18 Years Together

Yesterday, June 13, Jon and I celebrated 18 years together. We worshipped with our church family at San Clemente Presbyterian Church and then enjoyed watching 16 of the 3rd and 4th graders at our church participate in the first ever Bible Bee. The kids did so well that the teachers/judges ran out of questions with seven children still standing (Joshua was one of those). In the end all seven got some great prizes, including Joshua who earned a MP4 player. Very cool.

Then we were off to our nephew Evan's tenth birthday party in Escondido. We had arranged to leave Joshua there and miss the party ourselves so we could have our own anniversary celebration. We enjoyed a short visit to the Wild Animal Park and then a delicious dinner at the Macaroni Grill. We got back to Steve and Sandi's house in time for cake and ice cream before heading home. My brother-in-law Sonny took this amazing picture of us while we were there. I think his camera is magic and makes people look better than we do in person. :)

All in all, a great way to celebrate 18 years of marriage.

Sheryl

Grandpa Baker Goes Home

Jon's Grandpa Baker passed away last Thursday morning. Here is what his daughter Ruth Lauer wrote about his final hours.

Thursday (June 3), at 2:45 am, the telephone woke us [Ruth's husband is Jim] from a sound sleep. It was the rehab center saying that Dad was failing quickly and had asked that they call his children. My sister Donna [Jon's mom], who lives in Crossville, TN, was here [Nashville] with us so, by 3:15, the three of us were by his side. We had a precious six hours with Dad, listening to his favorite hymns on CD and expressing our love for him. At 9:03 am, he closed his eyes and peacefully took his last breath. During the 2 ½ weeks at the rehab center, Dad won the hearts of the staff with his sweet attitude and gratefulness for the tender loving care he received from them. Several mentioned to us that Dad had asked if they would be in heaven with him. After hearing that Dad had died, an aid told me that she just wanted to hide out somewhere and cry a little while. Since Dad’s condition required skilled nursing, we are so very thankful that he could spend his last days in such a beautiful & caring atmosphere, which was more like a home than a hospital.

The service will be held Wednesday evening in Nashville. The three of us were there in December to celebrate Grandpa Baker's 100th birthday, but Jon had the flue and spent most of the visit in bed in the hotel room. Joshua does not have school this coming Friday, due to teacher furlough days, and Jon had already planned to take that day off to be with him, so we decided that it probably wouldn't hurt Joshua to miss two days of school, here at the end of the year. Jon and Joshua will fly out early Wednesday morning for Nashville and will stay through Saturday with Jon's folks in Crossville, a couple hours east of Nashville. Should be a great father-son trip along with some quality time with family.

Sheryl