Happy Valentines Day!

Grandma's Hands

My Aunt emailed this to me... I was really touch by it and wanted to share...

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.


When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong.
'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?'
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.
Grandma smiled and related this story:
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life..
'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor..
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.
'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special
They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.
'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.'
I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

Billboards

On our way home from Eli’s daycare everyday, we take Snelling Ave. Just before the fairgrounds there are about 3 -4 billboards on each side of the road… one is a huge Troll for Treasure Island resort and Casino, one is for a Country music station, and another is a man’s face for a mortgage company or something… Everyday Eli says, “Mama, what’s that? What’s that, Mama?” I tell him, “It’s a billboard, Eli.” To which he repeats, “A billboard.” This morning when Nick was taking Eli to daycare, Eli says, “It’s a Billboard, Daddy!” Nick called me immediately to tell me.

Eli Says...

I see Eli digging in his nose and he pulls “something" out. He shows me his finger and I say, “What is it, Eli?” Eli says, “It’s a Goober, Mama.”

Let's! Play! Hockey!

Our son is obsessed with all things hockey. He has only been skating one time, but he is hooked! For Christmas he got some hockey equipment... goal nets, hockey sticks, special balls for practicing hockey indoors...etc, etc. If he sees the Minnesota WILD logo, he shouts, "It's a hockey game!"

Recently, we were trying to get Eli to drink some water and he refused, until we told him it was hockey water... then he was all about it. One night when we were struggling to get him to eat his chicken at dinner time... until we told him it was hockey chicken!

Last night as we were getting ready for bed I asked Eli if he wanted to wear his dinosaur jammies or his moose jammies.... he said, "Hockey jammies". He does have hockey jammies, but they aren't real hockey jammies. They are actually baseball jammies... but one night Eli didn't want to put on jammies, so Nick told him the jammies he was trying to put on him were, yes, hockey jammies...
We are terrible!

Life as we know it

This morning, I went into Eli’s room and was overwhelmed with the smell of… yep, poo! It was spilling out of his diaper and, well, it was everywhere. Nick was standing there with a look of disgust and confusion on where to begin… this is where the mom in me kicks in and starts barking out orders… “You! Hold the kid over the tub. I’ll take off his clothes and then we will give him a bath (after we clean off all the poo).”

So, after we had given Eli a bath and put clean clothes on, I look at Nick… and there is poo on his face... and he had no clue. He looked exactly like this picture of Katherine Heigl from the movie Life as we know it. I could hardly tell him what was on his face because I was laughing hysterically. We just about died laughing!
Oh, parenthood…

MILROY — Donald “Donnie” Bossuyt, 78, of Milroy, died Wednesday at the Rice Care Center in Willmar as the result of an aggressive recurrence of cancer.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Milroy. Interment will follow at St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in Milroy. Military honors provided by U.S. American Legion Post 274 of Milroy. Memorials preferred to Rice Hospice in Willmar.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Milroy with a prayer service at 7 p.m. and for one hour prior to the service Monday. Arrangements with Rehkamp and Horvath Funeral Home in Marshall.

Donald Camiel Bossuyt was born Jan. 10, 1933, in Tracy to Alphonse and Irma (Cooreman) Bossuyt. He grew up on the family farm near Milroy. Donnie enlisted and served as a mechanic in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After his honorable discharge, he returned to Milroy.

On April 9, 1956, he was united in marriage to Delores Rothmeier in Clements. After a few years, the couple moved to Marshall where Donnie worked as a diesel mechanic for Olson and Johnson and Westmillers. In 1967, he and Delores took over the family farm near Milroy and opened Don’s Country Shop. He later worked for D & M Implement in Marshall.

Donnie was very creative and was able to fabricate just about anything out of metal. In his early career, he created many useful items for the farm. He later began creating household items for his daughters and grandchildren, and he restored many antique tractors. Donnie and Delores enjoyed traveling and they spent many winter vacations in Texas. They also loved old-time dancing on Saturday nights.

He is survived by his daughters, Ruth (and Roger) Gauquie, Karen (and Tim) McLaughlin, Deanna (and Greg) Gustafson, all of Willmar, Julie (and Randy) Rucker of Montevideo and Cynthia (and Steve) Olson of Monticello; 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; sisters, Dorothy Swedzinksi of Minneota and Doris (and Joe) Cauwels of Milroy; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Delores; and infant daughter, Yvonne.