family

I am jonesing for family time. I dont know how else to put it. I talked to my Mom and Dad on the phone last night and daily text my sisters. I follow the lives of my brother and his wife and kids on their blog, thanks to my SIL for keeping that up! I don't really keep tabs on the other brother, read his wife's FB every now and then.  I promised myself I would have more family time this year, but I havent been home since Christmas. I am making time next month to drive home and spend 2 days there.
I miss my baby sister, I miss my dad, my neice, nephew, everyone! Just a few more weeks and hopefully I will get to see all of them for my Mom's birthday....

be careful what you wish for

When I was in high school I went through a phase where I decided I did not like original spelling of my name. I guess I wanted to feel unique. The proper spelling of my name, given to me at birth is Stephanie. In high school (around the age of 15 maybe) I decided to start spelling it Steffanie. My parents and family did not like the idea of this. I went through this phase for a long time. My mother eventuallynhumored me and somehow the whole family began spelling my name Steffanie. It was as if someone passed a memo around to the family. When I got to college I continued this phase, confusing many professors, teachers, officers at the firehouse, and other new people who thought someone else made a mistake, since all of my "official" paperwork had my name spelled Stephanie. Well, about a year ago, maybe even two, I realized how silly this "phase" was. I began to respect my birthright, I guess you would call it, and began using the spelling of my name given to me at birth. I am now 25. The odd thing is, the majority of my family is still spelling my name Steffanie, even though I have been using the proper spelling on all cards, gifts, and our family website for the last year or so. I guess it's true you should be careful what you wish for....

Family time

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while.... I just got back from almost a whole week off work (I made it 6 days away from the full time job but managed to squeeze in 36 hrs at the hometown aquad while visiting my parents.) But I am only gonna talk about my visit with family in this post.

I spent about 6 days in my hometown this past week. It was really nice to spend some quality time with my Dad and Mom. They are the only two I saw for the most part. I did manage a few hours with Mimi, Pap and Cameron listening to the final high school softball game on the radio while eating some home made stew. I also managed a trip with my parents down to the capital of the state to visit my brother and his wife and kids for my neice's 1st birthday and boy was that fun!

Here she is sitting on Pap's lap after her morning nap before lunch and the festivities. She has such a great smile. My folks treated all of us to a nice lunch at Logans Steakhouse. I got the joy of riding next to my nephew in the back of my parent's car because he wanted to ride with Doh (my mom) and Pap (my dad).

He is so photogenic. He loves having his picture taking. He was showing off his new Spiderman shades here. After lunch we headed back to the house for cake and ice cream!

Here is a picture of the cake my talented mother baked for the occasion. For those of you not familiar it is the catipillar from Baby Einstein. and below you will see the end result of the cake eating, and just how much fun Sophie had.

Needless to say by 2:30pm she was ready for her afternoon nap. Overall it was a great visit and I was so excited to share such a happy occasion with my family. I tend to miss out on these things living so far away and not being able to visit often nearly enough, especially when it comes to my niece and nephew. I love you Cricket and Bucky!

granddad update

Well, I got to my hometown Tuesday afternoon to find my granddad in much worse shape than I had imagined. He left this world to be with the Lord Tuesday night. He no longer is suffering. It has been a long week. Although the reason for my homecoming along with a lot of family was sad, it was really nice to have everyone home for the first time in a year and half. I even got to meet some distant relatives. The viewing was on Friday at the church, and it was much better than I thought it owuld be. It was not a gloomy sad event, instead it was bright flowers, Glen Miller playing on the loudspeaker, and the sanctuary was filled with sunshine as God smiled down on the family of his newest son in heaven. It kind of reminded me of the welcoming home of the prodigal son story.... The funeral was wonderful today. Again it was kept upbeat for the most part and the sun shone bright all through the service and even through the graveside service, as we were getting back into our vehicles the cloudes open up as if theyhad been holding in the rain for months and it rained and rained for the last 8 hours, at some points almost monsoon like. This was a wake up call to me that even the things we think impossible are not. My grand dad was seen as indestructible by most, especially his family. Thanks to anyone who kept him and our family in your prayers. He is much better off now. Thanks again!

Tomorrow I will attend church with my family and then head back to PA for a few days then back home to have some much needed family time, especially with my father....

ill grandad

So I am heading to my parents house as soon as I get off work to go see my very ill grand father. From what my mom says he is not doing well AT ALL. So far I am ok, but Im not sure how I will be after I see for myself just how sick he is. My mom assures me he is not in any pain but he has been hallucinating for the last 2 or 3 days. He took a small spill down the steps a few weeks ago and ended up in the hospital then and then acquired a staph infection that is pretty nasty...so I am still praying for him so that he doesnt suffer, and if that means it is his time to die, then so be it. Thanks again for any prayers.

And I know this is basically a repeat but I guess that just means I am worried....