Our first day at sea was a lot of fun. Tom and Trevor slept in and Carter and I got up early and

ate breakfast. Going to eat early is the key to not having to wait in line. We learned this because

Carter and I went to breakfast later that morning with Tom and Trev because we were trying to

be "together" as much as we could and the lines were way long. Tom hates to wait, especially for

food that was mediocre at best. You could get food cooked to order, but those lines were even

longer. Carter took this opportunity to have ice cream for his second breakfast. We all agreed that ice cream was suitable for anytime of day, after all we were on vacation. There were really no rules except where safety was an issue.

The four of us hung out by the pool and basically people watched and kept an eye on Carter. Tom had a fancy drink by the pool and Trev had a strawberry smoothie and I just kept the diet coke

flowing. I had gotten my Sail and Sign card stamped with an unlimited soda sticker that said I could have all the soda I wanted, with the exception that it was one glass at a time. This would prove to be significant in a couple of days. Trevor had gotten his card stamped as well. You could have all the lemonade, coffee, and tea you wanted, but soda was different. I believe we

paid around $80.00 to have as much soda as we wanted on the cruise.

I sent Tom to get his some lunch mid afternoon. I wanted pizza and he said that was fine with him, so off my prince went to get his princess some pizza. He came back shortly and said the line was too long and he wasn't waiting. I told him that I had to find something to eat and he

asked if I would get him something too. There was a little deli right behind us that didn't have

but a few people in line, so I went to get in line. I asked Tom to look at the menu and tell me what he wanted, and I would get it for him. He looked in the wrong place and said he wanted no part of the deli and he was going to find a hamburger. I didn't argue with him. I just should

have gotten him something and not even asked him. He loved to be taken care of in that way. I

prayed for a husband that I could take care of and cook for, etc....God sent my Thomas H. to me.

He was exactly what I wanted in a husband. God just missed a couple of "footnotes" that I neglected to put in my prayer. Nonetheless.....I got my lunch, which was quite good and I had

already finished by the time Tom got back with his burger and fries. He said it was good and we continued on with our afternoon. Carter had found a friend and they had gone to the ship's

arcade to play some video games. Trevor had gone exploring on the ship. Tom said he was going to check out the ship's casino and asked me to join him. So, off we went......

We get to the casino and Tom puts $20.00 on each of our Sail and Sign cards. I wanted to play the slot machines and he wanted to check things out. I sit down at the slot machine and I am immediately hooked, before I knew it I was ahead by $40.00. It was so much fun. I checked on

Tom and he had found a blackjack table and he was totally in his element. He was so serious---boring....I tried to talk to him, but I could tell I was a nuisance and now was not the time to learn the rules of poker. I found another one or two slot machines and ended up losing my winnings. I think I swiped my card a couple more times and played some more, won some more. lost some more, etc......By this time the kids were back and were ready for me to leave the casino and do something else, so we left Tom and went back to the room. Tom came back a little bit later (30 min.) and we began discussing the plans for the evening. The dinner dress on

Sunday was formal and I had chosen for us not to do the formal nights. I think Tom and Trev

were disappointed, but there wasn't anything I could do at this point. Carter had expressed an

interest earlier in the day that he wanted to do something together as a "family". This would

prove to be very significant in less than 24 hours. Tom and Trev wanted to attend a comedy

show that night. It was Tom's idea for all of us to go to the show together. He thought Carter

and I would enjoy the comedy act too. The whole family was on board and all of us thoroughly enjoyed the show. Tom laughed like he has never laughed before. Carter loved it, Trevor loved it, and I loved watching my family enjoy themselves. I felt so blessed and life was so good, and our trip was just beginning and we had so much more ahead of us.

Eight weeks ago, about this same time, my husband and my two boys, set out on our first cruise together for a Spring Break vacation that would change our lives forever. The boys were mine

from a previous marriage, but Thomas considered them his as well. We had driven down to

Valdosta from our home in Buford on Friday, April 2nd to split the trip in half. We got up early the next morning and drove to Port Canaveral to catch the Carnival Dream. Our trip down to

catch the ship was uneventful, until we actually saw the ship. I was tired from the drive and just

cranky, because no one knew where to go, and expected Mom to figure it out. I fussed and was

cross with Thomas because he was of no help. I wish I hadn't been "cross" with him, but I was.

Nonetheless, we found our way onto the Dream and she met all of our expectations. She was

beautiful, just as promised.

Our accommodations were very small, but we did have a small balcony that we could escape to if the quarters became too close. I thought Thomas and I could escape at night and sit out there and chat. Thomas loved to talk when you could get him away from the TV. Little did I know,

we would never get a chance to sit out on the balcony because in about 48 hours our lives were

going to be changed forever.

We had our first dinner on the ship Saturday night. Again, I was cranky with Thomas, which I

regret once again. I had been recovering from major surgery since February 2010 and I think

I really was just "overtired" and just needed some rest and relaxation and that's what this trip was going to be all about for the whole family, but especially Thomas and I. The ship's photo

person came around to take some candid shots and Thomas didn't even want to be in the picture due to my bad attitude. I told him I want the whole family in the photo and to get in the picture, so

he scooted over and we got our picture made. That would prove to be one of our last family pictures. All was well with dinner and Tom and Trevor

went to watch some basketball on the big screen and I took Carter back to the cabin and put him to bed.

Tom and Trevor came back to the cabin after the game and the three of us had some laughs as

Thomas tried to negotiate the cabin in the dark amidst all of our luggage. At home he would have just flipped on all of the lights. He made it into bed without harm. God was definitely looking out for him. We had a good nights sleep and woke up ready for our first day at sea on

the Carnival Dream. Life was good.