This Side of Heaven

I've Moved....

2007-06-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

come visit me here....PamGwillim.com

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 18

2006-12-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

513. Frost on the car window, making a beautiful winter sceen
514. Malt-o-Meal for breakfast with hubby
515. Sleeping away a body and headaches
516. Bitter-sweet moments watching my mother as she remembers my late father
517. Snow boots
518. Water proof gloves
519. Hot chocolate
520. Warming up next to the woodstove
521. Anticipating a wknd in the snowy mountains with our grandkids
522. Stretching the holiday season out as long as possible
523. Hearing my grandchildern read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve
524. Wearing my Mary Engelbriet jammies all day long
525. After Christmas sales on perfume and etc...a years supply for next to nothing
526. Making plans for 2007...trying to be reasonable about what to expect!
527. Looking back on 2006 and feeling blessed over and over again
528. Having my 3 yr old grandson tell me my heart is singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" because he loves me
529. Freshly charged camera batteries
530. Hubby who isn't afraid to stop by the quilt store and pick up something I needed
531. Hubby who knows enough about quilting (by just watching me) to be knowledgable to shop without asking for help

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 17

2006-12-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

486. Rechargable batteries
487. Christmas carols
488. Candles
489. Unexpected Christmas cards from long lost friends
490. Electricity
491. Apologies
492. Honesty
493. Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting
494. The last of the Christmas mailing done!
495. Finishing a good book
496. Knowing I did the right thing, even though it was emotionally painful
497. Being open to new ideas
498. Learning a new card/board game
499. Tristan's smile...warms this gramma's heart!
500. Being halfway to 1,000 Blessings in My Life!!!!
501. The generosity of so many people willing to donate to our new community swimming pool fund
502. Walt Disney's vision so many years ago
503. Christmas cookies
504. My I Love Christmas quilt on the bed keeping us warm at night
505. The difference between a good hair cut and a bad hair cut is 2 weeks...it is now 2 wks past my hair cut and I really like how it looks!
506. Cabbage rolls...no one will ever be able to match my mother's cabbage rolls
507. nor will anyone be able to match her stuffed bell peppers!!
508. Anticipation of a healed friendship that has been broken for years
509. Greeting cards that play music when opened
510. Knowing my children are happy
511. Christmas eve jammies...and robes...and slippers
512. Snowflake postage stamps

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 16

2006-12-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

474. Purple tie-dyed Cuddl Duds jammies from my sister
475. Purchasing the last gift for Christmas
476. Homes lit for Christmas
477. The smell of gingerbread baking
478. Freshly painted fingernails
479. Making up after a long period of disagreements
480. Paid days off
481. Repairmen who don't get frazzled
482. Office Open House over and done...it was really nice
483. A call from a pal I have not heard from in months
484. Healing of spirit
485. Earned free money at Build-A-Bear, Bath and Body helping to keep gift giving expenses down.

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 15

2006-12-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

420. Knowing that Heaven is near
421. Knowing God accepts me as I am, warts and all
422. Remembering #421 when things are rough
423. Angela's dinner rolls
424. Cheesecake...any flavor...Pumpkin last week
425. Leaving the leftovers at the kids house
...426. Knowing it helps them stretch the food budget
...427. Knowing it won't end up adding to my weight issues
428. French Vanilla Cool Whip
429. Laughter from my son who is caught in traffic, hours from home
...430. knowing he thought it was just an extention of his vacation with good friends
431. Christmas music!!
432. Children's Christmas program IN PUBLIC SCHOOL no less!
433. Anticipating Christmas Eve Candlelight service....my favorite Christmas event
434. Getting an "all's clear" pass from the building inspector
435. A spare room always ready to welcome anyone in need
436. Giggling JJ....nothing beats the sounds of a child giggling
437. Peace in my heart regarding a troubled relationship with a niece
438. Volcano Brownies
439. Young men desiring to share their faith by becoming pastors...an awesome responsibility
440. Snowflake stamps from the USPS
441. Scrapbook supplies promising beautiful scrapbooks to pass on family history
442. Clay pots that can be turned into so many different craft projects
443. Warm scarves to keep our necks warm during freezing weather
....444. And gloves for our fingers
....445. And boots for our feet
....446. And jackets
....447. And hats
....448. And hot cider when you arrive home after a walk in the snow
449. Raspberry sherbet when your throat is sore
450. The various smells of coffee
....451. The beans
....452. Freshly ground
....453. Poured into the coffee maker
....454. Perking and steaming
....455. mmmmm....warming my hands as I hold the cup...sniffing as the steam rises
456. The art of Thomas Kincaid
457. Seeing the little girl in my granddaughter who is growing up too fast!
458. Funny blog names...we all have a unique personality
459. The return of fun toys
....460. Strawberry Shortcake
....461. Lincoln Logs
....462. Cabbage Patch Dolls
....463. Pogo sticks
....464. Mirco Machines
465. Look Ma, no cavities....a good visit with the dentist
466. New movies coming out this holiday season
...467. The Nativity Story
...468. Happy Feet
469. Mickey Mouse!!
470. Free e-card sites, sending words of love and encouragement through cyberspace
....471. Hallmark
....472. Blue Mountain
....473. DaySpring

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 14

2006-11-29T10:03:00.000-08:00

366. Finding money in my purse that I had forgotten about
367. Unexpected boquet of flowers from hubby..."I don't need a reason to give you flowers"
368. Rechargable batteries
369. Pick-up games of Disc-golf
370. Watching salmon climb the fishladders
371. Midnight strolls while camping
372. The first sounds of the day, birds singing happily
373. Toothpaste!!
374. Fresh blade for my rotary cutter
375. Fresh needle for my sewing machine
376. Time to sew without interuptions
377. Christmas PJ's for the youngest grandkidlets
378. Making and giving the perfect gift!
379. The paperboy zooming up the street, running up the steps, hanging the paper on the door, rushing down the steps...back on his bike...zooming off down the street!
380. Engery!
381. Bicycle helmets
382. Catnip mice
383. Playful cat
384. Pictures of loved ones in my email box
385. Knowing that I can make a difference in the world with one small act of kindness
386. Seeing the sunrise....and watching it set later that day
387. Country living
388. Racheal Ray's Honey Ginger Tea
389. Homemade soup, no recipe allowed...just put in the things you like
390. A new Lingraphica for my mother is who affected by aphasia.
391. Leggo!
392. Black and white checkered fabric!!
393. Passing on UFO's that I know I will not finish and I know will be appreciated by others
394. Big Red Cinnamon gum
395. The smells of the holidays...
....396. cookies baking
....397. wassail simmering
....398. gingerbread
....399. cinnamon
....400. turkey
....401. honey baked ham
....402. sage
403. Wonderful insurance
404. Remembering a good year
405. Looking forward to a new year full of the unknown
406. Physical healing
407. Learning something new
408. Radio controled airplanes
409. Garbage collector, comes each week....I guess I take it for granted and really shouldn't!
410. Snow tires/Tire chains
411. New games!!
....412. Yatzee Attack
....413. Sorry Revenge
....414. Clue - DVD version
....415. Deal or No Deal (No DEAL!!!)
....416. Uno Spin
417. Big feet (or as my daddy would say..."A good understanding")
418. Homeless shelters caring for those in need
419. Pepper....I love pepper!

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 13

2006-11-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

282. The Spanish church at the end of the street worshipping....glorious!
283. Repurposing a treasured item
284. 10 a.m., Noon, 5 p.m. ~~ Old mill whistle blowing
285. My quiet corner of the world.
286. Fountains gently gurgling offering peace and relaxation
287. Beautiful, multi-colored Koi swimming happily in their pond
288. Knowing you to say NO and standing your ground
289. Paper shredder to protect our privacy
290. Spiritual awakenings, renewals and healing
291. Home alone night each week.
292. Medical technology, ever advancing
293. Never forgetting the gentle weight of a newborn nestled against my breast, gaining strength and health.
294. A son strong in the Lord
295. Providing for his family
296. Displaying his fatherly skills
297. Learned from his own father
298. Passed down through generations of godly men
299. Making the most of each day
300. Making the most of each encounter with those around me
301. Antenna ball collection, each one makes me smile
302. Christmas tree ornament exchange with my sister
303. Retired hubby, continuing to adjust to his new role as house-husband....7 years later, still adjusting (*¿*)
304. Lunch date booked 8 wks inadvance ~ life is so crazy!!
305. Friends who are more like family
306. Plans for Christmas day evening...games, caroling, hot cider
307. Orange juice...cold and sweet
308. Creative hubby...meals are always wonderful
309. Arriving home each day to a yummy smelling house!!
310. The laundry done
311. The bed made
312. Happy hubby
313. and a sleeping cat!
314. A unexpected call from an old friends child...just called to say Hi and catch up!
315. Children who grow up to be responsible young adults and good citzens
316. Watching AFV with my sister each week...she at her house, me at mine...while we chat on the computer and LOL at what AFV has to offer....we are so silly!!!
317. A surprise attack with a Marshmellow Gun
318. EQ5...oh the possibilities!!!
319. Keeping a surpris until "just the right time"
320. Yurts to camp in when a tent just won't do during the rainy season.
321. Darlene Schacht
322. Quilt camp
323. Friends who share your love of creating quilts to give to children all over the world
324. Google!!! information at my fingertips 24/7
325. Newly remodeled kitchen...nice and big
326. Newly redecorated kitchen with Mary Engelbreit theme!!
327. Newly remodeled bedroom...a bit smaller
328. Newly redecorated bedroom ~ soft blues and yellows with color on the walls!!
329. Working a puzzle on a cold winter night
330. Enjoying changing relationships with our adult children
331. New phases of life
332. Emptynesters for 6 yrs
333. Heated seats and seat backs in my car
334. Remote start for my car...defrosting my car while I finish getting ready for work on cold, icy winter mornings
335. Almost 30 yrs of "in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer"
336. The promise of sticking together "until death do us part"
337. Sharp scissors
338. Daily "ride-by" of a elderly gentle man who rides his electric wheelchair past our home and then past the office each day.
339. Friendly family rivalry DUCKS vs BEAVS
340. Team spirit
341. Hot tea
342. DSL
343. My heart singing "Little Drummer Boy"
344. Travel safety
345. Staying within our budget
346. Freshly fallen snow...peace...stillness
347. Christmas!!!
348. Listening as our adult sons and grandchildren read the Christmas story
349. Crisp new sheets
350. A favorite coffee mug
351. Plans and routines that are comfortable for all involved
352. Nyquil
353. Dayquil
354. Paid sick days
355. Kleenex
356. Vitamin C
357. A fresh homemade pot of Ginger, Honey and Lemon tea
358. My favorite flannel jammies
359. Warm fuzzy socks
360. Well worn slippers
361. Laptop (entertainment...and keeping my lapwarm)
362. My favorite lapquilt
363. A doting hubby
364. The cat knowing I don't feel well, is willing to keep me company and warm
365. My hairdresser...she knows how to cut my wild and crazy, thick and unmanageable hair

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 12

2006-11-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

254. Taking the last stitch in my granddaughters Christmas dress
255. Finding a treasure right under your nose
256. Godly examples of men and women all around me
257. Weekly Wednesday night chat date with my sister, 8 p.m. ... be there or be square
258. A huge pile of raked leaves
259. Willing hearts, my grandsons are the best!!!
260. A handwritten letter going out to a friend
261. Knowing a handwritten letter will be in my mail box soon
262. The innocence of children
263. Packing a surprise box with odds and ends of things I know my far away pal will love
264. Leaving the office each day knowing I did my job well
265. Discovering my Christmas catcus is blooming
266. Memories of my grandparents who are gone from this world
267. Living a life with a "less is more" attitude
268. Hot pepper jelly, cream cheese and Ritz crackers
269. Scripture that comes to mind throughout my day, reminding me of the promises that are mine to claim
270. Clients who stop by the office just to say "Hi"
271. Wearable art: my quilted jackets, vests, shirts.
272. Lapel pin collection. Many passed on through the generations
273. My FIL's flannel shirt...he has been gone for over 20 years but this shirt reminds me of him each day!
274. Homemade strawberry lemonaid...Tristan's favorite drink at gma's house
275. Lap quilts: my own work of art...keeping us warm in the evenings while we read and watch TV.
276. A colorful and plentiful stash of fabric to create quilts and gifts.
277. Watching our grown sons reflect their daddy's ways.
278. The memory of my Daddys apple pie tabacco
279. Train whistles in the distance
280. Being tucked in by DH each night, yes we ae old but it is a precious part of our nightly routine!
281. Pink cheeked grandkidlets.

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part 11

2006-11-19T05:59:00.000-08:00

211. The process and smell of baking bread.
212. Hot bread, fresh from the oven, with real butter melting on top.
213. Tomato Basil Soup, yummy!
214. The writings of Erma Bombeck
215. Saturday afternoon rides through the back roads, "just to get out"
216. JJ telling me that my heart is singing "Phantom of the Opera"
217. Carmel to dip apples in
218. Freebies in the mail
219. Planning the perfect gift.
220. Scrapbooks full of photos to help remember and relive various times of my life
221. Making our own butter for the holiday tables
222. Special Young People in our life
223. MacKenzie
224. Hannah
225. Timothy
226. Kylie
227. Marley
228. Jacob
229. Emily
230. Halely
231. Gavin
232. Taylon
234. Mariah
235. A new beginning each day
236. Each week
237. Each year
238. Thankfulness in my heart
239. Songs stuck in my head
240. Enough money to live on and to share
241. Freedom in Christ
242. Acts of worship
243. Memories of my grandparents, long gone from this world
244. The "do anything for you" people in our lives, David and Barbara
245. Getting a call you've waited for all week
246. The smell of a freshly mown lawn (even if it makes you sneeze for hours!)
247. Lunch on the deck when the weather is warm enough
248. Picking up where you left off with an old pal
249. Christian radio stations
250. The Porch Package Man (aka Mr. Brown )(aka the UPS man)...always friendly, always smiling
251. Living with a less is more philosophy
252. My butterbell
253. Remembering how my dad loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Ten

2006-11-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

193. Humming birds stopping by our window boxes, zipping from bloom to bloom
194. Frogs who live in the hedge outside our bedroom window, giving Meow a purpose to hunt
195. Frogs who live in the flower beds outside the office door, croaking happily in the rain
196. Living in a teeny tiny town
197. Knowing my neighbors
198. Living less than ½ a mile from the office
199. Handmade greeting cards to send
200. And recieve
201. Recalling a dream after waking in the morning
202. Laughing at the disconnectedness of those dreams
203. Chapstick ~ one in my purse, one in my desk, one in MCM, one in the nightstand
204. A curious mama bear and her cub, and the treasured experience re-told.
205. A desire to display the love of Christ with each and every encounter throughout my day.
206. The freedom to vote and have my voice be heard
207. Easy Bake Oven, standing the test of time. Happy Birthday MacKenzie!

208. Hubby calling the office to share something funny he read in the paper.
209. Anything that makes my momma laugh so hard she keeps giggling and giggling, long after it is no longer funny!
210. Staying focused when there are so many distractions around me.

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Nine

2006-11-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

172. Chai Latte, compliments of my son
173. 14 yr old Rex tell Grampa, "You're my hero"
174. Remembering the laundry shoot in my childhood home
175. Living in a town where everyone knows everyone and if you should happen to forget your money and are at the grocery store checkout they don't think twice about letting you take your groceries home and returning with the money later that day!
176. My old wicker basket laundry hamper, passed down from DMIL ~ it's got character and had seen its share of jeans, socks, towels and undies.
177. Change collecting in my "chicken feed" sock
178. Secret passwords that tell a story in themselves
179. Daddy's wool shirt hanging in my closet, to touch, smell and remember. I miss my daddy
180. Traditions
181. Matching Christmas eve jammies for each family member
182. Early morning shopping the day after Thanksgiving
183. Albert lifting KatieBug high enough for her to put the Christmas Star on top of the tree.
184. Hunting for that perfect ornament to give each year to each child focusing on the childs interests.
185. A handwritten letter from Thalia, our Compassion child in Peru.
186. Peace that passes all understanding.
187. Claiming His assurances.
188. Basking in His promises.
189. My friend, Gordon, who stops by the office with a new joke each week.
190. Challenging situations that cause us to grow, even when it is painful.
191. Each of my adult children serving the Lord in their own various and unique ways
192. The agelessness of The Isty Bitsy Spider

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1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Eight

2006-11-15T05:52:00.000-08:00

141. Scented candles

142. Leftovers! which means NO cooking

143. Mircowave oven

144. Garden clogs in bright happy colors

145. Ice cold orange juice

146. News reports giving me a heads up about the weather

147. Pink foiled Hershey's Kisses

148. Pedicures

149. Manicures

150. Full body massages

151. A day of dry weather during a very active stormy week

152. Waking up each morning next to the love of my life

153. Washing machine

154. Dryer

155. Chocolate covered pretzels

156. Text messages from my kids

157. The changing voice of 14 yr old grandson, Rex

158. Discovering a great new author

159. Portable/cordless iron

160. Deep conversations about salvation and beliefs

161. Being aware of, and able to meet, the needs of others around me

162. Pumpkin pie

163. Thanksgiving decorations adding Fall colors to my home

164. Bringing beautiful outside color inside to decorate with

165. Recieving the first Christmas card in the mail, someone was on the ball!!

166. Invitation for breakfast on Thanksgiving Day

167. Admitting a mistake was made AND...

168. ...correcting said mistake

169. Not taking myself too seriously...

170. Dreaming about the future

171. Sea Mist Cranberry Wine....yummy!!

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Seven

2006-11-14T06:23:00.000-08:00

127. Foggy mornings when the fog is so thick it would seem like your house is the only house in the world

128. Children reading

129. A favortie pair of earrings

130. Fluffy white clouds against a blue blue sky

131. Unselfish people

132. My digital camera

133. Buttons, I love buttons!

134. Little tiny mushrooms found while on a hike in the woods.

135. Friendly bantering between my 2 favorite newscasters each morning

136. Snow! Falling, piling up, fresh, old....I love snow!

137. The calm between storms

138. Lists that keep me on track

139. Catching up with old friends

140. Dutch Bros. eggnog, pumpkin spice or candy cane lattes

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Six

2006-11-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

114. Sewing machines in excellent working condition

115. Home canned salsa

116. Knowing in Whom I believe

117. Singing out loud without a care in the world

118. Making up words to a song just to hear my son laugh

119. Sudoku puzzles

120. Children laughing as the wind blows in their faces

121. The last lone leaf on the vine maple in the backyard

122. Sunday Funnies

123. Beautiful houseplants

124. Frozen Uno Bars

125. Challenges that cause us to think hard about what we believe

126. Being flexible when plans change

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Five

2006-11-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

89. A fresh bolt of muslin, still sealed in plastic, awaiting its first cut ~ wondering what all it will become

90. Wrap Them in Love Foundation for Children

91. The talent of Mary Engelbreit

92. A place for everything and everything in its place

93. Sleeping baby, cuddled against my neck..sighing softly

94. Leeland, new contemporary Christian artists

95. Free scrapbooking supplies in the mail

96. A social cat, even if he only likes a few people~which I am one of

97. Wonderful conversations, with many different view points and everyone respecting everyone else's opinion.

98. Clean laundry, freshly folded and ready to be put away.

99. An empty laundry hamper

100. Hot soup in bread bowls on a chilly, windy, wet winter evening

101. Internet

102. Finding something that has been lost for months (in this case my MP3 player....ooops!)

103. Remembering fun times shared with those who have passed

104. The delight of a child who has learned their ABC's

105. Mail delivered right to my door.

106. Working side by side with my hubby on a difficult project

107 AND completing said project...double blessing!

108. Nail polish in a variety of wonderful colors

109. Lawmakers (with like opinions(*¿*)) standing up for what they believe in

110. A few minutes now and then to do slow down and do what I want

111. Laughter...my sister has the best laugh!

112. Cleaned out purse, no tiny slips of paper wandering around in there

113. Paid Mental Health Days

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Four

2006-11-13T04:54:00.000-08:00

55. Flavored coffee creamer in an evening cup of coffee

56. Elevator kisses

57. Sharp scissors

58. A challenging sermon

59. Unexpected calls ~ 2 in done day!

60. Reading my son's blog

61. Ice cream at Cold Stones when a hot latte would have been a smarter choice

62. Stormy evening quietly reading a book while hubby does the same

63. A sleeping cat on my lap

64. Comfortable routines

65. Another Christmas gift finished and crossed off my list

66. Anticipation of upcoming events

67. A good job with

68. Great benefits

69. Finding my chapstick in the same place in my purse.

70. My favorite coffee mug

71. Seeing pink ribbons, knowing that women are taking care of themselves.

72. Quilts! It's colder here now and we've bumped it up to 3 quilts on the bed.

73. Flannel sheets during the cooler months (hubby's favorite!)

74. Crisp cotton sheets during the warmer months (my favorite!)

75. A local library stocked with great books, and if they don't have what you are looking for...they'll find it!

76. Small town living. Can't be beat!

77. Medical technology.

78. A young and bubble-y MaryKay lady who knows her stuff.

79. A new hobby/interest for my retired hubby

80. Lavendar scented shampoo

81. A world full of music in so many varieties.

82. Reliable friends

83. Loving family members

84. Fluffy white clouds

85. Remembering Ed Bradley, CBS reporter

86. Wearing my winter sweaters that have been packed away since spring

87. The philosophy of a "pay it forward" lifestyle continues to catch on with various fun twists

88. A safe nursing home for my mother to live in, where she is loved and cared for.

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Three

2006-11-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

38. Safe travel on stormy evenings.

39. Fresh bolt of muslin, still sealed in plastic

40. Hot coffee with a shot of Baileys to warm from the inside out

41. Hearing my granddaughters voice on the phone.

42. Eggnog Latte's during the holiday season.

43. Finding the right decal for my car window (a little guy and a little girl praying at the cross)

44. Falling to sleep with a good book

45. Routine, knowing what needs to be done and when...then doing it

46. the ability to create with my sewing machine

47. Shared love of college football. Go Ducks!!!

48. Warm stripped gloves

49. A husband who loves the Lord.

50. A cat who thinks he is human...makes me smile

51. Eyeglasses when my eyes are tired of contacts at the end of the day

52. Rebates!!

53. A well stocked and nicely decorated Christian bookstore

54. Catching up on sleep during the weekend...good night!

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part Two

2006-11-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

12. Cool, crisp mornings ~ too warm to turn on the heat, too cool not to turn on the heat.

13. Reading between the lines and discovering that a friend has discovered who she is in Jesus

14. The anticipation of a winter storm

15. Pumpkin donuts

16. Those who have fought for our country, our Veterans.

17. Rex, 14 year old grandson

18. Tristan (TK), 11 year old grandson

19. Kaitlyn (KatieBug), 9 year old granddaughter

20. Madelyn (Maddie), 4 year old granddaughter

21. Jason (JJ), 3 year old grandson

22. BEING A GRAMMA!!!

23. Friday's

24. The changing of the seasons.

25. Leaves falling from the trees

26. Leaves blowing in the wind

27. Walks along the river

28. Sharing memories of my g'ma Mattie with my sister

29. Busy sports season for the grandkidlets:

30. Soccer ~ (TK & KatieBug)done for the year

31. Football ~ (Rex)done for the year

32. Wrestling ~ (Rex & TK)just started

33. Volleyball ~ (KatieBug)just started

34. Basketball (Rex) will begin before wrestling is over. He will be one busy boy

35. Filling in when all 3 of the grandkidlets need a parent along.

36. Reliable transportation

37. XM Radio coverage, living in the boonies can put you out of touch with the world.

38. Warm fuzzy slippers beside the bed when I wake each morning

1,000 Blessings in My Life ~~ Part One

2006-11-09T06:28:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful way to acknowledge the blessings (gifts) in our lifes...write them down for all to see.
1. Quiet mornings when I am all alone2. The power in invisible wind3. Young children giggling without control4. Memories that are mine to keep5. The promise of eternity with my Father6. Hot coffee at the push of a button7. My sister8. Forgiveness9. Freedom of speech10. Holding a newborn baby11. Airplanes that carry my loved ones to me quickly

Good day, emotional day

2006-09-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

After church today we ran by Big Town Hero and picked up turkey, bacon and avocado sandwiches and broccoli cheddar soup, then headed over to see momma. We always take dinner to her on Sunday, a chance to be sure she gets something she likes to eat once in a while and she loves soup!!!

Today we finally watched the movie we bought for her a few weeks back. Everytime she saw a commercial for RV (Robin Williams is NOT my favorite actor...not even in the running!!) she indicated she wanted to see that movie but taking her to the theater is out of the question so she had to wait until it came out on DVD. Ed promised her he would buy it the day it came out and true to his word he did. So, today we plugged it in and watched it.

Oh good grief! She laughed until she cried, then laughed until she choked herself!!

You see...during my growing up years my parents hung around a large group of friends that camped all the time. We were always on the go, camping, fishing, motorcycle riding, swimming, water skiing~if it involved a campfire and mosquitoes we experienced it at regular intervals. We camped close to home (both Mt Hood and Cannon Beach were only a couple hours from our childhood home - in opposite directions) and we did the week long or longer trips as well to such places as Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite etc. My father worked away from home and mom would pack the camper and have it ready on Friday...daddy would come home and off we would go, sometimes we went to sleep in the camper while it was in the driveway and we woke the next morning in a campground! Sometimes mom would drive the camper or motorhome (whatever we owned at the time) to where daddy was working (he worked out of town for the railroad) and we would pick him up and keep going until we reached our campsite.

So, the movie RV was a movie she wanted to see. There were so many things we could relate to from the very beginning of the movie to the end: crabby teens to running over mailboxes to draininig the holding tank to driving on roads that were not meant for (or safe for) an RV. Momma laughed when the raccoons were discovered in the oven (???I don't remember anything like that that happend, but don't doubt that it certainly could have), she laughed at the awning being pulled off the side of the motorhome (let's just say as a child we knew when we were about to learn a few new words!!!), she laughed every time that dang motorhome started rolling backwards...and cracked up when the line of campers was backed up at the holding take disposal site.

Oh the memories we shared.

As soon as the movie was over the tears came...and we cried together...all 3 of us: Momma, Ed and I. Yep, 3 bawl babies in search of a kleenex box. You see, this is the 2nd anniversary of my daddy's passing. We laughed together, remembered together, and then cried together...then we laughed, remembered and cried some more.

Today momma, Ed and I remembered and missed my daddy.

Blogger is not playing nice... I wanted to post a picture of my daddy....dang that blogger!!!

Let Me Just Get to the Point

2006-09-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Went for a drive, my hubby and I. We had a specific reason for driving down the coast, but it was foggy and we did not accomplish all we set out to do. We had so much fun ~ away from the recent pressures of life. We just chatted and laughed, spent some time reflecting on various things and enjoyed the quiet moments as well.

On the way home we pulled into Cape Blanco State Park to use the restrooms and stretch our legs a bit. We found this wonderful thistle blooming beside a walkway. Isn't it just beautiful?

Through the Eyes of Love

2006-08-29T05:27:00.000-07:00

"I thought about the whole notion of "reproduction," and what it really means to replicate yourself. Is it merely about the passing on of eyes and chins and hair color? Or is it, rather, the replication of the heart? Do we leave a bigger mark by passing on our genes, or our thoughts?"

~ Shannon Woodward, author of

Inconceivable: Finding Peace in the Midst of Infertility ~

We arrived late for worship service yesterday...nothing new for us, we drive 25 miles to get to church and sometimes it just takes a few minutes longer to get there...we were greeted by beautiful music and a congregation worshipping with their voices.

We haven't been attending this fellowship for very many months and are still getting used to the style, the new faces, a different style of preaching etc etc. There are so so many young families...what a blessing! When the children are excused for children's church there is a mass exodus of children...almost a quarter of the congregation is in grade 5 or under...isn't that wonderful?!?! Being typical grandparents we love to watch as they rush up the aisles, smiling and buzzing with excitement. WOW! our hearts just fill with the potential that this next generation has to offer.

Anyway...back to arriving late...we sat about 2/3 of the way towards the back, there were plenty of empty seats behind us and some infront of us as well (the church is in an old movie theater that has been remodeled but the theater seats are still there, it is wonderful!). Shortly after we arrived a young daddy worked his way into the row ahead of us carrying an infant seat with a precious baby inside (4-5 wks old??). Baby was sound asleep. This daddy unfastened the baby and gently lifted him out, craddling him in his arms, wrapping a blanket around this bundle of love. For the next 5 or so minutes this daddy sang his heart out ~ never once taking his eyes off this child, this gift. A few minutes later, maybe 6-8 minutes....enter momma...daddy gently handed the gift to momma who also joined in with the congregational singing, and like daddy she did not take her eyes off this precious bundle.

Ed and I both were transfixed by the love, devotion and commitment these two parents were displaying. (ok, yes I will confess, we were both overwhelmed with emotion and each shed a few tears). Baby slept through most of the service. Daddy held an open Bible. Momma held the baby. Only two times did we see either parent take their eyes off that baby. (I know because I could not take my eyes off of them!)

A few minutes before the service was over baby started to wake, squirming around a bit, making those precious squeaky noises that only a newborn can make. Daddy closed his Bible, put his arm around momma's shoulders and both gazed at that baby. When baby finally opened his eyes, the parents moved as if one leaning closer to his face. Their faces were the first faces he saw.

I felt as if I had attended two separate, and yet totally connected, worship services.

Parents, train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.

~~~ Proverbs 22:6~~~

Doing the Can-Can

2006-08-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

We hit the ground running, my sister, Ed and I....and this is what we accomplished in a 24 hr period of time:

Tuna

62 half pints and 32 pints

Salsa

18 quarts and 1 pint

Garlic Jelly

23 jelly jars and 3 half pints

Sweet Hot Mustard

8 half pints

We also managed to peel a half bag of garlic...not much but we were hopping in the kitchen and only took short breaks in the yard to peel the garlic while we were waiting for a canner to finish or for the salsa to cook down.

This is how the garlic...a whole lotta garlic...arrived, on the top of her car, they had a 5 hr drive and did not want to smell it the whole way. Ed will be peeling garlic for days, maybe weeks...pickled garlic, minced garlic and garlic oil will be showing up in each of our pantry's.

Not sure how we fit in all that we did but we made these cell phone charms during a "down time"...you know, I think we had more than 24 hrs because there was no way to have done all that we did in just one day. Cell phone charms...what will they think of next? To be honest, I like adding a bit of my own personalilyt ot anything that is a must in my life and for me a cell phone is a must.

And the rest of the story...tuna, salsa, garlic jelly, mustard, great time with my sister ~ both the laughter and the tears, towels that stink, hands that stink, a floor that would not pass a health inspectors visit, yellow jackets swarming, cats begging, hot flashes, POP POP POP as jars would seal, I would not trade a single moment of our day for anything! I love you sissy!

MacKenzie....

2006-08-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

this made me laugh and think of you!!

I love you Macaroni, wish you were here.

Just Do It, Just Say Thanks

2006-08-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

My niece-in-law sent this to me and I think it is worth sharing...

What a wonderful opportunity! Xerox will print and send a postcard of your choosing to a solider serving overseas. All you need to do is pick which artwork (all done by children), add your name and hometown, click send and it will be on its way. FREE...there is no charge, no need to offer up your email address nor your home address. Such an easy way to say Thanks! Just click on the graphic and you will be taken to the Let's Say Thanks home page.

Getting There

2006-08-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

My dear hubby is recovering from surgery. A few months ago his back started bothering him almost non-stop and then his leg started giving him fits. Long story short, he had an MRI only to discover his L-5 had broken and a floating piece was rubbing against his syatic nerve.

During his surgery it was discovered that L-2, 3, and 4 were also badly damaged. So, an expected 3 hr surgery turned into an almost 7 hr surgery. He now has a rod implanted in his back (which is what they do now rather than fusing like my dad had).

Our son, Ryan, came home at the drop of a hat ~ driving 13 hrs straight to get here to help in anyway he could. We are so grateful for his willingness to support us in this way. He spent alot of time with my mom - freeing up my time to be with Ed, work, or deal with whatever things that needed to be dealt with~like taking a long afternoon nap one day. Ryan also dug up an area of the yard that we needed to have river rock put in, which he hauled and spread as well. Before he left he washed all the vehicles (2 vans, a jeep and his Honda) and vaccumed out the Jeep and his Honda. Thank you son...you were and are a big help to us!!!

Our daughter-in-law, Naomi, along with our 2 youngest grandchildren (Madelyn and Jason) will be here on Saturday to help for a week. Naomi decided to come down to help with the day to day things that Ed is not be able to do for himself. She is a good cook and already has meals planned ~~ BONUS!! Of course we will enjoy having the babies here for a while as well. We just don't see them often enough.

In the mean time our kids here in town have been stopping by and calling with all sorts of help. It is so nice to be loved and cared for.

Ed is home and healing, we were given a timeline for his healing...at least what to expect in an approximate amount of time. 3-4 months until he is back to a somewhat normal life. I am so thankful that this took place during the nice weather so he can be out on the deck for now and as soon as he can tackle 3 steps he can be in the yard enjoying our beautiful garden and the Koi pond that he has worked so on. (rather than get well flowers Ryan and I got him 2 new Koi - very pretty ones!).

Blessings in our lifes:

Successful surgery
Safe travel
Loving, caring people
Phone calls from family and friends far away
A sense of humor
Warm weather
Beautiful yard
An entertaining cat
and Pain meds *¿*

2006-08-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

"There are two kinds of people:
those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,'
and those to whom God says,
'All right, then, have it your way.'"
~ C.S. Lewis ~

I can only find one word to express what I feel when I read this quote:

Consequences

No matter what we choose to do, say, be...no matter where we choose to go...no matter what we spend our spare time (??what is that??) doing...how we spend our paychecks, there will always be consequences. Not all consequences are bad, but when we choose to "have it our own way" we are missing the blessings of the wonderful consequences that "His way" would have provided.

2006-07-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.

One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few."

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh~

I laughed out loud when I read this weeks "In 'Other' Words..." thought. You see, my dear husband and I have been in a "clean sweep" mode for a couple of years.

Oh we would love to have the TLC Clean Sweep Crew arrive in our teeny tiny little town, drive down our street and stop in front of our home. Fortyeight hours later they will lead us, eyes closed into My Creative Mind (aka, my sewingroom) and then into hubby's shop (aka the basement). We will slowly open our eyes and stand in silence, dazed and amazed by the transformations. That is in a dream world...and a nightmare world as well.

You've seen the show...those people are ruthless...they force you to make on the spot decisions about the treasures which have grown more near and dear to your heart, items that you find yourself gasping over when they are placed in the "toss pile" or worst yet marked with a $1. tag to be sold at a garage sale....eewwwww! I can think of nothing worst than having my neighbors rummaging through my stuff. double eeeeewwwwwww!

You've seen the show...they kick you out of your house...they tear down walls where once there were walls, they put up walls where once there were none, then they paint them with colors that are so bright they would keep you up at night.

Not our style. We like making our own decisions about when our treasures become junk and where and how to dispose of it all.

As we have gone from the "married with kids ~ count the shoes on the porch to know how many kids are inside" time of our lives and moved into the "empty nesters ~ for your own peace of mind, please knock before entering our home" and are now in the "retired and loving life too much to wanna spend time dealing with stuff" mode we have discovered how much stuff we can joyfully do without.

We are slowly moving from one room of our home to the next creating a new look. A "less is more" kinda life.

When our oldest son married and I was no longer the only female in the family we decided to re-do the boys' bedroom into a real GUEST room, complete with pink and purple and flowers and lace. A bed with a bright quilt, freshly painted and stenciled nightstands and fun lamps, add a dresser and a chair...nice, simple, uncluttered. (an aside, for those who have slept in that room within the last 4 years - - I know it doesn't look like that now, but it did before all of my momma's sewing room ended up in that room!, someday it will look that way again...someday!)

This past spring we remodeled our kitchen...and took 2 loads of "no longer needed but still usuable" items to the local thrift shop, and plenty made it's way to the trash. We have 5 grandkids...why did we have more than one favorite cup for each of them? Tupperware, I sold the stuff for years...need I say more???

When we remodeled the kitchen we took the wall out between the kitchen and our bedroom...yep...you got it, we had to then re-do our bedroom...which was so fun, we now have a nice romantic bedroom. Again we sorted through everything. Personally it was rather freeing to toss all those pants that I know I will never fit into again, and if by some chance I ever get to that size again...well, I will deserve NEW stuff then!!! We were able to remove a 7 drawer dresser from our bedroom by donating and tossing clothing.

We are finding that the less we have in our home, the more we have gained.

We have gained time ~ it takes much less time to clean house. Dusting is the one chore we both hate, well...with less furniture in our home dusting is a snap (it's hubby's job, please don't tell him I said it was a snap). We can spend our "gained" time together doing things we enjoy...this summer we have spent an incredible amount of time in our yard...and loving every moment.

We have gained freedom from guilt. My father-in-law passed away over 20 years ago. Mother-in-law sold their home shortly there after. Truck load after truck load of tools, shop equipment, lapidary equipment and supplies ended up in our basement. It was very hard for my husband to realize he did not need all of what was there, that he did not have an interest in some of it, some of it was unusable alot of it outdated. As hubby has been able to let go of most of these items he has been freed emotionally. He has also gained alot of space for the things he does enjoy having and working with.

As with my husband, I am working through my mother's sewingroom boxes that are stacked in the guestroom. I am thankful that I can find the things that will be life treasures or things that I know will be used and can give away the rest, WITHOUT guilt. Freeing.

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.
One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few."

By clean sweepinig our home from time to time we can see, enjoy and focus on our "shells" better when we don't have to spread ourselves thin caring for so many shells that we loose track of the shells that are beautiful and important.

In Other Words

2006-07-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

"When life whacks you so hard your head flies off,

sew it back on and keep going."

~ Mary Pierce ~

This quote reminds me to shout out loud my life verse...

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near

I've been dealt some hard whacks that could very easily knocked my head off. During the early years of my married life my mother helped me get over a hard whack...a very ill child.

When our youngest son was born, days turned into weeks as we waited for his medical team to tell us he would be ok, that his health would improve, that he would be come a happy little redheaded boy who ran and jumped with his older brother and then turn into a young man who would ask for the car keys, would grow into a handsome young man. We spent many nights praying over this little bitty baby with tubes strung all over his body keeping him alive. We cried buckets over this little man. We had already lost one baby and the pain was still too fresh.

My mother has always been my strength and she was during the darkest of nights, sharing with me the heartache she experienced with her own 2nd born son who has been ill his entire life as well. During the worst of the worst times with Ryan momma would tell me, "You have 2 choices in life, you can either go through life laughing or crying...the choice is yours." So...applying God's Word and my momma's advice I choose to find the good in things even when the going gets tough.

I was totally offended by a friend of mine who once told me that I do a wonderful job of "faking it until I make it." I don't fake my joy in the Lord, I don't fake my cheerfulness, even when life gets rough...even when the going gets tough, my joy is real because it comes from my Lord.

Take your pick: an ill child, a broken friendship, distant relationships, ailing parents, death...life is full of whacks up along side all of our heads - no one promised us that we would be "whack free"...but we gotta get out that needle and thread and stitch as fast as we can to sew ourselves up and keep going.

My needle and thread of choice:

My Heavenly Father, His Son, His Spirit and His Word.

BTW: our son is now 24, and yes....he did grow into a handsome young man...

My husband collects rocks....

2006-07-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

no kidding, he really does....I think he inherited rock gathering from his dad...you see, it is like this....Ed grew up in a teeny-er tiny-er coastal town than we currently live in...Yachats...(pronouced....Ya...HOTS), as a family they spent alot of time on the beach...and my father-in-law couldn't walk past an agate or pretty rock without picking it up, taking it home and putting it in one of his many rock polishers.

We too live near the Southern Oregon beach and without fail my husband has a plastic bag in his pocket even if he THINKS he might be near an agate bed! My kids roll their eyes, but it matters not to hubby.

Now the grandkids...they all think this is so cool...being encouraged to stuff their pockets full of rocks, or being allowed to carry Gpa's bucket (at least until it gets heavy!) on those more serious rock picking trips where heads are slanted downwards and all eyes are on the look out.

When my father-in-law died hubby lugged home all the polisher equipment and set up his own little rock polishing area. Day after day, night after night our house was rockin' ....24/7 for days and days. The end result were beautiful agates and shiny rocks that multiplied in our basement, 5 gallon bucketful after 5 gallon bucketful...of rocks.

This past weekend he drilled a hole through his bowling ball (that has been in the basement keeping the rocks company for years!) and I put together this gurgling fountain. You can't really see the water coming out of the top, but it does...and then flows down the ball and onto the agates, drips into the planter where the fountain pump is. We really like how it turned out. I love the sound of water.

The Koi pond and now the BB fountain offer soothing sounds in our backyard. More rocks and agates are being used around the Koi pond..pics will be posted, but it is no ways near done...

Proud to have been a Mean Old Mom

2006-06-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them:

I loved you enough...To ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough...To insist that you save your money and buy a bike for yourself even though we could afford to buy one for you.
I loved you enough...To be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough...To make you go pay for the bubble gum you had taken and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."
I loved you enough...To stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough...To let you see anger, disappointment and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough...To let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough...To say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won too.

And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them...Was your Mom mean? I know mine was.

We had the meanest mother in the whole world!

While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.
Mom insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison.
She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them.
She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or LESS.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work: We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.
While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents... just like Mom was.

Hold your babies tight, no matter what their age

2006-06-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

PFC Thomas "Tommy" Tucker went to school with my nephew. He was a year behind AJ but they played together and grew up together...that is how it is in small town America. Everybody knows everybody and when one hurts everyone else hurts too.

I spoke with my sister after Tommy came up missing, I spoke with her again this evening. The town is banning together, drawing comfort from each other. Their little town is decorated with flags, yellow ribbons and signs all supporting Tommy's family.

This picture is of the lights illuminating a row of flags outside the Tuckers' home Monday evening. The family is holed up inside, the sherriff's dept has been guarding the house, protecting their privacy.

Tonight hold your children tight, call them if they are not where you can see them. Life is too precious and we don't always remember that until we hear about families like the Tucker's, the Menchaca's, the Babineau's and many other families who are dealing with such tragic loss.

Vacation Video

2006-06-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video SharingCalifornia Adventure Block Party

THANK YOU BOY-O

2006-06-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks Ryan, my status bar is visable again...I appreciate you.

Enjoy your camping trip this wknd...laugh, laugh, laugh

And tell me all about it when you get home.

Home again, home again

2006-06-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

Our vacation was wonderful...here are a couple of pics, which only just begin to tell the stories Ed, Angela, Me, Kaitlyn, Tristan, Albert and Rex

Not sure who the little guy on the left is....not one of our gang...

This is just one of many pictures I will post in the next few days,

we took 65 quilts into Mexico and delivered them to

an incredibly poor little community.

Each of these children received a quilt.

The smiles and laughter brought joy to our hearts

while shattering them to pieces.

Blessings in my life today

2006-05-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

A fantastic job offer for a wonderful college graduate

Sunshine on my face

Warm air to breathe

Small town library ~ they call when they get a book in you might like

Long telephone conversations where you laugh more than talk

A sermon that hits you hard while opening your heart

Finished projects that have gone on far too long

A list that has more things crossed off than remaining to be done

Fly Eyes

2006-05-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

Insects have compound eyes. Instead of one lens they see through two
spheres with many lenses. But apart from that they also often have extra single
lens eye on the front of the head. Each lens of the compound eye catches it's
own image. The final image an insect sees is like a mosaic. The more
lenses the compound eye bears the higher the resolution of the image. The
two large spherical eyes of a fly give an almost complete 360 degree vision.

While having breakfast in a quaint little coast town last spring, we noticed a ziplock baggie full of water hanging above the open door. Strange....Interesting....Off the Wall. There was also a sign posted next to it on the door frame. We looked at it, stared at it then I could take it no more...had to get up and see what it was all about.

Seems when a fly sees the bag of water his eyes mulitply the bags and gives the flies the impression that there is a wall of water in front of them and they will not cross it. So...this resturant hung a bag of water above the door. We did not see any flies in the place so figured there must be something to this. When we got home I filled a quart ziplock bag with water and tacked it above the sliding door.

Our grandkids are in and out the patio door, the adults are in and out the patio door, the cat is in and out the patio door. All last summer our patio door was open. We had exactly 2 flies enter out house all summer long.

Last wknd I filled another quart ziplock baggie and found a large pushpin and hung up our "fly screendoor". If you try this, let me know if it works as good at your house as it does at ours. I love these natural, no chemical solutions to pesky issues.

Truly Random Thoughts

2006-05-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

My brain is full...bursting at the seams with several issues bouncing here and there and there and here. While at work I think of something I need to write about, then I get home and there are 10 things that have to be done ASAP and 20 things that have to be done by bed time and 30 things that don't get done no matter what. Three days a wk I am with my mom, which means a one hr drive on top of time with momma...not complaining just trying to tell myself that there really is not enough time to do all that needs to be done so I might as well realize it, accept it, and move on.

Saturday was a girls day out. We left home at 8:00 a.m., arrived back in town just as the clock struck midnight. LONG LONG day. Angela, Katie and I went to Eugene armed with shopping lists! This that and something else to pick up in the valley, things we could NEVER find here on the coast. A friend from Portland meet us for lunch to hand over 29 quilts that will be going with us to Mexico. We shopped until we dropped and then shopped some more. The one thing I learned while on this trip...I am NOT ready to be on my feet day after day while on vacation. UGH UGH UGH...my feet really hurt and I was thrilled to get in the van and give my feet a 2.5 hr rest on the way home. This girls day out was way long over due, gotta remember to get another one in soon after vacation, or maybe have part of a girls day while we are on vacation, the guys will undoubtly want to do some wild and crazy ride and maybe we can run off and find Snow White or Cinderella while the guys are busy elsewhere.

Sunday was beautiful and warm. Ed did an awesome job BBQing chicken. The kids are excited about vacation so they yabbered nonstop. My dear pal Diana joined us, it has been so long since she has been over. When we went to bed I told Ed that there was not one second of the weekend that I would have changed, a wonderful Mother's Day wknd.

I saw my mom on Sunday evening...she was in a fairly good mood, which I did not expect since she had spent the day alone. She knew we would not be visiting her until the evening so we could watch the final Survivor show but I was a bit leary about our reception none the less. I saw here again today, again she was in a fairly good mood...2 visits in a row...wow...how nice! Today I messaged her hands and up to just above her elbows. She always oohs and aahs, especially when I message the palms of her hands. Afterwards she got a fresh coat of purple nail polish.

BLESSINGS

good things going on in our sons life

beautifully colored Koi who are no longer staying at the bottom of the pond

homemade strawberry lemonade deemed "better than Red Robin's"

vacation anticipation

John McPherson...come out come out where every you are

2006-05-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

I read several comics each day at work, one of my favorites is Close to Home ...they crack me up and some days they are so very dead-on that I have to wonder if John McPherson is regularly peeking in on my life....as was the case with this cartoon....it was yesterday's cartoon.... I printed it off and was going to send it to our son who has a great sense of humor and loves his declawed kitty... When I got home from work I was delighted to see that our youngest son had sent us an email, and was thrilled to see there were attachments ....photos...I love photos...here are the photos he sent...

We interupt this pleasant evening to bring you....

2006-05-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished a rant....a big rant....but before posting it I read it again...I feel much better just having wrote it all out...got it all off my chest...now it is not the rant it was...just I am still frustrated by events that took place, but it really isn't worth posting about...

Good night blog land...sleep well

2006-05-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day

When our oldest son, Roy, went off to kindergarten back in 1984, May Day was still celebrated in a big way. The kids made little baskets out of construction paper and glue, complete with a handle. His teacher and a couple of the room mothers brought in cut flowers which the kids then put in their precious little baskets. They were then instructed to hang them on the door knob of a neighbor, a grandmother, a friend...His teacher must have suggested "an older lady"....Then "run and hide where you can see their surprise when they open the door."

My kids did not grow up in the same town as their grandparents and infact the closest family member we had was a 5 hr drive away, a little difficult to do an after school drive-by-flower-drop. We adopted grandparents, aunties and uncles, cousins...we created our own family here in our little town. So, when Roy came home that first May Day of his school career, we totally expected him to want to take his newly made, and very treasured, May Basket to a sweet woman who doted on Roy as if he alone was the reason for the sun rising and setting each day. But Roy decided that "Grandma Lorraine" was not an (and I quote his little man reasoning and can still his his sweet little voice) "Grandma Lorraine isn't an old lady yet". I was informed by that same sweet little voice that our neighbor would be the receiver of his precious basket (I will not reveal his reasoning)...and off he went with his little brother in tow. The two of them walked down our steps, over to the neighbors house...up her steps...hung the basket on the door...rang the doorbell...then leaped off the porch and ran home as fast as their little legs would carry them. I can still hear him encouraging his little brother "Come on Ryan, run fast!!" and all the giggling that went along with it. I was waiting on our porch with open arms for my two little guys with giving hearts as big as the world.

Together the 3 of us waited to hear the neighbors door open...and bless her heart, she wondered out loud (talking loudly just so the boys could hear) "Oh my, Russell, someone has left a beautiful May Basket on our door, I wonder who that might be." Roy was mortified...after all the gift and the giver must never be linked. Of course he did not confess....and Ryan did not spill the beans...both denying they had been anywhere but on the porch with me. Little did those two rosey cheeked little men know that the sparkle in their eyes, and Ryan's wheezing, had totally given them both away....and although it was not spoken, they were caught red handed.

The next year the story was pretty much the same...and the following year and so on and so forth...all the way through our boys' school years...yes all the way through our youngest sons' senior year in High School. After a few years those carefully hand crafted construction paper baskets were replaced by store bought pots in which the boys planted flowers in, and a few years later, when the boys were employed mowing lawns and doing other various for-pay tasks....they would split the cost of buying a beautiful hanging basket for our neighbor.

In 2000 our youngest son granduated from High School and moved to Seattle where his brother had moved a couple of years before of him. May Day 2001 rolled around and we got a call, "Mom, it's May Day, can you order Frances flowers? She needs to know we are thinking of her." I cried then...I am teary eyed now...thinking about that phone call.

No one rings the door and runs anymore...no one stands behind the hedge and giggles when the door is opened...no one stands on the porch exclaiming "Russell, someone left some beautiful flowers out here."

Russell passed away many years ago, Frances uses a walked to get to the front door. One son lives in San Diego, the other is a fisherman out in the Berring Sea. I am happy to say, none of that changes the fact that each May Day Frances is still greeted with flowers from 2 little guys (in their mid 20's) who want to bless a "older neighbor lady."

Roy and Ryan....you are both so precious to me. A couple of Sunday's ago the sermon text was Matthew 25:31-40. You both live that in so many ways....Thank you for being who you are, for knowing what you know, and for doing what you do. You both make my heart sing.

I've Been Tagged

2006-04-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

First of all, I run like the wind to flee from these meme things, but for Tink...well, I can't tell Tink no.

10 Simple Pleasures

In NO particular order

Hearing my granddaughter, Madelyn, giving our secret message to me
Hearing my youngest son laugh.
Hearing my mother say real words...matters not what words they are, anyword will do for me.
Real snail mail....just for ME.
Pedicures
A walk on the beach with my grandchildren...heck...doing anything with my grandkids is a pleasure to me!!
A quiet summer evening sitting on the deck with my hubby.
Having Macaroni call us Uncle Eddie and Annie Pam.
Early Saturday morning conversations with my sister, she's the smart and pretty one.
My cat, well...ok, he is not MY cat, he is my son's cat...but he brings me much joy.

Now, having said all that, I also need to say...pleasures and blessings tend to get a little muddied in my mind...I take nothing for granted, I am a blessed person.

OK, I did it! Now I tag Mandy and anyone else who might be interested.

A Day or Two Late....

2006-04-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

...and a dollar or two short...

Happy Belated Bloggerversary to ME!!

I totally missed my one year Bloggerversary! How did that happen?

Too Cute, Two Cutie Patooties!

2006-04-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

It's tulip season in Northern Washington. I am not sure where exactly this tulip farm is, but our kids met up with their best friends from college (in each others weddings, babies the same age, etc.) and had a day out walking through the tulip fields, taking pictures and catching up with each other. They had a blast and we are winners too, they sent us a CD with over 300 pictures! They said the fields were so full of color and they were able to spread out a blanket and have a picnic amongst the flowers. If I could figure out how to get a short video posted I would do so...something for me to explore.
Madelyn is such a tender little girl, her heart has shaped towards service to others, even at the young age of 4. One picture sent is of her sharing a bite of her lunch with her pal Abigail, precious...you can just see the heart desire to bless Abigail. Maddie, gma loves you I do, I do, I do, I love you!

Here is a current picture of Jason. What a card! He is the apple of my eye! I call him Monster Boy...but he is anything but. See those dimples? Monsters don't have dimples like that! See that grin... Monsters don't grin like that either. See that sparkle in his eyes? Yep! That is the sparkle of the Monster. The LOVE BUG MONSTER. JJ is so cuddley, if he were a puppy you would call him a lap dog...well he isn't a puppy but will sit for hours while you read to him, chat with him, or just enjoy a movie with him. It doesn't happen very often anymore, but at 3 yrs old JJ is still willing to crawl up on your lap for quiet time. When he crawls up on my lap and allows me to rock him, that is my favorite time to pray over him.

While their daddy was home off the ship they did all kinds of wonderful things, camping, site seeing, working on their new home, a trip to Leavenworth Washington, and just spending time together as a family. Our son has returned to the ship and will be gone until September. He takes with him a heart full of wonderful memories to keep him going. We are looking forward to a visit from the babies and their mom in July.

Weekend of Blessings

2006-04-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Three darling children (no bias here!!) greeted me when I walked in the door on Friday evening. All three of them chanting "36 MORE DAYS!, 36 MORE DAYS!". Yep, just over a month until we board a plane and head to Mickey's house.

Friday night was grandkid/grandparents night, giving their parents a parent night!!! Not sure how much fun their parents had but I do know the rest of us had a blast. While Rex helped Gpa put oil in my jeep, Tristan and Kaitlyn helped fix dinner. Gpa had the potatoes in the oven before I left the office, so it was an easy finish to prepare a potato bar complete with their favorite toppings.
Kaitlyn wrote out menu's, and made place cards for everyone then decided we needed candles as well. Tristan decided the motto for our meal should be "the best food for the best people" I whole heartily agree! (BLogger will not let me load a picture of our dinner table, grrrr)

After dinner we played Skipbo, Tristan was crowned the new "Skipbo King" title, but gpa will not let that stand for long!

Saturday Angela and I started putting the rock face on their house....We are women, hear us roar!!! What a job! Oh my goodness, that is a job and a half. There is nothing, NOTHING these two kids will not attempt! Albert needed to get the garage door down and seal off that hole so he did that while Angela and I worked on the rock. Oh my aching body...bending, lifting, thinking...after 10 hrs I was so glad when it was too dark to work outside, I was asleep before my head hit the pillow ~ a good days work. They have a lot more rock to put up but we got a good start, I will only be able to help after work on Monday and Wednesday this wk.

This morning we awoke to another beautiful blue sky day, the 3rd in a row! Worship was wonderful, the sermon gave Ed and I a jump start on a great afternoon conversation. Dinner with momma, it is always a good day when she is emotionally up and alert. BLESSING! A quick trip to Wally World and back home by 3 p.m.
This is a picture of how we spent the rest of our Sunday. Saturday Ed got the deck washed and the patio furniture out of storage and back in place (I'll get the cushions out next wknd)...so after getting home from church and having dinner with momma we walked in the front door and straight through the house to the back door. We each grabbed the books we have been reading and I set up the foot spa. After giving myself a mini pedicure (complete with a wonderful seasalt scrub) I fixed Ed a non-fru-fru spa, poured him a glass of wine and there he sat until the sun went down. Happy feet, sunshine on our skin and the gentle sound of the water running in the Koi pond....ah...wonderful!

We Did It!

2006-04-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, we did gut our kitchen...infact we have been working on this since early February. Keeping this a secret has been so hard! After 22 years and raising our family in a teeny tiny kitchen we now have a kitchen that is twice the size. We took out walls, expanding in 2 different directions.

In February we gutted the kitchen:

In March new cabinets arrived, but they were the WRONG cabinets, not the ones we ordered.

In April the RIGHT cabinets arrived, so the WRONG ones were removed and the RIGHT ones installed. On Friday, April 14th they finished the electrical and plumbing....YEEHAW!!! So we worked hard getting the kitchen boxes out of the livingroom, bedroom, guest room and various other places around the house.
Blessings:
there was no needed structural repairs (no dryrot, not bug damage)

we don't eat an evening meal so quick meals were easy for almost 9 wks

the company we worked with took full responsibility for the wrong cabinets

we didn't loose our minds, we still have what little we started with

What's wrong with this picture?

2006-04-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with this picture?

2006-04-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Enjoying....

2006-03-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

Family visiting

Late nights and lots of laughter

Flannel sheets warmed before I get in

Underdog teams winning

Finished projects

Unexpected phone calls

Repaired laptop, now running good!

My Baby Boy is Home

2006-03-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

Our oldest son, Roy, is a fisherman...not a "grab your pole and head to the pond for the afternoon" type fisherman, but the get on the ship and don't get off for 3-4-5 months type fisherman. His ship arrived in port this past weekend, last night we were finally able to talk with him...it is always good to hear about the latest antics of 500 people stuck on a ship out in the middle of the Bering Sea for months on end, but I love to hear about his reunion with his wife and 2 young children. Instead of them heading back to their home (90 minutes from the shipyard) they usually spend the first couple of days as a family holed up in a motel~just the 4 of them, catching up before they make themselves available to others.
Our grandson, JJ(Jason), is 3 years old and what a card he is...and a charmer to boot!!! We don't get to see JJ and his 4 yr old sister, Maddie(Madelyn), very often because they live so far away, but we do spend an incrediable amount of time talking to them on the phone. So...last night, after I spoke with Roy for a while JJ was insisting that he get to talk to me. OK, JJ gets on the phone and says, in his sweet precious little 3 year old voice, "Grandma, your baby boy is at my home." ??? Huh??? What was he trying to tell me, I didn't get it. "My baby is home?" "No, grandma, your baby boy is at my home." This went on for a few minutes and soon Roy and Naomi were on the other end of the conversation trying to figure out what JJ meant, and Ed and I were trying to figure it out as well. The more we worked at understanding him the funnier he seemed to think it was, but he stuck with it until we figured it out!

All of the sudden I remembered a conversation JJ and I had back in September, shortly after Roy had arrived home from a 5 month trip. I asked JJ what his favorite part about having daddy come home was and he said (in his then 2.5 yr old voice) "wrestling" to which I told him to please be careful with my baby boy. It took a while but I worked hard trying to explain to him that baby boys grow up and become daddy's, trying to get him to understand that his daddy was my baby boy. Oh good grief, I might as well have been telling him that his sister was a monkey...that would have been a bit easier to convince him of, I am sure! Now...7 months later he is telling ME that my baby boy is home!
As soon as I realized what he was saying I just cracked up!! That little guy had stored that info and saved it up...then when his daddy gets off the ship the next time, 7 months later, he pulls it out of his memory and teases me with it!!

My oldest baby boy and His baby boy

Have I mentioned I love being a grandma??

What's in a Name?? A Lot!

2006-03-19T16:56:00.000-08:00

Lots of things going on at our house and in our lives right now, not ready to share much of it until things settle down a bit...but when my mind is full of the stress of immediate life I like to "run away", at least in my mind...you know, if you ignore it (whatever "it" maybe) it will go away...hey let me live in my fantasy for a while...please.

So...today my trip down memory lane took me back to my funny dad! Oh how he loved his grandbabies and great grandbabies. As each baby was born he would send flowers to the momma with a note stating "Good job, love dad" I kept both cards that were attached to the flowers I recieved. He would get himself into a chair and then ask to have a baby brought to him...as long as the baby was happy he would sit for the longest time with that precious children craddled in his strong and safe arms, one proud grandfather!! I will never forget seeing him hold my babies for the first time. Being the youngest of 5 I had watched him hold many grandbabies before my children were born, I knew my time would come...and I knew it would be a memory for me to treasure forever, and it has.

My dad had a way of nick-naming his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. Those nicknames stuck with each person, no matter how old one was, no matter what or who was around...once you were named...there was no going back. Sadly I can't remember everyone's nickname...but here are a few:

I was always known by Hamilnut. (my maiden name is Hamilton) Do you think I should have asked why? It didn't matter, that was what I was and that was the way it was...
Our oldest son, Roy was known by "Little Roy" Even when he was all grown up and out on his own!
Our youngest son, Ryan was known by "Rowdy"...sometimes "Little Rowdy"
My brother Gary, I always remember daddy calling him "Buddy"
Brother Gary's youngest son, "Hard Head" and his daughter "Pumpernickle"
My older brother's daughter was always "Traci-Roo"
My sister's daughter, Mandy, was known as "Tuffer", her son, "AJ" and Mandy's daughter "Macs"

I know I have missed waaay too many nicknames...daddy was so creative that no one missed out on getting a special ID...If I remember any, I will add them...and if anyone is reading this and remembers one or two, please speak up.

Our oldest son is named after both of his grandfathers, we took both of these great men's middle names and named our first born, Roy (after my father) Davies (after my father-in-law).

Please Pray

2006-03-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

Bobby, a young husband and father of 2 little ones has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Please pray for Bobby and his loved ones as they walk through this. Bobby is a friend of our son, this has hit him very hard.

2006-03-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

The Smell of Cinnamon Always Reminds Me of My Dad

2006-03-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

One winter, while visiting my parents everyone piled into our van and off went to the farm to visit my sister and her family. It was about a 45 minute drive to the farm and I was excited to see my sister since it had been a while since I had seen her or her family.

A visit to the farm always promised excitement in one form or another, from feeding the pigs to seeing the new baby calves to steering clear of the peacocks (they are mean!!!) to chasing an escaped bull down the canal bank.

This particular trip was a quick visit for dinner and catching up. It was winter so the kids stayed in the house, the guys were undoubtedly planted in front of the TV watching a game ...just an aside, my brother-in-law is the most hilarious person to watch during a game, he cracks me up!….anyway….the women were probably in the dining room or kitchen, yakking away. We enjoyed our visit and then it was time to leave.

None of that has anything to do with the smell of cinnamon or my dad...but does tell you why we were all in the van together….so, on with my story….

We were returning to our own home the next morning and daddy decided we needed to have cinnamon rolls with our breakfast, he insisted he was thinking of the boys, of course. Knowing that we would need to get packed up and on the road early for our 8 hr drive, we stopped at the store just a few miles from my sisters house, picked up a couple of containers of Pillsbury refrigerator cinnamon rolls along with a couple of other items. Back into the van, and continuing on with the 45 minute drive back to my parents.

It was cold out, snowy no-doubt. Ed turned the heater up, we bundled into our coats and put on our gloves knowing that daddy had built a nice fire before we left and the house would be warm when we got back to my parents house.

POP! “What was that?” “Sounded like the tire blew.” “Doesn’t feel like the tire blew.” “Maybe that truck ahead of us kicked a rock up.” “Didn’t sound like a rock.” And so the conversation went. No one had an answer, but we all had an explanation for the loud pop we heard. It was dark out and there was no place to pull over to see what might have caused that loud pop.

Less than 5 minutes later my dad said he was so hungry for cinnamon rolls he could almost smell them. A few minutes later we ALL could smell them...Then it dawned on momma...when she got into the van after going to the store she had put the grocery bag on the floor of the van at her feet, right in front of the heater...which had heated up the cinnamon rolls causing them to expand and explode out of their containers.

HILARIOUS

The smell of cinnamon always reminds me of my daddy and today it made me miss him so much!

Blessings in My Days

2006-03-02T06:02:00.000-08:00

Blooming bulbs giving new color

Stormy weather ~ High winds and wild surf

Longer days

My Creative Mind (aka my sewingroom)

Time alone

Unexpected phone call from a friend

Quiet mornings

Busy evenings

A good nights sleep

You'll be sorry....

2006-02-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hubby is sick with a cold...a rotten cold...a too sick to be out in public cold. So...I was asked to pick him up some medicine on my way home from the office on Friday.

Not a good thing to ask of me.

Off to the store I went...to get medicine...and milk...that is all...but I knew he did not feel well so I figured I would pick up something quick to fix for dinner...so head to the back of the store and get the milk..oh good it is on sale... go past the deli and pick up a french loaf cheese bread...hey bonus, a .50 cent off coupon attached...then over to the meat department to get sliced pepperoni...back to the canned vegetables for a can of olives (?? do we have a can??? or don't we??? bingo...they are on sale! just get them and be safe)...walk past the ice cream...not on sale so keep walking...terriaki sticks...YES! get 2 one for me and one for you...head to the check out....get in line..oops..no medicine in my cart. OK, get the medicine and back to the check out...pay for my purchases and head for home...with 4 bags of groceries and $30 less in my purse.

Did I say it wasn't a good idea to send me to the store...not a good idea at all.

What can brown do for you?

2006-02-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

Years ago, when my boys were little, my mother would send the boys a box of this and that from time to time. Momma always did a great job of making sure there was 2 of each item, and always a variety of things from stickers to socks to a dollar with a sticky note attached that read "Grandpa wants you to get an ice cream cone today" or some other such note. It was a real blessing to us during those financially rough years of medical expenses, quickly out grown tennis shoes, and feeding 2 growing boys with hollow legs.

I would be in the kitchen fixing lunch or occupied elsewhere in the house and all of the sudden one or both of the boys would start yelling "The Porch Package Man is here! The Porch Package Man is here!" and the race to the front door would begin. Seldom did Porch Package Man even make it to the steps before he was surrounded by 2 little guys jumping up and down totally oblivious to the fact that they might not have shoes on and it is raining...or they might still have their jammies on and it is 3 in the afternoon- - - Didn't matter...the PORCH PACKAGE MAN had arrived and life will stand still!

The Christmas that the boys were 3 and 5 yrs old Porch Package Man came to our home and, as usual, the boys ran to greet him- and stopped dead in their tracks...OH Porch Package Man had a LARGE package...a heavy package...a GIANT package. So the boys backed away as Porch Package Man was allowed to bring it all the way into the house, rather than just hand over the goods at the steps. The label read Ryan Thomas Gwillim and the return label read Sears. I had not ordered anything. I was sure Ed hadn't either...and I KNEW Ryan hadn't, but sure enough the address label said Ryan Thomas Gwillim, so it must be right. OK, it took both of the boys to drag the box to the middle of the floor where I split the seal with a pair of scissors (why do we not think ahead to grab the camera at times like this??). Ryan pulled the top flap down and POP!!! the box burst open, and knocked Ryan over as a 6 ft tall (and just as round!) stuffed Winnie the Pooh exploded out...oh the laughter, oh the fun. Evidently my mother had entered all 13 of her grandchildren in a drawing at Sears for this huge Winnie the Pooh dressed like Santa, complete with red suit and hat - - and Ryan was the winner!!

Winnie the Pooh became Ryan's pal...they slept together...although Winnie took up more than his half of the bed...Winnie had a place at the table when we ate...Winnie went to preschool (only once!)..Winnie went on trips...Winnie lived at our house until long after Ryan had graduated from High School. During Winnie's last week with us he was found in various spots around the house and yard (in the hammock, in a lawn chair, in the garden swing, in front of the TV, in the bathtub). Then one day he went to live with another family...where I am sure he was loved and treasured all over again.

On the day Winnie arrived Porch Package Man was promoted to a higher level...and so was Ryan's grandma!

The UPS man comes to our office a couple of times each week. Boring office stuff spills out of the boxes he leaves. Never anything fun. Never a 6 ft Winnie the Pooh...I think I need to have a talk with Mr. Brown.

Life is hard

2006-02-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

It's been an emotional day for us. Find your adult children...call them...go see them...whatever it takes and tell them how much they mean to you. Life holds pressures for our children no matter what age they are - they need to be reassured they are loved and that nothing can separate them from the love of their parents and God.

Please pray for a family who has lost a daughter, granddaughter,.sister, mother and friend. She will be missed by family and friends left grieving.

2006-02-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

Happy

Valentine's

Day

I'm thankful for....

2006-02-09T15:13:00.000-08:00

The mix of sunshine & warm air

BBQ chicken (& good company!) for lunch

Music, loud and peppy!

Honesty

Continued good test scores at work

Longer days to enjoy

Hearing my son say "Hey" when I answer the phone

Laughter...always laughter, never too much laughter

The surprise of window boxes full of blooming bulbs!

Color...here, there and everywhere

Doesn't get any better than this...

2006-02-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

After we go to Disneyland this summer we are headed to San Diego and will be delivering quilts to an orphanage in Mexico to each of the children living there. Today our granddaughter decided she wanted to make her first quilt...the icing on the cake for her is that she will be able to hand it to a precious child herself. So today she worked hard and from start to finish she made her first quilt. I am so proud of her...and she is rightfully proud of herself. This was the first time she has ever used a sewing machine...why did I wait so long to show her how to use it? As soon as the label was on she rushed to find Grandpa who did and said all the right things...these 2 are a real pair! Katie and her very first quilt...she is a blessing to this grandma!

It's 3-3-3 Day!!

2006-02-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

3 months

3 weeks

and

3 days

until we begin our excellent adventure! There are many unknowns about taking a vacation with your grandkids...those I can not speak to now...but there are many things I can assure you of today.

The AlaskaAir plane will never be the same after these kids take their first flight.

The motel we are staying at will never be the same after these kids have

slept and wrestled and swam and rested there.

Disneyland and Universal Studios will never be the same after these kids have

played and rode the rides and laughed there.

San Diego will never be the same after we have seen the sights,

and spend time with Ryan laughing and hopefully visiting an orphanage to deliver quilts

and enjoy celebrating my best friend's daughters High School graduation.

And the seven of us will never be the same after we have

made memories to last a life time,

taken tons of pictures and screamed on the scary rides,

sang "It's a Small World" too many times,

and somehow found our way back

to our motel for a quick night of sleep

only to start again all over the next day.

No time to post....I have 333 things to do before we leave!

We Interrupt This Broadcast to Bring You....

2006-02-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

My latest whine, my newest GRRRRR!

Today I received a phone call from the assisted living facility where my mother is living. They have recently made several changes in management, government involvement blah blah blah. When we were first notified it was with a very vague letter stating some billing changes would happen but we were assured that her level of care would not change. OK, fine.

My sister and I both read the letter, it did not set off any red flags with either of us.

A couple of weeks ago Ed and I noticed that the wing momma is on is getting a nurses station, they had been using a little room with a desk, now they have a full-blown nurses station. Furniture started to be moved out of the "Family Room". The seasonal door decoration I had hanging on momma's door to cheer her up had been taken down, since my mother doesn't talk she could not tell me why.

Little things are changing, thus far nothing we can't live with, nothing too horrible...but it is obvious that someone has changed a few "rules" and they are being enforced one after another.

Today I get a call, "Pam, I wanted to tell you that since we are now a long term care facility we can no longer wash your mom's clothing separately." OK, now that doesn't seem like it should have thrown me, but have you seen what clothes look like when they are washed in HOT HOT HOT water time and time again? Large loads of laundry thrown in large tubs to be washed with who knows what and then tossed into a HOT HOT HOT dryer? We have been paying extra each month to have her laundry done separately - - her nice clothing, the pretty flowered sheets we provide, etc.

So...here are my choices..."go with the flow" and her laundry (all of it) will be sent down to the fire hot washer and its fiber killing dryer friend or bring her clothes home and wash them myself, I needed to make a decision while I was on the phone with this lady because they had already taken the wash machines and dryers off her wing and as of that day all laundry was to be sent to the basement. GRRRRR. After an already emotional situation surrounding my mother I was at wits end. "DO NOT, DO NOT wash her quilts. I will bring her quilts home to wash them. I can do nothing about her clothing on a daily basis, but I DO NOT want her quilts washed."

There, I aired my whine, I've spoken my mind....now back to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

Happy Birthday Honey

2006-02-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my hubby's special day...yes, we have one special day after another for days on end during January and February! (July, October and December too!!)

In thinking of how to honor my husband on my blog so many things have crossed my mind. Oh I need not tell you how much I love him, as long as he knows that is all that matters. I need not tell you why I love him, again...what is really important is that he knows and understands. But I can share a few things with you that have only made me love and appreciate him more each day we share together:

Early in our marriage I was bedridden with the pregnancy of our first child. Dr gave strict strict instructions..."if you want to get out of the hospital you MUST stay in bed." Ok, sure, just let me out of here....this gentle man that I married busyed himself in the kitchen a few days later working at something that I couldn't figure out. He was gathering the things he needed in order to wash my hair! Dr said NO GETTING OUT OF BED, NO SHOWERING, NO STANDING AT ALL. Hubby knew my hair was driving me crazy and gently washed and rinsed it for me.

In 1998 our youngest son (age 16) and I went to Los Angeles for almost the entire month of December because he needed some major surgery and medical treatment. We left early in the month but did not return home until just days before Christmas. As we stepped off the plane the airport terminal was filled with well wishers holding signs, carrying balloons, and celebrating our sons successful surgery and return home. (I kid you not...there was not room for even one more person in that little airport terminal, I kinda felt sorry for the other passengers who had to really hunt to find those who were there to meet them!!!) . I am shedding tears just remembering the applause, the "hip hip hoorays", the laughter and all the faces. Hubby had called our sons boss, his pals from school, teachers, Doctors...it was unbelievable. But that wasn't all. He had arranged special transportation from the airport home...good friends who took care of the details of getting all our baggage, and the equipment we needed back to our home. THEN...when we arrived home our house was ablaze with lights...hubby had spent the month working on getting all the Christmas lights on the house and it looked so welcoming...but that wasn't all...as we walked in the front door there was a tree up and decorated, stockings were hung, Christmas music playing. He wanted Ryan and I to have the best welcome home we could...boy he nailed that one!

When we took our oldest son to college in Seattle, a 10 hr drive North, it was one of the most devastating days of my life. I was heartsick for weeks before his final days at home. Hubby would hold me and reassure me this was a good thing. This is what Roy had dreamed of. This is the right thing. We live in a teeny tiny town, a logging community. Few opportunities are available for those who do not leave the area. You can either go to work in the plywood mill, or log, or get on one of the fishing boats. We wanted our boys to have more choices, and an education would provide for that. I knew he needed to go-I knew he was ready to go-but I wasn't ready for him to leave. Hubby was patient and gentle with me as I struggled deeply. About 5 hrs after we had unpacked the van, said our good-byes and "see-you-laters" and were driving home, hubby changed...their was no more patience, there was no more gentleness. It was time for me to buck up and move on...and he told me so! He reminded me of all the hopes and dreams we had for our boys, and all the hopes and dreams they had for themselves (and each other). He reminded me that we raised our boys to be strong, to love Jesus and to be an asset to the world. He reminded me that this was the day we had looked forward to and planned for, for years!! He also reminded me that we had 2 more years with our youngest son at home, and we were looking forward to having a spare room, etc etc etc. Sometimes love is gentle sometimes love is patient...but sometimes love is tough. He knew just when to kick me where I needed it....and I will always thank him for that. The apron strings needed to be cut, the heart strings are a different issue.

My dear hubby was present when all 3 of our children were born. Our first angel was delivered a couple of days after I no longer felt movement and the doctor could no longer find a heartbeat, or any sign of life. We were almost 6 months into the pregnancy at the time. We had been married for only 10 months. It tore us up. It also brought us together like nother else could. The birth of that precious angel, the time we spent healing, the way we learned to love each other in challenging ways will always be one of the reasons I love my husband more than I could explain.

When our son Roy was born 2 years later hubby was right there with me again. After the still birth of our first baby we were very anxious to hold this gift from God. Had I entered him into a Father of the Year contest, I am sure Ed would have won hands down! He wanted this child in his arms so bad. Even when they took me in for an emergency C-section he stayed with me. I will never forget his conversation with the Dr. "No, I am fine, this isn't bothering me, it is just like gutting a deer." He watched the whole thing...and then leaned over and kissed my forehead..."Sweetheart, we have a son," he cried as they laid this bundle wrapped in blue in his arms. The first time he held our granddaughter, Madelyn...those tears were once again falling...a grandfather had been born. I thought that it was those "firsts" that did it to him...but one year later when he held our grandson...yep, you got it, he cried like a baby again!

When our son Ryan was born, exactly 2 years and one day after Roy, by planned c-section, hubby was with me once more. Knowing this was to be our last child we had prayed for another son, we were willing to take what God had choosen for us, but we really wanted another son. As Ryan was being delivered the operating room grew very quiet. I could sense the tension but had no way of knowing what was going on. Ed was rushed out of the room and I was sedated. Later I learned that Ryan was not healthy, he had been rushed to surgery and then to NICU. I wanted to talk to Ed, I wanted to be near him during this time of confusion. I did not see Ed for hours. He was sitting in a rocking chair next to an empty space where Ryan's incubator was expected to arrive. Ed waited for hours and would not leave that chair because he did not want to miss seeing his son, he wanted to touch him even if he could not hold him. When I was released from the hospital Ed would get up 2 hrs early (he was a baker and had to be at work at 3 a.m.) and drive to the hospital to see Ryan before going to work and then would stop by the hospital on his way home after work...this went on for 3 months when we finally were able to bring him home. If hubby could have, he would have taken a leave of absense to be with Ryan. Ryan is 24 now...and each time Ryan is not feeling well Ed becomes really quiet and I know he is praying non-stop for his son.

Husband, father, grandpa... gentle, caring, safe...supportive, encouraging, strong.

Like his father, he starts his day off alone with his Lord. My kids grew up seeing their daddy read his Bible and pray each day. What better way to teach a child what life is all about?

Saint? No, just a regular Joe he would say. Well, I would beg to differ.

He had a singing telegram sent to me on Valentines Day one year.

While working at my last job he would be sure there were Birthday flowers and Anniversary flowers on my desk before I arrived in the morning (he worked there too and had a key to my office).

He has been known to venture into quilt shops and bring me home a special treat.

The very first wedding cake he decorated was ours!

Our roles are reversed now, he is no longer able to work outside the house, so he has become a househusband of sorts. He does the shopping, cooking, most of the cleaning and he does all with a willing heart. He doesn't do these things for himself, he does them for US.

He does the shopping at night so that I can have an evening "home alone". I treasure time alone, but that is next to impossible now that he has retired. He graciously gives me time alone. That is such a blessing.

Our oldest grandkids live near us. Seldom is there a baseball, football, soccer, basketball or volleyball game that goes on in this town without Grandpa nearby. He is the middle man when all 3 kids have a function at the same time.

He proudly carries the title "Uno King" and the grandkids are always trying to best him and claim the title for themselves, so far it hasn't happened but the laughter and conversations that take place while the game is being played cannot be bought, it is priceless.

He is the waterfight instigator, he is the BBQ Grillmaster.

He is the love of my life forever and always!
You and Me, Babe!

Happy Birthday to Momma

2006-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my momma's 79th Birthday

Avis Arlene Hamilton

My sister and her husband, and my brother and his wife came and we celebrated! Laughter is always a part of family gatherings, and this gathering was no different. My brother-in-law had given momma a hilarious card...momma just laughed and laughed. Oh laughter is so good!

This day was especially special for us because it was the first time anyone had seen my brother since his health took a turn. I thought he looked so good, tired, but good. It was wonderful to see him laugh, to see him eat and to touch him!

Myself, my brother Gary and my sister Nancy

That was yesterday..a special day in every respect. Today, well...today is my special day...today is my birthday and I spent the day doing what I wanted to do. What did I want to do? Well...the no-brainer was that I stayed in my jammies and sewed all day long - - YES!!! all day long. I took a few phone calls (my youngest son who asked me if I was 49, bless his peapickin' little heart!!), but other than that I was in My Creative Mind (aka my sewing room) and sewed my little heart out. I managed to get a quilt top done for momma's bed and I managed to make a mess as well, after all I had to have something to show for my hard work!

Now...after all this celebrating I better rest up...Ed's birthday is on Tuesday, Madelyn will turn 4 on Thursday and Jason will be 3 on Friday...whew!!! but don't think it is over yet 'cause Naomi's special day is just around the corner as well.

Now that my boys are grown and have moved away...

2006-01-28T00:15:00.000-08:00

...I re-wrote this poem...

Cleaning and scrubbing
can wait for tomorrow,
for quilting and cleaning
goes on with no sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs
and dust go to sleep,
I'm piecing and binding
for quilting won't keep
Pam Gwillim 1-27-06

My mother started this quilt following a trip she and I took to North Carolina and surrounding states several years ago. We stopped at every quilt shop we could find along the way and purchased fabric. We bought so much we ended up shipping alot of it home!

After we got home we picked a pattern and each of us started making quilts alike, using the fabrics we purchased on the trip. Neither one of us finished our quilt!!!

Well, I dug this one out of her UFO's and finished it up (in a lapsize rather than the bedsize she had planned) for her and will give it to her for her birthday.

Beat Eternal Boredom

2006-01-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels,

or watching TV,

or going to the movies,

or talking to friends,

rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him,

sharing His cares and His burdens,

weeping and rejoicing with Him,

then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence...?

You'd be bored to tears in heaven,

if you're not ecstatic about God now!

Keith Green

You say Tomato...I say Tomahto

2006-01-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

Or....Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

This evening I was heating up some leftovers for dinner, I asked Ed if he wanted a piece of bread and butter with his dinner..."No, please use the margarine." That got me to thinking:

He likes margarine..I like butter

He is a night owl...I am up by 5

He loves working in the yard..I hate dirt

He rides a bike...I use the treadmill

He wears socks to bed..NOT ME!!!

He uses salt and peper...Hand me the seasoned salt

Mt. Dew for him...Diet Pepsi for me, thank you very much

He enjoys the beach...let me climb the mountains.

Do opposites attract? You betcha...and we love it!

By the way...He doesn't like to dust, and neither do I...I guess there is hope for us yet!

My Brother

2006-01-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Several people have asked about my brother, thanks everyone! It is good to know people are praying for my brother and my family.

I have not posted about his surgery because he did not have any results right away. His (our) kidney is healthy...and for that we can all be very thankful! There is no cancer, there is no deformity. Cancer was the main concern.

So, I asked him what next. Well, currently he has nothing lined up. His medical team will need to access what they now know and go from there. Supposably his vascular specialist is the next to do something and this guy isn't sure what to do.

I suggested a total vein transplant...I guess they don't do that...well...figure it out and DO IT!!!

Gary's spirits are up, that is a good sign! My mother's birthday is next Saturday, Gary is planning to be here to help her celebrate...so he must be feeling a little better, or come to think about it...maybe he is just being his old hard headed, stubborn self. LOL

MaGoo...this one's for you.

2006-01-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Fresh new desk calendar....

2006-01-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

...the whole year ahead of me...

and what have I managed to do...

ruined it by spilling my tea.

It soaked all the way to October...

Darn!

Less is More and a place to Sleep!

2006-01-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Get it out of here!!!!

Over the course of 4-5 years I have been on a mission to rid our home of "stuff"....

the car top carrier that we used ALOT when the boys were little, when we traveled, when we camped - the boys aren't little we travel light and camping doesn't happen anymore, just give me that nice hotel room with clean sheets and towels each day!
clothes - I have 3 favorite pairs of jeans...at any given time there are at least 6 pr in my closet....how do they multiply so quickly??
the student desk that was in the boys' room for them to study at - now it is at the home of a young mom who is going back to school to be a nurse.
the computer desk with hutch....good idea...worked with a PC, took up too much space and was a "catch-all" - - laptops only need a lap
my old sewing table...now I have my momma's sewing cabinet...much more practical, more storage space for uh..um...well for more stuff...ugh
stereo with turn table...I had to talk long and hard to convince my hubby to take this to the thrift shop it was one of those "first purchases" for us...but good grief..that was decades ago
crafting/sewing/quilting notions, books, and etc. I have my mom's stash as well as mine...had to thin it out a bit...ok, it could be thinned out more but I have started on this and am making progress
did I mention clothes?
dishes and other kitchen items..you know, those things that don't stack well, don't match, don't anything...out out out you go

The list can go on and on and on.

Recently I mentioned to a quilting pal of mine who lives in the South that I had a couple of projects that my mom had started, but must have gotten tired of or just did not care for the way they were turning out, I know she had not worked on them for years. I do not want to finish these, they are too good to toss, and I just hated the idea of them ending up at the thrift store (which is our usual place of deposit for such items). We yakked about this over the course of a few days until we hit upon something wonderful.

FreeCycle. This is a internet based re-duce, re-use, re-cycle group that is located all over the world. What a fantastic idea! Through Free Cycle we have already gotten rid of a set of studded tires, a humidor, a few clothes, and a keyboard (think of the space we have gained!!! Less stuff, gives us more space to enjoy, we are keeping with are Less is More plan).

I have a friend who is an eBay seller. From time to time I give her items to sell for me. That is great when the items are not a set of snow tires! Neither she nor I are interested in shipping a set of snow tires! I will use FreeCycle for those items that I either don't want to list on eBay or want them OUT OUT OUT ASAP.

Now for that place to sleep...

On the news the other night there was a report of people who are traveling from here to there and there to here and not paying for a hotel room...sometimes not paying for a meal. How? Well, they are using Couch Surfing to get from point A to point B with very little expense.

All you have to do is fill out the simple form giving the who, what, when, where and blah blah blah about yourself. Then you can ck the site for someone who might be offering their couch in the next city you plan to visit, keeping in mind you might get a call as well from someone planning to visit your city. Sounded like fun to me. When you are visiting a new place you would be getting insider info about the best places to sightsee and etc.

I do not plan to register at CouchSurfing, so why am I so excited about this? My son does a fair amount of traveling to participate in Disc Golf tournaments. He travels up and down the West coast but has also gone back East to Tennessee as well. He enjoys meeting people and always has a story to tell about his adventures.

So...Ryan...whadda ya think? Sound like something you might look into? I would certainly be interesting to see who is going to San Diego that might need a couch to crash on from time to time.

Please pray

2006-01-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

My brother will be admitted to the hospital on Thursday to prepare him for surgery on Friday morning when they will be doing a biopsy on his (our) kidney. It will be good to have a few answers but in preparation for this surgery he has had to adjust his medications which puts him in danger of blood clots. His labs are not good, which is worrisome to all of us. Please pray with us. Thank you.

I'm going to miss that blog

2006-01-09T17:35:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night I opened a blog I have been reading for some time, I love reading this particular blog, it holds various thoughts from the writers point of view, there are snippets of the writers life sprinkled throughout and I have enjoyed reading from time to time, being encouraged by the writers faith...sharing in a heartache from time to time as well.

Why am I gonna miss reading that blog? When I opened the page a Trojan attached to my system...ugh...not a good thing.

My son sent me a link to rid my system of the infected files and after a few hours of cleaning and scanning I was up and running again.

Sad me...I am gonna miss keeping up with that blogger.

Feeling Blessed Today

2006-01-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

Not sure why, not sure when, but the His presence has surrounded me this morning and I am feeling so very blessed by that knowledge. That warm glow inside has not gone unnoticed. It might be overcast outside, but I can't tell due to the realization of knowing He is near, loving me, caring for me, guiding me, enouraging me. Thank you, You are all I need.

I've had enough of this....

2006-01-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today on our way home from Tristan's wrestling meet we encountered another disturbing event. We had just turned onto the highway but were still in the city limits. All of the sudden police cars were screaming by us. Ok, good...you go get those bad guys. As we came around a corner 2 policemen jumped out of their cars, guns drawn. They had surrounded a car with a couple of people in it...it was the whole, put your hands up...don't move scene.

It all happened in a split second. I had no place to go but to drive right past the ordeal, in the line of fire. Thankfully they did not fire, thankfully the road cleared out in a hurry and whatever happened happened without us.

We listened to the news tonight, but like I have said before...we live in a very rural area and there is no local new broadcasts during the wknds.

I really wanna go back to my boring, sleepy little town. REALLY I DO

Just another day at the office...

2006-01-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after my boss and I took all of maybe 5 minutes reading the local paper I said "What we need is a good jail break" At which point both of us were coming up with the most outrageous events that would liven up our sleepy little town and offer some sort of headline other than the usual police report of who got ticketed for not using their seatbelt or for driving 35 in a 25, abandoned cars and stray animals.

Each morning I drive past the court house to get to the office which is kitty corner to the court house. This morning as I approached the court house I noticed there was yellow police tape around the trees, out to the street and around the block with a deputy standing on the sidewalk....strange...but oh well, I drove past and parked in our private parking lot.

I asked my boss (who always gets to the office 30 or 40 minutes ahead of me) what was going on, but he had not noticed anything so had no more information than I. Within a few minutes there were sheriff's cars, city police cars, and the fire department starting to congregate in front of the court house and they were blocking the streets.

The city chief of police walked past our building a couple of times. And then the court house employees started walking past away from the court house. This went on for about 30 minutes or so, all the while we kept working and watching, checking and speculating. About 9:15 one of the deputy's (who is also a client) came in to evacuate us...since we know him we drilled him trying to gleen as much info as he could share. Someone left a package wrapped in Christmas wrap in front of the court house near the fountain where people gather between trails and during break times, it is one of the few places near the building where smoking is allowed so there is a crowd there from time to time during the day. The court house had been evacuated (with the exception of the jail which we were told could withstand a blast) and the offices and buildings around the courthouse were also being evacuated, which meant us. My boss chose not to leave, but I asked the deputy if this was serious or if it was more likely a hoax...he said there were a few little things adding up and they weren't taking chances, he did not know if it was a hoax but it was worth leaving for. I closed my system down, dumped my cup of tea and left. The entire front of our office is windows - floor to ceiling and we have skylights in the roof/ceiling, if this package did explode it would blow the windows out, my desk faces the window.The closest bomb squad is in Medford, a 3 hr drive, the court house employees were told they could not re-enter the building before noon.

When I got home and told Ed what was going on, we turned the TV on to a station that is based in Eugene with a satellite station in Coos Bay, but no news bulletins were given and nothing was said on the radio station either...the radio station that carries the emergency broadcast for the area!

About 12:45 p.m. my boss called, he said the trucks, cars and law enforcement had left the area, people were returning to work and I could return to the office...on my way back to work I noticed the bomb squad, state police and a few other cars were parked on the back side of the court house. Within an hour they drove past our office.

A short while later we got a call from the gals in the office next to ours. They had gotten word as to what was in that Christmas package.... a case of Ramen Noodles!

After all that ..... I think I like reading who got ticketed, whose animals are running loose, who served at the Senior Meals, which kids placed in the Chess tournament and which kids are on the Honor Roll. And I really like days when I can arrive home after work to tell Ed that "nothing unusual happened at the office today, thank you very much."

I Stand Corrected

2005-12-31T06:02:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post I stated that Ryan has strawberry blonde hair. While reading my blog he was very clear about the fact that he has RED hair! He does not claim to have strawberry blonde hair, it is RED....OK OK I give, and will correct my statement...My son Ryan has RED hair....and here are the pics to prove it

Hmmm, you would never know it since it is more often than not dyed jet black

or in some stage of grow out.

And we don't often know if it is jet black,

red or growing out because it is almost always

covered by some sort of hat/beanie/hood.

Thanks MaGoo for keeping us entertained

(and guessing)...we love you!

Lazy Day Without a Dull Moment

2005-12-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

While Ryan has been home I took the last of my vacation time from the office to spend some time doing this and that, and enjoying some time of serious conversations, lots of laughter and just enjoying having him home. Yesterday we had a play day. We called KT to see if she was up for a day of exploring and off the four of us went went, driving to Port Orford, a tiny little coastal town about 90 minutes South of us.
Our first stop was at Paradise Point, a beautiful spot on the coast that none of us had visited, but will be a nice place to take a picnic lunch in better weather. Ryan was up to his usual antics- - - he jumped out of the jeep and off a cliff. This mom has learned not to get too worked up about what this boy will do, going with the flow is usually my best defense. Here are a few pics of him climbing back up to the parking lot.
We stopped at Battle Rock, where Ryan climbed the rock to get a few shots of his beloved Oregon coast while the rest of us stayed in the jeep away from the high ear-ache giving winds. KT introduced us to a quaint little Italian restaurant, Port Orford Breadworks, where we enjoyed spaghetti and giant meatballs, Italian sausage spaghetti and pinnai sandwiches. KT and Katherine took a trip to Italy a couple of years ago so it was fun to hear about how they managed to communicate with the locals, the Bed and Breakfast Inns they stayed at and getting around on public transportation.
If you look closely you can see the poster in the background...hilarious! The monkey is totally sloshed...funny!
Another day of fun memory making and enjoying the company of those we love.

Christmas Day with Grandma

2005-12-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

Ryan and Grandma ~ Christmas Day 2005

After a yummy dinner prepared by the chefs at the catered living facility where my mom lives we took advantage of the beautifully decorated dining hall and snapped a few pictures.

Ryan flew in from San Diego on Christmas Eve day so Christmas Day was the first time he and his gma had a chance to see each other. Grandma always rolls her eyes and shakes her finger at Ryan when he shows up with jet black dyed hair, covering up his beautiful strawberry blonde hair. After he has been dutifully chastied, she laughs and hugs and holds him, her "Rowdy"...and he does the same...I think he dyes his hair just before coming home knowing he is going to get a rise out of "Rowdygmapa".

Momma and I then went back to her room and watched the original version of Yours, Mine and Ours with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball on DVD, we laughed at Luci's antics...the false eyelash that roams around her face and the dinner with his family-when his boys get her so drunk that she causes an uproar at the dinner table, I just love Luci...and so does momma.

While momma and I laughed until the tears rolled down our faces, Ryan and Ed went target shooting....We had a good time and they had a good time, it was quiet.

I grew up in a large family, I have 4 siblings, by the time I was 6 years old my oldest brother was married. Nieces and nephews started arriving before long. For years we had large family holidays, (Christmas and/or Thanksgiving) sometimes on the holiday itself, sometimes we celebrated a weekend or two before the holiday. There was always something fun going on....always a joke to tell, or gag to play on someone, always a few kids playing a board game or bundling up to go play in the snow. Adults were gathered here and there around the house in conversation or watching a football game. Momma was in the kitchen with any number of people in there with her- - some actually helping, others sneaking a taste of this or that.

One Thanksgiving all three of my brothers, my brother-in-law and my husband showed up at my parents house with full beards....which was the most hilarious thing since my dad felt men should have clean shaven faces at all times. I loved all the kidding that daddy got, poor guy...couldn't grow hair on his head and didn't approve of hair on the face. I think that was also the year that the guys went fishing and came home with their limits...I wish I had a copy of the picture of these red-bearded guys holding up the string of fish...do you have a copy Nancy?

One Christmas someone attached some kind of bulb underneath the toilet seat, when some unsuspecting person went to sit on the toilet it triggered a recording of a gruff sounding man who shouted "HEY! Knock that off! I'm working down here!" Of course as soon as an innocent person walked into the bathroom the hallway filled with people who were "in the know" waiting to hear the reaction...we got a lot of mileage out of that devise...for several years and like the doghouse it is not to be found.

The Christmas my oldest son and my sister's son were born (2 days apart, no less!!) our parents gave us beautiful necklaces they had made for us from diamonds from momma's wedding rings. I still remember momma calling us into their room and them handing us these boxes. I cried, Nancy cried, momma cried...I think daddy left the room. That was in 1979, I can probably count on one hand the times I have taken it off (not counting the 3 years that it was "MIA" but that is another story for another time).

I remember the Christmas that Ryan and Traci (a niece) were just over a year old. Most of the kids were at that magical age of mystery and wonder. Traci was the youngest and her oldest sister, Leslie (age 13?), was the oldest. There were 12 grandkids running around, and who should knock on the front door of Grandpa Nurseries house??? Santa Claus himself!! He arrived with a red velvet bag packed full with a gift for everyone, even grandpa and grandma! The 4 youngest grandkids were wide eyed, the next 4 were in a state of shock since they had all just figured out that Santa wasn't real and now they were face to face with the man in the red suit they were denying, and the oldest 4 were trying to act cool when in fact they were thrilled to pieces! My momma always planned the bestest parties!

I remember the year my mom took "family group pictures" of each of us with our spouses and children. My brother-in-law had an afro that year...and I am not talking a close to the head afro, I am talking when he turned his head you ducked or got hit in the face with hair...my sister had never cut her hair, nor had she cut my niece Mandy's hair...both had beautiful long thick wavy hair...and then here was my nephew...bald as an egg...Oh we laugh and laugh about Mark's "faze" with the 'fro, but it was AJ's head that I remember most, poor little cue ball baby

And to be fair....

That is the same year that I was sporting my "Atom Ant" glasses....the lens were large enough that if you sat next to me we could both benefit from their size and read the paper together through my glasses, I think I could have gone to the auto supply store to buy windshield wipers to clean them!

I am from a large family, that made alot of noise when together...but made alot of memories as well. Holiday's now are on the tame side...no trips to the farm for 5 day Thanksgiving weekends where the city kids fed the cows and slept out in the hayloft when they got a bit older and everyone took turns taking scraps out to Peaches the Pig.

But, to be honest, I wouldn't trade a second of listening to my momma laugh at Luci for anything, because this holiday like any holiday before is the bestest one yet because it has been enhanced by all the holidays before!

We can finally say the "D" word

2005-12-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

Disneyland, here we come!

This year Albert & Angela and Ed & I went together and gave Rex, Tristan and Kaitlyn a trip to Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios. We have been talking about a trip to Disneyland for 2 years but in September we got a bit more serious about it and decided 2006 would be the year. The secret code was established and the 4 of us spoke in code when the kids where around...we no longer left messages on land lines because the kids would sometimes listen to the messages to see if one was for them so if a message was to be left it was on a cell phone...remember that game we played as kids where someone whispered something to someone else who whispered it to someone else - - - well, by the time all 4 of us got a message you never knew what the original message was....this past 4 months has been full of fun moments with our secret language codes, conversations and sentences stopped short as one of the kids would walk in the room. The "D" word was uttered in various stages but never completly said. All of that came to an end on Saturday night when each of the kids opened a personalized card with their own picture wearing Mickey Mouse ears, on the inside was Mickey Mouse with a speach bubble that read:

Hey Rex (Tristan, Kaitlyn)

Only 153 more days

until I see you

at Disneyland!!!

On the left inside page it read:

Yep! That's right!

We're all going to Disneyland!!!

On Saturday May 27, 2006

we'll go to the airport

get on an airplane

and fly to Portland

where we will change to a big plane

and fly to Los Angeles

For 3 days we will play at

Disneyland

and

California Adventures

And one day we will play at

Universal Studios

These are a few of the comments heard as they opened their cards:

(silence...silence...silence, which is the first time that has ever happened!!)

"Is this a trick?"

"Flying, like in an airplane?" (How is that coming from a 13 yr old honor student!!!)

"What does this mean?"

"All of us?"

"Do they really serve peanuts on airplanes?"

"How many days is 153 days?"

but the best comment heard came from Albert, as he jumped up and shouted....

"Hey kids, you've opened all of your gifts, now what are you gonna do? I'm going to Disneyland!!"
Then they flipped the pages on their full color Disneyland brochures...I am wondering how long before the ink wears off!

We really got Rex good...because he had to make a choice between this family trip and a Student Government trip to Washington DC (which will take place at the same time) he was told only that we were going to Disneyland. He chose the family vacation without hesitation. So while opening his card he did a good job of not letting Tristan and Kaitlyn he has known for a couple of months...but when he got to the airplane part his face lit up and he was surprised as well. How fun for all of us.

Kaitlyn curled up between Angela and I and cried....then she went over and curled up on Ed's lap and cried some more! I was a bit worried because she needed to pull it together before 8 p.m. so that she could sing a solo at church for candlelight services, which she did wonderfully!!

Ed and Albert are already trying to top this one!!! (Fishing in Alaska....ugh!)

Soul Refreshing Day

2005-12-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hurry-Hurry-Rush-Rush....and yet I really don't think I have been doing all that much...just have that "all the time tired" feeling...so today I did not go to work...instead I took a Mental Health Day! Isn't that what sick days are for? My employee contract does not say that sick days are to be used only when you have a physical ailment, so...today was a Mental Health Day, and I can honestly say I feel so so much better.

This morning I rested, actually rested...not an easy thing for me to allow myself to do. There are always 10 things waiting to be done...5 phone calls to make...bills to pay...letters to write...laundry to fold...clothes to be ironed....the list goes on and on...but I did NOT ONE of those things...instead I rested.

Tonight was a Mom Night so about 4 p.m. I finally got dressed, yes, I did stay in my jammies all day! (I had my makeup on and my hair done earlier because I was actually going to go to the office, but changed my mind and got back into my jammies!) We had a couple of things to get in town and made a quick stop by the store before coming home...and now I am back in my jammies. I could get used to this!

Again I am reminded of why we are to rest...it is refreshing not only to our bodies, but to our minds and souls as well.

They Told Me My Dad is Coming Home...

2005-12-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

...so I am gonna sit right here and wait until I see him...'cause I sure do miss him!

Cutie Patootie!

2005-12-18T18:11:00.000-08:00

Isn't this just the cutest little Flower Girl you have ever seen?

My niece, Mandy, was married a wk ago, and her daughter was the Flower Girl. Today I received a call from Mandy, she and Wayne were stuck in the Portland airport. Oregon had an unexpected winter storm hit this afternoon....and they were to start their honeymoon today. They flew into the Portland International Airport but with all the snow, ice, freezing rain, sleet and wind gusts up to 60 mph their next flight was delayed. She called a few hours later to ask me to pray with her....she said they had boarded the plane...the flight crew were rushing around trying to get everyone settled so they could be ready for take off when a forecasted 30 minute break in the weather happened. I called her about 45 minutes later and her voice mail answered, I checked the airline website and their flight has the status of "in flight" so I am guessing they are finally headed to Hawaii...which is a good thing because she was dressed for Hawaii, not a snow and ice storm!

Happy Honeymooning you two....enjoy the warm weather of Hawaii, when you get home you are gonna have to shovel snow to get up your driveway!

Things that make me smile

2005-12-15T23:57:00.000-08:00

Another installment of blessings in my life:

Driving through town and seeing all the lights on houses and decorations in yards.
Cashews...yummy
Christmas CD's playing softly throughout the day
Listening to Akira when he sleeps so deeply that he snores
Three day wknds
Unexpected notes in my mail box

Make your own snowman or snowwoman..

2005-12-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

Tis the season but there is NO snow at my house so this is how I make my own snow people.

Make Snow People Here

HELP

2005-12-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

Can someone tell me why my images are always fuzzy? Anything I try to put on my blog from the web has that fuzzy look....if you can help me out, please contact me.

Thanks!

Miracles

2005-12-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

Celine Dion and Anne Geddes have teamed up to create a beautiful new book:

I am not a big Celine Dion fan, but I do adore Anne Geddes' baby pictures..this book is too beautiful to pass up.

2005-12-14T06:23:00.000-08:00

This and That and That's About All

2005-12-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

Life is crazy and seems to be getting crazier everyday. I am swamped! Can't put my finger on it other than my schedule is packed with the normal everyday things from the time I leave for work at 7:55 a.m. until I put my head on my pillow at night, 7 days a wk.

The kids had their church Christmas play Sunday night. Everyone did a great job, everyone had a great time. I wish I had taken my camera...Angela did so will have to get her memory stick to download some of the pictures.

This morning I stayed home to bake cookies for the Open House at the office. I did not get it all done so am trying to finish it up tonight...thank you Ed for helping me out, you're the greatest!

Saturday Ed is on kid duty, taking KatieBug to her volleyball games and then spending the day with Katie and Rex while the rest of that gang are in Eugene for Tristan's wrestling meet. I have plans for Saturday, but they might not pan out...we shall see.

My niece is getting married Saturday...I am sad that we are unable to attend, there are a couple of issues preventing us from going, one being traveling in the winter. I would love to be there for my sister and for my niece...but these circumstances are really beyond anyone's control. I wish the newlyweds the best of the best.

Narnia comes out this coming weekend. How did that happen? When it was first announced that it was coming out I thought it was months away...now it is just a fews days from now. We purchased advanced tickets and will be seeing it Sunday afternoon. It will be a fun family time, dinner in town followed by the movie...then maybe the girls will sneak in a quick shopping trip while the guys all head home. I love spending time with the kids!

Has anyone seen Akira's new mouse? He got a new catnip mouse and 2 days later it is not to be found...we have moved the furniture, we have taken the cushions off the sofa, we have looked high and we have looked low...that mouse is MIA...we are wondering if maybe he ate it?!?!?!

OK, I think the last batch of cookies is cool enough to decorate so back to the kitchen I go.

If there is no snow....make your own!

2005-12-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

Have fun....make all the snowflakes you have time to make

...caution...it is addictive.

Snowflakes are Fun!!

The joy of traditions

2005-12-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night was "trim the tree night" at our kids' house here in town. Each year we gather at their house, dig out the ornaments and decorate their tree. Everyone has a job: Grandpa puts the hangers on the ornaments, I "foof" the ribbons and bows, Albert and Angela put the lights on. The kids hang the ornaments.

This year the rules changed and things were just a bit different. Rex is just about as tall as mom and dad so he helped his dad put the lights on the tree. Angela just got a new digital camera last week so she was trying it out and was the photographer for the evening. Kaitlyn, Tristan, Ed and I all kept our same old jobs: Ed was the hanger fastener, I foofed..Katie and TK hung.

Albert, Angela, Kaitlyn, Rex, Tristan

After the tree was done...and looking beautiful by the way...

we had our cookies and hot chocolate and too many laughs to count!

What a perfect, perfect evening...and more memories to treasure.

Kaitlyn, Me, Rex, Grandpa, Tristan

I'm gonna get shot for telling this story...

2005-11-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

...but it is too funny to pass up.

Upon finding out that a family we know is (unexpectingly) expecting their 4th child our oldest grandson, (the oldest of 3 children in his family and who 13 years old) made some remark to his mom about 4 children being too many kids.

"We thought about having another baby." replied his mom.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, we gave it some serious consideration for a while." she said.

"I guess 4 wouldn't be too bad, why don't you have another baby now, that might be kinda cool?!" he said as he was warming up to the idea.

"We can't."

"Sure you can."

Looking him straight in the eye his mother said a bit more firmly....."No, son, we CAN'T."

"Why not?" he persisted.

"Because your dad was fixed."

"What does that mean?"

Mom did her best to provide a suitable explanation to her 13 year old son, then...

"GROSS!, that is so not right! That is just plain wrong!"

Later that night when mom was replaying the conversation to dad...

"Did you have to say "fixed?"

Hey, I thought she handled it pretty good...I would have just said "Your dad was whacked."

I really wanted to be Snoopy!

2005-11-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

This morning I took the test with the same results as last evening...I guess I need to accept it!

I am Charlie Brown....no two ways about it.

You are Charlie Brown!

I really don't see myself as Charlie Brown, but I guess someone has to be him.

Those of you who know me...do you see me as Charlie?

Let me know, because I am getting a complex about this!

I see myself as Woodstock- - just a happy-go-lucky kinda person

PigPen- -I think that speaks for it's self!

(I call my sewing room "My Creative Mind" does that tell you anything?)

I have a bit of Rerun in me I love to learn new things.

Schroeder and I share a love of creativity although I don't play the piano.

Lucy...yep, I have a bit of her in me too...

I am not crabby and neither is she, just ask us!

Linus and I are both able to forgive and forget and move on...

why waste time being angry?

Like Franklin I don't want to miss a moment of the fun,

but also value my time alone.

Snoopy, he's the man! The Snoop and I love life and there is much more to us

than meets the eye, don't under estimate us.

Marcie...oh Marcie...she and I have the mocking down pat,

keep on your toes because we can mock like no other,

and yet we are loyal to a fault.

Peppermint Patty...I can't kick a ball or run a race but I can surely party!

I love Peppermint Patty.

And last but not least...Sally, silly Sally...

I identify with her the least but she is kinda cute!

Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

2005-11-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

As soon as the tree was up a present snuck under

and laid claim to his spot for the season!

The tree is up....I think this is the first time in my married life that the tree was up before the middle of December. Of course it is a fake tree so that has something to do with it. Yeah, I came home last year with a fake tree the day after Thanksgiving, thought Ed was going to make me go in for a psychological exam! Kmart was on Angela's shopping list so while she was trying to convince herself that getting a fake tree was a good idea she managed to convince me, a die-hard when it comes to a real tree!

Even if the tree is up it just doesn't feel like Christmas until I have the nativity out. I made this nativity the year my oldest son was born, 1979. Although it doesn't show it, the pieces are quite large. The standing figures are 8" and 9" the standing camels are just over 10". I used a Mother of Pearl paint on them.

One of my favorite holiday things to do is to get up in the middle of the night, turn on only the tree lights, put a few Christmas worship CD's in and watch as the light glistens on the nativity...peaceful, calm, thought provoking.

May this season be filled with moments of healthy reflection and joyous anticipation for each of us.

Gary...hope you find one to try...yummy!

2005-11-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2005-11-24T06:35:00.000-08:00

Why haven't you been blogging?, she asked

2005-11-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

Because my heart hasn't been in it, my brother is dying, my mother's kidney's are shutting down, my brother-in-law was hospitalized for a wk with a very serious infection...STOP!!!!!!! Life is so hard at times...but what can be done about it? I can't save my brother, my momma has made up her mind to disregard what her Dr is doing to help her and thankfully my brother-in-law went to a Dr who was able to treat him quickly (even going so far as to transport him from the clinic to the hospital in his own private vehicle!) So, I've kinda shut down a bit but when the question was asked of me as to why I haven't been blogging, it was just the good kick in the seat I needed and here I am, back blogging. Pity party behind me...blogging before me.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. What will you be doing tomorrow? I can almost guarntee it will have something to do with eating...maybe that will be the main thing you do tomorrow, eat. Throw in a bit of football, a nap, maybe read the ads in preparation for Friday's early morning shopping trip. Hey, I will be right there with you all.

We (Ed and I) have reservations to eat a traditional Thanksgiving feast with my mother at the assisted living facility she lives at. Noon...be there, only $4/plate for non-residents, complete with your choice of pumpkin or pecan pie! Afterward we will search through the ads - not so much to make a shopping list but simply because that is what you do after dinner on Thanksgiving day, right? While Ed watches football (and I pretend NOT to watch football) momma and I will decorate Gingerbread people (shhh, it's a secret, momma doesn't know yet) that she can give to the healthcare workers who were "lucky" enough to work on Thanksgiving day. Ed and I are planning to sneak away while momma naps to go see "Yours, Mine and Ours" at the theater (I loved the orginial with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball). After the movie is Survivor Night, which is sacred for my momma. We will stay and watch that with her so she does not get put to bed early and miss it. We like to guard her Survivor time.

So, there you have it...that is what we will be doing on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving? Where does "thanksgiving" fit into that schedule? With a title like "Thanksgiving Day" shouldn't at least a few minutes be set aside to actually be thankful? Of course!! So tomorrow (and everyday) I will be thankful for (in no particular order):

God, who loves me

The promise of a glorious eternal life in Heaven with my Savior

My husband to loves me and shows his love every day

Children whom I am proud of

5 beautiful and precious grandchildren

My brother, my friend, who has overcome much in his life

My sister who is first my friend and always my strength

Parents whose 59 yrs of marriage showed me how and why to tough it out and stay the course in various life situations

Memories of my father that bring laughter and tears, usually at the same time

Precious time with my mother, making memories for me to hold into the future

Franki and Diana, never two more dear buds....pals to the end

My closests friends who love me inspite of what they know about me

A good job (with great benefits) working for a great boss with an added bonus - he's a Believer!

Enough income and resources to be blessed with the basics and then some:

a roof over our heads, plenty to eat, heat when it gets cold,

clothing, entertainment, vehicles, etc...and always enough to bless others less fortunate.

The ability to move, to walk and excerise

The ability to think and reason

That list might sound like the "same old, same old" list that most would come up with when thinking about what they are thankful for but I have been without most of these things at one point or another in my life. I do not take any of my blessings for granted. I know that next year my list might have to be adjusted, that is painful to think about now so I will try not to "borrow tomorrow's trouble"...

Happy Giving Thanks Day to all...

2005-11-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday morning started as most Saturday mornings do with my usual phone conversation with my sister, either she calls me or I call her each Saturday morning. I so look forward to catching up with how her week went, what her antics her granddaughter has been up to, hearing about how the new grand-puppies are growing - - she in turn gets the run of what has gone on around our house and just spending time laughing about this and that together.

Over the past few years our Saturday morning conversations have had a few tougher topics sprinkled in here and there: Our mother had a massive stroke in August of 2001. After years of dialysis our brother had a kidney transplant in December of 2001. In August of 2003 our parents moved nearer to my husband and I so that they could be taken care on a daily basis. In August of 2004 our parents were moved to a care center and 30 short days later our father died. Life changes and we have done the best to deal with these changes. Now we are facing yet another tough and heartbreaking change.

Our brother's health has continued to decline over the past few years. Although the transplant was a success he has many other health issues that have slowly over time eaten away at his body. He has never known, for even one single day of his 56 years of life, what a healthy body is. He was not a healthy child and that has carried over into his adult life. He has taken care of himself to the best of his ability and has had a wonderful team of Doctor's who have done wonders. But those things are no longer enough.

Saturday after I hung up from my hour long yak-session with my sister the phone rang again, it was my brother. He called to tell me that his medical team let him know this past week that they cannot do anything more for him. They have done all they can do. He cried, I cried, he cried some more, I bawled. It was the phone call I knew someday I would get, as time has gone on I knew this call would come sooner than I would be ready for it to come, we knew his medical team had been grasping for various things that "might" help, that "maybe" the trick and we knew that eventually he would get the news that there was no more that could be done. My heart is broken beyond words, literally.

After we talked for awhile about everything and nothing at all we hung up...and I called my sister back. She is so strong. She and my brother have a unique relationship, they are closer in age, they live closer to each other, have more in common and they stay in touch better than he and I. I am the one who was falling apart, once again she was my strength. I hate being weak, but I hate hurting more...and we are all hurting now.

This isn't going to get any easier, my mother also received that call on Saturday morning, just before I did. She is so sad. Parents aren't suppose to have to go through this with their children. It is hard to watch knowing she will never be able to say the things she wants to say to him (she has not spoken since her stroke), knowing that she would be with him in a heartbeat...if only she could, knowing that she still grieves the passing of my father just over a year ago. It is really hard knowing what the future holds but it is so painful when I add the reality of my mother's situation into the mix.

There are no words to our pain...none at all.

I don't wanna be an adult any more!

2005-11-07T05:18:00.000-08:00

Warrior is a Child

Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child

Unafraid because His armor is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
the warrior is a child

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my and look up for a smile
'Cause deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
The Warrior is a Child

-Twila Paris-