Wesley M. Powell, RIP:

I posted the first part of this yesterday, but had so much more to say after we attended the service.  Because of Christmas, they delayed the service for a bit.  I kept thinking, this is a good idea for others too, because folks get a chance to come to terms with their grief, and have more time to make travel arrangements.  The service was held at the church Wes was a member of, the Cascade Bible Church in La Pine.

Here is a copy of Wes' obituary from the Bend Bulletin:

Wesley M. Powell

July 20, 1949 - Dec. 16, 2010

Wesley M. Powell of La Pine, passed away Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. He was 61.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Dec. 30, at the Cascade Bible Church in La Pine. A wake will follow at the Moose Lodge from 3 to 7 p.m.

Wes Powell was born July 20, 1949, in Weed, CA. He was raised in Prospect, OR, and graduated high school in Eagle Point, OR. Wes married his wife, Nicole (Niki) Powell on May 18, 2001. He was a master carpenter and craftsman. He enjoyed the great outdoors and loved to fish and hunt. He studied the scriptures and his faith in God was extremely strong.

Shall we always remember him for the love and support he gave to others.

Survivors include his wife, Nicole (Niki) Powell of La Pine; mother, Marie Ogletree of Oregon City; son, James of Portland; daughter, Stacie of Commack, NY; brother, Albert of Phoenix, AZ; sister Phyllis of Oregon City; sister, Kay of Medford; five grandchildren and one great- granddaughter.

Wes has gone home to our Lord!

Memorial contributions may be made to Cascade Bible Church, 52410 Pine Dr., La Pine, OR 97739. Baird Memorial Chapel of La Pine is in charge of arrangements.   

Please keep Niki and their family in 

your thoughts and prayers today.

UPDATE:   We went to the celebration of life yesterday, and it was one of the most beautiful and uplifting services that I have ever been too.  There were over 300 people crammed into the pretty new church that Wes had helped build.  

Many shared their stories of how much Wes meant to them, and how he was such a good man.  Apparently, Wes gave many, many people Bibles and handwritten scripture verses.  The fact that Wes was dyslexic made it even a more special labor of love, as he worked hard on those notes given to his friends.  Everybody spoke of how he really loved people, listened with his whole heart, and was very generous.  He was a very hardworker, a master craftsman, and one who did not like the limelight.  The pastor mentioned that there was going to be a huge hole in the whole church with him gone.

I gathered my courage and told everybody that though my story was going to sound weird, I think that I had gotten a phone call from Heaven within a half an hour of hearing the news of Wes' death, even though it was about 11 hours after it happened.  The lady behind me said, that was true, stuff like that happens.  I was so grateful to her.  Cary said I did really good, but all day long I kept thinking, those people are going to think I am a really weirdo.  But, what the heck.  It was an encouraging message that I gave, and I felt a burning desire to speak, like somebody, including Niki, could benefit from it.  (Click here for a copy to that post. )   Cary gave a touching and heartfelt message, saying that he wished he could be like Wes and always be so positive and smiling.  Wes was filled with the joy of the Lord almost all of the time.

Apparently, back in the days before Jesus came into his heart, Wes was not always so nice all the time.  We had never seen that side of him, because his heart was changed years before we met him.   I think that some of his family from far away was simply blown away by the number of people who loved him, and who had so many good things to say.   The pastor was his friend for 19 years, and said that they both had changed over time, and for the better.  It was such an awesome witness.  I used to be like this, before Jesus came into my life, and now I am like this.  It doesn't mean that we are perfect and don't make mistakes ... it just means that we know we are loved, and strive to share that love with others.  That is what being a Christian really is to me.

There was a beautiful slide show, filled with family photos, photos of Wes and Niki's wedding, and of Wes' Thanksgiving trip to New York in November.  The church had paid for his trip to go and see his daughter and her family, which includes her husband and three beautiful children.  Wes and his daughter had not seen each other in 15 years, and they took so many pictures!  What a blessing.  (I told Cary and April, well there is a case for taking as many pictures as you can.)

I was on a high after that service.  Being surrounded by so many other believers, and so many others that had been touched by Wes' love.  He made an impact with his life, and he let Jesus shine through him.  

I am going to go ahead and put this on here.  Though he usually did not drink more than a couple of beers (seriously), the night he died, Wes had way too much to drink.  His windows were frozen, and he pulled out in front of a semi and died immediately.  Wes was used as an example in the Bend Bulletin newspaper on what an awful person he was to have been driving drunk.  They really beat him up.  I didn't read it, but several people told me about it.  The thing is, Wes was not an awful person.  He was one of the best.  We will never know why he did what he did, and we will all miss him so much.  A gentle man who touched so many with the true love of God is now gone.  One stupid mistake, and for those who do not know him, a tarnished reputation as the guy in La Pine who died in a car crash under the influence. But for those who knew him and for those who wished that they had, Wes' passing is a tragedy and a loss.


This copy of Wes' favorite poem was in his program:

I AM 

I was regretting the past

and fearing the future.

Suddenly my Lord was speaking,

"My name is I Am."   He paused,

I waited, He continued.

When you live in the past with its

mistakes and regrets, it is hard.  

I am not there.  

My name is not,

'I was.'

When you live in the future with its 

problems and fears, it is hard. 

I am not there.  

My name is not,

'I will be.' 

When you live in this moment, with its

blessings and faith, it is not hard.

I am here.

My name is,

'I Am.'

Rest in peace our friend!  We know that you are happy and whole and living the dream.  Thanks for all those you touched here on earth.  You really had that Jesus/Carpenter thing going on, and I wish that I had a copy of  the picture of you to put on here that was by the guest book.   You shine in that one.  We'll miss you lots.  And we will all take good care of Niki for you.


God bless,


~ Kathy 


My girl Kristin posted this on Facebook this morning about another family, but I thought it was so nice that I wanted to add it on to here:

" 'There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go.'

My heart goes out to a special family during a difficult time. Gone but never forgotten, he shall be in our hearts forever."

This and That Thursday:

Hey, Peeps!

First, I would like to welcome Oregon Gifts newest follower, Liz of  Rose Vignettes.  Thank you, Liz, I appreciate you!  When you have a chance, please head on over and check out her work. 

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Second, I have been getting a lot of spam comments lately, so I decided to add word verification.  Sorry about that.   It is just one extra step.

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Our grandson Tyler was featured on Scout.com!
 

Scout.com: 2012 Preview: Tyler Matthews

recruiting.scout.com

"Prep football in the state of Kansas has churned out a number of nationally-ranked quarterbacks in recent years, and McPherson (KS) High School product Tyler Matthews looks to continue that trend for the Class of 2012."

Link to Scout.com

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We are blessed to have our grandson Casey here.  He is such a good kid.  He is going on a snow play date over at Tatum's while we attend Wes' memorial service.  Here is a copy of Wes' obituary from the Bend Bulletin:

Wesley M. Powell

July 20, 1949 - Dec. 16, 2010

Wesley M. Powell of La Pine, passed away Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. He was 61.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Dec. 30, at the Cascade Bible Church in La Pine. A wake will follow at the Moose Lodge from 3 to 7 p.m.

Wes Powell was born July 20, 1949, in Weed, CA. He was raised in Prospect, OR, and graduated high school in Eagle Point, OR. Wes married his wife, Nicole (Niki) Powell on May 18, 2001. He was a master carpenter and craftsman. He enjoyed the great outdoors and loved to fish and hunt. He studied the scriptures and his faith in God was extremely strong.

Shall we always remember him for the love and support he gave to others.

Survivors include his wife, Nicole (Niki) Powell of La Pine; mother, Marie Ogletree of Oregon City; son, James of Portland; daughter, Stacie of Commack, NY; brother, Albert of Phoenix, AZ; sister Phyllis of Oregon City; sister, Kay of Medford; five grandchildren and one great- granddaughter.

Wes has gone home to our Lord!

Memorial contributions may be made to Cascade Bible Church, 52410 Pine Dr., La Pine, OR 97739. Baird Memorial Chapel of La Pine is in charge of arrangements.   

Please keep Niki and their family in 

your thoughts and prayers today.

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Kristin, Mom and Kari showing off the new p.j.'s we got them for Christmas:

 

My daughter Kari is driving through the snow to see us today, and I am looking forward to seeing her too.  Plus, I think she is bringing us some more Christmas presents.  I can't wait!

UPDATE:  Last night was so fun.  Six people, five dogs and roast beef for dinner.  We all had a fun visit with April; and Tatum stayed the night with Casey and the rest of us.

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The snow has settled down, and now it is just plain FREEZING.  It is 13* outside as I write this.  Well, that is about it for now.  I just wanted to check in and say hi, before I go to the service and get sad.  Have a wonderful winter day. 


~ Kathy

Today's Snow:

Boy, we sure have gotten a lot of snow since sometime last night.  It had been a rain/snow mix, and the wind was blowing so hard that it woke me up at 2:00 this morning.  That must have been when the top of the tree fell onto the road (there is a photo of that below).

The roads are very, very slick.  The rainy stuff froze and then snow has fallen on top of that.  We had to run into Mayberry, and we were in a white out for about 10 minutes.  It has settled down now though, and there is some blue sky.  It is really pretty!

~ Kathy

This Year's Handmade Gifts:

Here are a few of the things that I made for Christmas gifts this year:

I made goldfish tank kits out of large apothecary jars.

I made a similar post a while back when I 

began some of these projects.

  Click here to see some of these gifts before they were completed.

 

 Pancake mixes in drawstring bags were given with maple syrup.

 Oatmeal cookie mixes in drawstring bags.

Click here for the recipe.

Mini Bean Bags

Mini Bean Bag Post #1

Click here for Mini Bean Bags #2

Corn bag ice pack/heat packs.

 Click here for a tutorial on how to make these.

Doll blankets and pillows.

Fleece throws.  

Click here for the tutorial.

I ended up making six of them, they are so fun and easy to do.

Mary Englebright Panels: 

Recent Reads:

I was so excited to receive "Thin Threads" in the mail yesterday, autographed by my friend Becky Povich!   Becky has a story included in the book that tells about a faithful single mother named Tara and her big time struggles after Katrina demolished her family's home in Mississippi.  Becky did a wonderful job of writing in this book.  I look forward to reading the rest of the other stories.

If you click on Becky's blog link above, you can purchase an autographed copy of this book, and Becky will donate $5.00 per book towards Habitat for Humanity.  That is how I got my awesome copy!

Other books that I have read during the past month include two books by Anne Tyler.  The first was St. Maybe.  It is about a young man and his parents who raise the orphans of their brother and his wife (they are really her kids, not his).  Ian drops out of college to help his parents with the children, and the story covers a 20 year period of time.  


The second Anne Tyler book that I read was The Clockwinder, a book about the eccentric Emerson family and their handyman Elizabeth, and how their lives intertwine.  


Every few years I enjoy re-reading several Anne Tyler books.  She has written a lot of books, and they are all about the ins and outs of families.  I always come away thinking, well, everybody has somebody a little odd in their own family ... and others have folks that are very odd.  The individuals make up the family, and the  world wouldn't be the same without any of them.  Neither would the particular family that Anne describes to us.


The other book that I read is an autobiography by Lizzie Simon named Detour, written in 2000.  It is about her own experiences with being bipolar, and her project that took her cross country to interview others with the disorder.  This is an easy, interesting and sometimes entertaining book that is very honest and refreshing.  

So, there you go.  I am currently reading a fast going detective murder mystery called Moon Music by Faye Kellerman for a change of pace.  The lady at the bookstore enjoys the books by Kellerman and her husband, and I have to say that so far I am having fun; even though there is some pretty gory stuff in this particular book.


Which books have you guys been reading lately?


I hope that you have a great week!


~ Kathy

Coffee with Dick:

When we were in Washington, we were lucky to meet up with one of Cary's best friends, Dick Carr.  Dick is usually in Arizona at this time of year, but he happened to be in town at the same time we were.

When you are hanging out with cops, you never know what they are going to say.  I was cracking up, because Dick was giving me modeling advice, "Suck in your gut so that your rack will stick out more."  Thanks for the tip, mister, but it is kind of hard to see anything with that big sweatshirt I have on.  Except for how big my legs are.

Lord, I am fat.  I weighed myself on Shanna's scales and couldn't believe how much I weigh.  I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but this year I am resolving to exercise and to lose 30 pounds by summer.  Anybody have a good treadmill that they want to trade for a big screen t.v.?

Kathy 

Christmas 2010:

This year, for the first time since we have been married, Cary and I went to Washington and spent Christmas with John, Shanna and the kids.  We had such a fun visit!  Shanna had the house beautifully decorated.  For those of you who are visiting for Tabletop Tuesday,  the tablescape is a few photos down.

We opened our gifts on Christmas morning:

Chase

Kylie and Maverick

Collin

Johnny

John

Shanna

Henry

We ate dinner at around 5:00 that evening:

Grandpa Cary, Chase, Collin and Johnny enjoy their scrumptious dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, green salad, rolls and pie.  Thank you, Shanna, for all your hard work!


It was a Christmas to be remembered, and we are so glad that everything worked out so that we could go.  It was a little icy in some places on the way back home, but otherwise the roads were fine. 


I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas too, and that you are not now a stranded traveler on the East Coast.


God bless,


Kathy

P.S. - I decided to enter this into Marty's Tabletop Tuesday, even though there are some extra family photos included.  I just love the tablescape that Shanna made!

After you are done here, please go over the A Stroll Through Life to see other beautiful table tops!