Anyone know where this is???? If you don't , let me tell you. It's in the Vatican. St. Peter's. I just wish I could have made pictures to show the ENORMITY of this incredible place of worship. This is one place I would've LOVED to have had more time to visit. Do you see on the left the long crowds of people? They are waiting to come in. Unbelievable. How I would LOVE to be there on a Christmas Eve. I'm not Catholic, but I do believe so much that they do and we are Christians, together. (I've always said I'm part Methodist/Baptist/Catholic and many other denominations!). Here are a few more pictures from one of my favorite places in the world, ITALY and specifically, the VATICAN....
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Hard to believe that Lily Clair Fry is 10 years old! She is getting so tall and is so pretty and so sweet. She captured our hearts 10 years ago and hasn't let go yet! We love our little beauty! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGEL FACE!
.Yes, I was, indeed, the BIRTHDAY QUEEN! ha ha ha ha! As everyone knows, I love my birthday, JULY 17th (make note for future!)! Since I was a wee girl, I have loved my summer birthday! So much fun, such a great summer break to look forward to. My parents always made a "big deal" out of our birthdays and they continued that with the grandkids. I didn't understand why "the Fry" side of the family didn't make a big deal of b'days when I first married into the family! HAHA! I thought EVERYONE was a queen(king) on their birthday! Found out not everyone shares that idea but I wanted to with my own kids, too. Since there are 5 Fry Kids (and 5 sweet "in-laws" and 8 grands now), back in the day when I had the "5" at home, I had to make a big deal out of birthdays. (or risk an uprising!)!I would always check those that were in school, out of school for lunch and try and make the day super special for them. I STILL love making the b'day "kid" feel special. It's the ONE DAY you get ALL the attention and love. My kids do the same thing now with their kids and I love it. And, they are all super special to me. Michael asked me Thursday night, "why didn't you answer my text until this afternoon?" BLESS HIM, I didn't see it. They all want to talk to/text their mama (or risk being put up for adoption)! haha AND, as girls do, both Natalie &Katie both wrote the sweetest thing on their FB statuses : Natalie Fry-Horne July 17 near Hoover, AL Today is a special day.... You wanna know why? Because it's my lovely, insanely witty, dependable, smoking hot, loving and always fun Mom's birthday. July 17th is always one of my favorite days as we get to shower her with the attention that she gives us daily. — with Jan Fry.... Katie Fry Cullen — with Jan Fry. July 17 via Instagram In honor of #tbt. Happy Birthday to the sweetest,most beautiful, proverbs 31 woman I know. I hope you have the BEST DAY EVER. I am so thankful God chose YOU to be my Mom. Thank you all you constantly do for me and my little family. We love and adore you more than you know! #happybirthday#hbd #granjanbirthdayweek #granjansbirthday (I still adore this pix!) Soooo THIS year was super special! I got to have all 5 "small" frys here . Together. In one place. For the first time since Patrick left for the Navy 6 years ago! Only those who have children away understand how it feels to have one missing during those special "get together" times. It's great to have all the others, but the one missing is the worst feeling! I am beyond grateful that they were all here! Patrick is back in town (Pelham) with his precious family! YAY! BUT, I still have one family missing, Katie(Jon, Carter, Ella Kate). I was excited to get together with the others, but , AGAIN, sad I would be missing part of my chicks. This time, The Cullens would be missing. Then,on Wednesday she called and said, "I'm coming." Even though it's a 3 hour drive with 2 young children, she wanted to be here for my birthday. It meant the world to me. SO, that meant all 5 would be together with me. It was a "CROWNING" moment (hence the crown! LOL). ....I had over 150 birthday wishes on FaceBook! made me feel even more "queenly"! HAHA ! AND, I went and celebrated with Mimi on the 16th. Took a little birthday "cake"/ some old pictures and we had a great time. She sang to me/told me my birth story (again!) and when I started to leave, she took my head in her hands and said, "I remember the first time I saw you and how beautiful I thought you were and you still are. And sweet, too". Words I will cherish from now on! * SIDE NOTE: Mimi will be turning 100 on August 14! Unless you live under a rock, you've heard that anyway! HA!* ....All in all, a GREAT birthday and one I will always remember b/c I had all my original babies together. (MINUS one special "in-law". JON! He had to work. JON, next year , ask your boss to let you off on my b'day. HAHA)....For everyone that left me a: VOICE MESSAGE/A CARD/AN INBOX/A FACEBOOK WISH/A GIFT/A HUG: thank you from the bottom of my heart! Love each of you. Now, enjoy the slide show! The beach is CALLING!!!!!!! It's been well over a year since our last trip to our beautiful Ala/Fla. beaches and I miss it! I'm already buying "beach stuff" for the times we'll be there and to me, that's part of the fun! LOL! SOOO looking forward to going next month, in July, and then again, in August! So, I guess that makes up for the times I've missed!!!! In the MEANTIME, just been very busy with grands/kids and the like!!!! I love it, tho, and I can't imagine my life without my 5 kids/their spouses and my 8 adorable grands!!! here's a little re-cap! ************************************************************************************************************************* Katie/kids came for a week while Jon was in Las Vegas for his annual convention. We had so much fun and the babies are growing FAST! Our youngest grand-baby is really growing up! She is now almost 17 months old! She tries ,(and is pretty good at it!) ,to do everything her big brother, Carter, does! Including using the potty yesterday! (go, ELLA KATE!)! They were so cute/fun and we enjoyed having them here so much. I do believe Ella Kate gets "best dressed baby girl" ! She always has a big bow in her hair and a darling outfit on! I have to give it to Katie, she searches places for bargains and yet, she still has those children looking adorable 24/7. Even in their pj's! LOL!....We did a lot of things together, and yet, had lots of good night time/porch time talks after the babes went to bed each night. I love connecting with my kids, no matter what age, one on one like that. Of course, it was sad to see them leave, but we are going to be with them in August on one of the beach trips since Katie/Jon and Me/Big T were invited to a beach wedding then. Looking forward to seeing Carter/EK on the beach for the first time! We decided to start taking the ADULT kiddos out to eat to the place of their choosing. Started the idea in Atlanta with Katie/Jon after EK's baby dedication. We went to "Buckhead Diner" and it was FABO! Plus, had some fun adult conversation!!! It was SO much fun that we decided on the way back from Atlanta to take the rest of the kids for a special night out too! Sooooo................ Loved having them visit! Dinner #2 went to Charles/Rachel. We went out with them to "Hot and Hot Fish Club"--Charles/Rachel chose where we would go. It was great! FIRST of all , I got to meet Chef Chris Hastings! he knows Charles very well (go figure), so how cool was it when he came and we got to chat? What a great night! Then, we got to go and see Charles' new office. He is now head Legal Counsel for UAB Hospital! What a great honor and I can finally tell it, after keeping it under wraps! LOL! (mother's right to brag!)! Anyway, his office is beautiful and it was a joy to see another Fry kid so successful and happy. Proud of him. ~Last week-end, Natalie and Brad went with 3 other couples for a "couples retreat" to Ross Bridge. Big T and I kept Kemp/Daisy! We had so much fun. We went shopping/went to the Library/ate out/played games. It was a fun week-end for sure. "CAMP GRAN JAN" is what I call a week-end like that! Here is a couple of highlights of last week-end! Come back at the beginning of July. I will have some special pictures to share! wink wink! What a wonderful day this was! our youngest little grand-baby, Ella Kate, was Dedicated to the Lord by her parents on Saturday afternoon. We left the 'Ham on Saturday morning and had a nice trip over to Atlanta--takes almost 3 hours--any way you look at it--give and take a few minutes! I don't mind the drive UNTIL we get near the city. Then, the traffic starts backing up and cars , from who knows from whence they come, start piling up! LOL!...We arrived and "Nana and Pappy" had just arrived also. So, needless to say, Carter was beside himself. He loves his grand parents for sure! And, when Nana takes a big stuffed BUZZ, you can only imagine how excited he was! HA! Soon it was time to get changed and get the little ones dressed. Ella Kate in her beautiful pink smocked dress with crosses couldn't have been more appropriate for today! We made a few pictures RIGHT BEFORE the bottom fell out of the sky! Talk about a MONSOON???? Of course, as we were getting in the car! LOL! My hair fell immediately but Ella Kate's just curled up!
The service itself was beautiful. When we arrived, there was a big sign that said, "Baby D" (what they casually refer the Baby Dedication service to). Inside the huge gym, (they meet in a local school---soon they will have their own facility--along with the other 5 , (I think 5, other large NorthPoint ministry churches in the Atlanta area). There were big round tables with a chalkboard with the last name of the family on each table. Along with beautiful, simple decorations (see pix below in the slide show). We were lucky to be one of the front tables! The service was short/sweet/simple/profound/moving/filled with loves/scripturally sound/faith filled. The Watermarke youth minister spoke first, as a slide showing was going ( of each of the babies ~lots, not sure how many exactly!!). A few songs were sung. Then, each table had the parents read aloud letters they had written to their baby--core values they wanted to instill in their family and letters of love/hope and encouragement that they wanted their family who were attending to hear( so that they could be kept accountable for their actions. no worries there!)!. Katie's and Jon's were just beautiful. the tears flowed and we were all touched by their beautiful words for Ella Kate. I KNEW Katie would cry but when Jon did....! Talk about tears flowing! We were to complete our circle of love for Ella Kate, by letting someone they had chosen ,finish the circle by praying. Big T had that honor, of course! He read a scripture and then prayed for Ella Kate/Jon and Katie and Carter. It was beautiful. Again, glad Katie had the kleneex there! As a Methodist, (as well as our Episcopal children/grands: Charles/Rachel/Powell and Blakely) and with the exception of Ryder (who was also Dedicated) all the other Fry babies were Baptized (their parents also). Each one beautiful and special. (Blakely's was a special service , just for her, loved it also). Each one of the baptisms and dedications were beautiful/touching/grace filled....Now, At first, I must admit, I was a little sad Ella Kate wouldn't have an infant baptism. I don't know why, maybe because Katie and her siblings were as well as the other grands (except Ryder, who ALSO had a beautiful dedication service). But, that was short lived after the service. It was just as special and meaningful as it was. You see, the church they attend is Non-Denominational and do not do infant baptisms. In fact, Katie and Jon will have to be re-baptized when they join. I disagree with that, personally, but I understand that to be a part of their church it is required that they get immersed. And, it's not about ME. It's about Katie/Jon and their children and I am 1000% supportive, as is her dad. I'm not only supportive, but thrilled that they have found this church to be a part of/be ACTIVE in/learn from and grow into a closer relationship with Jesus. If I were in Atlanta, I would join in a heartbeat! (but not get re-baptized! LOL!)!!!! All in all, it was , a totally GRACE FILLED service. After the service, I got to see their Small Group friends again (we met them at Carter's B'day party). My heart was filled to the brim watching these precious families and their babies/children. They love each other's children! They were holding each other's kids and hugging and laughing and I was so touched and just KNOW that God totally brought Katie/Jon to that church, without a shadow of a doubt. They have made FOREVER FRIENDS IN CHRIST. Not just "forever friends", everyone has some of those, but friends brought to together by the Holy Spirit who is weaving through their lives/bringing them together by experiences and joys & sorrows and by, most of all, His Grace. It is truly amazing to see. And the lump that came in my throat on Saturday, remains there still. I pray that this group only gets stronger and that even when their time of Small Group meetings end, (and sadly, they will eventually), that their FRIENDSHIP through Jesus will continue to grow by the year. And ONE day, when they are old as Big T and GranJan, they will be attending THEIR grandchildren's Dedication Services with lumps in THEIR throats. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!!!!!! P.S. Now, the next time Ella Kate is here, GranJan is going to sneak her outside by the lake and sprinkle some River Jordan water on her head (that I brought back from Israel) so I can still say she was "SPRINKLED"!!!!!! bahahahaha |