"These Precious Few Hours..."

I wanted to share the following post, which my dad had written:


"I started this poem several weeks ago, and this morning thought I better finish it. I sent it to the printer just moments before Richard crossed over into glory at 12:40 PM. Today is Wednesday, December 24, 2008.

"It was during the night Monday that I dreamed (a very real dream that woke me up) an angel knocked at the side door, poked her head in and called out "Hello?" Then she came in and began to busy herself with preparations of some sort. Said her name was "JB." I thought at the time that Richard's time was drawing near, and this morning thought to myself that he had less than 24 hours on this side of the river.

In these precious few hours…
We’ve heard the laughter and watched the tears
Of love from a life lived full of years
Echo off the walls and across the lawn
of the house and barn of the Ferguson Farm

In these precious few hours…
We’ve had friends and family come in the door
With smiles and food and much much more
To honor the love that came from the halls
of the house and barn of the Ferguson Farm

In these precious few hours…
We’ve watched a warrior worn with pain
Stay bravely true and with no shame
Give a wink, a smile, his love to all
In the house and barn of the Ferguson Farm

In these precious few hours…
We’ve kept short nights with little sleep
With miles to go and shifts to keep
While lives fly by on the road out front
Of the house and barn of the Ferguson Farm

In these precious few hours…
We’ve realized those lives would be
Far better off if they could see
more loving truth like is displayed
In the house and barn of the Ferguson Farm

In these precious few hours…
One may think time stilled
While others say they’ve years to kill
But eternity stretches on out the door
Of the house and barn of the Ferguson Farm"

© 2008 S. Allen Patterson

Portraits

We had our portraits done at Sears this weekend. Prints should be in soon, but we have the copyright CD. We are very excited about how they turned out!!!

Christmas Preparations

Our little Christmas tree.
The little Nativity sits beneath the tree.

Stockings all in a row: mine, Jon's, & Samson's.

All are yet to have their names put on them.

Iowa Visit and Thanksgiving

I apologize for being a bit behind on my blog posts! It has been a crazy last month or so.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I made a trip to see my Grandpa Ferguson, whom for the last three and a half years has been battling bone cancer. Since our family fishing trip to Wisconsin in October, Grandpa has had a turn for the worst. Hospice is in the home and have been such a wonderful blessing to Grandpa and the family. My parents are staying with them now and the rest of the family is back and forth, mostly staying there as well, to help with round-the-clock care for Grandpa and support for Gram.

It was a very special weekend that I spent in Iowa. Grandpa had been wanting to see me again, but when I got there he didn't recignize me at first. Between the pain medicine and the cancer, we aren't always sure why he struggles so much mentally. That weekend he spent mostly in bed, various neighbors and relatives stopping by to give their regards, and someone from our family close by his side at all times. It was a sad moment when I had to finally leave on Sunday to head back here to PA. He gave me a kiss and a hug and said a slow, tearful goodbye. I struggled with tears as well, for I don't know but that was the last I will see of my Grandpa. He has had good days and bad days again since that visit. We still wait for the phone call that tells us he has gone on to Heaven, but are still going to enjoy having him with us for the time being.

For Thanksgiving we spent it with our friends, the Fatula's, in Ellwood City, PA. It was a wonderful holiday spent and truly felt like family among them. At the top is a picture taken at Thanksgiving dinner.

To My Hero...

On this day; Veteran's Day, I would like to once again thank my veteran. For two years now I have been blessed to know the man whose pictures you see above. While I did not know him while he was serving our country in Iraq (Feb. 2004 to Feb. 2005), I did meet him while he was still in the military. As a Specialist in the PA Army National Guard, Jon was trained in Fire Direction Control for Field Artillery, but while on tour in Iraq he served as a gunner in a Military Police Company. I am so thankful that he made it back safely. I am thankful that he has only minor "battle scars"; such as an injured shoulder and slight hearing loss in one ear from his 50Cal, morters, and RPG's. Jon joined the National Guard in 2001 and just finished his six years last December. To Jon and so many others I owe a huge Thank You.

Jon... My love. My husband. My protector. My veteran. My Hero. I love you.

McConnell's Mill on a Fall Day 2

The three of us having fun at the park.

I love this picture of Samson in the leaves.

Jon takes a turn on the vine.

awe, my Tarzan! Haha

McConnell's Mill on a Fall Day

Jess aka Jane? Well no, I'm not so fond of vine swinging
Jess & Samson

McConnell's Mill is full of huge, beautiful rocks and cliffs.

Jon & Samson

Looking Back... Our Wedding Pictures

Well some of you were requesting that we post some of our wedding pictures, so here are a few of our favorites. Our wedding colors were black & white & hot pink. Our "cake"was tiered rice crispies. It was beautiful! Can't believe it has been seven months already!

Fall Colors

Growing Up Fast

This picture above is when we first got Samson, the one below was taken today. Just a short post to let you all see how big our baby is getting! Samson is really growing fast and eating so much now! He is doing really great with letting us know when he needs to go out and going to the bathroom outside! He is learning to bark now, but it is rare if you hear it. Samson still enjoys sitting on our laps and sleeping there too! He is really chewing on things now, so we are working with him on that. He always has to be with you no matter where you are in the house and unfortunately has been stepped on a few times.

We really enjoy having him around though we all have our moments! :) haha!

More fun in Wisconsin

Family Pictures

Here are some family pictures we took while all together in WI.

The Dome House

We stayed in this awesome Dome House on the lake while in Wisconsin. It had a great deck with grill & gas fire table. It slept all 15 of us comfortably, with 5 bathrooms, a great kitchen, laundry area & plenty of living space for us all to use for the 4 days we spent there. It had a great view of the lake and also had a path down to the beach.