Update on "A Blink of an Eye"

Sunday after church we checked out email to find an update for Michael...the update was there. He had passed away Sunday morning at 2AM. Saturday they had to put him on full life support. Needless to say, Robbe was shattered. Today he is in Utah after flying out last night. You see, they had a pack between them to attend each others wedding...Michael kept his end of the pack, now Robbe is doing his best by attending his funeral. The timing, the elk, the collision, the injuries, if only comes to mind...I am very good with wondering about "if Only's". Perhaps Michael will look up Pappy...in any case, HURRRAY for Michael, he finished his part here! May the Lord bless and offer substancial comfort to his loved ones.

In The Blink of an Eye...

We received word that a friend of ours, Robbe's best man at his wedding, a missionary companion, a son of God who came on the very day Robbe did...was in a terrible freak accident last Friday a week ago. An elk was hit by a truck that was traveling in front of him, throwing the elk into the air and propelling it onto their car. With such force, the car was flipped and Michael Booth and his best friend Amanda Hoins were thrown from their vehicle...
For nine days now they have been fighting for their lives. It's been a terrible fight. Michael has severe internal injuries, even blowing a hole into his heart. He's had several surgeries, unable to close him up because of all the swelling. Now we've been told that his heart is working so hard that it may fail...
On my way to heritage days today, we passed the site of where I used to live with my mom and dad and Robbe back in the early 90's. The house has since been torn down, yet as we passed I swore I could almost see little Robbe and my dad picking up chestnuts and then with another glance I could almost see little Robbe gliding down the snowy hill on his sled.
Keep up with me as I ramble on...
6 years ago this weekend, my daddy died. It was 6 months after my momma passed. It was a Friday evening, a homecoming night for West Perry. I asked Rob to go visit Pappy because I hadn't gotten over that day. He was anxious to get to the game, but agreed to cross the mountain first to see him. Awhile later I got a call from Robbe saying that Pappy was lying in bed and wasn't responding to him. He had a major stroke. While at the hospital they pulled us into a room to tell us he would die from this. Robbe spent the evening sleeping in the bed next to him. Sunday morning before we were going to leave for church I called to check on him. The nurses said that we might want to get there soon as his vitals were failing. We found someone to set with the girls at church and went quickly. By the time we entered the hall of the hospital, the nurse met us to tell us that he had died at 9:02AM. Part of me was relieved that I didn't see it happen. Part of me shouted for joy that He made it home and the journey here was over for him. Part of me was terribly sad that my daddy was gone...
Life is good...the Lord lives...I am so very grateful for all the blessings that I have been given...most of all I thankful to know my Savior personally. I am a recipient of His ever outstretched arms.

It's so hard to BELIEVE!!!!

YEP...It's true...we are officially grandparents...actually, I am a grammy and Stephen is a grampy. Jackson Ulysses Nulton arrived by c-section Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 10:22PM. He weighed in at a whopping 6lbs. 7ozs. and was 18" long.
After a long labor Jack was having trouble. They found a knot in his cord and it was wrapped around his tiny neck. How grateful we are for the intervention on his behalf.
He is three weeks old already. Sunday he will receive his name and blessing. He is a beautiful little boy. Becky...is a great momma. Robbe is stepping into daddy role well.
Here are some pics of the little fellow. Enjoy!

$3 ride and slide day at Lakemont Park

Another Nulton adventure...$3.00 ride and slide all day at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pa.
We had such a blast! The girls and Stephen and I alike. The pictures will tell the tale of the day...enjoy them.

Cindy-Lou HOO???

After watching the Grinch movie, my girls disappeared with Becky into the bathroom. Along with them went a curling iron, 3 plastic cups and assorted hair ties, bretts and bobbie pins. And, out came what you see. 3 Cindy-Lou Hoo's!!!!!

I'm back where I belong.

No pics this time to share...Perhaps in a few weeks.
I think I can quite honestly say this has been the longest week of my life...and the worst to date...keep in mind in my lifetime like others, I have had pinnicles of sorrow, pain, fear, trepidation, and torment. What started out facing a surgery that was to last 2-3 hours with the removal of my gall bladder, and the repairing of a large ventral hernia and being sent home the next day. After a six hour delay in the start, the surgery lasted 3-4 hours, with the removal of an extremely swollen gall bladder that was very difficult to remove, and the finding of 3 hernia's, one being the size of a small kick ball and taking great pain for the doctor to fix and repair. I made it back to a room at 1am the next morning after an extensive stay in recovery. An over night stay turning into 5 days.
I can see the tender mercies that I was issued and am quite aware of the different states of agonizing pain I was called to go through. How thankful I am that my loving Heavenly Father chose not to take me home this time...
As I pleaded with my Savior to once more remove the pains I was traveling through, I was everso aware of his great sorrow for me.
For now, I will go and try to find some comfort at the side of my eternal companion...
God lives...and He loves ME...of this I am sure. We press forward, because we have no other choice...we decided with a choice long ago, to come here to acquire our earthly/physical bodies...so, press forward we do.

Our Girls Day Out at Hershey Park!

$51.95 a ticket to go to Hershey Park just doesn't fit our budget...but to buy $40.00 worth of Kraft and Pepsi products and get a voucher for a regular admission ticket, now we're talking. Add the help of grandma getting us two vouchers, and we were on our way!
I found myself even more excited to go than the girls...I haven't been on a ride in more than 10 years. And, I never have never gotten on a ride with the girls. My size kept me off the rides and I would send Stephen on with them...only to find out, he Hates! riding! I was counting down to the big day.
The evening before Stephen called from his way home from work and told me they asked him to work the next day. The day we were planning on going. I was so upset! Disappointed! Devastated! The girls and I didn't want to put it off. The bigger the crowd and the hotter it was going to get, put us on a quest to find a person to take Stephens place. The long and short of deduction brought us to calling Sister Linda Cooper...in a matter of minutes she had worked things out and agreed to go with us. Linda was absolutely a great choice!

The day was terrific! The wickedest ride of all was Fahrenheit. Number 2 was the Great Bear. Number 3 was the Claw. I can't believe I survived! We had such great fun. We got to see a show at the Music Box Theatre. About 5:30 there was an incredible downpour. We were drenched. We left the park after 8 hours of wonderful fun. I'm so thankful for the chance to go with Sally and Emma. Gretta had a fun day with Grandma and had a sleepover. Stephen was grateful he didn't have to go...so, it all worked out for the best...

A trip to Carlisle took us to the Army Heritage Museum. It was an enjoyable "hike" around the outside from exhibit to exhibit. It brought to mind the different wars, we as a nation have been part of, and I tried to imagine for a moment what it may have been like to actually been a soldier.
I thought for a moment of all those I personally know who have served our country. How many of those did tours of duty, once, twice, three times for one conflict. I know two men who were actually prisoners of war. The stories they tell bring tears to your soul. Stephen served four 5 years in the Army. He gets choked up and teary eyed at most patriotic venues...today helped me to understand more of that emotion.

Just Another Day?

HAVE I DONE ANY GOOD IN THE WORLD TODAY, HAVE I HELPED ANYONE IN NEED, HAVE I CHEERED UP THE SAD OR MAKE SOMEONE FEEL GLAD...IF NOT, I HAVE FAILED INDEED...Has anyone's burden been lighter today, because I was willing to share. Have the sick or the needy, been helped on their way, when they needed my help was I there? So wake up and do something more than dream of your mansions above, doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure.....
Just another day...is it really...I have exchange one day of my life for it. And what did I give for it?
"When you are in the service of your fellow being you are in the service of your God." My fellow being includes: my husband, my son, my daughter in law, my three girls, my neighbor, my friend, the stranger, and myself. May I do better tomorrow...for now, I'm going to snuggle with my girls.

I'VE BEEN DETHRONED!!!!

The guys are working today, so I thought it the perfect time to take my 4 girls yard sale-ing.
After all, it is Perry Counties largest flea market day! With an early start we began our adventure of looking for the best deals/steals. Sally found a set of books, Gretta more polly pocket gear, Emma a Harry Potter game and puzzle, me a sewing box. Beckster was down to her last $3 and saw a pack n play that they were asking $20 for. She told me she was going to go offer it to the lady. I turned the car in the out direction for easy exiting...after all, the lady would say no and we'd have to get away fast before she laughed us out of there...from the back seat I hear Sally saying the lady is shaking her head yes MOM! And, then here came Becky with the pack in play in tote...go figure! Yes, I have officially been dethroned. Way to stinkin go Becky!

Our Memorial Day

We began our Memorial Day Friday evening with a trip to Little Buffalo to watch an IMAX film at the park rangers office on bears. It was a nice kick off for us. Saturday was a free fishing day at Little Buffalo. No licenses were needed. This was a perrrrrfect opportunity to take our family to fish! After Stephen and Robbe arrived home from work we packed up the kiddos and we headed out to the park. Oh my goodness! What a fun evening! (I forgot to include that Dad decided to "practice" casting with the girls before we left...Emma did it a few times and certainly could have used a bit more practice. Sally on her first throw hooked a bigin'. The GARAGE ROOOF! Hello!)
Emma caught the first fish, Gretta the second fish, Becky the third fish and Robbe the fourth fish.
Dad, Sally and I were trying so hard to get a bite! Me by keeping my line calmy and patiently in the water...Sally by casting and pulling the line in over and over and over and over again! and Dad, by changing locations...Becky thought she'd help me out and came and took my pole and cast it in for me. Before long she had her second fish...ugh! Go figure! We went to the park with 7 and came home with 12.
Monday found us at the parade in New Bloomfield. Sally and I first dropped off our picnic stuff out at the park to get some great tables by the pool. Mike and Jean came up from Conastoga to join in the fun. Dad dropped off the kids and chairs and went to park. He never showed up. My heart told me he was with his dad at the nursing home...after the parade we found him at the picnic area. Jean, Becky, Dad, Emma, Sally and Gretta went in swimming while Carol, Aaron, Grandma Nulton, Robbe and I played phase10. Carol ended up winning. What a wildly fun time. Delores joined us also for the day. Later Mike and dad hiked to the other end of the park and went to the Grist mill. The kids and dad later went back in swimming. We ended the day with a trip to the ice cream shop. It was a perfectly wonderful day.......ahhhhh......

The Things I've Learned Today...

I've learned that my worth shouldn't be measured by someone else. That others opinions of me are just that...opinions, they have no real significance to the true measure of my soul. I've learned that it's difficult to ignore others cruelties towards me, yet even more difficult to ignore others cruelties to my family. I've also learned that what goes around comes around. It's only a matter of time. I've learned to be more patient. I've learned that I detest weeds, briers, thistles, thorns, and ground cover that is out of control. I've learned a lot today!