Some from the reception and the gift opening

Dustin, Justin, Alayna and Jill get down tonight!

"Put your left foot in, put your left foot out........." David and Dusty dance side by side---so sweet!

Lisa and the boys enjoy their continental breakfast prior to the gift opening getting underway. Look at that Gabriel, covered in powered sugar!

Such a precious picture of Manny

The wedding attendants somewhat quiet on Sunday after the wedding. Mom and Kerry are perched in the back of the room while the others eat their breakfast.
Jamie, Hannah, and Bryson are opening their gifts. Jamie seemed to really like the scented spine comforter that can be either heated or frozen to ease one's back at the end of the day. Kerry and me and our kids gave them this gift.

Lisa and family gave the new Schrimpf family a wall plaque with the passage about love, taken from Corinthians. Part of this Scripture was used in their wedding ceremony, making this gift all the more appropriate.

Sure looks like rain today!

The sky was bright when I first got up but now the sun is only peeking out from behind some ominous-looking clouds. Maybe it is just too early for the sun to be out in full! Much to my delight, normal sleep patterns have returned, going to sleep around 11:00 or so and awake with the sun, in time to see Fox and Friends start! Joanne went to bed quite early last night as she had an early appointment with the SAM Tram, a sales and marketing tour of homes on the Westside. She will be catching a bus out that direction and ride around with other agents to see new developments and areas where she is not yet familiar.

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The news on my first day home in Orange Park brought much sadness to me. A seven-year-old boy drowned in Arlington while at a birthday party. Lots of adults and kids around, and yet, it happened. A four-year-old girl died after being forgotten in the car after the dad took the mom to work Sunday morning. I hate it when the news report end with the phrase, "No word if charges will be pressed." Besides the heavy load of grief these parents bear, to bring legal charges against anyone is just too..............In cases of gross negligence, yes, like shaken babies or child abuse, but not a simple accident.

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Sunday in Janesville, Justin spotted Jamie's stepson, Hunter, running down the hallway in the hotel, the opposite direction from the room where festivities were taking place. He took off down the hall after Hunter, Justin wearing his loaded backpack and running--not an easy task. I followed behind, seeing Hunter had gone through the door marked "Stairs". Oh no! Not only did this doorway lead to the stairs, it also lead outside! Jill and I went into the parking lot to see where Hunter was. We walked around the side of the hotel, no sign of either Hunter or Justin. Then we spotted Justin come from the lobby/carport area, no longer wearing the backpack and no child in tow. He had found Hunter in the parking lot, and had to put his arms up toward a truck to stop it. Hunter would have been run over, and with all those adults around, he still got away. Thank the Lord Justin spotted him and took off to capture him. That is how accidents happen, we all expect that someone else is watching. Justin had deposited his backpack with Grandma while he wrestled the child into submission. Yikes!

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On the way home after the wedding, Lisa and Noah saw a parachute crash to the ground in a field near the freeway. They called 911 to report it, but could not say if there was a person attached to it or not. It came down with a mighty thud, by appearances. Both of them felt ill afterward, imagining how terrible it was if a person was hurt or killed. She has been watching the news for the area but so far there are no reports about it. This was near East Troy if anyone hears anything.

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Speaking of Lisa: as I wrote a week or so ago, Lisa was having some problems which seemed female in nature. It turned out to be a ruptured ovarian cyst which caused her to be out of work all the week prior to the wedding, sometimes in terrible pain. To top it off, the doctor was suspicious of some of the blood work, so had Lisa come back Monday for more tests. It seems the doctor believes Lisa's kidneys might be involved, too, and sent her for a CAT scan on Tuesday. Now, we wait to see what that test shows. In the meantime, Lisa's car suffered a rupture of its own---a head gasket! It costs $900 to repair so they are looking for a new car rather than replace the broken one again. I hope and pray this will not affect their plans to spend some of the CHRISTmas celebration with us in Florida!

A couple more photos

This is a photo taken Wednesday, the 17th, of Shiloh talking to the lamb in Timmy's memorial garden at church. It still looks nice and white after Fausto gave it fresh paint and repaired its ear. Shiloh is Cindy Sholes' granddaughter and her brother attends Precious Lambs.

This is my goofy sister, Carol, with whom I just had dinner in Kimberly, WI. I am twice her size, but please do not judge her harshly----she can't help it! In the course of our visit, Carol mentioned that since she started going to the YMCA and such, her balance had improved and she did not fall as often as she used to, particularly since she walks to work in every kind of weather. This past weekend, however, I got an e-mail from her reporting she broke her wrist while riding a bike! Poor thing!

Here we are again, although not fooling around this time. Mom did not want to pose for the pictures but she was there. My bro-in-law, Rodney, gave us door to door directions for getting home, this time avoiding the detour which delayed us on the way there. She is going to be 63 in September and doing great----other than the broken wrist, that is!

The mullet enjoy the hot weather!

As I am looking out over the river, I can see the fish leaping from the water and falling back, almost as though they are taunting the shore birds to come get them. Joanne told me a story this a.m. regarding a snowy white egret she saw, attempting to eat a cat fish captured outside our windows. It seemed to be too large for it to swallow, so the bird kept putting the fish down and recapturing it, or trying to break it into pieces or something. The expression "biting off more than you can chew" came to mind! The egret finally carried the fish off to work on in private as a blue heron came nosing around to see what was going on. As Joanne claims, only a birder would appreciate this sight.

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Earlier this afternoon, or rather, later, the heavens were again rumbling and threatening to break lose in yet another storm. But---nothing! All talk, no action, at least not here. Last night around midnight the house was shaken by a tremendous storm, the crawler along the bottom of the TV screen warned of high winds, penny-sized hail, torrential rains, and frequent lightning. Yes, this storm had it all, except it seems the other side of the river and south of us got the best of it. I could hear the wind but did not feel threatened by it, but the thunder did a good job causing my metal lanterns to rattle in my bedroom window. Morning did not show evidence of leaks in my usual spots, which is wonderful.

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When the storm was coming up, my mom-instinct kicked in so I sent Justin a text message wondering if he was safely home after his date. He sent back the message that Heather got called into work so had to cancel. Later he sent me a message telling me to watch "Conan" because Larry David was going to be on. He was the other brain involved in "Seinfeld" and is now in a Woody Allen movie, his idol. It was fun to watch, as the "George" character was based on Larry David, and he sounded just like George!! After the storm rolled further south, I eventually went to sleep. I am feeling as though my sleep schedule is never going to return to what I consider "normal", especially if the storms keep coming at night!

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Oh, also, just before 11:00 pm, my upstairs neighbor sent me a text message asking if I had a fax machine. I do not and let him know that, suggesting he try contacting our other neighbor who is a Realtor. Travis thanked me and said he would try that in the morning, probably due to the lateness of the hour. Sometimes I do wish I had a fax machine but usually find the scanner and e-mail work perfectly fine for what I need.

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Joanne and I are eating at home this evening, which means my house smells awesome as country-style ribs are basking in golden mushroom soup and potatoes are baking. Since I returned home from WI, I had only spent about 10 minutes speaking to Joanne so we had some time this a.m. to catch up on all the news. She is far too busy a girl to read the blog so I had much to report, as did she. It seems she might be going to live in an empty condo at the beaches, house sitting, as it were, for the owners. She was concerned about leaving me, but I encouraged her to take advantage, and not feel like she needs to keep me company. I am good company for myself, and besides, she only works a little way down the road from here. Her decision was not yet made this morning but perhaps we will know more come dinner time!

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This afternoon, knowing Dee was gone to CA, I called Julia to see if she needed any lunch. YES! I stopped at Sonic and got her a burger and fries, and my usual Route 44 (oz.) Diet Coke. She was glad to see me, and not only because of my bringing food. She showed me the photos of her parent's 50th anniversary party, which I missed by being in WI. It was so wonderful to sit down and chat, catching up on all the big news in her life. I greatly enjoy spending time "in the shop" and look forward to Dee's return in a week or so. I did get to say "Hi!" over the phone to her, as Julia had to pick Dee's brain about a project. Now I miss her more!

Change of plans today

My head was full of ideas about what to write about, as I am rarely without them, but now, something changed my mind.....

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My e-mail this morning brought an interesting note from the fiance of my nephew, Tommy, who died at his own hand in late January this year. Jeana finally got his personal effects back from the police and found my e-mail address in Tommy's telephone. She told me I was the only family member he ever mentioned besides his mom (deceased) and father, and the only one she could find information on. This touched my heart, and broke it at the same time. How sad and tragic!!!

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Please, people, please, I implore you----take good care of your families and extended families so this type of thing never happens to you!! Let people know how you are, keep them up-to-date on happenings, and remind them how you feel about them as often you can.

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Anyway, I asked this young lady if any of Tommy's personal items contained pictures from his first wedding as there might be some photos of my kids in them, including Timmy, who had a good time running around the dance floor. She said she will look to see, and I sent her photos so she knows who she is looking for. Jeana also told me how Tommy made the recipe he asked me for and that no one liked it but him! Hamburger Corn Pone Pie, which I was surprised I could find in my recipe box after all these years! He asked me for it last fall, when we talked for an hour, or rather, he talked for an hour! Just like his mother used to do, saying a whole lot of nothing for an hour and a half!

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When I was reading the e-mail, my mouth just went dry because I was so sad by what little information was available about family, and how desperate Tommy was to be part of a family. Jeans describes Tommy as having "demons" inside of him and this was not a surprise to me at all. This topic of family is especially valuable to me since I just got home from spending good times with my family and I miss them terribly already. Some claim to miss me, too!

Some more pictures for your enjoyment!

Here I am at the Green Street Tavern with two of my friends, Dolly and Wendy. Dolly and I have been friends since 4th grade at First German, and Wendy a classmate through high school. Her locker was adjacent to mine and we got to see lots of each other. Dolly's and Wendy's lives have overlapped through the years, even their jobs matched! Dolly and I stay in touch now on a regular basis, and I will with Wendy now, too, since she is on Facebook! The ladies' cheeks are red from being warm, notice mine are not!!

Due to the inclement weather in the forecast (i.e. cold and rain) the church picnic was held inside at the school instead of at the area park. No worries! The food was still delicious and the company magnificent! Mom is shown here enjoying some of the tasty offerings from the grille, and my plate is sitting right in front of Tommy. He is eyeing it closely but did not mess with my food! There were yummy desserts to be purchased and the Hmong members of the congregation made their own version of picnic food. I had a very good egg roll, which reminded me of my friend, Mai-ly, who moved to WA. I want another one, please!

Kevin Buch received a lovely watch as he leaves his role as principal, a thank you from the congregation. Kevin has a hard time expressing himself without becoming quite emotional, even having to pre-record his messages to the graduates as they leave him for high school. This time the man next to him had to read his message as Kevin was too choked up to do so. Afterwards I gave him a big hug and he said to me, "I wish you lived closer!" That was my gift from him! We share something---both us losing children from our lives, which is why we are so connected, I guess. Kevin is not going far, only changing schools, not congregations!

Tommy, Linda, and Lynn are enjoying their meals, inside rather than outside. It was so cool that folks kept their jackets on even when in the gymnasium!

Not only did Kevin receive a thank you gift, but Evangelist Nau Lee recently graduated from the seminary and is officially a pastor. Or rather, a shepherd. The gift presented to him by the congregation is known as "The Shepherd's Prayer", as he is now the shepherd among the Hmong! At a recent meeting, the congregation decided to put in a Call for him to continue serving the members of First German. We pray the assignment committee opts to keep him at FG. His wife nicely invited all those in attendance to come to their home on Saturday for a party!

Kevin was also the choir director at First German and as a sort of tribute to him, Kari lead the choir in the "First Song of Isaiah" whose refrain goes "Surely it is God who saves me, I will trust in Him and not be afraid...." Lynn is wearing her purple and blue jacket, 3rd from left, and Alayna is two people down in a green top, front row. I could see Kevin looking down from the balcony, watching and listening as this larger than usual choir sang praise to God during Sunday worship. Kevin trained them well! Surely it IS God who saves us!

Some of the long awaited photos

These photos were taken at Lori and David's house the weekend of Dustin's graduation party. Jill was not able to come for this event due to working in the ice cream parlor and needing the time off for Jamie's wedding in a couple weeks. Four of us girls were together, though, plus the nieces and some nephews. It was a great great time! Lots of laughs and wonderful fun with Lori and David's friends, and oh yes, Dustin's friends, too! I have no photos of Dustin somehow.......Enjoy!!!

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Mom lent her hand at cutting up the fruit after they arrived Saturday morning for the party. Of course, she was tired from the early departure and four hour car ride so she did not have to run the steps to help carry all the food out and get things set up. Mom was allowed to supervise from the kitchen table!

Kerry was a big help in the kitchen and with getting things set up. Kerry really loved Lori's decorating, since she had not seen the family room addition, garage addition or the new kitchen. Kerry is quite the go-getter, like my sis-in-law, Mona. She got busy with the fruit cutting along with Mom and Lynn, and then, being able-bodied, could run up and down the stairs with things for the party. While they did that, I made the coffee and lemonade, just like we have at church! Plus I cleaned up in the kitchen right behind all the workers. That I can do!

Much to my delight, Kerry came along to Dusty's graduation! She is not much of a car traveler but made the exception in this case. She said she had not been to Lori's since she was pregnant with Alayna, which was 18 years ago! Welcome back, Kerry!

The highlight for me was having my friends, Jerry and Judy Rusert, attend the gala event. They got to meet my peeps and be met by them. They were a hit! Mom approved of my friend choice, which I am glad about, because I would hate to not have them in my life any longer! Jerry forgot his hat so Lori went inside and came up with one for him. He looks so cute! Lori wants to get in touch with Judy some day and talk about me, so I am supposed to share their information. Let me think about that for a minute............nah, Lori would not throw me under the bus!

David had two of his bands scheduled to perform, the first one being "Holy Crap" a.k.a. "Saints and Sinners". Later on, Rose River, the group which performs at local bistros and events played and did a wonderful job. David's sister and a nephew joined the band as singers on a couple songs. In this shot are Kevin on drums, David on guitar, Lynn with tamborine, Sue on guitar, Jim and Tim behind them. Part of their banner appears in the foreground. Many of them go to church together too, which means they have overlapping connections. As night fell they had to quit playing as their hands were freezing!

All things are now ready, so Lori can finally sit down and take a break before the party gets completely underway. She had David cook the meat the night before so that would not take time on the day of the party. The ladies took care of preparing the veggie and fruit trays and some friends brought bars for dessert. There was also Dusty's graduation cake to be enjoyed. I have no decent photo of Dustin from his party somehow....He WAS there, I saw him!

Lori picked up a few toys and games for the kids to play with, not really anticipating that the teens would have more fun with the whiffle ball and plastic bat than the little ones would! Alayna's hair just glistens in the sun. Later in the day, we would gather around the firepit and hear some more music and warm ourselves, as the temps dropped as the day went on. Lori pre-heated our (Kerry's and mine) room and the bed for me using Dustin's heated mattress pad. Such a high-maintenance girl I am!

Standing around, watching the kids play are Kerry, Lynn, Mom and Lisa, who is hamming it up! All those in the photo have their hands in their pockets or on their hips....related? I think so!

Our hosts for the big graduation celebration, Lori and David. Aren't they a handsome pair?