Picture Time!

 Guess who had to go get yearbook pictures done?

 This handsome man

and this lovely lady

 

Their school requires their senior portraits to be done in tuxes and drapes.

It makes a nice looking yearbook.

And these two had pictures taken way back in August before life got crazy.

I'm just now getting a chance to do anything with them!

Fourth Grade - nine years old

Sixth grade - eleven years old

And this one is because she really thinks she's a cowgirl.  

She wants to do equine studies in college.

We shall see.

 She wanted to wear cowboy boots, but they were too small.

Everyone is off to a good start this week.

Thanks, Dad, for the good visit yesterday!

Because Sometimes McDonald's Makes Me Cry

I recently made the drive to Springfield, Illinois, to help welcome Dad and many other veterans home from their Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.

This involved a very enjoyable five hour drive across Indiana and part of Illinois.

I drove along taking in the beautiful sights of cornfields and barns, listening alternately to the radio and the silence.  Eventually, though, the predictability of interstate driving led me to nudge my speedometer past the approved speed limit.

Of course, I was not long at this excessive speed before I met a state police car.  Oops.  I decided rather hastily it was time for a pit stop and took the nearby exit ramp that fate had so kindly provided me.

I congratulated myself on avoiding a potential conversation with the Illinois state trooper I had just met.




And then....





As I pulled into the gas station/ McDonald's along this random road among so many that grid the state, it took my breath away and the tears immediately came.

I don't even know where exactly in Illinois this place is located,

but two short months earlier
  I had stopped at this very same restaurant to eat lunch...

With Mom.

Needless to say, I spent a few minutes in the car composing myself (not very well, by the way)

before walking into the restaurant.

Memories flooded my mind.  

Who would have thought such a small choice in July would seem so precious now?

Who knew that in two short months life could look so different?

Back in July, Mom and I took the kids to Chicago.

After a fun visit with Beth and Matt, we headed south to West Salem 

wandering back roads and enjoying the time together.  

We stopped here to get gas and lunch.

And this time?

 

I think it was God's tiny gift to me.

A gift that says He loves me and knows me.

 Not just in the big ways, 

but even in the smallest of places hidden in my heart.

 Places like a noisy McDonald's restaurant where Mom and I sat together 

and dined with my kids....

never knowing it would be the last time.

 

I'm sure McDonald's customers were curious as to the mental state of the lady crying and taking pictures in their restaurant.  

Let them wonder. I didn't care.

Honor Flight

Tuesday, September 13, Dad was privileged to travel with many other veterans to Washington, D.C. for a whirlwind one day tour of our nation's capital.

 They started bright and early from the Springfield airport.

I know Dad greatly appreciated John volunteering to be the guardian on the trip.  I'm sure it was a memorable day for both of them.

 

John managed to capture this moment during the day.

Dad's shirt says 'All gave some, some gave all. Thank a veteran.'

Pictures ARE WORTH a thousand words.

Thank you, Dad, for your service to your country.



This was the program our family selected to send memorials made in Mom's memory.  She was so excited for Dad to take this trip.  No, she didn't get to enjoy the day with him, but because of her passion for this program and because of the love of so many for Mom, other veterans will be able to enjoy the same experience as Dad.  That would please Mom greatly.

Airing Our Dirty Laundry

After working at the farm, David will shower before returning to his more civilized life in the big city.

In typical man fashion the dirty clothes are dropped NEAR the hamper...not IN the hamper.


This is a veritable cornucopia of scents for the cat to enjoy.  I will find him buried head first in David's dirty clothes enjoying the many smells of the farm.

The cat and I obviously have very different views on dirty laundry.






Who needs a live nativity scene when they can have live home decor? 
Yes.  That's a cat curled up on the shelf.  I wish he would place himself a little more centered.
 My OCD tendencies were kicking in.

Speaking of OCD

WHO DOES THIS????

Do they have a personal grudge against L M and N??

 

 No one at church can tell me why L M and N were left off the board.

And trust me when I say I have asked a lot of people.

This is the room where women's Bible studies meet.

My mind wanders quite often from deep Biblical truths being taught 

to ponder where the missing letters might have gone!

I've found a new way to search for picture files on my computer.

When I search by number, I find all pictures with that particular number.

Sometimes I get pretty distracted looking at the older pictures.

Here's a few of my recent favorite distractions...

  



Grant had a serious love of slides when he was younger...

 

When an actual slide wasn't available, he would improvise.  

Doesn't everyone use hotel ironing boards as slides?

Happy Monday!!