Mom & Mary in Riverside, CA , May 2008

While we were in Santa Barbara, Mother was visiting with her sister Mary in Riverside.

Mary had a backyard full of beautiful azaleas. Mom is on the right.

Graduation Days in May, 2008

Cody graduates from college.

The first week in May found us in Santa Barbara, Ca where we attended the graduation of Cody (our first and oldest grandchild :-) from Westmont College. He graduated "Cum Laude" with a physics degree and is now enrolled in a five year doctoral physics program in USC San Diego.

Proud parents, Dave & Melinda with Drew, Cody & Austin.

Drew graduates from High School.

The last week in May, we were in Scottsdale, AZ where we attended Drew's graduation from High School. Drew is now enrolled in Point Loma College in San Diego, Ca.

Pround parents again :-)!

(Proud grandparents too . . . way to go boys!)

Florida in February, 2008

In February, we joined our friends Paul and Laura Sentman in Marco Island Florida for a little R & R.

We enjoyed beautiful sunsets . . .

long walks . . .

great seafood dinners . . .

and wonderful fellowship. We are so thankful for good friends!

We also took a trip north to meet both Nathan and Pam and Christine and Steve and all their children who were also taking a little vacation time.

Back Row: Isaac, Max, Timmy, Madi, Jordan & Cady

Front Row: Abby, Brooklyn, Aubrie & Joshua

Christmas in South Carolina, 2007

"Merry Christmas" Y'all . . . a Texas Christmas in South Carolina!

A few weeks before Christmas, Nathan and Pam packed up and moved to South Carolina with a little help from Grandpa and Grandma :-).

There were Texas boot stockings hung from the chimney with care.

And a tree loaded with lots of Texas ornaments . . . little reminders of happy days spent in Texas.

A Hayride in South Carolina, October 2007

Max was a good tractor driver . . . way to go Max!

Pam, Timmy, Isaac and Abby sitting on haybales and waiting for the tour by tractor to begin.

Nathan and Grandpa Paul

Timmy says, "This is real hay!" (he's a city boy :-). Abby is ready to go!

South Carolina is a beautiful place to be in the Fall. What fun to enjoy it while on a hayride.

Halloween 2007

This Halloween the place where my mother lives had a special luncheon. The dining room was decorated in Fall colors with pumpkins, fall leaves and a few ghosts and goblins. The residents were encouraged to come in costume. I decided this was an event that needed to be shared so Kirsten and her children and I picked up my mother-in-law, Catherine and drove to Dallas. The children wore the costumes they were going to wear that night at a party at our church. Emily was "little Red Riding Hood", Alex was an FBI agent, Cassidy was an angel and Zachary was a knight.

Mother surprised them when she arrived in her "costume" :-).

The previous weekend, Brian and Kirsten dressed up for an evening out with friends. The theme was "the 70's".

White Rock Court

It has been over three months now since my dad passed away. There have been some rough and lonely days for my mother, but, we are so thankful that she is doing much better and adjusting to this new phase of her life. In September, we moved her into a two bedroom apartment on the first floor so now she can have overnight guests as well as enjoy sitting outside and watching the birds and now the leaves changing and falling. She is also making new friends and reaching out to others. There are others here who have lost spouses and need a smile and a word of encouragement.

God has been so faithful. My dad is greatly missed, but we know he and my brother Mike who passed away in January as well as Lindsey (Mike's granddaughter) who went to heaven last November are rejoicing to be together with the Lord and as a family we are all looking forward to a wonderful reunion one day. Thinking of eternity puts everything in our life in proper perspective. Our lives here are on earth are just a blink in God's timeline. And, during that "blink" we want to "...walk worthy of the Lord fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy." (Col. 1:10, 11)

July 3, 2007

REMEMBERING

Paul Forest Greene

December 30, 1912 - July 3, 2007

On July 3rd . . . my mother's 89th birthday . . . my father left this earth . . . leaving his frail body and entered glory. That morning, when we suspected that his time on earth was drawing to a close, mother leaned over and kissed him and told him that it would be so wonderful that he got to be with Jesus on her birthday. Tim, Mother and I were all together as his breathing got more difficult; he had seemed almost semi -conscious since the night before. There was a knock at the door and it was a Fed Ex package for mom's birthday. The package contained a CD that my nephew Rick Greene (Mike's oldest son) had made. It was a recording of him singing some of my dad's favorite songs. Tim put in on the CD player and turned it up so dad could hear it. The first song was "There's just something about that name". "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name." About the third "Jesus", dad opened his eyes wide. He was struggling to breath but we were able to look in his eyes and tell him we love him and what a wonderful thing that we would one day meet him in heaven. The second song was dad's favorite " 'Til the Storm Passes By" . . . and then "Amazing Grace". We sang it together for him with tears streaming down our cheeks and during "Amazing Grace", my dad went to Glory. He is rejoicing with my brother Mike and his great grand-daughter Lindsey and all of his family members that knew Christ and went on before Him. They are all in Heaven, praising God together.

A FAMILY TRIBUTE

Paul Forest Greene was born on December, 30, 1912 in Tyler, TX to Albert O. and Ada Graham Greene. He grew up on a farm in rural OK and had five sisters and one brother. He graduated in 1936 from North Eastern State Teachers College where he majored in Math and P.E. and went on to receive his Masters degree in School Administration from Oklahoma University. As an athlete he lettered in football, baseball and track and was twice named as all-state quarterback. He went to the semi-finals of the National Intercollegiate Wrestling Tournament.

Paul married the love of his life, Mildred Hayden, on March 27, 1937. They enjoyed 70 years of marriage. His son Michael Paul was born in 1941 followed by Mary Susan in 1944. His third child, Timothy Hayden completed the family in 1948. After teaching and coaching in Oklahoma he moved his family to Texas. There he was an Assistant Principal for a number of years at Benjamin Franklin Jr. High School and then at Thomas Jefferson High school. He then went on to become the Principal of Lagow Elementary School from 1970-1978. His years of service were marked by high dedication and loyalty to the children and staff who came under his direction.

Uppermost in his life was his love for his family and his Savior Jesus Christ. He faithfully dedicated himself to serving Him. His life was richly blessed with the 13 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren that God gave him. He was a great example to all of us by the love and tenderness he showed his wife and children. He was a diligent man who taught us all how to work hard as well as play hard. He showed us the importance of giving your all whether it was getting an important job done, growing the biggest tomatoes, or catching the biggest fish! He was strong and determined to the very end when Christ lovingly called him home for some much needed, well-deserved rest.

Father's Day 2007

What a wonderful day we enjoyed as a family. We gathered in Dallas for lunch and to wish my Dad a "Happy Father's Day" It was fun to have Melinda here, too. (She took the pictures!)


Brian, Kirsten & children

Nathan, Pam & children

The Hayes family had arrived from Russia but had gone to San Antonio for the weekend.

Melinda, Christine and Brooklyn with Mom & Dad

We got together as much as we could while both Melinda and the Hayes were here and wished for Dave, Cody and Drew. There is always lots of laughter when the Anderson big kids get together and you can imagine the excitement with 14 children from age 1 to 13 running around.

Brian, Christine, Melinda & Nathan

Sisters and "Best Friends"

Kirsten, Christine, Melinda & Pam

Mom & Dad Greene

The very night I returned from Arizona, Paul and I were wakened with a phone call from my mother telling us that Dad had fallen and thought he had broken his arm. He was right . . . the fall broke his left arm and it took an emergency crew to lift him and take him to the hospital. He spent about 5 days in the hospital and then almost 3 weeks in a nursing facility following that. He has not recovered from the trauma to his body since the fall and has increasingly been losing strength. He is now back with Mom at White Rock Court where they moved in March and Hospice is now involved in helping us care for him. He is not improving and seems only to be losing ground. Our goal is to keep him comfortable (and he loves it when Paul brings Duffy for a visit). There are good days and bad days and Mom is doing the best she can and trying not to be discouraged. We are daily looking to the Lord for strength and encouragement. We know that Dad's time is in God's hands . . . we are trusting Him!

The Chapmans in Arizona

It is now June . . . where does the time go??? The week after Easter, I went to Arizona to stay with Drew and Austin while Dave and Melinda went on a vacation to Costa Rica. "Babysitting" the Chapman boys sure has changed over the years. I kept them fed and in clean clothes and we did manage a little conversation in between school, work, and their various church and other activities. They live very busy lives! I also got to take care of their two golden retrievers, Payton and Reggie. It was the easiest "babysitting" job I have ever had :-). These Chapman boys have grown up overnight . . . Paul and I are so proud of them and the fine young men they are growing up to be.
Dave and Melinda had a great time in Costa Rica and made it home with lots of fun pictures and stories of their time there . . . hiking through rain forests, near a volcano, enjoying the ocean and all the wild life.

School is over now for the Chapmans and Cody is back home and working as a summer intern for a medical engineering co.. Austin is getting ready to go to a LaCrosse camp and Drew is going on a missions trip to Poland.