Saying Goodbye

After church last Sunday we all met for lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants La Palmera. It was good to see Peter's parents again. My heart had been in my throat all day but I managed to make it through lunch. Beth tested negative that morning so she was able to come too. Still wasn't 100% but felt well enough to join us.

 

 

After lunch we headed over to Diana and Peter's to help clean out the last of the stuff. We loaded up the cars, then headed outside so Peter could do the final walk-through with their landlord. We ended up taking a ton of pictures! I won't share them all but here are a few:

 

My 💖

Sharaya took pictures of Diana and Peter in front of their house. The only one missing is Poppy! But she's temporarily with Peter's sister in New Jersey and seems to be adjusting well. 

We gathered around in a circle and Chuck prayed for the four of them as they're headed across the country. We spent a few minutes hugging everyone, then they climbed into the cars and were gone.

 

 I snapped this picture, then burst into tears. The ache in my heart was so real. I cried off and on all the way home, and all evening I felt like a zombie. 

 

By Tuesday I was feeling better, thinking about all the adventures they'll have as a new family. When Diana first moved out there she was single and didn't even know Peter existed. We were talking about how she's moved seven times in the last seven years. And now they'll get to find a home where they can put down roots and have space for their family to grow. I can't wait to see them this Christmas!!

Two Miracles

 NASA has been posting pictures of the Carina Nebula, have you seen it? Usually it's posted like this, showing mountains and valleys: It's just phenomenal.

 

 But they recently posted it this way and it took my breath away! Do you see the face?

 

 

I showed it to a friend of ours and the first words he said were, "It's the face of God!!" Okay good. I wondered if I was the only one seeing this! It's like His mouth is open, the beard, the light emanating from it... I can't stop looking at it. But sometimes I also see a lion. Maybe the... Lion of Judah? The heavens declare His glory!

 

Then --

 

Sharaya, Chuck and I loaded our cars with stuff and took them over to Sharaya's new place. After we unloaded, she needed to get a few items out of storage so I closed the windows in my car and rode over with Chuck. We loaded both their cars, then I rode back with her. We pull up in front of her place to find I had left my car unlocked, the key in the ignition and the engine running!! It sat there for 45 minutes or more and was still there when we returned! Talk about God's protection!

Various Updates

 I realize I haven't kept you updated on things going on around here.

First of all, Chuck's MRI came out clean. He's still cancer free!

 

Thank you for the ideas on the card game. Pokeno was the only one I recognized but after googling the games, I didn't remember the rules of any of them! The way Ally and I play it is a lot like Pokeno though. 

 

The email subscriptions: I've started adding everyone to my blog list but it might take a while to get all of you on it. Please forgive me if I haven't commented on your posts in a while.

 

I've been enjoying these quiet summer months. Work is about to get super busy so I'm taking Fridays off while I can and I'm loving having two days off in a row! It makes a huge difference!

 

Beth overslept on Monday and missed her bus to All Aboard. I think she set her alarm for PM instead of AM. She texted me at work about the time her bus was supposed to arrive. She's usually really good about being upstairs and ready so I expect the driver waited the required 5 minutes then left. That's not the first time that's ever happened to a driver! 

 

Sharaya and Ally will be moving soon. They found a place about 10-15 minutes from here, a two story, two bedroom condo. Ally was showing me some pictures and it's really cute. It has a fireplace, a small backyard, it looks perfect for them. 

 

We all went over to Diana and Peter's for lunch a couple weeks ago. They took us out to their garden. They share it with their neighbors, one side for them and the other for the neighbors. They have zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes cucumbers, pumpkins, various spices... and we've loved reaping the benefits of their hard work!

 

 

 Just some of their harvest

 

 The bunnies sure have been multiplying lately. There are so many in the backyard now, I'm wondering if we should be doing something to control them. I saw these three out last night: it's hard to see but there's a tiny one just in front of mom's nose.

 

 

Then this other little guy hopped closer to me

 

Mom was checking on the rabbit hole.

I don't know if there's more in there!

 

I know there were some living under a bush in a different part of the yard, I don't know if it's the same bunnies or a whole new family. I'm starting to get a little concerned. Do they eventually move on? Are they here for the long term? Have you encountered bunnies in your yard?
 

The Feeling Of Freedom

This last week was so emotional. You could tell my dad was nervous about moving but he knew it had to happen. My sister has been doing everything for him and I think he was just expecting her to do it all. At one point my dad told her, "Deb! I'm hungry!" And she asked him what he wanted to eat. And I lovingly said, "Actually dad I think what you meant to say was, 'Hey Deb would you please fix me something to eat?'" 

And honestly, neither one of them smiled. They both had exhausted, no nonsense expressions on their faces.

Throughout the week I had to remind my sister to feed her animals.

My dad asked her to help him with everything.

She forgot where she put medication.

The house was always closed up. 

Every day she got him out of bed and helped him to the couch. Sometimes he would get up and walk around the living room and kitchen to ease the Restless Leg Syndrome but for the most part he stayed on the couch until it was time for bed again.

They absolutely love each other and they both know the other one is trying their best but after so many years of this, the situation had just drained them both.

It was without a doubt time for my dad to move.

My niece, nephew and some of their kids came over and helped us move the few pieces of furniture that he was going to take with him. We got him in the truck then went back into the house for our purses and stuff and my sister began to cry. I just stood there and hugged her for a while.

When we got to the facility Deb decided to leave my dad in the truck while we moved his stuff into his room. It didn't take very long and he was walking into his new place. His room is much bigger than the one he had at my sisters and there was bright sunlight beaming in through the window.

They put a pole by his bed so he can start getting himself out of bed on his own. My sister has helped him for years but he has to be able to do it on his own.

While Deb sat at the table with the administrator going over medications and paperwork, my dad walked around the facility.

It's a gorgeous place with animals on the property (goats, miniature horses...) a beautiful courtyard, all the residents eat every meal together in the dining room, it's going to be a better quality of life for him and I think he realizes that.

After 3 days his only complaint was that they don't feed him enough! For a 94 year old, he eats non stop! He's the only resident that cleans his plate and asks for seconds! 😋 

The last time Deb and I visited him we were only there a short time when he said, "Well you two I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He was ready for us to leave! 

Thank you all for your prayers. We know he's gonna be just fine!

And my sister? We went back to her place and she collapsed in her recliner. "I can't believe how free I feel."

She Just... Disappeared

Beth loves to text. She texts her boyfriend and she has a couple friends at church that she texts. She texts her sisters a lot. Sometimes it's only 'You're weird.' 'No you're weird.' But they text.

We've been emailing Diana regularly since she left and she told us that Beth texted her last week. Okay. But then she said that it's the first time Beth has sent her a text since she moved!

I asked Beth why she wasn't texting Diana anymore and she gave me her usual answer, "I dunno." I told her that I thought she did know and I asked her again, "How come you don't text Diana?"

Then she said, "I don't know where she is. I don't want to bother her."

Oh wow. I don't really know what Beth thinks about Diana moving. In her mind it seems, Diana has just... disappeared. I've gone to google/maps and showed her where she's living now. I pulled out our road atlas and we've looked at a map of the U.S. I've told her that just like my dad and sisters live their lives in San Diego, going to the grocery store and doing their laundry, Diana is doing those things in Philadelphia.  Course, I'm showing her all this on a piece of paper and I'm not sure she really understands the distance part of it. I don't really know what else to say or do.

In her mind, Diana is just gone.

So on Easter we facetimed with her and Beth got to see her and talk to her. I think that helped. Also, Diana is now texting her and telling her that she's grocery shopping, or headed to work and now Beth tells Chuck and I everything that Diana is doing.

I don't know if she really comprehends the whole thing yet, but we'll just keep trying to explain it.

A few days ago we were sitting at the kitchen table and she told me she never wanted to move out of our house. "It's too hard to say goodbye."

The Ugly Cry

She's spent months cleaning out her room. I can't tell you how many loads we've taken to Goodwill. She's sold books and movies to Half Price Books and she gave stuff to Sharaya. Her and Chuck have planned their road trip, made hotel reservations and located all the truck stops along their route!

 

She's already got a job back there and a place to stay when she gets there. I think she's all set! Sharaya and Allie spent the night here last night. Allie slept in Diana's room and Sharaya and Diana slept (I think they slept!) in the living room so they could talk and watch movies all night. 

We all got up early this morning and Diana rearranged the rubbermaid bins. She was determined to get all of her stuff into just two bins! And she did pretty good! She took the two bins, one small bag (we call it her Mary Poppins bag cause it's about that same size) and one 'food bag' where she keeps snacks, drinks and stuff for the road trip.

 

Don't you like the title of that journal? Dreams & Schemes. :)

She left a couple boxes here, with stuff that she'll get next time she comes home. Or we'll mail it to her if she finds she needs it sooner.

It came time for them to leave so we all gathered around her and Chuck prayed for her before they headed out to the car for the last time.

 

After they left, Sharaya, Allie, Beth and I went back into the house. Allie was talking non-stop about something. I'm not sure what. Sharaya sat down on the couch. Beth and I went out to the kitchen, hugged each other and sobbed. Yep, we did the ugly cry! 

Sharaya was headed out to buy a table so she cleaned out her car, then her and Allie left.

Beth and I went into Diana's room and it was empty, except for the furniture. I turned around and saw something on her closet door.

 

 

Now I Can Write About The Big Stuff!

We traveled a lot when our girls were growing up. We spent 3 weeks traveling the Western U.S. visiting National Parks and famous landmarks.

A few years later we flew into New York, then rented a car and drove the Eastern Seaboard, from Massachusetts to Florida.

We love to travel, and Diana especially, caught the travel bug.

When she was a senior in high school, her and a few friends decided they were going to move to California (from here in Seattle) and get jobs working in the movie business as assistants on movie lots or maybe at Disneyland. Well, as many plans made in high school do, this one never happened. For whatever reason, they just never made the move.

But Diana still wanted to travel and see the world so she went to London. By herself. And LOVED it. The sights. The smells. The stores. "Mind the Gap". She loved it all. And she began to talk about living there one day. She visited again and again. But she knew once she moved there, her traveling days might be over.

So she went to Ireland.

And she rode Splash Mountain in Disneyland Paris.

And she went zip lining in Australia.

Well, now her dream of living somewhere besides Seattle is coming true. Not as fancy as Paris or beloved as London, but still quite an adventure. She's moving to Pennsylvania. Philadelphia to be exact.

This Saturday her and Chuck will climb into her car and begin their cross country road trip. At first she was going by herself and I immediately began to get nervous! But Chuck was able to get the time off from work (even though he's been there less than a year) and Diana said she would like the company so they're all set.

She already has a job waiting for her when she gets there and some friends have allowed her to stay with them while she looks for her own place. A lot of prayer has gone into this and we can see God's hand working out all the details.

As a family, we're trying to spend every moment with her. We've taken professional family photos, we've gone out to eat, last night her and Sharaya played cards here for a while. As I write this, they're wandering around Seattle, going to Pikes Market and just trying to get one last dose of this this great city before she leaves.

We know she never would have been happy staying here and we're so excited for this new chapter in her life. Chuck is just hoping and praying she doesn't become an Eagles fan. :)