A Tremendous Loss

March 12th was a sad, sad day for our family. My sweet PaPa passed away on that day. I loved PaPa so very much, and I feel a hole in my life without him. I find joy in his heavenly reunion with family that passed before him, but it sure does hurt not to have him here.  We love and miss you so much, PaPa!

Pictured above are some of the family members that attended PaPa's visitation.

Below, the view from our hotel room on the morning of the funeral. The weather surrounding this day was cold and rainy, but the clouds broke and we were given a rare warm day in which to celebrate PaPa's life.

Truly a blessing!

PaPa's country church. . .

This church is filled with love. The small congregation was so comforting to us in our time of loss, and they served our extended family a delicious meal after the funeral services.

Unfortunately, this time of sadness coincided with Jeremy's birthday. Not the ideal birthday, but we put together a little homemade cake and pizza celebration with family.

This was the front of the card that Claire made for Jeremy. I'm sure it was enough to brighten any 37 year old's day!

A little dancing performance by the cousins. . .

Although our family and friends came together for a sad reason, it was so nice to be together. The girls were thrilled to see their cousins, and to roam wild and free throughout the Hawk's Nest Lodge. The adults saw family and close friends that they had not seen in too long, and cherished the time to visit. It was the type of reunion that I know PaPa would have loved to have been a part of.  He loved his family!

Dance Picture Day

 

These are the soft, delicate ballerinas I know. . .

The girls had dance pictures taken for their recital program this weekend.  Emma's class will be doing a teddy bear picnic dance, and Claire will be in the "Cinderella" ballet, as well as a jazz dance to the song "Magic".

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

Learning the game of "Fox & Goose". . .

Love this snowball fight picture!

Emma and her snow angel. . .

New River Gorge Bridge

The lighting is definitely not the best in the following picture, but it still captures a sweet memory that we will forever cherish. We love our PaPa!!

This past weekend we took the girls on a trip up to West Virginia.  Sadly, my PaPa has become very sick since the beginning of the new year, and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to visit.  While we were there, we were blessed with a fresh blanket of snow.  The girls had so much fun playing, and I was thrilled to watch them build memories in a place that has meant so much to me over the years.

I would need more time and space to adequately express what this weekend meant to me. I'll remember the snow games, Emma's tea party with PaPa, the girls' "treat trip" to the Dollar General with Nanny, and so much more.  But most of all, I will cherish and hold on to the time spent holding the hands of the ones I love, and simply being together. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was a fun day filled with morning chocolate boxes, class parties, valentine exchanges, and love!

100 Days of 4K!!

Emma celebrated her 100th day of 4K today. As her sticker says, she is now 100 days smarter!

Hat Parade Day!

All of the first grade classes at Claire's school celebrated 101 days of school with a hat parade today. Each child wore a hat that was decorated with 101 things. There were definitely some cute and fun hats! Claire decided to decorate her cowgirl hat with candy hearts. She worked hard on her project, and created a pretty scene of flowers and butterflies with her hearts. 

A Snow Day to Remember

Emma was most excited about tasting the snow. . .

After being in the car for over an hour at school, I let Claire out to make some snowballs. She was so worried that everything would melt before she got to play in it. At this point, the "blizzard" had ended.

By the time we got home, the sun had come out and melted down a lot of the snow, and I was wet and frozen. However, in making the most of this rare snow day, we spent just enough time in it to throw some snowballs and make a mini snowman.

Well, it finally happened. The girls have been longing to see snow this year, and it came!! Unfortunately, things did not go quite as smoothly as we would have liked. This little snow storm hit our area fast, and once the snow arrived it accumulated quickly. So much so that the schools did not realize sending the kids home early would have been the best decision. Instead, the worst of the storm and the hazardous road conditions that came with it, hit as schools were letting out. 

Emma and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the snow accumulate at home, but I soon realized that it was time to head out and pick up Claire. As if driving in the blustery snow wasn't bad enough, somewhere between parking my car in front of Claire's school and running in to pick her up from the front office, my car key fell off my key holder. When I realized I didn't have it, I stepped out of my car into a whirlwind of snow and ground that was covered in white. I, along with staff from the school and friends, searched my short trail for over an hour and a half, and never found that key. It was such a random event, and it could not have happened on a worse day. Finally, poor Jeremy (who had to drive across town in the snow traffic) arrived with our spare key and saved the day. 

On a positive note, by the time we left the school, the snow had melted off the roads and all was clear. It literally left as quickly as it came. I consider our delay at school as a blessing in disguise because I heard from others that the little mountain we drive down to get home was treacherous and cars were going off the road during the worst of it. Normal 10 minute drives home, took some up to two hours. The best news of all, is that my key was found the next day. One of the kids found it outside on the ground on their way into school, and they turned it into the office. Unbelievable.

Making the Most of Christmas Break

Movie Night!

After all of our travels were done, we had a few days left in our Christmas Break to enjoy some fun things around town. The girls had a great time at our local hands-on children's science center, and burning off some energy at an indoor inflatible playground. We also squeezed in some extra cookie decorating and movie nights at home. One of Claire and Emma's favorite things to do these days is have a movie night and then spend the night in each other's rooms. Oh the beauty of having a built-in playmate! 

When all was said and done, the girls gave their two week Christmas Break two thumbs up!!

Happy New Year!

Well, there is not much to show from our little NYE get together, but we had fun in Atlanta with the Bradley and Hudson families! Unfortunately, we not only left behind memories of fun times, but the stomach bug mentioned in my previous post. Sorry Stacey and Chris!! I have a feeling that the next time you are given a germ warning, any and all entrances to your home will immediately be bolted shut. :)