April Showers

This year two very special ladies are getting married.  First, my beautiful daughter, Leigh, will marry the man of her dreams in September.  She is the first of my children to get married, and it has been a great joy to help her with the planning…even if it’s been “long distance” as she lives in MN and I live in PA.  We are so excited to welcome Nevin into our family.  Another son for us!!!  The other special lady is my daughter, Carrie’s lifelong best friend, Jamie.  Jamie has been a part of our lives for a very long time, and is considered to be like “one of our kids”.  She is marrying her soulmate, Dave in June.  Blessings all around!

It was my great privilege to host both of their bridal showers in April at the BlessInn.  What fun!!!  I love having my home filled with people, and what better way to do it, then with such a happy occasion as a bridal shower!!

Although these April showers did not bring May flowers, they will bring wedding flowers, and celebrate the love of two couples who are beginning new lives together.   I pray their marriages will be filled with LOVE and HAPPINESS.

The Bridge

I have been very blessed in my life to have been given wonderful parents.  They have taught me many valuable lessons…lessons that have helped me to become the person I am today.  Lessons like working hard to accomplish a goal, unconditional love, forgiveness, the importance of family, respect, having strong morals, and how to work through hard times together.  These lessons were not always taught by words, but by their actions…actions of good and decent people…people that God entrusted to take care of me on this earth.

My sisters and I spent the last several weeks by my dad’s side as his health was declining. He had gone back and forth several times from the hospital to the nursing home.  He ended up in the hospital for the last time on Monday.  He kept telling us “I quit, I’m tired of this game”.  We knew his time here on earth was nearly complete.

My dad crossed “the bridge” yesterday and joined my mom in heaven. The day before he died he said many things as his life passed before him, some good and some painful.  He repeated over and over “I love all my girls”.  He sang to my mom…My Sweet Irish Rose and said quite clearly that the first and last time he walked side by side with Bea was down the aisle.  My sisters and I knew what this meant, as he often told us that during their life together she always walked 10 steps ahead of him.  He spoke of his mother, who passed when he was a young boy, and kept repeating “Red Rover, Red Rover come on over”. Could it be his mother wanted him to cross the bridge and he wasnt quite ready to say good-bye?  Just before he took his last breath, he said “bridge…bridge…bridge”. He finally took that step into heaven.

With heavy hearts we said good-bye, but we know that he is finally at peace and does not have to “play the game” any longer.  He leaves behind, not only me and my two sisters, but MANY people who loved him.  That became quite evident by the kind words people have said about him to me since his passing.

Thank you daddy…for loving me…caring for me…and teaching me.  I hope that I made you proud!

And as I told mommy when she crossed the bridge…it’s not good-bye…it’s “see you later!”

Pillow Talk

There are many things that married couples do to keep their marriages from becoming boring. Let's face it, you see each other every day at your worst, and we all know that sometimes we just become invisible to our partner. It helps if we can keep a little humor in the mix!

My honey and I find our humor with "pillow talk". Now before you get all "TMI" on me, let me explain.

  

We have an unspoken rule that the last one out of the bed makes it! I will interject here that I CAN NOT crawl into an unmade bed...ewwwwwww! I like the look and feel of a neatly made bed. I have several decorative pillows on my bed, and the fact that I am "slightly" OCD, I have a certain way that those pillows are presented when the bed is freshly made.

Given the fact that most mornings I am the FIRST one up, the task of bed making has become my honey's. At first I would "adjust" the pillows to my liking, but let's face it...that was just plain silly. Some things you have to let go!

Anyway, one day I walked into the bedroom, and just had to smile at my honey's creativity. Since then, he has tickled my funny bone every morning. Each day he stacks the pillows a different way, and I must say some are very clever!

Below are a few examples of his "pillow talk". When I walk in the room the bed is the first thing I see...and he always makes me giggle! I hope he doesn't run out of ideas! If so, we will find another source for the much needed humor in our marriage.

May your marriages be filled with your own style of "pillow talk" humor.

Nothing Stays the Same

I am one of those people that love the sound of the Salvation Army Bell and the sound that change makes as it is dropped into the red pail. It means Christmas is coming. It is proof that there are good and generous people in this world.

Today you can find these volunteers in generally the same places they have always been - street corners, malls and in front of stores like KMart and Walmart. Often times, they stand outside, shivering in the cold. Kudos to all those that have volunteered their time for this great organization that offers comforts to those in need.

So much has changed about this simple yearly tradition of bell ringers. When I was a child all the Salvation Army volunteers were dressed like Santa. When I was a child the red pails were made of metal, not plastic, and did not have locked lids. When I was a child the volunteers wished you a Merry Christmas, regardless if you gave a donation or not.

Yesterday I was doing a little Christmas shopping and noticed a young man standing post by his red plastic pail. I always make a donation, and do so when I am leaving the store. I smiled and walked by. As I was coming out of the store and digging out my wallet, I saw that there were now two young people manning this post, a young girl and the same young man. May I stop right here and say how wonderful it was to see young people carrying on this tradition.

I took out the bill from my wallet and started to put it in the plastic pail with the locked lid and the young man said "Oh, wait! They told me to hold on to the bills!" Hmmmmmmmm...... He continued, "They lost the key and can't open the bucket to get the money out." Hmmmmmmmm...... As I returned the bill to my wallet, my heart still tugged at me to give, so...as we continued to converse about the locked bucket dilemma I dug in my wallet for an appropriate amount of change. Me, "Well, how do they get the coins out?" The young man replied "Well, they turn it upside down and keep shaking it until all of it comes out!" Hmmmmmmmm...... I dropped my change into the plastic pail with the locked lid that cannot be unlocked, smiled and said "Merry Christmas!"

The bell did not ring, the coins did not "clank" in the metal pail, and "Santa" did not wish me a Merry Christmas. But, I know next year I'll stop by a Salvation Army post and donate again.

Hopefully all of their plastic pails will be in good working condition!

And all of heaven is dancing...

Today our loss is heaven's celebration as my sweet friend, Sherri, has gone home to be with Our Lord. I will miss her greatly, but I know that I will see her again some day.

I had the great privilege to have a little "one on one" time with her in May when I traveled to Minnesota to see her. I left her with this...

I believe that God sends us angels here

to help us, walk with us, protecting those dear.

These angels aren't always just those from above.

sometimes they're people we know and love.

He sends them at just the right times, you know,

It's His plan, His timing, His "one man show".

Sometimes it's too hard with our human eyes

to see that these angels are in our lives.

But sometimes He sends you a special one

to laugh with, to love with, and to learn from.

You know they're an angel, it's easy to see

Your life is so blessed in their company.

I thank God He sent me an angel named Sherri;

A good friend with faith that is extraordinary!

An example of Jesus' love day after day,

A servant's huge heart, pure in every way.

This legacy she's left me, so when we're apart

she'll always be etched so deep in my heart...

her laughter, her wisdom, her humor, her love;

most definitely an angel sent from above!

My forever friend...I give you this with much gratitude and love, Patty

Every Little Girl Needs a Hero

I remember when my three little bird girls were really little and they had issues with sleeping at night. For some reason they thought that there were monsters in the closets. They slept on the second floor of a Cape Cod, so there were a lot of small storage areas with doors all through their room.

My honey came upstairs before bedtime and "scared" all the monsters away by stomping his feet and banging on the walls while shouting "all you monsters, get out of here!" It seemed to work, as they slept well after that night. Every little girl needs a hero, and their daddy was just that.

After the squirrel fiasco (see last blog) Cailyn has been scared that the little critters are going to return and come into her room again. She fretted about this for several days, and nothing I said seemed to reassure her. Then...I got an idea.

Cailyn came with me to ask my honey if he could go get his "magic sprayer" out of the barn and spay upstairs to keep all the squirrels and other furry creatures away. He of course knew exactly which sprayer I was referring to, and got up immediately to go to the barn and retrieve it.

After about 5 minutes he returned with the sprayer strapped to his back and took Cailyn with him upstairs to spray away the critters.



And...since that night she has not had one fretful night about those pesty creatures! I am so glad that after all these years my honey still has the "magic" touch and can make our special grandlittle bird feel safe and secure, just like he did for our little birds so long ago.

Thanks for being our hero. Love you honey!!!

It's alive!

When my little birds were really little birds my mother-in-law...aka Namby...used to tie up a man's handkerchief into this "shape", and play a game with them. She would hold the hankie in her hand and pet it like "a little mouse" and when the little birds would come close to pet it she would make it "jump" up her arm. This, of course, has caused much laughing AND screeching over the years!! Every little bird in the family has had a visit from this mouse at one time or another.



Well, the other night grandlittle bird, Cailyn, was visiting with Namby and D'dad and was introduced to the "little mouse". She of course screeched each time the mouse would "jump" up Namby's arm. Finally, Namby untied the hankie to show her that it was not real. After that grandlittle told everyone about the "little mouse". She even talked Namby into letting her sleep with it. She snuggled with it in her arm all night!

Tonight grandlittle went upstairs to get ready for bed when she suddenly screeched to her mommy that something was running around in her bedroom...and it must be the "little mouse...it's really alive!" Our littlebird, of course, screeched for her "daddy" to come and rescue them. And so begins a very comical 15 minutes or so.

After determining that the "hankie...little mouse" was maybe a "little chipmunk", my honey came downstairs and got a broom. He wanted me upstairs...for support I guess...as Cailyn was screeching...my littlebird was screeching...and I was supposed to calm them down. Well, I climbed up on my littlebird's bed where the girls were hiding and explained to grandlittle what was running around in her bedroom. It was not the "hankie...little mouse" but a little chipmunk like the ones she sees running around outside in the flower beds. It wasn't going to hurt her, and it was just as scared of her as she was of it. GP would get it, not to worry. I turned to leave and shut the bedroom door. Uh-oh...I forgot that the door "locks" and can not open once you shut it tight.

Why this is an uh-oh is because all the rooms connect upstairs...that was the only door that provided an escape route without having to pass through where the chipmunk was "cornered". My littlebird was beginning to get a bit screechy again. So what did I do...I bailed!!!!! I went back downstairs and thought I would just leave the master chipmunk catcher to do his task. What did he need me there for???

After a few minutes I heard littlebird calling for me to bring up a bucket. Here's when it really gets funny. I am sorry now that I did not record any of this! I took the bucket upstairs and found that my honey had blocked himself and the chipmunk...which at this point has been correctly identified as a small squirrel...in one section of the bathroom. In this small section of the bathroom is a toilet and a sink, closed off with two pocket doors. There is not much room in there! All I could hear was my honey jumping around and laughing while whacking the floor with the broom!

I told him I had the bucket so he slid open one of the pocket doors to get it and...oh no!!!!...out comes "Rocky"...right towards me. So now I'm screeching and jumping on grandlittle bird's bed. "Rocky" obviously was not the brightest squirrel in town as he turned and ran right back into the section with the pocket doors. Trapped again!!

My honey in his ever-so calm manor, managed to capture "Rocky" and send him for a swim down the toilet towards the septic tank. We knew this was the right course of action because if you remember back when we first purchased the BlessInn, our realtor told us to periodically throw a groundhog into the septic to keep it working properly (see "Not This Groundhog's Day -July 2009). Although this squirrel was quite a bit smaller than a groundhog, my honey figured it could help out somewhat...given we have been having septic issues lately!

So, my honey saved the day once more! Oh, wait...littlebird and grandlittle bird are still locked in the bedroom. A hero's work is never done! It took him just a few seconds to "unlock" the door, save his princesses and save the day.

I hope grandlittle bird can fall asleep in her room tonight. Maybe she and Mommy will have to snuggle together in mommy's bed. I am sure that is where I will find them in the morning!