My father-in-law passed away Sunday evening. We are all, of course, grieving his passing . . . but are also grateful that he is at peace. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.
Funeral arrangements and family time will be keeping me busy for the next few days, but I will return next week with a few new posts, including my 41@41 list and my son’s latest hobby!
This is my family. The one I inherited when I married Michael almost 16 years ago:
Okay, we weren’t quite as numerous back then . . . but this is pretty much the entire gang today. (Minus one . . . who was born to the woman in red in the front row — her 9th — just days after this photo was taken last summer!)
The family I was born into is tiny by comparison. Just me and my sister and my parents. Even with marriages and children/grandchildren, we’re still tiny. I’m grateful to be a member of two very different kinds of families.
Today’s post is about the one I married into, though.
Here are the Flynn originals:
Nine amazing children born to two extraordinary parents. And I’m not just saying that because I happen to be madly in love with one of those kids. (Yeah, he’s the handsome one in the gray shirt!!) I remember the first day I met the Flynn gang . . . and I think it was pretty much the entire gang at once, too. I was completely blown away by who they were individually . . . and more so, how cool they were as a family. From the moment I met them, I could feel their family pride. I loved hearing the kids tell stories from their childhood. And – oh! – the stories!! It quickly became obvious that it was no accident that 9 children, with different personalities, all turned out to be remarkable, successful, wonderful adults. Their parents, Joan and Larry, were the reason. The foundation. The cornerstone. With that many kids, it could have been easy for one or 2 to slip between the cracks . . . but not with the love and dedication and hard work of two incredible parents.
I am an “outlaw”. Like my 8 other outlaw brothers and sisters, I was born into the Flynn Clan, not by blood, but by union. Because of this fact, each of us could probably tell stories about our entry and acclimation into this big tribe, and they’d all be unique. But the one thing we all have in common with each other and our Flynn partners . . . is the intense love and respect for the matriarch and patriarch of this family.
My father-in-law, Larry, is very ill right now. He’s actually got stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and no one is really sure how much longer he’ll be here. This news has absolutely rocked my tribe to its very core.
Larry is . . . something else. I love spending time with him, because each time I do, I realize why my husband is the way he is. Joansie and I have spent many occasions chuckling over their similar behaviors, even when they are things that could potentially be deemed . . . well . . . annoying. But Mike has inherited so many wonderful traits from his dad, too. Like his impeccable work ethic. His attention to detail. His crazy sense of humor. His quiet, but deep, faith. His unending devotion to his children. His loyalty and crazy-deep love for his wife. (Oh, and of course, his handsome good looks!) How blessed am I to have not one, but two, extraordinary men in my life?
Perhaps the only down-side to having such a large family is the fact that sometimes it’s hard to spend one-on-one time with anyone. I know that everyone, right now, wants to spend time with Larry. I respect this time and it’s sacredness, and I want his own children to spend these precious days with him. I think they need this. But by the same token, I hope that my dear father-in-law knows how much I love and appreciate him, for who he is as an individual and for what he’s contributed to this big, amazing family. His should be proud of the legacy he will leave when he takes on his heavenly body. (And yes, Larry, I just called your body “heavenly”!)
So, dear readers . . . if you wouldn’t mind . . . please say a prayer for my sweet father-in-law and for the rest of my tribe, as we navigate these difficult times together. Many thanks.
When an Ugly Doll shows up on your doorstep, crying, filthy, hungry and thousands of miles from home, what do you do?? Well, you take him in, calm him down, clean him up, and send him homeward. But before you do, you throw him a party.
When little Deer Ugly arrived on our doorstep a few weeks ago, we didn’t see him at first. We heard the loud wailing of someone lost and far, far away from his favorite person. So we brought him inside, calmed him down and waited for him to tell us where he lived and who he belonged to. Between hiccups and sniffles, he told us that he belongs to a girl named Greta who lives in Portland, Oregon. When we asked how in the world he ended up in Wisconsin, the wailing started all over again, so we gently dropped the subject and got down to the business of getting this poor chap reunited with his best friend.
First of all, he needed a bath. Maybe it was ten baths. We lost count, actually. And a flea dip. I think there may have been a pedicure, too. Ugly was in sad shape, but with a little elbow grease, we got him looking as good as new. (And smelling better than when he arrived!! Peeeeee-yeww!) We even got him dressed in some new special duds, so he’d look his best when he got home.
Next, Ugly helped himself to the refrigerator. All of it, including the butter, a few bottles of salad dressing, and that rogue jar of olives hidden waaaaay in the back. I appreciated him getting rid of all of those leftovers, really. One less job for me. (Uh, I mean Mike. That’s his domain.)
When he was clean and full, then we had a little send-off party. All of the Uglies at our house (and the Domo brothers, too) gathered. They were loud. There was karaoke. And knock-knock jokes. But most of all, there were cupcakes. The guest of honor was very careful not to get frosting on his new necktie.
And then it was time to send Mr. Ugly back to Ms. Greta, who was surely beside herself with worry for her little lost friend. So we packaged him up with a note (telling Greta this little tale) and some photographs of the party and sent him Priority to Portland. Home, sweet home.
After a whirlwind day, we felt good knowing that friends would be reunited, and that we could help make it happen.
Photography has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I think the ability to capture a treasured moment for eternity has a huge appeal. There are so many moments of my life that I wish had been captured in a photo . . . and I guess I’m always mindful of that. I take a lot of photos.
I got a 35mm film camera shortly after Reilly was born, because I figured some day he’d want to have good photos of himself as a child. Mike has very few photos of himself as a kid — one of the negatives of being the 7th of 9, I guess. I have a bunch of photos, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them “good”. My mom’s photography skills have been joked about for as long as I can remember. Anyhow, I wanted to document his life nicely.
When I began to scrapbook, it created the urge to improve my photography skills even more. I worked on perfecting “my eye” if not the technical aspects of photography . . . and it paid off. When Meghan was born and our favorite portrait photographer left the studio we regularly visited, I said “To heck with it.” and started taking my own. And family members took notice and encouraged me.
Of course, before long, I decided I “needed” a DSLR. And right about the time I began this blog, Mike surprised me with one for Mother’s Day. Like so many others, having the ability to take a gazillion photos with instant access to view them made it easy to practice, practice, practice. (And delete, delete, delete!) But over the years, I’ve gotten better and learned a lot. I mostly shoot for my own enjoyment . . . but have been called on occasionally by a friend or family member to take photos for them. Would I ever do it professionally? I doubt it . . . but I certainly enjoy the thrill of getting “the perfect shot”.
So, anyways . . . I was recently asked by my dear friend (and photographer extraordinaire!) Tracie to assist her with a wedding that she’s shooting at the end of September. I was honored, humbled, and excited to have such a great opportunity given to me!
In anticipation of the wedding, Tracie lent me the camera I will be using that day so I can get used to the differences between it and my own DSLR. Hers is waaaaaay nicer, and I now have the “upgrade” itch!! (Sorry, dearest husband!!) I spent the weekend practicing with it and was blown away with the results I was getting.
I thought I’d share some of the photos I took, just for fun. I don’t normally document a weekend quite as heavily in photos! I must thank my family for being patient subjects, as they had a (very large) camera lens in their faces much of the time!
The photos:
Pool time with Meghan. I got to experiment with sunny conditions and some shade, too.
Meghan performing a Musical Dive (a song, followed by a dive off the diving board.) She’s a performer, what can I say.
On Sunday, our family went geocaching for the first time. I knew I wouldn’t get my hands on the GPS, so I brought the camera along instead. These photos were at the first cache location, a small cemetery close to our house. Those old grave markers were amazing, and I love these photos.
The next photos were taken in park where the 2nd cache was located. A cool tree, and the hidden cache!
Tonight, the camera is coming with me to football practice, so I can work some more on Live Action shots!
I’m so grateful for the chance to improve my photography skills once again! Thanks, Tracie!!
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