Last weekend we went to North Carolina to visit family. The purpose of our trip was to bury my great aunt Peggy’s ashes. She passed away in May. She had been fighting breast cancer for several months. She caught a virus after her 70th birthday party and her system was to weak to fight the virus. She had a lung reduction surgery almost 10 years ago and we are so thrilled and honored to have had the last 10 years with her.
This past winter she lost her hair as a side effect of the chemo. It was one of the hardest parts of the whole treatment. She struggled with finding a wig and feeling like herself. I decided then that I could grow my hair just little longer than normal to donate for a wig. So… this past weekend I cut off 8 inches. It will be sent to Beautiful Lengths as a donation for an adult wig. My cousin’s cousin at Mane Attractions in Bryson City, NC did the honors of cutting it all off. Here are a couple of pictures:




It was fun and significant to me. It was cool to have the girls there too. Courtney told a lady in a restaurant last night at the table next to us that I had all my hair cut off. I think they get that it was a special thing to do.

Later that afternoon we put my aunt’s ashes in the plot on their property.

She is next to her husband – Uncle Earl. These two people had a huge impact on my life at a young age. When my mom was single and trying to go to school and work to support us she often depended on them to help take care of me. They took me to church and were a big part of the beginning of my relationship with Christ. I still remember coming back to pew after praying to receive Christ and seeing Aunt Peggy there ready to hug and welcome me into the family of God. Uncle Earl was there to participate in my baptism. I remember him sitting at the kitchen table reading his bible and praying.

Family was always important to them. My mom’s mom passed away in a car accident when my mom was a teenager. Earl and Peggy took her and her two siblings into their small home to raise them as their own. They already had three children but they made space in their home and in their hearts. One of things that Aunt Peggy wanted was that the six of them would stay connected. Here is picture of them now

This continues to speak volumes to me. They are not all biologically brothers and sisters but I see that they love each other as if they were. God has brought much healing in the last few months and we are continuing to pray for more of that healing. I know Peggy and Earl are smiling as they see it.

Everyone always asks where Courtney gets her bright blue eyes. See this picture of her and my Aunt Diane to see the evidence.

Another part of going to Bryson City is going for a walk at Deep Creek. The girls have changed our definition of going for a walk because they always want to play in the creek. This time we just put them in their bathing suits and let them play. Can anyone guess what is on their faces?