Porter/Martin/Porter/Simon Visit

Great seeing Jeff, Marnie and Vivienne

Vivienne playing "Biggie Girl" with Uncle Deke

Vivienne helping Uncle Deke mow the lawn

Sharing a moment before the family left for the East

Going...

Going...

Gone.

Mama Jo's New Digs

Today I moved Mama Jo into Milner Assisted Living Healthcare. It's located in Rossville about 20 minutes from our house. The facility is very nice and the staff assures me that they can care for Mom even with her memory deficit. Mom seems to be happy there but when we go back Sunday, I'll ask the nurses how the transition is going.

Pam and I set up the apartment this past Wed so when I took her to Rossville after her hair appointment in FLora, we just went to her new digs instead of returning to Delphi. Mom had no idea that she was moving so when we showed up she seemed to accept the idea readily.

Tonight after dinner, we all went to see her and found her at the dinner table talking to one of the other residents. Deke and I will go back Sunday after church so I'll update you then. Until then, pray that this transition goes well.

Front entrance to the assisted living building

Mom's apartment

Sitting in one of the lounges with the great grandchildren

Bedroom

Livingroom

The Curse of Mama Jo

Natalie made the statement that Mama Jo will continue to live in us way after she's gone and buried. The Porter/Martin clan arrived around 4PM today and within minutes Pam and Natalie were busy shampooing the van carpet. Josiah had spilled some Coke on the front passengers side mat when they arrived so I got out the extractor right away and Natalie took off scrubbing the mat. Of course before it was all said and done, the whole van had to be cleaned. The curse lives on!!!

Alyssa (9), Kayleen, (7) and Josiah (3) found their "toys" immediately after arriving.

The Red Seat Section

Last night we went to an Indy Indians game with our two best buddies, Brian and Carla. We knew the weather was calling for rain but, what the heck, we decided to brave the elements and head out anyway. We stopped to eat Arni's Pizza in Lebanon then headed downtown.


Most of us had never been to "Victory Field" but it turned out to be a delightful ballpark with no bad seats in the place. Speaking of which- When we were heading to the ticket window, these two guys stepped forward and offered us 5 free tickets. Yeah. No, seriously, they said. Where? we asked. They're good seats, one offered. Yeah. Oh well what the hay. "Thanks" we said as we accepted them thinking we were going to be back at that ticket window after being arrested and frisked and fined. But we got through the styles just fine, thank you, and found the 4 seats about 15 rows up behind home plate. Not bad, we say. What the heck? Who were those guys and this only happens to other people, not 2 preachers and their ever-lovin' wives.

So we sat down and broke out the peanuts and proceeded to enjoy the game. Actually, the Indy Indians did a terrible job against the Louisville Bats. Lost somewhere in the range of 10 runs. But who cares- we were soaking in the ambience.

After the rain started we really started soaking in the ambience. Three big-headed guys who sat in front of us left the park so we had a magnificent view of the proceedings. The rain came down but we were warm and snug with ponchos over our legs because we were just barely under the upper tier and it kept the rain from us. Somewhere during the last part of the game, some woman stopped and asked why our seats were red. Red seats? We hadn't even noticed. They were painted red and the four directly in front of us were all painted red and had a bank logo painted on the backside. We then began to notice that our seatbacks had engraved nameplates of 4 couples who must have chosen to not attend the ballgame last night. We are eternally grateful to the bank and those 4 couples who chose not to attend last night's game so that we could be the recipient of someone's generosity. So for the price of an Arni's pizza and salad, we had a wonderful evening.

We're Talkin' Cute Here

Mark and Lori and Baby Claire stopped in for a visit. We had a wonderful time getting acquainted with Claire while the big folks did big folks things (can you say euchre). It was grand holding our little #6 and watching her smile and coo.

Deke and I had to leave them to make a hospital call in Indy so we met up with the Illinois trio at Bob Evans the last afternoon they were with us. We had a leisurely late lunch, then sent them on their way.

Claire Jones at 7 weeks

Two Men and a Baby
or
Father, Son and Wholly Cuteness

Mama Jo with her newest Great

At Bob Evans

One last hug and kiss before sending her (er them) off

Mark and Lori

It Happened in Just One Day

Breakfast at "The Stone House"

Visit with Mom at St Elizabeth

A stop at Dollar General for cards and misc

Another stop at the shoe repair store in Delphi

Deke robed and ready to perform a wedding ceremony at church

Terrible pic b/c it was low light with no flash

After the wedding reception at Frankfort, a short stop-over with Grandma Mary before hitting the sack late that night.

California or Bust

Em and Jonny were with us for 2 whole days and parts of 2 other days. They tried to get some R'n'R while here but moving is stressful no matter the down-time afforded. So they moved boxes, stacked equipment, reshuffled the car interior, slept and soaked in the Indiana summer before heading out to California. They plan on taking 10 days+ to get to the west coast with many stops visiting family and friends along the way.

Relaxing on the front porch the morning of the departure.

One final farewell pic with Mom and Daughter

One final farewell pic of Em and Jonny

Going...

Going...

...(sigh) Gone

Movin' On UP

Friday Deke and I drove to the Holy City (Wilmore, KY) to help Em and Jonny pack up and move their goods here for storage. We had lots of help and managed to start back to Indiana Saturday around 1:30.



Up early Saturday morning. Decide to walk through the seminary campus and visit our old neighborhood.

Deke with John Wesley

Sitting in the middle of the campus

One of hundreds of flower baskets in town

Entrance to our old neighborhood

Strolling by our old house

Deke and Jonny begin loading

Heading out of town with a full load in both the back of the van and the trailer