June 16, 2017

Father's Day Weekend Plans

Before we begin our regularly scheduled post, I have a brief message from Peyton. She asked me to be sure to thank you all so very much for the kind comments regarding her high school graduation. She read each and every one, and was very thankful and touched. And I thank you for caring so much about my children. : )

Now, on to the weekend! Friday night we are celebrating my dear friend Heather's birthday! We are having dinner and then Peyton is making Heather's choice for dessert...Strawberry Shortcake Bars. Steve found some beautiful strawberries, so they should be delicious!

Saturday will be a busy day around here...Steve will (hopefully) be mowing outside, and we will be organizing and sorting and packing for our trip on Sunday! More on that later. Then we have late afternoon Mass, followed by a quick and easy dinner...sloppy joes?...and a little Father's Day celebration for Steve with gifts and his choice of dessert...Scotcharoos! Then more packing and an early bedtime. Or a Lifetime movie and a later bedtime!

Sunday we are heading out on our annual family vacation! This year we are going on a cruise, and are very excited to spend some time together making sunny memories, eating too much food, swimming in crystal clear waters, snorkeling in said waters...some...reading books under a beach umbrella...me...and simply being together. All six of us. Plus our favorite Danish boyfriend, who is meeting us on the ship! Shoutout to my sister and her hubby and my mom who are staying here taking care of my puppies and my house. : )

I will not be around here in Blogland next week, my friends. I will return with memories and photos to share, and will be looking forward to catching up with all of you. Before I go, let's take a look at the past week in our country home...

Me and my girl...
A quick selfie before Mass last weekend...

And some beautiful flowers Marian brought me.
Because she said they made her happy. : )

We are enjoying mornings on the porch with coffee, tea, and puppies...

After my little Flynn enjoys her favorite new breakfast!

Run to your nearest Walmart, folks!

Mornings are my favorite.
And this is why.

My Madison and my Mother...

At our coffee date at the cutest little cafe downtown.
I opted for a raspberry smoothie.
Since it was about 1000 degrees.

And lastly, I took a little Jeep ride all by myself to visit my dad for Father's Day.
These were his favorite snacks, so I took some along for myself while I sat and talked and laughed and cried. I know some people may think this is odd...


But I actually enjoy spending time in cemeteries.
There is something about the peace and serenity and knowledge that these people were just like me at one time. 
They lived and worked and celebrated Christmas and Halloween.
They birthed babies and buried loved ones.
They laughed and cried and took walks on summer days.
And then they passed.
But they should not be forgotten.
Because they lived.
Just like us.

Have a wonderful. cozy, summer week, my friends.
I look forward to visiting with you when I return.
Thanks so much for visiting!
I am always glad you do. : )

Bon Voyage!







23 comments:

  1. Beautiful inspiring post as always. Memory Eternal for your beloved father. Congratulations to Peyton! Many blessings for safe and wonderful travels to you and yours! God bless.

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  2. No, I think that cemeteries are so precious for our souls as bereaved. I totally get it. It sure sounds like you have a fun weekend planned before your trip! Have a wonderful safe journey! Enjoy!!

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  3. Woo Hoo!! Have a wonderful time on your trip. How exciting. We'll all miss you next week, but looking forward to reading all about it.

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  4. When we are out and about we will often walk through an old cemetery. I often wonder about the story of a person resting there. Those who have gone before us are gone, but never forgotten. Enjoy your time away!

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  5. Have a wonderful trip, I am so looking forward to hearing all about it as I have never been on a cruise before.

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  6. Have fun on your cruise! See you when you get back.

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  7. Oh I love all these beautiful photos. Happy travels! I hope you enjoy your time and make many fun memories. Prayers for safe trip 🙏🏻

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  8. Bon Voyage Billie Jo! How exciting. We love cruises. A cruise with the whole family is special indeed. ♥

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  9. Oh I love that you visited your Dad. So wonderful your words about how they worked and lived and celebrated just like us. Love that. Happy Fathers day to Steve and happy vacation to all of you! Can't wait to hear all about it! xo

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  10. Billie Jo, how exciting to go on a cruise! I hope you have mild weather and calm seas! I look forward to reading your posts and seeing your pictures when you return!

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  11. Oh...enjoy yourself and your family so much! I am excited for you. Enjoyed the photos from the week.

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  12. Have a wonderful weekend and I love the fact you snacked on your dads favorites while visiting with him. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, I guarantee he was sitting right next to you laughing and crying along with you.

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  13. Hi Billie Jo~

    I'm excited about your cruise, I can't wait to see all the photos and hear all about it!

    Loved your photos, they always make me happy just knowing that there are so many good folks in the world.

    I too love cemeteries! I knew we were kindred spirits!!

    Enjoy your vacation - be safe!

    Hugs,
    Barb

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  14. From one cemetery lover to another, enjoy your cruise!

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  15. I love visiting cemeteries, too. I always wonder who the people were, what they looked like, etc.

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  16. Have a wonderful vacation! Can't wait to hear about it and I am definitely running to Walmart for those waffles! xoxo

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  17. Have a wonderful vacation! Can't wait to hear about it and I am definitely running to Walmart for those waffles! xoxo

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  18. OK, I just paged through several pages, I think I'm all caught up!! Congratulations to your graduate! I will have a senior this year so it's so fun to see what other people do for grad parties, etc....it's an exciting time that's for sure!

    SO glad Madison is home for the summer! (is she going back?) I know that feeling of loving everyone home at the same time! The kids are growing SO fast.

    My little one just finished 1st grade too and my youngest is going into Kindergarten! I'm so happy you enjoyed homeschooling! We do the same curriculum as you. We also add some Seton readers and Phonics. (I love them!)

    I hope you enjoy your vacation!! I always feel so happy when I leave here, it's so fun to visit. It seems now that I am taxi to older kids and yet still have littles at home, I just never seem to find time to blog or read blogs. I miss it though. I miss you! God bless you!

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  19. I hope you all have a wonderful Vacation and make some beautiful memories together. I love visiting your blog. I will look forward to seeing your Vacation photos. Hugs. Juli

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  20. Hi Billie Jo! How exciting a cruise!!! Hope you and your family have a wonderful magical time!! I see you made a chocolate chip pie not very long ago!! Looks delicious! I just made one last week cause a woman on Instagram made one a week or so ago and shared the recipe with me! I'll have to try your version next! Seems chocolate chip pie seems to be on everyones mind lately!! lol.. we saw those Waffles in Walmart & my little ones wanted them!! lol.. But I was not going home & had a few stores to hit up so maybe next time ;) I'm so glad summer is here! Still finishing up homeschool with my one daughter! We all used Catholic Hertigage this year! We loved it! The work load was just a little heavy for my one daughter who is in 4th grade! But we found out not too long ago that she actually has phonological dyslexia! So maybe that is why! Anyway! Summer is here!! I am so glad! Now us mamas can relax :) Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!!
    Blessings,
    Lisa from Instagram (hotcoffee4lisa)

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  21. Hi Billie Jo - I have been out of blog land for a while as we get ready to move up north, but it always fun to check in and see what is happening with you! Enjoy your cruise. Sounds wonderful. Congrats to Peyton on her high school graduation! Well done! I love that you visited your dad's grave and took his favorite snacks. I too find cemeteries peaceful. Will stop in again soon (I hope). Will look forward to reading about your cruise. Happy summer adventures, my friend!

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Thanks so much for saying hello!

Billie Jo