Happy Birthday!

Yes, today is my 36th birthday! It has been a pretty good day so far, we went to the grocery store this morning & spent way too much money + Chris got me a cake. Last night we went to Carrabba's which I chose but once I ate my salad & bread, I didn't want the rest of my food (Rigatoni Martino), which is normally one of my favs. Chris of course, loved his food but we boxed mine up & brought it home for later. As for presents, Chris got me a pair of shoes while we were at the beach last weekend & I am also getting a new bible cover. There just wasn't much I could think of that I really wanted this year.

Tonight we are heading to my friend, Erica's house for their going away party. Sadly her husband is being transferred to Houston, TX so the fam is packing up & heading out next week. I know it's a great opportunity for her husband, Jeff but we will all miss them. I am sure we will have a great time with them tonight & we get to see their little boy, Robert. We haven't seen him in so long.

Back to work

Yesterday was my first day back to work since Daddy's passing & it wasn't has hard as I thought it might be. I got a little weepy on the way to work but once I got in the office & started working I was fine. We are in the midst of deadline & swamped with work. The magazine is due at our corp office on Tuesday (April 8th) & we are hoping to send it out Friday night. I found out when I came back that Ty Pennington is going to in Hickory, NC Monday, April 7th at Market & we are going. How fun is that??? Chris of course thinks we all have our priorities out of order but when else will I get to see Ty, come on now. I can't wait, we will have a great time.

I also had another surprise when I walked in my office, I have a desk now. For those who don't know, which is many, I moved out of a cube about 2 months ago & into an old conference room but I didn't have a desk. My new office is also used as our soft proofing room when proofs come in from our corp office & the printer, so it also has a large conference room table sitting behind me (its a pretty big room). We created a make shift desk with folding table & a cradensa for storage on the opposite side of the room. When I came in yesterday, Vicki, a co-worker & friend brought me a desk she had at her house from our old office. Thanks Vicki, I love it.

Were home

& we all had a really good time. Granted we didn't do a whole lot & we didn't go to the beach but it was still a great trip. We had a ton of left overs to take with us from all the food brought to Mama's, so we didn't eat out as much as we normally do, but we still had to go out some. There is only so much left overs you can eat. The weather was pretty nice in the 60's & we spent Sat. & Sun afternoon out on the deck, but the wind was a little chilly. We went to the outlets Saturday night in search of Easter dresses for my 2 nieces, which we ended up getting at Marshall's of all places. (I love that store & I hardly ever leave there without buying something.) We went to church Sunday morning & played Wii that afternoon. We played indoor putt-putt yesterday & just sat around the house this morning stalling coming home.

I must say it is nice to be home & I wonder what it will be like to return to work tomorrow. It feels like an eternity since I have been at work, but it has only been a week. Man how stress, tension & tragedy can warp your sense of reality. Normalcy, I think I am ready for some & I know my family as a whole would agree.

Off We Go...

to the beach for some much needed rest, relaxation & family time. For those who don't know my parents have a beach house in Calabash, NC & we had already planned to head that way several weeks ago & when Daddy's health started to rapidly decline we thought we were going to have to put in on hold all together. Well we finished all the formalities (visitation, funeral & graveside) today & now we are all heading out tomorrow morning. Daddy would expect or want not less from us, he wants us to be happy, remember the good times & to continue on with our lives striving for the ultimate goal - meeting him in heaven one day. So Daddy this trip is all for you, love ya - your little girl.

The Angels Came...

last night & carried Daddy to heaven. It really was no surprise to us, he had gone downhill fast within the last week & 1/2. The family is really doing fine, all things considered. We have rallied around Mama & are trying are best to keep her from any unnecessary stress & sadness. I must say we are are for the most part happy & relieved to know that Daddy is in a better place now. He is free to walk on his own 2 legs, play golf, hang out with St. Peter, his parents & his father-in-law in heaven. I can hear him now saying, "Hey Wizbag, Doctor, Friend or MaryLou how are you & can you help me with something.

We will miss you Daddy, but we are glad you are with Grandma, Grandad & Granddaddy. We look forward to being with you all someday.

Nearing the End

I know this may sound like a pretty grim title to this blog, but is how we feel right now. Daddy has really taken a turn for the worst & he is nearing the end of his journey. This morning was the first time I have seen him in about 2 weeks & he looked really bad. As a family, we talked about him one night this past week & my siblings & Mama kept saying how bad he was but I was totally unaware. I knew he had quit eating, but I was totally surprised to hear the rest. His lack of eating has caused him to loose a lot of weight, he isn't talking & is sleeping all the time. He did open his eyes a little this morning for me to talk to him & to read him some cards he got in the mail.


I only share this with you to ask that you continue to keep our family in your prayers as we deal with what lies ahead. We have been preparing but its still hard & will continue to be hard. Watching a loved one pass away is never an easy task, but we hold comfort in knowing he is not in pain & he will unite in heaven with loved ones who have passed before him.

3 for the price of one

So have you heard the story today about the couple who did in-vitro, transferred 1 embryo & now they have identical triplet boys. Can you imagine? God does work in mysterious ways & it is all done in His time. We will soon find out what our fate may be. Here is a copy of the news conference if you happen to miss it.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=6802512

House Hunting

Well the search began again. Yes we spent most of our day yesterday riding around looking at houses with mls sheets in hand. We did find a couple that we really like that were in downtown Concord, but I am not sure they would work for Spencer. They are both on corner lots, which we really like & they both had fenced in yards. Although the brick home has a basement & large 2-story deck that comes off the back of the house & I don't think Spencer would venture down those stairs on his own. The other house was a ranch stucco newly remodeled home with a fence that doesn't completely close in the backyard, so we would have to fix that one some how. Plus this one is fairly expensive & I wouldn't want to purchase it & then have to spend a lot of money rebuilding the fence.

So needless to say our search is only beginning & our house is not even on the market yet. Luckily we don't have much work to do for ours to get it prepared. The list is small: install blinds in the kitchen, repair puppy damage from Spencer, a little painting & yard work.