(15) ~Oklahoma ~ USA ~ (Romania 🇷🇴Mission)

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

I didn't arrive at Jimmy's until real, real late ~ he even drove out to find me when my GPS was acting up (fortunately, I was less than a mile away)! But do you see what I mean . .  he is forever the gentleman!  When we got back to the house Mandy, his wife, had already gone to bed (as you remember, it was really, really late).  I slept in the next morning (ring a bell😅) so I missed seeing and meeting her 😞.  All the Couch relatives and I are planning a reunion for the summer of 2022 at Jimmy's ranch (I think I cleared this with him before I left 😏)!  I'll be able to meet Mandy and all their grandkids then!  He has a beautiful homestead and still has some great acreage for his cattle and his many 4-wheelers (I think he traded in his horses for them 😉)

That morning when I finally rolled out of bed, Kathy (my young aunt) was there waiting for me (we didn't get a picture with her which I'm super sad about).  Anyhoooo, the 3 of us laughed & talked and laughed & talked, shared some funny things about Jimmy (him being the 'baby' of the family, even younger than me, his niece 😂😏😉) and laughed & talked.  It was so much fun being with them both; how I've missed them.  It didn't seem like any years had passed by since the last time we were together! We shared memories about Dad but mostly had a good time just being together and catching up on each others lives! Wonderful time!

Later that morning I traveled north, a little over 2 hours, to Fairland, OK and went strait to the Cemetery.

There I met up with more of my adorable relatives; (cousin) Carolyn, (uncle) Johnny and (aunt) Bonnie, his wife! We had our little memorial, prayer and send off to Dad. It was wonderful! 

All of these aunts, uncles and cousins are within about 10 years of age between us all ~ my Papaw had Johnny, Kathy and Jimmy with Kay, his wonderful 2nd wife.  So even though they are technically my half uncles and aunts they are more like siblings to me. 

Sidenote: My Grand'Mom' (Lorene Jane Duncan Couch) was my Papaw's 1st & 3rd wife.

After the memorial we went out to lunch/dinner!  We talked, shared memories, and just had a wonderful time. We stayed for hours and I think we were all reluctant to leave the fun! I do wish I had planned everything better so that more of our relatives could have joined in. We truly had such a fantastic time together and we look forward to bringing back the "Couch" family reunions! 

Here are some pictures of the Couch relatives that I miraculously found on my computer! Had I been home, with all my stashes of photo albums, this would have turned into a 40 page letter (I am so not kidding ~ count this as one of your many blessings 😜)! Next leg of my trip was to Pawhuska, OK to bring some items to my brother and sister and to also see some more of my relatives 😀!

This is Grandma Waddle's home; my very favorite home ever. Many great memories here 💖😍💖! 

Sometimes all 11 of us would get to spend the night here over the holidays and summers! Such fun, wonderful memories with our Aunt Mattie, Uncle Eddie, Jeanne, Christy, Eli, Granddad, Grandma Waddle, Mom, Jill, Dub and me! 

Here are some pictures of my Pawhuska, Oklahoma Family! I had many more pictures of them on my computer after gathering pictures from when my Mom passed away last year in June. We kept in touch with them more especially when Mom, Dub and Jill all moved back to Pawhuska years ago.  Our sense of humor flowed down from Grandma Waddle and has trickled into my own family (when permitted 😜).  I love being around family and this group is no exception.  I'm sure after the Couch reunion we will have a reunion here!  If it's during the time of the Pow Wows I could go and be there, too.  My Mom and Dad were both Cherokee and the kids and I all have our Indian Cards.  Aunt Mattie married Uncle Eddie (Red Eagle) who is Osage so it is those amazing PowWows that I have been able to go to and watch a couple times; amazing and a spiritual event ~ truly beautiful! 

I had breakfast with my 2 cousins, Jeanna and Christy.  They make me laugh so hard I just about wet my pants! They are a hoot and are some of the funniest girls I know! 

This is my brother Dub; we had lunch at McDonalds but it was more of a long visit. It was good being with him.  He is struggling with a number of things but he gets to live in my Grandma's house and enjoy the memories there. Dub spent most of his life in Colorado but came back to Oklahoma and settled. There is so much to be grateful for and with our many trials it's good to remember that you can find  happiness in God no matter where you are in your life.  As Dub and I were talking I found out that he does not like to be called "Dubby" but rather just "Dub".  I have never called him or referred to him as anything other than Dubby (my warrior brother who taught me how to beat up the boys on my block).  But that is an easy fix for me (it still just doesn't sound right in my ears!). He looks like he has lost over 50 lbs since my Moms funeral back in June. He's a lot more disciplined than me 👋.  

Back to Romania ~ a very nice 10 day trip to CO and OK to see a bunch of my wonderful relatives! When I am around my relatives I feel proud and blessed!  The timing was perfect even though it might not have seemed so at the time.  I'm going back now to Romania to jump into Billy's arms and see all the progress he has made with his Romanian Mission Facebook page and getting all the other things in order! Good~bye U.S. of A.! I love you, I will miss you but I'm grateful to go back and be with that Cutie Patootie over in Romania 💏💖💑! Next letter: ROMANIA MISSION~

(14) Colo/Okla ~ USA ~ (Romania 🇷🇴 Mission)

January 27, 2020

The funniest thing ever . . . I stayed in a hotel most of the nights in LaJunta except Sunday night when Sue and I stayed with Donna. On one of the nights before the funeral I was carrying stuff into the side door of the hotel when a large figure was coming along the sidewalk by the building moving very fast.  He was going to reach the door about the same time as me. I tried to go faster but when I did he would also run faster.  Needless to say I was scared to death and my heart was pounding way too fast; it was all happening so quickly that I couldn't even say a prayer🙏😲🙏.  After I reached the door and was fumbling with my card key, I looked over and the person was gone. Relieved, I hurried and went back to my car to get a second load.  When I turned around the same person was coming towards me.  Finally I just stopped, figuring if I was going down I'd at least make a run in the opposite direction or stand my ground and figure out what he wanted.

It was at that moment, when he stopped too, that I realized it was my shadow; 
I was sorely relieved 😂😂😅! 

The Monday after the funeral I was going to caravan to Oklahoma with Sue but I went to the Insta-care instead. I had had laryngitis all day Friday and Saturday and by Sunday afternoon my throat started hurting; when I woke up Monday morning it was burning and I could barely swallow. My ear was having some pain, too.  The Nurse was amazing (LDS) but the doctor (PA) was a bit of a pill; very arrogant and he did seem to know just about everything there is to know about everything 😏.  He came in alone and checked my throat, ears, chest, lungs and temperature.  He did ask about any travels to China (which I was clueless about the Corona Virus at this point); I did mentioned that I still had my China Visa that didn't expire for another 7 years.  He assured me that I didn't have the Corona Virus 😌😏😓.  Then he told me my throat ache was just a virus infection, "What?" I asked sweetly, ("I beg to differ", went off in my head).  He said it was not strep or bacteria. I asked innocently, "How do you know it's not bacteria?". He gave me all the statistics and the lecture on how people are over using antibiotics, "blah, blah, blah".  I tried to explain that: 
1. My throat was literally killing me,
2. I never get fevers even when I have a bacteria infection,
3. I am more than careful with my use of antibiotics and 
4. He should look at the individual patient and not just go off statistics.  
He would not budge and said he knew better than me. At that point  I asked him if he was the only doctor available to see me.  He stopped talking, wrote me out a prescription for amoxicillin (3000mg a day < a bit too high) and sent me on my way BUT before he left he told me that it wasn't his fault or he won't be blamed if I get 'bacterial resistance' (like I was a druggie trying to get my next hit). Needless to say by the next evening my throat was cleared up, completely.  Sometimes, when you are as old as I am 😜, you know your own body and sicknesses better than many doctors and it's amazing how you will stick up for yourself and not back down. 

I rested all day Monday and took off for Oklahoma early the next morning. My rental car did not have a radio (that I could figure out) so for the next 7 hours I took turns listening to the 2 CD's I found in Dad's room:  I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Delta Dawn, etc. and a Polka collection! I will not complain because it made the time go faster and now I'm ready for the next Karaoke contest!

I got to Sue's and we met up with Sue's daughter, Halee (my step~niece) and Michael and Racyn and had a fun visit and Dinner. Racyn is the cutest little 4 yr old munchkin around! It was so fun to see Sue's family again!

The next stop was to see my (Uncle) Jimmy ( when we were young he was my best friend and playmate at the ranch). This is a picture of my Papaw's (and Grand-Mom's) Cattle Ranch; 800 acres in Stigler, Oklahoma where they bought, raised and sold cattle.   It was beautiful and astounding.  When I would visit, Jimmy would get up at the crack of dawn and do all his morning chores. I'd roll out of bed, eat breakfast, grab some snacks and head down to the horses (I know, the 'lazy' life of luxury).  Usually Jimmy would have our horses all saddled up and ready to go; we'd hop on the horses and I'd yell out, "Get on your marks, get set . . ." and off I would go.  I'm sure if he hadn't been such a gentleman (age 10-16)  he would not have let me begin the starting command (but on the other hand I am sure I didn't give him the chance, being the competitive person that I am [cheating?])!  I only thought this was fair since it was obvious that he had been herding cattle since he was 3 years old and could handle a little competition! We would ride forever.  There was a beautiful pond/creek up in the hills and it was breathtaking. Jimmy was more of a brother to me (us being only a year apart) and he was my bestest friend and the reason I enjoyed going with my Dad to my Papaws and Grand~Mom's.

After my Mom and Dad got married there was a cattle scandal that my Papaw was involved in and my Dad ended up taking the blame; consequently my Dad could never sale or do business in Oklahoma again. This is what took them to Meade, KS (where I was born) and 2 months later to Colorado. My Mom was thrilled to leave the Ranch; needless to say she couldn't stand my Papaw even before this happened (and I'm thinking for good reason).

I have pictures of my Dad's plane in a crash when he totaled it 

and other pics but they are at home in Alpine in my album.

I did love flying to Stigler, OK with my Dad in his little 4 passenger Cessna airplane. I didn't see my Dad very often but when I did I would see him as this nice man who had money (or at least more than my Mom and us kids 😉), had a plane, had horses and would take us kids to the Denver National Western Stock Show and Rodeo every couple years. I can remember Jill and I getting all dressed up in our cowboy shirts, classy jeans, cowboy hats and cowboy boots; it was my Disneyland! My brother didn't go on many activity's with my Dad and most people at the funeral didn't even know Dad had a son (which was very sad to me). Us kids would also get to go to Farr's Cafeteria with my Dad on some occasions (which I loved).  He would say, "Take all you want but you better eat all you take".  This was like a toddler going to a candy store and saying, "one piece only". The cafeterias back then were like the hospital cafeterias today where you pay for each item. Since we never got to go out to dinner it was so exciting I could hardly stand it.  Everything there looked so scrumptious.  I had never seen such a beautiful food displayed in such an array of color.  I thought I had died and gone to food Heaven.  Well, you can well imagine that my eyes were always bigger than my tummy and I could never eat it all; I'd have to walk the path of shame to the car (and they didn't even have doggie bags to save it for later). Don't get me wrong.  I had a very happy childhood and wouldn't trade it for anything.  But like I said before everyone's perspective of someone is almost always different. Child support wouldn't quite pay our rent for our apartment and my Mom worked from 7am to 5pm all my life. She did the very best she could and I admire her for her endurance while trying to raise 3 children by herself.  Again, all I can say is I hope our kids don't judge us too harshly for all the mistakes we've made raising them (although we do think they are all pretty awesome) but I know there are things I did as a parent that I wish I had done differently!   Anyhooo, love your family; warts and all!

(13) ~Colorado Funeral ~ USA ~ (Romania 🇷🇴Mission)

Friday, January 24-30, 2020

After the fun visit with the 5 Grand-babies I got up early and drove the 3 hours to Rocky Ford, Colorado! I have always referred to it as the "Cantaloupe Capital of the World".  Apparently that title goes to a town in CA and this little town (which I spent many summers in) is called "The Sweet Melon Capital of the World". . . I'll take that title because their cantaloupes and melons are totally scrumptious!

After arriving in Rocky Ford I went full speed ahead starting to get the Funeral arranged. 

My brother and sister couldn't make it but my stepmom, Donna (from La Junta, CO), and my stepsister, Sue (from Layton, OK), pitched in and helped me take care of all the arrangements! It was so wonderful having them there with me and being able to spend time with them. Donna and I went and picked out flowers and did the obituary together.

Sue got there a day later and she and Donna went to the Nursing home and packed up all of Dad's items.  Dad's roommate was a very funny, nice guy and was trying to claim items as his own that were actually Dad's 😅 ~ Sue let him keep the mini-fridge but they hauled the lift chair and his dresser away (I think Donna had the matching furniture from when they were married so it rightfully went back to her).  I would not have been able to do all that needed to be done without their help.  Fortunately, for me, we had already set up a funeral trust when Dad first went into Asst Living so this made things a lot easier.  I had to run around town and go to the funeral home a bunch of times and just back and forth from Rocky Ford to La Junta  (passing through Swink each time 😁). Donna and Sue would take care of one thing while I took care of another ~ they were my rock!  We had so much fun visiting and catching up; it was a wonderful and memorable time together!

Donna and I went through all of Dad's life work and found plaques, newspaper articles, pictures and certificates depicting the life he lived.  In the community he was very active and did many good things.  There were many who loved and appreciated him for all that he did.

He enjoyed living and loved being active and busy. 
I know exactly where I got my social butterfly inclination from!

Maynard Bowen was a genuine friend of Dad's.  He is truly one of the nicest, Christ-like people that I know.  He visited Dad every week; sometimes 2 or 3 times a week.  He would take him out for rides or treats at the Sonic drive-in! He is a pastor of his own church and was delighted when we asked him to participate in the service.

The best of all was when Maynard sang; I love this man, he is that sweet grandpa that everyone wants as their own.  I wish I would have actually taped the songs; I did get part of one song but my phone was flipping all around.

Dad's church friend, Jim Billings, spoke and others from my Dad's congregation also participated.  It was a sweet atmosphere and many got to share their stories of Dad.  Ronnie Hoss was especially fond of Dad and really looked up to him and shared some funny and wonderful stories about Dad when he was in the highlight of his career.

I blundered and blotched big time on the program; I thought I had better correct it here (for genealogy purposes 😏)!

One thing that I have learned over the years is how people are different beings to different people.  You never know how many lives you touch for good or bad.  We all can know the same person but everyone of us might have a different perspective of the kind of person they are ~ depending on how and under what circumstance you were involved with them.

I was only 5 when my Mom and Dad divorced but he married Donna shortly thereafter and having Donna and Sue in his life was a great blessing. Dub Jr., Jill and I would go down to Swink, CO for a visit with Dad, Donna and Sue during the summers (Sue already had her own apartment but would hang with us when we came to town).  I would take off and play with a zillion friends (I was still in Elementary/Junior high), Dub would hang out at home reading and Jill and Sue would spend a lot of time riding horses (at least this is how I remember it).  Donna and Sue were Rodeo champions; they barrel raced and had all kinds of first place trophy's and memorabilia.  It was amazing to watch; Jill got real good under Sue's tutelage and also began barrel racing (I barrel raced once and it was a complete flop). Anyhoooo, all I remember is that it was fun to go there for part of the summer break (mostly because everyone was busy doing their own thing and I got to play with all my friends, run all over this little town, playing in the canal and sometimes riding horses)!  I do remember getting a job as a Kirby sales girl one summer.  I would go door to door and for every card I could get filled out I would get a quarter! I loved it and I was never in want of money for the Penny Store! It was all good memories for me, although I do remember missing my Mom

This is Donna and Dad when they first got married; the 2nd pic is them with 

my sister, Jill, after they had gotten divorced.  Donna always stayed friends with Dad.

As I got a little older I got to go to the La Junta Livestock Auction with my Dad; he was good, I mean really good and you wouldn't get the big end of the stick if you were going against him.  He was super great with numbers ~ a number of years ago when he was first getting dementia the doctor asked him to count backwards from 100 by 7's;  big mistake; he whittled those numbers off faster then I could count to 10. That would be the last part of his memory to go 😂!

Being the youngest I really didn't pay much attention to anyone else but me 😛 so I wasn't involved with the dynamics of our family.  My Mom was good about not involving me with her conflicts with my Dad but my Sister and Brother were old enough that they witnessed and were affected by it much more than me.  I do hope that those that he hurt, cheated or bruised can find forgiveness in their hearts and heal as they let go of any anger that they had or have. The power of hate is very strong and can overtake your life if you allow it to.

I'm afraid there were quite a few people in Dad's life that have been hurt (but couldn't that be said about all of us?); hopefully the good he did do will off set the bad a bit. We really don't know how each person grew up or what they had to face in their own lives that make them the way they are, do we? Maybe I wasn't affected by my Dad as much as other family members but there are plenty of people in my life that have hurt me deeply and those that I have hurt which I hope can forgive me as I forgive others.

(12) ~landed in Colorado ~ USA (Romania 🇷🇴 Mission)

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

I arrived in Denver late Tues evening and drove to Marcie and Jamis’ home; 
the kids were still up so I got to visit and play with them for a few minutes 👵
👧👦👧👦👧! Marce and I spent Wed shopping with this Cutie Patootie (Hazel) 
and I bought myself a coat since I failed to bring a winter coat to Romania (intending to buy one there but realized I could find a better one in Colorado)!

Hazel had a birthday this month so we got to celebrate that along with Papa's birthday (through FaceTime). It was a little bitter/sweet because Bill and I didn't think we would be spending time apart again, especially on his birthday. So we all sang to him and I sent him a love letter along with this picture I got off of Instagram:

After a great visit, a wonderful sleep, seeing these adorable babies and 

before leaving Denver, Marcie gave me a cute mini case of DoTerro oils 

for my knees (and other things), the oils were very soothing!

I rented a cute little car and was off to Rocky Ford, Thursday morning. As you know, last May we decided to put our papers in (to try again) to serve a Mission.  After a year of eye surgeries and Bill's hip replacement and a couple more surgeries for both of us we felt it was the right time to go. Both my parents were still alive but my Mom's health had deteriorated quite a bit the last month so we knew her time was soon coming to an end.   My Dad's Nursing home, on the other hand, kept assuring me that my Dad was slowing down but that he was doing as good as ever. They never once acted like he was anywhere close to dying even though I asked them to let me know if they ever felt like he was getting close.  Even the week before we left he had had a chest X-ray and it was perfectly clear; I called and talked with them every night the week before we left and they were always positive and indicated that he still had plenty of years ahead of him.  The day we left they asked if I would like Hospice to come in (I'm sure they got worried that I had called every day that week) and I said. "Sure!".  My Mom was on Hospice almost a year and it was fantastic (she really didn't "need" it until the last couple months before she passed but it certainly was a bonus). A couple days after arriving in Romania, I received a call from the Hospice Nurse and she said, "Your Dad is not doing well at all."  It took them all of one minute for them to know that he was failing fast.  So here I am ready for another little dip in the road on our journey! All is good!

(11) ~flight back to the USA ~ (Romania 🇷🇴Mission)

My journey back to America begins!  After getting on the plane I was looking forward to a long sleep. Since we arrived in Romania I have been fighting sleep deprivation and my knees have been hurting a bit; I’m sure it has something to do with walking a hundred miles and going up and down stairs at all the Metro Stations!  My knee braces stopped working after the 2nd day and even indoors I had to use our ironing board as a crutch 😆(while outside Bill had to start carrying me 😅)!  On top of that and after being sleep deprived all week long you would have thought I would have just passed out on the plane. Unfortunately, I was seated by a snorer.  Not just any snorer, mind you, but one who I know should have a portable C-pap machine with him at all times (I’m talking from experience here).  Anyhooo, I videoed it so you can see how I am so not exaggerating.  I was trying to talk sweetly so he would not know I was video taping his snoring but I’m not sure why I bothered because he could not hear me as he was dead to the world. This may or may not come through, don't listen to me but rather to my seat mate 😲. 

I took the video off as it wouldn't go through.

You will just have to take my word for it ~ this 

guy was snoring louder than Billy and you know 

how many time I've video taped him 😴😴😂!

The sweet news came when I got on the International flight ~ it was heavenly 😇! 
I was bumped up to Delta Comfort+ and I had all FOUR seats to myself! Yep, you heard me correctly ~ none of the other rows had 3 empty ones, just me - I'm guessing it must have been a reward for not kicking the snorer in the shins (accidentally, on purpose) as it did cross my mind a time or two!  I hurried and spread my stuff all over (just kidding, I only used 3 seats 👋👍🙌) and got all nice and cozy!  I usually enjoy long flights because it gives me time to read the BoM in longer increments, watch a movie and eat some yummy food and sleep, of course! This was no exception!

😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋

(10) ~ a very good "week" ~ Romania 🇷🇴Mission

February 25-26, 2020

I have got to get busy and get all these mission journal letters sent (and wrote 😅).  I know it is a crazy time for everyone, but I cannot believe all that has transpired in our life over these last 2 1/2 months; it seems like we have been out on our mission for years not just months.  I hope I don't ramble on too much, but it seems like that is my style and hopefully you are already used to it or used to scrolling down and just checking out the pictures 😉 (no judgement here 😏).  

Monday Jan 20, 2020 ~ We had only been here not quite a week when we got news that my father passed away.

After those first few days in Romania; buying grocery's, supplies, bedding and furniture we had our first District meeting with the 2 Sisters: Gaskin/Teuscher and Elders: Banks/Firth (DL), and Laker/McLaws (AP's) and Elder and Sister Richardson (Humanitarian and Super Stars). 
The meeting was amazing; such great kids and spiritual giants.  That afternoon we were able to meet with President Hettinger (Mission President) and his sweet wife; it was a wonderful meeting and they both are incredible people. They live in Hungary but are over here frequently.

On Sunday as we walked into the door of the Chapel we were asked to bear our testimonies; 10 minutes per person.  These last minute things are fairly easy for me (maybe not so for the audience) but I get to introduce ourselves and tell a bit about our family and life.  After that, I share my testimony of how our loving Heavenly Father heard and answered my prayers by bringing Kenna Nolan into my life, at just the right time, and she introduced me to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!  And then briefly how my conversion and understanding of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Happiness began. The whole story is on this link if you want the longer version 😇:  https://jamie5663.blogspot.com/1977/  

After church the Sisters came up and asked if it would be ok for them to bring Sister Marianna over for dinner.  We, of course, said, "Yes"!  She is a sweet Romanian woman, a little younger than me and she speaks perfect english.  She comes into the English speaking Sunday School class on Sunday because she is not too fond of Romanians.  Many of the Romanians have a hard time with each other because I think the older generation have the tendency to just say what's on their mind regardless of the feelings that may be hurt in the process.  Anyhooo, that night we had a small dinner (frozen pizza and fruit salad) and a great visit.  She is wonderful and later that month we had a discussion about not letting others offend you and I showed her this quote: "If you left the Church to get away from hypocritical people, you should also quite your job, drop out of school, disconnect yourself from all of your friends and family, lock yourself in your room while you're at it. There will be flaws wherever there are humans. We need to start seeing church for what it is: it is a hospital with wounded and hurt people.  You will find messed up, conniving, calculating, imperfect individuals, including yourself.  As much as you want to deny it, we all go for healing.  So if you felt betrayed by a fellow Church member, put your Nursing cap on and think of them as your patients.  Treat them with care, love and kindness despite their rudeness".
I've been searching to find who said this (I thought Elder Uchtdorf or Elder Holland) but can't find it anywhere; if you know please let me know!

During dinner I got the call that said my Dad had passed away.  After everyone left Bill booked me a flight to Colorado and I packed my bags.  Early the next morning I found myself on my way back to the good ole USA.

We are officially recognized as being Ministers in Romania,

. . . with a mailing address in Hungary!