What Courage is Made Of

Six years ago today my Father lost his 14 month battle with Small Cell Cancer. I will be forever grateful for the nearly 4 weeks that I got to spend with him just 11 days prior to his passing. During that time we had many reminiscant conversations and many others on topics we hadn't talked about before.

If I had to choose only one word to describe him I would say "Patriotic".

When I was young I remember watching him serve with the American Legion during the Memorial Day Ceremonies or the 4th of July Fireworks,

as he stood there for the National Anthem, proud and yet so humble at the same time of the love for his country.

He returned with honor from serving in the United States Navy from Dec. 1954 to Feb. 1957. He was stationed in Kodiak, AK., Fallon, NV. and Vallejo, CA. I had the pleasure of hearing many, many stories from his time in the service and yes many of them I heard over and over through the years. But it was from these stories that many of the "Phil-isms" came to be.

I suppose most children recognize the shortcomings of their parents as I'm sure my children do as well. In spite of whatever shortcomings my father may have had, he and my mother raised us kids to be patriotic, hard working and integrable. I know there were many times in years past that he and I didn't exactly see eye to eye, but those times are so trivial to the relationship that he and I built together over the last decade or so of his life. I love him very much and miss him more than I can express.

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A Man I Admired and Loved

October 26th marked the eight year anniversary of the death of Phil Cram. 

For those of you who knew him you might say that he was a man of few words, but when he did speak you might want to listen because it always had value and wisdom. 

As I got to know him through the years I would look at him and wonder what he was thinking?

He always made sure to look at any given situation and think about all sides and views of the subject before putting it all into words. You could bet that when he did share his thoughts with you that it was well thought out and objective. He rarely would give just his opinion or advice but thoughts from all sides and let you seek the answer from that information. In the 23 years or so that I had the fortune of knowing him I can't recall a time that I ever saw him display the emotion of anger. I sure he did from time to time but he was very good at sorting it all out in his mind before speaking of it. 

I miss him very much as I know Brenda does as well. My regret is that my kids and especially my grandkids will not have had the opportunity to really know this wonderful man. I know that God has put him to good use in Heaven and I cherish the day that I will see him again. Amen

On Monday of this week Parker called from swim practice to let us know that Brendan Hansen would be at the pool later that night to sign autographs. I went and picked him up from practice and when he got in the car he could hardly contain his excitement about the event that evening.
I brought him home and he immediately finished his school work and headed off to the shower. Nearly 30 min. later he came hustling down the stairs dressed in his best swim T-shirt and best Nike ball cap. I kinda had to chuckle cause he reminded me so much of "Beaver Cleaver"
(Gee, Wally are ya ready to go?) It was so awesome!

So Brenda and him went off to the exciting aquatic extravaganza. As you can see Parker has a grin from ear to ear. The 14 Career Gold Medalist on the left, Brendan Hansen. And on the right is 8 Career Gold Medalist Eric Shanteau. Pictured below is the swim cap autographed by both. Definitely a highlight for Parker to remember for years to come.

The Last 45 Days

The Last 45 days have been....well pretty crazy.

After returning from our loop through the western U.S. (AZ. to S.D. and back to NV.) we tried to gain a sense of normalcy in our lives, knowing that our sense of normalcy is indeed abnormal to those outside looking in.

Phil, Amanda & Emma (PAE) seem to have settled in quite well to their home in SLC, UT. Before they moved we had an opportunity to spend allot of time with Emma. It was a very deep sense of lose when they left. Last week we (Brenda & I ) made a special effort to call PAE to specifically talk to Emma. When Phil answered the phone and I asked for Emma, he said "Emma, its Popo on the phone and he wants to talk to you." I could her thrill as she came running to the phone. "Hi Popo, where's Nana" I immediately knew where I stood but we began to carry on a conversation that lasted several minutes. She is so excited about her school and Halloween. Amazing how much conversation you can have with a 3 yr. old. She is very bright and intelligent and so full of orneriness, you can see it in her deep brown eyes. As you might can tell we miss her very much. Oh yeah.... we miss Phil & Amanda too!

Austin, Danielle, Ashlynn & Aiden (ADAA) Sounds like a Federal Agency.... doesn't it?

We are so grateful to have them near us, even though we tease them about living in Calif. They live on very south side of town. In reality its only about 8 or 9 miles to their house but with all the road construction and traffic it can take up to 30 min or more. Anyway... Sundays are a great day for me because after church we have family dinner and ADAA all come to the house. It is such a joy to hear them come in and Ashlynn shouting with innocent, meaningful glee "Popo !!" and she comes running to get her hug and kiss as I shout "My Princess!". Then not far behind her is the biggest little guy, Aiden who shouts "Popo!" and gives me a kiss and a hug while still keeping his Mom within eye shot. I especially like when he says "wub you" while giving his own sign language version of love you.

Chelsea, Curtis, Caleb, MaKenna & Mason?(soon to be). We'll go with the algebraic equation of

(3c+2m)=x (x= a happy family). After the (3c+2m) moved to Phoenix I called my mother and apologized to her for moving some of her grandkids 1200 miles away back when they were younger. I now understood how we must have ripped my Mom & Dad's hearts out. Thats what it felt like to me anyway. Since then they haved moved to Rapid City S.D. (Rat City) as Caleb calls it. Caleb is all boy cause he not only knows his "Popo" but Popo's truck. Everytime he sees a red or maroon suburban he says "Popo's truck!" He was so excited when we were helping them move to Rat City to get to ride in the moving truck with Popo! Although this picture doesnt show that excitement, once the newness wears off the truck ride can lull any little guy to sleep. Popo loves spending time with him.

Now our little Kenners, The Tulip Princess as you see in the photo... I refer to her as an independent little cuss. She is so cute I just wanna hold her and snuggle with her but she is just determined to do things her way and on her time. Thats ok though. Allot of it is that I have just not been able to spend time with her like I have with the other grandkids because of the land distance between us. I think once shes a little older and not so glued to "Mom" I be able to persuade her or coax maybe is the right word. I was telling Brenda that I thought this picture of Kenna looks allot like one of my baby pictures.

We love our Grandbabies very much, equally and without prejudice. They display the innocence of childhood and that could only come from our loving Father in Heaven. For I know we are all children of God and that there are great things in store for each and all of his children. Amen.

Slowly but surely they are leaving one by one.....well sometimes its one family by one family.
Corban started his first day of school at SCAD in Savannah. I texted him on Sat. night and asked him if he was going to like it there? His return message was " the women on this side of the country are so gorgeous!" So...apparently that was an astounding yes. I do hope that he remembers he is there for a college degree and swimming.
Tomorrow we leave for Gilbert, AZ. to help Chelsea and her kids load up their belongings and move to Rapid City, SD. Its times like these I think being a Bedouin and being able to get all your possessions on 1 or 2 camels doesn't sound like a bad idea. Looking forward to seeing and helping them none the less.
Thank Heavens that we still have Parker and of coarse we enjoy very much having Austin, Danielle, Ashlynn (Princess) and Aiden (Bootstrap) around to bring us joy at least a few times a month.
Amanda & Emma will be here til Sept. 28th (Philip's Birthday). I think Emma and I have developed a pretty good relationship over the past few weeks. I will miss that greatly.
You won't see a post from us until next week when we get back from Rapid City.
Til Then........

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The Sultan of Savannah has Arrived!

Late last night as Corban was saying good by to his many friends, Brenda was busy gathering his things to send him 2200 miles to the east coast for college. I'm not sure that this young Sultan understands just how much his Mother has really been doing for him. Laundry, meals and the general day to day nurturing.

As his friends finally departed around midnight they began the task of making sure all that he needed immediately was in his three suitcases. Although Delta Airlines so generously lets you have the carry-on and the 1st checked bag free...they do require a hefty $50 fee for the 2nd checked bag. But....this was still cheaper than using UPS. So about 3:00 am this morning they completed the task and went to bed only to arise at 4:45 am to get him to the Airport for his 5 1/2 hour flight.

A teary eyed and long embrace good bye took place.....knowing our little Cork was now officially on his own. Well, except for the strict guidelines of his Swim Coach and 21 meal per week plan that comes with his scholarship, he'll still have to do his own laundry. But I bask in the pleasure of knowing that I raised him right...meaning he'll have some girl doing his laundry before he has to start sniffing his clothes to see if they're ok to wear just one more time.

We as his parents are comforted by only one quote from history and that is this......

As Brigham Young led the Saints from Nauvoo IL. to The Salt Lake Valley and they established themselves over the next few months a Reporter asked Brigham how it was that there was no Law Man amongst them, his reply was...."All we can do is to teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves" (paraphrased)

The Brood Grows Bigger !!

Exciting news yet again!! I am not sure everyone one knows but Chelsea and Curtis are expecting their third child on April 3rd. 

Then we found out this evening that Austin and Danielle are also expecting their third child on May 17th !

That makes No.6 and 7 on the Grandbaby count and Brenda and I couldn't be more excited!!!!!!!!

Can You Name This Person?

I am someone who is under 45 years old, I love the outdoors, I hunt, I am a Republican reformer, I have taken on the Republican Party establishment, I have many children, I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president with less than two years in the governor's office.  Who am I?"  Teddy Roosevelt in 1900.

I bet you were thinking of Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin

  

This commercial was done by a local Illinois kid. You have to watch the whole thing. When he finishes talking and walks away, you get a sense of how this could be the commercial of the campaign season.

"My son Joe just did a commercial for John McCain.   Please pass this on.

Thanks, Bob Cook"

Bob Cook is a man of integrity and is respected by many members of TEAM,

The Price of Freedom

One final comment. Some have suggested that the McCain Campaign paid for this ad. Nothing could be further from the truth.

McCain would never use soldiers for political gain. He has honored them, but he will not use them.

Unlike the Obama who has used Tammy Duckworth to score political points. McCain has such reverance and respect for our military men and women, he would never use them as political posters.

Nuff said.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. - President Ronald Reagan

It's been a very busy September already...

     Friday, August 29th we welcomed to our home an exchange student from Japan. An always smiling (mostly because I don't think she understands, so she just smiles) 16 year old girl named Iori, pronounced E-or-E. She does pretty well with English, its our slang that she struggles with. I had no idea how much slang we use. But we all seem to be adjusting well.

     Then on Saturday, August 30th we helped Phil & Amanda move out of their condo and loaded their belongings into a 7' x 14' trailer we borrowed from a friend (Thanks JC & Diane) and headed for Salt Lake City, Utah early Sunday morning.  Arriving at their new home in West Valley, UT. about 4:00 pm and we had that trailer unloaded by 5:00 pm and then the skies opened up and it rained all the way through to Mon. about half way home to Vegas. Amanda & Emma will stay with us for a couple of weeks until her job transfer comes through with WAMU. 

Rapidly approaching is the 11th of Sept. in which we will fly to Savannah, GA. with Corban to get him going in his Sophomore year of college. He received a full ride scholarship in swimming to SCAD. We are very excited about this....since his frosh year cost us nearly $35,000 at UNLV.

He is looking forward to moving forward with his swim career and obtaining his goal (and his Coaches goal) of making the 2012 Olympic Swim Team.

After returning from Savannah, we will leave Tues. Sept. 16th to drive to Chelsea's house in Gilbert AZ. where we will be helping her and her family move to Rapid City, SD. Her husband Curtis has accepted a Flagship Store Management position with a Western Wear Clothing Store Chain. They are very excited to be taking their next step forward in life. 

As for Brenda and I....we are saddened that our children somehow have gotten that Gypsy Gene that we seemed to have had throughout the years. But also excited to see our children reach for their hopes, goals and dreams. 

"If You don't know what your dreams are...how are you going to chase them?" -Unknown

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."

- Albert Einstein