WebWalker's Blog

Here's a pic of Debora, Vernon, and Sherry at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem, taken on the day of Yoav's Bar Mitzvah (which was rather obviously done at the Kotel). Debora has grown so much! Nonetheless she is standing on a chair to be this close in stature to her dad! And then we have Sherry, Debora, and Susan: pic taken at the same location... Pictured below are Efrat and Yoav. Efrat is Ariel's wife, and Yoav is Efrat's nephew (son of Rosie and Effie). After the Bar Mitzvah ceremony at the Kotel we went to Mini Israel, where this photo was taken. More pictures coming soon, so stay tuned!

Well, we (Janice, her sister Gloria, and I) made it to Israel without incident... I had promised myself that I would make a daily entry here, but since arriving on the morning of April 24 we haven't slowed down enough to even make a single entry on this blog! Each day has been filled to the max, and when we've returned home late at night, we've just fallen into bed to catch a few winks before the next day begins. But don't be misled; it's been wonderful. So many reunions with loved ones, so many first-meetings with relatives not met until now, and especially the wonderful service this morning at the little synagogue on the moshav, where Vernon recited the Kaddish (Prayer of Mourning) for Daddy. But more on that later. Right now I will try to post a few pics taken in the past few days.

It has been one year since Daddy passed away. And the pain is as raw as it was this hour one year ago. I miss him. We all do. We cry together.

Called Rickey and found out that Lori is back at home, amonia levels under control, at least manageable, and she is continuing to recover. They are hoping to go on a cruise in the not-too-far future and are using that as a tool to help give Lori a reason to get well quick. Our prayers continue with you, Lori! ~~ As for me, taxes are out of the way for the moment. I finally filed an extension, so now I have time to go pack, and then when I get back from Israel, I will have until October to get it finished and filed. *Whew*

Please everyone pray for Lori Gans -- she's back in the hospital with extremely high ammonia levels again, and it has not been an easy ride the past week or so. Rickey and June have both been very supportive but need to be upheld as well. It's an extremely stressful time as the docs try to get Lori's condition under control.

Better late than never... here's the lineup of April celebrants. If I missed someone, let me know and I'll add them!! April 04 - Carrie Rae (Tate) Powell April 13 - Lonna Jean Tate April 14 - Jason Whetstone April 29 - Sherry and Vernon Whetstone ( 40 YEARS, WOO HOO!!!) April 30 - Ariel Whetstone and here is May's lineup while I am at it: May 01 - Daphna Whetstone May 03 - Arthur "Papa" Whetstone ( 85 , another milestone!!) May 04 - Zinnia Rae Duboucheron May 09 - Nathan Lowe May 24 - David Michael Whetstone May 25 - Nakaia Ranil Walker

Got a busy summer schedule coming up. If I EVER get my taxes done and mailed, then I can PACK for my first trip of the summer... to see SHERRY!!! Back in January, Vernon called and had asked if any of us might make it over to visit with Sherry over her birthday. As luck would have it, finances would not allow it at that time. But I've been saving pennies ever since, hoping to make a trip in the future. Then best buddy Jan Weston called and said she wanted to go see her mom (who also lives in Israel) and if we found cheap enough tickets would I like to go along? Answer: DUH, never suspecting that Jan was as resourceful as she is. She found incredibly priced tickets and long story short, we are leaving Phoenix on April 23. Then we found out that Gloria (Jan's sister) will be joining us as well! She lives in Kansas and will join us at Newark Airport, so Ethel (Jan's mom) will get to see TWO of her girls, she will be so happy. There will be a lot of events while we are in Israe...