Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug…

mor·tal·i·ty: the number of deaths in a given time or place

Been thinking a lot about this subject lately. Maybe it’s because my loving grandmother passed away recently. Maybe it’s because the 10^th anniversary of my wonderful father-in-law’s death is approaching. Maybe it’s all the talk about “doomsday preppers” and “doomsday bunkers” going on in the media. I want to honor the memories of my Memama and Stan the Man, but first, let me take a minute and vent about all these theories regarding the ultimate fate of our earth.

Doomsday Preppers?? For real?? I don’t know about you, but if the end of the world is approaching, and it’s really gonna be bad enough to warrant a stockpile of food, water and concrete bunkers to protect you from nuclear fallout and zombies, then I DON’T EVEN WANT TO SURVIVE IT! Take me now, Jesus! Who wants to hang around and worry about all that stuff when everything I will need is with Him? Check out this link if you want to be further amazed at the lengths people will go to when they don’t trust in the gift of eternal life the Lord offers: Doomsday Missile Silo Condos for Sale .

Ok…moving on…

This is me a couple of years ago with my grandmother, LaVerne Baird Murrah. I was visiting her at the rest home where she lived for many years. This was probably the last time I was with her when she still remembered who I was, although she still occasionally introduced me as her daughter rather than her granddaughter. But that’s ok. She went to be with our Lord on August 20^th of this year, but in my heart, she died a while back when the Alzheimer’s took her mind. We celebrated her memory a few weeks ago in a memorial service, and honestly, it was more of a celebration of her life than a mourning of her death. 

Memama’s four daughters are in the center of this pic (my Mom on the right end next to Ansley), and around them are their spouses, children and grandchildren. If you are interested in my grandmother’s legacy, you can check out her obituary here: LaVerne Baird Murrah. But I think her greatest accomplishment is this: As far as I know, everyone in the picture to the right has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and will one day see their Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother again in heaven. If only I can carry on that tradition, my life will be complete.

October 30^th will be the 10th anniversary of Stanley Stephenson’s passing. I still miss him as much today as I did 10 years ago. I don’t think I am good enough a writer to express what a wonderful person Stan was, so let me just make a list (I’m real good at that!)…

-Generous – he gave of his time, money and resources to anyone who needed it.

-A true host with the most – he loved to have his family all around him.

-Soooooo funny! He had a wonderful sense of humor which he passed on to both John and Kelly.

-A dedicated husband (who loved to tease his wife, but there was no doubt he loved her dearly).

-He loved the water, living on the lake and at the beach.

-A man of integrity and honor, he had many friends who knew they could depend on him.

-A planner like me! We always had a vacation or a dinner out to look forward to.

-He set an excellent example for his children – teaching them discipline, hard work and integrity.

-A man of God, as committed to his faith as he was to his church.

-And his most important role: Big Daddy to his six grandchildren! Oh how they LOVED him.

Ansley and Alyssa were lucky enough to spend a week in New York City with Stan and Alice, just a few months before he died. I know they will treasure those memories forever. He loved his family so much and especially his grandchildren. Makes me sad that Kelly’s kids won’t have as many memories of Big Daddy, seeing as they were so much younger when he left this earth. But we know the best stories to tell and we keep his memory alive whenever we are all together. My mother-in-law continues spreading Stan’s generous spirit by taking us on trips and helping with college expenses for her grandchildren.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the days following Stanley’s death. This is Stanley’s best friend Jerry telling a story about Stan that pretty much sums up his joy for life: In 1998, they went to Miami to see the Falcons play in the Super Bowl for the first time EVER. Both Jerry and Stan were wearing matching Falcon polo shirts and someone at their hotel asked if they were Falcon coaches. Well…before they could get out the door to head to the game, Stan had them posing for pictures and signing autographs! The looks on Ansley and Alyssa’s faces are priceless to me. They obviously worshiped the ground Big Daddy walked on.

I hope, one day, I leave a legacy like these two people did. I hope my grandchildren think I’m a rock star. I hope I leave a huge family of believers. I hope they will tell inspiring stories about me. I hope I become as beautiful as my grandmother and as fun-loving as my father-in-law. I hope I live as long as LaVerne did with as much life as Stanley had. I can only hope.