Merry Christmas Eve, eve, eve, eve, eve (you get the picture)!

To you, my son.

Morning son!  I'd do the "Merry Christmas eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve, eve" game with ya, but what would people think!? Too late! Actually, I know you would have won because you always made that early morning or late night call to get the first one in.  Dad started that game with you when you were four or five and you've played it every year since. Each of you always trying to be first.

Well, it's 20 days 'til Christmas and dad and I still don't have any decorations even out of the basement. Don't know what our hold up is this year, we just can't seem to get our "whatever it is" going. We talk about it but just isn't happening.  I know, I know, get with it.  You would have donned your Santa hat months ago and would have been singing Christmas carols weeks ago.  Your tree would have been up, Snoopy out and the Christmas Parade attended.  Today is the Victorian Stroll  in downtown Troy.  This is an annual event and from the look of things, quite the event.  We intended to go but dad is but half way through his antibiotics for pneumonia and the wind is really howling.  The last thing we need is to undo the healing process for the last week by taking him out strolling in this wind and set everything back.

I have some great news! It's been over five years, but your dad is back!  You know what I mean. I'd thought I'd lost him forever, the man I married.  But this past week he realized that he was ANGRY.  I mean really angry. Angry at tons of things.  Last Tuesday morning he woke up and the minute I saw him I knew something was up.  He was assertive, moving with purpose, speaking a "little" louder...even as he was getting the oatmeal ready.  It's a good thing the oatmeal didn't argue cause no telling where it would have ended up.  For the first time in a very long time he's laughing and joking.  We have spent the last day and a half just talking and catching up.  We've had the greatest time! 

Happy 41st Anniversary Honey!

Today we've planning!  Planning for Auntie Jan!  We're getting back on track with our purpose, looking at all of our options, setting up steps and getting those steps in motion.  It is so super great to have him back.  No more being the timid, quiet, reserved clump sitting in a chair.  He's movin'!  I need his energy, knowledge, expertise in sales, his ability with a saw and router, his ideas about signs.  I need him and I'm so glad to have the Ray back that I married.  What a super great early 41st Anniversary present to me!  Happy anniversary to me.  He couldn't have given me a better present if he had spent a million dollars!  He's getting a box of Chocolate Covered Cherries.  Now that will make him ecstatic. Nuff of that stuff!  I just knew you'd be so pleased! 


So, what's going on in your world? I bet you spend a huge amount of time laughing.  I know God has a sense of humor.  So, how could you not.  You always believed God needed a Jester in His court.  I sure hope He was ready for you! I miss laughing with you son. I probably miss that more than anything.  I can't believe you've been gone two months already. I look up at your picture and think 38 years!  Where did they go? Did we spend them right? I do believe I won't ever have the answers to those questions.  It's okay.  We had a ball while God shared you with us.  Dad and I made some mistakes.  You would never let us take credit for them but we made them.  We were not perfect parents but we were good parents that loved you with every fabric of our being and as grandma says, "we did the best we could with the light that we had at the time".  We've also decided what we're going to do with the earthly reminder you left us.  It's going to be your Christmas present this year so it's going to be a surprise, but you'll love it.  See you Christmas day on top of the mountain!

Josie came for a visit last night.  As usual we watched movies, again for the 500th time, the Princess and the Pony, then the The Christmas Bunny. We drew (She almost drew "eyebrows" on herself with a permanent red Sharpie.  I just barely caught her.  Can you imagine the response from Corey and Jon.  Mercy! ) We made sock puppets and played with puppet. She brought some of her socks and said mom said it was okay.  If not, she has some pretty weird looking socks. We traced her hands and feet and she painted her "toe and fingernails", she ate Challah bread until I thought she was going to explode, she immediately got her piece of gum from grandpa as she walked in the door and kicked off her shoes.  She "got" grandpa twice with her whoopee cushion.  Grandpa left the room for a trip to the kitchen and she grabbed that whoopee cushion and blew so fast I thought her teeth were going to blow out but she got it done.  She just thinks it's the greatest thing in the world to catch grandpa with that thing.  She doesn't even bother to hide it.  She just blows it up and lays it in the chair and he acts surprised every time.  What a pair they are.

Dad & Jamison on their daily walk

Well, I thought the wind might die down and we might be able to get to the Victorian Stroll today but the wind is still blowing in a fury so I think we'd best skip it.  As I said, Dad is just half way through his antibiotics for his pneumonia.  I think his doctor would probably raise an eyebrow or two if we went in next week and told him dad wasn't better because we spent the afternoon out in the wind strolling around.  He didn't even take Jamison on his walk yesterday and that's something he NEVER misses.  I think Jamison is wondering what the heck is going on since I'm not walking him in the morning any more so he missed walking altogether yesterday.  That's a first.  Since I've fallen several times in the last couple of months dad and I decided we'll do our walk together.  I really can't afford to fall again.  Guess the third time was the charm.  Especially since I was still black and blue from the second time I fell.  I'm still having some trouble with the swelling and numbness in my left knee and leg.  It will get better the more I walk.  It did the first time.  

Dad and I were just laughing at ourselves, again, a few days ago.  We were talking about the winter months and walking.  There's a really nice mall near here, Colonie Center  But, that doesn't get Jamison out for his walk.  And believe you me, Jamison walking every day is VERY important.  If you don't, he's like a two year old on a triple espresso in the evening and he NEVER wants to go to bed.  Anyway, as we were talking and laughing it dawned on us.  For crying out loud, we lived in Bend OR.  You were born

Only you son, only you.

there.  We managed to get you to the doctor, take you to the laundry mat, go to church, grocery store.  Talk about snow!  We had snow!  For months we had snow.  Dad went to work in the snow and he worked graveyard in the mills. We might be a few years older but were NOT incapacitated.  We can still think, function, make our own decisions. We might take a little longer getting there, but we get there.  We might not climb the hill behind us to walk Jamison but we'll do just fine and we're looking forward to it. I think since you were diagnosed we've been in a fog and giving people the mistaken impression that we're old and feeble.  Well, we ain't!  We've been planning some this morning and making lists. You know what it means when we start making lists!!  Look out world, and the people in it,  here we come!!!!!!


On a personal note, to those of you out there who may be reading my blog, please let me insert a prayer request here. Aaron already knows. He's in heaven for crying out loud.  What doesn't he know!  

• Please continue to pray for Ray and me. 
• Pray that we will have the strength and wisdom to handle some of the situations we need to deal with this week. 
• Pray that we will know the right timing for taking the steps we need to take in order to get our sign business, "Auntie Jan" back on it's feet and kicking again. 
• Pray that we use whatever resources we have available to us in the most efficient way.  
• Pray that I'm able to find part time jobs to help fill some gaps within the limited parameters my social security and retirement allow.  
• Pray that the Lord will help us find the right church family for us. 
• Pray that we are able to forge new friendships that will last our lifetime.
• Pray that we use wisdom in choosing the path God would have us choose to make the biggest impact for Him here in our community.  

We've not made a good start, for whatever reason, it doesn't really matter the reason.  What matters is that we get our feet planted and get busy.  


Well son, dad is checking the first thing off his list today...he's taking a nap in his chair!  He's been up since 2am with leg cramps.  It just happens sometimes. Who knows why.  Actually, we very seldom ask why anymore.  We just deal with it and move on. That's a good thing.  I hope your Sunday is an especially beautiful one. I miss you and I love you.


Until next week, love mom