Tom Summers

On the way home from Florida we got the news that James' dad was being taken to the ER. He was dehydrated and had super high BP. Over the next 24 hours his health diminished greatly. The cancer had spread from his throat to now one of his lungs. Since there was nothing else they could do for him, they made the decision to move him to a Hospice facility. We flew to Phoenix, AZ Sunday afternoon {as soon as we could} to see him. He then passed away late Monday night.

Tom was a godly man, loving husband, father and grandfather. His ministry was his children. He poured into their lives and instilled in them godly principles so they could impact the world around them for Christ. He had a huge heart and capacity to love. He took everyone in as if they were his family. He raised an amazing son whom I am proud to have as a husband and father to my children. Tom left a legacy in the way of his kids and grandkids. He will be greatly missed.

Please pray for our entire family. James was extremely close to his father. It is hard to think that he is gone. It is hard to know that Brynlee will not remember him. I also just get so sad in knowing that in four years James has lost both of his parents to cancer.

I do have to say that the best gift you can give your family is to believe in God and Jesus and to live your life for him. Knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that both Tom and Vicki are in Heaven really is the best comfort in this time.

February Fun in Florida

 A recap of our month....

The month started with the long awaited trip to Destin, FL!! James had a conference in Destin {last year the same conference was in Palm Springs- rough life right?} so we decided to tag along! The other youth minister went as well and he took his wife {one of my best friends} and their 6 month old daughter! After enduring an all night drive, Jared, Laura and Aurora found out their son back at home had pneumonia. So their trip ended the very next day when they flew home to be with him. It was sad without them but we still managed to have some fun!

James was mostly at the conference. So I knew aside from mealtimes and late nights, it would just be me and B! So we did a lot of playing in the hotel room. Actually, we mostly played on the balcony since it was 70-75 degrees and sunny! We did some playing on the beach, swimming in the pool at the hotel and some shopping around town. I also did A LOT of reading. Brynlee still went down around 8 each night so that left me to either watching tv or reading. I read the first 2 books of the Hunger Games {which I loved!}.

 We left Thursday morning and drove back to OK. I was super nervous about the drive back. On the way, the girls mostly slept so it wasn't bad at all. But once we hit daylight they went a little crazy. Let's just say we survived because of 2 laptops and an iPad. We watched Hairspray {multiple times}, High School Musical 2 & 3 and Backyardigans. But we made it!