A Final Summer Fling with Tizita

Yesterday John and I took Tizita on an "end of summer, getting ready for school" outing. We picked her up in Oshkosh and that is when we found out about the referral for her little brother. What an exciting way to start the day. Now we not only wanted to buy her some school clothes, but we could also do some shopping for a boy! Something new for us.
We started our adventure at the Fox Valley Mall in Appleton. We did our clothes shopping in Penney's where we found many good deals especially on little boys' clothes. It seems clothes for boys is significantly cheaper than clothes for girls. No wonder it was always so costly to clothe our girls. Tizita occupied herself with the hopscotch board while John checked out all of our purchases. Tiz walked away with a Hello Kitty purse, a dress, a cute sparkly shirt, pink leggings, a love heart shirt, a pair of red shoes, and a cute pair of pink boots. That along with some polos, pants, and a Packer shirt for Little "L" made for a successful shopping trip.

Of course, we had to stop at the candy dispensers to use up a few quarters.

I could not believe that these two had to sit down and rest this early in our trip, but they did.

We wanted Tizita to make a Build a Bear to commemorate her first day in four year old Kindergarten so she chose a cute pink teddy bear. Here she is stuffing the bear.

Tizita enjoyed fluffing up and brushing her bear.

Then it was time to register her bear and give it a name. Tizita named her bear, Pinky. She chose a little blue hippo for her little brother. I have a feeling he is going to like that little hippo very much.

Grandpa and Tizita heading to the food court for lunch. I am guessing they both need to rest their legs again.

Here are Pinky and Tizita enjoying a Subway salami sandwich for lunch.

After our mall adventure, we headed over to Monkey Joe's for some inflatable fun. It was our and Tizita's first visit to MJ's and it did not disappoint. For a mere $7.99, a child gets to play as long as they want on many fun inflatables.

Here is Monkey Joe himself with that cute little lady sitting between his legs. This was her favorite activity. Not just sitting there, but doing this particular obstacle course.

Here she is in the middle of that inflatable.

There were lots of big steps to climb.

There was also lots of running.

The big slides were so much fun. I think she went down that slide a hundred times

Tizita and Grandma enjoyed some skittles together.

And the best was yet to come, we ended our fun day with some mini golf at the course in Oshkosh. Tiz was so worried that she would do something wrong during the golf game, but we assured her that there was nothing she could do wrong on a mini golf course. John and I had already determined that we would not keep score so as not to make the game take an ugly turn due to the fact that we are both way too competitive.

Here Tiz and I take a little break. We all had a great time and I know Tiz enjoyed her first attempt at mini golf.

Whenever one of us gets a hole in one, we take a photo with our finger up in the air to signify our hole in one. This family tradition started up in Door County with Mallory one year. We played every mini course on the door peninsula that vacation and we all posed for our hole in one picture. We continued the tradition with Tiz. The only thing is she wanted to hold up two fingers after this hole, since she said it was her second "hole in one." Made sense to us.

We finished with some video games and yummy pizza at West End Pizza. It was indeed a fun filled day and I know we will all remember it for a long time. I think both Tizita and I are ready for school now.

Note to Little "L" - I just want to tell you that when you get home to us, we will take you on lots of adventures, too, just like we take your sister. We are looking forward to enjoying fun times with both of you. Stay happy and heathly. Your mama, papa, and sister will be there before you know it! We love you so much.

Of Anniversaries and Referrels

Today, John and I went to Oshkosh to spend a day with Tizita before both she and I started school. We drove up to their house and both Tizita and Courtney were waving and very excited to see us. This is not that unusual, but today Tizita could not wait for us to get out of the car. She yelled, "Grandma, Grandpa come in the house, I have a surprise," to which we are both thinking, great some new drawing or stuffed animal to show us.
But were we ever wrong, at the top of their stairs entering their house we were met by a picture of Tizita's new brother. They got the referral yesterday, August 29 for a little 17 month old brother named Nathnael. I wish I could share his precious picture, but until they are through the court date, we cannot post a picture. Trust me, he is the cutest little guy with a huge smile and a ton of personality. I just want to hug him. We took Tizita to Build a Bear today, where she made this cute pink Teddy Bear. She also picked out a blue hippo for her new brother. She is so excited and the next eight or so months are going to be so hard for all of us, but especially for her, I think. We had a wonderful, fun filled day with Tiz and I will share that tomorrow. I am too tired tonight.

I just love this little lady so much and I cannot imagine my life without her and now to think that we will have a little grandson to love, too. Oh my, God is good.

Today, we are also remembering Alissa and Nathan's wedding from three years ago. What a wonderful day that was for all of us!

So, I just want to take a minute to wish both of them a very happy anniversary.

Thanks for the happy memories, you two!

Note to my new grandson: We love you so much and cannot wait to meet you. We did some shopping for you today. Your sister, Tizita is so excited to meet you. We hope you are happy and healthy and stay that way until your mama, papa, and sister come to bring you home to us!

Hurricane and Bergie, 35 years later

This is my friend, Sherri Bergerson Browning who I mentioned in my previous blog. I did not have my camera, but Sherri's husband, Jeff took this photo on his phone.
I am not really happy with it, but beggars cannot be choosers. I think he was taking it at a weird angle that made me look very disproportionate. In college, one nickname given to me was Hurricane. I believe it may have had something to do with some damage I did to a boy's dorm room at one point. I didn't damage anything valuable just some decorations that we had put up for his fraternity pledging.
I called Sherri, Bergie which was just a short version of her last name. It was less confusing that way since we both share the same name and the same spelling of that name. Bergie and I shared lots of fun times together in College, I was her maid of honor and she wore my wedding dress at her wedding. She married one of John's fraternity brothers, they were TKE's and John and Jeff were very good friends, too.
It was great to see them again and we hope to visit them in North Carolina in the future. We do not want so many years to go by until we see them again.

Of old friends, rummage sales, new shoes, and prime rib

It's been a busy weekend. It started on Wednesday night when we met two of our college friends and had dinner with them. We had not seen Jeff and Sherri for more than thirty years. As is usually the case, it was as if no time had passed and we quickly caught up on one another's lives as well as reminiscing about our days at Carroll. I, the person who always has a camera in my hand, forgot to bring it and therefore, I have no pictures to document our fun reunion. You will just have to take my word for the fact that all four of us have aged beautifully and look not a day older than when we were in college!

On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I had a spur of the moment rummage sale with my neighbor. Neither of us could do the city wide sale in September so she asked if I could do on this weekend. I was needing some new shoes and figured if I could make enough money at the rummage to cover the shoes, I would be happy. Sales were good and I did indeed make enough to buy two pair of shoes for me and two for John, too.
On Saturday John met up with Jeff again to do some more catching up and have a few beers. Sherri was busy with her family, so that made the rummage perfect for me.

When John got home, we headed up to Oshkosh to spend a night at the Van Auken B and B. The owners were out of town, so we had the place to ourselves. We had an ulterior motive, we had to pick up our Taurus which had been repaired up there after the exhaust system fell out.

On our way to their house, we stopped at the Sketcher's outlet to purchase all of our shoes. Here you can see our selections. I think we will be quite happy with our selections.

After picking up the car and buying the shoes, we went to Becket's for dinner. We had prime rib and it was so yummy. Top it off with a few beers and it made for a great evening, but wait, it gets even better.

We headed out to the patio where there was a live band which made the night just about perfect.

Just check out this band. They played a lot of Niel Simon, Moody Blues, and a little of this and that. We mostly enjoyed watching the old drummer who sat very low and the little preteen who played the bongos and appeared to have some sort of syndrome. It was okay music with a floor show to keep us entertained.

You can catch a glimpse of the young boy in the back of this picture

After a great night's sleep, we never woke up till 9:30, I put on my new shoes and we took a walk. John chose to use his old ones. They were very comfy and we put them to a good test since we walked four miles.

It was a gorgeous along the shores of Lake Winnebago. We were a bit stumped by this sign about ice, reminded us of the signs in the South that always say, "Watch out for ice on bridges." Needless to say, we did not have to fear any ice today.

We walked way out to the point which you can see in this picture way out there by those trees.

Here I am at the point and

here is John on the same point.

After our walk, we drove our two cars back to Watertown.

It was a fun weekend.

Come take a walk with me

I took a nice, long walk today on one of my favorite routes and decided that maybe you would like to come along with me. So if you would like to join me, plug in your ipod, be sure it is loaded with lots of Jimmy Buffet, put on your walking shoes, and be prepared for this beautiful five mile walk.
Warning: This blog is long and has lots of photos. On a walk, you can't just quit, but not so with blog reading, you can quit anytime you want, but I hope you will walk with me for the long haul. First point of interest is Kraemer Dairy taken from the St. Vinney's parking lot. I have so many happy memories of Preschoolers running around in Rich's pumpkin patch visible in the back of the store. Rich was always so generous with pumpkins, gourds, golf balls, really anything the kids could find in the field. So different from the big commercial pumpkin patches.

Heading up Carl Schurz Drive, mostly a means to an end. Not a particularily noteworthy street.

At the top of Carl Schurz Drive we take a right and head out of town down Center Street.

Checking on the ipod. At this point, I am walking briskly to Kokomo and thinking about Carribean Islands.

At the end of Center Street, we will cross over Highway 16. Listening to Buffet's Coastal Confessions. Thinking about a few confessions I can be making right about now.

Officially in the town of Emmet.

I have to stop and wonder how these plants can grow right out of the concrete and I am not able to grow plants in soil with fertilizer. But, then I remember that God is the gardener here and he has a much greener thumb that I do!

We are now on the road that leads to Highway M. Not one vehicle will pass us on this route today. So peaceful and pretty and so easy to relate to Steven Curtis Chapman's song "It's all Yours, Lord." I find myself singing along, good thing there are no vehicles!

"It's all yours, God, it's all yours. Everything is yours. From the stars in the sky to the depths of the ocean floor. You're the maker and keeper, Father and Ruler of everything, it's all yours. I walked dirt roads of Uganda seen the scars that wars have left behind, but I hear children's voices singing of a God who heals and rescues and restores and I am reminded that every child in Africa is yours."

"All of creation, it's all yours, God. Yours, God, it's all yours." Okay, I played this song two times just because it is so fitting as I look around at all this beauty. "We are yours God."

Check out how the milkweed plant looks. Reminds me of a desert plant.

We are nearing the end of this road. If we look over to our right, we can see the cemetery in the distance.

This is the scene ahead of us across Highway M. "I Hope you Dance" is the song and I think the part, "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean," is appropriate here since I still feel small when I look out over this vast land.

There is the Lutheran cemetery, our first destination. (Remember there are three "e's" buried in cemetery and you will never mispell that word)

We will get off the highway and take this shortcut along the cornfield.

We are listening to MercyMe sing, "I can only Imagine." These are perfect songs for our walk today. We entered the Lutheran Cemetery. I do not believe that any of these people are still in these graves, but there is something about seeing their names and remembering their lives. They are in a far better place and no longer need to "Imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side, imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me." This little girl who died at the roller rink in a freak accident is "surrounded by Your Glory." She may be dancing for Jesus right now. I hope you are not bothered by cemeteries because we are going to explore this one. I, for one, love the peace and calm that comes from a cemetery. I love to think about all the people who went before me and are waiting for me in heaven.

Here we will take a moment to remember our friend, Bob Wilke. I remember "I can only Imagine," being sung at his funeral. He fought hard and long, but in the end cancer won and Bob got his heavenly healing.

This is the daddy of one of my former preschoolers. He died when she was only eight months old in an accident. We would talk about him in Preschool and how happy he was in heaven and how he was waiting for his little girl. Preschoolers need to know that death comes at anytime, to anyone, but as long as they believe in Jesus, they will go to heaven. No need to fear death.

And here is my dad. I stopped to have a drink with him, just water today. Dad died at age 62, just 4 years older than I am now. What a happy man he is today though.

I like how my shadow is on the gravestone here. I know some people who talk to their loved ones at the cemetery. I don't do that because I know they are not there and could care less about what I have to say, but we all get our comfort in different ways

This sums up my feelings about my dad. It sits in back of his stone.

This is my dad's best friend and his wife who happened to be my mom's best friend. Their headstones are just yards from one another, just by chance. Their friendship continues in heaven.

This is a friend's son. Loved his mustang, died in his mustang on a Super Bowl Sunday, many years ago. Funny how we never forget some details.

"Bridge over Troubles Water" by Simon and Garfunkle is playing now.

Time to reflect a moment on my four grandparents, who by chance happen to be buried very close together in the cemetery. Many happy memories with three of these folks, did not ever meet my Opah. Waiting anxiously for the day I see them all again.

This is where many of my relatives on my mom's side are buried. Some of them I knew, some of them died before I met them. A big chunk of my past lies in this area.

Everytime I walk past this gravestone, I wonder about these people. Lots of sadness in this family, losing mom in childbirth, I think. These stones really do tell a story, sometimes I wish it was written out on the stone for all to see.

Here is where we leave the Lutheran cemetery and enter the Moravian cemetery, no real markings, just a common known fact. Listening to some Buffet again. "Back to the Island," makes me remember St. George and wonder when I can go back there.

Two very good friends of my mom and dad. They were both cremated and ordered this stone from Sweden. Just a little fun fact as we travel through the Moravian cemetery.

Back on the road heading into town. A bit of "Sister Golden Hair" to remind me of my daughter with the golden hair.

From this road, Juneau Street, I believe, you can catch a glimpse of our old house on Hillside Lane. It is the blue one barely showing through the other two. Lots of good memories in that house.

We are going to cross County Trunk R and head into the other Lutheran cemetery. You know, the ELCA's could not share with the WELS. Wait till we are all together in one heaven!

Just found this baby's grave. I cannot imagine the sadness parents feel when they lose a little one who never even had a chance to live. What a happy reunion awaits them.

I remember the night these two teenagers were killed in a car crash. It is always sad when young people die. Rod Stewart is singing "Forever Young," at this point. In our hearts, these two teens will remain, "forever young."

Here is the road we are taking out of the cemetery. I am recalling how I danced to "Forever Young" at Courtney and Paul's wedding. It brings back very good memories on a beautiful Island. Good things to think about on this rather boring section of our walk.

Going under Highway 16, same Highway we crossed over a few miles back. I have decided we would stop at one more cemetery, it is definitely a cemetery walk today.

This angel welcomes us into Oak Hill Cemetery. Oak Hill is the cemetery of choice for anyone who is not Lutheran or Catholic in Watertown, although there are Lutherans and Catholics buried here, too.

I really like this bench, but because people were cutting the lawn, I did not sit down on it because I wasn't sure if it was an actual stone, didn't want to be disrespectful.

Jason was a very good friend of Courtney's who died on Christmas when he was only 22 years old. Everytime anyone from Courtney's class hit a milestone like college graduation, marriage, kids, etc, I imagined how hard it was for his family. Jimmy's "Breathe in, breathe out, move on," seems appropriate here for some reason.

I was drawn to this pretty cross marking this little girl's grave. "If a hurricane doesn't kill you, it will only make you strong." I wonder if that is how these parents feel, "if it doesn't kill you, it will make your stronger."

Or how about these two siblings who died of a genetic disease and left their parents alone. "Don't try to explain it, just nod your head, breathe in, breathe out, move on."

Saw this headstone on my way out of the cemetery. Beautiful sentiment, time to breathe in, breathe out, move on.

Heading down Boughton Street toward home. No more cemeteries along this route. Marina McBride is singing, "This one's for the Girls," perfect beat for this hill and perfect lyrics for all of us girls.

Back to Highland Avenue. Almost home now. Remembering that every laugh line made me who I am today, thanks for that reminder, Martina.

Passing some memorable trees by the swimming pool. My friend, Connie and I used to have to part at this corner after a walk home in the dark. She would run her way and I would run my two blocks home. We were always sure there were people in those trees who were going to follow us and do who knows what to us! We always called one another to make sure we were safe. We had each other's back for sure.

We have new neighbors, they just moved in. They keep their camper in the front yard right outside their front door. And we are home.

Thanks for taking the walk with me, especially if you are still reading. It took me almost as long to write this blog as it took to take the walk!