This in That in this journey called life

Random Thoughts and Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

We are nigh into November. Quickly coming up to Thanksgiving. I do not know what your plans for the holiday are, but ours are very different this year.

For the last 20 years we have had every holiday at our home, and we have enjoyed doing so. I love having people over, visiting, gathering the families. We have had some wonderful times around our table. And we will continue to do so. However this year is a bit different...

As I have blogged about earlier in the year, our oldest son and his wife moved 5.5 hours from where we live. He has a job that requires him to work on some holidays, and since this is his first year at this new company, yep you guessed it, he has to work, so they will not be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. Our youngest son and his wife are spending the holiday with her family, we do have to share, and I must say this is part of being an in law I do not like!!! My father and his wife are spending it with her children.

So that leaves my wife and I, and her parents. We are still cooking Thanksgiving this year.... but it will be for 4, instead of 18 to 20. Like I said at the beginning of this, it will be a different holiday for us. I don't know about you, but for me to even think about cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for 4 people is well it is just NOT right.... I don't even think I know how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for 4!! But I will have to try and learn..... lol

We always have eaten our Thanksgiving meal at 1 p.m. I don't know why but that is when we have always done it, and we will continue to do so. Maybe it is because we have always tried to make it so others can spend time with their family and friends also, after the meal. Make 2 stops to eat on this day of feasting!! Or maybe it is just the way it always has been and I should not even try to figure out why.....

It has always worked for us though, because by 5 or 6 everyone has left our home and traveled to other places. And my wife and I do the same.... We have had dessert with our dear friends Cesar and Tami, for the last 22 years. After each of us has cooked for our families, and they have left, then we sit down with a cup of coffee or glass of wine, get a piece of pie, and reflect... Reflect on those we spent the day with, how it went, and when our kids were younger what time we would be hitting the Black Friday shopping.... We would talk about those who may not have been at our tables this year. Talked about life and it's ebbs and flows.... and in general just relaxed and enjoy each others company.

So what is your plan this year?? Who are you inviting to your Thanksgiving table? Will it be the same as in past years? Or will yours be like ours this year..... a little different yet the same.... for time seems to bring around again does it not?
It starts with you as a young couple, no children, gathering at a relatives home, then as the years go by the gathering changes, as those we love go on, or move on, or just decide to spend it with others....... in any event as we gather to give thanks this year..... do just that....GIVE THANKS .... for where ever you are in life, who ever you are with.... and how ever you spend your day..... GIVE THANKS
Blessings and THANKS to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie

Fall, Nesting, going "Home:..... random thoughts

2011-10-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

It is finally cooling off here in Northern California, and we are just now really feeling like it is Fall. Cool, crisp mornings, warm afternoons.

We have just finished with Halloween, and now are quickly heading for Thanksgiving. I have always thought that Thanksgiving was the most over looked holiday we have. And yet it really should be one of the most celebrated. Even in this time of financial crisis for our country, for our friends, for family. We all have so much to be thankful for.

It is a time when we all draw closer to home, to those we love. We are not into the rushed Christmas season, we are able to just slow down and enjoy God's bounty. The awesome, beautiful Fall colors, the change of the weather. That first cup of coffee is a bit sweeter as the mornings are cooler, and a bit foggy. We start using our fireplaces and wood stoves. We linger sitting by them longer than we think we should, enjoying the crackle of the fire and the warmth from them. There is no better warmth that that of a wonderful fire in the fireplace.

November is when the year starts to wind down, we only have one more month til a new year dawns. A lot of us cozy up our homes, put on a fresh coat of paint, change out the pillows on the sofa's. Gather branches from our yards with colorful leaves and berries still attached and use them as wonderful centerpieces.

It is also the time that we all long for "Home". What ever that word means to you. Thanksgiving has the most people travelling to get "Home". To their childhood homes if that is where their parents still live, or to a home that is filled with the people they love. We all want, need to feel connected to a time, place and people who not only comfort us but have nurtured us over the years.

It really is not the structure, building, that is home, it is the feeling the you get when you enter the front door. It is the love that are wrapped in by those who are there to greet you. You see home really is about people, and relationships. It is about making memories, year after year, no matter what the physical address is, it is the people to people connection that we make.

So as we move through November, take some time to linger by the fire. Take some time to call an old friend. Open your home to friends and family, and the occasional stranger. Take the time and effort to make those around you feel welcome. And as you make a new memory, a new friend, or renew an old friendship.......... remember to be THANKFUL, for November is the month of being THANKFUL.....

Blessings to you and yours

Curtis

Think Pink

2011-10-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, October 20, 2011 was designated as "Think Pink" day here in Norther California. We were to wear pink, stop and think about breast cancer, donate, there were give aways, they lit our beautiful Sundial Bridge up in pink light, a gorgeous site to behold. And in general it is a day to just make us stop and remember those women in our lives who have fought this horrible battle and won, and to remember those who have fought the battle and lost....

I have experienced both of these battles, with the women in my life. My mother in law is a 20 year breast cancer survivor. My cousin only 3 years my senior, fought the battle and lost....

When my mother in law was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was me who took her to her chemo and radiation appointments. It was a wonderful bonding time for a mother in law and son in law, the sharing of the fears of death, life, the future. Our sons were little, at the time that she went through her cancer and treatment. They were introduced to cancer and it's ugly side effects at a way to young age. Mom, that is what I have always called my mother in law, went through her chemo and radiation very well. Of course she was very sick, lost her hair, but she never lost her joy or her hope of knowing that she would beat this disease, and we are every grateful for that.

My cousin, Marji, only 3 years older than myself was diagnosed with this dreadful disease when she was just in her mid 40's. She had 5 children all, still in school. Marji was a rebel of sorts, always looking for the organic way to cure ailments. Thus she made the decision early on that she would not use conventional medical treatment for her disease. I do not make judgement for her decision, it was hers, she owned it, and was steadfast in the treatment plan that she followed. But alas it was not a plan that was to be successful for her. She died, leaving all 5 of her children, her mother and father and her brother, and lots of cousins behind. All of us of course have our own opinions as to whether or not she chose the right path...... she chose the right path for her ......

So I have had the joy of seeing one loved one live through and be in remission for breast cancer, and I have had the heart break of seeing another be not so fortunate....

Life has many twists and turns and we all have decisions that we must make at every twist and turn that had different and at times devastating consequences for us....

I celebrate this Think Pink day, with everyone, both those who have lived to tell their stories, and those who we are left to tell their stories for them.....

Let's all take a moment and collectively send out a prayer that they find a cure for breast cancer, and all other cancers also........................

Think Pink.......... but always pray for a cure...................

Blessings
Curtis

Happy Fall Y'all !!!! and other ramblings...

2011-09-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today, Friday, September 23, 2011 is the first day of Fall, though you would not know it here in the Redding area, as it was 103 yesterday and is 100 degree's today!!!!

That said, it is the official first Day of Fall 2011!! As I have said before Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the holidays that we have during Fall, I love the colors we all seem to use during this transitional Season, the rusts, golds, greens, burgandy's. And do not tell my wife but I even like it that we switch out our decorations in our home from Summer to Fall.

September is a bitter sweet month for me. When I was growing up there were lots of birthday's and wedding anniversary's in September. My parents anniversary is in September, although it is just another day for most of my family since my mother died and my father remarried. I still take time on September 25th, of each year to remember my parents and their love not only for each other but for us 3 boys. My youngest brother's birthday is September 27th, he lives in South Dakota and we have not spent a birthday his or mine together in over 20 years, but it still was a celebration in September. My dad's brother and his wife were married on September 28th, and the list goes on and on. My wonderful in laws also celebrate their anniversary, and my mother in laws birthday in September.

That being said there have been many more people and celebrations that went on in the month of September through the years. But as time, and people pass, the celebrations get less and less.

I still take the time to do a private celebration for all of those who have gone on before me, in remembrance of them and their contribution to my life. I really think that our society tries to have us erase those who have gone on before us, but I will never succumb to this.

Each person who has had any kind of impact in our lives deserves to be remembered, to be honored in someway.

So as we enter into another Fall, and the season begins to change, first the nights get cooler, then the leaves begin to fall... Oh how I still love to see the leaves change and fall, fluttering ever so softly down to the ground, and to feel the crispness in the air as it gets cooler. I anticipate our first fire in the fireplace, and how it makes the house so cozy.... ahhhhhhhh

So what does Fall mean to you? What celebrations do you and your family enjoy, participate in?

Do you put up pumpkins? Pull out the flannel, and wool comforters and get ready to settle in for the upcoming colder weather?

I am hoping that you take the time to do all of this and more. That you enjoy the fluttering of the leaves as they fall to the ground, that you glory in the cool of Fall's weather. And I hope that you, take the time to remember those who have made an impact in your life, be they here or gone on before you to Glory.......

Again I say Happy Fall Y'all

Blessings to you and yours

Curtis

Thunder storms ~~~~

2011-09-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last night as we were sitting in our family room, just my wife and I, enjoying our usual peace and quiet. We were afforded the absolute wonder of a Thunder and Lightening Storm.

It was amazing!!! Here in far Northern California we do not get storms like this very often, and to honest when we do we worry about forest fires..... especially this time of year at the end of a long dry summer. But for the moment we sat and marvelled at God's handiwork.

The loud clap of Thunder overhead made the windows and doors rattle with its power. Then of course the Lightening that followed lit up the sky in the canyon. It was so bright that for the moment you thought that it was day light, but then as quickly as it was bright we were plunged into darkness again.

The whole storm lasted for about 30 minutes, and the whole while I was watching in awe of the mightiness of the storm that God had unleashed in our skies. I sat thinking about how small I felt with the wind whipping the trees, and the rain and hail pelting the house.

We opened all of our windows and doors so that we could be totally engulfed in the awesomeness of the storm.

God is like that, he wants to engulf us in His awesome love and power, if only we will let him. Oh how we at times fight that, not allowing God to engulf us in His love. And then when you watch what he can do with our little world, showing us his power in the storm, I am reminded that he can do so much with us if we only allow Him to.

My wife and I sat quietly, as the storm continued around us, both lost in our own thoughts. And then after the storm had quieted down we began to talk about God's Power and Love.

Are you in a storm of your own today? Do you need to feel the wonder and power of our Saviour? He is there waiting, wanting to show you his Love for us.

My prayer today is that you allow God to show you His Grace, His Power, His Love.

For God so loved the world, he sent his only begotten Son, whosoever believes on HIM shall be saved~~ John 3:16

So won't you allow him to Love YOU? Give you the PEACE that surpasses all understanding?

I for today will let God do what he wants, allow HIM to LOVE me, to give me PEACE that surpasses all understanding, won't you? Just think about it, HE is waiting.

Blessings to you and yours

Curtis

9/11

2011-09-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have been away, well... away from writing, these last few months. I have had a block on what to write and or say. But not today, today I have so many things to say...

In just 2 days we will be remembering that awful day 10 years ago when all of our lives were changed forever, 09/11/2001 when our world as we knew it changed forever.

I can still tell you what I was doing that awful day, when the news came that we were under attack. My boys were in high school, and we were getting ready for work and school.

We live 0n the West coast,so by the time we got up and turned on the television all of the terrible events had already started..... I did not want to go to work, I did not want my sons to go to school, I just wanted to gather all my family and friends and keep them close by me.

But we did go to work and school, and we all watched in our prospective places, history being made, lives being changed, and families being torn apart. As the song says.... Where were you on that September morning?..... and I think we can all remember where we were and what we were doing.

Since that fateful day, so many things have changed, with travel, with National Security, with the way the world views us, with the way we view ourselves.

And the way we view each other, be it good or bad; we all view others a bit differently than we did prior to 09/11/2001.

We have seen people we know send their sons and daughters off to fight a war, a war of terrorism that has seen so many tragedies....so many lives changed, and yet so many things are the same.

We all get up every day, go to work, to school, and have gotten on with our lives.

My sons have both found the loves of their lives, gotten married, started careers, and though they do not have children yet they have started their families with their wife's.

My wife and I have settled into our lives as empty Nester's. Learning to cope with a quiet house, not that, that is so bad LOL. We have rediscovered each other and how we have changed since then, our views, and opinions of things... life marches on.

But in the back of my mind every time I hear a plane flying low, or a helicopter going over head, I stop and for a brief moment I feel fear, like I felt on that fateful day 10 years ago. And then it passes, and life goes on....

So today I will celebrate that life has gone on, for good or bad, it has. And I will remember all those who lost their lives on that fateful day 10 years ago. I will pray that we have all learned something from this. That we all pray for each other no matter what our religion, creed, or color is. That we in our own way try to make this a better place to live, not only for ourselves but for others as well, and for future generations.

So I leave you with this thought..... Where were you on that September morning?

Blessings to you and yours and for those who are still grieving the loss of a loved on on that fateful September morning.

Curtis

Evergreen-Barbara Streisand

2011-05-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today I am filled with thousands of memories, 32 years of memories, you see today May 19th, is our Anniversary. So many years ago two fresh faced, young, we were only 22, kids set out on the adventure of our life, we got married.
We got married in a little Church, Calvary Baptist, located here in our hometown of Redding Califorina. Surrounded by those friends and family who wanted to wish us well, surrounded by their love.
We have done the same for many other couples through our 32 years of marriage, wished other bride and grooms well. There are some who's marriages lasted, and others who fell by the way side.
I wonder all the time, what is it that made us make it this far? How did we weather the storms that came at us? And how have we continued to love each other ? The only answer I can come up with is, GOD. We started our marriage based on the fact that GOD loved us and wanted the best for us. And that no matter what came our way we could see it through with use surrendering it to GOD and letting him help shoulder it. Now this is not to say that we have not had difficult times, we have...... and that either of us at one time or another wanted to just walk away.... we have..... but through all of it, we always came back to the fact that if we just surrendered it to GOD we could get through it, and be better on the other side.
I am a sentimental old fool, love songs, flowers, friends, family, puppies, can all make me cry at a moments notice. So today I found the song Evergreen by Barbara Streisand, that was played at our wedding, and of course the tears flowed, and a smile broke out on my face as I remembered how I felt on that hot day in May 32 years ago, as the notes of this song echoed throughout the Church.
This song has,through the years,always brought warm and wonderful memories of our marriage to me. I have always considered this OUR song.... more than any other. Because our love is soft as an easy chair, we have become two lights shining as one, Ageless and Evergreen.
So today I dedicate my blog to my beautiful and wonderful wife of 32 years, Sherrie. You truly are my Ageless and Evergreen love. I love you more today than I did on that hot May day in 1979 when we said I do!!! You are my heart! Love you now and you are Ageless and Evergreen Love you Curtis

G A T H E R

2011-05-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today as I was reading through my various blogs that I follow, one asked the question: What does the word GATHER mean to you in regards to people.

I thought for a moment and then it came to me. God's timing always amazes me, we went to 2 weddings this past week end, one for a family member, and one for the grandson of wonderful friends.

At each of these events, we GATHER-ed, family, friends, new friends... we gathered... to celebrate new begginings for 2 very special couples.

As I was thinking of this word G A T H E R, it came to me!

GATHER mean to bring together people from your past, your present, your future. It means to communicate with them, engage with them, open your life up to them. It means that we spend time with them, some for a while, some for a season, some for our lifetime. And all of theses GATHERED pieces, become the CRAZY quilt of our life. Each piece, so wonderful and precious, and adding color and demension to our life. Each piece, different from the other, but at the same time, the same, familiar, comforting. Each piece, a story of a time and place in our life. Each piece, that without it our lives would not be the story that it is.

We never know what each person, piece; of this CRAZY quilt will play in our lives... We only know that each and every person/ piece of this quilt is our story. It is never quite complete, ever changing, and we always have room to add a person/ piece to our CRAZY quilt of life.

So I guess to answer the question of what G A T H E R means to me? It means to be able to continue to keep the friends from the past, make friends in the now, and look for friends in the future. For we all need a little help from our friends. And this past week end really opened my eyes to this as I rekindled old friendships, enjoyed friendships that are occurring now and maybe, just maybe made a few new friendships for the future. God is so good..................

So today I ask you: What does GATHER mean to you?

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

So this is the week of Mother's Day.....

For those of us whose mother's are no longer with us, we need to adopt a mother and make her day special.

For those of you who are blessed to still have your Mother you need to take the time to make her feel special, to do something for her that only YOU can do..... take if from one whose mother has gone on to Glory, you never get another chance to make your mom feel loved....

So take some time this week, it does have to cost you anything but time, write your mom a note thanking her for all she has done for you, call her, if you live close enough go visit her, take her out for coffee, ........ there is no time like the present.......just do it!

If you are married to the Mother of your children, make sure she knows how much you appreciate her and what she has done for you children over the years.

I once talked with a man who was my age, it was about 20 years ago. He was divorced from the mother of his children. He told me that he sent his ex wife, the MOTHER of his children a Mother's Day card every year.. just to let her know he appreicated what she did for their children every day, that my friend is a WISE and wonderful man..... so appreciate your mother's near and far this week, make sure they know how much YOU appreciate what they have done for YOU.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's who have given of themselves selfishly through the years.....We the children of the world THANK YOU!!!

Happy Mother's Day and Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Royalt Wedding Aftermath .. and other things...

2011-05-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

So did you get up and watch the Royal Wedding? Well my wife set the alarm for 2:30 am, and we watched it. I am all for a nice wedding and all, but really??? getting up at 2:30am? I told my wife I would not even had gotten up at 2:30am for our wedding, note to self not a good thing to confess =). Anyhoo, we saw it, and saw it and saw it, it was on all day long!!!

The week end came, it was as always too fast..... I really do not know why the President has not acknowledged my letter to him demanding a 4 day work week!!

The weather here in Northern California has been Glorious!!! There really is no other way to describe it, warm, with breezes that come up just in time to cool you off. We have the best Springs here, when we have Spring... lets see we have had 9 days of great weather... and now they say it is going to be in the mid 90's on Wednesday..... oh well you can't change it you just have to live with it!!

So I have made a HUGE decision... yep I have!!! Well it is HUGE for me. I have decided that for the first time ever I am going to grow my vegetables in my flower beds right along with the petunia's, lavender, roses, daisy's and geranium's. Yep that is what I am going to do..... I figure that the water system is on for the flower beds anyway so when the flowers get watered the vegetables will too. I will let you know how this turns out! We NEVER put our vegetable plants out before Mother's Day. Just a old gardener's rule around here, we can have a frost up til then so I wait..... and wait..... and wait. Well the time has come, because this week end is Mother's Day~!

So what are you doing for Mother's Day??? let me know love to hear your ideas and see if I can borrow them =)....
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Enuff said

2011-04-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

This says it all, we can all learn something from this post. I do not know where it originally came from but I borrowed from the web.... and want it to be something I meditate on... how bout you?

Randon thoughts

2011-04-27T09:39:00.001-07:00

As the title says this post is just random thoughts.... the picture is of Whiskeytown Falls, they are just 5 miles from our house. Oh yeah 5 miles and a hike that could kill you lol, I did the hike it did not kill me just made me want to die. LOL It is so beautiful and worth the killer hike to get to them. We live in a very beautiful area.

Easter has come and gone and I survived.... the first holiday EVER that both of our sons were not at our dinner table, I survived, life did not stop, I survived.

The day after Easter the 25th, marked the 17th anniversary of my mothers going home to be with her Saviour. It is always a mixed bag of emotions every year on this day. But as I have said here before life is about changing nothing ever stays the same. I do miss my mom, her smile, her laugh, and her story telling, she could have a room full of people laughing so hard they could not breathe..... oh how I miss her.

The Royal Wedding is just days away. Did you get your invitation??? wink wink. Me either, but my wife and I love a good wedding and we will be watching, not at 1 am, when they start the broadcast here on the West coast,no we will catch it later, they will be rerunning it all day no need to loose sleep over it, lol. Oh how my wife and I love a wedding, we will stop and watch a ceremony in a park, feeling a bit guilty by being there but just marveling in the wondrous new love, and the hopes and dreams that are there in that moment... so wonderful.

Speaking of weddings and such, our youngest son, who I have wrote about here. Well he told my wife and I that he and his soon to be ex wife are going to give their marriage another try. We are cautiously excited about this. We told him that they cannot continue to do the same things they have done and expect a different outcome, that they needed to change things, get counseling. We will see, we pray that they can work things out, that this dream of a life long commitment to each other works for them. He brought her to Easter dinner, the first time we have seen our daughter in law since October, it was a sweet reunion. We love our children's spouses as our own, we want the best for them and we pray for them. Please keep them in your prayers too.

Spring is here in all Her Glory!! And are we ever glad! Those months and months of rain was taking its toll on me. I am so enjoying the wonderful sunshine and warmth of the sun... Now it is time to get out and work in my garden, so many things to do.

So with that I am signing off, as the title says these are just some of my random thoughts in this journey we call life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Community Service ~ Woman's Refuge

2011-04-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

For the last 2 months I have been drumming up pledges for a fund raising event I was taking part in. I was asked by a family member to walk in this event. I was going to be Walking A Mile In Her Shoes, a fund raiser for our local Woman's Refuge.

This wonderful place offers assistance for those people, both women and men, who find themselves in domestic violence situations, and also offers assistance to those individuals who have been sexually assaulted. But they offer so much more, I will get to that in a minute.

Through the wonders of Facebook, and my wonderful family and friends, We, and I say we because it was a group effort, we raised $900.00 for the Redding Women's Refuge. All I did was put on a pair of Red Glittered 3 inch platform shoes and walked my mile. It was a great event, raising money for a Great Organization.
I walked my mile, my feet were killing me!!! But it was all for a good cause. I finished and then went about my day.

My wife and I had errands to run and as we always do on a Saturday we stopped by a few yard sales. At one such sale, a young lady walked up to me and asked if she could shake my hand, I was a bit confused but extended my hand, she said she noticed that I had my Walk A Mile In Her Shoes shirt on and she wanted to thank me for walking.. She then told my wife and I that several years ago she and her then toddler child, had used the services of the Redding Woman's Refuge. She was ending an abusive relationship and needed a place to stay and the Refuge offered that to her and her child.
Now some people may think that this is some weird coincidence, but NOT me I truly feel that this was Divine intervention, putting me at that yard sale, with the t- shirt proclaiming that I had just finished this event. I stood in amazement that before I had walked in this event I had NEVER had one person walk up to me and tell me their story of abuse. I was touched beyond words.

I write this blog today acknowledging that there are bad things that happen to good people. Knowing full well that there are times in everyone's life that they need a hand up, without judgement, without fear of condemnation.

Agencies such as the Redding Woman's Refuge are a needed part of our community, though I wish it were not so. They assist those who are in the deepest depths of despair and who need to have someone there to guide them through what may seem to them to be the darkest days of their lives. Those people who volunteer at the Refuge give them unconditional love and support all the while guiding them though the process of getting their lives back in order. And to those Volunteers I stand at attention and in awe of their unwavering love and support to these individuals.

So my 3 inch Red Glitter platform shoes are now put away in the back of my closet, but only until next year. Because every year Women's Refuges all over the nation need to be supported. And I can do that one walk at a time, raising as much money as I can to help support this awesome cause.

As you go about your life this next year stop and pray for those people who find themselves in abusive relationships, and those who find themselves the victims of sexual assault. Knowing that we can ALL make a difference if we just take the time to. Even if it is just walking a mile in her shoes..... in this journey we call life......

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Spring is here in all HER Glory

2011-04-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well since I have been bemoaning and lamenting for quite sometime about how dreary the weather has been and how I wished the sun would shine..... I am here to say that yep Spring is here in all HER wondrous Glory!!!! This week has been a wonderful week of sunshine, warm temperatures, and just great weather!!!

My wife and I went for a walk on our famous Sundial Bridge here in Redding California. And to be honest it was more like as stroll because there were so many people that we knew walking.

We would stroll for a bit and then we would stop and visit, so it was a wonderful walk. The day was warm, the sun was shining and it was beautiful... We truly live in a beautiful place with so many miles and miles of walking and bike riding trails. As you walk you can watch fly fisher persons fishing, watch drift boats with fisher persons fishing, watch kayak's go by and then the wildlife. It is so pretty.

I posted on my Facebook yesterday that I, being a gardener cannot wait until I can get my hands in the dirt and plant some beautiful flowers. I love this time of year. One of my favorite flowers/ plants is the Geranium, and the color?? RED. They just make me smile and I have them planted at our house in my flower beds, in flower pots and just every where. I posted a picture of Geraniums in flower boxes, so pretty, and then when I went to the grocery store what did they have???? Yep you guessed it RED Geraniums in all their glory, what is a gardener man to do? I tell you they JUMPED into my basket, so I HAD to take them home.

I use the excuse that I love Geraniums because they are natural mosquito repellents, and since we live on a creek.... I am just saying. But to be honest even when we did not live near water I planted them, and as I say they just make me smile. But I have read more than once, that the reason the homes in Europe have window boxes and they are filled with Geraniums is because they do repel mosquito's....

So this week end I am planting my RED Geraniums, and smiling! I am also marveling in this wonderful weather we are having, and going to enjoy every minute of it. So as I sit on my deck, after I do my planting of course, I will think of you, and wish you good wishes, and happy thoughts as we all travel through this journey we call life.........................
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Spring and it's late arrival

2011-03-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well today after a very long rain filled winter, Spring decided to arrive in all her glory! She just waltzed in like being about 1 month late was no big deal!! Well let me tell you it was a big deal and if I was not so happy to see Spring I would tell her so.

The clouds have parted and the sun is shining here in Northern California!!! We, as in collectively all of Northern California are giving a HUGE sigh of relief from all of that rain, well with the exception of my lovely wife, she loves the rain. That for another story another day.

When I woke up this morning and looked out and saw BLUE sky, this middle age, balding man was a HAPPY man!!!! I know we need the rain but oh my gosh we have had it and then some this year.

So last week I was dreaming about the sun coming out and today here it is!!!! Ahhhh I can dry out a bit, get some of the rust out of my system..

For those of you who live in rainy places, my hat is off to you. I for one cannot go for days on end without seeing the sun, I yearn for the warmth it brings, the smile it puts on my face and how it makes all of us just a bit happier.

I tell ya I was ready to renew my membership at the tanning salon, I needed to feel the warmth of the sun even if it came in the form of a high powered light bulb!

So for today and for the many days after today when the sun shines here in Northern California I will bask in all of its glory, warmth and good feelings.

I know I am a bit fickle, as I know that we need the rain, I just want it to rain every night after I go to sleep and then the sun comes out when I am up and out doing my daily routine. I said I was fickle didn't I?

So to all of you out there who like me are enjoying this reprieve from the rain, I say go outside, sit in a chair, walk the river trails, work in your yard, or just smile and know that this is just the beginning of a great Spring and Summer.

And do not let Spring know I am a bit miffed at her for being so tardy to her own party, I mean really, she should have showed up a month ago and started the party then.

Well I am off to go bask in this new found treat.....the sun...... hope you can take some time to enjoy it.

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Long Winters and Dreaming of Spring

2011-03-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here in Northern California we have had a very long winter this year. I usually love the rain and cloudy days, but this year we have had them for so long... I am dreaming of Spring.

Dreaming of watching the budding of the leaves on all the trees, watching the flower buds swell just before they burst forth with all of their beauty and fragerance.

Dreaming of being able to sit on the deck or patio on a Saturday morning reading my paper, having a cup of coffee on the table and just breathing in the fresh air. Dreaming of having breakfast outside on the deck, just my wife and I, fresh fruit, mimosa's, fresh ground coffee beans making a wonderful French Pressed cup of coffee.

Dreaming of being able to work in my flower beds, filling them with sweet Pansies, Snap Dragons, Shasta Daisy's, wonderfully fragerant Petunias, oh I can close my eyes and just see them all now. Truth be told I have 5 flats of Pansies sitting on my deck right now waiting for the rains to stop so I can plant them in the flower beds.

Dreaming of coming home from work and having the sun still shining, going for a walk along the creek behind the house, listening to the birds sings, and watching the bee's buzz around pollinating the flowers and tree's. Looking and watching the water hoping to see a beautiful trout swim by. And on the first warm day of Spring putting my feet into the creek, the cold taking my breath away as I get used to it. Feeling so alive as Spring brings forth all of her beauty and life.

Dreaming of seeing the new born Fawns playing on the lawns in downtown French Gulch, with their spots all white and clean, looking so sweet and innocent. Dreaming of seeing the goslings, Canadian Honkers swiming in a small pond right off of our mountain road. All swimming in a straight line behind mom and dad, oh the wonder of Spring.

Dreaming of the cool of the night as it turns from dusk to night and the sky lights up with all of the wonderful bright stars. Looking up and wondering who else on the other side of the world might be looking at that same star I am gazing on right now. And this year for the first time, looking at the stars and wondering if my son and his wife might be looking at them from their new home, and we for a moment in time could be connecting looking at that same star...

So what are you dreaming of right now? As we await the dawning of Spring, a new beginning? A new job? A new home? A new friend? We all need to dream, we all need to reach for that one lone star, hoping that we can reach it. I know that at times I am really talking out loud to myself in this blog, putting down in connected letters my feelings, wishes, dreams...... but I want you to also have the same, wishes, feelings, dreams..... so go ahead and dream of Spring, and the wonders that it brings forth, and for a moment just after dusk turns to night who knows, we maybe wishing on the same bright star.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Coffee and a cozy shop

2011-03-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

You know when you go into a shop, you immediately get a vibe good or bad about it. We all have these instincts, feelings about the place, the person waiting on us. Well here in our fair city of Redding, California, we have a wonderful little coffee shop, Breaking New Grounds.

No drive thru you have to get out of your car and go inside to get your coffee. As you enter the door you are greeted by the owner Lisa, in her cheery exuberant way, as if she is welcoming you into her home, you feel immediately at ease.

You order your coffee, bagel, or the BEST carrot cake ever, or a sundry of other pastries to go with your coffee.

Now I have been going to this little coffee shop for over a year now, so I do not even have to say my order, my coffee is poured, dark roast, room for cream, a bagel, just cheese on it, and my morning newspaper. I pay for it and sit at the counter.

In this past year as I have sat at this counter every morning Monday thru Friday, from 8:00am to 8:30am, I have met some amazing and wonderful people who also frequent this little coffee shop. From the workers in the offices around to locals like me who just drop by to start their day.

And through this year I have made friends, some closer than others but friends none the less. We have shared our lives with each other, we have supported each other, we have even cried with each other as life does at times deal us all blows that we need to be comforted from.

But as I have sat there on that bar stool at the counter in that little coffee shop I have learned some life lessons about not only myself but others as well. We all need to have a coffee shop where we can go and enjoy a cup of coffee with a side of kindness, and a real dose of life.

So today my hope is that you can find that little coffee shop, tea house, to just go to and sit and enjoy. Be able to make friends, share you life with them, support each other and just enjoy your time that you spend there. Because we all need a little kindness from strangers who can become our friends, In This Journey Called Life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Life and remembering our past

2011-02-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

This morning as I logged into my computer, I immediately go to Facebook. Where did we all go before FB? There I saw an odd post from my cousin, just the name of her childhood friend, they started kindergarten together and here it is some 60 years later, that is another post. So being my flippant self I said something smart like " what is this name your childhood friend week?"

I immediately got an instant message from her. Her childhood friend, who she started kindergarten with, who she talked with about cute boys, who she told her most private secrets too, who was a cheerleader with in high school, who were bridesmaids in each others weddings, who she comforted when her teenage son died. Yes this friend whose family was well known in our small community, her mother was the librarian, had died....... commited suicide.

My heart broke for my cousin, for her friends family, friends, child. We have no other information just that she is gone, and her service will be on Saturday in a nearby town.

I have not seen this friend in years, but have so many fond memories of her, my youngest brother was the ring bearer at her wedding. I remember her and my cousin ironing their hair, and then ratting it up so high, and laughing, oh the laughter. For those of you who live in small towns or who grew up in one, you know how everyone knows everyone. We all knew each other, we all stopped in the store when we were kids with our moms and made small talk we all knew when something good or bad happened in thier lives.

Then we all grew up, moved on with our lives, married, had our own children, our town became bigger, our lives got busier with things to do, lot of things to do. We no longer stopped to talk with someone at the store, we no longer made the time to call someone.

We just got busy..... and with what? That is the question I have been asking myself today. Why are all of our lives so busy, spinning out of control at times and yet we have no time for people who are, were in our lives? No time to make that call, write that note, make that contact........

I will go to yet another funeral on Saturday.... say good bye to someone I have known and known about my entire life time. And I will ponder why did I not make the time, write the note.......

Our lives need to be about connecting with others, making a differce, leaving a legacy.... so the question I ask of not only you but myself today.... is just this,
When will we make the time, to make a differnce in someone else's life?? Something for not only me to ponder but for those around me also, I will be asking this of family, friends co workers...

Blessings to you and yours

Curtis

Today is the day

2011-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well today is the day, the day I have been writing about, dreading, trying to ignore. But it is here and let me tell you it is harder than I ever imagined. What? you say, today my son and his wife left to move on to bigger and better things.

Today is the day that Noah and Kristen left their home town, where they both grew up, went to school, made life long friends, met each other, dated, and got married, and today they left to move to Fresno California.

I kept it together at all of the going away/ good bye parties, smiling, laughing, telling myself that I would not let it out in public. But last night as I went to bed I had this over whelming sadness come over me. I know for those of you who have had their children move away, this is all old hat. But for me, for my world, for my life this is HUGE!! I have stated here that never in my wildest thoughts did I ever let myself come to grips with Noah moving. I knew in my head, because he has always told me he wanted to move away, but I in my Polly Anna and yes even MEN have Polly Anna thought processes would I let myself think that this would happen. Fast forward to today........ and the reality is OVERWHELMING.

For from today on we can never call them up on Saturday and say "Hey you want to meet us for breakfast?" From today on we can never call them up and say " Hey we are meeting at so and so's house want to come join us?" From today on they will not be able to make it to family birthday parties,(now don't tell my wife but this might be a plus for all of those toddler parties we are still attending). From today on there will be an empty place at the table when we have family dinners. From today on Face book, texts, phone calls, and twitter, yes I will learn how to twitter, will be our means of communication.

So today I am allowing myself to have a pity party, to cry, even sob, because my son has moved on to another city, because today I cannot drive over to my son's house to see him, because today my son has moved away.

But tomorrow and every day after I am going to continue to be proud, be excited, be the best cheer leader that I can possibly be. Because I know that is what my job is from this day forward. So starting tomorrow I will be happy for my kids, be joyful when they find a new Church home, be over joyed when they tell us of all of the wonderful new and exciting things they are find out about there new city of residence.

So I thank you for letting me vent today. I know that so many of you have already gone down this road before me and I will survive, I will.... but today I am missing my little blond headed boy who used to run out the front door when I came home from work to see, I miss that at times surly middle aged boy who was trying so hard to grow up, and today I am missing that wonderfully funny and fun young man that went to high school. And today I am missing my absolutely amazing son who has grown into a man that I am so proud of that I can hardly stand it. Today I am grieving just a bit for things the way they were and the way I wanted them to be......... as I have said in this blog before, Life is about changing NOTHING ever stays the same.... it is how we deal with those changes that makes the difference. So I sign off today sending Blessings to you and yours, and asking that you might send a prayer for my son and his wife settle into their new city............
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Saying Good Bye and Hello to new Adventures

2011-02-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday we had a open house, good bye party for our son, Noah and his wife Kristen. It was at best bitter sweet...............

Sherrie, my wife, baked for 3 days, she had decided that it would be a dessert open house. We had cookies, cake, pies, candy, diabetic cake, the table was laden with all of the goodies. Myself, I was in charge of the beverages. I made my famous citrus punch, chilled the wine, made coffee, iced tea, and hot tea. I Made sure all the glasses were spotless, my OCD kicking in , I hate glasses with spots.

I was also responsible for the fresh flower arrangements. You cannot have a party in my humble opinion without fresh flowers, it just is the exclamation point on the table.

So we got everything ready, and actually we were done early, note to self this does not happen very often, more often than not we are putting the final touches on things as the first guest arrives. You know the old adage that we work better under pressure, NOT. But we do it anyway.

So we get to sit and talk a bit as we wait for the kids to arrive and then the guests.

We talk about what this move will do for our family structure, and holidays, and just talk. I mention that we will not be able to call them on Saturday mornings and say, Hey you want to meet us at our favorite local place for breakfast.... no more calling for impromptu invitations to dinner and all the things that we will not be doing once they move. And just in the nick of time, the door bell rings, I was starting to feel sad, gloomy, and viola!!! saved by the door bell. Noah and Kristen arrive, and with them excitement for this move, excitement for a new adventure, excitement for a huge promotion with the new job. I try to grab onto their excitement, be happy for them, I want to be as excited as they are.

The door bell continues to ring, old friends come by, family comes by, new friends come by and it is non stop from 2 pm all the way til 8:30 pm. Well wishes, hand shakes, hugs, kisses all around everyone sharing in the kids excitement, and I watch.
I watch my son, so proud of himself, and his wife that they are in this economy moving upward in his career, moving up in the salary structure. I watch as family and friends share the happiness and excitement with them. And for a moment in time I stop and tell myself, this is what you raised him for, this is what you always wanted for your son, for him to be happy in his career, for him to find someone to love and share his life with, for him to be independent. I take it all in and I smile for the first time that day I smile, because I feel for a moment in time that I might have got it right, made some good decisions along the way as he was growing up. I felt proud of the man my little boy has become, felt proud of the person he was and will continue to be. Felt proud of the person he chose for his wife, Kristen is his yang in the yin and yang of life, they fit together, they love each other.

And at the end of the day, end of the party, I knew they would be alright, that in this big world, these 2 kids will move on and make their mark on the world. I am so proud, and yet sad at the same time, this too will pass, we will make the trip to Fresno many times to see them, see their new life, and be proud of who they have become and smile as I watch them make their way in this journey called life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Valentine's Day the day after Post

2011-02-15T09:59:00.002-08:00

I was going to do this post yesterday but the day got away from me.......so here it is.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day..... begin the harps and love song melodies...... And while we do celebrate this day and love it, I want to propose something else, something more.

What would happen if we celebrated our loved ones every day? If we took the time to stop and tell them that we love them? we appreciate them? I for one think the world just might be a better place. We seem to have time for everything else.... television, computer games, running errands, so why don't we make time for LOVE?

It is my hope that maybe just maybe this year you would leave a love note for your spouse, child, parent, just because. That you would buy your significant other flowers just because, and if the season is right you don't have to buy them you can just pick a bouquet right from your own yard, or if you have a nice neighbor who has an abundance of flowers you might be able to talk them out of some flowers.

Taking the time to make others feel special, appreciated needs to be done all the time not just one day a year.

So take the time, make the time, make a plan, just do it!!! Make someone feel loved, appreciated, thought of, it will make their day!

Here is to hoping that this year you celebrate LOVE all year long!

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie

Valentine

2011-02-15T09:59:00.001-08:00

Northern California and Beautiful Weather!

2011-02-11T10:35:00.001-08:00

I live in Northern California, the REAL Northern California. We are up on the far end of the state and it is BEAUTIFUL up here. Lots of tree's, fresh air, lakes, mountains, and wild life, I just LOVE it here and really cannot imagine living anywhere else.

We have had for the last 3 weeks weather that is just beyond words. While the rest of the country is surviving in blizzards, and temperatures below zero, we have been basking in 65 to 75 degree weather. The sun has shined and we have loved it!!!

While we do get snow, lots of rain, and at times in the summer, blistering hot weather, it can get to 115 and on rare occasions even 120 degrees here in the summer. But truth be told we only have those extremes for about 3 weeks. The rest of the time we have the best of all worlds weather wise.

Where else can you, in February sit on your deck and enjoy a glass of wine with the sun shining on your warming you to the deepest depths of your soul? Or where else can you work in your yard, and then go to the nursery and be disappointed because they do not have any flowers for you put out.... but then it is February...

I putter around my yard looking for signs that the ground has warmed up enough to get my bulbs pushing up from the earth, I trim my roses in hopes that come April, May I will have arm loads of blooms to bring to my wife to put in vases around our house so that it perfumes our home. I only grow roses that are both beautiful and fragrant.... no slackers allowed! Nothing makes me smile more than having grown my own flowers to grace our home. At this time of year I do buy hot house blooms, only because I need, want to be able to have fresh flowers in our home. It just makes me smile when I have fresh flowers to see, smell, and enjoy.

So as I read blogs from others across the country dealing with snow as tall as my fence, and temperatures so cold I cannot even imagine... I smile and try not to gloat that we are having such wonderful weather. And really I do wonder why people live in places where weather is like that ??? so cold ? My brother lives in South Dakota, and I talk to him weekly, he always asks what the weather is like and then gets grouchy when I tell him. What is wrong with him ??? He was raised here in this area of great weather..... oh yeah his wife is from South Dakota and loves it there..

I need to get that glass of wine and sit on my deck for these last few days of this impostor Spring as I call it. Because next week we will have cold temperatures, oh my, down in the 50's and it will be raining, but we need the rain. I want all of my roses, hosta's, and bulbs to be watered by a gentle rain...... My wife and I do love a good rain storm, fire place blazing with the rain coming down washing everything making it new and clean.... ahhhh!!!

Oh yeah if you are thinking about moving here, well don't.... I mean you would not want to put up with the extreme heat in the summer now would you??? Disregard my bragging about our wonderful weather in February..... oh for the glorious Sun!!!
Blessings and Sunshine to you and yours
Curtis

Kids all grown up

2011-02-03T09:06:00.001-08:00

So we have had a week to digest the news that our oldest son is moving to a new city, not a long time but enough time for it to sink in.

We are both so proud and excited for our son and his wife, our buttons are bursting!! Noah is a good kid, has always had a plan, and always worked that plan, so it was no surprise when he decided it was time to move on that he got so many interviews, all over the United States. We are just feeling so blessed that he accepted the offer that keeps he and his wife in California.

My wife Sherrie and I have had long discussions about them moving, what it means to us, to them, and how it affects our life as parents and one day grand parents.

You see we chose to live here in Redding because that is where our family is. Our sons were able to get to know their Great Grandparents, spend time with both sets of Grandparents and form relationships with them. We felt that the connection to family was very important and that being able to spend time with them in person was the only way to forge that bond.

Fast forward 26 years,with the Internet, skype, face book, twitter, and all of the other electronic things that we have today you can still forge a relationship with people. Now a little disclaimer, I do not think that the relationship is as good as being able to see, feel, laugh, cry with someone in person. But it will be our option for keeping in touch with them as they continue on in their journey called life.

So my wife and decided that we will have to make the change, get more computer savvy, and come into the new generation of relationships. I do not go into this without reservation, but I will try.

Life has a way of always keeping you on your toes doesn't it? I mean who knew, say 5 years ago that I would be writing a blog? Let alone writing about feelings, and intimate family dynamics? But we all change, and it is a good change.

The day my mother died 16 years ago, as I was leaving the hospital, I turned on the radio in the car and a song came on that I had not heard before, the singers catch phrase was: "Life is about changing nothing ever stays the same". It was so difficult to hear those words that day as my life had changed dramatically.

And now some 16 years later I find myself telling myself this same thing, Curtis life is about changing nothing ever stays the same. And for the good or bad, life does change, it is how we meet these changes that makes a difference. We can fight them or decide that maybe.....just maybe ..... this change will be good for me, make me a better person, make me see something that I have not seen before.....

So I hope that life continues to change, continues to make me grow, continues to offer more opportunities because of the change. I by nature do not like change, but I will try harder to embrace it and welcome it into my life. God has a plan, He is in control, so I just need to be able to live and let go.....

How about you? Do you embrace change? Look for the good in it? Or are you like me just a little, and resist the change a bit? I hope that we all can grow from change be it good or bad, because as the song says...........
Life is about changing NOTHING ever stays the same.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

New Beginnings, Our Oldest Son moves on

2011-01-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

I wrote a few months ago that our oldest son was looking for a new job, one that would futher his career in broadcast news production. Well after flying across the country a couple of times, and many interviews both on the phone and in person, he has now been offered a new job. This news,(no pun intended)is bittersweet, because we, my wife and I know that he probably never will live in the same city as we do again.

We are so proud of him, and so excited for the new and wonderful things that he and his wife are going to be doing, but at the same time a bit sad. But today I will only write about the exciting things in store for my son and daughter in law.

Neither of them have ever lived anywhere but here in their home town, so to say that this will be an adventure is an understatement. As I think of all of the fun and exciting things they will be able to do I get happy for them. They will be making new friends, finding new places to shop, eat out, play, take the dogs to, new places to hang out on their weekends. They are moving into adulthood big time.

Noah, our son, has always wanted to live in a BIG city, and experience that lifestyle, and he will do great in a new city. He is adventurous, as is his wife, they like to go and find new places to explore, go on drives to find places to hike, and play with their two dogs. Noah will be at this new job for at least 3 years, as he is signing a contract for that amount of time, and then he will probably move to another market.

As I write this I have mixed emotions. My oldest son is moving away to follow his dream, and for that I am so proud and excited for him. But then there is this part of me that just wants all of my family in the same place, comfortable, easily accessible, able to call them on a Saturday and go to breakfast with them, able to celebrate birthdays, holidays with them. But I know I have had my children with me and my wife in the same town longer than a lot of people do. So I am going to put on my big boys pants and learn to deal.

I will miss him and his wife, but this is THEIR Journery in this journey called life...........

New beginnings, and new hopes await them, we will pray for them as we send them off on thier journey, that they reach the new heights and goals that they have set for themselves.....

Noah and Kristen we love you, and will miss you more than you know

New Beginnings, Fresh Starts

2011-01-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

Ahh so the Holidays have come and gone, have you got all of your decorations taken down and put away for another year??

I love Christmas, and all the trappings that go with it, but I must say that after the big day I am ready to take everything down and get our house back to " normal" what ever that is. As we pack away all of our decorations that we were so anxious to get out at the beginning of the month, I am not sad to say good bye til next year.

Then it is off to the New Year. The New Year has a double meaning to me as January first is my birthday. So as the week closes in on a New Year, I am thinking about the year that has just passed, and what it has meant to me, both good and bad.

And then I start thinking about the upcoming year and all of its possibilities. What it will bring, who will come into our lives, who will we have to say good bye to. But it also holds the promise of new friendships, of renewing old friendships, of mending fences, and just enjoying the moment.

I at times find myself always waiting for the nest big thing.... and I sometimes forget to just relax and enjoy the moment. Do you do that? Or is it just me? I at times rush through things, events and when they are done I look around and say to myself why did you go so fast, why did you not linger a little longer?

So this year I am NOT making any resolutions, I gave that up years ago. But this year I will try to enjoy each moment, each person, each event, and when the time or event is over I will be able to say wow that was great, I really enjoyed ________ fill in the blank.

So as we all start anew, with 2011 may all of us make sure that we take the time to slow down and enjoy the things that God offers us. Life really is meant to be enjoyed and not endured.

Take the time to slow down and relish relationships, and people..............

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie
Happy 2011!!!!

Reflections

2010-12-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas 2010 has come and gone, and now we are quickly coming to the end of 2010..... So today I am reflecting on this past year.

This past year has been filled with hope, joy, sadness, and yes even despair. But through it all God has been faithful.

This year I have said a final good bye to a dear friend, Pat, who always made me smile and laugh, to two Uncles one whom I spent my entire childhood with and one who traveled the world serving in the Air Force.

This year I have watched my youngest son feel the pain of a marriage ending. And was brought to tears by the attitude and grace that he showed through this process. It has not been a perfect process but he has shown me how to be gracious to others and for that I am grateful. He has become a wonderful man and in time he will heal and I pray that he finds someone to love him unconditionally. I love you Nathan.

This year I have watched my oldest son grown in his career, stretching his wings to fly to another city, state to do what he does best. He has always wanted to live in a big city, and this year he has started this process, so in 2011 I know we will bid he and his wife good bye as they move to who knows where to continue their journey in this thing called life. I love you Noah and Kristen.

This year I have watched my wife of 32 years grow more precious to me, and fall in love with her more than I thought possible. People ask us how do you stay married for this long..... and our answer is always the same......one day at a time. I love you Sherrie.

This year my wife and I were able to take the vacation of a life time, going on a cruise to Alaska, thanks to my Aunt Margaret who gave this to us as a gift. We will remember this vacation forever and forever be grateful to my Aunt for her gracious gift.

This year I have begun to write, not only this blog but other things as well, something I have always wanted to, and now I am finally doing it.

This year I started a quest to find my childhood cousins, we have all scattered across the country and lost touch with each other. So I began a search to find them, one by one. And as this year closes I have found all of them and all but one has responded with kindness and great memories. I am still waiting for my last cousin to respond, and even if he chooses not to do so, I still found him and know that he is alive and has people who love him surrounding him.

Yes this year has had great, wonderful moments, filled with love, hope, promise and gratitude. And it also had moments that were not so great, filled with despair, and sadness. But I choose to cling to those things that were positive, keeping my glass half full, because in this journey we call life we have the choice of how we look at things and I choose the positive.

I always start each New Year on a happy note because it is my birthday! I am surrounded by those I love celebrating not only my birthday but the birth of a New Year, with all of its hope and excitement. So my wish for all of you is that you look to this New Year 2011 with HOPE, LOVE, and EXCITEMENT for all that it has to offer you.

I say good bye to 2010, and a great big HELLO to 2011!

Blessings to you and yours and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Curtis

My Christmas wish

2010-12-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

It is December 20, 2010, a Monday. This morning I am thinking about Christmas and all that it means to me, to my family, and to others.
Christmas has always been a wonderful time for me, my mother LOVED this holiday more than any other, and no matter what our financial status was we always had a wonderful Christmas. But growing up Christmas was just a tree and presents and spending time with our family, nothing more nothing less.
Then when I was 20 years old I came to know Jesus as my saviour, and from that time on Christmas changed for me.
It is about a baby born in a Manger, to a unwed mother, and her soon to be husband, born of lowly stature, his name....... JESUS. He grew up to be a Carpenter and challenged the thinking of his time, and in his early 30's, he gave his life to save mine, and the world's.
At this time of the year I think of those who are struggling, who have lost their jobs, their homes, a loved one.
And I wishing that someone can be JESUS to them, take time to talk to them, to give them comfort, to reach out, offer support. Because life at times gets hard for everyone and it is a these times that people need us... those who know the Saviour to be JESUS to them.
Can you be JESUS to someone in this Season of Light? I pray so, that each of us can offer someone, a shoulder to lean on, in their time of need.
I close this wishing you a Merry Christmas, reminding you that JESUS is the reason for the Season!!
Christmas Blessings to You and Yours
Curtis & Sherrie

And we are off to the Christmas races!!!!!

2010-11-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Catchy title don't ya think? Well there have been years that we have felt that way. But as our kids have grown up and moved out it has slowed down quite a bit. Except for this last week end.... We hosted Thanksgiving, something we do every year. But this year was different, my wife's brother and his wife were going to be here for the first time. It has been over 15 years since Sherrie has celebrated Thanksgiving with her brother, so we were excited to have them. And the dinner was as usual wonderful..... only 9 people at our table one son and his wife were at his in laws, that sharing holidays is not a easy thing for me... but I did it!! Now on to the race.....Since Sherrie's brother was here we or I decided that it would be a great time to have Sherrie's side of the family out for a Open House on Saturday, sounded easy enough. But oh NO, my wife had to have the house completely decorated for Christmas if she was going to be entertaining. Now let me stop here and tell you that we have NEVER put up our Christmas decorations in one day, EVER. There are just so many, and my wife decorates every room in the house including the laundry room... So Friday after Thanksgiving when all other sane people were out shopping, we were tearing our house apart.... why you ask? Well because we had to put away the Thanksgiving decorations before we could put up the Christmas ones. silly people.
So we started at 9 am on Friday, and we finished at 2 am on Friday morning, yes you read that right 2 am! It was a decorating frenzy let me tell you. We worked all day long, did not turn on the television, just played Christmas music, and worked and worked, and worked, and worked. And in the end our house looked wonderful... beautiful.... We surprised those who had come for Thanksgiving as they left the house with Turkeys and Pumpkins and returned to Santa's , Wreath's, and a completely decorated Christmas Tree... wheeeeeew! Then on Saturday we cooked food, for 30 in preparation of the Open House. I must say it was a resounding success! The house looked great, the food was wonderful, and most importantly the company was unsurpassed. The look of contentment on my mother in laws face as she enjoyed having 2 of her 3 children celebrating and enjoying the company of extended family, cousins, aunts, great cousins, all talking laughing, smiling and having a wonderful time. It is an understatement that we were exhausted on Sunday and did not get off of the couch the entire day... But it was all worth it, because you can never do too much for family. Would I do it again? Yes I would, would I be tired? Yes I would . Would I be ever thankful for time spent with those we love? YES I would. Because you see as we race into this Season we call Christmas, we will be able to sit back and enjoy it all because we worked a little on the Friday after Thanksgiving... Merry Christmas to all of you, I will be posting again but just want all of you to know that Jesus is the reason for the Season.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie

November the month of Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-08T11:00:00.001-08:00

Hello

I hope that this day finds you well and happy!!! We are now 8 days into the month of November!! The month of Thanksgiving as I have always considered it.

So today I will be thankful even in the midst of turmoil, or tragedy, or sorrow, or pain..... because you see I feel that we can choose to be thankful in all of these situations. I know, God knows that I know that in the midst of life changing, altering situations we can get caught up in the drama of it all.

But if we take a moment, step away from all of the chaos for just a moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and CHOOSE yes CHOOSE to be thankful in all things. For God tells us to do just that : In everything give thanks.

That one word EVERYTHING means just that EVERYTHING, the good, the bad, the ugly, the painful, the heart breaking, we MUST choose to give thanks in everything.

As you know if you have followed me in this blog, in this journey called life, I have had what some would say a difficult year.

I have had to say good bye to a friend, and two Uncles. My youngest son is in the midst of a divorce, and has moved back home. I have had personal relationships that have ended because of accusations and hurtful things said. Probably one of the most difficult years that I can think of in a while. But through it all I have CHOSEN to be THANKFUL.

Thankful for the opportunity to have know Pat my friend. Thankful for the long lives of my two Uncles. Thankful that my son still reaches out to me in his time of need. And thankful that I did get to know my soon to be ex daughter in law, not that I will probably carry on a relationship with her, she has chosen to do some things that I will choose NOT to be a part of. I wish her and her family well, but I will not be a part of their life. And thankful for the relationship that even though had ended because of accusations that are not founded in truth, I still value the person and not the actions of them. But in every situation I am ever THANKFUL for the opportunity to have had the experience. Because if I had not had the experience I would not have been able to grow, and we all need to grow as painful as it can be at times.

So today I choose to be Thankful.... for family .... for friends....for my wife....
for my job....for challenges....for heartbreak....for the passing of loved ones....
because God tells us : IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS, and so I will.

So today what will you choose? How will you go about your day? Will you choose to be thankful in all things? Will you choose to see the good when you are surrounded by the bad? We can all choose to live our lives in abundant grace and thanksgiving, so please CHOOSE to be THANKFUL.

Blessings to you and yours and ever THANKFUL for all who read this
Curtis & Sherrie

Children grow up and fly away!!!

2010-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hello!!

My last few blogs have been rather heavy so today I am writing about life.... now isn't that amazing? LOL

Last Sunday our oldest son Noah, took off on a cross country flight for a job interview, all the way to Charlotte North Carolina!!! Now that is a long ways from Redding California for those of you did not know.

I was so proud of him getting the job interview, but I also was really, really sad that it was so far away. I mean we have our children so that when we are old they can be around for us to annoy, right? I mean we paid our dues; long all nighters with crying babies, sick children, and all of those school activities and parent club meetings, YIKES!! And then just when it is about the time that we are going to cash in on all those sleepless nights those darn kids up and move across the country from us, or at least they try to.

But to be honest I am so proud of both of our sons, they are both hard working, responsible citizens who have great hearts not only for their families but for people in general.

If Noah and his wife are blessed to be able to move to another state I would be thrilled for them.

I have lived in or around the same city all of my life, because that is where my family was. When we got married, and through the years my wife and I have both had opportunities to take jobs away from where we grew up, but we chose to stay near family. Not that that has been a bad decision, it is just the decision that we made. And over the years we have both asked each other " What if " we had taken that job in another state.

I hope and pray that Noah gets a job that takes him places that I have never been before. He has already flown on an airplane, something I have never done, and been to more states than I have, I am so happy for him.

Even as a little boy Noah always wanted to live in a big city, where there was lots to do. So I am praying that he gets to live in a big city, and gets to do what ever it is that he wants/ needs to do in that big city. He will always be my little blond headed boy, smiling up at me no matter where he lives, or how far away.

So as I sit here writing this I am a bit sad, thinking about him moving so far away, but I know he has to make his way in the world. And in his profession you need to be in bigger cities to get better jobs that pay more.

But at no time when my boys were growing up did I ever think that they would live far away from us, just me being a bit naive I think, but the time has come if not this job interview, then the next one, he is going to move; it is just a matter of time. And so I have time to prepare myself, though I can tell you I won't, I will live in denial for as long as I can..... then I will wish him and his wife the best of luck and send them on their way to bigger and better things......

You know life has a way of making you consider things you never thought you would .... in This journey we call life..... Some of them good things and some of them just things..... but no matter where our kids live they are are always our little bundles of joy...... even if they are over 6 feet tall!!!
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie

Life's bumps in the road.....

2010-10-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

This week we received a phone call from our youngest son telling us that he is leaving his wife and getting a divorce. He asks if he can move home for a while to regroup,and we said of course.

This was not a total surprise because in their almost 3 years of marriage his wife had done some things that were lets just say very difficult to deal with and leave it at that.

No matter what the situation is ending a marriage is at best difficult. For the two people involved, their families and their friends. Now my first reaction is to want to give her a piece of my mind, she has hurt my baby, my youngest and I want revenge and I want it swift and complete! But my more mature side (and I am talking about my wife now) tells me that I need to calm down and not get involved that it will in time resolve itself. I defer to her recommendations, though I still want to have my say!!!

My son however is the one going through this. We love them, raise them, keep them safe and away from life's hurts and harm. And then they grow up, and we can no longer keep them safe, keep them from getting hurt...... and that hurts us because as parents it is always our job to keep our children safe.

When my son called and we talked for over an hour on the phone, he sounded resolved, a bit defeated, and very solemn. This was not like our fun loving son. But he is hurting and this too will pass. As I start my ranting about how could she do this to you blah blah blah, my son stops me and says " Dad I don't hate her, I am even over being mad at her, I just can no longer live this way. I want to be happy and I want her to be happy and Dad the two of us together do not make each other happy." That took the wind out of my sails, my anger subsided, and I thought WOW, what a mature and wise way to look at this. They are no longer going to be a couple, they are going to go their separate ways, and we are ever thankful that they did not have children.

So my son one of the loves of my life is going to be single again, living at home with his mother and I for a while. That is not such a bad thing. I grieve for the loss of a marriage because I believe in marriage and it is always sad when a marriage ends, because in order for it to get to that point there have been two people who have been suffering and living a life that neither of them thought they would on that wonderful day when they said "I do." We as a family will heal, we will move on, we will always love each other. And I truly in time hope that I can be as thoughtful,and mature as my son and not want to hate this person who has hurt my child. I will pray to that end.

But for now I will have to just say that I will tolerate her if I see her, that I truly do not wish her ill will. I wish for her is that she finds happiness, both with herself and in the future choices she makes. I also wish the same for my son, because, even though I do love him I know that he is not perfect and that he made mistakes too.

So I sign off today with a heavy heart, full of love for a son who is hurting, full of tolerance for a soon to be no longer daughter in law. I will get through this I will learn from this because I feel that everything that happens to a family happens for a reason and we must learn from it, all of us or we are destined to repeat some of the things over and over, and I for one do not want to see my children hurting. So friends love those in your family, love those who married into your family, love those who may be leaving your family, for this is a lesson I am going to have to work on as I travel through this journey called life.

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie

Sunday Dinners

2010-10-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was Sunday, ah that wonderful day the last day of the week end, a day of worship, and for you sports fans a day of ... put in the name of the sport , team that you love to see/ watch. I myself am not a big sports fan, in fact I will only see one football game a year and that is the Homecoming game for our families Alma mater.

Yes both my wife and I, and our children all went to the same high school. Central Valley High School, go Falcons!!! And we all try to go to Homecoming each year, we do not always make it but we try. This year all of us are going to be there, my wife and I , our sons and their wives, our best friends from High School, their children a great time to reconnect and just have some fun. But my thoughts wander, this has nothing to do with Sunday Dinners.

Yesterday we invited our boy's and their spouses, and my wife's parents to our home for dinner. Only our oldest son and his wife could make it, as our youngest son and his wife were already going to a Bar B Que at a friends and they were going to watch the football game.

So we were there just the 6 of us breaking bread, eating homemade Lasagna, French Bread, Salad, and of course a wonderful dessert. Not that the food is important, but for what reason I do not know, Sunday's have always been Italian food days at our house, we are not Italian, but I do love Italian food, and I do make a mean Lasagna!

It is the mere act of being together, sharing our lives, our daily grinds if you will, with each other, that makes these time special. Participating in each others lives in a way that draws us closer as a family.

Both of our sons have gotten married over the last 3 years. These dinners have allowed us the wonderful opportunity to get to know our daughter in laws. To share with them, love them, let them know that we are a FAMILY and that we help each other through the good times and the difficult ones.

I love it when we can all get together for times like these. Yesterday was different, somewhat bittersweet, because our son is looking for a new job, in his chosen field of television production, but one that pays more. We have known for some time that he would be looking for a new job, and I must say I have not been looking forward to this, because it will mean that he and his wife will have to move, and not just a few miles away but probably across the country. So yesterday as we sat there laughing, talking, sharing... I was taken back by the mere thought that times like these might be ending soon, that my son and his wife will not be able to come HOME for dinner, to break bread, talk, laugh, and enjoy each others company. My wife and I have never moved from the area that we grew up in, we chose to stay and be close to family, our choice but one that I felt and still do feel was the right choice for our family.

But our son wants to make his own way, make his own life and that includes moving. We know that once he and his wife move they in all likelihood ever live here in our city again. I have so many mixed emotions about this, but I try to put on my supportive good father face and deal with it. I know the day will come, and it will be sooner than I want that they will no longer be able to come to Sunday dinners at our home, but for now I will cherish each and every time that they can come. Savoring their company, my sons wonderful sense of humor, his wife's ability to blend in with this at times crazy family.

So if you have dinners with your family be they on a Sunday or any other day of the week. Enjoy each and every minute you have to spend with your family because you never know how long you may have all of them with you.

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie

Milestones and birthday celebrations

2010-09-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my wonderful Mother In Law celebrated her 74th birthday. Ruby or mom, grandma as we all call her is the BEST mother in law a man could ever have.

She raise three wonderful children, two sons, and her wonderful daughter, my wife. She is the most unassuming person you would ever meet. She never wants the spotlight on her always preferring it to be on someone, anyone else. But not on her birthday. We all come to celebrate her birthday. The boys and their wives, my wife and I , it is a small party. Both of my wife's brothers live in other states and they are not able to participate in the celebration, but they are there in spirit.

My mother in law is always there to lend support, love, give of her time. She watched our sons when they were babies and toddlers, as my wife and I worked. She would never consider having us bring the boys to her home oh no, she wanted them to be in their own home with their things and in their surroundings every day. She loves our boys with abandon, I could go on telling stories of the things she has done for our boys through the years to make their lives better but I could not type that many letters... suffice it to say she is a WONDERFUL grandmother.

So last night we celebrated with this wonderful woman, my wife's mother her birthday, with dinner, cake, ice cream, presents. Mom really would have just preferred that we just come for dinner, no presents, no fuss, just having us all together around her dinner table makes her happy.

So as I write this today, I am humbled by this wonderful woman, my mother in law, mom, my wife's mother, my son's grandmother. I am not only humbled by her wonderful spirit, but by her undying love for her family, her husband of 56 years, her grandchildren, her daughter and her third son, yes I consider her my mother, I have known my mother in law, for over 40 years.... So mom Happy Birthday, I love you, for loving me, for raising a wonderful daughter and for loving our son's. You are one of a kind and WE all love you.

Love Curtis

Fall and all its Glory

2010-09-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting cooler here in our part of the country. The mornings are cool and crisp, you have to have a light jacket on to go outside, the leaves are just starting to turn, oh glorious Fall.

Every season has it's own unique and wonderful quirks. But Fall is probably my favorite time of the year. We are coming off of the busy summer season, tired from running every weekend. When Fall arrives it is a nice ah ha moment, we all sit a spell, take a deep breath and just relax.

I look forward to the leaves changing and falling , I don't even mind raking the leaves it is a relaxing activity for me. The musty smell of the earth cooling off and moist damp air. Inside the house we cozy up, bring out the Fall throws to warm ourselves with, anticipate the first fire in the fireplace, and yes we actually do burn wood, in a real fireplace not a gas or propane one. The smell of wood burning, sugar cookie candles burning, a roast in the crock pot, a hot steaming cup of coffee aah glorious Fall.

My wife and I look forward to getting out our Fall wreaths, and decorations, we change out the whole house for every season and they are all special but as I said Fall is my favorite. We bring in the warm accent colors of Fall, rust, burgundy, browns, oranges, golds, all warm and inviting to the eye. We make sure that there are lots and lots of candles and we light them all in the evening just to make the house look warm and inviting. We bring in some of the outdoors in, I gather wild grapevines with their leaves still on and use them to decorate the deck and also use them to wrap around our chandeliers, we bring in pine cones, placing them around the house under cloches, on trays, on the mantle, all around to remind us of God's wonder and bounty. Aah Fall how I love thee.

So how do you enjoy Fall? What do you do that makes the transition from Summer to Fall? I would love to hear how others celebrate this wonderful glorious season.
Blessings to you and yours Curtis & Sherrie

We entertain more in the Fall, our house is better adapted for Fall and Winter entertaining, we have a swamp cooler so the summers are too hot for most people. But Fall and Winter we light up the fireplace, light the candles and just enjoy our family and friends.

Life and it's ebbs and flows, the passing of a loved one

2010-09-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend on Sunday September 05, 2010 my father's brother Charlie passed. As I sit here remembering my childhood there are not very many situations or events that my Uncle Charlie was not part of.

We as a family spent many hours together, camping, hunting, boating, skiing, swimming, breaking bread, and working. Yes working, my Uncle was a self employed fixer of all things and as all of us boys became teenagers and needed/ wanted money, Uncle Charlie always had a job for us to do that he would pay us for. I roofed, pulled weeds, swept, mopped, stacked wood, and did all kind of manual labor for him. He taught me about work ethic, and would on more than one occasion make me do the job over to his satisfaction, to my dismay I might add. But he did teach me about work and its rewards.

He also taught all of us about community, and volunteering, making life better for others who were not as fortunate as we were. You could always call on him to volunteer his time, money, and talent to anything that needed to be done in our small community. As we drive through our small community, you can see tangible evidence of things that he worked on, the Little League fields, the Community Center, the high school football field, and stands. If he could not do the actual labor he could be seen getting others to donate their time and money for community events. He at times appeared to be tireless, always willing to help out.

He and my Aunt were married for 63 years, a very long time. Theirs was not a perfect marriage, not many marriages that I know of are. But it was constant, steady and they loved each other deeply, an example for all of us who followed them into our own marriages. Uncle Charlie had dementia, which in my opinion the worst of all diseases, it robs you of your memory, of the connection to those you love, but those who loved him did not lose their connection. My Aunt went to the hospital every day for 8 months, making sure that he was taken care of, bringing him his meals from home, helping him to eat, loving him, caring for him, being the steady rock for him. His youngest son would also go to the hospital to see his dad, at times waking up with just the feeling that his dad needed him at that time and he would go, taking care of the man who took care of him. Again an example for all of us and our loved ones, to take care of each other, love each other, be there for each other, forgiving each other so that we can do this.

So this week as I have reflected on a life that touched mine in many ways always with love and the wanting of better for me and my family. I have realized just how lucky I was to have been a part of Charlie Chipley's family, how much he and his wife, my Aunt Sue mean to me and my family, and just how much I learned from him through out my life.

I will always love him, love Aunt Sue and their children and grandchildren, because we are all family, no matter the distance between us and there are many miles that separate all of us, we are all tied together by love.

So with this I say so long for now Uncle Charlie you are in a better place, and I will see you again one day. As you are up in heaven with my mom, your mom, your father and countless other family members, smile down on us left here, knowing that all of you who have gone on before us will be there to greet us as they greeted you; into the gates of Heaven. God Speed Uncle Charlie, may you now have the Peace that surpasses all understanding. I love you.

Love your Nephew Curtis

Words........

2010-09-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I must start off by saying that I have had a dry spell and have not been able to write anything for a while and for this I apologize. But this past week has been a life lesson for me, yes you can learn a life lesson even at the age of 53.

And what life lesson is it that you learned you ask??? Well I learned more about words, and how they are used, and interrupted, and how they can soothe someone or cut them to the bone even though that was not the intent. And I learned that those we love the most can be hurt the most by our words, and that my friends is a difficult and hard lesson to learn at any age.

We use words every day, and yet we do not often think about how they are received by the people around us. We say things at times without thinking of the consequences or the impact that they have on those around us. My mother always told us that if we did not have anything nice to say to not say anything at all. This is a very good life lesson, and one that I need to adhere to.

We all say things that we do not think will be hurtful, because in our lack of sensitivity we do not know how any other person will respond to those words, we do not know where that person may be in that particular time of their life, or where they have come from. We say things that we may not find offensive or hurtful, but they can be to others. So .... I learned a very hurtful and hard lesson that I need to make sure that MY words are never hurtful, never mean, never intentionally disrespectful to others. That MY words are comforting, loving, soothing, and that they make the other person walk away feeling loved, appreciated and glad that they made my acquaintance.

I am a very soft hearted person, some say that I wear my feelings on my sleeve, I cry at commercials, weddings, baptisms, in church, heck I cry everywhere! It is because I at times can feel others pain, I have empathy for others, and truly care for people. So when this week end I said words, that hurt another person, I was absolutely crushed, because I have lived my life caring for other people. I would never want to be the one who hurt someone else, yet because of my insensitivity I did just that.

Once the words leave your mouth you can never take them back, and even though you may apologize for them the hurt and pain that they may have caused it still evident to those around you. My wife has a saying and says it all the time because I am always saying I wish this person would do....... and her response is always the same ," You cannot control other people's behavior". She is so right, I cannot control other people's behavior but I can sure control mine.

So as I close this posting, that I must say is not very easy to write.... I ask all of us including myself to always make sure that the words that come from our mouth are kind, gentle, gracious, loving, and comforting. Because once they have left our mouth. they can never be taken back, and sometimes the hurt they cause can be so deep that it may never be healed completely.

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Having fun

2010-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sunday, we usually go to Church but not yesterday. I got up and told my wife to get dressed we were going on a road trip.

We got ready I packed a small ice chest with a light lunch and away we went. We got on the road about 9:30 am and we were at the beach with our toes in the sand by 12:30. We are so blessed to live to close to the ocean, not a block away but definitely a short drive. We do not do this often enough. It seems that we get bogged down with life's everyday things, and routines and forget to enjoy, have some fun!

When we were first married we would wake up on a Saturday or Sunday and say let's have lunch at..... San Franciso, Sacramento, Ashland, Eureka, and would get up and away we would go, two young people in love and full of adventure. Over time life happens you have kids, jobs, responsibility's, and you somehow forget to have FUN. Well my friends you must NEVER forget to have FUN because life is way too short. I know this all too well, having lost several people in their early to mid 50's.

We drove, held hands, talked, laughed, contemplated, and just enjoyed the day and what it had to offer as we sailed along. It is these times spent with the one you love or ones you love that become some of the best memories. We walked along the beach as the fog was coming in, it was about 60 degree's, that would be about 45 degree's cooler than where we live. It was refreshing, soul healing, FUN, and relaxing all at the same time.

There is something so calming about being on the beach at the ocean, the rhythm of the waves, the sound of the sea gulls, watching a child discover the possibilities of what they can make with just some sand, a pail and some sea weed.....

I need, long for, time spent at a beach with my wife, just the two of us walking the same beaches that we walked when we were first married, when we were young parents, when our kids were teenagers. I love the feeling of it all, it feels like an old friend, comfortable, reassuring, nurturing. The ocean holds healing for me, it somehow soothes my soul. As I tell my wife I needed a ocean fix.. We go to other beaches, areas of the ocean, but there are two places on the Northern California Coast it is Clam Beach , and in Oregon it is Bandon and it's beaches, both places are calming and healing for me....

So find your healing, calming place, go there to rejuvenate your soul. Have FUN while you are doing it. Remember we are NEVER to old have fun, we at times I think just forget how to. So relearn how to have fun, relax, and enjoy yourself, because this is not a dress rehearsal my friend it is YOUR life, make the most of it. I know that I need this reminder from time to time also.

Blessings to you and yours Curtis & Sherrie

Birthdays, celebrations and history lessons all in one!

2010-07-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Since last Saturday we have celebrated 5 birthdays in our family!!!! July is a busy birthday month for us.

As we celebrate each birthday I try to reflect on how long we have known the person who is having the birthday. I try and remember when we met, what the circumstances were for that first meeting. Now for all of the birthdays we are celebrating this week they have all been family , wonderful, exasperating, crazy, loveable family!!

Birthdays always offers us a chance to see where we have been, and enjoy the fact that we were there. It also offers us a chance to see where we might be going, and depending on where you have landed on the birthday calendar number that may be a long way or for some of us a shorter distance... but never quit going where you want to go no matter your age.

As we celebrated a 60 year birthday, and a 74 year birthday, I was thinking that I have known these people for over 40 years!!!! I met my wife's family when I was 10 years old, and we won't go into how old I am, OK OK you can do the math !!! But we have been family for quite some time, we have shared weddings, divorces, births of our children, saying good by to loved ones for the last time, and through it all we have remained family, we have been there for each other, we have loved each other through life's challenges .

We are like a crazy patch quilt, all of us different; but stitched together by life and its circumstances, and ebbs and flows. Alone we are just a small part of the universe, but together we are a wonderful crazy mixed up family, that I love and adore. We have our problems, and faults, show me a family that says it doesn't and I will show you a family with a great big closet of denial. But with all of our problems and faults we still love each other and need each other. Life is so much fuller because family is in it.

So today call a family member, crazy or not, and let them know you were thinking of them, if you cannot call, write them a note and drop it in the mail. We all need each other in order to make it to our next birthday what ever birthday that is for you..... so Happy Birthday to all go and celebrate, enjoy and eat a piece of cake for me!
Blessings to you and yours Curtis & Sherrie

Life's challenging times........ love can make a difference

2010-07-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a difficult one for me. My brother who is younger by two years, was hospitalized for doing things that he should not have been doing.

Our lives growing up were chaotic at best, we come from a long line of alcoholics. So though there were good times there were many more chaotic times due to people, the adults in our lives making bad decisions with alcohol. My brother has done the same, and you throw in years of drug abuse , well you get the picture.

So he is in the hospital, and near death, I am praying for him as I always do but sitting there with him makes me so sad... to see what the decisions that he has made have done to not only him but his family.

Anyway as I am sitting there talking to him, when he is coherent enough to talk. We make small talk, I ask him what the doctors have told him, he tells me that one of his kidneys and his liver had started to shut down and that he was near death and that the doctor has advised him that he should go to a in house treatment program to get himself straightened out.

Now this is not the first time he has been told this by a physician, but he has never been so close to death before. After he tells me what the doctor has said, I sit quietly for a moment and then ask him.... so what are you going to do when you get out of here? I am longing to hear, "Find a
N A and or AA meeting" , but as usual that is not what I hear. I am dumb founded, but then quickly remember this is not the first time he has needed to do this, find a way to stop all this madness.

I have gone to Al Anon off and on for years for my sanity, and to learn how to deal with those around me who are out of control. And one of the lessons that has been brought home to me is that I cannot make the decision for them I must let them go, as hard as it is, let them deal with their problem and be ready to be there for them when they are ready to get the help they need.

This is the hardest lesson for me for I am the oldest, the big brother, the Peace maker, the one who always wants to make it right. I struggle with this, but know that in the end it is my brother who must make the decision, the choice, and bear the struggle to get himself clean and sober.

It is my job to continue to love him in whatever state he is in, to not enable him, but to not alienate him either, to walk that fine line that keeps our communication open so that I can offer him help when he needs it. I find this so hard at times, as I watch him slowly killing himself, and have to just stand by and love him, pray for him, for I have argued, yelled, screamed, cried, and begged him to get help and all of that has not produced the results that I wanted.

So I am now resolved to the fact that I cannot help someone who does not want help. This does not make it any easier for me in fact it makes it at times so difficult that I cannot stand it. But I must give my brother to someone bigger than both of us, I have given him to GOD because I am so weary of worrying about him. I know that my heavenly Father will in his due time help my brother find peace within himself, and give himself to him wholly and completely so that he can be healed from these addictions.

In our daily lives we have friends, family, co workers, who are struggling with addiction, and at times we are at a loss as to how to best help them. For me I have come to the conclusion that I must just love the person where they are, not giving in to their addiction or allowing them to drag me into their problems. But offer a shoulder for support, a love that is unconditional, and to pray for them always.

If you find yourself in this type of situation, know that I know exactly how you fell, know that you cannot change a person who does not want to be changed. But also know that they want , need, long for our love and support for them the person not the addiction. Pray for them, love them, and be there for them for one day I pray they will come to us and we need to be there for them. So love the unlovely, comfort those who need it, and remember that it is only our job to love them no matter where they are at In This Journey Called Life........
Blessings to you and yours Curtis and Sherrie

4th of July Make some memories

2010-07-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I wrote about 4th of July's gone by, and how the memories are fresh and make me smile even though the events have long passed.

So today I want to say, make memories every day not just for holidays but every day do something that makes you smile and then when you think back you can say YES that was a good day.

As we go into this week end of celebrating our nation's birthday, take a moment and ponder the wonderful Country that we live in, the freedoms that we have, and the vast country side that is there for us to go and see.

Yes we have some problems and issues, and what country does not have these? But for the most part we have an awesome country, we are allowed to practice the religion of our choice, and even when we do not agree with others on their choice they still have that choice, this is HUGE because in other countries around the world this is not true. Thank GOD that we continue to have this right here in our country.

So as you celebrate this week end, with your picnics, fireworks, bar b ques, parties, family reunions, remember that our we are truly blessed to live here in these United States of America. Happy Birthday America, I for one feel ever so blessed to live in the Greatest country on this Earth!!!

Blessings to you and yours Curtis and Sherrie

Summer Week Ends

2010-06-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Wow it is Monday yet again. The week ends just seem to fly by, especially in the Summer. We started the week end at a favorite Winery here in Redding, my and my wonderful wife, just the two of us. We ordered a 1/2 pitcher of Mango Sangria, OMG was that ever good!!! We also had a wonderful Strawberry and mozzarella Caprese, with just the right amount of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.... so refreshing. Then the week end just sort of spun out of control, now I know what you are thinking but not with just a 1/2 pitcher of Sangria between us!!!

We did chores on Saturday and then just enjoyed the day, but then on Sunday, our great friends invited us to go up to a wonderful Alpine Mountain Lake, Lake Siskyou, yes I wrote about it a few weeks ago.

We packed up a picnic lunch, and met them, their oldest daughter and her family, we love them so much, and our oldest son and his wife joined us also, and we love them even MORE =).

We had a wonderful time just sitting on the beach drinking Raspberry Sangria's , my personal recipe that turned out fabulous!! And watching Angie and Kirk's two children play in the water and sand.

All of us adults just sat and visited, and enjoyed the day, and I might add that the temperature in Redding on Sunday was 106, yes you read that right 106, and at that lovely lake up in Mount Shasta only about 78, with a lovely breeze blowing through to cool you just when you about thought you might get all flush and stuff. It was wonderful.

Nothing better than spending the day with great friends, your kids and a cool mountain lake to cool you off.

So I hope you had a great week end filled with those you love, and that you took the time to enjoy your self, I know I did.

Blessings to you and yours..... Curtis and Sherrie

Lazy Summer Days

2010-06-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

So it is officially Summer!!!! YEAH WHOOPEE!!! I remember as a kid loving summer and all that it had to offer. We always had a boat and would spend endless days out on Shasta Lake, skiing, swimming and just being lazy. Ahh those were the days.....

But then you grow up start your career, find that you don't always have the time that you want to do the things you want so you have to make choices. Not that making choices is a bad thing, it is just something that you have to do. When I first started college I thought I wanted to be a grade school teacher, not just to teach but for that wonderful Summer off you get, I know not so noble of me eh?

Anyway as we progress into this Summer, I am thinking about lazy days spent walking on the beach hearing the roar of the ocean, or camping at our favorite spot, smelling the camp fires. Isn't it funny how sounds and smells evoke such wonderful memories for all of us?

So we have already gone on one "camping or glamping" trip. But my wife and I are tent campers we actually like sleeping in a tent hearing the night sounds, and feeling the breeze through the fabric. We are planning at least 2 camping trips for the summer and I am so looking forward to them. So what are your Summer plans??? They do not have to be elaborate, or long, but it makes the Summer so much more fun when we make plans and get out and enjoy the great outdoors.

May your Summer plans be wonderful and the memories great!! Here's to Root beer floats, Bar-B-Que, and lazy Summer afternoons...... Blessing to you and yours Curtis and Sherrie

4th of July Memories

2010-06-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here thinking about 4th of July celebrations gone by..... The ones where we dressed our boys in red white and blue, with their little hats on sitting in downtown Mount Shasta watching the 4th of July parade go by. When our boys were small we would go up to Mt. Shasta and "camp" out at our dear friends grandmother's house. We would set up a tent in the yard and actually sleep out there but then had the real " facilities" that we needed with two small children. Grandma Inie would always have root beer floats out on her front porch every afternoon the kids.... oh who am I fooling I loved that . The grown ups would sit on the front porch and have our root beer floats and watch our children playing in the front yard. Sweet memories....

As the boys got older we began to rent a beach house up on Bandon Oregon. To this day I think it was the boys favorite place to be. We could access the beach from a trail out the front door, watch the fireworks outside or if was too cold we could watch them from the house, it had wonderful floor to ceiling windows. We had some incredible family times there with our family and friends who would come with us. Bandon is a small fishing village and has a great Old town area where every year they too would have a 4th of July parade, and we would sit on the edge of the sidewalk and watch as people of all ages , walked, rode their bikes, rode in floats down the small short street with all of us spectators clapping as each one came by. Oh how I loved those times... now our "boys" are all grown up and making lives of their own. My wife and I look forward to seeing where their lives take them but every once in a while I find myself looking back and just for a moment wishing time had stood still on that small street in Bandon, or Mt. Shasta and that my "boys" were still that small sitting there with us watching that parade, asking all of those thousands of questions..... Sweet Memories

So as you plan your 4th of July celebration this year savor every moment, because those moments all too soon pass by and you wonder where the time went. Catch a fire fly, shoot of some fireworks, roast that marshmallow, or have a root beer float, but do all of this with those whom you love and remember that these times are what memories are made of......
Blessings to you Curtis and Sherrie

Great Weekends!!

2010-06-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Hello all I am back.... after a great week end with great friends, and an awesome setting.

We had our annual Family Camp at our Church. Now my wife and I have not always gone to Family Camp, for various reasons and just life, but we have gone several times over the years.

This year our wonderful friends Cesar and Tami invited us to share a cabin that they had rented so it was technically not "camping" but we had the outdoor experience that two empty nester couples wanted LOL, no dirt, no sleeping on the ground, and no smoke in your eyes!!

The camp this year was up at a small lake here in Northern California called Lake Siskyou, located in the beautiful mountain town of Mt. Shasta. The setting was great, you have the beautiful mountain lake reflecting Mt. Shasta which soars 14,000 feet above sea level and is still covered in a white blanket of snow, so beautiful. The organizers could not have picked a better place to have camp. Our family has camped here at this lake off and on for over 30 years so we are familiar with it, but every time I go I am amazed at the beauty of God's handiwork.

We had a great speaker, wonderful music, and awesome fellowship with people who we see on a weekly basis at church but really we do not get to know in the way that you get to know people when you are out in the wide open spaces, and sharing a wonderful experience with. It is always good to see people in different settings, and to get to know them the real them, who they are, what their life experiences have been. I am always amazed and even humbled when I hear testimonies from people about what their lives are about, the paths they have taken. We had people from the ages of 4 to 84 at this camp so all generations were represented.

The thing that struck me as a 53 year old empty nester, who as of this writing has not been blessed with grandchildren, were the grandparents who were there with their grandchildren, just the grandparents and the grandchildren, no parents. And some of the stories about why they are there with their grandchildren are heart wrenching, children in prison, or into drugs, or have lost custody of their children.... the stories go on and on...but Grandparents stepping in to help raise their grandchildren. I have been reading about this and seeing this more and more but it really hit home this week end seeing those grandparents some not much older than myself and my wife, raising another family, when they thought they would be retired.

Our lives take many turns, and who knows my wife and I might one day have to help our children raise their children, I just hope that I will be able to do it with the love and patience that I saw this week end with our friends, running after 2 year olds, making sure that junior highers have things to do to keep them busy..... my hat is off to those grandparents who are helping raise their grandchildren..... you are truly amazing people and you are leaving a legacy for your grandchildren of love, commitment, and family.....

So another Family camp is over , and I look forward to it next year, and who knows we may have a grandchild to take to family camp.... but more importantly we have shared with some of the most wonderful people we know an experience that will become a memory for all of us in this tapestry that we call our life.......

Blessings to you Curtis and Sherrie

Saying So long for now but never goodbye

2010-06-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today I write with a heavy heart as I have just heard that a long time friend has died. In times such as this you just do not know what to do, say, think.....

My friend was a wife, mother, grandmother, and a wonderfully free spirited person who made all who knew her smile.

My heart goes out to her family, her son, her daughter, her husband, and her grandchildren. She leaves a legacy of warmth, friendship, love, and laughter to those of us whom she left behind.

We all face times like this when a person, friend, loved one passes on. It makes us all stop and reflect on their lives, how our lives were touched by them, and how are we going to make a difference in those people who we love?

I have lost many people in my life, some where in my life for a short period of time, others, my mother, grandmother were the foundation of my life. It is never easy to say good bye or to let go, but let go we must. I know and it is my belief that they are all going to a better place, and that someday we will see them again.

So for now I will say so long Pat, you always made me smile and laugh, and I know you will be doing the same up in Heaven. I am not going to say good bye because we will meet again in time. My grief is for your family not for you for you are in a far better place, I will hug your daughter and shake your son's hand and remind them what a wonderful mother they had, and that they need to hold tight to the wonderful memories and legacy that you have left behind for them. I will shake Terry's hand and offer him my condolences for the loss of his life partner his wife, and I will smile as I remember you.

So Pat I will say so long for now, my friend, thanks for making me smile through the years.....

If you have a friend that you love and you may have not heard from in a while, that you talked to yesterday, that you may have had a falling out with, call them , stop by, make time, tell them you love them, tell them how wonderful they are, and how much you appreciate them, what they have done for you. For we know not what tomorrow brings......

Sending prayers and Blessings to not only Pat's family but to you who ever you may be who is reading this today..... Blessings Curtis and Sherrie

The Heat is on well Almost....

2010-06-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days here in sunny Northern California have been a bit hot and humid.. Now we are used to it being hot but HUMID??? NOT I do not like the humidity and do not know how people who live in parts of the country where it is humid all summer deal with it.

That said I do love the early summer, flowers are still blooming with abandon, it has not gotten too hot that we all retreat to our homes with our coolers and air conditioners on. We can still sit out on the deck and watch the birds, and deer, all the while listening to the creek rush by, it is now slowing down from the big run off from the winter storms and snow pack that we have here in our area, and in a few weeks it will be just a slow moving babbling creek but it does run all summer long never drying up. The kids in the area even damn it up with rocks from the bottom of the creek making a great swimming hole that the entire community enjoys, especially when it gets to over 100 degree's.

I love living here on the creek, being able to just while away the afternoon listening to it rush by; enjoying a glass of wine and the good company of my wife or who ever drops by.

My yard is still a work in progress so as I sit here I imagine my Tuscan style patio with the pea gravel floor and open pergola finished with grapes and trumpet vine intermingling on it. So much still to do, but for me the planning process is as much fun as the actual finished project. Are you like that too?? I love planning a project, tweaking in the process, making it better , or at least in my eyes better, and then when it is done I look at it and relish in the fact that this was once just a thought in my head and I made it come to life. Well I see some roses that need dead heading, and some other things that need to be done here in the yard so I will bye for now, Blessings to you Curtis and Sherrie

Seasons and the weather.... and worry .....

2010-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

So I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to the sound of wind and rain, not just rain but pouring rain.... in our part of the world when it is June you do not expect it to be raining. Now I love the rain , the sound of the rain, the softness of the earth after the rain, but really.... in June???? I am a bit tired of the rain at this point, give me some SUNSHINE, and lots of it. Now next week I will be bemoaning about the heat, just do not listen to me, remind me of this posting and how I wanted it the SUNSHINE.
But it is Friday, and I have had a bit of a difficult week, I won't go into it here but the lesson I have learned, and I have had to learn it over and over and over and over again, because I am a bit of a control freak... is that if we give our cares to GOD he has broad shoulders and he can take them from us, and we can get on with life without stressing too much.... Did I mention I stress a bit? I am not a OMG freak out kind of stresser I just keep it all in, my stomach tied in knots, and can't sleep kind of stress person. So through the years I have had to relearn how to give things to God so that I do not stress so much.
Much like the weather, oh how I would like the Sun to shine, but I must take all that God has for me and just learn to enjoy every day to its fullest, rain or shine.
So how is your day? Are you worrying about things you cannot change or are you giving them to God and letting him help you ? I know I struggle with this, and am not the person to be even writing about it, but here I am , maybe God is using this writing to remind me AGAIN to let him do his job of caring for me and I am to do my job of telling others about HIM.
Something to think about, ponder...... wishing you all a wonderful weekend, Blessings to all Curtis

New Beginnings, Graduation Time

2010-06-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

So here we are the first week of June, summer is quickly coming upon us. Here in the area where I live Graduations are happening all over. Graduation time evokes feelings of hope, new beginnings, optimism, feelings of I can conquer the world.

Remember back to your own Graduation, how you felt, feelings of relief that you were done with that chapter of your life, and you were beginning a new chapter that had yet to be written.

So many things to do, to experience, to enjoy... as a young person you have the world before you, so make your mark on this world. Go out and do the things that you have been dreaming about, go to college, get married, have children, see the world. Write your life song on the walls of the world, make the world a better place just because you are in it.

We all felt this way as we embarked on our own personal journeys into this life of adulthood, the rights of passage that everyone takes. We all want to make the world a better place, be the change we want in others.

So as I write today I am writing for those of you who will don cap and gown and take that walk across that stage going from childhood to adulthood in one small stroll. Go on make all us proud, do the things you have wanted to do, but don't forget in the process, who helped you get here, who you are, who loves you, who you love, and that you will forever be in a family that for good or bad is part of your story..... Congratulations to all the Graduates of the class of 2010!

Blessings to all of you, Curtis

Vacations and the aftermath....

2010-06-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well my wife and I received an incredible gift from my aunt, my mothers sister, she paid for us to go on a cruise to Alaska. It was wonderful, well most parts were wonderful..... see my wife has wanted to go on a cruise for ever, I on the other hand have always been um afraid... because I get car sick.... and when you are on a boat, oh yeah I was corrected several times it is a SHIP.... you just cannot get off whenever you want too.... Anyhoo, we go on this fabulous cruise, the SHIP is great, the food fabulous, we met some amazing people, and Alaska, well it is just beautiful. So the first 4 days were wonderful, we were loving this cruising lifestyle vacation.... the service, the food, the people all waiting on you... nothing better. Then the 5th, day well the 5th day, it was actually our 31st anniversary, we had planned a wonderful day on the ship just enjoying each others company, but mother nature had other plans. The weather turned bad, we had 70 mile per hour winds, and 40 foot seas.... well for this land lubber that was just a bit much, did I mention I get car sick??? It is nothing compared to what was happening in our little cabin on the high seas, I have never been so sick in all my life, it was awful, we could not stand up we had to grab onto the rails in the hallway and literally pull ourselves along in the hallway. This was my worst nightmare coming true, my fear about going on a cruise was that I would get sick and get sick I did... awful just awful, but then on the other had we have a story to tell about our 31st anniversary, our friends tell me that I will look back on this and laugh with abandon about it, and regale the story over and over... I think it will be some time before I can laugh about it, but it was truly a trip of a life time..... So if you want to go on a cruise by all mean GO, you will survive, you will have stories to tell, you will meet wonderful people and see great places.... just know that mother nature and the high seas are no match for mortal man ...... Blessings to all Curtis

Misplaced items or opps I lost that!

2010-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

So this morning I get up do my regular routine, and head off to work. I stop by my new favorite coffee shop, Breaking New Grounds here in Redding. I have my morning cup of joe, then off to the dry cleaners to pick up my dry cleaning. As I pull up to my office I reach for my cell phone because it has not gone off yet, and I am on call, when I am on call the phone usually does not stop ringing. So I reach for it and to my HORROR there is no phone in my pocket. Now I know that I put it in my pocket when I left the house I search the car, and then go into my office and call my cell number, this has worked before, oh yeah I have misplaced my phone a few times LOL. No luck, no I am panicking, so I call both the coffee shop, and the dry cleaner to see if I had left it at either place, no such luck. No worries I say I MUST have forgotten it at home, so off I drive to my house to get my phone. When I enter the house it is too quiet, I call the cell number again and no sound, now I am beginning to worry. Lots of thoughts are running through my head, where could I have lost it, does someone else have it, all of my families and work contact numbers are in that phone..... So I drive and retrace my stops in the morning, I have already called both places, but they both say no phone..... I am beginning to panic, I drive to the dry cleaners, and ask the girl at the counter if anyone has turned in a cell phone, she says she will check and low and behold there it is, my cell phone, my life line to all the people I know, I am so relieved. I thanked both of the employee's at the dry cleaners, and as I am leaving I say out loud " Thank you Lord for letting me find my cell phone", I hear from behind me a voice, saying what about me, you should be saying Thank you Greg, that is the employee's name who found the phone. I smiled and then turned around and said thank you Greg, but all along I knew it was the Lord who allowed me to find my phone, a small black and silver thing no bigger than a credit card that we all have become so tied to over the years. So I say THANK YOU LORD for using Greg, there he gets his accolades, in helping me find my phone. Lesson learned, don't panic, PRAY, don't start the what ifs , PRAY, don't worry PRAY, GOD answers prayer even for lost cell phones. Sending Blessings you way , oh and can I get your number for my cell??? Blessings Curtis

Mother's Day

2010-05-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day

So this week end we are celebrating Mother's Day, a day to offer appreciation to the woman who not only gave birth to you but who nurtured you through all of life's ups and downs along the way. To those of you who still have your Mother here, make sure that you let them know how much you love them, how much you appreciate all that they did for you growing up, and how much you appreciate them now for all they do for you. Our Mother's have given to us unconditional Love, through out our lives and we in turn need to honor them with our love.

For those of you whose Mother's are no longer here with them, and I include myself in this, as my mother passed 16 years ago from Cancer. We need to remember our Mother's so that their memories do not fall by the way side. We need to honor them by remembering them, their laugh, their jokes, their quirky ways, the way that they made us laugh.... and yes the way that they loved us also unconditionally.

So on this Mother's Day Week End 2010, please take the time to tell your mom that you love them, that you appreciate them, that you are grateful for the sacrifices big and small that they made for you while you were growing up.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there..... We collectively love you even when we don't tell you, you are the life blood of our families, and our first love.... Blessings to you Mother's on this Blessed Day................ Curtis

Giving back

2010-05-06T10:01:00.001-07:00

Last night I met with a group of amazing people who give back to the community in so many ways. It was a group made up of artists, construction workers, Administrators, and shop owners, who collectively have a mission to give back to this community that we all live in. I was in awe of the time and effort this small group puts in to offer something back to others. We collectively probably would not even know each other as we all run in different circles here in this mid sized city. But given a cause, and the cause that we choose to work with is our Woman's Refuge, a place where battered women and children can find respite in their time of need. In this current economic crisis that we all find ourselves monies are being taken away from programs like this, programs that each community desperately needs, though we wish we did not need them we do. So we this band of Angels will meet each month to put on a Community Event , a little something we call Home Hop, a tour of wonderful homes in our area, this event takes place the last Sunday of April each year. We look for people who are willing to open their homes to us to use on this tour to raise money. And these people are also Angels who give from their hearts. So today I am thankful for people, Angels who offer their time and talents to others so that those in need can find peace in their often chaotic and frightening world. Blessings to all of you out there who volunteer in what every capacity that you do, because you DO make a difference someone along the way. Sending Blessings to you all................... Curtis

Daily life in the Gulch

2010-05-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

We live in a small town, and I mean small less than 500 residents. So there is not a lot to do in the Gulch, as we locals call it, as it is properly named French Gulch. So every morning, I get up and go outside to see what God has made bloom just for me on that day. Today I find that a beautiful purple Iris is blooming on a stem that is probably at least 4 feet tall, it is commanding in the little flower bed that it is in, but oh so pretty. I also noticed that my Peonies are just beginning to open, I cannot wait for them to unfurl their beautiful petals releasing their intoxicating perfume all over the garden. Next to the Peonies my French Lavender is also blooming. So after I see all of this in the front yard, I go around to the back year to see one of my favorite David Austin roses blooming and filling the back patio with it's intoxicating fragerance. I am truely blessed, as I sit down to take all of this in, I notice that the birds are at the feeder and the creek is just rushing by.... I do not want to go to work today, but I must.... so I reluctantly get up and go into the house to get ready for work. I have already had an awesome day just taking in God's wonder. How is your day going? Stop and smell the flowers along the way.... Blessings to you and yours, Curtis and Sherrie

Life' challenges

2010-05-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

So I was rear ended on 04/23/10 by what appeared to be a nice man, we exchanged information, was totally his fault I was sitting at a red light and was rear ended by him because , and these are his words " I just finished a 12 hour shift and I was not paying attention... no worries we both have insurance we exchanged information went about our ways.... It is now two weeks later, well almost, and I just received a phone call from his adjuster saying that they have not been able to get a hold of him and if they cannot get in touch with him, they cannot put a claim against his insurance .... without his permission....now my car is ready to be put into the shop to be fixed... this gets me so mad, you get hit by someone and the insurance company says that they need HIS permission to pay to get my car fixed.... what has this country come to when you get hit and you need the permission of the person who hit you to get your damage taken care of. I am just a bit frustrated, and to make matters worse we are supposed to be leaving for our first cruise in 9 days.... and we only have the one car.... I do not know what we are going to do... I will just have to give it to GOD and let him work it out because I am exhausted with it all..... and in the end I will just chalk all this up to life's experiences, in this journey called life..... wish you Blessings from above.... Curtis

Gardening, just some ole dirt

2010-04-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

One thing you should know about me is that I LOVE really LOVE a beautiful garden. Now mind you my garden is not always beautiful, parts of it are but not all. When my boys were growing up I purposely shyed away from plants that had thorns, I did not want them to get hurt by a thorny bush. But I have always been in love with Roses, not just any Roses, but those that are not only beautiful but also have a wonderful scent. You see I not only garden for the beauty but also for the scent. There is nothing better than walking through a garden and enjoying all of those wonderful sweet smelling flowers. Two years ago I planted some Peonies, we have lived in this area only 5 years, and I have been experimenting with what will and will not grow. I could not grow Peonies at our last house and I do not know why they just would not grow there.... sorry I digress... so last Friday I was out pondering my flower beds and seeing what had survived yet another winter, and low and behold my Peony was not only up and florishing, it was covered with buds, beautiful, wonderful buds, which will bloom into beautiful wonderful fragerant flowers. I am always so grateful and at times even surprised with my ability to grow anything, though I have had award winning gardens in the past I am always grateful that God allows me to enjoy the beauty of a garden. So just for today, take a walk around your yard, or patio, or balcony or what ever outdoor space that you may have, take it in, enjoy it, look for ways to improve it, but most importantly just thank God for his wonderful garden of life that we are all a part of in this journey we call life..... Blessings to all, and enjoy the day - Curtis

Kids, they make us young

2010-04-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well today is our youngest sons 24th birthday..... and I am wandering back down memory lane a bit. Our kids are our most treasured gift from God, even though there are times when they are growing up that we do not think so, still they are our treasures. Our youngest son came into this world with black hair , mind you I am blonde and my wife has brown hair, but my wife's grandmother was so excited to have a great grandchild with black hair. Nathan came into the world screaming and kicking, ready to get on with his life.... oh how we loved him so cute and cuddly... At 18 months we almost lost him his large intestine had actually swallowed up his small intestine and he was dying, my wife called me at work and told me to meet her at the hospital that she was taking him in, as we arrived we both got there at the same time which was a miracle in itself, the pediatrician on call took our precious baby from my wife's arms and rushed him into surgery.... there is no other feeling of helplessness than turing your child over to a doctor to have them do surgery on them and have them tell you that he will do as much as he can but if we believed in miracles we should pray for one. That surgery took 3 1/2 hours..... the longest time spent thus far in my life waiting , waiting, and then seeing our baby boy come through those doors from the operating suite, it was pure joy...... thus began our babys journey and we were so grateful to God for sparing him. Nathan has been a joy to our family, all boy, snakes, snails, and even puppy dog tails.... He raised chickens, guinea pigs, real pigs, rabbits, cows, puppy's, kittens, he loved animals. We have had the awesome pleasure of watching him grow from a baby to a wonderful young man and we love him so. So today I dedicate this blog to my baby Nathan James Chipley, your mom and dad love you so much and are so proud of you....HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN !!!!!

Springtime

2010-04-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

So yesterday as my wife and I were driving into work, we car pool every day that we can, we were both marveling at God's handi work. Everything is in bloom, the Lupines, wild Lilacs, fruit trees, poppies, it is all so beautiful. We were talking and I got the bright idea to stop on the way home and cut some bounty to make some beautiful flower arrangements for our house. Now from the road the flowers look like they are all on a somewhat level setting, but oh NO, once you get out of the car and walk up to them they are all perched on at least a 30 degree angle, you need to be a billy goat to get to them.... No problem I say, I have my trusty pruners in my pocket, and up I go. I must tell you my wonderful wife is sitting in the car offering her words of encouragement, you know I want those up there pointing to a bush at least 75 feet up the mountain... I nod my head and go the bush closest to the road lol. After about 15 minutes of cutting and pruning I have a bounty full of lilacs, to make wonderful arrangements. We get home and I put them on the counter, and guess what? They are full of bugs..... they are crawling every where, my wife does not like bugs, she loves Lilacs but NOT bugs, so she commences to tell me get them out out of my kitchen.... I just shake them into the sink and turn on the garbage disposal, oh go on with yourself , there are millions of bugs a few down the drain is not going to hurt anything .... any hoo where was I oh yeah so after the bug incident, I did get some beautiful Lilac bouquets for my wife to place around our home.... and I tell you all of this to encouage all of your to enjoy this season, stop and smell the flowers, cut a few (if they are not in anyone's yard), the ones I picked were along a country road, because I live on a long country road. Make your wife happy, bring her some flowers and they do not have to cost you a penny, just enjoy, Live is Great! Blessings to all Curtis and Sherrie

Community Events

2010-04-26T15:47:00.001-07:00

So this week end my wife, my mother in law and our best friend of over 25 years all went to a local event, supporting our Women's Refuge. It always amazes me the giving hearts of people. Four gracious families opened their homes to have strangers trapes through them to see what kind of decorating they have done. All of the homes were wonderfully done, all very different but each special in its own way. But the best part of this event? The hosts and hostesses.... they were all gracious, engaging, hospititable, and just plain good folks..... the goodness of people always amazes me, with so much that goes on that is not good, I choose yes CHOOSE to dwell on the people who do good things, make the right choices, love life, and who are able to not only open their hearts but their homes to total strangers...... yes life is good, and people are also good.... Blessings to you and yours Curtis

2010-04-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I have posted anything. The seasons have changed we have had a wonderful winter here in Northern California, it has rained and rained and rained. It is ok with me, my wife and I like the rain, it fills up the many lakes that surround us here in God's country and makes everything soo green and pretty. We as in my wife and I have put off any kind of house project due to the enormous amounts of rain, but I am looking forward to getting some projects started this Spring. I am going to tackle painting all of my patio furniture one and only one color..... and this my friends is a HUGE task. I have collected quite a few pieces of patio furniture over the years... and it has been painted black, white, yellow, and lots of other colors to suit my mood for that particular year.... So now my wife wants all of the patio furniture painted white , and use blue cushions and umbrellas. I know it will look great when it is finished but it will be a full week end job!!!! as I have 3 settes, 8 chairs, 1 porch swing , and at least 7 or 8 side tables that will all need to be sanded , primed and then painted, all done of course before Memorial Day Week End, no problem I say.... I will post some before and after pictures if and when I get it done..... well sitting here typing is not getting anything done and I have some weeding to do.... so until next time, keep a smile in your heart and one on your face too, Blessings to all Curtis and Sherrie Chipley