Shout outs

I just wanted to give a shout-out (that's "say HI" for all you fogies) to the couple of "new" people who have begun reading my blog. I know from reading the blogs of others that you can get carried away on the thoughts of others, so I appreciate the time all of you spend here. A lot of times it's easier to write my feelings than to say them-like if they get spoken they might be true, but if I write them, they're still ghosts of my mind. Sometimes I like my feelings to be that way. But sometimes, I really appreciate when people read what I write and say, "Hey, that's cool!" or "you're kinda funny" or "yeah, that really sucks", and I should say that out loud. It's nice to have the feeling and remembrance that people care. So often, I don't even get time to think until too late to call people, and if I do have time earlier, it's usually LOUD around here. I'm glad to know that even though I don't pick up the phone and call, some people are still listening. And I appreciate all of you. And, I will admit (but again, probably not aloud in the presence of others - some things should stay ghost-like...ha ha...gotta love family!), I love you, too.

Fort Harrison

I just want to get this off my chest first...why can't I see a bunch of the pictures I posted? They were here the other day when I posted them - I know, I looked!
Anyway, I'll check in a day or so and if they're still not there, I will try to fix them. In the meantime, here are a bunch more.
Did I mention it's been snowy here? :-)
Well, there's never been enough snow at once that lingers long enough for Sean to have a snow fort...until this year.

This is the view from the front entrance (the first hole dug)

Sean is in the lookout hole (the moonroof?!?) - he's not touching the ground inside, by the way. I think he's standing on Dad or something - Chip is hanging out the back entrance (no jokes, please), and the Nerf gun guards the front entrance you saw above. Funny story about that gun. I just about broke my nose on it when I tried to help dig some of the snow out. That was the end of Mom's helpful attitude. But it does seem to keep out the neighbors!
The smile I so rarely see anymore. I'm glad he's so excited by the fort. He and Dad spend scads of time out there (and I'm glad I don't have to...much, anyway)

Hardly Iwo Gima, but Sean insisted on having the flag on top, so people would know it was friendly fire, I imagine

I guess if the gun fails, the car's snow scraper will do the trick at close range. I hope it's back in the car now, in case we get dumped on with white stuff while we're out and about.

Ending on a high note

Three months since Fred has been gone. Doesn't seem possible. I keep a picture of him and Mom as my desktop background at work, so looking at it makes it seem more unreal, but comforting. He's making a subtle face that he always made, and it helps me remember some of the other funny (quirky) things about him.

Like his bathroom song.

his pride in his ..."wind"...

how he liked to sing songs (especially inventively re-worded versions) while he was puttering in the kitchen.

how he looked when he ate licorice.

how he would yell at the Jeopardy contestants.

his laugh - especially on of the last times I remember...laughing at the Colon saying Happy Thanksgiving on JibJab (I wouldn't recommend the faint of heart go online searching for it, but it was definitely Fred's kind of funny).

Just stuff like that.

And I still miss him a lot.

But I feel better when remembering those things. And when driving past the Civic Theatre...

Christmas photos

Yes, they're almost as late as my Christmas CARDS. Which, honest to goodness, I still have intentions of mailing. Someday. I kept hoping to have more solid news to put in them. Oh well. So maybe I'll send them in July as a festive something different...
Here are the pics:

after the Santa, before the chaos
is she biting it or opening it?!?
Grampa with the 2 babies.
Testing out the new thumb war ring...it appears that Gramps has the upper hand (pun intended)
Sophie and Gramma Marcia in NY. I don't have the opening presents pics...I think we used Gramma's camera. But we had fun there, too. Miss her. Maybe we'll get to go back for Easter.

Making up for lost time

When I came into the bedroom tonight, I was just going to go straight to bed. It was only 9:30, but I'd been reading "Great Expectations" for about a 1/2 hour, and - don't get me wrong, it's a great book - it was making me sleepy. But then I remembered I had started an email to my aunt and I needed to quickly finish it. Now I feel like I should make up for lost time on here and get some pictures posted (while I'm playing around on Facebook with all my "new" old friends!).
So, here are some more fun pics. Hope you enjoy!


Phone call from Grandma M:
I think he's reading her a book?!?


Sophie looks very impressed.
Now she's more interested.

Gramma - when are you going to talk to ME?!?
Unfortunately Gramma knows all to well that she has to do all of the talking in THAT conversation. Sophie will babble on and on until you give her a phone. Then she just likes to listen. And of late, shrug her shoulders.

Story Time

Sean loves reading to his sister, and she loves turning the pages!

It's the Counting Kisses book and she's kissing the page. Isn't that sweet?!?

Has it really been that long?

Wow, I see it's been nigh on a month since I've last posted. Well, that means in only a couple more weeks we should know whether or not the house deal went through (wow, and people thought I was a procrastinator!!!).


Life is still busy here. But the real news is all of this SNOW. It's all we're talking about around here, practically. It's been a record season, with over 90" or something close to that already, and we still have a good month of potential snowfall. It somehow has lost its luster as something wonderful to play in over the years...I guess the snow shoveling and driving (admittedly mostly RIDING this year) I have to do in it now...


But at least my kids are enjoying it!:






You can only see the small piles here. On either side of the driveway, they're over my 5'5" head!



I swear that is not a snowball!!! It was snowing so much, a fortuitous flake landed right on the lens!
(note the pileup of snow on top of the car that was clean just the day before when Sean and dad went bowling)

Biting the gift horse...

The joy of Michigan winters (at the ski/tubing resort). Sean didn't like tubing, but he enjoyed the snowbank in the parking lot. Sophie likes the outdoors, but she wasn't prepared to be out for long.

Sophie at Chuck-E-Cheese, and Sean with SpongeBob. Just some pics of "fun" we've had recently.

Now onto the story...

We have an offer on the house, and it's even half-decent. Yeah!!!! Oh no!!!!!
We've accepted the offer, and now it's just up to the bank. They want to give us 30 days from the date of closing to get out. So...assuming the bank is smart and accepts the offer soon (because what else do we have to give them?!?), we will be looking at moving before the end of March. Which puts us in a quandry. Where should we even LOOK for a place to live? Our current city would be a smart choice for now to keep Sean in the same school for the last couple of months, but there aren't a whole lot of choices - especially choices that don't make us sign a year-long lease. The nearby Big City would be nice if we wanted to rent a house, since there are several options; however, to move so close and yet make Sean go to a different school seems cruel and silly.
Florida could possibly be an option, but with as many job prospects there as here (read: none), it seems like an awfully big jump and a lot to ask of my employer, even though they seem open to the idea of people moving around and keeping their jobs. Plus we know nothing about housing down there. What if we can't afford anything [decent] on what I make? There's the big question. And I guess it fits, no matter where we look.
Mom says we can go there, and NY seems like not a bad option (free rent and such), but again the issues of the school and my work. Plus she doesn't have any emotional strength to help us deal with any of our problems, and actually seems to be trying to create some discord (sorry, Mom, but it's true) and will not be very supportive. I love her, and I even want to be there, but I don't know of it would be best for our family.
And I'm tired of making the wrong choices. There are so many options and none of them seem terrible, how am I to know which one will be best?
And I don't really want to leave this house, this neighborhood. I know that's selfish. But this house has been a comfort lately, and I don't especially want to leave. Or pack. Or have to make another decision.
But I will. And y'all can tell me "I told you so" later.

Missing you, Fred

This started out as an email response to a friend. I decided it got too deep and sounded too depressing to send, but it's so much of how I've been feeling, I decided I should share it somewhere (why not share the depression?)

Fred's death threw us all for a loop; even though he was sick, it was so crazy to happen when it did. I see God's hand in the timing in so many ways, but I'm really pretty mad at God about it, too. We kinda thought for a while that we might end up living out there with them, and I feel cheated that I didn't get more time with him. I'm learning to accept it, but it's just...weird. And I feel like there aren't a whole lot of people I can talk about him to. I don't want to depress my mom more, Chip's already majorly depressed by the rest of our sad life, and talking to my dad about missing my stepdad is just too weird. It's depressing that I don't have more options of who to talk to, but I pretty much alienated everyone who cared about us years ago on accident. But there aren't many people who knew him well, and even though I didn't get to spend a lot of time with him the past few years, I feel the time we did spend together was quality time - even if it was just watching TV in the same room together. He was a great conversationalist. I say that about his son all the time: "David can talk to anyone" "David knows all the right questions to ask and he appears genuinely interested in the answers".... and it wasn't until after Fred died that I realized he was the same way - if you were talking about something he had an interest in, too.
He could tell great stories. He would laugh at his own stories and his own jokes, and get that cute half-smile.
Some of his quirks were things I probably shouldn't put in print, but he was lovable, and funny, and dare I say, a smartass? I'm fairly certain that's one of the main reasons he and Chip got along so well. :)
Fred was a good teacher, and even though he seldom came right out and said it, I think he enjoyed teaching me some things about photography and Photoshop. I think he enjoyed when I played his daughter in "The Music Man" at Civic (Zaneeta to his Mayor Shinn). Once he was watching a tv show and Patty Loveless was singing. He said something to the effect of, "You can sing that song better" and I don't think I'd ever been more complimented. He's quite the critic, as most who knew him would tell you, so it felt good for him to say it, knowing he didn't have any obligation to do so (not that I don't appreciate familial compliments). I liked being his photog sidekick and helping him at photo shoots that one year. He probably never knew that I needed that gig for my life to get back on track as much as he needed extra arms and someone to move around the reflector.
I don't remember him crying often, or really ever, but I remember him tearing up when we hugged goodbye the day they left for NY. I hugged him hard, and after a few seconds he backed off, blinking hard, and said "it's not forever!".
And now it is.
And it sucks.
I'll get used to it, because I have to, but not tonight.

Boo!

These pictures are from my cell phone, so the quality could be better (haha), but I couldn't resist sharing them anyway. We (well, mostly just me) call her "Boo", as in the cute kid from Monsters Inc. With these pigtails in, and her constant chatter, she just fits the part well.


The pics above are from Gramma's new house in NY. We miss being there.



This (above) was yesterday. Sophie got this outfit for Christmas. She had only worn it once, and it's already a "belly" shirt. Oh well, it looks cute on babies. :)
She wasn't too happy with her hair at first - she likes to play with it - so she had a bit of a fit, but she eventually learned to live with it.

I think this is from our Chicago trip in December. Looks like the hotel room. Too bad Sophie isn't really happy and is really out of focus - Sean actually looks good and happy and isn't hamming it up too badly.

Catching up

So...for those of you who still check here periodically, I still exist. It's been a crazy-busy month. We put up the tree, I started a new job (same place, mostly same work, more hours), we all went to Chicago for my training, we had family photos taken (http://www.krolphotography.com/, group photos, Wibert family), got a tiny bit of Christmas shopping done, had a bunch of Christmas parties, went to NY, took down the tree...and that doesn't sound very exciting at all when I write it, but I am totally whipped.

I work a lot now. In fact, I should be working now, but I could no longer resist sharing some photos.

Sean's getting harder to capture...at least his front side. He's discovered how to get a "Full Moon" shot. Yep. That's my son. If you visit the photography site above, you'll see he even hammed it up for Elizabeth's camera. Cute, huh?

Sophie's hair is getting long enough to put in pigtails, or as one lady in NY said, "What cute palm trees!", and that really is a more apt description...see?

And here are some pictures of our new and comfy friends with the kids:

With the cousins (that's the best shot we could get with Sophia!)


Some of our new NY friends: Mary and Sophie; Joe and Sophie

And the New Year's Eve crew, Andy, Dan, Marge, Mom; Jes and Sophie having a tea party with the new toys

And unfortunately, that's all I have time for. Sophie's been crying for the past 10 minutes while I tried to get this much done, so it's time to get her to bed.

Until next time (which hopefully won't be as long as last time)...

The best hug

I just wanted to post this before it became a distant memory. The following is the reason I can cope on the days my kids are driving me batty!
One day last week we were at Mom's house and I was cleaning up after a day of unpacking. As we were unpacking, Mom was placing things she wanted on Fred's remembrance table into a basket. Somehow one thing - a letter - got taken out of the basket (I wonder how, Sophie!), and I picked it up off the floor, and, being the ever-curious one, I opened it. It was a letter from me to Fred. The background of the letter is that when I found out Mom and Fred would be moving to NY, I just felt that I needed to let Fred know that he was important to me and that I loved him. I was glad he never tried to take the place of my Dad, whom I dearly love, but was grateful for the parental presence that he provided in my life, among many other things. I don't think I sent it to him until they had moved (chicken!), but I did indeed send it.
So when I read it that night, I got a little teary.
(Incidentally, but I don't think coincidentally, Fred had found that letter just a week before he died and read it again. No joke. Again the hand of God!)
Sean was in the room and asked me what I was reading. I told him it was a letter that I wrote to Grandpa Fred. He asked me to read it to him, and I told him that I couldn't read it to him just then because it made me sad, but that it said that I loved Grandpa and that he was special to me. Sean came over to me and gave me a BIG hug and said, "That's from Grampa Freddy."
He melts my heart.
Love you, buddy!

Hello, Goodbye

My mom is a pastor in New York state. She received a call to a new church (which means they offered her a job) and planned the move (3 1/2 hours away) for the week between Thanksgiving and Advent. We spent the past 2 Thanksgivings with my Mom in NY so I thought we should probably stick around here, but it was just sticking in my mind that we should go so I could say goodbye to everyone at the "old" church that had become the closest thing to a church family to me over the past 4 years, and maybe we could help Mom and Fred move and have an early Thanksgiving dinner and still get home for the other family obligations around here. I just felt I needed to say goodbye, and maybe say a quick hello to the new folks, who seemed very excited to have my Mom accept the position. I was able to get the time off work, and Sean out of school, so we hurriedly packed and left on the Friday before Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately I said more goodbyes than I wanted to last week. My stepdad, Fred, who had been battling lung cancer courageously, unexpectedly passed away on November 21.

Self portrait circa early 1990s...

Fred and Sophie at Easter time this year. I'm glad he got to meet her. They had an affinity for one another that was very endearing.

Fred's headshot for his acting career. Circa late 1980's.

We got to spend some quality time with him this trip, and perhaps in another post I'll go into detail, but he was in great spirits and very excited about the move. Moving would be a three-day process (packing boxes on day 1, loading truck and driving to new house on day 2, unloading at new house on day 3). The movers did most everything, but Mom was pretty busy tying up loose ends so Fred was around more. Fred's the kind of guy who WILL talk on the phone, but it's so much more fun to be around him because of the interesting topics of conversation that pop up. Just a few days before we made the trip, I called him because I was excited that one of his favorite local restaurant chains opened a new restaurant in our tiny town. I told him I was looking forward to eating there with him next time he came to town. But I digress. We had lots of fun with Fred those days, but while he was getting ready for his day on Wednesday morning, he had some breathing trouble that turned out to be a heart attack that took him so much more suddenly than the cancer were we expecting to suck the life out of him. I'm very glad it was quicker and more painless, but I'm in shock that it happened so much sooner than expected. He didn't act sick, and he didn't look sick to me...at least as sick as that first few months after his diagnosis two years ago.
I've done a lot of reminiscing over the past few days, and a lot of crying. But I really want to honor him tonight, and just let the memories wash over and comfort me, and to say again, "I'm thankful for you, Freddy. Love ya!"
Hope you're raising hell in heaven! :)

The one before the real one

I just wanted to say "I'm back." It's been so long since I've posted, the two of you who read my blog (haha) have probably given up on me, but I'll try to be good again, now that the computers and internet all seem to be working again.
Hope to be here more often!

Welcome to November

October was a busy month for us...as it usually is...but I apologize for not keeping better up to date on here. SO many technical issues had me frustrated, and I had extra work this month that needed to get done (and it MOSTLY is now), and we're packing and getting more ready for getting out of the house, and Chip's been interviewing a lot, and Sean had lots of Cub Scout activities (two times selling popcorn at the grocery store, a campout, 5 meetings, and earning rollerskating and math belt loops and Bobcat badge) , and Sophie got 2 of her 1-year molars...on top of 4 birthdays to acknowledge (plus several others...Danielle, Bret, Brenda to name a few...we SHOULD have acknowledged)...and Halloween!

So, we truly ARE the October family. We hardly even noticed fall sneaking in because of the great temperatures, and now it feels like winter already! Where did the time go?

I don't have pics on this computer, so I'll try to post again soon on another computer by tonight, after yet another birthday celebration. Despite the busy-ness, I did manage to take my camera along to several of the events. :)

October happenings...so far

i wanted to post a picasa album, but i'm on my work computer and don't think i should probably download it here, so i hope you enjoy the pictures the "regular" way. First, Sean's B-day:

Then, Sophie's B-day(actually, both of the kids' parties took place at the same time. The joy of birthdays 2 days apart):