Poignant....

This weekend I more fully understood the meaning of the word "poignant". We went to the funeral of my father in Wisconsin. Mike, Lori and Bailey went with us which was an enormous comfort and help. One life ends and Lori, who is pregnant with our grandchild due in February, begins another. We started the journey in Chicago visiting many of Mom and Dad's favorite spots and driving past their home. Then we returned to the hotel room where Bailey had her bath and was ready for bed...

Love those good-night kisses and hugs!!!

The next day we traveled to Luther Valley in Wisconsin for the funeral, a beautiful piece of the world. It was a cool, sunny day and made me feel very contemplative.There were wonderful flowers there from friends and relatives...

While we were waiting for guests to come, we entertained Miss B...

-and vice versa....bless her heart!!

Following the service, we processed to the gravesite across the street while the church bells tolled 87 for the number of years Dad lived.

Then we went to an Italian restaurant where we were able to have dinner and conversation with close friends of my parents and ours from Chicago. There is never enough time to talk but we were able to catch up a little with them and....

relatives. Here is my cousin Joel and his beautiful family. He is like a brother to me.

I was stunned to see that all of my cousins came, some from Iowa and as far away as Texas for this!!! It ended up being a great reunion...some of us hadn't seen each other since childhood. We reminised about family and old memories,

...all 10 of us.

The next generation...

Sister Lynn's husband, Jim did the service.

Larry & me...

Then we went back to Chicago and enjoyed a quiet meal with Bailey. Ask her to smile and this is her fun reaction...

...and this...

She had Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast this morning, and loved 'em...but hated taking Mickey apart to eat him...so endearing,...ahhhh life!

-and off to the airport and home.

Life goes on...

Following the loss of my dad last week , the mood at our house has been somber...but just some sweetness to soften it was Cooper's visit. Tim brought him to our house the next day and you can't help but giggle at him....

See that "milk tongue" in the first pic??? -and then the squirmy-ness of the next few??? Papa had given him a LOT of chocolate milk and soon car sickness set in. Woahhh...it was everywhere!!! We were in the car going to see Chelsea and just in front of the highway patrol he was ill...so we stopped and cleaned him up in the parking lot...poor kid...so pathetic. -But as you can see from the video below...he bounced back!

Megan's Beautiful Wedding...

It was a perfect day for a wedding and Megan made a stunning bride!!

Josh and Megan...what a good looking couple!!

-the family...

I love this cake!!!

Everything was just beautiful but the flowers were out of this world gorgeous!!!

The parents were pretty cute too!!

Such a happy couple...

Debby and Emily

Everyone enjoyed seeing old friends....Rosemary and Chelsea...

Cuda, Me, Debby and Emily...

Megan saying goodbye to guests...

-and by the end of the evening some of the guests were clearly ready to go home....

It was a wonderfully elegant affair...Congrats Josh and Megan!!!!

Heaven Can't Wait...

Dad passed away today very peacefully. It was a short illness and for that I will always be grateful. We connected only the past few years but that was enough to teach me that it's never too late. He taught me patience and that God has his own plan and timetable. He taught me that to forgive is divine and it frees your life. He never complained and was stoic about many pains. He lived for quality of life always looking for the next party like my mother....
Enjoy the party in Heaven, Dad...give Mom a hug for me...I miss her too!!

Dad...

This week has been a hard one for my dad. He was in the hospital from Thursday to Saturday and again in the emergency room all day Wednesday with serious health issues. He has a great attitude about life and is fighting to get well. He is extremely tired but still wants to play cards and talk, even though he falls asleep during both. He maintains a sense of humor and makes me laugh when I think I'm going to cry. We haven't had a great parent-child relationship and have developed it only in the last few years...I can now say, -it's never too late! It has made me reflect a lot about life...I read a blog that touched me deeply while I was thinking about that, last night...(see Saturday's entry "resolved 2 Worship" on the right side of the "blog list I'm following"...ie..."Letter to Lakelyn and Grandaddy" to read)....very profound.

Yesterday, I decided to take a couple of photos of us by myself holding the camera...you see people do it all the time and they turn out great....here are my "laughing out loud" results...

-and then the Hospice nurse came and took one... it's a little better than my attempts...

Fight the good fight dad!

A long, long time ago....

On August 14th, 1971 we got married in Westmont, Illinois. (Chicago suburb) It was such a hot, steamy day that the top layer of our wedding cake slid off!38 years later....Happy Anniversary honey!!!

Video below is pretty funny...looks like a dark Charlie Chaplin silent oldie! (Gee, it doesn't seem that long ago)...

You can tell it's the 70's...hippy daisy hairpieces and all!!

Too much for a weekend....

Things have been really hectic and serious at our house this week...Chelsea was moving out to a sweet little farmhouse in the country, my dad has been seriously ill and hospitalized and my sister came to visit from Illinois. We never got a picture of us taken as we were doing things for/with dad and he was released home yesterday. He is better but really weak and Lynn went home today. When I sat down to reflect tonight, I came upon pictures of Bailey sent recently that made me smile....so I decided to post these....

Talking to you Bailey (and Cooper) is savoring the sweet things in life!!!!!