A Cup of Coco

The kids are here tonight.  Coco is in full form.  The picture above was taken on vacation.  I told her not to get her dress wet.  She pulled it right up.  She makes me laugh.
This is a follow up to Tru Stories blog about Coco and her "dead Dad."  I think I figured out where it came from.  Tink loves to talk about relationships.  Popop is my husband.  I am her Mom's Mother.  Uncle is my son.  This got Tink wondering about where Popop and my parents are.  We explained they died.  Randomly sweet little Tink would walk up and say, "you don't have a Mom because she is dead."
Saturday the girls were here for some bonding time.  We were eating lunch.  Popop was sitting next to Coco.  Tink asked where Popop's Mom was.  (She loves to remind us we do not have parents anymore.)  Popop started talking about heaven.  All of a sudden Coco says, my  odder Dad is dea.....she looks up and says Jeremy Connor.  I could tell it hurt her a bit to not talk about her dead dad.  I think that might answer her obsession with having a dead dad.  Why didn't she have anoder Mom?  I'm sure because even at 3 she knows her Mom is irreplaceable. 
As I write she is performing for her Popop.  First she did her gymnastics, next dancing.  Now she is singing one of her made up songs.  The best part is she wiggles her hips.  This song is called, I wish I was......  It started, I wish I was as tall as my Mom.    Now it has gone to I wish I was...(anything she can see).  She also said, she wished she was as tall as her Dad. 
Last week her word was actually.  She tried to use it in every sentence.  She did a good job.  Tonight she has been using the word, dear.  We were playing with stuffed animals.  She said, I won't be your friend anymore.  I said, that is not nice.  Don't say that.  She said, you are not dear to me anymore.  When I was making her peanut butter and jelly for dinner she asked me, did your dear like peanut butter and jelly.  I said, what dear?  She said, your dear daughter. 
It is time for me to give my dear Coco a bath.  She really needs a bath.  She is dirty.  She has gross stuff in her hair.  That is what she said to persuade me.  She makes me laugh.
Nothing like a cup of my Coco to end a long day. 

Katie's Wahl

I am not going to lie, I do not love this mural.  I am not into the Picasso "like" paintings.  This mural I like.  I hope too see it someday.  One of the things that amazes me about Kate's story is how many people have been touched by it.
I am not gifted in using my blog site.  If I knew how to use a pointer, it would be much easier.  In the picture above, it has the name of this mural.  It is, Katie's Wahl.  Above the lips there are three blue images.  Look at the long blue line to the left.  To the right of that in the box, it says, "Katie's Wahl."  Below is the story on how it came about.  The story appeared on the artist's flicker site and in the Oak Park newspaper.  I cannot read this article without tears.  It is hard for me to see and read about my brother's deep grief. 

The artist is, Jonathan Franklin.  This is the story.

So why the title ‘Katie’s Wahl’? An older man had been watching me work on the mural from across the street. After a short time he approached me and asked if he could speak to me. As climbed down the ladder I could see that he appeared to be somewhat distraught as if on the verge of tears. I asked him if he was all right and he apologized and seemed to be looking for the right words to reply. Then after a few moments he confided that his daughter had suffered a devastaing accident just a few days earlier and was currently in the hospital. I asked what happened and he told me. Apparently she had been injured in a diving accident and was now completely paralyzed. He kept apologizing for his obvious grief and I felt completely at a loss for words.
Then as he apologized again he made an unusual request. Somewhat embarrassed he asked me if I might be able to insert his daughter’s name somewhere in the mural. I vacillated for about half a second. "Of course," I said, "of course. Yes." He told me that her name was Katie. As he left I asked him what his last name was and he said Wahl. Katie Wahl.
So I carefully inscribed her first name at a spot about eye level. But as I studied it I realized that I should probably include her last name as well. And then as I looked at both names together something clicked. Suddenly the mural took on a whole new significance.
I don’t know this young woman but I decided to dedicate the mural to her. I decided to call it ‘Katie’s Wahl.’

July Page Turner Meeting

Hydrangea is Dispassion

This month we read The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  The was Jersey Girls pick and she knocked it out of the park.  This book was rated a solid 4 by the group.  Old Lady I am rounding your ridiculous 3.75 up.  I am not a mathematician.  I am a reader.
We ate at our "go to" place.  It has round tables, alcohol, and anything a person could want to eat.  All of us were in attendance.  We were all happy to finally read a book we all enjoyed.  It was time for a strong read.
This book jumped from present to past.  Normally, I do not like books that do that.  This book I really enjoyed.  The story was unique.  It gave us so much to discuss.  Victoria was raised in foster homes and had so many issues from it.  She had only know one woman that treated her with love and respect.  That relationship ended badly.  Victoria had no self esteem.  This is the story of her aging out of foster care and finding herself, her self-worth.  There were Page Turners that wanted to skip ahead to see how it was ging to turn out.  We rated our discussion a strong 4 too.
This book will not disappoint.
It was a nice evening.  Wish I would have seen the double rainbow!  Just glad it rained. 

Half-Way

Today I finished my 50th book.  I am behind the reading schedule that I set for myself.  I wanted to read two books a week.  I have not keep up with that.  I am pleased to be at 50 books at this point.  It is not just the number I am pleased with.  I feel like I am reading some interesting books.  Reading The Hunger Game series show how much I can step out of my comfort zone.  I have read some light reads for fun.  I read The Great Gatsby a book that somehow I had not read in all these years.  I am using my Kindle.  Trying not to buy as many regular books.  I did manage to get a bag of used books that I am slowly working my way through.  I also donated a few bags of books for a charity sale. 
I have not read a fantastic book like, The Help or The Shack yet.  Hope that comes along soon.  Looking forward to my next 50 books for the year.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

the first emotions of love

declaration of love

I love books and I love flowers.  Jersey Girl picked The Language of Flowers for The Page Turners July book.  We meet next week so I cannot go into details with my review.  I find it interesting that the first flowers ever brought to me by my now Hubby were lilacs, followed by tulips.  I will now  become obsessed by the meanings of flowers.

anger

Very odd to me that peony stands for anger.  They are so beautiful.  They smell heavenly.  Maybe anger came from the ants.  If you were angry at someone you could give them a bouquet of flowers and their house would be filled with ants.  I love peonies so much I bring them in my house anyway.  I just kill the ants as they come out of the bouquet.

you are perfect-but pineapple is not a flower in my world

orange roses - fascination

pale peach - modesty

red rose - love

pink rose - grace

yellow rose - infidelity

I always thought yellow rose meant good-bye.  Instead it means infidelity which means good-bye I just didn't tell you first.  Pale peach roses are one of my favorite colors.  That stands for modesty.  That makes sense.  I am a very modest person.  I love all roses. The more unusual color, the better.

Two themes in the book are flowers, obviously, and foster care.  

Cannot give you my rating until after the meeting.  The book should provide a great discussion.   It is a good read!  Give it a try.





More of the Wedding

The bridesmaid dresses were beautiful.  This is Kate's oldest brother.  He has really stepped up to the plate for Kate.  Her entire family has.

 This is Kate's Mom.  She threw her dress on in the restroom outside of the room.  She got dressed about 15 minutes before the ceremony.  The time a Mom would normally being primped up, she was making sure Kate was fine.  She is a strong woman.  She is in major Mom mode.  Anyone hurts her daughter, they will need to go through her.  First thing the morning of the wedding day, Dee had take a taxi to a clinic to get seen and medicated for bronchitis.  I was four when she married my brother.  I am glad to be able to support her through this time.  She is an amazing woman.  Could be where Kate gets some of her strength.  The three boys are her grandsons walking her down the aisle. 

 This picture shows Kate wearing down.  It was midway through the pictures.  She was getting cold.  (Her body does not regulate temperature correctly.)  Soon after this I went and found a nurse to bring Kate pain medication.  She got a second wind after that.

 This picture is very sad to me.  This is where Kate & Jeremy should have been dancing.  They love music.  They attend music festivals, all the time.  It is a shared passion.  I am sure the original song they planned to dance with was entirely different. 
The best man played the music.  There were quite a few tears during this.  I cried because I did not get to see my big brother have his moment.  I know he wanted to have his father/daughter dance.  He has been able to give his daughter a good life.  Now he gives his time.  A few nights a week he stays with Kate.  He covers her if her skin feels cold, he uncovers her if she is hot, he makes sure she is rolled, and he patiently talks her through some hard times.  My brother is a leader.  He built a successful company.  He likes to run things.  He likes to solve problems.  He wants to know his family is well taken care of.  All of a sudden he has lost his role.  He not only has to turn his daughter over to another man, he has to do it during the most horrific time of her life.  It is not an easy time.
Kate not only has the strength for facing this challenge, she has the strength to face her Dad and tell him when he needs to step back.  She is teaching him a new language.  Instead of you need, or you should, she is teaching him; I think or my opinion.  I say good luck with that.

 This is some of my family chatting after the ceremony.  Not as many smiles as would normally be seen at a celebration.  There were moments we struggled.

 Here are the men.  They were referred to as "the blue shirts."  Notice the one man with a shirt that does not match, that is Kate's other brother.  His shirt did not fit.  He complained to me.  I said, if it is the only problem that comes up today, it will be a good day.  This wedding really came together in a week.  I don't think the groom found the shirts and ties until a few days before the wedding.  In order to get permission to marry in the rehab institute, they had to meet with the hospital's counselor, they had to talk to administration, they had to counsel with the Pastor.  Once they had all the permission they needed paperwork had to be faxed to the Circuit Clerk's office in Chicago.  More paperwork had to be faxed.  The groom had to call the circuit clerk's office and get ugly with them about wheeling his fiancee into the office to get their license.  Finally the circuit clerk made an appointment to go have the paperwork signed by Kate & Jeremy and their license issued.  With something that was rigged up, Kate was able to sign her name.  My point is, nothing was easy about this wedding.

 That makes me have goosebumps when I see this picture.  The moment they were introduced as Mr. and Mrs.  Notice the pastor smiling.  He does not perform many ceremonies.  He is the pastor for the rehabilitation institute.  He was not the man that was suppose to marry him.  He was the man that was meant to marry him.  His words were so beautiful.

 This is one of Kate's best friends.  She is making sure Kate does not need anything.  She is the person that dove off the boat at the same time as Kate.  She is struggling with guilt.  This is another reality of Kate's life. 

I am relieved today that Kate had her day.  I am relieved that it was filled with so much love and joy.  After the wedding, the reception, the clean-up, we were able to steal my brother and sister in law away for a couple of drinks.  Talk to them quietly.  Remind them they are always in our thoughts.  Remind them how many people care about Kate.  I talked about all people praying for Kate.  My brother replied, if mere numbers of prayers could cure Kate, she would be cured.  That is true.  We also talked about not getting to know the big plan. 
Now our beautiful Kate is married to the man of her dreams.  They can concentrate completely on Kate's rehabilitation.  This how their life together will begin.  It is not the honeymoon to Jamaica they planned.  They are getting good at handling the bumps and curves in the road.  Keep those prayers coming.

The Wedding

This wedding was one of the most meaningful weddings I have ever attended.  Today was the original wedding date.  It was scheduled to be in Galena.  Instead it was in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.  The staff was so excited about having a wedding.  People kept looking into the room to see how it looked.  The arch was made by Jeremy's Step-Father.  All the flowers were done  free from a friend of a friend.  The room was decorated by friends.

Look at the love on Jeremy's face.  All day his face lit up whenever he looked at Katie.

 I have never seen this done at a wedding before.  Kate wove ribbons together to create ropes.  Each rope represented a strength. One was faith, one was peace.  As their best man, and bridesmaids wrapped the ropes around the hands, the minister talked about what it represented.  After it was done, their friends slowly slid the ropes off.  Now they will have this to remind them of promises they made on their wedding day. 
The service was so special.  The Pastor works at the Rehab Institute.  He made the ceremony personal.  Several other patients attended the wedding.  Staff organized and served the food.

 This is my family.  Minus my husband who stepped outside and missed the family picture.  Nice!

 Look at how beautiful Kate is.  A friend did her hair.  Not the hairdo she practiced.  That had to be altered after the accident.  The dress is not the dress she originally bought.  It was a beautiful dress.  Four staff members helped put the dress on Kate.  They wanted her to look perfect.  Someone came and did her make-up.  It was perfect too.

People that are paralyzed have to take pressure breaks.  They have to change position, taking the pressure off of their bottoms.  This is to keep from getting sores.  As soon as possible after the ceremony Kate joined her friends for pressure breaks.  There were five patients at the wedding.

The bridesmaid dresses were gorgeous.  I did not get the colors when she told me navy & lime green.  She had a peacock theme.  That brought it all together.  The girls had peacock feathers in their hair.  Looked great.  Love the flowers too.

 One of the bridesmaids wrote a song for Jeremy & Kate.  So many personal things in the service.

 I am sure you want more pictures.  I will put some more up tomorrow.  Now I need to get some sleep.  It was an exhausting day.  Did some crying!  Some out of sadness, most from joy.  This is a blessed couple.  I can say that even with the bride in a wheelchair wearing a neck brace.  So many people love them.  They are the golden couple amongst their very large, very close group of friends. More pictures soon.