport.  They are staying with us until they move.  I'm so glad we get to see a little more of them before they go.


Monday, Memorial Day, we got up bright and early for a Memorial Day 5K which Craig and Amy participated in.  I was so proud of their results!  It was already 82 degrees at 8:00 a.m., so it was a hot run, but they both finished very well!  Neither of them do this regularly, so for novices, they did so well and had a great time.

The starting of the race--over a thousand runners participated!

Fantastic, Craig! - His actual time was 25:08.5

Not bad for a mother of three who hasn't really run in races since before she was married! 

Actual time:  35:08.8

I have entitled this:  "Just shoot me!"  That's how I would feel after running that far!

Wimberly Bracket, who works with George at the District, also ran.  I feel so badly that I missed her coming in time.  I believe it was 28 minutes something.  Way to go, Wimberly!

This is Isaac's pre-school teacher who also ran.

Amy got her first ribbon for her final exam in her runner's club. 

The rest of the day, we went to Gainesville to get a few things done at the home there that Craig and Cassie moved out of, came back to Green Cove, went shopping, and the weekend was over!  Tuesday morning came way too early, but everyone was back on track for work.  Why can't every weekend be a three-day weekend???