Merry Christmas from the Baughers!

Family Roster Christmas Card

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fall fun

Here's a look at the rest of October... 

We were able to visit Birmingham for a few days and got a chance to go out to one of my favorite places... the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch!

Back at home, we visited a local pumpkin patch with friends from church and went on a hayride.

And here's a look at our first ever pumpkin carving!  Esther wanted nothing to do with touching it, so Arden and I did all the dirty work. :)

These two pictures make me smile... one, because they do a pretty good job of showing the girls' personalities and two, because they all wore these outfits last year!  Chloe's is the most surprising because it's a size 3 month.  It was huge on her last year, but I never dreamed it would fit her this year!

The night of Halloween, we went to a fall festival at the church where Arden goes to school.  Here are our fairies and ladybug...

memory walk

The first weekend of October we traveled up to Georgia and participated in the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in my hometown.  In the United States, 5.3 million people have this dreadful disease and it's the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S.  

Our family walked in memory of my grandmother, Allene Groover, (pictured above and below) along with 7 of the 10 Groover siblings (which my Daddy is a part of)  and a few of the grandchildren and great grandchildren.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful way to remember my Grandmama Groover, who suffered from Alzheimer's and went to be with our Lord in 1991 (I was in the seventh grade).  I've seen pictures of her with me as a young child before she had the disease.  My only memories, though, are of our family visiting her in the nursing home where she would be sitting in her chair or lying in the bed... she did not know us and was not able to communicate with us. 

I'm thankful for stories I've heard over the years about my grandmother, as well as poems written by my Aunt Gale.  

My grandmother, Allene Groover, was a kind, beautiful, hard working woman that loved her family.

The Groovers that were able to participate in the walk.

Woody and I took turns pushing the usually empty stroller...now that I think about it, I'm not sure why we kept pushing it. :)

Papa was a trooper and carried either Esther or Arden on his shoulders the entire time he walked!

Remembering Mama

By Gale Groover Smith

Oh!  Mama's gardenias grew in a bush by the well,

Their sweet fragrance filled the air and made my heart swell.

You see, Mama loved those flowers that bloomed in May,

And like an old family recipe I love them still today.

Long, summer days full of work and very little play,

Mama washed clothes, and cooking filled most of her day.

She had a way about her, so gentle and kind.

She never raised her voice, but all of us kids would mind.

I often think back when I was a child,

And wonder how many times I must have broken her heart acting foolish and wild.

Oh, Mama, I sometimes wish you were here,

There're questions I never asked before your illness made me fear.

While you were lying in that nursing home for years staring at the wall,

Did you have anything on your mind at all?

We all loved you as much as we could,

And prayed that you'd get better, but we knew that you never would.

Alzheimer's robs one of the heart and soul,

And takes away their dignity leaving them out of control.

I hate this disease that took Mama from me.

My only consolation is now she's in Heaven, and her mind and body are free.

lions, tigers and bears, oh my!

Towards the end of September, the 2 younger girls and I joined a group of friends at the zoo for the day.  We had a ton of fun with our friends and enjoyed seeing some of God's amazing creatures!

Esther feeding the giraffes!  She really wanted to do it, but was shaking the whole time!

Our roaring lions

watching the penquins

splashin' around

Chloe loved these little monkeys...it probably also helped that this was one of the only times she came out of the stroller!

all tuckered out...