Month: September 2014

Day 72 / Daddy’s Voice Mail Message

/ annabodine / Leave a comment

I received a notification on my phone today that my voice mailbox was almost full.  As I was going through and deleting old voice mail messages, I came across the one from Daddy that I’ve been saving.  Since I longed to hear his voice, I played his message.  It was the same message I’ve received from him hundreds of times before.  He apologized for missing my call and asked me to call him back.  Brief and sincere.  I burst into tears as I listened to it.

I miss him so much it hurts, but I’m so grateful that I have this one small piece of him – the sound of his voice on this one last message.  It just sucks I can’t call him back.

IMG_3393.JPG

Day 71 / Train Ride with Friends

/ annabodine / Leave a comment

Our friends, Anne and Scott came through town this weekend to take their son to ride Thomas the Train. We joined them today in Burnet to take Ava on her first train ride.

Now, for all the fanfare over this train ride, the ride only lasted 25 minutes. However, Ava loved every minute of it. I’m grateful for getting to spend time with our friends and seeing all the joy in My Little Princess Ava’s face on her first train ride.

IMG_3378.JPG

Day 70 / Trading My ACL Passes

/ annabodine / Leave a comment

I got myself into a little bit of a bind when I originally purchased ACL 3-Day Passes for Weekend 2 earlier this year as Donovon’s Family Reunion ended up being scheduled that same weekend.  So, my plan was to trade my wristbands for Weekend 1 as soon as they arrived.

I’ve been waiting for weeks for the passes to arrive since I couldn’t trade them until I had them in my possession.  So I’ve been a little anxious and worried that I wouldn’t be able to trade them in time.  Well, they finally arrived today and THANK GOD I was able to seamlessly trade them tonight!  Woohoo!  Alexa and I are going to ACL next weekend!  Can’t wait!!

Day 69 / Photos

/ annabodine / Leave a comment

Donovon found some old digital photos that I thought might be lost forever. I’m not only thankful that he found them, but I’m grateful for photos in general. They capture memories of days long gone – of us and our children as we’ve grown, of family members and friends both still with us and passed on, of celebrations, of holidays. Photos make up the picture book of our life.

As I looked through all the photos that I was so glad were found, I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at all the memories. It made my night.

AlexaXmas(2003_01)TootMe(2004_01)DaddyMeLex(2004_01)D n A in Boston(02)MichelleJorgeAnna

Day 68 / Lunch with Lori

/ annabodine / Leave a comment

I caught up with one of My Girls, Lori, during lunch today.  It’s been months since we’ve been able to catch up and I’m so glad we finally got a chance to do so today.

We both had a lot on our minds and it was so nice to just verbalize our thoughts and share some insights and feedback.  I sometimes can’t believe how long we’ve been friends.  I think it’s been close to 10 years now.  We have a lot in common and we’re both Filipino with strong family bonds.  I’m so grateful Lori’s in my life and that we were finally able to have lunch today.

Day 67 / Alexa’s Tribute

/ annabodine / 2 Comments

As a mother, I want so much for my girls. I want them to grow up as independent, strong, self-reliant, resourceful, and compassionate individuals. I want them the appreciate all they have and give back to those less fortunate. I do my best to instill these values and teach them lessons based on my experiences, and hope that they will carry them into adulthood.

Alexa is well on her way to becoming a woman of such character and so much more. However, never did I imagine that she would acknowledge what I’ve attempted to teach her, much less appreciate it.

Today she shared with me an essay she wrote for her English Composition class. The essay was about her superhero, her mother. She wrote about the strength and motivation I have given her to pursue her dreams. Needless to say, I sobbed when I read it. I am honored and humbled by Alexa’s tribute…and so very thankful for it.

Day 64 / Continuing Tradition

/ annabodine / Leave a comment

My brother was in town this weekend and I met him, his friend Breanna, my sister and her family for lunch today. When my dad would come into town, it was our tradition to meet for lunch after church on Sunday. In fact, the last time we all met for lunch when Daddy was in town, he had his stroke shortly after.

It’s sad to think of that last family lunch with him. And I headed to lunch today with a small pain in my heart knowing that he wouldn’t be there. But I’m grateful for continuing our tradition. I feel like he was there watching over his children and grandchildren with a big smile on his face as we work toward moving on.

IMG_3306.JPG

IMG_3315.JPG

IMG_3313.JPG