Thoughts on Paw Paw

As I wrote before, I have been trying to gather my thoughts on Paw Paw. It has been tough to put them down as he meant so much to me. Over five years ago I married into the Petrey family and was introduced to MaMaw's husband, Ernie. He seemed a very nice man but I soon learned there was so much more to Ernie Jones than meets the eye.

Ernie was a somewhat quiet, unassuming man who went with the flow. Upon further knowledge of him, one easily saw that he seemed quiet but was quite passionate. A tireless volunteer and worker, he looked every bit of 10 years younger than his physical age. Paw Paw was very dedicated and loyal and you couldn't help but have a smile on your face when he was around. He loved his children and grandchildren and it was such a pleasure to watch him get on the floor and play with his great-grands or read countless books to them without tiring.

You see, both of my grandfathers passed away when I was 15 years old and within 3 months of each other. My Granddaddy (dad's father) was much older and had been having TIA's (mini strokes) for quite some time. Unfortunately, I did not know him as he truly was this side of Heaven. My Paw Paw (mother's father) was a hoot! Quite the mischievous fellow and a kid himself. Oh, the stories of my Paw Paw! I realized after Drew and I married just how much I missed my grandfathers and Ernie really helped fill that void (Grandad Petrey was far gone with Parkinson's when we married).

We asked all the soon-to-be grandparents and great-grandparents what they wanted to be called when we were pregnant with Evie. Ernie told us, "I want to be called Paw Paw because that is what my children called my father." When I heard that, my heart lept with joy because my Paw Paw had meant so much to me. Our children feel the same way about theirs.

Ernie's life was one of great example. He didn't preach to you, although he could, but rather modeled a sacrificial and giving life. I miss him dearly but do rejoice in the fact that we did not lose him but will just miss him for a time. We are all blessed to have known such a man.

The Wardster at 10 Months

Yep, he's 10 months old...and completely on the move! I've already kind of done an "update" (see below) but just want to reiterate what a joy he is to have around. There is more of a lovely balance in our home now. :)

Eves took some pics of Wardy tonight so here is her pictorial. He's crawling everywhere and with that comes more concentrated training. Our little man is really doing well listening.
Ready, set, go!

OK, which way? By the way, he loves the grill in the background. I guess there are just some things ingrained at birth.

Trying to pull up on the computer chair. I'm telling you, he's active!

Just for your viewing pleasure!

Odds and Ends

There have been many good things going on here but not enough time to write about them. First off, Wardster: we have two new teeth poking through in the bottom. We were certainly glad to see those as it explained him being up twice a night every night while at the beach. He is back to his old self now which is really nice to see! Also, last Tuesday the girls and I were doing some work in our workbooks when we heard Ward fussing a little in his crib (I had laid him down for a nap). I went in there to make sure his leg wasn't caught between the slats and found him like this...

Can I tell you how excited he was for himself? His sisters were excited for him, too. He's pulling up all over the place now and crawling which is really fun (don't worry the crib rail is all the way up now). You know, so many people dread the day when their children become mobile but I look forward to it. It just seems easier for me at that point! :)
When we got home last Monday we had one of these zucchini on steroids laying on our counter (thanks, Dus and Daph) and then harvested another one the same size later in the week. We shredded these and froze them to make zucchini bread in the fall and winter (and spring) as they probably aren't as sweet as "normal sized" ones. We're having a great time with our garden!
Also of note last week, all the females in our house got haircuts on Friday. I decided to cut the girls hair wet this time to help make it easier and it was. However, I didn't realize how much hair "shrinks" when it dries. They both turned out shorter than I first imagined...

Evie said, "I want my hair to be as short as yours, mommy." Love those words!

I told Mary Fran afterwards, "Mary Fran, I think Mommy got your hair a little too short." She said, "Oh, no, Mommy. I really like it like this!" She know how to make me feel better.

And this one just for kicks!

Please Pray Once Again...

...for baby Stellan. He has been in SVT (a dangerous heart rhythm) for the past three days and his body is really starting to deteriorate now. He is going to be airlifted to Boston. Please pray for his healing, comfort for him and his family, supernatural wisdom for his doctors, and safety on the flight. You can go to his mom's blog (MckMama) by clicking on his name and can follow her on Twitter on her left sidebar about halfway down. This little one needs prayers warriors right now.

The Grayson Family Reunion

Every 3rd Sunday in July the Grayson Family gets together for a family reunion. I look forward to this every year. We have 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th cousins there and we all know each other. It may seem unbelievable that we keep up with all this family but I assure you we do.

The Grayson Family began with Walter and Sarah Grayson who you see in the middle of the picture on the right. There were eight children but the first died soon after birth. My grandmama, Evelyn, was the oldest of the children who followed which included five daughters and two sons. The picture on the left is all of the brothers and sisters and their spouses at my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary (they are the ones in the middle). Of the seven brothers and sisters, the youngest three are still here. There has been a Grayson Family Reunion since before I was born and I don't think we will be stopping anytime soon. Did I mention the food is unbelievable?
Here is my dad and his three brothers. Good looking group, huh?

After we eat, every family (from the original Grayson family matriarch or patriarch) gets up for a group shot and family update. Here is Evelyn Grayson Goodman's family of which we are proud to be a part of. This is a picture of all my uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Aunt Donia (my great aunt) married a Catholic gentleman and they had six children. The ongoing joke is that the Moody family takes up half of the Town Hall where we meet.

Uncle Holland's son and his family. They had the youngest member of the family, a grandson.

Aunt Dottie with her family.

This is the Claussen family. Chris's mother was actually my Grandmama's aunt but Grandmama's mother took her in and raised her as her own when her parents died. Therefore, she was more of a sister in the family than an aunt.

My cousin Donald's wife, Michelle, and their son, Daniel. They are expecting in February!

Aunt Betty here with little Ward. Aunt Betty keeps up with all of us.

After the reunion and naps we headed out on the deck for some family shots. We had a wonderful time at Edisto and it was quite hard to leave. We did have a wonderful time and returned to the mountains ready to go.

Bittersweetness

A little before 11 this morning Paw Paw Ernie passed away. The children and I went by this morning around 9:15 for a quick visit (the children stayed in the car) and it was evident that he was ready to go Home. There are so many words I want to write but I can't seem to get them out coherently right now. Ernie was deeply loved not only by his family but by so many others in the community. Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.

Excursions

Friday morning after breakfast Drew suggested that we try out a free museum that my Uncle Grayson had told him about as well as Botany Bay Plantation. In all my years of going to Edisto I had never been to these two places and we were excited to go.

Our first stop was the Edisto Interactive Center which is not anything like what its name sounds like. When we first walked in they had all manner of sharks teeth, shells, and artifacts displayed in glass cases. Then, we walked on to find an open, shallow tank hosting flounder, hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, and whelk. The lady there was very gracious and let us touch different creatures and taught us all about them. There was also a turtle named Tipper in a different tank that had been there for quite a while (from what we found out). She played host to the shrimp boat exhibit which allowed us to "drive" the shrimp boat and see what goes into driving one.

After "shrimping" we headed outside to a short trail that lead us to the marsh. The tide was low but coming in and afforded us some great views as well as a peek at lots of oyster beds.

Our view from the dock.
Take a look at the Spanish moss.

This fella had spun a nice web just off of the trail. No idea what kind of spider he is but would love to hear if anyone knows (Dus?).

Next we headed over to Botany Bay Plantation. It is the combination of two former plantations, Sea Cloud and Bleak Hall. They have a wonderful driving tour with numbered stops along the way. It was so beautiful! We saw a Summer Tanager, an Indigo Bunting, Blue Herons, and White Egrets. We also enjoyed this view. Ah, the Lowcountry.

The plantation boasts great, beautiful oaks and loblolly pines on its over 4,300 acres. We had a great time on our excursions and the children loved them as well.

Photo op with PaPa

Saturday morning we headed back out to the beach and Ward really enjoyed it this time. He was used to the sand by this point and quite enjoyed eating it as you can see. Saturday afternoon we hosted my friend, Karen, from PA School and her son, Carson. I haven't seen Karen since we graduated 7 years ago and had never met Carson. We had a great time and the children played well together. No pictures of that part of the day but we had a great time, Karen!

That night we had dinner over at Uncle Joe's place again and it kind of turned into a "Pre-Reunion" Family Reunion as several of my 3rd and 4th cousins were there. I had to get a shot of my 1st cousin, Donald's, son, Daniel, and Mary Fran. MF is two days older than Daniel, can you tell? We also learned that Donald and Michelle are expecting their 2nd child in February. Congratulations, guys, we're so excited!

Part Deux

Wednesday we headed out to the beach again and had and incredible time as you can see in the video down below. Dad and Brenda were responsible for dinner that night and we feasted on a plethora of local veggies (such a treat!). Each family was responsible for dinner for one night and then we ended up eating with Uncle Joe and his family Friday and Saturday night. Thursday was our night and we treated everyone to spaghetti with local shrimp and it was so good. After dinner we headed out for a walk on the windy beach and my wonderful amateur photographer husband caught some great shots. Take a gander...

Walking on out the path

The spitting image of her MeMe

Chasing seagulls. Funny story, they never caught one. ;)

Sisterly love

I always grew up calling these angel's wings but they are in fact called pinshells (thanks, library books!). These shells are quite fragile and tough to find intact much less one this large! What a treat!

On the way back to the house we found this whelk shell. We thought we'd take it back to the house but...

...this little fella had made his home there. We saw lots of hermit crabs in all sizes this time and were able to hold them and let them walk around in our hands. Well, Drew and I did.

Parting shot as there was a storm brewing off to our left.

Edisto Trip, Part 1 (of ?)

Our trip started off with us being able to spend some wonderful time with our friend Mrs. Olive. She will be a ripe young age of 102 in September. Mrs. Olive and my Grandmama were very good friends all their lives and we met at Grandmama's funeral. The Lord knows what you need because she has filled a wonderful need in my life as well as being a very dear friend. Our kids just love Mrs. Olive as well as her son and daughter-in-law who she lives with. They have a lovely home on John's Island and are some of the most hospitable people we know.

Please excuse the "glistening" from us all as we had just come in from visiting outside while admiring the marsh and ICW from Tom and Frances' back deck. The Wardster was a bit tired. :)
We checked in on Monday late afternoon and watched a quite impressive thunderstorm move in off the ocean. We enjoyed some pizza and settling in with PaPa, B, Uncle Grayson (dad's brother), and Aunt Jan. We awoke Tuesday morning ready to hit the beach...can you tell by the smiles?

Tuesday morning was a little overcast but allowed us to walk the beach and find lots of blue crab legs (some creature had a feast) and great shells. We had such a great time looking at shells and different animals and finding out what they were in our books from the library.

This is a great picture of what we did during the afternoons on the screened-in back porch of the house. Sweet dreams Uncle Grayson and Aunt Jan!

Tuesday evening we got to have my Great Aunt Betty (Grandmama's sister) over for dinner. She lives on Edisto and we always enjoy visiting with her while we're down there. Aunt Betty is the 6th of the 7 children born into my Grandmama's family.

Here is what we enjoyed that evening. The house we stayed in was called "Sunset on the Sound"...I wonder why!

Edisto Beach is about 30 minutes from my dad's hometown of Hollywood, SC. He grew up going to Edisto and so did we. It is still where most of our extended family flocks to on vacation. You know, I grew up in Columbia, SC and had a wonderful childhood. However, whenever I go to Edisto I feel as though I'm going home. I think it's true what my dad told me once, "Once the smell of the pluff mud gets in your blood it will never leave."

The light show after the sun set each night was incredible.

A little video of the girls swimming. This is quite incredible as last year the girls didn't want to touch the sand with their bare feet and wore Crocs when on the beach. Mary Fran kept telling us, "Look at me, I'm brave!" They both loved the water as well as Wardy boy!

However, to see all of that you'll have to stay tuned...