Frank "Caesar" DiCesare

I have dreaded writing this part of my update.  As anyone close to my family knows, my wonderful stepfather, Frank, had been battling acute myeloid leukemia for almost two years.  He was diagnosed while Josh was on his last deployment but I have not blogged about it out of respect for Frank.  He was very private and didn't really like the whole world knowing what he was going through.  He never wanted any pity or sympathy, just to go about his life as normal.  He fought the cancer for a long time, even undergoing a bone marrow transplant.  The transplant failed and the leukemia became more and more aggressive as time went on.  He was receiving treatment at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas.  So it was a hard two years for him and my mom.  Mom traveled back and forth to be with him the whole time.

The weekend that we were in San Francisco, Frank traveled home to Birmingham to be with mom for a long weekend and a break from Houston.  While at home, he decided that he would stop treatment (because it was no longer effective and his quality of life was greatly diminished) and enter hospice care.  So on August 23rd, the hospice center got he and mom all set up at home in Birmingham.  I immediately flew home to visit.  I could only be there for a day, but I was so glad that I got to say goodbye to the man who I loved so much and loved me as if I was his own.  Frank had been in my life since I was 6 years old and there was no way I was letting my father leave without hugging his neck first.  Thankfully Trey was able to be there also, so we got one last weekend as a family. This is the last picture we took together.

One week, exactly, after he entered hospice Frank entered his eternal home and met Jesus face to face. He passed away early in the morning of August 31st.  While we were all so sad that he was gone, we were (and still are) so thrilled that he his no longer suffering or in any pain. And how wonderful that he is with Jesus forever.

Once he passed, the planning began for the memorial service. The DiCesare family plot is in Lakeland, Florida and Frank told mom that this is where he wanted to be buried.  So mom planned the burial in Florida for Thursday September 5th, followed by a true memorial service to honor his life in Birmingham on Saturday September 7th.  Reagan and I flew to Florida for the burial (so that Wyatt wouldn't miss too much school and Josh wouldn't miss work).  The graveside service was lovely and was exactly what Frank would have wanted.

During the service, a butterfly fluttered around the casket and the priest and just wouldn't leave.  After everyone had left the cemetery, this butterfly landed on my Rea and then on my sweet mother.  God gave us such a sweet reminder that Frank is with him and we need not worry.

After the burial, mom, Rea, me, Trey and Chelsea flew back to Birmingham for the memorial. Many more people joined us there (including Josh and Wyatt) to celebrate the life of such an amazing man.  The service in Alabama was perfect.  I'm not sure it could have gone better.  Frank truly was a blessing to all who knew him.  There were so many people there that many had to stand. After the memorial, everyone in the family went back to mom and Frank's house for a catered dinner.  It was so wonderful to feel so much support by so many people...and nice to have almost all of the people you love the most in one place.

Josh and Wyatt flew back to California the following Monday and everyone slowly started leaving and returning to normal life.  Rea and I stayed a couple of days to help mom get things back in order and just to be there in case she needed us.

While we were there, God granted me the great privilege of being in town when my very best friend, Taylor, gave birth to her third child Hannah Claire. It was so great to end such an emotional week on a positive note.

I would say that we are all doing okay.  I think we miss Frank in our own ways and we will continue to grieve for some time.  But we are rejoicing daily that he is healed and that he can look down on us and smile.

Playing catch up

It has been a long, long while since I've updated this blog.  The end of our summer and beginning of our fall has been crazy--so much going on and so many big life changes.  I will attempt to catch you up here!

After we got back from our big trip back home to Georgia, Alabama and Ohio, we celebrated Wyatt's 5th birthday.  It is so hard to believe that this sweet boy is that big.  I say it every year, but I feel like I just gave birth to him...I remember the details of that day as if it happened yesterday.  He's no longer a baby, but a little boy.  For his birthday, he got to pick out his first big-boy bicycle.  Thankfully he chose a classic bike made by Radio Flyer (mommy and daddy aren't huge fans of character bikes).  He had no trouble learning to ride (with training wheels) and zooms around the neighborhood as fast as he can...although he's hard pressed to leave Reagan in the dirt.  She is quite speedy on that tricycle.

After the birthday celebrations ended, I signed the kids up for a Build and Grow workshop at our local Lowe's. They loved it! Lowe's gave them aprons, goggles and their own hammer--along with the materials necessary for the day's project.  That particular day, they were making "Dusty" the crop-duster from Disney's newest movie "Planes". It was a huge hit!  We are planning to do another workshop again soon.

Since we built "Dusty" at Lowe's, we figured we had better take the kids to see the movie! So the next day we went to the kids' very first movie at a movie theater. It was so much fun. We bought our tickets for "Planes", had popcorn, candy and soft drinks. The kids sat through the whole thing and have been begging to go back ever since!

The weekend of August 16th, we drove to San Francisco for a family weekend.  We met Josh's brother, Isaac, and his family there.  We toured the city, ate lots of good food, and saw the Cleveland Indians play the Oakland A's. It was such a great time and the kids are always excited to spend so much time with their cousins!

iPhone pictures from our trip

5. Years. Old.

He is five. I can hardly believe it. Five just sounds so...big. He'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall...he's not my baby anymore. His favorite food is still sandwiches. He wants to be a firefighter jet pilot when he grows up. His best friend and his worst enemy are his sister on most days.  He loves his dog buck like they're brothers. He would rather have chips over any sweet thing or dessert. His favorite NASCAR driver is Jimmy Johnson...you know, because he drives a blue Lowe's car. Wyatt is super smart and so very funny...although there are a lot of times his sense of humor is too sophisticated for even me (I usually don't get it). He is a boy's boy with such a tender heart...what a wonderful little person God made.

We celebrated Wyatt's birthday a little early, while we were on the farm in Ohio...but still had cake and couple of presents once we were home on his actual birthday.  Mr. Big is getting a real bicycle which will be here this weekend (we let him pick out what he wanted and then ordered it). So stay tuned for pictures of all of the excitement that delivery will bring!

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! I love you with all of my heart...you are after all, who made me a mother. I can't wait to watch you continue to grow and to see who you become!

Our big trip home

Josh had three weeks off of his EMBA program, so we figure when better to go home.  And by home...I mean Atlanta, Birmingham and Mt. Gilead. It was a whirlwind trip and went by way to fast. In Atlanta, the kids got to slip n slide in Papa's backyard and go to Chuck E Cheese. In Birmingham, we went to the park with sweet friends, hung out with Nana and Caesar, visited friends at the Alabaster Fire Station and ate at tons of great restaurants. In Mt. Gilead we hung out on the farm, did some antiquing and took the kids fishing for the first time...we also managed to get together with all of the Keevers to celebrate Wyatt's birthday. All in all, it was an amazing trip and it went by way too quickly...here are the highlights!