Max, Marian, Randy and Gr Mary
Gr Mary
Dianne
Randy and Kathy
Friday, July 30, 2010
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Last night, Randy and Kathy flew in from Denver. On their way here from the airport, they picked up Grandma Mary and we all met to enjoy some family time together. After our meal, we gathered on the screened in porch for ice cream and brownies/cookies. They will be with us today, departing Saturday morning to be with Randy's granddaughter in Bloomington for a softball tournament. We'll take whatever time can be eked out.
Max, Marian, Randy and Gr Mary
Gr Mary
Dianne
Randy and Kathy
Max, Marian, Randy and Gr Mary
Gr Mary
Dianne
Randy and Kathy
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
It's a Grave Situation
When Pam was here we ventured to various places and among those places, we visited graves. In Flora we went to see Dave and Timmy's grave, and on our way to the Indy airport, we hunted up Aunt Madge's grave. I had never been there ever, so it was good that we found the site. Crown Hill Cemetery is gorgeous! While there, we also located James Whitcomb Riley's grave/monument which is situated at the highest point in the cemetery and commands a magnificent view of downtown Indy.
Sadly, after Pam's departure, Farmer Bob showed up with our last "grave" situation when he produced his latest mole kill. I say sadly because Pam was curious as to what a mole looked like and this would have been a great learning experience. But, thanks to the latest in technology, we can see this magnificent specimen,albeit dead.
So there you have all things grave.
At Dave and Timmy's grave in Flora
James Whitcomb Riley's monument
Pam at Aunt Madge and Uncle James' grave
Pam and I at Crown Hill
Pam departing for Pennsy
Farmer Bob showing off his latest catch
Mole
Sadly, after Pam's departure, Farmer Bob showed up with our last "grave" situation when he produced his latest mole kill. I say sadly because Pam was curious as to what a mole looked like and this would have been a great learning experience. But, thanks to the latest in technology, we can see this magnificent specimen,albeit dead.
So there you have all things grave.
At Dave and Timmy's grave in Flora
James Whitcomb Riley's monument
Pam at Aunt Madge and Uncle James' grave
Pam and I at Crown Hill
Pam departing for Pennsy
Farmer Bob showing off his latest catch
Mole
Friday, July 23, 2010
A Visit
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Happiness at the End of the Rainbow
Mark, Lori and Claire came to be with us this weekend. While here they went paragliding, visited the Delphi Erie Canal Museum, ate Pizza King pizza, played euchre, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, vegged out and witnessed one of the most spectacular storms ever!
Mark, in the back seat, getting ready to take off
Did you ever wonder what's at the end of the rainbow?
It's the Jones' house!
I think I can...I think I can...
I can!
Mark, in the back seat, getting ready to take off
Did you ever wonder what's at the end of the rainbow?
It's the Jones' house!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Toiling
Yesterday, our cement man showed up to start reconstruction of our driveway. Two years ago when the roofers left shingles sitting on our driveway for months, the concrete cracked. We have to replace 3 large sections. In addition, we decided to go ahead and widen our driveway entrance as it's never been sufficient to easily turn in and out of our driveway. Of course it rained buckets last night so we are taking a day off to let the ground dry out some. Big cement trucks will come tomorrow and we don't want deep ruts in our lawn. In fact, we are toying with the idea of running the trucks through the hay field and transporting the cement with the Bobcat bucket. In any case, we are in a real mess around here and the worst part is the reconstruction of the landscape at the driveway entrance. We tried to save the burning bushes, black-eyed susans, daylilies and Great Grandma Dimmitt's peonies. Hopefully we can get them back in the ground before they die.
Some garden bounty I picked today
Some garden bounty I picked today
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
I don't know where to start when describing the "wedding" and the celebration. It was fabulous! We don't have any wedding pics yet, but will be hearing from our photographer within a week or so. When we do get some pictures, I will blog them. Also, the ceremony was video taped, so you can watch it when you're here visiting.
The day was perfect. The kids had all arrived the night before, for the rehearsal. We had pizza and salad after rehearsal at the church. The 25th was sunny and not so humid for Indiana. We all assembled at the church by 4:30 for pictures. At 4:00, I met Deke at the altar so we could have some time together to reflect on the day and to see each other in our attire. The professional pictures were all taken by 5:30 so we all gathered in the breakroom where the church women had prepared a feast for us.
By 7:00, all was in place. The 1812 Overture began (the one with the Boston Pops with the fireworks exploding and church bells ringing) in all its glory and the grandkids marched down the aisle ringing old-fashioned school bells. When the tune hit its crescendo, the couples came in two by two carrying the babies in their arms (two teenage attendants retrieved the babies at the altar and took them to the nursery). Deke and I followed and arrived at the altar as the song ended. The people said they wanted to cheer!
There were 3 surprises: Before our vows were repeated, unknown to me, Deke had memorized some endearing words for me and repeated them. In addition, I had written a letter for him to be read by Erin because I knew I wouldn't be able to get through it without blubbering all over the place. About a quarter of the way through that one page letter, Deke took it from Erin and asked me to read the rest to him. Of course I got through it but it was with much blubbering. After the vows were repeated, we all 8 stepped to the top platform where Deke and I knelt at a two-person altar to take communion. Our pastor served all 8 of us and we gathered together to pray. After the communion, we thought the pastor would pronounce the "Husband and Wife" thing, but he said the kids wanted to say something to us. What resulted was the kids gave Deke and me a "blessing" just as we had done for them at their weddings. They each took the microphone and said to us some amazing words of love and affirmation. We were just "got" and it was no doubt the highlight of the whole ceremony. After the pronouncement, the grandkids once again rang us out of the church with their bells as the finale of the 1812 Overture thundered overhead.
We formed a receiving line in the reception room that took at least an hour for the people to pass through. Afterward, we cut the cake and mingled with the crowd. We had set up 4 centers around the room, each depicting a decade of our marriage. For instance in the 70's display, I had my original wedding dress all decked out on a mannequin along with a tri-fold black foam board with 8x10 and 12x17 pictures on display. We had cake and punch and a candy "bar" where people filled little organza bags full of assorted candies displayed in large glass containers. It was such a fun evening.
The next morning, we all took off for Michigan where we had rented a log home on Lake Brevort, a small lake just 10 miles northwest after crossing the bridge. It was a long haul getting there and back but it was great seeing Michigan again and feeling the cool, crisp air of summer. We froze the first two days but the rest of the week was much better. Wish it had been a tad warmer for the kids to swim comfortably in front of the house, but it was really too cool for them most days. Too bad, too, as the water was very shallow for at least a hundred feet and they could have swum without fear of dropping off in the depths. We played euchre, swam, drank coffee, played ladder ball, fished, sat around the firepit every night eating smores, celebrated a birthday, sailed, paddled a canoe, kayak and rowboat, swam in Lake Michigan and enjoyed being together. The big kids made all the meals all week, which was a tremendous gift to me.
What a celebration! So happy we did it and so happy and grateful for these wonderful 40 years together. Deke and I have 3 of the most wonderful kids in the world and 6 of the best and brightest and most beautiful grandkids ever born into a family. We are eternally grateful to the Lord for His grace and blessing over us. Thank you Lord!
The day was perfect. The kids had all arrived the night before, for the rehearsal. We had pizza and salad after rehearsal at the church. The 25th was sunny and not so humid for Indiana. We all assembled at the church by 4:30 for pictures. At 4:00, I met Deke at the altar so we could have some time together to reflect on the day and to see each other in our attire. The professional pictures were all taken by 5:30 so we all gathered in the breakroom where the church women had prepared a feast for us.
By 7:00, all was in place. The 1812 Overture began (the one with the Boston Pops with the fireworks exploding and church bells ringing) in all its glory and the grandkids marched down the aisle ringing old-fashioned school bells. When the tune hit its crescendo, the couples came in two by two carrying the babies in their arms (two teenage attendants retrieved the babies at the altar and took them to the nursery). Deke and I followed and arrived at the altar as the song ended. The people said they wanted to cheer!
There were 3 surprises: Before our vows were repeated, unknown to me, Deke had memorized some endearing words for me and repeated them. In addition, I had written a letter for him to be read by Erin because I knew I wouldn't be able to get through it without blubbering all over the place. About a quarter of the way through that one page letter, Deke took it from Erin and asked me to read the rest to him. Of course I got through it but it was with much blubbering. After the vows were repeated, we all 8 stepped to the top platform where Deke and I knelt at a two-person altar to take communion. Our pastor served all 8 of us and we gathered together to pray. After the communion, we thought the pastor would pronounce the "Husband and Wife" thing, but he said the kids wanted to say something to us. What resulted was the kids gave Deke and me a "blessing" just as we had done for them at their weddings. They each took the microphone and said to us some amazing words of love and affirmation. We were just "got" and it was no doubt the highlight of the whole ceremony. After the pronouncement, the grandkids once again rang us out of the church with their bells as the finale of the 1812 Overture thundered overhead.
We formed a receiving line in the reception room that took at least an hour for the people to pass through. Afterward, we cut the cake and mingled with the crowd. We had set up 4 centers around the room, each depicting a decade of our marriage. For instance in the 70's display, I had my original wedding dress all decked out on a mannequin along with a tri-fold black foam board with 8x10 and 12x17 pictures on display. We had cake and punch and a candy "bar" where people filled little organza bags full of assorted candies displayed in large glass containers. It was such a fun evening.
The next morning, we all took off for Michigan where we had rented a log home on Lake Brevort, a small lake just 10 miles northwest after crossing the bridge. It was a long haul getting there and back but it was great seeing Michigan again and feeling the cool, crisp air of summer. We froze the first two days but the rest of the week was much better. Wish it had been a tad warmer for the kids to swim comfortably in front of the house, but it was really too cool for them most days. Too bad, too, as the water was very shallow for at least a hundred feet and they could have swum without fear of dropping off in the depths. We played euchre, swam, drank coffee, played ladder ball, fished, sat around the firepit every night eating smores, celebrated a birthday, sailed, paddled a canoe, kayak and rowboat, swam in Lake Michigan and enjoyed being together. The big kids made all the meals all week, which was a tremendous gift to me.
What a celebration! So happy we did it and so happy and grateful for these wonderful 40 years together. Deke and I have 3 of the most wonderful kids in the world and 6 of the best and brightest and most beautiful grandkids ever born into a family. We are eternally grateful to the Lord for His grace and blessing over us. Thank you Lord!
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