First of all, I want to say Happy Memorial Day.
I am so very grateful to all of those who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy each day. And I am so grateful to their families. It is because of their great sacrifices that I am able to enjoy special days like the one I had this past Saturday.
God bless you.
This past Saturday, I went to one of my all-time, most favorite places in all the world.
My Uncle Tommy’s and Aunt Tassie’s house.
This is a picture of their beautiful back yard.
Aunt Tassie and Uncle Tommy have lived in this house every since I can remember. My childhood summers were spent on these beautiful 5 acres with my cousins, Whitney and Chad. We would play in the rows of tobacco, feed the chickens, sleep in the barn loft, and play outside till our cheeks were sunburned. It’s the kind of “feel good in your heart” kind of memories that I wish every child could have.
My Aunt Tassie is my mom’s younger sister. She is full of love and smiles and hugs and love and joy and goodness and love…
Can you see the resemblance to my mom?
That’s why being with Aunt Tassie is one of the closest things to being with Mom. And truthfully, it makes me miss my Mom so much.
My Uncle Tommy is full of strength and goodness and love and wisdom and stories and smiles and love and character and hugs. I love my Uncle Tommy!
For the past 20 years, Aunt Tassie and Uncle Tommy have had U-Pick Strawberry fields on their property.
It’s one of my favorite things to do, and this is the last year they are doing it, so I wanted to make sure to get out there and pick some strawberries!
So I loaded up the car with my four boys and my best friend’s daughter, Katy, and headed to the strawberry patch!
The kids were so excited to start hunting for strawberries.
Katy and Eli kind of stayed together while they hunted.
Eli was worried that Katy wasn’t finding enough strawberries, so he kept sharing his with her. (Such a gentlemen.) 
Jonathan was my best picker. He does it like his mama…on his knees…
We like to really get down their and find the good ones!
In the back ground, you can see the beautiful barn than I grew up playing in.
It was really hot that day, but the boys did a great job finding a lot of delicious strawberries.
Uncle Tommy got out into the strawberries with my boys to show them how to pick’em.
Jonathan loved soaking up all of Uncle Tommy’s wisdom. And I love that all my boys got to be around another man, like their daddy, that has such a hard work ethic. (Something that is lacking in many children these days…okay…jumping of my soap box!)
I laughed at Katy and Eli because they ate most of their strawberries as they picked them.
Once our baskets were full, it was time to weigh them.
They have a great old scale to weight them on.
Of course, Uncle Tommy didn’t make us pay.
I love the way Aunt Tassie decorates her property too. Red geraniums are my favorite!!!
Behind the barn, they have some chickens. Eli loved checking them out!
As a child, I remember Whitney and I going out to the hen house to get eggs for our breakfast.
Adam enjoyed the tire swing. I wanna get a tire swing for our property.
And Luke and Katy cooled off on the swing under the shade tree.
Down in their back yard is the same play house that I played in as a little child. Of course, it has been updated a little, and Aunt Tassie’s grandchildren play in it nowadays. Katy loved the playhouse!!!
Can you see why this is one of my most favorite places on earth?! I have been blessed beyond measure with family that is beyond compare. I love them more than words can say!
Thank you, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Tassie, for the delicious strawberries, the loads of love, and the priceless memories!
xoxo
