Charleston AEP Field Trip

I got to help chaperon Callie Grace's field trip to Charleston yesterday.  It was a walking tour of downtown Charleston.  We had a great time and the weather was absolutely beautiful.  We are very lucky to have Charleston in our back door.  We visited Provost Dungeon.  Here is a pic from from our day.

Veteran's Day Program at school today

Family

Hawkinsville, Georgia... Being in Hawkinsville helps me remember that I did have a life there and it mattered.  Today marks 30 years since my daddy passed away.  Callie Grace and I got to visit with many people this weekend.  We visited with Aunt Dora and Uncle Boree.  We stayed with Christy Castleberry, her husband and their girls.

I am tired today and want to write but mentally just can't.  I hope to be back this week to put thoughts and feelings down.

I love you, daddy.  Thank you for loving me and trying so hard to beat that cancer.  I hope I make you proud.

Guy Avery Plowden, III

Tomorrow, Callie Grace and I will travel to my hometown of Georgia and say a final good-bye to a brother that I loved and respected but didn't really know that well.  He was my daddy's namesake.  We did not share the same mother.  A bitter divorce and a 19 year age difference accounted for the lack of closeness as well as him living in FL and I living in SC.  Yet, I always knew that he loved me.  Avery was very bright, loved his family and friends and had a strong sense of loyalty to the Plowden family name.

Avery, it is my prayer that you are in heaven with Jesus, daddy, Grandfather Guy and Grandmother Callie Mae.  I pray that y'all are telling stories and laughing and bonding.  Please keep an eye out for my little Crosson Avery but if my assumptions are correct, he is never too far from our daddy.  If there is a pond in heaven, I know that A LOT of cane pole fishing is going on!

Callie Grace and I will join with your mother, step father and other siblings to tell you farewell tomorrow.  We will be in Hawkinsville again; only fitting really.  Those Hawkinsville roots are so deep in us, aren't they?  We may have made our lives in other states but much of our hearts are still tied to that little town in Middle Georgia, where the red clay is in abundance and the nights are long as well as the stories.  There are many memories and so much love in that little town.

Thank you, Jesus for my strong roots.  Thank you, Jesus for Avery.

Halloween 2015

My babies had a great Halloween!  We went to a Halloween party complete with jumpy castle on Friday night and then to my sister's house for a cookout and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood on Saturday night.  Way too much candy was received and consumed but I guess that is part of the fun of Halloween!

Callie Grace and Caleb's grandmother made their costumes again this year and they were precious!

Quick trip to the beach

We headed to the beach for a quick 3 night trip.  The kids had a ball.  They swam in the ocean (it was cold), played in the sand, fished, swam in the indoor pool and played putt putt.  We were able to spend some much needed time as a family of four.  It felt so good to get away and recharge a bit.  I am always in awe of God when I look out into the ocean.  I also think about how much my mama LOVED sitting on the beach looking out into that same ocean.  I miss that mama of mine.  I miss her gentle ways.  I miss her love.  I miss the feeling of being safe when you are with your mama.  Now I am a mama and I pray my children will look back on their time with me and feel loved beyond measure.

Caleb caught TWO of these fish!  We were so excited for him and he was so excited for himself!

 

And a "just because" picture.  I love my beauty girl so very much.

Caleb's book report and visual aid

Caleb's awesome 2nd grade teacher made learning come alive for him.  He was challenged with completing a book report on his favorite book and choosing a character out of the book to decorate as a pumpkin.  Caleb enthusiastically chose The Nurse from the Black Lagoon.  We went and got the supplies that he needed from Hob Lob and purchased a medium sized pumpkin for him to decorate.   Caleb worked extra hard on his penmanship when writing his report.  He LOVED decorating his pumpkin and was beaming when I dropped him off this morning as he was carrying his pumpkin in to school.  There is no doubt that Caleb will remember his very first book report.  I think he will also look back at his second grade teacher, Mrs. Allen and know that she loved and taught him so much in his 8th year of life.  She has taught him things that cannot be measured on a standardized test.  His tank gets filled daily by her and for that, we are eternally grateful.  We love Mrs. Allen!