The Best Present Ever

People say that "the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach." From my experience, it is the best way to any person's heart. The gift of food is awesome! It doesn't cause clutter and one size fits all! It is a gift of service and allows the cook in the house to give a gift to the rest of the family - a good meal!

I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy having dinner prepared for them by someone else, especially during this busy, busy time of the year! And that's just what we got as a Christmas present from Mike and Marci Martin - homemade spaghetti sauce and noodles. It was delish!! Thank you Martin Family!

In Memoriam

June 23, 1933 - December 1, 1997
My Daddy was kind, compassionate, caring, friendly, helpful, loyal, easy-going, faithful, hard working, funny, handsome, brave, dedicated...and the list could go on and on. One of the things he did best was loving people unconditionally! Yes, he was so many things to so many people, but to me he was just my Daddy, and I was his little girl (even after I was grown).

Time does heal, but the hole left in my heart 14 years ago is just as big today! I miss you, Daddy!

12-Step Program

I admit I am addicted to Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch. I also admit that I just finished my 9th box, and it is not even Thanksgiving. Oh my goodness!!!

Last night I commented that I might need to enter a 12-Step Program, and my husband quickly replied: "Yes, stay 12 steps away from the cupboard!" :0)

The Lunch Ladies

Don't know how many of you have read this before, but I LOVE it!! Wanted to share it with you all. Here's to a good laugh today!

A group of 15-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Dairy Queen next to the Ocean View restaurant because they had only $6.00 among them and Jimmy Johnson, the cute boy in Social Studies, lived on that street.

10 years later, the group of 25-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the beer was cheap, the restaurant offered free snacks, the band was good, there was no cover and there were lots of cute guys.

10 years later, the group of 35-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the cosmos were good, it was right near the gym and, if they went late enough, there wouldn't be too many whiny little kids.

10 years later, the group of 45-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the martinis were big and the waiters had tight pants and nice buns.

10 years later, the group of 55-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the prices were reasonable, the wine list was good, the restaurant had windows that opened (in case of a hot flashes), and fish is good for cholesterol.

10 years later, the group of 65-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the lighting was good and the restaurant had an early bird special.

10 years later, the group of 75-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the food was not too spicy and the restaurant was handicapped-accessible.

10 years later, the group of 85-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for lunch. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they had never been there before.

Boys Will Be Boys

Boys will be boys...and men will be boys, too!! There must be some advantages to working at a construction company with all men, but I haven't discovered any yet! :0)

Arrived at work on Thursday afternoon after running a lot of errands, and I immediately headed for the kitchen to get a water bottle. But, I saw something better...

When I opened the lid, this is what I saw. Of course, they got the "reaction" they wanted and thought it was sooooooooooo funny!

"Why did they have a dead rattlesnake on ice in an ice chest?" That was my question too. Well DUH - because they were going to take it home and cook it!!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

October 15th was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. I debated whether to share this post or not, but decided tonight to hit the “publish post” button.

I can remember that day in 1989 like it was yesterday. I took a pregnancy test that morning, and it was positive! After 4½ years of marriage, Bob and I were going to have a baby! We were sooooo excited, but waited a few weeks (until after my first doctor’s appointment) to tell our family and friends. And then…it happened.

I was at work and had just finished eating my lunch. I stopped to use the bathroom before heading back to my desk, and that’s when I saw the bright red blood. I went home to rest but ended up in the emergency room later that evening. Oh how I wished July 26, 1989 had never happened. That morning I had awoken pregnant, wondering whether the baby was a boy or a girl. Later that night, I had lost that baby through a miscarriage.

As Christians, Bob and I believe that life begins at conception. Our unborn child was not just a fetus or a “piece of tissue”. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb…” This was our baby, and we were devastated and broken-hearted. I cried and cried. I went through a few weeks of “self blame”. If only I had done something differently or not done something I wouldn’t have miscarried.

Miscarriage is death. It brings with it all the agonizing grief that comes with losing a loved one. But there are no funerals. No memorials. You don’t get sympathy cards and bereavement time. Life goes on.

Miscarriage is a taboo subject; it makes people uncomfortable. People didn’t know what to say, and sometimes they say things that undermined my grief: “You can always get pregnant again,” “These things happen for the best,” or “You were only 9 weeks along.” Others just avoided us or avoided the subject. I think society, in general, is callous about pregnancy loss. But if nobody ever tells people how much it hurts, how are they to know that miscarriage is such a big deal?

Going back to work that next week was hard. I sat in my office chair, stunned, grieving, and facing a pile of work. I wondered how the world could go on when I had just lost my baby. My mind wondered things like: Would it have been a girl or a boy? Would our baby have looked more like me or Bob? What would we have named him/her? Will I be able to get pregnant again? Will I have another miscarriage?

Although some people thought it was strange, Bob and I chose to do something to honor our baby – our first child and our parents' grandchild. Since it was going to be mounted on Bob's dad's headstone and be next to Bob's mom's, we chose for it to say "And Our Beloved Grandchild.":




Thank you, blog readers, for letting me share this story with you. As most of you know, I went on to get pregnant in November of that year and had a beautiful, healthy baby in August of 1990 (and another one in April of 1994). Still, Bob and I have never forgotten our “first” baby and look forward to meeting him/her in Heaven someday.

Who Knew?

According to yahoo news, "October 5th comes roughly nine months after New Year's Eve, so it is probably no coincidence that it is the nation's most common birthday..." Can you belive that? If you don't believe it (like I didn't), you can watch a video about it at this website:

http://news.yahoo.com/who-knew/most-common-birthday-26813075.html

I know this is probably toooooo much information, but I guess my parents were busy celebrating New Year's Eve on January 1959! :0)

P.S. Thank you to my dear brother for sending this information to his little sister!

Wise Words

Maybe it will surprise some of you that I am a fourth generation and 35 year member of the Grange. Yesterday, while reading my California State Grange Newsletter, I came across these words written by Barbara Geiger, who is the California State Grange Chaplain:

"There comes a time in your life when you walk away from all the drama and people who creative it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of life, getting back up is living."

Wise words!!

Ethan's New Girlfriend

Got an e-mail from Ethan this morning with a picture of his new girlfriend girlfriend's new look! :0)

First Day of Autumn

REALLY? SERIOUSLY? It's the first day of Autumn! Someone needs to buy Mother Nature a calendar that says, "Autumn Begins" on the little September 23rd square. Kim, you are excused (if you want) from commenting on this blog post because I know you LOVE the hot weather!! :0)

In spite of the weather, I am going to change my blog background to something fun for fall!

Rock Around The Clock

When I was looking for something on my computer the other day, I found this video of Romona Black and I dancing along to the 50's music on my juke box! Thought you might enjoy a "laugh for today".

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas...

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…already!! Each fall, Redding Christian School has an All-School Musical at the Cascade Theater in Redding. RCS students 3rd – 12th grade can audition for the musical. This year, they are doing White Christmas, a musical based on the 1954 film. There are 50+ kids in the production. The dates are October 28th at 7:00 p.m. and October 29th at 11:00 a.m. They will also be doing a matinee on Friday morning for area schools.

Lyle is playing the part of Phil (Danny Kaye in the movie). He is very excited to have a lead role. He has many, many lines to memorize and songs and intense dances to learn. Lyle and several of the other cast members are even learning to tap dance. Practices are four days a week for three hours a day, but Lyle is loving every minute of it!! Here’s a picture taken at practice the other day:

This will be Lyle’s last RCS All-School Musical. :0( They started doing these musicals in 2005 (when Lyle was in sixth grade), and he has performed in all of them:

• Schoolhouse Rock Live!
• Anne of Green Gables
• Alice in Wonderland
• Music Man
• Beauty and the Beast
• Oliver

If you live in the Redding area, please try to come. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

A Night on the Town

Last night, Blaine and Colleen Hudson (our boss and his wife) took us out for a night on the town!! The Hudsons took us to dinner at Outback and then to a concert at the Cascade Theater. It was Randy Linder - A Tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was awesome, and we enjoyed ourselves sooo much.

I commented on the "older" crowd, and Bob reminded me that Proud Mary came out in 1969 (42 years ago). My favorites - Proud Mary, Midnight Special, Heard It Through the Grapevine, Looking Out My Back Door, Up Around The Bend, On The Corner, and Susie Q.

Randy Linder even had the same hairstyle as John Fogerty:


photos courtsey of www.randylinder.com

Wrong Worship

OUCH!! A little convicting (especially "I Surrender Some")!!

Keep Her!

After we had moved Hilary’s belongings into the dorm, organized some things, had lunch and toured the campus, we made a trip into Eureka to pick up some last-minute things at Target. Then we took Ethan and Hilary to dinner. That’s when it began to hit me…I am actually leaving my daughter 3.5 hours from home. This isn’t a sleepover…I am leaving her at college. I was very quiet at dinner simply because I didn’t trust myself to talk without crying. When we dropped them back off at the school, I must admit I shed a few tears. I quickly volunteered to drive for awhile (you know you can’t cry very hard and see to drive at the same time) . As we were leaving the campus, we drove past her dorm building. I looked up at the window and thought to myself, “She’s in there…embarking on her future.” Thoughts swirled around and around in my head as I drove.

Our children come to us for such a short time. Eighteen years. Maybe twenty-one. Sometimes they become “boomerang children” and come back to live with us again for awhile. But they’re not meant to stay. They are always leaving.

I must admit that it’s not easy to let them go. You can read the books or attend the classes, but it doesn’t make it any easier. From the very first moment I met my daughter in that delivery room 21 years ago, I have wanted to keep her safe. Keep her warm. Keep her happy. Keep her healthy. Keep her! It is hard to accept the fact that I don’t get to keep her!

She’s not mine, though. Hilary was created by God to change the world. That is the sweet and beautiful truth. He has plans for her. He calls her by name. He has engraved her name on the palms of His hands. He knows the number of hairs on her head. He treasures Hilary. He loves her. He keeps her.

And because I know He keeps her, I can let her go.

Humboldt State University - Part III (The Campus)

So, blog readers, want to go on a little tour of Humboldt State University campus? HSU stands for Humboldt State University and also stands for hills, stairs, and umbrellas. They told us that Humboldt has more stairs on their campus than students -- 15,000 stairs (and only 7,500 students). :0) Anywhere you go on the campus, it is either uphill or downhill. After walking uphill, we encountered these stairs. I was EXHAUSTED after our tour!! You should be glad you are going on this "blog tour" instead.

This is the Student Center/Cafeteria, known as the jolly giants common or the "J" for short. The Cafeteria is 1/2 mile one way from Hilary's dorm. I, personally, would build up quite an appetite just walking to the "J".

When you drive up to HSU, it doesn't look like the typical college campus. My first question was, "Where are all the classrooms?" Well, they are nestled and hidden in the trees:

Here's the Library:

How would you like to have an 8:00 a.m. class in this building? The stairs going up to this building are something. (This building was built in 1921.)

This is the Campus Bookstore and courtyard area. Last Wednesday they had a Club Fair in the courtyard area. You could go and check out all the campus clubs.

They have beautiful walking trails at one end of the campus. Nice trails and benches along the way.

Okay, for the sports' fans, here's a picture of the arena where the HSU basketball games are played:

The football field (go HSU Lumberjacks!!)...

The indoor pool...

They have a Student Recreation Center that the students can use for free anytime they want. There was 3 rooms filled with all kinds of machines.

They even have this rock climbing wall...

Well, thank you for joining me on this tour. It is a beautiful campus!

Humboldt State University - Part II (The Dorms)

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!!

In the center of this picture is the gate where you enter the courtyard of Hilary's dorm building. She must use her card AND a password to enter the gate.

This is the Marketplace for her dorm building. You can go through the store and come to another gate to get into her courtyard.

The Marketplace is beautiful inside and huge. I only took pictures of parts of it. The kids can use their "J' points (their meal card) to buy things in the store.

In addition to being a grocery store, it has a deli area where you can buy slices of pizza, chicken, etc. It also has 2 different kinds of soup, a beautiful fruit bar with three kinds of yogurt and on the other side of the fruit bar (below) is a great salad bar.

They also have a coffee shop and sell pastries.

Upstairs, above the Marketplace, is the Great Hall for her dorm building. It is a beautiful room with a fireplace. The next night after she moved in they were going to have a movie night in this room. They also have other activities in here just for the people in her dorm.

Hilary lives in what they call a suite (much like an apartment). There are six people in her suite. Tim and Hilary both have a single room. Nate and Everett and Katie and Briel each share a double room. When you walk in the door, you are in the common area. The dining room...

The living room...

and the kitchen...

Hilary and Tim's rooms and their bathroom is off the kitchen. The two double rooms and the other bathroom is down the hall from the dining room. Here's looking from the kitchen down into Hilary's room.

Each dorm building has a nice courtyard area with benches, trees, and bike racks. It is really nice.

Here's a couple of pictures of Hilary's room:

We only met three of Hilary's roommates, but they were soooo nice. Offered to help us carry things up and then invited us to go into Arcata with them for lunch. We went to one of the HSU kids' favorite hang outs:

Check back for HSU - Part III (The Campus)

Humboldt State University -- Part I (mostly in pictures)

The weekend before Hilary left for college, we had an August birthday/family get-together with the Haley Family. My cousin, Bernadean, fixed this fun "college basket" for Hilary. It had popcorn, Top Ramen, cookies and (a necessity if you are going to Humboldt State University)...HIPPIE CHIPS!! :0)

Hilary's cousin, Ashley, gave her "the most important items needed" when you are moving away from home for the first time...a package of toilet paper and a plunger:

The night before Hilary left, she chose to go to one of her most favorite places to eat:

The guys in there were sad to see her leave for college since she has been such a loyal customer. But, no worries, there's always Thanksgiving and Christmas break.

A goodbye picture with Lyle because he was not going with us...

We got up at 4:00 a.m. to pack the van. Yes, we had to rent a van because we could not get everything in our car.

A quick picture in front of the house before we got on the road at 6:00 a.m. We stopped in Weaverville for breakfast and continue on to Arcata.

We had mostly everything packed in boxes, and we were sooooo glad we did. Then my very, very smart husband thought about bringing his hand truck/dolly!! It was a ways from the unloading area to the dorm room.

Since this post is so long and I have so many pictures, I thought I would break it up into several posts. Check back for HSU - Part II.