Winter Writings

Christmas 2010 Reflections & Disney Trip

Since Christmas was 2 months ago, I figure it's high time that I wrote something about it. December was more of a blur than usual for me, since we were really busy at work. I am only supposed to work about 20 hours per week, yet I wound up working more than twice that. So, we didn't put up a Christmas tree and I decorated outside and only sparsely inside. Most of my shopping was done on-line and I tried to wrap things as they arrived. Rick & I worked hard and looked forward to time together with family for Christmas.

I worked the night of Dec. 23rd and after I got home on Christmas Eve morning, we started the 14 hour or so drive to Paul & Missy's home in Pace (Pensacola), FL. We had snow on the ground, but we were thankful that it didn't hinder our travels. Paul & Katie (Keturah) had driven from Nashville, TN, Becky drove from Augusta, GA and my mom flew in from Orlando, FL. We had a wonderful time together, as you can see above & below. It was really special to have my mom with us, since it was the 1st Christmas since my dad had gone to Heaven.

We only had a few days together, but we made many great memories and made plans for the next time together. Feb. 17, I flew to Orlando to meet up with the girls & families. Rick was unable to go because of a work conflict. :( We stayed in a condo near Disney World and spent 3 days in 3 of the parks.









It was Paulie's 1st time there as well as for the 3 grandchildren.



I don't think we had been there as a family since 1989.


Katie, 3 1/2, Becky, 8 & Missy, 10 in 1989



The weather was wonderful, a welcome change for me from the cold & snow.



A highlight of our time there was seeing Katie try out & qualify to be in the daily American Idol Experience finale performance. She came in 3rd out of 5 in the nightly finale.



Missy wrote about the time @ Disney on her blog: http://vonherrmannventures.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-make-your-disney-dream-with.html

Before we returned to our spread out homes, we spent a day with my mom, celebrating her birthday. It was also the 1st anniversary of Daddy's homegoing, so it was just special to be together.





I'm looking forward to Spring and whatever the Lord has planned for us ahead.

2010 Christmas Epistle (Letter)

Thanksgiving, 2010
Dear Friends-
Can it be that another year is nearly gone?! Another Thanksgiving means it’s time for me to reflect on the past year and to thank the Lord for His many blessings! Though our family is scattered today, we will be together for Christmas as we were last year at Paul & Missy’s. A lot has happened since then.

One change in our lives in 2010 is that my dad went to be with the Lord on my mom’s 80th birthday in Feb. He was 77 and they had been married for 58 years. I was thankful that Becky and I had just been to visit them in the Orlando area a week or 2 before. We miss him a lot but are glad that he is with the Lord and is no longer suffering. Mother is doing well and is blessed to live near my brother, Rick, Debbi and 7 year old Aaron.



Paul & Missy are still in the Pensacola, FL area where Paul is a Navy doctor. They will be moving to Lexington, KY next year when Paul starts his Residency in Radiology. It will be wonderful to have them a lot closer to us! Missy published her 1st book this year, The Marriage Move. It seems like I’ve already told everyone about it but if I’ve missed you, the book web site is: www.themarriagemove.com



Granddaughter Ellie is 4 years old and started pre-school this fall. We are so thankful that she recently asked Jesus into her heart! Aimee is 2 and has started having school lessons with her Mommy as Ellie previously did. Luke will be 1 on Dec. 9th and has recently taken his 1st step! Missy’s blog chronicles these events and more and we love to keep in touch this way. http://vonherrmannventures.blogspot.com


Becky in Ethiopia

Becky continues to live in Augusta, GA where she is a night shift nurse like her mom, except that she works with Pediatric Oncology patients. She went on her 7th missions’ trip this summer, her 2nd time to Ethiopia. Rick & I enjoyed visiting Becky in April and going to a practice round of the Masters golf tournament. A big event for Becky this year is that she became a homeowner!


Becky's new house before several trees were removed

Paul and Keturah (Katie) continue to live in Nashville, TN, where Katie is Resident Director of a freshman girls’ dorm at Belmont University for her 3rd year. Paul has started working on his master’s degree as well as working full time as a video production manager. They currently live the closest to us, so I enjoy visiting them when I can. They are seeking God’s will for them after this school year.



What hasn’t changed is that we are still in Ft. Wayne, IN, where Rick is a chaplain & I am a NICU nurse. Rick’s mom lives with us and is turning 85 years old tomorrow. Recently, Rick has been given a promotion to be a managing chaplain in Corporate Chaplains of America. He will be traveling more and mentoring other chaplains in a yet-to-be–determined area, as well as being a chaplain to a few of his current companies.


Christmas 2009 in Florida

We don’t know what 2011 holds but we know that God is in control! Have a blessed Christmas and New Year! I look forward to hearing from you!
Love in Jesus, Rick & Malissa Cockman

How I Spent My Summer

It's hard to believe that Summer is nearly officially over & that kids are back to school already! The summer FLEW by, didn't it?! I hope y'all had a good one. I've thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous summer weather. I have to admit, being a native Floridian, that summer is my favorite season. I enjoy the hot, long days of summer. I like being able to sit out on the front porch and taking our Boston Terrier, Danny, for a leisurely walk. In the winter, walks are fast ("Hurray up! It's COLD!!!"). It's nice seeing neighbors outside. In the winter, we don't see them for MONTHS. I enjoy seeing all of the wildlife outside. This is when I enjoy Ft. Wayne.

Rick has enjoyed fishing in one our neighborhood ponds this summer, just on the other side of our next door neighbor's house.



We've grown giant sunflowers in our yards in 3 different states for years and this summer is no different, except one plant grew unusual multiple sunflower heads. I am continually amazed at how one little seed grows such a large plant and produces so many more seeds. It's just another proof to me that there's a Creator!



In July, we traveled to Augusta to visit Becky in her new house and to help her with projects inside and out. We also went back in August when we did a lot of painting. It was good spending time with her and also to visit Rick's brother, Tim.





After visiting Becky on the July trip, we went to Pensacola to visit with Paul, Missy and the grandkids. Paul & Katie were also visiting there for a wedding, so we were all together except for Becky. We had lots of fun together, especially with Ellie, 4, Aimee, 2, and Luke, then 6 months.



On August 2nd, Rick & I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. The Lord has blessed us richly and I've often said that life with Rick Cockman has been an adventure!





Summer is a fun time to visit and be visited by friends. We don't have as many visitors here in Indiana as we did when we lived down south, but long time friend from Lake Worth days, Mari Ellen Reeser, and her mom came by.



We were also visited by Becca Holcomb (from our days in GA) and her 4 children. It was especially great to see these 2 friends since they work & live overseas.



When I was in GA in August, I was also blessed to see several of the Leading Ladies from our former church since I was there at just the right time for a little reunion.



We were also able to visit with my friend, Sharyn von Herrmann, who also happens to be Missy's mother-in-law, and her dad.





An exciting thing this summer is that Missy FINALLY was able to publish her book, The Marriage Move. I've read it twice and it's a really good read. Check out her book web site: http://themarriagemove.com/ That's Paul & Katie on the cover and Rick wrote the Forward.



Enjoy these last official days of Summer. I'm feeling Fall in the air and am looking forward to this lovely time of the year, though I know that Winter isn't far behind!

Ellie & Aimee jumping at the Mall - sorry that it starts out sideways!

Glorious Spring!

I am NOWHERE near being the blogger that Missy is. She is pretty good about writing on hers every week. Weeks go by & I FINALLY get around to updating mine. That doesn't make my blog as compelling to read. My mom & I check Missy's just about every day to see what's new! I don't have 3 adorable children to write about, though. Well, I DO have 3 beautiful daughters, but I don't get to see them often enough to have something to write about very frequently!

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