I Want to Leave a Legacy...

I am still catching up on our happenings around our busy house - maybe one day I will be fully caught up (doubtful).  In February we went to Pigeon Forge for the Mayfield Family Reunion.  This was my first and it was great to finally meet some of Michael's cousins (I met them at the wedding but lets face it - it was "hi, nice to meet you" and that was the extent of it).  We had 29 Mayfield's in a cabin - 9 kids and 20 adults (and we were missing an entire family and Michael's brother, Zac)  - it was very loud but so much fun!

I will admit I was nervous going in.  I was worried about what to pack, would I fit in, would they like me.  Michael was reassuring of course, but spending time with that many people and being the "new kid" was very overwhelming to me.  Once I got there and we were settled - I was fine and realized that all of my concerns were for nothing (of course).

We split the meals into teams - Michael and I and his cousin, Trey, and his wife, Kelly, had first night, first meal.  So, here was another pressure for me - I wanted it to be good and for everyone to enjoy it (and most importantly - not get sick).  Being a planner at heart and for a living can be a great thing but also a sickness.  I think I drove poor Kelly and Trey crazy planning everything weeks in advance.  I made Shirley Hill's famous pepperoni surprise, we had salad, bread and Kelly made brownies.  The meal turned out great!  And I learned, it is not an easy task cooking for 30 folks.

 

It was such a relaxing weekend...

old photos were looked at...

sports was watched...

games were played...

  

 lots of food was eaten and many laughs were had...

My favorite thing was on Saturday night when all of the adults got together and had family share time.  For two and a half hours we sat in the living room and listened to each person share their favorite memory or in some cases memories of growing up as a Mayfield. It was such a sweet time as a family.  I loved hearing the story of all the Mayfield cousins growing up visiting their grandparents, playing church, swimming in the pool, the TCBY runs, sleepovers at Christmas and so many more.  Each one of them shared such sweet memories.  

As I listened, I couldn't help to think of my own life and the great memories I had growing up with my cousins.  But, I was also wishing that my grandparents had lived longer and that I had more memories of my dad's parents (they died when I was very young).  

   

 Some members of the family listening to each other share....

Michael's grandparents (mimi and granddaddy) have been married for 65 years this next month!  Wow!  They are such incredible people and have built such a legacy with this family.  Time and time again I heard the cousins talking about what an impact they have left on them.  The girl cousins were talking about how hard it was to change their name from Mayfield when they got married.  They have passed on their Christian heritage and values to this family.  There is now a third generation of Mayfield's coming up and are being influenced and loved on by these sweet people.

On Sunday, granddaddy shared a devotion with the family and we had our own worship.  Again, such a special time as we gathered together as a family to listen and worship together.  

More photos from the weekend that I stole from Facebook...

Saturday Night Food Crew -
Derek, Amber, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Kevin

girl cousins
Heather, Harper, Stephanie, Kelly, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Lauren and Amber

top photo - Kevin, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Amber and Derek
middle photos - lots of little Mayfield kids
bottom photo - all of the Mayfield adults and 2 kiddos

All I could think of throughout the weekend is - I want to leave a legacy like this to our family.  You only have one shot at life - will your legacy be one to be proud of?  or one of regrets and if only's?  To not only talk about your relationship with Jesus, but more importantly to live it out in front of your loved ones.  I pray that my legacy will be one like Dewey and Phyllis Mayfield - where their children (and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and grand-in-laws) rise up and called her (them) blessed! 

I am so thankful to be a Mayfield!  

6 Months...

February was so busy for us (and March has been too for that matter).  We celebrated 6 months of marriage in February (crazy).  So, we decided to do a Happy 6 Months Trip.  We went to Atlanta for the weekend and had a great time!

We stayed in Stone Mountain - since SDEA owns AtlantaFest I have hotel contacts there and am blessed to get affordable rooms there.

We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants near Stone Mountain - great Italian food!

I got my Valentine's present on this trip - Michael is taking me to see Mary Poppins on Broadway in April.  I am sooo excited!  I had been hinting around and he caught on ;)!  Yay - can't wait!

We toured the CNN Center.  I had never been there and I love behind the scenes stuff...

This was on the escalator heading up to the tour.

 We also went to World of Coke - this was right up my Coke man's alley.  He loved it and we spent too much $ in the Coke store!  It was fun seeing all the memorabilia and trying all the coke products from around the world.  Most are decent but some are NASTY - Italy was the worst - tasted like medicine.

 We went to dinner at a Thai restaurant - it was my first time eating Thai.  I loved it - my meal was so great!  I had chicken and it was in a pineapple - gosh it was good!

On Sunday we went to Passion City Church.  This is the church that Louie Giglio is the pastor of and Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, David Crowder and Chris Tomlin are the worship pastors.  We went to the 11 service and it was packed!  We parked a mile away and rode a shuttle bus.  When we got there they had some empty seats in the front so they took us there - front and center.  It was nice.  Kristian and Christy were leading worship that day - two of our favorites - we loved it!  Unfortunately, Louie Giglio wasn't there that day but we still had an excellent message.  We definitely want to go back again.

So, we had a great 6 month anniversary trip.  We are loving married life!  We have finally gotten into routines and life has settled down in that "learning to live with each other" aspect.  Its so great to do life with your best friend. We are thankful that the Lord brought us together. 

Little Cabin in the Mountains...

This past weekend I took my first Mayfield family vacation!  Michael's aunt and uncle have a cabin in Clarksville, GA (right outside of Helen) so, Michael's parents, his sister, her friend and Michael and I went for the weekend.  We had such a fun time!  The cabin was picture perfect!  3 bedrooms, fireplace, screened in porch with a swing - just lovely.  

Absolutely adorable!

 
Michael and I got there around 10:30 Friday night and caught the end of Home Alone 2.  On Saturday, we drove to Helen, GA - that was my first visit there.  I wasn't that impressed but it was still fun seeing the town.  We drove to Highlands, NC - which was really nice (and expensive).  We didn't get to stay there as long as I would have liked - but that was probably a good thing because I would have spent a lot more $$ otherwise.

 

 

This was the view from a pottery shop - breathtaking!

 

 

Feeding the trout

 
After Highlands we drove to Dillard and went to a restaurant called the Dillard House - OH MY WORD - the food!  You didn't order - they just brought out what was on their menu for the day and served it family style.  It was like Thanksgiving!  4 meats, 8 vegetables, fruit, bread and dessert.  STUFFED but oh so good!  They also had a small animal farm which was adorable too!

Oh the food and I couldn't get the entire table in the photo!

  

 
 
Our evening was a night of Christmas Vacation and playing a competitive game of Aggravation - fun times!

On Sunday we slept in, packed up and had leftovers for lunch!  Then had to head home. What a fun weekend we had!  I look forward to many more Mayfield vacations!!