Tag Archives: Family

Better get started

on getting caught up before another week gets away from me! So I’ll start with my trip to PA, two weekends ago!

The reason for my trip north was to attend the funeral of my dear friend Connie. That day was special beyond words.  Reconnecting with old friends who also loved Connie, hugging and weeping with her beautiful daughters, remembering and reflecting on what a Godly, gracious, and very fun friend she was – well, those moments were priceless. I’m so very thankful I was able to be there. Too much hugging for pictures – they are all just beautiful memories.

But to make that part of the weekend work, I needed to solicit the help of my sister and her daughter, Abby.   (Airport pick-ups and drop-offs, accommodations, driving me about – you know, that kind of stuff!)
Such a fun way to start the visit – here’s Joie with three of her grands-
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and Fitz with the littlest one.
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It was a lovely start to the weekend!
Once we made it to Joie’s we got to work sorting through our Mom’s hope chest and a variety of other family history items.
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Look at this cute little family!
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Awww…
At the bottom of that trunk was this doll –
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dressed in a replica of my mother’s dress from her 1947 wedding.
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How very special! But what to do with it?? The doll was in some disrepair – the head showed some previous repair work and was no longer attached (but the eyes still worked!) and the legs and arms were quite cracked.
We’re hoping to put the dress along with a photo or two into a shadow box and maybe someone from the next generation will be interested in it. But right now we’re looking for a home for the doll. The one doll hospital I contacted said they already had plenty of these dolls (apparently she’s an early ‘Patsy Effanbee” doll). So we’re still on the lookout for someone to care for her! (Let me know in the comments if you’re interested or know someone who might be!)
It was a wonderful weekend! Another set of Joie’s kids came by on Sunday, and then on Monday we were on our way back towards Abby’s for my early Tuesday return to Tampa. Being able to sneak in some unexpected sister time this winter was a huge blessing.
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Thanks for stopping by – and for your patience with my erratic blogging these days.  Have a blessed Sabbath!
Steph

Mondays are for Memories – Happy Hour – SOWER Style

This past weekend we joined together with some other SOWERs working in the area for dinner out and a local play.

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It was a lovely evening, and it made me think about the blessing of fellowship that we have with our SOWER family. And that brought to mind this sweet “Happy Hour”  we had with our fellow SOWERs back in 2010!
Happy Hour – SOWER Style February 12, 2010
Have I mentioned before how we not only have a twelve-mile commute to work at this project but that our rigs are parked in two different locations? We’re only about a 1/4 mile apart as the crow flys (over the desert and through private property), but it’s about a 15-minute walk so it’s not like we can pop over for a quick chat or to borrow a cup of sugar (you know, for all that baking I do!). To try to compensate for our slight lack of “community” and to celebrate the end of the week (yes, even hardworking SOWERS are happy for the weekend!), yesterday we had our very own “Happy Hour” over at the other neighborhood!
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While the guys were busy setting up chairs, I took in the view –
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Quite nice, don’t you think?
Our Happy Hour is a little different from the traditional HH – we decided to concentrate on Ice Cream instead of drinks! One of the couples picked up some ice cream on the way home and the rest of us raided our pantry for toppings. We had chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, pecans, almonds, chocolate chips, craisins and Cool Whip. And while I wish I could show you pictures of our lovely pre-dinner ice cream social, I was too busy enjoying it to snap any pictures. You know the saying, life is uncertain – eat dessert first. We concur.
I did get the camera out, though, when I saw a bird feeder set up just outside the parking area. And even though the feeder was just about empty, there was still plenty of activity –
A beautiful little House Finch
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A House Finch coming in for a landing –
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A White Crowned Sparrow –
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And my personal favorite (well, today anyway), the Gambel’s Quail-
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Gambel's Quail
who were busy scooting around between the rocks under the feeder. They are very fun to watch!
It was so nice to sit and relax with friends after a busy week. Plus the drive home (all 2 minutes of it) was lovely.
evening sky
(That’s us down on the left.)
We have lots of options this weekend here in the Valley – the Riverside County Fair and Datefest starts today, there’s a Greek Festival on Saturday and Sunday, there’s always the big flea market over at the College of the Desert, and different RV resorts offer entertainment and festivals…Phew. Oh, and the weather? Well, the cute girl on the local station is promising sunshine and 75.
Ah……..

Birthdays

Birthdays – I’ve had a few.  In my case –  72! But my November Family Calendar is filled with much more than just my birthday! There are 7 other birthdays in our family starting with –
FitzandJoie2021Dear BIL Fitz! He’s the “ancient of days” member of our family these days and he turned 80 on November 4th! He drives me a little crazy sometimes, but I still love him just the same. I especially love the way he loves his family and his Lord! He’s a keeper!
Next up is Maddie on the 8th –
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SIXTEEN!!! How can that even be??? She’s a love – and seeing the beautiful young woman she is becoming is exciting!
Then comes me on the 9th!
Baby Steph
My day was filled with a little work, a little play (i.e. ice cream), and a good solid nap! Throw in calls and greetings from folks whom I love – and it was a very good day indeed!
Today (the 10th), this young man turned 7!
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Hugh is a great-nephew and a fabulous game player! We’re looking forward to some great competition at next summer’s Family Reunion!
Coming up on the 17th is another great-nephew, Noah, who turns 14.
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He’s the oldest of 6 -and from all that we can see, is a great big brother!
Great-nephew Stephen turns 16 on November 20 – he’s quite the athlete and hunter (and much less grainy than this picture would indicate!).
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As we wrap up the month, we wish my lovely sister-in-law, Sharon, a very happy (mumble)th birthday on the 21st! We’re so glad you’re part of our family!
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And finally – our Thanksgiving grandbaby, Hayley, turns 19 on the 26th!
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Oh.My.Goodness!
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These years are going by way too fast. But we are thankful for each birthday we get to celebrate.  I consider November my Birthday Month (and I like to celebrate all month long) and I’m so very happy to share the month with these beautiful family members!

Birthdays. Yes, I’ve had a few…..

Keeping the connection going

About this time last year we made our first connections with Gary’s birth family. (You can read some of the back story HERE and HERE!) One of the reasons we came to serve at CIT in North Carolina was to be able to connect with Gary’s sister who lives at an assisted living facility near Asheville. And today was the day we took a drive through the beautiful mountains showing off fall splendor to keep that appointment.
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But regardless of the beauty of the drive, the main event was seeing Dianne and meeting her daughter, Kathy.
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It was a sweet visit, sharing some of stories of years gone past, and finding connections along the way. But it was a little bittersweet too, knowing that there may not be many of these visits left for us. So we are thankful for each and every one of them!
Thanks for joining us on this journey!
Steph

 

 

PS – We have plans to meet up with Gary’s brother Lou next weekend after we move to our next project.

Ten Years ago…

I was wandering around the blog this evening, and landed on this post from 10 years ago. It’s a little melancholy, but let’s face it –
sometime it IS hard!

Oct 12, 2013 – IT’S BEEN A ROUGH WEEK

Don’t get me wrong.  If you’ve stopped by this little corner of the internet before, you know that we love this life.  That we feel both blessed and honored to serve our God and King as we travel.  We find joy in the simple life we lead, the beautiful places we’ve been, and the amazing folks we’ve met and worked with.  And the way we’ve seen God working all around this country.  All good. All very good.  But this week the pull to be home was very strong.  Very strong indeed.

First there was this little guy.
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It’s one thing to say in your head that you’ll be OK not holding that precious baby until Christmas, but it’s a whole ‘nuther thing when he’s actually born and your Gramma heart starts to melt.  Toby went back to work on Tuesday and I know any sleep deprived mother of five would be a bit overwhelmed on that first day going solo. Tammy has a wonderful network of friends and family in the area and I know she handled it well. There were meals in the freezer and big sisters eager to take a turn holding Reis, but still. Oh, how I wanted to be there to fold the laundry and make a batch of mac and cheese and pack lunches and help with homework and take MY turn at holding that little boy.

It was hard to be so far away.

Then there was the phone call on Wednesday from our other son saying he was in the ER with his wife who had fallen at church and might have a broken arm.  When all the dust settled and the X-rays were read, it was a radial fracture of the elbow with a seriously sprained wrist.  Way better than a broken arm to be sure (no cast, just a sling and some PT), but still tough with a 2 year old.

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They got the crisis worked out just fine without me, but still. Oh, how I longed to be there to tuck Abigail into bed and tell her not to worry. That Grams was there to care for little Weston, and make sure meals were made and laundry was done.  And tuck Weston into bed, too.

It was hard to be so far away.

And then there was Thursday, and Uncle Rich’s Memorial Service in Massachusetts. We would have loved to have been there to celebrate his life with those who also loved him.  To cry and laugh and remember along with that dear family.  And to hold them.  They were surrounded by a host of friends and family who loved their Dad and I know they were hugged long and well through that hard good-bye day, but still. Oh, how we both longed to be there and to give our own hugs. And to maybe get a couple ourselves.

It was hard to be so far away.

We don’t have many weeks like this. Not many at all. And for that we are thankful. Because even though it was a rough week, with the heartstrings pulled taut, we still feel that we are right where we are supposed to be.  For now. For this time.
Sometimes you just have to bloom where you're planted!
And we’ll do our best to bloom where we’ve been planted.