Making Wishes Come True...

He loves cruising.

He's been on more cruises than we can count!

And... he had one wish for his Birthday this year.   Can you guess where we've been??

A Big, Fun, Crazy-Happy Family Cruise.  And it has been a monumental task.  Getting Dad to Miami and on that Cruise ship.  It took a combined Family effort to make it happen... but happen it did!  And the smiles were the sweetest reward.

So, if you're wondering how one actually makes wishes come true?  Here's the scoop... It's a whole lot of sacrifice and a whole lot of work!!

The logistics of traveling with an elderly parent, who is dealing with end-stage COPD is one part daring and two parts just plain grit.

It helps that everyone in our family loves to travel.

Tropical ports of call?  Yes, please!

But as the reality of traveling with dad sunk in we all took a deep breath and asked the same question all of you are probably asking... were we crazy?

Insane does factor somewhere in there.

And it crossed my mind with increasing frequency as the trip got closer and the packing began...

The list was long and multiplied the stress and anxiety!  Nebulizers and inhalers, perscriptions and oxygen, extra batteries and his Bipap machine, wheelchairs and passports... plus clothes and shoes and... I was exhausted before we even left Dallas...lol!

Dad's doctors happily signed off on the trip and sent extra meds and had us fill a script for antibiotics (just in case they said...)

And then we arrived at the airport and hit the TSA line... this would be where the staying power of old-fashioned grit factored in!  It was ugly... enough said.

Once we finally got on that plane and buckled up, the smiles kicked in!

And they never stopped!

Making wishes come true simply blesses the giver and receiver alike!

The week melted into a gracious time of laughter and relaxing

and making memories...
worth every minute of the sweat, worry and grit that got us here!

 We cooked with the Chef at Emilio's Plantation on St. Maarten...

And toured the top of the Island...

Explored historic San Juan...

And braved the water slides!

Dad met the officers on the ship and pretty much loved every minute...

Including the Best Birthday Celebration!

His wish come true...

Simply the best!

Brought to you by good, old-fashioned determination and grit!

Sometimes we need to be Brave and Fierce in order to

Become the Gift!

Be Kind to Someone Today!
It makes all the difference in the world!

Blessings, Always,

                          Jane

An Autumn Celebration

And today the mercury topped 100... again!   It is September, right??!!

Have mercy!

Longing for some sweater wearing, bonfire snuggling, cider brewing weather...

Please remind me come January how much I love chilly days and nights ;-)

Persevering thru the heat, blessed with family and cupcakes to ring in a Birthday Celebration for Poppy...84 years young!

Happy Birthday Poppy!

You make us smile!!

We Love You! 

Birthday Wishes and a Magnolia Market Road Trip

Sometimes a Birthday Wish is so easy to grant!

This weekend past we celebrated Katie's Birthday with a Road Trip to Waco and the fabulous Magnolia Marketplace!!!

 

If you've been listening to my rambling for long ;-) you know that we're a big fan of HGTV's Fixer-Upper and this daughter just couldn't wait to visit their new silo and storefront!

 

The Silos are a work in progress (I see another road trip in our future!), but the storefront was simply a delight...

 

 

Even the floors spoke Welcome to us!

And of course we registered our visit in the guestbook...birthday girl and all...

 

And then we shopped...

 

 

 

 

And if you're observant (which of course you are) you noticed I'm in a different outfit from the beginning of this post (I know, you just scrolled up to check, smiling), and that's because we might have had to come back 2 days in a row to take it all in... heaven for these 2 country girls!

And then, when you get all shopped out (or you just need to get refueled) we headed for the Food Truck Court...

 

 

Crepes in Texas... Another new favorite!

 

Watching the children play as we ate,

the perfect family place...

moms shop, kids play, dads wait :-)

 

Then we wandered over to the Texas Farm Garden...

 

 

 

We fell in love with this rustic tee-pee reading corner!

 

I might have decided I want one.

With wild jasmine and sweet honeysuckle climbing the cedar wall posts,

it will be the perfect "secret" garden for our grandkids out at the lake!

We met the sweet young thing that built it...

and she convinced me we could build one too!

 

The Farmer just smiles...

 

What's one more project?!

 

Our trip wound down with the requisite #milestomagnolia photo op

and then it was time to pack up and head home...

Chip and Joanna sent us off with their Blessing :-)

 

And indeed, we are so very blessed.

Mom would be the first to agree.

Cancer may have hi-jacked the last leg of our journey,

but it could never steal the joy she brought to our lives.

Mom's heart beat to see the family circled together...

this road trip would have thrilled her to no end.

And in these days of counting our blessings,

and celebrating Thanksgiving with love,

we can feel her smile and hug like a real thing.

It was the best Birthday!

Love you to pieces, Katie!

Always and Forever,

                                 Mom and Dad

 

 

Fire on the Farm!

Yesterday was Mom's 72nd Birthday...

And we had a beautiful "celebration," but the rather incendiary turn of events at the farm precluded my lovely blog post last night!

So, today you get two for the price of one.  First, the Fire (most important...we're all OK, whewww!)...

Yesterday afternoon, as I was driving home from Dad's and our commemorative Birthday festivities (more on that later), I noticed smoke in the distance, and it sure looked suspiciously close to our place. But, I reasoned, what are the chances?

None of the neighbors had called, no fire engine sirens were blaring. Probably just a controlled burn...

Except, the closer I got to home, the closer it looked to be our place... I turned down the lane, still no fire engines, but tons more smoke... drove thru our gate, heart pounding, and saw smoke billowing across the driveway....

The woods were on fire. Holy Smokes! And there was lots of smoke. The fire was low and smoldering thru all the leaf tinder and spreading fast...

9-1-1 !!!!!!!! What's your emergency? FIRE!!!! FIRE!!!! FIRE!!!!! (I may have sounded just a little hysterical....maybe....)

And then I called Leroy and Travis (they were at Trav's working on a truck), and yelled FIRE! (a wee bit less hysterical...maybe...)

Good news. Leroy and Travis made it home fast. And so did the Fire Department. 2 hours and thousands of GALLONS of water later, the fire was out and we were breathing much easier.

And the really great news? Moments after the Fire Department left, the skies opened up and the RAIN came down in a Big, Drenching, Swoosh of a Soaker. What a Gift, after weeks without a drop of rain. God's Perfect Timing...

Cause of the fire? No idea. The Firefighters couldn't pinpoint a cause. Perhaps a spark from the Transmission Lines overhead,

 or an ember from a big grass fire way south of us (not likely, but maybe), in other words, we may never know. Kind of scary to think we're that susceptible to random fires...

And the neighbors?  No one else was home at the time the fire broke out - doubly scary... If I had lingered at Dad's or done some shopping (it happens), and been even a half hour later, the fire would have swept into the ravine and been nigh impossible for the Fire-fighters to reach.  Shudder....

God's Providential Hand...Grace in Action...

Which is exactly how Mom's Commemorative Birthday came about.  A providential timing orchestrated by unseen hands for a family that was dreading another first.  A Birthday without Mom. 

Several weeks ago, Dad received an invitation from the Cemetary/Columbarium were Mom is inurned.  They were hosting a service about Organ Donation presented by UT Southwest and also having an "indoor" picnic for all the families with loved ones buried there.

The Date?  Saturday, July 21st.  Mom's 72nd Birthday.

A difficult day, made so much easier by the love, laughter and community of others facing similar journeys.  The service was touching.  Several donor recipients shared their stories and one family shared the heartbreak of losing their son only to have his life continue on in the lives of so many others thru organ donation.

Then after the service, we participated in a group Butterfly Release.  Simply the sweetest, most uplifting part of our day.  Even Dad was captivated...

As the butterflies circled around us, dipping and swaying, lighting upon our shoulders and hands, we read in unison the verse from  Numbers 6:24-26:

"The Lord bless you
and keep you;

The Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace."

Mom would have been utterly charmed.  Dad and I agreed that we couldn't have planned it better if we had tried...

Happy Birthday Mom!

You are loved always and forever....

P.S.  The Goats, Donkey, Dogs, Cats, and Peacocks survived the Farm Fire with nary a singed feather, nor sooty hoof.  Tonight we are humbled completely by God's Merciful, Abundant, Soul-Soaking Grace...