I have been stumped on what to post lately. I could tell you what a wonderful Christmas I had even though I had a really bad cold and Christmas. Plans got switched at the last minuet from my house to my moms. It was great to go to moms house again with my brother and his family. The delicious food with our horse riding friends at Kathy and Jed's bed and breakfast .
http://www.mirrorlakebb.blogspot.com/ .New years eve was a hoot at our friends eating fresh fish cooked out in the implement building. All the great carried in foods and playing games.
I think this will be the best year of my life. 2009 I have a lot to look forward to..
butttttI have never in MY life, known so many young lives tragic endings. Living in a small community where we all know each other or know of each other, good or bad, we are connected in big or small ways.
Thanksgiving day Danni lost her fight to brain cancer. She was 19 years old. I remember cutting her hair. She had a beautiful thick head of hair. Danni had just started spreading her wings. Off to college. Living on her own when she was
diagnosed with a brain tumour. God taking her to heaven on Thanksgiving Day was auspicious.
Dakota, a cute, busy 9 year old died in a tragic sledding accident. He was sledding down a hill in town. Lots of grown ups remember sledding on that very same hill when they were kids. It was icier then usual on that day and he slid too far into the road. He was hit by a car. The lady driving the car lives just down the road and has kids that go to the same school. It is the perfect example of a tragic accident we all wish we could have prevented.
Two Amish boys that live just down the road died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Two brothers, 12 and 14, were found in the pump house of their home, where a gasoline-powered pump to fill a water tank for their horses was at. The two died when carbon monoxide fumes overcame them. We believe one of the boys might have been overcome by the fumes and we believe the twelve year old went down stairs and attempted to rescue the 14 year old brother and at that point he was overcome also.”Police believe a faulty exhaust vent allowed carbon monoxide fumes to leak into the basement.
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/37494269.htmlIt was the first Amish viewing I have attended. The picture is of their house. The tent on the left is were we first entered. This is where the attendees could leave there hats and coats and gather before entering the building where the boys bodies and family were setting. As we entered the building there was a guest register. Then to the right were the coffins. Plain wooden boxes. With a beautiful finished stain that sat on simple wheeled carts that coffins are transported around on. No lining in the coffins. I don't remember that there was a pillow either. The boys were in their Sunday best with fresh Amish hair cuts. Black coats and pants with crisp white shirts. They looked like they were peaceful. As I walked by and looked back I could see their little feet with just dark socks on. It was very cold that day..A tarp was hanging from the ceiling separating them from the rest of the large open building. As we walked between the tarp and the coffins it seemed surreal. As we walked the length of the tarp to the opening at the end of the building we were immediately looking at the boys father and mother setting on a bench along the wall flanked by family beside them and on benches setting in front of them. The line weaved between all the family on both sides all setting in a maze like. My friend is a sister in law to the little boys. It was hard to see them all hurting so.
The basement door to the house was where the food was served for the family and friends. The neighbor families cooked all their meals for them the whole week. Breakfast, lunch and supper. At tables all set and ready for them to set down and be served.
The day of the burial it was the coldest day!! My Amish friend ask if Kenny could get school buses for them to be driven from the house to the cemetery and back again to the house..It was just too cold to even have the horses out in that cold. It took 3 school buses. The buses followed the horse drawn buggies caring the caskets to the Amish cemetery. . Each boy had 6 young people close to their ages to shovel their graves and cover them back up.
A friends granddaughter died. She was just 10 months old. She had heart problems when she was born but seemed to be doing well.
Baby's are so precious...
Then there is Garrett..!!!! What a baby he is.. Garrett is my son and daughter-in-laws nephew. He is 14 months old and just a peach.. Last year at this time he was a very sick little boy. He had heart surgery, kidney surgery, was on a respirator, a feeding tube and one thing lead him to another. We did not know what else could go wrong with him. He had a blood clot in his leg that caused the doctors to have to amputate his foot. All this when he was just months old. He is a miracle baby. Garrett is the happiest baby. He smiles with his whole mouth open and has the most expressive eyes. This baby was given only a 3% chance of living..!!! and he gets healthier by the day...
I pray that you hug your children. You just never know. I hope this will be the last sad post I do. I am praying that I will get more good life stories like Garrett's.. So check back to hear my 2009 good life stories.
This is Rhonda and Brian's German Shepard. The dogs love to run after each other. I didn't get a picture of Kip.
Kenny setting up the generator. Buckston and Chase having lunch.
Serengeti Serena Lodge 
Just out side the window where I am setting here at the computer is a pair of doves making a nest in the tree. I know they mate for life. I think the male and female are constructing the nest together. Back and forth they fly with little pieces of grass and twigs. The light is not right for me to take a good pictures. Doves set outside our house every summer. I think they enjoy watching us as much as I enjoy watching them. The pair set on the wires and watch us in the house. I hope the nest survives and they have little ones. Starlings are setting on the same tree watching. Hope they don't over take the nest. I believe they are morning doves. 
. I could have stayed up 24 hours of each day so that I would not miss a thing. The warm days and cool nights. The noises of the darkness. The lightning in the sky at night. Wondering what was being hunted in the darkness for a midnight meal. One morning Kenny and I got up got dressed. Had our cameras ready and our day pack ready to go. We sat on the bed and wondered is anyone else was ready for breakfast.. just to find our it was 3:30 am...
Will isn't this funny that this is the picture. It is freezing out side and my 4
