Nikki

I read this on the facebook page of an 18 year old college freshman. I had the pleasure of having her in bible study her senior year of high school. She was best friends with our friend Sister Mary - Nashville Dominicans.

I can't help but think how many Catholics miss this when they go to mass. This is why I have hope for our church and our faith. We have young people who get it and are taking the time to educate themselves and to experience what the Mass offers. They have an appreciation for Mass that is missing in so many Catholics. Thank God for the blessings of Nikki and Sr. Mary and young people everywhere making a difference in their lives and in the lives of others.

In Mass the other night, I was thinking about how although the angels see God face-to-face all the time and are with Him in Heaven right now, they can never be united to God in the same way that we are when we receive Him in the Eucharist. just think about it... God literally receives us into Himself when we receive Him in a way that is so incredible that not even the angels have experienced anything so amazing!! (copied from N.W.)

"I DO I DO"

Last night we went to a dinner theater to see I Do I Do.

We went with my younger brother and sister and their spouses.

We were the last of the family to see this show and it was fun. It was great to visit with my siblings and a wonderful show to see.

My parents had 5 babies by their 10th wedding anniversary in 1960. And as the story goes they had planned for their anniversary with a rare babysitter and plans for a date to celebrate.
Instead they spent the night fighting a fire in the woods set by coon hunters.

My parents (Mom) made certain that each of us had a special 10th anniversary. She speculated that at this time in a couples life money was tight and time for each other was short. So they supplied the sitter and the tickets to The Chanhassen Dinner Theater. The 1st 6 couples saw "I DO I DO". Which had a run of 20 years from early 1971 to the spring of 1993.
Todd and I saw Fiddler on the Roof and the last 2 couples Beth and Paul and Blaine and Lisa saw Brigadoon for their 10th anniversaries.

I DO I DO is a wonderful musical following a couple for 50 years the ups and the downs. It is a celebration of marriage. And written in a different era with talk of marriage being a sacrament. The wedding dress with long sleeves. The innocence of a couple sharing a bed for the first time on their wedding night. It was a clear reminder to me of the changes in our society.
Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs in the musical. I found my DH downloaded thie song from iTunes clearly his favorite also.


My Cup Runneth Over

by Ed Ames

Sometimes in the mornin' when shadows are deep
I lie here beside you just watching you sleep
And sometimes I whisper what I'm thinking of
My cup runneth over with love

Sometimes in the evening when you do not see
I study the small things you do constantly
I memorize moments that I'm fondest of
My cup runneth over with love



In only a moment we both will be old
We won't even notice the world turning cold
And so, in these moments with sunlight above
My cup runneth over with love
My cup runneth over with love
With love.

My pg daughter

Is it fair for a grandma to post her daughter's pregnancy pics?
Perhaps not - but this is one excited grand-ma-ma
I have to get that 2nd ma in there since there are 2 babes



Oct 16th we were at a family wedding and I took these pics of my pregnant daughter with 2 cousins that were also expecting.


















I have them in order of due date
A - in the white top had a beautiful baby boy last night 7 lbs 9 oz he was about 3 weeks early.
Brit - is due Dec 26th however her Doc has moved her date to Dec 13th
and
T -is due Jan 1st this is her 2nd pregnancy




Then I started to look through my pics for pregnancy pics of Brit

Brit and K had just found out they were expecting at Number 4's graduation

















These are from late June






I bet you thought I was going to post more pictures of my daughters bump!!
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I am..........
Aug 18th -
This is Brit and her friend C who had a beautiful baby boy -Blake Sept 16th




Labor Day weekend I went to help out as Brit was finishing the nursery mural

















October 2nd Brittany's cousin Gina hosted a baby shower for Brittany, K and the boys

This is Brit with her cousins Gina and Heather on October 16th - Heather is the bride -
this is the same day as the first pic with the 3 cousins














We are going to see them in 10 days - We are going to help get a few things ready around their house.

And we will be back the week of Thanksgiving to celebrate Thanksgiving with them and on that Saturday we are having our Christmas celebration at Brit & K's house. We plan to keep this all low key for Brit and the babies but with Chris leaving for boot camp on Dec 13th we wanted to be sure we are able to have Christmas before he leaves.
Of course this is all up in the air as the babies have the final say in how things are going to turn out. This weekend we are going to go and do our Christmas shopping so we are ready.

October is almost over & I'm closer to being a baby holding grandma

I really don't have a reason for this blog.
I am not certain what it is for or where it will go.

Right now I see 2 things happening the first is that I am using it to come out of lurkdom. There are times I want to comment on a blog entry and not feel like I am a creeper.
The other reason is that my life is so full these days and this gives me a place to reflect on the busy-ness of life. I always thought as the kids grew up and graduated that life would quiet down and there would be less to do.

Reality is that we are busier and needing to travel more with the girls living 4.5 and 6.5 hours away. I am preparing for more time on the road when our grand-babies arrive (In less than 7 weeks)!

Both boys are now set for boot camp. Chris leaves in December with graduation in San Diego in March and Nick leaves next July with graduation in San Antonio in September. Nick will return to Minnesota after graduation and do weekend drills. Chris went active duty and we think he will out east somewhere for advanced training and school for about a year. And then we expect he will be overseas.

I wish I could go part time at work especially after a weekend like this past one. I love my job but I desire to be able to help my children out with grandchildren if I am able.
back to my reason for this blog - for now I will write for myself without a real direction and ask for guidance if there needs to be something more.

Fall leaves have all fallen and the weekend has been rainy and wet. We still have mosquitoes though, it has not been cold enough to freeze them out. Here are a few fall pics from a walk in my parents woods before the leaves were gone.

A goal accomplished

Our son Nick wanted to join the Air Guard. When he graduated from High School that was his plan. He didn't want to go to college - he wanted to go to boot camp. With some medical delays he was forced to wait until the October after his graduation to enlist. But on the Monday before Labor day I came home from work to find him at home, not at his much needed job. When hubs arrived home I explained that Nick was home and I wasn't certain why he wasn't at work. My DH noticed a hospital band on Nicks wrist and he told Nick if he was having medical tests it would be nice to keep us informed, as we would be paying the bills. Nick very angry (and afraid) snapped that he had been in the clinic and the hospital all day having tests, and that the clinic called wanting him back before they closed to go over his tests. As he slammed out of the house he yelled "And they haven't ruled out cancer"

Cancer -what an ugly word. Life Changing. The fact that the clinic called to see him before closing, that they wanted to go over the results of the tests in person scared me. I asked if he wanted us to with him he said no. An hour later he called home and asked if I could go to a surgeon's appointment with him the next day. At home he told us he had been having swelling and increased pain in his groin all weekend. It became so severe on Monday he went to our doctor.

His appointment with the urologist was for 10 AM on Tuesday. After an exam and discussion Nick was told he would have to have surgery to remove the testicle. Most definitely cancer, not certain of the stage. The surgeon said he had time at 1:30 today or Thursday. Nick chose Thursday but after the surgeon left the room I asked why he was waiting - the outcome wouldn't be different and his anxiety would increase over the next few days. Nick decided to have surgery that same day. By 9 PM we were back at home with our son. A life changing diagnosis and a life changing surgery in just a few short hours. On Friday of that same week, just 3 days later, he met with the oncologist. He was given 3 choices. First chemotherapy - several meds for short duration and follow up for a few years. 2nd was surgery from below his sternum to his groin to remove lymph nodes. The possibility of certain physical problems with this surgery put it on the no list, don't even want to consider it. 3rd he could have exams every month then every 2 months then 3 months then 4 months and so on for 5-6 years with the possibility that the cancer was not contained during the surgery to remove the testicle. Nick chose chemotherapy. He wanted the shortest possible treatment to get him back to living his life.

Treatment was completed with a just a few hitches. His hair was falling out at the end of week 1 by week 7 he was done with his treatment. Enlisting and Boot Camp were out of the question. The recruiters told him 3 years and he could try again. He had to go to college that January to stay on our insurance since he was turning 19. But he didn't do well -with continued fatigue and terrible classes, like the History of Rock and Roll. He slept a lot, lost a lot of weight and failed every class that spring. It was 18 months after surgery and treatment that he told us he felt normal again.

He continued with school and has an Associate degree in Advertising and Design with an emphasis in photography. He works full time and continues to attend college for an additional degree. After 3 years he went back to enlist. He was rejected again and again and again. I lost count of the number of times he met with recruiters. The number of times he was told no.

Then a few months ago he received his clearance now he needed to find a job -his MOS. He wanted to be a load master (whatever that is) actually he wanted to be a lot of things but many jobs were closed to him because he is color blind or in military language color deficient. But he persevered again and yesterday we received the call we had been waiting all day to hear - "Well it's official I have enlisted in the Air Guard. My first drill weekend will be in October."

At Nicks request the recruiter cut off the LIVESTRONG bracelet that Nick has worn for the 6 years since his cancer.

Goal Accomplished. Congratulations Nick.




Nick




Nick with his sisters last Christmas




All 4 at #4's graduation

60 years

Today we celebrated my parents 60th wedding anniversary. My dad is 85 and my mom is 78. They'd asked their priest for a anniversary blessing at the end of mass. They were not planning on a big celebration since we had a family wedding in Minneapolis yesterday and they felt it was just too much. So this was supposed to be simple and quiet. We made plans to be at the church - as many as could make it. And a few showed up, 102 at my best count. My parents did'nt have any idea we were all there until when they went to the back of the church to get the gifts they caught sight of a granddaughter. And they cried. We didn't get to see or really hear the blessing he gave since we had all exited after communion and were in the church entrance. When Father gave us a nod we all came forward starting with my oldest brother and his family and on down the line until we had each given them a rose. After mass we went to the church basement for rolls. It was a beautiful way to celebrate a 60th anniversary.

Downside to the day was the fact that this is a very small country church and when you add 102 people there is no place for the parishioners to sit in their regular places. This is a 3 parish cluster and 10 o'clock is usually a full mass so we displaced quite a few people. I felt anxiety about being there and taking up someones 'usual' space. And I felt bad that to honor my parents Mass ran over 15 minutes (mass started 5 minutes late as chairs were being set up). I felt bad that some people left before the final blessing and hymn. I know I should not feel bad about going over 15 minutes or that we took someones spot but I do. I do have anxiety about disrupting what should be prayerful time of the week for community. But there is a part of me that realizes that some of these people may have been from the other 2 parishes - that they do not know my parents and were annoyed. Some may be at mass to get their ticket punched for the week. But there were lots of people that gave my folks cards and well wishes.

So I am glad that this time was spent today. It is so much better to celebrate now knowing that too soon we will be there for a funeral.

So funny story. My parents have been receiving cards in the mail and this past week they received a card with a laminated copy of their anniversary announcement from the weekly Diocesan paper. The note was simple and said congratulations... blah blah blah signed The Daniel-Williams family.
My parents do not know anyone from the Daniel-Williams family
this is a marketing tool..............for an area FUNERAL HOME !!!
It really made us all laugh out loud - how hard it must be to market a funeral home.


My Mom and Dad with all 9 kids and spouses



Just mom and Dad and kids

These next 2 pictures are from the family wedding yesterday 10/16/10

He is off for boot camp

This past week we had supper at our house for Michael and his parents and the boys recruiter. The recruiter brought his wife and 1 year old daughter. It was a difficult night. Michael leaves today he will be 2 months ahead of Chris.

Chris and Michael went camping for 3 days. They have been talking about doing this all summer. It was a time for them to talk and spend time together. This weekend Michael said goodbye to his girlfriend. He told us they both cried. I know Chris and Megan will be going through the same good byes in a few short weeks.

These 2 young men have soft caring hearts but they are both totally committed to the decision they have made to serve our country.

How can we not be proud of the men and women who have chose to enlist and serve our country. The night of the supper I took pictures of the boys smoking cigars - these are the only pictures I have of that night.

Please pray for our soldiers.

Fall Trip

This year my hubby and I took a fall trip. This was our 2nd time and we went back to the Buffalo Round-Up in Custer State park in South Dakota. It is crazy that we have such a good time. This year we took our friends (Sr. Mary's parents) with us. The weekend started a little stressful. I had a full week of work with bible study on Thursday night. I charted until 2:30 Friday morning and crawled into bed for an hour before jumping in the shower. We left our house at 4:20. We'd found a little Marian Shrine in Alexandria SD which we stopped at after having breakfast in Sioux Falls. We spent quite a bit of time in the badlands and arrived in Rapid City at suppertime. It was a loooong day of driving. Saturday morning we were up early to cruise around the black hills, we went shopping, went to winery and had a much more relaxing day. We went to church on Saturday - not our usual thing but we wanted to be up and out early so we could see the morning wild life in Custer. Sunday morning we were out by 8 and did we see wild life. We saw the bison and the antelope play ....know what I mean? wink wink nudge nudge. We were glad that we had no little kids to explain the birds and the bees to. We hiked a few areas off the beaten path and spent a nice quiet day. Which was a really good thing because we were up at 3:30 AM Monday to get out to the round up!!! Here are a few pics