More Christmas memories....

And I'm just asking for it...but here you go.  

And sorry the picture is so BIG!  Trying to fix that....but you can see Hollywood in the background right?  And also a sign that says Betty.  My mom was there in spirit...ha.

Veteran's Day

Betty J. Stark

My flag is for my husband Charles A Stark, who one day in 1964, Uncle Sam said "I want you". He took his basic at Ft Leonard Wood, was assigned o the 1st Calvary Div of the Army at Ft Benning. In the summer of 1965, Vietnam was his destination where even tho he doesn't talk about it much, certain things bother him, loud firecrackers for one and things slip out as he talks about it to our grandsons. I'm so thankful to God for keeping him safe and bringing him home to his family. And to all others who have served over the years. God Bless You!


Sharla - We are a patriotic family  - Showing allegiance tho to the Lord.  So I honor my Dad and my late uncle, who was killed in Korea during that war, a huge sacrifice for my safety and freedom.  I know my Uncle who resides with Jesus and my dad would both say find your freedom in Jesus Christ.  


Grateful for the men and women of all armed forces - your sacrifice does not go unnoticed.  Thank you!

1st day of school

School is in full swing now.  Here's Jace and I on the first day of school.  He's holding up three fingers to signify 3rd grade.  I am thinking...I'm old.  To many years to count.  Ric...refrain.

Jordan (blue) and Jarrett starting the 8th grade.  How cute are they?  They are already spoken for by the Van Zyl's.  Now, I don't believe in pre-arranged marriages...but we can shove a little, right Dani?

I forced them to hold up 8 fingers...come on!  Just do it...your so cool.  

Tell me...where in the world does the time go?   

cardinals

Oh my poor cardinals....however, I'm not fickle.  I'll stand beside them till the end.  And because I'm loyal...taking the brunt of many...I feel I can rightly say...Guys!  What happened?  How did we get so behind????  I need to be in charge.

Grandpa's last ride

Posted by my mom.  Had to share this story...

The family went to Smart Cemetery, where all the Salchow's are buried, to lay dad to rest Thursday afternoon at 2 PM.  When we got there, I walked into the cemetery to see the place were he was to be buried, and since it was dad's wishes to be cremated, it wasn't a large opening, but I immediately thought, "I don't think that's the right place", as my brother Dean, and his wife want to be buried there also, on the 2 vacant spots next to our parents.  When the rest of the people came to the site, I told my brother I didn't think that was the right spot and he agreed.  After a conversation with the funeral director, who had dug the grave, we decided to go on with the simple service, with my pastor reading a few verses from the Bible and praying.  I then told the people there that because the grave was not in the right spot, we would put off the actual burial until later.  

On the next Monday, my brother and his wife, my stepbrother, and Charley and I met at the cemetery again.  The funeral director, who lives a short distance away and has a small Kubota tractor to dig the grave with, had not arrived yet.  I walked down to the gravesite, once again, but only the same small hole is there.  With tribulation, I go back and tell them that its the same grave, but not to worry, as we can hear the tractor coming down the road.  Its amazing how God works sometimes, because in drives the funeral director, on his little tractor, with dad's urn sitting on the seat with him.  Dad got to take one "last tractor ride".  The old farmer was smiling and rejoicing in Heaven.  The rest of the burial went smoothly, with the grave being dug, dad nestled into the hole, and covered up with shovels full of dirt by his son and his son-in-law.

One side moment, my brother, as he shoveled in the other grave site, the one that will be his burial site, says, "you know, most people don't get to fill in their own grave", and I would think he's the first.

Hope

My friend was coming to church this morning...instead she went to be with Jesus and worship Him in person.  She has changed my heart and touched so many.


You are good, you are good and your love endures today.

Royals + Rain = Ridiculous

Brian drove the bus for about 35 adults, mostly men, being that it was a father and son event to the Royals game last night.  And then there was me.  Anyway...off to the Royals game we go in 111 heat index.  I was smart tho, I wore a strappy little summery top.  Super cute and cool.  My shoulders were almost bare.  Since we were in the semi/bus we had to park in the back 40, almost on the other side of Arrowhead.  By the time we got to our seats we had walked 15 miles, uphill.  And we were sweating.  We sat down for maybe 10 minutes.  It starts to pour.  And it kept pouring for 2 hours.  We looked at everything you can look at in the K.  Did you know you can record yourself broadcasting the game in the hall of fame?
We did it...twice. And you can design your own ballpark.  Again, twice.  


Kelly, another pastor, decided it was time to go.  The Royals were ahead, and the Yankees needed to finish the game, hoping for a win.  So they didn't call the game.  They waited it out.  And ended up winning!   


Needless to say, with rain comes cooler temps.  It was wonderful, but I went from sweating to freezing in about 10 minutes.   Remember my super cool practical top?  Wah...I know.  Get over it...It stopped raining while we are waiting for Brian to pick us up in the bus and as we start walking out of the ballpark, guess what?  Pouring down rain.  I chattered all the way home.  We just had to laugh.

My heart :-)

My heart is full...

It's almost like the Lord has pulled a chair up close to my friends, the Reasons and sat down with them. Just to show them how much he cares about them....He's just going to be near. Hope is doing well, doing all the things a normal baby does. She looks like her older sister, loves to hold hands or fingers I guess, loves to snuggle with Mommy and Marmee at 1 in the morning and loves her friends Brian and Sharla. Hehe...well, she did open her eyes for us last night.

Funeral for Grandpa was on Thursday and saw family that I haven't seen for so long. There were so many people there...I know my mom and Uncle Dean felt so loved that night. My Grandpa would have been in the middle of all those people, loving the attention. So many people had such wonderful things to say about him. I wanted to say thank you SOOO much to each person. It meant so much to us. I loved that my Dad's side of the family came and the McCauley's, Brummett's the Underwoods. Brian's family came...gotta walk thru these times together. Then I looked up and saw Tavis smiling at me, I knew Holly had to be back there somewhere. I could have cried right there. I left my place in line and ran back to her to hug her. Don't know why I was surprised to see her...they are so busy. Just wasn't expecting them to make the drive to Billings! But isn't that what best friends do? I love you Holly...you bring so much joy to my heart.

Quick story...The air conditioner broke at my moms on Wed. night. So we went to bed with fans on us...I didn't sleep well. Jace had moved in with me and he's a kicker. So sweating and elbows in my face made for a long night. I finally prayed, Lord...send us a cool breeze!! It started storming early that morning sometime and I had to cover up! Ah! God is so good...

You are so loved!

Sweet Grandpa

This man left us tonight, a few days short of being 99. That is a long time to live, and even tho we knew it was coming....it was still kind of shocking. He's had a hard year, with breaking his hip, being forced to live somewhere he didn't want to, fighting to keep his mind sharp. So one might think it would be easier to say...Oh, he's better off now...and he is, I won't argue that at all. But it's still my grandpa. My mom's daddy. His mind was as sharp as a tack until recently. So it's hard to let him go. You know? Something about him being just down the road....knowing he's there and now he's not. This man made me a swing set out of a cherry picker frame, read to me in his chair, made the best popcorn, could fix anything, always had a story to tell, hugged me....this is where my mind went tonight. Love you Grandpa....

My first post...I'm new to this.

I just finished playing with Taylor and Macy. Taylor was so caught up in Thomas the tank engine (or Tommy as we call him) that he was distraught when Jamie said it's time to go. Next time I need him to stay for the whole day so we can really get lost in the Island of Sodor. They are sweet, sweet babies and I enjoy every minute with them. Baby Hope is on my mind constantly, every few moments something reminds me of her. We already love her, eyes unseen. She is such a part of all of them, and us...all of us, Josh and Jamie's surrogate family at LBC. Trusting the Lord for his peace and wisdom as we walk the journey with them. You can read about Hope Isabella here....http://hopeisabella.blogspot.com.

Josh and Jamie have been such a picture of God's joy and hope. His provision has showered over them and it is contagious. Love watching them praise Him thru all things. The rain or the sunshine...He is worthy of our praise.

You are so loved, Sharla