Brothers and Ice Cream

 Doesn't get any cuter than that!

Some Comfort Food

Benefits to being near the West Coast?  They have In-N-Out Burger!!!  I had never been and it sounded just PERFECT to us for dinner!!

Mmmmm...soooo good!

Kelli and her pregnant cravings...she mentioned ice cream one too many times so we had to make a run and get everyone a pint!! Can you guess which flavor belongs to which girl?

(Katy - Chocolate Peppermint Crunch, Kelli - Karamel Sutra Core, Kristen - Boston Creme Pie, Mom - Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz, Kim - Everything but the)

We all had flights out the next morning, but what an amazing gift of a weekend it was.  So thankful to be there with my mom, to share in the memories of some of her childhood that was spent there, and to celebrate the life of her sister and our Aunt.

Remembering Aunt Debbie

 It was a beautiful service - one that Aunt Debbie would have loved.  Filled with LOTS of music - everything from hymns to Stevie Wonder!  She was hilarious and would have loved it.

 The flowers from Mom and the four sisters - bright and vibrant just like Aunt Debbie was.

It was so good getting to see some family we hadn't seen in a long time.  This is Mary Jo - Grandma Joan's daughter.  They all live in California, so the last time we saw them was at Kristen's wedding 4 years ago!

 Guy Davidson - told some very funny stories about "Sweet Karen" :)

Grandma Joan with the 4 Ks

 Mom with Ray and Barbara

Dwight was a friend of Debbie's - my Granddad Keith gave him his start playing the organ/piano in church and Debbie mentored him for a while.  He is a funny fellow - immensely talented!!

Debbie's husband Dan, and their only daughter Rebecca, who is in college.  It was great to get to see them and talk with them for a few minutes.  My heart breaks for Rebecca - can't imagine how hard it must be to lose your mom so very young. 

It was an emotional day, filled with laughing and crying.  But so very grateful for the gift that we could all be there together.  Would not have traded it for the world.

Sisters Are...

 Sunday morning...and we headed to a wonderful, leisurely breakfast!  It was such a treat to sit around the table with these women, my sisters, my Mom.  God has blessed us so much.  We ate at an incredible restaurant called Mimi's Cafe - delicious!!! The most amazing croissants!

 It's a totally different landscape in Arizona - but gorgeous.

 

My mom gave us all these beautiful silver bracelets.  The charm on it says "Sisters Are..." and on the other side it says "Forever Friends".  The hilarious thing is that when we first opened them, we saw the side that says "Sisters Are..." but nobody thought to turn it over!  So we were laughing about how you can fill in the blank with however your mood is that day! Sisters are fun...sisters are frustrating...sisters are too loud...etc :).  Then Mom says "No girls! Turn it over!  Sisters are forever friends!"  It was hilarious.  No fill in the blank options - sisters are forever friends!  :) The bracelets are such a beautiful reminder of how special my sisters are and how grateful I am that God gave me three of them!

Walking down Memory Lane

We continued down memory lane as we went to see Grace Community Church- the church where my Mom's dad and mom (Keith and Jean Hill) served in ministry.  Mom had many memories that came back once we were walking on the property - some even surprised her! Granddad Keith served as the Music Pastor alongside of his best friend, Guy Davidson.  Guy and his wife Martha founded this church and they served here for a long time.  Guy Davidson was doing the memorial service for Aunt Debbie on Sunday - he has been a longtime family friend.

This room used to be the sanctuary many years ago - this is the room where Gigi's service was held back in 1978.

 Also there in Tempe was the hospital where Kelli was born!! Kelli came early after a Sunday night concert. My dad wasn't even there - he had gone back to work in Yuma and then my Mom went into labor!  We all laughed at how ironic it would be if Anna Sue came early and was born in the same hospital as her mom...

 I couldn't resist bringing Kelli a few "pink" things for Baby Anna!

 Mom brought us some precious pictures of her mom and dad

I think she said that Gigi was 16 in this picture :)

That night, we were able to have dinner with Mom's cousins - Ray and Barbara Brown.  They are hilarious and it was SO good to see them and spend a few hours talking with them!  Kim and Kelli remember much more from when they were kids - Kristen and I weren't born yet during many of the memories they were talking about - but there is something so sweet about hearing family talk and laugh about memories...precious family time.

Visiting Gigi's Gravesite

Gigi (my Mom's mom) died of cancer before I was born.  Actually Mom was pregnant with me but didn't know it.  Gigi was the one that said to my mom "It would be so nice if you ever had another girl to have a Katy to go along with Kim and Kelli".  She was buried in Tempe and Mom had never been back to see her gravesite.  Mom and my sisters and I were all really glad to get to go see it while we were all here in Arizona.

Beloved Christian Wife, Mother

Jean Bond Hill

Born 1926 Coronation 1978

I Shall Live in His Presence Psalm 116:9 LB

We LOVED that it said "coronation" next the year that she died - what a great way to see that day!!

Also got a kick out of the fact that she wanted it stated on her stone that she read from the Living Bible translation!  She was a fiesty one :).

Forgive my travelling clothes...because my flight was delayed, they lost my luggage and it had not been returned yet....

The mountains everywhere were so beautiful - it was such a gorgeous, calm setting

Love these ladies and love getting to spend these sweet days together talking through some memories!!

Phoenix - here we come!!

My Mom's sister, Debbie, passed away a few weeks ago after a long, second fight with cancer.  When we heard that the cancer was back last summer, we knew that she was not going to have much longer.  We got the news at the end of January that her fight was finally over and that she was finally with Jesus.  My heart was broken for my Mom - Debbie was her only sister, and both her parents are already with Jesus.  My sisters and I all said immediately that as soon as we new the details for her memorial service, we all wanted to be there for my Mom.  The only question was Kelli - her due date was approaching quickly, but she did NOT want to miss this special time.

Details were set, plans set into motion, plane tickets bought, arrangements made, and the arrivals began!!  Mom arrived first, Kimberly was next, and then I made it in (my flight was delayed...ugh).  Kelli and Kristen were on the same flight and were the last ones to arrive shortly before midnight!

 We were SO relieved to see them walk through that gate!  Kelli is 35 weeks pregnant, and although the doctor said she was okay to fly, we were all a little bit nervous - especially Kristen!  Kelli said she kept her jacket in front of her to "disguise" her condition...I'm not sure anyone was fooled!

Wax Museum Day

I had lunch duty for Callie's class today - Judah is always a HUGE hit :)

 Jacob was William Jasper for the 3rd Grade Wax Museum - he was a war hero that saved the SC flag!  :)

When Jacob found out who his character was going to be, he was so excited because he wanted to take Josiah's BB gun to school.  I quickly told him no way - that toy guns are NOT allowed on school property.  He was so bummed.  I was telling his teacher this story and she said "Actually, they are allowed on wax museum night!"  Jacob was thrilled...after all, how do you dress like a war hero without a weapon?  

Judah LOVED pushing everyone's "buttons" and hearing them talk!  :)

Happy Valentine's Day...a few days late

Because of the snow we had last week, the kids were snowed out on Valentine's day and class parties got delayed.  Jacob's class was having an ice cream party that they had earned for memorizing their multiplication facts, so he was ESPECIALLY glad to hear that it didn't just get cancelled!  :)

Timeless

Our friendship with this family is timeless.  We have now lived in separate cities longer than we ever lived in the same city, and yet I still pretend we are neighbors.  Our kids pick up where they left off.

Our girls are certainly happy as larks when together :)

These two are just like their mommas - happy to be together!

Enjoying a little football in the park

The visits are never long enough, but always filled with so much fun and laughter and LONG talks on the couch - I LOVE them!!

Our big boys are getting oh so big!

Nice photobomb Caleb!

 Jackson wanted to just take Judah with him!

Judah would have liked to go - especially if Princess was going!!

Beth had everyone loaded up, ready to head back, and started looking around for Jackson.  We found him across the cul-de-sac, sitting by the neighbor's mailbox...hiding in his shirt.  He didn't want to leave, and we didnt' want him to!  But until the next visit, we LOVE you, Williams family!!!