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.