curlyonegurl's Xanga

Monday, October 19, 2009

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:03:36 GMT

Been thinking about...

Jenny! We had a great visit with her recently. It's always much too short tho. We took her up to WI to view the Fall foliage and to go to an interesting place called The Grotto(www.dickeyvillegrotto.com/).

We also went to Chicago. As always, here are some pictures. The four of us at Denny's before going up to WI:

Michael, Em & Jen in a pumpkin patch:

The girls in front of the Grotto:

The girls on the "ledge" of the old Sears Tower (now Willis Tower):

Me, Mike, Jen in downtown Chi-town:

My niece hosted a get-together at their house the day before Jenny left:

This is my new favorite picture of me & Jenny:

All-in-all, it was a great visit. I hope all is well with all of you. Take care & God bless.

Luv ya,

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:46:50 GMT

Been thinking about...

Family. Jenny comes to visit on Thursday, and last Wednesday I drove up to Des Moines with my sister Sherry and brother George to visit our sister Gina & brother Dan. It was nice having all of us together--the only one missing was our sister Debbie. It was a beautiful fall day. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

From left to right: Dan, Gina, me, Sherry & George:

Dan's wife Tabby is in the middle:

And finally, the twins:

I am so praying for good weather while Jenny is here, but the forecast so far isn't promising. We plan on driving up to WI to see the leaves, and to Chi-town 'cuz Jenny's never been there. Please pray for traveling mercies and good weather! Thanks. Hope all is well with all of you. Take care & God bless. Luv ya!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:08:34 GMT

Been thinking about...

So many things, actually. September has always been a hard month for me. I was raised by my grandparents, and my grandpa died on Sept. 28, 1979. Ever since then, September has always been a harbinger of death to me. Now there is Sept. 11th to add to the whole "death thing." This year, this month is especially hard because my best friend is getting married in TN on the 19th and I can't be there. She sent me a picture today of herself in the dress that her mom made her for her day:

Congrats, Debi: I love you! I so wish I could be there with you to help you get ready and to help you celebrate your special day.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of my grandfather's death, here's some pictures of him. Here he is with my grandma and my oldest sister, Sherry, and the 2nd oldest Debbie:

Ivan Bradley Law

October 5, 1913-September 28, 1979

Hope all is well with you. I can't wait for October. Take care & God bless. Luv ya,

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:05:36 GMT

Been thinking about...

September 11th.

I have loved New York City all of my life, even before I ever went there. And in fact, when my family went there for the first time in 1998, the first thing we did was go to the top of the World Trade Center.

Watching those towers fall broke my heart. That day changed my life forever.

I called the Red Cross that afternoon, and began to take classes so that I could go help in the recovery effort. By the grace of God, I flew out to New York City the week of Thanksgiving, and was there for 3 weeks assisting the people who had been affected by the World Trade Center disaster. I feel honored and blessed to have been able to have a small role in the recovery of that city.

I have been involved with the Red Cross ever since, going on other national disasters such as Hurricanes Charley & Katrina and the Wildfires in San Diego in 2007, and I am a local disaster volunteer helping our community with local events such as house fires, floods, etc.

I pray that we all remember the patriotism that brought us together in the days and weeks following the attacks and that we never forget what happened.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.

Take care & God bless. Luv ya,

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:12:25 GMT

Been thinking about...

The fact that summer (if what we had in the midwest can even be considered that!) is almost over. *sigh* It seemed like we moved right from Spring into Fall. I like hot, humid weather, and we didn't have many days that qualify! The nice thing is: 4 months from today is Christmas!!

We recently had Michael's grandson visiting us. While he was here, we went to the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower in Chicago. They have built 3 "ledges" of glass where you can walk out to view things. I could NOT walk out, but I held my camera out and took a couple shots:

As you can see, it feels like you are "free-falling," and altho I like that song by Tom Petty, I don't want to feel that. LOL

I hope you have enjoyed the summer; fall is on its way.

Take care & God bless.

Luv ya,

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:31:09 GMT

Been thinking about...

Death. We've experienced a lot of it lately. We've had 3 friends die in the past 2 months. I'm done with funerals and visitations! (For awhile, I hope.)

The latest death was our dear friend in Queens, Mary McGreal. I am thankful that we got to see her last month:

On a brighter note, we had a BBQ yesterday with my niece and nephew and their families (but he was in town because their grandma died--another visitation!). Here's some shots of the day.

Em with my newest great nephew, Bradley Scott:

Bradley with his dad (my nephew) Brad, mom Megan, and sister Lilly:

My beloved with my great nephew Spencer:

And finally Emily with her cousins. It was a cool day for July (note the sweatshirts!):

Next Saturday is the Bix, the 7 mile road race and jazz fest that is held here annually. Mike is going to run it, but I'm not. We'll both go hear the jazz bands later in the evening. Hope all is well with all of you and that you are enjoying your summer. Take care & God bless! Luv ya,

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:12:58 GMT

Been thinking about...

Emily. We had a house-warming party for her on Saturday. It went well, and we had a nice turn-out. Here's some pictures from the event.

Em & her cake:

Em & her dad:

Em & my brother George:

Emily & my sister Sherry and niece, Brandy:

There were a lot more guests than my family, but I wanted to show them.

Next week is our local pro golf tournament the I will be volunteering on Thursday and Sunday. Look for it on CBS!

I hope you all have a happy, safe Fourth of July. I pray for the safety of our troops, and for us to realize that we wouldn't have the freedoms that we do without our armed forces. To our military: thanks for serving!

Take care & God bless. Luv ya,

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:57:54 GMT

Been thinking about...

Our vacation. We had an amazing trip out east. The first stop was in Indy to meet my dear Xanga (and Facebook) friend, Margie (SavedbyGrace01) and her husband, Ken:

From there, we went on to the Akron, OH area to spend the night at the house of a former Pastor of ours, Nevin Wiest. We went to church with him and his family the next day, then took them out to lunch:

We then drove to CT to spend a couple days with my friend, L.E. (It was great seeing you, L.E. I love & miss ya!):

From her area, we took a train into NYC and visited with our friends who live in Queens. Here is John and their dog, Lucky:

This is Mary (John's wife) and their son George with Michael:

Here is us in Times Square:

We then went on to Cape Cod and visited with a friend of ours, Rob. Here I am with him:

It was too cold to swim, but we checked out a couple beaches:

We left there and took 2 and a half days to drive home. All-in-all, it was a wonderful trip with good fellowship and memories galore! Hope all is well with all of you. Take care & God bless! Luv ya,

Friday, May 29, 2009

Fri, 29 May 2009 02:48:37 GMT

Been thinking about...

A dear friend of mine, Bill Schultz:

He died on Memorial Day. He was 89 years old and had been married to his wife Darlene for 69 of those years. He served our country in WWII, and was a county board member for 40 years. A wonderful example of service! I was honored to know Bill and am grateful that he's at peace with our Lord. May God comfort Darlene.

I can not believe it's almost June already! The year is half over. We leave for our vacation soon. I can't wait! We will meet my dear xanga friend, SavedByGrace, on our way to Ohio! We are going to Ohio to hear one of our old pastors preach, and spend the night at their house, then on to CT to visit with L.E. Then we will spend a night in NYC and visit our friends in Queens!

I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day. Take care & God bless!

Luv ya,

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Wed, 06 May 2009 14:40:21 GMT

Been thinking about...

What an amazing time I had in California! I had never been there so early in the year, and there were lots of trees and flowers blooming. It was beautiful. My visit with Jenny & Justin was the best one yet! I always have such a good time when I am with them. This time I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Jenny's adoptive dad, Stan, and her sister, Alicia. They are very nice people. I am so grateful to God for all He's done!

Here's a few pictures from our visit.

Jen & me:

Justin & me:

Jen, her grandma Nina, & Stan:

Alicia & Jenny:

Jen's brother, Ricky & Stan:

The three of us:

It was a great early Mother's Day! I pray the same for all you mothers out there! Take care & God bless. Luv ya,