It seems like there have been an awful lot of people in our lives saying "Goodbye", one way or another, to loved ones, places, and ways that they have lived.
Things do change and the only thing that is certain in life is that it is very uncertain.
A couple of weeks ago our next door neighbor, a very elderly gentleman who has lived in that house since it was built, fell in the hallway and couldn't get up. His son called, from San Francisco, to see if his truck was there and if we had seen him. I told him no, and then we really started to worry.
We finally had to call the police, who broke in and found him and called the EMS people. It was one of those things that happen to older people who live alone, and it could have ended much worse than it did, but it is still not good. It's unlikely that he is going to be coming back to live in that house. He has just always been there. It's the end of something certain.
A few of the families we know have lost parents, and other family members, recently, and yesterday I heard that my good friend, Tonya, said "Goodbye" to her dad, after a long illness. It was kind of shocking. I thought he would be here longer.
When these things happen we naturally think about where the ones that we love are now. We can't picture it, and we can't begin to know what they are experiencing, but we know that they are...still.
We know that every soul that comes into being is eternal and that after death they go on in an existence that isn't what we know, but is.
When my Mom passed from this earth, I just couldn't feel that she had died. She is gone from here, and she isn't able to call me and chat, or hear about how the kids are doing, or come over for a visit, but she is every bit as alive as when she walked the earth. She is in another place, and she can pray for us, and she can be with the babies that we lost in a way that we don't get to, until we get there.
I just can't see that as a bad thing. The last few years of her life were filled with physical pain, and while she was still enjoying life, we all knew that it was coming to it's earthly end. The thing is, that is really why we are made. We are an eternal people. We believe in a life in eternity that NEVER ends, ever.
Now not everyone chooses to be in the same eternal place. That is up to the choices that we make while we are here. If you choose a life of self-centered worldliness, then God isn't going to force you to spend an eternity with Him and others, you will have the eternity that you have chosen by closing the door on Love. That's free will.
Nina is moving to Texas, away from Maryland, where she has lived, worked and raised Lilly for most of her life. They are very excited about making a fresh start, and I am excited for them, but it means a huge change for us, and a "Goodbye" even as we know that it is a good thing. I am praying that she finds everything that she needs to move into the life that she has been working so hard for. A good job, a better economy, good schools for herself and Lilly, and a love to walk through life with. I am looking forward to our visits and being able to hear that they are stretching their wings.
So many Goodbyes, some harder than others, and so many adjustments.
Life is just one long adjustment.
Thank You Lord for the Grace to be flexible, and the Hope that we have in You!
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Happy Birthday John!!!
Today our oldest son turns 16!!
What a great kid he is!
I am so proud of who he is and all that he stands for.
God Bless you in the coming year, and always, John.
What a great kid he is!
I am so proud of who he is and all that he stands for.
God Bless you in the coming year, and always, John.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Summing up the Day
Monday started with a trip to the service dept. at the dealership for a 10,000 mile check-up and oil change...still waiting to see how that ends up, since when I got home the van was leaking oil. They are coming here to look at it in the morning. Ugh.
Then I came home, and the storms that we thought were coming didn't materialize, so we headed up to the pool and had a very nice afternoon. We were almost the only ones there!
I went to the grocery store and bought stuff for Sour Cream Noodle Bake and put it together, and then Nina and Lilly joined us for dinner.
The boys had a Karate lesson downstairs, while I worked on a few things around the house.
Now it's getting dark and it's still really warm out, but the clouds are coming in, maybe it will rain.
Then I came home, and the storms that we thought were coming didn't materialize, so we headed up to the pool and had a very nice afternoon. We were almost the only ones there!
I went to the grocery store and bought stuff for Sour Cream Noodle Bake and put it together, and then Nina and Lilly joined us for dinner.
The boys had a Karate lesson downstairs, while I worked on a few things around the house.
Now it's getting dark and it's still really warm out, but the clouds are coming in, maybe it will rain.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Love My Family!
Right now...
Tim is working on the computer in the office, trying to get caught up on work, and not feeling very well. He is so responsible. He is such a loving and special guy.
Laura is probably relaxing after a long day of caring for her large, busy, and adorable family. They are a lucky bunch of people to have such a devoted and loving wife and mom!
Nina is certainly not relaxing. She is hard at work helping people get healthy, after a day that started with Lilly walking in a parade at 9:00am! She is such a wonderful mom and daughter! Lilly is also very, very blest!
John is at the home of his friend spending time with some of the best guys I know. I am so proud of how hard he has worked this past year. School was tough and complicated by some unexpected challenges.
He is such a caring and responsible son!
Brendan, playing video games at the moment and having a very strenuous chat with someone. That intensity and passion in him, that seemed to be a temper in his younger years, has become part of a young man with a spiritual focus that keeps us all on track. He is so in tune with God and committed to our Catholic Faith.
Paul is preparing to watch a movie in the basement. Our sweet youngest who is always saying nice things and thinking about his mom. He says "I love you" so many times a day, and means it! He is so sharp!
And Maggie... who loves everyone without reserve. We are so happy to have her in our lives.
Tim is working on the computer in the office, trying to get caught up on work, and not feeling very well. He is so responsible. He is such a loving and special guy.
Laura is probably relaxing after a long day of caring for her large, busy, and adorable family. They are a lucky bunch of people to have such a devoted and loving wife and mom!
Nina is certainly not relaxing. She is hard at work helping people get healthy, after a day that started with Lilly walking in a parade at 9:00am! She is such a wonderful mom and daughter! Lilly is also very, very blest!
John is at the home of his friend spending time with some of the best guys I know. I am so proud of how hard he has worked this past year. School was tough and complicated by some unexpected challenges.
He is such a caring and responsible son!
Brendan, playing video games at the moment and having a very strenuous chat with someone. That intensity and passion in him, that seemed to be a temper in his younger years, has become part of a young man with a spiritual focus that keeps us all on track. He is so in tune with God and committed to our Catholic Faith.
Paul is preparing to watch a movie in the basement. Our sweet youngest who is always saying nice things and thinking about his mom. He says "I love you" so many times a day, and means it! He is so sharp!
And Maggie... who loves everyone without reserve. We are so happy to have her in our lives.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
What Would Happen....
....If we really got serious about changing our eating habits around here? Not to lose weight, or get into some crazy self-improvement fad, but to really improve the way that our bodies and minds function?
It is an idea that I revisit more often all the time.
Obesity is fast becoming a world-wide epidemic.
Our family isn't dealing with that right now, praise God, but we have so many other reasons for becoming more intentional about the way we eat. So many auto-immune disorders in the family, and so many things that are going on that might not be eradicated by eating better, but might certainly be eased.
I have always felt that it's important to treat our bodies according to the intentions of the Designer. We were made to wander, hunting and gathering is what our ancestors did for thousands of years, as our bodies developed into the form that we have now. Jogging and lifting were things that were done sporadically. Walking and climbing are natural exercise for us.
Foods that one can collect and eat raw were what our predecessors ate most often, for the longest period of our evolution. Meat was hard to come by, and it required skill to kill and dress large animals, so it isn't meant to be a daily thing. Fish, more likely, but still it requires skill and a certain amount of luck. I am thinking about people before there was cultivation and animal husbandry. Eggs could be found, and plants were everywhere. and there was an abundance of these things during the growing season.
Now, I know people didn't live very long, due to many factors, but food and exercise went hand in hand and there was a LOT of the latter and less of the former, which is the reverse of the way we live today. For us, food is too available, too attractive, and too much a part of our social patterns.
It's not that eating paleo was a formula for a long life, at the time, because there were a lot of other things that could kill you, but it was the way our bodies were designed to function best.
Which brings me to the way our family is eating today, and why it is so hard to get out of that rut.
We eat WAY too much fat and sugar. We eat way too many refined foods. I feed our family meat or chicken on a much too regular basis. It's just the way we have always eaten. I grew up eating healthy, but probably too much.
Our expectations for regular, generous meals are probably way out of line, but that's what we have come to expect, and so anything else seems like a radical move.
So I am pondering, and researching. I will have to broach the subject with the boys, and that's something that might work well over the Summer, when we are all crazy-busy and outside a lot more. More veggies, more fruit, less meat, and more creativity. That's on me.
I just want everyone to think before they eat, and to feel good being active. For a long time.
It is an idea that I revisit more often all the time.
Obesity is fast becoming a world-wide epidemic.
Our family isn't dealing with that right now, praise God, but we have so many other reasons for becoming more intentional about the way we eat. So many auto-immune disorders in the family, and so many things that are going on that might not be eradicated by eating better, but might certainly be eased.
I have always felt that it's important to treat our bodies according to the intentions of the Designer. We were made to wander, hunting and gathering is what our ancestors did for thousands of years, as our bodies developed into the form that we have now. Jogging and lifting were things that were done sporadically. Walking and climbing are natural exercise for us.
Foods that one can collect and eat raw were what our predecessors ate most often, for the longest period of our evolution. Meat was hard to come by, and it required skill to kill and dress large animals, so it isn't meant to be a daily thing. Fish, more likely, but still it requires skill and a certain amount of luck. I am thinking about people before there was cultivation and animal husbandry. Eggs could be found, and plants were everywhere. and there was an abundance of these things during the growing season.
Now, I know people didn't live very long, due to many factors, but food and exercise went hand in hand and there was a LOT of the latter and less of the former, which is the reverse of the way we live today. For us, food is too available, too attractive, and too much a part of our social patterns.
It's not that eating paleo was a formula for a long life, at the time, because there were a lot of other things that could kill you, but it was the way our bodies were designed to function best.
Which brings me to the way our family is eating today, and why it is so hard to get out of that rut.
We eat WAY too much fat and sugar. We eat way too many refined foods. I feed our family meat or chicken on a much too regular basis. It's just the way we have always eaten. I grew up eating healthy, but probably too much.
Our expectations for regular, generous meals are probably way out of line, but that's what we have come to expect, and so anything else seems like a radical move.
So I am pondering, and researching. I will have to broach the subject with the boys, and that's something that might work well over the Summer, when we are all crazy-busy and outside a lot more. More veggies, more fruit, less meat, and more creativity. That's on me.
I just want everyone to think before they eat, and to feel good being active. For a long time.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Our Lilly
He got so many beautiful pictures!
I think this is my favorite though.
This really captures our beautiful girl.
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