Friday, October 10, 2008

Brenda



I know that it has been a while since I have posted. I haven't really felt like posting for a while. Jonathan's mom, Brenda Hope, died on August 1, 2008 very unexpectedly. We all miss her so much. The past two months have been very difficult for our family and we are so grateful for our family, church family, and friends for all of their thoughts and prayers.

Brenda meant so much to so many people, but I can only truly talk about what she meant to me and my family. Brenda would do anything for you. She loved her two sons and her four grandchildren so much. Jonathan misses talking to his mom on the phone every day. He also misses seeing her with his sons and is so sad that she is not going to see Logan and Jack Landon grow up. She would drop everything she was doing to spend time with her family. Even when she wasn't feeling good, Brenda would call to ask if she could keep the kids or do something special for us. And she always wanted to make sure that we would eat good! When we would go to the lakes on the weekend, Brenda would prepare enough food for an army of people. She would have all the bases covered. If you had a certain craving for cobbler, or maybe just some hot chocolate, well then sure enough, she would have it on hand. One thing that I really enjoyed doing with Brenda was talking about food. We both had an interest in cooking and I loved swapping recipes with her or making some of her old favorites such as deviled eggs, homemade cranberry sauce, or Mexican cheese dip.

I still remember the night that I first met Brenda eight years ago. I could not believe it when I walked into Jonathan's house and saw this beautiful woman who could not have passed for more than thirty years old. She was absolutely stunning, and while that stood out intially, it was her vitality and joy of life that made a lasting impression. Brenda could make anything fun and exciting. She could make you feel like you were the only person in the room. When you talked with her, you felt important and felt that you mattered. She had a true interest in other people.

One thing I learned quickly about Brenda is that she LOVED her grandbabies. When Jonathan and I first met, Shelby, the first grandbaby, was one. I could easily see how important Shelby was to Brenda. Later, there was Will, and then our two babies, Logan and Jack Landon. Brenda always wanted the best for the kids. She was interested in their doctors, their schools, their playmates, where they laid their head at night...everything. She would play with them and take them for golf cart rides. She would fix their favorite foods and have their favorite candies on hand.

We miss you Brenda!

Please visit Brenda's website at http://www.brendahope.com/

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey, im actually kindof embarrassed to give you the recipe! ha. not really all that homeade, but delicious!!

-2 packages jiffy pizza crust mix
-jarred pesto (however much you want, i put a little too much, but it was still good)
-chop some tomatoes (mine were cherry tomatoes from my papaws garden)
-and of course mozzorella cheese (you can never have too much!!)

hope yall like it. i love making homeade pizzas for dinners....and veggie pizzas are really good and evan gobbles them up!