God is in CONTROL

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Happy Father's Day

You have always kept a tight schedule - with so many things going at once -- but your "Daddy time was always precious to you. You'd come in from work and the kids would come running.
You always wanted your day off to be all about family and every preaching / teaching trip was a chance for our family to draw closer and be together.  We'd load up the van - make beds in the back for the kids to sleep (pre-car seat days) and head off on a family road trip.

Car Derby - not a successful as Marshall would have liked
Bethany's Miss Whiteside Award













You loved hitching up the trailer and taking us all over the US and Canada!


You made all our trips an adventure (Cancun-Mother's Day 1993
mom with a sprained ankle - spent afternoon in Mexican ER- after stepping in a hole along the shore.)
Niagara Falls
Lake Brownwood, TX - big styrofoam block you made for a float
You led our kids to Christ

 and took them to many mission outposts (worshipping in secret in Budapest - behind the iron curtain)

Traveling with a group from Hillcrest Church to Mexico City (24 hour trip)

always reminding them how important being with our extended family is as FAITH and FAMILY are the two core values you helped to instill




Happy Father's Day to the man who has shown us the world . . .



Dad



Thinking about you today ---

That verse you would often quote "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" from Phillipians 4.
As a kid I didn't see that you were living it out every day.  I didn't stop to think about the challenges of getting up and working long days at Shell with diminished energy -- climbing those four flights of stairs with braces on your legs or the many falls you took.

You wanted so much more for us -- exposing us to Christian education at a young age and challenging us to go to college.  How did you manage the debt of 3 kids in private college?  Money was always tight at our house. 

You set an example for the type of man I was looking for in a husband.

The day of my wedding, you cleaned the huge front glass doors of the church building -- I got my dislike for smudged windows from you.

You always quoted your mom, "Beauty is as beauty does."  to keep me from becoming vain. You wanted me to be kind and loving -- even when I went through the difficult "catty" stages with my friends.  I remember your concern over my tom-boy stages and your lessons on how to sit like a lady.

In your quiet way you coped with being hooked to a respirator for 11+ years, totally depending on Mom to be your legs, and strength.  You went all those years being fed with a feeding tube-- how hard it was to have family dinners, knowing you were back there in your room unable to join us.

I told Terry the other day that when the kids and I would come for a week in mid-July every year, you would start praying for a break in the weather - so that I wouldn't have to be on that 10-hr trip up I-44 in triple digit numbers.  God always brought in a cool front.

You were never voted "Man of the Year" in any magazine or publication -- but so many people whose lives you touched still tell me today what your committed life taught them. 

I KNOW THE IMPRINT YOU HAVE LEFT ON MY LIFE.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Spring Favs

They make me laugh . . .


Where do they come up with insightful and funny things they say?  They keep us in stitches and on our toes. 





Summertime means we get to spend more time with all our Grands!








We are having them one at a time -  (Last Wednesday was Camp Jack -- Monday is Camp Sydney & Jack -- Campbell is asking when is Camp Campbell? -- and Clara's mommy and daddy already have her enrolled)  We love getting to devote total attention to them individually and then doing some time altogether as well.


Jack found things in cabinets we haven't touched in months (or maybe years) -- all with a grin and a giggle.  He can walk in a room -- size it up and find those obscure items -- TIME TO DECLUTTER



Sydney keeps us encouraged with sweet little comments like, "Nana you sure make good food" and "Papa you sure work hard."  The other day after watching him work at something she complimented, "Papa you sure are patient"  Every time we're with her she asks when the next sleepover is.  She loves "Baby" her doll and often makes up stories about what she and Baby are doing that day.  She told us Baby is Baby Rose now and her 5th birthday  is July 4th. That makes her older than Syd.   Guess we'll have to do something about that.

Sydney dressed herself for bed in pj's and went to the costume closet to complete her outfit

A couple of weeks ago when Terry was experiencing major vision problems in one eye - we found that covering that eye with a patch would help his ability to see clearly to drive -- We were loading up the car after Campbell's pre-school graduation and Sydney looked at him and said "Papa it takes two eyes to drive."  He could see perfectly out of ONE eye -- but that kept her and her MOTHER a little nervous.
Sydney is the Queen of Worm Rescue at their house

Campbell surveyed all of Papa's work on the yard and their "Sky
Palace" and said -- Papa sure does good work.  Earlier she had asked him, "Realistically, when do you think you'll have sky palace finished?"



Campbell wrapped up her preschool experience at Redeemer with Graduation and a Mother / Daughter Tea earlier in the month.  She is growing up so quickly and has enjoyed swim team, swimming lessons, tennis camp and is headed to Camp Kanakuk next week at Redeemer.

We are so thankful it doesn't take long for Clara to make up with us!
Clara is learning to wave and loves to greet EVERYBODY with a big one.  She laughs and giggles and loves to nuzzle when you hum.  She and Papa spent a lot of time rocking in her room the other night when we were babysitting with him singing "Skimmery, Dinky, Dinky Dink".  He said that was the only thing that would soothe her when she was upset and it gave him bragging rights on getting to help her feel better.  Being with her twice in 3 weeks helped to fill that huge gap between Christmas and late May.


I was reminded of a favorite grandparenting verse this morning as I was straightening my kitchen desk and saw it in a frame there.

Psalm 71:17-18New Living Translation (NLT)

17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
    and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
18 Now that I am old and gray,
    do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
    your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

Birthdays -- C & Me

We're almost birthday buddies -- Campbell and I.
Tuesday was C's and last Saturday my first celebration got kicked off with brunch in Denver at Darcy's with Katie, Marshall, Clara and Terry.  (Terry has always said I had to have a birth MONTH instead of birth DAY.)


I got this precious video from Campbell & Sydney




Marshall has been promising me a ride on his Harley


My Harley Happy B'Day Joy Ride

Tuesday was Campbell's friend party -- Sydney happily filled me in on all the info explaining that big sis got two parties -- a "friend party" and a "family" one.  She was a perfect little sis happy for her big sister the whole day.  (S waits 5 more months for her special day)






We wrapped up 6 days of birthday celebrations with a dinner together on Thursday night.

Birthdays for this Nana just get better and better.  I loved being able to celebrate this year with all 4 Grands!




Sunday, June 12, 2016

Celebration Weekend - A 15 Year Journey






It all began a long time ago -- when Marshall entered OSU in 2001 and chose pre-med as his course of study.



Fall Semester of  Junior Year in Northern British Columbia - getting ready for the MCAT - so he headed home in December - surprised us a day early by hiding upstairs under the bed and shocked Bethany and me speechless.

St. Francis ER Rotation Pre-Medical School
Medical School Acceptance 2005



Moving to OU Medical and White Coat Ceremony


Med School Graduation and on to Univ Of CO for Residency





Two Year Research Rotation



5 Year Surgery Residency


5th Year Chief Resident
4th year Rowanda Rotation
Residency Gift

Proud Momma and Dad - thankful for all God is doing and has done in his and Katie's lives


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