This is a picture of my brother Scott and my niece Brooke Louise on her wedding day. I was so happy to be there with the family, and especially my brother and sister in law Lillian. I have 3 big brothers, Billy, Lonnie and Scott. Even though Scott is the youngest of the brothers his personality is that of a leader. I tease him and call him my "Brother Mother"! My earliest memories of Scott are of him following me around protecting me from myself. Scott was always the one to be sure all of us had our clothes ready for school and our homework prepared. He was and still is our family caretaker. I adore this man. He has become the man our mom always said he would. Scott has an amazing faith in God and has allowed Jesus to rest in his heart. He follows God's teachings in everything he does. I have no idea how I got so lucky to have him as my brother. He is a gift of love to all those that have the honor to know him. Scott and Lil have been married for 29 years, they have 3 children David, Brooke and Aaron. David has a daughter Ailah and Brooke has a daughter Lilliana. Aaron is 1 week younger than my Cory and attends Ohio State. They are all some of my favorite people! Scott's home is the center of our family. Dinner's, holidays, birthdays are all shared at their home. I am always so proud to see that Scott is sure to invite those that don't have a family near to join our gatherings. His heart is kind, his love is unfailing.
Scott took my son Cory into his heart and home when Cory needed leadership and structure. I cannot begin to explain how much this gift of kindness has meant to me. Cory is thriving in Ohio with my brothers influences. He has become the kind gentle soul that God intended. I owe Scott my unending gratitude for all he has done for my Cory. I will never be able to thank him enough.
And to top it all off, Scott is so handsome! And yeah, he knows it!

I am happy to introduce you to my mom. Louise Lavender Harris. My mom was born in Cincinatti Ohio, but raised in Pine Knot Kentucky. She married my dad right after graduating from high school, and he joined the Marine Corps. I have no idea how many times we moved, I know I went to 10 different schools. And I am the youngest child. Now, that I am older, I wonder how in the world she managed. My mom was diagnosed with chronic active hepatitis, but that diagnosis came only a few years before she died. Up until then, they did not know what was wrong and would just try to treat her symptoms. So here she was, terribly ill, with 4 young children (rotten and wild to boot!) a husband out of the country for years at a time....Wow! I come from serious strength!

My memories of my mom come from different times in my life. When I first started school, I remember wanting to walk home from the bus stop by myself. I went half days, so my brothers were not on the bus to bug me! But my mom insisted on either being at the bus stop herself, or if she was unable would have our neighbor Mr. Burnett meet me. I talked her into it one day, so here I go, all proud of myself to be alone for a change! Then accross the road between my home and the road was the biggest snake I ever saw! I remember the feeling of terror even today! I think I stood there for about 30 minutes, though it seemed like hours at the time. Then, around the corner, here came my mom.....running down the road crying....Sherry, she kept hollering my name what is wrong honey, come home. I somehow found my voice and told her about the snake. She stopped running when she saw it, picked up a rock and threw it at that snake yelling at it, leave my baby alone, go away. I was so happy and proud that she was my mom that day, and everyday after that I became more so.

Even as sick as she was, my mom was my rock and my defender. Anybody that was around her for even a short time, knew without a doubt her love for her children. And for me, as the only daughter, there was a special light of love. I will never forget the day she met her first grandchild. Brian Jacob Smith was 6 weeks old when him and I made our first trip home to visit my family. My mom was there at the gate, she was ill and had to sit in a wheelchair. But when I walked up the ramp, she stood and ran to me, hugging me and crying. She took him from my arms, so gently holding him close to her heart and she smelled his little neck. She looked up at me and said, God has answered my prayers this day. I will never ever forget the look on her face. I never thought she could love anymore than she loved her kids, but I was wrong. The love she had for Brian was more, and different. It was a peaceful and joyful love. They had quite a lot of fun, Nana and Brian! He rode around with her in her Corvette all over town. My dad still has that car, all tucked away in his garage.

So, that's my mom. Love, a lot of love. Strength, so much courage. And the faith that God was in control. Lessons learned and passing to the next generation. That is the legacy my mother left for her family.

Louise Lavender Harris 12/11/1938-1/6/1985

My Fun Mamaw

This is a picture of me and my grandmother at Disneyland. I think I was about 16. My mamaw was my inspiration for having fun in life! Every year as soon as school was out, my brothers and I traveled to Pine Knot Kentucky for the summer. My mom's mom and dad (my mamaw and dad) and her sister (my Aunt Barb) and my cousins (Jimmy, Todd and Daniel) all lived there. My grandparents house was up the hill from Barb's. We had nothing but fun! My grandpa bought me a pony most every year. If he didn't get one, then my brothers were saddled up for me to ride! My grandma made homemade biscuits, OMG, I can still smell them! My mamaw loved to laugh. She laughed from morning until night. She thought we were funny, she thought everything was funny! We picked blackberries, each of us had our own buckets. She would make each of us our own cobbler, never had to share! That was a big deal for me with a family full of boys!!!! Awww the memories. My mamaw and dad died 5 years ago, they were in an automobile accident. I miss them, but I know for sure they are happy to be with my mom and she is happy to have them.
I want to be that kind of grandma, full of joy and laughter.

This is my first blog, I am very excited. That being said, please hang in there with me! First I want to thank my friends, Karrie, Cheryl, Nun and EZ for encouraging me to do this. I also want to thank them for being such great friends. Wow, we have had a blast together getting the hiatus project together and just being silly. I have loved every minute of it. And I sincerely love each of them. I know for certain that God brings people together. He knew I needed these wonderful souls, and he provided. Gotta love his ingenious use of Twitter!

I realize I talk a lot about my son Brian on line a lot, for obvious reasons I am extra proud of him. But I thought I would try using this blog to talk more about me and what goes on in my life and goofy head! It might get boring, if so, I will resort back to my kids!

So, here goes!
I am the only daughter and youngest child, I blame my wild side on my birth order! I have three big brothers that I love and respect very much. I have always looked up to them, even when they were beating up my boyfriends and telling on me. My dad was a marine for 27 years, we moved A LOT. My mom was sick my entire life, she had a rare disease and was in the hospital sometimes for what I think was years, but I dont know if it just seemed that way to me. But when she was well, boy was she a great mom! When she was sick, my brothers had the job of "mom", mostly my brother Scott. He seems to be the caretaker of the family. He takes that role very seriously! My mom died when I was 23, terrible loss, to this day it breaks my heart. She loved me, so much. You could literally see her love. That's what I want for my boys, to know that love, and I hope I give that to them. My dad, well he's a carreer marine, now a Senator. Not too touchy feely, more a pat on the shoulder and a lecture kind of dude. We dont really understand each other, and I find myself very sad about that. Yes, I have dad issues! He is a wonderful man, very respected and he does so much for his state. I am proud he is my dad, I hope someday he will be proud of me.

That's the base I come from. I like to think of my life as a sort of sections. Each section adding to the next, building. A work in progress!
Next blog, I will attempt to tell you about what I label as my "middle life". Thats the getting married and having kids part!