Well Hell.

Well my friends, I have been reminded Oh So Kindly from the Ol' Broad that I haven't posted since...well...last year.

Those of you have been facebook friends or have read this obscure blog for awhile might remember that two years ago we had an issue with my father-in-law.  Thankfully, everything turned out well.  That time.  He is once again ill and any prayers or good thoughts would be welcome.

Combined with that is the death of someone I called my brother.  It was very sudden and very unexpected.  AB was - well - something else.  He was larger than life.  That man lived a life one wouldn't be able to imagine, except he was SUCH a good story teller that you felt like you were there with him.  He was a man who was a tough sonofabitch on the outside, but a big ol' teddy bear on the inside.  He will be missed - by SO many.  He touched SOOOO many lives.  Mine included.  

God Bless You Steven R. Fucking Hering (those who know, know).  You will always be AB to me.  Rest in peace my friend and know that we love and miss you.  

Merry Christmas

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Here's wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas

Tragedy in Newtown

The shooting in Newtown, Connecticut today seems more tragic than most as it involves young children.  As I was watching the coverage while at work today, I couldn't help but shed tears.  None of us know enough about the particulars to make any judgments except that the loss of life is horrific.  What PISSES me off is that people are already politicizing this massacre.  To be sure, I have a definite opinion on gun control and I may or may not get into it here, but not now.  Not today.

For the moment, can we PLEASE keep politics out of this devastating tragedy and keep our hearts and our prayers on the victims and their loved ones?  Is that even possible in this day and age?

Screw the War on Christians

This is one of my absolute favorites.  It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

It's the reason for the season.

Bears v. Packers - Food Pantry Football

Well my friends, it's that time again.  What time you ask?  Well, my friend Wendy and I started a little tradition awhile back...Food Pantry Football.  As you may know, this weekend the Bears will be playing the Packers.  To make the game even MORE fun, I, as a Bears fan, commit to donate one non-perishable food item to a local food pantry for every point my team scores.  Wendy will do the same for each point that other team scores.  We encourage you to join in and make that commitment.  As more and more people are in need of assistance, our food pantries are suffering.  This is a fun, easy way to help your community as the holiday season grows near.

Let's hope for a HIGH scoring game, and GO BEARS!!!!

Visiting the Elder & Family

In this post I shared the good news the the Elder was done with his first tour of Afghanistan, and was back home (in Germany) with TSC and Wiggleworm. Well my friends, I'm happy to share even better news - they're back on American soil! They are stationed in the good old U S of A for now. Naturally, I couldn't WAIT to see them...after all, it had been over two and a half years! I practiced an amazing feat of self-restraint and let them settle in a bit before I descended upon them. Early last month I got a chance to spend a few days with my lovely family.

Mommy & Daddy with Wiggleworm

He's grown up SOOO much!

Grape scented bubbles  :)

Will you LOOK at those eyelashes

Grandma Crazy and Wiggleworm

To say that I enjoyed this visit would be a gross understatement.  My little Wiggleworm is, dare I say, the cutest damned kid EVAH...such a joy to be around.  And the Elder & TSC are such awesome parents.  I can't WAIT to go visit them again...and I'm determined to do so as soon as it's feasible with my work & home schedule.  I'd like to get at least one more visit in before the Elder deploys again.  The only consolation to that is TSC and Wiggleworm will remain in the States.  

Again I thank you for all the prayers you sent while he was deployed and they were overseas.  I hope these pictures bring at least a little smile to your face.  :)

The Painting

I know there's a lot going on, and I will speak on much of that later. This is a very personal post.

When I was a child, my family belonged to Grace Lutheran Church in Bensenville, IL.  My mother was VERY involved in the church.  If there was a committee, it seemed she was on it.  Sunday school?  Of COURSE she was a teacher.  It was an integral part of her life.  In fact, when my brother, sister and I all had chicken pox at the same time, I remember the pastor coming over.  Whether that was to talk to her about church business or keep her from killing us, I'll never know.  ;)

When Mom drowned in 1976, it truly sent shock waves throughout the community.  Since she was not only involved in church, but also in girl scouts, boy scouts, the PTA, etc., MANY people knew her.  I vaguely remember there being lines outside of the funeral home.  So many came to pay their respects.

I have a dim memory of someone in the church painting a portrait of Mom not too long after that.  It's a very hazy memory.  I once asked some family members about it, and they didn't seem to know what I was talking about.  I chalked it up to the false memory of an 11 year old child.  We moved shortly after that and joined a different church.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  A bunch of friends who I've reconnected with from my childhood got together to watch football and to celebrate a birthday.  In an attempt to make a long story short, the birthday girl's sister-in-law just happens to be the daughter of the pastor from my childhood.  In talking with her it turns out that not only does the painting exist, it's still hanging in the church.  It also turns out that it's not just my mom in the painting, it's also my brother, my sister (who is also no longer with us) and me.  While the painting belongs to the church, I was able to go down to the church to take some pictures.  To say that was emotional is an understatement.  The painting, in my opinion doesn't quite depict the beauty of my mom, but that's not the point.  That it was "discovered" after several decades - PRICELESS.

My friends - I cannot even begin to express how much this means to me.  A shout out to Vanessa for not only the connection, but for being right beside me when I saw the Bible verse and broke down.