Faline, Our Deer Friend

Right in the middle of boring everyday life, life gives us something amazing. One morning when my sister was walking dogs, this tiny little deer appeared and came right up to her and even nosed the dogs. Mom saw this little deer too. They were able to snap a couple of photos before she disappeared. I heard about it later and we all marveled at such an unusual occurrence. You see, there are lots and lots of deer here in Pennsylvania, and we see them quite often on the property, but nothing like this had ever happened before.

Well later that evening, when it was starting to get dark, little Faline (yes, we named her after Bambi's girlfriend) showed up again, just came right down the driveway. I grabbed my camera and Mom and I went outside and I got to see Faline up close and personal.

"Oh, hi. Can I come over?"

Om nom nom nom

Hello there!

The grass is always greenest right behind the car. 

Shh....don't tell her that the Jeep behind her has hit four deer!
It's our little secret. 

So cute!

Bye Liz, it was fun hanging out!

It was so amazing to have her so close, she even came and stuck her nose in my stomach and sniffed my pants. She ate grass from Mom and I too. She didn't care when  Mom yelled for Laura, she wasn't afraid. She munched here and there and went back up the driveway, and didn't care that I followed her.

Eventually she mosied off into the forest and I went and ate my dinner and left her to eat hers. The next day we saw her behind our ponds with her mamma, guess she'd gotten a scolding about talking to strangers.

Told you our place was magical.

Now What?

The weeks that follow a major life event are usually kindof strange, especially when that major life event isn't so fun. The weeks that followed my grandmother's death were hard, and kinda strange. What do you do? There's no real protocol for this.

I held down the fort while my mom was gone for two weeks in CA. She went to attend the funeral with my father, and visited her own family as well. I was glad she was able to see my dad and spend some time with him. It took two tries to get Mom from the airport- she was delayed in Detroit overnight due to fog in Erie, and I spent all day in Erie for nothing trying to pick her up and having to make the drive the next day to finally get her. It felt like quite the accomplishment when the two of us were both home!

A week after my grandmother's passing, I attended the YSA conference in West Virginia. I already had things lined up to go, and there was no sense in not going. Laura wound up staying home alone over the weekend to take care of her dogs since Mom was away in CA. Not to mention, I had somehow been volunteered to be in charge of carpooling and ticket purchases and I didn't want all my hair-pulling work to be for nothing! 

We met at the church building and smushed 10 people into two cars- gas is expensive and it's a four hour drive! I succeeded in not having to drive, that was a real accomplishment! I had to fight for that. My car ride down was cramped but fine, and we ate at Outback- good thing cause I didn't want the pizza provided. Friday night was the usual horrifying get to know you games- I politely played Two Truths and a Lie with a group before ducking out. Later that evening we had a bonfire and listened to Jack Rose speak to us- it was very good. He talked about how you have to have courage to have faith. His words were very timely for me.

Saturday brought classes- I attended one about art appreciation, car maintenance, creating your own title of liberty (with fabric and sticks and everything!) and also one on dating etiquette. They were all really good, better than a lot of conference classes.

Here's the art appreciation class, held in a sweet little chapel on the camp. 

We rock! 

We played Ninja!

We got ready for the dance!

The dance was a lot of fun, I got asked to dance a lot (don't get your hopes up, none of that's gonna pan out!) and I even asked a guy to dance when it was Ladies Choice- can you believe it? I was proud of myself for not being a wallflower. I tried not to take it too personally when said guy didn't want to talk to me anymore after I danced with him. Sigh.

Also on Saturday we got to hear more from Jack Rose, and again he was good.

Sunday was Sacrament Meeting and it was nice to hear from the speakers and testimonies. Overall the weekend was really great and uplifting, I felt very comforted. It was hard to say bye to my friends that don't live near me. I'm really glad that I went to the conference, I really needed the pick me up.

Since the conference, I:

Played with sidewalk chalk with the YSA

Observed a foggy day at Presque Isle while unsuccessfully getting Mom from the airport

Saw this cute aqua bike decor...wish it could come home with me!

I helped clear brush at camp and figure out where stuff will go. 

And I played Nerf Wars with the YSA! 

We played in the dark with two teams- each side had a different color of glow necklaces to wear- really fun!

When Mom came home, she brought home a few things that belonged to my grandmother. Not really important or sentimental things, but some things that my dad and grandfather thought we could use and no one else was really gonna care about. I got a couple of long sleeve Ts, brand new. Also this skirt, still had tags on it. Mom also brought home some RS magazines from like the 60s and some plastic dust covers for clothes. 

It didn't bother me a lot to see these things, but it did give me a little pang in my heart that she wasn't ever going to use these things and also that I was never going to get a care package from her again- she often sent us boxes of various goodies. Sigh.

And that's the news from Elizabeth, stay tuned for more. 

Grandmother

This was taken when my grandparents met me for the first time. 

I don't know where to begin in writing this post, I've waited a bit so that I could bear to write it. My Grandmother Chaney passed away on Sunday, April 15th, at about 9:00 in the morning California time. She hadn't spent very long in her new care home, just a few days. Her health had been in steady decline since she had multiple strokes earlier this year, so we all knew this was coming, but it was still hard to realize that she's gone for now.

My grandmother Carol was born in 1933, she would have turned 79 in June. She was a middle child and she loved her family. I can only imagine her happy reunions with her parents and sister and other loved ones. She grew up in Utah and met my grandfather at a USO dance in the early 50's. Married in 1952, (thankfully they got to celebrate their 60th anniversary right before she started having strokes) they had three children- my father and his two sisters. They did a lot together as a family and took trips to Yosemite. They were and are, very family oriented. Their family set the pattern for my own happy family.

I have lots of happy memories with my grandmother. I remember her visiting when I was about 5, and she had me come over to her and close my eyes and she presented me with a pair of silver shoes for dress up, those were some magic shoes. Her favorite color was green, like an apple green. She loved vintage green things and loved receiving green depression glass to add to her collection. I collect pink, and she was going to swap me some pink depression glass for green. It's hard now when I go antiquing, since I see all these things that she would love, and I cannot buy them for her. I always liked to visit her in CA and feel special. She was a wonderful cook and we're all thankful that my dad learned from her- he cooks very well for us. I'm so glad that we were all able to get together in the summer of 2010, that was a great visit. It was so fun to all go to the zoo together. I already loved the family photos that were taken then, and now I love them even more.

Both of my grandmas are artistically inclined, it flows in my veins. Grandmother loved fabric and quilts. She and I both loved quilts from the 1930's. I loved to send her pictures of what I saw at the quilt shows I went to. She often sent me quilting books and magazines and goodies in care packages. She was always interested in what I was doing project-wise, and always encouraging. Oh, and she was a wedding planner and good with flowers and receptions- must be where I get it from.

My grandmother was one of the kindest, sweetest people I've ever known. She would send cards and call if you were the least bit sick. I hated worrying her with my various illnesses. She was always a sympathetic ear. She radiated love in word and deed to all of us. She ended every phone call with "I love you." I'm so thankful for this example in my life.

I was not able to attend her funeral in California, but I hear that it was all very nice. It took place at the cemetery, and the missionaries spoke about the plan of salvation. My aunt sent me a photo taken at the funeral- there was a large, beautiful moth on the ground. I found that was fitting since winged things like butterflies are supposed to represent the soul returning to heaven.

I have done some soul searching over the last couple of weeks as to how best honor her memory. Really, the best way is through my own actions. I want to strive to be the kind of woman my grandmother was. I want to be sweet and kind and thoughtful like her. I want people to know that they are loved. What would my grandmother want me to do? She'd want me to strive to be happy, to develop my testimony, to love my family, my friends, and those around me. She'd want me to be creative and progress in my artwork. She'd want me to use my sewing machine a lot. And if I ever have a family of my own, she'd want me to be a strong woman and love them all very much in my words and deeds. If I can be half the woman she was, I'll be doing well. 

And oh yeah, she'd want me to have a retro kitchen. 

It's been a hard few months, watching her decline and slowly losing my grandmother. And it's been hard losing her, knowing I won't see her for what seems like a long time. When I took my mother to the airport, I watched her go through security and remark to another lady, "You wait here and then you wait there", meaning having to wait on either side of security before your flight. But that's pretty much how it is- we wait to see our deceased loved ones, and they're waiting for us too. Someday there'll be a happy reunion. 

I miss her, and the problem is that she would be the one to tell all my heartaches to. She'd know how to fix this broken heart. I'm so thankful for the Holy Ghost and the peace and healing that has taken place in my heart. 

I'm glad that she's not hurting anymore, and I know that she's in a better place. I'm so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that allows us to be together as families after this life.

I now feel reawakened, all of this has been a sort of distraction the last few months. I really like this quote that I came accross:

"When compared to eternal verities, most of the questions and concerns of daily living are really rather trivial. What should we have for dinner? What color should we paint the living room? Should we sign Johnny up for soccer? These questions and countless others like them lose their significance when times of crisis arise, when loved ones are hurt or injured, when sickness enters the house of good health, when life’s candle dims and darkness threatens. Our thoughts become focused, and we are easily able to determine what is really important and what is merely trivial."

—President Thomas S. Monson, "The Race of Life", General Conference, Apr. 2012

It's time to wake up and get going, all this has been a good reminder of what is really important. 

Grandmother, we love you and miss you so much, more than words can describe. Thank you for being the wonderful daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend and for touching so many lives. Thank you for working hard to have a good family- thank you for raising me a wonderful father. Thank you for your example of kindness and love. We know Christ because we knew you. Someday we'll be reunited and I hope to make you proud.

XOXO, Liz