11 Years

     Today is the 11th  anniversary of my dad’s death. 

A fact that just does not seem possible…

How has 11 years already gone by?

My dad passed away 10 years ago.

The day before my his 56th birthday. And only 9 days before my parents' 31st anniversary. And me? My heart was feeling the intense weight of such a significant and painful loss. 

When I got hurt last month, I so desperately wished he were still alive and I could have called him. And when they wheeled me back for surgery, before the anesthesia fully took effect, I remember thinking how much I wish he could’ve prayed for me before time…

My mom and I have been reminiscing about him a lot lately. It’s been nice having those chats, and thinking about all sorts of sweet and happy memories.

We sure do miss having him here…

By the end of his life, my dad was so sick, though. So even though, we do so desperately miss him, I wouldn't dare call him back. Heaven is such an incredible place, a place where he's no longer sick, no longer hurting. He's whole again. And Heaven is for sure better than this mess of a world we're all living in now :)

 

Sometimes, though, I wonder why... 

I wonder why he had to pass away so young. I wonder why our family had to deal with this huge loss. I wonder why, if I ever get married or have children, he'll never get to meet them. I wonder why my mom has to be a widow. I wonder why she’s had to deal with so much since he passed away. I wonder why my nieces will only have just a few memories of my dad - a man who absolutely, positively loved being a Pawpaw to those girls. 

But even in my wondering and my sadness, I'm still thankful for some things. I’m thankful for all the time I did have. I’m thankful for so many cherished memories I did have/do have. And I’m thankful for so much more…

I'm thankful for a Christian heritage he continued with our family. 

I'm thankful for the love of learning he passed down to me. He would love that I was considering going back to school to get my doctorate. After all, we joke that he was basically a professional student. And as a Special Ed teacher, himself, he also would have 100% understood why I made the decision to wait and not start this past Fall like I’d thought I would because work was too time consuming/overwhelming at the time and I was doing the job of 2 teachers at once. 

I'm thankful for the memories of his laugh and his joy for life.

I'm thankful for 29.5 years worth of happy memories.

I'm thankful, that even though, I'll never get to experience having him at my own possible wedding or births of possible future children, I was able to see the immense joy/pride/love he showed on the day of my brother and sister-in-law's wedding and of all the time he joyfully spent with my beautiful nieces.

I'm thankful for so much.

And yes, I do still miss him terribly. 

But, I can smile, thinking of him hanging out with Jesus and talking to all the people from the Bible whom he loved to read/study/preach about for all those years. What a fun time that must be! 

My dad loved the Lord with all his heart. And he loved sharing about the Lord with anyone who would listen. In fact, my dad preached his last sermon from his hospital bed exactly one week before he passed away. Using Romans 8:18 as his primary verse, he reminded us that, though we may experience suffering and pain here on earth, we can trust in the hope of our Savior. We can trust in the knowledge that if we are saved, we will experience that glory that is beyond compare.  And now, today, I am so incredibly thankful that his words are permanently etched into my memory. 

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I've written memories-filled posts every year on the anniversary of his death, which can be found below. While still sad, it's nice for me to be able to look back and remember how God's been with me through the past years' anniversaries...

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

7 years

8 years

9 years

10 years

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Today, I'm linking up with  Erika and Andrea for their weekly Friday Favorites link-up. Because, while thinking about my dad's death obviously isn’t a favorite, thinking/talking about my dad is an favorite. After all, my dad was, and always will be, one of my favorite people.

What’s Up February

    Happy Wednesday Thursday Friday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. And yes, I do realize it’s actually Friday. Oops. I kept meaning to post either before or after school each day Wednesday and then Thursday. But nope… Kept forgetting. So here we are :)

Anywho, on with the post…

Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives.

So let's get started...

What am I eating?

Nothing terribly exciting… I did earn a free footlong sandwich from Subway via their app, though. So I got that on my way to a training off campus on Wednesday. That was nice. 

What am I reminiscing about?

Mardi Gras fun with my family :) 

What am I loving?

Lately, I’ve been leaving work right around the time that the sun is starting to set. And the other night, I got this shot right when I got home. Isn’t the sky so beautiful? I love it!

What have I been up to?

Work. That’s about it.

What am I dreading?

Next week starts my busiest 2 months at work, And while I do definitely love working with all of our sweet kiddos and while I also know that I’ll get it all done and I’ll get it all done very well too, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreading just a tiny bit all of the super late nights/weekend work sessions I know I’ll have the next couple months since there’s most definitely no way possible to get it all done during the school day.

What am I working on?

Remembering this prayer...

 What am I excited about?

I found out that the musical my nieces have been rehearsing for is going to be during my Spring Break, which made me super excited! I knew there was no way possible I could’ve asked off for that, knowing it’s our busiest time of the year with state testing and IEP meetings and all going on at the same time. So I was feeling so sad/disappointed to know I’d be missing it. But they just released the dates and I almost cried when my brother told me, knowing it’ll be during my school’s Sprimg Break 🩷

What am I watching?

Not a thing.

What am I reading?

We’ll be reading Pancakes Pancakes By Eric Carle in class today, as part of a joint Reading/English/Science lesson. Then we’ll make a pancake craft and then taste pancakes too. Most of our people LOVE crafts of any kind so I think little project will be fun. Plus, the lessons we can get out of that book (which go right along with what we’ve been learning in those 3 subject areas) are going to be fun/engaging as well!

What am I listening to?

Same answer as last month actually… I've still had the song, Good Day, by Forrest Frank stuck on repeat. I love it!

What am I wearing?

The weather is so crazy. It was starting to get a bit warmer. Then we had two really cold days this week. And now it’s getting warmer again. So I’m wearing layers typically.

 What am I doing this weekend?

My mom and I are going to a market happening this weekend. 

What am I looking forward to next month?

March is going to be the start of my 2 busiest months at work. But we do have some fun planned for my people in between all the busy-ness. So I’m looking forward to all that.

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I bought these for our students in both classes for Valentine’s Day. We have quite the budding artists in our rooms so I thought this was the perfect little gift.

What's new this month?

Nothing much 

And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

What's Up January

   Happy Thursday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. However, I’m actually a day late… At any rate, it’s still hard to believe this is the first post for 2026. How is that possible? 

Anywho, here we are :)

Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives.

So let's get started...

What am I eating?

Y'all... I bought this Chef Woo brand ramen on a BOGO offer at Publix a few weeks ago and finally ate it the other night. It was delicious. However, it was only AFTER I ate the thing and drank the soup at the end that I looked at the Nutrition Facts and about died at the sodium level. It was so insanely high! So, delicious or not... I most definitely will NOT be eating these anymore. Wow!

Past that... I've been on a Greek yogurt kick. I rarely have time to eat a real lunch these days. There's just no way with the level of support my people need. And that's fine... But anywho - I'm finding if I don't eat something, I'm starving by the end of the day when I'm driving home and as my wallet can tell you, that's not always the best (or healthiest) thing. So, on the days I have time for it, I eat a bowl of yogurt with some kind of fresh fruit added in the mix. My latest obsession is coconut flavored yogurt with fresh blueberries mixed in. So good!

What am I reminiscing about?

There was a thing going around on social media at looking at life in 2011. So I went digging through my photos on Facebook and found these... In January of 2011, I was in Senegal, visiting Goree Island with a group of missions colleagues in town for our West Africa Missionary Retreat.

Then in July 2011, I was back in the US, wrapping up a quick visit to raise more missions funds, and got to attend my family reunion. It's hard to believe since that time, two of my favorite men in the world (my dad and my Papa) have both passed away since these photos were taken...

What am I loving?

I'm still loving my daily morning photos. 

I started taking a photo of the sky or whatever my morning view was each morning during a particularly stressful time while in Senegal. The Lord had laid Lamentations 3:21-23 on my heart as a reminder that every morning is a new chance to start fresh, but at the same time, it's still a guarantee that His love, mercy, and faithfulness will be there to meet me each morning. And that was so comforting at that point in my life, that it stuck. So yeah... Even though I'm feeling quite overwhelmed/stressed at my ever growing To Do List and quite often anxiously wonder how I'll get it all done, I still take those daily pictures each morning because I love the reminder that they leave on my heart and mind.

What have I been up to?

Work - It's pretty much all I do or think about these days :)

What am I dreading?

I would always rather be cold than hot. I hate sweating. I could live without these super high temps/humidity that we have here in south Alabama. But y'all... This extreme cold we're experiencing in south Alabama is kicking my tail. Oh my word, it's so painfully (literally - hello arthritis) cold!

Also, come on Mother Nature... If you're going to make me be this cold when I go outside every day, at least let there be some snow, which would be so pretty. Just sayin' :) Anywho... See these fun pics from last year when we got out of school for a full week. That was fun!

What am I working on?

Remembering this goodness...

 What am I excited about?

My brother and his family are coming to visit next weekend. We'll catch a Mardi Gras parade and enjoy time sitting around the house, hanging out. I can't wait! I love it when my people are all here!

What am I watching?

Not a thing.

Seriously... Y'all, I realize that's unheard of in this day and age, to not have a TV or TV service. But it's actually pretty nice. Just saying. I am looking into getting eventually. …just for news (even though it's horribly depressing) and the occasional show/movie/ball game. But for now, I'm enjoying not having it.

What am I reading?

I’m still reading The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. And yes, I realize I've been reading it for a while. But let's be honest... I've barely read it for the last month. Not due to the book, itself. It's good and I really like it. No, I haven't read it because I've been so exhausted after work every day that I would have fallen asleep if I would have tried to read it. Ha :)

What am I listening to?

Lately, I've had Good Day by Forrest Frank stuck on repeat. I love it!

What am I wearing?

All the warm clothes and almost always sitting under a blanket when I'm at home too. Y'all... It's so cold!

 What am I doing this weekend?

I'll have to do a little grocery shopping and secret Valentines/Mardi Gras goodie bag buying for my two favorite humans who, along with their mom and dad, are coming to visit us the following weekend. I can't wait!

What am I looking forward to next month?

Mardi Gras and Valentines fun crafts with my students

Mardi Gras fun for myself

a visit from my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces

Mardi Gras Break (3 days off + 2 days of PD - so 5 days with no teaching)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I actually haven't bought anything off Amazon in a while. But I'm thinking about buying a cute Valentines gift set for my students that I saw the other night. It's not terribly expensive and there would be enough for both classes in the set. But I'm just not sure. Hmm... Decisions, decisions :)

What's new this month?

I got my hair cut. I'd been debating for a while. But I finally decided one day to just go for it. Y'all, it's so much cooler (temp wise) and lighter too. And thankfully, I found a hair stylist who listened to what I wanted and it's easy to style as well. 

And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?