Cheers to 15 years of Marriage Blessings!

Just getting home after a week of celebrating in Cancun and reflecting on all our blessings. On Wednesday, we celebrated 15 years of marriage and our amazing journey in life together.  When we were planning where to go to celebrate, we instantly knew we wanted someplace fun for adults with adventure and beautiful water.  The Riveria Maya in Mexico was at the top of our list.  We flew into the Cancun airport on Monday and headed to the Excellence Riveria May Resort.  The resort is an all-inclusive 5-star resort and went above our expectations.  When we arrived, we got fresh lavender cold towels and champagne to celebrate.  We were shown around the resort and our room by the staff.  The entire resort was beautiful and the staff was all amazing.  Before we started exploring we booked a few excursions off-site in order to see the country and experience the Mayan culture.  After booking some trips for the next few days, we enjoyed a nice dinner and a dance show.  On Tuesday, our adventures led us to snorkel in the 2nd largest reef in the world.  The water was a bit cloudy with all the seaweed, but beautiful nonetheless with corals, wildlife, and fish galore.  Our guide showed us 2 different areas to snorkel in and then we had a taco lunch on the beach.  After we made it back to the resort, we went to the pool and walked along the beach before dinner.  On Wednesday, we celebrated our 15 years in a big way!  We did a day trip to Coba and a Mayan village.  Adventures included kayaking, two zip lines, repelling 50ft into a natural cenote, swimming in a cenote by cave lights, climbing a 50 ft rope ladder to get out of a cenote, hiking in the Mayan forest and then climbing a Mayan temple in Coba. We have so many memories and pictures from this one day alone that it will be hard to limit them to a post.  But don't worry...we have 2 CD's of pictures if someone asks.  Ha!  When we made it back to the resort it was around 6:30pm, so we went to our room to get ready for our anniversary dinner.  While I was getting dressed, Charles surprised me by playing the DVD from our wedding 15 years ago.  I was so touched that he remembered to bring it, and we realized it was the first time we had watched it in over 14 years!  I could have never imagined 15 years ago that we would be in Mexico and be blessed with all the things we have in life.  God has a way of taking dreams and then developing them into realities that your mind could never imagine.  I have loved our journey so far and there is simply no one else I would rather climb any mountain with.  We slept in on Thursday and then had a relaxing day poolside and walking the beach.  We were even lucky enough to get two of the 20 fresh coconuts on the beach that morning.  They were yummy!  Our final dinner was at a Mediterranean Restuarant and we fell in love with the spicy curry and other interesting foods.  These are the kind of memories we never forget as they are the ones that take you out of your comfort zone a bit.  After such a great week, it was hard to leave for home on Friday, but we sure missed Cade and Caelin and were ready to see them.  A special thank you to Gamee and Grampee for taking care of the kids so we could celebrate in style. Cheers to 15 years!

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day will always sting a bit since Daddy/Papa has been gone.  I know I was blessed to have him for the first 34 years of my life, but I will always wish for one more minute with him.  The memories I have growing up and with my Dad will never fade in my mind.  He was one of the greatest men to ever walk this Earth.  He ruled with an iron fist when needed and yet was always there to gently wipe a tear when needed.  One of the things that he was good at was telling us how much he loved us.  He was never afraid to say it no matter where we were and he never cared who was listening.  He simply loved unconditionally and I knew I could tell him anything and his love would never waiver.  He reminds me through all the little things that he loves me daily and I cannot wait to see him standing behind Jesus in Heaven.  Happy Father's Day in Heaven Daddy!

We are also blessed to be able to celebrate yet another amazing gift from God today in Grampee. Dad was always there we needed him through sports, orchestra, and more.  He taught us the value of hard work and that talking about love was not enough. Sometimes the most important way to show someone that they are loved and cared for is how far you are willing to go for them or what you are willing to do for them.  Thank you dad.  I love you, Charles

Of course, I cannot imagine a better Father for Cade and Caelin than Charles.  God knew exactly what I needed when Charles came into my life 18 years ago and my life has been a dream come true since.  Some Dad's are great at being a Husband, but not a Dad.  Charles is perfect in both roles.  He has never shied away at any of the hard parenting stuff and gives endless love to the kids.  I know both of our kids know they can talk to him at anytime and they love it when they get "Daddy time" alone with him.  There is no better way to know you are loved than to see their faces light up when you are there.  Happy Father's Day to the King of our house and hearts!

Happy BD Grampee!

Happy BD to the World's Best Grampee!  Grampee is a true kid at heart and does such a great job taking care of everyone.  We love you Grampee and wish you the best day celebrating and the best year yet!

Update on Bear's eyes

Since Bear was responding well to the drops/steroids, we started slowly taking him off of them per Doctor's orders.  Over the course of about 3 days we noticed that it looked like Bear's vision was getting worse, his 3rd eyelid was slow again, and his eyes were getting red again.  We immediately took him in to see the Ophthalmologist who confirmed that he did in fact have swelling and edema on both eyes.  We were able to get another prescription for drops to help with the swelling, and then an immunosuppressive medication.  At this point, she feels it is some type of auto immune disorder and Bear will likely need some sort of immunosuppressive medication for the rest of his life.  Although it might not be the best news, we are happy that it is something that can be managed.  We started all his new medications about 2 days ago and we can already tell a difference in his activity level.  He also appears to be happier and his eyes are less red.  So, that is promising and we are praying for continued recovery for our baby.