Impromptu Date Night

I ran across some pretty incredible news Thursday night. What you might ask? Well, I found out that Friday was going to be National Cheesecake Day and there would be half-price cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, yes HALF-PRICE cheesecake!! But then the news got better...I found out that if you "Like" the Cheesecake Factory on Facebook, then on Thursday night, you could get a slice of cheesecake for much less than half-price...how much less? Well, you will have to read and see.

Now, all of this information came to me at 7:30 Thursday night, and we are about 40 minutes from a Cheesecake Factory, but I knew I just had to go. And being the lucky girl that I am, I have an incredible husband who doesn't mind when I come up with crazy plans =) So guess what we did?? We had an impromptu late night date!!


The Cheesecake Factory!! (Around 9:00 p.m.)


Mango Lime Cheesecake for me & Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake for Derek


The Grand Total...I told you it was less than half price =)

And since it was a date night, and we saved so much money on dessert, we decided to check out a movie.

So we caught the late show for Inception, which was a pretty amazing movie, although my mind is still spinning and I'm not sure I could put the whole story together. Again, lucky for me I have Derek =)

A Little Time At Home

Though most of our trip goes undocumented in pictures, I did manage to snap a few from time to time. I just don't carry my camera around as much at home as I do here in Washington...I should remember that for next time =)

We spent our first week hanging out with family during the day and going to Camp Glenwood at night because Derek was the speaker for the evening services. It was wonderful being back at the church camp where we grew up...the camp where Derek surrendered to the ministry 8 years ago! Lots of memories, all good stuff! We had a blast catching up with so many people, and celebrating the 14 kids/teens who came to know Christ during this week at camp!! After the first week, Derek had to fly back to Washington, but I got to hang around a little while longer. Two weeks are always better than one =) And I'll take any extra time with family that I can get!!


My sweet Zack! Zack told someone this week to take a good look at him because one day he wouldn't be seen because he was moving to Washington with Kitty and D =)


July 8th was Dad's 51st Birthday!


Family birthday lunch


Adorable, sweet baby Jax came to celebrate =)


My family

Lunch is my favorite time to catch up with people I haven't seen in a while, plus hit some of those favorite hometown places to eat. Here are just a couple of my lunch dates this week.

Had a lunch with some of my favorite fellas, Destin, Daniel, & Jared. They are so grown up! It seems like yesterday I was changing their diapers or rocking them to sleep *sigh*


I also got to have lunch with my sweet friend Kimberly! Kimberly has the most adorable little red-headed son named Noah, but Noah was napping and didn't get to join us today.

Having two weeks at home really gave me more time to see friends and family I might not get to see during a typical one week at home stay. I can never seem to get to them all, but I'm super thankful for those I did get to see =)

Sadly, my two week stay came to an end, and it was time to go the airport. Mom, Mrs. Joanna, and G volunteered to chauffer me. After saying those terrible goodbyes, I went into the aiport and got to my gate only to see these words:

Flight 695 to Denver
DELAYED

This flight was delayed so long that I was definitely going to miss my connection to Seattle. So I was given a few options:

Option 1: You have 15 minutes to leave this concourse, exit security, get to the Continental check in counter, go back through security at a different concourse, go all the way down to the last gate of that concourse before the cutoff for boarding a flight that will connect you in Houston. Think you can make it?

Option 2: Wait until your current flight arrives and we will pay for a hotel room in Denver.

Option 3: Fly out the next day, thus giving me an extra night with my family.

It was the easiest decision I've ever made!!!

I called my family, who had just gotten into Covington, and they gladly turned around to pick me up. And since we were all starving, we stopped and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, definitely beats airport food with strangers =)

Mom and I headed out early Sunday morning to the airport and this time everything was running on time. I boarded my first plane and just look at the seat upgrade I was given!

First row of coach...a much better deal than being in Row 33, Seat F, which is what I would've been the night before!

This has NEVER happened to me!! A row and a half all to myself!


Check out that legroom! As tired as I was, I was too excited to sleep, I wanted to enjoy this "luxurious" flight, ha!

As sad as it was to leave my family, I was very excited to see my sweet husband again! We don't spend very much time apart, so a week is about the equivalent of an eternity! We're both really looking forward to our next visit and hopefully, I'll remember to take more pictures =)

Road Trip With The Parents =)

Well, it's taken 26 years, but I finally made a road trip with both of my parents! It was time for Dad's trip to M.D. Anderson in Houston. We got all packed up and headed for Texas!


Here we go!


You wouldn't believe the things my Dad packs for a short trip, it's enough to live on a deserted island for months! But at least he left me a little room to sit, ha!


Coming into Houston...notice the haze...that's pure humidity =(


Just one of the many, many, clinics that are a part of M.D. Anderson


Spent alot of time in this building...for a couple of reasons. One reason is because Dad had several appointments there. And the other reason is because....

It had this place!!

Yummy!!


Medical buildings as far as you can see


You would think that a sign like this would be unnecessary at a place that treats cancer, but apparently, people need a reminder.

Let me give you an idea of what these hospital visits are like:

Wednesday
9:15 - Bloodwork, Main Building, 2nd Floor
10:00 - Radiation Consultation, Main Building, 1st Floor
11:30 - X-Rays, Mays Clinic, 2nd Floor
12:00 - Meet with IV specialist, Main Building, 2nd Floor
2:10 - CT Scan Prep, Mays Clinic, 7th Floor
3:40 - CT Scan, Mays Clinic, 7th Floor
7:30 - Prep for MRI, Main Building, 3rd Floor
8:00 - MRI, Main Building, 3rd Floor
9:30 - Back to the hotel!

Thursday
7:00 - Check in for Radiation Treatment, Main Building, 1st Floor
7:30 - Halo Placement, Main Building, 1st Floor
8:30 - MRI, Main Building 3rd Floor
9:00 - Gamma Knife Radiation on Brain, Main Building, 3rd Floor
2:30 (delayed until 3:30) - Dr. Tannir for Test Results, Mays Clinic 7th Floor
4:30 (delayed until 6:45) - Chemo Treatment, Mays Clinic 8th Floor
10:15 - Back to the hotel, finally!

Now the Main Building and the Mays Clinic are connected by this...

See the long white tunnel? That's a quarter of a mile long SkyBridge that can be traveled by foot or by golf cart. Needless to say, it's quite a bit of traveling to various appointments and makes for very long days. But we'll do whatever we have to do =)

Then on Friday, we left very early in the morning to go back to Mississippi.

Made a little pit stop at Disney World for outdoorsmen =)


Grabbed my favorite snack and hit the road again.

I'm so thankful that I got the opportunity to go with Mom and Dad to M.D. Anderson in Houston. It really is an amazing place, one where they are saving lives every day. One thing that really became a harsh reality for me was that cancer knows no favorites. It strikes all ages, races, and genders. I spoke to a lady whose entire family, literally, has either died of cancer or is currently facing it, but she is so far the lone survivor (and the only one of her family who sought M.D. Anderson for treatment). I also spoke to an eight-year-old adorable little girl who showed me how her chemo is administered using a "Chemo Kids" doll. Poor baby, she really shouldn't even know about these kinds of things. We met people who were there for the very first time and people who have been coming for treatments for years and years. It was humbling...it was startling...and it made me so much more thankful for every morning that I wake up healthy. And also very thankful that such an amazing facility is available to my Dad.

By the way, I'll bet you're wondering how he's doing? Well, the doctor came in and said that there was nothing new, the cancer is stable and he's going to see my Dad live to be an old man =) Thank you Lord!!