My Way of Remembering This Day

It's April 10, 2014, the fourth anniversary of

Jack Stovall's homegoing.

The day slipped by me in 2013.

Maybe that's why I've been so aware of it this year.

As I've thought about it, one event kept coming to mind.

It occurred in 2005 onboard the Crystal Symphony.

We sailed on back to back cruises from

Ft. Lauderdale to Rome.

Here we are embarking!

Now the above photo shows Jack with his usual

"smile."

I think you will observe his smile getting amazingly

 more "smiley" as these pictures progress!

We had the cherished "table for two by the window."

This was a repositioning cruise, meaning we were

out in the middle of the Atlantic for days!

However, Crystal has something no other cruise

line on which I have ever been has.

The Symphony had a live camera in the

computer lab that refreshed once a minute.
There was a web site where the lab could be seen
at any time.

It took a lot of time coordination, but

our family could actually see us--live--onboard--
in the middle of the ocean--halfway around the world!
Here we are in our first appearance!

And...later here is serious, straight-laced Jack Stovall

a.k.a. GAGA

blowing a kiss to his girls back home!

And they knew exactly what he was doing!  

Here's their message back to us:

 
Here's Gaga taking a little snooze with a
stuffed ape from Gibralter on his shoulder.
(One of the emails from the girls asked, 
"Any stuffed animals for us yet???")

  Here is another of my favorite pictures from
this trip.
We are tendering in to Portofino, Italy.
His really big smile is because a sign as we
boarded the tender said, "Mind your head!"
Good advice!
His head is actually touching the ceiling!

And this is Portofino--one of the seven wonders
of my world.
See the hotel on top of the mountain?

On our previous trip here we did not make
it up there to see it.
This time I had us walk all the way up!

Here Jack is after our ascent.
Poor thing!  I felt terrible.  Then we walked down!!
 I found out later that everyone else took
some form of transportation!
(But he was really hamming it up!)

Now here we are on a bus traveling to Pisa.

This wouldn't have been fun at all to see
without him...

And we always had to pay homage to one of our
major benefactors:

This one is in Livorno, Italy, where the
Symphony docked.


And here we are in Rome at the Trevi Fountain.

While the coins we're tossing didn't actually
get us back to Rome this time,
I feel like I've been back tonight.

I'm so amazed--and grateful--that
God allows wonderful memories like these
to overshadow the sad times.
He has truly done that in my life.

The voices of a million angels could not express
my gratitude.
All that I am or ever hope to be...
I owe it all to You.
***To God be the Glory***