Memphis Memories...

We have had a great time in Memphis...we arrived rather uneventfully in Little Rock, Arkansas on Thursday afternoon to 90+ degree weather and lots of humidity. It took about 2 minutes to confirm that neither Matt nor I could be long term Southerners...we would simply sweat too much!!

Matt's brother Mark picked us up in Little Rock and drove us back to Memphis where he lives with his wife Paula and daughter Sarah. We have had a blast exploring all the sights and sounds and partaking in the Southern cooking extravaganza.



Near Mark's house there is a huge farm that has been turned into a park & rec area...where we got to get out of the car and see cotton growing up close...it is amazing that something so soft can come from such a prickly little plant!!



We had the opportunity to go to church with Mark & Paula & Sarah. Their church worships in a former country club and so we were able to take a family picture outside just after the service. For the record, I insisted that we bring "church clothes" so that we would fit in, and in fact, they prefer to worship casually (much like St. Paul's)...but the TN Millers agreed to dress up for this photo opportunity!



And a picture of Mark & Matt & Mateo...if you ever wondered if the brothers look alike, I would say they do...

Our plans have changed a bit...we were headed home on Tuesday, but got a phone call yesterday from Matt's mom to tell us that Matt's father's brother (and his godfather) had died in CT. It was not unexpected as he had been sick for a long time, but no one was sure when he would die. Well, after a ton of phone calls, we have rearranged our schedule and are now flying to Connecticut tomorrow for the wake & funeral...then we will spend a couple of days with Matt's cousins on his mom's side. It will be a nice opportunity for them to meet Mateo after supporting us with love and prayers for so long. We will fly back west on Friday and split in Las Vegas...I'll go to Boise because my little brother Joe will be in from West Point for a recruiting trip. Matt will head home from Vegas.

Then on Monday, October 15th, I am due back to work...so we go back to a more normal lifestyle at our house.

The boys are off to the Memphis zoo today, so we will have more pictures to post soon. Hope all is well with you.

Hugs from Tennessee...Sarah & Matt & Mateo