CHRISTMAS

Christmas is almost here and for our family it will be so different this year and the years to come.  There are many things that I will miss this year.  While I am sad about this, I rejoice that dad is celebrating his happiest Christmas ever with Christ face to face!  I wanted to share some of the things that I will miss the most this year, but I want to share them with gratitude for the memories left to us rather than in sorrow.

As Chad (I believe) posted earlier, dad liked to sing.  I will miss his rendition of "Have Yourself A Merry Stinkin' Christmas" (see Chad's previous post for lyrics), Let It Snow, and his most favorite song ever.....Let It Be Christmas by Alan Jackson.  He would literally play this song on repeat.  I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say this song would be stuck in all of our heads each Christmas.

Let It Be Christmas by Alan Jackson

 

 

I will miss my last minute phone call.  Each year, about 2 days before Christmas, dad would call and say, "What did you get mom for Christmas?"  He would then shoot down every idea I gave him for her as "she won't like that" or "that's not good enough".  When we finally came up with something, he would make sure to let me know to "get the best one".  I guess he knows I like to look for a good deal and he prefers quality!  We never did find the "perfect" robe for mom though.

 

 

I will miss his quiet presence at the Christmas parties.  He somehow always managed to find a good corner to sit in.  He never wanted to be the center of attention, but you couldn't help but feel his presence.  Once the grand kids started arriving, he would always be holding one of them in his arms.  I believe there were two reasons for this.  1) He REALLY loved holding his grand kids and 2) They were a REALLY good way to avoid having to participate in any sort of holiday games!

 



Holding Jordyn at the Kleinheksel party

 

I will miss the infamous pictures of dad posing with his present.  His face hidden behind the present as he holds it up.  He was an expert at avoiding a picture.  I will miss him complaining about the yearly family picture and how long it takes us all to get situated.  Did I mention, he loves pictures?

 

More than anything though, I am going to miss giving him his traditional present of Chocolate Covered Cherries.  I couldn't go a Christmas without giving him these.  They were his favorite and mine.  I think I ate the top layer of his present most years and left the bottom for him.  Never thought walking past Chocolate Covered Cherries in a store would bring tears to my eyes.

 

 

Christmas 2011 video:

 

 

 

Thanks for the special memories!

 

 

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” Psalm 121:1-3



Ball of Saran Wrap

I recently had to start wearing uniforms for work, and the other day I was removing my freshly cleaned uniforms from the Saran wrap packaging that they are returned to me in so that I could put them away in my dresser.  Suddenly, I remembered how dad used to roll the saran wrap up from his uniforms into a tight ball and chuck it at us kids.  Whoever was in the area at the time of dad unpacking his uniforms was the target and there was no mercy.  I remember getting beaned in various body parts including the head and the gut; if you were lucky you would have time to react and block the shot, but that rarely was the case. 

Anyway, I decided I would carry this grand tradition on so I rolled my saran wrap up into a nice ball just like dad would and chucked it at my unsuspecting daughter, Rogue.  I missed and nearly hit my wife.  Needless to say, I got yelled at by the wife and told that I could hurt somebody, but don't think I won't try it again.  Eventually I will hit my target and if someone gets a little hurt, well I'll just say what my dad used to say, "it builds character". 

Village Dipper Knight in Shining Armour

One sunny day this past summer, early on in Rick's battle, I took a bus full of senior residents to the Village Dipper for one of their favorite outings...ICE CREAM! Bus was full to capacity. I let the more able bodied residents off first so that I could assist the weaker ones. One of our residents fell on the bus while getting off, little did I know that one also had fallen off the picnic table bench 500 yards away.

Here I am, one person, needing to be in two places...luckily, Rick, happened to be sitting  having his hot dog dinner close to by where the 2nd resident needed assistance. Once again my knight in shining armour, Rick Kraker, came to my rescue. He picked up one resident while I was picking up the other. Rick has been there for me for so many hiccups over the 15 years I've been honored knowing him and his family. And even during his weakest days, he once again came to my rescue. You are missed Smiling Rick Kraker....and I know you laughed at my jokes when I wasn't around, I just know it. You will always be my hero. One more thing, thank you Rick for your wonderful family. I consider you all forever and ever family. Love you Paula

My 9 year old nephew Jacob is deaf. For the last few years my sister (Jacob's mom) has encouraged our family to learn sign language to be able to communicate with him. I made a couple of attempts, but it just seemed like I was always too busy. I thought about taking a class, thinking the accountability involved in taking a class might help, but didn't know of any being offered in our area. Meanwhile, I tried to communicate with Jake the best that I could. I would point, gesture, etc. Still, there was so much I wanted to say to him.

Then a class was offered at Hope College, and my sister told me about it. I was both excited and scared at the same time. It was at this time that Rick passed away. I was busy with the funeral, but the deadline for signing up for the class was also about that time. As I thought about both, it dawned on me that Rick was someone who helped others as a deacon and as a Christian. It inspired me to signup for the class, because it was one thing I could do to help Jake know that someone else cared for him enough to start learning his language.

At the last class, Jacob made a special trip to be there. He signed a "thank you" to me. It was a great joy to have him say that. Since then, we've been able to talk more. It takes me longer to understand what he is saying than it takes for him to understand me. The other night my mom was going to drop me off to where my car was parked and Jacob said to me "there it is" but it took me about a block to figure out what he said. Still, I feel like I am starting down a good road with my good buddy Jake, and I don't know if that would have happened if I hadn't connected Rick's love for helping others with the challenge that was before me at the time.

Thanks Rick,

Pastor Steve

From Larry Kleinheksel

I have a lot of memories of Rick, here are a few . He was the strongest guy that I have ever seen, he would help anyone when needed, he never wanted his picture taken, he loved to hunt and fish, he loved his family and here is a memory I will never forget.

In August of 2012 my dad needed some help with putting a walkway on his boat lift at Silver Lake. He said that Rick had it all planned out and he had bought the wood and screws needed to do the job. Rick would also be there to supervise the job. I thought this would be an easy little job that would take an hour or so. (Boy was I wrong)

I was told that Rick would have all the tools and Carla would also be there to help if needed. I believe it was a Saturday morning when we all were ready to go, Rick told me to just carry his tool holder to the dock. Well that was just great, Rick’s tool holder weighs about 150 pounds which was a piece of cake for Rick, but for a 64 year old guy with a bad back it was pure torture. I did get it to the dock and we got all the supplies there also. Carla got Rick a lawn chair to sit on while he barked out the orders!!

This was a new side of Rick that I have never seen before, you see usually we had Rick do the work but now it was me, Dad and Carla in the water with Rick as our supervisor and I believe Rick loved it!!

First we had to rip a 2 by 10 length wise with a circular saw that Rick provided, ( I swore he put a dull blade on it on purpose) We spent the next 2 hours ripping the boards with a constant barking Rick telling us that he could of done it in 10 minutes. ( Maybe he could of , but the board was water logged and we had a very dull blade put on by Rick) Next we had to attach the boards to the lift with self-tapping screws that Rick said would be a piece of cake!! After another two hours and Ricking barking out orders we did finish the job. I can remember telling Dad let’s just put in 3 screws instead of the four Rick wanted. I remember dropping one in the water and telling my Dad that’s one less we need to do!! Rick barked out to me,” Larry fish that screw off the bottom of the lake” we don’t cut corners when I am in charge. Yes sir, I will do it your way!!

We had a lot of fun that day, and guess who took the 150 pound tool holder back to the truck, Not wimpy Larry but my sister Carla!!

Love you Rick

I miss you!!

Lar

The Only "Real" Pizza

I had a craving for some pizza tonight and Tiffany surprised me with the only pizza that Dad was willing to actually call pizza. Classic J's again square cut pepperoni with green olives. Don't forget the side of fried cauliflower and ranch.

You had better expect Dad to ask where the pizza was after showing up with Pizza Hut or anything else that wasn't J's again. He would eat the other pizza and probably sometimes un-admittedly liked it, but in his eyes the only thing worthy of the title pizza was J's Again. I think he might be right...