THANK YOU

A couple posts ago I said that my next posting would be a thank you blog.  Instead I ended up with a picture blog so today I will extend my thanks.  It's hard to know where to start but I'll begin with a verse from Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus".  This verse was marked in the study bible that Howard bought in 1954 from the LCBI book store. We saw this verse in action through the many hands that God used to care for us in our time of loss.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for  the many acts of kindness shown to us.

First He led Kristy's sister and fiancee Troy to plan their wedding for March 31, 2012. That enabled Todd to spend a week here while Kristy was in Brooks, AB helping with wedding preparations.  Todd spent much of that time with Howard. We attended the Thursday morning worship service at St. Joe's.  Todd had written a song for Aunt Viola's upcoming 95th birthday.  He sang it for her after the service along with another one that he had written about our farm.  Todd arranged for the Smile van to take them to the mall one afternoon where they had coffee and pie at the Homestead and Howard got a haircut.  His hair was getting quite long so the short haircut looked good on him.  He had worn a brush cut for years so his new cut was kind of getting back to that.  I was blessed to be house sitting at the Moser home in Estevan so we gathered for a family supper the last night Todd was home.  It was our last family gathering with Howard.  Todd sang several songs that he has composed.  He was thrilled when many of the kids joined in on "Kelly Bob Rain".  They have it on their ipads so sang right along with him.  Todd had a special song for me as it was also a belated birthday party for my turning seventy in February.  The three boys went with Howard back to St. Joseph's in the Smile van, an emotional time for them as they could see that their dad's health was fading and this might be their last time together with him.  Precious memories.

On May 8, our niece, Mandy (Sanford) and Rick Peakman had planned to visit Howard on their family trip to Green Bay, Wisconsin to pick up their new fifth wheel camper.  However, the home was in a lockdown due to an infection.  I met them at Houston Pizza, along with Shauna and the kids. We enjoyed supper with them before they headed to Minot for the night.  They planned to be back through Estevan on May 16 so hoped to visit Howard then.  Their trip was delayed a day as the camper wasn't quite ready.  On their way to SK on May 17, they got word that Howard had passed away.  So instead of continuing their trip home to Lacombe, AB, they headed west to Torquay and south to the Johnson farm.  Their new camper was put to good use with beds for ten people, filled to capacity a few of the nights.  Rick had bought new work boots in the US and they were put to good use too as he was soon on the tractor helping Clare with field work in the midst of seeding.  Rick grew up on the farm, so was the perfect guy to step in when Clare needed a hand.

Another fellow, Dave Howard, who had worked for us years ago, was free that week and was also able to help Clare with the seeding.  He stayed with Hartley and Louise since there was "No Vacancy" at the Ho Jo Inn for a few days.

Amazingly, all our nieces and nephews and most of the spouses and children were able to be here for the funeral service.  Six nephews were the pallbearers.  The eleven Erickson cousins were together for the first time in fourteen years.  They have a tradition of lining up in order of age or height so here's a picture of them by the auditorium.  Whether by height or by age, Todd is always at one end as he is the tallest and the youngest.  We also remember Tommy, the first born of the cousins, who died at the age of eighteen in 1986.

My sister Sandra and Merle Sanford from Frontier, Howard's sister Ardis from Edmonton, my brothers, Alan and Judy Erickson of Frontier and,Merv and Jan Erickson of Saskatoon, were also able to be with us.  Thank you for your love and support for your "big sister".

We were also blessed with everything we needed in the line of food!  Meat and cheese trays, veggie trays, fruit trays, buns, homemade cookies, loaves, brownies, puffed wheat cake, breads, muffins,  a beef roast, sausages, perogies, cabbage rolls, chili, rhubarb sauce, pumpkin pies, apple pies, steaks, hamburger patties, hot dogs and buns,  a roasted chicken and dressing, chicken wings,  beef stroganoff casserole, hashbrown casserole, pickles, watermelon, acini de pepe salad, potato salad, sandbakkels, lefse, cinnamon buns, pastries, box of oranges, coffee, tea, cheesecakes, marshmallow squares, jugs of juice, even plates and serviettes!  We had thirty people in three campers and our house for about four days.  On Sunday Michael cooked a wonderful meal for us - chicken parmesan, pasta and a bean dish.  Thank you to all of you who shared food with us.  It was such a comfort not to worry about what to fix for our big family. And most of the time, I sat back and watched and visited as family members took over managing the food for this big family. Even the problem of how to keep all this food cold was solved when Michael brought out a fridge from a friend's house in Torquay!  The house is for sale, the fridge not being used just now.  We couldn't have managed without it!

We also appreciated the lovely bouquets of flowers given in memory of Howard.  We took a picture of us with the flowers out on the deck.  (I think one bouquet got left in the house so isn't on the picture.)

Our first family picture without Howard
May 22, 2012

Many memorial gifts of money were received for Trinity Lutheran, St. Joesph's Special Care Home and other charities.  You will receive receipts from those charities in due time.  We appreciate each card of sympathy that came from near and far.  Each day the mail brings a few more.  I have learned how much each card and its message means.  I have them all in a basket and each day I will be going over some again.  Thank you for sharing your personal thoughts and remembrances of Howard.  They are so precious.  Thanks too for phone calls, emails and personal visits - each one a special gift.

I mustn't forget those of you who offered beds in your homes for guests from out of town.  It meant so much to have extended family and friends close by.

Most of all, we thank you for upholding us in your prayers.  We couldn't have gotten through those first difficult days without the strength and peace that only God can give.  He enabled us to be strong for the funeral service, especially Kirk and Todd and the grandchildren who took part in this celebration of Howard's life.  We also thank Pastor Danny Krauss for his care for us as we planned the service and for the message of hope that he shared.  Thanks also to Vi at the organ.  Often we have piano and organ together, but Howard preferred just the organ so that's what he had for his service.

I have neglected to thank Ray and Blair Daae who set up and videotaped the service, which was shown on a big screen in the auditorium.  Ray also made copies on DVD's for each of our family.  He will also make extras for several of Howard's cousins who were unable to attend the service.  Thanks to the Daae family we also have CD's of Howard's singing.  In fact, we were able to have Howard's voice singing "Open the Gates" as part of his funeral service.  He had never sounded better.  If you closed your eyes, you'd have thought Howard was right there at the podium!

There was a crowd of 250 at the service and many of those stayed for noon lunch.  The ladies of Trinity did a wonderful job of serving and the clean up that followed.  "Tusen takk" to the social committee and all who helped out.

Now a new month has come and a new way of life for me as I travel this new road.  I have to get used to saying the word "my" instead of "our".  I am so thankful for four loving children, their spouses and the grandchildren as well as many caring friends and extended family who are helping me adjust to life as a widow.  Today I joined our accordion group as we played for a "pansy tea" at the Elks club in Estevan.  It went well, until we played the song "Have I told you lately that I love you" and I almost couldn't make it through.  This evening I was invited to attend the Shrine circus with Shauna, her mom Louise, Carter , Lindsay and Jamie.  This grandma left during the intermission as I'd been in town since morning and wanted to get home before dark.  It was good to have done some "fun things" today and I know there'll be more of those days in the future.  Now I'll say good-night, and thank you, if you have managed to stick with me to the end of this post!