June 20

Monday found us celebrating Mitchell’s 15th birthday! The week brought some firsts….drivers ed, his drivers permit and his first time driving! On his first time out we were laughing so hard he almost needed to stop driving but we gathered ourselves together and he did great!!! I love each stage with the children but this one is soooo crazy different I still can’t wrap my mind around it!

Mitchell….how we love thee…..let us count the ways! For your kindness, tenderness, sense of humor, your great laugh, your teachable heart, your “sticktuitiveness”, your smarts, your sense of adventure, wisdom beyond your years, your goodnight hugs, your good morning greetings, your faithfulness, your love for your Savior, your loyalty, your willingness to forgive and for the sweet and simple “I love you’s” you freely give. Thank you for helping with Papa each day and night, thank you for loving so immensely and unconditionally.



Sunday, June 12

Happy 38^th Birthday…..to my precious husband.  We have almost spent more birthday’s together than apart. You are amazing. Thank you for your tender love and daily sacrifices for each one of us, especially Papa. 
I love you, I love you, I love you!

Birthdays are so fun for spoiling the birthday person, eating really nummy food and having a little fun with the cake (or in this case…cheesecake) decorations!

This banner greeted Chad at the end of our bed on his birthday morning!

~Click on it to see the cute notes up close~

Olive Garden's Chicken Carbonara

~ I originally got this recipe from the Olive Garden website
 but it is not on there now, so I included the same
recipe but from another source in the link above.
On a side note...the recipe listed above makes a very large amount
I halved the recipe, filled this serving tray and fed 10... with a little leftover ~

~ Mitchell's Jalapeno Chicken Wraps ~

~ Chad's favorite photo ~

~ Having a little fun with Daddy ~



Sweet Summer Days

The first days of summer break are upon us and Shelley and Isabelle are doing what my girls love to do best….spending hours in imaginative play.   They spent much of yesterday listening to Your Story Hour, dressed in the period they would have loved to have lived in and weaving on a creatively improvised loom that Isabelle made.  Don’t have a loom at home, but possibly want one?  Take two baby hangers, tightly tie some yarn between them, attach it to two different objects to make it taut and ….WALA…..you have your loom!  I heart summer.



Ninety-Three

Yesterday we had the blessing of celebrating Papa and his 93rd birthday! The girls did a little decorating and as is our tradition we got balloons to mark the "seat" of the birthday person (in this case it was the bed)! It was a very sweet day and we are so thankful for yet another year to love Papa and to be loved by such a precious man. This Saturday would have marked Gigi’s 87th birthday. They were 6 years and 2 days apart. Over the years, today (the day in between) was the day we would celebrate both of their birthdays. It is very different this year and I know tomorrow will be a little hard, but only for us, as Gigi is celebrating in eternity.

Papa started the day with Sausage and Sharp Cheddar Quiche and fresh strawberries with whipped cream....nummy, nummy! Most of the day was like every other in that he did a lot of sleeping, it is good to get rest on your birthday!  What do we get a man who really wants nothing other than being with family for his birthday??? Well, Isabelle had the idea of finding the contents of one of her favorite memory makers with Papa….don’t gross out on us but here it is….canned sardines and canned anchovies, both in pure olive oil! Our older two, Isabelle in particular, spent many hours on Papa’s knee eating canned sardines and anchovies. In fact, I did the very same thing when I was a child! The problem is that over the years Papa had a very hard time finding them just as he liked them…..in olive oil only. Many are packed in water or tomato sauce but Papa is an olive oil man and those are hard to find. Well…..we have not looked for them in quite a few years and amazingly enough there they were, exactly what we wanted at Safeway! Papa was thrilled and so looks forward to making a few more memories with each of the great-grandchildren.

When I asked him a few days ago what he wanted for his birthday dinner, without hesitation he chose “Steak and Eggs”! Now for a man with a very small appetite this is a tall order! It didn’t matter whether he finished it or not, just that he had it! When I asked him what cut of steak he would like, I knew what he would say….and I was right…..Porterhouse (or in our day now, T-Bone)… one inch thick! We found just what we needed in the meat counter at Haggen and he enjoyed a few bites of his steak, eggs and sourdough toast birthday dinner! Even though he ate very little, he savored every bite and loved it! For dessert he chose Crème de’ Menthe cake, one of Gigi’s best recipes and his favorite for years…it is sooooooo very good! Papa loved his special day and we heartily thank the Lord for another year with this treasured man!

Gone Fishin'

A few weeks ago we had the fun of experiencing “opening day” and a fishing derby.  Mr. E took the big boys out VERY early in the boat and the rest of us showed up at a more leisurely hour...around 9AM.  The area is absolutely beautiful and much fun was had by all.  Each of the children caught a fish, except sweet Shelley! She worked hard and waited patiently but to no avail this time….maybe next year!

 



Treasured

...that is how I felt on Mothers Day, our first Mothers Day without Gigi.  It was a sweet day that started with breakfast in bed, included lots of hugs and kisses, nummy food, unexpected gifts and sweet fellowship.  One of the best gifts?  Gathering around Papa’s bed and hearing him pray for our meal. A memory I will cherish for many Mothers Days to come. 

A Mother's Day Quilt

A few weeks ago Isabelle finished my Mother's Day present early....a beautiful quilt!  Under the watchful eye of her teacher, she faithfully spent many, many hours laboring on this special project.  She started it in the fall and put in around 24 hours of work on this beautiful gift. For a couple of years now, she has been learning to sew under the instruction of her extremely talented and so very sweet teacher, Jamie.  These sewing lessons have been one of the best decisions and biggest blessings for Isabelle, there is so much she has learned.  Currently she is working on a new Colonial/Pioneer dress for herself,  it will be a mix from two of her favorite time periods!  Shelley has sometimes been able to go with Isabelle to her lessons and has also had some opportunity to learn from Jamie.  She has mostly focused on handwork like embroidery and knitting, but has learned a little sewing as well.  She very much looks forward to next year when she will begin her own lessons!

What I love is that Isabelle is bringing that instruction home and putting it to practice here.  Over the fall and winter she made little quilts, pillows, mats, play dresses and other stuff for herself and her younger siblings to use this summer in their hours of playing  "Little House on the Prairie" outdoors!  I love that with sewing she uses her imagination, works on planning a project and has alot of fun....all blended with learning a lifelong skill that will serve her well for all of her days! 



Haircut

Papa asked me for a haircut this past Saturday.  A haircut is no small endeavor. The movement to and from his bed and the need to sit up in a wheelchair for this period of time would involve intense pain, vomiting and will exhaust him.  Why did he want a haircut?  He feels he will be going “home” soon and he wanted to look nice for his Lord.  Needless to say, he bravely endured his haircut and we trimmed his mustache….he looks fabulous.    
“To look nice for his Lord”…..a small glimpse into the heart of this precious man I love so very dearly. 

A Little More Time

Praising the Lord for a little more time.  Papa is a fighter and the Lord has him on earth for a time longer right now, and we are thankful.  You know, it is funny, I hesitated to put anything on the blog about his condition in the first place because things were so up and down.  After a particularly difficult day on Wednesday our Hospice nurse again felt that his time was short.  We had been hearing the same thoughts since last Friday but we had little glimmers of hope here and there as he would speak or eat little bits then have a difficult day then back and forth and back and forth.  Wednesday we spent a chunk of the day watching his breathing.  He spent most of the afternoon and evening with 30 seconds of no breathing, then 30 seconds of breathing, and had very little response or eating that day.   Thursday when Papa awoke, Mitchell was working on school in Papa’s room and Papa greeted him with a “Hello”, which surprised Mitchell…and all of us!  Since Thursday he has slowly been showing snippets of improvement.  His appetite is better and he not only responds to your words but he initiates a short conversation!  He is still in bed, not able to feed himself, and sleeps most of the day.  He of course is very weak and will probably not fully recover to even where he was before, but we are thanking the Lord for where he is.  This time has been so very sweet as it has given us (me in particular) precious time to begin letting go of Papa.  My heart has been so resistant to what I know will be reality someday; my Papa cannot live forever on this earth.  Chad spoke frankly, but lovingly, on Sunday as he shared with me the need to begin letting go and to stop resisting what will eventually come.  Not only that, but of course, the very best thing for Papa is eternity, it is simply my selfishness wanting him here with us.  Chad shared something that really struck me.  He said when we all are in eternity together we will know Papa in a way we have never known him before.  As much as I think he is pretty much the most “perfect” man here on earth, someone who loves unconditionally, who is tender, patient, kind, loving, gentle and so much more;  think of how amazing he will be in eternity with a perfect body in a perfect place!   Papa’s heart is yearning towards eternity, his Savior and his bride of 64 years.  We are thankful for whatever time we do have and amazed once again at the love of our Savior.  Even in the midst of my resistance, God has graciously given us the tender mercy of a little more time with this treasured man.