Remembering Vyki

After we got back from Europe we faced a huge challenge. My sweet Vyki was inching closer and closer to death. I knew how lucky we were to have her in our lives as long as we did, but the thought of not having her around seemed unimaginable. I couldn't imagine not talking to her on the phone several times a week, not spending time with her, not being reminded over and over that someone as good as her could so selflessly love me. We had talked all year about planning Bailee's birthday luau together. She was once a party planner and overloaded me with great ideas. Her not being there would just be too hard. However, each day the cancer took control of her more and more. So difficult to watch. The first time I really believed she would be leaving us soon was when I ran over to Amanda's to see her and she shuffled frantically around the living room, stopped in front of me, held my face, kissed me on the cheek and told me she loved me, and then repeated the process over and over. I went home and cried.

Mari, Amanda, and I decided to take our kids over to Vyki's sisters house where the kids got to eat lunch with their grandma Vyki. The kids then watched a movie while I painted Vyki's toenails. This day was such a blessing because this was the last time the kids got to be with her.

Vyki's goal was to live to be 60. 6 months shy of that goal, on May 25th, she passed away in her sisters arms. Right before she passed I was able to spend mother's day with her, then see her one last time a few days later to kiss her goodbye.

The funeral was beautiful. All she wanted was a small service and for Amanda to sing for her.

We sent balloons up to Heaven for grandma Vyki.

Trey absolutely loves his grandma Bonnie, Vyki's mom.

Mari, Amanda,and I.

I met Vyki right after we moved into our home. She asked if she could "adopt" me because she wasn't able to have more children and because Amanda, her daughter, and I were such good friends. To be honest, I was flattered but didn't quite believe her sincerity. As time went on she showed me over and over how she really felt. A couple years ago she also got close to my sis, Mari. I couldn't believe how she could just choose to love me like she did. She had so much love to give and touched the lives of everyone who knew her. Whenever we went shopping together I quickly learned I couldn't point out things I liked or else she would buy it all. Seriously. However, now that she's not here I treasure each thing she gave me and my family.

Vyki was the definition of charitable. She worked at the developmental center, working with the handicapped. After she retired, even though she was sick, she devoted her efforts to serving others. When she passed, her friend from Chicago, Freddie, was in Africa visiting his family he hadn't seen in 10 years. Vyki had payed for the trip and poor Freddie didn't find out about her death until he returned home. The examples of her selfless acts could go on forever. She taught me to share the gospel everywhere. She taught me the importance of telling others how you feel. She became a true grandma to my kids. She taught me the importance of even a few words. She taught me how valuable each moment of life is. She taught me to notice the little things that can meet so much to someone else. Her favorite hymn: Because I Have Been Given Much. She lived out the message of that hymn each day of her life.

Her death was really hard on Bailee. I hated telling her. I just snuggled up next to her for a long time while she cried. I'm so grateful for all the memories she gave my kids.

I love you mom Vyki. I miss you and hope I can follow your example throughout my life!

PARIS!!!

And then there was Paris. As much as I never wanted to set foot on an airplane again, it's not like I just wouldn't go to France. Serious butterflies as we flew in and looked at beautiful Paris beneath us. Can't believe I was really there.

When we were on the Tour of Tuscany we made some friends who were doing study abroad from the US. They had just spent some time in Paris and raved about the Pompidou. It's a modern art museum, and since I love modern art so much, I was disapointed I hadn't gotten tickets in advance after hearing how great it was. It was their favorite museum. After relaxing for a minute in the hotel we decided to check out the museum. When we arrived we were thrilled to see it was free that day because it was Easter. The exterior of the building was amazing. Built inside out. After we walked inside we went into an exhibit and walked out as quickly as possible. I thought artists decided to paint clothing on these days and that nude painting was mostly a thing of the past. We walked into the next room. Porno sculptures. Next room. Dirty cartoon strips. Where the heck is the abstract paintings? Scared to look up we tried another room. All I can say is, the images are branded into my eyes. Everyone has seen famous naked paintings and sculptures and paintings, right? Yeah, I haven't seen anything like this. We thought for sure if we didn't find our way out of that we would be destined to burn in hell. Not too mention it was Easter Sunday. Not the way we planned on spending Easter not to mention the first experience in Paris. The next challenge was finding our way out of the museum. Trying to find our way out as we were so unpleasantly surprised by each room, each outdoing the other. What were our friends thinking?! And even worse...why did we see so many parents taking their little kids around this museum?! Once we got home I decided to google reviews on the museum to see if anyone was as disgusted as I was. I really couldn't believe what I read. All the reviews were amazing except ONE! So for all of you who will one day go to France. Avoid the Pompidou, aka porno museum. Awful!

Our first view of the Eiffel Tower! We actually snapped this pic from a window in the Pompidou.

Another beautiful view of France.

The Eiffel Tower. There it is. Wow. One of those things you can't live your life without seeing. It is so tall and the architecture is like nothing you can see anywhere else.

Looking at the lines on the way up.

When you wait to go to the top you're on the outside of the tower. Amazing views from every angle.

The wheels that lift the elevators.

So I can't lie and say that my experience with the Eiffel Tower was perfect. I think of the coldest I've ever been in my life and I think of that night. We were determined to go to the top no matter the wait. And yes it was a wait. There's the already cold air, the fact you aren't inside, and how high you are. Brr! Hours and hours of waiting. And it's a long wait for each level you want to visit on the tower. Then on the way down there's the same lines. Did I mention the cold? By the time we got to the top Damon snapped a few quick pics and then we wanted to get back down asap. I tried to take pictures but I was shaking too bad. Lesson for others. The best part of the Eiffel Tower is the view from the outside. You can't see it that well while you're waiting in the lines and you can see the same view of Paris from other buildings. Even though it was cold and I would never go to the top again I still thought that it was incredible.

View from the top.

Waiting and waiting. Thank goodness I could snuggle up close to my man.

As we walked away we turned around to catch another view. We just stood there in awe. Seriously so beautiful.

Everyone knows, whether you know art or not, you haven't seen art until you've seen the Louvre. I waited so long to go there! This was my #1 priority in Paris. We already had our tickets and showed up to wait in line before it opened. I swear I was about to hyperventilate as I got my first view of the museum. I spent days and days researching maps of the building and lists and locations of the paintings. I knew that in order to see the museum in less than a day I had to somehow figure out how to get around and find the art I wanted to see before going. I thought I was perfectly prepared but boy was I wrong. It was nearly impossible to find our way around. However, I saw nearly everything I wanted to see in about 5 hours. So impressive, right?

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Of course we made our way to the Mona Lisa first. I knew it would be difficult to see it because of the crowds and I couldn't risk not seeing her. Even though we were there early I think everyone had the same plan as us.

Entering the room.

This is as close as you can get to her. It's surprising small but just as amazing as I imagined it would be.

This was the next painting I hunted for. The coronation of Napoleon. It's the size of an entire wall in the Louvre.

When I tell people what Damon was doing at the Louvre they're all in shock and almost angry. Honestly, I was happy he wasn't losing his mind and it worked perfectly for the two of us. Each room I went to Damon would find a comfy seat and watch a movie on my Ipod. When I finished the art hunt in that room I'd come get him and move to the next place. Perfect. Of course there were things I was excited to show him but for the most part he enjoyed watching Iron Man more than the most famous painting in history. Gulp.

Napoleon's throne.

Napoleon's very short bed.

Royal crowns and sword.

Seeing a resemblance?

Upside-down glass pyramid. Look closely at the bottom of the pic. Crazy man.

Before we left guess who we ran into? The missionaries! Yay!

Damon's favorite work of art.

Goodbye beautiful Louvre!

The worst idea of the whole trip. The hop on hop off bus pass. I did this in Chicago once and it was great. Not so much in France. Rude Parisians pushing each other off the bus stairs to get a seat, waiting an hour to go a block, etc, etc.

The back of the Louvre.

View as we walked to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame.

Beautiful. Romantic. Paris.

One of my favorite parts of planning the trip was the interest Bailee had in everything. I told her the history of places we were going to visit and she really got into it. Poor girl wanted to go so bad. She really took interest in Marie Antoinette and Versailles. Can you blame her?

We (I) decided to spend most of our last day in France at Versailles. It's outside of Paris and once you get there it's HUGE and of course packed full of people. Worth each second.

Walking up to the golden gates of Versailles.

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I snapped pictures constantly as we walked through the palace so I could share the whole thing with Bailee. Don't worry. I won't post them all.

Hall of mirrors.

Famous bedroom of Marie Antoinette. Birthplace of generations of royalty.

The drapery here has a secret door behind it where Marie Antoinette went while being chased.

The same painting that I saw at the Louvre. Wish I knew which one was the original.

Palace gardens.

Marie Antoinette's "mini" palace.

Another favorite of the trip. Quite a ways from the palace was small cottages where Marie Antoinette preferred to stay with her children. The cottages and gardens were so beautiful! To make it even more perfect it was WARM. Damon and I walked around the cottages and gardens and just enjoyed each others company. We got sandwiches at a little shop, went for a long walk, and took our time soaking it all in.

Ok, so more pics of my crazy husband. I thought the root of this tree looked like someone's backside. Of course Damon wanted a picture,

When we got back to the palace Damon got a little bored of my picture taking. Thank goodness for the Ipod.

When we got back to Paris we spent the rest of the evening enjoying the sights.

Driving past another random palace.

Walking down Champs Elysees.

Arc de Triomphe.

We took the endless winding stairs to the top of the Arch de Triomphe. We ran up the stairs whizzing past all the old heavy-breathers thinking we were all that and more. When we got to the top we were both sick.

Amazing view from the top.

Damon. Me. The Eiffel Tower. And the VEIN in the middle of my forehead! What is up with that?! Probably my head about to explode after running up so many winding stairs.

We happened to find a place to eat right next to this famous book store.

Our last meal in Paris.

I'm so grateful to be blessed with a husband that did something so special for me. To take me on this vacation of a lifetime. I can't imagine spending the past 10 years with anyone else! I'm also grateful to my friend, Amanda, for taking care of my Bailee. For watching movies with her about France, making crepes for her, and all the other things she did for her. I'm grateful for my amazing little sis, Mari. For her watching my Trey 2 weeks after having her 3rd baby. I'll seriously owe her forever for that.

Some faves of the trip:
Seeing how happy Damon was to be in Madrid again.

Spending time with our new friends, Chris and Gina.
Missionary experiences.

World-famous landscapes right before my eyes.
Crazy Spiderman in Madrid.
Talking to my kids every night on the phone.
Running for all we were worth to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Buying paintings on the streets of Paris.
Loud Italians.
Our tour guide in Tuscany.
Pastries! Gelato!
Damon always making me laugh.
Sitting in the warm sun in the plaza in Sienna.
The little bakeries.
Damon's jaw dropping when I started speaking French.
Shopping for the kids.
Walking hand in hand through the gardens of Versailles.
Glancing across each room at the Louvre and seeing Damon waiting for me.
Showing off pics of the kids.
The priceless hug from my kids after getting home.
Etc, etc, etc!

Love you, Damon!