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Saturday, July 6, 2024

Special Gifts from Hospice and July 4th Family Celebration, Saturday Snippets

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
Blogging has always been a stress reliever for me along with an avenue to share my passions which are my home and my garden.....
 
  Joe would want me to continue doing what I love to do so with that being said.....
 
I am going to start posting again on a regular schedule.....

I will be posting on MONDAYS and THURSDAYS....

And when I can, I will add a Saturday Snippets post on SATURDAYS... 


As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....
 
 
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 A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS
 
I enjoy reading your comments and will return the favor by visiting and commenting on your blog or reply to you directly here if you do not have a blog but I do have my comment section set to Moderation due to spammers and hackers so your comment will not appear immediately...
And since I have a very busy life, like most of us do, it may take me awhile to return your comments but I promise I will....
 
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Welcome to Saturday Snippets!!!
 
In my last post, I shared my annual Summer Patriotic Home Tour .......

 
And the tablescape I put together for our family July 4th celebration!!


 

  Click HERE if you missed that post!!


I want to Thank the hosts of the Homestead Blog Hop for choosing my post, Patriotic Crafts and More Decorations, as one of their features from last week's party!!!

 

 
Thanks Laurie , Liz, Natasha, and Kelly!!

Please stop by and link up to this great party!!

 


 And now for a few Personal Notes...
 

I am just about finished with taking care of everything that I had to take care of in the wake of Joe's passing....

During the week, I had an appointment with a lawyer, who was referred to me by a friend of ours from our Parish who is a retired Lawyer....

Joe kept putting off having a Will made much to my dismay....

I believe, like his Mother, that he thought he was never going to die as he refused to speak of such things...

Never the less, you all know what happened, leaving me without a Will of my own....

Luckily, I was listed as beneficiary on everything that I needed to be so I had no problems because of that...

BUT....

I definitely did not want my sons to be left with any legal issues in the wake of my passing so Joey accompanied me and I made arrangements to have my Will done, Power of Attorney for both medical and financial issues deemed, the title of our home changed over to just my name and a Living Will drawn up and on file with the lawyer that I will be able to give to my physician even thought he already knows my wishes....

My son Joey has received quite an education in all of this as he will be the one who most likely will be handling my affairs when I pass as Jim has his hands full with the Twins....

Joey has been with me through every step in this whole process of dealing with everything in the wake of Joe's passing...

And I am so very proud of him for stepping up.....

I am glad that I, unfortunately, received that education not only when my Dad passed away but also when my Mother did, as my sister and I took care of what needed to be done each time....

 
 So once the papers are drawn up by the lawyer and I sign them, I will be pretty much finished...
 
Even the lawyer said that I got it all accomplished in record breaking time....under 3 months since Joe passed away....
 
Last week I also changed over all the utility accounts to my name only and I finally went and dropped off all of Joe's unused medications at a Medication Disposal Box at one of the Hospital's Pharmacy sites...


I could not bring myself to take them up to the Outpatient Pharmacy at the Hospital because honestly, I do not want to see that Hospital for quite a long time.....

The only thing that I am STILL waiting for is payment from Joe's pension from the United States Postal Service for the 16 days in April that he was alive!


Yes, I mailed in tons of forms along with my first born...

No, it just seemed that way...

LOL!

On May 16th....

My claim was finally filed on June 1st...

When I called them AGAIN last week, I was told that it will take another 4- 6 weeks to process so maybe I will receive payment by August!!!!

You all DO know that the Post Office does nothing fast!!

Thank Goodness I am not dependent on getting that money and can wait ( this long) for it!!!


With that being said, I have something very special to share with you....

Joe passed away in a local Hospice Inpatient Unit, call Allied Services Hospice and Palliative Care Unit...

I received a call last week that something very special was finished and I could come to pick it up.....

 
I brought home this tote bag with this tag attached to it....

 
When Joe was a patient there, the social worker informed me that whenever I was ready, that there were 2 Volunteers that made Bears out of items of clothing of patients that passed away in their unit to gift to family members especially children....

 
I immediately thought of my twin grand daughters....

About 3 weeks ago, I took 2 identical Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguin's sweatshirts with the Team logo embroidered on the front of them to Hospice and hoped that those 2 caring volunteers could work wonders with them....

And that they did!!!!!



I cried!!


They did such a wonderful job!!!!!
 
 
 

 


The day shift nurses there said they never saw one of the Bears made with a Sports team logo on it...

I actually have a black sweatshirt with the same logo that I am going to ask them to make into a Bear for me!!!

A former neighbor of mine whose husband also just recently passed away in the same Hospice Unit had 5 Bears made for herself and her 4 children.....

I can not thank them enough for their kindness and generosity!!!


I kept the Bears a secret until we celebrated our July 4th Holiday on Tuesday as my son Jim and DIL Danielle had to work on the 4th....

So I am going to share pictures from that get together first....

 
Jim holding Gigi!!
 
 I forgot to take a picture of Jim's shirt that Danielle gifted him for Father's Day which says Dog Dad and has a picture of both Faye and Azumi on it!!

 
Both Jim and Danielle are very adept at eating while holding a baby in their laps!!!

 
Danielle holding Lily....


Mimi holding Gigi so Jim could eat his corn on the cob....

 
Mimi and Gigi....
 
  
 
The twins are at that stage where everything they grab goes into their mouths!!

 
Don't you just love the bows in their hair????

 
 After we were finished eating, we all went into the Living Room where I gave Jim and Danielle the tote bag.....
 
Jim is reading the tag on it as Danielle holds it up....
 
 
 
And will you look at their smiles when Danielle pulls the first Bear out...

 
 Especially the smile on Jim's face.....

Look at the look on Danielle's face as she is handing the first Bear to Jim....
 

 

 
 I think everyone loved them including the Twins....
 
 
 
Lily laughing!!

 
Danielle told the Twins that the Bears were made from their G Pop's shirts so they would think of Joe every time they look at them....


And this is my favorite picture of all......


2 very happy and much cherished babies looking adoringly into their loving parent's eyes....
 

 
Warms my heart so much!!
 
 Uncle Joey with sweet Azumi!!



 
Little Faye laying between Danielle's legs.......

 
I love the twin's red, white and blue checked dresses!!!

 

Azumi is known to lay right by the Twins as you can see......

 
Look at Lily's hand on Azumi!!
 
 While Jim was putting Gigi in her car seat, Danielle gave me Lily to hold while she packed up some things....
 
 
Check out those chubby little legs!!

 
Mimi and Lily

 
I just love those bows in their hair....

 
They are now eating cereal, veggies and fruit and love them!!


 
They also sleep about 8 hours through the night!!

 
 Jim and Danielle are their sole caretakers, working different shifts so they do not need baby sitters.....

 
We too required no help because Joe and I did the same thing with our sons, working opposite shifts....

And now.... just about ready to go home....

 Joey and I take the pups out while Jim and Danielle take the twins out to the car in their car seats which snap into bases in the back seat of their car.....

It is quite a process!!

LOL!!

 We had a lovely time together and I just have to say that I am so proud of Jim and Danielle because of the absolutely wonderful and loving parents that they have become.....

They waited for 5 years for these babies...

And those twins are adored, cherished and deeply loved by their parents and that makes me so very HAPPY and brings me such great JOY!!!

 

 I know Joe is smiling from ear to ear in Heaven, looking down, with Pride and Love on them, and all of us..... 

And I do believe that he is the Twin's Guardian Angel.....

I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at our July 4th family celebration.....
 
Another Holiday down without Joe.......
 
The first year is always the hardest.... 

 
In my next post on MONDAY, I am going to be sharing a few organizing projects that I have been doing....

So I hope you will stop by to visit again on MONDAY!!!  
 
 
 Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!


If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:
 
 
 

  THURSDAY
 
    Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!
 



10 comments:

  1. Good morning -- What a beautiful post to read. Gigi and Lily are the image of their mother -- the love they all show for each other is wonderful to see. A group near my daughter makes bears from shirts -- her husband was a big San Francisco Giants fan so she had a bear made from a shirt with their logo. Enjoy your weekend. Patty

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  2. One of my favorite posts. How wonderful these dear little girls were sent to you at this time of your life. So precious. They are the cutest little ladies and were blessed with pretty special parents! They are just adorable in their outfits and love radiates from their eyes! What a wonderful gift the bears are. A memento of G Pop for the girls to have and hold. So special and what a wonderful and meaningful ministry.
    I was the one who handled affairs when my parents both passed and I did the same activities to get my ducks in a row for my children. New wills, power of attorneys, healthcare directives. I put everything financial and healthcare oriented in a thick folder and even went ahead and bought our plots and bought the stone (leaving the end dates off :) ). I know what a job it is and I am very impressed you accomplished Joe's estate and your estate planning so quickly. It is a gift to our children.

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  3. Debbie, this post just brought tears to my eyes, watching your son and daughter in law open those bears and give them to the girls. You can see how precious they are to them in their faces. . Oh my, so sweet and what a lovely, thoughtful gesture.

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  4. That Hospice gift is just incredible. What a wonderful idea and they are darling. Oh, that's something they will have forever. I'm sorry about the will thing with Joe -- that's a mess. But you are doing just the right thing and getting it all in order now. Knowing how quickly something comes on can really get you in gear to help avoid things another time. Rick and I did our wills/trusts about 11 years ago and it is time to review them and be sure stuff is still going where we want it, as some things have changed, especially now with the grands. That's on my fall list!

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  5. Those bears are so sweet and so precious! What a lovely and thoughtful idea. Good for you for getting all your affairs in order. I made my husband address most of this when our kids were just babies; we've updated them a time or two but our lawyer tried to make them as long lasting as possible so we forget about them until needed.

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  6. I love the bears, they are such a sweet and thoughtful idea! Also, kudos to you for making it through all the paperwork. It took me almost two years to get everything done after my mother passed away, it's really sad that we have to deal with so much bureaucracy while also grieving for those we lost. Hang in there!

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  7. Debbie, love the bears and all the happy family photos! This post will be featured at this week's SSPS, thank you for sharing with us!

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  8. Debbie, such a sweet gesture. Those bears are so cute.The twins are adorable. Blessings

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  9. Love the story about the bears, and love that you have all your ducks-in-a-row for your adult boys! Smart thinking, my friend! I need to do the same for my kids!

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