Another Ferrell Photo

It was wonderful to read about everyone's Thanksgivings. Myra, I enjoyed reading about all of your family. We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home with the girls home from school and a few friends. Amelia spent the entire weekend in the basement studying, emerging just to eat and go to the dentist. She is preparing for exams. When asked if she had any work she needed to do, Lucy replied, "Oh no. We just have exams coming up." Viva la difference.

I am posting this priceless old photo of Grandma Ferrell and her children. It must have been taken in 1930. Mother had the original, and I recently had it restored. I also am going to be sending copies to all of you--an early Merry Christmas from the Siegmund/Mathias clan!

As you all make your trips up and down I-95 over the holidays, please feel free to stop and see us. We are trying to arrange some visits to see you all, too! Please email me if you need contact information (address and phone). Email is lesiegmund@aol.com.

END OF THE THANKSGIVING WEEKEND...BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!

OK, let's track the weekend.  We drove up to Mom's house on Wednesday afternoon so that we could enjoy a marvelous turkey dinner with the family on Thursday.  We were there with Mom and her friend, Al; Gary and his wife, Deb; Robin and her son, Chris; Vicki and I, along with our daughter, Abby and her husband, Joey and Joey's sister, Melody; and our son, Andy; and Bev and her mother, Lucy.  After dinner, we all sat around talking about past Thanksgivings and family reunions and telling stories about our loved ones who were no longer here.  It was wonderful to have so many family members together again and to remember all the past get togethers in Philadelphia or York or Frederick.  I, for one, hope that we can continue to gather as cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters or whatever and maintain the bonds that make us a family.  Maybe this blog will help with that.

On Friday, Vicki and I drove home, since our son, Scott and his fiance, Tiffany, were coming to visit.  They did not have much of a Thanksgiving themselves, so Vicki decided to cook a turkey dinner for them, which we all enjoyed on Saturday.  After dinner, Scott and Tiffany decided they wanted to decorate the house for Christmas, so they got busy around 4 PM and worked until close to 11 PM to put up all the outside lights and other decorations.  The picture is posted above.

I spent most of yesterday and today in bed with a chest cold, but I did manage to have leftover turkey and stuffing for lunch and then again for dinner today.  A couple days of rest like that are all I need to get over my cold and I am feeling pretty good tonight.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration and now it's full speed ahead to Christmas and New Year's and then the ever dreaded New Year's Resolutions.  AAAAAIIIIIGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

I wish each of you a wonderful Christmas celebration, as we recall and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  May the blessings of the Lord and this season be with each of you.

The voice of the liberal from New York

Greetings from New York and "thank you" to Brian. I will make this short becaue I'm not sure that I have figured out how to add to the website. If this actually posts, I may attempt to post pictures of my family.
The pictures are great. Aunt Jacquie looks so young and healthy, and the picture of Aunt June and Uncle Paul are just the way I think of them. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it down for the funeral and don't have Leslie and Susan's addresses. I would very much like to contribute to Uncle Paul's school, so if anyone could post that, I would be most grateful.
Our family is well. Tom is retired and handling a good portion of the cooking. We're planning to redo our 33 year-old kitchen, but can't agree on exactly what we're doing. It could be awhile.
Our oldest son Tom is a county executive assistant and frequently travels to Albany on behalf of the county executive. He is also involved with the county legislature, working as a liaison for his boss. He and Jeanine have been together for nearly four years. We keep hoping they'll announce their engagement, but they seem very content with their lives.
David works in pest control on Long Island's east end. He has some high end clients. His girlfriend is a special ed teacher who hasn't landed a permanent position, but keeps busy as a sub and working as the night manager for a local restaurant.
Tricia likes her new career as a radiology technician. She has a permanent part-time position in one hospital and works for three others. Her boyfriend went back to school to get certified in special education. He coaches football and does a number of other jobs to survive while he's going to school. They've been together for 2 1/2 years. He's a really great guy and we're so grateful that they have found each other. We never thought we see her happy again.
Jonathan is heading back to school soon, we think. He took a break after he finished his associate's degree. He has a great summer job working for the owners of three restaurants on Long Island east end. The jobs run from April to Oct. From Nov. to April, he works at a deli. Hopefully, that will end soon and he'll be back in school full-time. His girlfriend is in her senior year at Quinnepiac in Ct. She's studying to be a physical therapist. She'll do a fifth year to complete her masters.
Tom and I are most fortunate to really like our kids' significant others. There have been times...
I retired after 25 years as the director of public relations for a large school district in June 2008 when Tom retired from 35 years of teaching. I took a job with the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association as their communications director. It was a great job. I did a lot of writing and some lobbying. I went to Albany and Washington a few times. It was great. Unfortunately, funding ran out. I am now "unretired" and back working for the school district. The good thing is that they really missed me and have cut back considerably on my responsibilities. I somehow keep picking up more pieces, but it's still enjoyable.
Since we are temporarily not paying tuition, we've been investing in the house. It really needed it. Unfortunately, there never seems to be a good place to stop. This could go on forever.
We had some fun weekend visitors two weeks ago. My mom, sister Marilyn and Melanie brought Alex and Jayna Lin to meet the rest of the New York family. They were really amazing. They seemed very much at home from the moment they walked in. Tricia introduced them to the toys I've been saving for my grandchildren and we were off. It was the weekend of the nor'easter, so we were confined to the indoors most of the weekend. But we did manage a quick trip to the beach between raindrops, and a visit to our local aquarium. Mom went with us. We pushed her around in wheelchair so she could enjoy the outing with us. We had a houseful for dinner both nights. On Friday night, Tom made shrimp scampi for the adults, and I did my homemade mac and cheese with a side of hot dogs for the kids. The shrimp was a special request from my Mom. She loves Tom's cooking. On Sat., the house was overflowing. My kids, with the exception of Jonathan who was up in Ct., were all here with their significant others. We brought my mother-in-law over to join the chaos. David and Tricia's boyfriend Matt had a good time playing pirate ships with Alex, while Jayna shared her stickers with everyone...literally! David's girlfriend had the most stickers plastered on her - somewhere aroudn 110. I think Mel has a picture. I hope she contributes it. I have one, but it doesn't show the full effect.
I'll be headed down to Md. after Christmas. I promised my mom I would take her up to York. I hope we time it right so we can visit Aunt Jacquie.
Tom and I have just completed our reservations to visit Marcy and Matt in Brownsville in Feb. We had such a great time last year! I loved being in the tropics in the middle of winter. She has a beautiful yard with tropical fruit and exotic birds. They are going to take us to San Antonio for the last two days of our visit. Marcy always knows the most interesting places to go. I love to travel with her...well except for the haunted B & B, but that's a story for another time
My brief message has turned into a novel. I'm so happy to reconnect with all of you. Thanks again to Brian.
Myra

Thanksgiving

Dear Family, It was a real joy for me to have Thanksgiving dinner here at my house! We had 14
family members... Gary and Deb... Brian, Vicki, Abby, Joey, Melody, Andrew... Robin and Chris...
Cousin Lucy and Beverly... friend Al Conte and I. We enjoyed a true feast... a 15# roasted turkey and a 10 # smoked turkey.. both delicious. Everyone brought lucious side dishes and dessert and we also celebrated Robin's birthday which is actually on the 29th.
This morning, at Gary's request, Robin was an on-site reporter for Gary's show. She was to interview customer at the Mall stores beginning at 6:00 a.m. Her reports over the air were well-received and both Gary and partner, Jim, were well-pleased.
The times when we are able to be together are too few and always too quickly over. Every one has a busy schedule, so I do treasure the times like yesterday, when we can sit around the table, as we did and share fun remembrances from the past.
This was actually my 82nd Thanksgiving... I was only 6 months old for the first one... but I was up very early on Thanksgiving Day, stuffing the turkey, etc. and I thought of so many past
Thanksgivings when June and Paul, Connie and Gerry, Ken and Lucy, Joe and June, and Chuck and I always celebrated witha sing-along after dinner.....such lovely memories.
I realize more and more that we are all mightily blessed in so many ways.... wonderful kids of our own who went on to raise grandchildren of whom we can all be proud.
My own personal blessing (in addition to all the rest) seems to be my robust health and energy
which continue to allow me to do all of the things that make me happy.
I'm certain that Mother and Dad would be very proud of the family they started so many years ago.
This blog is such a good idea to help us all stay connected as time passes.
So on to the Christmas season and let's stay in touch!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

I posted this on my facebook page, but I wanted to share with you all as well. Here are my thoughts on Thanksgiving this year... Happy Thanksgiving!

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So here we are, a few days before Thanksgiving, and I am pondering what it is I am thankful for. I find myself going to the usual list of my kids, my family, my health, etc. And yet there is so much more than that. I started thinking about lots of things in my life and found that when I look at things a little more deeply, perhaps my annoyances are really my blessings.

I am thankful for not sleeping through the night. There is a little boy in this house who has problems sometimes sleeping through the night. He calls out sometimes several times a night for his mom. How thankful I am to be that person. Adoption is very random. He could be in another home calling out for someone else. How fortunate I am to be the one woken several times some nights to comfort him!

I am thankful for arguing with my daughter. For a little girl who can be one of the most stubborn people I have ever met. We go head to head many times a week over what she will wear, what she needs to eat, or why she needs to give something back to her brother. Her stubborness will serve her so well in the future. I am so thankful that I have been given the gift of being able to guide her through her life. It could have been anyone else whose file was in a stack on someone's desk. I, however, was the one chosen to be her mom. My God! What did I do to be so lucky?

I am thankful for a husband who is my complete opposite. I am thankful for his neatnic ways, for how he gently asks, for example, if I will have time to get to the vacuuming tomorrow. I usually answer him in an annoyed tone, telling him I will get to it when I get to it. I am so fortunate that he accepts me the way I am, my annoyed tone, the way I can't look at him when I am mad at him, the way he asks me what's wrong, the way I tell him nothing, and the way he says I know you better than that, what did I do. How unbelievably lucky I am to have someone who takes the good with the bad, even when I sometimes the bad is much more than the good.

I am thankful for a grandmother who will call me and ask if I have select-a-size paper towels, and if I wouldn't mind coming over to call in her prescription because she can't read the numbers on the bottle anymore, and by the way, can I stop at the store and pick up some bacon on the way. I get to listen to her complain about how she doesn't like where she lives, her eyes are failing, and she can't hear much of what I say if I don't yell it. My grandmother lives close to me, tells my kids that she loves them, and lights up when she sees them. She spoils them with lollypops and allowing them to use the controls on her automatic chair while she is sitting in it. I have the gift of getting to know my grandmother when I am old enough to appreciate her.

I am thankful for a 14 year old dog who pees on the carpet and a 12 year old dog who barks too much. The 14 year old is a good, good dog who just can't hold it anymore. She is stubborn, but sweet. The 12 year old is loud, but makes me laugh. I am so lucky to have had the companionship of these two dogs for so long.

I am thankful for a dirty house, laundry that never stops piling up, and a sink full of dishes that seems to multiply. I have a house to live in, clothes to wear, and food to eat.

I am thankful that money is tight. I have the luxury of choosing to stay home and making that money tight.

I am thankful that I am terrified to put my child on the school bus next year to go to kindergarten. She has the opportunity to attend school in a world where many children don't have that luxury.

I am thankful to live in a country where the government drives me crazy and I disagree with many of our policies. How lucky I am to be able to say that!

I am thankful for complaining that I never get a minute to myself, that my kids are driving me crazy, that I am sick and tired of never getting to sit down for a full meal without having to jump up and get something for someone. I have beautiful children who are healthy and full of life.

I am thankful for feeling sad when I miss my dearest friends, for knowing I can call or email them and just say I miss you, what are you doing, I can't wait to see you again.

I am thankful for feeling embarrassed about how I treated others in the past. I have the opportunity to reconcile and ask forgiveness, and, through the kindness of others, have been forgiven. I have been able to re-establish old friendships. Is there anything better than being given another chance?

So, what do I have to be thankful for? I think the better question is what do I have to not be thankful for. I can't think of one thing.

APOLOGIES TO THE LEFT SIDE OF MY FAMILY

I just wanted to let those of you whose political persuasion is not exactly in line with mine that I have no intention of turning this family blog into some kind of political commentary, although everyone is invited to post whatever they wish.  I was just trying my hand at political cartoons, kind of, and I wanted to share my effort with my family, thus, my previous blog entry.  All of your comments, positive or negative, are welcome.

Oh, and by the way, the more that other family members blog here, the more time I will spend reading about you instead of blogging more myself.  You liberals should take that to heart and blog your butts off just to keep me occupied. hahaha!

Love to you all, especially as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas!

AND OBAMA'S HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING!!

Hey, President Obama, congratulations on another stunning policy success!! Yes, I am certain that bringing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 911 mastermind, to the courts of New York City instead of those stodgy old military tribunals will turn out to be one more, in a long line, of stunning policy successes. Not only will this decision result in millions of dollars being spent for the security of such a trial, but it will also open New York City to heightened levels of danger. I am sure most New Yorkers will agree that it has gotten a little dull in town, so this excitement will certainly be a welcome diversion.

And, hey, who knows, what with the more defendant-friendly rules of evidence, he might even be acquitted and walk free from his crimes. Or, if he is convicted, he will be able to avail himself of years of appeals of that conviction, while living on in a prison at the expense of this country's taxpayers.

Yessirree, Mr. President, I gotta say it!! Job well done!! Now get busy with that lipstick!!

WELCOME TO DJ's DANCE FEVER PARTY

This video was taken today, in my office, when Domenic James Sutton (DJ, aka Mr. Busyfingers) discovered my radio. He finally, through process of elimination and trial and error, managed to get music, or at least sound, and then the Dance Fever kicked in. Dance along if you've got the beat. Love to you all.

MORE PICS FROM BEAUFORT

Now that I have figured out how to do this blogging (you would never know that I spend all day on my computer at work!), I am going to attempt to add some more pictures. These were taken last month in Beaufort at the cemetery and then after Mom's funeral at the house.

Thanks again to Brian for setting this up! (from Leslie)

HI, BRIAN

Thanks for setting up the blog. It is a great idea, and I've already enjoyed the pictures and remembrances posted there. A couple of folks at Mom's wedding asked for this photo of Mom and Dad, which I've attached. It was taken around 1992, for their church directory. I am working on getting reproductions for everyone of the photo of Grandma Ferrell with the four children. In fact, the photo is with a restorer right now, so I am hoping to get those photos to everyone before the holidays.Many thanks to everyone who traveled to the funeral. It was very meaningful to have so many family members there. Mother would have been very pleased.That's all for now--Leslie

CATCHING UP

First off, a big thank you to Brian for setting up this blog. What a great way to keep in touch and share the big moments of our lives. I think the last time I saw many of you was at Abby's wedding.

Four years ago today, actually, Troy and I got on a plane to Beijing, China to meet our daughter, Jayna, for the first time. On November 9 we will celebrate four years of being a family. Three years and one day later, Troy, Jayna, Mom, and I took another flight to Beijing to meet our son, Alex. On November 10 we will celebrate one year of being a family of four. Jayna and Alex are without a doubt the best things to ever happen to us. This week we will celebrate our good fortune to have adopted two wonderful children into our family.

AUNT JUNE'S LAST DAYS

Dear Family,

By now you are all aware of Aunt June's passing. I was so grateful to Leslie and Susan for inviting me to spend those final days with her. When I arrived on Wednesday, October 21, she was very alert and welcomed me with," I'm so glad you came!" We talked about things we would do during my visit. I had brought my Scrabble game and my keyboard because she wanted to have a sing-along and some tasty treats to share.

We were not able to play Scrabble but I set up the keyboard after we had moved her to the Wilmington street home that the girls had rented, and on Friday night she actually was singing some of the old songs we loved. It was difficult to watch her strength ebbing away, at first day by day, and then hour by hour. Our health-care workers were so gentle and kind to her, so caring in every way, doing everything possible to keep her comfortable. Leslie and Susan were wonderful, doing everything they could as well. We watched and waited together through the long weekend and finally on Monday about 2:50 p.m., she slipped away.

Now that I'm at home again, I miss her terribly because there is time to think about her and the childhood and girlhood we enjoyed together. She appeared to be fragile but in that small body was a great spirit, a great heart and tremendous courage. As I said at her funeral, I will always remember her with deep love and respect for the way she lived her life.

AUTHOR, AUTHOR

OK, by now, many of the members of this family have received an invitation to add entries to this blog. I invited as many family members as I had email addresses for. I did not have email addresses for Andy and Melissa, Myra and Tom and their kids, Jack and Leslie and Ron and Susan. For anyone who has those addresses, please send them to me and I will invite those members to blog with us here. Thank you.

And remember: BLOG EARLY AND BLOG OFTEN

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY BLOG

Welcome to our family blog site. This site is for the use of all descendants of Willard and Dolle Ferrell, hence the name Ferrells et al. While at Aunt June Siegmund's funeral reception, a bunch of us decided that it would be fun to keep in touch and keep everybody up-to-date with our individual lives through the use of this family blog. Therefore, feel free to frequently visit this blog to see what is going on with other family members and be sure to enter news about what is going on in your life at the same time. If there are any suggestions for additions or improvements in the layout of this blog, please feel free to contact me, your modest webmaster, at briansutton@comcast.net or briansutton@npsva.com. Don't forget lots of pictures, too!