Celebrations.

 June 16th, 

This was a weekend full of moments that made my heart smile....and a few that brought tears to my eyes. 

#Father'sDay#AnniversaryLove#HeavenlyBirthday#GratefulHeart

On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with a beautiful brunch at "TWELVE"..... a local restaurant that knows how to serve up both flavor and atmosphere. The food was absolutely wonderful.  Fluffy eggs, crisp bacon, grits, French toast, fresh fruit, delicious coffee, and more! Our table was covered in array of colorful Brunch foods, but the best part for me, was the company.

We shared this brunch with our two daughters, one of our amazing son-in-laws, and three of our sweet grandkids. The rest of the family was traveling and of course our Military family could not make it.  Their absence though, only made us more grateful for the ones that could join us. 

                    French Toast.....

The donut tray.....donuts went fast! lol

Breakfast tacos and SO MUCH MORE!!

And.....this weekend held another special reason to celebrate. Our 53rd Anniversary is today June 16th, but we celebrated a little early with a romantic dinner at a lovely restaurant ...... "III Palms"....Three Palms. 

The ambiance was soft and elegant.....like one of those places where the lighting feels like a warm hug and the music.... it just floated gently around us. We both ordered the Isle Salmon with risotto....it was creamy and rich and perfectly cooked. Sam added asparagus and I had Brussel sprouts. Let me tell you...the Brussel sprouts were roasted perfectly.

Isle Salmon

We ended up sharing a warm, sweet serving of bread pudding, topped with ice cream. This dessert was the perfect ending to our meal. 

           Bread pudding with ice cream

And Oh, oh, Oh,....I almost forgot!  The menus 

lit up!!  A first for me....but when we opened the menu, the entire thing lit up. 

Like a light was underneath the printed menu.

What truly made my heart overflow was that Sam felt good. Not just getting by, and not just managing, but genuinely feeling pretty good. His smile was so bright and he had a good appetite. This was so good to see...

And in the quiet moments of the weekend, my heart wandered to Heaven. Yesterday would have been my sweet mother's 92 birthday. I can only imagine the heavenly celebration she had, surrounded by so many loved ones who have gone before. I do miss her terribly!  There is just something about your mother's birthday that stirs all the memories....her voice, her hugs, her kitchen full of warmth and oh most definitely, the aroma from her kitchen was present.  I carried her in my heart all day long. 

Love does show up in all the little things doesn't it?   

A brunch with our grandkids, a quiet dinner with the love of my life, my mother's memories, and the gift of knowing we were able to celebrate one more day. Perfect!!

Shug.....