for anyone who has lost someone this holiday...

Our Family Christmas Card 1955...(yep, I am the baby girl)....

For any of you that have lost anyone this holiday season....may you be able to put one foot in front of the other and walk ......

may you find the moments to remember and smile that smile that only you and your loved one would understand...

may you find special moments of peace while you are remembering....

and may you take joy in what you have around you now......today...

for what you have with you today....and for memories...that will never leave you

cathi

The update and passing of my mom...

Old Photos of Fran......my beloved mom

After the last post, I had just run home to change clothing, my daughter and I had been at her bedside ...After posting, the phone rang and my daughter told me she had taken a turn for the worse.

For the next 2 hours we were in her room with soft lights and classical music. We were able to caress her hair, telling her how much we loved her, and pray thankful prayers with her...

it was a room filled with peace and love...

She breathed her last in that room of love....and I know that is a gift not just to her but to us as well. just as I was able to tell her again how much i loved her..she tilted her head slightly towards me and died.

At this moment the grief is so deep, that I find sleeping difficult...but I know that she lived a rich full life and living that life well is the lesson she taught us...embracing the moments we have together is something that I learned this year...as this past year of difficulty was a true gift of close moments with a mother and a daughter.

Thanks for listening....

cathi

Congestive Heart Failure & a great momma

Frannie

I want to apologize for any of you out there that read this blog for photos..

I had SO many big plans for the Christmas season..teaching how to do ornaments and pillows and all sorts of cool decorating things with all those wonderful photos...

and then ..when i came home from france..my 91 year old momma (who i have talked about in other posts) got very ill and was sent to the hospital.

That was at the end of October.....today, December 9th, she was just placed in hospice and i, as the daughter who is the caregiver, had to sign all those forms that make you just want to cry.

She has been an exceptional mom, was married over 59 years, lived in the same home for over 60 years. She has been a great example, of a strong independant woman who loved her husband and her family, and still carved out her own niche in life. I will miss her more than words.

I opened up a scripture today in the Bible that said:

Ecclesiastes 7: 1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

My mother has been a fine perfume..

for old photos..memories...lives well spent...and the tears that come from that along the way

cathi