Thursday, July 30, 2015

Family Happiness

This last week we got to meet Rebekah!  We love her!  We all enjoyed having her with us ..., but I imagine that Chase was most thrilled about it.


Chase and Rebekah will be married next weekend and their open house will be August 29th.  Hope to see you then!



We also had a Rodeback Family Reunion this last weekend.  We feel that it was a success, thanks to the wonderful friends who shared their personal recreational facilities and family members who attend, assist and support in so many ways.



My parents and their children, minus one unable to attend and one who passed away as a child.


It was a united effort and we enjoyed our time together.



The days were a bit windy and cool, but we still had some great water fun.









Everyone echo'd Ethan's thought as they went down the slide - "That was intense!", "Awesome!", and "Totally Insane!!!!!"




We had a hay ride and toured part of the farm.




We had a talent show that was a fun addition to this years activities.





Evening activities included playing "night games" and a movie.



And, of course, there was food.





It was wonderful to be together with family.  Indeed we missed those not with us, but WE ARE FAMILY, and we love the great moments together ..., whenever we can get them.  We have made some great memories as we have gathered together and they are among our greatest treasures.  As usual, we eventually had to say good-bye, but our joy filled moments will linger on in our hearts and minds, as we live our way to eternity.




Our family is eternal!

Therefore, our happiness is eternal!





Saturday, July 18, 2015

Terry's Cabinet

I call it Terry's cabinet, but it really is my cabinet filled with some of Terry's things.  It was so exciting to have it here.  I had a hard time wanting to go to sleep the evening of the 16th - it had been a good day filled with thoughts of Terry and sharing some precious things with family - I didn't want it to end.  So, when this cabinet came on the 17th it made that day just as exciting.  And today it continues because I am posting about it.  Tomorrow it will be good because I can stand and gaze into this cabinet filled with love and admiration for the man it reminds me of.




This cabinet now stands in the new library. Please overlook the reflection in the glass.  Clutter happens when things get moved around.  And because of all the clutter I couldn't hide well either.



I stuffed this cabinet full of things as quickly as I could because I have such a busy schedule the next few weeks, and with a family reunion here this next weekend I needed to have all the boxes filled with Terry's things out of the way.  So, I may change the arrangement some time, but it won't be for awhile.



There are things from birth to ..., I guess I can say it ..., from birth to death, that belonged to him or tell some of his life story.   Precious things that needed displayed.

I still have things in our bedroom and the office and in our entertainment center, but this is a bunch of other things that I wish I had displayed while he was here.  I really should have.  I just didn't have any more space behind glass doors at the time.

My rearranging things in the house the last few months has created new space that allows this to happen and I love it.  I should have thought of it years ago. These things were just tucked away behind a cupboard door, hard to get to, and he couldn't see or share them easily.  I'm so sorry!


Surely you noticed the Terry Bear!

And, did you notice the glasses?  I had those glasses inside the case and thought they would be perfect on his face.  I love it!
I took a closeup of the bear this morning after I set a rose on his arm - this rose is from the floral arrangement that was on top the casket.  I love it even more now!

FYI - the little car is there because I found it in a suit pocket.  Terry would have his suit pockets full of crumbs, garbage or little things like this car, that the kids would play with at church. Of course these were the older boys younger years.  The younger members of the family didn't get to sit with him at church much because of his callings that kept him on the stand with the bishopric or in the Spanish Branch.


This next photo shows his birth announcement.  

This was attached to a piece of paper and I decided since it was now mine I would remove it from the paper.  I found that it was the announcement that was sent to his grandparents and there is some writing on the back. Due to lack of time, I have not read it all yet, but I plan to.  I also found a start of a life history that his mother had began for him many years ago.  It reminded me of one my mother did for me when I was in college, due to a request from one of the professors.  I'll read that sometime too.
I love the Nova keys! He spoke of that car - his first I believe, and it is fun to see them there.  I have seen all of this stuff in here and he has shared a little about some of it, so as I see it I can almost hear him telling me again.  I don't really hear it, but I can remember that we did talk about it and I can feel his excitement or enjoyment as he did talk about these things.


He had a little date book that he had written in.  Not all pages were filled, but this one caught my eye. I know he was a good worker.  He was not afraid to work.  This page shares his thoughts on that subject.  There was a similar one in his missionary journal too.

"Worked today
be ye not idle"






The lady bucket, with a few things inside.
Picture of BJo with her dad at a daddy daughter party.  The picture in the back is from a friend - the story is a bit lengthy to add here, but it is a memory that touches my heart.



Radios and phones - it's fun to see how times have changed with those.
FYI - the Hearts and Minds page is from an Ensign (Church magazine) and the photo is of one of Terry's ancestors.  It was fun to see there.



Hats - he kinda liked hats.

The Keep on Tractin' shirt was a Christmas gift from a missionary companion.

And those shoes - pretty cool!

Lengthen Your Stride music sheet - I don't remember exactly what this was about, but it does have "Terry's mission" written on the top corner of the page, in his mothers hand writing.

 A box with miscellaneous items, including some post cards from Spain.















Mission things (some are in other areas of the house).
He is on the left in that photo.  I have always loved that picture.



His rock collection from his grade school years.



Our family each used to wear a LiveStrong band - it is really how Terry lived.  And the paper under it is Terry's medicine list from one of our trips to the clinic, in his own writing.  I found it on his dresser and couldn't throw it away.



He made this dog (I can't think of what to call it) for one of his school classes.
You've seen parts of this little gun in some of the photos. I believe it is one that he and Hollis got for Christmas one year.



Books - many from his mission.  The little red one on the right is from his grandmother, to Terry for graduation.
Hey, there is some room there for something else - I'll have to see what I can fill it with. ;)



The box that we put the sympathy cards (and a few other things) in after he passed away.  

Some day I will go through those again and make them look a little more organized.  They are just sitting in there the way we put them as they came in.


And this is his graduation photo, a pair of sunglasses (from his teenage years) and a 1957 penny (the year he was born). 



Fun stuff to see.
And there are a few more things ...

The ship he got in Spain.   It's always been displayed on top of our library shelves, but now it has it's place on top his cabinet.



The luggage he used on his mission.

They have seen better days, but are still fun to see.
They have lived under our bed or in the cupboard in our bathroom, but now they live here beside his cabinet.
The bigger one filled with hats.  Hats that were on a shelf and behind closed cupboard doors in the office.
We cannot see them here, but I know they are there and some day they will be given to his children and grandchildren.  I just can't give them up yet, so they will stay with me for a while longer.



And, lastly, a baseball mitt and bats.
A magazine box he made in high school. It has been housing color books for the grandchildren since we brought it home from his parents house after his mother passed away, January 2012.



Well, that's it for this post - Terry's cabinet in the library.


And, except for the bed that needs made, on the other side of this room, this room is ready for reunion days ahead.  (Honestly, I made it this morning, but didn't want to take a new photo to prove it, but it's ready!)  No more clutter like what was seen in the second photo above.



Now on to other rooms!


 

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Happy Birthday to/from Terry

It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago that I hadn't been posting about the birthdays in our family this year.  I guess I just neglected every one of them.  As reality would have it, I had a hard time even thinking about the first several ...  they just all of a sudden were the next day.  My mind has just had a hard time wanting to work..., it's getting better little by little.  I was thinking that it would hopefully get back to normal, but if I keep having birthdays it might mean that normal just isn't going to happen anymore.  ;(   We all know that age has a way of affecting our minds too!   Okay, that isn't what I was going to post about, so on with the topic at hand.

Terry's birthday is the only birthday I've had on my mind all year.  It has been on my mind more than not.  I was so excited for it because I got Terry a present.  It wasn't really to him, as much as it was part of him, and it is from him (if I may be so bold as to suggest that).

I sent Terry's shirts away to a woman who makes things with them.



Some of these shirts are from many years ago - he hadn't worn them for several years, and others were more recent, but I can see him in every shirt.  I wish I could keep every one of the sweet creations.  They looked so awesome all together because each one of them made me think of Terry ... over and over again.  They were all him.  I LOVE THEM BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!

This woman doesn't make just anything out of shirts, but she makes the most adorable memory bears.  She calls them Tammy Bears.


 I have changed their names and lovingly call them TERRY BEARS.



I thought about making some bears myself, but didn't think I would have the time and knew I wouldn't be able to do them in secret. I also knew it would be a lot of stress that I wasn't willing to go through.  It was worth the fortune it took to have them made - at least it was for me.

This Terry Bear is for me :)  It's a bit larger than the others.


I couldn't help but hug it when I took it out of the bag and walked back to place it on a shelf, and as I did I was smiling inside and out.  I felt like a little child hugging her teddy bear, but I was really a 55 year old woman hugging her husband's shirt that was made into a Terry Bear.  Sounds silly doesn't it? But I'm okay with it!  :)

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much 
that you just want to pick them up from your mind and hug them.

This bear will sit in a cabinet stuffed with Terry's things, where I can see it and smile back at it anytime I wish.  I can even take it out and hug it if I ever feel the urge again.  (The cabinet it is going in is on it's way to the house and should arrive tomorrow, so maybe you'll see this bear again sometime when I post about that cabinet.)

I ordered one for each of my children (they share with their spouses) and I refer to them as Daddy Terry Bears


There is also one for each of my grandchildren that I label Grandpa Terry Bears.


I quickly got them photographed and made my own tags for them.



The original hope was to get them to my family on Terry's birthday (born 58 years ago TODAY), but they didn't arrive to me in time to do that like I wished so I have one box to send and I'm saving the others since they will be here next week for our family reunion.  They get to see a photograph for his birthday and then they can hug it when they get here.  Something to look forward to!


These Terry Bears truly have a heart and they brought a wonderful smile to my heart when they arrived on my doorstep.  I thought it would have been lovely to just put them all on a shelf and keep them, but I am finding that it warms my heart to give them away too, so it's a win win situation. I'll have pictures and this post to remind me of all of the bears and all of his shirts.

21 Bears in total - 1 larger one (photo above) and 20 smaller bears.  Each from one of Terry's shirts.



It's a great way to celebrate Terry's first birthday in heaven.  That, and carrot cake and ice cream for breakfast.  :)

It's going to be a good day!



Monday, July 13, 2015

Instagram

If I posted on Instagram this is what I would have posted there today -



I love looking out the kitchen window or family room doors to see this close to the yard.  And when we open the door or window we can hear the end gun and the gears of the circle when it moves.  It is a joyful sight and sound.




It is a piece of Terry and every time I see it in this position I recall times when Terry would have me stop what I was doing and come to the window to see this sight because it brought joy to our hearts. Even when I was deep into a project it was a good sight to see.  It was then, and remains to be, more than just a view out the window.

It is part of his legacy.  He homesteaded this corner of the world for us.
It is a piece of him.  
It brings me joy!