How could he be this old?

Today is Lee's 23rd birthday! How can that possibly be that old? I still remember he and Lauren sitting on the porch, proudly showing the pumpkins they picked out.



Then it seemed like before I knew it... he was getting as big and tall as his older brother Brad!


Now on his Birthday, he is with Lauren again, but this time she is with him and Caitlin, taking their engagement photos. He is our last to be getting married. Oh my goodness, the time has flown by. How we love our boy! He has grown up into an amazing and sweet young man, and I am so grateful to be his Mom. We are excited about welcoming in Caitlin into our family. Now a new chapter begins for him and for our family!


How blessed we are to see these sweet kids ...grow up, and meet such amazing people. Just to have the chance to watch our family keep growing, makes me grateful for the opportunity to be getting older myself...thought I would never say that..but I am!
Good Night dear friends!
And Happy Birthday sweet Lee, we love you more than words can say!

LIving with Contentment!

Today was my 54th Birthday, thank you for all the sweet B-day wishes I got!  I am tired, just got home and need to head to bed. Then this story caught my eye on contentment. I think that is one thing that I could truly say about my life today, right now... I am content. I need to remember that more often and to count the blessings I have more often. How grateful I am that I got another year with my best friend and husband, with my family and dear friends. Yes, my Birthday and my year last year was a great one, and I hope this coming year...only gets better!
Good night dear friends!

Couple married for 80 years, longest in America!

John and Ann Betar eloped back in 1932, and now, 80 years later, they are still happily married. The couple recently received the longest-marriage award from the Worldwide Marriage Encounter.

Facebook screen shot

“We are very fortunate. It can be repeated and repeated. It is unconditional love and understanding. We have had that. We consider it a blessing.”

Ann Betar

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — John and Ann Betar eloped in 1932, and now, 80 years later, they are still happily married.
John, 101, and Ann, 97, of Fairfield, Conn., were named the longest-married couple in the United States by the faith group Worldwide Marriage Encounter according to the New York Daily News.
"Here you have a couple who made a commitment, and they stuck to it," Worldwide Marriage Encounter spokesperson Dick Baumbach said. John and Ann were selected out of 297 nominations collected between October 2012 and January 2013. While there may be longer marriages that were not nominated, Baumbach explained that each year the group encourages more submissions.
According to a frequently updated Wikipedia site, John and Ann hold the 16th place for the longest marriage. According to the site, Karam Chand and Kartari Chand from the United Kingdom, hold the No. 1 spot, with 87 years of marriage.
As for the Betars, they met as children, but Ann's parents had arranged for her to marry another man, one who was 20 years older than her. Although Ann was not excited about the arrangement, John said it took some time to convince her that he was the right one.
"I fell for her right away," John told ABC News. "I used to have a Ford Roaster and I used to pick her and her friends and drive them to high school. Gradually she liked me and we got together."
For Ann, who was only 17 years old at the time, it was a big decision to choose John and go against her parents' will.
"At 17, you wonder if you're making the right choices," she told ABC News. "I had grown up with him and we had good times together and we knew each other very well. And it's turned out to be 80 years. ... God seems to have been with us. And we've been very fortunate and wonderful."
So on Nov. 25, 1932, the young couple elopled to Harrison, N.Y., as that was as far as their money would take them.
"They were going against all odds," Renee Betar, the couple's daughter, said.
Now with five children, 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, Ann and John continue to show their love to each other.
"Your love grows, you know," Ann Betar said in a video interview. "Grown in very good direction for the two of us."
As a couple, John and Ann enjoy reading together, cooking and maintaining a moderate diet. According to John, there's nothing too complicated because love and commitment have kept them together.
"We just live with contentment and don't live beyond our means," John Betar said. "Just go with the flow."
Both John and Ann expressed their gratitude for the chance to spend such a long time together.
"We are very fortunate. It can be repeated and repeated," Ann said in an interview with ABC News. "It is unconditional love and understanding. We have had that. We consider it a blessing."
Daughter Renee agreed, stating: "Their decision to marry reinforces the strength of their love and their determination to be together. It's no big deal being married 80 years when you're in love."
A photo of John and Ann has recently circulated on Facebook, celebrating their achievement. The picture has more than 13,000 comments, 21,000 shares and 619,000 likes.
Donna Aldridge commented, "Now that's how life should be! What a sweet picture — still holding hands. I love it!"

A dream come true!

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved to do things with my hands. Any type of arts and crafts, sewing, painting, drawing, crocheting, needlework and etc. Some things you learn because that is what your Mom does, but my Mom didn’t like to do any of those things. She was a cook and a fabulous one at that. I really never saw the value in spending hours making and cooking something, just to watch your family devour it in minutes…that never appealed to me ( still doesn’t really ). But as I got older, I realized that I would need someone to teach me so that I could learn more and more. My girlfriend’s Mom used to make her clothes and I really envied her. So one day when I was at her house, I asked her Mom if she would teach me how to sew my own clothes. That is exactly what she did, we got a pattern, materials and some needed supplies… and then we went back to her house to sew. But before I was even able to cut out my material, she showed me how to read a pattern, she also said that clothes look really well made when you are good at your top stitching, and so she gave me a piece of lined notebook paper, put in an old needle in her machine and would have me practice over and over again..sewing on those lines. Then when I got that perfected, then she would have me practice over and over again to stitch exactly in between the lines. Even though she has passed away many years ago, I will never forget her kindness in teaching me how to sew. So, I try to be there to help anyone who asks me to teach them how to sew (haven’t had a lot of time for that since I started working), but still I love to pass on that tradition.

My grandmother and Aunt used to make beautiful quilts out of their old dresses and aprons. I was shocked to see how most of them were done by hand. I couldn’t believe that someone could do that kind of detail by hand. They also quilted by their machines too. I only got 2 of their quilts, but they are displayed proudly in my home and only dreamed that one day I could quilt like that.

Fast forward to the present day, now I am teaching at a Quilt Shop! Who would have ever thought I could do that? I am still a beginner compared to most of the ladies in there, but still I have a love for quilting/sewing and I love to teach …so it is a great opportunity for me to do something that I had never done. The fun thing about working at the quilt shop and getting to know all these wonderful talented women is….that I am learning something new every day! I see all the wonderful things that these ladies are creating, it gives me a desire to do something else I have never done. It is exciting and scary at the same time. I wonder at times, if it would be possible to do some of these amazing things but… I have finally realized that I just need to try new things and never say never! 
Good night dear friends!

“To have passion, to have a dream, to have a purpose in life. And there are three components to that purpose, one is to find out who you really are, to discover God, the second is to serve other human beings, because we are here to do that and the third is to express your unique talents and when you are expressing your unique talents you lose track of time.”    ~Deepak Chopra

“Sewing mends the soul.”     ~Author Unknown

Mothering

   I had a Doctor appointment a few weeks ago and as I was sitting in the office waiting my turn, when a young women came in who was pregnant and very sick. As soon as she came in she ran to the bathroom to throw up, she came back into the waiting room but was hurting so bad that she could hardly sit still. Just a few minutes later another lady came in, she was probably about 20 years older than the first woman, and she stated she was the young woman's Mother. It made me homesick for my Mom when I saw her sit down beside her grown daughter and move the hair out of her eyes and rub her back. I felt like I was invading their privacy as I listened to her whisper words of encouragement, and yet you could still see the worry in her eyes. I am not sure if this was her daughter's first pregnancy or what, but still she was a Mother who cared and loved this daughter and I am sure... the baby that was inside of her. Yes, I have been blessed with an incredible husband, sensitive kids and the most amazing friends so that when I am sick, I am well taken care of...but I still miss my Mom!

   Now I am a Mother of adult children, and it is a new role for me. It is hard know when to Mother and when to stay away. It gets more complicated when each child is different, so you don't treat each of them the exact same way. Then you add on top of that Grandchildren, who you naturally want to help Mother and some times that is ok and sometimes it isn't.
    I remember when Amy was born and how inadequate I felt as her Mother. I had never been a Mother before, there wasn't any instruction book that came out with her and so I had to watch, learn and listen to my heart...to teach me how to be her Mother. Now 29 years later, there still isn't an instruction book and so ... I sorta feel like that new Mom again. When do I give advice? What boundaries should there be? How much do I help?
   I have learned the hard way that you almost have to start over like a new Mom, you have to watch, learn and listen to your heart to know how to Mother an adult child. The only difference is that little newborn didn't tell you if you did something wrong, or if you should have done it this way or that instead...adult children do. Sometimes that hurts, only because that isn't what you meant to happen. But then again the nice part is that as adults, you can talk and work things out, so I guess it all equals out in the long run?

But as I remembered that Mom, I realized that no matter what...most Mom's just love their children sooooooooo much that they would do absolutely anything to help them. So hopefully there is forgiveness and a lot of patience, as we all learn how to handle the new aspect of our roles as adult children and Mothers.

"Mother's love grows by giving."  ~Charles Lamb

"If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been."  ~Robert Brault,

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother.  A child is a child.  They get bigger, older, but grown?  What's that suppose to mean?  In my heart it don't mean a thing."  ~Toni Morrison

Birthday celebration!

Today was my oldest granddaughter's, 5th birthday party! As I watched her sweet face during all the different things they did, I was reminded again of how very much I loved her. How could it be that she is already 5 years old? She will be heading off to school this coming fall, will she be ready? The truth is... I wonder if I am ready?  :)

After the party she came over to my house.  We talked about all the wonderful gifts she got and then she asked me when we were going to do our monthly SLEEPOVER? I smiled, I am glad she still thinks it is a really big thing to come and do sleep-overs at Nana's house. I hope she and Jenny, never get too old for that!

Read this sweet story, and it reminded me of the kindness of others and how if we watch for it...we will find it everywhere!

Good night dear friends!

Balloons And Angels

Sometimes, it is the smallest acts of kindness that are the most memorable. It was several years ago that this particular event occurred; the reason I remember it because it was my daughter Kathy's birthday.

My children and I were finishing the last minute preparations for Kathy's birthday celebration. At one store we had bought colorful helium balloon with Kathy's favorite character design on it. We had to make one more stop at another store to complete our purchases. I sent out my older daughter and her little brother out to our van while my other daughter and I were waiting at the cashier line.

A very short time later, my older daughter with little brother in tow came running back into the store; upset that Kathy's birthday balloon had escaped while they trying to get into the van. I was tired from shopping, but I sent them back to the vehicle telling them not to worry we would get Kathy another balloon. I paid for our purchases all the while trying to think of the most expedient place to obtain another balloon.

As Kathy and I approached our van a mature looking lady with kindly face came up to us almost of out of thin air. She pressed some folded bills in my hand. She related to me that she had seen what had happened and did not want my older daughter or my younger daughter to be upset at the loss of the balloon. She told us that she was mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Mind you she looked barely old enough to be a grandmother much less a great grandmother.

I thanked her for kindness and attempted to give her the money back; as it was not a problem to get another balloon. She was most insistent because she said "I love children and I like to see them be happy." I was overwhelmed by the kindness of a total stranger that my daughters and I hugged the lady thanking her for kindness. She left so quickly that I was unable to even ask her name. Finally, I looked in my hand what I found was not just a single one dollar bill but four one dollar bills.

I was very touched not by the money, but by this lovely lady's act of kindness and generosity. Because of her kindness it made Kathy's birthday even more special. I truly believe that dear lady at the very least is one of God's earthly angels and who is to say that she wasn't a real angel. How often is it said that we entertain angels unaware.  -- Copyright © 1998 Ruth Mack

"Be an angel to someone else whenever you can, as a way of thanking God for the help your angel has given you."   ~Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994

"The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone."  ~George Elliot

"A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend." ~Author Unknown

Lessons in everything in life!

I have a dear friend who has been trying to help me learn a little more about gardening. Everyone that knows me realizes that is important! ( As seen on the photo below ) :)

I am doing better, but it takes a bit of time and a lot of knowledge for each different plant or flower.  But I am learning. This sweet friend sent me information about how to grow TULIPS!   www.Tulips.com  I had no idea that there were seven stages of the bulb's growth.

1. Sept.-Oct. ( Planting Time)

2. November ( Making Roots)

3. Dec.-Jan.(Cooling Period)

4. Feb. -March ( Growing Period )

5. April - May ( Blooming Time )

6. May - June ( Regeneration)

7. July - Sept. ( Multiplying)

It is interesting to look around the world at everything we have, and realize that each have different  lessons to teach us?  It made me think of the scripture in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1.To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. 2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck  up that which is planted. 3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4. A time to week, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew;  a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Yes, there are lessons in everything in life and for that I am very grateful. I am glad to know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and created all of these  beautiful things on the earth, not only to give us joy but to help teach us also!

"The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses."  ~Hanna Rion

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."  ~ Lady Bird Johnson

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace." ~ May Sarton

Garage Sale

Well, it is late and Jeff was home very sick with a cold today. I have been trying all day to keep my distance, my pneumonia hasn't been gone even a week yet!

I started back to PT today and so I have been in a lot of pain, so I will just leave you tonight with this sweet story that I found online...

Garage Sale Revelation

BY: Lisa Miller Rychel

Garage sales are a peculiar pastime. I am not one of those people who enjoy rummaging through other people's unwanted items. My mother was, and she convinced me to accompany her one cool and dreary morning. I jumped at a chance to hand off my new baby to Grandpa and spend some adult time with my mother.

We went to several garage sales and finally stopped at a pleasant cottage in the woods. The elderly owner told me that he and his wife were moving into a retirement complex. His wife had been a teacher before she had a stroke and retired. She missed teaching with all her heart.

As we were perusing the sale items, I heard the gentleman's small, frail wife say her name to someone, and I immediately realized who she was. She looked at me and said, "You are Lisa Miller." I stared at her in awe, for it had been nearly thirty years since I had been in her class.

My mother immediately apologized to her for any trouble I might have caused. She did that routinely now after learning that my brothers and I were not the sweet little angels she thought. She assumed that if this woman remembered me after so many years, I must have really done something horrible. My teacher looked at my mother and softly said, "Oh no, she was very good," and my mother stared at her in disbelief.

My teacher explained that during the last week of school, I brought her a plant from my mother's garden. It was a Lamb's Ear, a small plant with leaves that look and feel like a lamb's ear. She said it came to her roots and all and was probably pulled out that morning as I ran out the door. (My mom knew that it was probably a peace token, and I had in fact done something that needed some sort of atonement.) She took us to a patch of plants and told us that she planted the Lamb's Ear in her garden, and over the years it spread. As I looked down her driveway, I was taken aback at the site of Lamb's Ears lining both sides of it. She looked at me and said, "Every day when I leave my house and drive up the driveway, I think of you. And when I come home these plants greet me, and I think of you." Tears welled up in my eyes. There at her home, among all her belongings, was a piece of my life that she had nurtured.

In that moment, she taught me more about life than I could imagine. We give pieces of ourselves every day without thought or expectation. We rarely envision the effects that we have on others' lives. That piece may grow and spread, becoming an integral part of a life. In the end it is not the big things that matter, but the small things that make all the difference in the world. This is the lesson that I take with me to my classroom every day, and the lesson that got me through lymphoma and chemotherapy. I never had a chance to thank her, but I hope she took a Lamb's Ear with her to her new home.

Garage sales are a peculiar pastime -- you just never know what you will find. I found my calling.

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."         ~ Scott Adams

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."  ~ Aesop

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves."  ~ James M. Barrie

Canning/Family Nights

When I was a young girl and until I left home, I remember canning with my mom and grandmother. I remember how long and hard the process was, it seemed to take all day... all week! I remember my grandmother insisting that we follow her instructions to the detail, no steps were to be skipped. We had to pick the best and freshest fruit and vegetables, each one hand inspected. I remember the HEAT in the kitchen, I couldn't figure out why we couldn't can in the winter or when it was cooler! :) I remember the smells in the whole house, it was incredible. I remember being so tired and then still having to clean up. I remember the feeling of pride when we would line the jars upon the shelves. I remember my grandma saying "Lynn, you will never get anything from the grocery store that tastes as good as when you have canned it  yourself!" I have to admit...it's true! So when I start wondering why people go to that much work to can, when they could just buy it at the store?  I remind myself of the type of quality and the amount of love that goes in to each one of those jars and honestly I believe it's worth it.

Last night was Family night for us, we have done it every Monday night since the kids were born. I believe that Family Night is a lot like canning, it helps us preserve our families. Every Family Night will be a little bit different ( just like the tastes and ingredients are different) . And just like only putting in the best fruit, each of the family members need to add something good to Family Night, by participating. Family Night should be a joint effort and most of all like canning, it is rewarding to see the fruits of your labors. But our Family Nights have changed throughout the years.

Stages of canning and Family Night...

Newly wed...I just wanted to be the ultimate wife and mother, only the best for Jeff and Amy. I couldn't imagine some of those mothers out there that fed their husbands and children those store bought fruit and veggies ( how could they sleep at night?). Family night consisted of Jeff, Amy and I. The lessons were short and very simple but still Amy loved Family Night.

Mother of 4 little ones...At this time in my life I was so busy and tired that I hardly had time to open a can of food for the kids. I couldn't even think about canning, and thought I must have been crazy to ever think that I could keep that up! I also convinced myself that Grandma and Mom could have never been as busy as I was or they would have never canned. And to be honest I even tried to convince myself that the taste wasn't  that much difference. Family Night was a bit chaotic to say the least. We could hardly make it through one evening without someone whining or complaining about his brother or sister was touching him or worse yet...looking at him! It was a rare Family Night if it ended without someone crying or going to Time Out!

Mother of 4 growing kids... My conscience got the best of me and I realized that I needed to start teaching my kids ( now that they are big enough)  to start growing our own food and canning it. At this time we had moved far from home and I realized I had to do it by myself (except for the occasional phone call to mom or my grandma for help). It was harder and messier than I  had remembered, but boy were the kids and I ever proud to line up those jars on the shelf. Family Night got a bit easier, because everyone was anxious to participate. Someone would say the prayer, another one lead the opening song, someone would help hold up visual aids for the lesson and someone else would help with the treats.

Mother of 4 pigs...This stage was the hardest, the kids were bigger and would eat anything and everything in front of them. I remember canning all week with them and by the next week or so, half of our jars were eaten already. One night Jeff came home and I was crying, when he asked what was wrong, I told him after all the work we did on canning and teaching the kids  how to do it. After all the mess and time it took ...the kids just went and ATE THEM! I just knew they couldn't have tasted the goodness of it being homemade when they ate it so fast! Family night got a bit harder, kids were having homework and projects due. They complained about how everyone else that they knew, didn't have to spend one night a week together we did! Still we pushed through and used our lessons to focus on the problems we were experiencing in our home. Every now and then we got a rolling of the eyes, especially if they knew we were talking about them, in a subtle way of course.

Mother of teenagers...Now at this stage the closest thing we got to call canning... was opening a # 10 size can from Costco for dinner. I believe those cans are bigger than my grandmother herself! But that seemed to be all the time I had back then. Family night got even harder still, there were sports activities, school activities, work, homework, and of course social lives to consider. There were weeks that we weren't able to do Family Night on Mondays, so we would do it a day earlier on Sundays. Still we had to really work out our time together, but I do believe it made a difference. Everyone's schedules were so busy and full, but I was glad that we made the sacrifice of times and schedules to have our weekly Family Nights.

So as you can see our Family Nights were a lot like canning, important but we definitely went through different stages. As we sat down together last night, just Jeff, Lee and I ...I remembered that even though there are only 3 of us left, it is still vital to take the time out to be together and to teach Lee, but I have to admit...it feels a bit different and a bit lonely!

Having Family Night was challenging to say the least and there were times when we wondered if we were even making a difference in our kids lives? But like canning, there was a lot of time, effort and love involved and I believe that it was most definitely worth it! I guess Grandma was right!

"No success can compensate for failure in the home"  ~ David O. McKay

"It is so plainly evident that both the great good and the terrible evil found in the world today are the sweet and bitter fruits of the rearing of  yesterday's children. As we train a new generation, so will the world be in a few years. If we are worried about the future, then we must look today at the upbringing of children"  ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing!"   ~ Edmond Burke