I pray that this post works well or I will pull out all my hair and be bald!!!
Thank you blogger :)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Bill
I'm behind in this post, but have to do it as much as it saddens me. Many of you know our dear friend "old man bill" as we called him. We met him in Del Rio in 2004 when he was quite the 93 year old spitfire! After 4 years in Del Rio, we grew close to our new friend with weekly visits, trips to the doctor, battling cancer together, watching the Spurs, and talking about history...like life during the Great Depression. When Andy was in the states for the month of March, he got word from our friend who was a caretaker for Bill. She told us he was fading and that the doctor gave him just a couple days. Andy, being the thoughtful person that he is, printed pictures of us and Tyler on Walmart.com and had them shipped to her the next day. Tyler's middle name is William which is Bill's first name. When we left Del Rio I just found out that I was pregnant...I told him that if he we had a boy...we would give him his name. Unfortunately Bill and Ty never had the opportunity to meet but we always mailed him photos which in the words of Bill just made him "Tickled Pink!" Our friend showed Bill the pictures and although he could not speak, she said he pointed at us and smiled. She could tell that he knew who we were and was happy to know that although we were so far away we were still with him. At the ripe old age of 99, he took his last breath. This September he would have turned 100!
It was incredibly hard to recieve this news...we love this man dearly and think of him as another "grandpa". He always gave us the right perspective...God's perspective, demonstrated a life of simplicity, determination, hard work, meaningful relationships, always made us laugh with the things he would say, and just gave us profound wisdom that we will carry with us always....
Here are a couple of Bill's favorite things:
1.) Watching the Spurs while drinking either a Lone Star Beer or Dr. Pepper & Totinos pizza
2.) Emailing or playing Solitaire on his computer...he was quite tech savy for his age!
3.) Sitting on his front porch and counting how many "pickup trucks" that would drive by
4.) Picking up the pecans from his backyard tree and cracking them...then giving them away
5.) Talking about "old times"
6.) Exercising on his Tony Little Gazelle trainer....he did 30 minutes every morning!
7.) Getting visitors...any visitor!
8.) Haning out with his funny old friend Paul
9.) Watching old black n white Western movies
10.) Going to HEB grocery store
11.) Driving his Ford Focus...(although he probably shouldn't have!!)
12.) Talking about politics and the price of EVERYTHING...."these days"
13.) Getting the mail
14.) Lots of hugs, smiles, and handshakes :)
15.) Just sitting in his living room hanging out with the Korsmos!
The list could go on and on...but you get the picture...he was quite the man. I am so greatful to know that our friendship doesn't end here. There will be a day when we see him again in heaven and when Tyler will get to meet the man we call "Bill"....until then...he will carry his name for him. We love you Bill!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Budapest, Hungary
The week after Andy left for training in the states, I signed up to go on a trip to Budapest for 3 days with a couple other gals in the squadron. I can't believe it only took an hour and a half and I was in Hungary! Eastern Europe is different from Germany (or the Western part in general). It felt much darker, the language obviously different, much more stiff, there wasnt much color or character to the architecture outside the city and there was a ton of grafitti. Don't get me wrong...it was beautiful, but we mostly stayed in the city...I would love to venture out into the countryside to see if my depiction is true. We had a fun trip and got to see all the major sights of the city. Here's a link to the city's history if you care to read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest
Tyler had his girlfriend Alana with him for the weekend...they were so cute together :)
We all pitched in to get 2 apartments...basically when you travel in Europe there are apartments that they turn into hotels since travelers may need to use a kitchen, wash clothes, etc...Budapest was cheaper than where we are at in Germany so it wasnt too expensive but really nice!!
Exchanging toys :)
They restored their subway system so it was real clean and looked like it did as if it were in the 50's. It is the second oldest underground railway in the world!
There was a famous place to eat that our guide books suggested that had real good Hungarian food...
Some kind of chicken and spaetzle...mmmmm
Touring a castle near the city center...it had a moat around it (no water in the winter) and they turned part of it into a museum.
The museum...it was a museum of dead animals...weird...we didnt go in...
The chapel
Apparently the inscription of the sculpture meant death...creeeepy
I took a picture of a picture of this so you can see what it looks like overhead...in the summer :)
Don't be fooled...he was only like this for 5% of our trip :) haha!
One of the Roman baths
Our main mode of transportation...
The famous Chain bridge over the Danube River...the city used to be two cities "Buda" and "Pest" and merged into one city in 1873. A little interesting fact: In 1944, towards the end of World War II, Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids. From 24 December 1944 to 13 February 1945, the city was besieged during the Battle of Budapest. Budapest suffered major damage caused by the attacking Soviet troops and the defending German and Hungarian troops. All bridges were destroyed by the Germans. More than 38,000 civilians lost their lives during the conflict.
It's such a privelage to be standing in the midst of history!!
Taking the tram up to the other side to see parliment
Overview of the Danube and Chain Bridge
Although it was cold (mid 20's low 30s) and rainy these streets were beautiful :)
An old church that is no longer in use but was restored after being bombed during the War
Parliment at night
Having dinner on the Danube!
They kissed about 15 times in a row...so cute!!
"The Mommys"
St. Stephen's Cathedral...it was beautiful and huge holding 8,500 people!
They had a traditional demonstration and dance out in the church square...I got a good video of this but its not uploading..sorry :(
One last coffee stop (of many!) before heading back to Germany!
This was such a beautiful city; I would LOVE to come back in the summer...I've heard that Prauge is the next London or Paris of Europe so I think I will try that next for my eastern Europe excursion!
Tyler had his girlfriend Alana with him for the weekend...they were so cute together :)
We all pitched in to get 2 apartments...basically when you travel in Europe there are apartments that they turn into hotels since travelers may need to use a kitchen, wash clothes, etc...Budapest was cheaper than where we are at in Germany so it wasnt too expensive but really nice!!
Exchanging toys :)
They restored their subway system so it was real clean and looked like it did as if it were in the 50's. It is the second oldest underground railway in the world!
There was a famous place to eat that our guide books suggested that had real good Hungarian food...
Some kind of chicken and spaetzle...mmmmm
Touring a castle near the city center...it had a moat around it (no water in the winter) and they turned part of it into a museum.
The museum...it was a museum of dead animals...weird...we didnt go in...
The chapel
Apparently the inscription of the sculpture meant death...creeeepy
I took a picture of a picture of this so you can see what it looks like overhead...in the summer :)
Don't be fooled...he was only like this for 5% of our trip :) haha!
One of the Roman baths
Our main mode of transportation...
The famous Chain bridge over the Danube River...the city used to be two cities "Buda" and "Pest" and merged into one city in 1873. A little interesting fact: In 1944, towards the end of World War II, Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids. From 24 December 1944 to 13 February 1945, the city was besieged during the Battle of Budapest. Budapest suffered major damage caused by the attacking Soviet troops and the defending German and Hungarian troops. All bridges were destroyed by the Germans. More than 38,000 civilians lost their lives during the conflict.
It's such a privelage to be standing in the midst of history!!
Taking the tram up to the other side to see parliment
Overview of the Danube and Chain Bridge
Although it was cold (mid 20's low 30s) and rainy these streets were beautiful :)
An old church that is no longer in use but was restored after being bombed during the War
Parliment at night
Having dinner on the Danube!
They kissed about 15 times in a row...so cute!!
"The Mommys"
St. Stephen's Cathedral...it was beautiful and huge holding 8,500 people!
They had a traditional demonstration and dance out in the church square...I got a good video of this but its not uploading..sorry :(
One last coffee stop (of many!) before heading back to Germany!
This was such a beautiful city; I would LOVE to come back in the summer...I've heard that Prauge is the next London or Paris of Europe so I think I will try that next for my eastern Europe excursion!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
