A loss for words

On Wednesday night we were told that Sandy's sister Barbara lost her fight with cancer. She was only 55 and had just learned she had cancer a mere 3 weeks ago.  The doctors said she had probably a year with treatment, unfortunately treatment wasn't successful. We had hoped for a miracle, we prayed for more time, but the timing is not ours, it's God's.  Maybe sometimes we only consider it a miracle if someone is saved from their sickness or injury in a blink of an eye, but what if we are looking at it backwards.  The miracle of Barbara was the time we spent together, it was her two sons, it was finding her soul-mate Daniel and spending almost 32 years together in marriage.  Or maybe the miracle is simply realizing what we had there the whole time.  I didn't spend a lot of time with my sister-in-law but I treasure their visit to see us in October and seeing them on our trip to Georgia this March.  She was always smiling and happy and treated me like family the entire time Sandy and I have been together.  She touched so many lives and will be dearly missed.  It seems so unreal that in just over 6 months we have lost my Grandmother, Sandy's Mom and now Sandy's Sister.  All three ladies do have something in common, their loving smiles, warm embraces, and simple unconditional love that each shared with friends and family, I will miss you all.

My wife shared her thoughts on the passing of her mother and sister her, please read and remember to tell those you love how much you love them WHENEVER you can.  Heaven Has 2 new Angels

My nephew made a vide to celebrate his mother, it is beautiful and I know she is so proud of him and his brother.  Barbara Moreno Slideshow

Rest In Peace Vesta Mae, Iona Frances and Barbara Ann.

Return of the Powerbrush!! #OralBSponsored

So I have been using the Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide for a few weeks now, and let me tell you it is awesome!  I am brushing my teeth longer,  the power toothbrush give me a better deeper cleaning than a regular toothbrush by a mile!  Before getting the power toothbrush I thought I was brushing long enough and with the proper force, boy was I way off. This  power toothbrush tells me when to go from one section to another and it also tells me if I am brushing to hard.

I love the fact that it is a rechargeable, power toothbrush with different heads you can use for different cleaning purposes. You can even get different brush heads that are used for different purposes, can your toothbrush do that? It has heads for whitening your teeth, flossing your teeth, and even for sensitive teeth.  It provides 40,000 pulsations and 8,800 oscillations per minute which helps remove up to two times more plaque than a regular toothbrush! You can also choose one of four cleaning modes and the wireless timer keeps track of the rest, all from the touch of a button on your power toothbrush!

My teeth feel so much cleaner and healthy after using this power toothbrush that I may never go back to a regular toothbrush again!! Thank you Oral-B!!  I am so glad I was picked to try this power toothbrush out! I did a video, exciting I know, showing how easy it is to use, well my video skills aren't the best but you'll get the idea!

 
Right now on their website Oral-B is offering a $10 mail-in rebate on select power toothbrushes April 29 through June 16, 2012! Please visit OralB.com for more information.

This is all for now, so check out Oral-B at their website Oralb.com, on twitter at twitter.com/oralb, or on facebook at facebook.com/oralb for more information and updates.



I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Dad Central Consulting (www.dadcentralconsulting.com) on behalf of Oral-B and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

A boy and his electric toothbrush #OralBSponsored

So there I was reading an e-mail and an offer can in that, as they say, I couldn't refuse. It was an offer to test out one of the new Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide.  I was like you want me to try out a new power toothbrush, for free!?!? Are you serious, cuz I am in!
I have always felt I have good brushing habits and switch out my standard soft bristled toothbrush on a regular basis, but do I really brush enough or long enough? I mean I brush at least twice a day, and I almost always have some sugar free gum on me, but is it enough? We have tried teaching our girls about good oral health, how brushing and flossing help prevent cavities and bad breath.  But sometimes getting them (or me) to brush for the required amount of time is tough.
Enter Oral-B's new ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide, and I mean Smart but I will get to that in a minute.  It is a rechargeable, power toothbrush with different heads you can use for different cleaning purposes. Such as a head for whitening your teeth, flossing your teeth, and even for sensitive teeth.  It provides 40,000 pulsations and 8,800 oscillations per minute which helps remove up to two times more plaque than a regular toothbrush!
Now speaking of how smart this power toothbrush is, it literally does all the thinking for you!  It has a professional wireless timer with a quadrant prompt.  Every 30 seconds it signals you to move to a different area of your mouth and keeps track of how many areas you have completed.  It also indicates if you are brushing to hard on your teeth as you go from area to area.  You can also choose one of four cleaning modes and the wireless timer keeps track of the rest, all from the touch of a button on your power toothbrush!
So how might the SmartSeries 5000 improve your oral care habits? Easy, it takes your brushing experience to a whole other level by making sure you brush for a minimum of two minutes.  And with the amount of pulsations and oscillations its cleaning well over twice as much as doing it by hand! Presto, better teeth!
Right now on their website Oral-B is offering a $10 mail-in rebate on select power toothbrushes April 29 through June 16, 2012! Please visit OralB.com for more information.
I am so glad I was picked to try this power toothbrush out! I will do a follow up post after I use it some more and will even show you how easy it is to use in a video, exciting I know! Well this is all for now, so check out Oral-B at their website Oralb.com, on twitter at twitter.com/oralb, or on facebook at facebook.com/oralb for more information and updates.



I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Dad Central Consulting (www.dadcentralconsulting.com) on behalf of Oral-B and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Gators at The Crab Shack

Low country boil at The Crab Shack

Plane ride!

Sadness

Our family was heart broken to find out my wife's mother Frances passed away recently.  There are no words I can use to describe the hole in our hearts. Sandy posted about it on her blog prior to our trip.  Sandy's Blog

My wife and I made the trip there for the funeral service and I was blessed enough to be able share a few thoughts on behalf of Sandy and her sister's Fran and Barbara.  I was honored to speak for them but wish I could have done something, anything to heal their hearts.  We know Momma is in a better place but the sense of loss is overwhelming.  Momma was loved by many and was always concerned with others rather than herself even when her health deteriorated.

I will simply end this by writing what Barb had me read at the funeral:

Dear Mama,

 I know that you met the Lord on Friday, but today is your official day to celebrate you homecoming.  What a mighty God we serve! He is good all the time!  I thank you and Daddy for raising us to trust God and to trust him on all things.  I just want to say I love you!  You've been such an inspiration to me and all my family and friends.  If any of you don't know him, God as your Savior, all you have to do is call on God and he will come into your heart and make everything new.

Love you all,

Barbara

Follow up - the drive home

Just to finish up the trip to Georgia, we drove all the way home in basically one day! We left that Saturday morning at about 7am. We made good time and the girls we more comfortable since we bought some extra pillows for the ride back. I wanted to make it to Kansas City by that night so Jacey would be able to get home at a decent time so she would be ready for school that Monday. She had missed a week so needed to get back asap. Well we were slowed by traffic in Chattanooga and Nashville but we kept on going. We were lead off the main roads in Illinois by the gps, only to get back on another interstate and head north to St. Loius. Sandy took a turn driving next, I had done over 12 hours I think, and I took a nap and so did the girls. Sandy made it about 100 miles from Kansas City and she was tired. I woke up, felt ready to go and got back in the drivers seat while everybody else slept. I felt really good and wide awake, so I drove and I drove and I drove. It was really too late for a hotel room. I mean spend $75 plus dollars for 6-8 hours of sleep? I kept on going, the girls kept sleeping. I finally made it out of Missouri! Into Iowa I went, had to stop and get gas and was a little tired. When I got to Sioux City I was anxioux to get to the border into South Dakota, but was starting to get the yawns and it got foggy, I mean really foggy. I made it into South Dakota and was not only fighting the fog but the metal fog of sleepiness as well. It was tought but I was so glad to make it to Sioux Falls, I couldn't go any farther, I told Sandy I needed to stop or she had to drive. Well she drove and I remember getting back on the interstate and that was it. 2 hours later Sandy was still making her way through the fog to North Dakota. Sandy needed a break so we swithced on last time at the North Dakota border. I finished the last hour and a half and got us home that Sunday morning! We made it, about 27 hours of driving, bathroom breaks, gas stops and sleping in our seats. It was a very long drive, but so worth the memories we can keep forever.