My lonesome hart

Im sure pop could of would of proubly did write a song for whats in my hart and mind. The new pic of dad ,aunts ,and uncles is one I dont rember . All I could think of is what a bunch of spark plugs and how sad it is we are not running on all 8 . I gues we are running all 88 or more by now counting all thhe cussens.

god bless adem

Notice

Just in case you have not noticed way down at the bottom of the page.. I've added a picture or two on this front page.

Give Ray Away

My dear sweet son Aidan came up to me the other day and in a quiet little voice handed this little Whirly Gigg over to me and said "Dad I think you should have this."

Quite a few summers back Dad came up to Alaska to visit in the summer. We had a grand ol' time as usual. We went canoeing on the local lake and Dad started collecting a bunch of goose and sea gull feathers on a little island we landed on. He just started picking them up and the kids asked why and he would not answer except for a twinkle in his eye. They got a bit excited by the mystery and picked up feathers too. We got back to the house and it turns out that Dad had spotted some corn cobbs laying around from a bar b que a day or two before. So he got to work and made some whirly giggs by cutting the cobs in half, digging a bit of a hole in one end and stuffing the feathers in there. Then he gave it a big toss... arching high into the air and it twirled and twisted down to squeals of delight. The kids played with those things a bunch. Next time some neighbor kids came over Dad had to set himself up a mini factory to keep up with the demand.. and kids were flying all over the yard chasing the things and launching them again and again. So next time summer rolls around in your neck of the woods - hold onto a few corn cobbs and look out for stray feathers. Build yourself one of these simple little pieces of wonder and joy and Give Ray Away...
Or just anything Ray has given you or taught you that will enrich another .. give it a way. I'm sure that is what he'd want you to do and it is one way you can keep him alive.

Santa Ray part deux

I remember wanting to post this but not sure if I did...nor can I find it...

So if it's a repeat, please forgive!

If not, I think all of you will get a kick out of Dad & his red snow suit. :)

Dad & Becky went skiing awhile back:

"Cute story. A three or four year old girl was in line with us. Her name, Daniel, was written across her helmet. I said "hi Daniel". She looked up at me, her eyes got real big and she said, "How did you know my name? Are you Santa Clause?" Of course I played the part.

Love Dad"

I love you Daddy

What do you make of that? We are living in some VERY interesting times and thus I have really been missing my Sunday afternoon chats with dad . In this life I have a select few sounding boards. A small handful of people who can influence my opinions and decisions. It is a good thing I am well on my way to being an adult because one of the most influential is gone. I might get by without the advice but I still miss the perspective. I thank God and my father for giving me some wonderful siblings who go a long way towards filling this void. I wish he was here I wish he was here I wish I never had to leave his side. Dad's last words to me were "I love you too", as he struggled to stand and fight the affects of the sedatives. There were other words but these were the last said to me while looking in my eyes. I said I love you Daddy and he stopped and said I love you too and then continued on with his battle. I want more memories and less wishes but I will be grateful for what I have.

Christmas and New year

It has been a blessed year in many ways.

This is the time of the year we remember all the family we miss and cherish all the memories from the past we had with them. I just wanted to say one thing that sticks out is all the laughter and smiles I shared with them and truly miss around this time of the year. God Bless us all.

Clint

Just...

Not feeling sad or anything in particular but enjoying the beautiful outdoors lately has made me think of how he so loved the natural world and what a joy it was to share it with him. Reachle put it well today when I chatted with her on the phone. Even though it is about 15 below zero out and really hard to muster the motivation to go out there.. she said she looked out her window and thought Dad would have been out there with her boys and have found a way to make it so fun that everyone would forget the cold at least for a while. Just so happens that I found this photo earlier this week.. seems like Aidan is giving Grandpa the thumbs up on his sledding technique. Note he is improvising with a jacket for a sled...Nuf said!