Wilburn O. Rushing

I attended the memorial service for Wilburn O. Rushing on Friday, April 13th. Mr. Rushing is the father of my Aunt Lisa's husband, Richard. He was an amazing man. I am so thankful Ben got to meet Mr. Rushing last summer. I only wish I had gotten a picture of them together.

I also got to spend some time with my Aunt Darla on the 2+ hours drive to St. Petersburg. We really wanted to be there for Lisa and Rick. I am so blessed to have such amazing Aunts in my life. Here is a picture of me with Aunt Darla and Aunt Lisa on Friday:

And here is the obituary for Mr. Rushing. My Aunt Lisa's pastor shared so many wonderful stories about Mr. Rushing during the service. My favorite was that Mr. Rushing jumped on a trampoline at 86! E-I-G-H-T-Y S-I-X ya'll! I can only hope that I live a life that full.

Rushing, Wilburn O., 97, of Seminole passed away peacefully on April 10, 2012. He was born on December 25, 1914, in Bonifay, Florida. He was predeceased by parents, Lula and Stephen, and 12 siblings. He is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Ruth Katherine Rushing; son and daughter-in-law Stephen and Mia Rushing; son and daughter-in-law Richard and Alisa Rushing; daughter and son-in-law Renee Rushing and David Gaul; daughter Cherie Zellmer; daughter and son-in-law Merry and James Kates. Grandchildren -Kellie Pesola, Jonee Gaul, Trevor Gaul, Kerry Kates Pearson, Kylie Kates, Holly Rushing Rodes, Whitney Rushing McCallum, Timothy and Matthew Rushing. Great-grandchildren - Cameron and Harrison Pesola, Ayden and Asher Rodes, Conner Pearson and Rylan Gaul.He excelled in track and gymnastics sports. He was Mr. St. Petersburg in the 1930's and an undefeated semi-pro boxer (20 - 0). When World War II broke out he volunteered and served as a US Marine in the Pacific Theatre. In 1956 he was the first to graduate with honors with an associate degree from St. Petersburg Junior College's night school program and worked for Florida Power, now Progress Energy, for 42 years, rising from an Elevator Operator to Manager of Operations, Computer Services Department.He served as an officer in the St. Petersburg Garden Club, a member of the Tampa Bay Rare Fruits Council, and enjoyed creating new hybrid fruit and flowering trees. He and his wife, Katherine, traveled extensively after his retirement. He was an honest, upright, hard worker and a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who will be greatly missed and always dearly remembered. Grave side services will be held Friday, April 13th at Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Petersburg.

Proud Wife

http://polkpreps.blogs.theledger.com/12900/faca-district-baseball-selections/

My humble husband is not telling anyone, so I thought I would let as many people as possible know. He was voted FACA District 13 Coach of the Year. My husband LOVES baseball, but by no means is coaching young men an easy job. I am so very proud of him and ecstatic that he is getting a little bit of recognition for his hard work and dedication.

Ben and I are so proud of our Daddy Coach! Love you, Jeremy!

Happy Easter!

We have had a wonderfully relaxing Easter Sunday. Ben woke up to some nice treats from the Easter Bunny. He got several books this year. We tried not to give so much candy since he got so much at Aunt Joyce's. I found a great book called J is for Jesus. It tells the story of Easter using all the letters of the alphabet. He got a Max & Ruby book and Happy Easter, Mouse! At one point, Ben said, "I think the Easter Bunny likes books!" Too funny! He also got a kite that we're going to try out after dinner. It is so hot outside!

We had an egg hunt before lunch and Grandma & Grandpa Byrd came over to watch. Grandpa took some great pictures of Ben. We're over at their house now waiting for Easter dinner. Jeremy and Ben are playing Chutes & Ladder.

I hope you all have had a great day. Enjoy the pictures!

Our pretty Easter Lilly

Bunny Cupcakes & Easter Party

Ben made Bunny Cupcakes for his friends at Aunt Joyce's. He is so much fun in the kitchen. He loves cracking eggs, stirring, and decorating. We had a hard time getting him to bed this night...he had too many M&Ms and marshmallows! You've got to snack while baking, right?

Ben had so much fun at Joyce's Easter party Friday. He got to color eggs, have yummy treats, and hunt eggs with his friends. Jeremy and I were off work for Good Friday, so we got to go with him and hang out. It was so much fun to watch him play with his friends. Enjoy these cute party pictures!

Ben's favorite color is green, so he wanted to make a green egg first!

Ben and his friends: Addison, Joshua, Cole, Bennett, Callie and Hanna

Ben with his BFF, Callie. This picture makes me smile :)

Addison, Callie, Joshua and Cole

Bennett, Hanna and Ben enjoying Easter treats

Fun with Photoshop!

My father-in-law was showing me some cool things with Photoshop Elements last week. Here is a picture of Ben we edited with the program. I thought it was really cool!

Monorail

Ben absolutely loves the Disney monorail! It is one of his favorite "rides" at Disney. My Aunt Joyce found this Disney monorail toy at that huge yard sale they have in Celebration every year. She let Ben take it home for a couple of days, and boy, was he in heaven!

I looked this toy up on Amazon and it costs over $100! I think I'll be going to that yard sale this year to see if I can find another one!

Palm Sunday

Pastor Brian asked Ben to wave a palm branch at church for Palm Sunday. He was so excited! He did such a great job waving the branch and parading up and down the aisles. We were so proud of him!

The pictures aren't great, but I wanted to show you all just how precious he was. Have a great Easter week!