All Of A Sudden

I was sitting in my basement this afternoon doing what I love to do....working with pictures on my laptop and talking with my friend, Joe, from Ireland on instant messenger. In a flash, the weather went from overcast and calm to a stormy hurricane, or the closest thing I can imagine to it. The trees were bending and waving in the wind and the rain was coming down in torrents.
And, wait!! Was that hail I heard?

I turned on the TV to see if the weathermen were interrupting the daytime soaps. Sure enough they were. Then the sirens sounded and I went upstairs to get my money box, my purse and my cell phone. I always take those few things with me to the basement so that, in the worst case or almost the worst case scenario, I would have some cash, my ID and my cell phone to "reach out and touch someone."

Within a half hour all was well, at least for my area. And, I went to work and carried on as though it was just an ordinary day.

When my daughter, Sarah, sent me this picture of my grandson, Davey, tonight I just smiled. While I know the weather wasn't as severe in their area, there was something gentle and calming and reassuring and warming as I looked at Davey experiencing and enjoying today's rain.

I love this picture. I love the sheer innocence of it. I love the pure enjoyment of nature's gift to us. It made me stop in my tracks and breathe. It is such a simple picture and yet had such a profound affect on me.

Some Of The Things That Make Me Happy (and some a little sad)

The very purpose of our life is happiness, the very motion of our lives is toward happiness. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Kallsen's beautiful blonde hair in the sunlight

Seeing the love as Joseph says goodbye to his great grandpa

Derek waving a fond farewell to Adam and his family

Watching Sarah, Davey and Derek watch Dave walk in to his St. Kate's commencement

Getting a great picture like this one

Eating bread pudding at Cucumbers Restaurant with Davey

These are just a few of the things that make me smile and make me cry. But then, a beautiful rainbow must have both rain and sun. I guess life is like that too. In order to be truly beautiful it must have smiles and tears.

A Special Day

Saturday, May 19, 2007 was a special day for my son-in-law, Dave. He graduated from The College of St. Catherine with his Master's degree in Organizational Leadership. It was a beautiful day and we were so happy to be there to celebrate his accomplishment.

Congratulations to all of you, Dave, Sarah, Davey and Derek. It took all of you to make this possible.

Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day!! We love you!

Double Virus?

Two of us here at my house have been out of commission the last few days. I am one. My laptop is the other. I have what must be a spring cold with fatigue and laryngitis and my laptop might also have a virus . I have not gone to the doctor, but my laptop has, and it won't be home again for a couple of days.

Since I have owned my laptop the two of us have been virtually inseparable. Now, that is a funny thought! To some people, a computer might be a thing, an object, a machine. When I got my first desktop computer in 1998, I wanted it to be my friend and treated it as such. When I got my first laptop in 2006, it became a part of my relaxation. I use it while sitting in my recliner, the phone beside me, the TV in front of me (so I can watch American Idol or HGTV) , and I have a blanket close at hand in case I get cold. All my creature comforts are there.

While what I have just described might sound simple, it is significant. Everything I have told you is to share something very important. The scene above is to give you a little peek into what has become my own personal sancuary. Until my laptop returns, I am here at my desktop. Not to be totally undone by this situation, I have moved another recliner over here and piled it with pillows to make it usable and ohhhhh so much more comfortable than an office chair. My laptop might have a virus, and I probably have a virus, but the viruses will not get me down.

Perhaps, as the saying goes, truth IS stranger than fiction. I might just write a book titled, "The Day My Laptop Left Me".

Parker Has Pneumonia

How life can change! Our son, Adam, is on his way to South Carolina. He is driving alone as he will be starting his new position next Monday, May 14, 2007. Sara Beth is finishing up her year teaching and manning the homefront in Iowa. Joseph, Kallsen and Parker are with her.

If that wasn't enough to handle, Adam just called and I learned that Parker woke up in the middle of the night last night and crawled into bed with Kallsen. He was apparently hot enough that Kallsen knew to go get Sara Beth and bring her back to Parker. Parker had a temperature of 102 degrees and it hadn't broken by this morning. She took him to the hospital and they drew blood. Results showed that he has pneumonia and is anemic. This is hard news to hear for a dad on the road and a gramma three hours away who can't just run over and help and get back to her own job.

I have not talked to Sara Beth yet but will find out how little Parker is doing once things have calmed down a little bit. The pictures of Parker are from this last weekend. The first picture was taken on Saturday, the second picture on Sunday and today he has pneumonia. How does this happen anyway? I hope as I am writing this that they are all home and Parker is resting comfortably. I love you Parker, Sara Beth, Joseph and Kallsen!

More Pictures From Our Beautiful Day Last Sunday

Derek loved eating powdered sugar donut holes. At one point it looked like he had a golf ball in his mouth. It was so funny!

And, Kallsen preferred the mini chocolate donuts!

Parker loves basketballs and Kallsen loves to ride anything down the driveway

Davey and Derek taking a moment to just watch

Kallsen looking up at his dad

Family hanging out....I love this scene

Parker on the deck with the basketball

Sarah with grandpa

Adam with grandpa

Amelia Is A Beautiful Person For Many Reasons

Amelia, my granddaughter, is a beautiful person inside and out. She is not only talented, but she has a wonderful heart! I will tell two things about Amelia in this post.

The first story.........is..

Amelia, who is nine years old, had a big day last Saturday! She performed in the spring production at her church. The production was excellent and Amelia had a small speaking part as well as a part in the opening dance. Practices for these performances start weeks ahead of the performance and the costumes, singing and dancing rival a mini-broadway show! Adam, Sara Beth, Joseph, Kallsen and Parker came up from Iowa to be in the audience along with Amelia's mom, dad, two brothers and Tom and me. We love you Amelia and are so proud of you! You did a great job!!

Below are some pictures from the performance. And, following the pictures is a story that tells you about Amelia's heart.





And, the second story...........is..

While we were waiting for the program to start, Amelia's mom told us about how, at a garage sale in their neighborhood, Amelia set up her lemonade stand. She sold bottles of soda and water for 75 cents a bottle. She also told the buyers if they paid $1.00 for a bottle of soda or water that 25 cents would go to charity. Amelia ended up earning $35.00 and some cents. She took $30.00 of her earnings to the bank and opened a savings account and the rest went to charity just as she promised. She took the remaining money and asked her mom to take her to the grocery store where she bought food and then asked her mom to take her to the food shelf/pantry so she could donate the food.

Amelia is nine years old and has a heart of gold. I am proud of you Amelia and I love you!

What A Beautiful Day

Our son, Adam and his family were here visiting this weekend. The reason for their visit was sad and happy. They will be moving back to South Carolina in a months time and this was their last visit to our home before they leave. That is the sad part. The happy part is they are going to the hope and promise of a good job for Adam and a teaching position for Sara Beth. And, we had a beautiful day together. I invited my dad to come for lunch and the afternoon so he could see them one more time too and they could say bye to him. Sarah and Davey and Derek came and the heavens opened up and the sun came out and everyone was able to be outside and play and run and explore and sit and watch and smile and laugh and not have any sad feelings quite yet.

I got great pictures from today and will post them little by little. First come the smiles........later the tears will come.

Kallsen

Davey, Kallsen and Parker

Davey, Derek and Kallsen

Derek and Adam

My Dad

Adam holding Kallsen

Adam, Judy and my dad holding Kallsen

Adam, Joseph, Judy and my dad

Right Up There With My Fridge

I just got the nicest compliment from my friend, Joe. He said, "I really miss your fridge, but I miss you more!"

One might wonder how this came up. Well, I told Joe about my grocery shopping trip today and that I had stocked up on lots of good things because I never know who might end up coming over on the weekend. And, this weekend, Adam, Sara Beth, Joseph, Kallsen and Parker are coming which often ends up meaning Sarah and her family and Kara and her family, or parts thereof, show up as well. Sometimes, I am the last one to know there is a party about to happen at my house, so I like to be prepared.

Joe said to me, "I miss that hospitality!" And, then went on to say in all seriousness, "Yep, I really miss your fridge, but I miss you more!"

I tell you...it made my day! Thanks Joe! My fridge misses you!

So do I!