Cleaning carpets for Jenny

Jenny & Trevor have the babies room all set up and ready to go. Now, it just needs a baby!

Jenny asked if we could bring the steam carpet cleaner up and clean the carpets. Unfortunately when it comes to projects, it always takes Gary a lot longer than planned. We got up to their condo in Kirkland, had lunch, cleaned the carpets, went out to dinner and came back and put things away. It took about 8 hours! In the end the upstairs carpets are beautiful and we got a couple rugs downstairs cleaned as well.

The first pass of cleaning really showed how clean we were getting them. What I was surprised was how much more we got out in a second pass. We went through about 1 1/2 gallons of cleaning solution and lots if water. Gary turned the hot water heater all the way up to make sure the water was hot.

Trevor kept a bucket filled with solution so as soon as the tank was filled with dirty water he could empty it and fill the solution tank up. It made the process go a lot faster. he worked his tail off.

Joey supervising.

Jenny supervising.

Laura's boyfriend TJ lives in a condo outside the back of Jenny & Trevor. Her good friend was married on Sunday and she was in the wedding. She stopped by to say hi and check on her pregnant sister.

Happy Birthday Old Man!

Gary 11 days old

Gary as a teenager



Gary 1985

Changing a tire on the way home from Utah.

Happy Birthday Gary! Today Gary is..., well I can't tell you how old is is. That would be rude. I can say it is the same number as Tim Shaw a linebacker for the Chicago Bears; the atomic number of Cerium on the Periodic Table of Elements; 3(2+9) + 5(5); the number of the Single Check rebate from Rite Aid for a Wartner Wart Remover Kit for the month of June; LVIII, it is the fifteenth discreet tri-prime and the ninth in the (4.q) family; the number of the Aberdeen, WA school district; the sum of the first seven prime numbers; the name of the Tour Eiffel Restaurant in France; and the number of the day in the Gregorian Calendar for February 27.

His request for dinner is lasagna and pecan pie for dessert. I hope you have a wonderful birthday sweetheart.

Ashton

My 3 1/2 year old grandson Dayton has a friend named Ashton. They are Sunbeams together at Church. A couple of weeks ago it was discovered that Ashton had a tumor.

Surgery was scheduled and a cantaloupe sized tumor was removed frpm her abdomen. It's hard for me to imagine such a large tumor in a tiny 3 year old girl. Surgery removed the entire tumor and it was sent in to pathology.

Ashton has been diagnosed with Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a form of cancer. She has had a Port-a-Cath inserted and later this week she starts chemo therapy. Her treatments are expected to last one year.

Last week they had a tour of the Oncology area where Ashton will receive her treatments. It must have been a lot to absorb for everyone. It was also a little scary for Ashton to see all the bald people. After discussing this with the staff they suggested to have her around this environment more so she can get used to it.

So what do you suppose they did? Dad went home and let Ashton shave all his hair off! What an awesome dad. Now seriously think about this for a moment. If your little child had cancer and would loose all their hair, would you be willing to shave all your hair off? (Kurt your answer doesn't count!) I have to admit it would be hard for me.

So if you would like to follow Ashton's journey her moms blog is here. Every night Michelle & her family remember Ashton in their prayers. When they pray that Ashton will feel better, Dayton tries to correct them saying that she is better. To him being sick is not feeling well, staying home and laying in bed.

So please remember Ashton and her family in your prayers, and remember the kind and caring doctors and nurses that care for her. Pray that their hands will be guided to give the best care and that she can be healed of this illness.

For some reason this little girl's story has captured my heart. I am not sure why, maybe because she is Dayton's friend and her mom is Michelle's friend. And I also find myself asking the spiritual question "Why?"

The Eagles!!

Yes, today was the day for the long awaited Eagles Concert at the Key Arena in Seattle. We left early so Gary could take me to my favorite restaurant, The Olive Garden, for lunch. We had a few errands on the way and we planned to meet at Jenny & Trevor's. Laura was going to meet us there too so we could all go out to dinner for Laura's birthday.

At 4:34 pm I received a call from Trevor: "I have some bad news". My first thought was Jenny! He said the Eagles concert was cancelled. Well, Trevor just had to be joking with me because my family knows how much I am looking forward to this concert. No, this was for real. Bassist/vocalist Timothy Schmit was sick so the concert was rescheduled for May 26.

Well, that would be fine but I am leaving for Chicago on Monday! I offered to Gary that he could go with someone else, even though he knows how much I wanted to go. Well, luckily he has no one else to go with, besides HE WOULDN'T DARE!

I got home and there was a voice message on my answering machine that the concert was postponed, and I had 2 emails as well. They made every effort to let people know before they left home. Unfortunately we just left a little too early.

I missed the concert last year because of my medical mission, and this year it was postponed. I just have to hope that the band stays healthy enough to do this again next year. Tim, I hope you are feeling better soon!

Side note: Trevor said he would NEVER joke with me about something like that!

Things you don't say to your wife!

I was cleaning up some of my email (my space left is at a critical point) and I came across this video. I thought it was funny and wanted to share it.

I also came across this one. It suggests some songs for commercials.

And one last one!

I think I got these from Derrick! I hope everyone has a laugh from them.

Which Puzzle?

I came across this piece to a puzzle yesterday while I was cleaning out some old stuff. I frequently find pieces of old games, puzzles etc. I have a drawer that I put them in and occasionally the lost part finds its master.


The funny part about this is that I know which puzzle this goes to. And, I am sure each of my three daughters will look at it and know where it belongs. In fact they can probably tell you where it goes in the puzzle.

I constantly find odd parts around the house. All I have to do is show it to Gary and he will look at it for several seconds and tell me what it is for.

Yom HaShoah

Today is Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national memorial day and public holiday.

The day was inaugurated in 1951. In the Jewish calendar the day begins in the evening and ends in the following evening. In Israel Yom HaShoah opens at sundown, the national flag is lowered to half staff, the President and the Prime Minister deliver speeches, and Holocaust survivors light six torches symbolizing the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust and the Chief Rabbis recite prayers.

At 10:00 am on Yom HaShoah, sirens are sounded throughout Israel for two minutes. During this time, people cease from action and stand at attention; cars stop, even on the highways; and the whole country comes to a standstill as people pay silent tribute to the dead.

On Yom HaShoah ceremonies and services are held at schools, military bases and in other public and community organizations.

On the eve of Yom HaShoah and the day itself, places of public entertainment are closed by law. Israeli television airs Holocaust documentaries and Holocaust-related talk shows, and low-key songs are played on the radio.

I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to be Jewish during WWII. While it has been over 60 years since the Holocaust, it is still very real to those that survived. To those of us that weren't alive for it, it seems like ancient history.

I have seen a couple of movies that include the Holocaust, and I read a wonderful book, Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. It was one of those books I couldn't put down. I had no idea how Paris was involved in the Holocaust.

Please, take a few minutes to learn a little more about the Holocaust. I first learned about it in History class in school. Six million Jews were murdered, entire families were decimated, all because of their faith. Along with the European Jewish people, other groups including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents were murdered. By this definition, the total number of Holocaust victims would be between 11 million and 17 million people. Hitler believed that, in regards to Applied to human beings, "survival of the fittest" was interpreted as requiring racial purity and killing off "life unworthy of life."

What is interesting is that there is a debate as to whether or not Adolf Hitler himself was Jewish. It is believed that he himself had feared that he had Jewish ancestry and showed an extreme hatred toward the Jewish people so no one would doubt his ancestry as German.

Could something like the Holocaust happen today?