Aunt Eunice.

What is love?  Webster defines it as, "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend."  Today, at the funeral of my Aunt Eunice, we definitely felt love.  Aunt Eunice, my moms sister, died last Saturday.  She had been in the hospital in Wichita for almost two weeks. 


When I think of Aunt Eunice I think of several things.  I remember her love of dancing.  She was quick to laugh at a joke (and tell one), drink a beer with family, play cards, and be with her family.   And, today at her funeral she was with family.  Not only the family members in attendance: children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews but also those family members that went before.  This included her mom and dad, sisters, granddaughter and others.


While we grieve her loss, we should also be thankful for her faith in God.  The minister mentioned her confirmation verse several times.  I believe it was Revelation 2:10, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."  Not only faithful to her God, she was also faithful in marriage.  Her and Uncle Lawrence were married 66 years.  No, that is not a typo.  66 years. 


I believe her granddaughter Joclyn said it best in a Facebook post the day she died:


The past week has been filled with many tears, fear, hope, memories and laughter....4 generations, 4 different pastors, and many friends gathered around Grandma Winter. It's a testament to her life and to her being such a wonderful person. She left this world with more faith and love than most can only dream to have. After 67 years of marriage, Grandpa never left her side. She will be terribly missed but she is whole again and I will always remember her smile, strength and her love of God & family. We will all treasure her memory. Bella said it best..."I will miss my white haired grandma."


Yes, Bella, we will all miss your white haired grandma.

A Lasting Legacy

Last Thursday, July 23, would have been Dad's 95th birthday.  I had lots of memories that day.  I remembered some of his other birthdays we celebrated.  One that really stood out was his 80th.  We had an open house for him in Medicine Lodge and had a good turnout.  Lots of family and friends attended.  Dad always told us kids that when he was growing up birthdays were not that big of deal.  He said his parents would tell them Happy Birthday in the morning ant that was about all the celebrating that would be done.  They had a special 'birthday' plate that they got to use for the day.  After him and mom were married, and especially after us kids came along, his birthday was always celebrated.  We made up for missed birthdays!


All of us have special memories of our dad.  A few weeks ago I was together with my siblings.  My question for them was what was the best advice you ever got from dad?  Nola replied, " When dad was trying to teach me to drive we went to the park.  The car we were in had a standard transmission.  I never did get the hang of starting out smooth and kept jerking when we would go.  We got back to the house and dad looked at me and said 'Always buy a car with an automatic transmission.' "  Ann and Cathy both responded by saying, "Dad and mom always told us to treat others the way we would want to be treated."  Larry said when he was getting ready to leave for college at Pittsburg Dad told him, "There are good girls and bad girls.  Make sure you find the good ones."  And myself, when I was dating Susan, Dad found out she was working three jobs at the time.  He told me, "Son, you got a good one.  Don't let her get away."  I didn't Dad.  When will celebrate 25 years in a little over a month.


I think we all learned the Golden Rule from mom and dad. And, I think we have a done a pretty good job in the way we have treated others.   We had good teachers.  I have tried to pass along those ideals to my own kids.  Sometimes it is hard, but it is well worth it in the end.  Happy Birthday, Dad!  Love ya and miss ya.


Ivan

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!  Hope you are enjoying your 87th in Heaven.  Can't believe it has been seven years since we celebrated with you last.  So much has happened since I could last talk to you face to face.  It is still a struggle at times with both you and dad being gone, but I know you are in a better place.


Susan and I are both doing good.  I am still with Hammel Scale, almost 25 years now!  Susan works at the school as a custodian and does concessions for the sports seasons.   We have done some work in the yard already and I think we are both more than ready for all of our flowers to be up and blooming.  I am sure we will add to the gardens as we always try to find a new perennial to plant.


Madison is almost finished with her second year of college.  She is attending Fort Hays and I think she likes it there.  She still plans to be a teacher and eventually a counselor.  She will be great.  She still dates the same boy she has for almost 6 years.  She must like him a little.  She works in the financial aid department at Hays.  She enjoys her work.  She is also starting to get a green thumb!  She has  worked up a flower  bed in front of her house.  We sent some lilies and naked ladies back with her and she worked until after dark to get them in the ground.  I am happy she likes plants, it can be very enjoyable and stress relieving.  She is really growing into a beautiful woman.


Hannah is finishing up her Freshman year of high school!  She has experienced so much this year.  She was involved in volleyball and basketball.  She did a great job.  She ended up Second Team All-League in basketball.  Quite the honor!  She takes great pride in getting her school work done and keeping her grades up to stay eligible to play sports.  She also went to prom last week.  Her date was James Stout.  I am sure you remember him.  You were around some when Susan was babysitting.  She is really growing up, becoming a beautiful young lady.  You would be very proud of both of the girls.


Have a wonderful day.  Give Dad a squeeze and kiss from all of us.  Love you and miss you like crazy! 


Ivan

Ah, summertime!

This summer was jam packed till the end! Madison was working at the pool again and doing some construction work with the dad of the boys I babysit. It was going to be interesting for her!

I was still planning on watching the three little boys that I had last year. On top of that I was playing both summer basketball and volleyball. I had practices three times a week for basketball and one practice a week for volleyball. Volleyball games were on Monday, while basketball games were on Tuesday. Sports basically took up most of my summer! But if any of you know me, I love playing! One week, I had basketball practice from 6:00-7:30 a.m. ( IN THE MORNING!) then I had volleyball camp from 9:00-11:30! Then that night I had three volleyball games. And if none of you realized that is 4 hours of full body exercise without counting the games... no wonder I was tired. Then I had to get up and do it all again the next day but with a basketball game.

Vacation was a blast this year! We went to Red River, New Mexico. Once we got there, we went tubing! It was a blast! While we were there we stayed at a cottage outside of town. I loved it! We also celebrated Dad's birthday there, I hope he liked all of his presents! On one of the days we were there, we took a ski lift up to the top of the mountain and feed chipmunks! Two little boys decided they wanted to join us and loved it! I kept hear, " Look mommy! It's by me!" or " Daddy, did you see me pet it?"  Later that day, dad found a place to take Old Time Photos! I talked Dad and Madison to take some with me but mom refused. The picture turned out pretty good! To sum up vacation in one word - tonsoffun! ...if you say it fast it's one word. Trust me.

And being the person I am, I had plans to read tons and tons of books! Which if I may so myself was accomplished! I bought like 33 books but only read  27 of them, that isn't that bad! Out of those I had bought 26 of them with my money. And my ah-amazing parents bought 7. Most of those books cost $4 or less. Bargain!

We also took Madison's things (bed,dresser,etc.) up to her new apartment in Hays! Spent two days getting everything situated and do a little shopping. Hopeful she has a great year! But in a couple of days, I will be a freshman! Good golly that's scary! And Madison will be going back up to Hays to be a sophomore.

Wishing everyone a wonderful year!
-Hk

High School!

Gee, it's been so long! I'm in high school now... that's a very scary thought. Although it's not very different, it's still a major pain! All the teacher are great, I just miss my old ones and wish they would come up to high school.

Volleyball is still pretty challenging but I think i'm getting the hang of it. Balancing school work with sports is a different stories. I come home at around 7 every night, and by that time i'm so tired that I forget all about it. And in case you're wondering, I don't have homework tonight but I should be studying for two test tomorrow instead of doing this! But winning with my team makes it all worth it! We won are last two games and play three games tomorrow! So wish us good luck!

-Hannah

P.s. I'll try to talk Madison into writing a blog soon!

8th grade basketball!

Well, another JH basketball season has come and gone.  While most of you know the results of the season, here is my take on the year.


Our season started out with the Jetmore Shorthorns.  We started our season last year with Jetmore.  Anyway, to this years game.  The girls started out strong.  Tied after the first quarter.  Ahead 12-7 at half.  19-13 after the third and 26-15 after the fourth.  A good strong start for the year.  Boog had high points for the game with 14, Swish and Bruiser both had 6.  Great game.


Next up the South Gray Rebels.  Wow, it was like running into a buzz saw.  South Gray came out gunning and ran out to a 22-5 halftime lead.  Our girls just could not get untracked and fell 37-7.  Swish, Mack and CB had two points apiece.  The South Gray team is very talented and play extremely well together. 


The next week saw us on the road again, this time to Minneola.  This game started out as a struggle.  The Deuces found themselves down 10-5 after one, 13-12 at half.  Coach K must have had a good halftime speech, cause our girls came out fired up after the break.  Led by Swish with 7 points in the second half and Bruiser with 6 in the second half, the Lady Deuces staged a comeback and won by a final score of 27-23.  High points for the game went to Swish with 10, Boog with 8 and Bruiser with 6.  Mack chipped in 3 for the winning cause.


Our next game was against Ashland at Bucklin.  This game our girls came out firing on all cylinders and led from the get-go.  It was 10-2 after one.  Ashland did get started and pulled within 16-14 at half.  After three it was 24-22, us.  We clamped down defensively and won 33-25.  High points for the game was Boog with 12 and Swish with 10.  Bruiser had 3 and Smalls, Mack, Gotta and CB each chipped 2 points apiece.  A good team effort.


The following week found us at home again, this time against Pawnee Heights.  Last year, we had no problem with the Lady Tigers, winning 49-15.  This year Pawnee Heights came to play.  They led 9-6 after one and 12-10 at half.  Once again, Coach K must have had a good halftime speech.  Our girls came out fired up.  Led 16-12 after three and won 24-14.  The girls clamped down defensively once again and did not allow Pawnee Heights to score until 2 minutes were left in the game.  Boog had high points with 10, followed by Swish with 8 and Bruiser with 6.  Great game, girls.


The next week found us on the road to Spearville.  I am sure most of the parents thought we would have a fight on our hands, I did.  But the Lady Deuces came out, played hard, led the entire game and won 27-11.  Bruiser was high points for the game with 9, Boog had 8, Swish had 6 and Mack with 4.
A good win for Bucklin.  5-1 on the season so far, 3-0 in league.


The last game of the year before Christmas break found us at home against the Bulldogs of Ingalls.  This is easily our biggest rival.  Last year we beat Ingalls for the league basketball title and all of our meetings, basketball and volleyball, are good close games.  That being said, the game was fairly close to begin with.  Ingalls leading 14-12 at half.  After half, our girls couldn't score at all.  Scoring only two points in a half doesn't help win ball games.   24-14, Ingalls wins.   High points for the game was Boog with 11.  Swish chipped in with 3.


The Christmas break proved to be a huge hurdle to overcome.  First game after break was at Fowler.  The Goldbugs led the entire game and won 31-11.  It wasn't a pretty game to watch.  High points for the game was Boog with 9.  Bruiser and Swish each had 1 apiece.  The next week found us at home against South Central.  Another tough game.  South Central jumped out to a 12-3 lead at half.  Ended up winning 30-11.  Swish was high points for the game with 7, including a 3 at the buzzer.  Bruiser had 2, while Smalls and Boog had 1 each.  The last game of the year, had us on the road to Kiowa County.  Once again, the girls found themselves in a dogfight.  Score was 4-4 after one, 10-10 at half.  Score was 17-16, Kiowa County up after three.  Final score was 26-18, with Kiowa County winning.  High points for the game was Bruiser and Swish with 6 each.  Boog had 4 and Smalls had 2.    This loss left our record at 5-5 for the year, 3-2 in league.


Up next, League tournament!!  This year the tournament was held at Fowler.  Our first game was on Monday against Pawnee Heights.   The score was 6-4, Pawnee Heights, after one.  The Lady Deuces led 16-8 at half, 22-10 after three and held on to win 29-13.  During the fourth quarter, Boog landed awkwardly and hurt her left knee.  She ended up not being able to play the rest of the game.  High points for the game was Swish with 13.  Boog had 6, Bruiser had 4, Smalls had 2 and CB had 1.  Next up, the Fowler Goldbugs.    This game was to be played on Thursday, but due to bad weather was pushed back to Saturday.  After being beat by Fowler earlier in the year, the Lady Deuces were ready for a rematch.  Bucklin led after one, 8-6.  Fowler came back to lead at half, 13-12.  The second half prove to be a good one.  Bucklin led 18-15 after three.  Boog fouled out with 5 minutes to play.  It was a tough 5 minutes for her to sit on the bench.  With three to play, Bucklin was up 22-16.  Final score was 25-20.  This set up a rematch with number 1 seed in the tournament, Ingalls.  And a repeat of last years championship game.  Playing probably their best game of the year, Bucklin got out to a 8-2 lead after one, 12-8 at half.  The second half proved to be a ballgame, for both teams.  After three Bucklin held the lead, 19-18.  The fourth quarter ended with a tied score, 26-26.  Going to overtime!  The extra five minutes went the Lady Deuces way with the girls winning 29-28.  High points for the game was Swish with 13, including two 3-pointers.  Boog had 10, Mack with 3 and Bruiser with 2.


Another great year.  Another League Championship.  It doesn't get old winning titles!  Very proud of all of these girls.  It was a great year!!

My Mother in Law

Today we buried my mother in law, Norma Collins.  She died last Thursday.  It was very sudden and unexpected.  I lost both of my parents six years ago in September and December.  That was hard, but it was nothing to compare with what we went through these last few days.  Like I said her death was very sudden. 

I will be the first to admit I didn’t have the best relationship with my MIL.  We didn’t see eye to eye on everything.  But we did have some interesting conversations.  We shared the love of reading.  We have read some of the same books and we both enjoyed discussing  books on more than one occasion.

Another thing we both enjoyed was the great outdoors. I have a love of flowers and gardening.  Norma also loved working in her flower beds.  Until the last few years when the drought played havoc with her gardening, she always had plants in both flower beds and in several containers around her yard.  I enjoyed getting her outside and quizzing her about her flowers.  Last year I got some seeds from her and plan on getting them in the ground this coming spring.

As with anyone who was getting up in age, Norma had her share of problems.   Last fall she had her right knee replaced.  She was scheduled to have the left replaced this spring.  A few weeks ago she had fallen in the backyard and broke the knee cap on her left leg.  This left her with a cast and limited mobility.  Thursday of last week started as a normal day for us.  Around 12:40 Susan called and said she was headed to Medicine Lodge:  Something was wrong with her mom.  I told her to give me 20 minutes and I would be home and go with her.  Ten minutes later I took a phone call from Susan’s sister and received the message that her mom was gone.  Hardest thing I have ever done in my life was to tell my wife her mom was gone. 

Today we buried my mother in law.  It was a beautiful, pre spring day.  We had a grave side service at Sun City beside the graves of Susan’s brother and dad.  There was a large turnout of family and friends.  The preacher had a wonderful message.  We had recorded music by Susan’s niece, Dayna.  She had recorded ‘Beulah Land’.  It was beautiful.

To my wife, her sisters: Carol, Joyce, Anita and Merilea, my sincere heartfelt condolences.  My heart aches along with yours.  I know how much it hurts.  I always say tell stories.  It will keep your mom around.  Tell stories so those 11 grandkids and 11 great grandkids remember.  Love you all.

Ivan