Prayers For Papa! (and Granny!)

My daughter calls my Dad, Papa--(which makes for some confusion because we also call my husband's grandfather Papa but add his last name to cut down on some of the confusion) and has always had a close relationship with him. About three weeks ago, my Dad had a skin cancer removed from his ear, the doctor assured them that it was nothing but sent it off to the lab to be sure. Well, you guessed it turns out to be malignant and the worse kind of skin cancer. Funny but somehow my Mom knew that it was not benign and was worried about it all along.

After waiting forever for an appointment at MD Anderson, they will go tomorrow to see what the treatments will involve. The local doctor did not paint a very rosy picture for them, stating that it would be a long and difficult journey.

So I have some very specific prayer request for my blogging friends--

1. Pray for the cancer to be gone.

2. If it can't be gone, pray that it is contained and treatable. Pray for the doctors involved to make the correct decisions.

3. Pray for safety as we travel, my brother is bringing them from their house and I am driving to Houston from San Antonio.

4. Pray that my Mom will continue to heal and feel strong as she takes care of my Dad. She has been sick for the last few weeks (almost hospitalized last weekend)

5. Pray for my husband and daughter as I will be away for a few days. My daughter does not always handle change very well, so please pray that God blesses her and gives her peace.


UPDATE- My Mom (AKA Granny)had an abdominal ultrasound today that shows she has a pancreatic cyst. The doctor says it does not look like cancer but she will need additional treatment and test to be sure. He agreed that she could wait until the situation with my Dad and MD Anderson is worked out and they have a treatment plan for him in place. But wants to see her as soon as it can be worked out. So looks like both of my parents will be undergoing medical treatment in the very near future.

Thank You In Advance For Your Prayers!

Some Funnies!

I got this off of Heather's blog but don't think she will mind if I borrow it




After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a “gripe sheet,” which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS ‘ pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That’s what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you’re right

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.


Do you have a favorite? If so leave me a comment and tell me which one!

Castaway Cay

Think I will write about this day later but wanted to go ahead and show you some pictures of this beautiful island.





The first two beach pictures are of the family beach, which was crowded but not unbearably so, you could still find lounge chairs and move around without any problems




The last two pictures are of the adult beach. It was on a different side of the island that you reached by tram or bike. The water was much clearer on the adult beach and it was very open and relaxing. Not crowded at all.

Nassau

The second day of the cruise we were docked at Nassau. We did not plan any excursions that day so we left DD in the Oceaneer's Lab to play with her new friends and we went ashore to walk around a bit. I was a little nervous walking around because there were so many people trying to sell you things, they would reach out to hand you stuff or touch you on the arm to get your attention. It just really made me nervous.

So after a little walking around, we just went back to the ship. Hubby was starting to get a cold or allergies so he took a short nap before we hit the Adult pool. DD beeped us that she was ready to be picked up a little before dinner, so hubby took her to the kids pool and I got ready for dinner. On the Disney cruise you rotate between their three restaurants but keep the same wait staff at all three restaurants. Tritons was the dinning room of our second night and the more formal of the three. So we dressed up a little and when we got there the wait staff immediately tied pirate scarfs on our heads ( well, tried to on me, I opted to wear mine around my neck) as it was Pirate Night on the Disney Wonder. After dinner was another show, this one was called the Golden Mickey's. It was like an awards show with disney movies and characters.


The last activity of the second day was The Pirate Party up on deck. It starts out with Disney Characters dancing and then the Pirates take over the ship. In the end, Mickey flies in on a high wire and saves the day. Then the fireworks go off. It is a lot of fun for all with music and dancing. I think Disney is the only ship that shoots off fireworks.
By this time, DD was getting a little tired and cranky but not ready to give up activities for the night so we had a little melt down but all was made better by the arrival of cookies and hot chocolate delivered by Room Service! And so was the 2nd night of the cruise!

More to Come.....

Cruising with Mickey Mouse!

Since we were unable to really take a vacation this summer, we decided to take advantage of darling daughter having half days (due to teacher conferences) and take a family vacation in October. We started out by flying into Orlando on Southwest Airlines, which worked out great for us because it was a direct, non-stop flight and for the most part cheaper than other airlines. We used on line check in 24 hours before and we able to snag group A 5-7 which meant we boarded in the first group after the wheelchair folks were put on the plane. Trip to Orlando was uneventful, we caught a complimentary shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express spent a comfortable night, got a better than continental breakfast (free) and caught the shuttle back to the airport.

We checked in with Disney and waited maybe 20 minutes before boarding a bus to Cape Canaveral. The trip is about 45 minutes long and they show a video (with captioning) during the trip so you are occupied with seeing the ship and knowing what to expect when you arrive at the port. Going through security at the port was painless, we had about an hour wait before we could board the ship but there were interesting things to see in the terminal. They had a mock up of the ship, they had Character greetings and photo opportunities, so the time went very quickly. You enter the ship in groups, we were in group 3. Once you pass though the giant Mouse Ears, you have your portrait made in front of a giant map with Hidden Mickeys in it. Then as you board the actual ship, they announce your family....Disney Cruiseline is proud to welcome aboard the xxxxxx family and everyone claps. Then you are greeted by another castmember (CM) who gives you information about where they are serving lunch and reminds you that you may not enter your cabin until 1:30.

We went to lunch at Parrot Cay (pronounced KEY), which is a brightly decorated Caribbean themed restaurant. For lunch it was a buffet but there were still waiters to seat you, take your drink order and pick up after you. Disney is big on sanitation, so at every meal you are greeted by CM's who hand you sanitizing wipes for your hands. There are also sanitizing gels available through out the ship. The buffet was good but not exceptional. They had lots of salads, cheese and deli meats, a few main dishes, a kids area with Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc...
Then they had two dessert areas, one with cheesecakes, tarts, brownies, etc... and one where you could make your own ice cream sundaes. The food was the only real area that I don't think Disney excels at, it was good but I felt the food on the Royal Carribean Cruiseline was better.

After lunch we looked around the ship awhile before going to our cabin (after 1:30) The cabin was bigger than the one we had on Royal Carribean (RCCL) and had more closet space and drawers. I liked the bathroom set up, there were two rooms, one with a tub and sink and the other with a sink and toilet. The bathtub was small by household standards but huge compared to RCCL.

I unpacked while Darling Husband and Darling Daughter went swimming and then at 4 pm we had the Mandatory Evacuation Drill. All went smoothly, much faster than on RCCL. Then we all headed updeck for the Bon Voyage Party. Lots of music and dancing (and a little rain) We had dinner at 6 pm at Parrot Cay and then a show in the theater- Hurcules- The "Muse"ical. The production was great. Unfortunately, Hubby was suffering from seasickness by this point, so he went to bed, I let DD go to the Oceaneers Lab (Kids program) for a couple of hours and I just roamed around the ship seeing where everything was and getting oriented. So was the first day of our Disney Cruise!

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Bahama Mama...

and Daddy and Baby! Just a short post to say we are back from our cruise to the Bahamas on the beautiful Disney Wonder! Unfortunately, we came back with more than just memories as we are all a bit sick with allergies. I will update about our trip soon.

Disney does themeparks AND cruises very well!