Nutcracker performance, 1 out of 3.

Rieley was the lead Cherub Angel for the Nutcracker Ballet this year. They began rehearsals in Oct and continued until the last show on Dec 22nd. Rieley preformed in Big Spring, we spent the night after her first full dress rehearsal and then did an awesome performance on Sat night. I worked the dressing room so was unable to see her perform. We missed the last 2 performances due to being in IN for mom's funeral. Rieley was devastated not to be able to, as she says"do her job", but is already looking forward to performing in next years production.
Mom will be glad she won't be an angel again, but the nightmare of tight ringlet curls, will be replaced by a simple bun. Yippee.

Saying Goodbye is Soooooo Hard.

My mom passed away Dec. 16, 2013. Never in my wildest dreams(nightmare) did I think I would loose both parents in the span of 17 months. Her health declined quickly and once she knew what was going on in her body, she chose quality of life over quantity. She chose to spend her last few months with hospice, and my 2 sisters by her side almost 24/7. Rieley and I went up for a week and stayed with her, my brothers visited but Shelly and Pam were with her until the end. She lost all ability to feed herself, walk but never lost her ability to talk, listen, and be positive.
The week Rieley and I spent with her, I will cherish forever. It was tough to see her like this but memories were made.
We traveled the 22 hours, in 2 cars, 7 of us and Suki.
Her celebration of life was wonderful, full of family and friends. She was laid to rest,Dec 19th, next to my dad,(17 months to the day he passed away) and knowing they are together, makes it a little easier to deal with.
I find myself wanting to pick up the phone and call her either to chat, for a recipe or to tell her something funny Ri has done and then realize I can't. To have one more phone call would be such a blessing. To say I Love You one more time.
Mom's last words to me were"to stay strong", I am for the most part but some days the tears fall and the memories are there.
Treasure what you have, for you don't know what tomorrow brings.

Thanksgiving 2013.

Trip to IN, thanks for the memories mom.

Rieley and I went home to spend a few days with my mom/her grandma. Mom's lymphoma has come back and with a vengeance. She has been placed under hospice care. After many tests and her current condition, she decided to live out the rest of her life with "quality of life" over doing any chemo. the doctor, my sisters and her, decided chemo may be too harsh for her condition. We were able to spend 5 days of quality time with her. She is unable to do much for herself, other than use her voice and tell us what she needs and what she does and doesn't like. We were able to get her in a wheelchair one day, with Shelly pushing, and took her out to enjoy the fall colors and weather. Think she really enjoyed getting out of her room, University Place and being outside. Am glad Rieley and I were able to go and see her. Only God knows when it will be her time.

Pittsburgh Bound!

Rieley and I ventured out to Pittsburgh to see Hunter during parents weekend. We had a blast and didn't waste anytime while there. Thursday night Rieley and I ventured to the Carnegie Mellon Library for a couple of hours, while Hunter attended a meeting. Then we were off for a yummy dinner at one of the many super places to eat in Pittsburgh. Friday, we did some homeschooling while Hunter went to classes and we met Trey, for lunch at Paneras. Hunter and Emili joined us after classes and our adventures began. We went to NOLAs for dinner, Rieley didn't care for it as, she was tired and it was VERY loud. Saturday we went to the Phipps Observatory and saw many beautiful flowers and displays, dinner was at Red Robins. Sunday we went to Carnegie Museum of Nature and History. Awesome, Rieley was in heaven with the dinosaur exhibit itself. Hunter then had to take us to lunch at Olive Garden with Emili and then he was off to another med school interview, and we had an early flight out Mon morning, TX bound.

Trip to Atlanta. 10/1- 10/14

Didn't know we could do so much in such a short time. But, daddy scheduled a fun filled weekend and fun we had. We arrived Fri afternoon in Atlanta and daddy was there with open arms to meet us, after he found his way to our luggage carousel. We unloaded at the hotel and then we were off to Stone Mountain, only to find they would be closing an hour after we arrived and no laser shows on Fri, boo. So, we road the cable car up to the top of the mountain and enjoyed ourselves making sure we were back in time before the last cable car went down. The only other way down was to walk and that was not happening. Off to a steak dinner, Rieley was allowed to get her own steak, of course off the kids menu but she was thrilled.
Sat, we were up bright and early for FULL day of activities. Headed out to the aquarium and we were not disappointed, what an amazing place. Then we ventured to Coke World( not what we expected), a quick peak at CNN studios and then to the BIG or HUGE ferris wheel. I am not one for heights, but did it for the family. Only had to threaten Tim and Rieley with pushing the panic button once, after they thought it would be cute to rock the car. Not cute at all. Hunter had recommended we eat dinner at Mary Mac's, and we decided to give it a try. True Southern cooking at its best. Only bad thing is, everything is fried. But, the peach cobbler was really good, not as good as mine though.
Sunday, we headed to the Atlanta Zoo(highlight was seeing the giant pandas), American Girl doll store, a mall, with a Disney Store, a Barnes and Nobles(the little one needed some more books for trip home) and then dinner at my Uncle Ed's. Great visit and food.
Monday came all too soon, daddy had to go back to classes and Rieley and I needed to return to TX and prepare for our Thurs departure for Pittsburgh.
ThaNKS DADDY FOR AN AWESOME TIME IN Atlanta.