Butler Family

Most of the Butler clan returned to town for the calling hours of Tommy.  Todd has two sisters and they both live in South Carolina.  Bonnie, above, has lived there for years, having moved south after getting married 40 years ago.  She has two kids: April, who is close to 30 and a Vet Tech and Travis, who is 23 and has almost two kids...Peyton, who was born two months before Adam and Hallie, who is due any day.  They came to visit every year during Harborfest while Todd's father was alive and stayed with us, so I actually got to know Bonnie quite well.  She's pretty down to earth; they are true rednecks!  We actually stopped there several years ago on our way up from Atlanta as Todd hadn't been there since he was a teenager when he used to visit each summer...as a kid, Bonnie was like a second mother to him as she is nearly 20 years his senior.  Bonnie has always made a big effort with my kids, and this time was no different.  She watched Ellie every morning while I took the kids, worked on Abbey despite her stranger issues and spent time with Adam...chasing him, playing with him and even sat there for an hour one day and watched him show her his games on his computer, when I snapped the photo.  He loved it.

Todd's other sister Becky moved to South Carolina with her third husband Paul a few years ago.  They both also stayed upstairs.  Todd is not close to Becky...they always clased.  She's the "next" in line after Todd, though ten years older.  She never quite got over losing her spot as the baby.  She did try with me and my kids...Ellie and Adam anyhow.  She was not the type to try and work through Abbey's issues.  I determined that is my new test of how strong a person is :)  They all left the night after the calling hours, missing the Saturday morning service as Paul had to go to work on Sunday, but had been here since early Tuesday morning.

Todd's brother Terry came down from Herndon, about two hours away, where his daughter Angie and stepson Jimmy live.  They came, too. So did his son Terry Lee, who came up from Baltimore with his family.  I had only seen him one other time, at our wedding, where he was wasted.  This time, he brought his family..his wife Margie and kids Asher, 6, and June, 2.  Everyone always says Adam looks the most like Terry Lee and I didn't see it much the one other time I saw him.  But they are right.  The hair is spot on and the face shape and facial expressions, things that are hard to pin down.  I wish I'd taken a picture of Adam with Terry Lee, but I didn't have my camera out much.  They all came over Sunday morning...here's Adam playing with Asher.  He was acting out some, but straightened in time for me to leave for Elizabeth's baby shower.

Here's June...she's pretty, shy and delicate.  Nothing like Abbey lol

Here's Margie with Ellie.  I could tell right away I liked her.  Someone I would actually be friends with.    Probably the family within in Todd's family I have the most in common with.  She's a nurse, having just switched to Hospice care to help others.  I was glad when she "friended" me on FB as I was hoping to stay in touch.  Terry Lee is a piece of work, with a quirky sense of humor and loving to say things for "shock Factor".  At the calling hours, he actually asked me if I breastfeed.  No man every has asked that or looked even the slightest bit comfortable discussing it!  It was nice to see how most of the family made it work and come to pay their respects.  It's a big family, much like the Duttingers.