Pumpkin Patch

The day that I promised to take the boys to the pumpkin patch ended up being overcast and chilly.  I tried to talk Luke into going on a different day, but he was dead set on going to the patch.  After hearing all of Luke's convincing arguments, I decided to take them up to the little patch not too far from the house.  We also invited Gigi along for some fun, too.  The pumpkin patch had a jump house and a slide so I figured that if nothing else they could warm up with some activity.  The visit ended up being great.  We were the only ones there and the boys had a blast.  Thank you Luke for talking me into taking y'all to the patch!

 Showing me Woody

 I was so proud of Ben.  He did the slide all by himself (over and over)!

 I asked Luke to make a funny face on his way down!

 Mommy had fun, too!

 I let Luke pick our big pumpkin

 Loading our loot!



The Cutest Faces

I love these boys!  We took these pictures one morning outside on Gigi's deck while everyone was still in their jammies.

Remembering Dad

On October 19th we celebrated Dad's life with friends and family.  It was a hard day for me and my siblings, but we were happy to see everyone who came to celebrate him (~100 people total).  We were thankful to have Michelle, who drove up from Lake Jackson, say a few words and to talk about hurting with hope.  I made a slide show with over 100 pictures of my dad and then my sister said his eulogy.   I am way too emotional of a person to even think about speaking during such an emotional time so Andy was kind enough to read my thoughts about my dad and his last year.  Here is what he read for me:

This past year was the hardest year I could have ever imagined.  Our family’s lives transformed in the blink of an eye.  Cancer is a horrible disease that caused my father months of pain and suffering.  In a blink of an eye it took all of his freedoms.  He went from being independent and proud to dependent on everyone for all of his basic needs.  He was the guy who prided himself for being able to provide for everyone else, so to see him in the reverse role was heart breaking. 

While I will never know the whys behind his cancer diagnosis, I do know that this awful disease brought my family innumerable blessings.  For each and every hard moment there was a matching blessing.  Prior to his diagnosis my dad lived on the road.  We saw him every 6 to 8 weeks at best.  Over the past 10 months I can count on one hand how many days I DID NOT spend with my dad.  God gave me 10 months with my daddy that I KNOW I would not have had otherwise.  He was able to spend time with my boys and become an important part of their life.  He was our life and we were his. 

While I never would have picked this way for his life to end, I can proudly say that I am thankful for his Cancer diagnosis.  God used cancer to bring my family together under one roof again – this is something that only God could have orchestrated!  In the beginning I always made an effort to point out how God was working in my dad’s life.  From the timing of his diagnosis, to timing of radiation, to how we were going to provide for his needs.  I reminded him how the entire time line had been intricately planned and that we were not in control.  In the last month of my dad’s life I was worrying about how I was going to handle a certain situation and it was my dad who told me, “It will all work out.  It always has.  We are not in control of this.”  At that moment it was him who reminded me of God’s faithfulness!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for our family over this past year.  I know that it was through your prayers and God’s grace that we were able to face each day.  I miss my dad.  I miss him terribly.  Not even a year long battle with a horrible disease can prepare someone for the loss of a parent.  My heart is broken and our family seems incomplete.  I know that with time the pain will ease and I find comfort in knowing that I will see him again one day!

Man I miss him.  I love you Dad!



Great Grandparents Cloud

Andy's grandparents recently made the long trip up from the valley to visit.  I was in Albuquerque at the time, but Andy was able to spend a good portion of a Saturday visiting with them.  It was their first time to meet Benji.  I think it took a bit for the boys to warm up, but before the day was over they were able to muster up some hugs and a fist bump or two.  I wished they didn't live so far away so that the boys could get to know them better.  Sounds like a trip to the valley is in order :)

 

Great Grandaddy, Great Grandmother, Grandad and the boys

 4 Generations of Clouds

 Those eyes melt my heart :)

I Will Miss You

After a hard fought battle with cancer my Dad took his last breath this morning. I will never understand the whys behind it all, but what I do know is that his illness brought my family innumerable blessings. I will forever be grateful for this awful disease because it gave me 10 straight months (minus only a handful of days) with my Daddy -- days that I know I would not have had otherwise. I find great joy knowing that he accepted Christ back in April and that I will one day see him again!

This is the last picture I took of my Dad only 4 short weeks ago (Sept 16, 2013)

Shrek

Today after church we took the boys to Wendy's for lunch. They each got Shrek ears with their meals. After eating their burgers they got to try them out.  I even took a turn at being Fiona for a bit. After lunch we stopped by the nursing home to see Dad. Everyone enjoyed seeing my little Shreks running down the halls!

September Photo Dump

Our September through the eyes of my cell phone.....

Andy took Luke to meet Caleb at Home Depot for their monthly craft

 Swimming at Gigi's water park

 Playing with paper airplanes, turns out Papa makes the best ones :)

 Not sure I have words for this other than stinking cute

 Taking a turn at skating.  He was surprisingly good for a 1 year old.

 Passing time at the Dr.'s office while Papa got his PET scan

 Another trip to Bahama Bucks

 Playing in Gigi's dirt.  Make that bathing in Gigi's dirt ;)

 We can't go to Target without stopping to stand on the ball

 A quick trip to see Daddy at work

 Playing with chalk

 Enjoying a cooler evening outside

 Silly Ben!

 Super Bat Luke

 We caught some cute boys with the bug net

 Date night -- courtesy of Brittany and my sister