Happy Birthday To My Dear Sister Vi

I'd like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my sister Vi!! I'm sorry I didn't put this on sooner but I've partying all day (and working) down here to celebrate your special day. I hope it was a great day for you, because you definitely deserve a wonderful birthday. Sorry that I couldn't come and surprise you as I did several years ago! That was neat!! I also hope that you're feeling a lot better than when I talked to you last night and then early this morning. Sorry you've been under the weather :o( You're a great sis and I love you so much. I can't wait ~ just a couple more (long) months until you get to come visit us. What a time we'll have :o) Look out Cayman! Charlotte fell in the Sea and I just wonder what you'll do on your first trip here??!!??!! Anyway, take care of yourself and I just know that even though today was your birthday, you don't feel one year older, right??

I love you and wish you many, many more!!

A Twist In the Road Of Life

Life is good when everything is going well, isn't it? You look forward to each new day to see what it has in store for you! BUT then comes those things that you definitely weren't expecting or wanting to hear or see. Last evening was our night to go out to dinner with our school staff. We all laughed and had a great time as we enjoyed our delicious food! When we got home I checked our phone and saw that we had a missed call from Brett and Karissa. We also missed a call from them on Wednesday night, but I didn't call them back after our school's Spring concert as I thought they may be in bed since there's an hours difference in the time. But last evening it was still very early and we hadn't talked to them since Saturday. I picked up the phone and dialed their number and Brett answered. I wanted to see them and talk to all of them, but Caden especially usually enjoys talking to us on the webcam. So, I told them I'd call them back and we'd talk over the Internet. We got to talk to them probably 20 minutes when Dennis had to leave, but we continued our conversation and Caden continued to perform for his Grammy! (smiling here :o) After a little while Brett asked when his Dad would be back home as he needed to talk to both of us. I said he wouldn't be home for probably an hour to an hour and a half. That would take it close to when Brett would be going to bed as he gets up way before the sun comes up to go to work. I said if it wasn't too late I'd have Dennis call him when he got back here. We continued to talk a little bit and it seemed there was some hesitation. Brett said he thought Dennis would want to know what he was about to tell me but was afraid Dennis would get upset. So, finally he told me. Unfortunately, he's getting deployed again this being the third time. He's going back to Afghanistan near Kandahar. I know that it's a horrible place to be right now with the war going on. A close friend of our's son just returned from near that same area and I've heard some horrible stories. My heart just aches and my stomach has just been turned inside out, if you know what I mean! I woke up several times during the night and it seemed that was the very first thing that popped into my mind even in the wee hours of the night!! It's horrible!! Not only am I concerned for Brett's safety which is the #1 thing, but my mind started racing immediately after he told me. He will hopefully still be home here in the States when their baby is born which unfortunately he missed Caden's birth, he may miss Caden's birthday because of training, he won't be home for Karissa's birthday, he will miss Christmas, he'll be gone for his birthday and the list goes on and on! I'm sorry, but I HATE war and how it affects lives and families!!! I can't describe how I'm feeling right now about the whole situation! It just doesn't seem fair, but then who said life is fair. BUT I'm so glad I have a very close Friend who has helped me in the past to deal with this and will once again help me, but will also mainly be with Brett, Karissa, Caden, the new baby, Dennis, Brandon and I!! It's a long, hard, rough place we'll be going through again, but God will get us all through this twist in the road of life! Please pray for all of us, but especially Brett!! He has to go to the State of Washington for some very intense nasty training for several days and then later he goes to New Jersey for a longer period of training before leaving in a few short months. I know we'll appreciate any prayers you pray on behalf of our family!! A special thanks to each of you!!

Our Trip to the States #20

Grammy with one of her favorite men :o)

Our Trip to the States #19

This was at another river where we went to go fishing.

Can you see Brett?
Brett & his cousin Ricky who both serve in the United States Air Force

Karissa fishing away

Another beautiful view up the river

An unhappy fisherman and his Pappy

Coming up to go to another spot to fish

Our Trip to the States #18

These make me laugh! Click on them to make them bigger. You'll probably smile, too! All boy!! He was giving the fishing worms a bath in the river :o)
Grammy's favorite GRANDson!! For just a few more months :o)

Another Good Sunday In Cayman

Wow! Two posts in one day and no pictures! Can you believe that??

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I always look forward to Sunday's here at our Church in Cayman!! I'd like to let you in on a secret ~ our Church here is not dead!!! It is lively and on the move :o)) We have two awesome Sunday School teachers whose class I love to sit in and enjoy. The other's in the class participate and make it very special. I've never been in a Sunday School class that I enjoy better then here!! After that time of sharing is over we go into our Morning Worship service. Like I said before, the Premier of our Island (he'd be like our President in the States) leads the singing. Now let me tell you that he doesn't drag out the music!!! This congregation gets into their singing and you hear lots of clapping during the songs. I think that someone somewhere in the Sanctuary is clapping on every beat of every song!! I just love it. They will sing anywhere from six to eight or nine Congregational songs. I don't ever want to go back to a dead, lifeless Church!! After the singing, usually they take the offering. And again, this is no ordinary offering!! They have six usher's and by the time they are finished the offering plates are full and overflowing. LITERALLY!! More than once I've seen the money falling out on the floor because the plates were so full!! It gives me goose bumps :o) They are a very giving Church. And to think that at one time they had Missionaries here ministering. They've come a long, long way! Now they support Missionaries in other countries. Oh, yes! I forgot to mention that it's not unusual to have two or three or maybe even four special songs during this service. Have you figured out yet that they like to sing? (On Sunday night's, they'll sing for an hour or more sometimes.) After everything else is finished, Dennis usually brings the message. What an awesome Church we're Pastoring!! We just love the people and we feel that love reciprocated back to us!! Now for more exciting news. If you remember my blog about my birthday, you'll remember that since we moved here that Dennis and I have become very, very good friends with a young man 33 years old who owns a little restaurant here in our little town. Dennis began frequenting his business for breakfast sometime after we came here when he's on his way to visit in the hospital. Then we started going for dinner. Man, can he and his chefs ever cook!! He is from India and they serve some awesome food. Ask my sister, Charlotte and her husband as we took them there! Anyway, after Dennis got to know him pretty good he invited him to our Church, but he wasn't quite ready to take that step. He invited Dennis to go very early to meet him at the restaurant to talk about religion. Being he's from India he is Hindu! Finally, a few weeks ago he came to Church one evening when someone else was here speaking! Again, he had more questions. Dennis has spent many, many hours with him. Last Sunday morning he came to Church and I invited him to sit with me. The first time he sat on the back seat and Dennis sat with him because we had the other speaker. So, last Sunday I talked to him before Church and asked him if he wanted to sit with me. I figured when I told him where I sit (on the third pew from the front of our huge Sanctuary) he probably wouldn't want to sit there. I had already made my mind up that wherever he sat I was sitting with him. I didn't want him to feel lost in the masses of people :o) Well, he ended up leaving service early for some pretty good reasons! Yes, we were disappointed. Then we were so busy this week that we didn't even get to stop in to say hi to him! Lo and behold, after I went up to the piano this morning and the service had started, I looked out in the Congregation and there he sat in my pew!! I was totally shocked!! I couldn't wait to finish playing the piano to go sit with him. Dennis announced the text he was using for his message and I noticed that our friend had his own Bible. As I was turning to the Scripture in my Bible, I was watching out the corner of my eye :o) Well, he had NO idea where to look for the book of Romans. I saw him trying to find the table of contents in the front but he was fumbling and didn't succeed, so he just closed the Bible and laid it on the seat beside him. I nudged him with my elbow and pointed to his Bible. He gave it to me and I found the Scripture. He just smiled :o) I told Dennis later that during the message I noticed he'd take a deep breath and exhale and take another deep breath a little later then exhale pretty loudly! Then he'd nod in agreement different times as the message went on. After Dennis finished, he had the organist and I play a song. Several people knelt at the altar for prayer! After bit I looked down and there went our friend, the Hindu ~ but not Hindu for long!!!! As you see, he gave his life to Jesus Christ this morning. It was sooooooo awesome. When I saw him going to the altar, I began to cry! I was sooooooooooooooo happy!! When I finished playing, I went to pray with him along with Dennis and several other men of the Church. After he was finished, he still had his head bowed and Dennis was talking to him a bit. Then Dennis asked me to go over to him and welcome him into the Family of God! I knelt down beside him and put my arm around him. Through my tears I said, "Welcome into the Family. Now you're my brother!" As soon as I said that he put his hands over his eyes and wept more!! The only words I know to describe this is just awesome!!!!!! Dennis is going tomorrow morning to have breakfast at his restaurant. I'm sure our new "brother" will have more questions for Dennis. He acted a little disappointed when I told him I couldn't come to eat because I had to work. He asked me if I work everyday and I told him every school day! But don't worry ~ I'm sure we'll be going there for dinner this week just to cheer him on!! Now you know why we had another good Sunday in Cayman!!

P.S. Dennis and I were talking at dinner today and I told him about our friend having a Bible.

He just smiled and said, "Yes, I know. I gave it to him!"" I had no idea!!

April Is A Bittersweet Month

I know that April is now over and past, but I've been contemplating writing this post, but never got around to it last month. So, here goes now. There's something about April that I used to love when I lived in the States and that is the new life of Spring!! I loved to see the grass turn green after it being brown through what always seemed a long winter. And there's something about going out to see the daffodils, tulips, crocuses poking out through the cold ground. I loved to see all the beautiful trees bloom and see them coming to life with new shoots of leaves. A lot of years we celebrate Easter in April which is always an exciting time and there are a lot of birthdays in our family that are celebrated, but over the last five years in some ways I almost dread when the month of April comes! Let me explain what I mean. You see, it sort of starts of sad for me as the 1st was my Mother's birthday and I miss her so much! I have so many wonderful and pleasant memories of my Momma for which I'm thankful. Next comes another sad day ~ April 2nd. That's the anniversary when my oldest sister, Thelma, passed away from that horrible dreaded disease of cancer. There were almost 21 years between us and when I look back on some of the things of my early childhood that I did with Thelma it was really neat. I remember going to where she worked way back then and watching her work away doing telegram's at Western Union. She seemed to love her job of working in an office type setting. Maybe that's where I get it :o) I miss calling and talking to her on the phone or stopping by her home when I'd go back "home". She was a great big "Sis"!! Then comes the week of family anniversaries, birthday's of sister~in~law's, also an awesome nephew who I don't get to see very often and one of my great~nephews. On the 23rd we all celebrate my next to oldest niece, Michelle. But just five short years ago we lost my Daddy on her birthday. Oh, my what a sad day that was. It was early, early in the morning when he left us BUT the birds outside were singing so clearly even though it was still dark. I remember going back to the nursing home that day to gather his earthly belongings and around noon the bells at the Catholic in that little village tolled on and on as it was the same day that the Pope died. In my mind I'd like to think they were ringing the bell in memory of my Daddy who had just passed away a few hours earlier that morning :o) I miss my Daddy so much but again have so many precious memories of my years I had him in my life. Yes, I really value all the memories of my loved ones who have gone on before me. No matter what ~ as long as I have my right mind nobody can take those memories from me. And there are times I just love to reflect back on those wonderful thoughts I have stored away in my mind. As if April wasn't sad enough for me as for those loved ones who passed on, this past Wednesday evening around 10:00, my Daddy's oldest sister who was 96 years old passed away. She was such a sweet lady and was one of those who would do anything for anybody. When I still lived in Ohio and went out to PA to visit family I tried to always go see her. Up until the end of her life her mind was very sharp. Now there's only two of my Daddy's siblings left. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend my Aunt Sara's funeral on Tuesday, but my heart will be there. If I had a favorite Aunt she was one of them!! I will miss her. So, you see why I titled this post "April Is A Bittersweet Month"! I still love Spring but miss so many of my family!! It just isn't the same as what it used to be.