Wedding Bells #3 (or #5 if you count nephews)

We had quite the October.  Three awesome things happened in quick succession.

On the 14th, Josh received his plane assignment (KC-10).  He is now in California learning how to fly it!  Wayne and I got to go to Oklahoma for "drop night" which is what they call it when the pilots find out to which plane they have been assigned.

The plan all year was to go back to Oklahoma for graduation on the 28th.  Turns out we had another equally important event, closer to home, that required our attention; the wedding of our third oldest daughter, Erin.

Erin told her long-time boyfriend, Rob, that she did not want an engagement ring; she wanted an engagement house.  In February, he found and purchased a house.

It is a cute, little, perfect-for-two ranch close to both of their jobs. (More on that in a minute). 

I knew something more was up when Erin came in to the kitchen one evening when I was cooking supper, and draped her arm over the back of the stove so I had a nice view of a new Claddagh ring adorning her finger.  I casually said, "Oh, pretty. Where did you get that?" And she casually answered, "Rob got it for me, to replace the one I lost at the gym."  Okay...

She asked a couple of times during the spring what Josh's graduation date was.  I had no idea at the time, so I couldn't give her an answer.  Unbeknownst to us, she needed to pick a wedding date to give to the church.  Turns out, they picked Josh's graduation day. 

More events should have (and did) clue me in.  She started deep cleaning her room and throwing/giving away a lot of her belongings.  She went to the attic and took items from her college apartment over to Rob's house.

Still no announcement.  I figured they would give us at least 6 months notice since that is what the church needed. 

Then one day in mid-September they told us they were, indeed, engaged.  And, the wedding was in October!!! on the 28th.   No wonder Caitlyn and Amanda were trying really hard to get plane tickets to Oklahoma for Josh's graduation. 

Thankfully, we were prepared with their engagement gift: 

Green robes for Erin's Irish side. 

Because of a house purchase, and Erin finishing school with an internship she had to pay to do, instead of getting paid to do, the wedding was small.  Very small.

This was all of us (plus the priest, Fr. Ken, and niece Paige who took photos for us).

They are planning a renewal of their vows and a reception for next year near their anniversary when, hopefully, Josh and Amanda will be able to attend. 

The ring, it turns out, was the wedding ring. Rob has a Claddagh ring as well. 

Now, about their jobs.  Rob's move already put him close to his job.  When Erin graduated, her new job turned out to be 8 minutes from the new house.  She only had to commute for one month after graduation before the wedding, but she was already used to it, because the hospital where she did her internship hired her (she is a Registered Dietitian).  Connecting the God-dots is always fun.  

The last fun thing that happened in October?  Our first married, second-oldest daughter, Caitlyn and her hubby, Jimmy surprised us with this little onesie. 

Life is good! 

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Carrying Your Secret

Can I keep a secret?  You bet I can.

The thing is, I don't just keep a secret, I carry it.

I carry it in my heart, so that I can pray about it.

I carry it on my shoulders; sometimes causing them to ache.

I carry it in my face, and I find that sometimes it takes a lot of effort to smile around it.

I carry it in my words.  Or lack there of; because I don't want to blow it and give away your secret.

I carry in my head where it takes up brain space and thought processes.

I carry it always, just waiting for the moment when it is no longer a secret.

Waiting for the moment I can rejoice in sharing your joy, or finally being able to tell someone what I've been praying about and how the prayers were answered.

Some secrets are fun to keep and carry: surprise parties, baby-on-the-way.

Some secrets are more difficult: family issues, illness, relationship crises.

So, if  I sometimes appear down,  or lost in thought, or short with my words or temper, be patient with me.  I may have something I'm carrying that I cannot share at the moment.

Can I tell you a secret?  I don't like secrets! 

Progress or About That Kitchen

For those of you who have been following our kitchen re-do, I have progress to report.


Remember our "before" hole-in-the-wall-that-used-to-be-a-closet?

After many hours of "measure twice, cut once" dry wall installation, mudding, priming, painting, adding an electrical outlet  and much more time measuring and hammering and drilling,  I am pleased to report:  

we have a space for our fridge and a new cabinet!!!  

There is a tiny bit of new floor that has to be stained,  an even tinier spot on the wall that needs a dab of paint, the outlet needs to be hooked up to the main electrical box and then we can put the fridge back in the kitchen. 

I'm looking forward to that since it's been in the family room for about 2 years! 

Stay tuned.  

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Bragging Rights!

Thirty-three years ago we said "I do" and, wow, did God have plans for us. All the glory goes to Him, though I do claim some bragging rights as mom.  We have been blessed with 11 children, (9 on earth and 2 we're waiting to meet in Heaven) and, so far, 1 grandson.  

Before I start my bragging about their accomplishments, I have to start with the type of people they are: funny, smart (brilliant?), helpful, loving, and kind are words that comes to mind.  They truly care about and love to spend time with each other. That caring spills out into the world as they take on the vocations God has assigned them.  

Our eldest daughter, Liz, is a psychologist who specializes in Selective Mutism. She and her hubby, Jim made us grandparents.  

This is Max who shall remain anonymous. Trust me, he's a cutie! He is now mobile and quite a capable walker.

Caitlyn is a nurse whose specializations are in-patient comfort care/hospice and in-patient chemotherapy.  This is one nurse whose 'eves' are never boring!
She brought Jimmy into the family for us.

Erin and Amanda are only next to each other in this photo, not in the actual line-up.  Erin is so close to being a Registered Dietitian she can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  In four weeks, school will be done and she can get to work doing what she loves; helping people get healthy.

Amanda is still at the beginning of her studies for her Physical Therapy degree.  Two and a half years, though, and we'll have a doctor in the house!

 

Josh is in the Air Force.  Besides being a mechanical engineer, he is about to graduation from flight school. We are hoping when he is assigned his plane and base that he will be much closer to home.   (His spot in the lineup is actually between Erin and Amanda)

Michael is our artist. He works for Wayne (doing accounting) while taking classes toward his degree in graphic design. 

Joe is our most recent high school graduate.  He is off to college in the fall, in the honors program, working toward his anthropology degree with a focus in ancient cultures and archeology.

This is such a typical photo of our two youngest, Hannah and our tenacious one.  They are "besties".   Hannah is a sophomore and "Boliv" is going into 6th grade. (She's too young for the internet so shall remain unnamed.) 






Life is good and just keeps getting better. Can't wait to see what the future holds.  :-)




#amillionformegan

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Seven Down, Two To Go

When I opened Facebook this morning, my page was filled with graduation photos of family and friends; including these of our Joe!   I'm not allowed to take photos with my phone since it is " a potato" and takes awful pictures so I am grateful to my kiddos who captured these moments for us. 

This is our 3rd Cabrini graduate off to do great things for the Lord! 

We love you Joe and are so proud of you!! 

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Remembering When Dad Remembered

The clock reads 4:33 a.m.

This is the time my mind is the most awake lately.  Lots of good prayer time; lots of good time to think of the people I love.

This early morning my thoughts turn to my dad.  Remembering when he remembered me.

My earliest memories are of our family living with his parents until we could find a house big enough for three and one-on-the-way children.

When we moved to our new house, dad used to take the bus to work.  My sisters and I used to watch down the street for him to get off the bus at dinner time.  Three piece suit, hat and briefcase. So dapper.

We used to run down the block so he would pick us up and swing us around and around and then walk him home to supper.  On winter days we would hide in wait with snowballs at the ready. If we hit him with a snowball we knew to expect him to wash our faces in snow.  It never deterred us.

My dad used to cut the grass in his dress shirts.  He would get home from work, take off his coat and tie (not sure if vests were still in at this point) and go cut the lawn while it was still light out.

He used to make us burgers on the grill, doused in beer!

I remember sledding down snowy hills on his lap.  He would wear his duck waders and that was our sled.  We would ride like the wind.

I have a picture-it-in-my-head memory because I was at a cousin's for a sleepover on this occasion, of another time the duck waders were used.  We had a bat in the bathroom.  A tiny bat.  The kids that were home could not sleep until said bat was taken care of.  So dad pulled on his duck waders, his winter coat (it was July), and a hat.  Then he sat down and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to help get up his nerve.  He put on some gloves and grabbed the broom and took care of that bat.

We used to go to Lexington, MI in the summer.  One year we rented a big old house that had been taken over by spiders.  We kids had to stay outside while mom and dad went in and made it almost livable.  I'm pretty sure Scotch was involved!

He used to take us to the beach and swing us over the water on the rope swing.

My dad's favorite party was Barnfunc. A many differently spelled way party that meant Christmas was two weeks away.  He loved to pickle the cows' tongues and make the Func, Vodka, honey and lemon brewed to perfection on the stovetop.

My dad introduced us to Star Trek and the Six Million Dollar Man.  When he read the paper he would let us try to distract him by not getting too upset when we would punch the paper to make him pay attention to us. 

He taught me how to balance a checkbook and pay my bills.  Because he was an accountant he had a 10 key and boy did his fingers fly on that thing.  Saturday mornings were bank days.  My working siblings and I would get out our meager bills, stamps, checkbooks and pens and sit down and pay our bills while dad pay the household bills.  Money was not discussed! It was none of our business, but he would help us if we needed his input. 

Dad did not discuss his faith, but by gum we were at Mass, dressed up, every Sunday.  If we misbehaved we got the eye and a finger snap that put us in our place immediately. 

As he got older, he would pray the Rosary with us.  It, and daily Mass, had finally become a comfort to him thanks to mom. 

When the grandkids started coming along he would love on them, too.  Their tiny diapers and onsies were referred to as "little shits" (but never the children!)  He would sing to them and read them books.  Amelia Bedelia was a favorite as was Winnie the Pooh.  Poor Eeyore; it wasn't bad enough that he suffered from depression, but dad added insult to injury by calling him Eyesore.  The kids loved it.

Dad doesn't know who I am anymore but for some reason he remembers his nickname for Wayne.  He calls him "big guy" to this day.

For the longest time, when other memories were gone, he remembered his big sister, Pat. 

We have to visit him now at a memory care facility where other care givers give mom a hand. 

The one face he never forgets is his wife,

because when you've been married to this beauty for 55 years, it's hardly a face you could forget. 

Love you both to pieces!!

centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

New Step Workout

The home repair and improvement projects just keep coming at us!

The kitchen is mostly done.  We still need to put in some base moulding.  All but three windows have been replaced (that's not say they are complete, but they are in).

Some painting has been done, more to be done when the windows are complete.

However, last week something changed that put a stop to all window work and moved work back into the kitchen.

What happened?  The upstairs refrigerator died.  Sigh.

Because the upstairs refrigerator was very large and thus there was no room for it in the kitchen we kept it in the family room.

In order to one day sell our home, though, there will have to be a refrigerator in the kitchen.  That means a wall needs to be removed and a new fridge purchased that will fill the opening in the wall.

So we are down another closet to make room for the fridge,

Our catch-all closet.

 and we have a hole in the wall in the kitchen.

The metal is a laundry chute that will be removed.

We also lost the wall where we keep track of growth spurts.  We'll have to find a more permanent location to use.

How does that relate to the title of this post?  The extra refrigerator, and now main one, is in the basement.  Every time we need milk, butter, eggs, et cetera we have to go down and up the basement stairs.

Some of us have figured out the shortcut of taking food that needs milk added, such as a bowl of cereal, downstairs so we don't have to bring the milk up and then take it back down again.

Slowly we're figuring out ways to be more efficient like yelling to someone who is already down there to bring something else up with them.  Or loading up someone who is going down, with other things that need to be replaced in the fridge.

We will also have to find a new spot to store all the things that now reside on top of the fridge.  Hopefully there will be room above the new one for a small cabinet.

When I told my mom that the fridge had died she, who knew all the work that would have to be done to put in a new one said, "you must have been praying for patience."  How did she know?

More to come . . .


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