September 2017 Scrapbook Pages

Paul, Marley and I went on our annual trek to Gordon College. Even though Marley doesn't want to go to college here (I haven't given up hope though), she still likes visiting in October. This is our 6th year doing this!  This is also our 3rd year taking our Annual Baba and Marley zoo picture here.

Happy 93rd birthday Dot!

This was the last picture that I have of Dot before she went to the Atrium.  It was taken on April 7, 2011, and she went to the Atrium on May 29, 2011.  Mark and Mason had come with us to bring Dot her dinner (for awhile Paul would get her a dinner to go from On the Hill and we would bring it over to her).  She was so happy to see them.

I looked back in my journaling to get the exact date that we brought Dot to the Atrium and, reading it, I got a knot in my stomach.  Even now, 7 years later, I feel so many emotions about that day.  I wrote that it was the worst day of my life.  It's still true.

We went to visit Dot at Wingate of Hamden for her birthday on Monday, the 18th.  My Dad's wife, Marge, is there now. We brought both of them to the dining room for a little "birthday party."  We had cupcakes and ice tea.  Dot doesn't walk, without their assistance, anymore so we wheeled her down to the dining room. They suggested we take Marge there in a wheel chair too. We gave Dot a present from Steph, wrapped in a box.  She didn't know how to unwrap the present, or even how to open the box.  We brought her a balloon, and took some pictures.

One funny thing about our visit - when we got back to her part of the nursing home, I had clipped the balloon to her chair. A little Hispanic man, who was also in the same type of reclining chair that Dot had, grabbed Dot's chair and pulled himself over so that he could reach her balloon and unclipped it.  He took the balloon and was having such a good time with it that we didn't have the heart to take it back, especially since Dot didn't even really notice the balloon.  He was still playing with it when we left, including wrapping the string around his bare feet and toes, lol!

So many times I wonder why Dot has to linger in that nursing home.  She used to tell me that our days are numbered by God, that it is written down when we are born and when we will die. Years ago Dot gave me a little daily devotional "The Grace of Encouragement" by Charles R. Swindoll.  Today's message was "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16."  I have to believe that God has Dot's life in his hands.  I love you Dot, happy birthday!

Happy 39th birthday Janelle!

This picture was taken on June 13, 2004. It was the first time that Janelle met GG. We were having Marley's third birthday party at GG's and Big Baba's house. Unfortunately, GG passed away a week later. She would have loved getting to know Janelle; she is definitely a wonderful addition to our family! Happy birthday Janelle!

Happy 43rd birthday Mark!

The other day I was talking with Mason about starting 3rd grade.  I showed him this picture of his father when he started 3rd grade, in the same school that Mason is going to.

This was the same grade where Mark crossed his eyes during the class picture!

He thought it was so funny!  Obviously, I didn't.  Raising boys is no joke!

Happy birthday Mark!

Happy 45th birthday Kris!

This picture is from Kristen's first birthday party.  We had the party at Nan and Dot's house because my Aunt Dot was recovering from falling down the attic stairs and was still too sore to ride in the car.

My Aunt Ettie was there and gave her the present that is right in front of her.  For some reason Kristen was afraid of it and wanted to get out of her chair!  Maybe the present was too big.

I have always loved that picture; so glad that we captured that cute little face on film!

The present was a blue horse that you ride on (you can see it on the table in the picture below).

She was fine with it after it was unwrapped.

Happy birthday Kris!

Happy Birthday Big Baba!

I have always loved this picture of Paul's Dad, Big Baba.  It was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2003.  It is hard to get a picture of him looking at the camera, never mind smiling!

I miss GG, and I miss Dot before Alzheimer's.

Happy 89th birthday Big Baba!

Throwback Thursday - Our backyard 44 years later!

I have been systematically going through our photo albums lately trying to digitize photos.  I'll never get through all of them, but I am trying to get to the pictures that tell a story.  I am on #3 of 33 photo albums, and that is only since Paul and I got married.  I also have a ton of earlier albums, from both sides of the family.

I have spent a lot of time digitizing older photos of our ancestors and trying to tell their stories, but I also want to do Paul's and my pictures too.

We bought our house in April, 1973.  Kristen was almost 8 months old.

We live on a circle with 26 houses.  Our neighborhood was built on farm land; a strawberry patch.  There were only a couple of large trees which must have been on the edge of the land.  Our house is on the inside of the circle, so the back yards didn't have any boundaries.  One of our friends said it was like living in a fish bowl!

This picture, taken about 6 months after we moved in, was taken in our back yard across to our neighbor's house behind us.

This is our back yard today.  Our neighbors, Jack and Judy, planted pine trees across their back yard, and we planted forsythia.  In 2015 Judy took down the pine trees, and we lost our tree a month later due to some type of disease. Between our tree down, and her trees down, the forsythia have really taken off and gotten very thick and tall.

This picture was taken looking down the middle of the inside of our circle from our back yard in October 1973. 

Eventually everyone started putting up fences and planting trees and hedges.  This is what it looks like now.  We can't even see the hill which used to be so pretty in the fall.  

Out of the 26 houses on this circle, there are 6 original families left.  It's been a wonderful place to live!

August 2017 Scrapbook Pages

Going to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield for our annual Barrington Stage Youth Theater outing. This was Marley's 6th time, and Mason's 3rd. Great day!

July 2017 Scrapbook Pages

Trying to finish up Mason's 2011 pages.  Slow going!

Mason's 2017 Baseball season (his team card will go on the blank card space after printing)

New Hampshire vacation for Mark, Janelle, Mason, Miriam, Stacia, Amy, and Bill.

Lancaster and Delaware for my Aunt Esther's funeral.

Throwback Thursday - My Cousin Lynda and her Kitchen Set

This is my cousin Lynda Lundstrom Brouillette.  It was Christmas 1957.  She was almost 4 years old.

These pictures are from my aunt Dot's slides.  Every time we used to look at them in later years my cousin would say, look at my hair!!  Bobby pins made quite a curl, or maybe that was a perm!

We spent Christmas day that year at my aunt Ettie and Uncle Bob's house in Norwich, CT where he was a pastor of the Norwich Assembly of God church.

Lynda got that kitchen set for Christmas.  I remember being so jealous that she had that kitchen set.  It was made of cardboard and I thought it was the best thing ever!!  She also got kitchen accessories, dishes, food, pans!  Wow!

My cousin Lynda has been having a hard time for the past year.  Her mom has been in an assisted living center/nursing home and is now in Florida near Lynda's brother Donald.  This has been very hard on Lynda.  I'm hoping things get better for her.

****Update - The same day as this post, later in the afternoon, I got a call from my cousin Lynda telling me that her mom, my Aunt Ettie passed away.  The funeral is next Wednesday in Delaware.  So sad, but I know that she is in a better place, by far.