Do Not Be Anxious

We are prone to worry. The storms of life overwhelm us. Sometimes it feels as if we are drowning. In Matthew 8:23-27 we see Jesus disciples in the boat with him. "And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But Jesus was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him, saying,'Lord, save us! We are perishing!' But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?' "

We need to go to Jesus when we are in the midst of the storms in our lives. Sometimes it seems that He doesn't hear our cries for help, but we can know for sure that He cares about all our troubles. He is our anchor in time of storm.

All of us have things we are dealing with. Some of us just seem to have more pain and sorrow than others. We have loved ones who need God's healing touch. We know others that don't know where to turn for answers. We want to help them. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to be there to listen. God is always available to hear our cry for help. We can pray for those who are in need.

Our loved one may have a severe anxiety problem. That can be complicated as it may not be something that he/she has control over. It is not as simple as telling them to stop worrying. They could have a chemical imbalance in their bodies. Praying through this is always helpful. Jesus loves us and wants the best for us. But our loved one may also need medical help. We go to doctors for stitches or to set broken bones. Why not go to the doctor for this problem?

Let us pray for those that mourn. And pray for those who are crying out for help. Our touch may be the one that gives them hope, as if Jesus were in the boat with them. He can calm the stormy seas of our lives.

A Stitch In Time

On New Years Day when little Kathy was just sixteen months old we were spending the day at my parents house in Coronado. I was there to watch the parade on television and to let Kathy enjoy some time with her grandparents. She was new at walking and was a little bit adventurous. The back of the old house had some steep steps that she was interested in.

Some time that day Kathy took a tumble down the back steps. She cut herself just above her eyebrow and it looked like it needed a stitch or two. I called our doctor and he answered the phone. He had us go to his house so he could look at the injury. You can tell this is a different era than the time we are in now. This was the first day of 1957.

Dr. Hamby decided that Kathy needed a stitch or two. The good doctor and his wife opened their office so they could tend to my little one. She was immediately taken care of and despite some tears did just fine. We didn't have to spend hours waiting for medical care. She may have a faint scar as a reminder of that day so many years ago.

It seems as if each child has a story to tell about getting stitches. My nephew Gary had more times of getting stitches than I can count when he was little. One time when he was at my house he fell out of the lower bunk, and it was real low. He hit his head on a small object on the way to the floor. Of course he needed stitches. It was always small accidents like that, but they added up.

Laura had to have stitches when she was hit in the head by a toy army tank. The tank had a little help from her brother Griff. At the emergency room in Coronado they had to make sure it was not parent abuse. We assured them that it was caused by her little brother. She reaffirmed that was what caused the injury. Thankfully she was o.k. after getting stitches.

Bill was innocently walking on the beach with his friend and his friend's mother when he stepped on some glass. He got a large cut on his foot near his toes. I was at work at the time, one of the first weeks I worked at the Avenue Variety store in Coronado. That seems to be when a number of things happened in our family. Paul was available to take Bill to the emergency room to get medical care. The other mother might have gone too. Bill needed a lot of stitches in a delicate part of his foot. I was vigilant about picking up glass on the beach after that. That is a good reason for no glass on the beach.

Griff needed stitches when he tripped over his shoestrings at school. He may have been in second grade, or first grade. It is almost humorous that tripping over his shoestrings would cause his stitches as he was a very active little boy and I would have thought that one of his adventures would have been the cause. When he was older he had some very interesting bike adventures. They are a story in themselves. For one, he lost some teeth on "suicide hill." I'll remember to write more about his adventures another day.

Fifty Six Years And Counting

Paul and I have been married for fifty six years and it will be fifty seven years in August. We started going together in September of 1953 before I turned seventeen. I was not yet eighteen when we married and he was not quite twenty one. We had to have our parents sign for us to get our marriage license. I remember going to the old San Diego courthouse with our mothers to get the license.

We were warned it would not be a bed of roses when we got married, but we did not want to hear that. We saw older couples walking their separate paces, not hand in hand. That was not going to be us. We were two kids in love and ignored any negatives of what might be in store for us.

Paul was always the quiet one and I was the talker. He did not always want to go where I wanted to go so I missed some activities with friends to be with him. But we were blind to the implications. I was determined to marry him. It was going to be a happy family with cute cottage and white picket fence for me. That is all I ever wanted. I was never one to be a party girl even though I enjoyed being with my friends. They would not be put before my husband.

We had a sweet wedding in the Methodist Church in Coronado where we were active with our friends. We had been in the youth fellowship for some time. I taught a kindergarten class in Sunday School there. The ladies of the church were so good to us and set up the wedding reception and provided what was needed. They also gave me a nice gift. Mom and Dad purchased the cake and bouquets for the wedding and reception. My sister Donna and I made our dresses for the wedding. Donna was my Maid of Honor, my only attendant. Paul's brother Charlie was the Best Man. We had friends to be ushers. Two friends sang for the wedding. There were around one hundred people in attendance. It was nicer than we had originally planned.

Our Pastor was on his annual vacation so we asked a favorite retired minister to officiate at the wedding. But before the big day he had a bad experience at the dentist and ended up with a broken jaw. His wife was also a retired minister so she was able to do the wedding for us. They were a sweet couple who had their golden anniversary that same year.

My Uncle George paid a friend of his to be the photographer at the wedding and reception so we have nice pictures of our special day. My sister Betty attended the guest book. It is fun to look at this book now and remember August 15, 1954. We used the same book at our golden wedding anniversary celebration in 2004, also on August 15th at two o'clock PM. Both big days were on a Sunday.

After the reception Paul's brother took us to the motel in San Diego where we would spend the next five days. Paul had to work as he had no vacation time. He was working for the city of San Diego and had not been there long enough to even take time for a honeymoon. So we did the best we could by getting a motel across the street from his job at the old city administration building on Pacific Highway. The city and county shared the same building then. It is the county administration building now.

Our friends were mostly teenagers and wanted to have some fun. They were determined to discover our "honeymoon" location. The motel manager knew we did not want to be disturbed, but our friends pretty much figured out where we were and kept calling. The manager got tired of the calls and finally came to our door one evening to have me go to the office to take a call. Not good timing as I had to throw a robe on and head to the office a few doors down. Paul was comfortable in bed with the blankets pulled up high, and I did not pull the door shut as I should. Some kids stood there and stared at him and he could not do a thing about it. I learned a lesson that day that has stayed with me all these years. Properly close doors. We have never shared this story with anyone before as far as I can remember.

We enjoyed our time in San Diego that week during the hours that Paul was not at work. He also got away from work during lunchtime. We enjoyed eating dinner at a nice restaurant on the same block as the motel. We also went to other favorite restaurants. That was our big luxury.

Back in Coronado we stayed at our dear friend Rosalie's house for a week or two while she was out of town. We also stayed at Paul's parents house while they were on a vacation. Paul's brother was still at home and I tried to cook for him as well as us. I was still learning to cook so I'm sure Charlie was happy when his mother was back in the kitchen. We finally got a little garage apartment on C Avenue, in the alley. It was near Paul's aunt's home on C Avenue.

We were supposed to move to San Diego as Paul was working for the city of San Diego. He was just in a temporary type of job unless they decided to keep him. It is a good thing we stayed in Coronado near family and friends as his job didn't become permanent. I was still in school in Coronado. It was scary to not have steady income. He got a number of small jobs along the way. One job was working for Whitney's Department Store in San Diego during the Christmas Season. He worked in the mail room. He liked the people he worked with as he did when he worked for the city.

We did not have money to spare for Christmas gifts or any extras. I so much wanted to get him a new Bible for Christmas. It was a new translation and the church had some available. Our Pastor knew that I wanted to do this. On Christmas, or the day before, we had a surprise visit from one of our church friends. He brought the Bible that I wanted to give Paul. What a sweet blessing.

Before that, in October, I wanted to do something for his birthday. There were no funds so I got creative. I wrote a poem for him. I wish I knew where to find it now, but maybe it would not be what I remember it to be. Paul did not really appreciate poetry, even what was written for him. I was warned it would not be a bed of roses. I think he might have liked the kittens I brought home, around that time, a little better than the poetry. We have always had cats ever since then.

I remember when our cupboard was bare and we had an invite to one of our parents homes for dinner. He did not want to go. Did not matter that a home cooked meal sounded so good to me. Maybe that was the first fight. Actually we rarely fought. Would not have done much good. In those days I pretty much did what he wanted to do. I probably took a while to learn to go without him. It would be nicer to do things together if possible.

My dream was to do things together like my parents did. They even worked together. I thought all couples helped each other as my parents did. Oh, it was not a bed of roses for them either, but they were together. They had some serious fights though. I can remember my whole family washing the car together which made doing the job fun. Paul was not going to fall into that pattern.

Paul's mother bought us a board game for our first Christmas. Her idea was so nice, that we would have something fun to do together. We never played that game. In all the years we have been together about the only time just the two of us played a game together we had a tie. How funny. We have played some games with our dear friends, Madeline and her late husband Steve. They have been about the only people to be able to get him to go along with the planned games. I used to play a lot of games with our children.

This is not a bashing husbands blog post. I love my husband dearly and am glad we are still together after all these years. We almost got divorced at one time. We were apart for half a year and had started the divorce process. I'm so glad that we did not go through with what we had started. We actually need each other. It has not been easy, even after getting back together. But there are more pluses than minuses.

I may not have my white picket fence but I am happy where I'm at. Mainly I know where my final home will be. I have a home waiting for me in heaven with Jesus. I would not have been so confident of this when I was first married. I had not understood that we needed a personal relationship with our Lord. I was blind, but now I see. If it weren't for Paul I may have wandered in darkness longer. Even though we always went to church I did not necessarily hear the message. Thankfully I had a praying grandmother. I also married a Christian. Paul may not be perfect, but none of us are. And he does not complain about me. I am blessed. He does not fuss at me. I may fuss but he keeps his mouth shut.

It wasn't until 1961, when we were the parents of three children, that we joined the First Baptist Church in Coronado. Our fourth child would be born almost two years later in December of 1962. So the children mainly grew up going to our favorite little church in Coronado.

My prayer is that each of our children would know the Lord and follow Him all the days of their lives. I pray for the very best for my husband, for health and strength, for comfort and joy. Thankfully he reads the Bible and prays daily. He is very organized in his plans for this each day. He has always kept a daily log  of what he does. Originally it was a journal and now he writes in a Daytimer or a notebook. I would love to be so consistent.

My heart and hugs go to my dear husband and my children. And hugs to each one that reads my writings. Love you  :)

"A man shall cling to his wife and the two shall become one" is the verse on the front of the invitation to our daughter Kathy and her husband John's wedding.

Concern For Loved Ones

As I write this blog post I'm thinking about my children who are scattered across the country. Kathy and her family are in Colorado. Kathy is probably at work and hopefully looking forward to the weekend with her husband. She may be planning time with her daughters and grandson. Melissa will most likely be in church with her parents Kathy and John on Sunday morning. Becky will probably join them, along with her husband Jay. Baby Jacob will probably be in the nursery while they are all worshiping the Lord together. This is the pattern most Sundays and unless they have other plans for this Memorial Day weekend I assume they will be together in church. I pray that Becky and Jay continue to be in church each week and that they raise little Jacob in the way he should go. I pray that Melissa continues to serve the Lord all the days of her life.

My daughter Laura is on one of her long walks as I write. She needs to walk as it helps with her severe anxiety problem. My concern for her is constant. I bring this health issue to the Lord each and every day. She needs to get the chemical balance in her body in control. She goes to church with Paul and me each week that we go to Westview Bible Church. Laura and I also go to Bible study on Wednesdays many weeks. This is a blessing to each of us. I'm thankful that Laura is with us and has been able to help me in various ways, especially in learning the computer. Laura also has a special touch with the flowers in our front yard. I hope she can continue to do this.

My son Bill lives on the other side of the country in Florida. He was stationed there in the Air Force and bought his house then. He is out of the A.F. now, but has not made the move west yet. That will mean selling his house and finding something he can afford in the west. He enjoys birding like his dad does and is very dedicated to this hobby. He is on another birding trip at this time. He calls me to let us know  his whereabouts once a week while traveling. He finally got a cell phone for this trip, thankfully. I pray for his safety and for him to come to the Lord. Looking forward to when he can spend time with us again.

Our youngest son Griff lives north east of Escondido in Valley Center. He is actually on top of a hill overlooking Pauma Valley. Palomar is just north of him and in the pictures I take at his place. He gets down to see us when he can, especially on holidays. He always comes with groceries for our cupboard and refrigerator. He has had sadness in his life and needs the Lord. He was married for about sixteen years and we were all heartbroken when he went through the separation and divorce. My prayer is that he finds comfort and peace in the Lord. My main prayer for both sons is for them to know the Lord.

I pray for my sister Donna and her husband Fred as they have a lot of concerns. Fred is in real estate and he puts in a lot of hours and the results are not as they should be. They struggle with so much. They have many family concerns too. Their children need prayer. Donna's grandchildren need prayer. And Donna's son Arthur has been missing since 1994. Our heartfelt prayer is to know what happened to him even though it will not be a happy ending as the world sees happy endings. He is most likely with the Lord and with loved ones that are in heaven. I pray for each one to know the Lord in a most personal way.

I'm also concerned about my late sister Betty's children, grandchildren and great granddaughter. May they each follow the Lord and find peace and joy in their lives. May Andrew and Natasha raise up their new little daughter in the way of the Lord. May they realize that they need fellowship with other believers. I pray that the ones that do not know the Lord will come to know his saving grace. Thankfully my niece Elizabeth is married to a pastor and knows the Lord. I pray for her health concerns.

I pray that Josie and her husband will continue to go to church and take little Joshua to Sunday School each week. Josie and her husband have been baptized and know the saving grace of Jesus, but they have not always been in church as they should be. Josie was our daughter-in-law and is still part of our family.

My list of concerns for loved ones is longer, but this was not intended to be a long post. I'm hoping that Laura will walk in the door soon as it is lunch time and I have not seen her yet today. I know she likes long walks, but this is a really long time to be gone if she is just on a walk. I don't want to worry though as the Lord is in control and not me.

Praying For Loved Ones

Many evenings Laura and I go to my room and have a time of Bible reading and prayer. We each take turns reading the Word until we have finished two or three chapters. This has been a satisfying way to go through the Bible. It holds me accountable to being faithful in reading scripture. We also enjoy our time of prayer together. We have many people that we know who need prayer and this is a good way to pray for them.

There are many loved ones that we are concerned about and they are on our prayer lists. We have friends who we pray for each day too. We have prayer lists from two churches and we are in a prayer group on Facebook. Many are in need of God's healing hand upon them. Some are hurting, and some don't even know they can go to the Lord for comfort and His saving grace in their lives. We know some with cancer. There are so many things that cause people emotional pain as well as physical pain. We have children to pray for as well as the older people in our lives.

When our loved ones are traveling we pray for a safe journey. When there is a task that is almost too much to handle it is good to go to the Lord for courage and strength. When someone has been injured we pray for healing, and comfort along the way. We go to the Lord for shelter in time of storm. We have emotions to deal with and the first thing we need to remember is to go to the Lord for comfort and peace. We should not worry, but we are prone to worry. Take this to the Lord. Some still need to go to the Lord to accept His gift of salvation. He is waiting for us to come and He will give us rest.

I have real concerns about each of my children. They are on my heart daily. The Lord knows my concern for each one. I pray for the parents of the little ones that they raise them in the way they should go. We are to teach them what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord. We can pray with them. And we can sing this sweet song with them.

Jesus loves me! This I know, 

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died,
Heaven's gate to open wide;

He will wash away my sin,

Let His little child come in.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! loves me still,

When I'm very weak and ill;

From His shining throne on high,

Comes to watch me where I lie.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He will stay,

Close beside me all the way;

He's prepared a home for me,

And some day His face I'll see.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

This old favorite is sung by many children at their mother's knee and in Sunday School. We are never too old to enjoy this tune. Most of us only know the first verse, but the words to the other verses are precious too. Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so. We can be glad that some day we will see His face when we get to our home in heaven. In the meantime He is with us when we are weak and when we are ill. We have Jesus beside us every day and He hears us when we pray.

Hugs to each one I love.




Jesus picture by drstevesgal

Family Photos

The family photo that I use as a profile picture on my blog was taken when I was a child growing up in Coronado. My sisters and I are pictured with our parents, Ida and Gene McDonaugh, on the porch of my grandparents' house. I'm seated on the left and Donna is on the right. Betty is the baby in the picture. I think it is a sweet picture. I have many happy memories at Grandma and Granddad McDonaugh's house on third and F. When I was in third grade, right after World War II, my family moved into the back part of the house where we lived the next three years.

My father's family moved into the house when he was around ten years old. It would have been 1921 or near that time. He was born in Washington DC, the youngest of nine children. He became an uncle when he was one year old. I don't know how many of his siblings were still at home when his family moved to California. Some of the older ones had been born on the west coast, but they are the ones who ended up staying on the east coast. Actually my niece Elizabeth has a lot more details as she delves into the family history.

Back to the front porch of my grandparents' home. Granddad enjoyed sitting in one of the old rocking chairs on the porch. It was a nice place to observe the activity of the neighborhood. There was not a lot of traffic in those days. The porch was the scene of many family pictures. One old picture that I loved had a large family gathering from when my father was a young man, before he married my mother. I wish I had a copy of it. There was a damaged copy in my mother's belongings but I couldn't save it. I do have a cute picture or two of my cousins, Malcolm and Geraldine, playing with my sister Donna and me on the porch. We were very young at that time.

When I was old enough to take pictures I enjoyed the task of being family photographer. I guess that is an obvious fact. I used a little Brownie Hawkeye camera for many years. Before that I had a little camera I sent for that would not have cost much at all. I took pictures of special family gatherings over the years. I did not have flash so all the pictures were outside with my favorite black and white film. I'm glad they were black and white as color pictures didn't last as long in those days.

When I was a teenager I found Mom's stash of pictures and took some for my album. I also found some portraits that were damaged from mildew. I took them to my favorite photo studio in Coronado and had copies made to preserve them. I also paid for my family pictures that we had taken when I was a teen. My sisters and I had photos taken when we each graduated from eighth grade which I made arrangements for and paid for with baby sitting money. The year Donna graduated from eighth grade we had the photo of our whole family made. It is a precious picture with both of our parents and we three girls. The fog wrecked my hairdo but that was a minor problem.

I continued with photos of Paul and me, and our four children. My sisters and I each had portraits taken when we were six months old. So my sisters and I continued the tradition with all of our children. We all  enjoyed taking snapshots of our children too, mostly black and white for posterity. Kathy's six month picture was in the window of the photo studio as part of their display.

When Laura was a baby I bought a special photo plan so we went to San Diego for portraits. It was the same photographer that had taken a photo of Paul and his brother Charlie when they were little. I had copies made of their picture too.

My sisters also had the same photo plan. When Betty was in San Diego she used the same photographer as we did. Donna went to a studio in Los Angeles. It is not that we had a lot of money for such things. We each penny pinched to do these extras. I baby sat and my sisters each had their ways to save for pictures.

My grandmother had a set of miniatures of each of her children and her first grandchild that were taken when my dad was two years old. I fell in love with these small portraits and never tired of looking at them as a child. There were also small portraits of Grandma and Granddad too. Since I fell in love with the miniatures I had some made of our four children. These pictures are special to me. 

In later years we had large family pictures taken with several generations. One is with my mother and all her children and grandchildren. One portrait is of Paul's dad and all of our family--four generations of us. I include in-laws in these pictures as they are part of the family. I have a four generation picture with Mom, myself, Kathy and her girls. Now I need a four generation picture with my new great grandson, Jacob. Traditions continue.  :)

Pictures are from family photo album
first picture- Donna,Geraldine,Malcolm&Caroline
next picture- my eighth grade graduation-
Grandma, Mom, Dad in back. Betty,Caroline&Donna in front
third picture- Marvin children- Kathy, Laura, Bill & Griff
last picture- R. Eugene McDonaugh- two years old in 1913

We Welcome Xola Jo To The World

We received the phone call from Elizabeth to let us know that she was a new grandmother. The first time she tried to call me I was not home and Paul talked to her. She didn't tell him what she had called to tell me though. The next time she called I said "congratulations" before she could give me the happy news. I had read Andrew's Facebook page sharing that he is a daddy.

Andrew's announcement reads "Xola was born 11:02 last night 19in. 6lbs 3.5oz. Shes beautiful =D"

This means that she was born on May 19th, 2011. We assumed that her name was Xola Elizabeth as had been mentioned earlier to Andrew's mother, my niece Elizabeth. It turns out that her name is Xola Jo. We are not sure yet if she has the last name Hamilton like her daddy or Martin like her mommy Natasha. We will see.

Elizabeth has step grandchildren, but this is the first of her own grandchildren. Although she calls Jack's grandchildren hers. He has a large family so between them there are a lot of grandchildren. I can only keep track of Elizabeth's children Andrew and Elijah and the children they will have. My sister Betty is not here to share the good news about her new great granddaughter so I will be excited for her. My sister Donna will also share in the happy event.

Elizabeth is my niece that came to visit in 1980 and stayed for five years. So she is like a daughter to me. My other niece Debra is also close to me even though there are miles between us. Elizabeth and Jack are in Missouri. Debra and Pete are in Washington state with their family. They also have grandchildren.

Families are part of God's plan. "God created man in His own image. He created male and female and blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply'..." These words are taken from Genesis 1:27,28. The Bible is full of stories about families beginning with Adam and Eve and their children. When the flood came upon the earth God saved Noah and his family. There are many precious stories of fathers and their sons in the Old Testament. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem He was part of a loving family.

I love my family and pray for each one to know the peace and joy that comes from knowing God. This includes nephews and nieces as well as my own children. May God bless Andrew, Natasha and little baby Xola Jo. May God bless Andrew's brother Elijah. May God bless Elizabeth's brothers Gary, Matthew and Mark. And may God bless each of Xola's cousins, especially Brittany and Michael (Bubba). I hope and pray for the very best for each one. Children are a gift from God. Hugs :)

Another New Baby In The Family

My great nephew Andrew Hamilton, the son of my dear niece Elizabeth, will soon be a new daddy. The baby girl is due this month. She will be named Xola Elizabeth. Her mommy is Natasha Marie Martin. That is partly why I'm writing this now. We have another one of those amazing coincidences in our family.

My niece Debra's daughter is Natasha Marie Martinez. How close can you get in names? Not any closer without being the same name. We have several family members with Marie in their name starting with my sister Donna. That is also Debra's middle name. Debra is Donna's daughter.

I have always been interested in names. It was fun naming our children. I have other names I would have loved to use, but four children to name and raise was a good number. Each child has at least one family name. Kathleen (Kathy) has my middle name Jean which comes from my father Gene. Laura has my grandmother's middle name Elizabeth. Paul William,III has his dad's and his grandfather's name. Griffith Hughes has Paul's grandfather's name.

My sister Betty Frances was named after my mother Ida Frances. Betty's daughter Elizabeth also has Frances for her middle name. Mom got her name from both of her grandmothers. Betty also has three sons and one of them has his dad's middle name. There is a story behind each name. Donna's son Arthur was named after his dad too. They just switched the first and the middle names.

I have mentioned previously that my granddaughter Rebecca (Becky) has my middle name Jean like her mother does. Her husband and baby both have "J" names too-Jason (Jay) and Jacob. My granddaughter Melissa Joy is another one with a "J" name. Her dad is John. I could keep this up for more paragraphs but I have gone on long enough.

I pray that Andrew and Natasha have a healthy baby girl and that the baby is delivered safely. Looking forward to their good news. Welcome to the world little Xola Elizabeth. (Sounds like Zola).

Picture is of brothers Elijah Joel and Andrew John

May 10th Markers

In our family May 10th has always been significant as it is Paul's brother"s birthday, and sometimes it is Mother's Day. Charles Ellis Marvin was born May 10, 1935 and is one and a half years younger than his brother. Charlie has the dark hair of both his parents as well as their good looks. He has nice qualities from each parent. His love of animals comes from his mother. He has always had a favorite dog and spoils them as some people spoil their children.

Charlie and the rest of their family call my husband Bill. Paul is named Paul William after his dad so that is why he was called Bill. He was Billy as a child. Our son is also Paul William and is Bill to us. He is also Paul to friends. So we have to be on our toes when referring to Paul and Bill, depends on who is speaking if we hear Bill or Paul. Charlie's children refer to Paul as Uncle Bill. He is Uncle Paul to my sisters' children. For those who don't know, Bill is one of the names for William.

Charlie is the father of Eric, Carrie and Deron. He is the grandfather of Carrie's son Lucas, Deron's daughter LuLu, and Eric's girls Grace and Isabel. He is also the grandfather of Carrie and Eric's stepchildren. Charlie is married to Edye, a very sweet lady. I have enjoyed having these two special people as brother and sister-in-law. They have enjoyed the role of being grandparents. They love their children and their children's marriage partners, Kara, Dean and Laurie.

Charlie has always been very active. He enjoys cycling every day. He goes on long cycling trips every year with some of his good friends. They have biked in the Rockies and in the North Cascades. They have cycled in the mountains of Canada and in the U.S. Charlie and his biking friends are all Coronado High School graduates from the early fifties. Maybe one is a little bit younger. They are each seventy plus years old. Maybe one is in his sixties. These fine gentlemen are good examples to the younger generations.

Charlie and Edye live in Pacific Grove in a cute cottage. Their home is very comfortable and welcoming.  At this time Edye's sister lives with them as she is not able to be alone. I'm sure that she is happy and comfortable with them. They have always made us feel welcome when we visit.

This year on May 10th Charlie will be in San Diego with a good family friend, one of his cycling buddies. We will be going with Charlie and Clarence to Don and Sally's in the Talmadge area of San Diego. Don is Paul and Charlie's cousin, pretty much the same age as them. We will be enjoying lunch with them. This will be a nice time to get caught up with news from family and friends. We will also remember Charlie's birthday. We have been managing to get to Don and Sally's at least once a year in recent years. When cousin George is in town we go with him to Don and Sally's. That is usually December.

May 10th is also the day my mother went home to be with the Lord. It was two days before Mother's Day in 1996. Mom had been in her own home until a month or two before that date. We were trying to help her with her house. Betty and Sam had come from Montana, along with their son Matthew, to help get Mom's house in order. Mom would not let us throw much of anything away even though she had asked us to help her work on the house. Sam rented the biggest construction bin possible as there was a lot to be dealt with. During this procedure Mom fell and broke her hip. She was very fragile even though she was strong in many ways.

She had surgery on her hip and was in the hospital until a place was available in a nursing home. She was not in the nursing home long before she was back in the hospital. It turned out that she had a bowel obstruction that needed immediate surgery. She was too fragile and went to be with the Lord a day or two later. Betty and Sam made a second car trip with Matthew all the way from Montana to be with us. Of course my sister Donna and her husband Fred were also here with us as we got things in order. We had a memorial service at my church in Coronado. It was a memorable time for our family.


Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything


 1 There is a time for everything, 
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:
 2 a time to be born and a time to die, 
   a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, 
   a time to tear down and a time to build, 
 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, 
   a time to mourn and a time to dance, 
 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 
 6 a time to search and a time to give up, 
   a time to keep and a time to throw away, 
 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, 
   a time to be silent and a time to speak, 
 8 a time to love and a time to hate, 
   a time for war and a time for peace.


We had our time of celebrating Mom's life. Ida Frances Davenport McDonaugh-Meza had a full life. September 16, 1913- May 10, 1996. She lived longer than two husbands. She had many jobs in her lifetime. Mother to Caroline, Donna and Betty; grandmother and great grandmother. Also an aunt, and a friend to many. She was treasured as a daughter when her parents were alive. She was the long awaited baby girl as her parents had lost two babies before she was born. She was the big sister to her brother Ray Jr., the little sister to her adopted sister Beulah. She was raised on the farm in Washington, went to college and then headed south to California. She met and married my dad R. Eugene McDonaugh and they both worked hard all their lives.

It was appropriate that we were celebrating mothers the weekend just after Mom went to be with the Lord. We were having A Mother-Daughter brunch the day after Mom died. Then Mother's Day was the next day.


We have other May markers too. We have more family and friends with May birthdays. There is at least one nephew with a May birthday. We have several friends with May birthdays. Our friend Adria's birthday is May 10th. Our friend Ron and his late wife Kathy both had the same May birthday. That is amazing to have the same birthday as your spouse. Little Sabrina celebrates her birthday on May 1st. She is one of the children I love.  :)

My First Mother's Day

In May of 1956 I was looking forward to my first Mother's Day. Paul was in Korea and would not be home to celebrate this special day with me. In fact he would be away until the following spring. Kathy had been born in August of 1955 and her daddy had only seen her on two short visits home. It would have been a lonely time for me, but I had my family nearby and I kept busy. I loved being a mother despite my very young age. I was just eighteen years old when Kathy was born. I was nineteen that December.

My sisters were often with me and enjoyed the role of being aunts. Donna and Betty were in high school. Donna was a senior and Betty was a sophomore at Coronado High School. Donna had some friends that were planning a bridal shower for one of her good friends. Since Donna was at my house more than she was at home with Mom and Dad she invited her friends to use my house for the shower. My sisters and I did not do anything to get into trouble. In fact we went to Sunday School and Church. We did not drink or smoke. We may have tried these things at one time, but we did not enjoy them.

It was the evening before Mother's Day when the shower was held at my house. I barely knew Donna's friends. They planned an after shower party too and that didn't sound good to me, but I was promised all would be well. The bridal shower went well. Then a bunch of friends of Donna's friends showed up. I was not outspoken as I would be now days. I was intimidated by these people. And I had laryngitis so could barely speak. I hid out in my room. There was only a curtain for a door between the front room and my bedroom so I was aware of the drinking. When they started throwing up I gained enough strength to say "get out of my house."

My neighbors certainly did not appreciate what was happening. I think somebody even called the police. They would not have known I was an innocent victim in all of this. The police may have talked to some of the kids outside, but I was not approached. Actually some of the kids knew the police so nothing happened. I'm not discrediting the police though, as I don't know for sure what took place. The next morning I saw evidence of the drinking in my yard. What would my neighbors think of me now? I never knew.

The next morning I got up as I did every Sunday morning and got little Kathy and myself ready for church. It was my first Mother's Day. I was not about to miss church.

Over the years I was impressed with the mothers being honored on Mother's Day during church. There would be flowers for the mother with the most children. There were flowers for the oldest mother. And there were other honors including the youngest mother. I just knew I would be honored for being the youngest mother. How could anyone else be the youngest mother there that day? I was also faithful in being there. I was even there on a day that I was sick with a sore throat. I had to be there. It was my first Mother's Day.

You can probably see this coming. The mother with the youngest baby got the flowers instead. My baby was eight months old. There was a mother with a new baby and she was recognized. I was hoping nobody realized that I was disappointed. I wanted to save face. I guess I was cool about it. My moment was not to be. Hopefully I learned something positive in this experience.

As I got older I knew not to expect laurels for just doing my job. The best I can receive is knowing my children appreciate me. It is an honor to be the mother of my four dear children. It is an extra blessing to be a grandmother and a great grandmother. Love to each one. Hugs  :)

A Mother's Love

As a mother it does my heart good when my children are on top of things. When they do those kind things that they each do it makes me smile with pride. The thoughtful cards and gifts help me to realise that maybe I did something right while raising them. When they succeed in life's challenges I give them credit for a job well done. Graduations are always a time for parents to be happy for their children. Birthdays are another time of celebration and a time to be thankful for another year well spent.

Mother's Day is a time to remember all mothers, grandmothers and those that are like a mother to us. I enjoy the fact that my children remember me on Mother's Day. Sometimes it is a card or a phone call. Sometimes it is something that comes with the card that touches my heart. Or maybe it is a special hug on Mother's Day that does the heart good. Sometimes we have to settle for a sweet memory.

Then there are the sad moments we have. My heart aches when one of my children is hurting. I hurt for that particular child. When one is going through the valley I feel like going through the valley with him or her. Thankfully I have Jesus to go through the valley with me and my children can also go to Jesus for comfort. He loves them even more than I do.

I'm thankful for my Mother who is now with the Lord. I'm also thankful for my grandmothers who meant so much to me. There were other mothers in my life that touched my life in a beautiful way. They are remembered with much affection. May God Bless all those special mothers I know.  Hugs  :)

A Trip To Remember

In 1986 Paul and I planned our trip to remember. We had not done much traveling while all of our children were at home. This would be the first trip for Paul and me together to Montana and Washington. I had been to Montana twice with some of my children. I had also been to Washington, but not with Paul.

We carefully planned this vacation to see family. We purchased the car Paul had his heart set on, a preowned Cadillac. Paul's friend that knew cars, and especially liked Cadillacs, recommended this car. It was a comfortable vehicle and had enough room for all we needed to pack. I planned to take things to family in Montana and Washington. Some of Elizabeth's things were still at our house. She had lived with us from 1980 to 1985. So I needed to take them to her in Billings.

My photo album begins with saying "bye" to Poosey Gato and Laura on Tuesday September 2, 1986. The next pictures are in Nevada and Utah as we headed north. Paul and I had been to these states on earlier trips. We used to have a friend to visit in Utah, which we did at least two times in the early '80s. The kids and I headed north through Utah to Montana the first time in 1979. This is a very scenic area with mountains, lakes, rivers and farmland, as well as beautiful parks.

We continued north through Idaho with more beautiful scenery. We had several nights in motels as we headed north on the way to Montana. On Friday we were driving through Montana, almost to my sister's in Billings. We saw some of Yellowstone but did not stop as we would go there later with family. When we got to the highway heading east all was well until a little fox ran alongside the car. "Foxy don't do that." Next thing you know he ran in front of the car. Oh no, poor thing. We were on a freeway and could not stop. Not a happy moment for Paul as he never hits animals on the road.

We arrived at Betty and Sam's and parked Dagna Deville next to her twin. We both had Cadillacs that were almost identical, just different colors. We would be doing some traveling in their car while in Montana. We unpacked a lot of things for my niece so our car was a lot lighter now.

While with my sister and brother-in-law we went to Yellowstone. Elizabeth was with us too. This was my third time there. It was Paul's first time at this National Park. The first time I went was in '79 with my sister Betty's family and three of my children. Sam was a story teller and I needed to be discerning whether he was telling a tale or the truth. I fell for a big one. The mountains were steep and had areas that did not have a lot of growth like steep trails. Sam told me that is where the bears slide down the mountain. Sounded good to me. On a later trip in 1981 Elizabeth overheard me telling my other sister and brother-in-law this story. She started laughing and asked me where I got this tale. I told her that her dad told me. That is when I learned that I had been had. I fell for Sam's tale.

Some time later Laura and I read that animals do play and that maybe there could be some truth to Sam's tall tale.

After five days with the Hamiltons Paul and I were on the road again heading west. We stayed one night in a motel in Missoula, Montana. The next day we arrived at my Aunt Beulah and Uncle Leo's in Libby, Montana. This was Paul's first time meeting them. They were married more than 60 years at that time. Beulah was Mom's adopted sister. I would have loved to have lived closer to her and get to know her better. We got to stay overnight at their house. They were not in the best of health so I'm sure this was not easy for them, but they were very hospitable. The girls and I had visited them in '81 when we were in Montana, but we did not stay overnight that time.

Aunt Beulah and Uncle Leo have since died. He was almost 100 years old when he died. They died within months of each other. She was in her late nineties.

After leaving Libby, Montana we continued west towards Washington. We saw the Grand Coulee Dam and drove through the North Cascades heading to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. Next stop after one motel night was at our daughter and son-in-law's. We arrived there on Saturday and went to church with them the next morning. Kathy, John and little Becky went to the Bible Baptist Church on the island.

While we were visiting our children in Washington they took us a lot of places. We enjoyed the scenery of Whidbey Island as well as nearby towns such as LaConner. We ate at the Lighthouse Inn where Paul took pictures of the boats going by. That is when Paul took a picture of a fishing boat that turned out to belong to my cousin's husband. That was an amazing coincidence. We discovered this when my cousin was looking at our pictures quite sometime later.

We had picnics, family gatherings and all sorts of fun on this vacation. We had more family visit us at Kathy and John's in Oak Harbor. We also visited our family in the Bellingham area. My niece Debra and her little family lived in Ferndale and we had a large family gathering there. My cousin Diedra and her family joined us at that gathering. We also went to Laurel to see my Uncle Ray on the old family farm. Uncle Ray was my mother's younger brother. Several cousins and their families joined us on the farm for another family get together. This is the farm that had originally belonged to my great grandparents. A lot of the family lived nearby, especially when my mother was little.

Back at Kathy and John's on the island we celebrated Becky's second birthday a week early, before we had to head home. One of the large packages we had brought on this trip was for Becky's birthday. It was a cute doll house. We have pictures of Becky with her presents. We have pictures of her with family. We also have pictures of her with lots of pretty scenery. There are Dutch windmills on Whidbey Island, as well as pretty tulips. Of course there are pictures of her with these. Appropriate that now she is married to someone with a Dutch heritage. So her baby, Jacob, is half Dutch.

Whidbey Island has Deception Pass and a bridge at the north end. There is a ferry at the south end of the island. There is another ferry from the island to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. Paul and I had to say "bye" to our dear ones on Saturday September 20th. We headed to the ferry heading west to Port Townsend. Then we headed south and then east towards I-5 and Vancouver, WA and then across the Columbia River to Portland. We continued south, towards California with motel stops along the way.

The car had been good to us to this point. But I was getting uneasy about the smell and then it began to overheat. We made a number of tries to find out the problem. We still got to enjoy the scenery in Oregon. I also enjoyed the Redwoods. I was disappointed that Paul was not as excited about the Redwoods as I was. I always enjoy the Redwoods. This may have been Paul's first time there, but he was getting tired of driving at this point. I don't drive and driving is not his favorite thing to do unless he is going for a lot of birds.

As I said we tried to find out why the car was overheating. We went to different stations along the way. I think we changed a hose. At another stop we got a new water pump. Everything was just a temporary measure. After one service station in the middle of California when we thought we had the problem solved we gave a lady and her boy a ride to their car. They were waiting for a friend to tow them. Not long after we said goodbye to them our car said no more. We were in the middle of nowhere. We had to wait for someone to help us. The wait was not long before the Highway Patrol came to our aid.

The C.H.P. called a tow truck for us. We did not have to wait long for the tow truck. The next thing you knew we were in Coalinga in a motel and our car was at the garage for diagnosis. The last pictures I have of that trip is our car being towed. Not in a picture mood after this. Actually the last picture Paul took is a billboard of "Jesus is Lord of Coalinga."

We ended up in Coalinga for three days while the car was being repaired. The only good part is that the real problem was found on the car, and repaired. It was a little plug that needed to be replaced, but it required major disassembly to find it. It should have been done before we bought the car.

This was some time after there had been a bad earthquake in Coalinga and there was still evidence of that event in the area. The motel left much to be desired. At least there was a decent restaurant in town.

What made me decide to write this is in remembering the worst motel night anyone could ever expect to have. The man that checked us in must have had a few drinks under his belt. He was just filling in for the manager. We paid him and he showed us our room. We were getting settled in for the night when he came to the room and accused us of ripping him off. He accused us of stealing the money we gave him. We nicely told him otherwise. Then he went around telling other people at the motel that we had done this awful thing. It was the most nightmarish thing ever.

Quite some time later, maybe the next morning, he came to our door and said that he found the money. He apologized profusely. What could we do but to accept the apology? We didn't even tell the manager what had happened to us. We probably should have. We stayed in that motel two more nights, but in a different room. We had checked out hoping our car would be ready, but no such good news. That is why the different room. There was not much choice in motels either. I never would wish the motel night from hell on my worst enemy.

Thankfully when we left Coalinga we were through with car problems for that trip. We enjoyed the remaining miles heading south, except for worrying about possibilities of problems. They did not happen. We arrived home with photos to put in albums and stories to tell.

pictures from vacation album- family picture at Debra and Pete's in Ferndale, WA-
John, Kathy& Becky; Diedra with Marie& Nathan; Paul, Shawn and Debra.
Bear Tooth Pass on the way to Yellowstone National Park with Sam, Betty,
Elizabeth and Paul. Next picture is Aunt Beulah & Uncle Leo in Libby, MT.
Windmill with Kathy, John & Becky- Oak Harbor, WA.  Two year old Becky
with birthday cake.  Caroline, Becky, John & Kathy at Peace Arch State Park.
Last picture- Dagna Deville.