Remembering Rollie Joseph

Today is one of those days you would like to travel back in time. However, it’s one of those days that changed your life forever and will never be the same. The hardest event for a parent is to see their child go to heaven. Today marks the fifth anniversary of our son going home to be with his Lord and Savior. Today is a bittersweet day. We are sad that he is not with us here on earth. But, we are happy that he is in Heaven. It is not for us to question God’s plan but rather embrace how perfect it is. We knew from the beginning that our children were a blessing from Our Father and only on loan to us. We always said and we believe that they are a reward given to us so that we may raise them in that they may know and worship their Father. That is our testimony. It’s a lot easier to say than live. We are thankful that God allowed us to have him for 20 years. There is not a day that goes by that we do not miss him. However, we know all things work to the glory of God.




We both know how hard this day is for us. So with Gina in New Jersey and me in Houston I decided at the last minute to catch a flight to New Jersey Friday night to spend the weekend with Gina. We do not have anything planned other than spending the day together. Ashley is on call at the hospital so we have Jolee to keep us laughing today.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Time Sure Seems To Be Flying By

Where did August go? To say Gina and I have been busy is a gross understatement. I do want to catch up on my blog. I’ll start on the afternoon of August 13th. While I was at work I received a phone call from my dad. He told me that he was just around the corner from the office building that I work at. I told him to stop by. After showing him my office and introducing him to the guys I work with I decided I would just call it an early day. My dad decided to stay with me at our trailer so I had him follow me. I warned him that it’s twenty miles away. After dropping off his car we drove back to Houston and had dinner out. He was in town for his sister-in-law’s funeral. His brother died last year. They left behind their 16-year-old daughter. I had a nice week with my dad. He met me each day for lunch and I grilled in the evening. He finally decided at the end of the week to drive back to Louisiana.

My Dad relaxing

Gina has been enjoying her time in New Jersey with Ashley and Jolee. However, it was vacation time for Ashley and Jolee. They left on September 18th for Grenada. They spent two weeks relaxing on the beach and soaking in a hot tub.

Jolee just found out she's going to Grenada

Since GiGi wasn’t needed for awhile, Gina flew in to New Orleans on the evening of the 18th. It felt so good to have her back with me. She was showing up just in time for our beach trip. We left the morning of the 20th for a week in Destin with Rickey and Dana, my sister and BIL. We had been planning this trip to Destin, Florida for a few months so it was so good that it was finally here. I do believe we all needed some rest and relaxing. Before we left for the beach I bought a underwater camera. So these pictures were taken with it.

Having a Great Time on the Beach

We were back home on Sunday and since Isaac was heading toward our house we decided to delay our return to Houston until Monday evening. We needed to pick up everything around the house that could go flying and put all of Gina’s plants in our shed so they wouldn’t get tore up. We finally made it to Houston Monday night along with a lot of other people leaving Louisiana. A normal 4 ½ hour drive took seven hours. Isaac came and went and we received a lot of wind. The only damage we received was a section of our privacy fence fell down and our yard was full of tree limbs. Overall, we fared well considering the 60 mph wind and 11 inches of rain.

Gina spent the remainder of the week with me in Houston until I dropped her off at the airport Saturday morning for her flight back to New Jersey. She arrived ontime for her chauffeured ride back to Ashley’s apartment. She then picked up the car and drove to JFK airport to pick up Ashley and Jolee.

Jolee happy to see her GiGi

After I dropped Gina off at the airport I decided that I needed to catch up on a little work at the office. At the last minute I decided to drive home Saturday evening since Labor Day was Monday. Really the main reason was for going home was Thomas, Ashley and Abigail were driving to Louisiana from Southern California. They didn’t know if they would get their Saturday night or Sunday and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with them. They finally arrived Sunday morning. It was so good to see them.

Abigail telling her Pops that she wants to go with me

Of course I had to drive back to Houston Monday since I needed to be in Corpus Christi, Texas for a two-day meeting that was beginning Tuesday morning. I am back in Houston getting ready to move down to Aransas Pass, Texas on September 28th.


Gina, Ashley and Jolee will be driving to Louisiana on September 28 since Ashley will be working at a hospital Lafayette, Louisiana for about six weeks. Not much else going on around here. It may not seem like we have been that busy but I sure don’t know where to time is going. Summer is almost over and from all the blogs I read it sure seems like fall is in the air.

Here's Jolee's name framed and matted 

Nicole on June 26th

Nicole on September 11, those twins are growing

Goodbye to Rocket, you will be missed, he was 16 years old

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Grand Babies

Well, another week is over.  My week consists of getting pictures of our two grand-daughters.  Of course Gina gets to see Jolee everyday since she is like her nanny.  She's enjoying her time with her.

Jolee on July 24th at 3 months.

Abigail enjoying her new little car

I love this picture, she looks so grown up for a one year old

Ashley says, Jolee wakes up happy every morning

Jolee looking happy to be in daddy's arm

GiGi's matching socks

Look at those eyes, I just love them

Abigail on her way to Church this morning

Now that I have shown off my two grand-daughters you wouldn't think I'm not a proud grand-parent would you.  I sure see why so many people do not full time because of their grandchildren.  I wish they all lived close by, it sure would make my day to play with them just a few minutes each day.

Go check out mom and pops new front porch on their cabin in the Black Hills.  It looks absolutely beautiful!!!    Now that their porch is finished they are heading out this week for Montana and Idaho.  Mike and Janna are taking a little trip too.  I'm feeling really jealous right now.  What I wouldn't give to be up in the mountains of Montana or with JB and Brenda in their Canadian mountains.  They just took a trip out to the Ya Ha Tinda for a little horse riding brought back some very enjoyable memories while we were up there.

Not much else happening around here other than looking forward to taking a week off from work for a little vacation to the beach with the love of my life.

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

A Glowing Daughter and A Happy Grand-Daughter

It’s been quite for Gina and I since we left California on Sunday. I normally post an entry on Tuesday to show Nicole’s pregnancy progress. I’m not sure if I was just so tired after this past weekend or I caught a bug on the plane ride back to Houston. The past two days I have felt terribly. When I woke up Monday morning I almost crawled back into bed. I never really did feel better. When I got home from work I laid back in the recliner and fell asleep until Gina called me. Well, I did feel a little better Tuesday morning. However, I was still not myself. Which is the reason I did not post a blog entry yesterday. I’m feeling much better today.

Nicole is finally doing much better and she said that her energy has returned. I do believe those twins are growing.

Look at that new mom glowing!!

Gina is back in New Jersey having a wonderful time with Jolee. Jolee was just a coo’ing today and she called me so I could hear her. She also sent me this picture today that she captured when she was smiling.

That's a happy looking baby

That’s about it for hump day.

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Abigail's is One Year Old

Gina and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend with Thomas, Ashley and Abigail. We woke up early Friday morning so Gina could make homemade biscuits for Thomas. Abigail enjoyed them too.

Abigail giving GiGi a good morning hug

After breakfast it was time for the birthday girl to get her new dress on.

Abigail in her new dress

We all had a few errands to run which included getting balloons. What’s a birthday party without balloons???

 Gigi found these cute sunglasses and bib before we left Houston.

 

Abigail with her Pops

 Once we got back from our errands it was time to decorate.

Abigail is wondering what's all the excitement about

Ashley and GiGi did a fantastic job.

They even decorated her highchair.

She had her very own red velvet cupcake with candle. She didn’t quite know what to do with flame. Finally she was able to blow it out with a little help from her dad. 

 We all found out she loves icing.

After she enjoyed her two cupcakes it was bath time before opening her presents.

Her first present was a Little Tike’s car.

Her next present was an LSU tiger outfit and then one of her dad’s favorite books when he was a child. “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See”. He was so excited that we had to stop for a few minutes so he could read it to her.

 

I’m not sure who had more fun, Thomas and Ashley or GiGi and Pops.

Thomas, Abigail and Ashley

Abigail telling her daddy here is another book to read

 

Abigail must have her uncle's trait for playing drums

Abigail's birthday doll

We had to tell Thomas bye Saturday morning since he was leaving for a three week exercise in the desert.  Congratulations to Ashley as she begins her journey of becoming a teacher by starting her undergraduate degree in education.

Thomas right before he left

On Friday we had some more wonderful news.  Nicole, our daughter had an ultrasound and found out she is having two girls.  We are ecstatic for her and Shane.  Those babies are sure growing.  Here is a picture of her on Friday.

16 weeks, three days

 

Our soon to be grand-daughters

 On Saturday afternoon I received an email from Delta that Gina's flight was cancelled and they put her on the redeye flight for Sunday night to New Jersey.  It took me two hours to change her flight but I got her into New Jersey tonight.  She will be in New Jersey until August 18th.  However, on the other hand my flight back to Houston was uneventful.  Just the way I like it.

Now that this trip is over it's time for us to get ready for our next trip.  Gina and I are going to Destin, Florida with Dana and Rickey, my sister and BIL on August 20 for a week of relaxing on the beach.  As you all can see we haven't stopped traveling.  We're just not traveling by RV.

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

GiGi & Pops are in California

This is just a quick update for us. After working a full day on Thursday Gina and I drove to the airport and flew out of Houston heading for San Diego. When we arrived this is what we saw.

Thomas and Abigail

We were so excited to see Abigail. We were also excited to see Thomas and Ashley too. It’s hard to believe that Abigail is one year old.  Of course GiGi couldn’t get enough of Abigail nor could her Pops.

GiGi giving Abigail a doll

Abigail with her GiGi and Pops

After getting our rental car we drove to Thomas and Ashley’s house where GiGi got to give Abigail her bath and then Thomas and I went and got some food to eat. After dinner we drove to the hotel and called it a day. It was a very long day for us since we gained an additional two hours. Finally by eleven o’clock we made it to our room and all I could do was lay down on the bed and sleep.


This morning we are up early and heading over for a big birthday party for Abigail. On another note Nicole, our oldest daughter will find out what she is having today.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.