Today was an awesome day. We woke up early and drove to my hometown, Lebanon, TN. We were able to worship at the College Hills Church of Christ, which is where I grew up. It was great to see some familiar faces (and some new ones!) while also spending time with my sister and her family. After an inspiring hour of worship, we had a fantastic lunch at El Comino in Lebanon. Sunny snapped this picture of our crew after we were stuffed full of tacos and chimichangas!

The Bybee / Beard clan, April 2014 (minus Sunny! Somebody had to take the pic!)

After lunch, we drove over to Castallian Springs to visit with my Grandmother Armstrong. Grandmother is 95 years old and still lives in the home she’s been in my entire life. It’s always great to spend time with her. We spent the afternoon looking through old family photo albums and telling stories. She had a few to tell the kids about my growing up years! And I learned a few things about Grandmother today, too — like, she was the salutatorian of her graduating class! Pretty cool!

Looking through the family photo albums with my Grandmother and Joshua

Grandmother was even willing to coach up the kids on how to make a baby blanket!

Spending the afternoon with my Grandmother helps me to feel connected to my past in such a meaningful way. Most of my family got together yesterday afternoon for our annual Easter lunch. Unfortunately, our family couldn’t be there, so we made it a priority to get up to Middle Tennessee today to see Grandmother. One of the things I love about my Grandmother is the way she talks about my mother. Most of the people in my life never knew my Mom, so it’s nice to hear the stories Grandmother can tell about her. We snapped this picture from an old family photo album. I see a lot of Joshua in those eyes.

Myrna Armstrong; Grandmother guessed she was about 8 years old in this picture

All in all, we had a great day today. I’m very thankful for my family and the opportunity we had to share a special day together today.