Favorite Photo #41 -- Only One

I didn't have any photos from this week so I dug through some from earlier and

picked just one of my very favorite with our granddaughter and her Papa . . . . . . . . .

Favorite Foto Friday - Fun In The Sun

I don't usually participate in these Favorite Foto Friday's because it wasn't what my blog is all about but my daughter sent this picture this week and I could not help but participate this week.

I might add that I do love looking at others.

Our oldest daughter sent me some of the cutest pictures of our granddaugher Ciara. I thought I would post them on my blog. Ciara will be 3 years old on Nov. 23rd; about 6 months after my father died she was born. She brought life back to our family and boy would he have loved his first great grandchild. Anyway enough here are the pictures:

I think this reminds me of "ET phone home"

Isn't she a beauty; grandma can't wait to see you again!

I think these gogles are like a bit big but Heather says no this is how they fit! Ok?

So enough bragging. . . . . .

I follow several blogs of people who have adopted from Guatemala and it has brought such joy to me that I join them in this:

Taken directly from JuJu's blog-I am declaring this Thursday as the first annual:
National Day Of Prayer
for the
Orphans of Guatemala
We have a responsibility as parents and believers to continue to go to God for those still in the adoption process and for the children that do not yet have families.
I ask each of you to join with me in an all day time of prayer. It does not matter where you are or what you are doing, you can pray however you chose to. Silently as you work, Loudly as you vacuum or softly as your rock your sweet Guatemalan gift.
I come to you with a serious drive to gather as many willing hearts as I can to join together to lift up the families still waiting to bring their babies home and to also lift ALL of the children in Guatemala trapped in this mess needing so desperately to be loved, held and HOME with a family!!!!
Thank you in advance for getting the word out. PLEASE, put a link to my blog, do a post, get this on the forums and blogs that you guys are involved in.
PRAYER WORKS!!!!
There is power in numbers and there are scriptures on my side bar to show you just how true this is!
Let me know you got the news and that you are going to pass it on.
To those of you that believe in fasting - fast as you feel led to and fast what you feel led to.
That is a private thing.
To those of you that do not pray - I ask you to send a word of encouragement to those waiting, and do what you to send well wishes to the orphans of Guatemala.
The newest reports sound bad - but I chose to do what the word of God says.
I will trust him and know that he is faithful to hear our prayers and answer them:)
So - lets join together
THURSDAY
from now on,
the first Thursday in May will be:
National Day of Prayer
for the
Orphans of Guatemala
are you with me on this???????

May 4, 2005

This is the day we lost our husband, our father, our grandfather to the terrible disease "cancer." We miss him today as much as we missed him that day. He was my best friend. . . . . .

"People will forget what you said,
People will forget what you did,
But people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou

We don't like to say good-bye to those whom we love. It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. They have no pain there. They struggled here. They have no struggles there. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don't. They understand. They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God. We can take comfort in knowing that are loved ones are in the warm arms of God. And when Christ comes, we will hold them, too.

Max Lucado

It is Spring Time in Walla Walla; Easter and the promise of a new life is just around the corner. I think spring is my favorite time of the year. Things start blooming in the yard and you begin working outside in the yard again and see your neighbors that you don't see all winter. It just seems like a time that everything is alive again. It refreshes the heart! Our Winter has been long and cold so it is good to have the promise of new life again. Baseball is in the air, small children are out riding their bikes and playing in the yard, parents are out walking babies in strollers and I can't wait to start planting the yard full of beautiful flowers. This picture is a picture of a tree planted in memory of my father on the golf course in Sun City, AZ that he played on so many many times. The house my mother lives in overlooks the golf course and this tree planted by his friends with a wonderful plaque that reads "In Memory of Lou LaLumiere." Even this tree sings out "Spring" and a new beginning. Enjoy your Spring where ever you might be.

Arrival Of Spring

The smell of spring is in the air,flowers blooming everywhere,Butterflies kiss the end of my nose,tulip heads begin to show.Snow flakes now turn to rain,no more aches, no more pain.I'm taking off my long underwear,the warmth of spring is in the air.Mother Robin she says, "HELLO",with motherly pride, she proudly glows.With 3 tiny chicks all snuggled in nest,she puffs out her tiny red robin chest.Her song of cheer is so sweet to my ear,I look forward to her song every year.Because she represents the first of spring,I listen for her, and for what she brings.Spring is the cleansing of our earth,given to us free, at our birth.

© Morning Rain, all right reserved.Used by permission.

"Happy 2008"

This is how we spent our holidays; with family from afar. Papa and Ciara became best buddies and it was sad to leave her behind after two weeks. We would have loved to stick her in our suitcases without her mama knowing and bring her home. Now we are home after a truly amazing visit to Arizona. Nothing like spending two weeks in the sun in the middle of the cold winter her in Walla Walla. We were able to see daughter, son in law, granddaughter, mother, brother and sister in law all in one visit. Of course we stayed with my mom and had Christmas at her house. After two very lonley Christmas's without her husband, my father, it was so heartwarming to have the house full of her daugher and her family and her son and daughter in law. She just kept saying "Dad would have loved this" and how right she is he would have. Tom was able to be "Mr. Handyman" and do lots of things she needed done and I took care of some of her needs. It was fun to be there and it was ever so hard to leave there. Two weeks seemed like a long time but it flew by so fast I could hardly believe it. Then we are home to the reality of life. Tom had a MRI but hooray we learned yesterday that there worst nightmear (and ours) was wrong -- he has no tumor in the brain. He has something that can be fixed with drug therapy and that made my heart jump. My mother in law is ill and it looks like it could be something more serious but we are praying and keeping our fingers crossed that it isn't more serious. What a week it has been but we will know more on Thursday. Please keep good thoughts for us on that one. Since I blog rarely then I wish you the best for the rest of Winter and remember Spring is just around the corner.

Happy Holidays

Well Thanksgiving is over and my how time flys. In just a few days my family and I will board a plane and head to sunny Arizona to spent Christmas with my family. Although my heart is sad that dad won't be there my heart has grown to know that he just isn't there. Does that make sense; you see even though I have made this journey many times before it was different I always had this hope, this belief, this feeling that maybe he would be there but now it is knowing he just won't be there. The saddness doesn't rip my heart out anymore; it doesn't mean I miss him any less it just means I am beyond that total devestation. I am looking forward to this Christmas as it is the first time in 17 years that my whole family will be together; Mother, oldest daughter and her family, my brother and sister in law and my husband and youngest daughter. Yes, we will miss Dad but we will be celebrating the love of the season and our family as it is now. Happy Holidays to all.

It's September -- It's My Birthday

Well it is the month I dread the most; my birthday is Sunday! Why do I dread it is because for me it is a stinging reminder that Dad is gone just in case I didn't remember. My sweet husband is always good at saying "so what do you want to do this year." Well the first year I didn't want to do anything but cry and he was pretty good in letting me do just that, last year I wanted to have a full blown party thrown by me and it was great and so this year the same question and my answer "just be a family." Well it pretty much got changed by my friend Susan who thinks we should at least have dinner so we are going to do that.

While contemplating the impending day I thought of childhood memories and thought about my parents who always had great gifts but always made us choose a organization for them to donate some money in our name to for one of our birthday gifts. As children my brother and I always thought it was a bit corney but hay we still got our gifts so it was an ok thing to do. It is funny because all these years later I continue to donate to something of great cause on or around my birthday. I think back at that and thing what a great way to make sure your children know what is important in life.

This year I will be donating to Josh a little boy who is so sick. His family has been left without a home due to a storm, Josh who requires alot of medical bills and issues and Josh's grandma who is very very sick with cancer. This family needs our prayers and our available money. SO because of what my parents taught us so many years ago I will assist a young boy in prayer and a gift how much more could I want for my birthday.

Thank you mom and dad for a lesson well learned and passed down all these years later.

August begins tomorrow -- where did summer go . . . . Soon we will be leaving the hot days of summer and begin the cool days of Fall. I would hope to tell you that my heart is better and no longer aches for my dad, but I can't. It just seems that every time I turn around something just shouts his name out or someone looks like him or we see something and I can just see my family hold their breadth in hopes no one says anything, because they know by now it will start me crying and they don't want that. Some days I think they get sick of it and rightly so after all its been two years and everyone says it gets better, but bad news for me it hasn't and I don't think it will. My dear friend Connie is right there with me two years since her mother died and she feels the same way. I read blogs of others who have lost loved ones; friends like Chelle and Cathy who have lost spouses and they are still so sad and I think "they were their spouses Sue, it is harder for them you should be getting better" but I don't know why but I'm not. I am thankful for Connie who reminds me it is ok not to be better. I think maybe I should let my Cambridge/blog friends go and then I would heal faster, but I can't because somehow that makes it better -- it makes me feel ok to feel the way I do. I have found in the past two years I am able to get an incredibly amount of stuff done in a 24 hours period and I never sit down. My mother-in-law who just moved in across the street from us always says "how come you do so much in one day, why don't you just rest?" I am pretty sure after thinking about that it is because I am afraid to stop and think, it is best to keep busy. SO when I am not at work, producing Children's Theatre, working concessions almost every night of Cinderella or making freezer jam, my new hobby (I have made nearly 50 containers this month) I find something out constructive to keep my mind busy. So there you have it, another boring blog about how terribly I miss my dad. Of course as I said Fall is around the corner and my birthday is in September and he was the biggest Birthday Fan. He was the first to call on that day and the last to call on that day. I miss him more than words can say; after all he was my Best Friend.

Summer is here and it is usually the time I get on a plane and fly off to the sun of Arizona to visit my granddaughter and so my heart is sad because I am not doing that this summer. We are waiting to go till Christmas and then we can all go and stay two weeks. I posted a picture of Dora because my granddaugher (18 months) believes she is Dora's sister so it always reminds me of her.

This past weekend was our local "Relay For Life." Wow it was emotional. I didn't do that last year because it was so raw I couldn't force myself. I did it this year only because the pieces fell into place. I thought about volunteering but I didn't it was easier on the Anniversary of my Dad's Death to write the usual check to Hospice for $100 -- denial is what it is called. Then it was "well I should get him a luminar?" Well, till a week before it never happened and I was out at a yardsale of all places and this lady was selling them right there and Tom said "look you can get it now" and so I was kind of forced into it and then as I began to decorate it right there on the spot tears flowed and flowed and thank god for this special woman who wrapped her arms around me and let me know it was all ok she knew what I was experiencing. I thought about that moment alot and thought two years later and the emotion and the feelings are like it was that very day. I for the first time let myself feel "ok" for feeling that way. I was so very close to my father; we called each other "best friends." Although in latter years there was many miles between us we talked on the phone each day and emailed each other each day. Many times he would be in the car waiting for my mom to get her hair cut or in the store for a minute and he would pick up his cell phone and just call. Sometimes I was so busy but I am grateful today I never rushed him of the phone. Anyway, I got off track here: Then the luminar was purchased and so the day came for the event and Tom worked all day and so Morgan and I got in the car about 7 to head down that way and we got there and the cars were packed in so I drove right by and I remember Morgan saying "I thought we were going?" and I quickly told her "NO, I just wanted to look." Tom came home at 8 and he said "Let's go" and so he got me to get going and I kept telling him "there is too many cars" but low and behold he found a spot right up close so we went. It was the most amazing thing even though very very emotional so I am grateful we went. We listened to music, we read each and every luminary, we prayed by my Dad's luminary, we cried together, we walked together and laughed together as we remembered funny stories about Dad and we didn't leave till nearly 11 p.m. which is very late for us. My dad never had a service (at his request) so it was kind of like our "service" together as a family (minus our older daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law). For something I worked so hard to avoid -- it was good, it was really good. Next year I won't avoid it, I will embrace it with my whole being.

Sue