Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween





Tonight is Halloween and Leah carved our pumpkin a couple nights ago. It sure is nice to have her home again. I've had the empty nest for over two years now and my youngest decided to move home for a while till she goes back to school later. I have to work this evening so Leah and John will pass out the candy. Vanessa and Andy grew the pumpkins in their garden downstate.
The top picture is of a spooky sounding noise maker that Leah made last night. You take a plastic cup and put a hole in the bottom. Knot the yarn through the bottom. Wet the string and pull on it. Short pulls or long pulls. The sound should come through the cup. It is so cool! Our dog went nuts from the sound. He yipped and barked and could not figure what it was!!
I'm not a big fan of halloween, but its ok for the kids. I kind of hate the sugar and hyper my kids and I got from it. I also don't like the gothic or the way some go so into the creepy stuff. I never as a kid liked to dress up as a devil or ghost or a montser. It had to be something pretty, like a princess. Nowadays it all scary--the scarier the better.
My boss told me about a wedding she is attending tonight. It is totally gothic with the bride and groom dressed in black and riding off in a hearst. All the gory details of the wedding plans made me sick. Can you imagine the outcome of that marriage? I wonder what blessings they will have? Chains and swords are part of the attire!
Does anyone remember the days when we use to say "HELP THE POOR" at the doors instead of TRICK OR TREAT? I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and that is what we all said. We sure were beggars then---poor beggars!

Family pictures

While our kids were home for the funeral we took many pictures. Maybe we'll have a family
Christmas card done.

We will miss him...

“We are intricately woven with the threads of the past.
each person who came before us is a part of us
and we are a part of the family ‘fabric’ yet to come”
Pam Jones



John's dad, and my father-in-law passed away on October 12, 2008. He was a quiet man, very humble, and always nice to everyone. He never ever complained or criticized anyone. He went to church every Sunday--always...up until he had a stroke a week before he died. He kept a clean house and always did everything on schedule. He was a very loving, sweet man, and probably quite lonely since losing his wife about 16 years ago. He always spent Wednesdays and Sundays at our house. He came at 7:00 and left at 9:00. John always spent Fridays with his dad. Then there were other times when we took him for rides or out to dinner or over for holiday dinners. He will be missed by all of us.





Memories...

This picture was taken last Christmas at my sister Janice's house in Farmington. We took grandpa downstate for the holidays. At the time he did so well. We took him visiting to my two sisters and we stayed with my daughter and son-in-law Vanessa and Andy. We took him shopping after Christmas to the big mall and Ikea and even made a trip to the Rennaisance Center in downtown Detroit and rode the People Mover. We have pictures posted of this on my blog. Leah is standing here with grandpa.

Grandpa is sitting with Charley here at our house last winter.

The cemetary

Below are the pictures of the burial of my father-in-law. The funeral was on October 17, the same day my son Chad turned 24. It was a sad day as we will all miss him. We have many nice memories of him. My hubby John will surely miss him and so will all of his grandchildren. John and his sister Sandra (from Arizona) sat with him for many hours in the hospital and were able to be with him when he passed away. I feel bad that I could not be there as I was in Washington State at the time he took a turn for the worse. I flew home three days early and my two sons were able to fly home the day before the funeral.

The day of the funeral was cold, but the fall colors were still brilliant at the cemetary. It was nice that he had a military service after the funeral service at his church. They performed the 21 gun salute, said a prayer and played taps. We were fortunate to have all our children come home for the funeral. It was a sad time, but was still a nice time to be together for each others support, strength, and prayers.










Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Wordle your thoughts!


This is so much fun! Go to www.wordle.net and create your own groups of words in different colors, fonts, backgrounds. Check out the gallery and save your creations to the gallery.

Today's Quote:

“Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions, the choices you make, and the promises you keep. Hold strongly to your principles and refuse to follow the currents of convenience. What you say and do defines who you are, and who you are…you are forever”

Monday, October 27, 2008

One blink and Autumn is over...





Lots has happened since I last posted on Oct. 1st. I'll play catch up soon! Thanks to pasty.com for the nice pictures.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Peace for today:

Peace doesn’t mean to be

in a place where there is no

noise, trouble or hard work.

It is to be in the midst

of those things and still be

calm in your heart.