We won 3-2!! The Angels are up about 16 games over the next team in their division ... unless the team is all infected with West Nile in the next few weeks, we WILL be the division champs once again. Go Angels!
(Even without a flash he can't keep his eyes open ...)
Me in my new hat. (The park looks so empty because we were there early. This is still about 30 minutes before game time.)I just realized I forgot to include my in-law's anniversary in my monthly celebratory events! On August 12, Bob and Pam celebrated their anniversary ...
Yesterday was indeed a relaxing day. It started with breakfast by Mom, complete with french toast, fresh fruit and bacon. Around 10:00 Amy and I headed out to Corona and picked up Rachel. We arrived at the Glen Ivy Day Spa by 11:30, ready to relax! Our day started out well when the guy who checked us in gave Rachel and I both $10 discounts on our entrance fee. Amy got in free because it was her birthday. We got lockers and towels and immediately headed out to relax the rest of the day away. We spent time reading, sunning, shading, and even covered ourselves in mud at one point. It was so wonderful to sit on a lounge chair, block out the world around us, and read the day away. After much relaxing, we left around 4:00 and headed for Golden Spoon to top off our day with frozen yogurt (with toppings of course, since there's no fat in the yogurt). Everything we'd hoped for was achieved ... we relaxed.
And now we head into the final four weeks before Amy's wedding. We'll probably need another spaaaaah day when its all over.
Last Sunday our dog ate an entire box of chocolate ... and then proceeded to throw it up all over the house. Consequently, we had several large brown stains slowly setting in our rugs and carpet that needed a desperate deep clean. So this Saturday we rented a Rug Doctor carpet cleaner from Lowe's and deep cleaned our carpets. They look pretty good and I'm actually quite impressed with us. Some of that chocolate will never fully come out, but at least they're now blending in with the rest of the stains on that decades-old white carpet. (I still don't understand the decision to put in white carpet.)
Grandpa, me, Amy, Dad, Rachel, David, Hans, Caleb
Some calls were almost too close to make.
Amy's cake, adorned with pictures of her when she was young and one from a couple years ago.This is my latest knitted project. It came out a little smaller than I needed it to, as I feared. But I spent most of my knitting time in denial that it was really smaller. And I was too lazy to really check, not wanting to have to start over. Oh well, its not so small its unwearable. And with everything I make I learn new things about the art of knitting, which makes whatever project is next even better.
I'm feeling a need to categorize my crazy life of late. Here are the bullet points:
About a week ago I finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. It offends some, but inspires most. I suppose I can see why it offends some, as through most of the book God is depicted as a motherly figure in the form of a large black woman. The Holy Spirit is played by a small Asian woman and Jesus is, well, a Middle Eastern carpenter. The story's central character is a man named Mack who meets God in the woods in human form and spends a life-transforming weekend delving the depths of his soul, his pride, and his pain. He emerges a different man, as should anyone who reads Young's book. It has challenged my faith in a way no other book has. I highly recommend it, even if you're of the variety to end up offended.
I am now reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. Its a fun read involving my favorite pasttime. More on that when I've finished.
Speaking of knitting, last night I finished a sweater I've been knitting for over a month. Today I'm wearing it at work. So far no one has told me how awesome it is, which concerns me, because its pretty awesome. I'll have Hunkyness take pictures tonight and post them soon. By the way, if you're ever interested in taking a look at my entire collection of knitted and crocheted goods, they're all here. There's also a link under Life in Pictures in the sidebar.
Now I'm working on two new projects, both with ridiculous due dates. But, I'll do what I can, hoping to avoid carpal tunnel or arthritis in the process.
Its still very weird seeing my grandpa without my grandma. We still refer to his house as Grandma and Grandpa's, a habit that will be hard to break. Grandma is still a hot topic of conversation and storytelling, a habit I hope we never break. And sometimes for no reason at all I cry or get angry at the smallest things, and I think its my heart still dealing with the loss. Hopefully Hunkyness can hang in there until I've gotten past the hardest part, because I'm a little unpredictable right now (well, more than usual anyway).
I love the Olympics. Along with Bela Karolyi I'm outraged at the gymnastics scoring debacle, but excited to see the U.S. doing so well. Its been really fun watching Michael Phelps be the first Michael Phelps. And that 100 meter dasher Usain Bolt of Jamaica ... I swear he has wings! I've been staying up too late and watching too much TV ... but I do love the Olympics.
I've learned it's important to be careful where you leave fancy gift chocolates lying about ... because if they're within jumping distance the dog will surely find them, eat them all, then throw them all up, leaving large brown stains on the white carpet, then be so hopped up on sugar the rest of the night you'll want to kill the cute puppy that hours earlier you were afraid would die of chocolate poisoning (oh, but what a way to go). She's OK today, spending the day up at my parents'. Hopefully she's running off the last of the sugar and caffeine coursing through her 11-pound body.
I spent three full nights last week helping Amy get her wedding invitations done. Because of Grandma's death the invitations ended up being a last-minute project. But, after a little hard work and some help from a somewhat-helpful Kinko's employee, they were finished! If you're so lucky to be an invitee to this very exclusive event, please be overly impressed by these invites. We invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears ... literally.
I don't know when this happened, but some time over the past couple weeks (as my husband was letting me sleep in due to extra tiredness from family events) the days have gotten shorter. This morning was the first morning back into the routine for me and it was dark when I awoke for our morning walk! I'm already not a morning person, but when I have to get up before the sun, I get particularly angry. Oh well, its a small price to pay to get to my favorite season, Fall.
Those are the highlights. This weekend we celebrate Amy's 26th birthday and on Wednesday Rachel, Amy and I are spending the day at the spa. We're all hoping by next weekend my brother and sister-in-law's baby is born and we'll be heading to San Diego to celebrate and meet Madeleine. Then we're in September, and wedding planning and festivities step up a notch as we all prepare for Hans and Amy's nuptials. How exciting.
And before we know it, Christmas will be here. How did that happen? I've only barely gotten used to writing 2008.
On Saturday we celebrated Amy's upcoming nuptials with a bunch of her friends at a shower down in Long Beach. There was good food for brunch, games to be played with prizes to be won by me, and lots of good presents of course. I can't believe her wedding is just 7 weeks away!
Eating brunch.
Amy trying to correctly answer questions for the game.
Presents!
Amy and long-time friend Becka.
Sister-in-law Rachel, Amy, Heidi, Mom. Life might be a little emotionally draining right now, but you can always count on a dog in a cone for a good laugh. Lucy was spayed last Friday and has been wearing the poor thing for a week now. She's almost healed and hopefully the cone can come off in another couple days. Until then, the pointing and laughing continues at her expense.
First of all, you'll all be glad to know that my cousin's daughter Kayla was released from the hospital on Sunday with a clean bill of health (she's the one who swallowed 35 Excedrin gel caps). The whole family was able to get their flight switched to Monday morning, and so were able to be a part of all the family gatherings for my grandmother. We praise God together for taking care of little Kayla ... who is now not allowed out of her mother's sight until she's 21. Maybe 25.
Secondly, I just wanted to say what a wonderful weekend it has been. Its weird, but it really was a wonderful weekend. I'm not saying I don't miss my grandma or am not still so sad that she is gone. There is still part of me that can't wrap my head around the fact that she is gone. My memories of her are still so clear. I can hear her voice in my head and remember the feel of her hand in mine.
But in the last five days, my family and I have had the richest of times. We have laughed, we have cried, we have prayed, and then we laughed again. We have eaten too much together, lost sleep on account of each other, and spent time accepting condolances and more food. As we have come together to grieve the passing of our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, we have also basked in the love and care that she helped foster and create. Though seriously emotionally and physically drained, it was one of the richest weekends I have ever had.
And now the new world order sets in, "the new norm," as my mom has become fond of saying. There is the coming birth of babies, my sister's upcoming wedding, and the holidays. Our sadness at her absence will be present at these happy times, probably more poignantly this year than in the future. But there is great peace and rest in the knowledge that she is whole now, dancing and singing as she always loved to do. It is the greatest blessing to be able to grieve with hope. I will see her again. We all will. Oh, and what a family reunion that will be!
My grandmother passed away yesterday. As expected as it was, it has still been one of the saddest moments of my life. Yes, she lived a long and wonderfully meaningful life. And yes, I was privileged to get to spend some good time with her before she died. And yes, she was a grandma, one of those family members we all expect to lose in our younger years. In fact, most would say I am fortunate for having had her so long. But these things don't make my sadness any less. My grandma was an extraordinary woman who taught everyone around her what it meant to be selfless, to love, to be at peace in the present, to think eternally, to love Jesus above all else. She was an amazing example of what it means to be a woman, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. Every person she had a chance to love felt like they must be her favorite. In reality, she had a lot of favorites.
I will miss my grandmother deeply. It is the most surreal thing. Just Saturday she sat at Amy's shower talking with us and enjoying the time with family. And today she's gone. How does that happen so fast? And how am I supposed to wrap my head around it? I haven't quite gotten there yet.
My grandparents' house has been full with family since yesterday morning. It has been the biggest testament to Grandma's legacy as the family promptly took days off work and begged out of other responsibilities just to be with Grandpa and be together. It is the family they built that today comes together with such love and care for one another. We have done a lot of crying, a lot of laughing. Grandma would have loved it.
Services are planned for Tuesday at 2:00 at Granada Heights Friends Church. The church only holds 750, so if you plan on coming, come early for a good seat. She had way more friends than 750.
P.S. On another note: Please be praying for my cousin Josh and his wife Kel. They're in Colorado and were planning on flying out tomorrow. But their 2-year-old daughter Kayla managed to swallow a bottle full of Excedrin gel cap pills. She was taken to the local hospital in Steamboat Springs where they pumped her stomach and monitored her for a while. But a toxologist made a decision a little while ago to have her airlifted to a bigger children's hospital in Denver. There is no reason she shouldn't come out of this OK, but please be praying for Josh and Kel and the rest of the Elwood family as they take care of this precious girl in the midst of grieving for Grandma and desiring to be here with the family. Thank you!
