The Art of Being Happy....

I learned this truth again yesterday evening...The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. (Henry Ward Beecher)

Makenna called us on the web cam last night and when my face appeared on the screen, she began doing her little tricks for me, with a big smile on her face. The joy of being recognized by your 16-month old granddaughter hundreds of miles away--well I can't really describe the joy this brings to me. She started right off with her arms over her head to show me she's "so big." Then on to squinting her eyes, peek-a-boo, pointing to her nose, ears, etc., and of course walking....she knows how to show off what she can do! And Mom and Dad get a kick out of her too. I was thinking as Chris was singing to her, "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands..." that not so very long ago I was singing little songs to him. I see the same nature in Makenna that I remember in him. Well, only a couple more days, and I will be there.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I will be making mac and cheese, green bean casserole, and a cake for the Haycraft reunion. I look forward to seeing everyone, and I hope the snow that is forecast doesn't cause any problems for travelers. I know the Kentucky Haycrafts are already in Jacksonville; the plan was to arrive this evening. So Mario and I will head over at 9 in the morning, as he is working at ISD translating for Family Day there. I will help Carolyn with any finishing touches for the power point presentation if she needs anything. We've had fun once again thinking about the questions, and how to entertain Uncle Jimmy on the side. Truth be told, Carolyn does a lot of work and is the creative genius behind most of this. I just try to round up everything that she needs for it. I think everyone will once again have fun and learn more about their Haycraft cousins and heritage.

Every now and then, you have a day that just comes together nicely. Today was such a day for me. I worked in the Tea Room, and a lovely lady talked with me about the nice atmosphere and good food we provide there, as she needs a getaway from the 4 walls of the hospital room her loved one is presently confined to. Then I came home to a package in the mail with a beautiful CD called Angel Voices by a group of young boys named Libera, and the only thing that the giver asked is that I pray for him when I listen to it. The CD is simply beautiful. Thanks, friend.

There is nothing that can match the joy that a friend and his gift may bring.

Bunnies are out at Grandma's house

I found some little trains and books for Nolan at a friend's garage sale today.

He discovered Grandma's Easter basket. I told him the eggs were empty because the Easter bunny has not come to Grandma's yet, but....

he could not believe that all those eggs in the basket were empty. So....

one by one.....

he opened every single one and piled them next to my stuffed rabbit.

I found some chapter books for Cora and Hannah, and they were absorbed in their reading....

until little brother joined them.

We had a fantastic "Why Catholic" session Monday night. Our visiting deacon-to-be, Paul Kala, joined us and told the story of his vocation. An amazing, faith-filled, rich life, and I hope many more people get the privilege of hearing his story. He grew up in Ghana, the son of a Muslim woman and an African tribal leader. He will be ordained to the deaconate this summer and to the priesthood I think in two years. His mother converted to Catholicism when he was a youngster, and he tells of her guidance and deep faith that helped shape his future. Well, it was a story I will remember.

Tomorrow I will ride with Justine to Jacksonville. Probably lunch with Mom and a little work on the reunion power point with Carolyn. We have another Haycraft reunion on Saturday night. Several of our Kentucky cousins are coming, and they are always fun to be with. After that, I think my reunion work will be complete.

Looking forward to seeing Eddie and Connie again. They are coming tomorrow and will be here for the reunion Saturday.

A wonderful act of service in our family last weekend....Theresa and her friend Ginny Baker are beginning a new counseling business and needed a "little help" getting their office space ready for business. Well, they got more than a little. On Friday, Carolyn and John, Randy, and Dustin began the job of painting the entire interior, two offices and a waiting room. They gave up most of their weekend hours to do this. I believe this is an example of how we are supposed to help one another. Theresa was so appreciative, and I was so proud of my family members who dropped everything and helped her. I just couldn't stop thinking about how giving people can be.

Spring is officially here. I am ready to walk outside again. Welcome, Spring!

On Friday evening, Mario and I went with friends to Catholic Charities' Casino Night. It was the first time they'd tried this event as a fundraiser. The crowd was small but spirited. The highlight of the "gambling" for me was the mouse-racing. Now this was something to see! Real mice, 6 at a time, raced to the finish line. Well, some of the mice raced, and some just hung out at the starting line when their shoot was opened. My memorable choice named Amazing Grace was slow to start, then took out like a bat outa hell, was the leader when he got to about 2 inches from the finish line, and then turned around and ran back to the starting line. Well, I would never guess mouse racing could generate so much excitement in people. Of course, this was throughout the evening while folks were enjoying their beer and wine. I don't know how much $ they raised, but the live auction with the casino money at the end of the evening made us all laugh and laugh. We thought our pooled $4400 could buy something, but in the end, it wasn't even enough for a bottle of wine. I hope Catholic Charities made some money, and I hope that next year everybody brings somebody along with them because it was a great time.

Saturday I spent all day at church for a retreat, lunch, and afternoon discussion session with the newly formed pastoral council. I enjoy being with these people. All are in servant mode, wanting our parish to be warm and welcoming, good stewards, clearly Catholic in identity, and opening to the world beyond our walls. Our leadership is strong. They are appreciative, considerate, and intelligent folks, and I love working in that environment. Mario says I don't need a JOB, but what I do need is a way that is possible for me to be productive, and I think this is my next way to be that. I believe my first work with the Stewardship group will be to organize volunteers to make one on one contacts with the 1/4 of our parishoners who are not active in our parish and see if we can get them to share their talent and join us for weekly worship. We will need prayer support for that work. I came home and went straight to bed and slept for 12 hours last night. I can't remember doing that for years. My soul rested well, and I am thankful for the quality and quantity of sleep I got last night.

One of the discussions we had yesterday concerned our parish's mission. We were trying to agree on a mission statement. Well the 4 tables worked and worked on agreeing on this. In the end, looks like the executive group, chosen from the 25 or so people there, will make the final decision. But no matter what our group decides, I have chosen a mission statement for myself:

To continue the redeeming mission of Jesus, I will live in the truth, walk in the light, and teach with love.

It's easy to remember and understand. Now if I can just do it! :o)

Grandkid Stories

Looks like we might have a little political activist in the family....of sorts....
Carrie decided for a number of reasons to forbid the kids from exploring the nearby creek and field near their house. So she told Cora, the primary explorer of the gang, that the neighbors didn't want the kids to be on their property, so they couldn't go down there and play anymore. So the next thing she knows, Cora and her little buddy from the neighborhood are carrying signs and picketing in front of the neighbor's house. The signs say "LET US PLAY."

This morning I sat with the daycare kids while Carrie made a run to the doctor. The three little kids were sitting peacefully on the couch watching a movie. Until Tony left that is. Soon as he was gone, they all stood up on the couch and started jumping off. Well, I reacted after the first of the flying leaps, saying, "Nolan, you and your buddies cannot jump off the couch." He was quick to answer. "Grandma, I'm not jumping off the couch. I'm slipping off the couch." That kid is gonna try to slip off/through/over a lot of things, and I just hope he survives it all!

Last night I got to talk to Makenna on the webcam. She says hi and waves, walks, plays peekaboo, does the motions for "Head and shoulders, knees and toes," and knows where her ears and nose are. She breaks out in a big smile when I come on the screen, so I like to think she knows her Grandma Ginny. She is a smiley little one, and I am looking forward to my week with her in early April.

Today I watched a few moments of a talk show on one of the news channels. The caption read "Economic Apocolypse." That headline has stuck with me for a few hours today. Got to remain hopeful.

Vegas Photos Keep Coming In!

Rick and Randy had their photo taken after they hit a little jackpot at the Rio while the rest of us were at The Donny and Marie Show. A memorable highlight of the trip was hearing the retelling of the story on Sunday afternoon around Eddie and Connie's kitchen table. :o)

Scott and Sarah, but I don't think they were in Vegas when we were.

I can't remember this lady's name, but she (he) was a member of Randy Anderson's band, and she came right over to give Rick a special serenade during the lounge show we went to see on Friday night.

Connie and Rick. Somebody said something funny.

Randy maybe?

Great-grandkids at Steiners.

Kathy and Rick after lunch at Steiners.

St. Francis at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, Church. Mom has consented to having the metal plaque changed to read "In Thanksgiving"

Harold and Dotty Johnson
That way, future generations of visitors who read the story will identify the statue in memory of their past relatives.

A memorable Vegas Visit!

Little of this n that

Take that!

And take that!

Our tween Cora

"I want to see my daddy."

Just received this pic from the Vegas marathon....Girls on Phones.

A recap of the past few days.....had a good evening Thursday. One of my Lenten pledges is to do more good works. So I made dinner for our pastor, our new deacon, and Ray (Judy is on a cruise with her mom), and of course Mario. I made MB's tortellini, a big salad, garlic bread, and my choc. chip cookes. Everyone made several trips back to the buffet, and Mario did some of his magic and card tricks after dinner. It was a fun evening for all, and I felt I'd done something good at the end of it.

Had Tea Room duty Friday afternoon. Saturday was a good day with Johnson cousins who helped plan the reunion. We had a 3 hr. lunch at Rancherito with lots of laughs and cousin bonding.

Saturday night the Dede kids were here for the night, so Carrie and Tony could get some well-deserved time for themselves. I think they did "Mustang Sally" again for the karioke crowd at a local late night establishment. Cora, Hannah, and Nolan sang all the way to church this morning--Tony has taught them "You are My Sunshine," and they also did an original rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus..." We ended up making up some verses that made us all laugh. After mass we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant.

This afternoon, Mario and I saw "Slumdog Millionaire." He commented that he had seen places in Mexico last summer that looked like the places in the movie. Well, those little kids in the movie were amazing. It was one of the most interesting movies I have ever seen.

Tonight I am working on my bible study lesson. We are winding down the Book of Revelation study, and I have gained much understanding from the study this year.

Looking forward to McD's Monday with Nolan and friends tomorrow.

Part IV Vegas Visit 3/09 The Rest of the Story

The Vegas great-grandkids Mom wanted to see...also great aunts and uncles
front: Amber, (Lindsey's), Schyler and lil boy Little Phil (Phil's) and Daisy (Joe's)
back: Dylan, (Lindsey's), Kate (Phil's), Michele and Noah (Heidi's)

In rough terrain on the marathon walk....above and below. Tough gals.

Thanks to Heidi, I got an original copy of the above photo after I posted the photos below. So I will repeat the message that went with it....This is one of my favorite photos from the trip. These brothers and sisters have fun with each other! Thanks for the photo Heidi. :o)

Amber greeted us with a WELCOME sign when we arrived in Las Vegas. I think Dylan actually made it, and Amber added the crosses.

Phil and Grandma were glad to see each other.

808 Vincent Way
There were cute little teapots lining the sills of the windows.

I wish the rest of our brother was in this picture!

Walking the marathon early Saturday up in the mountains

They made it to the end of the line. Impressive!

Mary watches over everyone in the front yard.

Mom and her friend Liz from St. Joe's. They were so glad to see each other.

Fr. Tom having a good laugh. He has a great sense of humor.

Phil and lil boy (Little Phil)

One of my favorite pics from the trip. These brothers and sisters have fun with each other!

Going home. Can't wait til next time! :o)

Most of these photos are pictures of pictures, so the color is not so great. They are reminders of good memories and people and places I want to remember. What a good time we had.