Can you figure out what today was? :) I still get nervous on the first day!
Category Archives: personal
I always hate it when vacation is over, but we had a fabulous time last week in Florida! Here are a few shots of my family at Blue Mountain Beach. This is my 7-year-old, Torin, splashing in the ocean. She picked out a nice purple beach house that she wants… let’s hope she marries well.
This is my 6-year-old son, Parker. He likes to show off his big strong muscles on the beach. He spent the week collecting seashells and eating all of the junk food in our condo.
Another picture of Torin… I erased the piece of seaweed on her cheek but I kept the sand on her chin. Let’s just say she has been well exfoliated.
Parker hanging out at the Sugar Shak in Rosemary Beach.
My brother and sister-in-law and their 10-month-old, Sabrina.
My husband and my daughter.
And finally… me!
Couldn’t resist sharing these pictures of my kids at Dragon Park this morning. I’m sure some of you native Nashvillians have known about this park for years, but I just discovered it!
I took my 7-year-old daughter to see the Chihuly Exhibit at Cheekwood this morning. I will admit that I went in with pretty low expectations and figured she would get bored after seeing a couple of the pieces. Much to my surprise, my daughter loved it! She loved looking at all of the colorful artwork and was determined to see the entire exhibit. It helped that I let her wear her favorite brand new sparkly pink jelly sandals with the teeny tiny heel. New shoes can make a world of difference in a woman’s attitude. And we only had to stop to dig grass out of them about twenty-eight times.
Look at this man. He is one of the few World War II veterans still living. He stormed the beaches of Normandy. He helped liberate the German concentration camp at Dachau. And then he came home to Illinois, built a farm with my grandma, and raised my mother and my aunt.
Look at this hand. As a kid, I spent many nights sleeping on the floor next to his side of the bed. With me on the floor and him on the bed, he would hang his arm down off of the mattress so I could hold this hand until I fell asleep. He thought I wanted to hold hands because I was scared. It was really because I wanted to be able to squeeze his fingers and wake him up when he started snoring louder than a freight train.
My grandpa made me laugh harder than anybody. He taught me to be generous. And he showed me what it looks like to love the Lord. He also taught me how to drive a car. And he (tried) to teach me how to dance… Picture it: Me, Grandpa, and Anne Murray singing “Could I Have This Dance.” Grandma would giggle at us so much it would make her snort.
I really don’t know if it’s possible for a girl to love her grandpa more than I did. And I still do love him to bits. But things have changed.
Grandpa suffers from Alzheimer’s. It is such a cruel disease. Not only is his memory gone, but his entire personality is different. I can’t talk to him like I used to. I answer his same questions over and over and over until finally I get frustrated enough that I want to leave. I vacillate between being extremely sad and being downright furious. I just want the old grandpa back for a few minutes. I just want to share one more laugh over an inside joke.
I know I will never truly get him back. But sometimes… I see the twinkle in his eyes and hear the laughter in his voice, and I get a tiny glimpse of how it used to be. It warms my heart, and it makes me smile. And I think of how much fun those folks in heaven are going to have when he gets there.
I was supposed to photograph a 3-month-old out in Lebanon this morning, but due to the road conditions (you know, the pesky ice and everything), we had to reschedule. Instead, I got to spend a fun Saturday at home with my own two out in the snow! My son is 5 and my daughter is almost 7, and I think they could’ve stayed out in this stuff all day!
