My how Time flys

With the end of the school year approaching, it is an action packed Spring..

Brooke has finished pre-school and will be headed to Kindergarten in the fall...it seems like just yesterday she was a baby....we watched as she received her certificate to move on to Kindergarten.

Congratulations!!!, two down and another 12 years to go until the next graduation......

The kids entertained the adults with song and smiles....it is strange to think my own kids sat in the same gym some 25 years ago and now their own children continue in the same classrooms and even have shared the same teachers.....yikes...

Mason was completely overcome with emotion as he watched his sister take a giant step into the world of higher education...

mmmm??

This has been quite a Spring and Summer and now we move into Fall, so I need to catch up on my life. It has been crazy, hectic, filled with babies and waiting., so here goes the catch up time.

We caught up with this crazy character at the Park for a dusk Easter Egg hunt...Did I ever give my theory on the Easter bunny?? Well here goes. I have come to the conclusion that the Easter bunny really is a thief...he sneaks in steals the chicken's eggs and to disguise his deed, he paints the eggs different colors and styles and then to cover up his crime he hides them in other people's yards...hummm clever little guy......

We celebrated Spring and Easter at Mom's. We had our traditional Easter egg hunt with all the kiddies and then it

was time for the bigger kiddies to hunt for their own special eggs. It has been more of a challenge every year to come up with a system so all the kids get the same things. It never fails there is always one missing egg....so this year they were color coated and that seemed to produce a more favorable bounty.....the adults on the other hand always have special lotto treats in their eggs and they search just as hard as the kids.....

Next on our Spring journey we went to Ada Michigan to see my sister and her son Craig and his family. What a great place, very quiet and filled with things to see and do. We went to the little downtown area where they have turned older houses into shops. Around here sometimes I wonder about people, they prefer to tear them down and build up more concrete stores or malls. It was nice to step back in time a little and check out their area. We went into one shop that was all knitting accessories. They had yarn of every type and color and I found some knitting needles to bring back for Alana, she is the oldest grandchild of 7 and wants to learn how to knit. So I bought 2 pairs, one for me to refresh my memory and one for her to begin her memory....we'll see how that goes....

When we got back to the house Craig was bar-b-queuing lunch....yummmm..one thing is sure about our family...food is our favorite hobby, subject, pastime or lively hood.......

This is my sister Kathy, guarding lunch....and preparing it along with Amy, Craig's wife....while we waited, we checked out some interesting ideas from one of the many magazines Kathy has...I have yet to try them but thought they were worth snatching a picture of....

Well after great eats...lots of conversation, some shopping...and just plain enjoying the day, we got back in the car and headed back home to Chicago land area....until the next adventure....

The Journey....

I have a secret garden that I call the Journey. It comes complete with path, trees, rocks, flowers, bushes, bugs, bunnies and squirrels. I call it the Journey because to me it is the symbol of life.. Sometimes when I look at it, it is distressed with weeds popping up and flowers spent, other times it is perfect for just that moment when the flowers are bloomed and the mulch is perfect and all is right with the world.

Just as is common in life, there are times when the path is clear, the weeds which I equate to evil and temptation are gone, freshly pulled and tossed aside. The mature trees along the path are my roots and family. They are strong and have been here for several generations. The stump is a reminder of the family members that are gone, but a piece of them remains and their root is entangled into mine. There are rocks which represent God and his importance in my life and his strength when I have none. The perennials are my true friends and they represent the solid friendships that can weather anything and never give up. The annuals are the once in a while people or friends who happen along my journey of life. They may not last long but they have made an impact along the way. The path is brick and represents the years of travel and at times when I have lost my way or wandered from the path, it stays steadfast until I find my way back.

The seasons of the Journey begin with Spring as we all did when life is full of hope as in the flowers when they start to pop their heads up and the hostas begin to fill in. In the summer when we were young and strong and relationships forged. Each year as with new relationships, new periennals are added with the hope of filling up the space to capacity. In the fall, it is time for change and rest. There is a majestic beauty in the changing colors of the leaves and plants, just as with us as time marches on, our own beauty changes some in appearance, some in behavior. It is a time of awe and wonder as to how did it become fall so soon and the awe of God's handiwork with the brillance of the colors and the crispness in the air. In the winter, the path is covered and it is indeed a time of rest. All the blemishes of the world are covered and lay beneath the surface. Once the peace and solitude of winter starts to thaw it is time to begin again and start planning for spring that will be here soon.

At the end of the path or my journey is a bench for rest. This year I will add my favorite saying to the end in hopes that someday when my real life journey ends this saying will still ring true. My mom gave me this saying on a tee shirt oddly enough but the words though they are in Greek, still remain true of who I am, what I value and how I believe.

" I want for nothing, I need nothing,....I am free".

Letting go of the String....

When is it that we become an adult....and let loose the hold on our youth. I saw it today in my son's eyes and I cried. Today he sold his motorcycle that he bought 7 years ago. It was a 2003 Anniversary Edition Harley Davidson bike. It is a beautiful Burgundy and he took care of it as if it were a child. I will never forget the day he bought it, he and a friend went to Indiana to pick it up and bring it home. My kids knew my dislike of motorcycles and I had always threatened them as any good parent would do with " If you want a bike it will have to be when you are not living here, I wont allow it." Well it was that thought that started all the trouble. I remember him coming home and telling me, and his brother being so excited but before I could fulfill my threat he just knew I was mad and took off. His brother defended him by saying that I told them if they ever brought a bike home they would be out....so out he stayed... and he didn't speak to me. It took a couple of days to smooth things over and though I was not pleased with what could be potentially life threatening....I saw the bike and it was beautiful. I even rode on the bike, but the beauty was in Bill's face and the pride that he had shown in being able to buy it in the first place and he rode it with confidence and pride. He made double payments on it, and took extreme care when he drove it. I can still feel the ground rumble and I knew without looking that it was him and the sound of the thunder that it created. He was home and he was safe.

Well life has a way of creeping up on you and today he stands with 3 little faces looking out the window at him and a fourth on the way. He is Dad, he is responsible and he is an adult. I can only imagine that as we pass from childhood to young adult to adulthood, it is like holding a handful of balloons and you hold tight to the strings and keep them from bursting or flying away. As we let go of some of our dreams we let go of some of our balloons. Today Bill loosed the hold on the string of that Burgundy balloon and sold his bike and freed a dream. There will come another time, another day, he may have another bike sometime, but it will never be like this one. This bike was born of his youth and paid for with young adulthood and sacrifice and sold with love. I stopped by as the new owners were loading it into their trailer and his face spoke volumes. Gone was the youth and before me stood an adult man with responsibilities watching from the window and how he handled this situation will forever mark him in their eyes as a Dad who sacrificed what he loved one day for the family he will love forever. At that moment in time he was my 19 year old son stuck in a 28 year old body. I love his spirit and strength and unselfishness and I marvel at the man he has become.

That Old House....

This is the first blog of the New Year...and though 2010, one of the worst years that I can remember has ended, 2011 holds msystery as it unfolds one day at a time...



For the last 4 or 5 years I have watched the house next door sit empty and have wondered everyday what will they do with this house? Finally last week the owner had said she would like to sell it and gave us the opportunity to see and act first on it. As long as our family home has been, so has this one. These were your neighbors of your childhood and at that time people stayed in their homes forever...it wasn't a transient type of neighborhood. The family that lived in that house were simple people, a Mom a Dad and two sons. The husband was huge and as a child I was always amazed when his wife would do the laundry and hang out their clothes on the line and you just never saw such big pants....he loved his yard and to garden, he could fix anything much like my own father. One year their oldest son at 17 drown and everything in that house changed....from personal experience I understand his pain. We came to know the pain of the 2nd child who's life also stopped the day his brother died. His parents were so overwhelmed with grief, that he just faded into the woodwork of their lives. I am sure he was loved and cared for, but from his own lips nothing was the same. Since that time, the father has passed away, the mother in her 90's passed away in August of 2009 and by December 2009 the last surviving child passed away at 58. The house then became his wife's responsibility. I have literally watched this house everyday from the morning with just a blush of light to Christmas morning when it has sat in quiet solitude, sad looking...waiting....



We walked thru the house yesterday to see the condition and consider it's purchase. I was amazed, yes it needs work all homes do, but the furniture was not grand, the style was simple and the most amazing thing was a dining room that I didn't even know they had. The table, the dishes, the quality was amazing. I am a sucker for old homes, small children and animals....but this house calls to me and is looking for the oppotunity to be a home again, to be filled with people who will laugh, live and love....to shine brightly and be restored to a useful life, isn't that what we all want... I don't know what the outcome will be, but I would hope that we can help it to become a home again for someone....to see flowers bloom in the yard where weeds have grown instead...to be a place of pride and have a presence. The house itself is full of history and I know I've been told that I am to sentimental and this would be more of a business arrangement than a personal mission. I know that but it doesn't mean that feelings can just be turned off or history ignored. It just reminds me of life itself, there are many times when we feel abandoned or hopeless...maybe that is why old sad homes touch my soul....

Well old house whatever the outcome, please know that you are not alone and someone watches from the shadows....my wish for you is to live and breathe again....and surround some family with the warmth of your shelter..

And God keeps their smiles......

I guess if I was blindfolded and didn't know the time of year, if someone just placed me here I would know it is November. November is a strange month, solemn, gray skies, quiet except for the flutter of dying leaves as they hit the ground. The month begins with All Souls and has a Day of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the beginning to the holiday season...

With the November winds blowing in and the leaves almost picked up, it was time to do some holiday maintenance. I went in search of easels and wreaths with which to adorn the graves of the ones we love. We had Brooke and Mason with us and though it is not easy to explain what we were doing...we gave it a try...I was in the car with Brooke having just picked up the wreaths, which were fresh and had a bright red bow attached....."what is a wreath???" she asked. I told her it was evergreen branches wrapped tightly in a circle with a bow... What's evergreen...yikes....it is the bushes and pine trees and it smells like a Christmas tree. "You know what a Christmas tree smells like don't you" I asked. "No" she replied and she was correct I guess. They have an artificial tree at Christmas as most of us do so we resort to holiday sprays to get the effect. I tried to explain that evergreen is always green and the needles always point up to heaven....that having no effect allowed my mind to travel and remember the holidays when I was a child and it was literally a moment before Christmas that our real tree went up and the smell of the pine filled the house with the most marvelous scent....I will always remember my Dad going through the lights to put on the tree and I always worried because if the lights didn't work it was to late to go to the store and buy more and if we didn't have lights then we couldn't finish decorating the tree. Somehow my Dad did those lights with an amazing patience that I still to this day have never possessed. He would sit and fiddle with them and before you knew it he had them fixed and on the tree and not just twinkle lights, these were the large C7 or C9 lights that lite up the room with amazing power. I on the other hand have always found it easier to give up, throw them away and go buy new ones....I guess I couldn't be bothered with something so futile....but my Dad never waivered....amazing...

On route to the cemetary, Brooke wanted to know what was a cemetary. I told her it was a place like a park where we buried the people we love....and I knew as soon as I said it, it sounded so strange. She asked me so you put them in the ground...yep....and then it hit me for the first time....we take someone that we treasure more than life itself and we bury them in the dirt like a tulip bulb....she told me I don't want to go and see bones.....because I saw that in a scary movie on CSI....I have to admit I had to turn around and look at her in awe, I never would of thought of that, but I guess if you are 4....you do think of that...and what were you doing watching CSI?..no answer.. I assured her we would not see the bones and tried to explain, that their bodies remain here while their souls or spirits go to Jesus....what is a spirwit? she asked....it is everything, that makes you who you are, your love, your thoughts, your sense of humor everything that makes you unique...confusing I am sure to a child....confusing I guess to an adult....then in her infinite wisdom she said "so Jesus takes your smile.?.." and I was in awe....I never thought of it that way. While we take care of the part we created and loved, Jesus calls home the part he created and loves...and through the eyes of a 4 year old I saw her wisdom.

So we got to the cemetary and placed our wreaths on our planted friends, said a prayer and left....but I could not get her words out of my head...and so in this month of rememberance it takes awhile to remember all the people who once crossed paths with your life and now are with God...I will return to Jono's grave with his picture and a message, because that too occurred to me that after all is said and done we become a slab of marble in the ground for the people who do not know us....so next to his picture I will leave this message:

I once walked this ground and brought laughter

and joy to many people.

I was a kid, a son, a brother, a friend.....

I laughed, I lived and I even learned.

I touched people and they touched me

and now I take that with me and

I will watch from here while you watch from there...

remember me and I will remember you always...

until we meet again.....

Sleep well my friends......until we meet again, I will look upon the sun as your combined smiles and the stars as the twinkle of your eyes....

It seems like October was so far off when Amy and Eric decided to get married. We planned, shopped, made things, shopped again....turned their ideas into designs and reality. Well this weekend the big event finally came. It was a gorgeous weekend. It was the perfect fall weekend, not a cloud in the sky and warmer than usual. All of my family made the trek into Chicago, from Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia. It was terrific seeing all of them. I was on vacation all week and each day had a different aspect of the wedding planned.

We started on Tuesday with the set up of the hall. The reception was being held at our Church in the main hall. Normally it is undecorated and used for events at different times of the year. Here is a picture of how it looked when we started....just plain tables, and walls....

We added a few tablecloths, .....................

some chair covers........

and the centerpieces......then some fluff...The room was ready...

And when we were done it looked like this...Thanks to Mom, Katie and my sister Kathy for all their help.....

My daughter Amy is a Nurse and her fiancee is a Fireman...so they created the Nurse and Fireman theme for the wedding....Unfortunately I do not have all the pictures of the accessories so you will have to check out Kathy's blog to see those...but they wanted a cake that was not only good tasting but sumed up their relationship...They had a groom's cake of the Fireman's helmet that Eric wears, and the cake, white with the red roses which reflects the red and white of the nurses....

If you notice the cake topper is the fireman carrying the nurse, cap and all.......the favors on the table were first aid kits and the jordan almonds were done in red, orange and yellow netting representing the flames....with the saying "Our Love is on Fire"..

The kids put out Eric's fireman boots to hold their cards and Eric being Irish had a bag pipe player arrive at the church to escort them from the church once they were married. I would show you that picture but again, I did not have my camera and so I can't show you a picture of the Bride and Groom at least not what they looked like that day...Again I will have to get that from Kathy...The ceremony went well....the best part was when the priest, Father Damien who has known my kids for a long time, was having Amy recite her vows and at the last moment he slipped in the words, I Amy promise to be obedient......she just stopped dead and turned her head to look at Father and Eric did a double take....Father started laughing along with everyone in the audience....as he stated I just had to throw that one in ...the reaction was great and so the statement was changed...and obedience was removed from the ceremony....Everything went smoothly....and they left the church hand in hand to begin their new life....The reception room started to fill with people and the only thing missing was the beer....people went to the foyer area for H'orderves and began the party....During dinner toasts were made, one by Katie, her sister, who talked all about what a great person Eric was getting, but just in case he didn't know she let him in on some obvious flaws of the bride all done in good humor. After a slight moment of choking up, Kate finished her toast and it was on to the best man, Joe's toast....he talked about how he and Eric met and how that lead to him working with Amy and completing the circle....again the toast was complete and dinner continued. The toast that was never heard around the table was the one that was in my heart but couldn't be said...so I will give my toast now to the Bride and Groom...though they may never see it, they will know I always felt it.....

Amy and Eric, look around this room, at all the people here, your family, your friends and co-workers. This whole process started because 2 people fell in love. They took that leap of faith and believed in each other. From that love they had 6 children, 15 grandchildren and 23 Great Grandchildren. They fulfilled their life. When I became a Mom and they placed that child in my arms, I had so many hopes, goals and expectations. I couldn't wait until that child talked to hear your name called from their lips, to crawl, walk and eventually run. To start school, play an instrument or be active in whatever their desire to do was. To graduate from high school, go on to college if that was their choice, to graduate, start a career, to meet the person who they would choose to share their life with. Today marks the end of my goals. They have been met. I waited Amy's entire life to see the man that would win her heart and she chose wisely. Eric shares her passion for constant fun and adventure. They love to travel, they share their work...they compliment each other. Eric is strong in the areas where Amy is weaker and Amy is stronger in areas where Eric is weaker. Every life will have challenges but if you remember to always keep this day in your heart and remember to love always, laugh often and live well...someday you will sit where I do and take pride in all that you have accomplished and know your goals have been met. I always wanted 6 children but could only mentally and physically handle 4, but I ended up with seven which was more than I could hope for. I too have be blessed and full filled...and will now move into a different phase of Motherhood and pass gracefully into Grand motherhood and will sit back and enjoy the ride. There is still much to come. Love to you both always and forever....

Well that would have been my speech, but I need to go a little further and thank my family for everything they have done and been to me in my life....starting with Mom, she is always there with me to work on any project we take on and if it was not for her, much of this event would not have happened. That even includes being okay with walking home from the church at 1:00 in the morning in complete darkness, dressed like "2 old hookers" walking down the highway because everyone left and the car was dead when we decided to go home......she actually beat me home......My sister Kathy and Jack always seem to get the short end of the stick and end up in the kitchen with me. But from the bottom of my heart I love them both. Kathy made ribs, acorn squash and is always a huge part of anything I do. They drove in, did the dinner, ran to the church to participate in the rehersal, did the readings at the wedding, help me set up the room and food and went back again to help me clean up. They are amazing and gracious always where I know myself well enough to know I would not always be...My brothers Greg and Phil who when a problem arose were right there to jump in the car and take care of it. My brothers Rick and Jim who could calm you down and always are there to support whatever crazy idea I get....my kids who are always a part of everything I dream and everything I do....thank you to them all, without their help I would be lost....

Now everyone has left and the house is quiet...we straightend up the yard, tried to disguise the leftovers and took a long nap...it has been a great vacation....a long week...I actually even managed to squeeze in having lost 4 pounds.....well that shouldn't be...I think I'll head in a try one more left over from the sweet table.....thanks to everyone...always...and forever grateful...Love you all......