Betsy and Her Great-Granddaughter

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I got this photo with my iPhone back in May when My Beautiful Bride met her great-granddaughter for the very first time.  I’m not sure, looking at the picture, who was happiest about this meeting.

Betsy's Mother's Day Flowers

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Betsy really hit the jackpot on Mother's Day.  She got flowers from her son Jeff and his wife Dawn, and from my son Bob and his significant other Melissa.  I took this photo of my Beautiful Bride with her beautiful flowers last week.

Rutledge Falls

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Although Dad is legally blind, he still enjoys going for rides whenever possible.  So we take him for an outing when we go down to Tullahoma to see him.  One of the places we've visited in Tullahoma is Rutledge Falls.  This pretty waterfall is on private property, but the owners have made it accessible to the public.

Betsy and Her Texas Granddaughters

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The day after Thanksgiving was a special day for Betsy.  She was able to see her Texas granddaughters when we met them at Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee.  The light for pictures wasn't very good at the overlook where I snapped this picture, but the smiles couldn't be brighter.

Touchdown!

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Betsy attended a high school football game one evening earlier this month to see Landon, Betsy's grandson, play in his high school band. When the home team scored a touchdown, these fireworks lit up the sky.

On the Road Again

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This picture was taken back in March, 2009, when Betsy and I spent a few days in a delightful cabin at Serenity Falls in the Smokies.

I'm posting this today because we are once again taking a blog break. We'll be doing more traveling this time rather than staying in one place, but I expect we'll both come back with plenty of pictures to share.

We'll be away for the rest of June, and I'll see you in July.

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I would like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words and prayers on the passing of my mother. The funeral was hard for my Dad (he'll be 99 in August) but he was doing pretty well on Thursday. The entire family felt surrounded and uplifted by your thoughts and prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

In Honor and Memory

My mother died this morning at my sister's home. She had been in declining health, but apparently had a massive heart attack and died quickly. Betsy and I had seen her (and Dad) on Thursday and I talked with her on the phone Saturday. She sounded very chipper and in good spirits. She had just had some ice cream before I called, which was her favorite snack.

The feature of Mom that most people commented on was her smile. When my parents moved to Tennessee, the children in their new neighborhood called her the "Smile Lady".

Now she's smiling in heaven -- it must be a brighter place today.

Rock-Hopping a Creek

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This picture of my grandson Sean was taken in mid-July. We were on a hike in the Pisgah Forest near Brevard, North Carolina, and came upon this creek that needed to be crossed. I took this picture from a very nice footbridge, but Sean decided it would be more fun to rock-hop across.