Nov 12, 2006

Memphis Belle

We arrived home today from our wonderful trip to Memphis. We flew out last Thursday to meet Ada face to face. Seeing Gina and Steve was the icing on our Ada cake. We went to the Bolton High School production of It's A Wonderful Life, in which Gina's niece, Emily, played the part of Zuzu.
She is a GREAT baby! In addition to being beautiful and good natured, she is going to be an astronaut - her daddy says so (so I'm sure it's true).

It got pretty chilly in Memphis, so I got some great shots of Gina, Steve, and Connor in the steam of the hot tub this morning. Con and Stevo made a pretty good team this weekend when they cleaned the leaves off the deck and the hot tub cover.
You have to click on this picture to see the great expressions on their faces. Biscuit the wonder-schnauzer impatiently waited for someone to brave the cold and throw the tennis ball for her to fetch. Needless to say, her wait was in vain - it was just too cold to stand up and throw the ball.
Marilyn had a strange and wonderful effect on Ada. It seems that whenever Ada gazes up into Marilyn's lovely hazel eyes, she gets the urge to evacuate her bowels. Before leaving, Marilyn was given a new nickname, Auntiepoo.

Nov 8, 2006

Funeral for a Friend

We attended the funeral of Karim's mother, Nadia, today. She had a lovely service and eulogy. Nadia was a great lady

Here is her obituary:

NADIA WASSEF passed from this life on Monday November 6, 2006, following a courageous battle with cancer. Nadia was born on July 2, 1943, in Cairo, Egypt. She immigrated to the US in 1980. Nadia ran a successful real estate business in Houston, Texas. She saw real estate as a wonderful investment and started her own brokerage company, Imperial Properties. Nadia enjoyed painting, creating stained glass, and repairing heirloom crystal and porcelain. Her greatest love was spending time with family and close friends. Her son, Karim, whom she loved dearly, brought great joy to her life. Nadia has so many friends that have been touched in some way by her smile, her great wisdom, caring spirit and gentle touch. We know she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Preceded in death by parents, her mother Saniya and her father Fahmy, she leaves to cherish her memory her devoted son Karim, her husband Samir and her great aunt Afifa. She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by several other close family relatives in the U.S. and Egypt. A celebration of Nadia's life will be held in a closed casket service on Wednesday, November 8th, at 2 O'clock P.M. at St Anne's Catholic Church, located at 2140 Westheimer, Houston, Texas, 77098 The Family wishes to thank Wilfred Smith, Cordelia Cockrell, Nedira Abdowaise, Pam Clift and especially J. Nicole Rogers for their unconditional love, care and devotion throughout Nadia's fight with cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions are made to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Because of Nadia's great love for nature and birds, arrangements have been made to plant a tree and place a bench in Nadia's name. You may send your donation to the Houston Aboretum located at 4501 Woodway Dr, Houston, TX 77024. Interment will follow the service at Glenwood Cemetery, located at 2525 Washington Ave, Houston, Texas 77007.

Published in the Houston Chronicle on 11/8/2006.