Saturday, July 30, 2011
one more week
My Daddy's sick. Very sick. So sick that my family and I decided it was time to come home from Japan and spend some time with him. And, as I've said before, there is nothing enjoyable about that trip so if I did it twice in less than three months, you know it must be serious. It seems as though everything has happened extremely fast, but that isn't the reality. I won't go into details because this is not the forum for that. I'm simply writing to express that I am glad he made it one more week. I'm glad he continued treatment for one more week. I'm glad we're one more week closer to Robin having her baby and possibly getting to meet Grandpa Buster. One more week closer to finding out God's plan. Maybe one more week closer to witnessing a miracle? I hope so.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Usual Suspects
BEWARE of these faces:
They may look sweet, but they cause complete and utter destruction wherever they go!
There's just something about the plastic-ware...
Audie is a button-pusher...in every sense of the phrase!
The usual suspects:
A couple of outlaws ;-)
HEY!!
Anaya's first purse! And she already can't find anything in it!
I love this one - Adam wanted to take a picture with Anaya, but in an effort to not piss her off, he won't even touch her when he puts his arm around her!
Audie's latest M.O. is to throw himself down and pitch a fit.
Anaya likes to ride in the car, so everyone gets to take turns pushing her around.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Off to the Races!
Last month, Adam's montessori school put on their usual end-of-year program. You might remember that last year, Adam was a dancing ninja-turtle. First-rate. This year, Adam was dressed up as a horse and he was a stinkin' cute one. We were so proud of him for getting up there and doing his dance. He had been really sick for about two weeks and had missed a lot of school leading up to the program. That meant that he missed some crucial rehearsals, too. The day of the program, he was feeling terrible. He slept as we drove there and he asked to leave immediately after it was over, skipping the lunch party with all of his friends to celebrate the end of the year. Watching the video after the show, we can see how bad he really felt. When he would practice at home, he would be bounding just like the other boys and he knew every move. The poor guy was really sick. Honestly, he could have told us that he wasn't feeling up to it and we would have totally understood. But he toughened up and, as they say in the biz, "The show must go on!"
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Here are a few still shots of our little stud ;-)
Friday, July 1, 2011
A Life Well-Lived
These are just some thoughts I had written to be read at my Granddaddy's funeral on Wednesday...
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Thank you all so much for being here today. I am unable to be there, but appreciate the opportunity to have my words included in the service.
I know that there is nothing I can say to soften the grief that has come with the passing of Granddaddy. I only hope to conjure up great memories of a man whose life we can certainly celebrate on this day. He was caring, funny, unique and smart. He loved his family and was proud of his kids and grandkids. Deciding to name our first-born son “Daniel” was a no-brainer. I could only hope it would bring him the same strength and honor that it symbolized with my Granddaddy and my Father.
For me, there are a lot of things that will remind me of Granddaddy. I will remember Granddaddy every Christmas, when I hang all of those hand crafted popsicle-stick sleds that we received annually, on my tree. Or, when he decided to try his hand at woodcutting and made me a “Hook ‘em Horns” ornament that I never had the heart to tell him was really the “hang loose” hand sign. Or, when I pass by my wedding invitation, hanging on the wall, decoupaged onto a piece of wood that he had previously used to decoupage a five-foot rattlesnake my Mom had killed with a shovel, with beautiful bluebonnets along the side painted by Nanny . The man did love to decoupage, didn’t he? Or, I can remember him fondly when I see any of the wooden blocks he sent to me or my family, with our names glued to them in little wooden letters. And, should I ever forget whether I received something from him or someone else, I can always check it for his return address label. I’ll always laugh when I recall how he thought I was sending him photos and cards from China, when I really live in Japan. I’ll never forget seeing his and Nanny’s smiling, proud faces at my high school sporting events, high school graduation, and summer little league games. I will remember him when I’m creating a scrapbook for my children, as he did for his children and grandchildren. I’ll always treasure the photo of him dancing with Aunt Janice at my wedding reception and the photo of him and Nanny at their 40th wedding anniversary. I aspire to have a marriage like that. I’ll never look at a gourd without wondering if it would make a good birdhouse and I’ll think of him when I see turtles, baseball games, slingshots, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, and those little “Tommy tee-tee” toys.
Coming of age during the Great Depression, and serving in World War II, Granddaddy was a member of our greatest generation. As an American, and especially as a member of the military family, I am inspired by that generation – their values of duty, honor, country, family, service and responsibility to oneself. They lived through an incredibly difficult time, then went off to fight an incredibly difficult war, and returned home to build America into a superpower. They were modest about their achievements and were quietly successful. We can all learn countless lessons from that greatest generation, if only we take the time to listen to them before that time runs out. Although I had heard most of his stories many times before, I will now and forever miss them. I know Nanny was happy to finally see him in Heaven and I can only hope that they enjoy the light show up there as much as they enjoyed the one in downtown Las Vegas. It must be breath-taking.
Thank you all so much for being here today. I am unable to be there, but appreciate the opportunity to have my words included in the service.
I know that there is nothing I can say to soften the grief that has come with the passing of Granddaddy. I only hope to conjure up great memories of a man whose life we can certainly celebrate on this day. He was caring, funny, unique and smart. He loved his family and was proud of his kids and grandkids. Deciding to name our first-born son “Daniel” was a no-brainer. I could only hope it would bring him the same strength and honor that it symbolized with my Granddaddy and my Father.
For me, there are a lot of things that will remind me of Granddaddy. I will remember Granddaddy every Christmas, when I hang all of those hand crafted popsicle-stick sleds that we received annually, on my tree. Or, when he decided to try his hand at woodcutting and made me a “Hook ‘em Horns” ornament that I never had the heart to tell him was really the “hang loose” hand sign. Or, when I pass by my wedding invitation, hanging on the wall, decoupaged onto a piece of wood that he had previously used to decoupage a five-foot rattlesnake my Mom had killed with a shovel, with beautiful bluebonnets along the side painted by Nanny . The man did love to decoupage, didn’t he? Or, I can remember him fondly when I see any of the wooden blocks he sent to me or my family, with our names glued to them in little wooden letters. And, should I ever forget whether I received something from him or someone else, I can always check it for his return address label. I’ll always laugh when I recall how he thought I was sending him photos and cards from China, when I really live in Japan. I’ll never forget seeing his and Nanny’s smiling, proud faces at my high school sporting events, high school graduation, and summer little league games. I will remember him when I’m creating a scrapbook for my children, as he did for his children and grandchildren. I’ll always treasure the photo of him dancing with Aunt Janice at my wedding reception and the photo of him and Nanny at their 40th wedding anniversary. I aspire to have a marriage like that. I’ll never look at a gourd without wondering if it would make a good birdhouse and I’ll think of him when I see turtles, baseball games, slingshots, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, and those little “Tommy tee-tee” toys.
Coming of age during the Great Depression, and serving in World War II, Granddaddy was a member of our greatest generation. As an American, and especially as a member of the military family, I am inspired by that generation – their values of duty, honor, country, family, service and responsibility to oneself. They lived through an incredibly difficult time, then went off to fight an incredibly difficult war, and returned home to build America into a superpower. They were modest about their achievements and were quietly successful. We can all learn countless lessons from that greatest generation, if only we take the time to listen to them before that time runs out. Although I had heard most of his stories many times before, I will now and forever miss them. I know Nanny was happy to finally see him in Heaven and I can only hope that they enjoy the light show up there as much as they enjoyed the one in downtown Las Vegas. It must be breath-taking.
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