Friday Fragments #5

With a long weekend coming up I thought it would be easier to get a FF done than none at all!

This weekend is Memorial weekend as we remember the service people who have fought for our country. We have SO much to be thankful for. God Bless the U.S.A.!

I feel like I should break into song with, "I'm proud to be an American..."

I am happy to announce that our daughter Tyne (see this past Monday's post- "Somewhere Over The Rainbow") has her own blog now! Check it out: http://tynebodennecklaces.blogspot.com/

She has been designing and creating beautiful necklaces and has been receiving many accolades!

We will be helping our daughter Kyrstin and her family move this weekend. Her husband has decided to become partners with his father in the building business. Kyr is a teacher who has taken time off to be a SAHM, so she posts the fun crafts and learning things she does with her kids at home. Check it out: http://seewhatwedidtoday.blogspot.com/

We are heading up north ~ya, I know...to many of you, Wisconsin is already up north, but believe it or not, we are going even further up-- to northern Wisconsin!!

We will be visiting family and friends for a nice long weekend. Always fun to go back "home":)

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday was my last day of volunteering in my granddaughter's 2nd grade class, for this school year. Caitlyn's class presented me with these beautiful flowers with their names signed on the flower box! I went down the row giving hugs and squeezes to each of them; I can't tell you how much I enjoy each and everyone of those little people and the way they refer to me as "Grandma Peggy."
Isn't life just one beautiful moment after another?

A Little Girl

The shelf under my bedroom window holds a number of framed photos of days gone by... I love pictures of long ago; especially ones of family or ancestors. Of course there weren't a lot of photos taken back then, so the ones we do have are very special.

The little girl in these photos was named Albina Marie; a name that was pretty unique here but fairly common in the country her mother came from, which was Bohemia. Unfortunately her mother died when she was 18 months old. After that, her main caretaker was her paternal grandmother; along with aunts and uncles that still lived at home. Her Auntie Ann was especially attentive to her and this photo shows them sitting in a field of tall grass together. I would estimate that Albina was about 4 years old here. I love the straw hats they are wearing and her little hand that is resting on her Aunt's knee:)

This photo appears to be taken the same day and has her holding a big work horse whose head is the same size as Albina's whole body! It must have been a very calm, well behaved horse!
I was always intrigued about this little girl, so would constantly ask my Mom questions about her. It was told to me that Albina never remembered her mother as she was so young when she died. She did though, recall her Dad coming to the grandmother's house after work; he would pick her up on his lap and she remembered playing with his pocket watch.

I look at these photos often and wonder what her life was really like then...
Now that I am a grandmother I can relate more to this story and am comforted by the care and love she must have received from her grandmother and aunt. I am so thankful that this little girl had a loving family that helped raise her as Albina grew up to be a wonderful mother.
I knew her well; I called her Mom:)

Somewhere Over The Rainbow...

Every time I hear the song Somewhere Over The Rainbow, I think of our second daughter Tyne :) She loved the Wizard Of Oz ever since she was 3 years old. She would sit and watch the movie over and over, to the point where we had to restrict it to once a day!

I have a video of her singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow sitting in the rocking chair, and swinging on the swing set. She would start out singing in her sweet little voice full of it's baby lisps and vowel, consonant substitutions ... "There's a wand that I dweamed of, once in a wullaby." ~ Oh, how precious is that?~

Tyne is our 4th child. She was welcomed into the world by her big brothers Boyd, who was 11 1/2, Blake who was 8 1/2 and Kyrstin who was 4 1/2 years old. The boys thought she should have been a boy since they already had a sister, but "Oh well, I guess a girl is OK.." And Kyrstin was THRILLED to have a sister and thought we should name her "Marlena" after the soap opera star from, Days Of Our Lives.

As you would expect, Tyne got a lot of love and attention. She had the sweetest smile and twinkling eyes, and was my little shadow; if I sat down, she was like a magnet on my lap. Every night when I would rock her to sleep, I would tell her that she was my "little honey bunny," and she, with her adorable smile would reply back, "And you are my sweetie pie."

She grew up to be a great student who loved school, and excelled in all the activities; clubs, sports, music etc...

She is now an English teacher and sharing her love of books, and literature. Tyne is a wonderful aunt and has a steady boyfriend who by the way, loves Legos too, (See Wordless Wednesday) which endears her even more to her nieces and nephews:)


All these years later, upon hearing Over The Rainbow, I immediately picture our little toddler tilting her chin upward as she hits the high notes of the songs, and then at the end, she stands and takes a bow:)

We can all take a lesson from this little girl, as our lives should be like a song; sung with gusto with a few mistakes, but at the end - good enough to receive the applause and to take the bow.

Wishing you many "over the rainbow" memories:)

Wordless "Lego" Wednesday

My boys loved Legos growing up, and now they can continue their addiction with their own

children who love these building blocks just as much!

This picture is of our oldest grandchild, Billy. He created the "LEGO CITY" display which we thought turned out great!

His room has wonderful displays of many complex Lego sets--sorry I didn't think ahead to get a photo of those...maybe another time.

School in Church?

So, how does it happen that a bunch of high school students ended up in church on a Sunday night?

Well, last night our church hosted the Senior Baccalaureate service for the community.

Since Baccalaureate services were forbidden to be held in the schools a number of years ago, the churches in our community decided to take turns hosting it each year.

Seniors of all faiths and some of no faith, come to this service to hear about going out into the world and what can be expected to happen; all under the context of course, that God is always at your side, whether you want him there or not:) That's one of God's little quirks; he loves everyone and isn't about to leave anyone behind:)

Our minister has a way of getting young people's attention as she shares her sermons with funny stories and much laughter. Students and parents alike were enjoying all she had to share. I have no doubt they left that night feeling warm and content.

She told the group,

"Don't tell me that prayer isn't in the schools...As long as the teachers are giving tests, there WILL be prayer in the school!" :)

It was a wonderful evening, and I went away thinking that if one person, young or old was at all affected by the warmth of community, it was because of the love and grace that only God can give:)

Embracing May

I love the month of May. Is it because I love spring or do I love spring because it occurs in May? My daughter in-law made a comment on her blog how she loves April, as it is the month of her birthday and guess what? her name is April :)

That got me wondering if that had anything to do with why I have such an attachment to May, as that is MY birth month.

The flower for the month is the Lily of The Valley which grows in my garden and smells so sweet and fragrant when in full bloom. Rhubarb is abundant in the month of May as the juicy ripe stalks flourish in the warmth of the spring sunshine bursting to be used in tasty pies and bars. The trees are budding out with different shades and hues of green, blending throughout the forest, always moving as the wind blows through their branches. The yellow dandelions are scattered amongst the grass and add a brightness almost like sunshine, to the warming earth.

I sometimes wonder if my Mom and Dad looked at the month in this same manner on the day I was born? Maybe not at the time; I would assume they must have been pretty busy on that particular day during the month of May :)

But still, somehow, I feel very grateful for being part of the miracle of life during a time when life itself seems to be bursting and blossoming all around-- in the month of May.

Wishing all a wonderful spring weekend:)