Veteran's Day

Today we were off from school to celebrate Veteran's Day. I'm so thankful and proud of the men I know who gave up their time to serve their country. My Uncle B.W. Williams- WWII, Uncle Ernest L. Upton-Korean War, my dad Bobby R. Perkins-Viet Nam, my cousin David Upton-Iraq. So thankful to have David home safe now. My nephew- Jonathon Perkins just graduated marine boot camp last Friday in Paris Island. I am so proud of him.

This has been a very sad weekend for me as I say good-bye to my friend, and hero, Mr. Jim Beverly. We attended church together for 11 years and still stayed close after we moved to our new house and new church. Jim and Carolyn were like grandparents to our children and spent a lot of holidays and special occasions with us. They had one daughter who lived in Arkansas so they really missed having grandchildren close by. I have so much respect for Jim because he is the longest surviving kidney transplant patient of over 42 years. Jim had a rough life with many surgeries due to the steroids that he had to take after the transplant, but he lived his life never complaining and being there for others. I love him dearly and will miss him more than words can say. I know that he is so happy now though to join Carolyn who left him 2 years ago with cancer. Jim was never the same and all he could talk about was how much he missed Carolyn. Jim died on his way back from a trip around the U.S. where he drove to Alaska. His funeral was so beautiful and the theme was Jim's Journey. Life is a journey-I'm so thankful to have met him and Carolyn along my journey-they will be with me forever.
To finish off my day, I took some photos of my dogs in the beautiful fall leaves. I look forward to Thanksgiving very soon- so much to be thankful for.