My Grandparents
#11 ladies
I thank Quin for this incredible song,
they were truly the wind beneath
my wings.
There isn't a person in this world that was
blessed
with the most incredible grandparents that I was.
Now I know that
sounds a tad partial,
but I am allowed since I was the proud
and beloved
granddaughter.
A very incrdible lady, who
made this memorial for me
We can't know why some things
happen
but we can know that love and beautiful
memories outlast the pain
of grief
And we can know that there is a place
inside the heart where
love lives always
and where nothing beautiful can ever
be
forgotten...
If I have learned anything down the years,
it's that
nothing beautiful in this world
is really lost,
those we cherish will
always live on in memory.
My wonderful grandmother Mildred and my
grandfather Noah,
my fathers parents. I did
not know him as well, since he passed away
when
I was twelve years old, but I remember
his humor and his great
love.
I used to sit by the hour and brush
Grandmas hair in the
hammock, it was a
great joy for me. She would
tell me stories of my
father,
probably not to his liking I am sure. *smile*
Mildred Thomas
Rothwell was married very
young(16)to Noah Rothwell and the couple had
5
boys and 1 girl (whom did not survive).
She had a very hard life because
much
of the time they had relatives living
with them. She was a stay at
home
mom until the boys were grown. She had
a big garden and if you ate
it at
Grandmas house, you can believe she canned it.
She was a widow at
age 55 and went
to work as a nurses aid to support herself.
She worked,
by choice, until her mid 80's,
when she was compelled to retire. She was
an avid and very hard worker in her church
and many, especially me,
called upon her
great wisdom many, many times. She is
now 93 and living in
Westfiel, N.Y.,
where three of her sons live and
visit daily. I get up to
visit as
often as I can. I Love You, Grandma!!
My beloved
Grandmother, Mildred,
passed away April 18th, 1999.
It is with a heavy
heart that I add this,
but also with a thankfull heart that I was allowed
to
have this miraculous woman in my life.
Noah Rothwell was a farmer.
With the help
of the boys, he farmed many acres and
managed a herd of milk
cows as well.
He was a talented wood worker and carpenter,
which he did
when he could find the
time. He also worked at a furniture
factory. He
had arthritis and when in his early
50's, he had a massive heart
attack,
from which he did not survive. He was
the first of my beloved
grandparents to ascend
to be with his lord and savior.
I know he has
been smiling down and
watching over all of us these many years.
I miss
you, Grandpa!
<
Always take time to smell the rose.
Life is very short.
Do the things
that make you happy
before it is too late.
For a short time the rose is
beautiful.
How quickly the petals fall.
Life is like
that.
My wonderful
Grandmother and Grandfather Smith,
Lillian and Fernando, my mothers
parents.
What a very special pair they were, as
long as you didn't take a
car trip with them! *smile*
It is often said, by family
members
who are no doubt jealous, that I have my
grandmothers heavy foot.
She took a bunch
of the granchildren one day for a ride,
and I don't even
remember why, but we were
on the tailgate of the old station wagon
and
she apparently was going 80 miles per hour.
Well no one got hurt, and we had
a great ride.
Nancy Lillian Edith Wright was born in 1905
and lived to
be 92 years young.
She was a writer, and I so wish I had
inherited her
wonderful talent. Her pen name was
Nancy Moore. She also did many
painting,
most of them were of sceneries.
She was talented in many areas
including, cooking,
sewing, and she ran a flower shop.
She attended Moody
Bible Institute in Chicago
and while there ministered in the street
meetings.
She was a musician, playing the violin, organ,
and other string
insruments. She also often
sang solo's in various churchs. She had
six
children, one which was adopted as a baby.
She was married to my grandfather
for over
60 years when he passed away. She was
woman of the year twice, in
Sherman, New York,
the last time was when she was a young 89, I
believe.
She rode in the parade and was a
great source of pride for all of
her
children and grandchildren. She was
a constant source of
encouragement and strength for me,
as well as so many others.
I miss you
more than you can imagine, Grandma!
Fernando Smith was born in 1906
and
lived into his late 80's. He attended
Taylor University in Indiana.
He and Grandma
were married in 1925. He was a farmer
and a bible teacher.
A quiet unassuming
man that had the strength of JOB. I have
never known
anyone to work so hard and
steadfast for his beloved family. His last
few
years he was not well and needed
constant care the last year of his life.
He hated that, but was gracious and always
always tender and loving with
us all.
I miss you Grandpa!
Shake It Off And Step
Up
A parable is told of a farmer who
owned an old mule. The mule fell
into the
farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying'
-- or --
whatever mules do when they
fall into wells. After carefully
assessing
the situation, the farmer sympathized with the
mule, but decided
that neither the mule
nor the well was worth the trouble
of saving.
Instead, he called his neighbors
together and told them what had
happened...
and enlisted them to help haul dirt to
bury the old mule in
the well
and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was
hysterical!
But as the farmer and his neighbors
continued shoveling and
the dirt hit his back...
a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on
him
that every time a shovel load
of dirt landed on his back...
HE SHOULD
SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!
This he did, blow after blow.
"Shake it off
and step up...shake
it off and step up...shake it
off and step up!" he
repeated to
encourage himself. No matter how painful the
blows, or
distressing the situation seemed the
old mule fought "panic" and just
kept
right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
You're right! It wasn't
long before the
old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED
TRIUMPHANTLY
OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL!
What seemed like it would bury him,
actually
blessed him...all because of the
manner in which he handled his
adversity.
THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and
respond to them
positively, and refuse
to give in to panic, bitterness,
or
self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME
ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE
WITHIN
THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US!
Remember that
FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER--
PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways
to
"SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out
of the wells in which we find
ourselves!
A few poems from Grandma Smiths
Book!!
Sometimes
I long for a quiet place
Within a quiet
wood
Where one can breath
Peace, as one should.
A small cabin
there,
With a fence and a gate,
Through the dry brown leaves,
Where I
can listen and wait,
On the woodland floor.
Together we'll go,Hand in
hand,
To greet the flower faces
by our cabin door.
Touche'
He rode on a
tall white horse,
Straight into my heart that day.
His jacket was torn,
his cap askew,
And I fell in love, to my dismay.
I can still see his
boyish smile,
And the blush on his suntanned face,
They are indelible in
my heart,
A picture I've never been able to erase!
Believing
You have to
believe in rainbows,
With pots of gold at the end.
You have to believe in
flowers,
Growing just around the bend.
You have to believe in
friendship,
Or you never will have a friend.
You have to believe in
laughter,
When sorrow has come your way.
You have to believe in
sunshine,
Though clouds may darken your day.
You have to believe in
goodness,
When someone has gone astray.
You have to believe in
praying,
Or you never will learn to pray.
It's believing that gives
you courage,
To climb up on the ladder's rung.
It's believing that presses
you on
When hope by a thread is hung.
It's believing that brings back
youth,
When the heart is no longer young...
It's believing that gives
you a vision,
For the thing that has never been done.
It's believing in
the task at hand,
"Till the goal you are seeking is won.
It's believing
that builds up trust,
In the heart where love has begun.
It's believing in
believing, always!
That makes life worth living, my son.
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