In Memory of Ruth Dillard

Ruth Dillard aka "Honey", whom I love dearly, passed away this morning and is sitting in the arms of our Lord & Savior. God put her on earth for a total of 97 years and she blessed the lives of many. There is no way I can sum up Ruth in a few words, but I felt the need to give her a tribute and express my love for her in some way.

Ruth was first and foremost a godly woman. She loved God with all her heart and showed that daily to those around her. Ruth was always the life of the party, that woman knew how to have fun! And, everyone knew she kept the side door through the garage unlocked for us and we never had to knock. She was always upbeat and ALWAYS remembered the blessings God had bestowed on her. Every Sunday morning, everyone knew exactly where to find her...she sat on the same pew in the same spot week after week.

Ruth always had words of wisdom and thoughts that she lived by and always shared them with those around her. I had the honor of spending a few hours with her on Monday. I thank God that I had the opportunity to tell her what she has meant to me in my life and to say good bye to her. And during that time, she lay there waiting to go to God, but yet, she was worried about me...about my future...about my hopes and dreams...reminding whose I was and who to serve in this life. On Monday, Ruth said this, "God brought me to Austin, God brought me to Brentwood Oaks (our church), God brought you to me and now it is time to go home and be with our Lord. I'm ready...I'm ready and at peace. It's been 27 years since I've seen my husband and my grandbaby...I can't wait to be with them." She said many things to me in my time with her, but those words keep going through my head.

God does get us where we need to be and Brentwood Oaks was blessed by Ruth in countless ways and there will always be a hole there without her, but I know she will be with us all in spirit and her legacy lives on. I love you Ruth and someday I will see you again.

Austin Update

Sorry for my delayed update on Austin. He did really well and will have casts for another 6 weeks and then likely to just go to wearing braces at night! PRAISE GOD! The first pic is of Sheridan & Austin before surgery and then the little man wiped out afterward. I stole these from her blog b/c everyone likes to see pictures instead of just words, right?!

Prayers for Austin

I'd like to ask for prayers for sweet little Austin. He is only about 4 months old or so. He is the 3rd son of one of my very, dearest friends in the world. He will be having surgery tomorrow on his feet. He was born with 2 club feet and has been in casts since birth. He will have surgery tomorrow and then will be in casts for another 6 weeks or so, and God willing, all will be well! I've put in a close shot of Austin and then one with his older brothers Hudson & Garrett. I love these little guys!

The Dog w/ No Name...

Okay, so they are still working on a name...but here are just a few pictures I took when I met him last week. It was definately hard to get good shots because he was so excited to meet his Auntie Em for the first time.

Dexter's New Cousin

Dexter has a new cousin on his way home to meet his new family today! I've put in some pictures the breeder sent to my sister & her family. I'll have some fun candid shots soon with Dexter and "Soon to be Named" sweet chocolate lab. I didn't know there were different kinds of labs...but apparently this one is a traditional, English Lab and both his parents were show dogs. Is he not just the cutest thing? (Of course, not as cute as my Dexter!)

Tulsa Time!

A couple of weeks back, I went to my home town of Tulsa to visit one of my dearest friends & her family. I got to spend some great time with Sheridan and see how much her oldest 2 boys, Garrett & Hudson had grown and I was able to meet sweet Austin. I had intended to take a million pictures, which I did NOT and I'm so mad about it. I did capture a couple of moments, the Spider man one is the absolute best...that is Hudson by the way. I managed to get none of Austin...Sheridan...you need to send me the one you took of me with the boys.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time and love them so very much!

Bambi Has Arrived!

I'm sorry I haven't blogged much lately, I'm very behind and will try to catch up in the next couple of days. So...this is one of my family's favorite times...when the fawn start appearing at my parent's home. This one has been hanging out in the soccer net occassionally. We have a couple of them that their mom's drop them off at some point during the day to hang out & "hide" while they go off. The other one, I don't have a picture of, but it hangs out in front of some tall grass near our tee box. So needless to say, when Wes was over last weekend and he couldn't golf or play soccer....he was NOT very happy! But after some coaxing to NOT hit a golf ball...he really enjoyed watching and waiting for our 2 Bambi's moms to come back to feed them. The picture above isn't great...but you get the idea. I'll be working to get some better pics very soon.