Things my father said...

The week leading up to Father's Day has been a difficult one for me the last several years.  I've had more than one crying fit in the card aisle at the store.  I've tried to spend the time focusing on celebrating my husband, and what a wonderful father he is.  But that doesn't fill the hole in my heart left by the passing of my own father.

I think I'll forever miss celebrating Wayne on this special day...my small way of thanking him for all the years of love he gave me.  I remember fondly taking him out to his restaurant of choice (usually Joe's Crab Shack) and digging in to some delicious seafood.  And I'll always remember our last Father's Day, which we were determined to make his best yet. 



He was treated like a King as he played castle with friends and family, and then we all enjoyed eating some of that delicious castle cake!

Hard to believe that was three years ago...

My second son, who is due five days before the 4-year anniversary of Wayne's passing, will carry on his name.  Though Thomas Wayne will never meet his Grandpa Wayne, he will hear many, many stories of the wonderful man whose name he will share.

I'll leave you with a song, which I heard for the first time at a concert less than two months before Wayne died.  Although it was written by a son for his father, I still find the emotion very applicable.

Father's Day

I'm finally able to post about our Father's Day!

We're having internet issues at home, and I've been back and forth with AT&T many times. We should've had access over a week ago, but it's looking like it'll be Thursday before anything happens now. So, I'm having to steal moments online wherever I can. Right now, that happens to be at my parents' house, where the boys are continuing their game from last weekend.

Speaking of that, Father's Day was really something special around here! The cast of characters here to celebrate with Wayne included my mom, me, Branden, Branden's best friend Pete, Pete's girlfriend Rachel, Branden's friend Chris, Wayne's son Clay, Clay's best friend Chris, and my best friend Lindsey. Did you catch all that? :o) Oh, and for good measure, my parents' dog Sooner, and our dogs Jock and Pepper, too!

The boys (and Rachel) played a modified version of Dungeons and Dragons, which they called Castle. It is a role-playing game with dice and little characters and a huge, awesome castle Wayne built:



Close-up of the top of the castle:

In honor of the occasion, we ordered a castle cake from Confections in Cake. Erika did an excellent job! It even brought Wayne to tears.

Every castle has to have a King and Queen, so here are ours:

Somehow, the Queen's crown made it onto the Doggy Prince, Sooner:

Here's me!

Pete and Branden, goofing around:

Me and Lindsey:

Wayne kept the crown on for a while. Here he is with Pete and Rachel, in the midst of game play:

Chris, Clay and Chris getting into the game:

Finally, it was time to cut the cake!

After a long day and lots of people, the cake was rather sad looking, being half-eaten. But boy was it delicious! It was pineapple flavored, with cherry filling (and real cherries!).

Here's a cute shot of Sooner, in his honored spot on the couch cushion. Poor Pepper really wants to come in and join the party! (Don't worry, we let him in shortly after this picture was taken).

It was a wonderful day, and Wayne told me it was his best Father's Day ever, which is exactly what we were going for. We love you, Wayne!