My Family

My one constant.

Ron

Ron and I met in the fall of 1980. I saw him for the first time across the room at a singles fellowship. I can’t quite say that it was love at first sight, but it was close. We didn’t actually meet that night – we saw, but the next Sunday night at church a friend introduced us.

Ron called the next week to ask me out, but I couldn’t go. He called several more times but always something else was up, really. He finally told me that he wouldn’t call again. So, I changed my plans that last time and off we went. It was on this date that Ron and I found out he was twelve years older! He left me with, “It’s been fun, but this is just too big a difference.” I was so disappointed! But he did call the next day anyway, and we went out every night after that.

Our wedding was December 31, 1980. We got married in my parents house. It was small but wonderful! Wonderful because of him. I don’t tell too many people this (so it will have to be our secret now), but I think I held my breath from the time we decided to get married until it actually happened. Until I heard is voice in the other room. It was almost too good to be true. Too perfect to be real.

We honeymooned in South Padre Island and then came back to live in Houston.

When we got married, Ron was the Marketing Manager at a cement company. We moved to Atlanta in 1984. Ron started out as Marketing Manager for that district but was quickly made Sales Manager. We stayed in Atlanta nine years.

In 1993, Ron lost his job after 20 years. This was a tough time, but he was a rock and started looking for a new job right away. By March, he had a new job with a brick company in Winston-Salem NC. He started out as Sales Manager and later became Vice President of Sales.

Brandon
Brandon was born at in Houston Texas on January 8, 1982. It doesn’t usually get cold in Houston, but when Brandon was born, there was a hard freeze!

Brandon went to elementary school in Marietta Georgia. He was in one of elementary school’s two cub scout troups. Ron was the Cub Master. Brandon was also already active at church. Sometimes (rarely, occasionally, the boy would get sick) we had to tell him to stay home. He always loved church. It of course was more than church – but his passion for Jesus that drew him to church.

When we moved to NC, Brandon was ready to begin middle school, and we enrolled him at church day school. I don’t think his years there were particularly happy. I know when high school came around, he was ready for a change.

Brandon made the move to one of the local high schools. He was active in the drama program there and the choir program at church. He played some wonderful roles in both places. I never will forget the year he was leaping lord in the Christmas program or one of the silent monks singing the hallelujah chorus. He went on at least one mission trip a year. He was (and still is) sure of his faith and ready to take a stand on difficult issues.

Then, almost before I knew what had happened, Brandon was off to college. He’d been accepted several places. East Carolina University was his first pick because of the caliber of their drama program. But one day, a letter came from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. What a decision! Well, he finally chose UNC and I think for the most part, he was happy there getting a degree in Drama and History.

Brandon is now a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas with a Masters of Divinity. Fort Worth has been a long ways off, and I had to adjust to seeing him just a couple of times a year. Those infrequent visits were been the hardest thing about his move. The easiest thing has been Brandon’s confidence that this was what God would have him do at this time in his life.

After seminary Brandon moved to California for a couple of months before beginning a year of teaching at Kykotsmovie Village, Arizona at the Hopi Mission School. Brandon taught 4th grade there for a semester and then decided that he missed Texas and moved back to the Fort Worth Dallas area. Now he is Youth Minister for a small church between Houston and DFW.

Joe
Joe was born April 29, 1984 at the same hospital in Houston where Brandon was born. When Joe was born, we were in the process of moving. As a matter of fact, the movers came the day I went into labor. When Joe was 17 days old, we hopped on a plane and went to Atlanta to join Ron.

Joe was a quiet kid, but very active. He was as likely as not to get injured doing something. He split his head open during a sleepover, and I think he broke his arm five times, but it may have been more! Twice the paramedics had to come. The first time he broke it, he’d fallen out of a tree. The neighbors called and there was my poor little boy laying there all crumpled on the roots. That time he had to have surgery and stay in the hospital a few days. Once, he broke his arm at school because he fell off the jungle gym. The school insisted on calling an ambulance that time. We’ve always joked about how Grandpa Joe will be able to predict the weather by how his arm feels.

Joe started elementary school in Marietta. When we moved to Winston, he went to public elementary school and then moved to the church day school in middle school where he stayed until he graduated. He did spend the 10th grade at a public high school (not the one Brandon went to), but he soon realized what a comfortable place the day school was and returned in the 11th grade.

Joe had several good schools to choose from for college. He was going to go to Appalachain in Boone. He even planned to start the summer after he graduated. During the winter before though, he decided that would be too cold and went to UNC Wilmington instead where he majored in Math.

At college, Joe met his wife, Blythe, and has been involved in Habitat for Humanity, mission trips, and Bible studies.

Joe graduated from UNCW on May 13, 2006 with a BS in Mathematics (Applied Mathematics) and a BA in Physics. Much to our surprise, Joe was awarded an academic honor in the departmental ceremony. Joe won the Adrian Hurst Award for Scholastic Achievement in Mathematics. This award is give to the junior or senior mathematics major with the highest GPA who has done all course work at UNCW.  Joe’s math GPA was 3.902.

Now, Joe is a store manager for construction/building supply company and working on his MBA at ECU.

Blythe
I went a long time with no daughters, but now I have a precious one and Joe brought her home! Blythe is from High Point, and she and Joe met at school. She and Joe graduated and got married two weeks later. Blythe is one of the hardest working young women I know. In college, it wasn’t unusual for her to work more than one job while she was in college.

Blythe graduated from UNCW on May 13, 2006 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Community Health. We had a great graduation day together that ended with dinner at Port City Grill.

The wedding is over and the marriage is well into several years. PLEASE tell me where the time has gone! The wedding was gorgeous by the way. But what else would it be with a beautiful bride and handsome groom!?! The kids honeymooned in Jamaica.

Joe and Blythe moved to Greenville NC, where Blythe attended nursing school at ECU. Now she and Joe are located much closer (making for a happy mom and dad here!).