Happy New Year!

Front row left to right: Eli, Isabel, Gram, Henry
Back row: David, Lauren, Chris, Wyatt, Tamara, Betsy, Phil

Enjoy these photos of Gram's Christmas and New Year's fun:
(The slideshow below may not show up on a smart phone.
Check it out on your computer.)

She got to meet and hold her newest great-grandson, Wyatt.

Christmas 2010

I got the new family photo album for Mom assembled in time to present it to her on Christmas Day! There are pages and pages of photos of Mary or Aldon pictured with their four children, with their grandchildren and, in Mom's case, Mom with their great grandchildren. Precious, but perhaps forgotten, times spent together are recalled for her on every page! She says looking at these photos "makes her feel better." Everyone will enjoy browsing through this album. It's family history. Putting it together was a trip down memory lane!

Mom enjoys photos of family & friends, (sugar-free) candy,

her kitty companion (Phil took this shot),

sharing special things she finds "for you" in the newspaper:

and YOUR cards and letters and packages!

Thank you all for your love and care!

Betsy

When you're behind on a blog - just start over?

Since I went back to work this fall, I have fallen sadly behind on Mom's blog. Perhaps at some point I could catch up, but meanwhile too many good events are falling by the wayside! So I am going to pick it up again today and a "catch up" slide show may, or may not, be in the works.

So....today! Mom got a Christmas cactus from her granddaughter and her husband, Jan and Scott Cohn. Mom was sitting at her (mother's) desk having dinner in as I unpackaged the gift. Jan had noted on the card that this was a plant that was non-toxic to cats. As if on cue, Mrs. Whiskers leapt up on the desk compelled to throughly check out this new arrival! It was hysterical to watch the interaction, with Mom admonishing Mrs. Whiskers, who appeared to be paying rapt attention...

but then continue to thoroughly check out this new plant from all sides. She almost took a bite out of the fullest blossom before we shooed her off the desk.

Thank you all for your cards, letters, gifts and photos which Mom loves!

Betsy

Mike Stephenson: Mom's "Generous Mr. Lovewell"

Mom's grandson, Mike Stephenson, came to visit Sept 7, 2010. Pictured below (from left) are David, Mike, Mary, Betsy and Phil having dinner together at Kincaid's.

After dinner we went back to Summer Trace and visited in the quiet of the main lobby. Mom was really happy to have two grandsons at her side. (Please scroll down to keep reading.)

The next day, while the rest of us were all at work, Mike picked up Mom at 11 am to take her out to lunch at (her special request) Logan's Roadhouse in Noblesville where they went for lunch before her stroke - years ago but she remembers! (She loves the peanuts and that you can throw the shells on the floor! I think it reminds her of Texas.) After lunch Mike then took Mom for a drive all around Noblesville... to the square, etc. It is such a blessing to me and, of course, to Mom that he not only took the time to come here but took a day to spend with her doing whatever she wanted to do. It's a beautiful intergenerational thing! When I went to Mom's after work to take her to the dentist, Mike was still there (even though he had a drive to Chicago ahead of him - now in rush hour.) He said, "C'mon Gram, let's have one more picture before I leave." (He knows Aunt Betsy loves to take pictures!) Mom's choking back tears in this one. Her cup runneth over! Thank you Mike for demonstrating love in action. You are Gram's "Generous Mr. Lovewell" for Sept. 8th! (See MercyMe's explanation of "The Generous Mr. Lovewell" concept below.)

Quote from MercyMe's Bart Millard explaining The Generous Mr. Lovewell concept:

The album, “The Generous Mr. Lovewell”, revolves around a fictional character we created who reminds us that we simply need to love others well. For some of us, it means that we need to put hands and feet on our ideology and rhetoric. For others, it means that we need to continue in doing well, but not stop there. We need to let people know why we are called to make a difference. Our prayer is that this album would mobilize the body of Christ to encourage people in word and deed. It’s almost like a ‘pay-it-forward’ idea that revolves around the Cross. We are called to be servants to our neighbors, but if we don’t share the gospel with them, it’s almost offensive and we have only accomplished a part of what God has called us to do. We need to stop letting the world teach us theology about how to act or speak. We need to encourage one another to provide a helping hand to our neighbor, offer up random acts of kindness and share with others how our lives have been transformed by the power of the Cross. It doesn’t take much action – or even many words – to make a difference both here and forever. - Bart Millard, MercyMe

YouTube video illustration:

(I don't know who created this.)