LINK TO OUR JOURNEY TO JILLIANA

LINK TO OUR JOURNEY TO JILLIANA
CLICK ON JILLIANA'S PHOTO TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY TO CHINA

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Grandma bought us new robes!

Grandma Jeanie bought us robes!
Mommy told Grandma Jeanie about how Meilynn always asks for her robe but she doesn't have one.  When I was little the neighbors bought me a robe and jammies.  I like to put it on after my bath.  Meilynn didn't have one and she would always ask where her robe was?  So Mommy thought she would buy one for Meilynn when she could find one.  Well you know how Grandmas are.  You just mention something like that and it is done.  So the next time we were at Grandma Jeanies house out came our new robes.  She was going to give them to us for our birthdays but she couldn't wait!
Having fun in our new robes Giving my sister a hug! Here we are Grandma We love our new robes!  They are so soft!  Thank you Grandma!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

A bit of bad luck!

Meghan in her new apartment Meilynn and Emma trying out the bed.
Daddy helping set up the stereo. Ashley (Meghan's roomate) and Meghan on move in day Playing on the cushions Daddy and his girls sitting on the wood for the remodel Things are a little out of order.  I haven't figured out yet how to move the pictures around on my new computer. A reading moment Playing with the stuffed bunny that Meghan got 22 years ago when she was born. Daddy goofing off, pretending he is tearing the house down. It is quite a project But, we get to write on the walls Tracing Kami's body Another picture with Daddy Meilynn opening up her Tiffany's present.  We have some friends, Tamara and Rick who bought Emma her first Tiffany's when she came home.  Daddy came home with a gift from our friends and they had bought Meilynn her first Tiffany's.  I didn't get my first Tiffany gift until last year! Meilynn opening her gift It's a little special ceramic Tiffany box! More of the destruction 
  I've had a little bit of bad luck.  My computer has completely died.  That is why I have been unable to post.  Of course this makes my family happy because they are all Mac users and have been wanting me to switch.  So here I am typing on my new Mac.  I am not very computer literate as it is so now I have to learn a whole new system.  And to top that off I lost my camera!  So hopefully today my wonderful husband will come home with a new camera for me.  Luckily I didn't have too many pictures on it.  I did have our get together with our local Inland Empire FCC group and I am sad to lose the pictures, but it could have been so much worse.

Monday, April 14, 2008

A Time of Ups and Downs

Emma making a special picture for Grandma Poma when she was in the hospital Meilynn making her picture for her Grandma
First of all I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers for our family and Mike's. We had a beautiful funeral service that was uplifting and a great tribute to Mike's Mom. There were so many people there was standing room only in the Chapel. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.
We have a lot going on right now. We have begun a major remodel on our house. It all started with needing a playroom. When Kami and Meghan were little we lived in a one story house. They kept there toys in their rooms or in a room that we used as a playroom. They would bring out a toy and then when they were finished they put it back in their room. My house never felt over run with toys. But with a two story house Meilynn and Emma cannot go up and down the stairs by themselves, so all of the toys are downstairs in our main living area. It is a mess all of the time. So we decided that we would add on a playroom. So then it turned into expanding and re-doing our kitchen and then our eating area. Of course if we were adding on downstairs we should add on upstairs at the same time. So we are adding a new master suite and re-doing our bathroom. We are making our old master bedroom into a guest bedroom and bath and then we are moving a wall in Emma and Meilynn's room, expanding and re-doing their bathroom. I haven't decided yet if we will keep them in the same room or separate them. They are doing great sharing a room, but maybe when they are older they will want their own. So this "little playroom" is going to take 9 months. We will need to move out July through November. We will be gone the whole month of July in Italy so there is one month. We haven't decided yet what we will do. We may move down to the beach or live in our motorhome or both. We have to have everything moved out of most of the rooms. So the next two months should be quite a challenge.
We also are very proud that our second daughter Meghan will be graduating on May 24, 2008 (Meilynn's birthday) from the University of Redlands with a math degree. She is graduating with highest honors. We are so excited for her. She will also be moving out to her first apartment next week. We are so very proud and honored to be her parents
Meghan's Senior project in Math.
This is the only picture she would let me take. She presented her project to a room filled with students, friends, Math Professors, and family. She did this presentation the week that we were spending in the hospital with her Grandma. Her Grandmother would have been so proud of her.
And our oldest daughter Kami got accepted to the Masters program in counseling at the University of Redlands. She has been busy helping me with the girls, coaching soccer, tutoring, and substitute teaching. You can see with such two wonderful daughters the reason it was so easy to decide to start a family again. How could I not?
Kami will not like that I posted this picture, but I am so proud of her. She ran in after a soccer practice and opened her envelope of acceptance!
The new foundation for the playroom and kitchen nook. Emma getting her handprints in the foundation with Daddy. She would only do one hand.
Here is Emma's handprint. While we were doing Meilynn's she stepped on the concrete with her shoes! Meilynn getting hers done.
Emma's hand print with her name and star underneath and Meilynn's two hand prints with her name and heart under hers.
Since bringing Emma home Mike has helped me out so much with the cooking. It started with Emma not letting me put her down or not allowing me to leave her site. So Daddy just started doing the cooking when he had time. Here he is with the girls making his specialty, Meatloaf!Emma taking some bread from the bowl for a little snack.Daddy asking her to save some for the meatloaf.Watching Chef Daddy. ( as you can see Daddy is actually using the learning tower that he hates and that I love)Our cousin Dylan had a birthday. Daddy played a joke on him and bought a Ken doll. He put a gift certificate to toys-r- us in the box. He thought it would be funny to give him a doll. Our daddy is quite the jokester. He once gave his sister Sue a present when she was a little girl. She was so excited to get a present from her brother. She opened up in front of all of her friends and in it was some fresh dog poop from their dog. I don't think that his Mom and Dad were very proud of him.Playing with Daddy in the backyard.After Daddy gave us a ride, Mommy got one too!"Look, a Ladybug on our ball"Our Aunt Stephany reading to us at Grandma and Grandpa Poma's house.The foundation.Our eating area this morning.One last shot before they put up a temporary wall and tear down the old one.The temporary wall in our eating area. Maybe I should let the girls decorate it?

Monday, April 07, 2008

Our Grandma Poma went to be with Jesus

On April 4, 2008 our Grandma Poma went to be with Jesus. This is a picture of her surrounded by her Grandchldren, children, and Husband at Chritmas 2007. She is in the front row in the red shirt with black sweater. She was loved by everyone who knew her. She had been sick for a while. She had, had surgery to fix an anyurism before and had several more. She went into the hospital on Sunday March 30 to find that she had an anyurism that was bleeding. It was this anyurism that led to her death. We were able to share many wonderful moments with her in her last days. She will be missed so much by all of us. I am so glad that she got the chance to meet Emma and Meilynn. Kami and Meghan had many wonderful years with her and I am so happy that they will be able to share these memories with their little sisters. I met her when I was 16 and started dating her son. I knew her 34 years. She always treated me with love, respect, and kindness. I was her only daughter-in-law. She will be missed so much but we know that she has found her home with Jesus.
She is Gone You can shed tears that she is gone or you can smile because she has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back or you can open your eyes and see all she's left. Your heart can be empty because you can't see her or you can be full of the love you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember her and only that she's gone or you can cherish her memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on. Anon This is a picture of Grandma Poma the day she met Emma Sophia Mingjing. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"John 11:25-26