Tuesday, June 30

Today, as I worked at the zoo, the mood was somber. The loss of our director was not only unexpected but also a blow to the zoo community. Mr. Swanagan was such a passionate leader who told us at each meeting that we needed to "touch the heart to teach the mind". Our hearts go out to his family at this difficult time. Because the weather was so nice today, we decided to go to the zoo for the afternoon. Both sets of grandparents, along with Trish took Luke for a most enjoyable visit to the #1 zoo in America. We all had a great time!

Monday, June 29

Yesterday, the memorial for Gary went very smoothly. It was so nice to see so many of his friends there to celebrate and remember his remarkable life. Many thanks go out to the special people who made the service so special. The music was wonderful and Gary was such a lover of music among other things. The speakers all did a fantastic job of giving everyone a sense of who Gary was. I loved all the spots during the service when people laughed. That is what I remember most about Gary, how he made us laugh. During the planning of the memorial, I had tried without success to find someone who knew Gary as a scout leader. Well, God dropped one right in our lap yesterday. One of the guests got up to speak about Gary as his troop leader. Icing on the cake!! My wish was that when everyone left yesterday, they would feel as if they had one last visit with Gary.

Friday, June 26

Well, it's been a busy week with therapy, and appointments with the attorney and another with the funeral director to firm up plans for Gary's memorial that will be held on Sunday. Meanwhile back at the ranch there is mowing to do and Clay is helping to get the weed eating done and we are staining the deck. He has been a life-saver for me. Just knowing I don't have to do everything by myself is a big relief. My nephew, Daniel came over last night and delivered my new steps for the swimming pool. He did a great job building them. I stained them tonight and they look very good. He even built a hand rail so they should be a lot safer for the little ones and the older swimmers too. Tomorrow Trish and Luke are flying in and I can hardly wait to see how big Luke has gotten since we saw him last. Mr. Bichler had a really great day today. He helped me finish the bathroom upstairs, he walked outside to see the tree that came down in our yard and he went swimming and played volleyball with me using the beach ball. Seems he is getting more energy. Let's hope the trend continues! Have a wonderful week end!!

Monday, June 22

Still keeping busy around the house. My lawn boy power washed the deck today and we plan to stain it tomorrow. Hope it goes ok. This evening we had a special dinner date at the Der Dutchman. We met with some of Mr. Bichler's therapists from Dodd Hall. It was a great time and we were surprised to see one of his Dr's as well. His OT couldn't make it at the last minute which was disappointing but it just gives us an excuse to meet again. There was a time that I would never have believed that we would be going out to dinner ever again so it was so special for us to share this evening with some of the people that made it possible. I thank God for the many extraordinary therapists and Dr's that have helped Mr. Bichler to the point he is today. What a blessing to have had these people placed in our lives!!

Sunday, June 22

Hope all the dads out there had a wonderful day doing something they enjoy and just relaxing being waited on hand and foot. So what is so different about today and every other day? Just kidding. Myself, I just brought a pizza home after church (it was special, had all the fixin's on it instead of just pepperoni!) and we went to the dairy queen for a hot fudge sundae in the afternoon. This morning was a great birding day and I was a little late getting to church because of it. The Baltimore oriole babies fledged or left the nest today. It was so fascinating to watch as the parents looked after them as they ventured out on their own. One of the fledglings seemed a little more adventurous while the one in my photo stayed just above the nest as if it were a safety net. I also saw a green heron at the edge of the creek. As I write this my little chipping sparrow is picking around the bird feeder with the mourning dove. Nothing relaxes me more than watching the birds.

Friday, June 19

How about all that lightening this morning? Yesterday Mr. Bichler was thrilled to find out his 1/2 mile marathon was cancelled. Instead they planned a pizza party for next week and went to Giant Eagle to buy their supplies. Today, since it was raining, we went to Lowe's to buy some things I needed to put the sink in upstairs. Not sure how good my plumbing skills are, but I guess I will find out. We also had lunch at O'Charley's with a gift card I found from several years ago. Then I test drove a Subaru Forester. It was actually pretty nice, even though I still like my Trailblazer best. But with 125,000 miles I think I better start looking. I really put a lot of miles on over these past 5 months.

Wednesday, June 17

This morning Mr. Bichler and Mr. Boyd headed over to Cedarville College around 9 a.m. They watched the girls play several games on their last day of camp. I think Mr. B had a great day but he was extremely worn out by the time he got home. Actually both he and Mr. Boyd fell asleep while they were waiting on me to get home. Must have been some thrilling games!!