Completely Broken And Devastated At The Unexpected,Sudden Death Of My Mom

Deep and utter sadness that cannot even be put into the right words... hardest post I've ever had to attempt to write.... thoughts all a scatter... emotions, raw, deep, angry, confused, hurt, lost.....

This post is a small part of a wonderful life with my mom... the most amazing mom who has ever lived.

My beautiful mom was taken from us so unexpectedly on July 29th, 2017 at 10:40 pm from a massive heart attack.

I can't believe I just wrote those words....

I can't believe my mom is gone....

And I hurt so bad....

This is my mom Eileen in her graduation photo.... a beautiful, amazing woman.

She married my dad when she was just 19 years old and they just celebrated 51 years of marriage this past May. I have always looked up to them as the perfect role models of what true, unconditional love is all about. They made it through everything....

Now trying to help my dad through learning to live without her when I can barely imagine the thought myself.

This was taken recently outside their new home in NC. They just moved here a month ago to be close to me and my family since we have always lived far apart. We had so many plans and were so excited. We already had shared dinners, the girls got to sleep over with them and we were starting to enjoy their new town with them. My mom was so happy to find this home, that she could get some of her independence back since she has been confined to a wheelchair the past couple years. This home has wide doorways, hallways and ramps that were there from the previous owners. It was just meant to be their home. I am angry.... hurt.... why would God take her after bringing her to a place she loved so much. I am beyond comprehension right now.... I hurt so bad....

Mom, I will truly have to write a book as there are so many thing I want to say. So many things to share with others about how wonderful you were and how very much I am missing you. You were always putting everyone else's needs before your own. You loved and lived every day to the fullest. You taught me the importance of family and how it matters above all else and you and dad both have made me a lover of nature from the day  I was born.

Your life has not been easy with so many health issues and surgeries and the loss of so many you loved, including my brother Blaine as an infant, yet you carried on for your family.... with an admirable grace and strength.....

Your wish was to have the granddaughters have a sleepover at your new home and my sister and my niece Neve were already planning to come on the Wednesday after you had passed.... of course they all came sooner.... we lost you....way too soon.... but to honor you we had the sleepover with the girls at your new house and they even managed a few giggles. We all looked through boxes of pictures and we cried and we shared our memories... we hurt mom... we miss you...we need you.... life is never going to be the same without you....

You were always my rock, there for me through everything. We were in contact every single day....
You were my best friend.... no one loves you like your mom does... I am so very lost without you....
This photo is just one of my many favorites of us together.... I'm broken mom... and not sure how to put the pieces back together..... Love you.....

                             Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran A beautiful song .........

                                                                           Heartbroken,
                                                                                    Jill

Vacation Post #2 Visiting Wizarding World of Harry Potter Orlando Florida

We seemed to cram in as much as we possibly could on our vacation. Hayley's friends were also there the same week and we were able to meet up with them and spend the day at Universal enjoying Harry Potter!

In the telephone booth you are able to:

Call the Ministry of Magic and hear a recording :-)

We were sure to visit Weasley's tricks and treats shop! A pretty neat place inside, though very difficult to move around as it was crowded and not much room to move. Pretty much all the places inside were the same as far as not enough room.

We waited in line for Gringott's bank and ride, which was pretty neat. Weather wise it was rainy most of the day, but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves and seeing as much as we could!

                                             I loved the chandeliers in there! So elegant!!

                There were of course goblins to assist us as we were walking through the bank ;-)

The Quidditch store had a lot of interesting things too. Kathleen was so excited to see the stories come alive in person. They did an amazing job recreating everything.

Ollivander's Wand Shop was a truly magical experience! Kathleen had a wand choose her with a whole ceremony! I don't think the smile left her face for over a week :-) What a memorable moment!

The wand keeper telling her how the wand chose her and all the things that were special about her.

Then his assistant when we went out of the room was saying how he felt so drawn to Kathleen and her personality.... so much magic and mystery in the air!

              Of course we had to purchase the wand that chose her and bring it home with us :-)

    Our girls and Breanne and Hayley's friend Kyle and Allison who we met up with while we were there, were all enjoying their new wands!

There were different locations where you could use your magic wands around the Harry Potter section. In this area the fountain would "magically" throw out water if you created a spell near it with your interactive wand.

Pretty cool to see the Double Decker bus that would transport you to Wizard's world. The talking head inside the bus had a lot to say to us too. ;-)

                                        We took at magical ride on the train to Hogwarts!

                                          This was a really neat interactive experience also!

Hogwart's ride, the kids really liked this one but Jerry and I didn't ride as we were carrying so many packages by that point and umbrellas etc. We decided to wait for them. We were all pretty drenched from the rain.

Kathleen did manage to take some time to catch Marmaduke as we were leaving the park for the day!

We had a wonderful, delicious dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe! Fabulous service too!

                                                Of course there was birthday ice cream too!

Ok so the temptation of the cinnamon roles was just too great to pass up! Especially when you are walking by and they smell so amazing!!

                                               Jerry was having fun taking selfies, lol :-)

        What a great group of kids and a wonderful day! We were tired but made lots of memories!!

More of our vacation posts to come! If you missed the first one you can find it here

Blessings,

Jill

Part 1 of Florida Vacation, Staying at Holiday Inn Waterpark (Old Nickelodeon Hotel)

How are you all doing this evening? :-) I'm hoping you have enjoyed a wonderful Sunday with family and/or friends :-)

I'm going to take some time over the next few days to blog about our Florida trip we took in June. Still having issues with loading pictures into iphotos and loading to blogger, so the process is slower than I'd like, but I want to blog more frequently and be able to stay up to date with everyone else as well :-)

For Hayley's 16th birthday one of the gifts we gave her was a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida and we took her best friend Breanne with her too. They were all so excited and we all had such a great time! I have so much to share !!

While packing for our vacation, our cat Mirabelle was quite certain she was going too!

                    Even tried laying on top of my suitcase as well to get us to take her along, lol.

On our journey out, we somehow managed to pick up a dragonfly and he rode along on our rear view mirror for several hours before we got to a rest step and safely set him free. We tried initially to let him out the window, but he was holding on with all he had!

          We were also very blessed to see this beautiful rainbow as we began our long journey.

Jerry travels a bit with work, and each time he got transferred to a new state he had extended hotel stays. With Holiday Inn Express you earn rewards for doing so. We have been saving them for quite awhile and had enough to spend 5 days and 4 nights at the waterpark in Orlando for free. It used to be the old Nickelodeon hotel! When we arrived Jerry and the girls had to jump in this big chair for a picture :-)

The suite we had was really nice! This was the bed in the master bedroom suite Jerry and I stayed in.

  We also had a large TV in our room, but never turned it on all week, lol. Too busy, then too tired!

We had a great little kitchenette, really saved us a lot on food and was much healthier then eating out all week.

                                                                  The master bathroom.

The dining area. Behind Jerry to the left through the archway led to the girl's bedrooms. Hayley and Breanne shared one and Kathleen had the other. All rooms had TVs in them! When you came in through the kitchen and to the left, our master bedroom was on that side along with the bathroom. Lots of privacy for all and the girls had their own bathroom to share!

   We also had a really nice living room area that you passed through on the way to the girl's rooms. This also had a sleeper sofa in it, for even more guests/ or family members if you needed it.

                                    More of the living room area and a portion of their bathroom.

                                                                           Their bathroom.

                                                          One of the girl's bedrooms.

Other bedroom which Kathleen chose for herself and loved the bunk beds. She set up her things all over :-)

                            More of the living room, which also had a large TV to watch.

 Even on vacation Jerry insisted on making us breakfast :-) It was a nice break for me too; he spoils us :-)

                                                The waterpark and pool were wonderful.

They had a lot of activities planned all week and special ones since we were there for Father's Day too! Breanne used to live in Florida and one of her best friends from when they were little came out to spend the day with us! The hotel offers guest passes which is really nice!

                Jerry looking like a tourist, lol ;-) Preparing for the hot Florida sun and humidity!

We did take some time to meet up with a former employee of Jerry's and good friend Fernando. We had a nice meal with him and his family and they got to catch up :-)

The hotel had a nice area with a lounge, restaurants, arcade and more. The girl's were having fun with this floor art work featuring Pandora ;-)

Kathleen really loves arcades and she was able to win this owl, as you can see she was very happy.

Hayley found this palm tree in the hotel gift shop and set it up in her window all week. It made it safely back with us and is doing well so far!

                           Beautiful hotel and nice evening to be out and enjoying the night.

                                                  Love these people so very, very much!!!!

We started our vacation out in Universal Studios Orlando! Hayley was so excited to see "her" VW bus as we walked into the park by one of the restaurants :-)

                   It's her dream to have a VW bug or bus one day, the older, the better she says!

We found Scooby-Doo and his crew! Both my girls grew up watching the classic Scooby-Doo and loving him :-)

                                                             Much more to come!!! :-)

                                                                         Blessings,
                                                                               Jill