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Showing posts from May, 2009

Enough Room...

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I'm reminiscing a bit for this one - but it was one of those moments that when it happened, I knew the memory would stay with me forever. One Sunday morning at church, when "Big D" was all of 5 years old, he did what everyone does at some point in their sandle-wearing life. He caught his toe under a door and ripped the toenail off. It still makes me cringe, 4 years later. Needless to say, at the time there was blood and a lot of tears. That night as he was getting ready to go to sleep, and I was tucking him into bed, I could see his mind working as he asked: "Mom? Our bodies are filled with bones and blood right?" Yes... (I really had no idea where this was going, but apparently the sight of his blood had made some impact on him!) "And Jesus lives in our heart, right?" (Okay, you really have been listening!) "But mom, with all that stuff in our bodies ~ Won't Jesus get squished?" Oh...wow...okay, I wasn't expecting that from my 5 year

Family Reunion, part 2

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I'm sitting here trying to compose my thoughts. I've been trying to compose these thoughts for the last 4 days, ever since leaving Traverse City, Michigan. I'm not any further along than what I was then. My mind is still racing over the experience I had with my mother, aunt, and our "new" cousin. Who does that? Who drives 10 hours to meet a total stranger, only because they share a common ancestor? Not only driving 10 hours, but driving up into Northern Michigan! There's nothing up there, except a lot of trees! And for that matter, what would possess a 91 year old woman to want to live up there still - year after year? As it turns out, Cousin Irene is just as amazing of a woman as I imagined her to be - probably even more so. She was only recently put into a nursing home after she had fractured her back, and needed the rehabilitation, medication, and relaxation. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect upon our meeting. But when I walked into her room,

Family Reunion!

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I'm spending my time this week getting ready for next week's activities. My mom -who was just here a few weeks ago - will be making a return trip from Texas, and then her and I are taking off for Northern Michigan to visit this wonderful woman who just happens to be our oldest living family member! According to my genealogy program - Irene is my 1st cousin twice removed. Now, after being hit with the genealogy bug for the past 2 years, I still haven't quite figured out that "removed" thing when it comes to cousins. All I know is that my great-great grandfather, William Bryan Andrew Parrish, was her grandfather. My grandfather was his son from his first marriage, Irene's father was his son from his 2nd marriage. So maybe that's where the "removed" card comes into play? (Confused yet?) In the midst of my research, I discovered these 3 wonderful family histories that were written by Irene. Within the chapters of these books were references to a futu