Harrelson Family Reunion

We spent a quick overnight in Cashiers last night for a Harrelson family reunion.  It was a great time of fellowship as we reminisced past memories and made new ones.  In attendance were:
* Mamere and Papere (Papere is the youngest of 3 siblings)
* Papere's older sister Beverly Harrelson Perry and her husband John (Beverly is the middle child and had three boys)
* Papere's nephew Mark Harrelson and his wife Wendy (Mark is the youngest son of Papere's late older brother Rodney Harrelson)
* Charles Hunter, his wife Dawne and two of their three children, Olivia and Reece  (Charles is Beverly's youngest son.  Charles and Dawne's middle daughter Grace was headed to NY with a friend.)
* Ellie Hunter, the daughter of Hal and Mary Hunter (Hal is Beverly's oldest son.)  

1st and 2nd Generations

Jerry, Mark, Avery, Charles and Beverly

1st Cousins

Mark, Avery and Charles

2nd Cousins

Ellie, Olivia, William, Reece and Thompson

Silly Boys

The Harrelson Family at Summer Chapel

First Cousins, once removed

Mark with Thompson and William

Thompson and Reece at Summer Chapel

Mark with Uncle John and Aunt Beverly Perry

T (minus) PFD off the diving board

We joined the Asheville Racquet Club a couple weeks ago.  As a bonus for the entire family, they have an outdoor pool.  So with the summer heat wave, we're staying cool by hitting the pool a couple times a week either before or after William's nap time.  With our consistency, Thompson's swimming skills and confidence have been rapidly improving.  It took a good week for him to build up the courage to jump off the diving board with his life jacket on, which he finally did two days ago.  As expected, once he took the leap of faith, it became hard to tear him from the diving board.  And today, he found the courage to jump without his PFD.  Yeah T-man! 

As for William, he too loves the pool.  (I know, that's not surprising is it?)  He loves to climb up the stairs and then jump in.  Be sure to let him go under so the water covers his head!  He puts forth a good attempt at reaching and pulling.  He also knows the pool deck is slippery as he walks around say "slippery".  Today's notable moment was that he saw Thompson's red life jacket on the pool deck, picked it up and brought it to me to put on him (mind you it's too big), and then took off towards the diving board.  Obviously, he's been observing big brother the past few days and knew the only time T put on the PFD was to go to the deep end to jump off the diving board.

4th Festivities

Three weeks later (not unlike last year) I'm finally getting around to recapping our 4th of July weekend in Cashiers.  Aunt G arrived Friday after lunch and we headed up the mountain for "Horizon".  We spent Friday afternoon hanging out in the driveway, watching T ride his bike and WY work his magic on the big wheel.  Cashiers 3rd Annual Mountain Music Festival was Saturday and Sunday, so we took opportunities both days to enjoy live bluegrass music at the Village Green.  After Summer Chapel, we had lunch with Annie and Poppy at their home.  Thompson stayed over as Annie and Poppy took him to Chattooga Club's annual 4th of July event.  He ate traditional 4th fare, got his face painted, listened to the sounds of the Brevard Symphony, and watched a grand fireworks display.  Monday, July 4, Bobby, WY, Mamere, Aunt G and I hit the Chattooga River Trail for a nice hike and discovered a great waterfall and water hole.  Papere stayed behind as he was busy cleaning all the vehciles.  T rejoined us Monday night, July 4, when Annie and Poppy came to Horizon for dinner.  Tuesday evening, we, along with Annie and Poppy, were invited to Glenda and Bob Hamilton's home on Lake Toxaway for dinner with them and one of their daughters-in-law Mimi Hamilton and her children.  And, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention we indulged in some SweeTreats ice cream and the boys managed to enjoyed the "hot pool" at least once a day.

T and WY on the fire truck

WY posing with his Aunt G

T and WY with the police officer

Graham and her nephews

along the Chattooga River

(Thompson was playing golf with Poppy)

Mamere and William

Graham and William

Thompson ready for his golf outing at Wade Hampton

(note his new "golfing" shirt...thanks Annie and Poppy!)

William picking out the M&M's from his trail mix

a visit with the Hamiltons

Thompson, William, George, Lucy and Katie

watching thunderstorms in the valley from Horizon's deck

 

WY at 20 months

 

Where does the time go!?  I can't believe only 4 months remain until we have a 2-year old under in the house.  William is all little boy these days.  Bobby weighed him yesterday and discovered he's 30ish pounds. (T weighed 30 lbs 4 ozs at his 3-year well visit) Just goes to show how different siblings can be.  And talking about differences, William is our "Italian" child...dark skin, tans easily.  You can see from the pictures that his hair is growing and is showcasing these big curls.  I'm anxious to see if they turn into anything more.  And his hair is more blonde than I remember Thompson's at the same age.  Of course, by this time, T had already had is haircut a couple time.  William still loves his milk.  Has discovered lemonade.  {Our solution...Vitamin Water Zero Lemonade}  Still very much a mommy's boy.  Has learned the "eskimo kiss" which he refers to as "nose kiss".  Is learning how to put-off going to bed by bringing forth more books to read or making sure we give him a hug, kiss, and nose kiss (in that order) before closing the door.  Repeats most things he hears and as such, is developing a knack for pronouncing multi-syllable words.  Preschool is most definitely starting at the right time for him this fall.

Pearly Whites

Thompson's visit to the dentist for a regular cleaning was a success!  Dr. Chad found no cavities, and much better than 6-months ago when he needed 2 fillings and a pulpotomy.  T was proud to report he brushes, flosses and rinses everyday.  No loose teeth yet, but we know it's on the horizon.

Singing at Summer Chapel

On a whim, we spent last weekend in Cashiers with Mamere and Papere.  It was a great weekend with nothing "on tap". The weather was cool and wet...a welcome change to the recent heat wave.  While the picture isn't the best, it captures the children leading the opening hymn "Jesus Loves Me" at Summer Chapel.  They also led the closing hymn "This Little LIght of Mine".

Sponge

I can think of no other word to describe William these days.  He is a walking, running, talking, babbling sponge.  There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that gets by him. I now understand where the phrase "monkey see, monkey do" comes from.  If he's seen it once, he'll give it a try...and it doesn't really matter what "it" is.

We are also fast discovering we have another Type A under roof... and what seems to be a strong Type A at that.  William fascinates us with his recollection of how things are done and, generally speaking, wants them repeated in the same order daily.  Recent examples include the pre-nap/bedtime routines.  Once we're in his room and the door is shut, he has a certain system of things that need to be done before winding down for bed (music, hide and seek, climbing on the dump truck, books, songs, etc.).  And if you happen to add something to the mix, he'll more than likely remember and expect it the next time.  Another example was last weekend when we were in Cashiers...Mamere got the vacuum cleaner out after breakfast one morning and every morning after, William believed it was time to get the vacuum out.

Let's see, what else?...He continues to grab your hand and guide you to where he wants you to go.  Doesn't really like the word "no".  Has a charming smile, still accompanied by dimples.  Loves M&M's (pronounced "emmys").  Enjoys helping in the kitchen (especially with the hand mixer).  Likes his squash bread, yogurt smoothies and popcorn.

Avery, Avery quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

With squash, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, herbs and strawberries all in a row!  (and awesome wild blackberries from the back hill)  But seriously, it is doing quite well thus far. I've had two "hiccups".  The first being my tomato plants developed blight.  I'm doing my best to treat in an effort to prolong their season.  Interestingly, the tomato plants in the straw bale shows a mild case.  Secondly, the squash plant between a squash plant and cucumber plant appears to have cross pollinated, because I'm getting dark yellow-colored squash with a cucmber like shape and exterior.

the "regular" garden

2 squash plants in forground, 2 cucumber vines, 4 tomato plants, sage, basil, rosemary & 4 huge zucchini plants in middle/background

straw bale #1 - tomatoes

notice the vines reach the top of the 5-foot stake!

cherry tomatoes (in straw bale)



straw bale #2 - squash and cucmber

look at all the squash flowers!

the largest zucchni and squash harvested after 5 days away

(the zucchini was easily 12" long...

and half of it made 2 loaves of zucchini bread!)

one, yes ONE, hydrangea bloom

Roll Tide Ya'll

Little did Thompson know what a special encounter he'd have during today's golf outing with Poppy. While eating lunch at Wade Hampton's Turnhouse (after 3 holes &hitting the pin on #2), Nick Sabin walked up. Poppy pointed out to T that Sabin was Alabama's football coach, to which T gave him his very own "roll tide ya'll!". Sabin's response..."Roll Tide Yall!"

mom. mom. mom.

William's most frequently spoken word.  Anyone who has been around William the past month knows he's perfected this one word.  I couldn't begin to estimate the number of times he repeats "mom" in a given day.  And while it can be nerve-racking and draining at times, I count it a blessing...I have son who is healthy, can talk, loves his mom, feels safe and secure when I'm around.

VBS - Pandamania

This past week, Thompson participated in VBS at the church where he attended preschool.  He participated last year and had such a good time, he wantes to enroll again.  Their theme was "Pandamania: where God is wild about you" based on Psalm 139. 

On Monday, through the story of creation (Genesis 1), Thompson was reminded God made him. “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!” (Psalm 139:14)


Tuesday, the story of Elijah and his confronting the prohpets of Baal who were worshipping the "fake gods" (1 Kings 18:16-39) was used to remind Thompson God listens to you. “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.” (Psalm 139:4)


Wednesday's story of Jonah's attempt to escape from God (Jonah 1-3) was used to teach the children God watches over you. "Even in darkness I cannot hide from you." (Psalm 139:12)


Thursday, he learned God loves you, no matter what.  We should strive to make good choices, but God will always love us.  He heard the story of Jesus's death and resurrection. (Luke 23:1–24:12) “Lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:24)

As the week concluded, the story of God giving Hannah a baby and her giving him to the church for God's work (1 Samuel 1:1-2:11) demonstrated how God gives good gifts. “You place your hand of blessing on my head.” (Psalm 139:5)

All in all, another great week learning about God's love.  And we're still jamming to songs from the Pandamania CD!