Celebrating

After the funeral last Friday, we had a reception remembering and celebrating PopPop at my parents house. We were surrounded by lots of good friends, good memories and good food! Angel had a blast playing with all the little ones and she and Abby really had fun taking turns pushing each other in the baby stroller. Angel also thoroughly enjoyed circling the food table and snacking all night long! Thanks to everyone who was able to stop by, your support and love means so much to us and definitely helps us get through the tough times!! It was very helpful to celebrate PopPop and the wonderful and full life he was able to enjoy!

Hard to believe...

...that it has been a week today since we said goodbye and buried our beloved PopPop. I feel like I have been in a bit of a dream...getting through the days and emotions and daily duties...and then when it is quiet and calm, remembering that we have lost the patriarch of the family. Feeling a big void and not sure quite how to fill that emptiness. In a way I am glad things happened so fast so he didn't suffer, but at the same time I feel like there were things not said, done or quite "ready". There are millions of things I will miss and that will be hard to be without over the next couple months. I will miss our Sunday dinners with PopPop sitting across from me, the shouting conversations so PopPop could hear, the LOUD television because PopPop wanted to listen, the loads of sugar we had to put in his iced tea, his frequent request for some Baileys, chocolate milk and cookies...the kisses and compliments he always gave and all the stories he told and memories we made. I was so blessed to have so much time with him and so many memorable trips to Florida...especially those on the sailboat and looking for sharks teeth and sand dollars....him giving me my first time driving a car by myself on the highway transporting their grandfather clock to their new place...sleeping in their loft...eating Juicy Fruit Gum and chocolate milk...dancing in the ballroom...three o'clock happy hour with him drinking his white russian, the hours he spent in his workshop making many a table and footstool, and so many more. He was always glad that I played piano, liked Elvis, had thick dark eyebrows and went to Maryville College where his sisters attended. I was blessed to have him at my wedding, at my girls baptisms and living close these last several years. I feel very blessed to have been there during his last moments on earth and the ability to tell him I loved him and kiss him goodbye....so while last week was definitely hard, we took great comfort in putting him to rest in a way he would have been pleased with. We had some music, some prayers, a blessing, and some heartfelt moments. We found a bunch of old letters PopPop had written to all of us over the years, and my sisters and I read excerpts from them....some were very funny and some were sweet (especially the one that he wrote to my dad after they got engaged)....I will share them with you below...we called it Remembering PopPop: In His Own Words. He was a beautiful and FUNNY writer (and published!)...and has inspired me to WRITE LETTERS MORE!! My sister Alli sang "Goodnight My Someone" while they lowered his casket...she used to sing that to my Mamasan and PopPop every night before she went to bed when they lived at my parents house...I don't know how she managed to sing it but she did a beautiful job and I know they loved it!! We sprinkled sand on the casket...a little bit of his favorite to rest forever with him. I had put inside his casket one of his old pipes he had given me when he stopped smoking, a sand dollar and a sharks tooth we had found together. Thank you to everyone who sent beautiful flowers, who left messages and cards, who braved the cold day with us (although the sun did come out...must be PopPop smiling!), who helped us say goodbye and to all for the prayers for him and our family...please keep those coming!!! It was tough to explain to Angelica about what had happened...but that night while we were saying our prayers, we always end with "I love you Jesus, love you Mary, love you Angels, love you Saints...Watch over me." That night after we said that, she looked at us and said "And we Love you PopPop"...she made more of a connection than we thought as we had told her PopPop went to Heaven to be with Jesus and Mary and the Angels and Saints. She kept coming up to everyone that day and telling us she "was not happy" and that she "missed PopPop"...she spent a lot of time circling the grave waving and saying goodbye and blowing kisses. That night when someone said they were sad...she said, "It's ok, because PopPop is in heaven"...and then went back to playing. I hope to embrace that childlike joy and faith that she shows and we will both now enjoy frequent visits and bringing flowers to both Mamasan and PopPop...together again and forever!!

a group from Cypress Gardens, where PopPop lived, came to say goodbye

Janice...the activity person where PopPop lived, they danced many dances over the last couple years and she always took great care of him.

Dad, Jason, Chris, Casey and good friends Doug and Alan were pallbearers

Kim & Becca Gray and Alli did a beautiful job leading the songs

Deacon Hamlin did a beautiful job

reading excerpts from PopPop's old letters

PopPop had a brilliant and funny way with words...

sprinkling of sand, PopPop would have loved this!

looking at PopPop's picture board, so many memories

waving lots of goodbyes and blowing kisses to PopPop

Excerpt from PopPop's letters (except for the one to my dad after they got engaged becuase we read that one as a surprise to my mom)

I agree that just talking with each other is the best entertainment of all. As I grow older, I seem to remember more and more conversations I had with my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I only wish I had asked more questions, because sometimes in thinking back, I come up with blank spaces where I want answers, and I especially wish I had learned more about our family history.

I still think that some people are cut out to study and some are not, and I just wasn't. But if I was really interested in a thing, I could study it hard- like literature, or yacht designing or navigation. I just dont think I was ever too bright mentally and I attribute that to having been slapped on my head too many times. Whenever any of us kids got near our grandparents, theyd slap us along side our head, and we'd say "how come you did that? We didnt do anything." and they'd say "THAT is for all the times you do stuff you shouldn't and we're not there to catch you."

We've had lots of rough, windy weather this winter, and a few times I wasn't quite sure I'd make it across the Bay in the kayak, but it's always fun and a challenge, and I love just looking at the sea and sky, and all the wild critters.

I'm having lots of fun with my kayak, and go out an average of twice a week (I think Mamasan is happy to be rid of me for a while). The thing I enjoy most is to explore, mostly places where no other boat, other than a canoe or kayak, could go.

I'm happy to hear you now have a cat. We've always loved cats, and had one or two all the years your mom was with us. I think I like cats because they are so independent-- you dont own them, they own you!

I've always loved running, and every day walked from home to school and back, about 1 ½ miles, even went home to lunch. But instead of usually just walking, I'd run, and try to beat my record every day. I couldn't have smelled very well when I arrived back at school.

Please thank Albert and the girls again for that wonderful gift of having our daughter all to ourselves for a bit.

We've gotten rid of so much stuff the last few years, so thoughtlessly, and I think now we're down to the bare minimum! Your mom keeps giving stuff to the church and other many charities, that I really keep an eye on my clothes in the closet. Suddenly it seems I've only about two pairs of britches and three shirts to wear- but I guess it's all for a good cause!

She wrote of events and persons of the Revolution I was never aware of, and it was fascinating to me. Which shows- we're never too old to learn.

I realize she's had wonderful models in Erin and Meghan, but Caitlin is really an original- and so smart! That must come from the other side of the family!

As your mom and I keep saying to one another, what have we done to deserve such a daughter? And being with our baby grands is magic in itself. It's so wonderful to be able to just sit down and TALK with the girls, they're each their very own person, and yet a very strong member of your team. And again, we ask ourselves, " how come we're so blessed with grandkids like this?? But we'll quit asking and just enjoy!

The Herb Club, thank God, is having their annual dinner with just the club members this year, no captive husbands. I suspect they heard the growls of growing mutiny at the last year's dinner.

For her birthday, she's requested I make her a kneeler, which she can use every morning with her prayers. It'll fold up, so won't take a lot of room. I'll send a photo when I complete it. In the back of my mind I was wondering how i'd make her a gadget to help her up from it???

I thought, when I was a kid, that old people just sat rocking in a rocking chair, and dreamed about the good old days, and only got up when they were called to meals. What a SHOCK. It ain't like that at all, but we're just trying to do the best we can.

Touching

PopPop, Rest in Peace

I wanted to post a quick note mostly to say thank you to all our amazing friends and family members that have blessed us with their thoughts and prayers over these past couple of days. Our beloved PopPop, John Davison Williamson, passed away Wednesday morning about 9:45am. He made a sudden turn so unexpectedly and we had to rush to be with him, but I am so thankful that we were able to be with him during those last moments. I will have to share the beautiful story later as well as beautiful pictures from his service and reception. (the two pictures here are ones we used on his program). I really want to compose my thoughts which are emotionally raw right now. But for now, I am trying to savor the last couple of days and all the memories to help get through the hard moments....I think right now the shock is just starting to wear off....so please continue to keep us and PopPop in your prayers...I did want to post below an email we received from my cousin Christor in Ireland...he summed up my PopPop very nicely....

It is indeed very sad news and I am grieving as I read and re-read Erin's touching letter. A part of me has died today. John and Fran hosted Val my Mother and me when we went to Sarasota for the wedding of the century, we always remember and recall. He was so welcoming, most entertaining and deeply concerned for our well being and happiness. An again I stayed with them both in Palmetto in 1995.... and Erin came down to help with their movement to a smaller house. I remember him with great fondness. His daring trips to Ireland... he used to describe the risks to his life and limbs of living in a sunless sky. Sean, Lily and me shared our memories this morning on the phone.
John was out there a liberal, ever an adventurer, challenging the environment, out in his boat, feeling his inner ties with the whole of nature with his gentle acceptance of the divine oneness of all life, and the laws of cycles, rebirth, and karma. This formed the groundwork for Johns existence and in this context he saw death not as the end, but a temporary transition into a different phase of life. I believe that his life and death were very much at one with Emily Dickinson when she wrote:
Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
And Immortality.

On the back page of the program for the service we included some fun facts about PopPop and called it a Little Log of John's Life (a nautical term for the avid sailor that he was). Hope you enjoy learning a few things about him as well:

- Served 3 years as an ARMY MP during WWII in Aruba.
- Official career was as an oil terminal manager, second career was having fun on his sailboats of which he owned 72 throughout his life.

- Thoroughly enjoyed weight lifting, body building and arm wrestling.

- Learned how to ballroom dance at age 50 & did so every weekend for years.

- He loved classic cars and classical music.
- He always had a good book and loved biographies.
- He was a published author in several boating magazines and even wrote a book.
- He also learned to kayak at age 50 and often went for a paddle.
- White Russians or Baileys Irish Cream was his preferred drink, along with iced tea that could

never be too sweet or too cold.
- Could never have enough ice cream, chocolate, juicy fruit gum, and milkshakes.
- Could often be found in his workshop building another table or footstool.
- Preferred bare feet and the hot sun.
- But most of all, he loved his First Mate (Mamasan), his beautiful daughter, his favorite son-in-

law, his four baby-grands and three great baby-grands.

Prayers Continued

PopPop Update:
Today has not been a great day. PopPop has been in pain with his arm and also not eating or drinking much of anything. He has some severe bowel impaction and also spiked a fever for a bit. He started having difficulty breathing and sounded very gurgly for awhile so they gave him some oxygen. I joined my mom at the hospital for a couple hours tonight and the doctor happened to be there. He was worried about pneumonia, so said not to give him anything to eat and drink for awhile...and also ordered him to sit up for a bit. Mom and I kept trying to get him to cough, and poor guy still had a sense of humor when he could manage to stay awake and respond now and then. He had an x-ray of his lungs taken and before I left we found out that he had not aspirated, which is good for the pneumonia worry, but just has some fluid in the lungs. So....we are waiting to see if we will be able to get him into surgery tomorrow for his arm or not....his kidneys and blood work was better so we are hoping we can get the arm fixed. Please keep the prayers coming, it is so hard to watch him in pain and struggling with breathing and such. Also please pray for my mom as she handles his care and needs strength, both physical and emotional, to get through these next few weeks.

FOR NANNIE:
Yesterday we also got a phone call that Jason's grandmother, Nannie (Louise Bentley) in VA, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. She was having chest pains and found out that her blood had gotten to thick so her heart was working too hard. However, the hospital gave her too many blood thinners, which then caused her to start bleeding out of her nose PROFUSELY and her wrist where they had pricker her etc. It was so bad they had to admit her and pack her nose and change her sheets several times a day. Today her levels were back to normal so she is hoping to get released tomorrow....all the tests were inconclusive as to why her blood thickened up...but hopefully she is on the mend!!

Thanks for all the prayers!!!

Birthday Wishes

Today is my niece Lauren's birthday (the big seven!) and also my brother-in-law Chris. Happy birthday to both of you and hope you had a wonderful day!!! We love and miss you.

Prayers for PopPop

Please keep my grandfather, PopPop as we call him, or John, in your prayers. Yesterday after Church we found out that he had fallen at the assisted living place he lives. He has had some trouble with falls lately, especially when he gets very dehydrated...which has also been occurring more frequently. But....due to his fall and the abrasions he got on his head, he also broke the area above his right elbow (just like he did to his left arm a bit back) and will need surgery. The sad part is that he fell and then was on the floor unattended to for probably most of the night. So this affected his blood work and kidney function levels. So they are trying to get all those levels back to normal ranges, so it looks like the surgery will not happen until Wednesday. The surgeon said he has NEVER seen this happen where the exact same break and surgery occurs on one arm one fall and then the other arm this time. Leave it to PopPop!! He has been in some pain, quite groggy with the drugs, not much of an appetite... but as usual has pretty good spirits. I took the girls in this morning to try and cheer him up, but of course hospital rooms for little ones only allow so much of a visit. We will keep you posted on his progress, but please pray for pain relief, a safe surgery, easy recover and PLEASE PRAY for the answers and direction for the decisions of where to call "home" for him after this is over as we do not think he can go back to where he was living!! I watch my mom and dad take such good care of him and only hope that I am as good a caretaker for my parents when that time comes. I know my Mamasan is watching over him too!!

Name the Nursery Rhyme...

Cutting Coupons

On Sundays, I sit down and cut out coupons from the paper. I laughed so hard when Angel started to want to do it too...because she sat down at the table and said, "Mama...I need coupons too...is this a good one?" And then she proceeded to cut them out with her play kitchen knife...

Serious Builder...Unique Design

Changing Hearts and Minds...

I would love for our President-Elect (I can still call him that until tomorrow) to see this...and don't know how it couldn't touch his heart and change his mind...

“The national grassroots group CatholicVote.org has released a new ad that will air repeatedly Tuesday on Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Chicago during coverage of the presidential inauguration. The :30 spot is the first in a series of ads to be released this year as a part of a new educational campaign titled Life: Imagine the Potential.”

Happy Birthday Mamasan

Today is my grandmother's birthday...and always makes me miss her so much on her special day! Tomorrow I hope to go by the cemetery and bring her some flowers. I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful memories of her and often feel her presence and peace surround me...I just wish she could have met her great-baby-grands as I am sure she would have called them, as we were her baby-grands. I thank God so much for her gift of life which gave life to my mom and then to me. I thank God for her gift of faith and dedication to bringing my mom up in the faith which led to my Catholic upbringing. I thank God for all the memories which she made with me and I can pass along to my children...Angel loves our Mamasan book that my mom made after she died and I love how she knows who she is and recognizes her even though they never met, so I think I will go pull it out and remember. Happy Birthday Mamasan, we love and miss you so much!!

Cousin Michael

I am so proud of my cousin Michael...he is working towards his Eagle Scout Award and for it he made and worked on some beautiful stations of the cross at his Catholic High School (the same one my parents went too!). You can read all about it HERE. I can't wait to see them in March when we visit!! Way to go Michael!!

Make sure we KNOW the facts...

Update to the FOCA Novena post and information....while most of the information is accurate, we need to make sure we are spreading the TRUE and ACCURATE facts about this bill, its process and understand them ourselves. A good friend (thanks Jenny) sent me THIS STATEMENT made by the Catholic Bishops Rep to make everyone aware of the TRUTHS of this bill and the days ahead....please read....and for sure keep praying...that part hasn't changed!!

Battle Hymn of the Republic

A friend sent me THIS LINK of a high school performing the Battle Hymn of the Republic, they did a beautiful job!!

"Get a load of these high school kids. At the conclusion listen to the highnotes on the trumpet, played by a high school kid! One of the fathers recorded it, added some graphic enhancements to the recording, and posted it on the web.The song, of course, is the 'Battle Hymn Of The Republic.'Be prepared....It will definitely send a few shivers up your spine."

Celebrating the Baptism of the Lord

As the girls are getting older, we are trying harder to incorporate and celebrate the liturgical year in our home. Not only to increase their knowledge of our faith, but also to encourage them to live it, enjoy it, and celebrate it!! Their young ages still limit the amount of information you can give them or activities you can do, but is allowing me to start forming traditions and gather ideas for the next years!! Here are some things we enjoyed yesterday to help us remember this special day all day long!!

Angel enjoyed coloring THIS PAGE of Jesus being Baptized:

We all enjoyed working this Baptism Crossword Puzzle...and even got stumped on how to spell anoint or annoint....hehe

(thanks Jessica for the links for these activities)

Since the Christian symbol for Baptism is a shell, I bought some fun shell necklaces to wear (although the guys opted out of this)...decorated the table with shells...and made this yummy Nacho Stuffed Shell recipe for dinner (with Marmee and Alli). The recipe definitely is a keeper and we garnished with sour cream, salsa, cheese and fresh avocados. For dessert, I made Christ's Diapers and they were yummy and MAKE A LOT!! It was an interesting dough that I have never done before...so if you like to knead, try it out. It was amusing asking people if they wanted to eat Christ's diapers...Angel was a little confused!! But, most of them did look like a diaper...except for the ones that exploded when dropped in the fryer.

And since this day is a good time to also talk about and remember our own Baptisms...I made the centerpiece of the table be Angel's, Emma's and my baptismal candle. (Jason's is still in VA...note to self we need to get!). (see picture above of table). It looked really beautiful...and I just used an advent candle holder for it. I also made books for Angel's baptism and Emma's baptism, so it is always fun to pull those out and look at them as well.

Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Thanks Dr. Bowman

Angelica received a packet in the mail the other day from our dentist, wonderful Dr. Bowman, and since she hasn't been in since August (her only time so far)...I was curious as to what was inside. And.....here it is:

They take the kids pictures after they are done and post them on their wall....so I am thinking maybe at the end of the year they mail them to folks so they can start over again. They included a NO CAVITY certificate and several stickers. Angel was delighted and it helped encourage her even more to keep those teeth clean!! (she looks so little in that picture..sniff sniff)

Fight FOCA

We started this along with so many (hopefully) last night and encourage ALL to join in the novena to help FIGHT FOCA....it has such serious and scary repercussions should this become law....PRAY and FAST...LIVES depend on it!!

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If you are opposed to abortion, please read the information below and join us in prayer and fasting January 11-19, 2009.

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) will be signed into law if Congress passes it on January 21-22, 2009. The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If signed into law, all limitations on abortion will be lifted, resulting in the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, will be required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens, Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals - more then 30% of all hospitals in the U.S.

2) Partial birth abortions will be legal and have no limitations.

3) All U.S. taxpayers will be funding abortions.

4) Parental notification of abortions on minors will no longer be required (regardless of age).

5) The estimated number of increase in abortions is 100,000 annually.

Just as important, the government will now have control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, Down Syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are allowed to have.

Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly true. As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

PLEASE JOIN US IN saying a novena and fasting from January 11-19. For Catholics, the prayer of choice is the rosary for the special intention of stopping the FOCA. For non-Catholics we encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intention for 9 consecutive days. We hope and pray this will branch and blossom to become a global effort.

Please do the following 3 things:

1) Pass this information on quickly (so as many as possible can start praying on January 11)

2) Say a novena from January 11-19, asking God to prevent the FOCA from becoming law in the U.S.

3) Fast at least 2 days during this novena (either a complete fast of bread and water, or a Lenten fast of no meat and meals limited to 1 regular meal and 2 lesser meals during the day).

Remember that with God all things are possible and the power of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless killing of defenseless children, please join us in prayer and fasting.

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EWTN has a good election prayer , which we will be adding to pray for our President Elect and his change of heart for life issues.

Finally!!

For the LONGEST time, Angel has been saying the Hail Mary as if they were two separate prayers...the Hail Mary part then Amen...then the Holy Mary part and Amen. And she always stumbled over "fruit of your womb Jesus". But...she seems to have finally figured out all the words and just LOVES to "show Mary" how she has learned her prayer...Mary must love to hear the prayers of the little children!!

Thanks Aunt Ann

...the girls are loving their store!! Angel makes me come buy things all day long...and I have to go to the window!! Emma loves the cash register. Very generous gift, the accessories for it are already on their wish list!

Just Chillin...

...and watchin some Little Bear.

Ice Cream Talk