Our paths originally crossed in 2004. I was living in Florida working at Walk Disney World as a college intern. I met my dear friend, Amanda, because she my supervisor at MGM Studios. She took me under her wing and showed me the ins and outs of Disney, as well as helped me navigate Orlando.
I will never forget when she and I took a trip to her home town in Louisiana. It was then that I was blessed to meet her mom, Patricia, her aunt, Linda, and her grandmother, Annie Ruth. I was blown away as we pulled up to their front door after the flight and were greeted by a giant "WELCOME HOME AMANDA AND JULIANN" sign hanging in front of their house. That hospitality and kindness continued throughout our entire visit. I have cherished those memories for the last 11 years, and today, was blessed to add more chapters to our story.
This tour led us to being reunited as they fit perfectly into the group of exceptional people we were looking to visit. After Andrew's passing, Amanda and her sweet family put together a care package and sent it our way to ease our burdens. It was such a tender surprise not only the thoughtfulness of their gifts, but the reconnection of friendship all these years later. When the idea of the trip originated, I was eagerly anticipating the time that we would spend in Louisiana. Unfortunately, Amanda was not able to be with us today as she moved to Texas to further her career. I am hoping that we'll have an opportunity to stop by and see her on our way back to Arizona.
Just as I remembered the lovely welcoming from last time I visited their home, today was the same. Patricia, Linda, and Annie Ruth had put together an entire spread. Beautiful and delicious goodies to keep us busy as we caught up with one another.
When Linda brought out the personalized cake, I chuckled at the thought of my fortune from yesterday's lunch...
The food was almost as good as the company. :-) In addition to the fact that I could listen to their accents for days on end without getting tired of it, it was also such a peaceful and loving atmosphere.
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| Virginia Kate, Juliann, Patricia, Annie Ruth, Shiloh, Choice, Ryder, Tate, Blaklyn, and Linda |
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| Virginia Kate, Juliann, Patricia, Annie Ruth, Shiloh, Choice, Ryder, Tate, Blaklyn, and Linda |
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, Blaklyn, and Linda |
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| Juliann, Patricia, Shiloh, Choice, Annie Ruth, Tate, Blaklyn, Linda, and Ryder |
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| Patricia, Shiloh, Choice, Annie Ruth, Tate, Blaklyn, Linda, and Ryder |
Linda's adorable granddaughters were there as well. Virginia Kate (5) and Blaklyn (3) were eager to have friends to play with. They were awaiting our arrival and immediately upon our arrival, all 6 kids began playing together. Shortly after their meeting, Choice proclaimed that Blaklyn was his girlfriend. This seems to be a trend for him recently.
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| Choice and Linda |
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| Choice |
Each of them had a great time using their creativity and imaginations. Shiloh and Blaklyn created masterpieces of art...
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| Shiloh and Blaklyn |
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| Shiloh and Blaklyn |
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| Blaklyn, Shiloh, Choice and Tate |
while Ryder's engineering mind quickly had him enticed by the concept of creating a homemade kite to fly in the brisk Louisiana air. Construction was well underway when Annie Ruth thought she'd overlook the operation. She is an absolute gem AND a world class chef. I am pretty sure I ate my weight in her chicken salad sandwiches.
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| Annie Ruth and Ryder |
The final result of his kite creation was really quite impressive. I am constantly amazed by the way his mind works and how he can see treasure and a potential work of art in something that I would toss in the garbage. Whenever I call him a hoarder he reminds me, "Mom, where you see trash...I see treasure." There are times where he ends up being right and today was one of those times. It isn't always the case, however, as I recall a broken Tupperware lid and an empty Kleenex box sitting on his desk at home.
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| Ryder |
He ran circles around their gorgeous backyard, assisting his kite throughout take off and landing. Showing off for the girls, of course.
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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Ryder
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I was finally able to get the kids to gather together in the kitchen to give Patricia the cards and be better bands we had brought for them.
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| Choice and Patricia |
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| Choice and Patricia |
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| Tate and Patricia |
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| Ryder and Patricia |
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| Ryder and Patricia |
By the time the three boys had shared their cards with Patricia, I had already lost Shy again. It turned out, she was back in the playroom with Virginia Kate and Blaklyn.
I can't say that I blame her though. This playroom was a child's paradise. It reminded me of the ambiance around Amanda and I when we met at Disney World. The kiddos were in heaven!
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| Virginia Kate, Shiloh, and Blaklyn |
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| Blaklyn, Virginia Kate, and Shiloh |
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| Choice, Tate, Blaklyn, Virginia Kate, and Shiloh |
We were eventually successful at wrangling them all together on the back patio for a few pictures. I wanted to be sure to capture these moments.
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Shiloh, Annie Ruth, Blaklyn, Virginia Kate, Choice, Juliann, Ryder, Linda, Tate, and Patricia
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| Blaklyn, Choice, Juliann, Virginia Kate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Annie Ruth, Patricia, Juliann, and Linda |
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Annie Ruth, Patricia, Juliann, and Linda
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Juliann, and Tate |
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Juliann, and Tate |
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Juliann, and Tate |
I was humbled by the kindness and strength of these women. They understand the value of loving others. Just by being in their presence, you are given the sense that you matter...and that you are welcome in their family. Each of these women have their own life story. They are no strangers to the ups and downs that come in this life. Yet, they are the gold standard for how to pattern your life in a way that brings joy to those around you. They go the extra mile to make experiences such as these that much more special...true examples of how to spread the better!
Before leaving Louisiana, there were a couple of other must-sees that I wanted the kids to experience. The first of which was New Orleans. At ages 8, 6, 5, and 3, they were pros at the dress-up aspect of this city.
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