The Journey: Tough times

Its been a very rough couple months. I am sure everyone knows my father, Fiona and Gavin's grandfather passed away at the end of July. It was sudden. It was very sad. It was stressful. All those emotions and more. It has been rough to say the least. We have been working to clean up at my dads. For whoever didn't know my father, he was an exceptional craftsman. Fine woodworking, furniture, handmade clothing are among the things he made.. we learned he also made guns and punched tin.. made books, painted pictures... and more. Also he was a super friend. The past few months I have met people upon people coming to his house because they are interested in his handmade goods. People have come from miles away.. driven 2 + hours, sometimes longer.. because they wanted something my dad made. People I have never met have helped me sort thru his belongings, sitting with me at the table to reminisce about the good old days. Helping me unearth treasure after treasure along the way. I have taken great comfort in the love and adoration his friends had for him. He is extremely missed. I learned so much more about my dad, things I never knew. Oh, I wish I had known these things while he was alive. I wish I had one more chance to talk to him.. and tell him how cool his stuff is. I could go on (another blog post another time). Matt and myself have been keeping a lot of his stuff.. but also finding wonderful loving new homes for a lot of his stuff.. Here are just a few of his wonderful items in my possession..

table and chest with one of his fat lamps on top

My secretary - a gift to me when I bought my first house

spice chest

Fiona's chair

The kids are doing great.. Gavin has 4 teeth.. sleeping pretty good and eating like a champ!
Fiona is a great big sister.. her vocabulary grows every day. She loves to simg and is so happy. They miss "POPS" Fiona prays for "Pops in heaven" most every night.
Here are some pictures of our past few months..