New Year; New Beginnings

I've thought about doing a new entry for a while now. I certainly haven't been very good about keeping up with this. 2010 ended with a bang that changed things around here for a while and we continue to see changes as the year unfolds.
The day after Christmas as we were eating lunch we heard fire trucks noisily leaving town. Then as I was preparing to clean up in the kitchen the phone rang. It was the fire chief and our daughter's home was on fire -- he wanted to know about animals in the house. I quickly called Jenny's phone. Got no answer. So I called Rick's phone. He did answer and luckily there were just a short distance away. We met them out there. What we saw was disasterous.
The firemen were able to find two of the dogs. The pup was not in good shape, but they were able to give her some oxygen and revive her. The third dog wasn't so lucky. He had gone into the bedroom and never made it out. The fire started in the kitchen behind the stove. At first they thought it was electrical, but on looking closer they don't believe that was the problem. The fire chief said they would probably never know the cause, nothing seems to make any sense.
This is what changed things around our house for a while. The five of them moved in along with the two dogs that survived. We wouldn't have had it any other way, but there were adjustments to be made. And they were made; things went very smoothly in spite of it all. Amazingly the dogs got along with our dog, we were most worried about that. We only have one extra bed, so the three kids slept on the floor or in recliners or on the couch for a week. Jenny and Rick took the week off to sort through things. The kids were still on Christmas break and I think they got pretty bored with life at Grandma & Grandpa's.
Living in a small community was a blessing. People from town, people from their work, people from their church, friends & family were very supportive. The Red Cross lady (a friend & neighbor) was there before the firemen were finished. Their immediate needs were supplied quickly. If any of them might gander at this post, I thank them all from the bottom of my heart!
They are now settling into a small furnished home just a few blocks from where Jenny works. It's quite adequate for their needs for the time being. The restoration company has many of their belongings and have assured them that they will be able to salvage a lot of things that I never would have imagined would be possible. The kitchen was pretty much the worst of it all. The living room ceilings dropped insulation everywhere and the smoke and water damage in there was great. But that can all be replaced.

There were a few rather amazing things that weren't so bad -- see the photos above. The posterboard angels that were Grandma's were hanging on the wall and they don't look like the soot got to them. And then there was the cross that Dave made them out of the old countertops from his father's store; it was charred, but behind it there was the imprint of the cross on the wall. Awesome! God was so good; none of them were home. Other than the emotional scars this will leave, they are healthy and they will only grow from the experience.

Flooded with Memories

I've been flooded with memories the last few weeks. There's the birthday parties that seem so plentiful in our family this time of year. From the first of September until mid November there are my husband's, one daughter's, one son-in-law's and four of our grandchildren. Last year we had quite a celebration. Andy had just moved back from California and came up for a visit to celebrate all the grandkids' birthdays. I'm so pleased now that he decided to spend the night & spend part of Saturday with us. This was the last time we were able to give him a hug & tell him we loved him. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.
The next few weeks are going to be so busy and so emotional that I've been saying lost of extra prayers for strength. I have been busy making memory pages from the picutres that I have of him & I would so like to have them printed to take with us when we go to the "Toast to Andrew" in a couple of weeks & the "Remembering Andrew" celebration a couple of days later. I would like to have a book made of the LOs that I've done, but I have plans for a few more pages, so I guess I'll just print them out & make a small 8x8 book to take with us then. When I think I've got them all finished then publish a book. Maybe I'll even get copies for his sisters too.
It's just about time for his oldest sister to stop in on her way to work, so I'll just let those memories keep flooding, they really are very fond memories & I thank God for all of them & for the years that He brought Andy into our lives. He was a good son.

Glorious Sunday!

What a beautiful fall day we're having. Since there's a chance of rain tomorrow we decided to go ahead and sweep the leaves today. It was good to be outside & the lawn looks so nice now.
Even though there hasn't been a great deal of color this fall, it has still been beautiful. Oh how I would miss this changing of seasons if I lived somewhere without it. That's one of the things that Andy was so excited to come back to when he moved home last year. It has been just about a year since he got back to Ft. Wayne & I think he did get to see a little bit of color before it was all gone.
This week we took three rides to try & get some good pictures of the color. Lots of shots, but not many really did justice to the color. Also lots of fun just roaming around the state land. We saw some Red-tailed Hawks soaring overhead. What fun that must be to look down on God's creation while flying freely through the air.

Frustration with my computer

It's been a busy time since I last posted. Mom has been in the hospital, but is home now & though she's still weak, is doing better. Considering her age, it's remarkable that she's still able to be in her own home. I am thankful that we have a full-time caregiver who lives with her. Now that she's afraid to leave her alone, my brother & I will no doubt be spending more time with her so the CG can have some much needed time to herself.
Today is kind of a hard day, it's been exactly 11 months since we lost Andy. We've been getting invitations to go to celebrations of our time with him. It will be hard, but our plans are to attend 2 of them.
I've been trying to download something from 4shared.com & I can't get it there at all. I've tried all kinds of things, every trick I know for getting there, but it's just not working at all. This is a very nice kit that The Teapot Lady is offering free & I'd really like to have it. I think I have all of her sets & I use them often -- I'm sure this one would be no exception. GRRRRR! What can be wrong? I've been to 4shared.com many times in the past, now I can't even get there at all.
We're getting ready to go on a drive through the countryside to photograph some fall color. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining & although it's a little cool we have the doors wide open. Can't wait for this photo-op to begin!
Even with the frustrations & the sad moments thinking of losing Andy, life is good & God is better!

Wow! It's Wednesday again already.

I can hardly believe it's been a week already since my last post. Not a lot has been happening the last week, other than bronchitis running rampant.
Sunday we celebrated World Wide Communion at church. This is always an awesome feeling to me -- to think that Christians all over the world are partaking of Communion to remember all that Christ gave for our souls. I just thank God for His mercy & grace.

Tonight was Bible study & I really feel like we're kind of wading our way through a muddy mess. I'm enjoying the book we're using, but having a hard time relating the study guide to the chapters in the book. I find that the questions aren't that thought provoking either. Only three more chapters & we'll be moving on to a new book. It will mean a lot more time getting ready for each lesson, but I'm ready for it.

Corn School started last night. No plans to go down any time at this point, but plans do change. Looks like the weather is going to be perfect for the week for a change. I remember lots of years when there was rain or even snow. Actually this year I think fall is coming a little late. I judge this from what is happening during this first week of October. Most of the time the leaves have all turned & are mostly down. This year they have just started turning. Planning a photo-op drive through the country on Friday, but I think it may be too soon. Only time will tell.

Off to get creative with scrapbooking. I've got a couple of challenges that I want to work on this evening.

Hump day back in the work world

Well, here it is Wednesday. It's been a productive week. I've finally been able to face the spare bedroom where a lot of Andy's things have been piled. Maybe by this weekend I'll be able to find the bed in there!

On to the trip highlights. After hitting Wall for a brief visit we headed on to Mt. Rushmore. This was a new thing for Dave, something he had dreamed about seeing since he was a small boy. At first glance he felt a little disappointed, but when we got the car parked and into the visitor's center he was awe struck. We spent quite a bit of time here taking photos & looking at the history shown in the visitor's center. It was an awesome feat for the people who carved the monument.

Next we headed south for Custer. Stopped in to see Crazy Horse, but didn't go in the park -- too expensive to see a half-done project. It will be enormous when completed, but that won't happen in our lifetime, maybe not even in our girls lifetimes.
We drove on down to Custer to find a place to stay and ended up in a little cabin. Quite comfortable except for the walk up to it. We took a minimum amount of things up there, no suitcases that's for sure! That's our car down in the lower left corner of the picture & the cabin at the right. The stairs up to the cabin were stones - they were flat, large enough & well lit, but it was still a hike up there.
Into town for supper, but they close up all the restaurants in the afternoon. We finally found one open & were their last customers before closing. Whew!
We stopped & chatted with the gentleman in charge of the cabins & decided there was enough daylight hours to go on the Wildlife Loop before dark. That about did Dave in, no lines on the road & you didn't know what the guy in front of you might do all of a sudden. (Not to mention the curves & hills.) But we did see wildlife -- white-tail deer, mule deer, bison, pronghorn antelope, wild turkeys, and our favorite was the mules. They were blocking the road & very friendly & playful. A couple of them came right up & stuck their nose in the window. They were so soft to pet. By the time we finished, the sun was going down & we were a little afraid that we might not be able to find the cabins again. But we pulled right in with no trouble at all.
We made a decision to head back to I90 for home since neither of us were feeling well & had been taking DayQuil & NiQuil for the past few days. God was watching out after us when we made that call -- later in the day it began to rain. And it rained a whole lot more before we stopped! We got as far as Salem, SD & the rain was so hard you could hardly see the road. We saw the exit & drove off the interstate -- no town right there, which way should we go? It looked a little more promising to the right, so we drove a few miles & did find a motel. The rain let up long enough to get our things into the room & walk across the street for supper at the Cookie Jar Restaurant. What a unique little restaurant it was. I've never seen so many cookie jars in place in my life, and I don't think I ever will again. I asked the owner how many there were & she said she lost count at 900. They were everywhere, on shelves around the top of the whole restaurant, in display cabinets & one room had them floor to ceiling -- with the floor covered.
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We made it to the outskirts of Iowa City the next day & arrived safely at home on Friday. Nikki was so glad to see us!


I praise the Lord for a safe journey, especially for guiding us through the rain. When we were in Iowa City we looked at the weather & the decision was the right one. There was flooding in SD & MN (the route we had originally planned to take.) Thank you so much, Lord!

A New Day, A New Week

It's a bright beautiful day to start out this brand new week. Looking back through the past week I can see God's hand in guiding us back home after an awesome time traveling this glorious land. We started out with just a cloudy day, then awoke to foggy condition that lasted most of the morning. Just before we got to Sioux Falls the sun popped out & it was a sunny warm day. The falls & the park there were well worth the trip. The really amazing thing about the falls is that this park is right in town. It is well maintained & the landscape is manicured superbly, lots of nice walkways & even an observation tower to get a higher view of the falls & the park. Don't miss it if you're in South Dakota!

The sun continued to shine throughout the day. We made a brief stop to see the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. They were still working on the last panel, so we got to see how they got all those mosaics in place. Very interesting indeed.

After a good nights sleep in Kimball (and a fabulous sunset) we set out the next day for the Badlands. I can truly see why they are called the badlands. If you were an early pioneer of the area & came upon them with a wagon train, it would be a rather frightening place. Now there is a nice smooth road through the area & although there are a lot of curves it is a fairly easy drive (that is if you don't mind up & down & around driving.) There were lots of areas to stop & take pictures & we took advantage of a lot of them. One time we even stopped along side the road to snap some pics of pronghorn antelope grazing nearby. Dave was so patient with me taking photos, thanks bunches!

Then on to Wall which was reminecent of Shipshewana, but we can now say we were there. We went into the drug store & did a little souvenier shopping.

Time to get around to go see my mother & share pictures & stories with her. I'll continue the trip tomorrow.