May 15, 2009 ~ What a week!

It all started on Friday morning when Shane's great aunt passed away and we hopped in the car and headed to Florida for an unexpected visit.  We had known for a few days that she wasn't doing well, so we at least had time to get things worked out at home so that we could leave as soon as we got the call. 

Shane's great aunt was 97 years old, and she was a wonderful lady.  She lived in a nursing home for the last decade, and she was the most happy, contended, joyful person in the place.  She loved the Lord and loved her family. 

Shane did the funeral, and I know it meant so much to his family to have him there for that.  We were so grateful that we were able to leave when we did and be a part of this service.  I don't have any pictures of anything.  I thought about bringing my camera, but it's just a little awkward to take pictures at a funeral. 

What's funny is that she died on Mother's Day weekend, yet she was never married and never had children.  Some joked that's the very reason she lived so long!  But Shane commented at the funeral that it was such a testament to way she loved others that there were so many people still around who loved her as though they were her children and grandchildren.

On a side note, I had never witnessed all the in's and out's of funeral preparation before.  I talked to the funeral director, Jason, quite a bit while Shane and the other family members were taking care of the things they needed to do.  It amazed me the amount of patience and understanding he had.  The things he has to do in his job are so difficult.  Shane's aunt was buried at a very old family cemetery, and I commented to Jason about how many very young children I saw as I looked around at the headstones.  Most of them died at the turn or beginning of the century.  His comment back to me was that he still sees probably one child a month at his funeral home.  Life is so short and fragile.  Jason is only able to what he does with such grace because he knows the One who conquered death forever.  Praise God for the promise of eternity with Him! 

And on a more lighthearted note...being in Florida for Mother's Day weekend was an added treat!  I got to spend the day with my mom, and we both were so thankful for that.  I realize now that I'm older the unbelievable blessing of a godly mother.  We have such a wonderful relationship, and I cherish every moment we are able to spend together.

Here are my three little treasures...who could ask for more on Mother's Day??

Luke was so proud of the little hand print plate he made for me at school.  In fact, he was so proud of it that he wouldn't let me have it.

My mom directs the five-year-old choir at her church, and they just happened to be performing a few songs in the children's musical on Mother's Day evening.  So Nana quickly taught Kallie the songs, got her a choir shirt, and up on the stage she went!  It was so fun to watch my mom directing Kallie.  And Kallie LOVED it!  She is such a little ham and loves being up on stage.  Hmmm...I don't know where in the world she gets that?!

On Tuesday night the kids spent the night with Shane's parents, so Shane and I got to go bowling with my parents.  We had so much fun!  We played couple against couple, and they won one game and we won one.  It was a rare treat to get to spend the evening with them!  I think living so far away from home makes us so much more appreciative of the time we have together.

 

After bowling Mom & I watched episode one of the Gilmore Girls boxed set Shane gave me for Mother's Day and ate Peterbrooke chocolate covered popcorn.  What a perfect night!

And of course the kids got some BEACH TIME!  Luke's persistent plea day after day was "wannagobeach...wannagobeach" over and over.  And Nana and Papa graciously obliged!  They went on a day that was pretty overcast, which is great because they didn't have to worry about slathering three sandy kids in sunscreen!

I'm pretty sure this next one was right before the lifeguard drove by and told them to get out of the water.  It was a "red flag" day, which means the water is CLOSED.  But you know the saying, what happens at Nana's stays at Nana's. Unfortunately the lifeguard didn't really care.

So naturally what did they do next?  They went to McDonald's and played on the playground in the rain, of course! 

No wonder they love Florida!  And it didn't stop with Nana & Papa.  When the kids got back from Grammy's house, I asked Seth what they did over there.  To which he replied, "Pops let me use his .22 and I shot a lizard in the head and then Nemo (the dog) ate it."  Sorry I asked.

And what were Shane and I doing during all of this excitement?  Well one thing we did was visit our new favorite Florida sushi place, Fancy Sushi.  It is OH SO GOOD.  They have the yummiest sauce you've ever tasted.  So if you're ever on Amelia Island you've got to try it.  We finished off our five rolls and still had the munchies, so we went next door to the 24-hour CVS and topped off our sushi with a couple of king-size Snickers ice cream bars.  It was our only choice for desert since everything on the island shuts down around 5:00.  Not really, but it seems like it!  Sometimes the stores will just put signs in the windows that say things like "closed for vacation."  It's laid-back livin', that's for sure!

We concluded our trip with a quick stop through Tallahassee to meet up with our good friends from seminary, Jay and Emily.  They adopted a little girl, Ashley, from China at the beginning of the year, and this was the first time we'd gotten to see her.  She is a doll.  She was with her sister Annalyse, who is also a doll, and they have two more sisters that were in school (and who would have been VERY upset had they known about the little adventure they missed out on yesterday!)

 

We've proclaimed Shane to be the "King of I-10" because he drives us straight through the whole way...about 18 hours in the car.  It's a killer, but stopping and spending the night is actually worse.  Who wants to tell the kids, "Sorry, we've got to get in the car AGAIN!"  Not me.

Thank you Lord for special time with family and friends!

PS...I completely forgot to add that Luke fell and hit his head so hard on our last night that I had to set my alarm to go off every two hours to check and make sure he was okay!  I was about to brush his teeth in the bathroom, and he was standing up on a bench while I put the toothpaste on the toothbrush.  And the next thing I knew he had somehow flipped off the bench and landed HARD on the floor...on his head.  I checked with my friend Amanda who has four boys and lots of experience with head injuries, and she told me what to watch for and made me feel better.  We are used to Kallie-accidents, but this was the first time Luke gave us a scare!  He ended up with a pretty huge knot on his head which should turn into an ugly bruise, but he's fine otherwise.