My Cinderella

We watch our little Emma dance each day and this song tugged at our heart strings.

Easter on the Beach

It was fun today going to the beach! Fridays are sort of our "family days". With Chris pastoring-it's important for us to guard our time together and make those days the most initimate as possible. So, today we had a great idea of getting Emma's annual Easter pictures done at the beach, and while we were there we made an afternoon of it. It was so much fun.

We got there and little Emma hit the beach running. She definitely is just like her Nana. She couldn't even wait for the sunscreening to be over so that she could hit the water (it was still cool) and begin building a sandcastle. I began helping her, but just like she doesn't want any of my help (we've hit the I'M INDEPENDENT STAGE-who am I kidding; she's always been like that)she figured that she could do it herself! So we went for a walk and picked up sea shells. As we walked, I explained to Emma that each sea shell had a story....just like God purposed for each of us. She quickly caught on and began making up her own stories as we walked on. Chris laughed at us while we made up our own stories as to how and why the shells looked like they did.

We left the beach for a little bit to get a bite to eat and then came back when the sun was setting to catch Emma in action. In my mind, I could imagine the most beautiful Easter pictures, but those of you that know her know that she doesn't stand very still to pose, but I think that I got a few. It was fun none-the-less.

"Hosanna" by Christy Nockels

Living a Legacy

Grandaddy wearing the scarf that I

made him (we laughed together- it

was way too long! ha!)

Richard "Buddy" Arnold Sorrell=a man that lived with legacy in mind. My grandaddy didn't know how to do things any other way. Maybe it was the role models set before him, or just the dedication that he learned so young in life. He lived through such hard times: the Depression, World War II, and a marriage that was committed to the words "in sickness and in health". I want to be like him in so many ways. And as we raise little Emma, I hope to instill in her many of the attributes that Grandaddy protrayed of Christ.





As I sit here typing, I smile just thinking of all the times we laughed together. That is one thing that we all talked about this weekend, at the funeral, was his laughter. He had such a handsome smile, much like his mom, Ethel Sorrell. And when Grandaddy laughed, his whole upper body jiggled! I can just see him now. You never knew that Grandaddy was struggling because he always laughed or told a funny joke and made you laugh. He used to always get out the funny pages and share a comic that made him smile or he would try to get together funny stories to tell at his monthly railroad meeting. I think that laughter was one of the things that the Lord gave to him to sustain him through so many hard times. I think that he learned to laugh in spite of the circumstances. He knew who was in control and he modeled that to all of us.





I think the hardest thing for me is going to be the loss of his presence. There has never not been Memaw and Grandaddy. He was just always there. Now, the lack of him being here is so hard to accept. Death is so hard to understand and I think the hardest part is that we were never meant for it. God never meant for us to be seperated. Oh, I long to see him and Daddy again soon.





I believe that you do appreciate life more though when you have experienced death. I want to live out the legacy that has been modeled for me all of these years. He was a rock. He knew what it meant to commit and do something. He was the most disciplined person, but the most caring man that I ever met. He wasn't afraid to tell you that he loved you. And he was always there. I am so proud of the legacy that I have inherited.