Rascals

The following statements came across my computer screen today. I have met the gentleman personally and follow his lead in many areas. That sounds kinda strange. How exactly is it possible to follow someone who’s not near you? Only in Cyber-Land. That and maybe time travel. Anyhoo…back to the important part.
These are some things he said today.

A Rascal is any individual who has the character to be a character.

A Rascal is someone who makes a difference by being different.

A Rascal doesn’t follow the herd; but he or she does protect it.

A Rascal is an original character; one who can’t be classified, minimized, silenced, or enslaved.

Rascals are rebels WITH a cause.

Do these statements describe anyone you know? Several people came to my mind – IMMEDIATELY.

After reading over them several times I realized all of those statements were true of the greatest character who ever lived. Go ahead, I know you want to re-read them. I’ll wait.

Now, don’t you agree? Couldn’t all of those statements be used to describe Jesus and His earthly ministry? (If you didn’t take the opportunity to read them before, you’re doing it now, aren’t you?)

I absolutely LOVE Rascals! They don’t always make life easier, but they do make it richer!

So, who are the rascals in your life?
Are you a rascal?
Do you want to be?

A Busy Weekend

This weekend we were crazy busy.  According to my plan, I was going to make my first batch of homemade sausage this weekend.  But instead we left Friday morning for Flint, Michigan - a 5 hour drive.  We picked up some friends and went to the home of Chris and Terry Brady in Columbiaville, Michigan.  There we attended a leadership learning session that was exciting and informative.  Afterward we visited with Mike and Nancy Jones, our friends from Linden, Michigan where we watched a video of Louie Giglio that was inspriring!  We returned home Saturday evening and picked up Ty who was spending the night.  Joe was taking him to Sunday School, while I was watching Leah at her cheerleading competition Sunday morning.  Curt and Julie went to the Bengals game on Sunday, so Ty was with us until dinner time.  Leah was with friends - so she and grammie didn't get to make cookies. :(

Ty went to bed earliy - at 8:15!

Leah's team took 1st place Overall in the cheerleading competition!

After she was awarded her trophy and roses she told her Mom "This is the best day of my lefe!"   

Lunch with Mom's Sibs

On Tuesday, Dad, Julie, and I had lunch with my aunts and uncles - Mom's brother and sisters, and my cousin Laurie. It was a great lunch at DeSha's on Montgomery Rd. It was so good to see everyone - and I so felt the love of my mother present in her family. I heard her voice when my Aunt Birdie spoke, and I saw her face over and over again in Uncle Francis, and Aunt Birdie. It was very comforting - 1 year and 1 day after Mom died. We spoke about small things, day to day life, what my cousins are doing, recipes, and how we are all surviving our losses. Oh my word - I felt the love of family surrounding me, and felt at peace.

I Tell Myself

I silently resolve to have a humbler, more grateful heart.
I am everything God intends for me to be. This place where He put me offers me all the intellectual affirmation I need.

Tyler - Grandparents Day

Today was Grandparents day at Ty and Leah's school.  We met Ty in the cafteria, went to his room, had a tour of the school, and ate cookies.  What a grand party!

                                                         

 

                                                         

                                                                     

Leah - Granparents Day

Today was Grandparents day at Ty and Leah's school.  We met with Leah in the cafeteria, went to her room, toured the school, and has cookies.  A grand party!

The three of us.

I'm the cute one!

The Document Explained

My cousin Teresa recently asked me exactly what the infamous "document" was that occupied so much of our family posts.  Here is the explanation I sent her:

"The document" started as a 90 page PDF file containing his condo association's rules and regulations, and the state declarations about the condo association itself - the state laws, what happens if the condos are damaged, images of the building that makes up the association, how the public areas are maintained etc.

The association wanted to make a few small changes, and a lawyer quoted them $10,000, so Dad said he would do it. All my sibs, and some of my cousins have been involved in trying to convert the PDF file (no one could) to recreating it as a word doc. Dad almost sent it to Germany to one of the cousin's kids!

Much work has gone into it on Dad's part. We have all heard about it, and have all had our hands in helping him with it. Part of the problem is Dad's computer skills. He keeps numerous copies of his work, on CDs, the hard drive, and a flash drive. Sometimes that was good because whole paragraphs would disappear.

Dad swears Carolyn's air conditioner was changing the content of his file (you heard me right). Whenever he was saving it and the AC kicked on, pieces would go missing - according to Dad. I think it had more to do with having to copy all his changes to multiple places to keep his numerous backups in sync.

That's the story of "the document". It's almost over - the document is now in the hands of the condo association, has come back for a few changes, but must be complete soon so that copies can be made before the owners' meeting in January.

The Big Anniversary

Monday will be 1 year since Mom died.  I keep shying away from thinking about it.  Last weekend, when I was putting away my summer clothes, I thought about last year - I had just gathered up my summer clothes and had not moved them yet to their winter storage location - which made it easy for me to find shorts and shirts when we had to make the fast run to Florida.  This weekend we will be traveling to Milwaukee for a conference.  Last year we were in Louisville.  We received the call about Mom early Saturday morning in our hotel room - right before we left for the day session.  We checked out immediately and headed for Cincinnati - planning the long drive to Fort Myers. We contacted Matt - so he could get to Dad.  And learned the Bobby Bravard was also there for Dad, and Susan and Chuck were on the way. Our suitcase was basically packed - we just had to substitute our summer clothes, and our funeral clothes - just in case we needed them.   By the time we reached Cincinnati - the trip to Fort Myers was planned,  Julie, Curt and the kids, Joe and I, and Lauren - Elaine's daughter would all make the long trek to Fort Myers - without stopping - just in case.  Maybe everything would be OK.
So this weekend we'll be in Milwaukee.  Dad's growing cancer is weighing heavily on my mind.  I think next year I'll just hibernate the second weekend in October.

Update on Dad

Dad received the results of last week's CT scan, and the news is not good. The original cancer has grown, and there are some new spots. Because of this result he was taken off the trial study. He told me today that he is taking a pill that is his new "chemo" treatment - but the doctor said the pill doen't have very good results. He will no longer need the weekly blood draws - and in fact does not hve to return to the Zangmeister Center for "a couple of months". The pain in his side is not from the drainage tube from last summer, but from the cancer. Dad was put on a patch for pain. Dad has mixed emotions about the results. Obviously he is sad. He is talking about getting back to Florida while he still can. When we hung up, he was crying and I was crying. The last time I saw Dad cry was Uncle John's funeral.
Later in the day he called again, right when I was thinking about calling to make sure he was OK. He asked me something about the infamous "document", told me he was having trouble printing from his computer - and could I help, and discussed getting Julie a meat grinder for Christmas so she could make goetta and sausage.

Columbus Visit

I spent Thursday and Friday in Columbus visiting Dad. On Thursday, Dad gave me my early Christmas present - a meat grinder to use while making sausage. I was in "sausage maker training" Thursday afternoon. I can't wait! It w ill be 2 weeks before I can make my first batch - but I have all the ingredients - I just need the time. Dad also gave me my first taste of Head Cheese. He had some that Bill brought up frame a Slovak butcher in Atlanta. It actually wasn't too bad, although I don't think I'll be buying any on my own.

Dad and I also worked on "the document", took it to Kinko's, decided I needed to work on it some more. Literally I spent 4 - 5 hours getting it prettied up. On Friday we went to the Zangmeister Center for Dad's CT scan. This will tell us how the chemo is doing - if the cancer is progressing, or if it has halted. Results will be in next Wednesday, when he goes for his next chemo treatment. We visited Kinko's a couple more times - and I believe the document was ready to mail when I left around 5:00 PM on Friday.

Here are a couple of pictures from Skyline on Thursday night. As for Dad, his hair is greyer, he's walking a little slower, he's also walking a little more stooped over, and he is still having pain in his side from where they drained his lung this summer (which might be why he is walking around stooped over). Dad desperately wants to return to Florida. He's trying to work out a way to get his blood draws in Florida, and his chemo every 3 weeks in Ohio.

Oh - and wonder of wonders, "the document" has been put in the mail to Dad's Condo Association.

Emily and Carolyn