National Peanut Festival and Parade
2009

Happy "Gotcha Day" Hope and Faith!

It's hard to believe we are celebrating the third anniversary of that wonderful day when two special little twin girls came into our lives and made us all smile again -- we are so very blessed.

Happy Gotcha/Family Day to all of our group!

Taking a look back ----

This will always be one of Mimi's very favorite pictures --- what a wonderful feeling it was to see such a look of happiness and joy on my daughter and son-in-law's faces when they saw the girls for the first time ---


Some Then and Now pictures for you to enjoy, it's amazing to see how much they have grown -

Such scared little girls that day -


~Lindsey Family on 10/10/2007~


~Lindsey Family on 10/10/2008~


~Lindsey Family today (10/10/2009)~


~2006~


~2007~


~2008~


~2009~


~2006~


~2007~


~2008~


~2009~


Click here to revisit the of post of Gotcha Day.

If ONLY ................. ( a Mimi post)


Tara said it "best" but since I'm the Mimi and have been thinking about this day all week (and forever), I must also add this post ..... I can't tell you why except that it somehow feels like I'm able to speak to these precious grandchildren I've (WE'VE) lost five years ago today .......

What IF .....

What would they be like, what would they look like, what would they be doing?

Rachel -



Rachel would be 15 .... 15 years old! I know she would be such a beautiful teenager -- would she be getting ready to cheer at the first football game of the season? Would she still be showing lambs? (I really think so) Would she have a boyfriend (or two)? Have experienced her first kiss? Been to her first dance? I can almost see her now, so grown up and looking forward to a great year in high school .... HIGH school!

Madelyn -



Madelyn would be 11 ..... She would be in 5th grade, the grade Rachel was in when they left us. I can see her now, with that red hair and twinkle in her eyes --- she would be enchanting everyone as she always did. Would she be showing pigs (her choice) or lambs? I'm thinking that in Heaven she can show those dragons she always told me she wanted to show ... when she was old enough ... a time that never came.

Yates -



Yates would be 5 ..... Just starting Kindergarten! I think about Neeley starting Kindergarten this year and smile through my tears thinking about how excited he would have been! Would he be playing T-ball or flag football or soccer? Would he be thinking of ways to convince Dad that steers were what HE would want to show when he got a 'little older'? Just a little guy when he left us, it's the most difficult for me to imagine what he would be like as we knew him for such a short time.

I KNOW they are in a better place, a place where there's always sunshine and rainbows and always joy and happiness and they are having a wonderful time with their Papaw and their GDad but that doesn't make us miss them any less.

If only............

PLEASE Don't Drink and Drive! Please don't cause another family to live through what we do!



and so it goes ---

and BECAUSE ---

because of this terrible tragedy, the sun shines through those tears as three years to this very day a wonderful phone call was made to the Mom and Dad --- to tell them there were two little girls -- twins -- waiting half a world away for them ...

Our Hope and Faith - our sunshine ............



and what Hope and Faith they have given us! What beautiful and dear little girls they've grown into.



I like to think that during that 3 plus months after we lost Rachel, Madelyn, and Yates and before Hope and Faith were born, there was a time in Heaven when they knew each other and three beautiful children helped in sending down from Heaven two beautiful little Chinese twin girls to help fill our lives with such love and sunshine!

I know it isn't our place to question so I'll just have Faith that it was part of His plan and Hope that the sun keeps shining through our tears.

I feel so blessed to have 10 wonderful grandchildren ---

the Mimi

Five Year's Today

It's five years today that our children were taken from us by a drunk driver. Some days it seems like it was just yesterday and other days it feels like a life time ago. I can only imagine what they would look like today. Beautiful and handsome, I'm sure! The twin's have to be so confused about it all, they know they have 2 sisters and a brother and that they live with God, but just the other day Hope brought me a notebook that was Rachel’s that she had wrote in and asked me who's was it, when I told her it was Rachel's she wanted to know why she left it here. One day they will understand, but in their little minds, being with God is just another place you live, and they are so right... we will see them again when it's our time to go. PLEASE, DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK, because this is what happens to innocent people. Give your children a hug and kiss today, and tell them you love them!!!!!

Congratulations Sydnee on your graduation!

We are so proud of you!!!!!!!!

We sure wish we could have been there to see it, it sounds like you got a few scholarships, way to go. It pays off to study hard, and stay focused!

Lauren Congratulations TONIGHT on your graduation

We are so proud of you, we wish we could be there as well. I hope Karen is cooking a good meal for you, with peach cobbler for dessert.... Because that's what I would want.

Best of luck for you both in your future, stay safe, make wise choices, and keep God close.

Chinese Adoption Reunion

We went to the adoption reunion, and were able to see one of the families we traveled with to China, most of our group lives in California or Florida so we do not get to see them much. The reunion was around Orlando, if only the girls new how close they were to Cinderella's Castle. We actually were going to go to Disney, but did not want to tell the girls until we made our mind up when we got there since it was during a Holiday weekend, and we were not sure how things were going to go. We are so glad we didn't say anything because Florida was getting flooded, and it was raining on us the whole time we were there. So we will just have to go back soon to see Cinderella!

We did tell the girls we were going to see some Chinese girls before we left for Florida and they said " Were going to China" no in Florida. When we were there they asked me if there were Chinese boys in China, yes girls. I even showed them a Chinese boy.

Dance Recital

Hope refused to be in this picture, she was not happy about getting a rose, she wanted a gift not a flower! Well I guess I can't make them both happy all the time.

They did a really good job, I was so afraid that once they saw the people watching them that they would just stop and not dance, but they didn't.

They were extremely beautiful, I must say.

Walk Like MADD

We would like to thank all our friends and family who donated to our walk, it means so much to us to have you support us in keeping our family as well as yours safe. I am so happy to say that we raised around $ 4800.00 for MADD. We were the TOP Friends and Family Team ( our Church ), and Dirk was the TOP Walker!!!!! For the Montgomery, Alabama MADD Walk

Official Strawberry Pickers

The girls had a field trip at their school Friday, and they got to go to the strawberry patch. They were so excited about this that I didn't even have a problem putting them to bed the night before. I did however have to convince them that it was okay to grab the strawberries, because they do not like to get their hands dirty. They had a great time and enjoyed eating them, as did I.

The Miss America Pageant at Our HouseYes, it's the wave!
The walk!

and No I am not entering them in any pageants!

at least until they are older, when they really understand what it's all about, and it's their choice, not mine, and they know that you can't always win, and with twins there will aways be one that doesn't.

Oh the challenges that lie ahead!

Took some pictures of the girls last weekend when we went to the beach, but the sun was not in our favor and the beach was very crowded. We had not planned on taking pictures on the beach, I really wanted some on the dunes, but they had these signs up that said please stay off the dunes, so well we stayed off the dunes! So these were all that even made the cut at all.