Pop-Pop Goes Home

Jack P. Edmundson, Sr.
August 13, 1920 - September 5, 2010

Very few men live a long life. Very few men live an honorable life. Pop Pop was one who did both. He had a testimony about the Lord's goodness he loved to share. His sums up his life with this verse: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

From the bombing at Pearl Harbor to meeting my grandmother and many adventures along the way, he testifies to how God worked together for good things that did not seem to be good at the time. Yet, his citizenship, his family, his medical bills, his distant relatives, and his retirement among other things were evidences of God's lavish love upon this man and his promise fulfilled to make "all things work together for good" because of my grandfather's love for the Lord.

I can rest assured that he is now rejoicing with the angels and worshiping God forever alongside his wife, Janet (Nonna to me). Pop Pop, we will miss you, but I know I'll be seeing you again.

Until then...

What I've Been Looking At

I have not been on this blog much lately because of the pain I've been experiencing. It takes longer to do everything so when I sit down, I don't always want to think about what to write.

Here are some things I have found around the web this week that have captivated me:

Tragedy strikes a middle school a few miles from my parent's house.

Kelle's birth story. This blog post is long, filled with beautiful photography, and shouldn't be read without a box of kleenex nearby. It chronicles the emotional roller coaster of having a baby and learning to accept, love, and be blessed by her birth.

My former pastor's nephew tragically passed away.

The government has your baby's DNA. That's a bit scary.

R.I.P. Sparky

My cat died Saturday night. Well, actually, we had him put to sleep. He was 13 years old and recently diagnosed with diabetes. He was suffering and didn't have much time left. The kids were all in bed, but we thought Walnut would like to have a chance to say good-bye. I woke him up and he groggily petted Sparky and sadly bid him "Farewell." I took him back to bed and held him while he cried and I cried a little bit, too.

Peanut was sick and staying home from church with Filbert. Walnut said he wanted to stay home with daddy to "see what the house will be like without Sparky." So while Cashew and I went off to church, Filbert took the boys to Lowe's and they picked out a birch tree under which to bury Sparky. Walnut helped Filbert dig the hole. Peanut watched. Finally, Walnut asked if the hole was big enough. Filbert told him that it was deep enough, but it needed to be wider, to which Walnut replied "Can't we just crunch him up into a ball?"

R.I.P. Walter Payton

It is with great sadness that I report to you the passing of Walter Payton the chinchilla. A funeral service and interment will be held at the home of a family friend tonight around 8 pm. Walter was a good chinchilla. He only chewed up a few of our things. String Bean loved feeding him. Mr. Bean loved caring for him. He will be missed.

Walter Payton April 2006 to July 27, 2009

Ironically, like his namesake, Walter died at a very young age for a chinchilla.

Today's News

You may remember yesterday that we reported on an unfortunate scene in Chicago at the North Avenue Park. A woman's purse was stolen and dumped under a park bench. According to the phone call Mandie of "Just We Moms" received today, the owner of that purse has been reunited with her belongings and is ever-so-thankful to have recovered a portion of what was lost.



In other news, the beloved horse, June, who has made Cosley Zoo home for the past several years died yesterday. She was 14 years old. According to one of the zookeepers, she was sick and taken to the vet, but did not survive. She died on Sunday evening, July 12, 2009. June was an American Cream Draft Horse and shared her stall with Pro the Shetland Pony. Pro appeared to be somewhat lost while on display today. Normally he is seen following June as she wanders in the horse enclosure. The zookeeper said, "He knows something is different, but I don't think he knows what," as she sympathetically scratched him behind his ears. Since June was not in the stall with Pro at her time of death, the keeper staff does not believe she is mourning at this time. According to Danielle, a zoo spokesperson, they hope to get a new companion for Pro since horses thrive with companionship.

There will be a memorial fund to remember June, but details are not yet available. If you are interested in making a donation in honor of June, you can do so by contacting the staff of the Cosley Zoo.

On a personal note, while the ducks are String Bean's favorite zoo animals by far, she is always thrilled to see the horses. Today was a sad day as the big white horse no longer is with us.

The Death of a King

I was amazed to flip through channels yesterday and pause on MTV. They were showing music videos. Gasp. This has not been done since I was a child. Apparently, it takes the death of the King of Pop for MTV to find its roots.

One of my earliest television memories involves sitting around the television catching Kids Incorporated on Saturday mornings and flipping over to MTV to watch the Thriller video. We had cable, but certain channels were off limits. (Hi, Mom!) I'm sure I would have gotten into lots of trouble at the age of 6 or 7 watching MTV in our house. (My in-laws, who are missionaries, must have allowed MTV at their house because Mr. Bean recognized nearly all the music videos we watched last night as soon as the opening scenes began.) The zombies always scared me a bit, so I never watched the whole thing. Last night it was on television and I watched it in its entirety with Mr. Bean. I laughed at how well zombies dance and how un-scary it is. Perspective is everything I guess.

I had two friends who lived on my block as a kid: Brooke and Amber. I remember sitting in my front yard singing with them Bad and the Weird Al version Fat. Those were the days. Of course we didn't hear the song that often, so we didn't know the verses, just the choruses. I think we also became blood sisters back then. Oh, the 80s. A magical time indeed.

Recently, I taught a 2nd grade class. One little boy, Robert, had a keen interest in karaoke. His favorite song to sing? Billie Jean.

I won't even pretend to be a connoisseur of Michael Jackson or even know very many of his songs (lets face it, if it wasn't on Bad or Thriller, we're lucky if I have even heard of it). I'll leave that honor to my sister-in-law and my husband.

Be prepared for snide remarks from Filbert who is not a fan of MJ. Tsk, tsk. How can he be part of Generation X?!

Goodbye, Mom

I taught a 2nd grade class for the 2005-2006 school year. Those students are now in the end of their 5th grade year. One of those students, Casey, said goodbye to his mom yesterday. Casey is 11.

Casey's mom, Beth, had a very aggressive form of breast cancer which took her life rather quickly. Beth had an amazing attitude about her illness. You can read all about it on her website.

As of right now, I am not sure if I can make it to the funeral. I am certainly not looking forward to it if I am able to go. Even though it is a celebration of Beth's life, it is never easy to say goodbye to someone you love. I can't even imagine what Casey (and younger brother Paul) are going through right now.

Keep them in your prayers.

It is All in Your Point of View

This morning after church, Mr. Bean and I had lunch with the other Amy. Then, we went to Babies R Us to get an ever-so-needed new diaper bag since my old one was literally hanging by a string (well, 4 of them to be exact). We got home and started transferring all the stuff into the new diaper bag only to find that one of the stroller attachments was missing. I was so frustrated that we had to trek back to the store (which isn't exactly close) and pick up the missing piece.

Then, we went to the wake for our friend's husband who died suddenly.

In light of this young mom now being a widow, I really don't mind that extra time chatting with Mr. Bean in the car rides to the store. It is amazing how an annoying situation like this suddenly becomes less so when you consider that there are people out there like Debbie who would have traded places with me today in an instant. It is all in your point of view.

A Season of Sorrow

It is with a heavy heart today that I write this post. This morning, one of the ladies from our church became a widow. Her two children (ages 4 and 14 months) are without a father. It happened suddenly and was unexpected. John was 38. John broke his leg around Christmas-time and the working theory is he died due to a blood clot possibly from the broken leg.

Amy and I both knew this family. Their 14 month old was dedicated to the Lord at the same service as String Bean. Amy's husband, Filbert, grew up with John's wife, Debbie.

Pray with us for Debbie and her two girls. We don't know why the Lord chose to take John home, but we do know that the Lord has a plan for Debbie and the girls. We do know he will take care of them.

Remembering Bekah

On the drive home from our Thanksgiving festivities, I turned on my iPod and listened to Rebecca St. James' album, God. If you haven't heard it before (and you can ignore some slightly annoying vocal stylings), it is a pretty good album with some solid, biblical lyrics and it has several songs that just rock out. I have a couple of favorites from that album: Go and Sin No More and Abba Father. I just love the message of Go and Sin No More and it reminds me that despite my failings, God still will forgive me and take me back. It is pretty powerful. I like the song Abba Father and the album in its entirety for complety different reasons.

Back on Thursday, April 30, 1998, I was a junior in college. I got horrible news that a friend of mine, Bekah Stewart, had collapsed in her room and that the Public Safety officers who arrived to assist ended up doing CPR until the paramedics showed up and rushed her to the hospital. What I didn't know at the time (although I suspected) was that Bekah was struggling with anorexia and bulemia. She'd been struggling for years and her parents, who were fully aware of the situation, were already on their way to campus to take her to an in-patient treatment facility because they felt it had gotten out of control. Due to a lack of nutrients in her body, she collapsed and her heart stopped beating.

Friday, May 1, my friends, Sahrie, Kristy, Angie, and I needed a break from the drama of the entire situation and took a road trip out of the city into the suburbs to just get our minds off things. While we were driving, Kristy put on the Rebecca St. James album, God. It was the first time I heard the album. I remember being overwhelmed with emotions that day and sitting behind the drivers seat trying not to think about Bekah and what the outcome of this horrible incident was going to be. I know I wasn't paying much attention to the music nor to the idle chatter of the others who were in the car. Then, the song Abba Father came on. At that moment, I needed words of encouragement. I needed a word from God. These are the lyrics I heard:

I'm feeling like the eagle that rises
Flies above the earth and its troubles
Oh yes he knows that there are valleys below
But under his wings there's a stronger power

Oh Father- You are my strength
On You I wait upon

You make the road rise up to meet me
You make the sun shine warm upon my face
The wind is at my back and the rain falls soft
God I lift You high- You are my Abba

Running on this road to the finish line
The only road for me is the narrow
Not gonna stop or even look to the side

When I fix my eyes on You Jesus
Oh Father (Abba)- You are my strength
Now more than ever

Going to Bible college, I learned early on that the Greek word, Abba, means "Daddy." I don't know about you, but the image I get of "Daddy" is similiar to that of what String Bean, at the tender age of 12 months, must see when she looks at her Daddy: the strong man who holds her when she's scared or just too tired to go on, someone who cares about her deeply, and a soft place to land. Being beside myself with worry over Bekah in the backseat of that car, I heard this song and my soul felt the arms of my "Daddy" wrap around me and say, "I know what is happening. I am Bekah's Abba, too."

We returned to campus and finally were given permission to visit Bekah at the hospital that evening. It took the doctors over 30 minutes to restart her heart the day before and Bekah was brain dead but on life support so her parents and friends could say their final goodbyes. As we mourned we lifted our voices in praise to God our Father who is the life-giver. Bekah was taken off life support and died on Saturday, May 2, 1998 at 5:37 am.

We all know we will see Bekah again one day and that she is safe in the arms of her "Daddy."

I always think of Bekah when I hear that album. I don't think about those last few hours that I knew her. I think of all the fun we had together. I remember her flinging herself on my bed and telling me about her latest crush and how impossible boys were. I think about her mom, dad, and sister and how I got to know them and see their hearts and know Bekah more through them.

That's why I love that album. It brings me the memory of my friend.






*Thanks Sahrie, for going through your journals to help me fill in all the little details like exact dates and times!

Getting Your Affairs in Order

The last two Sundays at church we've had a mini-conference on Estate Planning. "B-O-R-I-N-G!" you say? Not at all! I have learned quite a bit just by attending the two sessions led by an estate attorney.

Did you know that when you die if your estate is worth more than $100,000 your family may have to wait 6 months to a year to get what you've willed? It is called probate.

Did you know if you don't leave a will stating where your children should end up that a judge (who may or may not agree with your religious convictions) decides who will raise your children?

Did you know that the government can take about 50% of your assets in a Death Tax which is completely avoidable with proper planning?

Did you know that by spending a thousand or two dollars now you can save tens of thousands of dollars (or more if you're made of money) later?

Did you know that in the state of IL, you will be kept on life support unless a very specific, very easy form is filled out stating otherwise?

I learned a lot, and I have a lot to do to get our affairs in order. We are not guaranteed a single day. Now that we have String Bean, we can no longer afford to have our will sitting in a file unsigned.

Luckily, we were left with a list of Action Steps so we know where we are going from here!