Saturday, July 10, 2010
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Corpus Convention #2 - Anaheim, CA
Tucker has been a key part of this start up company. It feels really hard to love it when he hasn't received a single penny yet, but the ball is starting to roll, the leads are coming in and their first big deal is about to close. Crossing my fingers for a little $$ to come our way.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Mom Shirl and Family
It has always been an easy distinction for me when talking about my two Grandmas. One is Grandma....and the other is Mom Shirl. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Apparently, she didn't like the sound of "Grandma" when the title was finally hers. So the grandkids would resort to "Mom". But then that got really confusing....so they stuck her name to the end of it. And *poof*, "Mom Shirl" was born.
In fact, my dad's side of the family is filled with unique titles. Since the roots originate from Spain, Uncles are "Tio" and Aunts are "Tia". And my dad's dad & step-mom were shortened version of Abuelo and Abuela: Wello and Wella. It all made a lot of sense to me as a kid.
Anyway, my Mom Shirl is one of the sweetest, nicest, littlest, faithful, most thoughtful and most genuine people I know. Really, she is. I've always been jealous of my cousins that lived down the street from her and shared in her daily life. Lucky for me, she is unusually good about sending cards, writing (typing) letters and sending gifts. Has been her whole life. I'm 33 and have NEVER missed a birthday card from her. Nor have my kids or siblings. It is incredible.
Especially now that she's 84. And her health is deteriorating. In fact, she's in need of heart surgery and has chosen not to go that route. The risk and recovery sounds worse to her than enjoying her last months on Earth. The doctors will be surprised if she lives much more than 3-6 months, which is a strange thing to hear. To be given a time-line on your mortality is unnatural.
Since all of my family (both sides) live in the surrounding areas of Anaheim, it's not hard to hop around and do some visits. I am so glad we were able to spend a long afternoon just being together.
My kids and my cousin's kids (whatever THAT makes them?) had SO much fun playing together. For 6 solid hours, with NO problem. Amazing!
(This mini-bounce house sure helped though)
My cousin Kelly is my only girl cousin. She and I are only like 5 months apart and have always been really close. Kelly has some really challenging health problems, but was blessed to feel well during our visit. She loves little children and gathered this group to do a nail painting session!!! (well, except Jared!).
I made Kelly a memo-board while I was there :-)
Mom Shirl is only 4'8"! Here she is with 8 of her almost 13 great-grandchildren.
Peyton: "I really like that girl with the blue nails".
Kelly, my Tia Deane, Mom Shirl, Tia Toni (Dad's sisters) and me. I love these women so much. I could spend endless hours talking and sharing in their wisdom and love.
My Tio Ray is a Pastor and also a self-taught musician. He and my cousin-in-law Diana have sung Praise together for over 20 years! I requested a mini-concert.
Mom Shirl was captivated. She loves to listen to them Praise God.
My handsome cousin RayRay joined in on the guitar (after MUCH begging on my part). It was truly beautiful music they made.
Mom Shirl was sharing her lipstick with Peyton and Victoria.
These two played together so well! They are 1 1/2 years apart, but were total buddies.
Priceless memories!!!
Apparently, she didn't like the sound of "Grandma" when the title was finally hers. So the grandkids would resort to "Mom". But then that got really confusing....so they stuck her name to the end of it. And *poof*, "Mom Shirl" was born.
In fact, my dad's side of the family is filled with unique titles. Since the roots originate from Spain, Uncles are "Tio" and Aunts are "Tia". And my dad's dad & step-mom were shortened version of Abuelo and Abuela: Wello and Wella. It all made a lot of sense to me as a kid.
Anyway, my Mom Shirl is one of the sweetest, nicest, littlest, faithful, most thoughtful and most genuine people I know. Really, she is. I've always been jealous of my cousins that lived down the street from her and shared in her daily life. Lucky for me, she is unusually good about sending cards, writing (typing) letters and sending gifts. Has been her whole life. I'm 33 and have NEVER missed a birthday card from her. Nor have my kids or siblings. It is incredible.
Especially now that she's 84. And her health is deteriorating. In fact, she's in need of heart surgery and has chosen not to go that route. The risk and recovery sounds worse to her than enjoying her last months on Earth. The doctors will be surprised if she lives much more than 3-6 months, which is a strange thing to hear. To be given a time-line on your mortality is unnatural.
Since all of my family (both sides) live in the surrounding areas of Anaheim, it's not hard to hop around and do some visits. I am so glad we were able to spend a long afternoon just being together.
My kids and my cousin's kids (whatever THAT makes them?) had SO much fun playing together. For 6 solid hours, with NO problem. Amazing!
(This mini-bounce house sure helped though)
My cousin Kelly is my only girl cousin. She and I are only like 5 months apart and have always been really close. Kelly has some really challenging health problems, but was blessed to feel well during our visit. She loves little children and gathered this group to do a nail painting session!!! (well, except Jared!).
I made Kelly a memo-board while I was there :-)
Mom Shirl is only 4'8"! Here she is with 8 of her almost 13 great-grandchildren.
Peyton: "I really like that girl with the blue nails".
Kelly, my Tia Deane, Mom Shirl, Tia Toni (Dad's sisters) and me. I love these women so much. I could spend endless hours talking and sharing in their wisdom and love.
My Tio Ray is a Pastor and also a self-taught musician. He and my cousin-in-law Diana have sung Praise together for over 20 years! I requested a mini-concert.
Mom Shirl was captivated. She loves to listen to them Praise God.
My handsome cousin RayRay joined in on the guitar (after MUCH begging on my part). It was truly beautiful music they made.
Mom Shirl was sharing her lipstick with Peyton and Victoria.
These two played together so well! They are 1 1/2 years apart, but were total buddies.
Priceless memories!!!
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
My Grandma..."Great Gram"
Last week my mom had a proposition for me:
"I have to go down to Anaheim to take care of Grandma for a week. If I get you a hotel, would you want to bring the (4) girls down for a few days to visit?"
Sure!
My 9 year old niece Alyson has been our 4th daughter the past couple weeks. We love it. The girls love having her here. So I packed us 5 girls up, and we hopped in the car (I make that sound so easy), So Cal bound.
5 1/2 hours later, we arrived (darned traffic!). Grandma is in stage 2 of Alzheimer's, so you never quite know what to expect. I was so happy to find her in good spirits!
One thing is for certain: If I am ever wheel-chair bound, or somehow disabled, I choose my mom to care for me. She has a patience, compassion and connection like no-other. To watch her love my Grandma through the pain, the physical needs and the emotional roller-coaster is to get a peek into Heaven and the love of God, no doubt.
My grandma loves the kids, even though she can't exactly remember who is who, and which are mine. She finds joy in their joy. Peyton kept exclaiming "I love Great Gram's house!!".
Grandma has lived in her home for over 40 years. Oh the memories are endless. It made my heart smile to see my kids playing in her big front yard just as I did at their age. She seemed happy too.
There is no one that can make the faces my Grandma can make. I could fill an entire room with them from over the decades!
My mom's travel companion and sixth child (the easiest by far), Bernice. After a baby bath.
My kids think my mom is a walking jungle gym. Everyone waiting in line to get knocked off the "horsie". What a Grandma!
The Embassy Suites has to be the best hotel ever. Large rooms, and a huge made-to-order breakfast each morning. It has the most beautiful tropical design, complete with turtles walking around! The kids were in heaven!
The view from the glass-enclosed elevator! They felt so special.
It is no longer an option to stay at my Grandma's with such a wild bunch, so the hotel was a great runner-up. The indoor pool was a hit with everyone!
Ruby's is sort of a traditional place to eat. Upon meeting mom and Gma there, I quickly realized her mood was solemn and somber. She was very quiet and much less interactive. I know it must be so confusing in her mind. My mom was able to squeeze out a smile with a tickle.
In addition to a trip, the girls got several lessons on compassion and caregiving from watching my mom!
They even got turns pushing the wheelchair. Grandma kept saying "Well, who's pushing me now??".
And finally, Grandma's traditional Marie Callendar's stop for a post-church lunch. Four generations here! Grandma was too hungry to care about pics!
I am so glad Alyson got to be with us for this trip. Living in Utah, it's much harder to do these sorts of trips. It was very special to her.
These two. Peas in a pod, I tell ya. One year apart and inseparable. They fight and play over and over and over. Not just cousins, but friends.
Alyson sure loves her Grandma. Time together is so rare and special. She has a special spot in Grandma's heart as the oldest grandchild.
And Lexi Leilani could snuggle with Grandma all day long. Grandma's sure are special! I love the saying "Grandma's are moms with lots of frosting".
THANK YOU Mom, for making this trip possible. It was worth every bit of work and energy. The memories are priceless. True reminders of what love and family mean.
"I have to go down to Anaheim to take care of Grandma for a week. If I get you a hotel, would you want to bring the (4) girls down for a few days to visit?"
Sure!
My 9 year old niece Alyson has been our 4th daughter the past couple weeks. We love it. The girls love having her here. So I packed us 5 girls up, and we hopped in the car (I make that sound so easy), So Cal bound.
5 1/2 hours later, we arrived (darned traffic!). Grandma is in stage 2 of Alzheimer's, so you never quite know what to expect. I was so happy to find her in good spirits!
One thing is for certain: If I am ever wheel-chair bound, or somehow disabled, I choose my mom to care for me. She has a patience, compassion and connection like no-other. To watch her love my Grandma through the pain, the physical needs and the emotional roller-coaster is to get a peek into Heaven and the love of God, no doubt.
My grandma loves the kids, even though she can't exactly remember who is who, and which are mine. She finds joy in their joy. Peyton kept exclaiming "I love Great Gram's house!!".
Grandma has lived in her home for over 40 years. Oh the memories are endless. It made my heart smile to see my kids playing in her big front yard just as I did at their age. She seemed happy too.
There is no one that can make the faces my Grandma can make. I could fill an entire room with them from over the decades!
My mom's travel companion and sixth child (the easiest by far), Bernice. After a baby bath.
My kids think my mom is a walking jungle gym. Everyone waiting in line to get knocked off the "horsie". What a Grandma!
The Embassy Suites has to be the best hotel ever. Large rooms, and a huge made-to-order breakfast each morning. It has the most beautiful tropical design, complete with turtles walking around! The kids were in heaven!
The view from the glass-enclosed elevator! They felt so special.
It is no longer an option to stay at my Grandma's with such a wild bunch, so the hotel was a great runner-up. The indoor pool was a hit with everyone!
Ruby's is sort of a traditional place to eat. Upon meeting mom and Gma there, I quickly realized her mood was solemn and somber. She was very quiet and much less interactive. I know it must be so confusing in her mind. My mom was able to squeeze out a smile with a tickle.
And on the last day, we met mom and Grandma at church. Grandma doesn't get to church as often anymore, and she doesn't usually remember people's names. But she seems happy to be there and sings every word of the hymns. (aren't they cute?
In addition to a trip, the girls got several lessons on compassion and caregiving from watching my mom!
They even got turns pushing the wheelchair. Grandma kept saying "Well, who's pushing me now??".
And finally, Grandma's traditional Marie Callendar's stop for a post-church lunch. Four generations here! Grandma was too hungry to care about pics!
I am so glad Alyson got to be with us for this trip. Living in Utah, it's much harder to do these sorts of trips. It was very special to her.
These two. Peas in a pod, I tell ya. One year apart and inseparable. They fight and play over and over and over. Not just cousins, but friends.
Alyson sure loves her Grandma. Time together is so rare and special. She has a special spot in Grandma's heart as the oldest grandchild.
And Lexi Leilani could snuggle with Grandma all day long. Grandma's sure are special! I love the saying "Grandma's are moms with lots of frosting".
THANK YOU Mom, for making this trip possible. It was worth every bit of work and energy. The memories are priceless. True reminders of what love and family mean.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
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