Christmas Memories

Sitting here on this Christmas morning and thinking back at all of the memories with family in the past.  There is one Christmas that stands out as the best Christmas ever even though I really don't remember it too well because it was when I was 8 years old in December of 1977.  My mom Charlotte was battling cancer for two years by this time and we didn't have that much extra money for Christmas because my dad was a coal miner which during this time was in a nationwide strike.  This Christmas ended up being the best Christmas thanks to Kenny Cleeton, Marge and Orville Price and many of the Huntsville community because they took up a collection for our family to fly to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and spend Christmas down there visiting with family.  I really don't remember very much and I got most of this information from the newspaper article that was written after we got back from our visit.

When I read this article it brought tears to my eyes that the community was so thoughtful and took the time to take up a collection so that my family could make this trip so that my mom could spend her last Christmas with her parents, sister, brother and many other family members that from the article I knew meant a lot to her because as she said in the article it got her spirits up.

I look back at this article from time to time and it makes my heart feel good to live in a community that was so generous to help make the Christmas of 1977 a wonderful Christmas for my mom so that it could take her mind off the fight with Cancer that she has been battling for 2 years and a time that she could be with her family for the last Christmas that she got to celebrate on Earth, because now she is celebrating Christmas and all holidays in heaven.

Cancer Survivors - Just what do they go through

We all know someone who hears the words that no one wants to hear, "You have Cancer".  It maybe a family member, a friend or even a co-worker but when they hear that they have Cancer it is like someone pulled the rug out from under them.  Like in this song by Lady Antebellum "One Day You Will" it is how a cancer patient feels when they first get diagnosed.  Feel free to listen and see if you think the same way that I do:   

This song says it all when they first get the news, because they are unsure what to expect as the get ready to battle this disease, but if they think positive through it all as tough as it will be they will get through it.  I know that they feel like they are alone but that isn't the case for a cancer patient because they have family and friends that will be with them through their fight.  Like this song by Martina McBride "I'm Gonna Love You Through It"  is the song for the caregiver of the patient to let them know that they are not fighting this battle alone and every step of the way no matter how tough it gets their loved one is by their side:

It is a long battle but the cancer patient knows that they have someone by their side no matter how rough it gets their loved one will not leave them standing all alone.  

They know that one day they will get the news that they are in remission and their battle is over.  Then they can say "Look At Me"  I fought the battle and won, I am now a Cancer Survivor:

One way that you can celebrate the battle of a Cancer Survivor's journey as they go through the tough battle is to find a Relay For Life in your area.  It is really a touching event from the start of the evening when you see the Cancer Survivors out there walking around the track a winner.  They all have their own stories and they are an inspiration for everyone of us.  

If you want to experience just a little how a cancer survivor feels from the first news that they have Cancer through the battle no matter how tired they get they can't quit or give up until they see the finish line at the end of the journey and hear the the doctor say "You Are in Remission, your cancer is gone"  Find a Relay For Life in your area by going to www.relayforlife.org 

When you find a Relay and you are out there walking around the track and you want to give up, think about that Cancer Survivor as they are getting tired because of the chemotherapy or radiation that they are taking to win the fight they don't quit and you shouldn't either until you see that finish line and you know that you have won.

Heroes

When you think of heroes do you think of superman, spiderman and batman?  Those are fictional heroes but I am going to tell you about my hero.

My hero was the oldest of eight kids growing up and living in Arkansas.  She helped her mom take care of her youngest siblings.  She did make a trip to Kansas where she worked in a Sunflower plant and met the love of her life.  If you haven't guessed by now that I am talking about my Grandma Sibyl Wolverton.  She is my hero in many ways.  Here is a wedding picture of my Grandma and Grandpa:

She lost my uncle Lowell when he was just 16 years old and right there I would have given up, but not my Grandma she was a strong woman and I wish that I have just half her strength.  She did tell me later that I was her life saver after Lowell died because it was August of  1969 and I was born in December of 1969, so she went right on helping take care of me and my brother.  A few years after I was born my mom Charlotte was diagnosed with a brain tumor, so my Grandma stepped up and took care of my brother and me while my dad was working two jobs and taking my mom back and forth to her doctors appointments.

When I was growing up I was in an organization called Rainbow girls, where I was worthy advisor twice and I needed a formal for it so my Grandma being the wonderful seamstress that she was got material and a pattern and started sewing away and came up with the pictures below:

The second time that I was installed in as Worth Advisor I had my Grandma and Grandpa there and got this picture taken of all of us:

If you had the opportunity to know my Grandma you would never forget her because she was always willing to help with anything.  She helped in the kitchen for many years at the Vacation Bible School at the First Baptist Church and was also a face that was seen every year at the Randolph County Old Settlers Reunion and Fall Fair in Huntsville.

She loved the community and everyone that she came in contact with, but she definitely loved her family all the way down to her Great GrandKids.

She really liked visiting with her family in Arkansas but the one that she visited with the most recent was her sister Mona Faye, and when these two got together watch out:

There was another time when grandma being good at the sewing machine was a lifesaver.  When my sister Rita got married she brought over a picture of a wedding dress from a magazine and asked if grandma could make it for it.  They went shopping for material.  This was something without a pattern, but that didn't stop grandma because she made her own pattern out of an old sheet and had Rita try it on to get the exact measurements.  The finish project turned out gorgeous and looked like Rita spent a fortune on it, but actually did not.

There is a common place where if you drove by the house you would see Grandma and that is out in the yard either mowing or working in the garden.

I do have something around the house in memory of Grandma and that is her flowers that she planted that comes up every year and they are beautiful:

This is a tribute to a wonderful lady who I miss more and more each year.  This weekend on Mother's day in 2009, we had to make a decision to take Grandma off life support and say goodbye to a wonderful woman and my hero.  To let you know how strong her heart was we took everything off on May 10, 2009 but her heart didn't take it's last beat until May 12.  I love you Grandma and miss you but know one day that we will see each other again.

Rest in peace Grandma and until we meet again, I love you.

Memories of my Grandma Sibyl

I finally got around to cleaning out a chest that was my Grandma Sibyl's.  I found her and Grandpa's tax returns that dated back into the 90's, a whole stack of my Grandpa's paycheck stubs and other stuff that I knew that I didn't need to hold onto.  There there were three hats and a few pictures.

Then I found this little book at the bottom and was surprised when I opened it up and started to read it because it was my Grandma's memory book where she had friends and family write in it and most everyone who wrote in it put a date when it was.  I am not going to put everything that was written in there put there are two that I liked and I would like to share them in this blog.

The first one that I want to share was written on September 11, 1942 in Sunflower, KS and it was from one of my Grandma's sisters  Here is what she wrote:

Dear Sister,

I have spent many happy years with you and realize I will find a great difference at home without you.  I have enjoyed living with you & Howard at the Village.  I wish you both the best of health, the greatest happiness and a long life.

When our lives on earth have ended and these paths no more we trod.  May our names in gold be written In the autograph of God.   Love your sister, Blonda

Then I kept on reading through the other pages and I came to this one that was written on September 7, 1945 also in Sunflower, KS and it was from my Grandpa.  Here is what he wrote:

Dear Sibyl,

Love is just like a deck of cards.  When you are in love it is Hearts, and when you are engaged it is Diamonds and when you are married it is Clubs and When you are dead it is Spades.    

   Howard Wolverton

I think that it is good to read through what my Grandma's friends and family wrote in the book to my Grandma and will be a nice keepsake to remember her by.

Be patient - God does talk to you and answer your prayers!

Have you ever wondered if God answers your prayers?  People always say take your problems to God because he will help you in his own way, you just have to pay attention.

This was me in May of 2009 when my Grandma was in the hospital in ICU from head trauma after her fall down the basement steps.  I prayed every night for God to send me a sign on what to do.  When visiting her in the hospital I felt in my heart that we were just standing around her body and she wasn't anywhere in there.  My prayers were answered on May 10, 2009 on Mother's Day.  Becky and I went to church that morning to give our church family a report from Grandma and then head down to the hospital.  It was during the church service that God spoke to me on three different occasions, there was a time during one of the songs that I felt something different but I didn't think anything of it.  Then during the sermon which was titled "Choose Wisely", but it was the last song "Trust and Obey" that I payed attention too and it got me thinking about what everything meant.
After church we headed down to the hospital and that is when I saw my dad in the hallway and he told us that it isn't good, something in Grandma's condition changed in the night and her doctor scheduled a CT Scan on her brain, and will get with us when he gets the results.  After dad told me this I found a corner away from everyone and sat down and prayed, then something made me pull out the church bulletin and looked at it again and it was that moment that is when I realized the three times that I felt something during the service, it was just God answering my prayers and giving me the answers that I needed and the title of the sermon and the last song was the ones that I knew what I had to do even though it was going to be hard to do.  After we met with doctors we had to make a big decision which was to say goodbye to Grandma and take her off all the machines and we decided that was the best thing because even if Grandma was to wake up, who is to say she would ever be the same person that we all knew and loved, so we all decided it was for the best to remove the machines and let her go to heaven and be back with Grandpa and my Uncle Lowell, which was another thing that was something because Saturday May 9 would have been his birthday and the change in the night could have been Lowell coming down from heaven and saying, "Come on Mom, spend my birthday and Mother's Day with me."
After we got to go back in her room to see her after they removed everything from her is when I looked at her and realized that we were just looking at her body and she wasn't in there and she was just waiting for the right moment to let us know that things will be alright.
So remember that when you think that God doesn't answer your prayer, just remember that he doesn't answer in ways that you think he would but he sends his signs in many different ways and through people that he brings in your life.

It was the day of the funeral and when I heard the following song titled "If You Could See Me Now" is when I realized that Grandma is up in heaven and having a good time being reunited back with Grandpa and Lowell and the rest of our family that were there and one day we will all be back together up in heaven for a reunion.

Meet Lucky!

It has been 1 week since we have an unexpected new addition to the family.  I went downstairs and saw our cat, Isaac looking up at the window or what I thought he was looking at was possibly a mouse that he couldn't get, so I went over there to see what he was looking at.  It was too my surprise it wasn't a mouse but a kitten in the window well meowing at Isaac and he was meowing right back.  I called for Jay and told him that I know where the cat was that we saw just a few days ago was.  He got his shoes on and grabbed a towel and went to rescue the cat from the window well, because if it would have stayed out there it would have froze because we were expecting below zero temperatures.  As he was going to take the cat down in the basement, that is when I saw it's back leg being all mangled like something got it.  We called Green Hill's Vet to see if we could take the cat over to see what could be down for the mangled leg.
Here is a picture of Lucky the night that we found her in the window well:

We scheduled to have her leg amputated on Wednesday because it couldn't be saved.  This first night all she wanted to do was stay in the pet taxi because she felt safe there and was ready to have a goodnights sleep.  The next day she was ready to get out and explore her new surroundings and the first thing she did was jump up on the couch and sniff our dog, Conan.  Conan didn't do too much, except when he had a treat when he growled letting her know that his his.

She took over the couch after that and that is when I took this picture:

On my way to work on Wednesday, I dropped Lucky off to the vet for her surgery where she had to be there all night.  It was a different house Wednesday night, because Isaac was roaming around the house looking for Lucky.  We got to pick her up on Thursday morning, and the vet had to remove the whole back leg, but she gets around pretty good on three legs.

The after picture doesn't look like the same cat that we found a week ago:

Isaac it coming around pretty good, he don't hiss at her anymore and he even goes and inspects the litterbox to see if she is getting everything covered up good.  

I feel that we gave Lucky another chance at living when we found her and brought her in last week and she is also adjusting pretty good on being a house cat.