Happy New Year!

2015:

Henderson started his own mobile practice.

We celebrated Mimi's life.

I finished all my cancer treatments.

Asked for prayer requests too numerous to count. 

We repelled down a 70 foot waterfall in the rainforests of Costa Rica.

We learned that life is hard, really really hard and when you think it can't get harder, it will.  

"Consider it all JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

2016:

We will both turn 30. 

I have no idea what's in store. No plans.  The sky is the limit. 

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

Bring it, 2016. The Kings are ready for you. 

 

Christmas in Alabama!

The last two years, we have alternated holidays between Mississippi and Alabama.  For Christmas 2015, we headed to Alabama to celebrate Christmas with the Kings!

Because there was some bad weather forecast for Wednesday afternoon, we decided to head out early.  4 a.m. early.  Never fear: I had a few snaps to keep everyone updated on our trek!

We are so fortunate with the best riders.  This time, Henderson had a super genius idea to fold down my back seat and put one of the dog beds back there.  It's the perfect size and all the dogs can fit on it if they're playing nice.  Traveling with Kate has gotten a little more difficult (she doesn't like to stay in one position that long) but she did so great!  We stopped 3 times so that managed to break up the monotony.  

We managed to pull into Leighton around 2.  When we turned into Henderson's parents driveway, Missy perked up.  She knew exactly where she was!  All of the dogs love when Lawrence is around!  They know exactly who to suck up to!

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Will and Brooke's church for communion and then to a Christmas party before heading back to the house for presents!

Sadie was ready for Christmas!

My sweet baby dog!

He was so tired that about 9:30 he went and sat on the stairs waiting to go to bed!

One of my gifts from Susan and Lawrence was an autographed cookbook by Sister Schubert!  It had some great quotes in it.  I loved spending Christmas morning perusing.

Missy and Kate were such good little doggies!

For Christmas dinner, we had a shrimp boil, so I made Mimi's famous Mexican cornbread.  It was a hit!  It's so gooey and rich, yum!!

I didn't exactly put my face on Christmas day, but I still had to have a few pics.

Saturday, we headed to Grandmother and Grandmother's house for lunch and to exchange gifts.  It's been since last Thanksgiving since we were all together so it was a fun day!  

At some point, I had the brilliant idea for all of the cousins to go to the movies!  We saw "Daddy's Home"; it was super cute and a fun outing for all of us!

Henderson is a great poser!

On Sunday, the gals went shopping where we found a lot of purses on sale!  I might have gone a little crazy.  

We ended the day with some delicious margaritas!

And on Monday, we were headed back to Texas, home sweet home!  We had such a great time with the family and can't wait to be reunited!  So glad we got to spend several days in Alabama!

Joy

Joy is one of my very favorite words.  Mama's favorite quote growing up was "Find your joy."  It's a word that I've prayed over a lot lately; finding joy is much easier said than done especially over the last few months.  Today's devotion from "Jesus Calling" really hit home for me.

"On some days Joy is generously strewn along your life-path, glistening in the sunlight.  Other days are overcast and gloomy; you feel the strain of the journey, which seems endless.  Dull gray rocks greet your gaze and cause your feet to ache.  Yet Joy is still attainable.  Search for it as for hidden treasure."

Everyone I know has gone through a time in their lives that was overcast and gloomy.  For me, this summer held very few bright spots.  A cancer diagnosis has nothing on watching my parents suffer and burying Mimi.  Even in the lowest of lows of our lives, we can rest in the fact that there is hope and joy.

I've come to realize that I control my own joy.  Being grateful and thankful and having an active prayer life help me feel more like myself.  Joy is still attainable.  I just have to search for it.

Mimi

Two weeks ago, I woke to a phone call from my daddy at 5:24 am.  I knew exactly what he was going to tell me.  I don't know how exactly, but I knew.  Mimi's passing came 8 days after we buried daddy's wife, Malisa.  And one month after my mom received the news that her breast cancer had returned.

Her name was Daisy Ann Brame Stewart.  She hated the name Daisy; in fact, she tried to change it when she was 18 but her mother successfully talked her out of it.  She always regretted that.  I called her Mimi and so did everyone I ever introduced her to.

Here's a few of my favorite stories:

Mimi was the only grandmother who smiled at our wedding.  I'm pretty sure her smile was bigger than mine that day!  I remember right before Henderson and I got married, she wanted to sit down and have a chat with me.  She said that I needed to make sure and do Henderson's laundry, cook and serve his meals, and clean up after him.  But my favorite part of that conversation was when she told me to not forget to change the toilet paper roll...  The last thing she said to Henderson a week before she died was "Take care of my Bailey."

She was not shy or afraid to let anyone know what she was thinking.  At Malisa's funeral, she asked the funeral home if they had any bottled waters, and they told her no.  She told their staff, "You need to go across the street and get us some waters!"  At her funeral they most definitely had bottled waters for us, ha!

Her personality was so much bigger than she was (at only 4'11" that didn't take much).  She called everyone "darling".  In December, she answered telemarketers calls with "Merry Christmas!"  And she constantly gave compliments to people; she even would compliment fast food workers on their uniform!

Mimi could not follow directions at all.  When I was a kid, she picked us up from nature camp in Starkville and she wanted to head to West Point (15 miles away) to a little fabric store.  We ended up in Alabama...

I loved to shop with her.  Even if I liked something and it was "trendy", if she didn't like it she would tell everyone, even the employees!

She talked on the phone ALL THE TIME.  Most of her friends and she talked at least once a day, sometimes more.  Her little dog, Silver Bullet (with her accent it sounded more like Silllvaa), barked and wanted her attention the whole time she was on the phone but she didn't care.  She always said, "I'm not going to get off the telephone."  In fact when I was a kid, she left something on the stove and forgot about it while she was on the phone; her kitchen caught on fire.

She was an only child and she ALWAYS complained about that.  I remember a couple of years ago (at the time she was 73), I told her she was going to have to get over it because it didn't look like she would ever have a sibling!

I will never be able to put into words my grief for the loss of this amazing lady.  She was much more than a grandmother; she was my shopping partner, my best friend, and my true confidante.

I can't believe I will never receive a hug from her again, or here her say "Oh, Bailey" when I call with good news.  Department store and gift shopping will never be the same.  And the fact that my children will never meet her breaks my heart.

But I am so very fortunate to be a part of Mimi's legacy, and I will spend the rest of my days doing her proud.

Please keep me and my family in your prayers as we continue to grieve.

Pura Vida!! (Costa Rica Part 2)

Part 1 here

Sunday morning we awoke and enjoyed this amazing view from our balcony.  A driver picked us up to take us back to the airport.  

I was a nervous wreck thinking our luggage would be too heavy for the teeny tiny commuter plane.  They weighed our checked bag and then made us each get on the scale with our carry-ons.  We were good to go!  Next stop was security, which consisted of a man and a metal detector wand.  I swear it's harder to get into Cowboy Stadium than to get on that plane.

This was my boarding pass - a laminated piece of paper that they use over and over again!  We didn't get up in time to have breakfast at Xandari so I was so hungry, I was getting nauseated.  I just assumed I could pick something up at the airport.  I was wrong!  This terminal had a little shop but it wasn't open and none of the workers even knew if it would open up that day!

Our little plane!

Plane selfie

Crazy how we could see everything the pilot was doing.

We landed in Puerto Jimenez!  So excited to get to the resort!

Ginger Lemonade - our welcome drink.  We loved these things!  We got to the resort around 10:30; they weren't scheduled to serve lunch until noon.  I knew I couldn't wait to eat until then so they made us up some breakfast really quickly.  Such a small thing that made me love this beautiful piece of paradise even more!

Next up was our room!

The view from our room

This is the pathway leading onto our front porch and into our room.  The curtained area on the right is the outdoor shower and bath and the shutters are on a window over the bathroom sink.

Another view photo

Our room didn't have any air conditioning (like Xandari didn't) but it had a little fan clipped to the bed.  We had to use the mosquito nets every night to keep the bugs at bay.  I will never be able to describe the intense humidity!

Looking into the bathroom

Another view photo :)

So excited to be in paradise!!!

We saw all of this wildlife between the lodge and our room!  Monkeys and birds were everywhere!!

The hammock on our front porch was my favorite spot.  I really want one for our house, but I'm guessing that the view won't be quite the same.

A picture of the open-air lodge.

The food at Bosque del Cabo was INSANE!  This salad was delicious and Henderson had a fish sandwich.  I still dream about the food they had there.  They bought all of their groceries at the little grocery store in Puerto Jimenez - no Sysco for them!

Cute little coati

After lunch, we decided to embark on the Pacific Trail, a winding, steep trail down to the Pacific Coast.  We specifically wanted to get down to the beach on the Pacific side of the Peninsula and then go find the waterfall that all of the tour materials talked about.

The wildlife at Bosque was incredible!

The Pacific Ocean

We were told not to wade in the Pacific; the tide was way too strong.

Sweet mama monkey and baby

We made it to the beach!  But we weren't quite finished.  Now, on to find the elusive waterfall!!

We walked about a mile across tide pools and beaches.  But we didn't see a waterfall!  It took us about another 30 minutes to figure out where the waterfall was.  So.  Worth.  It.

We had to climb up and over some rocks to access the waterfall.  Coming back down in the same spot as above, I stepped on a snake.  I about died.  For the rest of the trip, I tried to stay in the water instead of on the sides of creeks.  

This place was absolutely beautiful.  It was pretty much untouched.  Most of the tourists don't even make it down to this waterfall. 

We decided to hurry back since the tide was steadily getting higher.  We had a long trek back and couldn't wait to tell the other guests all about our find!

Happy hour was so much fun every night!  I always tried a different cocktail and was never disappointed!

And that was the end of day 1 at Bosque del Cabo.  Part 3 of our Costa Rican adventure is coming up next and it includes my favorite part: waterfall rappelling!