When I wrote last, my dad had just gone to Heaven. All of the family was able to get down to the Orlando area for Daddy's memorial service. I appreciated the girls making the efforts to get there. It was a bittersweet time as we remembered my dad's life. Making it even more special was that recordings of my dad singing were played at the service, so he sang at his own funeral!
Last month, I met up with my mom, brother & family in Sparta, NC. We stayed in a lovely restored farmhouse not far from where my parents lived for 10 years after retiring from the Ft. Lauderdale area.
We had a second memorial service @ the church where Daddy & Mother were members in their years in Sparta on what would've been Daddy's 78th birthday. We scattered his ashes in a creek near the property where he & Mother lived. His earthly remains returned to "The Lord's Mountain!"
He's been gone from this life for nearly 3 months now & I miss him a lot, but I'd sure never wish him back. He's free from his wheelchair and illness! Even better, he's with the Lord!
Mother is doing well. She misses her husband of 58 years, of course, and she has her down times. She's keeping busy and finding people to minister to. Her little dog, Rosie, is her little companion and Rick, Debbi and Aaron are only 5 minutes away.
I've certainly been enjoying the Spring after the long, hard Winter. I love all of the sights, sounds, smells & feel of this beautiful season of new life. Doggie Danny loves it outside, too. Spring makes me think of the beauty of new life after apparent death...especially appropriate after "losing" my dad though knowing that I'll see him again one day in a new body!
Since our family is so spread out, times together are extra special. We've had a few of those in the past couple of months. A month & 1/2 ago, Rick & I stopped by Nashville on our way to Augusta. We spent an evening with Paul & Katie on the beautiful campus of Belmont University. It was a brief stop, but it's nice to spend whatever time that we can with our girls.
We traveled on to Augusta to spend a few days with Becky. She had gotten tickets to attend a day of practice rounds @ the Masters golf tournament. Missy's husband, Paul, and his dad, Lewis, went in with Becky & me and we walked all 18 holes of the course. It's gorgeous there.
In the afternoon, Becky went back so Rick could go in for a while.
While we were in Augusta, we celebrated Becky's birthday and saw the house that she was buying. She just moved in this past weekend.
Earlier this month, Katie drove up here to Ft. Wayne to spend a long weekend with us. She & I went to the annual Vera Bradley outlet sale, went shopping and sewed a pillow for her living room. She was able to go to church with us and hear her dad preach before heading back to Nashville to deal with the flooding in that area.
So, we have been blessed with some together times recently, some happy, some sad. More often than not, we have to depend on the phone & Skype to keep in touch. We cherish those times...
Malissa, Katie & Danny, chatting with granddaughter, Aimee, on Skype
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