Unforgettable

Sometimes you just really miss someone. Some of those days have passed in recent weeks for John and I. There will be times where we just miss 'Granny'. Granny, JoElla, had a way about her that was absolutley indescribable. To know her was priceless. She loved with a love that was different than any other I can ever remember.Though she was opinionated and more than willing to share it, she did it with love. She had energy and pizazz that was beyond compare. Often times John and I will be lying in bed just talking and he'll say....I miss her. They loved each other so much!

John has endless stories about the incredible grandmother that he remembers. She loved him with an unbelievable love that increased his confidence and love within himself as he grew. She was so good at that. Even with a stranger.

One of my most memorable moments with her was when she was closer to the end of her life. I can recall Granny being very sick and in bed. We had gone to visit because we knew that she would not last much longer. She had grown very sick from the cancer that had consumed her body for so many years. I layed by her side and talked with her. I recall rubbing her legs because they were so sore from the blisters that had formed and her feet hurt terribly. She always did love foot rubs. Anyone that knew her personally knew her famous line..."foot rubs are better than sex!" During these last days, only 6 short months after John and I had married, we enjoyed our last few days with her. Once when she was getting up from the bed to struggle with her walker to the bathroom, we caught her moving her feet from side to side. We asked her what she was doing and she replied, " I'm dancing! I wish I had danced more!"

John and I have a plaque in our house that reminds us of that moment. It says: DANCE AS IF NO ONE WERE WATCHING!" It's a constant reminder of her and her love for the two of us.

After her death, I noticed a large heart attached to her bar. She was infamous for knicknacks. On the heart it said something like "grandchildren are precious." On individual hearts were the names of each of her grandchildren. On one, one that I had never noticed, was my name written in her handwritting. It left such a precious impression upon my heart that it brought me to tears and does even as I type this now. She will never know how much I loved her and how much that really touched me until I can see her in heaven again. I loved her. She was trully, unforgettable.

A few of life's sweet blessings...

Caroline and Lily are two of our sweetest blessings in our life. It's amazing how much you can really love animals and how very close you can feel to them. Caroline and Lily are much different than any two animals I have ever seen. They each have very special stories about how they came to us and how they were put into our lives.

Lily came to the Spinetto farm right before we got married. I had just started moving things into the house on the farm and was trying to get things settled before we headed to Hendersonville to get married! One night while we were hanging out and watching a movie when we noticed a car come down the driveway and then turn around and leave. As they were leaving we noticed New York tags. It seemed weird but we didn't think much of it. As we were leaving to go out for a while we noticed this set of glowing yellow eyes and a tiny little kitten in the bushes. For a few days the kitten wouldn't come near anyone. However as the days progressed I would go down to the house while John was working and would let her in for some milk and then rush her out the door when I knew he might be coming back to the house. I would beg for him to let her in, but he refused. He constantly reminded me of the cat he and Brandon had as kids that they nicknamed 'Satan' because the cat was so mean. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the mean things that he and Brandon and John Sr. would do to the cat! However, one day I was working on a paper upstairs and heard him coaxing something up the stairs. He was making a clicking sound with his mouth and patting the carpet. I knew he wasn't calling me..so I peeked down the stairs and he was petting this tiny kitten. We decided somehow to call her Lily and just loved how very sweet she was. She would walk with John down to the barn to do the horses and just cry if he got out of her sight. When we were going to Hendo. to prepare for the wedding and our honeymoon the Spinettos said they really didn't think that another cat was needed on the farm and that they were going to try and get rid of the kitten while we were gone. I hated the idea, but had other things on my mind!! However, when we returned from our honeymoon she was there waiting!! The humane society said they didn't have enough room for another cat so she was ours! I was so excited and John finally learned to love a cat! 'Satan' who???

Lily was our one and only pet for 2 years. John planned for it to stay that way too! That was until we saw Caroline! We were redoing our bedroom at the farm and decided to run to Lowe's hardware for a few things. When we went they were having their infamous pet adoptions. I of course wanted to look but only looked at the cats because I knew a dog was out of the question. We went and got our things and as we were checking out the clerk asked if we had seen the blue eyed dog? John was so curious. We went back out and he was just set on going to see this dog. So we looked and saw this cute little (at that time) dog with its tail stuck between its legs and no excitement at all to her. Another couple was looking at her and had her out of the cage petting her. We walked up and began to talk to them. The lady tried to get John to say that we needed to take this dog. Of course John reassured her that we didn't and nor were we capable of taking on a dog financially or with our time. We kept petting her because she was so darn cute and the lady and man told us that they would pay for her if we would take her home. It was crazy. WE did though! I can remember John saying ' we have a dog!' What was the coolest was that Caroline really helped John understand more about me. See, Caroline had come from an abusive home and had been removed because she wasn't being cared for. I, with my crazy childhood that I endured, understood and of her actions and she felt in her insecurities with people. John just wasn't sure that we made the right decision, but as time passed we have seen how much joy she has and how much we really do love her and are thankful that we have her in our lives!

When we added another animal to the family, we were really worried how Lily would react. They really get along well. Often times Lily wants to play, but Caroline will have no part of it. But it's really fun when they chase each other around and play. I love that they will lay around with each other and not fight! We love them both. I can't imagine our home without our pets!

Pumpkin Carving Party

We never realized how much fun pumpkin carving could be! Tonight we had our very own 'pumpkin carving party!' It was a blast. Anytime you mix friends and food you can have a good time, but tonight was exceptional!

Tonight's menu included salsa, cheese dip and sausage balls for appetizers. We enjoyed vegetable soup and taco soup for dinner. We were in NO way short on desserts! Desserts included pumpkin cheesecake (one of my absolute favorites and I finally found an tasty and easy recipe), apple nut cheesecake (made by Jenny and so good), Oreo dessert (made by Lara), pumpkin pies and no bake cookies (made by Marsha).

Everyone had forgotten how much fun it could be to carve a pumpkin and continually commented on what a blast they had. I love that part!!! I love for everyone to enjoy themselves and feel so blessed to be able to have a home and the ability to bless other people with good food and a good time with awesome friends. Our pumpkin masterpieces turned out beautifully!

Top Left to Right: Brenna/Daniels, John's, Jarrett/Lara's

Bottom: My Pumpkin!

Right Pic (left to right)Jade's, Mark's, Klay/Brad's

Greenville....To see the other set of Berry's

Brandon and Nicole live in Greenville, South Carolina. It's about a three hour drive from Boone so we are able to go very often to visit. We actually haven't had the opportunity to go since they have been in their new home and moved back from California. But finally we went!
We were able to head down to Greenville after the Watauga Football game on Friday! It was great trip until I locked the keys in our car and John was super happy with me! hehe...BUT being the amazing man that he is, he was able to unlock it alot sooner than the AAA truck that planned to arrive by 12:15 AM (two and half hours after we called them!)! He gave all credit to one of his much loved hero's- MacGyver! (All those MacGyver reruns when we had no cable really have paid off!) So...we were on our way!


We arrived in Greenville around 12:30. We had not had the privilege of seeing Brandon and Nicole's new home. (We bought new homes on the very same day:)! ) It was beautiful and settled in a nice neighborhood where Ella will be able to play with other kids when she is up and running! Nicole showed us around and John jumped in the bed with his brother who was exhausted from pulling a previous "all nighter" at the library to finish his class. SUCH LOVE BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM! Brandon didn't even remember it the next morning.


I made my way straight to Ella's adorable room. As I looked over her in her sweet crib she opened her eyes and looked straight at me. Her blue eyes absolutely go right through your skin and bones and grab your heart immediately upon view! They are gorgeous. I had the honor of feeding her and loving on her. I was able to watch how precious Nicole was with her sweet little daughter as she swaddled her up to go back to sleep and sang her precious lullaby's.

The next morning Ella woke John up and we enjoyed our time with her while her mommy made an awesome breakfast! We played through the day as the boys went to Adopt-A-Block and Nicole and I enjoyed TARGET!!!! Oh the love I have for that place! Nicole was a "good little girl" and only came out with a bag of trick-or-treat candy! I did well on the first trip. However, on the second trip I was able, after recieving permission from my husband(just a note), to reward myself with some new dishes for the house! I was sooo excited! Nicole and I could hardly believe we got the opportunity to go to TARGET twice!!!

The boys enjoyed throwing the football in the backyard and praising their creator! What an awesome set of boys! Nicole and I are truly blessed with incredible husbands.Nicole made us an awesome dinner of KING CRAB LEGS while I ate up every minute of my time with Ella!!! I must admit that Nicole and I outate the boys because they really enjoyed the potatoes and corn that Nicole made. It was an awesome dinner and full of fun memories! From the pics you can see what I did:) It really was an incredible trip and we really enjoyed ourselves! I can't wait till we can see them again!

FALL HAS ARRIVED!

Fall is finally here! It's obvious with the change of weather -it went from 80 to 44 overnight! Fall is also here because you see the need for a cute sweater in the morning, and the need for a warm beverage on the ride to work. Some of my favorites are apple cider, wassill, russian tea, or chai tea with pumpkin spice-this was introduced to me by Nicole because it is one of her favorites! The leaves are changing and Boone is filled with beauty!

This year we decided to carve pumpkins since we actually live in a neighborhood and might have trick or treaters. We invited the James'-Timothy and Kimberly! We sort of had a competition...well not really, but it was a blast!! John created the bat(far left), Kim created the face that looks much like Bob the Tomato off of veggie tales (bottom right), and I created the scarecrow with fall leaves (top)! Timothy sort of helped with mine by cleaning it out for me since I was playing hostess and making hot drinks for everyone.

As I examined the pumpkin I really began to think about how we are much like a pumpkin. People have it altogether and every line is straight! But when you cut the top off it looks much like this picture full of STUFF! A bunch of slimy and gooey gross stuff that tries to fill us up, but has unfulfillment left. God comes in and cleans up and through his work creates a wonderful picture. It's cool how you can take everyday things and see what God is doing in even our lives. Though we are so unworthy he chooses to manuver and craft his ways into us. Even when we put a little goop in ourselves he comes in and cleans out and creates something new.

Enjoy the fall of your life...whether it be the incredible season around you or the shedding of the old that God is doing in your life so that the new can come in the spring.

Our New Home

The Lord finally blessed us with the ability to own our own home. We were able to get in our first time on February 28,2007. We signed our lives over to a mortgage for the next 30 years! Whew! It just cost so much to own a home, but we loved it. We were really excited to finally know something was ours!

Though it had so much work that we wanted to do, we knew we would have to do it one step at a time. We had a plan to paint every room in the house...crazy....and we were going to tile the kitchen,laundry room, and both bathrooms. John had never tiled before but we were sure with his talents that he would be able to do it. And we were right. He worked so hard and reallyl impressed me with the meticulous way he worked until 4 o'clock in the morning for quite a few days. It turned out beautifully.

We decided to have a 'paint party' and get everyone we knew to help us paint. We had all of our colors picked out and were eager to make the home a pallet of color. We had always wanted a house with color galore and man do we have it now. It's so warm and cozy and inviting. Well, we think so!

We have already been blessed to use our home to house those that needed a place to stay, youth dinners, sleepovers, Bible Studies and one day hope to make it a home for our own children.

Our Living Room

Our Dining Room/Kitchen Area

Our Master Bedroom/Bathroom

Spare Bedrooms /Bathroom

Our Office/where everything lands room!