Memory Eternal

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the repose of my brother, Douglas.
My niece Alexis, his daughter, has been here at my home for 3 weeks visiting from Minnesota. I told her that we Orthodox have a very special way of remembering the departed and I wanted to share that with her. So this evening, I did my best to make Koliva with Alexis. We did have to improvise because I FORGOT to buy wheat berries in time to cook. So I used whole oat groats which cook up to be quite fat and chewy. I rinsed them well after cooking and added the rest of the ingredients. Mounded it all on a plate and covered it with powered sugar. I was very pleasantly surprised to taste what could really pass as Koliva! And Alexis will never know the difference.
We gathered around the icon corner and said a prayer and sang memory eternal. It was really quite beautiful. No, Douglas wasn't Orthodox but I really wanted share this beautiful tradition with his beautiful daughter. And really I don't even know if there is something that says this is only for the orthodox.

Memory Eternal!


PS.. the picture was taken AFTER we'd eaten most of it and realized Alexis hadn't taken a picture. So we hurried and mounded what we could and added more powered sugar to take the picture. The first mound was much bigger and nicer looking.

Accomplishments

Over the last 2 days I've accomplished two things that I'm proud of.
One is I JUST finished this evening and that is the kitchen floor!!! I really like how it came out.
The second I did on Saturday, which was to cut the hair on my two boys' heads. It was quite the challenge with Joe, thus quite an accomplishment! But Oh! how handsome they are!!!

SHE MADE MY DAY!

I was checking out at the grocery store and bought some beer for James. The checker looked at me a few times before deciding to card me. I always love it when this happens as I'm well past the age one needs to be (by 15 years!).
She takes my ID from me and looks at it, all of a sudden very emphatically she says, "Shut up! Oh my gosh!" "You must have good genes or something."

Grinning from ear to ear!

Pictures to share

Go here to see several pictures I've taken over the last couple days.
On Mother's Day we went to the peninsula to visit family and friends and went here. It was an amazing day!
Today we went here.
My niece, Alexis, is visiting from MN for 3 weeks. We are having a grand time.

Happy Mother's Day to me

I recieved this poem(using my name for first letters) yesterday from Kelsey Anna. (My eldest, 9 1/2 years)

Spectacular mom!
Uses love carefully!
Said she loves me!
Always hugs me!
Noticed I loved her!
Loved by your daughter Kelsey

Update on my dad

Thank you all so much for all your prayers and thank you Hilarius for asking about him on Paradosis.


I can't believe it has been since BEFORE his radiation that I've posted. My how time flies!

My dad went through 8 weeks of pure hell in radiation therapy on his throat. Through it he lost a significant amount of weight which he couldn't afford to lose and he also lost his voice. Today, he is back up to 145# (4 weeks post radiation I think) and is sounding great. Glory to God when they examined his throat they found no cancer left. Kelsey Anna and I attribute this to some Holy Oil we sent him to rub on his neck. We pray every day that God will soften his heart so that he too may believe this. He still struggles a great deal with smoking although he is only smoking a couple a day vs. 3 packs a day. Shortly after he finished his radiation he opened up to me about how much he'd been drinking and learned that alcohol in great quantities daily can be a big contributor to throat cancer. Glory to God he has not had a drink since February and finds no desire for it.
Please pray for his struggles with addiction and for the temptations for alcohol that may return as he goes back to MN for the summer and much of his family and friends there do quite a bit of drinking.

Thank you so much for your prayers!!!

This is an old picture of my dad and my kids, June 2004, but I wanted to put it in anyway.

Bye Grandma :(

Today at 3:30 PM we packed up the van with all of Grandma and Auntie Carols belongings and headed for the train depot. As they unloaded the van Joseph began wailing that he wanted grandma, he was going to go with her. As he was strapped in his carseat reaching as hard as he could (if you've ever seen a child strapped in a carseat trying to reach with all his might to get out you can see Joseph), tears streaming down and wails of love for Grandma. Mom stood there watching him with tears of her own as she was not prepared for such an outpouring. Once we drove away and she was out of sight he settled down and about 5 minutes down the road very quietly said, "I'm going to miss grandma." Look at the eyes this boy has, they can be heart-wrenching.
For some reason, this time around it was very difficult for mom to leave. Please come back soon Grandma!!!

More Remodeling

During Bright Week my mom and I spent many hours changing my kitchen. After lots of shopping around I decided I'd give it a gallon of paint and new hardware a try on the kitchen cupboards instead of spending hundreds(or even thousands) for new. The biggest difference is the new feeling of space and light. I love it! The floor is next.