Sunday, December 5, 2010

Death And Life

I have so many other things I could write about, but this is more important.

We buried my grandfather on Friday.

I drove the family over (sister and nephew included) to the cemetery.  We arrived about a half hour early, and realized it might be the same cemetery my older sister was buried in.  I went into the front office and they actually were able to point us to her grave.

We wandered over and there it was.  How does one feel for that?  How does one act beyond reverent?  I brushed the leaves from the marker and took a picture of it, my hands still wet from the grass and pine needles.

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My 2nd has her name.  It took a bit of explaining before she realized that was the case. 

Then we drove over to the gravesite for Grandpa.  Getting out there were more people than I expected, but less than I had hoped for.  I don’t know why that was the case, but there you go.

It was hard and sad and good and wonderful.  We experienced it with our kids, our family.  Cheri and Rick were there, of course, as was Robin.  It was a graveside service, and the local Veterans association held the service.  This included honor guard, the folding and presenting of the flag, and the playing of taps.  Grandfather was in the Navy as a young man, and so was honored as a veteran. Go Grandpa!

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All of my pictures turned out like junk, so this is just to give you a flavor of it.

When it came time for relatives to speak, I stepped up first.  I had a few remarks, but mostly just needed to express mine and my sisters’ love for our grandparents that they still cared for us no matter what we went through in life.

I write this after a long day spent taking the kids around to the Children’s Museum and the monorail.    One end to life, and five new beginnings to life.  I hope that it’s enough of a balance.

I hope I do him proud.  Love you Grandpa.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

The New Play Set

I spent this bright and sunny Saturday tearing down, then rebuilding in our front yard a play set for the kids.  Here is a whole lot of pictures from that time.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wrong Quotation

My favorite quote of all time has always been:

``We are born into this world, naked, screaming, covered in blood.  And if we’re lucky, it will end that way.''

Um, except that’s not the actual quote.  Damn.

Here’s the actual one.

``We all enter this world in the same way: naked; screaming; soaked in blood. But if you live your life right, that kind of thing doesn't have to stop there.''
      -- Dana Gould

Sunday, July 18, 2010

An update or 3

So it’s been way too long since I’ve updated.

We’ve had two birthdays, Jacob turned 3, and Sophia turned 7 (wow!). 

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Sophia is now taking violin lessons, and Jacob has moved on to his own actual bicycle.

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And of course, there is Grace.  

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She is our newest addition, and she is a redhead.  She came out perfectly on June 5, 2010.

Have a great week all,

Dale, Maria, Sophia, Cathy, Jacob, and Grace

Sunday, September 13, 2009

House Update

So this weekend was about two things:

Awesome bbq with the former coffee lady from work.  She and her husband hosted us, and a few ex-colleagues at their house.  Went and had lots of fun, good food, and good time catching up.

We also went to the Seattle Tilth Festival.  This is all about organic gardening and planting.  A lot of fun for the kids (three herb crowns please!) and a lot of organic farmers and information.  Maria went mostly for the composting information, although there was only a little bit of that.   The parade of kids throughout the festival was fun, and Cathy enjoyed the people dressed as carrots.  Oh and the Mighty-O donuts were a big hit, of course.

The second thing this weekend was about was getting the temporary (ok one year for it to be up is temporary) storage shed.  Of course, all we really got done was the digging up of the ground to level it out for the floor, but that’s a good start.  I have to get it done by next week or I’m in hurtsville :).

Ok, a picture of the house to go with all this fun stuff:

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And here’s the new flooring we had installed.  Much better than the carpeting:

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Summer Cold

Four out of the five of us have a summer cold. Two of three kids are energetic in spite of the runny noses and coughs. They are at the table here with me having cheerios and chips and salsa. ( This is the food I had the energy to 'prepare'.) Our Cathy went back to bed after breakfast and is sleeping still.

We had a great time in Idaho this past weekend (before the cold set in) and the trip was well worth sitting in stopped traffic that was miles long on the way back.

Big thanks to my patient husband for the trip and thanks to God for the safe and mostly pleasant travel and visit with my family in Idaho.

It is aunt Gloria's birthday today. This picture is for her and is related to her surprise....

The Family Blog

Here we go, a place to show off the family, our new house, our new lives.  Hope you enjoy.

Dale