Happy February!

Dear Family and Friends,
Happy February! Here we are in the second month of 2009 and nearing Valentine’s Day. The last time I wrote on CaringBridge was during the Christmas holidays. Ours was a tender Christmas filled with joy and pain, laughter and tears, children and adults, time here in Chesapeake and time in Memphis. We were blessed to have Hillary, Jeff, and the children here and to enjoy the time with Emily and Ella still living in our home…what I call “Our Family Home”. Matt, Emily’s fiancé and his son, Devin were her whenever they could be.

We carried on the same traditions that have blessed us since we first had children, and we put up our “Paul Harris” Christmas tree for the 3rd holiday season. We shared gifts, church services, family and friends’ time, and memories. The little ones brought us smiles and laughter…joy…and plenty of “Kodak Moments”. Our hearts were full as we once again opened the gifts Hillary, Jeff, and Emily placed in Paul’s stocking. This year they gave us 3 pewter ornaments, each on a word…Grace…Peace…Believe. These words speak or our hearts and where we are in our journey without Paul. We shared letters to one another, one from the girls and their families and one from us.

Each year we give a gift to person or organization which has touched our lives or Paul’s, the “Paul gift”. Chuck and I gave our gift for Paul to the Eastern Virginia Food Bank. This is where we volunteered last year on September 20th in memory of Paul and where Paul volunteered several times for the Boy Scouts when he was growing up. We knew that they were in critical need, so we felt it appropriate to give this gift.

Here we are in 2009, winter winds are blowing and the temperatures are colder than usual. We begin this year with hope… Emily and Matt will be married on May 16th, hope for a new family. We will gain a new son and a new grandson, Devin. Paul would love Matt and Devin. They have many common interests, as did he and his brother-in-law, Jeff. We have hope for the Paul C. Harris Great Bridge High School Fundraiser which will be held in May. That hope is that we will have a great event and raise enough money to help a graduating senior with his or her college education. We have hope that Paul’s memory will live on in our lives, and that he is resting comfortably in the arms of Jesus.

We hope that you will check Paul’s web site: www.paulcharris13.org. Feel free to leave a memory of Paul, a thought, or a bit of wisdom on CaringBridge and/or on Paul’s web site.

God bless you all in 2009
Cindy
In loving memory of Paul