Laying our Foundation (a bit late)

Okay, there was one more BIG one after Amie's graduation!  DM was baptized!  This has been a long journey for our family.  We searched and searched for a new church when we moved back to Atlanta.  It was nearly two years before we found a place that was comfortable enough to join.  After joining, we had to get on the (long) list for DM's baptism.  Hence, we were the crazies who baptized a toddler. 

 But in the end,it was a beautiful day of celebration.   

DM is starting to really tire of photos!

But managed to tolerate the camera a bit better when we let her pick a flower.

 Pretty sure DM is thinking "Thank you, Jesus for a reason to eat cake!"
**Huge thanks to Grandpa Patterson & Amie for photographing our day!**

Can't Even Attempt A Dump!

Right about now I'd love to have a great picture dump, but I've hardly taken any pictures this month! A few things I do know about the past few weeks:

1.  We had FIVE baby showers in June! And I don't have a single picture from one of them!  Can't wait to meet all of these new friends!

2.  DM is loving swimming lessons!  Of course in my mind, she is already with Swim Atlanta swimming IM.  Reality:  We're hoping she is swimming without a parent in the pool by October.

 3.  Despite from a design standpoint, I said I'd never convert a crib to a toddler bed, I have, and DM loves her toddler bed.  Thinking on plans for a "big girl" room!

 4.  I just opened my Peachtree Road Race packet and discovered I'm in group U, which means I will not be home before football season starts, much less the fireworks.  Considering having my own Chattahoochee River Peachtree.  Anyone with me? 

5.  We had our first visit to the aquarium and we think DM enjoyed it.

6.  I forgot.  Seriously!  I forgot what #6 was.

 

7.  The pic below is DM looking in at the pool we go to for swimming lessons.  She seems to be (fingers crossed!) picking up my love for water.

8.  The "BIG" annual conference for work is this week.  I am beyond grateful that I no longer travel to it.  It was a blast before DM but just not my thing now.

9.  And the BIG one!  Our sweet Amie graduated!  We are SO proud of her!  She is now open for business and ready to design your new swim suit!

(Mary) Kramer

The Patterson / Peeples families are having a hard time with pets these past few months.  Last week Mom lost her little (Mary) Kramer.  When David and I lived in Lawrenceville, every time we opened our door, Kramer would slide into the apartment like Kramer on Seinfeld.  Having two cats already, we couldn't take on another so we enlisted my mom to take Kramer.  Long story short, what David and I thought was a boy kitty was a girl kitty so she had to be renamed Mary Kramer.  Obviously, neither of us learned too much in college majoring in science!  She was so beautiful!

Celebrations Continue!

After Easter and David's birthday, we celebrated Mimi being cancer-free for five years!  We had a fun little picnic and she and my brother went on a little jaunt to Cedar Key, a little fishing town outside of Gainesville, FL that had been a frequent fishing spot for her father!  While the picnic was for Mimi, she seemed to have missed getting in any pictures!  Pictures or no pictures, we are so glad to have a healthy Mimi with us. 

I remember just like it was yesterday.  David and I were sitting in an airport on our way back from restful time away.  I called my mom to check in about the progress of our trip and heard her at the other end of the phone telling me the horrible news that she did in fact have cancer.  Cancer is a horrible, horrible word!  I had flashbacks of the battle David's mom fought with it a few years earlier and didn't want to relive it.  To make it worse, we were far away in Memphis, and I had little vacation time at work.  While if you have to choose a type of cancer to have, some will say thyroid cancer is the best, but it is still so scary.   Compared with many cancer treatments, Mom's was minor, but you couldn't tell me that and I know you couldn't tell her that!  Here's to a healthy Mimi!
At the park:

 

Happy Easter!

With DM's current toddlerisms, I became concerned we wouldn't make it to Easter service.  Getting to church on Sundays in anything other than play clothes has become quite the challenge.  Much to my happiness, she picked Easter Morning / Daddy's Birthday to be okay in a dress!  Easter service was amazing and even closed with Arise, which I realized I don't think I've heard since high school!  Forgot how much I LOVED it!

DM has been working on her egg hunting skills at the church and school egg hunts, both of which I forgot some part of the camera.  She loved her special "DM" egg hunt at home before nap time!   Our celebration was small but perfect in every way.  Christ has risen and Daddy is one year older!



Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We made it!  All you wanted for your birthday was to be watching the closing round of the Masters on the deck!

David's birthday fell on Easter this year, which will not happen again in his life time.  It was a lot of fun, but boy did we have a lot of celebrating to get through in one day!  I have new empathy for my brother and all the other Christmas babies (and their moms and wives)!

A Heart of Service and Love for Others

During my time at AAGM while we were in Memphis, I worked with a woman who amazed me.  I don't think I ever mentioned to anyone how much she amazed me.  Lisa had her shared of challenges.  Challenges that I would have given up on years ago.  But she didn't.  She came to work everyday to help provide for her three children.  And she worked so, so hard.  She never said no at work or in her church.  While I would go out to a frivolous lunch with friends, Lisa would sit down at our conference table and eat her lunch as she read her Bible.  She was either preparing a lesson to teach the children the following Sunday or preparing for her own Bible study group.  She was so faithful to her God and His people.  It was amazing.
When I was pregnant with Darsey May, we went out to lunch, and I saw the most precious elephant in a gift shop.  I really wanted it.  Lisa went back and got it for me!  Lisa had given me a gift I knew she'd sacrificed to give me.  She was just that kind of person.

Last fall Lisa began a battle with cancer and has been doing amazing, but in a quick turn of events, she lost her earthly life this past weekend in a battle with pneumonia.  While I ache for her family, I am so thrilled for her.  All of her worldly concerns are gone.  She is Home!  For nearly five years, we worked side-by-side, and I probably wasn't the best co-worker.  But at least I was watching and learning.  Happy Easter, Lisa!