My very special Mother-in-law of 33 years passed away last year on October 1st. Ella was born only two weeks before the anniversary of her death so this post is in celebration of both the birth of baby Ella and the Life of Grandma Pat.
Patricia Ann Vernon-Cole, a wonderful mother to 5 children, grandmother of 11 grandchildren and great-grandmother of 7 was truly the matriarch of the Vernon-Cole family. This strong woman of integrity, determination and unconditional love is greatly missed. We miss her paintings and the artists paraphernalia strewn about her house, her love of gardening and animals, and the vegetable soup she would make when we’d visit.
If I could talk to Pat today about life and death, I can imagine what she would say… read more….
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We lost a very special member of our family this week. Mia, our miniature Australian Shepherd, passed away on Sunday. She was our friend, mascot and all around great companion.
When we brought Mia home in 2001, she was a cute little ball of fur with a freckled nose. Our daughter Rachel had earned money to buy her by doing chores, having garage sales… and a few donations from family and friends. Although she was originally meant to be Rachel’s dog, in no time at all she became the family pet. Rachel picked out the name Mia (pronounced with a long i). I tried to convince her to spell the name ‘Myah’ so it wouldn’t be mispronounced. Rachel stuck to her guns and as expected we were constantly correcting people on how to pronounce Mia’s name! Dad, who always nicknames our dogs, quickly labeled her ‘Mia Pia’, sometimes lengthened to ‘Mia Papayah’! read more….
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I vividly remember my children’s first day of school and the feelings of excitement and sadness I felt that day. Our 3 year old grandson started summer preschool today and I experienced those same feelings all over again. Just a year ago he was still a toddler, now he’s old enough for school. How did that happen so fast!
This morning Noah was having second thoughts about going to school. The day he had anticipated and prepared for did not seem as exciting now that his big brother was visiting from Denver and would be home all day. I did a little coercing and told him that when he got home we would create that Twiddlebug town we had been talking about for so long. read more….
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Aging has been quite different than I expected. I thought by this age that I would have it all together; be completely secure and confident with myself and my life. Suddenly one day I realized I was 60 years old and I didn’t have it all together. I didn’t feel confident with myself or my life. What happened, where did I go wrong? How could I have lived all these years and not have achieved this by now? And if I haven’t by now, will I ever? read more….
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My very special Mother-in-law of 33 years passed away last year on October 1st. Ella was born only two weeks before the anniversary of her death so this post is in celebration of both the birth of baby Ella and the Life of Grandma Pat.
