A good day

Mindy took the day off today so she and I could spend some time together. We left home early and headed out to some yard sales. Not quite sure what we were looking for but we were sure it would be fun. Before we stopped at the first sale she said, "Mom, we should be someone else today. How about you be Lucielle. Who should I be?" I said , " OK , you be Vesper." And so we were. We came to a sale that looked to be just a drive by but decided to stop. There were two little old ladies selling things. They must have been in their 80's at least. As we were looking at their "stuff" one of them started clapping her hands. She said, "People, can I have your attention? If you are serious about purchasing some of our treasures, come and get a bag and you can fill it up for $1." (ONE DOLLOR) Are you kidding me? They had some pretty good things. Then I spotted an old quilt. I asked her if it was for sale. She said she really didn't think about selling it cuz it was so old and worn. I knew it was more than a dollar so I asked her how much she would like for it. She said, "well it is really worn out but you could maybe cut it up and make something out of it. How much would you like to pay for it?" I told her I am really not good at that. So she asked me if $2 was too much. OMG! I have to give her more than that. I said "can I give you $5?" She said , "ok, honey, only if you take some other treasures for free!!!" She said that her mother had made it. Well, there is no way I am going to cut it up. I will love it just like it is. All I could say is, "Hey, Vesper, this is a good day!"

A new attitude

Every day I am more aware of how important family is. Whether it is a wedding, a graduation, a reunion, or a funeral. I don't know how people without close family ties can get by. On Thursday Stacy and I flew to Northern California to attend a funeral. Just to be with family in sad times makes it a little easier. On Friday when we flew home we were seated in seperate rows. Sometimes I think God does these things for a reason. I was seated by a woman who I assumed was about my age. She was knitting and sorta keeping to herself. After a while she told me that she was going on a mini vacation for a few days to see her sister. She said that she and her husband owned a dairy. They have four boys. She said that she just needed to get away for a little bit. The stress was getting to her. She said that there can only be so much cheese and the price of milk was way down. You can't just stop milking the cows. It is an everyday job. She said she was tired of cooking and cleaning up after her boys and her husband. She loved them, she just needed a break. Then she must have seen my wedding ring and she asked me what me and my husband do. Some times it is so hard to say the words. But I told her my husband died in a plane accident a year and a half ago. I told her that we raise Christmas trees. That the market is flooded with trees right now and the price is way down. I told her that now I have to do so many things that are out of my comfort zone. I told her that we have four kids, too. They help me try to figure everything out. I told her that I remember thinking that I used to be tired of laundry and cooking. If only I could have that life back. I would give anything to just do the laundry and cook the meals. There were a few tears, both her and me. But she said that she can't wait to get where she was going so she could call home and tell her husband how much she appreciated him. She said that she would have a different attitude when she got home. I think God needed me to sit there beside her that day, not just for her but for me too.

Family reunion

We were up at O'dell Lake a little over a week ago for a family reunion. My Grandma (who will be 94 in a couple weeks) and four of her brothers were there.

Doesn't she look awesome? She is the best. She lives by herself . She has lots of family near her. They look after her day and night.

This is her brother Wally. He is from Minnesota. He will be 91 this month. He is the leader of exercise classes where he lives. He walks every day. A m a z i n g!!

This is another brother, Uncle Lawrence. He went sky diving a few years ago for his 80 something birthday.

This one is Uncle Lloyd. He lives near me. Him and Auntie Jean come to my house for coffee every Tuesday morning.

Here is Uncle Dick. He is the youngest of Grandma's siblings. It was awesome to have them all together for the weekend.

They had lots of stories to tell. It was fun to listen to them.

The little guys were busy playing in the lake

and the big kids played a serious game of horseshoes. Some went fishing while others went on a hike.

Me, I pretty much stayed in camp and hogged, I mean held, babies.

The guys did most of the cooking

while others just hung out looking way too cute. It was a really fun weekend. I LOVE my family.

puppy shots

Did I tell you that we got two puppies? Cody got one and we got one. They are blood hounds. They are soooooo cute. Ours is Gurty (short for Gurtrude) and Cody's is Dixie. Anyway, today the boys helped me take them to the vet for their shots. On the way home Caleb asked me, "why did they need shots." I told him, "so they don't get sick." He thought for a minute and then he said, " well we better take our chicken to the vet cuz he has dirariah!" Oh, man, they crack me up.