Women Are Angels

I found this quote today and just love it. Enjoy!

"Women are angels...and when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly...on a broomstick, if need be. We are flexible like that!" Unknown

Dr. and Mrs. Taff

I am sad tonight. I just heard that Doris Taff passed away. She was the wife of my Dear Dr. Taff.  Dr. Taff was my voice teacher and mentor in college. Mrs. Taff was always there beside him hosting the Southwestern Singers after concerts and loving us. They were two of the greatest people ever and I miss them!

Olivia

We are thinking today of Regina & Eric's daughter, Olivia. She has an infection in her little toe and has had to have surgery this morning. The pain and swelling have been terrible. We hate it that someone so young has to suffer like this. Hopefully the surgery will be a huge success and she will feel relief immediately.

Keep your chin up, Sweetie, we love you very much and hope to see you soon.

Happy Birthday, Hayley Boofy!

These are two of my favorite pictures of my precious daughter, Hayley. She was born 33 years ago on May 19. My life has never been the same since.

There is no way I can begin to express the essence that is Hayley. During some very difficult high school years she exhibited courage and grace that amazed me. Plus she continued to be joyful and maintain her quirky sense of humor.

Now she has matured into a lovely woman, married a great guy, and given me my darling Molly. She is the birthday girl and I wish her a delightful day. With Aaron and Molly to help her celebrate, I'm sure this will be a birthday like no other.

God bless my precious daughter on her birthday.

Love, Mom

Happy Birthday, Ronnie!

Tomorrow, May 19, is Ron Paulsen’s birthday. For years I have left letters to family members on my computer when we went on trips. In case something happened, I wanted them to know how I felt about them. After my illness in March of 2009 I decided that I should tell them now instead of waiting, so this year I started sending each one a letter on their birthday. Believe me, I get very emotional when I write them. It is impossible to say everything I want to say. I know that probably seems sappy, but I’ve always been a sap so why change now!

One of the best things I ever did in my life was to marry Dennis. Not only is he a wonderful husband, father, and all-round good man, but he also gave me the gift of his family to share. From the very start I felt that I was part of them.

I love Linda like a blood sister. I’ll get to her more in October. Today I want to talk about Ronnie. Not only was he a very handsome man, but he was so good to us. Dennis looked up to him as a role model. He was intelligent and quiet and gave good common sense advice to us all of our lives.

You learned a lot about Ronnie just by watching him. He quietly did what was right all of his life. I don’t know of anyone who didn’t like him. All the qualities that you look for in a person were there to see. Trustworthy just seems to describe him. He also fathered two of my most favorite people in this world!

It was a big loss to our family when he passed away. It still doesn’t seem real to us. Dennis and I feel that we ought to be able to go to Ponca City and see him. It just doesn’t seem possible that he is gone.

May 19 is also Hayley’s birthday. Ronnie told me from the time he heard I was expecting that she was going to be born on his birthday. He was totally right. Sharing a birthday with Ronnie is something Hayley treasures.

Happy Birthday to a wonderful man, my brother-in-law, Ron Paulsen.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Happy 7th Birthday to our darling Great Niece, Sarah! Uncle Dennis and I hope she has a wonderful birthday filled with fun. She is a beauty and such a delight! We love her a lot!

Invisible?

I read a book once about a woman who was getting older and started to feel like she was invisible. I think I am beginning to see what she meant.

Some things that I felt were a big part of me seem to be disappearing. I have always delighted in being a musician. It still brings me a great deal of joy, but I see that some parts are becoming a thing of the past. The piano is not a big part of worship services these days. I mainly accompany the choir. (Which by the way, is another thing that I am afraid is about to become a thing of the past!) The piano seems to be on its way out and so does the organ.

All of this had me wondering where do I fit in this world. Then just about the time I was thinking this could get depressing, life took another change. I saw that while the other might be true, I was entering a new phase of life. A certain little bundle of joy named Molly opened my eyes. My new life is GRANDMA FRANCY. Who could possibly think they were becoming invisible when they have grandchildren? If no one else in the world sees us, they do.

I'll be able to sing silly songs to someone new. I have already stolen my sisters' and sister-in-law's grandchildren as my own for years. I can't begin to tell you how precious all of them are. Sorry, Hayley, Aaron, Nicholas, and Brooke. I am hooked on this grandma thing. The more the merrier! Life is great!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful mother! Three girls could never have asked for a better one. She taught us to love to read and sewed nearly everything we wore. She passed along her love for music to all three of us.

One of the things that amazes me about her is her gift of hospitality. She has always hosted large groups for holidays or whatever and never seemed to let it bother her. She is a great cook. My friends even remember that about her.

Probably the most important thing she and dad did was take us to church. All three of us realized our need for a personal Savior and asked Jesus to save us. We all three serve in our own churches now.

I could go on and on about her, but my one wish is that I can measure up in some small way to her! I love you, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Molly!

Happy 1-month birthday to our dear, precious Molly!!!!!

Molly's Song

Molly's Song (sung to Mickey Mouse)

Who's the apple of my eye,

My favorite little girl?

M-O-L

L-Y-A

B-B-O-T-T!

Molly Abbott, Molly Abbott,

Forever she will lift my spirits high, high, high, high!

Who's the apple of my eye,

My favorite little girl?

M-O-L

L-Y-A

B-B-O-T-T!

I think I might have a future in song writing. What do you think? Maybe I don't really want to know!

Two Sweeties!

The picture on top is Molly at almost 3 weeks. The lower picture is Hayley at 3 days old. Molly is wearing the same outfit that we brought Hayley home from the hospital in.

Seems like just yesterday!