The Mayo Family Blog....it's what's happening.

What Song did her last day of 2011.....

2012-01-11T08:42:00.002-06:00

Song Blowing Glass Pics

Christmas 2011

2012-01-11T08:36:00.002-06:00

This year, we had a wonderful Christmas with much to be thankful for!

Christmas 2011 Photos

Jessica and Jake :)

2011-12-21T10:14:00.000-06:00

Sam - KDH article :)

2011-12-18T13:17:00.002-06:00

Fewer teenagers able to find summer jobs

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2011-12-18T13:02:00.001-06:00

Luke's Weight Lifting Days - KDH article

2011-12-12T12:03:00.000-06:00

Link: ‘Karate Kid’ and his ‘Mr. Miyagi’ hope for state powerlifting record

Luke, at age 17 (Junior year), was starting out when this article was made. He quickly went on to, not only win a state record in bench press, but also set a national record! He was only 4lbs and one bench press attempt away from breaking a world record! His senior year, he thought he would give wrestling a try and, in just a few short months, became first in the district. He perfected one move: the Cow Catcher. Way to go Luke!


Luke now....HE IS STRONG!

Freshman Year: Full Circle - KDH article

2011-12-12T10:02:00.001-06:00

Max & Sam in 2009 as freshmen (Killeen Daily Herald pic)

Link: No holding the Mayos: Freshman Ellison twins get to showcase running skills at national meet

As a freshmen, Max ran a 4:31 mile and placed 2nd in the district while Sam ran a 4:44, missing Region by seconds. This year, however, Sam placed third in our district in Cross Country! What great athletes, but what even better people. This was the last meet I will get to see them run together in. :(

Sam - October 2011 District X-Country meet

Max - October 2011

Sam - October 2011

2011-12-08T13:50:00.001-06:00

Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says
To the Earth,
"You owe me."
Look
What happens
With a love like that.
It lights the
Whole
Sky.

-Hafiz

Memories

2011-11-19T17:23:00.001-06:00

I took a nap and when I woke, I lay still
and thought of many things.
It was so quite;
pictures in my head drifted by;
afternoons in the cool autumn air so light, so quite, drifting by.
Laughter in the next block over
and my tired body warm and my warm heart happy.
Love in my room, in my room with me.
I remember you.

-By Susan Mayo

Tatum is tough!

2011-11-12T11:09:00.001-06:00

Cousins Song & Tatum

Tatum is not only a cancer survivor, but also a liver transplant recipient...all at the ripe old age of two! Now, at five, he is going to have part/half of his lung removed. It is hard to believe such a little guy can go through so much and still be a normal, active, happy, loving boy. Besides the fact he is pretty awesome in his own right, he does have wonderful parents too! Song and I are glad we got to see him before he went up to Dallas for his operation. Praying that all goes well! Love you, Tatum :)

New Shop Logo!

2011-11-12T10:29:00.001-06:00

Logo by Jake Mayo

Homecoming Dance

2011-11-03T16:42:00.000-05:00

....moving on!

2011-10-22T10:14:00.000-05:00

Okay, I think I have most of my philosophical musings about illness out of my system for now. There are so many things going on, I can hardly keep up! Junior has decided to open his own shop and three of our boys, Jake, Seth and Luke, want to work with him! It is something he has been talking about for awhile now and the timing seems right.


Back: Mom, Jeromy, Mandy, Jake, Song & Paisley, Susan, Junior Front: Luke & Seth

Max, Sam and Song are still in high school. Max is trying to get his associates by the time he graduates (he is taking classes at CTC while at Ellison). He is leaning toward a career in the medical field, but is not sure if he wants to run in college or not. Sam is becoming interested in engineering and wants to run. Both would like to study abroad at some point. They have not settled on a college yet. I wonder if they will be at the same school! Max has been growing his hair out to donate! Both boys are running very well this year, working hard and enjoying life!

Sam and Max

Song and Josh

Song decided not to do band this year. It's sad not to be able to watch her dance/play, but she is very happy! Her and Josh got back together and they are having fun hanging out with friends and doing stuff together like Honor Society and Student Council. She is taking the prerequisite class this year (which is kind of boring) so she can be in the health tech vocational program next year to learn about medical careers. She's interested in nursing or something in the medical field, but her dream job would be interior design and/or own a sandwich shop/restaurant!

Luke, Me and S

This is my first year not driving anyone to school in, hmmmm, about 20 years! First, I am still recovering and organizing my own thoughts and the household, now that I have a little more time to do so. With everyone home, however, a lot of time is still devoted to housework/cooking/laundry. Even so, I am enjoying this "in between" time and have given myself permission not to commit to anything else until I feel ready. I'm not ready yet.

Max, Sam, Me and Luke

Junior and the boys are opening their own shop!

2011-10-22T07:50:00.000-05:00

2011-10-17T09:37:00.000-05:00

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two-pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." - C. S. Lewis

Song

Notes to Myself

2011-10-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

Oh, there's so much to do. So much I want to do. Dreams I have carefully tucked away until later. But, stuff happens and, as much as I would like to forget about some things....like cancer, I know I am probably foolish for trying pretend it never did happen. Somewhere, in between dreams and reality is a bridge and, on that bride I stand, looking over the edge and watching a creek rushing under me. Then, there are people who meet me on that bridge and want to talk or need me to help them cross to one side or the other. Sometimes, I can get off the bridge, roll up my jeans and wade a little in the cool water, closing my eyes as I feel the sun on my face. Sometimes, I can cross over to the side where I can do nothing but dream and scheme and play, with no thought for time or circumstance. Then, back to reality I go. Staying in one or the other for too long that can throw a life off balance, but then, who is to stay both can't be the same sometimes. What is so great about being a mom is that the very calling is what built that bridge from which I stand.....keeping me connected and grounded. I think I will go paint my dining room turquoise now. P.S. Yes, I know I am silly. Oh well!

Song

2011-09-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

"If you got beef with someone then go make a sandwich... there's plenty of hate in this world but never enough sandwiches."

By Max Mayo

Max and Sam - KDH article

2011-09-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

Link: For Ellison’s Mayo brothers, lifelong competition fueling team results

Ellison X-Country team 2011

Max the troll!

Naegle Family Art and Photos

2011-09-14T12:46:00.000-05:00

Watercolor by my uncle, Stephen Naegle

http://www.naeglefriends.org/

This is a photo of my mother, Lynda Naegle Edwards, in 1954, taken by depression-era photographer, Dorothea Lange. More Naegle family photos by Lange can be found at the link below:
http://pinterest.com/susanpoo/unpublished-dorothea-lange-photos/

Hello, it's me. Where did the year go?

2011-09-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

It has been an interesting year. I got canceragain. Blah. No fun. No fun at all. How did I deal withit? I let myself deal with it any way I wanted to deal with it.... theonly way I could.... one day at a time. Plus, I had many other things andpeople to keep my mind off myself. That helped. It helped abunch. Then there is seventies music. I can always pull that out ofmy hat too. Oh, and Hallmark movies. The ones with predictable plots, but I didn't care. Then, when I could walk, walks to the pond. Sitting by water, listeningto frogs and watching birds dive in for a sip, is pretty restoring. Thisis going to sound awful of me, but I have to be honest. I know Godwas watching over me but I kind of took the phone off the hook for a while. I don't know why. Even so, I had a feeling it was okay with Him because He understood I did not really know what to say, but I kept a thankfulheart. Finally, when it struck me, I would write a poem. Music,movies, walks, talks, writing and even well-placed denial might have kept myspirits up, but I could not have survived without my family, great doctors,nurses and wonderful friends. I've been humbled to my core. Again.

___________

The Quiet Walk

Everything is beautiful when it is green;
the sun dancing on the grass
as it slowly fades away.

Why, then, would anyone settle for
that black box,
content to watch other people live,
when there is air to breath
and paths to walk?

There are only so many hours in the day,
days in one life,
but all it takes is one long winter,
or some searing drought to make that
reality a reality.

Still,
it is too daunting a thought
to fill up with tasks or sorrow
for dreams undone.

In the heart is where the abundance
can be found,
where the love can be felt,
where the spirit can soar,
where there is no time.

By Susan Mayo

Poetry by Susan Mayo

2010-11-09T12:06:00.000-06:00

To Love

Sometimes
it is not possible
to catch a full breath
or still a racing pulse.

Most of the time,
disjointed, mechanically;
numb feet know
which way to go.

Instinct gives way
to purpose
until a heart is born
amid gentle rain.

     _____

The Book

Open to the musty pages of ages past.
Of love lost and found again and again,
Of laughter and dance and song,
Of longing and hope spread across
Miles and miles of rolling hills;
Running, tumbling, falling down, down
Onto sweet, fresh grass…
Warm, sun-kissed face turning to heaven,
Eyes closed, heart full and, as the book,
Timeless.

     _____

Desert Wind

Who sees the woman;
An adobe wall
Shading her back
Yet missing her face,
Year after year;

Her skin, tanned leather
Against black hair
Woven as intricately
As her well-worn rug,
Day after day;

Who has need of higher learning;
When little charms dangle
Like earrings above dusty feet,
Their hollow echoes lonely
In the desert wind;

A song as ancient
As turquoise and silver
And black rock,
Cool now,
By the rain;

There are few shadows,
Only poems and paintings,
Better than money
Or fame
Or the right kinds of friends;

Perhaps, one day,
Like Van Gogh,
No one will value her beauty,
Or her genius,
Until she is gone.

     _____

Pressed Flowers

Some things cannot be written
Or spoken;
Only thought of
And remembered;
Cherished beyond understanding,
Pressed away in a book
To be discovered later;
And, in that discovery,
The heart will burn anew.

Back to School!

2010-08-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

Now everyone is back to school! Jake got a job working at Harker Heights High School. We are very proud of him :) He has a cool and very energetic girlfriend named Jessica.

Jessica and Jake

Seth is almost done with his welding program and is thinking about automotive school next. He is doing really well! Luke started at CTC today. Yay!!! and discovered an interest in photography.

Photo by Luke Mayo


Destanni and Max

Max and Sam are taking all these dual credit classes and running.
Max has a sweet girlfriend named Destanni.

Max and Sam volunteer in the emergency room at Metroplex Hospital and really enjoy it. Sam wants to be a foreign exchange student next year.

Sam scaring kids


Josh and Song

Song is busy with school, band, her wonderful
boyfriend Josh and learning how to drive.
Song also enjoys volunteering at the hospital.
So, that is what is going on with the kids
so far!

Song and the 'stang

Family Photos

2010-05-29T09:06:00.000-05:00

So much has happened since I last wrote. Christmas was fun and relaxing and we finally got family photos taken by our very own Mandy!!! She did such an amazing job and it was the best day our family had together in a long time. WE LOVE YOU MANDY AND JEROMY!! Good news is Mandy is having a baby girl this summer :) and Alan is working in Yellow Stone National Park and enjoying it! Luke got first in the district in wrestling and is graduating from high school! Song's rabbit got second place in her class in breeding and has decided not to be an Emerald next year. Rather, she is concentrating on her music, since she thinks she may want to major in music in college. Sam made it to Region in track and Max qualified for BioScience! Jake is building up his DJ business and Seth is coming right along with school and work! Junior had a health scare, but is doing much better now.

Jake's Graduation 2009

2009-12-08T11:04:00.000-06:00

Jake did it! Graduating from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.... and with honors!!! Everyone had such a great day....thank you so much for the support of family and friends!! We love you!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T10:19:00.000-06:00

Turkey got voted out this Thanksgiving. Junior out-did himself with the wonderful meal he pretty much did all by himself (Yes, I am a lucky woman!). This was probably one of the best Thanksgivings we had in a long time....except I missed my Mom, Grandma Edwards (better known as "big grandma"), being there. She spent the holiday with my brother, Robert, and his family. We are all so grateful Grandma Mayo (better known as "little grandma") is okay after her accident and Grandpa felt well enough to stay so long and for the lovely weather!

It was relaxing (Maybe that had something to do with me not having to cook?) and everyone had a good time being together (all 50+ of us!) and we had a nice concert by Josh and Anthony....singing songs from their new album! I especially loved "Crazy Beautiful"! To listen to some of their songs from previous albums click here! We had so much fun, we are already making plans for Christmas!

Weightlifting Champ

2009-11-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

LUKE placed first in his division for the World Weight Lifting Championships in Las Vegas! He was competing with the US team, which also placed first! Congratulations Luke!!!

Fall 2009

2009-11-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

MAX & SAM will be running this Saturday, November 7th, in the Region II 5A Cross Country Meet after Ellison took home the district championship last weekend! Here are the BEFORE and AFTER newspaper articles about it. Good luck guys!

LUKE ran for homecoming king and made third place!

He got through the unwanted drama...Let's just say that no one in our family will ever do that again. Still, he looked pretty darn cute!

Luke is now working at the station, rather than GymX. He is learning a lot! Luke and Lauren are best friends!

Luke & Lauren

SONG went on her first date with her first boyfriend, Sean! This year, instead of a pig, Song is showing a rabbit for 4-H. She made it through the first nine weeks of High School with all A's and one B too! Great job!

Song, Sean, Alicia & Abbie

JAKE is going through the grueling process of looking for a job!

Jake, Sam and Song

(We just can't get enough of each other!)

Jake's photo of the Irish countryside for the "Study Abroad Photo Contest" at UT:

MOM made it through surgery and is feeling much better!

Welcome!

2009-09-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our very first Mayo Family Blog! Everyone has been busy this past year and, as we wrap up 2009, we would like to acknowledge how much we have been blessed to have the gospel in our lives! With two in college and four in high school, here is what each of us has been doing:

SONG made Emeralds this year! She has been enjoying it so far. She has also been able to stay in band and really loves her band class. She plays the saxophone (she made the Killeen Daily Herald last year!) and was able to raise and show a pig for 4-H and hopes to be able to do that again this year. Song was on the National Junior Honor Society both years during middle school and has set a goal to make the Honor Society in High School (and top 10%) as she works hard in her honors classes. She has had a blast spending time with her friends at school and church, but has especially enjoyed spending more time with her cousin, Abbie. Song and Abbie shared a birthday party together over the summer as well as spending many days holding bake sales to earn money for stuff.

MAX and SAM made varsity cross country and track as freshmen last year! In cross-country, they went all the way to regionals. In track, they both ran the one-mile and two-mile. Sam made it to district in both races, but missed making it to region in the two-mile by one place (he came so close). Max, on the other hand, qualified and ran both the two-mile (3200 meters) and one mile (1600 meters). To top that off, he placed second in the mile! Max's time was 4:31 and Sam ran a 4:44! Both boys qualified for the Nike Outdoor National meet in North Carolina in June, which was covered in the Killeen Daily Herald. This XC season, they have improved their times by over one minute and are just getting started!

Soon they will be working on their Eagle Project and hope to get certified to become life guards so they can work on their summers off as well as mowing lawns, as usual. They are also driving! Max and Sam also are working hard in honors classes and hope to make the Honor Society when it is time. Luke, Max and Sam hang out a lot together and share the same friends pretty much.

LUKE also made the Killeen Daily Herald twice! He decided to try something else since he was out last soccer season with a torn ligament. He was able to go to California to make the national team over the summer and he did it! Now that school has started, Luke has picked up wrestling and is really enjoying it so far.

Luke was the busiest in our family this summer. Not only did he complete his Eagle Project and is now an Eagle Scout, but he also got a job at GymX and is in the co-op program at school. He plans on going to CTC for a year or two and then transfer to A&M. Also, this summer, he and his friends bred their pig. That was quite an ordeal, but they learned a lot and have five healthy piglets. It was also nice for our family to get to know Luke's friends better. They are really wonderful guys!

SETH has being doing really well too! After pursuing a couple interests after high school, he found a great welding program at CTC that he has found he has a passion for and does well at. He has also found hidden talents for fixing things and has gotten good enough to fill in for his dad at work as needed! Seth has taught himself, with his dad's help, to fix small engines, specifically lawn mowers/equipment. He has also learned how to buy and sell them online and has done really well with that. Some of his artwork is in the picture to the right:

Seth plans to finish the program he is in and get a good job as a welder or continue on into a mechanic program.

JAKE got to spend last spring semester in Europe! He went to the Prague School of Economics and traveled whenever he was not in school. He got to go to Hungry, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Ireland, France and England! The only two places he didn't get to go to was Germany and Holland (he had to study). He had a blast!

Over the summer, he was able to get an intern with H.E.B. here in Killeen, which was another great experience. Now, he is back at his old apartment in Austin on his last semester at UT. He is in the process of finding a job and deciding what he wants to do with his life.....fun! Also during the summer, he was able to get some equipment and learn how to DJ. He got a lot of ideas while in Europe and he was DJ for Song and Abbie's techno party. That was a lot of fun! Check out Jake's first mix!

JUNIOR and SUSAN are just trying to keep up! Junior has been working hard fixing things at the station. Susan is trying to keep things going at home and we enjoy watching our kids grow and setting goals together. Junior likes to swim and cook and Susan likes to swim with Jr and paint and write.