What an incredible day thus far!

Today’s mail, instead of bringing me a check, brought me a very nice, hand-written letter from one of the young ladies, Nicole, who stayed with me this summer. I was blown away! She included with her note a photo of herself, her junior class picture at Rocky Mountain Lutheran High in Denver.

Mike C. told me last weekend that the teacher who accompanied the kids has said the young folks still talk their time here, and me (I guess I was a hit!). To top it all off, supposedly Nicole’s family moved into a new home and she told her teacher there is a room for me, with my own bathroom, when I go to visit there. How thoughtful of them!

Nicole told about their homecoming events coming up soon and how the student senate, of which she is part, is planning dress up days that week. The theme of the dance is ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the décor sounds quite fun, like giant playing cards and other icons from the book and movies. Made me smile like a Cheshire cat myself!

The mail on the weekend brought another nice note from a friend of Marian’s in WI, her former co-worker, thanking me for keeping her informed when Marian was still alive and forward. Marcia had asked me to get the funeral plant for her, which I did, and gladly so.

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Bible study was fantastic, having a new face join us this week. Beth, whose daughter, Hannah, passed away last year from a brain cancer, had off from work today and decided to come. Sunday will be the one year anniversary of Hannah being relieved of her suffering, and it was a bit difficult sometimes to keep the tears at bay. Sometimes, we both failed, but the comfort found in the Word soothes the spirit. The new booklet we began is about the ministry of the Keys and will be most interesting a topic.

After class I said to Beth, “It occurred to me it was a year ago that I had a terrible cold and could not sing in the choir at Victory for the funeral.” And now, I have one again, only not so serious. I told Beth that the only hymn I could sing was the closing one, “Abide With Me” which is one I normally cannot sing without choking up. The others around me were not members but were teachers and hospital staff, so they HAD to hear the message of this wonderful, comforting hymn. We hugged and hugged before she left and I hope I see her on Sunday when I go back over there.

I am going to Victory on Saturday for the LWMS Rally and after seeing the service folder for Sunday, must go back for worship Sunday. The sermon text is Philippians 4, my funeral chapter. His sermon is not the entire chapter but selected verses, some which helped me get through my personal struggles. Pastor said I will get a preview of my funeral then, and I said, “It might be an audition!” We had a good chuckle over that one! The only problem is I have to go for the 9:00 a.m. service since we have an ‘emergency’ meeting at GS after the service. No worries, I can make both, but won’t get to hang with Stephanie because she attends the Bible study which takes place at the same time as the early service. Oh, well, at least I get hear my funeral sermon…

I have a p.s. to add here: Via Facebook, I got a notice from my friend, Chris, with whom I used to paint, with a caution. She told me that the new movie, "Courageous", now in the theaters, has a child dying in it, and she wanted to give me a heads' up, in case I was going. The trailer for this movie aired before the movie "The Help" so I was aware that a child died, but how greatly I appreciate Chris warning me, to save me upset. Like I said last week Thursday, I have the best friends!

A reprint of my posting of Lisa's birthday (I updated her age and number of children!)

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the birth of my niece, Lisa. Growing up in a family with six girls plus my mom and having my grandma integrated into my life, I knew nothing of what it was like to not have females in my life. When my older sister, Lynn, told us she was going to have a baby, my sister, Lori, and I were in the sewing room of our family's home, jumping up and down with glee. I was a senior in high school at this time. It quickly became a "we" situation because in our family, sharing was important! My memory about exact dates and times is vague but I do know that Lynn could not be at my cousin's wedding because she was in labor. BUT I do remember being among the very first people to hold that little monkey baby when she was born!

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Lisa was quite dark in color when she was born, hairy as could be, and the most beautiful thing I ever laid my eyes on! My former spouse was my boyfriend at this time and we just could not get enough of her. We went to Copp's the day she was born, when Copp's was still a department store, and bought her outfits and necessary baby items. We bought her a little sweater outfit which is what she wore home from the hospital. I think it was mint in color and with her coloring---gorgeous! (Her two sons wore the same outfit home from the hospital, too, as a tradition)

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Our lives would never be the same, the sun rose and set on that child. When Lynn's husband rejoined the service, going into the Navy, it tore our hearts from our chests to say good-bye to them as they left for Norfolk. They had stopped at my house in Milwaukee, as I was married at this time, on their way to Norfolk, and after they left, I threw myself across the bed and sobbed my heart out.

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Lori, my former spouse, and I drove out to see them at Easter, enjoying our time spent on the East Coast, seeing them and the sites around Williamsburg, VA, etc. That year at ThanksLiving we girls and Mom chipped together to fly Lynn and Lisa home, and surprised my dad. He was asleep in the chair and we put Lisa on his lap. He opened his eyes, and ta da!, there is our little dolly, Lisa. We had an airport in Manitowoc at the time, prop planes, but sadly, no more. The next January, Roger and Lori borrowed my brother-in-law's truck and drove out to pick up Lynn and Lisa, to bring them home for good. The husband did a Dear John thing, so the family to the rescue!

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We rallied to help Lynn out with Lisa, by this time I had moved back to Manty from MKE, and could pitch in where I could. Lynn got a job through a temporary service at the area technical school, working in the mail room. She did so well that she was hired permanently and is presently there at LTC about 33 years! Lynn is an administrative assistant and works in public safety training, etc. To help Lynn out, Lisa was cared for between her aunts and eventually went to day care. Still the most adorable child you would ever want to meet. My brother-in-law, David, asked Lisa once, "What is it like to have people hang on your every word?" I really don't think she had a problem with it!

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During the summers when Lisa was not in school, she would often spend her days with us where she was trained on office etiquette. Lisa loved to play with the typewriter, the big clunky type we used back in those days. Since our building business was run from our home, she had to learn the proper way to answer the phone, take messages, and so on, and did a good job at it. Later should thank me for the training as she would be complimented on her skills, both phone and people ones!

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Where I went, Lisa went, and we spent good time together. Memorable for me, if not for her. And memorable for my sisters and Mom who also spent a good deal of time with Lisa. When we would go to the Mall, I would meet and chat with people, much to Lisa's chagrin. After years of enduring this, she asked me, in exasperation, "Do you have to talk to everyone????" Yes, I do! She would cringe when I sang along to the music in the grocery store and would duck down in the seat when I used the windshield cleaner when driving down the street. Yes, Lisa, I was quirky! And she loved every minute of it!

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Fast forward through her dance recitals, Christmas programs, her confirmation and the party (at our house), her cleaning and eventually babysitting for me...She visited us often when we moved to Florida and, then, she was getting married. Oh my! Here it gets tricky (sorry, sweetheart.....) because the same year she was getting married was the same year problems came to light in my marriage. She had always wanted my former spouse, who had been like a daddy to her, to walk her down the aisle, and it was touch and go there for a while whether he would be in the picture or not. He did "give the bride away" at her wedding while I had the privilege of singing for the service.

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Now Lisa is the mama of three darling boys and the wife of Noah, a wonderful husband and daddy to his boys. She was the only granddaughter/niece for a full twelve years, spoiled beyond measure and loved beyond measure. And today, we celebrate her birthday!!!