Disney 2013

To say we had a great time at Disney is definitely an understatement.  I am already plotting with Preston to talk Daddy into our next trip :)  Having Nana and Pop there was the icing on the cake.  Sure--it was wet some of the time which led to some disappointments.  (Namely P not being able to attend the Jedi training academy his mommy had run in the park so he could get a spot for!) There were some meltdowns.  (Ok, many meltdowns...and not just by children :)  There were sketchy moments with baby.  (Re: John Cole white as a sheet acting like he was going to throw up at the character breakfast at Hollywood.) But when it is all said and done I would not trade one minute of it for the world.......

SO MUCH FUN!

John Woodgate Read:January 17 1925-May 21 2013

It is with a heavy heart that I post today.  Even though it was not unexpected, the finality of never seeing Papa again is just now really setting in.  He will live on in all our hearts--especially Preston's--with whom he had a very special bond.  I thing Preston gets some of his personality from him.  He was quite the character.  A couple of memories to share:

--Papa told all of Jeff's friends (our wedding attendants) at our wedding that he lived in "Ball" Louisiana but really thought they should change it to "Balls" Louisiana because people would come from miles around just to see that :)

--A favorite poem of his, "Remember what happened to Walter Gray; who thought he had the right of way; he WAS right--DEAD RIGHT as he rolled along; but he was just as dead as if he'd been wrong.

--Papa loves children and really hoped I would have many more.  When Jeff and I were in some our our young married years, my Mom gave me a tiny little nightgown for my birthday that I opened in front of the family.  (NICE!) Anyway, I will never forget Papa winking at Jeff because he just couldn't wait for more little ones in the family.

John Cole is of course named after Papa, something we talked about during our last visit, and although they will never really know each other I know he will live on in John Cole's heart as well.  

Please pray especially for my Gran and my Mom.  Although we know he is with our Father in Heaven--there were nights leading up to his passing that he spent hours reciting the 23rd Psalm--we will all miss him terribly.  Thanks so much.

Preston's End of Year Luau 2013

If I do say so myself today's End of Year Luau was the best party yet!  Pizza, fruit kabobs and awesome cupcakes courtesy Courtney Martin--CHECK!  Super cute leis and sunglasses courtesy Preston--CHECK!  Limbo, Pin the coconut on the tree and Tiki Torch bean bag toss--CHECK!  A great time was had by all and I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss the LPECC and Mrs. Donna/Mrs. Cat Cat!  Until John Cole 2016.....ALOHA!

Mother's Day 2013

I just don't have words to express how much I love being a Mommy to these precious boys.  Don't know what I DID before I had them.  Sure thought I was busy doing something--but truly I did not know the Purpose in my life until I looked into both sets of those big brown eyes.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with the greatest gift of ALL!

Saturday Night at Treetops

I truly feel blessed to have such sweet friends to "do life" with.  Hanging out all day on the water didn't happen, but we had fun all the same.  Hope you are having a great weekend too!

Vegas Baby!

Jeff and I just had a BLAST on our weekend trip to Vegas!  We left Friday after lunch and flew back Monday morning.  We ate a lot (shown is my favorite meal at Javiers in Aria--lobster enchilada with a crab stuffed pepper with a shrimp taco on the side--YUMMMMM!), got some sun, gambled (and lost--boo!), had a few cocktails (Ok, maybe more than a few), saw some shows (Elton John--Thumbs WAY up!; Cirque du Soleil Zarkana--So/so;), went for a jog together on The Strip, did our best to sleep in with the sun up and just enjoyed being together.  I love Veags in small doses...because I just can't keep those hours and pace for long.  But it sure is fun for a few days!!

Only minor hitch in weekend was discovering Sunday morning that my drivers license that I gave to Jeff to put in his coat pocket in case I would need it--was not there :(  My fault for not taking a purse and not keeping up with my own stuff.  But the even though we retraced our steps from the night before--including sneaking into the very nice white tablecloth restaurant at Caesars where we had dinner Saturday night to look under our table.  Let's just say the security people weren't thrilled about this--ha!  But THANKFULLY they let me on the plane without it.  I got a boarding pass with my VISA and got through TSA with my Sam's card and  extra screening...luckily I passed :)  It's a good Vegas story though, right?

Thanks a million to our Gran-Gran and Grandfather for keeping the boys the bulk of the time and for Nana stepping up and keeping them when she has done nothing but take care of others for two weeks.  Papa has stabilized somewhat, but is likely never to leave a hospital bed and could leave us any day.  He is not in pain and is eating fairly well, but has started to show some of the "end of life signs" so right now we just pray for he and Gran and wait.

Hope you are having a great Wednesday!