Missing My Friend; Ben Birdsong

For those of you who may not have already heard, my dear, DEAR friend and tennis partner, Ben Birdsong, passed away suddenly while playing tennis Tuesday night. As God planned it, I just happened to not be playing with Ben on Tuesday, as I was watching Ian at the Lasers match. Any other Tuesday I'm usually right there by Ben's side, playing with him, as his partner, or playing against him, as his opponent. Those of you that know me, know just how much I love the game of tennis.
Well, I finally found someone who loved the game as much as I do.
Ben was passionate about tennis.
He lived for his evenings and Saturday mornings spent at Turtlebrook, knocking the ball around and enjoying the beauty of all that is Turtlebrook; the gorgeous natural surroundings, the family and the fellowship that makes Turtlebrook what it is...tennis lovers' Heaven on Earth.

Nearly every time I would arrive at Turtlebrook and Ben would see me, he called out," Look guys!! SUSAN'S HERE!!!" That always put a smile on my face and warmed my heart. Ben had so much joy for the game and for the game of life. He was a great steward of the game and a beautiful example of a true servant of God; a man of great faith. He has left an awesome legacy for others to follow.

Ben and I, on more than one occasion half-joked that when it was our time to leave this earth, we would like for it to be on the courts at Turtlebrook, playing great tennis.

Well...Ben got his wish. 

And in one sense, I am so very happy he did. 

But oh how I just had hoped that that wish had been fulfilled for many more years to come!

Tonight...will be hard.
Tonight... I was to have been playing with Ben at our usual Thursday time slot.
Tonight... there will be a void the size of the Grand Canyon in my heart and on that court. Ben won't be there. Well...at least...not in the physical sense. I know he will be there with all of us in spirit.
Tonight...whether I win or whether I lose...

I will remember.
I will...pay tribute to:  a great father
                                   a great husband
                                   a great grandaddy
                                   a great servant of the Lord
                                   a great tennis partner
                                   a wonderful example of a kind-hearted human being
                                   and an awesome friend.



God bless you my friend,
Rest in Peace.
Always,
Suz

Click here for more pictures of my friend Ben: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=-3&id=789607818

The Sweet Smell...

...of homemade caramel pecan cinnamon rolls.

Boo and I whipped up a double batch last week. We baked some immediately and then reserved some for this week. I popped some in the oven the other morning and someone smelled them from the basement and came a runnin' up the stairs? That someone was Ian.

"I smell something GOO-OOOD!!!! Did you make CINNAMON ROLLS?"
As I replied, "Why, yes!" This is the picture I got:

Cause, in this family, the way to my boys' hearts is through my baking.
That face is the best thank you a Momma could ever get. Pure l-o-v-e. As I always say to the boys, sometimes it's not the words that we use, but often the body language that we project, that really evokes the true emotion of the moment. Have a beautiful day!

Take A Lookie Who's Number One...

My dear friend, Lexi is at the top of the list at the huge scrapbooking and crafting website www.twopeasinabucket.com !! She's even ahead of the uber talented and world reknown, Ali Edwards!! Lexi is such a talent and I'm so happy she's getting the recognition she is so very deserving of!! You'll be seeing and reading about her a lot more on my blog and elsewhere in the scrapbooking world in the near future. She is currently guest designer over at the fabulous October Afternoon. Give a shout out of congrats to Lexi by posting a comment here, or on her blog, (linked as a favorite of ming on the blog roll to the right) and at October Afternoon's blog, or of course, over at two peas. (And vote for her while you are there!)

HEALTHCARE A GLIMPSE

of what we, the taxpayers, are paying for!!!!

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!

 Nate's birthday pool party. Nate is Ethan's (and Ian's friend). Nate's mom is my DF, Jules, and Nate's dad is Gil (my mixed doubles partner at times).

So, what do you get when you put 8 or so 8-12 year old boys together in a pool?

 Lots of water gun fights. Duels. 

Outright tyranny. Or is it mutiny?  Constant battles to conquer and capture reign over the water mattress. (Not sure who won that battle!) LOL

Moms capturing the moments.

A dude chillaxin.

A dude with a 'tude. Pre-teen agnst perhaps?

Delight in the moment.

 The only reason they held hands was because we told them the next direction was to leap into the pool as high as they could!Birthday party crasher. Of the 4-legged variety.Birthday boy smiles.Tangles of tanned (and not so tanned) legs and feet.Old friends. New friends. Pizza. Birthday cake and ice cream. Laughter. Fellowship. Fun. Summer at it's best.

BTW: Three out of four surveys say little boys that are anxiously waiting for the rules of a game to be spoken and the said game to commence, are oftentimes at a loss at what to do with their hands. (Or...then again...maybe not!)

Here's to summer and to the celebration of life.

FREEDOM

So very grateful to have it. Thinking of all of those individuals that have sacrificed so much for all of us to have freedom and to those who are continuing to fight for others to have the same. Thank you so very much!

Taking a blogging break to spend some time with family and friends. Happy 4th everyone.

May God Bless America and let FREEDOM REIGN!!

Vintage Dress

A layout I completed last Wicked Sista Weekend. The dress was my maternal grandmother's. She wore it. My mom wore it. I wore it. The bummer? I have no pics of my Grams wearing it to add to this layout.

Gotta love the peroxide towhead-lol!

Happy Birthday Uncle G!

You wear 70 something so very well! Enjoy your day! Love, Suz