October 27, 2011

That is the morning Jesus came and Momma went home with Him. I know she is in such a wonderful place now with no more pain or suffering.....but I sure do miss her.

Aunt Donna

Last week this world of ours lost a wonderful person, but Heaven gained one very unique angel.

While accepting some earthly recognition for all the great things she had done, she gave God all the glory, honor and praise. She then bowed her head. My mom, her only sister, didn't know if she was going to pray or if she was crying. My Aunt Donna was having a stroke. The last words she uttered here on Earth were, "Take me home."

My heart grieves for my mother's loss, but at the same time my heart is joyful because I know last week Donna heard the words, "Well done my good and faithful servant" as she was welcomed into the Heavenly kingdom. Don't we all long to hear those words one day? Donna lived her life in such an amazing way that there is no room for doubt that she is in the presence of her Savior for eternity. Her children and grandchildren spoke of her as a 'simple' woman. A woman who didn't really know how to start a Pregnancy Center, but she did. A woman who did so much for others that there is wonder as to how or when she had the time, because she always had time for you. I always knew she fought for the unborn, I knew she took in young mothers and helped them get back on their feet so they could raise their children. I knew she did much work for her church. I remember when she ran for state representative and when she would go to Washington to rally against Roe vs. Wade. We always thought we would see her on CNN being hauled away in the paddywagon!
As a child I remember Donna being shy and timid. Life was hard for her, she had four boys in four years and she raised them alone while trying to work to support them. Those boys were rambunctious too! Some babysitters ran away and never came back! This is the experience that gave Donna a heart to help those young mothers. See, in the early '70's Donna met Garland, and he rescued her and her boys. He let Donna be the person she was meant to be and encouraged her to grow. He helped mold the boys into the wonderful men they are today. He changed that timid woman into a person who did not care what this world thought of her, but followed what her heart told her to do. The unending line at her viewing and memorial service were tribute to all the lives she touched.

When did she have the time to all that she did? I don't know, because if I called her, she always had time to talk. If you wanted to take a road trip to see her, she always made big plans for us to have a fun filled day with her. When Mom was sick, she was there, providing a room for us at a nearby hotel, a loving hug and an understanding ear. I always felt and knew that she was there for me and my siblings, but when did she have the time? She had four boys and their wives, as well as countless grandchildren, who all felt the same; she always had time for them and made them feel special and loved. I want to be like that....but where do you find the time? I am going to work hard to find the time. I have a feeling that Donna asked God for help, I will do that too.

Here is Donna with an old friend from her school days at Tunnelton, we all know her as the Lt. Governor of Indiana. Donna was as comfortable at the Statehouse lobbying for things she considered worth fighting for as she was feeding her chickens, or turkeys, or fainting goats. You never knew what kind of critter you would come upon when you went to visit Aunt Donna!

She went and got herself a camper a few years ago and parked it near where they grew up out at Ditney Ridge. She took my mom along with her. To say Mom was not crazy about camping is an understatement, but she went so Donna wouldn't be alone out in the boonies. Mom had the time of her life, and oh my, the adventures they shared! They were like children again and I know my mother cherishes the memory of those times.

I wish I had all the words to describe what a wonderful person my aunt was. These words of mine are just so inadequate to express the kind of life she lived or to tell of all the good she did in her life. She fought for life, whether it be an unborn child or an elderly person near the end of life, life was important! And I believe her life was one that God is well pleased with.

Meow

This week has been filled with reminiscing pets loved and lost. I always vow never to give my heart over to a pet again. And then along comes a situation where a home is not available, someone is allergic and needs to find a good home, or the animal is going to have to be put down if someone doesn't adopt soon, or somebody just plain dumped that cute little puppy or kitten. It doesn't even have to be a puppy or kitten, I like old ones too. I am a sucker. Put a big "S" on my forehead!

But I know someone who is an even bigger sucker for a pet! This would be my sister Lori. Let me explain. When I moved from town to the farm, I had a cat named Prissy....for the obvious reasons, she was a prissy cat! She was part Persian, but had that cute little kitty face, not the smashed in look that most Persian felines sport. I won't go into how I ended up with Prissy, let's just say she needed a home, but I knew that home could not be at the farm. If she ever escaped she would be a nice little snack for a coyote. Rarely is a cat seen in these parts, and if you do see one, you usually never see it again. So my sister said she would keep Prissy for me. This was, let me tell you, a match made in Heaven.

If Lori were a cat, she would have been Prissy, and visa-versa! Prissy never had it so good! She wore rhinestone encrusted collars, charms dangling like diamonds from them, collected over the years from Lori's shopping trips in Chicago. She went for scheduled 'manicures', had all the best toys and, well you get the picture....spoiled rotten!
When Prissy passed away Lori decided she would 'lure' my brother's cat to her house. Buddy was an outside/inside cat and my brother has a job that keeps him away from home long hours. Buddy willingly obliged Lori's offer of tasty treats and now this is how Buddy spends his time.

Here is Buddy watching TV!
Don't you wish you were a pet at Lori's house?

Buster

Today we said goodbye to a faithful friend.

He was always curious what was going on. Here he is wondering if this four-legged purple critter is going to interfere with his dinner portions. Buster put up with two-legged critters as well. It was not unusual to find a chicken perched upon his back while he lazed on the porch. He did draw the line when the chickens wanted to share his dog food.

He always wanted to be right in the middle of whatever was going on, especially if it involved food! He was always happy to see you and would drop whatever he was doing to come running when he saw you coming down the lane, or when you opened the door to go outside. Okay, so he probably thought he was going to get something to eat. He came running.

Buster didn't come running Sunday afternoon. We thought he might be out in the woods, chasing a squirrel or rabbit, or maybe even fending off a coyote. He would show up, Buster never missed a meal. But he didn't show up that night. Okay, maybe he found a girlfriend.

Monday morning as we left for school, before daybreak, Buster was nowhere to be found. He will be here when we get home. Buster will be hungry.

When we got home Buster was still not around anywhere. The barn and sheds were checked. Maybe he slipped in to get out of the cold. Buster was getting up in years. We never really knew how old Buster was, he came with the farm. But Buster was not in any of the out buildings. He was not in his dog house either, although that would have been the last place we looked, Buster wasn't too fond of his digs, no matter what we did to make it homey. He was an outdoorsman type dog.

My husband went for a walk around the property, no Buster. Buster had missed three meals. This morning, even though snow covered the ground and there was no sunshine, I thought to look out the window to see if he was in his usual morning sunning spot. There was Buster, covered with a blanket of snow, resting in eternal peace.
I am going to miss this guy.

Gone But Not Forgotten!

Oh my! I have been gone from my blog for a long time! I didn't forget about it, I use it to check my very favorite bloggers to see if they have posted any goodies, and they don't disappoint! Thus I get sidetracked in the adventures of my blog friends and get no blogging done myself! But, hey! I consider that to be a good friend...a good 'listener', so to speak! On the other hand, when you come to visit my blog, there it is, the same old post that has been there for months now. I am sorry...
So here is what I have been up to. I know it won't surprise most of you. School. Homework. Procrastinating! Housework, cooking, laundry. I should be doing my Accounting assignment now, but refer to #3 on above list!

Recently Facebook had "Retro Week". I posted this picture of my brother and me. I love this picture, slobbers and all! I love my brother dearly, but I am going to tell a story about him and his slobbers. Forgive me Kevin....(insert evil big sister laugh)











When we were little, like in the picture, "pop" or soft drinks were not everyday staples in the house. On grocery day, which was every other Friday, one carton of 'pop' was purchased. Now back in the day one carton of pop was 8 small bottles of Coca~Cola. This was divied up between me, my brother and my sister. Oops. We are short one! Problem solved. Mom got one and Dad got one and we got two each!
These two 'pops' were ours to drink whenever we wanted. My sister Susie and I usually downed ours that very night, and on rare occasion, one lasted until Saturday morning.
My brother, the slobbery one in the picture, took small sips of his, replaced the cap, and put it back in the frig. Sometimes he still had pop on Tuesday!!!!
Susie and I had both been sneaking sips of Kevin's pop, on the sly of course. This went on for a while, ahhh, times were good and pop was plentiful! I guess we must have gotten a little greedy though, because one day we were all watching afternoon cartoons and my brother gets up and gets his pop out of the frig. He says to us, "Hey, watch this!" He takes the cap off his pop, takes a big swig, and then empties the contents of his mouth BACK into the bottle of pop!!!!
Never said another word, just came back in and continued watching cartoons.
Needless to say, Susie and I never sneaked sips of his pop again!!!

Okay, the procrastination has got to end! I have homework to do!

Coming Up For Air!

Mercy! This semester has been rough. I feel like I have been caught up in a snowball rolling downhill. I think I have finally got ahead of my homework load, at least for a few days.

I want to get out with my camera and get some pics of the beautiful fall colors before they fade away. Hopefully this weekend.....

Here is a picture I did catch one day last week when I looked up from my pile of books! A coyote was at the fence line between our woods and the cow pasture.

Lucas calls them 'Icodies'.

Green Mowing

Last summer when gas reached $4 a gallon, we purchased this old lawnmower. I love the simplicity of it. I also love the fact that there is no cord to yank on, and on, and on…….It always starts, with a little push, that is!