Family Visit

These past few days we've had the pleasure of spending time with my Dad, cousin Tim and his daughter Abby. It had been almost a year since I'd seen my Dad and over two years since I'd spent time with Tim & Abby so this was a much anticipated visit.

We spent most of our time in the pool, but we also went to the Bass Pro Shop, church, the mall three times, the movies twice, and played several games of Rook.

The last evening of Tim & Abby's visit we went to our outdoor mall so that I could take Abby to Charming Charlie.....

Where I found this very stylish hat! It made me feel like going to the Kentucky Derby. :0) Abby took home an adorable purse and necklace and I purchased a ring for my sister and a cute pair of earrings for myself.

Tim & Abby left Saturday and then my Dad was scheduled to leave the following Monday.

On what we thought was the last morning of his visit we were suprised to find that Grafton had made himself his own art project while we were all sleeping! Nevertheless, he still took some pictures with the grandkids.

Rachel and I took him to the airport extra early so that we could grab lunch and have time to say our goodbyes. We were suprised when his flight was delayed and then cancelled (due to bad weather in Dallas) and I picked him up a few hours later. It was nice having an extra evening with him and I miss him terribly already! Fortunately he's planning on coming back in December after Rachel's baby is born.

Matters of the Heart

Living in a different state as my Dad has never felt as far away as it has this week. On Tuesday evening he called me and let me know he had been having some chest pains for almost two weeks and was staying the night in the hospital so he could have testing done.

The next day he was moved to a heart hospital to have an echocardiogram. During the procedure it was discovered that one of his main arteries was 95% blocked. It's an artery that's often called the "widow maker" because most people do not survive a heart attack when it comes from that area. He also had another smaller artery that was 91% blocked.

The doctor was able to put stints in and he should make a full recovery.

I don't think the reality of what was close to taking place has completely sunk in yet. I have been continuously thanking God for sparing my Dad from major surgery or even death.

I'm not sure when my next visit with my Dad will be, but it can't come soon enough!

Out and About

My siblings have visited our state 3 times now, but we had never taken them downtown, which gave Vince the great idea to spend the day there. Instead of driving all of that way, we decided to take the light-rail.

Once we got there we stopped for a quick picture. Deklan's the only one missing because he was at my in-laws' house napping.

It was quite toasty outside, so we were excited to cool down with ice cream!

The best part of our day was feeding the birds pieces of our ice cream cones.

On Wednesday Grafton and I took our family to the airport. We had enough time to get at drink and enjoy our last few moments together.

On the way home Grafton started crying and said, "Mom, I miss our friends from the airport." 

I know exactly what he means.

A Few Highlights

Over the last few days I have finally taken some pictures of our visit with our family!

On Friday my Dad, Grafton and I made a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and fresh fruit for everyone.

Later that evening we swam, sat around the fire pit and made smores, and stayed up late playing a hilarious game called Telephone Pictionary.

On Saturday we went to the movies and saw Up in 3D and then walked around the mall and had dinner.

This was the first time I've had all 5 of my siblings in the same picture.  My sister Hannah (on the far left) is from my mom and Step-Dad.  My sister Rachel (to the left of me) and I share the same parents, and the three siblings to my right (Arianah, Caleb, and Nicholas) are from my Dad and former Step-Mom.

It's hard to believe there's only two full days left of their visit.  We have a busy day planned tomorrow and are going to make the most of the time we have left.

Getting Excited

For what, you may ask.  In two weeks from Tuesday my Dad and three siblings from Kentucky are coming for a visit.  The last time my brothers, Nicholas and Caleb, and sister, Arianah, were here was in October of 2007 and Grafton was only 17 months old. They have not met Deklan yet and I'm glad that will change soon.

I've already started planning meals and grocery shopping for their visit.

I'm excited to spend the week swimming, playing games, sight-seeing, drinking lots of coffee, and staying up late visiting. It will be a vacation for all of us!