In Honor of Grandma Bowen

On Saturday, we received a call that Aaron's grandma had passed away. It was quite a shock and still doesn't seem real at times. She was the perfect example of the scripture that says, "Give and it will come back to you -- good measure, pressed down, shaken together, & running over (so much that you can't hold it." (my interpretation)

She was such a giver. She gave to everything! I remember when Alan & Cortney were moving to Arizona and they called them up to the front of the church and prayed over them. Aaron's grandma wrote them a check to help them move (it wasn't a small one, either).

Every birthday, we would get a check in the mail for however old we were and they started at $1. This year, I would have gotten a check for $32. Every birthday and anniversary, there was a card of encouragement and a check inside. She was the most amazing person with birthdays and anniversaries!!

She gave money to children's church and backpacks and always wanted to know what we were doing next. She gave money towards my trip to Cambodia and wanted to know all of the details when I got back.

Because of these events, Aaron went to see his mom on Sunday for Mother's Day and they went to her house and kind of went through her things. He said it was very interesting how much and where she gave. I can only imagine.

So, today we honored Grandma Bowen. Evan had a tub of toys that he wanted to sell in a garage sale. I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but he was stuck on it! On Sunday, I asked him if he would like to take them to the CCRC and give them away. His face lit up and he got all excited!! This morning, he got up and started going through his toys again to find others that he doesn't play with anymore and some that he said he just didn't need.

I was/am so proud of him. I am proud of the fact that he is such a big giver. I know that Grandma Bowen would have been proud of him giving and I know that we may not get anything physical from her death, but I am excited about the memories of how much of a giver that she truly was. I pray that I can follow in those footsteps.

Unloading from the car

In front of the CCRC

The toys dumped on the sorting cart

New Camera

Last month, I dropped my camera at a baseball game in the parking lot & had to kiss it goodbye. It was hard to part with that little thing!! It took amazing pictures and it was super easy to operate! But, I got a new one a few weeks ago and thought I would share a few pics from it. It's taking some getting used to, but I think I like it besides the video part. When I move it to my computer, it skips. But, maybe I'll figure that out soon.

Evan wanted to have a picnic today -- of course, on the hottest day of the year! So, I put Jaxon down for a nap and we had a picnic in the backyard for lunch. I learned that Evan doesn't want to ever get married, but he wants to have 100 kids. I asked him how he was going to have a house that all of those kids could sleep in and he said he would just have his workers build it for him.

Evan with all of his food. He wanted to pack enough food to feed all his 100 kids!! ;)

The ants decided to join us after a short amount of time.

Enjoying the fruits of his labor (of putting it all together)

Seeing how many Pringles that he can shove in his mouth.

Trying to get a picture of the two of us . . . this is the best one, but I wish he hadn't been silly! Oh well. . . that's Evan for you!

Here's a few of Jaxon that I took this afternoon. He was watching Payton mow the backyard in 100+ degree weather.

CHEESE!!!
And a funny one to end on. . .