Thanksgiving in Philly

The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving we had dinner at Uncle Keith and Aunt Marsha's house. We had a full house; but loads of fun. This year our family had added two new additions; My cousin Brian and LeAnn had their first baby this past November, Miss Adela Lillis. And my cousin Brock and Allyson added another addition this past August, Mr. Knox Lillis. Brock and Allyson lives in Clarksville, TN, so this is the first for a lot of us to see Knox. It was also great seeing Knox's older sister and brother, Mia and Brax. From the pictures below you can see how much fun we all had.

I'm holding Knox; and Casey is holding Adela


Knox really took a liking to my sister, Tracy


Mia holding her cousin Adela for the first time


Brock, mom and Knox


My nephew, Jake, has a soft side when it comes to little babies...


I think Brax is proving that he's swallowing his food, ha..

In Rememberance

Today our community all got together and said goodbye to a dear friend. Brian Campbell was not only our choir director, church member, neighbor; but he was also our friend. The last couple of days, people shared their favorite "Brian" stories. When I first met Brian I thought of him as being soft spoken, just a kind of person who kept to himself. And in a way he did, he was not a boastful person, but once you start knowing Brian (and his wife JoAnn) they were such fun people who enjoyed life to the fullest. If I ever saw the perfect soul mates, it was Brian and JoAnn. They complemented each other very well! The always did things together, it was never just Brian or just JoAnn; it was always Brian and JoAnn. When they did things it just wasn't "ok", they believed in putting everything into what they did; they always gave their 110%!! And I just want to share my favorite "Brian and JoAnn" story:

It was 2006. I was over the children's Christmas program that year. And the program was split between a classroom, with a teacher telling the children about a story that took place in mexico years ago, and the story actually being acted out in "mexico". So the children was part of the classroom scene and they would sing their songs; then the youth acted out the "mexico" scenes (and I had to bribe the youth with a pizza party). Well, I only needed one adult male to play the mexican granpa. The only problem, my mexican grandpa also had to sing a song (solo) and the children joined in. So, when I asked Brian to be my grandpa and then I smiled and told him "oh, there is also a small song with a small part that you would have to sing, oh, and some of the singing you will be doing by yourself, he, he." At first Brian just kind of looked at me; he sings very well but he don't enjoy solos. So I told him "Brian if you do this I will owe you one." And he just smiled and said, "well, in that case, you have a deal. And I will be getting you back." But the way he said it was all in fun. So, here we go. We all start practicing and start learning the songs. Everything is going well. A few weeks before the production Brian asked me what he needed to wear. And I said just some overalls and maybe an old flannel shirt and a walking cane, just something a grandpa would wear. I was already tired and I really didn't care at that point what my characters really looked like just as long as they showed up that Sunday morning. Well, the morning of production when Brian and JoAnn came to the church Brian was a bonafide mexican grandpa. From the clothes, the hair, JoAnn even drew a little mustache on his face. He looked like a true mexican grandpa. The youth guys thought Brian's mustache was so cool, so JoAnn had to draw mustaches on them, too. And when we had the production, Brian came out there speaking with a mexican accent. He even sang his solo with a mexican accent. He was the bomb! Like I said, when Brian does something, he puts his all in it and JoAnn was right there with him; she had him fixed to a tee! I was just in awe! Even with it being a small children's program; it became this huge fun production. Oh, and remember, I told Brian if he did this favor for me, I will do a favor for him. Well, he made true to that, too. That next year when we had our adult cantata. I had to sing a solo, and Amy does not do solos well. I sing better when I'm blended with other voices. I'll always watch what I say to people now..ha.. But it was all fun. But I'll never forget the effort he put into his grandpa part that year; he gave it his all. And that was the type of person he was. He gave it his all.

Last fall when he got sick he still fought for all he had. Today at his funeral the preacher told us that when Brian was in the hospital he told the preacher, "this won't end in death". And actually it doesn't end in death, it stays in eternal life. Death may be the end to this worldly life, but it's not the end... The preacher also talked about the earth as being an inn, a place where people stays for a while and then leave. We stay here on earth for a little while and then we will leave for eternal life. But yet, there are so many people who are so focused on this "inn" on earth that we forget about where we go when we leave this earthly inn.

I just wanted to share a little bit about a person who meant so much to so many people. Even though many of you may not know Brian, maybe you can get a glimpse of who he was by reading this blog. Above is a picture I made of them this past Halloween. You may not can tell, but Brian was very weak in this photo. It took all he had to climb the porch stairs. But I wanted you to see his precious family. And see, even for Halloween, they give it their 110%!!

Adela Lillis

My cousin, Brian, and his wife, LeAnn, finally had their little bundle of joy. Miss Adela Lillis came into this world on November 4th weighing 8.06 lbs and 21 inches long. She has a head full of dark hair. Mom, baby and dad are doing great. Below are some pictures:

Don't you want to pinch those cheeks?

The Lillis Family

She's ok now that her Amy has her..

Proud dad!!

Precious door wreath

Tribute To Our Farmers

I know, I know, it's been a very long time since my last post. So many people has told me that I needed to update my post.... So here goes... Things have just been so hectic for a while. The farming year wasn't a good year, not just for my guys, but nationwide. Please keep these farmers in your prayers. Some people may not think of "farming" as a real job. Yes, once the crops are out, equipment washed, oiled and put up for the next year, the guys have about three months off; but what people don't realize is that farming is not an 8-5/5 days a week job. There are many, many nights that I take Jimmy's dinner to the field or he not come home until on in the night. And they always work on Saturdays. Their job just don't end at 5 p.m. If it's not for our farmers we would not have food to eat or clothes to wear. So many kids nowdays think food comes from the grocery store, they have no clue how food gets to the grocery store. I guess it magically appears. It's very sad. It takes great faith to be a farmer. Once that seed is planted in the ground, the rest is up to God. It's very scary at times but it can also be a great learning experience. My faith has tripled since I married Jimmy and live life as a farmer's wife. But I wouldn't trade it for anything! So the next time you go to the grocery store and buy your food, think of these farmers and say a little prayer for them.

Goodbye Summer!

I can't believe this summer is almost gone! My, where did the summer go? I thought it would be nice to go back and recapture the happenings of our summer:

May started off with my niece, Claire, 1st birthday! Notice big sister, Kate, is helping her with blowing the candles out. At first, Claire didn't know what to think about her cake, but it didn't take her long to figure it out. She had a good time!

May ended with my first "baby girl" Casey graduating high school. This was an emotional time for me. Casey and I have this special bond since she was born, so, it's hard for me to let go. I'm so proud of her! She is planning to attend Co-Lin this fall and play softball. As of right now, she wants to attend Ole Miss next year and apply for the Pharmacy program. I think she will be great at it! But come next week that could change.... Oh to be young again... The second picture is my sister, Tracy, and her entire family; husband (Robin), Casey (graduating girl) and my two nephews, Jake (14) and Buck (10).

Jake has changed so much over the summer, even from this picture. He now towers well over me. I now have to look up to look at him; and we're not even going to talk about the change of his voice... And he has become such a nice looking young man! I just hope he can keep the girls off of him when he goes back to school! Or, do I need to come down there myself and knock the girls off of you?

And Buck, well, he is in a class of his own.... He is this happy-go-lucky kid who tries to see the good in everything. This summer he went to army camp at Camp Shelby and LOVED IT! I think he's going to be our "soldier boy". Last night I got a friend request from Buck. Seems like he has his own facebook page.... What else will these boys do....

My mom and dad at Casey's graduation, and Buck and I goofing off before the graduation ceremony.....

June started with my niece, Kate, 3rd birthday. Jimmy wanted to get her tools, he so wants her to be a tomboy, but I won that argument and we got her makeup. Above are a few pics of us playing with her makeup. In the second pic I was putting her hair up and it looks like she was in pain, but she wasn't.... Now, Kate really has Uncle Jimmy wrapped around her pinky. She has such a spunky personality. This past Sunday she was sitting in Uncle Jimmy's lap during lunch. He was feeding cake to her, not like she can't feed herself... But she looked at him and said "Jimmy's so nice". They have a habit of playing a bit after lunch. Once Sunday not too long ago they were "sword fighting" and she started pointing, with her sword, the boys in the room. As she pointed to them she would say "you're a boy, you're a boy and you're a boy, boys are yucky" then she would point to the girls and say, "you're a girl, you're a girl and you're a girl, girls are sweet". Then she would start fighting Jimmy with her sword. Her mom finally said, well Kate, since you're a girl and girls are sweet, you're not being too sweet fighting with Uncle Jimmy. She then said "Well, I'm Kate the Great".

I just had to post these two pics of Kate & Jimmy. She's not spoiled at all!

June also included the cruise Tracy, Casey and I went on. I told Casey that I would either give her money for her senior trip, or, the three of us could do something. She really wanted the three of us to go someplace and just "chill". Our first night on the cruise a lady fell overboard, which wasn't good; but, after the shock wore off we had a wonderful time. Cozumel was beautiful but the highlight was when we went to the Myan Ruins of Tulum and swam in the ocean. That was so much fun! And no, y'all will not see any pictures of me in my bathing suit. That says in Mexico....

I really love the pic of us at Margarittaville's

It felt about 110 degrees that that hat of mine was hot, hot, hot....
Notice in the right pic: the rain storm behind us, was cool to see that.
Jake gets to go on the next cruise, but he has to finish school first, ha....

The month of June my cousin, Brock along with his wife Allyson and their children Mia (4) and Braxton (2), was in Philadelphia. They live in Clarkville, TN and they come down for a month during the summer. Mia and Braxton are getting so big! Mia turned 4 in June and Braxton turned 2 in July, so we had a birthday party for them while they were down.


It was great seeing them. Allyson and the family are getting ready for baby #3, which I think could be any day now. Funny story that happened on the day of their party. Notice Mia's swimming vest, well, Braxton has one like it except his is a frog, too cute! After a little while of swimming Braxton decides he's had enough and gets out of the pool to play. So we take his frog off and he's playing. Well, Mia (who has been scared of the water) starts jumping off the side of the pool. When she started doing that we started cheering her on. Braxton decides he wanted some cheering, too, so he walkes over to the pool and we hear a "plunk". You guessed it, he jumped in without his swimming vest. There was enough people around to get him, but it did give us a scare. He's just a little daredevil, but a precious one!

Mia getting dressed up with her jewels, and Braxton playing with his golf clubs..

In July, Jimmy and I drove up to Holly, Michigan to see his brother Mark, Sarah and their two boys Benjamin (3) and Nicholas (6 months). While driving up Jimmy gets sick so he is basically sick during the entire trip. But there were times he felt like putting on a smiling face for the boys. Benjamin and Nicholas are getting so big! This is the first time we got to see Nicholas. I just wanted to squeeze him to death. He is just so sweet and loveable. Benjamin, he has too much to do to be loveable but he is very sweet. On the Friday of our visit Benjamin got to stay home with Jimmy and I (we sent little Nicholas to daycare..). So Friday was all about Benjamin. We played, played and played. We had a great trip but I wish Jimmy had felt better...

It's so amazing to see Benjamin with Nicholas. Before Nicholas was born Benjamin was so excited to be getting a playing buddy. He was a little disappointed when Nicholas was born and couldn't get down in the floor and play cars with him. But now as Nicholas is getting more active Benjamin is having more fun with him. It's so cute to see Benjamin talk to Nicholas. Benjamin will hold Nicholas' hand and say "Hey little buddy, how's it going?" He's going to be a great big brother!



Benjamin getting some Uncle Jimmy time and Nicholas just happy to be here!

That was about the extent of our summer. We did go to Grenada Lake camping, twice, but I don't have any pictures of that....

Soon, Jimmy and the other farms will start harvesting the crops. That's what the fall season will consist of, being in the field. Let's pray that all the farmers have a good year! Hopefully I'll get some pictures of everyone out in the field and I'll post them...

The main excitement of the fall will be in September. My cousin Tyler will be getting married to his highschool love, Brianna. They are such a sweet couple and I just can't wait until their wedding!

Michigan Trip

Last week Jimmy and I took a trip to Holly, Michigan to see Mark, Sarah, Benjamin and Nicholas. This is our first trip up since Nicholas was born, so it was great to get to meet him! He is 6 months old and growing fast. He wants to walk so bad, but he had to learn to sit up by himself, crawl, pull up and then walk. I really look for him to skip the crawling part. When someone is holding him he wants to be stood up and his little legs just kick away! Benjamin is growing fast, too! He was a little shy around us at first, but that only lasted a minute. One time I stuck my tongue out at him he told me "a bird is going to poop on your tongue". That's what Mark and Sarah tells him when he sticks his tongue out. It works! Below are a few pictures of our trip. Enjoy!

Benjamin is a great big brother. He can't wait for Nicholas to be old enough to play with him. Benjamin calls Nicholas "Little Buddy". So cute!

On Friday Benjamin stayed home with Jimmy and I. Jimmy realized how much energy a 3 year old has. When Benjamin took his nap we were right there with him taking a nap!

Riding to the playground!

He thought the skid mark was pretty cool! Then he gets tired, so tough!

Dancing to Thomas the Train! A bird is going to poop on your tongue!

They get to have Christmas trees all year long!

Happy Birthday Kate!

My niece, Kate (we call her Katie Bug), turned three! I can't believe how time flies for it seems like yesterday I was holding her for the first time. Kate is the daughter of Jimmy's youngest brother, David. David and Elizabeth has three kids, Andrew (13); Kate (3); and Claire (1). Those of you who don't know my husband, Jimmy. He is the older of four boys. So, Kate is the first girl of the family. She really has Uncle Jimmy wrapped around his finger! She has me wrapped too, but, I know how to enforce rules around the house. But Jimmy, he is such a softie! I thought Jimmy and I were going to get into a fight because he wanted to buy Kate a set of play tools (he is thinking she's a little tomboy) and I wanted to buy her girlie stuff. So, instead of the tools, Jimmy saw this bubble maker that you hook up to the bathtub faucet, this thing makes these foamy bubbles, so he got that and I picked out a little girl's makeup kit. She liked them both, but between you and me, I think she liked the makeup more..ha.. Below are a few pics of our little Katie Bug!

These two pics were taken last year.

I think putting on makeup is in a girl's genes!

Trying to get the tangles of her hair! I promise, it only looks like it hurts...ha..

Casey's Graduation Cruise

Well, we made it back! We had a great time on our cruise! The only tragedy was the first night on the cruise a woman fell overboard and was never found. My heart just goes out to this person's family! Even though none of us knew this person, we all still said a prayer for her and her family.
When we got to Cozumel we went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and ate dinner. Casey was wanting to get Bryce (her boyfriend) a shirt from there. We also got a coupon for a free appetizer, so that was our purpose of eating there. The fried calamari was fine!! But the rest of the food was ok. When I go back I'm going to try this mexican resturant that the rep. on the ship recommended. We walked by it and the food smelled wonderful! After dinner we walked around downtown and then took a taxi back to the port and walked around the shops at the port. The only drawback to mexico is people is begging you to buy their stuff. It was hard for me because I'm a tender hearted person and I wanted to help everyone out. But eventually I got the hang ignoring them. You just have to do that or they will bug you to death!
When we got to Calica we took and excursion to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. Absolutely worth going to see! We saw so many iguanas there. The tour guide said it helped to keep the snakes away. But we did see a snake on one of the ruins. The ruins overlooked the ocean, beautiful! We were able to walk down to the ocean and swim for a few hours. That was the highlight of the trip. The water was awesome! We did drank our share of salt water from the waves that were too big for us to jump. But eventually we got the hang of jumping the waves and was pretty good at it.

The cruise ship, Holiday, was ok. It is Carnival's oldest and smallest ship. So it wasn't the most elaborate ship but the crew and the shows made up for it being an older ship. I think we had to best waitress, Saifon. She was so funny. Each night the crew had to do a song and dance for all of us and Saifon had no rhythm! It was fun to watch. The food was good, especially the fresh fruit!
FYI for those thinking of going on a cruise, the Holiday is being sold in November. The ship, Fantasy, that currently leaves out of New Orleans is moving to Mobile and New Orleans is getting another ship. Fantasy is a newer and bigger ship, so it will be nice once that happens.Below are a few pics from the trip. Enjoy!












Check out the iguana behind Tracy!

Graduation Day!

Well, it's official, Casey is now a graduate! Congratulations! It rained off and on all day Friday. The graduation ceremony is usually outside on the football field, but it was touch and go for a minute... Finally the school board (or who even makes the decision) decided to go for it, to keep it outside and pray that the rain holds off. I started drizzling around 6:40 and out came the umbrellas.. But by 6:55 it had stopped raining and the ceremony started. It was really nice, the temp was cool, but at least it wasn't sticky hot, and the rain wasn't great for the hairdo's, but it was still nice.... After graduation everyone went back to Tracy and Robin's house for food. It was really good. We had regular fried shrimp, shrimp wrapped in bacon and fried, boiled shrimp, shrimp alfredo, do I sound like Bubba from Forest Gump??ha.. Vegetable tray with dip, pork loins, baked beans, squash caserole, and I don't know what else, but it was all good! Three weeks left until Tracy, Casey and I head off to Mobile for our cruise. I'm so looking forward to it! Below are a few pics from Friday night.

More Stories...

Exactly 10 years ago I went through a divorce. That was a very painful time in my life. I live with my sister and family for about 3 months, until I could get back on my feet. Casey and Jake was my lifesaver. Of course, they fought who got to sleep with me, so they had to take turns. At that time I worked at MSU in Starkville and Casey went to Starkville Academy. It was many, many times that I would pick her up from school and take her back to my work until I left to go home (my work was very, very flexible). She had so much fun at my work from being teased by all the graduate students, especially the guys, to sitting at a desk and write me letter. Below are two letters I have saved. You may have to click on them to be able to read them.

The first letter is basically saying that she is sorry for what happened to me and that she was also sorry that I would be sleeping with Jake that night. The second letter was after Christmas, I was already in an apartment, I had let Casey and Jake spend a few nights with me over the holidays. But going back to the divorce, those nights when Casey slept with me, we would snuggle and talk, talk and talk. I never told her the details of when happened, but she had a very, very good clue. She would kind of hint around but I always would change to subject. I just didn't want her to know more than she already knew. Just having her around helped to much. Like I have said before, we always have fun when we're together. I was living with them when Tracy had Buck, so I kept Jake and Casey while Tracy and Robin was at the hospital. The day Buck was born I took Casey and Jake to the hospital to see him and then we went to Applebee's to eat. It was really fun. Those little moments is what makes life so much fun. Living in Starkville was so much fun and working at MSU was more fun! I remember one weekend in particular, Casey stayed with me. We walked all around the campus and then we went bowling. Below are a few pictures of that day.

The shades on her head are mine. To this day, she loved wearing my shades. She says my shades are better, but actually, they just cheap shades....

Today my girl is graduating, still get emotional just thinking about it. Below I just wanted to share a few more of my favorite pictures...

Congratulations honey! Love you so much!