All my life I heard my daddy sing.  He was a fantastic pianist (although he would never say that about himself) and had a trained musician’s voice.  The sound of his voice could fill a room, no matter how large.  (Maybe that’s where I get MY big mouth!)  As he traveled the world, speaking and teaching, requests were always made for him to sing.  He wrote songs, he recorded songs (3 albums), he played songs, and he sang all the time.  His style was not MY style (is any parent’s style like their children’s?), but I always loved to hear him.  Even after Parkinson’s disease claimed control of his physical body, he still sang. About a week before my daddy died, a friend was over to visit.  She sat at his piano and played several songs, music he had stacked nearby.  In his bed, a few feet away, daddy began to sing.  He had not even had the strength to talk, and yet he sang.  This proved to me all over again what I always knew - no matter what the circumstances, dad had a song in his heart!

I’ve spent the last few days sorting thru my dad’s music. Last night I found several pages that had been removed from the FWB Rejoice hymn book, the one designed for musicians (lays flat and has a 3-ring binder inside).  I wondered why those were out of the book.  So, this morning, I grabbed the hymnal and began putting them back in.  I wondered why they were not in order; it was a page taken from the front of the book, a little further back, and continued all the way to the end – a chosen song after another chosen song.  I began to see a theme – Does Jesus Care?, Sheltered in the Arms of God, Under His Wings, It Is Well With My Soul, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, O How I Love Jesus, The Healer, Jesus Never Fails – and wondered if these were songs daddy had chosen near the end of his life to remind him that God was with him.  And more, to remind him of the truth of a favorite verse (Ps. 118:24 – “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it”) - The Joy of the Lord; He Keeps Me Singing; Blessed Assurance; Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee; Amazing Grace; Jesus Loves Me; Praise Him! Praise Him!; Isn’t He Wonderful?; How Great Thou Art, and many more. 

Suddenly, as if a bolt of lightning struck my heart, I remembered the last day dad was “well”.  (The next day he had a heart attack, spent the next 6 weeks in bed, and died there.)  Curt & I had gone to teach at Truth & Peace (at Hillsdale) and Sherry, a lady I usually hired to stay with dad when we had to be gone, was with him all day.  She told me the next day that he had felt really good and asked her to wheel him up to his piano.  She said he sat there for a couple of hours and played and sang.  I wondered if these were the songs he chose.  As tears filled my eyes (and continue to do so), I began to read more words of “chosen” songs (typed as written in hymnal):

• From JESUS, I MY CROSS HAVE TAKEN:  Hasten on from grace to glory, Armed by faith and winged by prayer; Heaven’s eternal day’s before me, God’s own hand shall guide me there.  Soon shall close my earthly mission, Swift shall pass my pilgrim days, Hope shall change to glad fruition, Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
• From I’LL FLY AWAY:  Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away; To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.  Just a few more weary days and then, I’ll fly away; To a land where joy shall never end, I’ll fly away … when I die, hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away.
• From JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE:  When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.  Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
• From HAND IN HAND WITH JESUS – When the stars are backward rolled, And His home I shall behold, I will walk those streets of gold, Hand in hand with Jesus.
• From I WILL ARISE AND GO TO JESUS:  I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms, In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms.

Did daddy know that, a year a half after his passing, I’d go thru his music and find these?  Did he know I’d see the themes and need the reminders?  Did he know that his last days were soon approaching, and he wanted to let me know he was ready?  One day I’ll know, but until then … my heart will go on singing, with joy I’ll carry on!  Daddy would like that.

You guessed it ... I'm going to be a Grammy TWICE!!!!!!!!!

• March 10 - Casey's due date
• June 18 - Whitney's due date

Can life be any more exciting right now????????????????

Will Darin & Whitney have a little boy as cute as this one?

Droopy is the word I'd use to describe myself right now.  We have gone non-stop every day since we landed in Manchester, NH over a week ago!  We leave early in the morning and get in late at night (except for one night in Stowe, VT when we got to the condo around 7:30).  Not all days have gone as planned, as today.  Sometimes we think we'll spend just a half hour or hour at a "stop" and end up spending 3 or 4 hours there.  Other times we go in search of something and can never find it.  Today was one of those type of days!

This morning we started out at Plymouth, wanting to see the Mayflower replica and Plymouth Rock.  We ended up spending 4 hours at Plimouth (yes; that's the way they spell it) Plantation.  It was quite the tour of the Indian tribes and the pilgrims' residences at Plimouth.  Curt was planted by the woodworker's station at the craft shed for over a half hour.  I think he could have stayed there all day!  From there, we went to tour the Mayflower II.  We wanted to see Plymouth Rock, but the pavillion covering it was being re-tiled and they wouldn't let us see it.  We just pretended we saw it when we saw other large rocks.  :)

Mayflower II & me being goofy!

By the time we left Plymouth, it was about 3:30 in the afternoon.  We drove to Cape Cod and toured the Cape Cod potato chip factory (& got free chips).  From there, we were determined to reach the end of the cape - Provincetown.  We drove the scenic route for part of the trip, and then got onto Highway 6 (main road).  There wasn't much to see, but we did get off at an exit and found a working lighthouse. 

Silly girls!

I had heard about this place to eat in Provincetown (a must-eat-at-place) on the Today show or Good Morning America.  We traveled the 70 miles to eat at the LaDweedge (guessing on the spelling).  When we couldn't find it, I called information and got their number.  When I called, I got an answering machine that said they closed up on Sunday (28th) because of the potential storm and wouldn't be re-opened until Thursday, Oct. 2.  Frustrated as we were, we traveled back up the Cape to a restaurant we saw on the way that was PACKED.  Come to find out, it's one of the most popular places to eat in Cape Cod - Moby Dick's.  Fantastic seafood!!!!  Ron & Pam got lobster again, Curt got shrimp, and I got salmon.  Oh my ... to die for!!!!

Tomorrow we are going whale watching and touring a cranberry farm.  I hope we don't get lost!  Then, back to New Hampshire to check into our hotel.  We leave Wed. morning EARLY - at the airport before 6:00 am and not arriving in Tulsa until 2:33.  Ugh!

Believe me, friends ... you haven't seen half of my pictures.  I have taken over 260 pics on this trip and will take many more tomorrow.  I'll have to get them printed and in an album, and will probably put them and some video on Facebook when I get home (after a long nap).