The prize of compassion

  Most people know of our nephew Cody and his passing, he was a good young man following a bad path.  He was well liked and will be missed.  Please keep a good thought for my brother Chris.  Not much else to say.

  Everyone struggles, it's how we react to those struggles that set us apart.

  Some see the homeless and think eeew,
  I see a person in need, wondering if I will be there for them when they're ready to pull themselves up.
  People cry and ask god "why me".
  I thank god for the privilige of living another day

From me to all of you
Peace and Love
Mike

Wow

  It's hard to believe it's been 3 months since I last posted, my how time flies when life gets in the way.  Not much time for anything of late.  I lost my bet with Digger, but had a great meal with one of my favorite people.  I'm in the process of buying my parents home, for so long I tried to talk Dad into selling the house, much too large for one person, just funny how Karma works.
  Digger is already getting his boat into the water and I'm most likely 2 weeks away from launching the DayDreamer.  Summer is almost here, bring on the warm weather and sunshine.
  I'm off to North Carolina next month for more training, ice cream is in full swing right now so lots of work to provide hard working americans with decadent frozen treats.  Yeah for me.
  Time for bed and I promise recipes in the next post which will happen soon.
Peace and Love

Father

"He that raises a large family does, indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand a broader mark for sorrow; but then he stands a broader mark for pleasure too."

Benjamin Franklin

Dad, Shirley, Larry, Karen and Bev.

Mom, Dad and me(moms pregnant, thats why they're smiling)

Dad and Foster Brooks

    As most know by now, my Father passed away Wednesday night.  He will be missed, but the last year has been very rough on him.  He handled it all with strength and class, these are the lessons he left me with.  The ladies at the nursing facility found Dad to be a delight to have around, a smile and a wave when they walked by, never bitter about getting a raw deal with the stroke.  I remember walking the halls with him, he would stop at the nurses station, reach up and tap the counter to get the nurses attention, just to wave a "Good Morning" to them.  He soo loved the attention of the ladies there.  He struggled to walk even a few feet, but he put all the effort he could muster into it.  He loved to visit with the his own and Dori's grandkids, kinda of showing them that he really hadn't changed that much.  All class, caring as much for them and their needs as they did for him.  At our family BBQ in August, he had such a great time, but he didn't care much for the food Sundaye and I prepared for him(we kinda chopped and pureed some stuff together).  He sat visiting with everyone, almost like nothing was wrong.  I could go on about how he handled all this, but then I think you all know the man and none of this would surprise you.

     The pictures above brought a smile to my face so these are the ones I chose to share.  Below are the arrangements.  This isn't meant to be a depressing post, it's my way of saying Thank You to man that taught me how to handle lifes unpleasant moments with strength and class.

My Dads funeral arragements are Saturday February 6th at Bailey -Love Mortuary in Huntington In. Viewing is 11-1 followed by the funeral at 1pm . The address for Bailey Love - 35 West Drive - Huntington In, 46750. There will be an online guestbook.

Peace and Love

Mike

My days

Hello again, this blogging thing has been harder to keep up with than I thought.  So what have I been doing with my time so far this year?  Playing a silly pirate game on FaceBook, but most of you know about my pirate fascination and if you don't, you will.  I have been to the Lost Soul Pirate in Key West, they have one of only 2 known to exist "REAL" pirate flags to flown over a pirate ship(Angel was less than impressed).  I have toured the Pirate fort in Nassau, sailed through the harbor of the sunken city of Port Royal, Jamaica.  Hey, I think some you are not sharing my enthusiasm. 

Oh well, I have also continued to sort thru things at my Dads house and what did I find.  Pictures, lots of pictures.  See if you can remember the day.

Aunt Karen & Shellie

Grandma Shepperd & Kim

My dad has had a rough time lately, he has a small cancerous tumor on his pancreas.  Sundaye, Digger and I attended a doctors appointed today with him, more doctors to come.  We currently are unsure what will be the best treatment for him, but he was in good spirits today and not too annoyed to be taken to yet another doctor.  On a better thought, one of Dads favorite desserts is Cherry Delight.  A few years ago I made this for his birthday, a double batch so as company came to visit he would have enough to share.  Later that evening I talked with Digger, Digger told me he had been at Dads for a few hours watching a ball game.  I asked "how did the cherry delight taste?", Digger replied he didn't see it in the frig.  Dad had stashed it behind somethings and was intent on eating the whole thing himself.  Here's the easy throw it together and run recipe, with a store bought crust. 

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 container cool whip

1 9 inch grahmcracker crust

1 can cherry pie filling

Beat the first 3 items together, fold in the 4th, pour into crust, top with cherry pie filling.

Then enjoy.  Quick and easy.  Enough for now.

Peace and Love

Mike

Resolutions

New Years Resolutions
1)  Digger and I have a little weight loss bet going.  He has to lose 15 lb.s and I have to lose 25 by April 1st.
     Who ever doesn't make their goal has to buy dinner, Red Lobster, I know why bet food for weight loss.
    It had to be something worth winning.
2)  I really need to paint more and with things finally quieting down in life no good excuse not to.

So does anyone else make resolutions?  Nows the time to post them, time share.

Here's a picture of Digger, Megan and Tammy.

Spent plenty of time with Angel over the holidays, along with Digger, Tammy and Tom, playing cards and eating stuff that I hadn't been eating for a longgggggg time. 

Not much else going on here, cold and snowy.  I think I was meant to live in a warmer climate.  None of my gotta root for teams made it to bowl games, so I've had to live vicariously thru everyone else's team.  But I still have Colt's, unless they decide to keep throwing games away.  I would be PO'd to spend that much money to go see a game and watch the 3rd string QB play.  I guess I'm old fashion, but any game worth playing, is worth playing to win.

Hope the New Year is treating everyone well.
Peace and Love