Aunt "Wynda" and Gunkle "Coody" have arrived! We have the distinct pleasure of spending the entire weekend with Jon's brother and sister-in-law! Shawn was extremely excited to see his Uncle... for he knew that this would be a weekend of fun, romping, and t-r-o-u-b-l-e!
Speaking of trouble... I find it rather ironic that Shawn is very interested in learning how to spell that word above many words hehe. How fitting.
Speaking of trouble... I find it rather ironic that Shawn is very interested in learning how to spell that word above many words hehe. How fitting.
Shawn adores him!
Two of a Kind.
Lovin' Aunt Wynda :)
Tool Time Teachings with Uncle Cody
Helping the flowers grow.
There is nothing quite like Family.
Forget that little kiddie pool...
Bedtime Stories.
Sunday with the nephews.
Visit with Pap Marks. Shawn kept saying "Lets go see Pap and Tooooby!" (Toby the pup.)
Adventures with Auntie.
Families are Forever!
Stepping Stones.
We love our family.
Nephew & Uncle.
Sis-in laws... I love you babe!
Pool Time!
Chasing Aunt "Wynda" around the yard :)
You'll never believe it: Landon now LOVES the water! Today he had an epiphany... Water is his new found friend. We couldn't keep him from trying to swim in it!
The Dolphin II
Family Pool Fun.
Landon thought this was the greatest... being thrown in the air and splashing his feet in the pool.
Hero Daddy
1st Deere Ride!!
Tonight we had our first family cookout with the new grill... Burgers, 'dogs, mac 'n cheese, chips n more... We set everything up out on the back porch and had an amazing time!
This was one of the hardest visits to say goodbye to Cody and Lynda. We have all grown so close over the past few months and seeing Shawn and Landon develop such a strong bond with them makes parting all the more difficult. Tonight, Shawn said to them as they were leaving "No, stay here in this house!" One thing I will always be grateful for is Lynda sending me that email last October wanting to get our side in a very messed up long story with Jon's mother and step father. We lost so much time with Jon's brother & Lynda because of his mom and keeping us from having a normal family relationship. We'll never get back all of that time lost and we'll never forget the heartache that was put upon all 6 of us (Jon, the boys, Cody, Lynda, and I.) This fresh start in our new home and new town is a good way to say goodbye to those holding us back and keeping us in a vicious fighting cycle of hurt and lies with parents who claim to love our family but only set out to harm it. It is a shame that a mother could do that to her sons and grandsons... lie and place blame on everyone but where blame is due. None the less, Jon and I have grown from this experience... not only in learning what NOT to do as parents and what is true unconditional love versus abuse and control. Our family is stronger from this hard lesson... and for that we are thankful.
I know this is something I have not blogged about until now. The blog has been set to private and is viewable by invite only. After the last confrontation and new findings in a long twisted tale... we know it is best to keep our family life private and leave Jon's mother to think about the harm she has caused us. We will not allow our children to be caught up in a web of hurt like she allowed her own children to be caught up in. Our family is the most important thing in the world... and our children deserve to be treated with respect and shown unconditional love from their family. We hope everyone will respect our wishes and keep this blog to just you (the invited parties.)
Thank you:
The Rawlings Family
3 comments:
Great pics- looks like you had a fun time & I'm sure the boys (and you) can't wait for them to come back to visit some more!
Reading the blog (even the last part)and seeing the pictures made me tear up a little. We miss you all so very much already. It was a hard time to say goodbye. When Shawn said for us to stay. That made it even hard to say goodbye. I am so so glad i contacted you in October. That was the best thing i have done and not just for me but for cody as well. Love you and Jon very much. And love the boys a ton.
Ok now I have some time so I can comment on the last part ;-)
You all are so much better off without a certain set of ILs & their controlling, manipulative games. Obviously the most important thing in their lives is to be in control, to be right & to make you look bad when they're not an innocent party in all of this. You all... you, Jon, the boys, Cody & Lynda... deserve better than this. I'm so glad that you all found eachother & can be a family together. I think it's very clear to everyone that you know what it means to be a family... to be a mommy, a daddy, to be an Aunt (Lynda), & an Uncle (Cody) who loves those boys- and eachother- unconditionally.
You all will only grow from this experience.
((HUGS))
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