Five on Friday - A Celebration of Life --- YOLO!

Hi Everyone!  I thought I would join Amy with Five on Friday today, and try to get a little bit caught up on blogging. 

1)  I want to thank everyone for their sweet comments on my last post. 
I think it's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that you were just talking to someone, just saw that person, and then less than a week later he is gone.   His sons and their families both just talked to him the day before he passed.  So, Mom and I took some food down to my Sister and her family because they were having other family members stay with them all week.  Mom and I split the shopping list.  Alcohol was not on the list.

Mom walked out with this....

  And I bought a bottle of wine!  We couldn't help but laugh as this was not planned at all. 

We knew it would come in handy. 

  They held his "Celebration of Life" on the golf course that he loved playing on.  His bucket list included golfing in all 52 States, so I thought this was a very fitting place to have his memorial service. 

(the following five pictures were taken from a facebook post on Greg's timeline, by Betsy Reason, a writer for the Noblesville Times)

There were over 300 people in attendance.

 One of his sons opened the ceremony...

and the other closed it. 

And in between, my blogette friends, it was so beautiful.  His three grandchildren all spoke.

 There was laughter....
                                 and tears....

and it was a very  moving and fitting ceremony.  Greg would have been so proud.

 Afterwards, family and close friends all went to the local bar where he liked to hang out.  There were more people there than this, we just couldn't get everyone in the picture.  There were tables full of people on both sides of these tables. 

 Greg also liked to play shuffleboard, so they all took a turn.....

And when I looked over at "his seat" that they had reserved for him,  there was popcorn, and this game.  Check out the high score.  He went by pops.

 

 So long Greg.  Until we meet again....

2) Crochet group

These pictures were from a couple of weeks ago.

K will have her afghan done by the next time we meet.

 Debbie will not.....

And  Cheryl definitely won't!

 But we are all moving forward nicely.

 3.  Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie
These were taken a couple of weeks or so ago.
What is it about these cutouts, when you see them, you just HAVE to have your picture taken in them!

 While waiting for your scheduled time to go for a hay wagon ride through the haunted forest, in search of the Headless Horseman, you can spend your time looking at a display of a Bigfoot Habitat...

I, for one, was glad to see this habitat as we have had sightings on our property.

 Or you could go to a marionette show...

 or a magic show...or any number of other shows, displays, or booths.  The "apple store" was even open.

 I know peeps....stop drooling on your computer screen!

As we were in line for our hayride, strange people were standing around. 

 and who knows what was going inside of this haunted house.

 Off we go....

 It was a fun, chilly, evening with my sister, her husband, and my niece.  I'm glad I went!

4.  I love how my parents decorate for every holiday. 

and 5. 

I bought a bag today!  I didn't need it...I even texted my sister this picture and said

Yes or No

She said I probably already have one like it

I said I didn't

She said when I go home and look at all the purses I have,  I could probably have gone on vacation with the money spent on them.

I said, I could go on vacation with a new purse!

I should have texted Vickie instead.  She always says yes!

Our new motto is YOLO

You Only Live Once.

I went for it. 

I'll go for the vacation too. 

I'll do it all.

I'm working on a bucket list.

Are you?

Cindy Bee

PS Told ya we've had sightings.....

Don't forget to go to Amy's blog and see what others are up to!

Our family is heartbroken

I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been so heartbroken I just couldn't do it.   

Not yesterday, but last Friday, as I was fixing lunch for my Shug and a friend that was visiting us, a friend we haven't seen in years,  I got a phone call. 

It was Mom and she said she has some bad news.

And peeps, I have a lump in my throat just writing this. 

Remember this picture....from my last post....

From just two weeks ago.....

Well the man that took this picture was who Mom was calling me about.

Greg.

He passed away, unexpectedly, in his sleep.

No..I thought...it couldn't have been him.

We were all just together, celebrating birthdays.

And I was just telling my neighbor ladies about his bucket list. 

How could it be him?  He LIVED life!  He had a bucket list!

 You know, how you just think for a minute....just for a minute, that you want to turn back time.  Not too far back.  Just a week ago.  When you asked him to take that picture.  You wonder why you didn't say, "okay, now let's me and you take a selfie!" 

or "OK now smile....I'll take your picture."

Or how about, "are you feeling OK, you seem quiet tonight."

Because he was always telling a story a two, and that night, he didn't.

You see, Greg came to every birthday celebration, every holiday celebration, and most events he was invited to, if he wasn't on a trip somewhere.  He went to dance recitals, soccer games, and golf matches that his Grandaughter (my niece) played in. 

We were JUST all together. 

How could this happen?

I just wanted to turn back time to say Good Bye.  I don't remember telling him good-bye. 

I just want it to not be true.

This is a picture of him....

The honorable Judge Caldwell.

But I never knew this man.

Here's the man I knew.

WE knew.

At my sisters and her husband's house

(this is her husband's Father by the way, her Father-in-Law)

on Christmas

 At our house one Christmas Eve...

(it didn't matter if we were all at our house or my sister's or our parent's house, he was there)

 After the Easter Egg hunt at our house one year, opening his eggs, celebrating Easter with our family.

You can barely see the plastic necklace on him that he got in an egg!

Dancing with the rest of us to the Oui game on TV.

 Playing a silly game on Thanksgiving and wearing the drumstick headband,

because my Sister said you had to wear the drumstick headband, that she made.

Playing silly games on Christmas Eve

Hanging out with the family at our Independence Day celebration.

Or playing more goofy games on Christmas Eve...

He's the one in the Santa shirt!

  

Making a Christmas Ornament, for the special family tree, one year on Thanksgiving Day because that's what we were doing.

Not watching the game.

(even though the guys wanted to)

And smiling about it.

Always smiling.

 Here he is sitting with Dad in St. Thomas.  Probably telling a story or two.  He was definitely a story teller.

And he could sing.

Oh boy, could he sing.

The first time I heard him sing was when his, then three year old, Grandaughter wanted him to sing karaoke with her on stage when we were all in St. Thomas for a wedding.  So he did.  They sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

But afterwards, peeps, he sang....

"What a Wonderful World"

I always think of him when I hear that song, and I always will.

Yep, we knew the man that could sing.

I didn't know he could also play piano and harmonica, but he could.

We knew he was a judge, because he married my Sister, to his son, all those years ago.  It was their wedding we were celebrating that week. 


And that week, we all became family. 
And those two men in the picture above.  They not only lost a Dad, they lost a buddy.  Because he was also a fisherman, a golfer, and a hunter, which they all did together. 
He was actually with his son's family in Colorado, and him and his son were going Elk hunting the next day.  But it wasn't to be.  He didn't wake up.

  I could show you so many  more pictures, and tell many more stories, but I won't.  If you've followed my blog, from the beginning, you've seen him.  He's always at our Family Gatherings that I'm always showing you.
And perhaps his granddaughter, who is now 13,  said it best...

or my Sister.....

I'll blog again....when I feel like it.  Keep our family in your prayers.  We have his "Celebration of Life" on Monday.  And the man did CELEBRATE LIFE!

Cindy

October Birthdays!

 Aha!  That got your attention didn't it!  The plan was to have all kinds of "Fall Foods" to celebrate October birthdays.  Cinnamon Rolls, Donuts, S'mores, Chili, margaritas....

Margaritas?  

Well my Sister got this new Margaritaville machine for her birthday, back in August, and needed to use it.  Look...no hands...and if I didn't have to drive I would have had more than one!  Dessert didn't work out the way we planned, but it was delish, as was the chili.  We had a gooey peanut butter/chocolatey dessert, rhubarb pie, and cinnamon rolls.

And we celebrated birthdays.

My Shug turned 59!  Poor guy is still wearing a non-weight bearing cast, which, just between us, I think is bearing some weight.  He's a little tired of it all.

And Sarah, on the right, in the next picture, turned 13.  My nieces are teenagers and older now.  This is one of my "transitions" I was talking about a few posts back.  It's hard peeps, when they grow up, and don't want to snuggle and hang out anymore!  And, I mean, they're teenagers, so who wants to snuggle with them anyway right!  LOL!  In all seriousness, I do feel like I'm getting a taste of Empty Nest Syndrome. And my traditions are changing...which is even harder.  My hope is that those traditions have created wonderful memories for them to cherish. 

Here's a quick story....

One time I had the Granny Bee's over, when I lived in town.  One of them admitted that she only came to see my house!  LOL!

 One of them asked me where my boys were and I said, "they are in school right now, but you do know they are not really my boys, right?"  She said she did not know that, because whenever she saw me outside of Granny Bee stuff they were always with me. 

Then, another lady said, "What boys, I thought you had girls?" 

So you see, I really did spend a lot of time with them.

The boys I used to watch are driving now. 

The girls have all grown up. 

I'm adjusting.

 

And this is a picture of me with my nieces and nephews.  Which we did happen to get when we were celebrating Saturday evening.  Finally!  It's been awhile since I've gotten one, and this was the only picture that turned out good, out of 13! 

 But wait...this post isn't about me!  It's about October Birthdays!

My Shug, My Bro, My Bro-in-law, and my niece.

This is last years picture.  I didn't get many pictures this year.

  And here we all are sitting outside watching a movie.  My Sister ordered an outdoor movie projector and it was a lot of fun. 

 Very cosy by the fire. 

 Have a great day!

Cindy Bee