Family Tree

My Granddaughter, Grace, has a school project exploring family trees. Over dinner last night, I asked for names and dates from my parents and wrote everything down. Here is what I learned:

I, Niki Yennie, am the oldest for four children born to Mary Catherine Kearney and Eugene Vern Yennie. I was born on March 19,1953. John Vern was born on August 14, 1954. Lois Gene was born on December 2, 1955, and Mary Josephine (Mary Jo) was born on December 19, 1956. We are all still alive.

My mother was born on Feb.2 1932 and my father was born on June 8. 1929. They are both still living.

On my mother's side- her mother was Otillia Kampe. She was born on August 24, 1905. She died on December 7, 1976. Her father, Paw John ( John William Kearney) was born on September 15, 1904 and died on October 6, 1997. She had no siblings.

Otillia's mother was Kate Slocombe and her father was William Kampe. Born in mid 1870's and he died young (1913) and Kate lived until early 1950's. Otillia had 4 brothers and 1 sister.

John's mother was Catherine Sweeney (from Ireland) and his father was Michael Kearney ( from South Shields, England). They both died in mid 1950's. John had 2 brothers and 4 sisters.

On my father's side - His mother was Norma Meisenheimer. She was born on September 26, 1908 and she died on Feb.11, 1995. His father was Vern Edward Yennie. Not much is known as he left the family when Eugene was 7 years old. His sister was Lois. She only lived 4 years.

Norma's mother was Albertina Zastrow and her father was Henry Meisenheimer. Tina was born on Oct. 25, 1885 and died on March 5, 1949. Henry was born on Nov. 30, 1882 and died on August 2, 1958. Norma had 2 brothers and 4 sisters.
Nothing is known about Vern Edward's family.

McGee is 5!

McGee celebrates his birthday on August 1st because that is the day we adopted him from the rescue home. His favorite thing is going to PetsMart and picking out a new toy. He's absolutely into this and knows where he is as soon as we pull up into the parking lot. This year he picked out a soft, squeaky monkey to add to his toybox. Happy Birthday, McGee!

New Look!

okay,I have not fallen off the planet. And since I was forced to change the look of my blog, I figured I might as well write a new post.

Since it's summertime, it's HOT. And rainy. I do manage to get outside three times each day to walk McGee, but we spend most of our time inside in the ac. People was still buying new furniture,so work is busy. Allan is still selling his books and playing on his computer. We have sort of settled into a summertime routine.

I look forward to Sundays. We have two new priests at St. Raphael's. We get to catch up on the news with other family members and friends. I am taking Holy Communion to an elderly couple at the Masonic home after Mass.

We are looking at beach property. Something with maybe a retail space attached so Allan can sell his books. Found something at Pass-A-Grille Beach -- just not sure yet. It's just too hot to think about moving!

Officially Retired!

Allan reached a new milestone with his birthday this weekend - retired! His social security checks will begin arriving after the first of the year. Good for him! And good for us because no new job is looming on the horizon yet.

We had a festive weekend with a neighborhood party Saturday night and a church spaghetti dinner on Sunday night. We had a dozen family members over for birthday cake and ice cream afterwards. Allan's oldest son, Tom, is in town for a seminar and joined us. He will stay with us for a few nights.

We've got cake!

When tragedy strikes - strike back with cake! How can you worry when your kitchen smells so wonderful and you can hardly wait to frost and eat your new masterpiece warm from the oven. So many wonderful childhood memories involve cake, especially my grandmother and I whipping up some favorites like coconut layer cake or devils food with fudge frosting or strawberry layer cake. YUM!

When I was a teenager, I discovered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. My mother bakes me one each year on my birthday. Life is definitely better with carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. I'll go back to worrying when the cake is gone.

Next Step

I wish I knew what the next step will be. My husbands job was eliminated today. A lot of peoples jobs are going away right now. I do not know how I feel...just numb right now. And scared. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't even worry yet. Because I don't know what is waiting further down the road for us.

I think I will probably go into survival mode. Food and shelter will be priority one. Then cars, electric, and water. Everything else, I don't know. I just want to know that Allan and I will be alright.

We knew that this could happen. We knew the company was going through looking at every position....with the intent of cutting jobs, to save money. I prayed. We both prayed. On Saturday night, at the concert, I relaxed. Allan still had his job. Maybe this awful thing would pass us by. Other co-workers agreed. Afterall, who would want Allans job.

Maybe, by some miracle, this will be good and everything will turn out better. They say that when a door closes, a window opens. I hope that happens for us.

To my family and friends, please pray for us. Don't be afraid to reach out to us. We will keep you in the loop, we will ask if we have needs. Help us only if you can. We truly love each of you.
Thank you.

Passing time...

I'm stuck inside with a bad cold, instead of enjoying the beautiful weather outside. Allan was sick first...he's better now. I don't know if I caught what he had or if it is just a mild reaction from my flu shot. But I just lie around. My head hurts; I feel achy.
The fresh breeze coming in through the open windows is amazing. I watch the curtains flutter in the moving air. I hear the birds singing and people passing in the street. The sky, from the window, is brilliant blue and crystal clear. There are no clouds.
This is my kind of weather!