Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Maybe It's Time to Start Again

It's been a long time since I've posted a blog. Partly because I got a new camera and can't find a place that makes it easy to downsize my pictures so they'll load to blogger. Any suggestions?

My neighbor and dear friend died from cancer last night. She fought off breast cancer and then was hit with neuroendocrine cancer which spread throughout her entire body. She was in a lot of pain at the end, but even last thursday when I was able to say my last goodbyes, she was alert and taking visitors. It has been the hardest two weeks I've ever dealt with emotionally. I have been holding my kids more over the past months and spending as much qaulity time as I can. It really opened my eyes to the precious things in life to see my nieghbor dealing with this terrible disease. She was so strong.

Glena taught me so many things. When we first moved here, I didn't have any friends and I was miserable. She was the best neighbor and we quickly became friends, as did our children. Her kids are 4, 5, and 8. Glena helped me with my sewing. She was so goofy and fun in the was she interacted with her kids. I was always wondering what game she would think up next to entertain her adorable children.

I think about her kids and hurt for them. I only hope I can do enough to help them through this time. Kids are resilient, thank goodness, but the loss of such an amazing mother is going to be so hard for them! Another friend and I are putting together a book for her kids that will be filled with memories, stories, and pictures from her friends (her family has on from the family). Do any of you know of a good place to publish such a book in a hardbound book for a decent price?

I feel angels around her home right now and feel such a peace. She was one of those friends that if you knew her and were her friend, you felt like a celebrity because everyone who know her loves her. I have been so lucky to have her in my life, and in my kids' lives. I have a sweet last memory of our last visit a few days ago, and that will carry me through the next few months.

I promise to post more if I can find a good place to shrink my pictures, because I have TONS to share. Until then, please say a prayer of comfort for her family.

5 comments:

Christine said...

I shrink my pictures on Paint, a program that automatically comes with computers that have Windows. It's not a fancy program, but it serves its purpose.
I'm so sorry for your loss, and for the loss that family has had. That is so sad! I hope all will be well somehow.
I make books using Blurb. I know there are other sites out there like Leelou (something like that), but I'm not sure how the price compares. I think Blurb is pretty reasonable. Good luck! That will be a treasure!

Erin said...

I'm so sorry for your loss!...there's nothing more heartbreaking than young children loosing their mother. What a great blessing for them that you live so close and can be a support for them.

I use winkflash to print books. I'm not sure how quickly you're going to be ready to print, but they're running a special right now...60 percent off. Their quality is impressive, I've been really pleased so far. And with such a steep discount, you can get a 20 page book for, like, $7.58, and only 40 cents per extra page. hope that helps!

Rachel said...

That was really nice of you to write that about Glena, and to make that book for her. It breaks my heart to think about everything she had to go through, and now everything her family must go through without her. I didn't even know her as well as you did, so I can't imagine how much more grief you feel at her loss.

I'm here and happy to help if you need anything with that book. I know it will mean so much to her children. Even if you just need someone to watch your kids for a couple of hours so you can get some work done, give me a call!

Christine said...

P.S. I said Leelou, but it's really lulu.

Marquette LaRee Photography said...

I use Picasa to do most of my downsizing. It's a free google program that you can download.

I also use another free downloadable program called Gimp. It is very similar to Photoshop.