Tribute to Dad

I first posted this tribute three years ago. But wanted to post again today in memory of ten years passing........

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Dad's death and each time this day rolls around, there is a sadness and a void in my heart. I had a wonderful Godly father, who is enjoying all Heaven has to offer, but I do miss him so much! Dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness just 7 weeks before he died (amyloidosis). I only got to visit him once during that 7 weeks (the picture below was taken during that visit). That was in late September about a month before he died. Jeff, Rachel, Andy & I went up to Kansas for just a quick 36 hour visit.

I would like to tell you this story -- not to make you sad -- but to hopefully encourage you as to how good and gracious and loving God is!!

My sister, Beverly, who lives in Tyler, Texas -- and I, who was living in Conway, Arkansas at the time, decided each to fly to Kansas City, where our younger sister, Kaye lived, to spend the weekend together. This was the very first time -- in our adult life, that us three girls had ever done that (and the first time Bev or I had flown "all" by ourselves--she from DFW and I from Little Rock). We had always spent time together as "family" with husbands, children, Mom & Dad, at holidays, etc., but never just the 3 of us. We flew into KC about 2 hours apart very late on Friday night. Saturday morning, we called Mom & Dad (who lived 2 hours south of KC) and asked them if they felt like driving up Sunday, eating lunch with us after church and accompanying my sister in taking us to the airport that evening. Mom asked Dad if he was up to that and he said yes. So Bev, Kaye & I, along with my niece, Adrienne, spent the day, Saturday together and had a very enjoyable time down at the Plaza, etc. We had just walked into Kaye's apartment, when her cell phone rang. It was Mother, in a panic.......she said Dad was standing at the kitchen sink, looking out at his cows in the pasture, when he just fell backwards to the floor. She had called 911 and they were there "working" on him. My cousin and wife lived just two houses down and were there too. So we talked to Brian, and he said, it didn't look good. So we immediately said....."we are on our way!" About half way down, we received the dreaded phone call from my Uncle Marvin, that Dad had passed away (actually he had died immediately from a heart attack due to the terminal illness).

We arrived at the hospital within 2 hours to a sidewalk full of family and friends, and were able to go into ER and spend those last few precious moments with our Dad!

It truly was one of the most difficult days of my life -- yet this is my PRAISE!!!

The terminal disease Dad was diagnosed with, was very rare (Mayo Clinic finally diagnosed it) and it would have been a horribly painful death had he lived a long time, so it was very gracious of God to take him on home. And then our Heavenly Father lovingly knew us girls needed to be together and the fact we were only 2 hours away was a great blessing for my Mom's sake (normally, Bev was 8 hours away and I was 5 hrs away). It brought such overwhelming comfort to know, without a doubt, God so destined that to be the case, when He called our "daddy" home. How awesome is that!!! We've often wondered, if Dad was looking out his kitchen window that day, telling God, "It's OK for you to take me on home, my girls are close by......"

So as I cry these tears at missing my Dad, I also have such rejoicing in my heart, as to God's great mercy, grace and love!! Oh how, He loves you and me!

The song "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me had just been released. None of us girls (or Jeff) had even heard it, but Andy happened to have purchased the CD just a short time prior to his Grandpa's death. He had us listen to this song as we were traveling into town to view Dad's body. We all agreed, it had to be played at the funeral. My niece, Shawna, who does an excellent job at sign language, quickly learned the song and at the end of the funeral service as the song played, Shawna signed. It was beautiful! It will always be a very special song to me and my family (as Rachel will also speak of in the blog below). Please click on the link to the right of this posting and watch this beautiful video and listen to this song.

On a more humorous note, this picture is of Dad and my cousin, Holly's son, Joel in 1994. Mom & Dad lived all their married life (50+ years) on a farm and always hosted the family on the Fourth of July! There are many wonderful memories from those yearly events. Joel loved his "Uncle Edward"! Dad had found a dead turtle and filled it with concrete and gave to Joel as a present (which he is holding). I think it was a treasured possession of Joel's for many years!

Here are some additional favorite pictures of mine of Dad, Mom, Bev, Kaye & I and of the grandkids. You can doubleclick on any of the pictures to see them larger.

Dad was a Deacon at Mt. Olive Baptist Church, rural Girard, Kansas for many, many years! I always felt his greatest attribute was faithfulness. He was faithful to his Lord, to his church, to his wife, to his children, and to his seven grandchildren. I so want to follow that example!

"Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness;
but a faithful man who can find?
The just man walketh in his integrity;
his children are blessed after him."
~~Proverbs 20:6-7

Until I see you again, Dad -- thank you (and Mom) for our godly heritage!

I love and miss you!

Debbie

Rachel's Tribute to Her Grandpa

This too is a repost from 3 years ago - in memory of 10 years of passing of Rachel's grandpa......

Rachel emailed this to Grandma Boore, October 28, 2005

EDWARD LEE BOORE……...
There have been three men in my life who have forever changed me...My husband, my father, and my grandfather. I can't believe that it has already been five years. I still miss him terribly. I catch myself thinking of him often. Especially around holidays and of course on his birthday, and always on October 28th. He was diagnosed with a terminal disease just a few short months before he died. I wish everyone could have known my grandfather. He was a victim of the depression, so he saved up every penny he ever made. He was also a pack-rat, so he had shed's full of just junk. He loved it all though, and funny - so did I. They lived on a farm their entire married life. Over fifty years (they are such an inspiration to me). I would go and spend a couple of weeks every summer. During which, I would spend entire days outdoors. Helping grandpa out in the pastures, swinging from the tire tied to the tree, playing make-believe on the grass, running through the wheat field, and riding one of the old bicycles that my mother and aunts used to own. Oh, how I loved to go and pick the blackberries. Amazing how so many of them never made it back to the house. I have so many wonderful memories tied to that farm. It is one of the main reasons that I yearn to live on a several acres of land one day.

It's funny now when I think of how my entire family fit inside their house all those years. Fifteen people... (and fifteen people in a huge house is still a lot of people under one roof! Not to mention the other relatives that would come visit and play games while we were all there!) All of us kids would get creative on our sleeping arrangements. I can't tell you how many years that I slept on the two lazy boys pushed together. It is amazing how many kids can fit on a pull out couch. Oh, the memories.... I will never forget the day that he decided to teach me to drive. I couldn't have been more than twelve years old. I remember I could just barely reach the peddles, and I was so nervous. It was just old country roads, with no one else around, but I just knew that I was going to mess up. We drove for probably thirty minutes. Practically going in big circles. I'm sure that he was a nervous wreck. Yet, I will never forget how gentle he was with me. How patient. He loved to teach, and I loved to learn from him. He was an amazing man. Such a hard worker. He worked every day of his life, including the day that he died. When he really began to get sick, he started to sell his cows. It had to of been so hard on him. However, he still continued to go out in the fields every day. Grandma finally convinced him to take a walkie talkie out there with him so that if he needed her for any reason, he could reach her. However, he always forgot to turn it on. (lol-laugh out loud). He was also a wonderfully, stubborn man. It was actually a blessing that God decided to take him so early into the disease. Eventually all of his organs would of shut down one by one. This would of left him completely unable to do anything. And that was not who my grandpa was. It would of killed him to have others wait on him, to not be able to do what he knew how to do best. Work. So the fact that he had a heart attack that took him on October 28, 2000, was actually the best thing that could of happened. He was such a Godly man...and to picture him in heaven, praising the Lord all day long, makes me happy. Selfishly, I just miss him. Oh, how much I did love him, how much I do love him still. The day of his funeral was the hardest day of my life. The amount of people who showed in honor of my grandfather was touching. He impacted many lives. Mostly, I felt the impact on my life. I still feel it today. I wish I could put it into words how much this man meant to me... but there are no words. I'm just forever grateful for him, and the life that he lead. At the end of the service, everyone had a chance to say a final goodbye as they walked past the casket. The entire time, the song "I Can Only Imagine" played. To this day, I can never hear that song without thinking of him. If I think on it too long, inevitably, the tears come.

He was a special man. He was special to me. I wish he could see what my life is like now. I believe he would be proud of me. I was the youngest grandchild, and I always held a special place in his heart, and he will always hold that place in my heart. No one will ever fill it, and I don't want anyone to. Edward Lee Boore will always be a part of me. And I take peace in knowing that. I love you grandpa, and I always will. Selfishly I miss you, and wish you could be here not only with me, but for mom, Aunt Kaye, and Aunt Bev. Mostly for Grandma though. You would be proud of how well she has done since you've been gone. I know it is hard on her though. You were her life for more than fifty years. And as much as I miss you, I know that her pain is so much more. I especially missed you on my wedding day, and will miss you terribly on the day that I give birth to our first child (whenever that may be), but I can't wait until I'm up there with you. Right after you died, I pictured us walking hand in hand down the streets of gold on our way to praising Jesus. That picture used to bring me joy….and it still does. I wish I could of told you what you meant to me, how much you impacted me, but I hope you knew it. Thank you for living the life that you did. Thank you for being the man of God that you were. You and Grandma raised three beautiful daughters, who in turn have raised beautiful children of their own. You would be proud of all the spouses that they have picked, and the great grandchild that you have. We all miss you, especially today....but one day... one day, we will be together again, and what a glorious day that will be!

Rachel Ann Swart Cox

A Marvelous Trip to the Northeast!

OK - a disclaimer to my blog readers.....this is a very LONG blog posting. You will not offend me if you don't read it - or if you just quickly skim thru it. I totally understand. However, I wanted to document our trip for Mom and for the memories :-). What I love about my blog, is that it's a permanent record on the internet in case my computer were to ever crash. So here goes!

A HUGE thank you to Mom for once again blessing each of us girls and our husbands with another wonderful trip. Mom thinks this will probably be her last big trip, due to her age and energy level. But, Mom, you did great and sure didn't complain when you got tired. Thank you, Mom for this great trip!

This picture was actually taken toward the end of our trip - but we only have a couple of pictures with all of us in it, so I'm posting it at the beginning: Rob & Kaye; Jeff & I, Mom, and Bev & Don.

Kaye & Rob flew into NYC on Sunday in order to get us a rental van. There were none available in Boston. The rest of us flew into Boston on Monday. Kaye & Rob picked us up at the airport. We did a little sightseeing that evening. Then the next morning, we headed to downtown Boston to do the historical tour.

This was the tour we took.

This was our tour bus. We were able to get off and on as we pleased.

First stop was Paul Revere's house. Three good looking guys in the forefront!

Jeff in front of the Paul Revere statue:

You will see several pictures of church steeples. I love them. This is actually the "Old North Church" where Paul Revere hung his lantern.

It is now an Episcopal Church.

Inside the church:The pews were very different. Evidently families bought their own little cubicles. They had bench seats inside the cubicles that would seat 4-6 people and a name plaque on the outside. Mom, Kaye & Rob in one of them: Bev and I in another: One of our stops was at the oldest cemetery in America -- Cobb Hill Cemetery:Another stop was to see the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). It played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War.

Jeff on board:

And the two of us:

More of us:

Our last stop before leaving Boston was to eat at one of the 100 authenic Italian restuarants in downtown Boston. We enjoyed a delicious meal!

Next morning, we headed to Maine. Another pretty church steeple along the way:

This was a gorgeous setting. Evidently a lot of weddings are held here.

Making a stop at Bar Harbour:

One of Kaye's panoramic shots:

A very pretty little town:

Some of them had to have lobster, so we ate here for a delicious lunch:Those who ate lobster, even wore a bib :-)

Last shot before moving on.....

We drove quite a few minutes out of the way to see a lighthouse....was pretty disappointed it was such a little one....

We stayed in Bangor, Maine that night. The next morning, we headed to Stowe, Vermont, driving through New Hampshire where we saw such beautiful fall foliage! It was an all day drive but such gorgeous trees and sites along the way.

Jeff & Rob took turns driving us (thanks, guys!). We drove a total of 1600+ miles during the 8 days.

We took the White Mountain Trail thru New Hampshire. Beautiful! Pictures just don't do God's creation justice. It was so much prettier and majestic than what these pictures display.

We are so glad that a family friend suggested we stop at Mt. Washington. What a neat old hotel resort!

It was built in 1902 and has been updated in recent years. We ate lunch here and took lots of pictures:

Back on the road again....

The first covered bridge that we saw. It had been turned into a gift shop..

Another covered bridge - yeah! And in CONWAY, New Hampshire! We drove through this one.

A beautiful site under the covered bridge:

Then we stopped at a really pretty area and took pictures. There was also a photography club there taking pics.

Jeff told Bev to pose....so she did. We told her she looked like her granddaghter, Madyson, who loves to pose!

The foreground isn't pretty, but the background sure is!YEAH, we have arrived in Stowe, Vermont! We rented a (2) unit - 2 bedrooms each unit townhouse. It was very nice!

Stowe is very pretty, quaint litte town located at the bottom of a mountain range and is very popular for snow skiers.

Green Mounain Inn managed the townhouse we stayed in.

That evening we went to this cute restuarant to eat: The lady who greeted us:

Then we had to get some game playing time in. This was the kitchen in our townhouse.

The next morning, we woke up to RAIN! God blessed us with beautiful weather 7 of the 8 days, so we couldn't complain. One of the main reporters for the Weather Channel was in Stowe that day and was forecasting 4-6" of snow that night. I was pretty excited at the prospect! We didn't let the rain hamper our sightseeing. We drove about 3 miles out to the Von Trapp family homestead. They are the family from the "Sound of Music" movie. They settled in Vermont after fleeing from Austria. Captain and Maria have passed away (and are buried here, but it was raining too hard for us to locate the cemetery). One of their sons still manages this homestead. There is a lodge and other buildings there. We ate a delicious breakfast in the restuarant.

From there, we toured the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. That was fun and the sample of ice cream they gave us was delicious.

Then we visited a neat Apple Cider Mill:

Next morning, we woke to NO snow....just a little drizzle. But the TV was showing snow in Stowe. So as we left town, we drove a couple of miles to Mt. Madison to see the snow! Saw this cute bridge along the way:

And we had to stop and get this picture -- what one thinks of, when you think of Vermont in the fall. So pretty (again, the picture just does not do it justice!!)

Now we are traveling to New York - saw lots of beautiful trees along the way.

More snow! (another ski resort-Mt. Killington, I think)

I love the contrast of the green grass and fall foliage:

Our rental van and so much beauty behind it!

There were many "Moose Crossing" signs, but we didn't ever see any Moose...except for these two :-)

Stopped at a Chili's somewhere along the way for lunch:

Back on the road - and we have crossed the New York state line - whoo hoo!

So pretty!

We actually stayed in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which wasn't far from NYC. We could see the skyline from our hotel. Sunday morning, we got up very early to make the trek to downtown New York to attend the 9 a.m. worship service at Brooklyn Tabernacle. We drove our van a couple of miles to a Rail Station.

Took the Rail to the Subway:

And then walked just a couple of blocks to the church:

This choir is fantastic!!!

You could take pictures prior to the service starting, but not during the service. The choir is practicing here. It was a packed house and a powerful service. The choir sang 3 songs as well as an awesome corporate worship time. Pastor Jim Cymbala preached a great message too. Definitely the best two hours of our day!!

After lunch nearby, we took the subway to Battery Island to ride the Ferry to see Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

On the ferry:

She is beautiful - especially since she represents our freedom!

We got off the ferry here and toured the Ellis Island facility. Heading home -- we are tired!!

Next morning, we headed for New York City!! We had booked a 5-1/2 hour tour. Here is Times Square.

I honestly never saw what the attraction was to so many folks to go to NYC year after year. But after visiting, I now understand. It's quite a city - fascinating. Sure wouldn't want to live there, but what fun to visit!

We are standing in front of ABC Studios, where they tape Good Morning America. We weren't there early enough to be a part of the crowd for the show, though.

Rockfeller Center Empire State Building.....what movie made this famous? Yes, you are right: King Kong!

After making several stops and/or passing by these sites in the city (Central Park, Strawberry Fields, Brooklyn Bridge, largest Toys R Us, Chrysler Bldg., Trump Tower, Plaza Hotel, Greenwich Village, Soho, George Washington Monument, Tiffany's, World Financial Center, etc.), we then went to the Pier 17 for lunch and our boat cruise. I'm getting tired, so will not post pictures of all those things listed. The Lady again, with hubby in the forefront:Another of Kaye's panoramic shots - they are a lot bigger than this - don't know why they show up so small on my blog :-( New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street

Our last stop on the bus tour was Ground Zero. It's hard to imagine that so much tragedy happened here. All it looks like now, is a big construction zone. They are rebuilding several towers. One will be higher than even those that were hit. They are making them much stronger this time. 911 is still such a vivid memory to me -- and it was very sober being near the scene of where it happened.

I saw on my daughter-in-law's Facebook status that our son, Josh, was in New York City working. He is doing a short stint for Rod Stewart right now since Lionel is working on an album and not traveling. Rod was singing on Good Morning America and the View the next day. So Jeff called Josh and he met us for dinner. That was a real nice treat!

After eating, it was time to head back to our hotel. Goodbye New York City. I hope to come back some day and see more of you!

I really liked this picture that Josh took with his camera..... Thanks again and again, Mom, for such a wonderful, memorable trip!!