Wednesday, January 4, 2017

My Week

I've been on an unintentional break, I guess. I've not been up to much but it's still been quite a week. 

At our house the week between Christmas and New Years had some sickness. Mostly colds, sore throats and two with ear infections. We are all on the mend by now and things are getting back to normal. 

On Friday evening, I got a call from the owner of the gym where Ellen goes for exercise, Fitness 4 Focus. He had very sad news for us that we are still reeling  from. Ellen's trainer had passed away. I had to repeat it back to him to be sure that's what he said. Totally, totally unexpected. We are incredibly sad. 
Here's some pictures of Ellen working out with Cole. (I post these pictures because we want to honor this young man for who he was...a talented guy filled with love and desire to share his talents with kids with special needs. Not everyone is cut out for that job. He did it well.)



Cole was an excellent trainer. He really had a heart for special needs kids. He was always so kind, so encouraging. He will be missed! 

Oh God, surround his family with your love! 
I cannot even imagine their pain. 
Ellen is handling this well. She will work through it at her pace and hold dear her memories of this special young man....and keep his picture close. 

We celebrated New Years Eve at our daughter Marcy's home. We ate good food,
the kids had fun dancing....



Noah played some guitar :)

Some played a fun game which caused gales of laughter, 

We watched the Dick Clark celebration on TV and watched Mariah Carey flub badly. Oh my, that was painful and rather weird! 

I was just really tired, especially as it got closer to midnight. So,
I found a warm blanket, a recliner and snuggled in to enjoy the last few hours of a fabulous year :)

Sunday we got up and went to church. It was a slim crowd. Our service was shorter than normal again. After church we went to our favorite place to eat in Manheim, Twin Kiss! I had the special meal.... pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Delicious!! Dale and Ellen had the usual hamburgers and fries. 

Monday everyone was home and we decided to pack up Christmas. So sad. I'm never ready but the house was. Yesterday I did some cleaning and it really does feel lighter around here for some reason, haha! 

Last evening was Women's Group at church. I'm back in leadership again. It came about because there was a need (even before there was a need I was feeling the tug and whispers in my spirit), I felt the call to say yes, so did another dear lady but she has since had some big changes in her life and had to step down. So that lets just little old me. Relying heavily on my God!! Last evening we watched a YouTube video, a message by Lynn Hybels. She challenged us to be whom God has truly created us to be, to overcome fear, to act on our convictions and passion to meet needs, to be Dangerous Women! 


It was good to be together!

Tonight I'm going out to eat with the Basement Girls....friends that I worked with. If you are new here, we call our group that because we all had offices in the basement at the retirement community where we worked. Love these ladies and it's been way too long since we have been together. So looking forward to it! 

God Bless your evening! Hold your loved ones close. 

7 comments:

Ramblings of a Retired Lady said...

I always love getting caught up with you and your family activities. Glad you were able to take charge of the ladies group and I pray God gives you guidance. Also fun to be with old friends now and then. Stay warm, and hope all feels better by now.

Jean said...

So very, very sad about Cole. I did not know him personally, but many of my former students were classmates of his in high school, so I've seen many things on FB about his passing. I just saw this blog post right before our church service at Houserville started this evening and realized your connection to him. And then, during our prayer time there was a prayer request for Cole's family. Turns out that the girl who gave the request was on the Penn State track team with him!

I'm glad you're all on the mend. That picture of the kids dancing is so cute!

See you Saturday!

Mari said...

I'm so sorry about Ellen's trainer. He was very young and certainly was a special young man!
I like the dangerous woman photo! I want to be dangerous too!
Glad you are feeling better!

Anonymous said...

Good Morning, Doris. My deepest sympathy in the loss of Cole. What a shock.

I enjoyed your post and especially the pictures. Busy times at your house.

Hope you have a lovely day.

Theresa said...

So sad:(. I pray for that family. Sweet Ellen and her kind heart inspires me. You will do a great job as leader. Enjoy your day dear Doris. Hugs

Mary Ellen said...

I wondered if Cole might have been Ellen's trainer, now I know. What a shock, and so sad.

It is good to see your creative juices at work again as you lead the Ladies Group at church.
And as always, I love seeing pictures of your family.
Mary Ellen

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

So sad to read about this young man's passing, Doris. Cole obviously did so much in his lifetime and he will be remembered for the kind and generous person that he was to so many.