Mom turned 90 on April 5th!! 💖💖💖
Since Kaye, Bev, Mom and I were spending that week at the lakehouse in Bella Vista doing some deep cleaning, Kaye thought it might be nice to host a birthday party there on the 5th.
Extended family and a close friend or two were invited. We were thrilled that approximately 40 people drove the distance and joined us in the celebration!
For 90 years old, Mom is still doing really well. She does have some eye problems, as well as hearing deficiencies and back pain, but for her age, God has truly blessed her overall!
Bev, Kaye and I prepared an Italian meal for all our guests: Spaghetti sauce with either meatballs or Italian sausage.....
Chicken Fettuccine
Homemade Lasagna
Mandarin Orange Salad
And Frontenac Garlic Bread and Breadsticks brought to us by cousin Kimbra and Randy! Thanks so much!!
Cake and ice cream for dessert
We used every available space for seating!! So very thankful for such a beautiful Spring day that we could use the screened-in patio and downstairs outside patio!!
Even a bed for our littlest guest 💙
Ready to sing and blow out the candles
After eating, we all gathered in the living room to share our "Dorothy" stories. This was an idea from my sister Bev....to quote her: "I so enjoyed hearing the stories about Uncle Wayne at his funeral--why don't we do that for Mom while she's still alive and can laugh with us!"
Great idea, Bev!
Lots of laughs....if you know "Dorothy" - you know she has been involved in a lot of funny stories!
Her best friend Anita told several! 😂
Cousin Janis Goedeke brought her Barbie doll suitcase full of clothes that Mom and Aunt Jo had made over 60 years ago!
Granddaughter, Rachel, shared her favorite memories
With her homemade cookies for illustration
I'm copying and pasting what Rachel said (wrote) for memory sake:
April 5, 2019
Dearest Grandma,
Today, on your 90th birthday, we celebrate ninety years of a life so well lived. A life that has loved fully, served faithfully, and given generously. I hope you know today, and everyday, just how special you are to each and every one of us and how loved you are.
These cookies I made for you, are some of my most cherished memories. Memories that have helped mold me into the person that I am today. Giving me you as a grandmother was one of the very best gifts God has ever given me.
The first cookie is a picture of Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Some of my earliest memories are of playing in the basement classrooms during church. Of cuddling next to you and Grandpa on the pews as I listened to the various pastors over the years. Your love for God’s church weaved its way through all areas of your life and therefore ours as well. I’m forever grateful for the impact Mt. Olive made on my mom, on my aunts, and on you and Grandpa as you served so well year after year. Well done, good and faithful servant!
The second cookie is of the tree and tire swing that Grandpa hung for his grandchildren. It serves as a picture of the many lazy summer days that I spent on the farm. It truly was my very favorite place to be. I even remember choosing the farm over going to the lake for a family vacation one year. I loved it so very much. You allowed me to be free and roam the farm the majority of my days and my imagination came alive as I did so. I loved riding Aunt Kaye’s old bike up and down the road. Walking through the fields. Visiting the old school house. Picking blackberries, and eating most of them on the walk back to the house. Walking through Grandpa’s sheds and marveling at all that I found. Climbing the big tree at the back of the circle drive. Swinging to my heart’s content. Pulling water up from the well over and over again. Throwing a ball over the roof of the garage and running around the house to try and catch it before it hit the ground. My days with you and Grandpa at the farm are some of my very favorite childhood memories and I’m so grateful that I have them to cherish.
The third cookie is of two wedding rings to represent 51 years of marriage. This is one of my favorite memories of all - watching the love between the two of you - manifested in so many ways. From playfully bickering in the kitchen, to always making sure Grandpa got to watch the 5 o’clock news with a warm meal in his belly, to even buying a card shuffler so that Grandpa didn’t have to do his make-shift card shuffle that never really shuffled the cards anyway. You checked on him in the fields when he worked, stood proudly beside him through it all, forgave quickly, and loved fiercely. I’m so grateful to have been a witness to a portion of those 51 years and a direct by-product of it. Because of you, Mom is the wife that she is, and therefore I have the two greatest examples of a what a wife who loves unconditionally looks like.
The fourth cookie is of green beans. I know this one may seem out of place, but these green beans stand for teaching me the value of hard work. I remember many nights of sitting outside on the bench while we snapped green beans to get them ready for you to can. Grandpa worked hard in the coal mines and in the fields of the farm - but you Grandma, you worked just as hard in your home. I have no memory of ever walking in the house to find you sitting idle - but instead you were continually working to make sure that everything was done as it should be. The picture of a Proverbs 31 woman. The value of hard work is never so obvious as it is when you and your daughters are together in one room. None of you can rest or relax until everyone’s needs are taken care of - and none of you would ever have it any other way.
The fifth cookie is fireworks to represent the Fourth of July. Oh the fun we had every summer that we were able to drive for the family celebration at the farm. All the amazing food and mouth-watering homemade ice cream. My brothers shooting hundreds of bottle rockets from glass bottles out over the fields. Knowing that we would get to see and play with all of our extended cousins all night. Going into town to watch the city shoot off fireworks. All of it brings back a warm feeling as the memories flood in. So many wonderful Fourth of July’s together.
The sixth cookie is one to remind you that no matter how old you are - your family will always remind you of your more funny moments in life. Like the time you made my eggs with wallpaper paste instead of grease. Through the years, you have certainly kept us entertained with your numerous “Dorothy” moments - but I think we can confidently say we wouldn’t have it any other way!
The seventh cookie is of the conversion van that y’all had for so many years. As a child, I thought this van was the COOLEST thing ever. There was so much room and if we riding in it - it meant that we were on a grand adventure. How many times did all of us fit into that thing? And how we fit I’ll never know. I remember being squeezed into the tiniest of spaces, and yet never minding, because our destination made it worth it. The stories Grandpa would tell as we passed things on our drive, are something I still miss and long to hear once more. Thank you for always being willing to take us on those adventures.
The last, and largest cookie, is one of the farm. It is the most beautiful house I will ever know. Not because of its size or grandeur. But because of all it stands for. The love of two people who started all of this and more - where children grew up, married, and brought into the world their own children. Who then filled the house to overflowing as we shared in that love. I will never forget the way we would all cram together in the living room as we piled onto the pull-out couch, recliners, and floor. The smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen, the hours and hours we spent watching the same re-runs of America’s Funniest Home Videos. Somehow all of us fitting in the kitchen to play games every single night. The hugs. The laughter. The tears. That beautiful yellow farmhouse was FULL of life. It was central to all of our lives - like a beacon calling to us year after year - bringing us back together. It will forever be home.
Grandma, you have provided so very much to me and all of us. Thank you - for every sacrifice, every prayer, every tear, every encouragement, every hug. All of it.
You, my sweet woman, are my forever favorite. Love you always. Rachel Ann
Pictures of our Guests with Mom:
Niece Christie and Wayne Parrish from rural Arcadia, KS
Nephew Randy and Kimbra Brunk, rural Arma, KS
Mom's Best Friend, Anita Melhorn and Anita's friend, Julie Rudman, from Joplin, MO
Sister-in-law Joan Boore and Sister/Brother-in-law Judy and Marvin Boore
all from Girard, KS
Niece Sandy Vinardi and great niece Amber and Joseph Brooks and sons, Aiden and Matthew all from Pittsburg, KS
Nephew Brian and Patti Boore and son, Josh
from Radley, KS
Another one with just Judy and Marvin
Mom's cousin, Janis and Darrell Goedeke from McCune, KS
Another one with just niece, Sandy
And with niece, Christie
With granddaughter, Rachel & Jonathan McCrary and great grandchildren: Copeland, Eisley, Gideon and Kipling. At this time, they were living in Ft. Smith, Arkansas but just recently moved to Little Rock, AR
With grandson, Matt and Kristin DeMott and great grandchildren: Ellis, Nora and Owen who live in Bentonville, AR
With granddaughter, Adrienne and Mike Goering and great grandsons: Lincoln and Graham who also live in Bentonville, AR
With daughters and 2 son-in-laws: Debbie and Jeff Swart, Galena, KS; Beverly Ferrell, Tyler, TX (husband Don wasn't able to come) and Kaye and Rob Harkness; Conway, AR
Mom and her girls
Somehow the ugly "Boore" vase made it to Bella Vista as a gift for Mom 😁😁
Mom had painted these two paintings many years ago and stored away unseen in a closet. Kaye came across them when we were packing up Mom to move from Girard to Galena, so she took them home with her. She then had them framed and the 3 of us gave to Mom as her birthday present for her new home in Conway.
Speaking of new homes....Mom will once again be moving on May 24th. She will be moving into a newly built Assisted/Independent Living facility in Conway, AR near Kaye and Rob. Jeff and I will be moving to Conway in August and will be close to her as well.
Her new address will be:
425 Abby Drive
Conway, AR 72032
We are blessed to have our wonderful Mother for all of these years and are so thankful for all of you who came to share in celebrating her with us as well as many, many who could not come but called her, sent cards, gave her gifts, emailed her and/or posted sweet Facebook messages to her.
THANK YOU!!
