Think cool

Here is a picture taken March 5, 21005.  It may be a good idea to think about this today.  It may cool you off or it may make you thankful for the weather we expect to have most of the week.
I had my annual physical today.  I think all the reports were A+.  I had a weight goal for today and I made it by 1 pound.  That means that I am now down to a weight that I have not seen since about 1990.  In return for losing 19 pounds since mid May my blood pressure is now down to an OK number.  My goal is to lose about 18 more pounds which would put me at my late 1970's weight and that would be very good.  I have found that I have needed to change my eating, eating less, but mostly I need to exercise and for me now it is riding bike.  I was able to ride 14 miles yesterday with an average speed of 15 MPH.  Most of the time I can clock in at maybe 12-13 but it felt good yesterday.  I talked to my dr about that this morning and then I commented that my oldest son went on a 30 mile ride Sunday and with some effort he averaged 21.5.  Dr laughed and said I am sure he is the spandex rider and you are the T-shirt/padded shorts guy and of course I said you are right!!!  What can I say, 63 and counting I guess I should be happy with 15 MPH.  It did turn out to be so fun and it kind of fueled the idea of a nice road bike but time will tell.  Regardless the point for me is I need/desire to lose weight and riding is a good way for me to do that at this time. 
Here it is noon on Monday and I am kind of avoiding camp work by blogging but that is not all bad.  Camp work does not go away and it will get done, one way or another.
Back to my physical dr said that my cholesterol was ideal which is the first time I have heard that.  I also make my weight goal by 1 pounds and I would say that is the first "personal goal" I have made for a long long time and it felt good.  One of the reasons I wanted to lose weight was I wanted no additional blood pressure meds and that happened so GOOD.
No I had better get busy on camp.  I also put in a load of white clothes so need to get them out on the line.  Most of you know that in thick or thin those domestic duties never cease to need to be taken care of. 

A day to remember

Ten and a half months after we said good-bye to Gail many family and friends gathered at Resurrection to share, see the monument, pray and say perhaps another thank you and good bye to Gail. 
It was a good time, a sad time and maybe, just maybe for me a time that I needed so that I can continue to bank those wonderful memories and admit in a new way that Gail is gone physically from us forever.
I will not say much but I will write what I ended our gathering with today. 

Gail

There she was
Her radiant smile
it seemed to be
so bright

I was mesmerized
by it as she stood
there in the kitchen
she seemed so natural

She said good morning
In return
I took her face in my hands
Gentling kissing her lips

I knew that this day
It would be fun
It would be full
Full of life

As I slipped out the door
She followed as
Well she always did that
To say one last good bye

Of course I looked
As I drove away
I knew she was watching
I knew she would miss me

The kiss that she blew
It never grew old
It seemed to remain
There in the air each day

At school I was busy
Yet she remained
There in my thoughts
Almost by my side

As usual
I waited for the end
The end of another day
Home to her again

As I drove up
There I saw it
The kiss from this morning
Still in the air

Hurriedly I went inside
And there she was
In the kitchen
The same smile

Hi honey
I missed you today
She said that
Every day

But I knew
She meant it
Yes there was no pretense
Everything was real

But of course
It is no more
The image is vivid
But the presence is gone

No more hi honey
No more I missed you
No more wind blown kisses
Just memories

The memory of
Of happiness
Of times past
Of love so real


I can't forget
Her face was radiant
Her spirit was real
Her love unsurpassed


So today it is final
She is here yet
She is not
But her memory is forever.

Those goofy kids

Here are Audrey, Faustina, Henry and Liam in the crib.  They get bigger and more goofy each day.  This was taken at our brunch Sunday.

Camp time continues barreling towards August 8!  Yesterday and today I got water ordered, shirts ordered and paper work done.  It continues to be an emotional struggle to fully engage but things are coming together and it will be good.  I think God will be up to big things.

I have been doing well lately.  This camp time of course is a challenge but I knew that would be the case.  Someone asked me at the community meeting how I was doing and I said on a scale of 1-10 I think I am about a 7:32!!  How I came up with that I do not know but I think it is pretty accurate. 

The temp hit 95 today and I did not get on the bike.  This morning it looked like rain so did not ride.  In fact my bike is still in the car from Monday when I took it to Cannon Falls to ride a bit on the Cannon River Bike Trail.  Never been on it before and it was really fun.  However I need to get the bike out and ride tomorrow if possible.  I did find out that when I lay the back seat forward I can get it in my car so maybe I will not get a hitch for a carrier, not sure.

This afternoon I took two roses out to the grave site.  It certainly is nice to have the monument in place.  I put a glass vase, with sticky tape on the bottom, on the bench.    I am not sure a person can put glass out there but I did.  Will see if they find it and say no.  They would like you to buy a brass vase that goes in the ground and of course they sell them for the bargain price of $600!!!!  I could do a lot of flowers for that.

I have been so busy it is difficult to get to the blog each day but hope to do that after camp again.  I continue to find that I enjoy writing. 

Enough, it may be Advil PM time and to bed early.

Farewell

Here is the family!!  Cynthia/Mike hosted a brunch for John/Mary and family this morning.  Of course we missed Aaron/Amy and family but everyone else was there.  We will again be together next Saturday as we dedicate the monument but today was perhaps the last time we will be together for a meal for some time.  Sure, there will be visits etc but that is not the same!!
We:

• Wish them well and we will miss them living here
• We are so excited for John and his new job

• We hope their new home is all and more than they expect
• May all the thousands of details in their move be taken care of.
• We hope their new schools and neighbor are wonderful

We thank:

• Cynthia/Mike for a great brunch today
• Lizzia for coming to be part of the day
• Travis for being such a great uncle to the kids
• The Lord for being so present and good to us all

It was a good day.  The brunch, the legal papers for the will and trust were all done, some camp work was done, camp staff assignments were mostly done at my camp meeting tonight and the list goes on for some time.
Our weather has been perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold and enough rains scattered so that no watering is needed.
We we enter the last week in July so a week from today is August 1st, hard to believe.
May August bring much happiness to little sister Helen!!!!!

I was shocked

John Krause and I drove to Resurrection this afternoon to look around and John wanted to know where Gail was buried.  As we approached from afar I stopped.  There was nothing there yesterday and there it was.  I was humbled, sad, happy and shocked.  It was emotional.  I am so happy with how it looks.  I am so happy how Gail's writing of our names look and the bench is wonderful.  I also like the granite better than I thought I would so thank you Lord for your goodness.
Not much else to say, just thank you Lord.

It can be confusing!!

Here is an accurate picture of me for the last few days.  Try answering your land line phone and your cell phone at the same time!!!!  I have been working at honing my multitasking skills but the phones are just too too much.

I can not believe that picture.  I have been trying to lose weight but that neck is too ugly.  It looks like it is not meant to connect the head to the body!!

Camp is now in full swing.  We had our first camp meeting last night and that always gets things going.  The excitment is in the air, anticipation is there and it seems that God may be up to something big.  I can hardly wait.

I would certainly be remiss if I did not mention that I, and many others, miss Gail so so much.  I miss her smile as we worked, her sensational organizational skills, her unbelieveable attention to detail and perhaps most of all her never failing effort to cover my behind to the point that I had most people believing that I had things under control.  Now it is eat humble pie and "sorry" again and again and again but what can I say, it is what it is and God is in control.  Seriously this camp has been a challenge without Gail and I know it will be to the end.  God will be there as he always is but oh my one of God's beautfiul and wonderful servants is missed BIG time.

I took most of the day off as it is Friday.  Camp can be, if you let it, a 24/7 deal so I have always tried to take Friday off and regain my focus and rejuvinate my batteries.  It does help but the battery may be on low until camp is wrapped up.
 I am going to get outside a bit and see what I can do.  The weather is perfect.

Don't forget about little sister Helen.  The count down is now 15 days until the BIG DAY.  Better enjoy life while you can Helen.

A morning in the park

Jude had a dr appt this morning so I arrived at Cynthia/Mike's at 5:45 to watch Faustina.  She woke at 8:10 and about the first things she said was let's go to the park!!  So a bottle of milk later we were at the park.  We played for about 45 min and then we went to see Wallace.  Jude arrived home by 11:15 and the dr said things went well.  They will have his kidney checked in a month or two to see if it is working correctly.  Lord come and heal it now.
A busy day.  Running around a lot and getting ready for our first pre-camp staff meeting tomorrow.  Lotz to do!!
I did not feel well at all this afternoon.  Very severe stomach cramps for much of the afternoon and evening.  I did not go to men's group because of that. 
Tomorrow will be more camp.
It now looks like the monument will be up early next week.  I went to look at how the writing