Devastation and Hope

Devastation:

Having a friend of 10 years lie about someone you love.

Hearing someone you entrusted your children to tell you to remove them from a place they loved.

Being set up to fall by people you loved and that you thought loved you and your family.

Telling your children that their life has changed forever.

Realizing that you are expendable and when your purpose is over, so are friendships.

Hope:

Knowing that our family unit of 4 is stronger than ever.

Knowing that you have two amazing children who will not only survive, but prosper.

Seeing the real friends who stick with you through thick and thin.

Knowing that my hope is in God, not man.

Pics from St. Augustine

Frank and I never take a pic together. This is gonna be my "before" pic for my diet! GROSS!

Serious as usual

Family Closeness

Sweet Girl

TWO smiles!

As close as Frank wants to get to the beach

HEAVEN!

Drum Roll Please

Here they are, the long awaited pics from our trip to Vicksburg.

We made a side trip into Lousiana just to say we'd been there! Apparently Louisiana brings out the thug in you.

Matthew, being initiated into the Meighan family.

He tried to hold back, but he was a Meighan on this trip!

African American Monument

USS Cairo

Naval Monument

Beautiful Illinois Memorial

Our Old Stomping Grounds

We are in Jacksonville for the weekend. When we were first married, we lived here in Jacksonville. Some things look exactly the same, some things look very different. We came to visit some friends that we made from Frank's Navy days. That is something that hasn't changed at all! We have known Dave and Teresa for about 17 years, and even though we go years without seeing each other, they are the type of friends that when you see them, you just pick up right where you left off. Meghann was a 2 year old precious curly haired baby girl when we met her, and she is now a precious curly haired young woman. Teresa has lost about 70 lbs! She looks fantastic. Dave, well, poor Dave looks a lot like his dad now, hahaha! Their 13 year old son hasn't hit his growth spurt yet, so he looks way younger than our Jake. He sure has mellowed out since the last time we saw him though. We had a great time laughing and being loud, and had a yummy dinner of Honey Baked Ham. (We couldn't afford delicacies like that back when we lived here!) Tomorrow we are going to church with them, and then drive over to St. Augustine if the weather cooperates. The rain stopped soon after we got into Florida, and I hope it stays far away. But rain or shine, I'm sure we will find some kind of trouble to get into here in Florida...I've been trying all day to teach my kids the right way to say Florida...I can't find a real Floridian around here to show them that I'm right! Everybody here is from somewhere else! Florida (Flar-duh) not (Floor-duh)!

Look What Came in the Mail Today!

I knew that I wouldn't be getting my "big" Christmas present until after Christmas. Last year, Frank gave me a diamond add-a-link bracelet for Christmas, and he added a second link to it for my birthday, and was adding another link this Christmas. We dropped my bracelet off at my hometown jewelry store the day after Christmas, and Cindy was going to mail it to me when she finished with it. It arrived today, and was all wrapped up with ribbons and bows for Christmas. I opened it up, fully expecting it to have a new link for a total of 3 links. Surprise!Frank actually got me two links and it totally changed the look of the bracelet! I loved it before, and I LOVE it now! This picture taken with my cell phone does not do it justice at all! I love my bling, and I love my husband! For all his gruffness, he really is a blessing from God. He takes care of me and puts up with me, and I am so lucky to have been married to him for almost 18 years!

The Time of My Life!

I am having the time of my life! We had a nice, relaxing Christmas at home just the four of us. Saturday morning, we headed out on our adventures. There are five of us...we are taking Matthew along for the ride. (And he will never be the same, I tell ya!)

We had already planned to go to Vicksburg after Christmas to see the Civil War sights, and a few days before Christmas, I got a card from my Aunt Faye and she made the mistake of writing "come see us" in it. As soon as I read that, I got an enormous case of homesickness...something I never get! I haven't seen my aunts and uncles since my Granny died, and I really hadn't visited with them since my Daddy died. Frank saw how homesick I was for them, and he changed our plans around so we could go visit family on the way to Mississippi...take the long way, to say the least.

We stopped first at Frank's parents and had lunch with them. Then we went to my Uncle Shorty and Aunt Betty's and had a great time and a lot of laughs. From there we went to my cousin Little Carolyn's house in the Fl panhandle. (She was named after my mama, and will always be Little Carolyn to me.) We stayed up til 3am central time talking. She cooked us a big breakfast, and we had such a good time visiting with her family. Then we went to Dothan, AL to see her mama, my aunt Faye. She had supper cooked for us and it was SOOOOOOOO GOOD! She had so much food cooked, that our plates would not fit on the table! I didn't even eat a little of everything she had, and I still didn't have room for dessert....and I never pass up dessert! It tasted just like my Granny's cooking. We visited with her and uncle Jim and reluctantly left to head to Mississippi.

We got to Pearl at about 2 am central time. Today, we had a delicious lunch with Rick's brothers, and spent all afternoon talking and laughing. We have not even started our sight seeing, and I am already having the time of my life. The kids are being so good. The two boys keep each other occupied, and Paige has a new ipod and camera to keep her happy. This after Christmas trip sure beats last year's! (Paige broke her leg 12/26/08.) I am so blessed to have such a sweet husband to drive hundreds of miles out of the way so that I can see my family! This really is the best time of my life!

Merry Christmas!

This is my favorite gift that I received! My friend Cindy gave it to me and I love it so much I think I'm going to leave it out all year long!
This is our living room after Santa came last night. White ribbons were for Paige, and green ribbons were for Jacob. No names, just a secret code between Santa and me.

7:00 a.m. I could not sleep...I think I was more excited than the kids...at least more excited than Jacob!

Better...now he's ready to get started!

After all the opening...

I tried to keep the mess contained so that we didn't lose any presents!

I got a video camera from Jacob, a panini grill from Paige, and a lap desk for my computer from Frank. Frank got a world map for his office, a robe and pjs, and a model of the USS Saratoga. He was on the Saratoga when he was in the Navy during Desert Storm. Jacob got an airsoft gun, a bow, and a Tower 200 exercise thing. Paige got an American Girl doll, a camera, and this...

That's my favorite gift that I gave. I love how it turned out!

We are headed to south GA for a little more Christmas and then to Mississippi for a family vacation. From our home to yours...Merry Christmas!