Last Kid Marathon for the Bass family

Five years or maybe six we have gone to Nashvile for the last mile of a 23.2 run that has lasted over a month. Caroline started when she was young. The Nashville Country Music Marathon has a 1.2 mile race the day before the big marathon. Providence has always used this as a time to raise money for chartiy. This year they kids raided money for a school in Africa. Below are the students who ran the 23 miles in 6th grade.

David has always ran with the students. This year he couldn't keep up with this daughter....

Before the race.
Caroline taking off. She was the 3rd grils in her age group to cross the line!

Shadow Fun

This picture was taken by my girls. All on their own without Mom prompting. It is good to know that shadow play is still "in" in the playing department. Now there are digital cameras to capture the fun. When I was little, it was just a memory!

March Winds bring April Tornado

On April 10 after dying Easter eggs, we had a tornado to hit our neighborhood. The kids and I were in a closet when we heard a roar, the house shook, our ears popped and then we heard glass shattering and "cracking". Our sweet neighbor came to check on us and look at his house (the one above). He knew we were home. Then the boys and I ventured out. No one tells you when it is over. But really it goes by so fast it was. But we took our time. I left the girls in the closet until I knew for sure. As I walked down the hall, I heard the boys say "Oh my goodness" a couple of times and I notices the kitchen was very light even though the power was off. Then as I looked outside, I said "Oh my goodness". The tornado has passed through our back yard, taking our detached garage with it. It also took the porch awning and several of our big trees. Five less big trees gone and the porch awning allowed lots of light to come in. Five of our neighbors had to move out of their house. There were two casualties in our neighborhood. But how it wasn't more, I am amazed.

Here are a few pictures of our house. I will post more later.

Front window with something stuck in.

Our covered porch.

The was where our garage was. We found what was left in our neighbors back yard behind us. There were no cars in it. All the cars were fine. The concrete is where the garage was. The next day we had a group of amazing people come help. All our trees and our garage was in the front yard by the end of the day.

Life.................

Life goes on........ and so do activities with the Bass kids. In February, David's dad passed away. It was sudden and we all have been shocked. We know time is a wonderful healer. We have wonderful memories of Pop. As time has passed since his death so has life of his grandchildren. Here is a few activities of the Bass Clan. .... Jason getting ready for formal with his good friend Hannah.

Stephen playing Ping Pong at the Pepper's House.

Snow in Jacksonville Alabama on March 1st!! Katie Ann and Caroline with PawPaw

Caroline dressed up for Spirit Week. It was Red, White and Blue day.

Pictures like these make me wonder where the years went....

Seventeen and a half years and I feel like it is yesterday. I know I have done things wrong and could have done so many things better. I can only hope that God will honor my prayer that Jason will know God in a real way. Moments like these make me smile. Couldn't help but share my eldest in a tux.

January Moments

Two years ago this was a shot of the kids around Christmas time. The picture below is a picture when Stephen turned 16. Notice the height change of all the kids. Jason was 6' 2" and has been for two years. Stephen has to have grown 6 -12 inches. Ha

Basketball is usually full of basketball. This year Caroline is the only one playing basketball. Above is her team before a game. She is on the front row with both her hand up!

Update

I started this blog with this group of cousins in one of my first few posts. So it seems right to have an updated group of cousins. Within 7 years my sister and I managed to give birth to eight children. So far God has blessed us and they still know how to have fun even though miles and ballgames keep them apart. Above are the oldest from each family. Caleb is now in college. Jason is a jr. in high school but only 22 months younger than Caleb.

Here are the #2's of each family. They both share a love of Maw Maw's oreo ice cream.

#3 and #4 in a picture. This shows the extremes of hair colors of the group. And the colors are natural.

Here are the clowns of the family who managed to love to shop and laugh.