A Legacy

My grandfather, Robert Lowery, went to be with the Lord.

I can only describe it as a homecoming.  He is home with the One he dedicated his life to serving.  My grandpa served in WWII, married his hometown sweetheart, my grandma, and became a pastor.  He founded and pastored Faith Bible Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, for 30 years.  

Grandpa and Grandma with Ryan and Me

On Wednesday our family gathered in Cincinnati to be together and celebrate my grandpa.  His memorial service was so special.  Dear friends of my grandparents spoke about Grandpa's life and service, his humility, his honesty, his desire to serve the Lord.  They spoke about his prison ministry, his dedication to missions, and his ability to preach the Word of God.  One man told of a sermon Grandpa preached in Guatemala that brought a missionary to tears, so timely was the message to his tired soul.  

Grandpa and Me

I don't think I will ever know the extent of my grandfather's influence, or how his life has impacted mine.  I am richly blessed by my extended family's commitment to the Lord.  Because of my grandpa's commitment to missions, my mom and her sister both lived overseas as missionaries.  Because of my childhood exposure to missions and travel, I moved to Kenya.  Because of that move, Matt and I met.  

Grandpa, my cousins, and my sister

It was for these reasons and many more that we named Bo "Robert" after my grandpa.

Fifteen years ago, my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  After many years of caring for him at home, my grandma finally was forced to place him in a care facility.  Even there, God used the witness of my grandma to minister to the staff and other residents.

Grandma and most of her grandkids.

What a joy it is to know my grandpa is finally whole, that he is all that God intended him to be!

Below is a video from Faith Bible's 50th anniversary, celebrated this year.  It tells the story of the church my grandpa founded and the features some of his last sermon.


Faith Bible Church 50th Anniversary from Faithful Bull Productions on Vimeo.

real family pictures

Have you seen that picture on Pinterest of the three kids holding letters that spell J-O-Y, but all of them are screaming?  That's kind of how our family picture experience was.  

 One of these kids was feeling a little squirrely.

Attempting to get one of Gigi and Pop with their sweet grandsons:

And my personal favorite:


What do you think about this family resemblance?

Matt and his brothers with their grandpa:

Anyway, we somehow managed to get this crew all together over Thanksgiving for a picture of the growing family:

evolution of a table

I would like to blog a couple times a week but time just gets away from me!  We've had a lot happening but part of me wants to be chronological with my posting.  So, as Christmas approaches, here is a post from Thanksgiving: 

Over Thanksgiving, Matt and his brothers, Dad, and Grandpa collaborated to make a table out of barn wood.  The wood was taken from this old barn.  

This was a real from-the-source operation. 

 

The guys spent a lot of time down in the workshop.  There are lots of steps to building a table, especially when the wood is full of nails and warped with age.

They spent some late nights putting it together but it's all assembled now.  Over Christmas they will probably give it another sanding and stain and seal it.  It will be an outdoor table at Matt's parents' house.  If you've seen Parenthood, their outdoor family space was the inspiration for this project!

It's only 8 months late . . .

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

I started making a book for Bo shortly after he turned one.  Obviously it has taken me a while!  I finally got inspired to crank it out so he could get it for Christmas. (That being said, it's already ordered, so please keep typos to yourself.)  I can hardly believe he used to be so tiny . . . I forget so much about what it was like to have a little baby.  Anyway, Shutterfly gave a surprise option at the end to share the book so for better or for worse, you all can see it too!  Enjoy! 

one and a half

Somehow our tiny little baby has grown up into a hilarious toddler-man.  

He loves to kick and throw a ball.  Every day he begs me to "kick, mommy, kick!" and will not stop until someone is kicking the ball with him.  He likes hitting at balls, too: 

We have spent many hours at the park down the street and in our own backyard.  Since daylight savings it's been getting dark at 4:45 so THAT is a bummer but it has still been warm enough to be out during the afternoon.  

 

We took Bo to a Titans game a few weeks ago . . . which now means he's been to a major league baseball game (in Boston as a baby) and an NFL game.  I'm not recommending you take your infants and wiggly toddlers to ball games, but if somebody is giving away tickets and you're up for an adventure (or your babysitter has plans), it is possible to go with an open mind and have a little fun.  

Bo actually did really well at the Titans game.  He was enthralled by the crowd and the game for a bit, and when he started going wild, the people in front of us took him for a little while.  Complete strangers, but they were grandparents and happier with our kid than we were at the moment. 

Bo has such a special bond with his Daddy.  He goes wild when Matt gets home.  He asks for Daddy first thing every morning and then "Moo, Moo, Moo?" for Moose.

 

 Bo L-O-V-E-S trucks.  It's a wonderful thing to love, because they are everywhere.  Road construction is Bo's favorite thing.  Here he's waiting for the garbage truck to come around the corner:

Bo loves books, too.  Our once-extensive board book collection now seems puny because we have read each one a thousand times.  

Poor Bo . . . that picture was taken one night after dinner when he was tired and I had JUST finished reading the truck book that he wanted me to turn around and read again . . . always on a quest to make sure mommy doesn't get anything done around the house . . . 

After dinner time is tricky for me if Matt isn't here.  Bo eats at 5:00 or 5:30 and when he's done it's dark outside but too early for bath.  One night I tried finger painting.  It was fun for a short amount of time, as you can see:

I hope I don't have a craft hater on my hands. 

Last week we finally cut the wispy duck hair off the top of Bo's head.  I was in favor of the trim until Matt moved toward his little blonde head with the big man trimmer and then there was some drama.  

He just cut a little and Bo really does look more like a big boy. :( 

Bo is getting more verbal and says a bunch of words, but also prattles on in gibberish saying things that no one can understand but him.  He's also become really aware of his surroundings- he'll yell "CHOO-CHOO" when we pull up to the library that has a train table.  He yells "guckins" when we get to his cousins' neighborhood.  It's so funny that he can see things around him and make connections.  

And by the end of the day, we're all pretty happy about bedtime.  

 

halloween

Last weekend my friend Jenny came for a visit.  Jenny and I went to college together, lived together post-college, and both worked at the same school in Kenya.  We picked her up from the airport and a couple hours later took her to a Halloween party, very appropriately dressed as Maasai tribesmen/women.  A costume which only made sense to us, and one which all of the parts had been worn at one time in all seriousness.  Except the giant Maasai necklace, I have never worn that.  And Matt has never worn his homemade earlobes out in public, but I'm proud? to say that the rest of the items were from our carefully curated personal collection.  

Jenny and Bo became fast friends.  Having a third adult in the house was super helpful and Bo was loving the extra attention!  

On Halloween, Jenny and I took Bo to the zoo in the morning.  It was only appropriate that he wear his costume . . . 

We went animal themed this year because Bo actually knows what a monkey is (he's not too familiar with superheroes yet) and loves making monkey noises.  

Watching elephants with Mom.

 

And enjoying a new trick learned from Aunt Jenny - throwing leaves:

After naps we scooted over to see the cousins:

 Are you kidding me with that sideways grin and sweet Hulk smile?  Unfortunately Bo is making his "cheese" face which is more like a grimace. 

And here the boys are being told the candy is not for them . . .

Perhaps my favorite part of Halloween is the Bo + Moose combo . . . this year they went as a monkey and a banana.  Moose's costume was a bit snug but I knew in my heart it was awesome.  Even if we did have to explain it to the neighbors.

The first time trick or treating was super cute . . . and lived up to my expectations.

We had some tweenagers ringing the bell when our candy bowl ran empty . . . which I thought was a little rude, but overall it was good times.