Getting close to Christmas

The decorated tree is not ours but we thought it was nice enough to show in a picture. Its in a lovely neighborhood close by. The green stuff Martin is holding is his favorite vegetable, a stalk of Brussel sprouts. We had them for thanksgiving! The girls are sticking cloves in oranges for a centerpiece and the family picture is from yesterdays visit to our home by Aunt Lois and Nancy from Arkansas and uncle Irving and his son Steve from Wisconsin. We are on our way to Canada for Christmas on monday and today is Ted Vandenbroeks birthday in Santa Barbara. Have a great Christmas everyone!

Summer to LA

After a few months back home in Bethany we took another drive to California. Visited the children, grandchildren and friends and took some side tours on the way there and back. We always manage to find some new place off the interstate to explore and relax. Trader Joe's usually keeps some of our money in CA and we come home with our goodies and our memories. Next on our 2010 schedule were short family get togethers, a visit to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas and in December we will travel to Ontario for Christmas with the Canadian family members.

Holland Reunion

In May we travelled to Holland for a family reunion.

Meeting all Martin's cousins was fun and we spent two weeks seeing as many of the sights as possible. Ag and Ian joined us for a week of fun, food and family. Museums, bikes, walking, windmills and the neat countryside were pleasures we will remember always.

Missing Mom

I love this picture of our granddaughters, Claire and Emily! It was taken in February when they came all the way out to Oklahoma from California with their mommy and daddy to see their great grandmother for the last time. They may never remember the visit, but I will never forget how comforting their presence was for us. And their great grammy, Phyllis Sidwell, was filled with joy in seeing them, as she was with all her children, grand children, and great grandchildren. We miss her so much! I don't know who reads this, but I just need to write here once in a while. I saw this picture of the girls and am so thankful for them. They are love personified! Thank you, God, for their precious family.

This little comic describes the last few days in Oklahoma. The daffodil picture was taken outside on 3/19/10 when it was 70 degrees. The pic on right looks out our window at the snowfall of 3/20/10 with temp of 32 degrees. We spent all of the first day of spring inside with a roaring fire and some good reading. Today is a little warmer and the snow is melting.

Reunion in Bethany

Posted by Martin while Pennie is busy.

A month has passed since the last posting and our world has changed. In January mom Phyllis began to weaken and finally was admitted to hospital. After many tests and serious discussions with many physicians she has elected to return home. Mom is now bedridden and her prognosis is not good. She has had visits from many of her 10 siblings, everyone who loves her wants to take time now to say goodbye. Pennie and Peg, and Johney and Lois are taking turns caring for mom 24/7 and even though it is taxing on all they are gaining wonderful insights, hospice is providing them wonderful guidance. Mom is a courageous and loving patient and is accepting the final indignities with grace and humor. Today she is even having her hair permed. The accompanying photos show some of the family gathered to bring comfort. It was quiet a crowd and felt like a reunion, including singing from some of mom's siblings.

A Squirrel Story for Claire

This is a little squirrel story for Claire who is in the hospital and likes to hear about the adventures of these little creatures.

The squirrel sitting on the knob of an old tree limb is named Fred. How do I know his name, you ask. Because I named him, of course.

The squirrel sitting on the ground as the base of the tree is Gert, a friend of Fred. They both live in a small park in Oklahoma. They love living there because there are a lot of trees to climb and play in.

Gert and Fred mainly eat acorns which they harvest off the many oak trees in the park every fall. They bury them in the soft ground to save them for later. Just think of them having little underground cupboards filled with food. Whenever they get hungry they just dig with their little paws until they uncover an acorn. Then they hold the acorn in their little paws and use their sharp teeth to chew a hole in the shell so they can get the tasty nut inside to eat. Yumm!

Fred and Gert love to eat acorns. Squirrels and oak trees living together is a good plan. God takes good care of all his creatures. And God will take care of you, Claire.

Tenth Anniversary

Ten years ago today, Martin and I tied the knot at the 1890 House in Lompoc, Ca with our dear friend and retired Air Force Chaplain, Chuck Arnold performing the ceremony. My best friend and Chuck's dear wife of fifty (now sixty) years, Barbara, was my matron of honor and our witness.
The tenth anniversary is traditionally the "tin" anniversary. Unlike the silver or the gold, tin doesn't seem very special on the surface. Not until you think about it a little. While enjoying a tin of kippers, some tea and toast for breakfast, we talked about the properties of tin. Tin is added to other metals to make them strong. We know from experience the past ten years together that we bring strength to each others lives.
We enjoyed a special lunch at the Inspirations Tea Room in Edmond today and chose a special tin of tea to take home with us. So our tenth and tin anniversary was very dear to us.

Happy New Year

This is our annual goodbye to the old year, the last sunset.  We used to write on the sand of Surf Beach in California but now we have our lakeshore to watch the sun go down.  It was terribly cold and we scampered back into the warm car to watch the year 2009 disappear and then home to old movies and a quiet N.Y. eve.