"Philadelphia" AZ

Mike posted a blog last week about brotherly love and how much it meant to him for Ted and I to visit him. Touche' brother, it was your turn. How many times have we been to each others sides in the past several years. When I went to the hospital for major surgeries in North Carolina, who was there looking at me when I awoke? Mike and Ted of course. It's just what we do because we love and respect each other. We are family and we are bound by a lifetime of caring. So whether it is in North Carolina or Texas or Arizona, wherever we gather will be "Philadelphia". Love you brothers!

 

 Mike shows Ted how to dial on a non-flip phone

 

Farewells as Ted prepares to leave for the airport.



 

"Juan Valdez Miguel Warbrittonez" displays his first orange harvest at El Casa Grande.

 

El Casa Grande!

 

My "tourist look" pic

These things (Saguaro cactus) are twenty feet tall and those needles are 2" long

 

 

Ouch!

 



Family visit to California

   I can't think of anything more important in life than family. When I consider my own life, it was family that stuck together through the hard times, through the illnesses, through the misunderstandings, through every challenge that came our way. It was that sense of community of belonging that held the bare threads together when the obstacles were greatest. Whether my Mother's sickness or my own sickness, whatever issues faced us, we faced it as a family; as a group of folks who loved each other and supported each other, no matter what.

    It is still so.

   My brothers and I act like we love one another because we do. I hope that we have passed that down to our next generation in a way that transcends the trials and turbulence of past mistakes.

   As I look at my descendants, I see the same bond of love and caring in the faces of my children and their spouses and all of my grandchildren. On the rare occasions when I get to visit them, I feel the bonds of love that bind us together. I see the care that each has for the other and it really does my heart good to be a part of it. Life is precious and caring is the root source that sustains the family tree.

And that includes the new limbs that are grafted in and become a part of the family tree to produce new fruit.

   My family tree is now growing in North Carolina, Colorado, Florida and California. What a joy to go and be with most of them in California. I saw four of my children with their spouses, seven of my grandkids and I actually visited with my two brothers in Phoenix on the way out there. I love my family and I pray God's blessing on each and everyone of us, everyday.

 

The Coastal Clan

Little Joshua

 

Kodi, Josh and Dave

 

Poppy and sweet Maci

 

 Poppy and Joshua watching "Happy Feet"

 

Three brothers - Chase, Josh and Tyler

 

 Darren on the Ojai Trail

 

 

 Pop on the Ojai Trail

 

Joshua and Dave

 

The Valley Clan

 

Little "G" kisses a frog



 

 

Alex is attacked by a bear

 

 

Sitting in the big brown chair

 

 

Auntie "M" with Lil' "G"

 

Feeding the goats

 

Not my favorite thing to do                                                            Watch me rope that steer

Alex and Lil' G find a treehouse

 

 The sunshine sisters in the "Golden State"

 

Garrett and Amy at the "Walnut Orchard Villa"

The Innkeepers Dan and Vicky (Garrett's folks)

 

 

Back to the Coastal Clan

                                                                 Dave and Kodi's Townhome

"Come back balloon"                           (Herein this pic lies a hidden family joke.)



Fighting the Devil in Arizona

   My brother Mike has decided to name the cancer that has invaded his body, so that he can personally address it when he is condemning it. When my other brother Ted and I were with him in Glendale, AZ, during his first week of chemo and radiation, he named it "Beelzebub" which of course is symbolic of the devil, or a prince of hell. Since then he has added "The Beast" in front of "Beelzebub". The radiation equipment is like a "beast" and it takes one beast to kill another. It is a totally appropriate name for this disease which has attacked his body with stealth and surprise. The battlefield is greater than his physical body, it encompasses his entire being. The soul and spirit are waging an equally fierce conflict at the same time as the science of chemo and precision radiation are battling with the attack on his body.
   Just as my brother Mike has an army of doctors leading the physical clash with the science of medicine, he has an army of spiritual warriors engaging the enemy's attack on his spirit. Pray for Mike that God will sustain him through this struggle. Pray for God to guide the Doctors and pray that God will give Mike strength, courage, hope and peace. I believe "hope" is the key that will triumph over any adversity that we face. "Hope" that our Lord and Savior will be there right besides us, defeating our enemies. Destroying the cancer and punching out the old "Beast Beelzebub".
   Keep punching brother!

"Pollyanna Santa"?

  Pollyanna Santa is a North Carolina colloquialism for the game of drawing numbers and exchanging small gifts around the tree in a group atmosphere. I first played it years ago at the office where it was called "Dirty Santa"  and I have heard it called "Cutthroat Santa" also. Fortunately, it seldom gets to those traits when played as a parlor game with the family. I married into the family almost twenty years ago and we have played it every year since. You are lucky if you draw a high number and you get to pick late in the list. When your number comes up, you can take someone else's gift who preceded you or you can open a new present from under the tree.
   When we played it at Granny's house, a gift could only be claimed 3 times by another player. If your gift is claimed, you can go claim someone else's gift or choose a new one from under the tree.
Granny lives with us now, so we play by Granny's rule.
   This year was somewhat uneventful, but I added the requirement that you had to wear either the Santa hat or the elf hat. As usual, we had a lot of fun and no one played too "dirty". Many of us let Bennett open our presents and he was hilarious as he ripped and tore off the wrappings. We had a good Christmas and had a lot of family fun! Hope you did too. Here are some of the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was Christmas Again!

    With four of our children in California and one in Florida, our prospects for Christmas seemed lackluster until the Florida clan decided to come to North Carolina for the holiday. We know they are all busy, they have lives to live and it is not easy to drop everything and travel for a few days. If they only knew how much it meant to us, it might have made them feel better about it. It made our Christmas.
   Christmas through the eyes of a child is a wondrous thing to behold. Watching that wondrous thing is a sight for old eyes to treasure. I hope that you had the pure, unadulterated pleasure that we experienced on this wonderful holiday. We were able to distance ourselves from the daily grind and  focus on what is really important. We laughed at the antics of a precious child and our hearts glowed with the joy of sharing the wonder. Having the little guy around made it feel like Christmas again.
   Wishing all a happy new year and much joy to accompany the trials and struggles that we will experience over the coming year. It is our wish, from the bottom of our hearts, that God will bless you all.