Happy Birthday Sis!

Today you would have been turning 57, but you were taken away from us way too soon! These 2 weeks, in between the day of the accident (August 29th, 2004), my birthday (September 5th) & your birthday (September 12th) are the hardest weeks of my life! I remember how you always used to kid around with me about my birthday being a week before yours, but I always got you back because I was still the youngest. You were 10 years minus 1 week older than me & I know we shared a really special bond because of our birthdays being so close together. Hey, do you think Mom & Dad planned it that way? ;)

Mom told me how you used to spoil me all the time. Since I was the baby in the family & you were 10 years old when I was born (ok, 10 years minus a week, lol), she said that you used to treat me like I was your own baby. You would always want to feed me & dress me. As I got older, I remember being so sad when you moved off to Montana....you were starting a life with your own kids, but I was selfish & didn't want you to go! We always kept in touch....through phone calls & then the wonderful WWW with emails, but it was still so hard to be so far away from you!

I remember the last time I got to see you....it was when this picture, above, was taken. I came home for a visit in July of 2003 & you drove down to see me as you lived 2 hours away from Mom. I love this picture of the 2 of us together (even though I look like crap in it!). We both knew that the bond we shared was special....something only sisters share!

And today, as you celebrate your birthday, I realize just how lucky I am to have you in my life....even though you aren't here in presence anymore, I know you're here in spirit! And that's what gets me through all of this.....knowing that you're my angel & you're watching over me every minute of every day!

I love you & miss you, Karen!

Until we meet again,

Benita

09-09-09

Shawn called me on my birthday to see if I was gonna be home....he said he had something for me. When he arrived, he had these gorgeous roses in his hands, along with a very, thought-provoking card. I couldn't believe it! My son not only remembered my birthday, but he got me roses! Yep, I truly believe that those 4 days in PA together has brought us closer than we've been in YEARS!

On Labor Day, Jim & I heading to 3 different Salvation Army stores to do some bargain shopping since they always have sales on holidays. I could hardly believe my eyes when I stumbled upon the item above! Long story: when I was a teenager (some 30+ years ago), my grandparents had given me one of these exactly like this one & I cherished it as it plays the song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", one of my all-time favorite songs. Fast forward to 1987.....I had lost almost everything I owned in an apartment fire, including the above musical figurine. I was devastated! It was on the top of our waterbed headboard & when I was able to go into the apartment to salvage what I could, this figurine was all charred & broken :( So when I saw this exact same figurine at the store, tears swelled into my eyes & I clutched onto it with dear life. The best part is....it works & plays the song I love so much :) Yes, it does have a chip in the umbrella, but I don't care! It's mine! I guess the saying one person's trash is another person's treasure definitely proves true here :)

I also found this really cool box that I think I'll be using to display my shot glass collection.....or maybe for something in my scraproom? Hmmm.

I then stumbled upon these.....corn cob dishes. I got 6 of them for 99 cents each :) I've been wanting some of these for years & was so happy when I found them. Best part is.....they're made by Pfaltzgraff & they're all in excellent condition.

I also got myself 2 shirts, both brand new with tags, a Tigger polo shirt for Jim, which was also new with tags, a brand new still in box charging valet by Brookstone & these:

2 Willow Tree Angels for a buck each! And they're in perfect condition. I definitely couldn't pass them up!

Tonight was the first night back to bowling for our league & I'm pretty pleased with the way I bowled, especially since I haven't touched my bowling balls in 5 months! My games were 160, 190 & 173 for a 523 series. The first game, it was hard for me to concentrate since I'm the league Treasurer this year & had to count the money & take care of all the pay envelopes. And the first week is always hectic getting everyone started. But hopefully things will calm down a little next week & I'll be able to concentrate more.....although, that may or may not be a good thing :)

Have a great week/weekend,
Benita

9-5-62

Happy Birthday.....to me :) It's official. I'm another year older. And still the baby of the family, hehe. While I was in PA, my sisters & I were all discussing our ages, trying to figure out how old we each were cause trust me, when you get as old as we are, you tend to start forgetting things like that. Linda thought I was going to be 49 (gee, thanks, Linda!). I just had to remind them all that I'm still the youngest ;)

So today, as I begin to celebrate my 47th year of life, I plan on takin' it easy, reminisce about what I've accomplished (or procrastinated to accomplish, lol) over the past year & just be grateful to be alive to enjoy this day! I have so many things that I still want to do with my life, but just for today, I'll be celebrating the day of my birth: September 5, 1962 @ exactly 8:00 a.m. Thank-you Mom & Dad for bringing me into this world :)

Benita Lynn

Pics From PA

Friday morning, after picking up Shawn, we headed to PA & arrived around 5:30 p.m. We actually made pretty good time & I wasn't even speeding.....that much ;) Heck, you couldn't speed in Ohio.....there were cops EVERYWHERE! I swear we saw over a dozen cops all along I-80. Thank goodness for my radar detector :)

On Saturday, Barb, Shawn, Dad, Linda, Dave & I drove up to visit the crash site & the grave. Donna didn't want to go.....again :( She claims that she hates going to graves. Well HELLO....we don't exactly like graves, either, but we do it out of respect for Karen & Jimmy! At the crash site, Barb redid the names & dates on the crosses & I added the flowers.....blue was Karen's favorite color & Jimmy liked red.

Here we are at the grave.....I love the mums that were planted. I added the blue bouquet here as well.

Love this pic that Barb took of Shawn & I.....it's not very often that him & I get our picture taken together.

Here I am with my Mom. I was so happy to see her & she smiled as soon as I walked into her room. Then she looked at Shawn & said "who's that?" She honestly didn't recognize him. In her defense, it's been probably 7-8 years since she saw him last.

Sunday, we went to the mall & then to the Legion for dinner & drinks while Barb was working & again, to visit my Mom. She was in the mood for shrimp, so I picked some up for her at Long John Silvers. Then we had to leave on Monday :( I wish we could have stayed longer! Heck, we didn't even get on the road until almost 1:00 p.m. because I didn't want to leave! Why do vacations go by so fast anyway??? Here's Barb working at the gas station sporting her new haircut. She's still not sure if she likes it, but I think it looks great on her! Speaking of Barb, today she starts her Chemo & she could really use some prayers. She just doesn't deserve any of this!

My Dad & I, right before I left to come back home. Yep, he's a Kasey fan, too :)

Dad, Barb & I.

Before we got on the road, I had to stop & see my Mom again. LOVE this picture that I took of her with Shawn.

And once again, I started crying :*( She told me to stop crying & that she was okay. I told her that I just hate seeing her in there & she replied saying that she doesn't have to do any housework, doesn't have to cut grass, doesn't have to cook & assured me that she's doing good. When I went to say goodbye to her, she said "don't say goodbye, say see you later."

Right after we got into Michigan, I was just too tired to drive any longer, so I asked Shawn if he wanted to drive. Yep, can you believe it.....I let him drive my Charger?!? Am I nuts or what? LOL NO ONE drives my Charger but me.....not even Jim! LOL Actually, Jim hates driving it, so that's why he doesn't drive it very often. Shawn, OTOH, loved driving it! He was impressed with how well it handled & liked the power ;)

We arrived in Detroit around 8:00 p.m. to drop Shawn off & then I got home right around 9:00. It's been hard adjusting to being home again. Tuesday, I was really depressed & just sat around the house most of the day :( If I could move back home, I would in a heartbeat! I hate being so far away from my family! It sucks! It really sucks!

Benita