This year has quickly gone from January first to February and then March without many blog posts. Bill spent more than a month with us and we enjoyed many excursions with him which I mentioned on Facebook. He arrived just before Valentine's Day as he has done in the past. We enjoy having him here and he enjoys going birding with his Dad and Laura as well as taking us on excursions. We had our usual adventures with Bill, going to the mountains and desert as well as our favorite coastal birding spots. One day we went to the Salton Sea for a great day of birding. Another day we went to Valley Center for our traditional visit with Griff. That was a fun day for all of us.
Bill spent a few days with his friend Mark on a birding trip to Arizona. He spent another few days on a birding trip by himself in the desert. Bill, Laura and I enjoyed a two day trip to Los Angeles to spend time with my sister Donna and brother-in-law Fred. That was a photo perfect trip for all of us as we went on several excursions with Donna and Fred. One day we went to a great auto museum which I wrote about on Facebook. Another day we went on a long ride in a beautiful coastal area, near where Marineland used to be. We could see Catalina Island from where we were.
One of the last trips we took with Bill was to Orange county for birding. We found birding spots that were new to us and also several places we have been before. One place we had been before was to the large lagoon in Huntington Beach. Laura and Bill took a long walk there. Paul had a short walk and I should have walked. I had been having problems walking so got lazy and did not do enough walks. I did a little but spent more time than I should have in the car.
Bill headed east towards his home in Florida on Monday, March 26th. I asked him to call me when he gets home or if he was going to be delayed. He planned to take several weeks to get home as he was going to be birding along the way. He has to call us as his phone is not turned on for us to call him. It is now well into April and we have not heard from him. His friend Mark heard from him once but their conversation was cut short. I very much would like to hear from Bill before I really get to worrying. I went through the worrying experience on at least two separate occasions with him in the past. All for naught. He was fine each time. But Mothers do get very concerned, even when their children are well into adulthood.
I was having some problems with pain and spasms in my leg the Monday that Bill left. The next day I began to experience numbness in my leg and arm. A decision was made to go to the ER to rule out a stroke. Our good neighbor Sergio took us to the hospital where we spent a good part of the day. Sergio patiently waited with Paul and Laura while I was being taken care of in the ER. After cat scans and x-rays it was determined it was not a stroke. I went home with the understanding to call my doctor, or go back to the hospital if there was a change. Things went from bad to worse. I had a bad fall Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning it was obvious I should go back to the ER. Madeline came from Lemon Grove to take me to the ER. Madeline also had to go to her mother's that day so she was really being God's vessel in ministering to friends and family.
It was decided that I needed to be admitted to the hospital that Wednesday. I would receive good care and the necessary tests to determine the problem. I appreciated the care given by the nurses and the kindness of each person involved with my well being. The patience of the ones involved in my MRI was very much appreciated. The first time I discovered my extreme claustrophobia and wanted out immediately. I had MRIs before but was not so closed in those times. The next day they tried again with me having a sedative. I got spasms in my leg that I could not control so they could not continue that MRI. The third day they had an anesthesiologist there for me to sedate me even more. That worked. It was a complete MRI of my head and spine so it took an hour and a half. Good thing I was sedated. Not all the way asleep though. I sort of knew what was going on but was calm. No strokes or anything obvious to cause my problem was found. I do have arthritis and some stenosis that we already knew about. I think my problem is a very bad pinched nerve. But what does not make sense is why was my arm involved as well as my leg. My arm did not stay bad though. I can still feel it a little but the real problem is my lower right side, mainly my leg.
At the hospital I did not see my own primary care doctor. Now days they just have doctors that are there for the patients in the hospital. The doctor that I had at the hospital was just as concerned as my own doctor would have been. I also briefly saw a neurologist at the same time I was having my first walk with a walker with the help of a physical therapist. I wore an arm band that said "fall risk" as well as red slippers that indicated I was at risk of falling. I needed help to just use the commode beside the bed.
I enjoyed many visitors and phone calls. You cannot imagine how important that is until you are in such a situation. I appreciate those that came from both of my churches. I so much love my family and friends who showed their love and concern. The beautiful flowers were also appreciated as well as the cards. Paul was not feeling good but came anyway. But then Laura checked the rash he was concerned about and discovered that he has shingles! He did not go to church that Sunday and Laura came with Sheila after church to see me. That is when I was checked out of the hospital and taken for a long wheelchair ride and down a long hall to the rehab hospital next door. Laura and Sheila were with me as I moved into my next room and bed. It was comforting to have them there for me.
I continued to have physical therapy with the kind and efficient therapists. They seemed to have the best grasp of my situation. I also appreciate all the dear nurses that ministered to my needs. I can't say enough kind words about them. I was at Birch-Patrick Convalescent Hospital from Sunday, April 1st until the following Saturday. Six days there and four days at Sharp Chula Vista, totaling ten days. I also had visitors during my days at rehab, as well as phone calls from loved ones. Griff came down from Valley Center to see me one of the days I was in the hospital. He also came to visit the day I got home.
Paul was not able to visit me the last week when I was at Birch-Patrick. He and Laura went to "urgent care" to be sure it was shingles that Paul had. The doctor said it was a full blown case of shingles. Paul got a prescription and instructions to call his own doctor. Paul canceled his regular heart doctor appointment since he was sick. He made the appointment for his primary care doctor. He had not been to that doctor in a long time. He had his visit with his doctor this past week on Thursday, April 12th. Our good neighbor Sergio was so kind to take us to Coronado for this appointment.
Our long time neighbor Jake is the one that brought me home from the hospital on Saturday, April 7th. This is not a first for him. He brought Paul home from the hospital after his long stay at UCSD Medical Center in January of 2001. We love our neighbors. Some of them are family to us. I used to baby sit for Jan and Jake's children, Alison and Colin, and they are my kids. Now they have children.
I'm still struggling with needing to use a walker to get from one room to another. But I do ok and try to keep moving during the day. I see things I wish I could do but can't. I hope to get to go to church next Sunday. Laura went by herself this morning as she did on Easter. My nights are the most difficult. I need pain meds to sleep and do not want to continue to have to use them. When this prescription runs out I may have to go cold turkey. Or maybe Tylenol PM will help me. I usually won't even take that. I have an appointment with a neurologist on Tuesday and maybe he will have answers to what is going on with me. I saw my primary care doctor this past week. My friend Lucia was able to take me to this appointment and then took Laura and me to lunch. We also did some grocery shopping that day. Me hobbling with the walker and Laura and Lucia each with a shopping cart going separate ways to accomplish the task in reasonable time.
This has been a sad week too as we just found out that our dear Rosalie died while I was in the hospital. Lucia found out when it was announced at the church she attends. The memorial service will be on April 21st at Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church in Coronado. Thankfully Lucia met Rosalie so knew that I would want to know about this. I am sad that I did not go to see Rosalie as often as I would have liked to. Donna, Fred, Paul, Laura and I went to see her on my birthday in December. I had visited her a couple other times in the last year. But I don't remember going in recent months. Maybe we should have visited her instead of another good friend we went to see a month or so ago. But that is not necessarily right either. We loved Rosalie as another mother. We called her our other mother. Donna and I adopted her when we were teenagers in the Methodist Youth Fellowship and she was the adult working with us. We loved her and her two children. I may write more about her at a later date. The memorial service will be on what would be her 95th birthday. She lived a long life and shared many many hugs and smiles with those she loved.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
My How Things Have Changed
Yesterday I was sharing a memory from when I was a child with my boys. Soon after World War II, after we had come back to California, my parents decided to go to see one of their old friends. I was just nine or ten years old on the day that our family had this adventure.
We would have gone on the old car ferry as pedestrians to get to San Diego from Coronado. I remember many a time walking up the old wooden ramp to get to the top deck where the passengers could sit or walk around and see the sights during the short ride across the bay. There was the horn as the boat pulled out of the dock. We could often hear this sound from our grandparents house on third and F. There were many Navy ships in the harbor. Sometimes we would see porpoise in the bay. So many sights and sounds to recall from those old ferry rides.
When we got to San Diego we would ride on the streetcar to get to our destination. This is not as clear a memory for me, as the streetcars were gone by the fifties. We even had a streetcar that went down the middle of Orange Avenue from the ferry to the Hotel del Coronado. That is why there is the grassy island down the middle of Orange Avenue. Now there are trees and gardens in place of the old electric streetcars.
Back to our excursion to see my parents old friends. I mainly remember getting off the streetcar in the Mission Hills area and walking down a steep path towards the valley below. Our destination was an old adobe house where the friends lived. I remember having a delicious lunch which included rabbit. I think that is the only time I ever ate rabbit. I do not even recall the name of these friends. But I do remember that Mission Valley consisted of farms and a rural atmosphere. You would never have imagined the Mission Valley of today. For years I tried to figure out where the adobe house had been. At first I would try to find it when we traveled through the valley on a rare occasion. I also remembered the farm on the property next to where we visited. I remember a big old barn. We must have visited someone there too as I remember an old farmer that had lost his arm in a farming accident. I remember the pastureal scene in the valley with cows and all.
Later on I remember a highway through the valley before freeways existed. Seems to me this was one road we took to head east. I was mostly in Coronado so I would not have been in this area very many times. Sometimes I see an area of San Diego and try to remember what that area was like before freeways. I remember the first time I went to Mission Valley Shopping Center in the sixties. My mother-in-law took me on the bus to buy me a dress for Easter. She was good about doing things like that for us. She had a favorite cafeteria to go to at the shopping center so I enjoyed a rare treat for those days.
One thing that I remember clearly from my preteen years is going to Girl Scout camp in Cuyamaca. I can tell you exactly what road to take and where to turn. The camp isn't there now but the road is in the same place near Stonewall Peak. We did not have the freeway over the mountains in those days. It was the old highway which is fun to meander on now days. We enjoyed the days when we had a car to get to the mountains. Now we get rides with our son when he is in town. We also have a cousin that takes us on long rides about once a year when he is here.
So many memories from days gone by. Things may change as the years go by but God never changes. We may mess things up where there once was beauty, but there is still plenty for us to enjoy. There is still a river running through the valley with places to find birds. You will be reminded that it is a river valley when the rains come and the river rises. People may complain about not being able to get past certain roads when it rains. That is just a reminder that the river was here first.
It has been fun remembering the good old days. But these are good days too if we remember to appreciate what we have. God is so good. Let us not forget to thank Him for the beauty he has created for us to enjoy.
We would have gone on the old car ferry as pedestrians to get to San Diego from Coronado. I remember many a time walking up the old wooden ramp to get to the top deck where the passengers could sit or walk around and see the sights during the short ride across the bay. There was the horn as the boat pulled out of the dock. We could often hear this sound from our grandparents house on third and F. There were many Navy ships in the harbor. Sometimes we would see porpoise in the bay. So many sights and sounds to recall from those old ferry rides.
When we got to San Diego we would ride on the streetcar to get to our destination. This is not as clear a memory for me, as the streetcars were gone by the fifties. We even had a streetcar that went down the middle of Orange Avenue from the ferry to the Hotel del Coronado. That is why there is the grassy island down the middle of Orange Avenue. Now there are trees and gardens in place of the old electric streetcars.
Back to our excursion to see my parents old friends. I mainly remember getting off the streetcar in the Mission Hills area and walking down a steep path towards the valley below. Our destination was an old adobe house where the friends lived. I remember having a delicious lunch which included rabbit. I think that is the only time I ever ate rabbit. I do not even recall the name of these friends. But I do remember that Mission Valley consisted of farms and a rural atmosphere. You would never have imagined the Mission Valley of today. For years I tried to figure out where the adobe house had been. At first I would try to find it when we traveled through the valley on a rare occasion. I also remembered the farm on the property next to where we visited. I remember a big old barn. We must have visited someone there too as I remember an old farmer that had lost his arm in a farming accident. I remember the pastureal scene in the valley with cows and all.
Later on I remember a highway through the valley before freeways existed. Seems to me this was one road we took to head east. I was mostly in Coronado so I would not have been in this area very many times. Sometimes I see an area of San Diego and try to remember what that area was like before freeways. I remember the first time I went to Mission Valley Shopping Center in the sixties. My mother-in-law took me on the bus to buy me a dress for Easter. She was good about doing things like that for us. She had a favorite cafeteria to go to at the shopping center so I enjoyed a rare treat for those days.
One thing that I remember clearly from my preteen years is going to Girl Scout camp in Cuyamaca. I can tell you exactly what road to take and where to turn. The camp isn't there now but the road is in the same place near Stonewall Peak. We did not have the freeway over the mountains in those days. It was the old highway which is fun to meander on now days. We enjoyed the days when we had a car to get to the mountains. Now we get rides with our son when he is in town. We also have a cousin that takes us on long rides about once a year when he is here.
So many memories from days gone by. Things may change as the years go by but God never changes. We may mess things up where there once was beauty, but there is still plenty for us to enjoy. There is still a river running through the valley with places to find birds. You will be reminded that it is a river valley when the rains come and the river rises. People may complain about not being able to get past certain roads when it rains. That is just a reminder that the river was here first.
It has been fun remembering the good old days. But these are good days too if we remember to appreciate what we have. God is so good. Let us not forget to thank Him for the beauty he has created for us to enjoy.
Monday, February 6, 2012
I Will Never Forget
This year is slipping by without me posting much on my "Hearts and Hugs" sight. I have written "notes" on my Facebook page which are similar to my blog posts. It just depends on how I want to access the computer. Last year at this time I had written a lot of blog posts.
I have written this story before, but was reminded of it the other day so will share it again.
Paul had a good friend at work named Ron. Paul and Ron shared their Christian faith with each other and we have many memories of their friendship. Ron is the one who arranged for us to be baptized in the ocean in Rosarito Beach, south of the border. He knew people in a little church in Tijuana and had been baptized by the pastor of that little church. Ron had been baptized in the ocean and Paul wanted the same experience, so arrangements were made for this. It was a great experience that I will always remember. I won't go into details of that day in 1960 since I have shared this story before in "A Story To Remember" dated March of 2011.
This was just a little background for the story I want to share again which is also in "A Story To Remember."
Ron went to be with the Lord in 1973 after a long struggle with cancer. Paul was asked to be a pall bearer at the funeral for his long time friend. Of course he was willing to do this. Since Paul was sitting with the other pall bearers I sat by myself during the service. When it came time for everyone to view the body at the end of the service I ended up being first in line to go forward. I had been to services where we went out a side door afterwards. After viewing the body I headed for the first door I saw instead of paying attention to what I should be doing. It became apparent in a very short time that I should not have headed that way. I soon found myself leading the way into a closet with no easy exit outside. We were quickly escorted out the correct direction. Good thing I would never see those people again after that.
We were supposed to follow the other vehicles to the cemetery for Paul to continue his pall bearing duties. That did not go right either. Good thing no one was following us at that point. We did not get to the cemetery until long after everyone was gone. Maybe that was for the better for me.
I have written this story before, but was reminded of it the other day so will share it again.
Paul had a good friend at work named Ron. Paul and Ron shared their Christian faith with each other and we have many memories of their friendship. Ron is the one who arranged for us to be baptized in the ocean in Rosarito Beach, south of the border. He knew people in a little church in Tijuana and had been baptized by the pastor of that little church. Ron had been baptized in the ocean and Paul wanted the same experience, so arrangements were made for this. It was a great experience that I will always remember. I won't go into details of that day in 1960 since I have shared this story before in "A Story To Remember" dated March of 2011.
This was just a little background for the story I want to share again which is also in "A Story To Remember."
Ron went to be with the Lord in 1973 after a long struggle with cancer. Paul was asked to be a pall bearer at the funeral for his long time friend. Of course he was willing to do this. Since Paul was sitting with the other pall bearers I sat by myself during the service. When it came time for everyone to view the body at the end of the service I ended up being first in line to go forward. I had been to services where we went out a side door afterwards. After viewing the body I headed for the first door I saw instead of paying attention to what I should be doing. It became apparent in a very short time that I should not have headed that way. I soon found myself leading the way into a closet with no easy exit outside. We were quickly escorted out the correct direction. Good thing I would never see those people again after that.
We were supposed to follow the other vehicles to the cemetery for Paul to continue his pall bearing duties. That did not go right either. Good thing no one was following us at that point. We did not get to the cemetery until long after everyone was gone. Maybe that was for the better for me.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Milk of Magnesia
As a child I hated Milk of Magnesia more than you can imagine. There were not too many things that I disliked, but that was one thing I could not stand. I suppose it was the texture rather than the flavor. I was reminded of it just now as I was swallowing some Pepto Bismol. I had a tummy ache and thought it might help a little. Pepto Bismol is not much different than the one I used to hate so much, but it does not have the same memory for me.
My mother was convinced that Milk of Magnesia was the cure all so I was faced with having to swallow it on more occasions than I care to remember. One time she thought she could outsmart me and decided to sneak the hated stuff in the biscuits that she was baking. I'm not kidding. She really did this. Problem was that I was the only one that could stand those biscuits. Like I said, I liked most things that resembled food. So I ate the biscuits that no one else wanted. I doubt that they had any of the benefits of the hated Milk of Magnesia after they had been baked. But this made for a humorous memory.
I don't know if I was the cause of any such memories for my children. I would hope not, but I have heard how much certain foods were disliked that they were faced with eating. I guess all parents are faced with these things as they try to do their best. I found out where some of the food went that they chose not to eat. After our old dog was gone I found scraps on the floor that had been a good meal for Henrietta while she was with us. No wonder Henrietta was a fat little Dachsund.
My mother was convinced that Milk of Magnesia was the cure all so I was faced with having to swallow it on more occasions than I care to remember. One time she thought she could outsmart me and decided to sneak the hated stuff in the biscuits that she was baking. I'm not kidding. She really did this. Problem was that I was the only one that could stand those biscuits. Like I said, I liked most things that resembled food. So I ate the biscuits that no one else wanted. I doubt that they had any of the benefits of the hated Milk of Magnesia after they had been baked. But this made for a humorous memory.
I don't know if I was the cause of any such memories for my children. I would hope not, but I have heard how much certain foods were disliked that they were faced with eating. I guess all parents are faced with these things as they try to do their best. I found out where some of the food went that they chose not to eat. After our old dog was gone I found scraps on the floor that had been a good meal for Henrietta while she was with us. No wonder Henrietta was a fat little Dachsund.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Gwladys Marvin - December 21, 1911- December 21, 1971
Griffith Jones had been married previously to another Welsh lady and they had five children. He lost his first wife and all five children in a ferry accident. I'm not sure if this was in Wales or the United States. We picture it as being in the United States, but we are not sure.
Griffith married Catherine Hughes in Wales and they soon came to San Diego where they settled and had their family. Griffith Hughes Jones was a carpenter by trade. They lived in several locations in the county before moving to Coronado. Gwladys mentioned having lived in Lakeside at one time and swimming in the river there. We have a favorite family picture of them in front of the house they lived in when they were in Sherman Heights.
Gwladys' father died when she was a young teenager, maybe when she was thirteen years old. It was probably around her birthday when he died and it was a very difficult time for young Gwladys and her family. They had to tighten their belts and all pitch in to survive. Their mother worked hard to keep her little ones fed. She probably did laundry for other people and maybe she had to clean houses too. That is how many people survived in those days. I know that my own mother did these jobs when she was younger.
Gwladys' sister was Kathryn and was next to her in age. Then came Llewellyn who was known as Louie. The next brother was Ellis and the youngest was Ivor. My father knew some of them when he was growing up in Coronado. Louie was a good friend of my father.
My husband's father Paul also lived in Coronado as a boy in grade school so he probably knew some of the Jones family then. Paul Marvin and Gwladys may have met in high school or even sooner. Coronado was an even smaller town in those days so they were more likely to know each other sooner than not. They both graduated from Coronado High School. They were in their early twenties when they fell in love and married.
Gwladys and Paul became the parents of little Paul William Marvin, Jr. on October 26, 1933. They called him Billy. The next baby was also a son, Charles Ellis Marvin, born May 10, 1935. Young Paul, or Billy, was golden haired, a light red, and fair with freckles. Uncle Ivor had the same red hair and complexion. This was a family trait from the Welsh side. Charlie had the same dark hair and handsome looks as his parents. Both were beautiful children.
It would seem that the family was complete but there would be more babies. Gwladys and Paul had three more babies, one boy and two little girls. They each had heart problems and did not live past infancy. This was a very sad thing for this little family, especially Gwladys. Joseph Ivor, Mary Lou and Mary Ann were their names.
Paul Sr. was in the Navy when the boys were born. Then he went back into the Navy as a 'Sea Bee' during World War II. This is the Construction Battalion of the Navy. He was gone a long time during the war. Gwladys kept the home fires burning as the saying goes. She even helped to construct their first little house on their property in Coronado while he was away.
They had bought property on Pomona Avenue for what is now the unbelievable price of five hundred dollars. This piece of property was large and they would eventually build two houses on it. They built the main house on their lot when the boys were teenagers. The house was quite new when I first knew them when I was sixteen. Paul always says that he helped build the house. I'm sure that Paul Sr. made sure the boys did what needed to be done such as help with the roofing.
Gwladys loved animals and they always had at least one pet. There was always a dog in the picture. I remember the two rabbits they had when I first knew them. Gwladys had a parakeet that she taught to talk and to sing 'Take me out to the ball game'. Yes, she enjoyed baseball too. She also enjoyed watching the birds that spent time in the trees in her yard. This was probably the beginning of my husband's great interest in birds.
Paul and Gwladys were still in love with each other as long as I knew them. She got breast cancer and since she was a Christian Scientist she did not get proper medical care. She suffered in silence for a long time. Paul Sr. kept care of her the best he could. She eventually went to a place run by her church that was similar to hospice.
Let me back track a little. Paul (Bill) and Charlie were sent to the Christian Science Sunday school as children. When Paul was a teenager he chose to go to a different church and he also accepted the Lord. Charlie stopped going to any church or Sunday school. Paul and I were married in the Methodist Church. We eventually joined the Baptist Church and took our children there. After a number of years when Paul Sr. was around 56 years old he accepted the Lord and joined the church we went to. So he loved the Lord and served Him. Around that time Gwladys decided to go to the Christian Science Church.
Gwladys had gone to the doctor in years past but when she took her religion seriously she stopped going to doctors. This is the background for her early death at the age of sixty. She died on her sixtieth birthday, December 21, 1971. Paul Sr. said that he led her to the Lord before she died. We did not know this at first but were blessed to find this out at a later date. I am hoping to see my dear mother-in-law Gwladys Mary Jones Marvin again someday when I get to heaven.
Gwladys was survived by her dear husband Paul Sr., her two sons Paul William and Charles; her grandchildren Kathleen, Laura, Paul William III, Griffith, Eric, Carrie and Deron; and her sister and brothers. It has been many years now since that sad day in 1971 so my generation is the older generation now. Paul Sr. and his generation have all gone before us.
I remember when I realized it was my turn to begin roasting the turkey and preparing the family feast on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was so nice to have had our mothers to prepare these delicious meals, but my time had come. So I had to learn to make the dressing and ready the turkey for the generations. It became a fun challenge and I had good examples to follow. We still had some of the older generation with us then and our home was filled with four generations at one period of time. Good memories.
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Big Day
You may have heard of the movie "The Big Year". It is about three birders trying to see how many birds they can get in a year. Paul has read the book and is reading it again. Paul keeps records of all the birds he sees and how many varieties he can find each month and each year. The most he has had in a year is 414 kinds of birds. He has 583 life birds, not counting what he may have seen in Korea. He was not yet a birder in 1956 when he was there with the Army.
Our son Bill is an even more serious birder. He will go on a trip just to find a certain bird, as many birders do. This is called chasing birds. He has around 550 as the most in a year. He has 684 on his life list, not counting Iraq birds. We get to go on a lot of rides with Bill when he is with us since he goes places to see the birds. I'm glad he chose this same hobby as his Dad. He started birding when he was stationed with the Air Force in Phoenix, Arizona. He wanted to figure out good places to take us when we visited him so he needed to know where the birds are. He has since become an avid birder. He has birds from 48 states. He just hasn't been to Alaska or Hawaii.
Laura is better at seeing the birds than I am. She remembers more about more birds than I do and she enjoys birding with her brother and dad. I am not a birder but I know more than someone from a non birding family. I mainly go along for the ride and scenery. We get to go places we would not otherwise.
With Bill here from Florida for the month we are doing a lot more than we usually get to do. It would be considered a big month compared to a normal month for us. We have gone to the mountains, the desert and the beach areas. You could do all three in one day in San Diego. I guess we have not done that yet, but we have done the mountains and desert in one day on more than one occasion.
On Tuesday the 25th we enjoyed an excursion to Balboa Park in San Diego. I enjoyed taking pictures with Bill's good camera. I spent most of my time near the large fountain enjoying watching all the people go by. There were a lot of children at the park that day. There seemed to be classes of children. I know it was free for children at the zoo in October so a lot of classes were going to the zoo the day we were in the park. There seemed to be a lot more activity than on a usual week day when we were there. I took pictures of some of the activity and the historical buildings and fountain. Paul, Laura and Bill walked further than I did as it is difficult for me to walk. Eventually Paul joined me at the bench while Laura and Bill continued their walk. Usually we do more walking through the park, but it was a satisfying day for me.
Wednesday October 26, 2011 was Paul's 78th birthday and a ride was planned. We were up early and left the house when it was barely light out. The birders had a bird to see at Otay Lakes. They had looked earlier in the week and were still after it. I took advantage of the opportunity to take early morning pictures at the lake. I guess the birders didn't find the bird they were after that morning, but I'm sure Bill got it on another try. Of course they saw other birds at the lake. The fishermen were out early too. We had been there a previous day and a lot of people were picnicking that afternoon.
Next on the agenda was to head to highway 94 and go east to Potrero County Park for more birding. I was able to take some decent bird pictures while the rest of the family was birding. These were almost my first bird pictures since I never had the right camera for them before. I had taken one bird picture in Balboa Park but otherwise I haven't been able to take such pictures before. At Potrero I took pictures of Western Bluebirds and tried for other birds that were too quick for me to shoot. We also had a quick lunch since I had packed sandwiches.
I thought that was the big event of our ride, but we were just getting started. We headed east to Campo for more birding. We stopped at an old landmark barn that is now the Motor Transport Museum. This was a good photo opportunity. Lots and lots of old vehicles to take pictures of. I would recommend this spot for an auto or antique buff. There was a man working on some vehicles, but none of us really have the gift of gab so we didn't talk to him. I would like to follow Larry Himmel and get an ear full of his spirited conversation. He is one of our local favorites. He would have a story to tell if he talked to the man working on the vehicles. I took some pictures of 78 year old Paul with some of the oldies that belonged to the motor museum.
Continuing east and birding along the way we made some stops in Jacumba to look for birds. Heading east we tried to go to the desert tower, the overlook at InKoPah, but it was closed on Wednesdays. I don't know if Bill planned this or if it was a spur of the moment decision to keep going this far. Heading east on I 8 we exited the freeway at Ocotillo, next to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This is the largest state park in California. The weather was very nice to be driving through the desert and it was a pretty day for pictures. Heading north we made stops along the way for the birders and picture taking. I wasn't the only one taking pictures as Bill has a long lens camera. He takes good bird pictures as well as other little creatures such as butterflies.
One stop was at Agua Caliente County Park where we took pictures of quails. At Vallecitos Stage Station we took pictures of roadrunners and other birds. We also made other stops while we were driving through Anza-Borrego. The sky was blue as can be with a few white fluffy clouds and that makes for nice pictures. The mountains in the background make the pictures even better. We drove through Shelter Valley which is where Rik and Faith live. Rik was one of Griff's childhood friends and we are still friends with his family. I don't know exactly where they live in Shelter Valley, but Rik's Dad lives around the block from us. Our backyards touch each other at the corners.
Next we headed west and up Banner grade towards Julian. The mountain scenery begins again. This is a favorite part of the county for us. We made a quick stop in a park in Julian and took pictures of some wild turkeys. We soon headed towards Cuyamaca enjoying the green of the trees and the rest of the landscape. We did not go all the way through Cuyamaca as we turned towards the Lagunas where our birders had birds to observe. You can see where the fires have been in our mountains as you drive through them. It is sad to see the fire damage, yet it is also part of nature as the landscape changes through the years. We still have a lot of pretty trees and other foliage.
After more birding we continued south towards the freeway. The sun was turning sunset orange as we neared the end of Sunrise Highway. We had observed the sunrise from this highway the week before. I never did get a chance to take a picture of the sunrise or sunset from this vantage point. It was getting dark as we drove into the city with all of it's traffic. We had been away from home all of the daylight hours on Paul's birthday. We had cake and ice cream waiting for us at home. This truly was a big day for the four of us.
Paul has read some other books with the same theme as "The Big Year". This is a popular subject for serious birders. Paul loves to make lists to keep track of all his birds. I know he enjoys the birds, but I sometimes think that the lists of birds seen are his favorite part of the adventure.
When Paul was a fisherman in his younger days he always kept lists of all the fish he caught. Of course he knew the weights too. His largest fish caught surf fishing in Coronado was a four pound ten ounce Spotfin Croaker. This was when he was a teenager, before we were going together. Then when we were dating we spent a lot of time on the beach while he was fishing. Our first date was at a picnic with a group of friends on the beach. We even went grunion running that evening. That was the only time I ever went grunion running, catching the tiny silver fish on the beach with bare hands. We ended up with a number of them in a bucket. Then we went to a friend's house where her mother fried them till they were crispy and yummy.
The grunion are just innocently trying to lay their eggs on the beach by the light of the moon when they are gathered up and put into a bucket. Then they end up in someones frying pan. Poor fishies. You need a fishing licence to legally do this if you are older than a certain age. I never had a fishing licence as I was young enough. Paul always had a fishing licence in those days. Fishing was his hobby then. Birding is his hobby now. At least no birds suffer for this hobby. The only shooting we do is with a camera.
We do have hunters in the family and I'm not totally adverse to this as long as it is for food. I have enjoyed meals at the table of some of the hunters in my family. I would not be able to be a hunter though. I guess a person can do whatever he has to do though. My dad who was a city boy learned to kill the chickens we raised for fryers. Mom grew up on a farm and knew how to clean them for eating. I don't think my grandparents enjoyed having to butcher the pigs for their use, but they did what they had to do. We are so protected from the realities of life, yet we eat meat. I can understand someone deciding to be a vegetarian.
When we had our boys we had said there would be no toy guns. That did not last long. They got toy guns as gifts for birthdays. And if they don't have the toy they turn a stick into a gun. The youngest son is the one that really likes guns though he is not a hunter. So much for no guns. I am still not fond of them, but will protect the right of the one who chooses to own one. I will stick to shooting with a camera. I'm sure that is the sentiment of most of our family.
Our son Bill is an even more serious birder. He will go on a trip just to find a certain bird, as many birders do. This is called chasing birds. He has around 550 as the most in a year. He has 684 on his life list, not counting Iraq birds. We get to go on a lot of rides with Bill when he is with us since he goes places to see the birds. I'm glad he chose this same hobby as his Dad. He started birding when he was stationed with the Air Force in Phoenix, Arizona. He wanted to figure out good places to take us when we visited him so he needed to know where the birds are. He has since become an avid birder. He has birds from 48 states. He just hasn't been to Alaska or Hawaii.
Laura is better at seeing the birds than I am. She remembers more about more birds than I do and she enjoys birding with her brother and dad. I am not a birder but I know more than someone from a non birding family. I mainly go along for the ride and scenery. We get to go places we would not otherwise.
With Bill here from Florida for the month we are doing a lot more than we usually get to do. It would be considered a big month compared to a normal month for us. We have gone to the mountains, the desert and the beach areas. You could do all three in one day in San Diego. I guess we have not done that yet, but we have done the mountains and desert in one day on more than one occasion.
On Tuesday the 25th we enjoyed an excursion to Balboa Park in San Diego. I enjoyed taking pictures with Bill's good camera. I spent most of my time near the large fountain enjoying watching all the people go by. There were a lot of children at the park that day. There seemed to be classes of children. I know it was free for children at the zoo in October so a lot of classes were going to the zoo the day we were in the park. There seemed to be a lot more activity than on a usual week day when we were there. I took pictures of some of the activity and the historical buildings and fountain. Paul, Laura and Bill walked further than I did as it is difficult for me to walk. Eventually Paul joined me at the bench while Laura and Bill continued their walk. Usually we do more walking through the park, but it was a satisfying day for me.
Next on the agenda was to head to highway 94 and go east to Potrero County Park for more birding. I was able to take some decent bird pictures while the rest of the family was birding. These were almost my first bird pictures since I never had the right camera for them before. I had taken one bird picture in Balboa Park but otherwise I haven't been able to take such pictures before. At Potrero I took pictures of Western Bluebirds and tried for other birds that were too quick for me to shoot. We also had a quick lunch since I had packed sandwiches.
Continuing east and birding along the way we made some stops in Jacumba to look for birds. Heading east we tried to go to the desert tower, the overlook at InKoPah, but it was closed on Wednesdays. I don't know if Bill planned this or if it was a spur of the moment decision to keep going this far. Heading east on I 8 we exited the freeway at Ocotillo, next to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This is the largest state park in California. The weather was very nice to be driving through the desert and it was a pretty day for pictures. Heading north we made stops along the way for the birders and picture taking. I wasn't the only one taking pictures as Bill has a long lens camera. He takes good bird pictures as well as other little creatures such as butterflies.
Next we headed west and up Banner grade towards Julian. The mountain scenery begins again. This is a favorite part of the county for us. We made a quick stop in a park in Julian and took pictures of some wild turkeys. We soon headed towards Cuyamaca enjoying the green of the trees and the rest of the landscape. We did not go all the way through Cuyamaca as we turned towards the Lagunas where our birders had birds to observe. You can see where the fires have been in our mountains as you drive through them. It is sad to see the fire damage, yet it is also part of nature as the landscape changes through the years. We still have a lot of pretty trees and other foliage.
After more birding we continued south towards the freeway. The sun was turning sunset orange as we neared the end of Sunrise Highway. We had observed the sunrise from this highway the week before. I never did get a chance to take a picture of the sunrise or sunset from this vantage point. It was getting dark as we drove into the city with all of it's traffic. We had been away from home all of the daylight hours on Paul's birthday. We had cake and ice cream waiting for us at home. This truly was a big day for the four of us.
Paul has read some other books with the same theme as "The Big Year". This is a popular subject for serious birders. Paul loves to make lists to keep track of all his birds. I know he enjoys the birds, but I sometimes think that the lists of birds seen are his favorite part of the adventure.
The grunion are just innocently trying to lay their eggs on the beach by the light of the moon when they are gathered up and put into a bucket. Then they end up in someones frying pan. Poor fishies. You need a fishing licence to legally do this if you are older than a certain age. I never had a fishing licence as I was young enough. Paul always had a fishing licence in those days. Fishing was his hobby then. Birding is his hobby now. At least no birds suffer for this hobby. The only shooting we do is with a camera.
We do have hunters in the family and I'm not totally adverse to this as long as it is for food. I have enjoyed meals at the table of some of the hunters in my family. I would not be able to be a hunter though. I guess a person can do whatever he has to do though. My dad who was a city boy learned to kill the chickens we raised for fryers. Mom grew up on a farm and knew how to clean them for eating. I don't think my grandparents enjoyed having to butcher the pigs for their use, but they did what they had to do. We are so protected from the realities of life, yet we eat meat. I can understand someone deciding to be a vegetarian.
When we had our boys we had said there would be no toy guns. That did not last long. They got toy guns as gifts for birthdays. And if they don't have the toy they turn a stick into a gun. The youngest son is the one that really likes guns though he is not a hunter. So much for no guns. I am still not fond of them, but will protect the right of the one who chooses to own one. I will stick to shooting with a camera. I'm sure that is the sentiment of most of our family.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Nephews and Nieces
God's plan for families is one of the nicest things to have ever happened. When God put Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden and told them to be fruitful and multiply this was the beginning of marriage and families. We see families throughout the Bible. There are fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and nephews and nieces. There are grandparents, aunts and uncles. Each one of these family members can be an important part of the family.
Today I want to tell about my nephews and nieces. I became an aunt when my sister Donna gave birth to her son Arthur Louis Sinclair on September 29, 1957. He is named after his father Louis Arthur Sinclair. I was already the mother of two year old Kathy at that time. Arthur was a beautiful baby boy, the first grandson on both sides of his family. In just one year and one day he would become the big brother to his sister Debra Marie Sinclair. She was given her mother's middle name Marie. We called her Debbie all through her childhood until she preferred being called Debra. She was as cute as any baby could possibly be. My daughter Laura was right in the middle of Arthur and Debra as far as birth order goes.
Donna's family lived in Los Angeles and we lived in San Diego so we did not see each other as often as I would have liked. Paul and I rarely went to L.A. Donna and Louis got to San Diego on special occasions or several times a year with their two little ones. The cousins enjoyed getting together as they got older and got to know each other better. There would soon be more cousins to add to the mix.
The next addition to the cousins was when my sister Betty had Gary. My handsome nephew Gary Edward was born February 19, 1960. He was an exuberant little boy, with a lot of personality. Laura really loved him a lot as one of her favorite cousins when they were little. Gary would become the big brother when Elizabeth Frances Hamilton was born on July 4th in 1961. She has her mother's middle name Frances. Elizabeth is also a family name. She was called Sissy for much of her childhood. Her family also called her Liz. My son Paul William, aka Bill, fits right in between Gary and Elizabeth age wise.
In December of 1962 I had my second son Griffith H. Marvin, aka Griff. The next baby would be another boy, Matthew Scott Hamilton, brother of Gary and Elizabeth. Matthew was born October 22, 1963. Betty and Sam now have three children, all born in California. One more son would be born in January of 1967 in Hawaii where Sam was stationed with the Navy. Mark Anthony would be child number four, the third son. They would move to Billings, Montana soon after Sam got out of the Navy the summer of 1967 while Mark was a baby. This is where the children would be raised.
When Betty and Sam and family were in San Diego, off and on during the Navy years, our children had chances to get to know each other. In later years after the Hamiltons moved to Billings they made trips to San Diego for family reunions. Gary spent time here the summer of 1973 with his grandma, my mother. He also helped us when we were moving that summer. I remember him with paint brush in hand along with my kids, his cousins. Elizabeth came to San Diego to visit her grandmother the spring of 1980 and ended up at our house for five years. Her dog Mouse joined our menagerie of cats, dogs and turtles.
Matthew has made several trips to visit us over the years. The year my Kathy was getting married Matthew came and helped immensely with putting the food out at the wedding reception. We had other help, but really needed Matthew's extra helping hands. Elizabeth was here then too and she had been involved with us in planning everything for the big day. It was her bright idea to make the mints. As for Matthew he actually prefers to be called Phinwe, but he has always been Matthew to us. Matthew the nephew with style. His color is black and he wears it well.
Mark was only here as a child with his parents. Mark has a sweet disposition whenever I do get to see him. He is the father of Brittany and Michael. They are both grown up now, and Brittany is in college and works for a vet. Elizabeth also has two children. Andrew, her oldest, is now a daddy to a baby girl. Elijah is a teenager, high school age. So Betty and Sam would be enjoying having a great granddaughter, as well as seeing their four grandchildren grow up, if they were still with us. We lost them much too soon. Sam was only 55 and Betty was only 67 when they died.
My sister Donna has more great grandchildren than I can remember. She may have only had two children, but they went forth and multiplied as was mentioned in Genesis. Debra and her husband have two children. Their son Shawn has two children. They all need prayer as there is division among them. Shawn has not been in touch with them as he should be in quite sometime, so Debra and Pete have not been able to see Shawn's girls since the first one was a baby. Debra and Pete have a teenager, Natasha, fourteen years and one day younger than Shawn. Remember that Arthur and Debra were one year and one day apart.
Donna's son Arthur has children and grandchildren. He has been missing since 1994 so he has not seen any of his family in a long time. He probably met up with disaster those many years ago. Arthur has three children and many grandchildren. His son David has four or five children plus a stepchild. David lives in Missouri with his family. Arthur's daughter Nicole lives in Wales and just had a baby boy in September. His son Michael lives near Donna and Fred and is a young man now. I wanted to say he is a teenager but time flies by.
Arthur was the cousin my boys had adventures with when they were young. Bike adventures and even a motorcycle adventure are included on the list of things they did together. Arthur was there when Griff had his bicycle accident on suicide hill. Years later Bill and Griff were trailing Arthur when he flew off his motorcycle. They came around a mountain curve and there was Arthur's cycle with the wheels spinning and no Arthur. He had flown off and was nearby. He survived with serious scrapes and bruises. He probably hurt a lot, but xrays showed no broken bones.
Debra has had health problems since she was a child. She has seizures that her medications don't seem to help. Right now she is in the hospital since one of the medications was making her very sick. She had been throwing up a lot and she was told her pancreas was the problem. It turns out to be that the medication is the problem. I don't know if they still think her pancreas is also involved. She has had one thing after another to deal with almost all of her life. When she was sixteen she had a tumor on her spine. That was resolved with surgery and radiation. Thankfully there was no malignancy involved. This all plays havoc with her emotionally. My prayers go out for this special niece.
My other niece also deals with health problems and I pray for her to enjoy improved health soon. She is enjoying life with her "new" husband Jack, a pastor of a little church in Missouri. She also stays interested in Jack's family which includes his adult children and many grandchildren. Elizabeth became like a daughter to me when she was at our house for five years. I have not seen her or her brothers since I was in Billings for their mother's burial in April of 2008.
I was going to write about our niece and nephews on Paul's side of the family, but I will save them for another day. Paul has one brother and he has three children, plus grandchildren. Charlie's three are all younger than our four. His first was born five months after our youngest son. Eric, Carrie and Deron were all born when the family lived in Coronado so we knew them as babies. They moved to Sacramento and our contacts were few so our children did not get to really know each other, I'm sorry to say. It was always a pleasure to see the whole family. We have had some opportunities to get together with them over the years of which I'm thankful for. Paul and I do stay in touch with Paul's brother and his sweet wife Edye. They are the best at writing to us of all of our family.
Families are close to our hearts and always in our prayers. May God bless each of these dear people. We may sometimes have different ideas about life and our creator. We may have different thoughts on politics and other matters. But we come from the same grandparents and have the same aunts and uncles. Most of us have blue eyes, but there may be some with brown eyes. Some are blondes and some brunette. But we have the same blood line. We have bonds that hold us close even when the distance is great. I love my family. I love my nephews and nieces.
Donna married Fred Guapo in 1979 after some years of being a single mother. Her children were grown up by then, but Fred had a young son, Freddy. He is now a fine young man and has a beautiful wife. In 1980 Freddy was with our large family gathering in a family picture that included all of Mom's family. Donna, Betty and myself with all of our children, my husband Paul and Donna's husband Fred were all in this portrait. All were there except Betty's husband Sam. He was still in Montana as he couldn't make that trip to San Diego.
Family reunions are most enjoyable. Getting together with my grown children and grandchildren is extra special for me. My four are spread across the country from California to Florida. Our oldest daughter Kathy, her husband John and their family are in Colorado. Our granddaughters are all grown up. Becky is married and has a baby boy. Melissa is a teacher's aide for a preschool class and she is studying to be a preschool teacher. Our sons each served in the military for a period of time, and they each own their homes, one in California and the other in Florida. Laura shares our home with us. It is a challenge to get everyone together. We can manage to have three together, but that seems to be the most at one time.
Then when it comes to the nephews and nieces it would be a rare treat to gather everyone together again. The last time may have been when we had that large family portrait in 1980. We also had a very nice gathering with four generations at Kathy and John's wedding in 1983. But there is always someone missing in the picture. We have several more favorite family pictures when our granddaughters were little. These were three and four generation portraits with all four of our children present. It is fun to think on these things. I do not expect all of my mother's grandchildren to gather together again in my lifetime, but the memories are sweet.
originally written October 18,2011
first picture-Arthur and Debra
second pic.-Gary,Elizabeth &Bill in front
Laura and Kathy holding Griff in back
third pic.-my Dad with all of his grandchildren
fourth picture-Arthur with kitten
fifth pic.-Arthur, Laura and Kathy with kittens
last picture is our large family portrait with Mom
and all of Mom's family as described in story.
Donna's family lived in Los Angeles and we lived in San Diego so we did not see each other as often as I would have liked. Paul and I rarely went to L.A. Donna and Louis got to San Diego on special occasions or several times a year with their two little ones. The cousins enjoyed getting together as they got older and got to know each other better. There would soon be more cousins to add to the mix.
In December of 1962 I had my second son Griffith H. Marvin, aka Griff. The next baby would be another boy, Matthew Scott Hamilton, brother of Gary and Elizabeth. Matthew was born October 22, 1963. Betty and Sam now have three children, all born in California. One more son would be born in January of 1967 in Hawaii where Sam was stationed with the Navy. Mark Anthony would be child number four, the third son. They would move to Billings, Montana soon after Sam got out of the Navy the summer of 1967 while Mark was a baby. This is where the children would be raised.
When Betty and Sam and family were in San Diego, off and on during the Navy years, our children had chances to get to know each other. In later years after the Hamiltons moved to Billings they made trips to San Diego for family reunions. Gary spent time here the summer of 1973 with his grandma, my mother. He also helped us when we were moving that summer. I remember him with paint brush in hand along with my kids, his cousins. Elizabeth came to San Diego to visit her grandmother the spring of 1980 and ended up at our house for five years. Her dog Mouse joined our menagerie of cats, dogs and turtles.
Matthew has made several trips to visit us over the years. The year my Kathy was getting married Matthew came and helped immensely with putting the food out at the wedding reception. We had other help, but really needed Matthew's extra helping hands. Elizabeth was here then too and she had been involved with us in planning everything for the big day. It was her bright idea to make the mints. As for Matthew he actually prefers to be called Phinwe, but he has always been Matthew to us. Matthew the nephew with style. His color is black and he wears it well.
Mark was only here as a child with his parents. Mark has a sweet disposition whenever I do get to see him. He is the father of Brittany and Michael. They are both grown up now, and Brittany is in college and works for a vet. Elizabeth also has two children. Andrew, her oldest, is now a daddy to a baby girl. Elijah is a teenager, high school age. So Betty and Sam would be enjoying having a great granddaughter, as well as seeing their four grandchildren grow up, if they were still with us. We lost them much too soon. Sam was only 55 and Betty was only 67 when they died.
My sister Donna has more great grandchildren than I can remember. She may have only had two children, but they went forth and multiplied as was mentioned in Genesis. Debra and her husband have two children. Their son Shawn has two children. They all need prayer as there is division among them. Shawn has not been in touch with them as he should be in quite sometime, so Debra and Pete have not been able to see Shawn's girls since the first one was a baby. Debra and Pete have a teenager, Natasha, fourteen years and one day younger than Shawn. Remember that Arthur and Debra were one year and one day apart.
Donna's son Arthur has children and grandchildren. He has been missing since 1994 so he has not seen any of his family in a long time. He probably met up with disaster those many years ago. Arthur has three children and many grandchildren. His son David has four or five children plus a stepchild. David lives in Missouri with his family. Arthur's daughter Nicole lives in Wales and just had a baby boy in September. His son Michael lives near Donna and Fred and is a young man now. I wanted to say he is a teenager but time flies by.
Debra has had health problems since she was a child. She has seizures that her medications don't seem to help. Right now she is in the hospital since one of the medications was making her very sick. She had been throwing up a lot and she was told her pancreas was the problem. It turns out to be that the medication is the problem. I don't know if they still think her pancreas is also involved. She has had one thing after another to deal with almost all of her life. When she was sixteen she had a tumor on her spine. That was resolved with surgery and radiation. Thankfully there was no malignancy involved. This all plays havoc with her emotionally. My prayers go out for this special niece.
My other niece also deals with health problems and I pray for her to enjoy improved health soon. She is enjoying life with her "new" husband Jack, a pastor of a little church in Missouri. She also stays interested in Jack's family which includes his adult children and many grandchildren. Elizabeth became like a daughter to me when she was at our house for five years. I have not seen her or her brothers since I was in Billings for their mother's burial in April of 2008.
I was going to write about our niece and nephews on Paul's side of the family, but I will save them for another day. Paul has one brother and he has three children, plus grandchildren. Charlie's three are all younger than our four. His first was born five months after our youngest son. Eric, Carrie and Deron were all born when the family lived in Coronado so we knew them as babies. They moved to Sacramento and our contacts were few so our children did not get to really know each other, I'm sorry to say. It was always a pleasure to see the whole family. We have had some opportunities to get together with them over the years of which I'm thankful for. Paul and I do stay in touch with Paul's brother and his sweet wife Edye. They are the best at writing to us of all of our family.
Families are close to our hearts and always in our prayers. May God bless each of these dear people. We may sometimes have different ideas about life and our creator. We may have different thoughts on politics and other matters. But we come from the same grandparents and have the same aunts and uncles. Most of us have blue eyes, but there may be some with brown eyes. Some are blondes and some brunette. But we have the same blood line. We have bonds that hold us close even when the distance is great. I love my family. I love my nephews and nieces.
Donna married Fred Guapo in 1979 after some years of being a single mother. Her children were grown up by then, but Fred had a young son, Freddy. He is now a fine young man and has a beautiful wife. In 1980 Freddy was with our large family gathering in a family picture that included all of Mom's family. Donna, Betty and myself with all of our children, my husband Paul and Donna's husband Fred were all in this portrait. All were there except Betty's husband Sam. He was still in Montana as he couldn't make that trip to San Diego.
Family reunions are most enjoyable. Getting together with my grown children and grandchildren is extra special for me. My four are spread across the country from California to Florida. Our oldest daughter Kathy, her husband John and their family are in Colorado. Our granddaughters are all grown up. Becky is married and has a baby boy. Melissa is a teacher's aide for a preschool class and she is studying to be a preschool teacher. Our sons each served in the military for a period of time, and they each own their homes, one in California and the other in Florida. Laura shares our home with us. It is a challenge to get everyone together. We can manage to have three together, but that seems to be the most at one time.
originally written October 18,2011
first picture-Arthur and Debra
second pic.-Gary,Elizabeth &Bill in front
Laura and Kathy holding Griff in back
third pic.-my Dad with all of his grandchildren
fourth picture-Arthur with kitten
fifth pic.-Arthur, Laura and Kathy with kittens
last picture is our large family portrait with Mom
and all of Mom's family as described in story.
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