Tuesday, April 18, 2017

~GETTING IT TOGETHER~

The photo below was taken at my daughter's home. Many happy times were spent there. 
The home was once owned by the famous author Emily Barnes.  


This is a photo of six of my seven children taken some years ago.  My daughter, Sandy was not in it because she was living  in Georgia with her little family at the time.  My son that passed away in November is on the far right.  Pat.  This Easter his absence was felt.  Next to him is his brother, Mike.  Mike and Pat were 13 months apart in age and very, very close.  Crib mates.  It's been a tough few years for our family.
 Next would have been my first born daughter, Sandy, and "big sister" in our family...then my third son and forth child, Danny.  Danny is the one that lost his kidney's and his sister Erin donated one of hers.  She saved his life.  What a time it all was..a stressful time for all.
The chubby one is me before I revolted and stopped trying to keep my dark hair.  *Hint*  Never wear a bulky white sweater in a picture..it just DOES NOT work!  :)   Next is second daughter and fifth child, Erin Kathleen, then Maryalice, and then last..but far from least is my baby girl Dawn.  She is the mother of Wrenna Dawn on Face Book otherwise known as "Wrenigade"   The one that is off adventuring in ...Switzerland? right now.  She is coming to stay  with me for a bit in August..and needless to say..I cannot wait.  My granddaughters are ..amazing.  Every single one of them.  I be-est SO blessed!!  So are the grandson's and you KNOW how us grandmothers can go on and on...

Easter was really nice.  Four young great grandchildren were here racing around and this grandma was in heaven to have them.   Five greats were missing.  Only twenty four for dinner this time..many had to work and some were far away but were remembered at family prayer time as were those far away and those that have made their transition and are waiting for their Mom.

Belated Happy Easter to all of you out there... YOU ALL are another reason I have been so blessed.
Thank you for being there..
I'm out here trying to get my act together..

Love,
Mona

P.S.  Did you know I turned 80 while I was "gold bricking" and not blogging?  Yep, back in early October.  Some of you that do face book knew because my children advertised it.   LOL  How am I taking it?  NOT well..not well at all, :) but on the other hand ....I am happy to be here.  

28 comments:

  1. You look lovely!!!! Really REALLY lovely!!! My husband is 80 and soon to be 81! He doesn't act like it OR look like it! We got a bill from the doctor's office for a no show appointment. He called them right back and told them he had told his doctor he did NOT want to go to a Medicare appointment on aging just to be told he was 'old.' He then proceeded to tell them he KNEW he was old but that he was still living an active life and recounted how he recently unloaded 3,000 pounds of sand and hauled it to the back yard to put in the huge sand box he has made for the grandchildren! The billing department said to disregard that notice!
    YOU are still living an active life and I hope you continue to blog and share it with us!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Linda! How, in the world, AARE You?? :) I must visit you and see what you have been up to. Thanks for stopping by! The above picture was taken about 8 or 9 years ago..I am WAY old looking now. Those years make quite a difference when you are older.

      Delete
  2. So sorry to learn that your son died. I wondered what happened to you and why you were not blogging.

    So glad that you had a great time at Easter, sounds like a good time was had by all.

    Take care of yourself and so glad that your back.

    Hugs
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary..HI!! Not sure I am back..but I'm trying. Take good care and maybe I will see you again one of these days! I hope so!!

      Delete
  3. My hubby was 80 on Oct 1 of last year, so the same age as you are, so glad to see you back on line and know that you are OK.. sorry to hear about our son and have missed your posts

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sandra...it's good to see you too! Your husband is 8 days older than I am. Thank heavens SOMEONE is!! :) I will be by to visit you SOON! I am working on getting back in the saddle!!

      Delete
  4. What a wonderful picture, memories live on in our hearts forever! I know that 80 looks good on you! Enjoy your day dear friend, sending HUGS and PRAYERS your way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Was in my EARLY seventies when that photo was taken, but thank you!! Letting go of my dark hair was traumatic! :) How are you, sweetheart?? I need to get over and visit you!!

      Delete
  5. YAY!!!! mona posted! i love the pic of your family. so glad to hear you had a good easter. hopefully by next easter i will have my first grandchild! i miss your posts so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Joyce! You never fail to make me feel good about myself. It hurts to see my son and I still cry nearly every day..and when I do I fairly fall apart. The loss has been a bit much for me and I'm feeling it. You can see by that Easter picture on face book that it's taken it's toll. Listen...I am HOPING LIKE CRAZY that you get a little grand before long. It's going to be a little doll..boy or girl..it's going to be ADORABLE and I'm going to have to come back there and squeeze it's tiny butt!! LOL
      I do love the holidays..but I love the "after" quiet too. I tried not to cling to them when I had them all in one room..hard not to. Will check and see if you are still on break! :) Yep I actually POSTED! Yippee!! :):)

      Delete
  6. So glad to see you post something!!! As you can see----- weve MISSED YOu! Love the beautiful family picture! Isnt april just lovely!!?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mona how wonderful to see you posting once again. Your family photo is great. Have a blessed day. Madeline

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my, oh my, oh my . . .
    I absolutely loved seeing your post pop up on my Bloglovin screen.
    And seeing you and your kiddies, what a grand, "over the moon" happy picture.
    Precisely why we need to take pictures.
    To be enjoyed and treasured!
    What a gorgeous, handsome family!
    I cannot imagine all you have endured,
    suffered through since I met you here through our blogs.
    And here you are once again, resilient, kind, as beautiful in spirit as ever.
    Stay with us Mona . . . you are so loved.
    Happy Birthday 80 . . .
    Next post, can we see your pup?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mona, I was so happy to see this new post, while realizing how bittersweet it must have been for you to do it. I have thought about you many times and hope that you received a recent emil message, even though I did not expect a rely and that's OK as I only wanted you to know you were being thought of and missed online. I do not do any other social media, other than blogging, so did not see your recent FB posting. Belated Happy Birthday wishes to you as well. Understandably we do feel tinges of sadness as another one is here, but we are still here to celebrate and enjoy and that's the good news. be well, my blogger friend, and welcome back :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Welcome back Mona, we've missed you. That is a lovely picture of you all (nearly all) and one that you must look at many times now. I'm glad you enjoyed your Easter and that you are feeling a little better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stella! Thanks so much for stopping by to say hello. You can't imagine how much I appreciate it! Not sure I will be back as before..but from time to time perhaps. HUGS!! :)

      Delete
  11. So glad to see you back Mona. A belated Happy Birthday to you. Is the house you mentioned in the picture in Riverside? If yes, what a small world. My brother is married to Emily Barnes daughter . They held their wedding reception at this hose and it is really unique. They used to call it Barnes Barn. It was decorated with antiques and her collection of tea cups and saucers. Very nice lady.
    So glad you are doing well.
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sherry..and yes that is the same home. My daughter owned it for many years..bought it from Emily. Emily came to visit my daughter there and brought a friend with her. Mary thought of her as you do..a charming woman. Emily had moved to the beach area by then. My daughter also moved to the beach area after her family was grown and gone. It is now owned by someone else and I have not been by to see it of late.

      Thank you for stopping by Sherry... :)

      Delete
    2. Sherry,

      I read that Emilie passed away last year. Is her dear husband, Bob, still alive?

      Delete
    3. Hi Nancy,
      Yes Bob is still alive and living in their home in Newport Beach.

      Delete
    4. Thank you for letting me know. He wasn't mentioned as a survived by in Emilie's obit. I hope he is doing well.

      Delete
  12. I am so happy to see that you have written again. I missed you! Show us your yard and flowers please. You must be so happy with all the rain you've had.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Mitzi..yes, we are delighted with the beautiful Springtime all that rain afforded us. It's beautiful. I will get out and take a few photo's this week..
    It's nice to see you and thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mona,

    It is good to have you posting again. I've missed you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glad to see you back......80 is a great age to be. I just turned 70......it's all relative.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is an awesome post, i got very interesting post over here, I want to thank you for your effort. Your site is great. bloom tattoos

    ReplyDelete
  17. neighbouring then Cyrine Goutam Rafael montrose catanzano swimmin moonstruck
    Very good function! This is the kind of advice which needs to be shown around the net. Pity at the major search engines for not ranking this kind of blog post better! Seriously over plus head to my personal web page . Cheers =)

    Korean Air Purifier Brands

    Negative Ion Generator Reviews Consumer Reports

    Air Purifier Made In Germany

    ReplyDelete
  18. ave a good day!. How do you promote this blog? It seems to get a good ammount of traffic. Also, can you share where did you get the theme or layout of your site? I'm new to blogging and would like mine to look as good as yours. Thanks a lot. Breast Enhancement pills
    Hnegative ion generator reviews consumer reports
    air purifier made in germany
    meat purifier

    ReplyDelete

Thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts! Your comments are very important to me.