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Florida!

First Florida trip of the year in the books! We took advantage of the long MLK weekend and flew home for a few days. It was a quicker trip than normal but still SO great. Dad is feeling (and obviously looking fantastic) which is just such a blessing. In fact, Hospice is re-evaluating him to see if he’s still a fit for their program. It’s pretty unusual to get kicked out of Hospice but you know those insane stories of patients given up to 3 months to live…and living years? I’m hoping that’s us. I am so thankful for every extra day we have!

Now for a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend (all from the same day — church & lunch).

 

Before my Grandpa (one of my favorite people of all time) passed away, he would eat lunch every single day at his favorite restaurant, Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar in Cocoa Beach. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve eaten there. In fact, we surprised him on his 80th birthday when he walked in for his usual lunch and we were all there screaming SURPRISE! The waitresses knew him SO well and loved him fiercely. So you can imagine how special it was for us when Grills opened an Orlando location!!! It opened earlier this week so after church on Sunday we went for lunch and the mahi mahi is just as amazing as I always remembered it to be. 

Cheers to a great weekend!

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Lyndsey Beasley

Thursday 18th of January 2018

Your dad looks fantastic! Continued prayers for your family. Also -- LOVE your shoes in this post! Can you share details?

rox

Wednesday 17th of January 2018

Here's hoping your dad gets kicked out of hospice care ... because he no longer needs it!!!!! WOOT!!!! He looks amazing, and SO, SO happy! So many continued prayers coming y'alls way! XO

Owen Davis @ Davis Duo

Wednesday 17th of January 2018

HUGE praise that your dad is doing so well! Such great news!!!

Chelsey S

Wednesday 17th of January 2018

Wow! That is great news about your dad--he looks great! Looks like a fun trip home!

Anonymous

Tuesday 16th of January 2018

Hallelujah! Your family is so precious and beautiful and thankful for the gift of life. I am so glad he is doing well and continued prayers... J in Mt Holly

Florida!

We just returned home from another wonderful weekend at home in Florida. This trip was much different from our last visit a few weeks ago. A huge blessing, Dad has had a burst of improvement, which I’ve been told is not uncommon for cancer patients once the chemo leaves their body. As a result he was able to spend more time in his wheelchair and less time laying down resting. In fact, he is sitting on the couch now, sleeping in bed with mom and is no longer attached to any medical equipment (which made getting him out and about so much easier). He also looks more like himself and has gained some strength in his arms and legs. Although we know this burst is temporary, we are all just so blessed by these tiny miracles that have allowed Dad to be more comfortable and present!

After a very long drive, we arrived home Wednesday evening to Ian’s 30th birthday dinner. Mom always makes a delicious crab dinner for birthdays and Ian was sweet to request that she wait to make his until we got home a few days later.

On Thursday we took dad to New Smyrna Beach. The first time
we took him to the beach a few weeks ago Hospice threatened to release
him from their care. However, I think we’ve broken enough rules now that
they have let the beach trips slide under the radar — hallelujah.

The kids couldn’t have had more fun. The trip to the beach was an absolute blast.

When we arrived home from the beach my girlfriend Mel surprised my family by sending dinner to our house. It was such a nice treat to have more time together and less time cooking and cleaning!

Friday we spent most of the day in the pool until the kids were completely waterlogged.

That night Mom invited family and friends over for a large spaghetti dinner — her specialty. My bestie Shannon never misses a spaghetti dinner and stayed late catching up with me over lots of wine and ice cream cake.

Saturday we spent more time by the pool, watched a marathon of Disney movies & football (sad, sad game for the Gators), and of course, we had steak for dinner.




 

On Sunday we said our tough goodbyes and made our long drive back to Charlotte. I already can’t wait to return…





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Elizabeth

Thursday 7th of September 2017

So glad you are able to spend these moments with your dad! I hope they stay safe during the hurricane!

K. Elizabeth @ YUMMommy

Wednesday 6th of September 2017

So glad to hear that your dad was feeling better and you guys got to go to the beach and just be surrounded by family.

Caley-Jade Rosenberg

Wednesday 6th of September 2017

I love reading about your Florida weekends my friend - I hope everyone will be safe in the expected hurricane x

Laura Darling

Wednesday 6th of September 2017

I was so happy to see those pictures on instagram this weekend of your dad at the beach! Glad you got to make more memories! :)

Owen Davis @ Davis Duo

Tuesday 5th of September 2017

So so happy your dad was feeling better. Such priceless memories and pictures! Always thinking about you guys <3

FLORIDA!

We had a great long weekend at home in Orlando! It was so nice to escape the snow and spend time with my family in 80 degree weather. I am SO thankful I got to see my dad and it meant so much to him to have the whole family together under one loud and crazy roof. It was definitely the boost of happiness he needed after receiving confirmation that the cancer has in fact spread to both kidneys and his back. He began radiation on his back on our last day there and has a difficult road ahead. So extra snuggles with his grandbabies was just what the doctor ordered.

I feel like the road trip always needs it’s own recap since it’s a two day event in itself! I would grade both segments there and back a C+ since the kids treated me like a stewardess for 9 very long hours. About every 6 minutes I was being instructed to pick up a dropped toy or sippy cup, crawl into the back seat to change the DVD out or provide a new snack. Oh, and then there was that minor snafu on the way down when I finally had an opportunity to do my makeup and got sloppy with my navigation responsibilities. It wasn’t until we started seeing signs for Charleston that I realized we missed our turn 40 minutes ago. Buuuuuut we MADE IT!

 

Shortly after we arrived home on Friday my best friend May and her hubby Justin stopped by with dinner for my family so my mom
wouldn’t have to spend any time cooking or cleaning dishes. Is that not the most thoughtful thing of all time? Bonus points that the meal was extremely delicious.

For dinner Justin made one of his specialties — a delicious pan of chicken and rice. They also brought fresh bread, salad, beer and wine…and it fed 11 of us!

Since we arrived home later in the afternoon we let the kids stay up a little later than usual to get some snuggles in with Grandpa and Grandma.

The next morning Caroline was up bright and early helping Grandma with breakfast. And by “help” I mean she spread half a stick of butter on each biscuit, dipped every slice of bacon into the jam and ate the inside of all the sausage biscuits before everyone woke up.

For
the record, I was informed that the camera was zoomed in from the waist
up for this picture and I had just wrangled two sopping wet kiddos out of the pool. I
attempted to crop out my legs but the photo became too awkward.
Regardless, I love this ONE family photo (minus Ian) we got while in Florida so I
had to include it. Pretend I’m wearing pants.

We spent most of Saturday by the pool. Actually, we spent most of the day by the pool in an inflatable pool, which we will absolutely be purchasing for our own backyard this summer. It was so much easier to keep an eye on three kids in 8″ of water instead of floating around the deep pool in floaties.

 

I know I’m biased, but he is seriously one handsome little dude.

Thomas’ swim trunks + long sleeve swim shirt // Jackson’s swim trunks

Also, shout out to Target for having the cutest swim trunks for the boys this season. And they are under $10!

May came over to hang out just as the kiddos were going down for naps, which made for perfecting timing to break out the champagne for mimosas.

A little later Shanny came over too! Caroline wasn’t excited at all. Nope. Look at her.

Dad’s back is causing him a tremendous amount of pain but he still managed to pull off Sandroni Saturday Steak Night! Caroline made sure to supervise the steak temperature for a perfect medium-rare finish.

The boys stayed up late into the night watching basketball.

 

On Sunday we joined my parents for church. We hadn’t planned for church when packing our bags so I wore my best pool cover-up to the service and Thomas wore Caroline’s natives. My mom was super excited for us to attend church because she is the Sunday School teacher for the toddler class so Thomas and Caroline spent the morning destroying her room.

 

After church we went to our favorite old diner near our house for brunch. We each devoured unhealthy amounts of food, the kids threw every sugar packet they could find on the floor and Matt accepted a dare to eat a 3 decade old 25 cent gum ball from the dusty machine. No matter the adult to toddler ratio, eating out is always a bit chaotic but also always entertaining!

It was a long morning for dad so Caroline volunteered to watch a Mickey Mouse marathon on the couch with him while he rested.

 Not sure what you’re laughing at Thomas, those shoes are your future hand-me-downs!

 The three best friends that anyone could ever have!

In an attempt to get solid naps out of the kids Uncle Ryan blew up the bounce house. We were not successful in the nap department (quite the opposite!) but the kids had a blast.

This is the quality photo you get when you suggest taking a picture mid bounce house fun.

And because I’m a huge dork, I spent the road trip home writing this post AND making this video…

And that’s a wrap on our trip to Florida!






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almyaa almyaa

Tuesday 28th of March 2017

نحن في صيانه ويرلبول نقدم اليك صيانه فورية في منزلك او في مراكز الصيانه لتقديم خدمة افضل اليك وقطع غيار اصلية الموقع الالكتروني:https://www.almyaa.com/Whirlpool-Maintenance/

Amy

Monday 20th of March 2017

Such a special weekend spent with all of your loved ones. I have a feeling that spending time with all of his grandbabes was just your Dad needed. Thinking of you all!

Caley-Jade Rosenberg

Monday 20th of March 2017

What a special weekend with your family, and photos that will be treasured forever x

Lisa

Friday 17th of March 2017

Wow, what a great vacation and special time for your dad. I'm so sorry he's suffering. Prayers his treatments will help. I'm sure those babies were the best medicine he could ask for❤️

Tsrobin

Thursday 16th of March 2017

It is so good to see you with your Dad!! Where did you find that great baseball cap?