Over New Year's, we went to Long Beach, MS with PaPa Tudor and Aunt Leighbo. This was Ashton's first trip to the beach, and he had a blast! At first, he was hesitant to go near the water but that didn't last long. The temperature was high 70's and very pleasant. The water was cool but not so cold that we couldn't splash around. It was so fun to hear Ashton squeal with delight as he ran and splashed in the water and of course,"accidentally" fell on his bottom into the water.
On Friday, we visited with some friends who are more like family members than friends. It was really nice to catch-up on old times and just spend time talking. It was really difficult not having Mom with us. I thought about her constantly and knew that she would have loved seeing Ashton play on the beach. Leaving to go on the trip was hard because I felt like we were leaving Mom behind. I know she would have been proud to know that we took a trip as a family before Leigh goes back to the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in May.
On Saturday, we went to New Orleans. Ashton rode the street car for the first time and had a blast. I think he would have ridden it for hours on end if we would have allowed him. It was raining, so we didn't venture into the French Quarter but we had a lot of fun just driving around and sightseeing. This was my first trip to the Coast after Katrina, so it was really sad to see the devastation firsthand. I can't even image how horrible it was right after the storm.
We had a really, really good time together. The holidays were hard but we made it through with a peace that only comes from God. We miss Mom more than we could ever explain but in our hearts we know that it is only a matter of time before we will see her again in Eternity.
