Our Family

Today on Kelly's Korner is Show Us Your Life...Show Us Your Family!

I love my family. They are pretty much my best friends in the world and I don't know what I would do without them!

This is all of us on my side. We are one good looking group aren't we?

I grew up in a family of 5. I was the middle child...yes, the dreaded middle child! (See...that's me, there in the middle!)

My mom and dad got married in January 1975 when they were just babies (19 years old).

They really enjoyed their time together without children and I am told that they spent many Friday and Saturday nights going to Knoxville to eat out and watch movies. They were living the dream life :)

But eventually, the dream life had to end, and they welcomed 3 beautiful little children into their world.

My sister, Kimberly, was born in 1979. I was born in 1984. And my brother, Timothy, was born in 1986. Here we are circa 1986. I am pretty sure we are the cutest things ever.

We grew up in the house that my parents built (completed just a few weeks after my sister was born). We lived there my whole life and my parents still live there now. They frequently have house guests which help them fill up that big ole house that is all empty now :)

This is a picture of me and my sister with our two little girls. She is holding my baby and I am holding her baby. She is pregnant with my nephew Mason in this picture. My sister is pretty much the greatest. She is 5 years OLDER than me and I will never let her forget it! She married her high school (well, really middle school) sweetheart, Benji, 12 years ago and they have 3 beautiful children. Kimberly is a nurse and works at a pediatric office. She has done that for years and she is great at what she does. Growing up, my sister pretty much wanted nothing to do with me because I was younger and very annoying. But as we have gotten older, we have grown into the best of friends. We enjoy going shopping together and finding good deals. She, and my mother of course, taught me early on that you should never pay full price for anything :). I love spending time with her and there is rarely a day that goes by that I don't talk to her.

Then comes my brother, Tim. Tim was born 2 years after I was and he pretty much fit the bill to a T for annoying little brother. Me and him did not get along well at all growing up. We fought and fought over everything. From who got to sit in what seat in the van, to who was looking at who and who said what to the other one. I am getting paid back now for all that with my two precious little ones. But seriously...my brother was super annoying growing up! He was just a little pest! But now he has grown up, a little, and is not so much of a pest anymore. Well...he still likes to pester his neices and nephews. He married Amber in 2007 and we all pretty much think she is the best thing in the world. Tim works somewhere and does something for the government. I honestly have no idea what he does, but I am sure it is super important and super secret. His beautiful wife Amber is currently in nursing school and is going to make a super nurse very soon. She is very caring and loving, and if she could just get over her fear of snot she will be doing great!

This is a picture of me and my mom. Not sure when it was taken, but I think I look about 4-6 years old. So somewhere in the late 80s-early 90s. My mom is pretty much the best mom ever. She made so many sacrifices for us while we were growing up. Used to, I was a little upset that my mom didn't stay home with us when we were kids. But now, as a mom myself, I see that she made the harder decision to go back to work so she would be able to help provide us with the many opportunity for things that we got to do. I know life is not all about big vacations and fancy things. And don't get me wrong...we didn't have really fancy things...but we didn't want for anything either. My mom planned all our great vacations (Disney World, California, Daytona Beach, etc) and we always had a great time together. We made lots of great memories. My mom plays the piano at our church and has for over 30 years now. Growing up, my mom was always super involved in all our sports activities and band stuff. She never missed games or performances. She took me to baton practice, piano practice, softball practice, and even humored me and let me be a cheerleader for a year. She stood on the sidelines during the half-time show of every football game all four years of high school helping me with my batons and such. She sent me amazing care packages when I was in college and made sure that I knew how much she missed me and how proud she was of me. When I moved away to North Carolina, she would listen to me everytime I would call home crying saying how homesick I was. She would cry right along with me...and I know her heart was breaking too. Even now, she talks to me when I am driving to and from school and about to fall asleep from exhaustion. She is just always there for me. My mother is super-organized, and we like to make fun of her for it a lot! But she really is way too organized sometimes. I have not always been the best daughter, and there were times when I know I hurt her feelings because I thought I knew better than she did. And sometimes I get super annoyed that she always asks if I am studying or how I did on my tests, but I know that she asks because she cares and always wants me to do my best. She can see my full potential when sometimes even I can't see it. I hope she knows how much I love her and how much she means to ALL of us!

Here is a picture of my mom and dad with the grandchildren (minus Liam who was not here yet). They love their grandchildren so much and they are the best Nonnie and Poppy that anyone could ask for! Our children are so blessed!

Here are my mom and dad again. They have been married for 36 years now. Life hasn't always been easy for them, but God has made them strong. They are a great example for me and Will of what a Christian couple looks like. I thank God for them everyday.

And this is my dad, with tiny little Taylor, so that was 4 years ago! My dad is a great dad. I have always considered myself a daddy's girl. I was more of a tomboy than my sister was. Maybe it was because I had that little brother who I had to play with. My dad worked very hard all my life. He is a deacon at our church and has been for a long time. He never hesitated to be the coach of many of my softball teams growing up. I used to not like being the coaches kid, but I know it had some advantages to it! My dad spoiled me a lot and he also taught me a lot. I loved to spend time outside with him growing up. I remember working on cars with him a few times and getting dirty around the house. My dad bought me a brand new car before my graduation after we found out that I was going to be the Valedictorian. He was always so proud of me and the things I have done. My dad is pretty quiet a lot of the time. He is a Godly man who does so much for so many people. He helps people out whenever he can. He is a bit of a pack-rat and we like to kid him about that. He has a basement full of stuff that just annoys my mom, but everything down there has a purpose or a memory. And if it doesn't, it might have a purpose someday, so don't dare throw it out! He likes to work on cars and is always around to help Will with car stuff if he needs it. He loves UT football and has been an usher for the home games since before I was born. He has only missed one game in all those years and that was when he came over to NC to be with us when Taylor was born. He also likes Nascar, but he was a big Earnhardt fan, and racing just hasn't been the same for him in the past 10 years. I love my dad very much. He was also always there for our ballgames and performances and he drove the U-haul for the band for a lot of years. I am not sure that I would be who I am today without the love I had from my dad all these years.

I couldn't do this post without posting about Will's mother. She is the greatest mother-in-law a girl could ask for. She is very busy with her job, she is the principal for the K-12 school, but she always makes time for her 14 grandkids. We love her very much and are so glad that we live close to her and can see her often.

This is Will's Mammaw. Her name is Ruth. She would probably not like it that I am posting a picture of her on here, but she doesn't have a computer, or a TV for that matter, so I don't think she will ever know! She is a great lady who loves us all so much.

And this is Will's pappaw. His name is William, but everyone either calls him W.F. or Jr. He is probably one of the Godliest men I know. He is very soft spoken and doesn't say a whole lot, but usually what he does say is very meaningful. I remember one time we were over there visiting with them and Will was talking about my work or something and he said very quietly but strongly, "Women should be at home with their children." And then he didn't say anything else. I don't think any of us quite knew what to say after that! But he is an extremely hard worker and has worked on his farm his whole life. He instilled a good work ethic in Will from early on, and I think he is one of the reasons that Will works so hard now.

This is my Nanny. Her name is Mary. She was a great Nanny growing up and always cooked us lots of goodies and made sure that our tummies were full anytime we went over there. I have many great memories of holidays at her house growing up.

And this lady here, well, she is not actually blood related to us, but she is just like a grandmother to me. Her name is Lila and I love her so so much. She is the most Godly woman I know in my life. She loves the Lord, loves her church, and loves her family and friends. She is one of the greatest cooks there is, and she tries her best to teach me some of the things she knows. (I am a lost cause I think). My children love her just as much as I do. Lila has rheumatoid arthritis that has crippled her hands and her legs, but it doesn't keep her down! She still drives and walks and cooks, and sometimes makes the rest of us look bad for complaining about little aches we have. She is just an amazing woman who loves helping others and has a real heart for Missions. Lila celebrated her 83rd (or maybe 82nd, I can't remember) birthday last August. She is so sweet to all of us and we love her so much!

Well...that is my family. I loved growing up in what I would consider a bigger family. I have so many great memories from my childhood, and I hope that I am helping make great memories for my children too. I love Will's family and am so happy that I get along so well with them. I think I have the best family in the world. We all love to spend time together and we love to play board games and just sit around and talk and watch UT sports and just be together.