Happy Mother's Day To Some Very Special Ladies In My Life

Unfortunately, I will be seeing another Mother's Day without my Momma!! But, oh, the memories I have of her!! What a great lady she was and an wonderful example to me. She was awesome and I sure do miss her. No matter what, she'll always stick out in my mind as one of the greatest ladies who graced this earth. Mom, I hope you have a Happy Mother's Day in Heaven. I really miss you in so many, many ways!! I love you!!!!

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There are some very special and important ladies in my life who are Mother's. I'd like to wish them a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday!

First, there's my daughter~in~law, Karissa. Thanks for being a good Mommy to our sweet Grandson and also a good wife to Brett. We love you!!

(I love this picture as it's just their little family :o) Next is my older sister, Vi (on the right). She's always been there for me! I love you, Vi!

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Then there's my brother Jim's wife, Cheryl! I'm glad you're my sister~in~law.

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And last but not the least in this picture is my oldest picture Teresa who is Vi's daughter.
What a wonderful person she is. Just like her Mom ~ they'd do anything for you!!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!!

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I have another niece, Michelle, who I don't have any pictures downloaded on here of her, but she has three children. Happy Mother's Day Michelle!

Next is my sister Charlotte who is also very, very special to me!! I know you're Mother's Day is going to be very low key with all you've been through the last several days. I hope you're feeling much better real soon! Wish I could've come up to care for you but my thoughts are with you. I really miss you since you came to visit me in March!! I had the best time with you and we had lots of laughs :o) Come again soon! You can come down here to recover!! That sounds like a plan to me! Anyway, make the best of your day on Sunday. I love you much and will be talking to you soon!!
Then there's my wonderful friend Theresa!! This lady is a true friend ~ one who stands with you through thick and thin. She was there when my Daddy was very, very low and took some of family back and forth to the nursing home when I didn't want to leave his side! She was with me when nobody else was there when my Momma had to go to Hospice. I still can see you moistening Mom's lips when they were so dry! You were there for me!! When both my parents passed on to Heaven you were there and afterwards, too. Then for 2 1/2 months you were right by my side when there were some major things going on in our lives recently!! Theresa, I appreciate you and wish you a Happy Mother's Day. I know you probably won't be seeing Justin on Sunday, but I want you to know what an awesome job you've done being a single Mom! Life doesn't always deal us things the way we think it should, but you've done your best and it shows!! I love you, friend and again, Happy Mother's Day!
(P.S. And this lady is awesome at packing in case you're thinking of moving:o)
Then there's my Mother~in~law! This lady has been through so much in her life!! It hasn't always been a bed of roses for her, but she is a trooper let me tell you. Now she is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She is failing, but surprisingly when we saw her last she was pretty good considering everything. She is another one who would do anything for you and give you anything she possibly could! Alice, I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! I love you!!
(This picture was taken at their 50th anniversary party about 1 year before her traumtic accident that almost took her life!)

I have some more very close friends who I don't have pictures downloaded of on here. To Jeanne, Linda, Martha and Ruth ~ Happy Mother's Day!! Love you all, also!!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister~in~law and niece in Indiana, too!

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!!