In Memory of My Mom

This has been a year that has given our family moments of greatest joy as well as deep sadness. It has been a busy year—at times exhausting.

We started 2009 with the early arrival of a new granddaugher, Zoe, on January 25. We drove to St. Louis that Sunday evening through light falling snow, singing our praises to God for the wonderful gift He had just added to our family. (Singing also helped us stay awake.) We arrived around 3 AM and were able to get into the hospital for a brief visit with our daughter and her husband and their new little “bundle of joy”.

We stayed in St. Louis to help out with our grandson and the new baby for three weeks; however, while we were there my phone calls home to my mom left us very concerned. She was having trouble sleeping at nights and was having some problems breathing properly. Mom had received a pacemaker a couple of years before, and at that time it was discovered that a couple of the valves to her heart were leaking badly, and at her age could not be surgically repaired. As the year went on she had good times and some pretty bad times due to fluid retainage which also affected her ability to breath properly, especially when lying down. Often she would wake up in a panic because she couldn’t get her breath and then, I think, was afraid to sleep.

She had a goal though, and that was to be able to go to our son's wedding in May. She made her goal even though by then she needed a walker or wheel chair to get around. Their wedding was a wonderful day for us all, and we not only added a lovely daughter-in-law to our family but also two wonderful step-granddaughters,  ages 13 and 10.

Mom did pretty well off and on during the summer but by early fall she was in the hospital a couple of times. The doctor indicated she probably would not be getting better, but she had two goals—one to make it to her 94th birthday on October 12 and the other to Mom and Dad’s 75th Wedding Anniversary on November 29. When her birthday was near, Dad asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She said 94 red roses. Much to her surprise, she ended up with 96 roses collectively from her family. She was able to go home from the hospital on her birthday and she was surrounded in her room by all those beautiful flowers.

Sadly, she was just a little short of her second goal, because she went home to her Heavenly Father on the morning of November 6. We will all miss her this Christmas, but this year she will be spending her First Christmas in Heaven with Jesus. It can’t get any better than that!

My Dad is living with us right now; however, after the first of the year he will be moving to an  Assisted Living apartment. At 97 ½ he does amazingly well for his age. He is a little tentative about this new experience so your prayers for him and his adjustment would be most appreciated. We still have lots to do in going through 75 years worth of accumulated possessions at their house….We could use your prayers too!

Blessings and Best Wishes to you all for a Wonderful Christmas and a Good New Year! 

Silent Night, Holy Night

Please Keep Us in Your Prayers

Dear Blogging Friends,

On the afternoon of our anniversary we took my mother by EMS to the hospital.  She is suffering from congestive heart failure.  The condition has been getting worse since around February of this year, and we are now in the final stages.  If we are able to take her back to their home, she will be receiving hospice care.

My mother will be 94 on Monday and my father was 97 in May.  The Lord willing they will celebrate their 75th Wedding Anniversary on November 29 of this year.

Here is a picture of them that was taken at my son's wedding in May.

Mom and Dad

I'll miss reading your blogs regularly, but will try to catch up when possible.  I have really enjoyed sharing a part of your lives and your interests.......Janice

Our Favorite Place

It was in late October, 1960, when Jack and I first met at a company- sponsored square dance.  A week or two later on our first date we discovered we both had visited Colorado and loved being in the mountains.

On October 6, 1962, we were married,

My parents are on the left, and Jack's are on the right.

My mother made my wedding dress from a picture that

I found in a bridal magazine.

And the next day we headed West to Colorado.  On our honeymoon Jack showed me a place that he had discovered when he and some of his friends had gone there a few years before.  This place has become a "favorite" place for us and our children. 

Some say it is the most photographed place in the US; however, it is not a National Park.  The road to get there lays between Snowmass and Aspen Colorado off of Highway 82--Maroon Creek Road. 

We have been there in the Summer and the Fall, but our favorite time is the Fall because the Aspen trees are spectacular.

The drive back off the main highway is filled with splashes of golds and greens of the Aspen and pine trees.

This very special place is called Maroon Bells.

It is so breathtaking....

The awe and wonder of God's creation surrounds you...

You feel like you are standing on holy ground.

I took the picture below when we went back

to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

Maroon Lake is positioned just perfectly at the front of those three magestic peaks and reflects a mirror image of the mountains...however, it is good if you can be there at just the right time as the sun is coming up over the mountains to the east.  Many photographers rush out there early in the morning to be there at just that perfect moment.

When we were raising our children, we loved taking them there and sharing this place that we loved with them.  We hiked on some of the surrounding trails and took lots and lots of pictures.

This picture was taken

in the summer of 1996.

On our 40th Anniversary Jack and I went back by ourselves.

When we were there, we decided to hike a little (that's an understatement) farther than we ever had before. If you look straight down from the tallest peak in the picture below, you can see a darkened area that resembles a cave.....That is where we are headed.  It doesn't look that far away, but you need to hike up and over some lower parts of the mountain to get there.  The trail is off to the right.




This is a little lake that is a short way up the mountain trail.

The scenery along the way is brilliant and beautiful, but it is a steep climb. The path is not even so you need to watch every step you take; and at our age, we stopped often, just to catch our breath at such a high altitude.

As we neared our destination, we came to a rock field where there had been a slide at one time. At this point, it was really difficult walking.

Finally we arrived at Crater Lake.

Do you remember the dark area that looked like a

cave in the picture I previously mentioned….Well here it is!

We made it!

Going down was somewhat easier; however, you still had to watch your step.

Our 50th Anniversary is just three years away,

maybe, God willing, we will go back.

Listed below are some websites that explain more about the Maroon Bells and Crater Lake.

http://www.americansouthwest.net/colorado/maroon-bells/crater-lake-trail.html


http://www.americansouthwest.net/colorado/maroon-bells/index.html

Just Monkeying Around - Talking to the Animals at the St. Louis Zoo

On the beautiful day we visited the St. Louis Zoo with our grandson,

we also spent some time with the animals

For these big cats, it appeared to be nap time.

This big brown bear seemed to be enjoying sleeping in the sun.

Others just seemed to be laying down to rest.

What an unusual way this Sea Lion is sunbathing!

We talked to the Animals---That is the Giraffe Family---or at least the mother Giraffe seemed to be trying to tell us something.  If you click on the collage, the pictures will appear larger.

This Prairie Dog appeared to be well fed....and also liked to pose for pictures.

This Zebra was quite a beauty!

While this old Camel seemed to be checking to see
if his hump was still in place.

This donkey was standing so still, it looked like a statue.

Of course, we couldn't miss the Pink Flamingos.

As we were heading for home, we had to stop and say goodby to the Little Blue Engine. There were still a lot of animals to see, but we will need to return another day.

Beautiful Day for Birds - At the St. Louis Zoo

It was a beautiful August day in St. Louis.

A perfect day to visit the zoo with our grandson as our guide.

Our first stop was to see the birds who were playing

in one of the lakes and in with the penguins.

Many of the birds lived in with the zoo animals.

This one kind of made me think of "Big Bird" from Sesame Street

This guy seemed to be laughing at all of us.

While we stoped for a bite to eat, this noisy bunch invaded the eating area.  I'm not sure if this was a "bad hair day" or what!

There were some caged in areas where this eagle appeared very bored and not too happy to be having everyone staring at him.

His friend in the next cage over was quite interesting.  If you didn't see one eye peaking through those feathers, it was hard to tell if you were looking at his front or his back because his beak blended in so well.  I'm not sure either one of them was too happy to be there.

There was a really neat area where we were able to go through some doors and be inside the cage with the birds.  They were extremely beautiful and seemed to be color coordinated.

There was also a whole large building filled with birds behind vertical wires in settings similar to their natural habitat.  They were very beautiful and colorful; however, the lighting was not always the best for taking pictures; because if you needed to use a flash, usually just the wires showed up.

This bird has such striking eyes.

These two parrots were carrying on quite a noisy conversation.

This guy appreared to be carrying a banana on his head...Quite the bird!

This little beauty's bright red head appeared to have faded on her breast.

As we were heading for the gate to go home, we saw this lovely peacock making himself pretty.


As I said before, it was a beautiful day at the zoo!