So Much Has Happened!

I have read that in order to be a good writer you must write everyday, make it a daily habit, write down your thoughts, write down what is going on around you, write down something everyday, making it second nature, not even having to plan to do it, just write.

Well I guess that is why I am not a very good writer.  I do NOT write something every day however I do think about it every day but the thoughts never make it from my brain to my fingers to tap it out on this keyboard.  So.....I have much to say or show you in pictures because so much has transpired since I last sat down to record my thoughts on this blog.  So here goes!

My Mom turned 90 in June!  I love her dearly!

She is such an inspiration to me, so kind and gentle and soft spoken, and she still handles life on her own in her own home, I can only hope to be doing that well when I am 90.

We were all so glad that my younger brother Wendall was able to make the trip down to Texas from Indiana for our Mom's 90th birthday.   

Wendall had lost a lot of weight during the past two years and was suffering from a lot of abdominal pain in June at our Mom's 90th however he had not been to a doctor in years!  Silly boy!

 

Well when he got back to Indiana he did go to see a doctor......and received some pretty frightening news.  Cancerous mass filling most of his stomach and upward into his esophagus.  Not a good prognosis.

 

We immediately began to plan a trip up to Indiana to visit with him.  I rented a 7-passenger Dodge Durango, picked up my Mom, my sisters Norma, Sharon, Ginny, and Ginny's husband Tom, and away we went on a road trip to Bluffton, Indiana.

 

Here we all are, after we met up with my brother Don and his wife Beth, at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

 

We traveled through Arkansas making our way north to the tiny town of Rector, Ark. where we lived for a time when I was four years old.  While living there we lost my baby brother, Delbert, at 10 days old, so on this trip we went to the Rector Cemetery to place flowers on Delbert's grave.

 {Besides losing Delbert, we have also lost my brother Roger (age 18 months) and my brother Lyndon (at age 49).}

While in Rector we took our Mom to see a couple, Norman & Louise Shelton, she knew from more than 60 years ago, who still lives there in Rector, Ark.

 We then headed north to Cairo, Illinois to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

What an amazing site to see these two mighty rivers merging together!

Norma and Don are standing directly above the confluence of these two rivers.  Norma is the oldest, and Don is second oldest, and I am third in the lineup of our Mom's 10 children.

I wonder how many storms and high water this beautiful tree has withstood.

Looking upstream, this is the bridge over the Ohio River.

 Looking in the other direction, this is the bridge over the Mississippi River.  We just drove over this bridge to reach this Confluence Park.

 As you can see these two rivers are busy shipping channels!

 

All along the way through northeastern Arkansas, eastern tip of Missouri, southern Illinois, and then over into Indiana there was farmland, rich green crops awaiting harvest, as far the eye could see, massive farms growing food and feed, cornstalks growing so thick and looked to be 10 feet tall, lush tall soy bean plants, and I don't know what else, but everywhere we looked it was endless rows of something growing all the way to the horizon. 

 

My younger sister, Donna, who lives in Greybull, Wy. flew into Indianapolis where she met up with us.  The next day we all made it to Bluffton, and had a good visit with our brother Wendall, who was now on a feeding tube 24/7 directly into his intestine, but remains upbeat and plans to enjoy every moment of every day he has.

 

[front: Ginny, Mom, Donna  back: Wendall, Norma, Sharon, Erma, Don]

 

The following day we picked up Wendall and we went on a drive over into Ohio to see Lake Erie.

 It was a beautiful day to be outdoors, the drive was thru verdant farmland, but it was a long day for Wendall, I think we wore him out, but so glad we could all be together for an excursion.

 

Wendall was staying with his oldest daughter Rachel and her family.

This is Wendall's younger daughter, Jessica, and her family.

Rachel and Bill have their hands full with their own family but really made us feel welcome and one day they even set up tables, chairs, and awnings in their backyard and had a big cookout for everyone.

 

We were sad for the reason for this trip however we really enjoyed our time together with family.  All we can do now is pray for Wendall.  His doctors don't give him much hope.  Sadly he waited too long before going to the doctor and getting his abdominal pain checked out.

 

{Update on Wendall today Oct.10: he is currently back in the hospital, cancer has now spread into his intestines.  One day at a time.}