Losing loved ones

Dying is a part of life, but it really, really stinks. My dad is losing his fight for life since having a stroke Monday night. He's had a good and long life (he's 75) and he's worked so hard and done so much for his family. I already miss being able to call him and hear his voice. He's not much of a talker, especially on the phone. When I call, if he answers, he says hi and not much else before calling for my mom. But I've never doubted his love for me. His job as a truck driver kept him on the road 6+ days a week during my childhood, including nights. It was hard on everyone to have him be gone so much but I guess we learned to get along without him. But we always knew he was there and knew he'd come home. He has driven at least 4 million safe miles....and that's a conservative number--and only while working, that doesn't count personal driving.

His is Polish and thinks Polack jokes are pretty funny...although he thinks almost everything is funny. This apple didn't fall far from that tree! All I can think about is that my sister Linda is going to be there for him and he's been waiting an awfully long time to see her again!!

Ok, I'm bumming myself out here...

Christmas Miracle

The Sunday before Christmas we went to church and found out that our neighbors (a family in our ward) lost their home the previous night to a house fire. We felt so bad for them, especially a few days before Christmas, an already stressful time for many parents. They do have insurance (thankfully) and hopefully the insurance company treats them right, but almost everything was lost. I can't imagine. We drove past the house and took a look at it on the way home from church and couldn't help but cry, the sight was overwhelming. While nobody was physically hurt, I just can't imagine what rebuilding will be like with so much instant loss.

But what happened next warmed my heart tremendously. A neighbor, who has a very large property, recently built a new home behind their original one and offered up their empty, older home to this family. With a home to work with, family, friends and church members went to work. By 9 pm Sunday evening, the family had a home to stay in. The home was freshly cleaned, the fridge, cupboards, and pantry stocked with basic food items, and there were beds and blankets in every bedroom. Bathrooms were stocked with toothbrushes, shampoo, razors, shaving cream, soap, towels, and even "Bath and Body Works" hand soaps. (Women know what matters~!) Somebody brought crayons and Christmas coloring books for the kids (2 boys). The house smelled of homemade bread from the oven. There was not a lot of furniture in each room, but enough to welcome the family into their temporary home when they were ready, including a dining room table and chairs, complete with a holiday tablecloth and centerpiece! There was even a huge entertainment center--complete with a big-screen tv--in the family room and a tv and dvd player (with remotes!) in the master bedroom. Clothing that could be saved from their home had been washed, pressed, and hung in the closets. Burned-out light bulbs were replaced with fresh ones. I think this family now has a year's supply of toilet paper, almost every family that came to help brought some! The house was even decorated for Christmas. This was just 24 hours after the fire.


There is so much need in the world that at times it's easy to feel helpless~ or like our little bit of help we could offer won't even start to make a difference. But when an opportunity is right in front of you and you know and see the good that can be done it's a different story. To me, this was a real Christmas miracle.

I hope that everyone is having a great Christmas and will have a fun and happy New Year's Eve celebration. I hope that 2009 is one of your best years yet!! Many of you are just plain due a great year according to the law of averages!