Ella J.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity...painting the baby;s room, washing more clothes than I have ever seen a child wear...Amy was due on August 24th and went into labor on August 23rd. ...

Amy tried to go as natural as possible and held off on the drugs....I am proud of her, when she got pretty far along the pain was a little to intense and chose to go with the drugs..I remember having my own children and the first child we were all prepared for natural childbirth...after the first menacing pains kicked in I was all about the drugs...next to the baby it was the best part of childbirth..That really didn't help Amy any so I just observed and waited....Well at 3:12 weighing

in at 8lbs 14 oz. (thus the drugs)...Ella J. was born.

Ella in Greek means "come" and if ever there was a most anticipated child this would be it. Amy has waited her whole life to be a wife and now Mother. She and Eric have stepped into the parent role and both participate in almost every aspect of her care. The "J " as her middle name is for Eric's middle name and Amy's brother Jonathan. Somehow I think Ella knew him before she came here and sent her and his blessing on to his sister. Here in this picture Ella is the 24th Great Grandchild for Mom and my 6th grandchild. She also joins the 4 -Generation club with her cousins who have been lucky enough to meet and greet their Great YiaYia.

God bless them all and welcome, baby Ella........

We have been Blessed...

This year we are blessed to have 2 new arrivals to add to the fold. Amy and Eric are expecting their first child in August and Bill and Laura are expecting their fourth child in September. This has been a long hot summer for both Mommas...We had a baby shower for Amy and Eric in June, with lots of friends, family and gifts...

As Amy and Brooke get ready for the day, we decorated the outside and got ready for the people.

The Mommas in waiting...and waiting and waiting.....soon.....it will be over.....

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..