Paula Created A Poster of All our Family Fathers

Kevin, Bill, Joel, Larry

Dan C., Dan M, Bud, Monte, Bob, Dave

Kirk, Steve, Terry, Jon, Dean

Jim E., Vance, Ken, Paul, Buddy III

Pray for our Fathers!  Our Nation Needs YOU.

Father's Day at Our House

Everything is pretty 'low-key'  at our house these days.  A higher priority is getting the Papa back to a healthy and vibrant way of life.  So we needed to make a decision how to celebrate Father's Day.    Sommer had posted a beautiful tribute to her Daddy on her blog with a recipe for grilled baby back ribs.    http://aspicyperspective.blogspot.com/2010/06/honoring-dad.html#more     Ken said he would like to have the ribs on Father's Day.  Dave and April offered to prepare the recipe and we would have dinner at our house on Sunday.    It was Dave's special day also, so we did not want him to work so hard but he wanted to make the ribs.     The plan was that I would do the other items.  I made Ciao Chow Linda's Goat Cheese Tart for an appetizer.    Dave prepared the ribs ahead of time, simply grilling them right before dinner.   Of course there was the traditional coleslaw, corn on the cob, greenbeans for fixens.   And April made a beautiful dessert.             The children sat around and talked about special memories of their Dad.     The special things he made for them, the 'failed' camping trips when the Mommie did not know how to camp properly.   Those nights when they got up to go to the bathroom and this white thing was floating through the house and they thought their Dad was a ghost.    April worked so hard to make it a special day for everyone, including myself.  She insisted on cleaning up the kitchen so I would not be so tired.    Thank you April for being my wonderful caring daughter.  You are a gift from God and an inspiration to me.  As precious as the memories may be, this is not the most important part of Father's Day.   The Father can only be as good and loving and caring as the relationship that the man has with his God -- His Heavenly Father.   Ken had a wonderful Dad, Basil Byron Scrivner who was a God loving Man and example for his only son.  And I am blessed to share a life with that man who loves his God, loves his children and loves his wife.  Thank you, Ken for being a wonderful Father.    Your children may have not liked the 'rod of correction' but they do rise up to honor you.

Father's Day at Our House Part II

BEAUTY AND PLEASURE HAVE THEIR PRICE

When we moved into our home some 15 plus years ago, there was this little tree planted by our front door in the middle of a flower bed.  I love trees and I had to look up in the 'tree dictionary' to find out what kind it was.  It turned out to be a Golden Rain Drop Tree.  Today, it is getting too big to be so close to the house...but trees are special to me.   I never could get flowers to grow in the flower bed under the tree....I tried every shade plant I could find and nothing ever did well.   So I had Ken build a little deck around the tree and put the wrought iron furniture we inherited from our Mother on the deck.

But we still have a mega challenge.  The Raindrop trees are beautiful all over the city at this time of the year.  They are round and topped with golden flowers. 

As lovely as our  Golden Rain Drop Tree is, it is so messy, so dirty.  Those lovely golden flowers it produces drop and drop and drop and drop. The wooden deck Ken built is a dirty mess and the iron furniture is a mess as well.  So one wonders, are dirty trees worth the mess?   They are for me.  I just keep sweeping the deck and it never looks like it has been swept.  We have lots of dirty trees.  The native pecan trees drop nuts for the squirrles to bury so that baby pecan trees pop up everywhere in the spring.  And baby golden raindrop seedlings have to been pulled out.

We also have a huge sycamore on the north front side of the house and I love it.  It drops a million fuzzy balls every year.  Ugly balls to contrast the beautiful giant-sized sycamore leaves to offer us shade from the hot Oklahoma sun.

So today is June 12 and here is our front flower bed before the official first day of summer has arrived.  The coneflowers are doing well and finally pink.  In the top right picture on the lower left corner, you can see the Mexican Petunias coming along.  They don't come back in the right places but I cherrish them anyway.  It reminds me of parents and their children, children don't always do what you wanted or ordered, but you love those kids no matter.  And the job of teaching structure and control to your children is challenging but well worth the investment....  So is the garden.

Ken is enjoying the yard this year in a very different way.  He is not able to do the yard work he so loves to do.   Yet he loves the beauty and  is accepting that others can do the work and life is beautiful even when others do it in a different way. 

We  have our dirty trees and we love them.   And we accept that our beloved and much appreciated perennials return in unusual places.    With much gratitude we enjoy the elephant ears which survived a very cold winter without having to dig them up last fall.    Thank you  GOD for giving us gardens to enjoy, and thank you for the lesson in life that we learn from your creation.

My Green Thumb

Cilantro is one of my favorite green herbs.  I love the taste and I love the smell.  So I bought a package of cilantro/corriander seeds, filled a planter with potting soil ... and this is what is coming up.  Anybody know if these are edible?    The plant itself is the corriander and the leaves are the cilantro.   But I am growing a mushroom garden and I don't think I will try eating them.  What should I do? 

A Weekend while visiting the Sick Papa ... who is better now that they are here.

Joel and Blakely have a snuggle together in the hot tub while Papa does his water therapy.   This little swim suite has been worn by seven granddaughters starting with Kayla, Lily, Hailey, Rosie, Ava, Sydney and the last one now, Blakely

Blakely and Babe play tug of war.  They both had such a fun time together.

Mama Jennifer is getting read for an evening out but gives Blakely a good by snuggle.

Daddy Joel is conducting the wedding this evening.   The Quick Trip attendent loved Joels cuff links -- thought he must be a limo driver.  When they got home, they had quiet a story about the wedding experience.

I remember this exact same facial expression on O'Neal.

Playing with the Baby Monitor.

Three cousins on a swing with the Babe.  Rosemary, Sydney and Lily.

A Night Out

Joel came to Tulsa to preform a wedding of a high school buddy. This is Jennifer and Joel right before they left for the wedding.

Syblings getting together.

Kayla, Devin and Hailey have a play date together.  Kayla's parents are out celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.   Kayla also got to have a slumber party with Hailey.And Kayla even took this beautiful photo of Bonita with her two children.

Fifty-Three Years of Marriage

Today is our 53rd Wedding Anniversary.  It was a busy day but not a festive one.  Ken was scheduled to have lab work, the air conditioning people were coming out to service our unit for the summer season, I had a couple interpreting jobs and the Home Health Nurse was scheduled to come check on Ken.  Also, the Occupational Therapist showed up to do an evaluation.   So see what I mean....not exactly a party.    ......................................................................However, when all the required activities were completed, there was a small nap time and then we drove to Fish Daddys for our Anniversary Dinner.   With the Diabetes diet which Ken is finally following, the grilled fish, cole slaw and green beans were  ligitimate food choices.      Good thing for both of us, we like seafood.    

The desert was not this one in the photo but was berries and we loved it.  We ended the evening with a trip to the hot tub.   Happy Anniversary to us -- we are celebrating life today and living one day at a time.