Archive for December, 2005

A good friend of our family died this week and I want to share his obituary…

Joseph Stephen Laughead

Services: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, Geo. M. Wittich-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation ?ervices. Visitation: 4-7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 27, funeral home.

LETTS, Iowa - Joseph Stephen Laughead, 37, Letts, died Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2005, at his home.

Bishop David Shepherd of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will officiate.

Casket bearers are Mike Laughead, Lee Laughead, Steve King, Chris Rice, Nicole DeSmet, Dave Bergert, Dave Ellsworth and Hector Garrido. Burial will be in Alexis, Ill. at a later date.

Memorials may be directed to a trust fund for Mr. Laugheadâ s two sons. Sympathy notes may be left for the Laughead family at www.lewisfuneralhomes.com

Joseph Stephen Laughead was born Aug. 21, 1968, in Illinois, the son of Dannie E. and Cynthia K. Long Laughead. He married Michelle Dawn Stark June 21, 1996, in Moline, Ill.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry serving in Alaska. After leaving the Army, he was employed at Hawkeye Plumbing and Heating Inc. with his father.

He enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing, as well as carving wood. He was also an art enthusiast, creating paintings and drawings whenever he could. He loved to read books on various topics. He was a member of the National Rifle Association, followed The Grateful Dead and was a member of the Rainbow Family. He was friendly to all, but he loved his family more than anything.

Survivors include his wife; two sons, Robert â œBobâ and Zane Laughead of Muscatine; his parents, Dan and Cindy Laughead of Muscatine; two brothers, Michael â œMikeâ F. Laughead and his wife Candace of Kalamazoo, Mich. and Lee W. Laughead of Muscatine; two sisters, Kathleen â œKathyâ A. Garrido and her husband Hector of Fruitland and Lisa C. Ellsworth and her husband Dave of Letts; his paternal grandmother, Harriet Laughead Bealer of Rock Island and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather Robert Laughead; his maternal grandparents, Al and Doris Long, and one uncle, Richard Laughead.

I really loved Joe, he was a great person. He had his problems and issues like anyone, but he was sincerely a good person deep down. I love the entire Laughead family and I will admit that Joe was the one that I knew the least, but in his best moments he said some very profound things that touched me and changed my way of thinking forever on many different things. My love and prayers extend out to the Laughead family. They are a beautiful family, loving and accepting of each other. I know that though Joe will be greatly missed, he will be thought of often and he will be watching over us all.

Love, Kate

Happy Anniversary to me and my husband!!!

Today we have been married for eight years! It has been a tremendous time with many ups and downs, but I feel so blessed to have him as a part of my life. If it weren’t for him I would never have been introduced to the Church, I would never have my children, and I just would not have all of the blessings that I have today. I love you, Chris!!!

All the grades are in…

Programs and Services for Aging Adults (technically a grad course lol, one that allows undergrads)….B+
Aging and Leisure…..B
Psychology of Aging…..A
Loss and Trauma…..A

G.P.A…… 3.58

Not to bad for a chick having an emotional breakdown halfway through the semester!

So far…

I know I have an A in Loss and Trauma, B+ in Programs and Services for Older Adults, and B in Aging and Leisure. I’m still waiting on Psychology of Aging.

Only Two More Days!!!

And then this semester will be under my belt. If I worked REALLY hard I might be able to pull all A’s, which would be amazing! Wish me luck it is back to studying!!!

All right, I will try it again…

Alright! I can do this! My semester is almost over, just three more finals and this semester will be done. Next semester I will have 12 credits, summer I will have 6 credits, and next fall I will finish my degree. I plan on applying for graduate school, but if that doesn’t work out I will look for work for a few years and then reapply. I’m excited to see what the future holds.

I’ve made some realizations recently that I can not recreate what I feel my childhood missed out on for my own children. I have been obsessed with making sure my kids have plenty of siblings because I felt like that would ensure their feelings of safety and security, but I have realized that it is not the quantity that provides the security but the quality of love and support a family provides. We have not discouraged more children (does that make sense?) and it just hasn’t happened, besides, it felt very irresponsible to think of adding more children to our family when our lives were very much in the air. I have come to terms with the idea that the two wonderful chi?dren I have may be the only ones that I get, and I accept that. I’m not closing the door on more children, it may be that in 5 or 6 years our lives will be more stable and conducive to having more children and I am willing to entertain those ideas. Letting go of that obsession has been very rewarding, to quit worrying about the perfect gap between kids and how I might be messing up my kids by not having more siblings or having more siblings years later, but I think the better answer is to remain prayerful and allow Heavenly Father to help me know when or if more children should be a part of our family.

Beyond that, I have to say that things are still hard. I really wish that I had it in me to reach out to everyone and say, I need you. I’m working on it, but it is slow going. I’m not sure how, but there is a small glimmer of hope when I think of my future. I do not think it will be without trial, but somehow there is a sense that we will make it through somehow. I say I’m not sure how, because I am just not quite emotionally where I want to be, so this clouds a lot of what I might be able to resonably think about. That said, perhaps things are finally about to click for me. Who knows! Maybe it’s the extra adrenaline from Christmas time lol! I’ll just keep working on it I guess!

Kate

That is so annoying!

I had this HUGE post and I hit some mysterious button and now it is gone! I have no motivation to rewrite it! Geez!!! Sorry people!




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