You Don't See That Every Day

Today is a celebration. My parents have been married 60 years. Yowzers! 60 years, 10 kids, 2sons-in-law, 7 daughters in-law 22 (+1) grand kids, 5 (+1) great-grandkids, a dozen different homes, pets, and schools, And they are still smiling.

So among all the birthdays we have in April, we now have another anniversary to celebrate My nephew married a very sweet girl on Saturday, and we went to the wedding. The church was way out in the country, so it was a beautiful drive (once we got out of the city!) on a beautiful day. We got to see relatives we haven't seen in awhile, and eat some terrific food, and cake. Oh my! the Cake! This girl knows cake! Not just one wedding cake - oh, there were choices! And so yummy. But really this isn't just about the cake.  The wedding was beautiful, not just because it was family, but I liked the music - how could you not like Princess Bride?! And the flowers were gorgeous, and the bride was stunning. And the groom was awesome (how many other overused terrific adjectives can I use?!) We also had a lot of fun with the twist on the popular 'photo booth' that many wedding receptions use these days. They had a board with different relatives wedding photos on them. Th...

I saw this on another blog I read and it sums up much of what I am feeling. I couldn't even make it through saying grace at supper tonight. My Christmas is most likely going to be very special, and yet my heart hurts, really hurts for the people who are facing a very painful holiday. As I was praying last night for those families, others were brought to mind: The emergency responders, those who had to go into the school and take care of the bodies; those who have to perform the funerals; those who have to deal with the paperwork and details that death brings; those who have to clean up the school building before the children return. Please remember to pray for them too.

When I woke up this morning I had no idea what was in store. It has been a busy day and yet I felt as if I have not accomplished anything. It started out as normally as any other day: make the lunches for those leaving the house; grade the homework; eat my breakfast and get the girls moving on theirs; check in with my emails and facebook. And that was when everything changed. Emails can do that to a person's day. A few lines written in another town and sent out amongst the masses can change the direction of the day. My dad wrote to tell all of us that my mom had gone to the hospital. Of course those first few words can make a child's stomach drop. As I read on and tried to explain to my girls what was going on, I got a bit emotional. My 6 year old asked, "How old is Grandma?" And not in the mind to think hard I said she was somewhere around 76 years old. And my girl replied, "Oh, she's not that much older than Dad." And I had to laugh; even with te...

Wow what a long weekend that was! What? It's Tuesday? The Weekend has been over how long already? Oh yeah. that stomach-bug induced fog I just came out of ... that has really thrown me off. The above picture has nothing to do with our weekend, our stomach bug, or my sickness induced emotions. Actually it might. It's a picture of my dad holding the hand of my youngest. Back when I was a kid my dad was gruff and tuff y'know. Working hard to keep the family afloat and educated. With 10 kids it took a lot of work. With 7 of them being boys, it probably took a lot more on his part than I will ever know. Not to neglect my mom's role in all of this. She cooked and cleaned and canned amazing massive amounts of food to keep us fed and growing and educated. There must have been pretty good teamwork between the two of them to get all of us where we are today. As far as I know, 8 of the 10 attend church faithfully, 7 of us have children which we have raised and are raising,...

We went to a wedding this weekend. My niece (my sister's girl) was married on Saturday. I spent most of the ceremony in the cry-room with Miss Antsy-pants, aka baby K. She is a mover! And if she doesn't get to move when she wants to, she becomes a Screamer. So the cry room was the best place for us to hang out at the time.  My extended family; we're down in front The wedding was beautiful; no tears from what I could see back in the cry room - but I wasn't able to see the parents of the bride or groom; We got my family together afterward for the pictures. All but 2 of the 10 siblings were able to make it. With the weather the way it was last week, we weren't sure who was going to be at the wedding. The reception was a lot of fun and noise once we got it going. Good cake, people to talk to, plenty of food, and dancing. I think dancing was my girls' favorite part. They had all the married couples out on the dance floor. My parents ended up being the longest...

Today marks the day of my parents' 55th anniversary. Wow, that's a long time! All of us kids threw them a party back on the 50th, but this year was a quiet one. I hope we all make it five more years to have another, bigger, bash for their 60th! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! (Sorry I forgot to send a card. I'll get right on that.)