Happy Anniversary !!!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife of 15 years !!
Ever since the girls have been born, we have wanted a local
artist to do a hand sketch of them. He is an older gentleman
and is known fairly widely for his Appalachian and Bluegrass
themed pictures. He is a MASTER when it comes to drawing
people! I talked to him a couple of months ago (Susan didn't know)
and he said he could do it in time for our anniversary. I took
him a few pictures of the girls. Since Susan had lost both of her
Grandmas in the past year, I also took a picture of each one of
them and a picture of their houses. I told him kinda what I
was wanting. He said it would not be a problem.
Here is the final product!! It is simply perfect!! He did not miss
even one detail in the pictures! Everything looks EXACTLY like
it did in the pictures. Needless to said, Susan loved it very much!!
I turned out better than I had hoped! (Actual size is 20" x 17")
For more of his work click here - www.willardgayheart.com

Wedding of Susan's Nephew !!

This weekend, we went to Lexington Kentucky for the
wedding of Steven Smith and Lindsay Clark. Steven is
Susan's nephew from here in Galax. Both of our girls were
in the wedding. Mikayla was the Flower Girl and Natalie
was the Minature Bride. The wedding was very nice!!
It was held in a historic church in downtown Lexington, KY.

Here is a picture of the girls with Steven.



















Check out this picture of Natalie and the Minature Groom
peeking in the window as the Bride and Groom were having
pictures made!! (Can you spot the happy couple?)

Here are the girls outside the church !!

Father and Mother of the Groom !!

Mitch and Jeanette Smith

The cakes !!

Here is the wedding cake and also the Groom's cake.
The Groom's mother (my Sis-In-Law) made them.
(Of course it took a man like myself to drizzle/run the
chocolate on the Groom's cake. Women can't do
this kind of thing properly!)

Cutting the cake!!

Away to Hawaii !!!

The happy couple leaves on their way to Hawaii !!

Gone On To Heaven!!

Grandma Satterfield went on home to Heaven last night. She had struggled quite a while and had been in a nursing home for several months. She will be sadly missed but it is great to know exactly where she is!!

Please pray for my Mom. She had taken care of Grandma daily for several years. This will be very hard on her! Remember the other kids too!!

Our "Smart" Drama Queen - - Four 600's on SOL's

Mikayla had an awesome year in 3rd grade! She finished up the year with all "A"-Honor Roll for the entire year, as well as scoring perfect scores (600) on all four of her national standardized tests. She and one other girl (in Susan's class) were the only two to do this in 3rd grade. We are very,very proud of her accomplishments!!

Mikayla has become quite the actor. She starred in "Dreams", which was a play that was produced during Summer Enrichment Camp this week. This is her second year to be invited to this camp which is headed up by Vicky Towne, a theater artist from Philadelphia, PA. Last fall Mikayla starred in "Granny Mosely Saves The Day" with the local theatre guild. This play was also developed and directed by Vicky Towne. Mikayla has a lot of fun doing this as a hobby. She received the "Best Actor" award in the "Dreams" show presented today.

Natalie Graduates From Pre-K

Natalie had a big day on May 19th! She had a birthday and also graduated from Pre-K at Fairview Elementary. She received a diploma along with several gifts and awards which were the "Most Excited About Math" award, "Ready to Read" award and the "Snuggle-Bug" award! She did really well and can read "Green Eggs and Ham" all by herself!!! We are proud of her!!

Natalie turns FIVE !!!

Natalie celebrated her 5th birthday with family and friends.She had a Strawberry Shortcake cake and received lots of nice gifts.She is really excited about being 5 years old!

Natalie's Field Trip

Natalie enjoyed a fun day with her class at Lazy-5 Ranch.
They rode a horse-drawn wagon and were able to feed
and pet the animals. One big highlight was that "Brother",
as Natalie calls him (Pastor Ledford), drove her school bus.

Mikayla's Science Fair Project

She really had a lot of fun doing this project. A local dentist
even supplied her with some great teeth to display.

My Ladies in Their Finery!!

Update !! Update !!

Yes, we are still here in Bloggerland! Somewhat in

the shadows, but still here!

After being inspired bylittle cousin out in KS, I got

up early Saturday morning for a short bike ride.

The sun was just peeking up over the horizon.....

.....passed a beautiful bank of Creeping Flox......

....and wound up riding all the way to the Continental Divide!!

Dig that little cousin!!! ;)

Palm Sunday Weekend

Mom and Dad came down to visit this this weekend. I think
they are getting tired of all the snow and wanted to see
some signs of spring. We had a great time with them.
Sam and Treena came over for Saturday and Sunday.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

We celebrated the birthdays of all three kids while they
were here!! Happy Birthday to Natalie, Mikayla and Justin!!!

Mom and Dad gave Natalie an "I spy!" book.
They spent a lot of time poring over it trying to find the
various objects.

Mom and Dad reading with the girls!!

Mom and Natalie reading "Sam I Am!"

Happy Birthday, Mikayla !!!

Mikayla is 9 years old today!! We love you!!