Family, Friends, and Fun!

We have been having some good times lately! This past week, my precious, sweet husband did a most thoughtful thing ~ he surprised me with tickets to the 50th Anniversary of the World Premiere of "The Three Faces of Eve," which originally premiered here in Augusta in 1957. It was amazing!! We toured the old Miller Theater, had a nice dinner downtown, attended a discussion before the movie, and watched the movie. We had a wonderful, fun date night! I have the most wonderful hubby in the world, and definitely the most thoughtful one! He even surprised me further by buying a new dress for our date!

Alli didn't really like the idea of us being alone in a picture, so she joined in the fun. Gigi came down and kept her for the evening; they had a blast at Chuck E. Cheese and ended the evening with an ice cream treat!

We have stayed busy and had fun with our friends lately, as well. Our Supper Club continues to be such fun, and we have a great group of 7 couples. We also have a good time with other friends, as well. Not long ago, we had the Carrs (Kelly and Ben, although Ben was on call and could not join us), the Greers (Emily and Stephen), and the Greggs (Elizabeth and Neal) over for dinner. The kids were here, too, so it was a great time!

Alli and Maddox Greer have been spending a lot of time together, as usual. Everyone asks us parents if we are scheming to "set them up" one day ~ but we don't know about that ~ it may be a little bit weird, considering they are more like brother and sister. They love to sing and dance together, snuggle together, play, and eat supper ~ a favorite meal for both is cheese quesadillas and edamame!

Alli has had a blast doing other things, as well. She loves to pretend she is "skiing" around the house, and she recently had her first experience with puppies at some friends' house. Their dogs had quite a litter, and Alli had way too much fun playing with all of them! A favorite treat is going across the street to Miss Linda's house with Daddy and going for a swim. As you can see, Alli has no fear! Nothing makes her hesitate ~ even jumping off the diving board!

Thanks to all of our friends and neighbors ~ we love you all and are having such fun! Mostly, thank you, Brad, for being so amazing!! You are always coming up with ways to surprise me and "treat" me to something fun. You have no idea how much I appreciate all of your planning when you plan our special date nights. :) I love you more than I can say!!! And I am looking forward to our date this week (that you planned) to see "Grease" downtown with the McCurdys!

Trip to Birmingham

A few weeks ago, Alli and I picked up Dede in Atlanta and drove to Birmingham to see Keith. Her Daddy had to work and could not go with us, but our being away gave him some good study time without chaos all around him. We had such fun!! Alli adores Keith, and she loved spending time with him. We got to see his new condo, and Alli even got to play in the rain.

Keith has a pair of our Dad's boots, and Alli loved walking around in Onnie's boots ~ even if they are just a little bit too big!

While we were in town, we got to meet Keith's friend, Anne. Alli liked Anne a lot and always wanted to be with Keith or with her. We were excited to get to see some family; Lynn, Janis, and Brooke stopped by for a brief visit Saturday afternoon. We hate we missed seeing the rest of you, but everyone is super busy these days....

We were only in Birmingham for one night, but we sure did have a lot of fun in such a short period of time! We left late Sunday afternoon, and Alli did not want to leave. Needless to say, we practically had to drag her out of his house ~ she would have been perfectly content to stay!

Of course, she was ready to see her Daddy when she got back home ~ and he was ready to see her, too! Thank you, Keith, for letting us come and take over your home! We had a wonderful time and hope we can do it again sometime. (And by the way, your place is awesome!)

Alli's "Onnie," My Daddy

I began today with a very heavy heart. My Daddy passed away 11 years ago today at the entirely-too-young age of 48. Eleven years.... How quickly the time goes by, yet how vividly we all remember that awful day, as if it were yesterday... and how piercing the pain and sadness continue to be....

Everything still seems to be divided into "before" and "after" Daddy died. It is amazing to me how much has changed during the "after" in the past 11 years. Wonderful, blessed things have happened, and sad things have happened ~ all of which make me miss him even more as the years go by. Even now, I often wish I could discuss something with him during one of our "talks" that we had so often. Three years after Brad and I married, I still miss that he didn't get to walk me down the aisle at our wedding, and that he never met Brad, and vice-versa. I hurt knowing that my babies will never know him and the amazing man and example that he was....

But God is good. He is a strong tower and a refuge, and He heals hurting hearts. If we turn to Him, he will help us to find the good in the bad.... I may not have my Daddy here, but I have an incredible Mother, who has been both Mother and Father to Keith and me for 11 years now. I may not have had a Daddy to walk me down the aisle, but I have a precious brother who did that honor for me. My babies will never know my Dad ~ who Alli knows as "Onnie" ~ but I had an amazing example in him, and I pray they will know him through me, trying to live his example, and through my/his family. I believe he would be proud of us all, and I know that he watches over us and is with us every day. He would be so proud of my Mom, who still had to raise us without him and continues to guide and advise us both. Now a parent myself, I know the importance of having a mate you trust implicitly; my Dad could not have found a better mate in my Mom, whom he could trust to take care of us, with or without him, and who has done such a wonderful job. He would be so very proud of Keith ~ what an incredible man he has become! I am reminded of my Dad more and more every time I am around him ~ and how precious that is to me!

If you ask Alli today to tell you about her Onnie, she will tell you that he lives in Heaven with God and His son, Jesus. She will tell you that he watches over her and is her special angel. I pray that I do Daddy justice by teaching Alli (and our other children one day) more about her Onnie has the years go by and she gets older and can understand. But I think we are off to a good start. When I pulled up the picture below, Alli's little face filled with a smile as she screamed excitedly, "That's Onnie! That's my Onnie!" How precious, and how bittersweet.... Her Onnie would love her so much ~ does love her so much, I know....

Regarding Baby "Boots"

Happy Labor Day!!
I have been getting several questions on email regarding the baby's name and why the blog says "Boots" Buckler. When we first told Alli that we were going to have a baby (we told her early, because she kept asking if I had a boo-boo in my tummy ~ also known as my quickly-growing baby bump!), she named the baby "Boots". Dora the Explorer is one of her very favorite characters, and Boots the monkey is Dora's friend ~ hence the name Boots. The baby's actual name will be Elizabeth (my first name ~ and yes, we are calling her "Elizabeth"), but Alli continues to refer to her as Boots. :) Most of you know that I am a shoe-aholic ~ but no, we are not nicknaming the baby after a type of shoe in honor of my shoe shopping hobby! :)
Hope you are all having a terrific Labor Day!!!