Our Faith, Family & Friends

Under contruction is a blog regarding gardening, please check it out when it is up. My son-in-law, Andy, gardens and he built me some planters and got me started gardening too. We will tell you more about that in the Gardening blog. In process. My greatgrandparents in both my mother and father's families were farmers, my great great grandparents migrated from England. I am curious what they grew on their farms as they settled in Illinois.I know my grandparents primarily grew green beans, tomatoes. and corn. My Dad's father had a half acre he farmed for personal use until he died at ninety three, just five years ago. My Mom's father always had a home garden, as a child I helped him weed and carried aprons full of fresh vegetables to my grandmother's itty bitty kitchen. He liked gardening so much he rented an empty lot about two miles from his home and planted corn and tomatoes there, checking it daily. He loved family. My dear sweet Grandpa H called me and all eleven of his grandchildren almost everyday, after we got home from school. He would question me and make sure I had a great day. When we moved away to California (I was in High School), my grandfather came to our home the morning of the day we were leaving, he began to cry and never did stop the whole day. He repeatedly walked the perimeter of the house for a good three hours. My Mom always said "I broke my Dad's heart moving so far away." When a family loves each other so much, you want to live close enough to see one another whenever you want. I only saw my grandfather one other time after we moved, he had a stroke within the first two years. He lived to be sixty seven, sixty seven and dark brown hair. He had retired from Illinois Glass, had sold fuller brush on the side and became a town alderman. He cared about his community and he loved his family deeply, a wonderful man. We were so blessed.