Sunday, April 29, 2007

Tough Times Bring Family Closer

We received the news that our Paul had received orders to go overseas on May 25th. Not the news we wanted to hear, most especially during these tough times. They are tough times for the world, as we all pray for peace. They are tough times for this family as we all pray for healing from our recent loss.

Paul is one of those precious gifts in our lives. When your children marry, you never know what you are going to get. You are suddenly stuck with a new family member........or blessed, as we were when Cat married Paul.

Everybody in the Chin family loves Paul. We quickly learned that his quick smile can lift any moment. His calm, gentle nature made him the perfect partner for Cat. No matter how upset she gets, the smile appears along with his gentle humor. His wit keeps us laughing. His strength sustained us recently, when times got tough, as he quietly helped hold us together. Paul can be counted on, no matter what.

We look forward to visits here or there. We know we are going to have fun. We also know, that we became instant family. He just fits in. As Catie once said, "I want a Dad like Paul. He works hard every day, he is fun and he is always nice to Auntie Cat and Tate." What more could you say about a good man?

So now it is our turn. We will be strong. We will smile when we say goodbye and then we will help Cat and Tate to move temporarily to Michigan and take good care of them. We will make it as much fun as we can. We will write to him until he is sick of our letters, make him read our blogs and send him jokes to make him laugh and wait his return.

We hate to see him go. We feel confident he will be safe. We will just plain miss him.

Grandkid Day!



Morning came a bit too early after a night of celebration and fun last night at St. Peter. I kept seeing people appearing from all corners of the house.....Mike O, Callie, Ron Weasley (aka..Kyle) and Justin and his new dog Jack. I think my kids recruited people to come and witness their mother's hangover. (deep sigh)

However, I was determined to enjoy a day of Grandkids. Joe and I headed out to Bunker Hill to pick up Cam and Nick and returned to find Daniel and Alexis had also arrived. Mike O completed the crowd and he and Joey headed across the street for the BIG day of carnival fun.

Daniel was a little on the small side for the rides, but enjoyed the Merry GO Round, over and over. Nick decided that Alexis was his personal favorite cousin and took delight in taking care of her, carrying her on his back to the carnival.

The kids returned with prizes from the games and stories to tell of the rides and long lines. A gourmet meal of chicken tenders, tator tots and applesauce was enjoyed by the little crowd, topped off with a pile of strawberries, watermelon, pears and apples. Daniel threw in a peanut butter sandwich. So far, so good!

A great day from start to.......about 10pm, when Catie took a ride on her "Heelies", pulled by Alexis and Cameron and ended up falling. We have just returned from the Emergency Room where she was "splinted" and returned to us. Bad sprain, no break...Thank God!