Day 14 - A Picture I Love

Dale and Jason - 1975



Our terrific kids!! - at the wedding
reception of Allison and Jason Stein

I could have just put the first picture on, but the second one is also one of my favorites.  In the first picture, Jason was 6 months old.  I love it because Dale has a great big smile on his face.  Those of you that know Dale, know he HATES smiling for the camera and he has such a beautiful smile.  I have a picture of him on his birthday last year, holding Evan and he has a big smile on his face and I love that picture, too.  The one of our three gorgeous kids was probably the last one taken before they were just our three.  It was taken in May and Jodi and Steve got married in July.  They all look happy (and Jen's eyes aren't closed!!)and I just really like this picture!
So, I guess that's it for this blog.  See you tomorrow!

Day 11 - A Picture of My Friends

This is the day I switched with Day 9.  Since Jason got my pictures on my new computer, I'll be able to put pictures of my friends on here.  (I hope).


Me and my good, good friend, Susan.
I have a better one of us, but I can't
find it.



My good friend, Priscilla and her husband
Mogens and their first grandson,
Soren.

I have other pictures of friends from the States, but I don't know where they are.  Susan and Priscilla are good friends and we were in a care group together with Nancy Larson.  I am in a care group now and I count these ladies as friends, however, I don't have pictures of them - Dorothy Desjarlais, Carol Kadesh, Wendy Fehr, Fran Friesen and Lynn Halkyard.  I am thankful to the Lord for all my friends and I know they pray for me, as I pray for them.  God has blessed me with very special people. Wish I had more pictures.

Now I think I am caught up and Day 12 (tomorrow) will be the right one.  See you then.

Day 6 - A Picture That Makes Me Happy

I don't like this blog, because there is not one picture that makes me happy.  I mean, not just one.  I have a bulletin board on the wall by my computer with pictures all over it.  Plus, I have pictures taped to my monitor and pictures up on the cupboard, here in our spare room.  All of these pictures make me happy.  I love the ones of my kids, my grandkids, my aunts and uncles, the list goes on and on.  I'm really not sure I can pick just one that truly makes me happy.  But, I'll try.

Gazing out our hotel window at the majestic
Niagara Falls!

This was my first glimpse of the Falls when I
walked into our hotel room.

So, I guess I really did have to choose two.  They are really related, because when I think back on standing at that window and looking at the Falls, I get really happy.  I loved being there with my hubby and feeling the power of something our God had created and just soaking in the beauty.  It was a wonderful time for me.  I still think this blog should have been "Pictures that make me happy" and I would have filled it up!!

Oh well...more tomorrow!

Day 4 - Your Parents

This is truly the one blog I am thrilled to blog!!  My parents.  I had two really wonderful parents.  My parents instilled in us the importance of not only going to church, but reading the Bible and following the Lord - letting Him be your guide.  It is a great heritage and one I am extremely proud of.  Here's their story and I'll try some pictures at the end.

Mom and Dad - Esther and Calvin Ross - lived their entire lives in Missouri; mostly in the Kansas City (Avondale) area.  Dad was born in Hooker, MO, around the Ozarks area and Mom was born in North Kansas City. 

My mom's name was Esther Gail Williams.  She was the 6th of 7 children - 6 of which were girls.  She lived her entire life in the Avondale area.  She was extremely shy and used to say how my grandma would pin a handkerchief onto the collars of her dresses/shirts, because she was always chewing on her collars in her shyness.  She and her sisters, Verna and Dorie were very close as they were the last three born and were close in age.  I think her oldest sister, Beulah, was almost married when she was born.  Or at least, not long after, as my cousin, Carl, was almost the same age as Mom.  My brother said Mom got saved when she was young, like us.  Grandpa Williams helped build the Avondale Baptist Church.  It had been meeting in some other building.  They were members and it is the church that I grew up in, was married in and where the funerals of both my parents were held. 
Because she was so shy, I think Dad had a hard time getting her to go to places with him.  We saw her relatives all the time, as most, if not all, attended the church.  So, we would have to drive to visit Dad's relatives.  My Aunt Pansy was one we saw the most and I kind of remember visiting my Ross grandparents in their home.  But, Grandma Ross died in 1959 and I barely knew her.  Ross reunions were usually held at Aunt Pansy's in Quenemo, Kansas.  As Mom got older, I think she enjoyed their outings with the "Jolly 60's" group at church.  And they got to go to Israel one time and I know she enjoyed that.  She and Trudy went over to London to stay with Daddy for 6 months while he worked over there and they went sight-seeing when his work was done.  So, I'd have to say that Dad was a good influence on her in that way.
She had a very pronounced dread of people thinking badly of her.  I'm not sure if she was  abused as a kid (no one ever talked about such things), but I know she was teased because of the bigness of her legs. (It's a family thing, unfortunately).  She was constantly worried about her weight, although from her earlier pictures, I think she looked pretty good and no amount of weight loss changes those legs!  I know she gained a lot of weight when she got pregnant with my sister, Trudy, and was mortified that she was 36 and way too old for babies!  Anyway, her struggle with her weight was something she was constantly at me about as well, so our relationship over the years was very strained.  I loved her so much, but was never sure of her unconditional love.  Which was very sad, as I would have loved a closer relationship with her.  I really felt I was never good enough for her.  And even though, we did reconcile after Daddy died, we never had the close Mother/Daughter relationship I wish we could have had.
I have the letters Dad wrote to her when he was in the army and she sort of sounded unsure of his love as well.  I really feel sorry for her when I read those letters.  He is constantly assuring her of his love.  I know she finally was convinced of God's love as she got older and found a real peace in knowing how much He loved her. 
She was a worrier, but a prayer warrior, as well.  I will always remember her praying for us kids when we were little and as we got older.  One day when I was home sick, I saw her stand at the window as Butch went to school and pray for him.  In later years, when she wasn't doing real well, I passed her room and saw her sitting in her chair with her eyes closed.  I asked her if she was ok and she said, "Yes, Babe, I was just praying."  That's the memory I'll always cherish of my mom!  I even bought a Precious Moments figurine that reminded me of that time and her.
Mom had a stroke in 1993 and after that congestive heart failure.  She passed away in 1996 and I really do miss her.  The years she spent without Daddy were hard on her, but her thoughts of heaven were her comfort.

Arthur Calvin Ross was my daddy.  As old as I am, he will always be my daddy.  I loved him so much.  I was his little girl.
He was the 5th of 9 children.  They were raised Methodist and I think from reading his army letters that Grandma had them in church and it was Methodist church that was Bible-believing.  He quit school in the 8th grade and moved to Kansas City to live with his brother, Warren, and find work.  He joined the army when he was 18 or 19.  He served his term in north Africa, Sicily, Italy and Germany.  He was not a Christian, but one time in a foxhole when they were being fired on, he prayed and told the Lord if He got him out of this, he'd become a Christian.  He did just that, but not until the war was over and he'd been married to my mom for about 4 months.  I know my grandma Williams was a big influence on turning him to the Lord and had probably spoken to him before he went overseas.  
Like I said, I was Daddy's little girl and liked to go wherever he went.  Some of my best memories of going with him to the store or wherever.  I don't remember ever being spanked by him, but boy, one look and it would send me crying!  I hated to disappoint him.  
Daddy was a deacon in the church and served as chairman of the board and was a big Christian influence in my life.  He loved the Lord and wasn't afraid to let others know it.  He lived it!  He was killed in a car accident in 1987 while going to Wyoming with Mom, Trudy, her husband and their baby, Ashley.  It was the most horrific moment of my life.  I miss him dearly.  I could go on and on about both my parents, but oh my, this blog would be really long!!
Both Mom and Daddy were great singers - sang in the choir "forever" and I learned my alto from Mom.  I can still hear Daddy singing his beautiful bass in some hymns when I hear them or sing them.  They gave me my love of singing to the Lord.

I did an ancestor chart and charted my mom's side back to England and my dad's only to Virginia, but it was interesting to see who my ancestors were.  No matter where you came from in the past, it's where you are going that matters.  I know my mom and dad are in heaven rejoicing with their savior and I know I will see them there someday soon.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Me and Daddy

Me and Mommy - see
wasn't she pretty?
(and thin)

my favorite Army
picture of Daddy

The last time we were with
Mom and Daddy before
he died.  They came up
in the summer of '87

Day 3 - My FIrst Love

Wow - well, the Bible says our first love should be the Lord, (and He is!) but I'm thinking this means as in human love.  I guess we'd have to define "love".  The dictionary says love is " a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart." (etc., etc., etc.,)
I have a lot of friends I love and of course, I love my family.  I have had "boyfriends" that I thought I loved, but I guess my first real love was Dale.
I define it this way.  When I was in my senior year of high school, I worked at a place called National Bellas Hess - it was a mail-order place.  Two of my friends, Pam and Patti, worked there, too.  Pam got engaged that year (as did one of my other friends, Esther) and we three girls would sit and discuss her upcoming wedding on our break.  Pam was so excited to marry her David and one time was telling about the pretty negligee she had gotten for their wedding night.  Well, I just could NOT imagine being married and doing what married people do!!  I mean, YU-U-U-CK!!  It's like thinking of your parents "doing it"  (Shiver).  That's how I felt until two years later when I met Dale.  I don't know if you believe in love at first sight, but I do, because that's how it was.  And suddenly, getting married sounded pretty good!
So, I'd have to say my first "human" love was (and is) Dale.  My first love, though, is my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

See you tomorrow!

Our Trip To Niagara Falls

I just read Sandra's blog and realized I was blogging again and I had never posted pictures of our trip to Niagara Falls back in September.
It was a wonderful trip and both of us had a very good time.  Dale was a little nervous about flying (I think the last time he flew was when we went to K.C. for Trudy's wedding in 1981 and he was recovering from major surgery, so it really wasn't a well-remembered experience for him.)  But, he did fine and the flights were good, albeit a bit bumpy on the landings.  I was just glad we got to fly WestJet and not AC Jazz.  Those planes are horrid!!!
We were there from September 7th to the 11th, but the 7th and 11th were actually flying days and the 10th we spent in Toronto, so we were in Niagara Falls for 2 whole days.  We packed a lot of stuff into those days, but we saw all we had planned on seeing.  We'd like to go back some day with a car or someone who knows the area, as we'd like to take in the Welland Canal and some other stuff that we would have had to drive to see.
Now that I know I have diabetes, I realize I was pretty sick on our trip, but I was determined to be there and sightsee, so I "sucked it up".
Our first day we did one of the new attractions called "Fury of the Niagara".  It was so cool!  It was indoors and we were handed rain ponchos as we went in.  Hmmm...then we watched an animated movie about how Niagara Falls was formed.  On to the next room - circular, with handrails in rows.  We were told to hold on to the rails and stand still.  Ok.....it got really dark and a movie appeared above our heads (all the way around the room), showing pictures of glaciers - it started to snow and blow - then, thunder, lightening and rain - the rushing waters of the glaciers melting and the tipping back and forth of the floor as well!  It was really neat and we would gladly go see it again!
We did the Walk Behind the Falls.  There were a lot of stairs and I got to the middle deck via the elevator - with tons of stairs to get to that! - so, Dale went down to the lower deck by himself, which was much closer to the falls.  He said it was very cold and wet down there.  I did get a picture of him, but with my waterproof camera, so it's hard to tell it's him.
We walked behind the falls and looked through the portals.  It was neat to see the history of how it all came about.  I wish we could have been close enough to touch the water, but the railings were pretty far back.  We could feel the spray if the wind blew just right.
We had lunch and then did the Maid of the Mist.  Now there's a ride that will soak you - if you are dumb enough not to put the hood of your poncho up!  Because of my high blood sugar, I was sweating constantly, so anytime I could feel a cool breeze, I took it.  Plus, the walk down to the boat was quite long and I was pretty tired by the time we got there.  I sat on a box until we got to the falls and as I stood up and put up my hood, a huge spray came over the side and hit me right in the face!  My hood went back and I was drenched.  So, I just left the dumb hood off!  Yep, I was soaked, all the way down my front under the poncho.  I wished I had asked Dale to take a picture of me, I'm sure I looked like a drowned rat! (one of my mom's sayings)
After that - and the very long uphill climb back to catch the bus - we were about done in.  So, we headed back up to the hotel.  Oh, I forgot about our hotel.  When I was booking all this, I figured, if I'm going to go see Niagara Falls (my dream, all my life), I'm going to be able to see it from our hotel room!!  We stayed at the Fallsview Hotel Overlooking the Falls.   We got a fallside room on the 12th floor and the view was spectacular!!  I was in awe and could just stand or sit and gaze at the falls for hours! (well, not literally, I guess; but a long time anyway).
I had to take Dale to the Outback for supper.  I had eaten at the one in K.C. and it is so good.  We had a bloomin' onion, too - they are SO good!
After a good night's sleep, we tackled day 2.  We had reservations at the Elements of the Falls restaurant in the Welcome Center which boasted a view of the Falls from every table - and they were right!  That was at 11:30, so we just putzed around the Welcome Center and the Falls until then.  The food there was marvelous - we had prime rib and all the trimmings!
We went to the White Water Walk after that, which is down at the rapids part of the river below the falls.  It was really neat, but more stairs and walking, so I stayed on the observation deck and Dale went out on the long walkway to see more of the rapids.  He had done that when we were in Calgary at the Bow River, as well.  He is better at the hiking than I am and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then we went up to the Butterfly Conservatory.  It was hot and humid inside (not good for old sweating me), but they did have vents with coolish air blowing in, so I took advantage of them whenever I came to one.  The butterflies were amazing and they were everywhere.  You couldn't touch them, but you could take all the pictures you wanted.  One landed on a woman and crawled up her arm and sat on her eye!!  It was so funny.  An attendant came and offered the butterfly sugar water on a sponge and off he went!  I saw a gorgeous blue one that I tried to get a picture of, but he was too fast for me.  Then, when I was watching some brown butterflies at the sugar water feeding bowl, one opened his wings and lo and behold, it was my elusive blue one!!  So, I stood there and kept taking pictures until I got one of him with his wings open!!  Thank goodness for digital cameras!!
That was about it for that day.  We were both tired and had seen all we really wanted to see.  We had a good Italian supper and went to bed early.  We were off to Toronto in the morning to stay overnight, as our flight on Saturday was early.
That's really about all.  We didn't do any sightseeing in Toronto, as we had a suite with a jacuzzi and we took turns soaking.  It felt good.  The next day was home and we were tired!

This was by the side of the Falls at the Walk Behind the Falls.  We really were close and it was so very awesome!

These were the rapids on Dale's white water walk.  The were awesome, too!

This was our first view of the falls from our hotel room!  I was awestruck (again) and just stood and looked and looked!

We managed to get a shot of the rainbow over the Falls the first day.  No sun all day, but it did peek out just as it was setting!  Thank you, Lord!

Yes, we were there together!  For someone with a very high forehead and thin hair, it isn't the place to be if you want to look good for pictures! Ha!

The "Butterfly-On-My-Eye" lady!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS is Niagara Falls!!"  the base of the Falls on the Maid of the Mist.

My sweet hubby on the deck of the boat

My gorgeous, elusive butterfly - it was so worth the effort!

In the morning, a cup of coffee and sitting and contemplating the Falls!  Could it get any better??