Saturday, May 01, 2010

Granddaddy



Losing Granddaddy was really hard on our family.  We know that he is no longer suffering and is definitely in a better place but we still just miss him.
One of the hardest things for me and Rob is that we want our kids to remember how special he was and how much he adored all of his great grandchildren. So this blog is written to you.  My precious little ones...
Granddaddy was not an old man that you were forced to hang out with at holidays.  He was a huge part of your everyday activities. He taught you so much about the importance of family, giving your best, honesty, and respect. He was your teacher, your cheerleader, your buddy, your favorite neighbor, and your biggest fan. I think the best way to keep his memory alive is to continue to hold tight to the memories made with him.  Here are a few.... 

Maddie


Granddaddy liked to call you Maddie Bug and you loved that nickname.
You liked to sit and watch TV with him.  He would change the channel from the news, to sit and watch cartoons on your behalf.
You were always running next door to show him a project you made in school or reciting him a poem or scripture you had memorized.  He thought you were brilliant and always complimented you on your maturity and knowledge.
He loved your dimples.
He thought you were beautiful and that you looked like a true Billingsley.
You like to share saltine crackers with him out of the big glass jar.
He was there when you were born in The Woodlands. He was at all seven of your birthday parties.  He came to Montgomery to visit you several times and was there for your baby dedication. 


As soon as we found out that Granddaddy was gone.  You went to your room to retrieve your prayer journal. This is what you wrote." Dear God, I know Granddaddy is having a blast. I miss him already. Tell Him that I love him. Tell him that I love his laugh. I love it when he called me Maddie Bug, Tell him that Kinley is really sad and misses him a lot. I miss him a lot. I love him. I love you God. Amen" When I pulled out your journal to copy this, I could not help but look back at your previous entries. For the past two months, there were several entries praying for Granddaddy and Mimi. You did this all on your own.  As we are working on your flower project for spring you have decided  that Granddaddy was like a seed that couldn't wait to get out of his shell. He is blooming in heaven.  I think Granddaddy was right about your wisdom and insight.


Kinley

He loved your bear hugs.  Every time you went over to see him, you made sure to give him one.
He loved your spunk and spirit and was always talking about your great sense of humor.
He would always say...that Kinley when talking about you, even the way he said your name, you could hear the love in his voice.
He thought you were gorgeous and was always talking about the way you would steal the hearts of all the boys in town.
He loved your thoughtfulness and said you had a huge heart like your Granna. 
You liked to take care of Granddaddy and would always use his back scratcher to reach the itchy pots that he couldn't reach.
He gave you a hard time for always being barefoot and changing clothes a thousand times a day.
He liked the way you liked to dress up.  Grandaddy liked to dress up too.
He was also there when you were born.  He was there for your first four birthday parties and was right next door, too ill to visit for your fifth birthday.  He was proud to be at your baby dedication at Highpoint, the church he built. 

You probably had the hardest time with his death.  You keep saying he was the best Granddaddy in the world. You have decided that God must love Granddaddy a bunch, to take him him to heaven on God's favorite day of the week, Sunday.


Caden James

You were named after this great man.  He thought you were so special.  He was thrilled to finally have a boy to carry on the great name Billingsley.
He loved holding you on his lap.
He liked to share his peanuts with you.
You loved going over to share a glass of juice with him each day.
You both liked to eat popcorn.
You liked to sneak over to his house after the girls were in bed to have a little "TV time" with Granddaddy.
He loved to watch you "waller" on the floor in the transformer pillowcase each day.
He anticipated your visits and liked to see which costume you would wear each day.
He always laughed about the fact that you ran around half-dressed or naked everywhere.
Your bedroom is decorated with pictures of him and his football relics.
He once told me that you were an "unexpected gift to the whole family".
You both shared a love for building and that thrilled him to no end.
He was there at your birth, your baby dedication and your first two birthday parties.
On the day he died, we were sitting on the couch and you looked over and said out of the blue, "Granddaddy is with God" and then you added " and "he is happy." An hour later, we found out that you were right and that you said that to me right at the time he went to be with Jesus. You  mention on occasion that Granddaddy is with God and that you want to be with God too.


A Happy family is but an earlier heaven.~ Chinese Proverb

Thank you Granddaddy for giving us just a taste of what you are enjoying now.
We miss you dearly.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Tribute to Granddady



Rob wrote a special tribute to Granddaddy last week before he passed away on Sunday. I thought I would share these precious words with you all.

Granddaddy-


Although most of my good traits come from you, one that I did not inherit was the ability to express myself on paper as eloquently as you. It pains me to see you hurt. I wish I could help you, but I am powerless. My thoughts are random and scattered...Here is a short list of the things that I have inherited from you..love of family, work ethic, the power of story telling and family history, compassion, integrity, the understanding that our wealth is in who we love and not what is in our pocket, our homes are not ours but God's, and are a place of shelter and peace for our families, it is ok to help folks out and not expect any reciprocity, how to be a father, how to be a friend, to do what is right even if it hurts, commitment, faithfulness, forgiveness, it's worth taking extra time to complete a task correctly, love for a relative does not die ever, tenderness, jokes are powerful and healing, how to get up after you have been knocked down. To be honest, the list goes on and on, and will continue to...

My new favorite song is "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promises" It talks of a place where nothing is owed, deserved or expected, and your life doesn't change by the man that's elected and your loved by someone and never rejected.. It talks about a dream that, like a bird is locked in a cage and he longs to free it. I want you here but I want you to be free. I want our doubts to vanish and be replaced by the fullfillment of a promise that was made on a cross 2000 years ago. I'm not in a hurry to see you leave this world, believe me, I can't imagine it without you, but I have been granted peace by our Heavenly Father about what you are facing. I know none of us are guaranteed tomorrow and I'm not at all trying to be dark. This type of thinking gives me peace.

I know we will all recongnize each other in heaven. We have to be able to or it won't be right. In heaven I look foward to seeing you in your youthful state, meeting your Dad, building with the Billingsleys, gardening with the Tabors, getting beat by you in the 100yd, dash. That's what heaven is like I'm sure. I love and respect you deeply. Your worth to me is immeasurable. You stood in the gap when I needed it and showed me a father's love.

Rob

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

A whole Hand



Kinley turned 5 years old this month!  I can't believe she is a whole hand!  We had a cupcake birthday party for her and I'll give more details on that later but first I want to focus on some of the things you are doing these days.
1) You are the Cartwheel Queen.  You are forever doing cartwheels and handstands.  You have just about perfected both.
2) You love clothes.  You change clothes about ten times a day, always coming up with a unique ensemble.
3) Your closest buddies are Abbie, your cousin and Emma, a little girl that will be in your kinder class next year.  Although you and Maddie have started a "Sister Sister club" and you can Cade are best buddies.
4) You are into drawing lately and you have really gotten good at it.
5) You adore your family and spending time with them.  You will do anything to have quality time with anyone that you love.
6) You are a little obsessed with washing your hands especially around your baby cousins.
7) I love how you say willn't instead of won't.
8) Your room is always messy which drives your sister crazy!
9) You love to hang out on "the tramp" with your brother and sister.
10) Your favorite drink is chocolate milk.
11)  You have created a secret sign that you and I flash to each other in private.  Don't worry I'll never tell. :)
12)  You are one of the sweetest most tenderhearted people that I know.  You are always feeling for others and I can't wait to see how God uses your heart of gold for His glory.
I love you Kin-Kin!

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Monday, March 29, 2010

I love My Daddy



I found a little book Maddie had written Rob and I had to share.

I Love My Daddy. By Maddie Billingsley


Ive loved you since I was a baby. I even love you now. You are a good daddy. I am so glad God made you my daddy. Thank you for working hard for us. I hope you are feeling ok. I love your deep lafe. I love how you take your time on things. I love your smile and your eyes. I hope you like your new job. I love you well because you are the best dad. Eneways  I love you.


The photos were taken by Cutie Pie Photography at the Daddy/Daughter Dance.
 
Isn't she a sweetie?
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Saturday, March 27, 2010

More fun in the Mud


Do you see a common theme here?
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Today we had one of those parties that ended a little different than we expected! 
 Happy St.Patrick's Day!
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I wanna go to the Daddy Daughter Dance


Sterling's Annual Daddy Daughter Dance is once again upon us.  Spirits rise when we receive the pretty little invitation in the mail.  Maddie marks the special day on her calendar and the countdown begins.
We have to go shopping for the perfect dress.  This year she wanted something white, sparkly, and one that twirls when she spins.

We finally found a winner!


Rob chose a sweet pink corsage for Maddie to wear to the dance.
The day finally arrived and Maddie was all smiles.  She and her daddy looked stunning as they headed to the Casa Blanca for the special festivities.

However, not everyone was happy.  Kinley was especially unhappy when shopping for Maddie's special dress.   She was soon pacified when we found her a pair of sparkly flip flops instead.  She is also already relishing in the fact that next year she will get to go to the dance as a Sterling kindergarten student.

But Mr. Cade still wasn't happy.  He had several plans of action. 
First, he decided to have his own Daddy Daughter Dance. Here he is with his daughter "Brittany" ready to party.
He was too cute swaying to the music, dancing with his "daughter".
He soon decided that wasn't much fun so his next plan.....


Meet our new daughter, Jessica. She is dressed and ready for the dance. 
(I have a feeling he will not appreciate this when he is older.)

We spent the evening wondering what Daddy and Maddie were doing now. I can't say I blame Caden for his trying because... I wanna go to the daddy daughter dance too!  Maybe next year, I could dress as "Jessica's dad" and we could both slip into the dance.  Hmmm.  it could work.  
Or maybe we will plan our own Mommy/Son Dance instead.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Just call me Dora


The highlight of my week:
Caden: " I love you Mommy."
Me: " I love you too Caden."
Caden: " You are my best friend. You are
my Dora and I am your Boots."
Me: The happiest mom on earth

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Sunday Naps

Sunday Afternoons are sacred in the Billingsley household.

All of the kids know that it is the one day that Mommy and Daddy are taking a nap.  After church, we have lunch, and then we shut everything down for the afternoon.  Everyone is expected to lay down and rest.
Yesterday, was no exception.  However, during our nap, Rob and I received a special note under our door.


Check out the back of the note:

Hmmm..  maybe I shouldn't haven't been so eager to teach Maddie to read and writ.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Unexpected

I love that our God is a God of Unexpected Surprises!  We got to experience that first hand this week.  On Sunday, we were wearing flip flops and enjoying the 70 degree weather. I was thinking about pulling out some of our summer clothes. By Tuesday, we had four inches of snow on our ground. 


  I love that everyone in Austin was forced to stop and stay at home with our families.  All of our big plans for the day, all the things that seemed so pressing and important were cancelled.  I love a "forced" day of rest or in this case a forced day of fun.  



We enjoyed a good day of making snow angels,



building a snowman for the first time,


                      watching Annie chase snowflakes,

  drinking lots of hot chocolate and reading The Snowy Day for the 50th time. 
In the words of my sweet Kinley," This was a good day."
Thank you God for yet another unexpected gift.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween, the girls decided to be princesses. We thought about making Caden a knight but decided the court jester was more appropriate. The kids really got into character for the night of festivities.





Queen Madison


Queen Kinley


Our Royal Jester Caden


Aren't they lovely?


Isn't he amusing?


Entertaining the ladies with his silly antics

His reward

Granna, Grandaddy, Mimi, Big Daddy, Mike, and Allison joined us for a pot of stew. Then Granna, Grandaddy, Mimi, Rob, and I took the kids trick or treating. We know this was a real sacrifice with the UT game taking place at the same time. We had a great night. The kids love to visit Aunt Lisa and Penny's house along with Cari and Joel's place. Aunt Penny was dressed as a clown which made the kids' night. She also had her house decorated with cobwebs and caution tape. We went around Cari's neighborhood trick or treating. The kids had a blast. Then we game home for the ballgame and pumpkin carving and baked pumpkin seeds. Kinley and Cade both fell alseep on the couch.  Madison made sure to count all of her candy before bed.  I think she may be afraid someone might sneak a piece or two.  Hmmm.. does she know her mother well?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Local Superheroes

We all feel especially safe these days. Two local heroes have taken residence with us here at the Billingsley's.
They can leap over dollhouses, rescue barbies in distress, fly down our staircase and free you from having a boring day.
I introduce to you:
Captain Cade Man and Kin Kin Possible.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Class Clown

This gives a whole new meaning to the class clown, doesn't it?
Kinley and Cade love to do school work while I am schooling Maddie. Cade loves to "write his name".