Throwback Thursday - Kristen's shelf (and Marley's new shelf)

Marley has been wanting Paul to put a shelf in her bedroom like the one her mother had.  This picture was taken in 1984 when Kristen was 12.  It was the first picture that I came upon of her shelf.  Obviously the subject of the picture was not the shelf (it was probably Callie, our cat) but you can at least get an idea of it.  Now it holds children's books, but back then, as you can see, she had all of her treasures up there.

Last Sunday Paul put a shelf like this in Marley's room.  I know she is going to have a lot of fun putting all of her treasures on it.

The Girls

Throwback Thursday - Remembering Lucille

Last week we went to the funeral of one of my favorite Sunday School teachers as a child.  I posted about her before here. 

It was good to remember the life of a woman who had given so much of herself to her family and to her church. 

As we were driving home I was struck by the fact that I had known most of the people at Lucille's funeral for most of my life.  My friends' parents were all my parents.  I felt so lucky to have had such a wonderful heritage in knowing these people and worshipping with them in our church for so many years. 

I have thought of this before, but on that day, driving home from her funeral, I realized just how grateful I am for this.

Day at the Museum

Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Marley was off from school, no work for Mark, Janelle, Paul and, of course, me so it was the perfect day to visit the Springfield Museums. 

I can't believe how much taller Marley is than Janelle.

We had lunch at the new Blake Cafe and then just roamed around the museum. 

Ready for some freaky pictures?  This was downstairs in the Science museum.  It is a science experiment type thing.   

She always wants me to play it with her. It is a type of mirror that you change the results with by changing the lighting. I took some pictures of us with my phone. These pictures have my head but her face and my arms. Freaky.

Marley took the picture of me here. Weird?

Mason is getting better at not being afraid of mostly everything.  He still won't go in the room with the big dinosaur though.  I remember leading Marley through that room with her eyes closed!  Fun day.

Throwback Thursday - My Dad

On December 9, 2012 my Dad passed away.  He was 85.

This is a picture of my Dad and me in 1954.  I had just turned four.

One of the fondest memories I have of my Dad from my childhood is when he would take me for a ride on my grandfather's bike.  I wish I had a picture of that bike.  It was black with a skinny frame.  My Dad would put me on the cross bar and we would ride all over the neighborhood - up and down all of the side streets around my house.  I loved it.

My Dad was always bigger than life.  He talked loud, laughted loud, and always seemed so strong.  It was hard watching him fail and get weaker.  Luckily he wasn't bad for very long.  He's in a better place now and I am grateful for that.