My Pepaw

My sweet Pepaw went home to be with the Lord on June 22, 2012.  He was a young 73 years old.  In January of 2007, he had a massive stroke and has been pretty much bed ridden for the past 5 and a half years.  Prior to the stroke he was full of life, walking several miles a day, and just as goofy as can be.  We are so thankful that he is at peace now and no longer suffering, but it has been hard for everyone, as he was such a light in all of our lives. 

Two days before he passed, my sister and I were able to say our final goodbye to our sweet Pepaw. It will be a memory I will carry for the rest of my life. He said our names, said "I love you," and squeezed our hands with his strong right arm. There was laughter and there was tears. He was very anxious the majority of our stay, and Ali started to sing to him. She sang, "It is Well With My Soul" and he instantly calmed and closed his eyes. She captured this picture of him holding her hand and I will treasure it forever.

On Monday we traveled to Austin for his funeral and it couldn't have gone better.  Here is his first great-grandson wearing with pride a "Neptune" shirt, while listening to stories about his great-grandfather. 

The service was beautiful, he was truly honored, and I got a chance to see a mere hint of all the lives he touched.  My mother, Aunt, and all six grandchildren gave part of the eulogy, and I would like to share my part. 

My Pepaw was an amazing man. Not only did he touch numerous lives, but he was also a man of God, who loved Jesus with all his heart. His accomplishments were numerous, but what I remember most, is what a truly amazing grandfather he was. I always felt so special being introduced as Ebbie Neptune's granddaughter. It was amazing to see how he touched people, and with all the love he gave everyone else, the school, and athletics, he gave 10x that much to us. He was at every event, and always let us know we were his world.

It is hard to imagine this world without him, and I will work hard to teach my children about their one of a kind great grandfather. He would have just loved them to death! Just yesterday, out of the blue, without any prompting, my 2 year old started singing "ooo eeee ooo ah ah", a Pepaw classic.  I'm sure this was his way of reminding us that he will always be with us.

I know his legacy will live on, and I feel peace that he is free now in the arms of our Lord.

I also want to say something about my sweet Memaw. She stood by him day in an day out for the past 5 years and was a beautiful example of a loving and devoted wife. Thank you Memaw, for taking such good care of my Pepaw.

Pepaw, you will be missed more than you know.  I love you so much, and thank you for being my grandpa.  I am so happy for you right now, and know I will get to see you again.  Dang, you were one handsome fella!

What A Mess!

This boy is a mess!  Sure he is a boy and makes messes, please see above image, but he also has a mess of a personality.  He is hilarious and says the craziest things.  It keeps me entertained, but boy oh boy I better watch out!  I just want to document what my TWO year old said to me about 15 minutes ago.  As I am trying to get him to change out of his underwear and put on his pull-up for nap, he gets very frustrated.  He wants to keep his underwear on, looks at me and says..."Uhhh mom, stop it, you are annoying me!"  I didn't think I would hear that phrase for at least a few more years...and when did he start calling me mom instead of mommy.  What a mess! =) 

Build-A-Bear

When Memaw was in town, we ventured out to Stonebriar Mall for a morning of mall playground fun, The Disney Store, a carousel ride, and of course Chick-fil-a.  Well...things didn't quite go as planned. When we got there, the playground was CLOSED!  Why the heck would they close it during the summer?  We had a very sad boy on our hands!

Poor Luke

Leave it to Tula to save the day!  Build-A-Bear is conveniently positioned right across from the playground.

Luke was so excited to pick out his dog, and was amazed by the stuffing machine.

Fill 'em up!

He got to pick out his dog's very own heart.

He was suppose to make a wish, but instead said a prayer.  Love him!

After he was all stuffed, he got a good bath.

There were tons of outfits to pick from, and surprise surprise, our boy picked a pirate.  He was so excited to dress him!  Luke named him Jake, after Jake and The Neverland Pirates.

Eeeeee!  He looks so good!

Thank you Tula!  We love him!

Jake was even able to ride the carousel.



Knochel Family Lake Visit

This weekend, our lifelong family friends, the Knochels, came out to the lake.  We met when Jocelyn and myself were in kindergarten, and it so happened that 3 out of the 4 kids in each family matched up in age and gender.  Needless to say, we became great friends, and I can remember going on camping trips and doing all sorts of fun things with them.  We don't get to see each other often, but keep up on the blogs. =)  It was so fun to see everyone in person, and get to see all the little kids running around, a total of 7!  There was a 4 year old, two 2 year olds, an 18 month old, 16 month old, 13 month old, and 9 month old in tow!  Sheesh, that is a lot of little kids!  Luke loved having buddies there, and it was so fun to observe and listen to their conversations. 

On our way to the lake, I turned around to see this sweet girl passed out, with her tiny foot poking out.  LOVE!

Shortly after we arrived, Audrey was sitting in Ben's chair, took a tumble and wasn't too happy.  After a long cry, she had this little pout on her face. =(

Of course, no lake trip is complete without some pirates.  Luke brought all his pirate gear, so he could recruit some mateys!

He took the first lookout.

Then it was Levi's turn.

Levi must have gotten tired, so Luke took back over, watching out for Captain Hook.

In true lady style, Nora insisted the boys eat a healthy meal.

I guess pirates these days are into eating leaves.

It is sad when the only proof adults were there, is some legs in the background. =)

Levi and Luke driving the pirate dingy.

Of course, Daddy eventually got recruited as well.

We also had a blast catching frogs.  I caught one, and then Seth caught like 10 more.  The kids loved it!

All that pirating is exhausting!

There was also no shortage of toys on this trip.

Ben could play for hours with anything containing wheels.

And Audrey was very into watching the boys and their trucks.

Not so into it, that she couldn't take a bottle break. =)

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the other sweet babies there, Asher and Joel, but let me tell you, they are cuties!  Thanks Knochels for making the trip out.  We loved catching up and seeing your beautiful children!

9 Months

Audrey turned 9 months old on Thursday, a whole 3/4 of a year! She is still just as sweet as ever, but has definitely developed some sass this month, and we love it.  There was a time, a few months ago, that I was starting to get a little concerned, because she literally made no noise at all.  Well, in the past month and a half, she has found her voice.  This girl will tell you when she isn't happy and babbles pretty much all day.  She had her 9 month check-up yesterday, and is right on track.  Here are her stats:

• Weight: 18 pounds 5.5 ounces (50%)
• Height: 28.5 inches (85%)
• Head: 17.5 inches (75%)

So basically, our little chunk has slimmed down and is becoming a long and lean machine! =)  Here are her new tricks this month:

• Cruises around the furniture and has even had a few seconds of standing one or two times
• Walks behind the walker, still pretty shaky
• Says mamama, bababa, and dadada.  At times seems to be directing mamama at me.
• understands No, and gets very upset when you tell her this, but has been pretty good at listening
• her two bottom teeth are fully in, and the doc said the top four are bulging.
• Still on 4 bottles a day and 3 solid meals
• Still on 2-3 naps per day
• Still in 9-12 month clothes and size 4 diapers 

I mean come on, does it get cuter!

Loves to swing

Recently recruited by Pirate Luke to join his crew

Found her for the first time standing in her crib

She was so proud

Letting us know she is not happy

Showing us more sass, and displaying her new teeth.

Her sass doesn't last long though, and she is usually back to her happy self.

Sweet girl, who still will put anything and everything in her mouth.