My Dad...

It's been a month today since my Dad passed away.  In some aspects it feels like it was just yesterday that we were called early in the morning to come to the nursing home but on the other hand it feels like an eternity.  There have been some things to take care of, thank you notes to write, friends to touch base with...all things that need to be done.  We have settled my Mom at our house for the time being and are trying to find the right balance with that.

My brother and I both spoke at my Dad's funeral.  It was a tough thing to do, but I am so proud of what both of us had to say.  I thought I would share what I said, especially for my friends that weren't able to be there.

Here goes...

Thank you very much for coming this morning to celebrate the life of my Dad, Al Hall.  When Pastor Don said his typical service lasts about 45 minutes, I thought to myself, how do we condense the life of a man who never, ever met a stranger.  But, we will do our best.

There are 3 main things I want to share that my Dad taught me.  The first is, do something in life that you enjoy.  On July 17, 1939, when my Dad was 10 years old, about the age of my son Cameron, he attended his first baseball game.  It was in  Cleveland, the Indians lost to the New York Yankees.  To hear my Dad tell the story it was magical.  The grass was the greenest he had ever seen, he rode the train from Akron to Cleveland, he saw Bob Feller pitch, there were at least 5 future Hall of Famers in the game.  That day probably help to cultivate my Dad's love of baseball, his love of trains and his love of sports.  In doing something that he loved, he worked for many years in college athletics.  I remember thinking for many years that my Dad had the coolest job ever.  When Dale and I were young he often took us early before a game started.  We would roller skate in the basement hallways of the field house, collect tickets, sell programs, pop popcorn, we did many odd jobs.  We got to travel all over the Midwest to football and basketball games.  We always did it as a family and I probably thought for a long time that every kid got to go to work with their Dad.  I love watching many different kind of sports to this day and sports is kind of the love language of our family.  My Dad had a job he thoroughly enjoyed and I loved that about him.

The second thing I learned from my Dad was devotion.  Devotion to things he believed in: never wear a hat inside and especially not at the table eating.  Never end a sentence with a preposition.  Never chew gum with your mouth open.  No t-shirts to school.  Learn how to drive a stick shift.  But the devotion that I witnessed myself was his devotion to our family.  My Dad had pretty high expectations for us.  He always wanted us to try our best.  Dale has certainly lived up to this, I am still "working" on myself.  My husband Mike loves the story I mistakenly told him many years ago about my dad having me register for an arraigned class at Ashland that he could offer me to help boost my GPA.  I did actually do work for the grade, Mike, but it also might have helped pad my GPA a bit.  It might have been only slightly unethical, but I really needed the A.  My Dad was always helping me to succeed and was my cheerleader for life.  He always told me that I was a great Mom.  I had the best examples in him and my Mom.  If we need to define devotion my parents picture would be in the dictionary.  My Dad treated my Mom better than anyone in the world.  He was her eyes and ears, he was always patient and he loved my Mom very much.  Saturday would have been their 46th wedding anniversary and we can all consider ourselves blessed for their example in our lives.  Mom, everyone knows how much Dad loved you.  And they know how much you loved him.

The last thing I learned from my Dad was a love for our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He had a faith that stretched very deep.  He had a love of sharing his faith with anyone who would listen.  He had a way of mentoring those who were in need.  He rolled his sleeves up and was a worker around this church whether it was teaching Sunday School, driving us to a youth event, representing the church as a Lay Leader at Lakeside, helping to write the church's history, my Dad did a lot of service here.  And he loved every minute of it and felt it was his service an an honor to our God.  I'm not sure as a a teenager I fully appreciated my Dad as my high school Sunday School teacher, but looking back it really was an instrumental part of my faith journey.  This church and it's people in it helped me to become the person I am today.  And I thank you for that.

I can't help but think of a familiar bible verse that I have been using quite a bit lately.  It is from Proverbs 3:5-6.  It says, Trust in The Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  This last year has been pretty challenging for our family.  But when we needed it, we leaned hard.  People prayed for my Dad and I know he fly the presence of the prayers and the Holy Spirit.  And because of my Dad's faith, his strength and his convictions I know that he has met the ultimate victory.  I know that he is whole again.

If you knew my Dad you know that he loved history.  He loved to learn about it and share what he knew about it.  My Dad passed away last Friday on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the Invasion of Normandy during Operation Overlord.  It started on June 6, 1944.  General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "The free men of the world are marching together to victory.  I have full confidence in their courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.  We will accept nothing less than full victory."  And on Friday my Dad met his full victory with Jesus Christ.

You will be truly missed, Dad, but I will do my best to honor your memory.  Your grandchildren have great memories of fun times with you and they will always remember you with love.

And I will always be your Bether.

This man melts my heart...

and loves his children so very, very much!

Happy Father's Day, Mr. Shook!

We love you!

Way behind, but turning 9...

Oh goodness, where has the time gotten to with keeping tracking of monumental things in life?  Our lives were blessed for the better when our precious Molly was sent to us on Friday, May 20, 2005.  I can distinctly remember the feeling I had when I found out that our second child was a little girl.  Over the moon I tell you!  Molly has always been a joy and I am so glad to be her Mom.

Such a cutie at 1 year old!

4 year old Cheerleader

School Carnival

Kindergarten

Second grade

Summer 2013

We love you, Molly.  So glad that you are now 9!!!  You are a beautiful girl inside and out!

It's time again to celebrate...

My favorite boy in the middle of a Cameron sandwich turned

10

in January!

It was great fun with a Minute It, to Win It party at the school gym with 10 boys.  The best line of the night, when we were seriously losing control of the party, was by a friend who is in Fifth grade.  He said, "Mrs. Shook, this is what happens when you get together a bunch of Fourth graders."  Mike and I still laugh about that line.  It was classic!

Mike and I are so blessed to have Cameron as our son.  He has a passion for many things but mostly he loves Mindcraft, always his Legos, books and his sisters.  He is an all-around great kid who never gives us a minute of trouble.  In the off chance that he is a little bit obstinate he almost always ends up telling us before we could ever find out.  He wouldn't be a great criminal.

God gave us Cameron to break us in gently as parents.  And it worked, because who else would try it two more times??!!  We are blessed to have Cameron in our lives.

I haven't felt the need to blog in a while, actually quite a while.  I had felt like the ability to be myself had been damaged by some who didn't know me or appreciate me as myself.  You know what I say to that?  If it was appropriate to type I would do so, but let's just say I'm thinking it in my head.  Never ever let people make you question who you are.   It's OK for people to not like you.  But, it's not OK for people to belittle who you are.  Who you are is between you and God.  Period.

So, I'm going to try and be back!

My baby turned 6...

I'm in denial I think...

our baby is now 6...

and she is so full of life!

Amanda is such a love to her family...

and we cherish her very much...

even when we see this...

one girl who is so feisty!

Amanda, you are a beautiful girl on the inside and out that keeps us on our toes and gives the biggest, best hugs...

Enjoy being 6 Miss Amanda!

We love you very much!

Happy belated birthday to Molly...

This beautiful little baby now turned 8!!

Very hard to imagine that it's been 8 years since she arrived.  I didn't believe at first that a little girl had been sent to us.  I thought for sure Cameron was getting a brother.  But, alas, it was a mini Me!  Although she's truly more her Daddy.

Always a smile and always big blue eyes.

Fun loving and full of zest.

Serious but yet smiling.

Such a cutie!

A dancer girl.

Doesn't mind a little mud.

A little mother to all.

And a good friend to many.

Always have a big heart my special first girl!

We love you, Molly!

Familiar faces...

Yesterday I ran into Wal-Mart after work.  It was a quick trip with the kids.  A woman was standing by the jewelry counter with a friend and she said hello to me.  I said hi back and kept walking.  Then I stopped and did a double take because I knew that I knew her from somewhere.  She had turned as well and she asked me if she knew me from somewhere as well.  Instantly I knew her face and realized that she was one of the Child Life Specialists we had met on our trips to the Children's Hospital with Molly.  She is a very kind woman with a big smile.  I will never forget her.  That part of this story isn't as important as the part I want to share about my feelings after I saw this familiar woman.

You see, it's been 4 years since Molly had so many set backs from surgery complications.  It's hard to realize that she has doubled her life (she was 3 1/2, she now is 7 1/2) since she was in the hospital.  I don't think about it all the time but certain things trigger memories and especially feelings of that time. 

My reflections on that 6 months 4 years ago is still very strong.  I know with even more time it will soften.  And I will always be so very grateful and recognize how very blessed we were to be a success story.  It was a God moment.  I truly know that. 

I try really hard to not talk about it too much.  But I also realize that it is an important part of who I have become, especially as Molly's mom.  I learned that you ALWAYS speak up for your child, you ALWAYS ask for further explanations on things if you don't understand and you ALWAYS tell your children the truth about what is going to happen.  I know many parents believe that sheltering their children from the harsh realities is best but I do not.  No, I don't give the gory details but I do not lie and I do not withhold information.  Both of my parents had serious surgeries when I was a kid/early teenager and they always told my brother and I what was going to happen.  I have always appreciated that my parents were honest and Mr. Shook and I have done the same.

Last week my girl, Molly, was star of the week in her 2nd grade class.  You get to take in show and tell every day for a week.  On the first day Molly took Josh, the dog you get on the pre-op tour when visiting the Children's Hospital.  Molly has loved that dog from day one.  She sleeps with it almost every night.  I asked Molly what she was going to tell her class about Josh.  She said that she would tell them that she got him from the hospital.  The best part to me is that Josh is a part of her life, but she doesn't actually remember being given Josh.  She was too young to really remember.  When you ask her about her hospital experiences she can't really share many details.  Molly remembers getting to watch movies, getting a new set of Polly Pockets, having a catheter.  That's about it.  I find this absolutely perfect.  I am willing to bear all of the feelings we all had during that time myself.  Molly doesn't remember hurting, being scared or being in any pain.  I remember it all. 

And, I am the most proud of how well Mr. Shook and I handled ourselves through the experience.  If you are reading this blog and you are not our family or from the time we lived in Michigan or Ohio we didn't know you 4 years ago.  We had only lived in Illinois a little over 4 months.  I think God has now put people in our path that we can really call friends, but it was just the two of us, our two other children and thank god, my brother and sister-in-law.  We didn't have many to turn to so we turned to each other.  I am so lucky to have Mr. Shook as my rock.  Not just in this situation but every day. 

4 years ago on Valentine's Day Molly had her third surgery in a week and we ate Avanti's carry out in the hospital as our "romantic" dinner.  I will skip the flowers and candy every year just so I don't have to have Valentine's any where but with my family.  God blessed us that Valentine's Day and I will always remember it. 

And, I will try my hardest not to talk about it too much.  But, I make no promises.  It's a part of who I am. 

Enjoy this week of love and family! 

Cameron #9...

 Our first family picture 2004

 Cameron's first birthday

 Cameron's 3rd birthday

 Turning 6

Yesterday my first baby turned 9.

For the first half of the day I was a blubbering mess.

I cried taking him to school.

I cried thinking about this same day 9 years ago.

I called Mr. Shook at work crying.  (Note to self, I don't think he's a fan of that.)  Not that he cared I called crying, I think I made him feel a little teary as well.  Not very global finance-ish.  Mr. Shook talked me off of the ledge.

The thing I couldn't get over for most of the morning was...

HE IS HALFWAY TO 18!!!

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??

These first 9 years have flown by and I know the next 9 will too.

Mr. Shook and I were so very blessed 9 years ago + 40 weeks when we were given the wonderful gift of our first child.  Cameron was the easiest baby ever.  EVER.  He was a joy from his first breath.  He is turning out to be a great kid, who loves his sisters, knows just how to get on their last nerve but is the best of friends with them as well.  Cameron does well in school, tries his best and is learning responsibility.  

Happy, happy #9, Cameron Michael Shook!!

Livestrong...

If you know me very well then you already know about my love affair with sports.  I love watching them and love rooting for them, especially a good underdog story.  I faithfully watch the Super Bowl even if I don't care about any of the teams in the game, I love college football and one of my favorite times of the year is from March Madness to the Masters.  The first 2 days of March Madness are my favorite.  When else can you watch games non stop from noon to midnight?  And they always are very exciting games.  I am also a sucker for the good vs. evil story that is sometimes spun into a sporting event.  Or the little man vs. the giant.  I love for the human interest story that makes some professional athletes seem more like every day people.  The obstacles and challenges that they have had to overcome.  I love it all.

But, one of the things I struggle with is the inappropriate moral values that some of the athletes of today occasionally have.  I don't like it when young people choose to idolize people who have made some really bad choices in their lives but they choose to ignore or not be aware of every day heroes that are in their lives.  

That brings me to someone like Lance Armstrong.  I am not a follower of cycling.  I don't even understand why the Tour de France is days and days long and how the switching of the yellow jersey means something.  But, I know who Lance Armstrong is.  And, I know what he started his own foundation called Livestrong.  And, I know that it is backed by Nike.  Cha-ching.  Allegedly Lance Armstrong has confessed to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs while competing in cycling.  This allegation has been going on for years and I'm not sure why Lance decided know to fess up.  I also know that the foundation Livestrong has raised millions, maybe even billions of dollars for cancer research.  I heard on the radio yesterday that even without Lance being the face of Livestrong that their sales only dropped 7%.  

The question I have is simple.

Do we overlook the misconduct that Lance Armstrong did to his body, the sport of cycling, and all the followers of his sport for the huge contribution he has made in the world of cancer research?  Are these two different issues or will eventually American's look past his moral flaws in support of his humanitarian contributions?  Is his name ruined forever or will Lance be able to one day restore it?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I do know one thing. 

Lance Armstrong needs to give Mantei Ta'io a big shout out for being the ultimate diversion in the news.  We may have already forgot about Lance Armstrong's poor choices.

Back on track?...

Was there a month of December??  I think I missed it.  Or at least I missed it in the blogging world.  Oops.

But I'm hoping now to get a little back on track.

We had a very nice Christmas that included a (really) long stay with Mike's parents in Ohio.  We saw other family and the kids got some Aunt/Uncle/Cousin time that they always enjoy.  I really love Mike's family and they are very good people.  When we get together with his extended family it's always a nice visit.  He has a VERY small family, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, 3 cousins...small.  But when we get together it's always a fun time.   We got to see some of my extended family as well and we feel the same about them, too.  We are very blessed to have such wonderful family.

But, the holidays come and go, oh so quickly.  Then it's back to real life.

The kids started school up again on Tuesday and we're back to the routine.

Today I got to do something really special, though.  Today I got to take my friend Becki to her chemotherapy appointment.  Becki first goes for labs, then saw the doctor who gives the a-OK for that day's treatment and then she begins infusion.  There is no rushing through this day.  We were together for 6 hours.  Some of the day was exactly like I envisioned and some was not.  Because Becki already has a port the actual receiving of the drugs wasn't as dramatic as depicted on TV.  I checked it all out, asked what things were, and even tried to figure out if the Taxol she was getting could possibly be from the pharmaceutical company that I worked for many moons ago in Cleveland.  I feel blessed that I was able to spend this time with my friend.  I made a Chick-Fil-A run for us, my first visit ever to one.  What a perfect place to have your first sandwich from Chick-Fil-A...the Illinois Cancer Center!  I started out the day by attending about 45 minutes of my weekly bible study.  It is regularly taught by our previous pastor but he has to be out for a few weeks so our new church pastor filled in.  We were studying some of the psalms and were reflecting how many of them are now songs and hymns.  We even sang some!  When I had to bow out of class Pastor Gary asked me if I had to take off.  I shared that I was leaving to take Becki to her appointment.  He immediately stopped class and we prayed for her.  All my anxiousness was gone and I knew that I could confidently take her to the clinic.  I really appreciated that moment.  Thanks to all who were there this morning for giving me the confidence and strength to be there for my friend.

I think it was one of those God moments.

Thanksgiving is a yummy holiday...

I have to share this.

No, I don't want to super duper embarrass my first born, my little guy, my son.

BUT...this is just too good to pass up.  He makes me smile and laugh all the time.  The things he does are funny and so innocent (the majority of the time).

I have to share his essay from school about Thanksgiving.  Grammar is third grade.

Thanksgiving is a yummy holiday.  I travel to Ohio because that is where my whole family is from.  It takes a long time to get there.  The food is awesome!  Turkey is the best of Thanksgiving.  I meet my uncles and my aunts.  They are fun!  I like Thanksgiving because it is when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean and found indians on the island.  They ate with the indians so that's how  Thanksgiving began.

This essay is a keeper.  My boy is a keeper.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and Christopher Columbus!

For those who have served...

we salute you!

Cameron had to decorate a star for Veteran's Day for school and on it he was to include a person he knows who served in the Armed Forces.  Luckily for him he knows two!  (Actually we have more in our family but the star wasn't that big...)

Thank you to both of  Cameron's Grandfather's for serving in the Army.  Because of the dedication of many, many men and women we are able to live in a country that is free.  We have so many freedoms here in the United States of America.  We need to embrace those freedoms and remember that they didn't come without many sacrifices and many lost lives.

The easiest thing we can say is...thank you!

Smile!...

It was been over a month since I did a blog post.  I felt like I needed to give my writing and posting a break. It's a long story, but I felt like my blog had been violated.  Someone or something was linking some of my blog posts to a site without my permission.  I had to ask for them to be removed and luckily, the person obliged.  I really don't understand their need to link my posts but the hits on my blog when crazy.  There really isn't anything here to read, unless you want to know about what my kids did on a boring summer day, or what we had for dinner one night.  I censor myself ON MY OWN BLOG with the fear of offending someone or something.  This is truly boring reading.  But, don't stop reading, please!!

Since I last posted I've had a birthday, which was very nice.  My parents have moved apartments within their complex (which was no minor undertaking!), we've had Halloween (very fun!).  The regular mundane things.  

Tomorrow we elect a new president or re-elect the one we already have.  I can't remember feeling like any other election has meant or mattered more.  I don't know what to wish for in the outcome.  I just know that I will be glad to have an end to the campaign ads, literature and phone calls.  I pray for our country and it's leadership.

Probably the biggest thing to happen here in a while is this...

The first loss of a front tooth at our house!

This is big news and I marvel at what a cute smile!

Maybe we'll be singing the famous Christmas song after all...

You know you live in a small town when...

You go on a Saturday night and sit in a parking lot of a place that wants to install gutters on  your house, across from the Domino's in town, and they bring you over this...

which is a FREE pizza to sample.  Yes, just for sitting in the parking lot across the street, in the dark.

Because they know that you are waiting for this...

A police and fire truck escort back to town for your 8th grade baseball team who has just won the State Title!  Yes, you are seeing it correct...a escort back into town for the team.  It was so Hoosiers!

How many times have you ever seen something like that, boys?

And behind the school bus were all the parents of the team members and we got to see the TBTKK-mobile!  So glad that Becki Davis got to see Trevor play yesterday.  My sweet friend Becki is between chemotherapy treatments and going yesterday to the games was very important to her.  We are in awe of her strength.  You are kicking this, Becki!

A little DQ to end the very good day.  Mr. Shook ran a half marathon in the morning (which he finished in under 2 hours), Cameron had 2 soccer games, one for his travel team that was very, very hard and a half hour away, and a police escort for the Jr high baseball team.  Only in Morton, Illinois!

Pumpkin Festival 2012...

There's this LITTLE thing in our town called the Pumpkin Festival and it is something that I can hardly describe to you.  

Crazy.

Yep, that about sums it up.

To my Ohio friends and family, remember that thing we called the Lodi Sweet Corn Festival.  Well, let me tell you it doesn't hold a candle to this puppy.  And that Bates Festival we tried to pull off in Seville a time or two, please.  Child's play.  This Pumpkin Festival is the REAL DEAL in the world of festivals.

It's really a fun time and the kids think it ROCKS.

Here's a few photos.  Honestly I forgot to take many.  My pumpkin bad.

Notice the thumbs up the dude is giving

Before the Pumpkin Festival even started the third graders at our school had to produce a pumpkin float replica to be displayed during the festival.  They were judged as a grade and won FIRST PLACE which equals winning cash that the grade will use for a pizza party.  

The theme of this year's festival was Peace, Love and Pumpkins.  

Here's our groovy float...

Then there is the LARGEST parade that I have ever seen that takes place on the Saturday of the festival.  This year the girl's dance studio entered a float for the first time.  It won 3rd place!

 Mr. Shook ran an impressive 10k on Saturday morning before the parade.  Almost 900 people ran the 10k and Mr. Shook finished #225.  Great job, honey!

The pumpkin festival is something that you just have to experience once.  Come and check it out, stay for a visit and let us show you what this town can do.  

It's amazing!!

Another new look...

Sigh.  My baby is growing up even more.  Take a look at what we had to do for Miss Amanda...

Yep, following in the footsteps of her brother and her Mom.  Glasses.

I was very sad at first when we found out she needed them, but I'm better now and she looks awfully stinking cute in them.  Who doesn't think she looks so much like Cameron now?  I was so afraid that they would cover up her big, beautiful eyes.  I will get use to them as she gets use to them as well.

Another example of my little girl becoming a true Kindergartner.

She still gives the best hugs, though.

xoxo