Grandpa Lynn's Airplane

Grandpa Lynn's Plane. Chad's grandpa loved to fly. One of the first times I met him, I was taken for a flight in his little plane. We drove out to the airport in his truck and hopped in the little four seater and took off into the wild blue yonder.
I had never been in such a small plane, and the noise was so loud we had to wear headphones so we could chat.
Grandpa smiled a lot as he showed us around town and that surrounding community of Illinois from the air. He talked about how much he loved "flying the heavens" and how being up in the air gave him the perspective he needed to remember once we were back on the ground. Grandpa shared that he had many conversations with God while he was up there.
Our visits with Grandpa and Grandma Lynn were always fun, especially when we could get them talking about the "old days". The days of no indoor plumbing, electricity,ect. A smile would stretch across their faces and then a light of memory would flicker in their minds eye and the story would flow. Even when participating in light house work, or yard duties, there was always laughter somewhere in that home. Love in action was exhibited each time someone walked through the door be it a family member or a neighbor down the road.
Grandma and Grandpa lived in a little farmhouse that at one time was home to their six children. It was neat to hear the "remember when" stories that Sweeties aunts and uncles would share about their time in the house.
In Grandma and Grandpa's room above their bed were 18 model airplanes suspended in mid air. Each of the grandchildren loved to go in there and gaze up at the airplanes. If you were lucky Grandpa would follow you in and give ya some of the history of each airplane. Uncle Leroy built most of the models and gave them to his dad as gifts. However, there were a few that Grandpa built too.
Now that Grandma and Grandpa have left us to join their heavenly father, the family has begun the process of cleaning things out and passing along family treasures.
This Christmas I was thrilled to watch Sweetie and his sister each receive one of Grandpa's airplanes. Tears of joy and memories by the handful raced through their minds, as tears trickled their way down the cheeks of Grandpa's true gems, his grandchildren. It was truly an emotional moment of bittersweet joy. I am quite sure if Grandpa could have wittnessed this, his tender eyes would have welled up with tears of pride and happiness knowing his treasures would be loved by future generations.
Sweetie got Grandpa's Piper J-3 Cub. Grandpa's first airplane he owned for 11 years was very much like this one.
Today I hung that airplane up in a corner of our bedroom, so that whenever we look at it we can reflect and remember Grandpa. Grandpa wasn't just a pilot, he was a husband, a father, a Christian. He read his Bible daily, was an upstanding member of the community, he cared for and loved his fellow church members by serving for many years. To his family his legacy will continue, as we were all so blessed to have him in our lives.

I leave you with this thought. We all have special people in our lives, some come and go while other relationships last for years and years. What will the people that you know, and the friends and family that you love remember about you?

Getting my Rockucation on..Bring it!

While we have had Guitar Hero in our home for a couple of years now, I am just starting to get my feet wet. I enjoy watching Sweetie and the boys play. I have been able to blow it off until recently.
Our middleschooler asked me to play with him on Guitar Hero this week. To say that panic gripped me would be an understatement. I wasn't into much other than pinball as a kid, so now the idea of keeping up with those different colored dots as they race toward me is a stressful task at best.
I started my rockucation through the tutorial just last weekend. At various times throughout the week I have taken the time to finish and graduate from the famed rock school of Guitar Hero. I must say that I am by no means ready to Guitar battle.
Today I accomplished the YOU ROCK status on the songs, Rock You like a Hurricane, Slow Ride, Hit me with your best shot,and Rock and Roll all Night. This status means that I actually hit enough notes to be able to put my name in one of four slots on the main page. My rocker character; a gal with purple pigtails and a purple and pink outfit has actually made a little rock money. ha!
While I haven't advanced past the easy stage, Cory did sneak in a battle with me. He took me through an extrememly long, did I mention LONG song called Through the Fire and Flames. Apparently when you are in a battle neither of you can fail out. At the end of such a battle there is a percentage shown and he or she who has the highest score wins. I didn't. I did survive though, mostly by just hitting whatever color flew at me..I was actually proud of the 48% and 19 note streak I got on that one. That is an extremely complicated song.
Well, I must go as the extreme exhaustion of my fingers on my left hand are shaking from excessive use! Peace out!

God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth

My grandmother used to say that all the time. She thought and said that I was a continual bubbling brook. All someone had to do was show an interest in something I was doing and BOOM!
I wasn't always like that. When I think back to school days, I didn't say much. I was however not without communication. I recall getting in trouble in the fourth grade for passing notes in class. When the note regarding my behavior went home, I knew I was going to be in trouble. I wasn't! I remember my mother laughing and telling me that she was glad I had friends and try to talk to them outside the classroom so I wouldnt get another note home. She then shared with me how she didn't have many friends and she was glad I had made a few. I thought maybe I was in a time warp or something. But no, she simply signed the note and gave it to me to take back to school the next day. Now that I'm the parent, I also try to remember to exhibit grace and let some things slide.
I found myself using the same comment that Grandma used on the boys as of late. I want them to learn that we need to listen twice as much as we talk. Sometimes people just want someone to listen to them, not talk their ear off. We must learn to be still so that we can hear God's voice too.
People that don't speak out often are the ones that many will stop what they are doing just to hear what this quiet person has to say.
We are working on listening more than talking these next few weeks. It will be fun to see how the boys put this attribute into action.
That is all for now. More to come later.