My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech

Last night Cassie and went to John Tones Christmas in the City. Neither one of us had ever heard of him but we went for a couple reasons.....We both listen to My Talk and had heard one of our favorite host Margery Punnett talking about the concert along with a VIP meet and greet before the concert at Seven in Minneapolis. Ticket were $50.00 a piece and only 20 people were going to be at the meet and greet. The other reason we we wanted to go was because it was a fund raiser for the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Cancer Fund . If you have never heard of Zach Sobiech please take the time to watch the above video, you will be  touched by Zach....

So we spent the money and were excited to go. We had so much fun at the meet and greet. We got to have a very nice visit with Ian and Margery Punnett. We got to meet John Trones and Jim Brickman. Lastly we got to meet Zach Sobiech's parents and siblings. They came around to each of us and thanked us for coming and supporting the Fund. It was an honor to meet them and to be able to express to them how much Zach had touch each of our lives with his song Clouds.

Even though I only good 4 hours of sleep last night I am so happy that we went. We had a great time and got to meet some great people....

"Clouds" -by Zach Sobiech

Well I fell down, down, down
Into this dark and lonely hole
There was no one there to care about me anymore
And I needed a way to climb and grab a hold of the edge
You were sitting there holding a rope

And we'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher
We'll go up in the clouds because the view is a little nicer
Up here my dear
It won't be long now, it won't be long now

When I get back on land
Well I'll never get my chance
Be ready to live and it'll be ripped right out of my hands
Maybe someday we'll take a little ride
We'll go up, up, up and everything will be just fine

And we'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher

We'll go up in the clouds because the view is a little nicer
Up here my dear

It won't be long now, it won't be long now
If only I had a little bit more time
If only I had a little bit more time with you

We could go up, up, up
And take that little ride
And sit there holding hands
And everything would be just right
And maybe someday I'll see you again
We'll float up in the clouds and we'll never see the end

And we'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher
We'll go up in the clouds because the view is a little nicer
Up here my dear
It won't be long now, it won't be long now 

 

 

Remember to give the ones you love a hug today.....

Later Sharon 

 

 

Changing Traditions.....

 

I think sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and forget what is really about.

I don't want the Holiday season to be stressful. Sometimes it gets hard to try and fit everything in and to try and see everyone. We always have Christmas with the kids, usually the weekend before or after Christmas. This year because of work schedules and commitments with the kids other families it just did not work out. So we made the decision to not get together with my parents and extended family on Christmas day. Instead we are having the kids and grandkids over for supper on Christmas day. I should also mention that I have to work until 1:00 on Christmas day so that was also making it hard. It was a very hard decision to make. It is hard to change traditions. 

I had talked to my parents about having our holiday celebration after the holidays or just have it on Thanksgiving and they were both happy with the idea. It is getting hard for them to host it as they get older and the family grows bigger. There is only a few of us that have houses that are big enough to host it now and we have been taking turns. They also realize how hard it is for the grandkids and great-grandkids to try and fit everything in with all the extended families. Christa, Jese and Oliver had six Christmas celebrations last year and by the time Christmas day came around they were exhausted.  I am glad my parents  are understanding and agree that sometimes change is needed.  Since this decision was made so late the Becker Christmas is going to go on without us this year. I will miss seeing everyone but will not miss the stress of trying to fit everything in a short time frame. Hopefully later in the year we will all be able to get together with most everyone.

We are having the Rugroden Christmas celebration this coming Saturday. On Christmas Eve we will go to church with Rick's mom and then hopefully be able to spend some of the evening by our selfs. I have to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year. It always sucks to have to work a holiday but that is part of the job. At least I can leave early when my co-worker comes in at 1:00. I took Dec. 26, Dec 31 and Jan. 1 off so I will have 7 days off after Christmas. It works out good since the first is a holiday I don't have to use vacation time. I love to take that week after Christmas off just to relax and stay home. I am turning into a homebody and cherish my alone time with Rick. 

Hopefully I will have some updates before Christmas but if not I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, stress free Holiday Season. 

Remember to give the ones you love a hug even if it is long distance hug and tell them you love them.

Later Sharon 

Replacement .......

So those of you that have read my blog for awhile might remember that last year for Christmas I made a doll house for my granddaughter. It was a just a kit that came with everything cut out and I just had to put it all together and paint and decorator it. It was made out of thin pressed wood and was not very sturdy. Well after having it for less then a month Eli pushed Josie into it and knocked one of the walls out. Then later on Eli and Oliver spent some time pushing out all of the windows and breaking pieces of it off. Poor Josie was very upset with them. She told them how naughty they were since the doll house was made by her Nana and it was special. Well this year I asked her if she wanted me to take the doll house and have it fixed up for her birthday. I told her that I would have Grandpa Becker help me. She was super excited.
So I enlisted my Dad's help and here on the results. We did not "fix" the old doll house but build a whole new one. I found a picture of what I wanted on the internet and printed it off and handed it to Dad. Other then the overall size of it I gave Dad no instructions. He did such a good job! Once Dad was done with his part I took over the painting, staining and decorating. Dad had also found some doll house furniture at an auction so I painted that up too. Lastly since it is Christmas time I did a little Christmas decorating too.

Other the the piece of plywood he used all the wood was recycled wood. We had given Dad our left over barn wood and he used that for all the siding and shutters etc. I had to paint the door red so it is just like the front door on my house.

                              She even gets a garden shed

I asked Josie what her favorite colors were and she said pink and purple so I painted one of the bedrooms pink for her. 

I printed off pictures of everyone in Josie's family and put them in these little frames and hung them in the house for her.

Josie is going to love it! It is heavy duty so I think those naughty two year olds will not be able to break it!

I think Josie is one lucky little girl and is going to have a keep sake that was made with much love by her Great Grandpa Becker with a little help from her Nana Sharon.

Later Sharon

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." - Dalai Lama

 Thanksgiving morning 18 of us all went to Northfield and ran/walked  the Turkey Trot. Dad decided that after taking several years off he would do it again so I sent the invite out to everyone joined in. Linda got us all t-shirts so we all matched. It was lots of fun.

                               Nick, Cassie and Dad running into the finish line.
                                                                    and
                                         Amy, Rick and I stopping for a picture.

 

 

I was feeling crafty the other day so this is what I made. I actually saw them on Pinterest a while ago and thought they were super cute. I had Rick cut up a post for me that had sitting around for some unknown reason. He then painted them white. Of course then they sat in my basement waiting for me to finish them for two weeks. Since I had ever thing to make them at home they did not cost me anything. The fabric I used for the hats and scarfs came from an old pair of pajama pants. They are super cute and look good in front of our house.

 

 Friday was of course our favorite shopping day of the year. Christa, Amy and I headed to Mankato at 5:00 in the morning so we could be at JoAnn fabrics at the 6:00 opening. We got lots of deals. They had the fabric so cheap! I may have gotten a little more then I had intended on getting. I guess I better get sewing.  We also made it to a few more stores to get a couple bargains. I am pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. Now I just have to wait for the things I ordered on line to get here and start wrapping. 

A few years ago when my Grandparents went into the Nursing Home my Mom gave me this Nativity set that belonged to my Grandma Trenda. It is all chipped and faded and has seen it's better days but it is the Christmas decoration that I treasure the most since it was Grandma's.  Every year when I take it out I think of Grandma and this year even more since she passed away in February. I wonder how many times she took each piece out and set it up. She even has straw for the manger in a little bag. It makes me smile to think of Grandma saving that straw from year to year. Of course I am now keeping it year to year too. I hope Grandma is smiling at me from up there in heaven....

Later
Sharon

Books and TV Shows......

 I have read so many good books this year and the The Book Thief is one of the best. I had been hearing them talk about it on the radio and then I heard they were making a movie about it so I knew I had to read it. It is a book about young girl living with foster parents during World War Two in Germany. It is a beautiful, moving book about love, death and hope. I found myself so wrapped up in the lives of the people in the book that I had a hard time putting it down. I was moved to tears several times in the book. I highly recommend that you read this book.

Another thing I have been hearing about for years is the Big Bang Theory. Several people have told me that I should watch it. Last month when we went up to Duluth I told Cassie that we usually bring some movies or a TV show to watch in the evening or if it is a rainy weekend so she offered me the first two seasons of the Big Bang Theory. Once we started watching it we were hooked!  We are now on season 4. The other day we were watching it and I was laughing so hard that I was crying. I have not laughed so hard at a TV show in years. Something about the show just tickles me. I giggle and giggle when it is on. My goal on Black Friday is to find season's five and up on DVD for cheap.....

Later Sharon

“I realise there's something incredibly honest about trees in winter, how they're experts at letting things go.” ― Jeffrey McDaniel

So I've learned something this past year, or should I say I've decides something. I've always been one to hang onto those resentments and hurts and just leave them there to fester. I've seen in others how eventually it will eat away at you until it eats away at everything and everybody in your life.....

I think I had an ah ha moment as Oprah would say. I think I realized this past year that life is short, one day someone you always though would be there is suddenly gone....did I want my last memories of people in my life to be of some stupid thing that may have hurt my feelings or made me mad and upset or did I want my last memories to be of  happy times. I am learning to let it go of hurts, arguments and resentments. What good does it do to hold on to them.

Of course I am not saying it is easy. The easy thing to do is to just stay mad and resentful and feel sorry for yourself because someone hurt you.  It is hard to forget, forgive and move on but the more you do it the easier it gets. I still get mad and may have been know to have a big hissy fit over something but then I let it go. No more dwelling on it for days, weeks and even years.

So there you have it my Ah Ha Moment.

Later
Sharon

Finally.....

 We  have the porch done! I can't believe it, but I did not take any pictures of the porch before we started to take it apart. 

This is after the new windows are in. We brought the wall out and added some insulation. You can also see the carpet that we removed.

                                                        Sheet rock going up

                                                                      The new floor going in.

All done. Rick added a nice shelf for me around the windows for my plants and so I can put my Christmas houses on it at Christmas time.

                       This is my favorite place to sit in the house.

 I helped the kids out on deer hunting weekend by babysitting. I had Oliver overnight on Friday night and all day Saturday because Christa had a show to do. Then on Sunday I had Liam, Josie and Eli overnight because Amy had to work early on Monday I need to take them to school. After Josie had pre-school she was going to come over and we were going to have a Nana Josie day. Well Sunday afternoon Amy called me and told me she had bad news...Liam was throwing up. Poor Liam was so sick. So he did not go to school on Monday but instead spend the day with Josie and I . Eli went to daycare.

Of course because I watched sick kids I got sick. I did everything I could to sterilize myself and the house but it did no good, I still got it. It has been a long time since I have had the stomach flu. Oh well I survived to live another day.

I have lots of other things to share but they will have to wait for my next post.

Later Sharon

The Plague

Sorry for the lack of updates. I was affected by the Hagre Plague this week. I will try to have a real update for you tomorrow.......

It's War.....

Poor, Poor Dexter was pretty sad on Sunday. He was a naughty dog on Saturday. When Rick was butchering his deer he went into the garage and grabbed some scraps and ran and ate them. Of course he then spent all day Sunday throwing up. Don't worry he was all better on Monday. 

I have declared war on the leaves this year. Last year it snowed before we managed to get them all pick up so this year I want to get it done! We have a lawn sweeper but you cannot even make it around the yard once before it is full. I tried chopping the leaves up but they are so thick that they kept clogging up the lawn mower. So I used the leaf blower and the rake and went at it. I spent 5 hours on Saturday, using the lawn mower, leaf blower, rake and Ricks truck picking up leaves.  

This is when it lawn looked like after my work on Saturday......

Sunday I was at it again. I had to finish picking up and hauling off all the leaves that I could not get to on Saturday because it got dark out. I also did a more raking and used the lawn mower to chop up what leaves were left on the ground. I even got all the hosta's cleaned up out of the rock garden.

And here we are! It looks much better then when I started on Saturday.

Of course the bad news is there is still a ton of leaves on the trees.....I am sure I will be busy again next weekend. But I am determined to win the war on the leaves this year!!!

Later Sharon

Deer Down.....

 Rick shot a deer last night! He was very excited since he has not been able to go out hunting hardly at all this year. Since slug season starts next weekend he was running out of time to hunt. He does not like going out when the gun hunters are out. So if he did not get one this week he would have been done hunting for a few weeks.

 The deer was a good size 9 point buck. Now we will have meat in the freezer again.

 It was a perfect 20 yard shot. The deer ran just a little ways out into the field so he did not even have to track it and could drive right up to it to load it in the truck.

He shot the deer with his Hoyt Matrix bow at 50 lbs, GT XT Hunter 3555 Arrows, Rocky Mountain Gater XP expandable 100 grain Broadheads and of course stings made by R-Strings & Cables

Happy Hunting Everyone!
Sharon

Cute Halloween Pictures.......

 I hate running to the door to hand out treats so this year I put all my treats in to a pumpkin and left it outside the door.   I am happy to say it went very well. I am sure some of them took more then one but by the end of the night I still had 5 left. I am sure I will do it again next year. Notice Morgan in the picture...she had to check out the suckers for herself.

 Finally this year all the kids let me take pictures of them in there costumes. Eli was a puppy.

 Josie's little mermaid costume fit her perfect. Christa made the red wig to go with it.

 Liam was a storm trooper from his favorite movie Star Wars. His costume lit up and flashed. He loved it. He refused to take his mask off so you will just have to believe that it was really Liam under it....

Oliver of course was in Fairmont so I did not get to actually see him on Halloween but Christa took this picture of him in the Woody costume I made him

I was happy that I got a picture with all 4 of my grandchildren this Halloween! They were all so cute! Hopefully next year I will make all of there costumes. I feel very guilty that I did not make Liam's and Eli's. Next year I promise I will get moving on them faster.


Later Sharon