38 years and counting!

I am so behind on writing in my blog, that I am not sure where to begin. So for now, I will just start for today and catch up a little at a time.
We got home from the wedding trip on Tuesday night and yesterday and today, I just worked on the house, unpacking, laundry and cleaning. Then I took down all my Spring decorations and put up 4th of July decorations. I love those decorations, because it means that Summer is really here.
Jeff's car broke down a few days ago and so as soon as he gets home from work, he has been working on it. But tonight, he took a break and asked me out for dinner, what's the occassion you might ask? Well, 38 years ago today...Jeff asked me out on our first date! We went to a movie and then dinner. We ate at a Pizza Hut and all I can remember is that when he said goodbye that night, he kissed me on the forehead. I knew in that moment he was a true gentleman and that I was falling for him fast!
So tonight on this beautiful evening, we went out for Pizza and a Salad. No, not a Pizza Hut... but at one of our favorite places MOD Pizza!


What a blessing to be able to still go on Date Nights...with my Best Friend for 38 years now, and counting!

Good Night dear friends!

A new best friend!

 I had to sew a few accessories for my trip, felt like I needed to sew something before dropping off my machines for maintance while I am gone. Gee I have as hard of time giving up my machines as I did dropping off my kids at school...not really I didn't cry with the kids! Ha Ha! Just kidding, but I am attached to my machines.
 So I made a change purse, card holder and tissue holder! It was a new pattern and I liked how it came out! Then I made these pink luggage tags, because the last time I tried to find my luggage at the airport, I pulled off quite a few BLACK pieces of luggage ...only to find out ( after breaking my back ) that it wasn't mine! Not any more!

Between flights I found a place to get Sushi! Here is what my fortune cookie said! That's right, I am really taking a chance at doing this new business. LynnMade is becoming a reality and I am soooo excited, mostly because my family will be a big part of it! We are ready to take the chance!

On the flight I gave my seat to a family so that they could sit together, I remember well traveling with all four kids from Seattle to West Virginia ... many times others gave up their seats to let us sit together. Seriously, wouldn't anyone rather have their kids with their Mothers?

I made a New Friend ( I got a photo with her but wasn't sure she wanted me to share it ), she was too cute and we hit if off right away. By the way we were laughing and carrying on, you would have thought we were Sisters! Her sweet son sat with us and was kind enough to endure both flights with us, show me how to use my new iphone and even help me get my luggage off the carrousel ( at least we knew which ones mine were)! We said goodbye after swapping cards and numbers, can't wait to meet up with her again when we get home. Did I mention she too was a Cancer Survivor? We had a lot in common! What a treat to make a new Best Friend, it made the trip go so much faster!

 I walked in the door late last night and guess who was still up waiting for her Nana? Well, she was actually waiting for her Mommy to feed her again but I was thrilled to have some Snuggle time with this SuperGirl as soon as I got there! She has grown so much since we last Face Timed with her! 

Then there is this sweet Grandson of mine. Mr Kai! He was so fun to hang out with today, we played, went shopping, set the table for dinner and read some books. He said the bed time prayers. What a sweet heart. How grateful I am to see that his Mommy and Daddy are teaching him about his Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ at such a young age. It will bless his life forever. 

So he asked Aunt Amy and Aunt Lauren to be protected on their flights in tomorrow, asked for all of us to be safe and sleep well and then he told what he was grateful for...his Mommy, Daddy, Baby Oakley and his puppy Kevia.

 I love to hear kids say their prayers, they are straight from the heart! Then he went to bed with Super Man watching over him too! Can never have too many Super Heroes watching over you right? :)

I sure have missed these guys. I love being here. Love their new house and the celebrating the new chapter in their lives. I feel truly blessed. 

Good Night dear friends!

Me and my Best Friend!

Finally after a  second antibiotic I started feeling better. By Thursday Jeff and I decided to go away for a couple of days, to celebrate our Anniversary ( that we missed ). So we ended up in Anacortes. It was about 10 degrees cooler because of being near the water. It was beautiful there and it was just nice to get away!

Of course we tried to do all our visits to the shops on Friday, because we knew they would be closed on the 4th.

We went up to the Look out point and it truly was breathtaking! How grateful I am with the freedoms we have, and to live in such a beautiful country!

We love antiques... we have always liked things from the past and the history that comes with them. I even found a few things for my studio, I am anxious to see if they will work!

We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast and it was a beautiful old house that had been remodeled. I would recommend it to you but...they didn't have air conditioning...which isn't a shock, most of us don't... but in our room, only one window opened. It was hot that day remember, and so our bedroom was very very hot and we just had a tiny fan. It was a tough to sleep and when we got up the next morning and told the owner how hot it was and miserable at night...she said " well no one ever told us that before, we will have to get that fixed, that was about it. " Oh well, next time we will obviously pick some where else, but it still was a wonderful get away!

For the 4th of July we went to Deception Pass, it was here on the 4th of July in 1988 Jeff and I came for the first time to Washington to visit. I remember Amy was 5 and Brad was almost 2, I had sewn some cute summer outfits for each of them. As we flew in to Seattle...it was raining and cool. It stayed that way the whole week we were there. We had to borrow clothes from my family that we came to visit.  Jeff and I had to buy a jacket and some sweatshirts. And on July 4th they took us to Deception Pass, they kept apologizing for the weather, but when we took one look at Deception Pass, rain or clouds...we were in love!  We thought...how great is that, to live in a place that you can wear sweatshirts...almost all year long!  We knew then, this is where we wanted to live and raise our family. Just a few short months later, that is exactly what we did! And we have never, never looked back!

 We had lunch at the park Deception pass, we also remember bringing the kids here camping when they were little.

Then for the evening we bought our dinner and went to the Marina and listened to the bands that played at the Anacortes 4th of July ROCK THE DOCK, they even had a Town Cryer come and talk about Independence Day and how blessed are to live here!

We came home late right after the fireworks! What a wonderful get away for our 33rd Anniversary! 

How grateful I am to be married to my best friend for all of these years!

Only two weeks left!

With all the preparations for the wedding, Jeff and I are still trying to find time and moments to get away together. Trying to have mini Date Nights, so we can regroup and check and see how the other one is doing under such pressure. Not that the pressure of a wedding is bad or anything like that but...it is still pressure and so it helps when we can get away for a moment every now and then and check in.

We have 2 weeks today till the wedding, we are so excited but tired too! I think we almost have it ready, and then I remember something else we haven't done yet. So glad that Krystal and Kai will be coming a week early to help out ( and so is Lee ). Can't wait to have my house full again with our kids and grand kids! 

So yes, we have only 2 weeks to get everything done...wish us luck. But for now, I am just going to try and enjoy every MINI DATE I can get with my BEST FRIEND!

z

Speaking of best friends, so glad that Lauren is marrying hers!

Good night dear friends!

"If someone's meant to be yours, eventually they will be."

Happy Anniversary!

Well, today is June 23rd, 2013, and it is Jeff and I's 31st Wedding Anniversary! I am a bit sad today because we had to be apart, he left on a business trip this morning. I am not sure that we have ever spent our Anniversary apart. We went out last night to celebrate... but today I have been missing him.
When I look back at my life, I realized that most of what I have conquered was with Jeff by my side, the things I have accomplished, he encouraged me all the way, the fears I battled, he battled them with me and I have loved him for all of that and more!  Having your best friend with you always, can be a big advantage in life. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for Jeff. How blessed I am to be his wife! To watch him become a Father and a Grandfather, only deepened that love, He became something that he was never really taught. He loves his kids and his grand kids and they in turn love him too.

So even though he is miles away, I pray that he really knows how much he is loved. How better my life is ...because he is in it! Yes, I can still remember 31 years ago, waking up early in the morning...too excited to sleep and saying to myself  " today I get to marry my best friend! " And like I have told him many times before, I still wake up every day and get excited that we get to have another day together! I try to never take that for granted! Happy Anniversary Jeff!

"Marriage provides an ideal setting for over coming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered....Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good,  and the foundation of a successful marriage." ~Richard G. Scott

Date Night at the Movies

   Last night for our Date, Jeff and I went to see the movie called... THE HELP.

Stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Viola Davis as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny-three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed-even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times. -- (C) DreamWorks

   It was an amazing movie and one that will really touch your heart. Now that is saying a lot for me. Those of you who know me, know that there aren't that many movies out there that I want to watch. I don't like immorality, violence, bad language, torture or someone being chased or threatened...I know you are probably laughing by now. It's true, my poor little spirit is offended by those things, and so there aren't many movies that we go to and that I would come out praising them. This one however made you think,feel and ask yourself would I ever treat any other human being like that? There was in the beginning more bad language than I wanted, that whole part could have been just as good without it. Actually it was in the first few minutes of the movie and I was wondering if Jeff and I were going to have to get up and leave. So yes, there was some  bad language, so please don't think I am promoting that, I am not. 
   I guess what touched me so deeply about this movie, is how people can change and their opinions can change, given the opportunity to see it from another's point of view. Of course I loved the strong women, who with courage and determination helped make big changes in the world, at quite a terrible cost personally...but they did it!
The racial conflict was real, I know because I lived in the midst of it.
   When I was a little girl, we lived in a mostly Black neighborhood. ( Now Black was not an offensive word at the time ) I got in fights many times after school for being White. I can't remember all of the situations, but I do remember spending a whole lot of time at my BEST FRIEND Kathy's house,  and that that was a safe place for me. She was like the sister I never had. She and I did everything together, much I have forgotten now, but I never forgot her kindness and the kindness of her family. What I didn't really think of was that our skin was different colors. She didn't seem to care that I had white skin and to be honest with you, I didn't think of her as a Black person, she was just my friend. When I thought of the Black kids that I was fighting with, I really just thought that they were cruel and mean...instead of their color. Many of our neighbors and friends were Black, but once you really become friends, color isn't an issue, and for that I was grateful.
   I guess I could relate on a SMALL scale what is was like to be different, and yet that was only for a few short years in my life, not for my whole!  Anyway, I left the movie thinking...how grateful I am for reminders like this movie, to never let us ever go back to that way of life or thinking! It made me determined to continue to stand up for what is right and true...no matter what the cost.
Good night dear friends!

"Judging someone... having never walked in their shoes, is like trying to shoot at a target blindfolded...it is important to see the whole picture"  ~ Lynn

"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."  ~ Audre Lorde

" Our greatest strength as a human race is our ability to acknowledge our differences, our greatest weakness is our failure to embrace them."  ~ Judith Henderson

33 Years of Learning

   Today is June 9th 2011 and 33 years ago, I was getting ready for my first date with Jeff ( my husband ). I remember being so nervous and wanting to look just right. My Mom and Grandmother were waiting on the porch, I was hoping that they wouldn't scare him off by something they said about me. I must have looked out my window a million times before I could see his little red truck coming up the road. You see at the time... I lived in West Virginia, and we lived out in the country, and up a dirt road about a mile. So if you looked out my window from upstairs, you could see someone's car coming. I didn't want to look like I was anxious, so after I heard him drive up, I went back and checked in the mirror for the hundredth time ...to see if I looked ok.
   Today I hurried and went to the store, got some special things for dinner, picked up a card on the way home and again, I looked out the window for his car...actually today I forgot, but he rode his motorcycle to work. I still was excited to see him. It is hard to believe that it was 33 years ago today that we had our first date!
   We have been through so much together, many ups and downs and yet, if I had it to do all over again...I would still choose him! He is my best friend, and I am blessed. I just pray that we will have another 33 years together!
Good night dear friends

50 Years of Learning
by Dorothy Casper 

It was delightful to watch as the friends and relatives gathered in the cultural
hall of the church to congratulate and wish the couple well, whom were celebrating
their 50th wedding anniversary. The room was beautifully decorated with momentous
scenes throughout their lives growing up and later together.

The joyous sound of laughter was heard throughout the room as the guest mingled
throughout and as they enjoyed the delicious buffet. They each had moments to share
that they had had with the honored couple.
As the couple was ushered to two high back king and queen chairs the program began.
Listening, memory served me well, of the past years of my life.  The oldest son
began the introduction along with his gratitude to those attending to honor his
parents. A beautiful well-written program included the four children, their mates,
12 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.  Posterity, their heirs, I believe it’s
called, were nervous wanting to do the very best for the couple whom they all loved
in different ways and for different reasons.
   As I listened I wondered, “what brought this family to this point?” “Did they
have some kind of formula to teach by, to learn from, to have this tremendous
gathering?”
As each child took part there was humor, tears and beautiful talent displayed.
Viewing the esteemed couple one could see their hands entwined as they had done so
much in the past 56 years.  Anyone who had known them previously had often seen this
same devotion.
Then the music began and the couple was highlighted in pictures from a very young
age until the present time.  The 50′s music set everyone attending tapping their
toes, smiling and many just remembering, their own bygone years.
It was over much too, soon.  As the couple was called to the microphone, the
clapping was deafening.  The children and grandchildren stood smiling at the couple
who meant so much to them and thinking to themselves,  “I want to be just like them
- still holding hands after 56 years – still in love.”  
Still holding hands, they approached the microphone together.  “Words elude me, and
my heart is so full of joy for my family and for all of you kind friends who came to
wish us well,” she said.  Then she introduced each member of the family and it was
obvious she could have said something endearing about each one.  He moved a little
closer as he began to speak, expressing his gratitude to the family as well to
everyone attending and then turning to her he gave her a hug and kiss.  With his
arms still around her he said, “It’s been a good trip, honey – It’s been a good
trip.”
Now, as I sit at my computer, I am contemplating just what he meant by… it’s been a
good trip The meaning sinks in – although there were many ups and downs – hardships
- joyous times and sad times  as every family has, maybe, just maybe, the answer
lies in continually saying and showing and meaning,  “I Love You.”   Perhaps that is
the answer for everyone – to care – to love in spite of.  

"TO LOVE IS NOTHING...
TO BE LOVED IS SOMETHING...
TO LOVE AND BE LOVED IS EVERYTHING!"

Light bulb moment

Tonight Jeff and I went to a wedding, and while there we saw many friends that we hadn't seen in a long time. I love weddings, I love the reminder it is to me ...to cherish being married to my best friend. Marriage is by far one of the hardest thing I have ever done. It is something that you constantly have to work at. But how grateful I am for Jeff and I's 27 year marriage.

I had a light bulb moment tonight. There were a few people talking and the conversation turned to one of the ladies' sister, who recently had a car accident. As she talked about her sister's injuries, she also mentioned that the person who hit her was on texting on cell phone. She was so sad and upset and kept wondering what could be so important that the person couldn't wait till she got off the road?  That is when my light bulb moment happened. I have never texted, but I have answered the phone and put it promptly in my hands free holder. It just hit me that even though I don't text, I still make a calls or answer a call while driving some times. I wondered how I would have felt had that been me that hit her sister? How could I explain the urgency in any phone call, that would have result in my lack of safety and actually end up hurting someone else?

I am not condemning anyone else, but it did do a number on my conscience. Lee like I mentioned before, is going through Driver's Ed training and he has mentioned on more than one occasion, some of the dangers of being on the phone or anything else while driving. I realized I need to be a better example for him and all my kids. I should have had this light bulb moment years ago. I have set some bad habits and then in turn... been a bad example for my kids. Tonight I was really sorry for that, and decided that nothing was so important that I couldn't wait till I got home or stopped the car. I counted my blessings too, that I hadn't had any accidents and then made my promise to Lee and to myself that I was going to change...starting tonight. Why is it, that some things take us so long to learn?  Well, I need to head to bed. Good night dear friends and remember to drive carefully out there!

"Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead."  ~Mac McCleary

"Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly."  ~Author Unknown

"Leave sooner, drive slower, live longer."  ~Author Unknown

Flash from the past!

When I was young, my best friend lived across the street and a few doors down. Although I am getting older and and my memory doesn't serve me as well, I can still remember the excitement I felt... when she and I got to be together each day. I loved her family and enjoyed being in her home. We were best friends until my family moved when I was ten. Like I said, if my memory is accurate, we were together for quite a few years and I didn't have a friend that I loved more than her! Those were often tough times for me, that is when the most severe part of my abuse happened, and so going places and playing with her, was a real break from the stress and tension of my home. I never told her about my abuse, because I was threatened if I told anyone that they would be hurt. As a young child, and even older...most of the time you believe them. Now as an adult, I realize you shouldn't believe the threats, and it is vital for you to tell someone that you love and trust... so you can get help.  Abuse is never ok, it is wrong and know one has the right to hurt you! But hind sight is always better.

Almost 10 years ago when I was back home for my mother's funeral, my dad mentioned to me that he saw in the paper that my dear friend's father had passed away, and that both his and mom's funeral were going to be on the same day. I was sorry to hear that, but wondered if my dear childhood friend would be home like me and I wondered how to get a hold of her. Long story short.... we did get to reconnect after all those years and have been in touch ever since.  What a treat that has been!

So yesterday, she sent me this photo of us in 2nd grade. Most of my childhood photos have been lost or thrown away, so when I got this photo on the email...I was so excited. A flood of memories came back. Of course not the memories that would have told me everyone's names,  but memories of my years with some of these kids and with my best friend. She is on the left of me, I was so excited to see this photo and only wish I could have remember more about each kid.  I am guessing that you can pick me out in the crowd?  Hint ...I am on the top row!

Anyway, I just thought how important friends are in our lives. Not that I haven't always known that, but it just reminded me how great it feels to have a Best Friend by  your side. How blessed I am to have so MANY of you!

 

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."    ~ Anonymous

 

"Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure."    ~Jewish Saying