Elsie

I first met our neighbor, Elsie, five years ago when I was looking for our missing cat. She was seventy-nine at the time, living in a house that was about to be overtaken by blackberries. She invited me in and I wasn't sure I wanted to sit down. Admittedly, she wasn't much of a housekeeper. I'm not sure how much of that was her age and how much was personality. I won't judge; housekeeping isn't my thing either. Elsie had been a widow for something like twenty years.

Anyway, over the years we'd occasionally chat at her mailbox or on the phone. She'd make us a swag for Christmas and I'd take her homemade apple cider or leave treats in her mailbox. Whenever I did, she'd tell me she'd written it in her "blessing book." She had very little money and was always so grateful for the little things.

Elsie was fiercely independent. Two years ago, when we had all of that horrible weather right before Christmas, she was snowed in for at least a week. She didn't have power for five days. I kept calling to check on her and offer to help. Finally, she agreed to let us take her to the grocery store. She tried to put it off, but I insisted. Good thing, because the next day we had freezing rain and an ice storm like I'd never seen and even our Xterra couldn't have made it up her steep hill. She talked about our "rescue" frequently after that.

Elsie had two adopted sons. One was so abused he didn't come out from under a bed for quite awhile and the other has severe brain damage and mental illness from the effects of alcohol (and drugs?) during pregnancy. The first lives back east; I have no idea how long it's been since he's visited his mom, but I do know it's been a long time. The second lives on his own a couple of miles from here, but Elsie did a lot for him and a neighbor looks after him as well.

Almost exactly a year ago, I learned at the grocery store that Elsie was in the hospital. By the time I figured out how to track her down, she was in a nursing home not too far from here. She'd been diagnosed with lung cancer. I went to visit her twice in the week and a half before Judson was born. She was THRILLED. She was as sharp as a tack...remembered everything. That always amazed me, especially since my memory is so terrible already.

She got to go home the day before Judson was born, I think. She called the next day and left a message at my house at the same time my water broke. As soon as she was up for it, I took Judson over to meet her.

I saw her in the store once after that and talked to her on the phone a couple of times. Unfortunately, the last time I called her, it was to tell her that some teenage boys were walking up her driveway. (Her house is out of sight of the road.) She immediately started chatting away and I had to cut her off to tell her about the boys. She said not to send Nate out; she'd go investigate. I sent him anyway. :) I kept meaning to call her back just to chat, but never got around to it.

Last Saturday, I was outside with Judson when a firetruck stopped in the road. They were looking for her house. Her caregiver had called when she didn't answer the door. We found out Sunday morning that she was in ICU and went straight from church to visit her. She wasn't in good shape, but was again THRILLED I'd come to see her. Though it was really hard for her to talk, she just kept talking and talking. She talked about how much she liked my mom when she met her last summer and she said she wished she'd known me fifteen (or fifty? I couldn't understand) years earlier. That we'd have had a lot of fun together.

She really wanted to see Judson, but they wouldn't let her. No kids under twelve allowed in ICU unless death is imminent. At that time, it wasn't. I promised I'd bring pictures back.

Elsie was a Christian and she kept saying, "Thy will be done." Though the visit was hard, it was such a relief to know that she knew Jesus and she'd soon be going to heaven. And that I would see her again one day! I prayed with her before I left.

On Monday I found out she'd been moved to a different floor of the hospital and was receiving "comfort measures." Her bowel was perforated and toxins would soon take her life. The great news about the move was that I could take Judson to see her! We spent about an hour with her. Her one son was with her, as well as LOTS of people from her church. The toxins were starting to affect her brain, but she still knew most of what was going on and she loved seeing Judson. Despite a terrible nap, he held up so well. Thank You, Lord! He held her hand and entertained everyone. She died the next morning (Sept. 21).

I am so thankful to have known Elsie. She was one-of-a-kind. I only wish I would have taken more time to reach out to her in this past year. Though I can't go back and change things, I can take this lesson forward. Loving on others is one of the most important things I can do with my time. Along with loving Jesus, it is the most important thing I can teach Judson. So, I guess the housework will just have to wait. :)

Big Announcement

Are you intrigued?! No, I am not pregnant. :)

The big announcement is a sad one for the Moody family. There will be no cider (making) party this year. Our fifth annual cider party will have to wait for next year. While this was a hard decision to make, we just don't have it in us right now. (Last year we had fifty-five people in attendance and I can count at least four new babies born since then...) Nate's been struggling with all sorts of health issues, we've had his dad camping out at our house for two weeks while we try to find him a new apartment, and we're off to Colorado next week to visit one of my aunts who was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and doesn't have long to live.

So, if you've been a faithful attender of our cider parties, I'm sorry about this year. But we WILL host one next year! Feel free to hold us accountable... :)

Judson's Chariot

We got a Chariot bike trailer with our R.E.I. dividends this year. We opted for the double so we could use it longer. However, I'm not so sure Judson's going to like sharing. :)


Anyway, it took us awhile to find a helmet that fit well and that he didn't hate, and we wanted to make sure he was big enough to safely tow behind the bike.

Yesterday was gorgeous, so we headed to Minto Brown Park in the late afternoon for our first bike ride with the boy. We had a terrific time! He was very happy as long as we were moving. He eventually fell asleep and his head didn't flop forward, so we counted that success.

Getting sleepy...

Day Two

Sunday turned out to be a gorgeous day and we headed to the beach in the late morning. We went to "Devil's Kitchen," a beach that is protected from the wind. Two other perks are that a fun stream goes through the area and it's far enough from the ocean itself that it's very safe for kids.

I don't have many pictures... I couldn't find my spray sunscreen and ended up turning Judson into a sandy mess when I applied the lotion sunscreen. He didn't mind, though...he was too busy trying to eat the sand. :) Then my hands were greasy and I didn't use my camera anymore...




After naps, everyone came over to my parents' house for another fun dinner. Later the guys played the Wii at our house and the ladies played board games at the Nelsons' (so all of the little kids, except for Macy, could be in bed).

On Monday, the ladies went out to breakfast before we all headed our separate ways. Unfortunately, Krista came down with the 24-hour flu in the middle of Sunday night, so we didn't see her on Monday.

So, that was our weekend. It was such a fun, special time with friends who are more like extended family!

Day One, continued

My mom really wanted us to take some group pictures. Five people moved to the ranch in 1977: my parents, Bob and Dee, and one year old Josh. Now there are nineteen of us! (At our thirty year celebration three years ago, there were no grandchildren, though that weekend Jess told us she was pregnant. Three years later, there are five kiddos!)

Anyway, each family picked a color scheme, as you can see. Once my brother saw these pictures, he said he will forevermore refuse to participate in color scheme dressing. :)

The whole group

The Nelson clan

The Boyds...why didn't one of the Nelsons tell us to scoot together so there were no awkward gaps?! :)

The "ranch kids" and grandkids

The original five

After our "photo shoot" (I use the term loosely), we had a delicious barbecue at the Nelsons'...the perfect end to Day One.

Thirty-Three Years

Since it has been two years since the last "kid" from the ranch got married and we were all together, my mom decided it was time for another ranch reunion. She and Dee worked hard to plan some fun activities for Labor Day weekend. We all had a terrific time...there was just the right amount of activities and down time, in my opinion.

Judson was diagnosed with a double ear infection just hours before we headed to Bandon, but that didn't slow us down. He's such a trooper...and so darn sweet! He also cut three teeth in four days.

Day One: The guys all went golfing and the ladies and kids went to the West Coast Game Park just a few miles south of the ranch. We grew up going there. The owners had a sign posted on the ranch across from ours (the owners of that ranch were our "adopted grandparents"), so we got to go for free. The Game Park is small and very expensive, but it's very nostalgic for us. Plus there are usually baby animals, like tigers, bears, and leopards, that are available to pet. You certainly can't get that experience just anywhere!

Waiting our turn to go in with the tiger cubs. We didn't end up getting to, but the cubs walked along the railing, which was fine. They were pretty big and rowdy for our little guys. Plus we were the first to get to go in with the leopard cubs.

So cute!

The little leopard (4 wks. old) just crawled right in his lap...

Judson and me with the Nelsons (from left): Dee, daughter Krista, daughter-in-law Jess with baby Max and two year old Logan, and daughter-in-law Crystal with two year old Cash

Anna and Macy join us!

This picture cracked me up when I took it because it looked like Judson was on Anna's shoulder, like her conscience or something. :)

I was a little nervous that the llama was going to spit (look at those ears!), but usually the spitters are fenced in...

Crystal got out snacks for Cash and the bear was immediately interested. :)

The grandmas doing all of the work :)

Dr. Krista (she graduated from OSU's vet school last year!) and a wallaby. She really loved the capybaras (world's largest rodents), and I tried really hard to convince her the wallabies were cooler.