Carryin' On in Corbin

One of the 'silver linings' of going to Michelle's mom's funeral in Corbin, KY was taking time to see a few of the sights. Michelle is always telling us wild stories about Corbin, so it was fun to go there!

For one thing, it is the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken, so of course we had to go there, even though it was late and all we got was french fries...well, actually (her son) Spencer got about a gallon of fries, we all watched him eat them. HA!

 

 

 



Me, Michelle, Colonel Sanders, Linda Soderquist, Connie Thomas



 

The next morning, before we left Corbin, we drove out to Cumberland Falls...beautiful place!

 

 

Linda, Michelle, Connie, Me, Jenn Bennett (Brian's wife)

 

 

 

Michelle's Mom, Mary Lou

My dear friend, Michelle Bennett's mom,  Mary Lou Hudson lost her battle with stomach cancer on April 27th. [I don't think I ever realized her mom's name was so close to my mom's name, Mary Loudene.]

Several of us friends went to Corbin, Kentucky to support Michelle for the funeral on May 2nd. She asked me to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" because it was one of her mom's favorite songs. Then she asked me to also sing "Building Bridges to the Heart," too. It was my honor.

Dawn Carlton, Donna Lealos, Connie Thomas, Michelle, Me, Linda Soderquist

 

 

Mary Lou raised a wonderful daughter who is like a sister to me. I am grateful.

Sam's 8th Grade Dance

So, the time has come for my 8th Grader to graduate -- and move on to high school next year (yikes!). They had the 8th Grade dance at Freedom Middle School, and Sam and several of his friends dressed up and went all out to have a great time. (Sam's friends, Justin Keivit and Sam Tallyn's moms took these photos and shared)

 

Afterwards, several of the crew went over to Justin Keivit's house and continued the party there...his mom Sharon put this together.

I downloaded a bunch of photos at full resolution, but due to technical difficulties, cannot find them all. Will have to update this post later...

Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all!

RS Service Project - April 2014

On April 26th, the Franklin Stake Relief Society sponsored a service project that assisted EIGHT organizations within the community:
* 150 Lap Blankets - 2 Rest Homes
* 36 Twin Size Blankets - Tennessee Boys' Home
* 36 Stuffed Teddy Bears & 2 Checkers Sets - Rest Home
* 30 Grocery Bags of Food / 14 Cases of juice/ramen/mac'n cheese -- Graceworks
* Treat Trays -- TWO Franklin Fire Stations, Post Office, Police Station

This generous lady (and her grandson) waited for her Social Security check, and then went and spent every extra dime that she could on items to give in the Graceworks food bags for needy children. She brought bag after bag out of her trunk. Her grandson said, "Did you know some kids don't get to eat ANY food on Saturday and Sunday? This time they will get some food." (It was very sweet.)

Our turnout was small, but the team was FIERCE, and we got lots accomplished! It was a great day!

 

We had a few "teams" who delivered items to the organizations. I only have photos from the ones I delivered. Hopefully I'll be able to update this post, as I asked everyone to take photos.

I took a "treat tray" of homemade goodies and a veggie tray to the Fire Dept. on Hwy. 96, and they were very surprised, but grateful for the donation.

 



The day of the event, we didn't finish all the blankets, so people took them home and finished them. A couple of weeks later I delivered 80 of them to a rest home near our house, Bedford Commons. I had stopped by the church to visit another event, and some missionaries from the Green Hills Single Adult ward were there. I asked them if they would come help me deliver, and they did.

IT...WAS...AWESOME...to see the looks of appreciation and surprise on these sweet faces when we gave them the blankets. Several of them asked "how much," or whatever when we gave them, expecting that they'd have to pay. They were surprised and almost suspicious when we said it was a gift! And then...just HAPPY, and wanted to choose their favorite color. I wish more people could have participated in the "payback" portion of the service project.