Ashley's 9th Birthday

Ashley turned 9 years old on May 14th. My baby girl is growing up! Karrie had a band concert that night, so we let Ashley open her presents and we had a small Cinderella cake for her. That following Saturday, the family all met at Outback Steakhouse (Ashley's request) to celebrate Ashley's birthday. Grandpa Shaw, Grandpa and Grandma Jones, Aunt Amy, Uncle Wes, Katelynn, Elizabeth and Jenny all came to eat and celebrate with us. It was a lot of fun!

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day without my beautiful Mother. What else do I need to say? It was hard. My sister Amy met me at our Mother's graveside. We brought flowers and spent a little time there. My Dad was in Idaho visiting my sister Debbie and her family. I went over to my parent's house after Amy left. It was so hard to be there and yet so comforting. I feel my Mother there more than anywhere else. She was the heart of our family and our home. I was there for a little while by myself, crying and missing her. But I felt close to her there (at my parent's home) so that's where I wanted to be. I cannot even begin to describe how much I love and miss my Mother. She was my best friend. I feel like a light has gone out of my life. Of course, I am still happy and have the rest of my family, but it will never be the same. I will always have a little sadness in my heart, until I can be with my Mother again. Absolutely no one can take the place of a Mother. I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with the very best!

"Everybody knows that a good mother gives her children a feeling of trust and stability. She is their earth. She is the one they can count on for the things that matter most of all. She is their food and their bed and the extra blanket when it grows cold in the night; she is their warmth and their health and their shelter; she is the one they want to be near when they cry. She is the only person in the whole world in a whole lifetime who can be these things to her children. There is no substitute for her." -Katharine Butler Hathaway

"A mother laughs our laughter; sheds our tears, returns our love, fears our fears. She lives our joys, cares our cares, and all our hopes and dreams she shares." -Julia Summers

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." -Cardinal Mermillod