Month: July 2013

faithful · minutes

Minutes – July 29

Angela Pea4 Comments

::faithful

praying for –  Gordon, who went home to heaven Friday night.  His death was not unexpected, as he’s been suffering from renal and congestive heart failure for a long while. As his condition deteriorated, Jane called us all in to visit once more.  The grandkids even snuck Fonzy, Gordon’s dog, into the hospital for one last snuggle! On Thursday evening Gordon told Jane that he was too tired and too sick to stand on the edge for much longer, and that it was time for him to make the jump. They made the decision together to stop extraordinary measures, and transferred into hospice.    

2013.07.30 (2)

Praying for Jane, for comfort in the coming weeksmonths as she grieves.  She and Gordon have been married for almost sixty years.

Praying for their family and for my own.   Gordon’s death is the first one in our lives that my children have been old enough to really understand and grieve.

Gordon and Jane are dear, dear family friends; we’ve known them since before we were married.  They are the parents of my husband’s best friend Bill, who died from brain cancer thirteen years ago. Our families are intertwined, bound by years of friendship and sealed with decades of shared laughter, tears and prayer.  Our kids have called them Nana Jane and Papa Gordon since they were babies. I remember when the girls were old enough to start puzzling out the intricacies of family trees.  They were really surprised to learn that not everyone has three sets of grandparents and extra ‘cousins’! For Mr. Pea and me, Gordon and Jane have been an incredible, loving example of the sacrament of marriage.

2013.07.30 Gordon and Jane

Gordon P. Gruver – December 29, 1928 – July 28, 1913

Record the Minutes. Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea

fun · letters

Friday’s Letters – July 19

Angela Pea2 Comments

friday's letters

Dear SyFy Channel  – Sharknado.  Absolutely the Worst. Movie. Ever. You have finally unseated Attack of the Killer Tomatoes from that illustrious pedestal.  And?  It was completely hysterical.  We watched it last night to see what all the fuss was about and laughed until tears ran down our faces, not because it was funny, but because yes, it’s really that bad. “Sharks in a tornado.  Sharknado. Simply stunning.”  And friends, in case you’re thinking about checking this out with your family, this isn’t a movie for young kids. (My boys are older teens, so yes, they were allowed to watch.)  Lots and lots of totally fake shark attacking gruesomeness – sharks in the living room, chainsaws, folks with chainsaws getting swallowed by flying sharks and surviving.  Let your imagination run totally wild.  You get the picture.

Sharknado

Dear Water Park – Yeah!  You’re finally opening!  All those kids you hired back in May have been patiently waiting to start work, and now they get their chance to earn a paycheck.  Not for long, though, because most of them head back to school in a few short weeks. I hope you have a backup plan for lifeguards.  Writing notes to their teachers requesting ‘excused absences’ probably won’t work.

Dear Watermelon – You, my dearest, sweetest friend, are the best part of summertime.

Linking up with the Ladies at Suscipio.  Go visit today and play along with the 3-2-1 so we can all laugh together today!

Recognize your Moments of Grace. Keep the Faith.

minutes

Minutes – July 15

Angela Pea6 Comments

::faithful

Continued prayers for Angela’s Mom and for Roxie’s Mom.  Many prayers of thanksgiving for a day of rain!

::healthy

Walking, biking and pushups.  Not all at the same time, of course.  Then there was the Peach Pedal.  That’s Mr. Pea and me just at mile 17, taking a break.  Yes, I ride in a skirt. The world does not need to see my fanny in bike shorts.

2013.07.16 PeachPedal

::pondering

Tending my words, that they only offer support, guidance, direction and kindness. Especially when directed towards my husband and children.  There’s no room in this house for meanness.

::creative

Knitting continues on the striped wrap, but it’s no longer green and purple.  Those colors were just too fall-like and I couldn’t get excited about the project.  I dug through the stash and came up with a white, a beach glass green and a light garnet, which together have me grinning and knitting like a fiend when I actually sit down for spare moments.    I also serged the edges of more ancient towels so they will quite shedding strings all over the inside of the washing machine.

::delicious

  • Chili Spiced Flank Steak, Cucumber Salad and Spanish Rice
  • Baked Pasta with Veggies, Tossed Salad
  • Grilled Chicken, Corn and more Salad
  • Turkey Paninis, Carrot Sticks and Fruit Salad
  • Blackened Tilapia, Saffon Rice, Peas
  • Burgers.  Yum.
  • Tuna Salad, Some fresh veggie and, um, whatever else I can round out this meal with

::fun

We – the entire family – continue training for the annual DFW Tour de Cure.  Saturday’s Peach Pedal ride was eye opening.  I’ve lost some endurance over the past few months, since I haven’t been riding as much. Ouch!  The 37 miles was a bit long, and I was struggling in the heat. SO.  We’ll be biking a lot for the next two weeks.

I still need sponsors, so here’s another shameless plug:  Please support this year’s Tour de Cure by sponsoring me, or any other rider. All donations are appreciated – can you spare some change?   By clicking on the link below and following the prompts, you will begin the process of making a secure, 100% tax-deductible donation.

Sponsor Angela Pereira by clicking this link:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/A6NTX-NorthTexasArea?px=7916000&pg=personal&fr_id=8655

::looking ahead

Green Grass!  It has rained for more than forty eight hours straight (AMAZING!) so we should see green for a few days before it gets hot again. Back to school is bearing down on us, so it’s time to start thinking about things like new socks, undershirts, pencils, shoes and notebooks.

Linking up at Suscipio– come join us!

Record the Minutes. Keep the Faith.

EMail Anglea Pea