Last Friday afternoon, it was lovely to see this be-flowered beauty . . .
meet her Great-Grandma Smith for the first time.
I especially loved watching Nathan watching the meeting.
I carried Nathan up to this very door 26 years ago when he was just three days old. And now look at him!
He’s carrying babies of his own to this house while turning ME into Grandma Smith and turning Grandma Smith into GREAT Grandma Smith. It’s amazing what those kids of ours do when you take your eye off them for one minute.
(And speaking of Great Grandmas, it will give me great joy when the day finally comes when I can introduce Madison to my mom, Madison’s Great-Grandma Campbell. Those pesky 20 hours of driving time between us can make things a little complicated.)
Here are a few moments from our Charlotte gathering.
I loved seeing Noah help set the table . .
that his dad and his Aunt Sarah have been setting together since they were small children. (A couple dishes on the table have been in the family almost a hundred years.)
We have been using this silverware for every special meal that I’ve been a part of since joining the family and I just love it. Vernie bought it, piece by piece, before she and Ken got married.
We tried to keep the meal as simple as possible since Ken just had unexpected heart stent surgery last week and Vernie has been struggling with some back and knee issues. We were all just thankful to be together in the house that holds so much history and so many memories.
Since none of us are sure how many more Christmases we will have here, there were some surreptitious tears shed by various ones of us throughout the evening.
One special moment was before the meal when we all joined hands for the prayer, which Ken asked Nathan to lead. I happened to be sitting on Nathan’s left and as I held his hand and listened to his strong, confident voice praying blessing over our food and our time together, I was overcome with so many emotions. It was such a precious moment to sit quietly and think of all the meals and the memories we have shared together.
But you know that things can’t stay serious for long around our crowd.
After the meal, we young ‘uns consigned Ken and Vernie to their comfy chairs and we cleaned up. Steve was helping Meagan in the kitchen and of course when he saw the camera, he had to start hamming it up.
He pretended to put soap on Meagan’s hair . . .
and in her mouth.
Then it turns out Steve actually DID get some soap on her mouth so he had to remove it. Fortunately, Meagan was blessed with a wacky sense of humor which is one of the meany reasons why she fits into our family so beautifully.
After dinner, there was some sittin’,
and pickin’,
and grinnin’.
There were a few small gifts for the children and Noah carefully handed Madison one of her gifts for her perusal.
After Steve and Sarah had led us in some Christmas carols (it was Sarah’s first official appearance with her ukulele which she has taught herself to play) . . ..
Steve thought he would serenade the grand kids
It was a huge “Awwww . . .” moment when, midway through the song, Noah reached over and gently put his hand on Madison’s head and just left it there.
It was like he was saying, “Llittle Sis, I love you and am so glad to be sitting in this chair with you, enjoying this memorable moment of togetherness.”
Or maybe he was saying, “Little Sis, stay strong. If we just put on our patient faces and grimly endure, pretty soon Grandpa Smith might stop singing that song at us.”
Who knows? 🙂
It was fun seeing Ken with his dog, Tippi; those two are inseparable. It’s amazing how much joy one fluffy creature can bring to a home.
I took that photo Saturday morning at breakfast. One of Ken and Vernie’s neighbors, knowing they were having family in, made a breakfast casserole, fruit salad and the most amazing cinnamon rolls known to mankind and delivered them to the front door.
Thoughtful people like that make the world a nicer place.
Before we left, I wanted to be sure to get a picture of this sweet girl in this chair because . . .
twenty years ago, I got a picture of THIS little girl in the same chair, sitting in the very same spot.
When it was time to head back to Manteo, we gathered on the deck . . .
and said our goodbyes.
Tippi wanted to be a part of the occasion but was still brushing up on her posing skills.
Which way do I look?
Which. Way. Do. I Look?
Aha! Got it!
Love these three. Without them, there would be no Nathan, Sarah, Noah, or Madison!
This sight gets more precious with every passing year because we never know how many more times we will get to come to this sweet house and be with these sweet people.
We stopped midway home to drop Sarah off with her friend, Hope. They will spend a few days together before Sarah returns home tomorrow.
Nathan and his family have spent the last couple days with friends in Charlotte and will arrive in Manteo tonight around dinner time for a 10-day visit.
Let the festivities begin!
I am just catching up on the blog. This post made my heart so happy! What a blessing to have those special moments with these special people. I love that your heart captures the moment just like your camera and you store up these treasures. You are a special one!
Courtney,
Thanks for your sweet words. New Year’s hugs to you and your family!
Oops! I just realized that concert is tonight. In my head I had it as this Wed! Sorry!
So glad you are getting this family time together. Enjoy every minute! Since you are all so musical, I’m wondering if you are close enough to hear a harpist who will be playing up there this week. She grew up in my church here in Florida and was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. Here is a link.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Amy-Update—New-Prayer-request-for-Amy.html?soid=1102793168699&aid=9H644K54Ja0
And http://amyshreve.com
I’m not sure she remembers me but we are all praying for her. Her music is a blessing. I was just reading the update and saw the location of her next concert and thought of you!
Jill,
Thanks so much for thinking of us. I went to Amy’s site and listened to some of her music; what a beautiful gift! I’m so sorry she’s having to face cancer treatment but it sounds like she and her husband are keeping their heads up and their faith strong.
It looks like such a happy family time! Very pretty photos. I like how Sarah’s image is also captured in the mirror in the table setting photo.
Merry Christmas!!
Jenna,
I hadn’t noticed Sarah’s reflected image till you mentioned it. Good eye! 🙂
Precious memories. I know as well as you that we never know when it will not be possible to make more with our family. Merry Christmas to all of you. Make lots of memories and pictures.
Ann,
You’re so right–making memories is such an important thing to do. Since you and I both love photography, we get the blessing of taking pictures of some of those memories we make. What a treasure!
I couldn’t leave a message before… but this looks like a GO.
Sarah and her uke. that surprised me when I saw the photo. Bet she has lots of fun playing with Steve,
All of your family photos are so gorgeous. How wonderful that you were all able to have this get-together at this busy time of year.
Mrs. Pam,
Glad your comment came through; it’s always lovely to see your name pop up!
So special!!!!
Margie,
It truly was special in every sense of the word.
Love, Love, Love!!!
Margaret,
Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂
Oh, my. This post made me cry – what a precious, special, sweet time and family. Have a very Merry Christmas with so many wonderful memories. I cherish your stories and photos. They always touch me so.
Mary,
It made me cry, too! There’s just something about family, and children, and the passing of the generations that pulls at the strings of our hearts.
Such precious pictures. The holidays are so often bittersweet, the past, present and future all rolled up together and magnified. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Lesley,
What a perfect way to put it . . . rolled up and magnified. Very, very true.
Sure wish we could have been there. Ken and Vernie never seem to change–love them! Great pictures and post of a sweet family gathering. My favorite pix was the one of Steve singing to Ken and the babies–loved their expressions and your captions were so funny. Very happy you all can be together over Christmas. Love to all!
Love, Deb
Deb,
I’m glad you appreciated my captions. I figured your sense of humor would get MY sense of humor. Love you!
Wow. What wonderful pictures and wonderful time spent with family. 🙂 Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas. Soak up those babies and sweet smiles…..they are just so precious!
LeeAnne,
I’m soaking it all up just as fast I can! Precious moments.
Becky,
Sarah just very recently learned to play ukulele; she just drove to the music store one day, bought an instrument, and started teaching herself to play! We were surprised too–but happy she’s found a new gift!
Your family celebration sounded wonderful–so glad for the memories you made especially the four generations, all together. What a treasure.
Such beautiful pictures! And such heartwarming words. One of my most favorite memories is of my grandson meeting his great-grandparents for the very first time. What joy in Vernie as she holds sweet Madison. I love these posts, Becky, where you share about the great-grandparents. These people are the foundations of who we are. As a long time reader, I remember your mom visiting during Sarah’s graduation. And remember pictures of you and your folks singing together. Prayers for a healthy 2016 for all!!! Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Ann,
How sweet of you to remember and mention the memories I’ve written about with my family and my parents. One of my regrets is that, for most of my adult life, I have lived so far away from them. I would love to have lived (and written) more memories with them. I am so thankful though, to have Steve’s family a little closer by.
You are right about great-grandparents being the foundations of who we are. I love haring their stories and knowing their lives.
you wrote so beautifully so many of the thoughts that went through my mind yesterday at our family Christmas. No one is promised tomorrow but as our parents age we know that time is shorter than ever before. We were able to get 4 generation photos yesterday with just my mom as my dad passed away several years ago – I hope you all got them also. Have a Blessed Christmas with your kids. Congrats to Sarah for learning to play – first thing I thought when I saw her playing was she had kept that from us.
Becky,
Sarah just very recently learned to play ukulele; she just drove to the music store one day, bought an instrument, and started teaching herself to play! We were surprised too–but happy she’s found a new gift!
Your family celebration sounded wonderful–so glad for the memories you made especially the four generations, all together. What a treasure.