In Memory of Grandpa

Our last grandparent and Eddie's beloved Grandpa went to heaven on October 17, 2018.  He lived his life proudly and humbly as a long-time Baptist pastor, loving and devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.  God and his family were the most important aspects of his life, and he left a wonderful legacy behind for us all to remember.  I am so sad that our younger children will not remember this wonderful man just as they won't remember most of their great-grandparents.  I have always wanted to provide my children with lots of loving family because I spent so much of my young life without much family.  I pray that we can leave the kind of legacy for our children and descendents as Grandpa and his beloved wife left for us.

Grandpa's Obituary

THE REV. DAVID EDWIN HUDSON

ROCKINGHAM — The Rev. David Edwin Hudson, 89, of Rockingham died Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.

He was born Sept. 14, 1929, in Richmond County, the son of the late William David Hudson and Lydia Jane King.

His handsome father and beautiful mother

The Rev. Hudson was a pastor for 46 years with the Pee Dee Baptist Association, serving New Hope Baptist Church, Ellerbe, and Midway Baptist Church, Rockingham.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Mattie Baxley Hudson, in 1998; great-granddaughter Mattie Claire Reese; his parents and stepmother, Helen Thompson Hudson; brothers Walter, Hobert, Clyde, Carl, Leroy, Marshall and George; and sisters Mary and Delilah.

Grandpa with his beautiful bride

Grandpa with his brothers Leroy and Hobert

The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Beverly Hills Baptist Church, with the Rev. Mark Richardson officiating. Burial will follow at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery.

Mr. Hudson is survived by his children, Dava Martin (Garry), Matthew Hudson (Patty), Rowena Reese (James Campbell) and Homa Greene; 11 grandchildren, David Byrd (Megan), Jason Byrd, Shannon Deese (Adam), Eddie Reese (Sherry), April Andrade (Bruno), Aaron Hudson (Christie), Naomi Deloach (Scott), Marian Creech, Andrew Martin (Ashley), Cecilia Robbins (Nathan) and Hudson White (Olivia); 22 great grandchildren,  Evan, Lilly, Eva, Eliza, Robert, Mason, Elena, Brody, Elliott, Ezra, Jacob, Grady, Emilia, Elisabeth, Emerson, Mattox, Clara, Grayson, Isaiah, Luke, Lydia, and Hannah;  and  siblings Margie Cobbler, Clifford, John, Larry (Darlene) and William (Pam); sister-in-law Ruby Hudson; and numerous nieces and nephews. 

Important Pictures of Grandpa's Life

Grandpa and Grandma in their courtship

A good-looking and adventurous young couple

Movie star good looks

Their firstborn daughter, Dava, is born.

Grandpa with his first three children, Dava, Matthew, and Rowena. 

Life was good as a family of six with children, Dava, Matthew, Rowena, and Homa.

Grandpa and Grandma in the family home they built together.

Grandpa with his four children in 2015

Grandpa meeting each of our children in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2016.  Sadly, he did not get to meet our daughter Maggie.  He was buried next to his wife Mattie and his great-granddaughter Mattie.  He loved these babies! 

I would say Great-Grandpa was the most proud of his hoard of great-grandchildren.  There were 22 when he passed away.  Counting Mattie and Maggie, he has 24. 

The Funeral

Our flower for Grandpa

Grandpa's funeral arrangements were made by his loving wife before she died in 1998.  She wanted all of her affairs in order before she died.  She suffered from the most deadly type of cancer, non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, so she knew her time was limited.   Because she is such a fighter, she lived much longer than expected and accomplished her goals!  Grandpa's casket and hers were her choices, and they were gorgeous. 

Grandpa's son and grandsons carried his casket. 

We know he is not here now.  He was in heaven with his wife the moment he left us. 

Grandma also picked their headstone. 

Handsome Evan, firstborn great-grandchild, had to lose his coat because it was so hot in mid-October. 

The grandchildren all took a few of Grandpa's flowers to remember him. 

Brody lost his coat too. 

Thank you, Grandpa, for loving your family and for living a life that made us all proud!

Fun on St. Simons Island

I love visiting St. Simons Island which is about an hour drive south of us.  It has that sweet beach town feel with shopping and dining, and it has a nice park and board walk area for a nice evening stroll by the seashore.  It also has a pretty lighthouse.  To top it off, it also has one of our favorite dining establishments, Mellow Mushroom.  So when I was picking a location for our family pictures to announce the coming arrival of baby number six, is it any wonder I chose SSI?  It was a lovely day in late September so the crowds were pretty light too.  If you are ever visiting southern coastal Georgia or just passing through on the way to Florida, SSI is worth a stop.

Evan posing for a picture in front of the pretty lighthouse. 

An evening beach stroll in the setting sun. 

These kids love the beach. 

Brody loved this whale sculpture.  He was holding the baby doll we use to introduce our younger kids to their new baby sister. 

No, they aren't supposed to climb on the whale, but who can resist?  

This Mellow Mushroom is fun for the kids as it has some neat sculptures from their favorite movies.  Nemo was a hit! 

And so was a cool Kung Fu Panda.  That used to be Evan's favorite movie when he was a toddler. 

Successful September {2018}

Despite the fact that we don't really get Fall weather in September here and it just feels like a continuation of hot summer, we managed to do some Fall-like activities in September, and the kids had a successful month in school.  It was a full month for this crazy family!

Just playing on the playground.  Grayson did not want to lose his football.  Evan thinks he will be a future football player for sure. 

That football went with him everywhere.  His church pal, Rhyland, was following along with an armful of balls too. Boys! 

Of course, we celebrated my birthday at our favorite Mellow Mushroom. 

I just loved my birthday art from Brody and Mattox. 

This post popped up in my instagram on my birthday.  Apparently, I share a birthday with Waffle House right here in Georgia.  Haha! I guess from now on we should eat there on my birthday. 

Sweet Mattox getting another eye exam to see if his prescription changed.  It is difficult getting a non-verbal kid to cooperate. 

But he is too cute! 

Grayson was trying to put his brother's glasses on. 

A chair for two. 

We had to wait for Mattox's eyes to dilate so we played in the waiting room. 

Mattox is such a cool kid.  He wears his sunglasses inside while reading a book. Ha! 

Big brother Evan is definitely the bookworm in the family and even reads while waiting for his food at Chick-fil-a after a soccer game. Grayson is just ready to eat. 

He also reads at the Mexican restaurant after church.  The boy just doesn't put a book down. 

Brody started his Wolf year in Cub Scouts. 

Brody and I made his Dreams poster for school.  He dreams of traveling the world, graduating from college, and becoming an artist and a chef. 

Sweet Grayson tucking himself into my bed. He said, "No pictures please!"

Brody's class at church were learning to work together as they colored this huge art.  Brody kind of takes over in art projects.  Haha! 

My wild monkeys playing.  Mattox and Grayson team up against Evan. 

Handsome Evan...some random picture someone took on the good camera.  It might be one of my favorite pictures of him. 

Sweet Grayson and Mattox.  I loved Grayson's curls! 

Grayson was shutting himself into big brother's closet. 

Evan has grown so much spiritually in his youth group at church. I loved this picture of him praying. They had a fun "feast" of everyone's favorite cereals one night. 

This hurricane threat was barreling down on our home state of NC and did bring some disastrous flooding to eastern NC after striking Wilmington. 

My beautiful baby

I think Brody was studying his spelling and vocubulary words. 

Evan and Grayson were playing a hand game at lunch while Brody and I had a pout face competition. Who won? 

I found Mattox and Grayson napping like this on the couch.  They really do love one another!  I was so proud of Brody for bringing home all A+ on his spelling and vocabulary tests in one week, and he continued that trend for the rest of the school year.  He rocked those tests! I thought his sentence with one of his vocabulary words was funny because he spelled everything correctly except the word "am."  He will often write simple words like "am" and "is" completely backwards.  Haha! 

The little boys enjoy playing in this play space at the mall.  

They love the little slide. 

And running through the rainbow tunnel and climbing on the giant letters. 

I love those baby boys! 

My sweet Grayson

Oh no, Mattox discovered the TV screen built into the play area.  It only shows a baby learning channel so not that bad for him. 

Ugh, Mommy was feeling pretty large these days while pregnant with baby Maggie. 

After an intense play time at the mall, Mattox passed out on the ottoman at home.  He was showing off his tattoo that he loves getting at Tijuana Flats. Mattox and Grayson were cooking in the kitchen.  

Ice Cream cones from Chick-fil-a are the best. 

Sweet Mattox

Evan and Brody enjoyed a little fishing derby at our local fish hatchery.  

Brody was determined to catch a fish. 

Evan caught a little one.  They all were thrown back of course. 

The little boys wanted to fish too. 

Evan wanted to kayak around the pond.  He is really fast! 

He even took his little brother for a ride.  He wasn't as fast with another passenger. 

I love these shots of them together.  Classic memories! 

After taking pictures of Evan and Brody, I turned around and lost sight of Mattox.  I finally found him over on this ATV.  He loves to drive.  Haha! 

I love watching these big boys fishing. 

Brody caught a good sized catfish. 

Mattox tried to catch one too. 

After a hot morning fishing, we had a birthday party to attend.  Mattox loved the Cat Boy cake from PJ Masks.  I was due for a Sonic drink later. 

Then, I had a baby shower to attend at church.  The couple's nursery theme was cactus/cacti so I was pleased to find a matching bag while shopping at TJ Maxx.  

Grayson likes to help fold clothes. 

Grayson discovered the singing puppy. 

I love when they sit together and share the kindle to watch some learning videos. 

Big brother had a football game, and the boys were exhausted afterwards. The boys also enjoyed a new doggy friend while Mommy was at a doctor's appointment. 

I loved this day when some sweet old pictures from probably 2010 or so of little Evan popped up in my facebook memories.  

Sweet pictures of Brody popped up too from 2011 and 2015.