All My Children # 19

Hi all !

Hope everyone is doing well. Our week went fairly well. We spent the bulk of this past week getting ready for our impending yard sale. Each day sorting thru more things and having to carry some things down two flights of stairs. ( from the attic, uhhhgggg ! ) You know ... we have had several yard sales over the years, it is funny, how you sort of forget how much trouble they are !! But I guess in the end, you just figure you want to dE-clutter your house and perhaps make a little cash too. We did alright. Aunt Margaret made about $350, and Dad & I made about $600. So ... hey, we made some cash, and dE-cluttered the house from a lot of stuff ! Goal reached. The rest of the stuff is collected into boxes and bags to be taken to the church and the salvation army. Waiting outside , under tarps, not to ever come back into the house, (that would have defeated the purpose) and will be taken away soon.

Thankfully, Dad is certainly feeling better this weekend. Geez !! He was battling this sickness for about two weeks ! The bad news ?? Well ... I think I may finally have succumbed to it my self ! Uhhgggg !! I have the same symptoms, cough, sore throat, yucky feeling. Oh well ... maybe I can kick it quickly ! I keep taking some airborne and coldeeze in hopes of a lesser duration if anything ! My main concern will be that Aunt Patty avoids it ! Hey CJ, can you tell Vivianna ( for me )... to please wait until grandma is all better to come into this world ! OK !! That is my main concern. Oh !! Please let me get better first !!

It feels good to have the temperature's remaining warmer now. I love to sit out on the porch and just relax with a hot cup of tea. It is nice for a lot of reasons, one of them being, that so many different people will stop while walking down the sidewalk, and chat with me. Love that. Such a friendly little village. Right now the rain is falling softly and it is a grey cloudy day, but you know what ? I am loving this day anyway. While I am not particularly feeling great, it seems sort of comforting in some way. After all the hard work of the last week and weekend, I am just loafing today, sitting on the porch and laying on the couch, and it seems sort of nice to have the sound of the soft rain showers and the cooler weather. I had my tea on the porch, and was quite relaxed and enjoyed it. We really needed some rain. It hadn't rained in over a week, so the plants,trees and grass are celebrating. The smell of the fresh rain is just wonderful !

What does this week hold for each of you ? I know Angela is counting down to the end of this week!! It marks the end of this school year ! Yeah !! A little time to relax for the summer ! Ang, Dad & I are hoping we can get you to Hammondsport for some R& R !! Hows your schedule for the summer ? Be thinking about it !

Ed, well, he is taking care of business. Getting all things done for the facilitation of buying his home. He has a a ruff time with his pup Oscar too. Just some health issues. Hey Ed, believe it or not, you are getting a little taste of how it is to be a parent ! Haa haaa ! The love and care of a pet has some similar responsibilities. I sure hope things will settle back down for him and he gets to feeling good again soon ! I can't wait to help you move in and get setteled Ed ! How exciting !

Tom went to California last week to the Connan O'Brian show ( sp ? ). He said he had a good time. Say's he loves it out there, but, I for one ... am hoping he never chooses to live there. It is just to far away ! Please !! If you have to move anywhere, stick with Chicago ! ( as if my vote counts anyway huh ? ) I would guess this is the start of Jennifer and Tommy becoming very busy with some weddings huh ? Do you think you will fot NY in this summer or not until fall ?

I know Bill & CJ are looking forward to Wednesday to see what the doctors will have to say. Call us Wednesday night to let us know how the visit goes ! Gosh, each week is so important now ! Your lives will soon be changed forever. You will very soon become "parents" . That is a gift of a life time. A wonderful blessing. I will let you in on a little secret (that you will ultimately learn one day yourselves), here you are, all grown up, living your own lives, and although you may not need us ( your parents ) as much in your daily lives now, as parents, we STILL need you in our lives, as much as possible. You are the most important part of our lives. You are the most valued and treasured blessings that have been given to us. " Parenthood ", it is the most wonderful experience to have in your lives. It helps you to grow leaps and bounds personally. It helps to set firm beliefs within yourself, into action. It brings out the qualities you hold value in and helps you to instill them not only within your children but to grow them stronger within yourself. It will transform your lives. It will bring you the most deepest joy you will ever know, and some of the most difficult heart ache too. It is worth every minute you are blessed with. The good, the bad, the funny, the mad, the glory, the frustration, the happiest of times and the saddest too. Parenthood, IS, as far as I am concerned, the most blessed gift in your life. You will learn this as soon as you hold your beautiful daughter in your arms. You will come to know the incredible depth of love. Vivianna will be one of the most important parts of your life.

Well, I guess I will close for this week. Remember Grandpa John tomorrow. He is having a heart catherization, and most likely they will be putting some more stints in to open some veins again. He has been having lots of angina in recent weeks. I know he feels frustrated and well, fearful. So, say a prayer for him. Aunt Patty ( Harvey/Neely) is in the hospital again too. She has had heart trouble lot. Her heart is dying. Nothing they can do about it. It is a hereditary condition. She seems OK with that, living the best she can with it. But the reason she is in the hospital now is she has a blood clot in her pancreas. So keep her in your prayer's too.

Give us a call us when you can. Look at your schedules and see if Hammondsport fits in sometime this summer maybe ? The lake is gorgeous and " the price is right " is calling your names ! Hahaahaa !

A HARMONIOUS BALANCE
"I have been through a lot and I have suffered a great deal. But I have had lots of happy moments, as well. Every moment one lives is different from the other. The good, the bad, hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love and happiness are all interwoven into one single, indescribable whole that is called LIFE. You cannot separate the good from the bad. And perhaps there is no need to do so, either."
-Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

My love is with you, Momma G

All My Children # 18

Hello my kids,

I hope you are having a good week. Ours is going good so far. Dad and I worked in the yard here in Hammondsport this past weekend. It felt really good. Number one ... just to be here and stay put from all the traveling back and forth ! Number two ... just because I really do love this old house, this village and this lake, and it just felt good to make some changes in the yard. I had dug up some of my Hosta plants and Day-Lilly plants from the Chardon house on memorial day weekend. So ... now we have a little of Arbor Glen here with us. We put in a small bed of plants between the drive-way and the Arbor Glenn room. ( back room on the house) It looks nice. Then we put plants all along the fence out front. ( on the inside, our yard part ) It looks real good. We also planted some by the side porch too, and by the one tree in the yard where there were already a couple Hosta's there, we continued placing them around the tree in a circle. So ... although we have a lot of work that needs done outside, hey ... we started doing something ! It felt great. Unfortunately, Dad has been sick for a week, so he really didn't have his full energy level. But he is on the mend.

On Saturday morning, Dad drove me out to the Rochester area to get my blood panel taken. Geez ... they took 6 tubes of blood. Then today ( Monday ) I had to do a saliva test 4 times thru-out the day. ( 4 different tubes ) I still have the 4th one yet to do, at 12:30. Then I have to put the tubes in a box and mail them tomorrow morning to the lab. I will go back on July 1st to find out where my hormone levels stand and what Bio-Identical Hormone's they will recommend for me. So ... maybe by the fall I will be regulated and balanced !!! Yeah !!! I am so excited about this !!! This is a good thing. I am setting the pace for you younger women here !! Someday you will know exactly how to help yourself so much better than in my day ! Never ... Ever ... take synthetic hormones !!

Aunt Margaret and I went out to the " Windmill " market Saturday afternoon and we bought some hanging baskets of flowers. They are so pretty. She hangs hers by the pool and I put mine on the side porch and some by the back door area too. They are so pretty. Then yesterday, she called Dad and I frantic to come to the cottage quick !!! It had been strong winds all day and our boat broke loose from the front of the boat and the dock and was banging against her dock hard, it would have broke loose all the way had she not went there to check it ! It took the 3 of us quite a bit of time ... but we managed to get it pulled back to the dock and tied up again. Whew !! That could have been a disaster ! Aunt Patty and I went over there today to check on it, everything was good. The water is calm today. We need to get a boat lift. Then we will never have to worry when the weather is bad.

Ed had his house inspection today. One step closer to owning his home. It went well. Ed, the realtor and the inspector met there. Only a couple of minor things to fix. Probably the current owners will do the fixes. His pup Oscar has been sick. Poor little guy. He has allergies, so Ed is in the process of giving him shots. He has to build up slowly to the correct dosage. Then he should start to feel better. He has lost most of his hair. He is itching all the time too. He should start to see some improvement soon. Ed took good care of our Chardon house and got it ready for the open house Sunday. Marybeth said he did a great job. Thanks Ed ... Dad and I are so proud of you for all the help you give us. Only 3 couples showed up for the open house. Uhggggg ! Oh well ... nothing we can do. It was even featured on TV Saturday too ! I guess there is at least one of them that have a little interest in it. Hey ... as Dad said, we only need one buyer ! Say prayers for us !

So ... as most of you know, Vivianna is trying to make her entrance early !! Bless her little heart ! She has her own agenda. I think she is going to be a strong little girl. She is already thinking she is big enough to be born. CJ has been on bed rest and taking some medication around the clock to stop the labor. The doctors have decided to have her stop taking it on June 10th, so when ever she goes into labor after that, it will be fine to have her come and she will be OK. So ... we will most likely have our newest member of our family join us sometime in June ! They are also thinking ( 90% ) that CJ may have to have a C-section, due to Viv is still in breech position, and there may not be enough time for her to turn. So , we shall see ! I know we are all in agreement of being so very excited to meet her. I can't wait to see what she looks like. Hair or no hair ? Round little face? Chubby little cheeks ? Will she have green eyes or brown ? ( of course we wont be able to tell that right away ! ) Will she have curly hair or straight ? Dark or light in color ? Well ... let me tell you, she can be any of those things or none at all. What ever she has or doesn't have, who she looks like , what ever, it will be just the way she is meant to be ! I know she will be perfect as she is ! God Bless her !

OK, I guess I will get off here. Below I attached the final baby guess contest. Hmmm ? after this latest news, she will most likely not go full term, so most of us or all of us, will be off in the weight. Hey closest one wins !

Names	Weight (pounds.ounces)	Length (inches)
Bill	8.8	21.50
CJ	7.2	20.00
Claire	6.5	17.50
Momma G.	7.8	18.00
Poppa G.	8.3	18.50
Grandma	6.0	19.00
Grandpa John	7.7	17.25
Ed	8.7	21.25
Tommy John	8.10	21.75
Jennifer	6.12	19.00
Angela	7.4	19.50
Laurel	7.0	19.50
Aunt Margaret	8.0	18.25
Erica	7.3	19.75
Kathy Scotchel	7.60	21.00

Here's to looking forward to getting together to celebrate our newest arrival !

"Love consists in looking together in the same direction."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I love you all ! Momma G

All My Children #17

Hi Kids,

I hope you each had a wonderful week. I think we had a fairly good one. The weather is finally warming up with each passing week now. Love that. I have gotten to sit on my porch a little more. I enjoy it so very much ! So does Aunt Patty. She loves to have our lunch out there. The one day, she sat out there from lunch until supper ! I have gotten some hanging flower baskets and some flowers in pots to set around out there too, oh it makes it so enjoyable.

Dad, Patty & I went to Chardon ( again) Friday night. I must say it was a productive two days there. We cleaned out the barn,top and bottom. We had rented a dumpster and pretty much filled it up. We sorted thru things, pitched a lot, set some aside to keep and some slated for a yard sale. We stacked the things we will keep neatly in the back of the barn. We will have to bring them later when we sell the house. I did get the porch floor painted a solid grey, if it were still my " home" , I would still want the checker-board pattern, but ... it is for someone else so, back to boring solid. It looks nice. I did dig up some of the flowers and hosta plants to bring here to Hammondsport. So, I have some work ahead of me to get them all planted in the ground here somewhere. I still may get some more later on before we sell the house. There are so many and they really needed thinned out. It will look nice to have some of the plants here too.

Anyhow, between Dad,Ed and myself, we knocked down our " to-do-list" quite a bit. We had more that we would have liked to do, but as Dad put it; " we could certainly make a career out of working on the Chardon house". So you know what ... for now, we are just done with what ever we accomplished this far, it will be enough for awhile. There is an open house next weekend and our house will be one of the ones featured on a reality show too. Say a prayer now that someone will just come along and love our house and want to buy it ! YES !!!!!

Dad,Ed and I loved the concert. Elton and Billy Joel are certainly the top piano men ! They both have so many great songs ! Truly dripping with talent. We heard all of our favorites and had a great evening. To top off the weekend, Ed got a call Sunday from his realtor that he is now a proud new home owner ! Yes ... they excepted his final offer ! Yeah !!! Dad said he is a hard-nose negotiator ! Haaaaaa !! We were all so happy. It is certainly an exciting time in Ed's life. His closing should be July 10th. I will be so excited to help him move into his house. It is a very nice house and in a nice neighborhood. I can't wait for each of you to come and visit Ed and see his new home one day. That will be really cool. We are so proud of you Ed and so full of joy watching you go thru this next step in your life. It is very rewarding for us as your parents. I know you will do great at taking care of your own home. You will have fun settling in and getting everything the way you want it. We will have to make my bed up as soon as we move you in, I want to be your first guest ! :) Click this link to see pictures ! ( I hope I did this correctly !)

Picture Gallery for listing 3010455

We came home today(Monday) and after we unloaded the van, we went over to Aunt Margaret's for a picnic. Laurel was there too. It was good to visit with everyone. She was asking all about the shower, and the baby, how CJ is feeling and how excited Bill & CJ must be getting. She is just very excited too. She said " you know I'll be a great Grandma soon ! " I sent her the pictures of the babies room painted, she loved it. She was also asking all about your new house Ed. Dad showed her and Aunt Margaret pictures of your new house, they loved it. They can't wait to come and see you there. Laurel was asking about Oscar too. You should try to go visit her soon.

I drove Dad and Aunt Margaret to the marina to get the boat today too. Then they drove it back to the cottage where I met them and we tied it up at her dock. So ... make time to come and see us this summer so we can go out on the old " Price Is Right " !! Haaaaaaa !! I can't wait to go out for a ride. I told Aunt Patty we will pack a picnic lunch soon and go out on the water.

Yeah !! We are back home !! And the best part is ... we get to stay put for awhile !!! I am really liking that !!! Keep Dad in your thoughts, he came home today just really not feeling well. His throat is a little sore and he said he just has that yucky taste in his mouth that you get when your not feeling well. I am sure he is just worn down and his immune system is not at its best due to that. His one leg looks all beat up from getting bruised and scraped with all his hard work in Chardon this weekend. He needs rest. You certainly give a lot of yourself my dear husband. I love you so very much, I will pray this all ends soon.

Well, I will close for now. I miss you all. I am throwing out a great big hug your way !! Grab on !!

"Hope smiles on the threshold of the year to come, whispering that it will be happier."
-- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I love you, more than words can say, Momma G

All My Children # 16

Hello to all,

well now ... number 16, that is my favorite number. I have always liked that number since I was a young girl. Isn't it cool that our house number and post office box #, here in Hammondsport are both 16 ! Yep ... that's my number and I am sticking to it !
So how is everyone doing ? The spring is here, and I love it. We have had a few days where the weather is in the 70's but mostly in the 50's & 60's here. The sunshine has been great. I am looking forward to the warmer temps for sure. I love sitting back out on our porch ( so does Aunt Patty ! ) It is so delightful to ear the birds singing again.
Dad and I worked in the yard this past weekend. It was our first weekend here in Hammondsport in 2 months ! Geez ! It felt good to just be able to stay here. I can't wait to be able to get some things done here again one of these days. We are actually running back to Chardon tonight, just to be there for tomorrow ( Tuesday) to work all day on certain things, then we head back tomorrow evening, yes just a 24 hr. trip. There is a crew coming to our house to take pictures and we need to finish up a few things. (paint the outside doors frames dad installed the last time, paint the porch steps, re-tile some of the craft room floor, and just a few other things) Then we will head there again, this memorial day weekend, Friday night, thru Sunday. We are going to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert ( can't wait ... it will be fantastic !) with Ed and finishing up whatever other work we can for the summer. Even though it is Memorial day weekend, we will want to be back here on Monday to do stuff. (pick up the boat for one thing)

We sure had fun at the shower huh ?! I am so happy that so many of my cousins came ! What a wonderful turn out. Grandma sure did a great job organizing everything. I enjoyed myself all weekend just getting to be with everyone and visiting and laughing a lot !! That really did me good. Every time I would look around, it was just so nice to see each of you having such a good time. Gosh Bill & CJ ... you received so many wonderful baby things ! What a nice start to raising Viv !! I can't wait to see your baby furniture. It will be so nice. I can't wait to see your nursery. I wish I was there to paint it for you. I would have liked being able to do that for you. I will miss getting to see you as you get toward your due date. It was just so great to be able to sit around grandma's porch and enjoy visiting with you. I sure hope your mom had a nice time CJ. I am so happy she came too ! It would have been perfect had Ed, Tom & Jen been there too. We missed you ! We have a " guessing pot " going on. You need to send me your $1.00 and your guess for Vivianna's birth weight and length. Below is everyone else's guess so far, I'll let Ed, Tommy and Jennifer get back to me with your guess first (quickly please) then send an email to Laurel, Margaret and Sheree and let them guess too. ( it is just the birth weight that will win the pot, the length is just for fun )Then the pot will be a whopping $ 15.00 !

Names	Weight (pounds.ounces)	Length (inches)
Bill	8.8	21.50
CJ	7.2	20.00
Claire	6.5	17.50
Momma G.	7.8	18.00
Poppa G.	8.3	18.50
Grandma	6.0	19.00
Grandpa John	7.7	17.25
Ed
Tommy John	8.10	21.75
Jennifer	6.12	19.00
Angela	7.4	19.50
Laurel
Aunt Margaret
Aunt Sheree
Kathy Scotchel	7.60	21.00

OK kids, I love you all. I miss you too. I sure wish we could see each other often. Take care of each other. Call when you can. We love you so very much.

Life is like a mirror. If you frown at it, it frowns back.
If you smile at it, it returns the greeting.
- Herbert Samuels
Love & Blessings, Momma G

All My Children # 15

Hello my dear kids,

I am hoping this finds each of you well. I have not been able to write my blog for two straight weeks and I miss it. My life seems to always be in constant motion and never, what I consider normal as such. It is sometimes difficult to function as the " normal " me !
Enough of that ....

Well, ' Mothers Day, is almost upon us. I feel like just reflecting on that for this blog. I am so full of gratitude for being so fortunate to have each of you in my life. With everything else seeming so stressful around me these last two years, having my family to think about and to love and feel loved, makes my life feel important and of great value. I truly do not know where I would be without you. Here is my tribute to you ...

My son Ed, you are such a wonderful son. So very handsome. You are so helpful to dad and I. This whole past two years, you have given so much of your time, strength, hard work, and companionship to us. We have reached for you the most to be there for us and depended on you time and time again through out this journey we are on. You just quietly go along with what ever we ask of you. We thank you for all of your support. You are a good man. You are kind, loving and supportive. Lucky is the woman that gets you for her husband, you will be a great catch. With the kind of dedication you possess, I can tell that you, too, will be a wonderful husband someday. You have a good job and work hard at doing your best at your job. You show a respect for your job with being loyal, consciences, and strong sense of dedication. I know it will pay off through out your career. I love seeing you with your pup, Oscar. You take such good and loving care of him and he will be a good companion at your side for years to come. We are so very proud of you. Now you are ready to buy your first home soon and we cannot wait to see you embarking on the next part of your journey. God bless you.

My son Bill, you too, are a wonderful son. It has brought your dad and I such great joy watching you step into the role of being a husband to CJ. You walked right into that role as if you had always known how to go about it. A wonderful husband indeed. You are such a very hard worker, and that is how it has always been with you. You always knew how to work hard and not complain about it. You take such care about your house, the lawn, and all the projects you do around the house. You just figure out how the job needs done and do your best at getting it done. You are so very handsome. I love when you look at me and smile, it goes right into my heart. I am looking forward to watching you step in to the role of fatherhood. I have no doubt it will be your most rewarding job yet. I have always felt that each of you were so truly blessed to have been raised by such an amazing and wonderful father, and I also feel you , too, will be a wonderful father. You are such a good man. You make us so very proud. Than you for helping us with the Chardon house getting it ready to sell. It meant a lot to us. God bless you.

My daughter-n-law CJ, We are so happy you are a part of our family. We love you so very much. You are a beautiful young woman. Thank you for loving Bill and being such a good wife to him. You too, are such a hard worker. You have such a strong sense of taking charge and getting things accomplished. I have no doubt you will be missed by the Ritz. You ran that pastry kitchen and kept things in order, and people on their toes. You are so creative and gifted with your cake decorating it amazes me. I am sure you will be a strong mentor in the classes you are now teaching at the Art Institute. Lucky students ! Now, your best job yet, you have Viv on the way. You are carrying such precious cargo for sure. It is so wonderful to see what immaculate care you are taking of your 'self ' , for Vivianna's sake. You are doing everything you can to ensure safety and good health for her. What a WONDERFUL mother you are ALREADY being. Not every child is so lucky. Thank you CJ for being so selfless and loving. It is going to be a joy to watch you and Bill raise your family together. We are so very proud of you. Thank you for all of the help at the Chardon house, you were a good painter ! ( even though you do not like the outdoors so much, there you were, such a trooper, helping me paint the fence ! ) God bless you.

My son Tommy John, you make us so happy in so many ways. When I am feeling down, I always turn to one of your CD's. I love listening to you sing and play. I grew up listening to my dad all my ( younger)life and I think somehow it comforts me to hear you sing. I wish I had every song you have ever sang on CD. ( hint ) You certainly stand tall and proud. ( I am still amazed at how tall you stand !) You are indeed a good son. You are unique. You have a creative steak a mile wide. I always have the desire to want to talk to you about kicking around ideas and new projects. I enjoy all the phone calls with you. We can certainly get on a role of talking about things huh ? Trust me, I enjoy everyone of them. You have a take-charge kind of attitude that is energizing. You are a hard worker and have been very helpful to us many a time. We thank you for all of the time and help you have given to us for sure. It is so appreciated. You have a very strong sense of " family ". I love that about you. You make an effort to stay in touch and plan get-together's. I can tell it means a lot to you too. It is rewarding for dad and I to watch you and Jennifer build ' Baby Grace Photography' together. We we wish great success for your future. We are proud of you and love you dearly. God bless you.

To Jennifer, it may not be ' official " but I can tell you we love you being a part of our family. You are a good, kind and loving young woman. You are a beautiful young woman. You have such a strong compassionate heart. With the heartache you have endured, it would be easy to be cynical or bitter, but you do not let your painful experience dictate your life. Thank you for being so loving to Tommy, and sharing in his life journey. It makes me happy to know that you have each other to lean on. You are so talented with your photography. I am continually amazed when viewing your work. I see your business continuing to flourish. As this economy recovers, your business will grow leaps and bounds. (when you are famous, can I get your autograph ?) It is rare to see something so generous as when you gave to Bill & CJ some of Maya's precious clothes and little bear, for their baby. That was a truly beautiful and loving gift. For I know what those things meant to you, and it was a precious and special offering for sure. Thank you for all of your love and support. Thank you for the help you have given to us with our house. Thank you for your friendship. I look forward to many joyful times to come. We love you. God bless you.

My daughter Angela, you are truly a gift. What a wonderful daughter you are. You are so beautiful. You fill my day with joy when you call me. I love that we get to chat almost everyday. I love hearing your voice. Thank you for always being there for me. Thanks for listening to me when I am up or down. Thanks for all of the help you have given to dad and I over the last two years. You are such a good young woman. You are a smart, kind,strong,loving and creative teacher. You are mentoring these young children and doing a great job at it. You should be so proud of yourself. You won the technology classroom last year, recently you won the 'writing a lesson plan contest', and you have accomplished getting all A's ( so far ) in your Masters classes ! That is quite a big accomplishment ! Just think ... you will be done this time next year ! Yeah ! You are involved in choir, guiding the youth at church, and working at Barnes & Nobles part time ! Whew !! you make me tired thinking of it all. You are a good friend to many, a good sister, a good grand daughter and the best daughter we could have ever asked for. We are so very proud of you. We love you dearly. God bless you.

And ... to My Husband of 32 1/2 yrs ... I still love you dearly. You are my everything. You are my sweetheart for life. I am so sorry we are going thru everything the way we are. It surely takes away from our health, our time together, our finances, our energy and our joy. I am determined not to let it destroy our happiness though. I have no idea why we are going thru this straining and stressful time, but I believe we will come out stronger from it in the end. Thank you for being my husband and a great one at that. Thank you for working so very hard. (seemingly all of the time) Thank you for making me a mother and for being such a wonderful father to each of our children. Thank you for loving me ( even during time when I am not so lovable ) I am so very proud of you and proud to call you my husband. God bless you.

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
-- J.M. Barrie

Thank you each for bringing me sunshine,
Love Momma G

All My Chidren #14

Hello my kids,

Happy Easter to all ! I hope your day was a great day. May the spirit of the Easter season remain within you and settle into your hearts filling them with the compassion,hope,and love of life. I felt it within me today so strongly. I thought of each of you and smiled. It brought me such a feeling of "family", I felt the love so intensely. I felt such gratitude for each of you. I love my family so dearly. You are EACH so very important. You are EACH so valuable to this family. Completely and utterly irreplaceable. I hope you truly get that. I just want you to know how dearly loved you are.

Dad,Ed and I went to mass at St Gabriel's this Easter morning. It was nice to be there once again. Geez ... it was so crowded though ! Ed made me laugh ... he called them CEO's ( Christmas &Easter only ) Well, what ever brings them, it is a good thing. We saw so very many young families in that church today. The next generation I suppose. Lots of babies and young children for sure. I will say ... St Gabe's has the most wonderful music during mass. I loved returning and hearing that for sure. It touches my soul when the music is like that. I really love it. We then went to Laurels for Easter dinner and had a good time. We really like Mark. ( Erica's fiance ) He is a nice guy for sure. God Bless him. I hope there is a doctor out there that can help him. He is going to go to a few cancer specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. Keep him in your prayers. I am sure this is a frightening experience for him knowing what he has been through already.

Well ... as many of you already know, I am still in good o'l Chardon ! Dad is back in Hammondsport, without me, and I miss being there with him again. It is not what we choose, but what has to be done really. We are just trying to be real troopers here and get done what needs to be done. There is just so much work to be caught up on and it isn't easy to get it all done. With spring upon us, as you all can remember ... (yard work galore) to get the property in order. Not fun ... but needed. Then there is the two atrium doors ( family rm and craft rm ) that need replaced due to deterioration from 20 years of harsh weather. Then there is all the painting and refreshing of the rooms. Not fun ... but needed at this time. We are each waking injured ! Haaa ! ( Ed too ) All this physical work is hard on the body ! We just march along, with the best intentions, putting aside things we would really rather be doing and just do what it takes. Sometimes ( as you will surely find) in our lives ... you just do what you have to even when your hearts are not in it. I am working here Monday and Tuesday then driving back to Hammondsport Wednesday. Get some things done there, ride back to Chardon (again ) with Dad Friday night, work here( again) Sat,Sun,Mon and Tuesday and hopefully leave here on Wednesday morning to try to get a little R&R !! Yeah !!! The best part ? Yes !!!! We will have all of our family together for a short visit very soon !! And yes ... CJ ... I will want to hug your belly !!!

Angela is in sunny Vegas this week with the girls ! Hope your week is filled with fun and laughter ! Make some great memories Ang !! We will see you soon honey !

Awwwe ... then there is my 2nd baby Billy Boy !!! This is his birthday week !! April 17th !! The big " 30 th" birthday !! Yeah !!! Welcome to the thirties my son !! Enjoy this next decade ! I loved the thirties ! You will find each decade brings you different gifts ! While your twenties were fun, just wait ... the thirties get even better ! Let me take this time to say Dad and I are so very proud of the man you have become. You are a wonderful son,brother,husband and all around person. With being blessed yourself, with the example of a wonderful father,I have no doubt your greatest contribution will be to become a wonderful father to Vivianna. Dad and I will have such joy in our hearts watching you assume that role. It has been such a pleasure having you for a son in our lives. Have a happy birthday Bill !

"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose."
-Lyndon B. Johnson

Take care ...big hugs to each of you!
I love you, Momma G

All My Chilren # 013

Hello to all,

Well, first of all a bit of trivia ...this post is #13, it makes me think of my Dad. Did you know that the number '13 was your Pappy's favorite number ? Yes ... and when I grew up our address was '1316 Cummings Blvd., and my favorite number has always been #16. Well now you know it !

I am writing this email from Chardon tonight. Dad, Aunt Patty and I came here Friday night. Dad and Ed worked hard outside getting the flower beds cleaned up and cutting up a tree that had fallen down. I worked on getting the wallpaper down in the master bath. Lets just say we all worked hard the last two days. Dad went back to Hammondsport tonight and he was so tired and sore he could barely walk. I just hate this. We have really been thru it with having two houses on our backs. My faith gets shook up every now and then, this being one of them I suppose. I generally have a positive outlook and try to remain strong ... but sometimes it just gets the best of you. Keep us in your prayers. Here we are in our 50's and I feel like we are working harder than we ever have ... with no breaks ... and stress piled high. Maybe with some extra prayer power coming from all around ... things can turn around. We need this house to sell. But if I know one thing, I need to get back into the right thinking and do what ever it takes and keep the faith.

"Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory." -- Norman Vincent Peale

Dad and I signed up with a company (today) that will place a 'manager person/family in our home here in the near future. The people/person will live here and take care of the house, keep it in top shape for showings, and pay the utilities. They set the house up with nice furniture ( staging it ) so it will show nicely too. So Ed will start to look for his own house as early as tomorrow. Hopefully he will find a great deal on a great house to buy. Keep him in your prayers too.

I remain here this week ( in Chardon ) to continue working on things. Painting rooms, Angela's old bedroom, the craft room and the master bath. I have my work cut out for me this week. I called grandma and asked her to come and get Aunt patty one day this week, so that it will be one less responsibility for me for a little while. I will get her back again after the baby shower in May.

I hope you are all doing well. I love you and am looking forward to seeing all of you soon ! This is going to be such a wonderful trip, heading to Charlotte, for Dad and I. Not only will we get to see Angela on her birthday, but we will be with all of you ... together !!! Dad said he thinks that we have not "all" been together at one time, since Sept 2007 ? Can that be right ??!!!! That is not good ! We must make sure time does not pass us by without getting together with each other.

Remember, today ' Palm Sunday, is the start of Holy week. Easter Sunday will be upon us in one week. Go to church if you can. It is such a great way to celebrate this Easter season.

"Each day provides its own gifts."-- American Proverb

Love and Blessings to each of you, Momma G