Uncle Don's Funeral

Sarah and Megan Clifton and Ashley


Mary, Connie, Larry, Patti, Steve, Suzanne, Janet

My father's elder brother, Don, passed away April 15th at the age of 77. The funeral service was held this past Wednesday. The pictures above are the cousins at the lunch following the funeral. This was my first return visit since my Grandmother's death and funeral last July. It was bittersweet as the memories came flooding back. Everything from childhood trips, river times, laughing and playing with cousins to the most recent pain of my grandmother's death. I think of her often and still miss her terribly. Death and funeral sometimes bring out the worst in people as they deal with grief. This funeral however, had a positive aspect. I had not seen my oldest cousin Connie in over 25 years. Her brother was almost as long with the exception of seeing him at our grandmother's funeral last year. While I could spend time pondering about the past and wishing it had been different, what we have is today. Today, God gives you a new chance to live in His likeness. We are human and can never be fully like Him, we can give it our best attempt. Today, I want to be the best person and not be judgmental and critical. Today, I want to relish my life on Earth. Today, I want to thank God for the beautiful life he has give me. Today, I want to let bygones be bygones and fill my heart with love and forgiveness. Today, I want to remember that it is not my place to judge other people's words and actions. Today, I want to know that those words and action may cause pain but God can take that pain away. Today is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Easter Sunday

Quinten loves his Easter train basket! He is holding his Play-Doh kit which is a beach theme.


We are just getting home from church wearing our finest.



By late afternoon, Quinten was quite the goofy kid. He is holding his slinky across his eyes. My parents came over for a quick visit. It is not always easy for my mother to get around so having them stop over was a real treat.



Quinten is out of control by this time! Way too tired....... I finally got a picture with the Maloy grandparents. This will be a reflective picture of Quinten at age three.

Family photos in Gatlinburg

Lauren and Quinten at the water park.

Listen dad.... Actually they were joking around but this picture cracks me up.

These hikers need a break!

Peek-a-boo with daddy!

Peek-a-boo with mommy!

Gatlinburg Beauty

This is the Great Smokey Mountain view when it rains! And, it rained two of the three days we were in the mountains. Within 2 hours of leaving this area, a rock slide occurred! We heard about it on the evening news ran a story which included the need to close the road.


The waterfall at the end of the 1st hike. It is my favorite scenery picture. The hike was 1.3 miles in a primarily upward incline. Quinten was still having asthma problems and could not walk so he rode on top of his dad's shoulders the entire hike to the falls. He also rode on his shoulders most of the 1.3 miles back though I gave a small respite for Mark.


Another pretty picture!

This is Mark's favorite scenery photo.

The view after the waterfall.

Our family spring break trip took us to The Great Smokey Mountains last week. We arrived to a wonderful 2 bedroom cabin nestled quite high in the mountains. The road twisted and turned enough that I never drove and was grateful to not have to drive. We literally had several 90 degree turns! Quinten and Lauren traveled quite nicely all 400 miles. Lauren used to complain bitterly about being in the backseat but I think she has realized it is where the kids sit!

Saturday was cool but gorgeous. We did the waterfall hike in the morning. After walking around, we had lunch at a pancake house. Quinten slept over two hours and we woke him up to get in a second hike. This was very muddy and we never made it to the end of the trail. We did cross over 3 bridges and several streams of water which were beautiful.

Sunday was a water park day due to the rain. However, we drove nearly 90 minutes thanks to construction and a stop for directions. Once we reached the destination, we were turned away as the park was for guests only! Lets just say mark was not too happy. We finally found the second park which was at the first turn from the cabin. Yes, we drove 90 minutes for a 5 minute drive. The kids loved it though kept to the lazy river primarily. Lauren and Quinten played great together. Lauren offered to watch Quinten so Mark and I could go down the slides together.

Monday took us the the Aquarium of the Smokies. It was fantastic and all four of us enjoyed the entire aquarium. Mark's mother and step-father joined us for lunch at the Pancake Pantry. Gatlinburg must have had easily over a dozen pancake places but this was legend. I had the sweet potato pancakes which were incredible. Lauren left with her grandparents to spend spring break in North Carolina.

Tuesday the rain broke and temperature finally rose just as we left at 9am! Despite the rain, we enjoyed being together as a family. Personally, I have never slept better in my life! Even Quinten slept until 7:30 every morning which is easily an hour earlier than at home.

Mirror Mirror

Check out my side view!


A serious look..............


So handsome!

Most of Quinten's wardrobe is fairly casual with t-shirts and jeans. Try as I might, getting him to wear turtlenecks and button down shirts is not easy. His dad is a much more casual dresser so the apple does not fall far from the apple tree. However, going to church, he loves to wear his suit! Every Sunday he asks to wear his suit. I have tried to get him to wear a button down shirt, collared shirt, etc but he wants to look his best. He does look handsome, doesn't he? He suggested taking his picture while looking in the mirror which I thought was sweet.

Mommy and Quinten

Quinten has moved into a not wanting his picture taken. And, he has moved into a charmer phase. I love this picture as it shows us after we had a great day. Since I take 90% of all the family photographs, it is also a rare one of us together. We still do not have a candid picture of the entire family since he was born. I wish that he would let me take more pictures. A few people have suggested that I take hundreds of pictures and eventually a good one will materialize!

Quinten will say "Mommy, I Love You" for no reason. And he is learning to say it after he has been naughty. It worked the first time and to some extent it still does! I am learning to say thanks, I love you too but you are still being naughty.

Fire Truck Cake

I purchased a book Birthday cakes for Kids several years ago. Finally, I have actually attempted one of the cakes! Quinten has developed a strong fire truck fascination. He only asked for two items for Christmas and one was a fire truck with a hose and a ladder. Yesterday was Mommy and Quinten day and I decided to make the cake. Quinten was right beside me for all of the decorating. He was patient when I was not! Only half of the cake came out of the pan so I had to do some shifting with the design. Quinten deemed the cake "perfect". He says he wants to save it for his birthday which is only six months away! He loves the fact that the fire truck has a hose (red licorice) and ladder (black licorice). I love the fact he is so easily pleased and appreciative. Wouldn't this world be a better place if we could all be so kind and gently with each other?