Open House for Mom

Hello Family and Friends,

Well again it is almost time for my Mom to go back to England.  I cannot believe how quickly three months pass. 

We would love you to come and visit with us.
Sunday June 27th at 6:00pm. (Open House style)
Refreshments will be served and Mom will be making her famous British Trifle. 

Please e-mail me at maxbritchick@yahoo.com for our address.

We would love to see you!

Reunited after 42 years

Today is Father's Day!  This is the second without Dad.  Some days life just seems so unbearable....so hard to cope with the fact that I won't see Dad anymore.  Of course I know I will see and live with him in the next life, but I often get selfish when I think "I want him here now."

Saturday was a fabulous day for us.  I arranged for Jerry Bott and his brother Jeffrey, to come to our house along with Ben Tolley and his wife, Karla.  Jerry and Ben are heroes to us, the Sims Family.  They were the Missionaries who taught my parents about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and ultimately baptized them. 

Ben and Jerry (sounds like ice-cream uh? :) hadn't seen each other since 1968.  We have been fortunate to see Jerry on several occasions but the last time I saw Ben, I was just 7 months old........so it made us both feel old when I told Ben we hadn't seen each other for 42 years.  That is how long it had been since Jerry and Ben had seen each other.

Here are some pictures of our happy occasion.

Ben and Jerry - first meeting since they were Missionary Companions in England in 1968

Cake to celebrate after we ate lunch - Lance's choice

Strawberry, Key Lime Cake

My choice - Chocolate Turtle Cake

Ben, Max and Mom, Jeffrey and Jerry

Ben and his lovely wife, Karla

Jeffrey and Jerry.  Can you tell they are identical twins?  I was asking Jeffrey questions thinking he was Jerry :) They let me on a secret - They part their hair on different sides.  That will help when they are together :)

They both went to England on their missions. 

Ben, Mom and Jerry.  Dad was here in spirit. He would have LOVED this reunion if he was here.

Just for fun, thanks to my great friend Chris,(whose family were baptized by these great guys also).... here are pictures of Ben and Jerry when they were in England 42 years ago :)

Elder (Ben) Tolley at the back - Violet, Tom, Steve, Simon and Chris Stansfield

Elder (Jerry) Bott on the left and the Stansfield Family

I thanked both Ben and Jerry for ALL they had done.  It is because of these great men and the examples of my parents that I KNOW I will see my Dad again. 

We love and miss you Dad!

Happy Mother's Day

So happy Mom is here visiting just now.  This past Sunday was Mother's Day here in the US.  Dad often commented how the US and the UK celebrated this day differently but Father's Day - always the same.  :)

Words cannot express how I feel about my Mother.  I love her immensely. I am so grateful for all she has done for me.  She was my Dad's earthly treasure and thankfully will be his eternal treasure too.  We cannot take anything but our knowledge and family with us.

I have been able to tell this visit more than the last just how much she really is missing Dad.  They days and nights are hard and lonely.

Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me with such wonderful parents.

"We love and miss you Dad"

Our cruise to the Southern Caribbean

I promised my Dad that I would look after my Mom the best I could.  His only worry of dying was leaving behind 'his Val.'  He didn't worry about dying or earthly posessions or his kids.  He just worried for his wife.
I would love my Mom to move to the US but I know she won't and I have had to come to terms with that.  I know I could look after her much better if she did.

I earned an all expense paid cruise to the Southern Caribbean from Stampin' Up! Last year the incentive trip was to Hawaii and Lance had I had a fabulous time. He suggested I take my Mom on this trip. We are going to have an awesome time this week.
Here is a picture of the two of us when we were at the Salt Lake City, UT airport.

We love and miss you Dad and wish you were here with us.  We know!  we know!......you are happy! :)

Dad's best handwriting

I have been waiting in anticipation for the Marriage Certificate from my first marriage to arrive.  I had ordered it online as I need it for the British Embassy to complete my passport renewal.  It arrived today.
I arrived back at work after my lunch and opened my mail which I had picked up from home.  I was so happy to see the certificate had arrived. 

I started to cry as I looked at the certificate.  My Dad was the Registrar at my wedding.  I never even thought about the fact that it would be his handwriting. This is his best handwriting too.

My $50 was worth paying to have this.  What a treasure. :)

We love and miss you Dad

Easter Music

I was asked to play the organ at church today. The last time I played was November 2008 when Dad was getting really sick.  I basically asked for my release from this calling as I was so emotional and was sobbing whilst playing.  It truly was a blessing that I had played for so many years and knew the hymns really well.

I had no idea what the hymns would be until I got to church so had no chance to practice.  The hymns were:
# 134 I Believe in Christ
#191 Behold the Great Redeemer Die
# 200 Christ the Lord is Risen Today
#198 That Easter Morn

As General Conference falls on Easter this year, there is only this week and next to sing Easter Hymns.  I could sing them anytime of year.  It is great to sing of a Risen Savior.
I was familiar with all of them and each one has a special meaning and really strengthened my testimony of the Resurrection. Life seems to be getting harder without Dad in it.  I miss him tremendously and my heart aches that he is not part of my life.  Of course, in spirit he is and I feel his presence daily.  He taught me so much about life and the gospel. 

It is very reassuring to know that we will meet again and that we will live together eternally.  There is no doubt in my mind that he passed the test, that he won the race and that he is doing what he did best here on the earth - Missionary work. 

I am so very grateful that I was born into such a wonderful family. I treasure my memories and look so forward to the day when we will be re-united.

We love and miss you Dad

Special News for a Special Occasion

Hello Family & Friends,

Today as I was looking into our glass cabinet (pictured above),  and reflecting on my wonderful parents a fabulous idea came to me.  I will share that in a moment :)

Today is Mothers Day in England and so I began to think of my dear Mother and all she has done for me.  Part of my life now is our daily phone call.  I love chatting with her and hearing how her day is going and due to the time difference, how her day has gone.  Then I began to think of my dear Father.  It is impossible to think of one without the other.  My Mother was my Father's life.  He did everything he could for her.  As you will have read before if you are a follower of my blog, he didn't like to be apart from her.  If he went somewhere, he ALWAYS wanted 'his' Val to go with him, even if it meant going to the petrol (gas) station.

The items in the cabinet above bear special meaning:

Top Shelf: A picture of my parents on their wedding day, March 31 1962 (They would have celebrated their 48th Wedding Anniversary this year! :)

Second Shelf: A ceramic cat on a chair - This belonged to my Nana Plaskitt. I will treasure it always.
A word framed art - It reads "Today well lived makes every yesterday a memory of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope."
My Dads glasses - To remind me of how Dad always looked out for the needs of others.
My Dads watch - To remind me of the countless hours he helped me and others.

Third Shelf: Word Art - "My Mother did not tell me how to live......she showed me".  "It's not where you've been that counts, it's where you're going."
"We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope." 
A Clock to remind me that time will pass and we will all be re-united again.

Bottom Shelf: Photographs - My Parents at the Salt Lake Temple when Lance I were married in 2002.  My Dad in his early rugby league days. My Parents ourside St Columbas church where they were married.  Picture taken in 2007.
Natalie and Kayleigh, our daughters.  This picture is to remind me of all my Parents did to help me when I was a single Mom. (Picture taken in 1997)

Finally, the red and white walls painted in honor of my Dad in 2009 (year of his death) to remind me of his love for Hull Kingston Rovers, his beloved rugby team.

Now onto the surprise........Our son, John (named after my Dad) will be 8 years old in 2011.  Today it was decided that John will be baptized in the Hull 2nd Ward in England in honor of his Grandad who was also baptized there in 1968.  It is so difficult living so far away from my family so we thought this would be so wonderful.

We talked to John about it and we discussed what will happen.  John and I may fly to England a few weeks before the rest of the family so we can spend longer there and I can take him lots of places.  London is on the list :)

Uncle Mike : John wants you to assist in his confirmation and he knows you will never fly over here so he is coming there to make it easier on you :)  He also wants you to be the official photographer at his special occasion.  Before and after pictures :)

Uncle Gary : John would like you to assist in his confirmation.  (Can you please give your employer 17 months notice? :)

Grandma Val : John would like you to speak at his baptism.

Auntie Rebecca : John would like to offer a prayer and he is giving you 17 months notice :)

Alan Tong: John would like you to assist in his confirmation.

Helen Brown : We have heard all about your catering and cake making skills.  You too have 17 months notice.  We will pay you your costs plus all kinds of crafts from the United States of America. We may even throw in some Betty Crocker white cake mixes :)

Bishop Skelton: Please mark this on your calendar!  We would like you to assist in the confirmation. 

We are planning this in honor of John Sims.  Please plan on attending! (Date to be confirmed).  Please do not plan on having any babies on this day, going on vacation, being sick/ill or anything else that would prevent you from sharing this special occasion with us.  We will be traveling over 5,000 miles!
YOU CAN BE THERE :)

(Of course, we will have to have this cleared with the appropriate Brethren of the church and will let you know the decision. )

"We love and miss you Dad!