A Thought on Saturday Morning

Ecclesiastes 3:2

"a time to be born and a time to die".

Acts 17:26

God "determines the times set for [us] and the exact places

that [we] should live."

Ephesians 1:11

"we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him

who works everything in conformity with the

purpose of His will."

My Dad update

Well, the bricks have fallen on our family. We received news today that my dad suffered a heart attack recently and is not doing well. We have witnessed him declining rapidly over the last few months. The drs spoke to my mom and dad as well as my sister this evening and informed my parents that there was nothing more they can do for my dad.

I am both relieved and saddened at the news. They are sending my dad home soon with hospice care to make his last days comfortable. The drs say 6 months, my mom says less and I bet if we ask my dad it is going to be sooner. But, it is in God's hands now. He knows when it is time! My dad is at peace with the road that is ahead for him.

He told my mom that he will be waiting for us at heaven's gate! :) It's amazing to watch how much my mom and dad love each other even when good bye is just around the corner. I will miss my dad so much but I can't imagine how my mom is feeling at this moment.

Tomorrow the immediate family is meeting at the hospital regarding hospice and what all that is about. From there my mom will be inviting the grandchildren and great grandchildren to the house for a visit.

Out of my precious 5 yr old: I was explaining to him that Papa Joe is going to see Jesus soon. Briggor said "I'm not crying" - me: "You're not crying?" Briggor:"No, not scared about papa dying!" How precious is that!!!

Update on my dad

They moved my dad to a room late last night FINALLY!! Over 24 hours in the ER, just waiting, that's got to drive you crazy. Luckily, he wasn't serious! They ran all kinds of tests on him.

I received a text from my sister today saying "3 leaky valves going to heart, will treat with meds if not, put in defibrilator. No open heart surgery do to age. Very weak plus pneumonia!" No broken bones either!

My dad already takes so many medicines daily that more meds is going to drive him mad! It stinks to get old.

FYI - my dad just celebrated his 79th birthday on July 13th. My parents will be celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary on Aug 1st! Like you say in your vows - in sickness and in health - that is what my parents are going through right now!!! AMAZING

The Phone Call

I received a phone call this morning from my mom telling me that my dad fell in the middle of the night and had to be rushed to the ER. My dad has not been feeling well for a few weeks even months. He had lost a lot of weight and seems to be in pain more than ever.

Everyone hates those kinds of phone calls and you sit and wait to hear news of what is going on. I have walked around today wondering if I should go down there, if I should stay, what to do? Our family has gone down this road so many times and you wonder if this is the last one. I have choose to stay at home and wait for my mom to call. My sister is with her so she is not alone. I find comfort in that.

My heart hurts that my dad is suffering and there seems to be no relief in sight. I find myself praying for the Lord to take my dad more than I want the Lord to heal him. I wrestle with that thought all the time. Aren't we suppose to pray for healing? or is it ok to pray for the suffering to stop? I cry, I smile, I pray, I stare into space. It just feels like time has stopped for the moment and I am holding my breath waiting to exhale.

My dad is tired. My dad is sick. He doesn't want to be in the hospital. He is ready to let go! Don't you wonder sometimes why God allows people to endure? Why doesn't the Lord just take him and his tired, old body home? Only God has that answer. We are just to endure.....

As of this writing, my dad is still in the ER because there are no rooms available at the hospital. He is on oxygen and an IV because he is suffering from dehydration. They are running all kinds of tests to see what is going on. Hopefully they will have answers.

Mary's 50 book list for 2010

I'm falling behind on my 50 books for the year! I'm half way through the year. ugh! Will I make it?? Here is an update of what I have read so far:


1. My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme 363 pages
2. Bed Of Roses by Nora Roberts 368 pages
3. Southern Lights by Danielle Steele 336 pages
4. Take Two by Karen Kingsbury 320 pages
5. The Messenger by Marcus Zusak 368 pages
6. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks 400 pages
7. Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury 336 pages
8. Ronald Reagan - The Great Communicator 108 pages
9. Big Girl by Danielle Steele 352 pages
10. Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out Book 7 288 pages
11. Who's Looking Out for You? by Bill O'Reilly 224 pages
12. Take Three by Karen Kingsbury 336 pages
13. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 544 pages
14. James and The Giant Peach 120 pages
15. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 576 pages
16. Caught by Harlan Coben 388 pages
17. Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet 307 pages
18. Worst Case by James Patterson 356 pages
19. Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush 456 pages
20. 9th Judgement by James Patterson 368 pages
21. Savor The Moment by Nora Roberts 352 pages
22. Take Four by Karen Kingsbury 368 pages
23. Overton Window by Glenn Beck 336 pages
24. Trial by James Patterson 416 pages
25. Family Ties by Danielle Steele

Justin Bieber Concert

We left on Wednesday afternoon for Paso Robles to see Justin Bieber in concert. Jade was suffering from a head cold but was determined to go no matter what! Megan and Tasha made t-shirts for the concert! See pics below!

The girls sang Justin Bieber songs all the way to Paso Robles!

Jade and others were trying to catch a sneak peek at the sound checks going on behind the fence. They wanted to see their Bieber boy!! But they didn't see him! :(

Waiting for the concert to start, the wind started to blow and it dropped to about 68 degrees by showtime. The girls didn't bring jackets but mom did! Jade took my jacket!

The girls screamed the whole night. They couldn't believe that they were actually seeing Justin Bieber in person.

The pic below shows you how many crazy girls and parents there were at the Mid State Fair !! 90% of the crowd were girls screaming and holding posters!!

The evening didn't end until around 11pm! I drove all the way home and arrived in Bako at 130am!! The girls and I had a great time together!

Well, it was back out to the beach house for more work! Mark brought a small army of kids to help with the deck. As you can see in some of th pictures, Mark had a small retaining wall built to fix the erosion problem we were having on one corner of the house. He also planned it out to be able to use that as part of the foundation for the new deck. A couple of concrete pillars were poured out aways and he was ready to go!

Keep in mind, Mark admits he is not very good with wood. But he read online, remembered helping his friend build a deck in Oregon and off he went! Mark knew what he wanted it to look like, how he wanted the job to go, but his lack of experience led him back to Paso Robles (the closest REAL hardware store) 5 times before the weekend was over. Note, that one trip-one way to Paso Robles from the beach house is 30min! He was always a bit short on wood, brackets or screws. But besides that fact, it went pretty well! The walkway down one side is done and almost 1/2 the deck boards are completed.

Mark was able to dig out and get it right up against the concrete so the whole back will be tied together. I can't wait to use it! It is so beautiful out there! Mark thinks one more weekend and it will be done with railings too. It goes out about 4 feet further than the old deck his grandfather built and is about 5 feet wider. He somehow figured a way for the bottom deck to support the upper deck just outside the master bedroom which was sagging dangerously low. The crew got the upper deck level and supported.

There is a third deck outside the kitchen that is a little droopy and Mark says it is a quick fix on our next visit Not too bad for a hubby who attempted his first deck. I was truly impressed! I think all the kids were amazed at seeing something come together from scratch with lots of teamwork.

All in all even though it was a working weekend, it was fun! Mark and I think that one more year of small little remodeling jobs around there and it will be functional and usable.

So I kept towels dry and the house cleaned for 18 people. I provided 3 meals a day with no stove, dishwasher, oven or bbq. Thank God for paperplates!! :) We had lots of trash when the weekend was over! I took my Wolfgang Puck indoor grill/griddle! That was a lifesaver! The girls helped cook, cleaned and served food. The men worked and got stuff done.

It was a good weekend!

MANY FACES OF BRIGGOR

Who has the biggest muscles?

Showing off there muscles?

Murphy's Law Day at the Lake

Thursday, we spent the day on the lake! It didn't start out so well. We stopped to gas up the Yukon, grabbed some ice for the cooler and set out early so we could spend some quality time on the lake. Mark surprised me by having Andrew show up to enjoy the day with us. That was a nice surprise!

We got the boat in the water, the trailer/Yukon parked and everyone was loaded into the boat when Mark turned the key and realized he didn't gas up the boat! Mark walked up the dock to the Sheriff's station and they told him they don't sell gas here at the lake anymore. You have to re-trailer your boat and head to Gorman, 8 miles north on the 5! :(

So, we took the boat out of the water, headed out of Lake Pyramid when Mark realized that the boat was bumping around A LOT! LOL He pulled over and checked the boat. The boat was not sitting on the trailer right! So, around we go back to the lake to lower the boat in the water and fix it!

Okay, so now the boat is secure and all items on the boat secure and off to Gorman we go! I think the lady in the parking booth thought this was quite comical! We filled up in Gorman and drove back down to the lake. We finally got on the lake around 1145am!

After all the mishaps in the morning, the afternoon went great! Tasha and Andrew were able to kneeboard for the first time. The kids enjoyed riding on the 3 person Viper raft! We were on the lake for about 4 hours when we called it a day! Our tradition coming home from the lake is stopping for In N Out burger - which we did!

All and all, it was a great day to be with the family!

Bud's New Do

This is Bud's new do! Since he got honor roll the last two quarters of school, we told him he could have his hair anyway he wanted it in the summer! This is how he came home! When school starts - it's back to normal!!

4th of July party

Another 4th of July has come and gone. Mark and I hosted a party at our house for our family, friends and neighbors! The weather some what cooperated - it was below a hundred degrees! :) Everyone had a wonderful time - meeting, greeting, enjoying each others company. The kids were in the pool til fireworks time! The adults either swam or just hung out!


Ryan, Josh and Jocelyn our neighbors!

Mark manned the bbq and our guests brought side dishes for the bbq!

Our daughter Nettie came with her boyfriend, Wayne.

We had two longtime friends come also - Brian Paslay and Mindy Hall Bloom. Mark and I have known them since Elementary School!

Mindy's son Cole was all smiles!

Amber, Derek, Sabrina and Chrissy (pic one) and Daniel, DJ and Jade (pic two)

Everyone had a great time!

Allysa (Mindy's daughter) and I laughing at the bbq bar!

Megan had her best friend, Sabrina and Ryan had his two friends, Austin and Davis!

Sorry to say I do not have pictures of the fireworks because yet again, Briggor spent his evening in his room hiding from the fireworks. He has done this every year since I can remember. He doesn't like them AT ALL! So I spent my time cleaning the kitchen while he was inside and I was able to step out every once and awhile to take a peek!

I do believe that the 4th of July party was a success! Can't wait til next year! (although, it took me two days to recoop!!)