Spring, Beautiful Spring!

We have enjoyed absolutely gorgeous weather this Spring! Could this really be March and April in Minnesota?!? No snow for the entire month of March? Wow. Lily LOVES to "go outside" and play. She walks around the house saying "outside, outside, outside" non-stop. Yes, she is a Minnesota girl who has been cooped up in the house all winter and is itching to get out! So today we walked down to the park by our house and she had a blast playing on the slide.

Thomas E. Archibald 1932-2010

In early December, Tom's Dad (Tom Senior) was diagnosed with Seconday Lung Cancer. It was soon after determined that the Cancer had spread to his lungs from either the Pancreas or Bile Duct. Though we all know it was terminal, we held some hope that chemo would have some positive effect. Just last week it was evident that the chemo was no longer working. Dad, with some convincing from the Oncologist determined that since the Chemo was not working AND that the Cancer had significantly increased, it would only make sense to switch to Hospice and live his final days in comfort rather than continuing with a non-productive plan.

On Thursday Tom talked with his Dad. They had a very nice (but short) phone conversation. By Friday, the newly administered Morphine had taken effect and Dad basically slipped into a non-responsive state. By the weekend, Mom knew the end was near. Dad passed away in his own bed on Sunday shortly after 1 pm. Mom whispered in his ear that it was ok to go now and that she loved him. Within a few seconds he took his final breath. On Monday they would have been married for 57 years.

Yesterday, we both sat down and wrote his Obituary. We were honored to do this as it was one of the few things we could do being so far away. I have posted it below. It won't appear in the Bend Bulletin or the Eugene Register Guard for a few days.

Dad, I know you probably aren't reading this blog as Heaven has some great golf courses and I'm sure you're preparing for another round, but please know that I love you and that you've been the best Dad any kid could have ever asked for. I'm proud to have been a part of your life and you mine. I'm thankful I inherited your best traits. I hope I've made you proud and that my daughter and any future children will carry your incredible legacy forward.


Thomas E. Archibald
October 26, 1932 - March 7, 2010

Tom Archibald, a long-time resident of Central Oregon, passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, March 7, following a brave battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family.

Tom was born on October 26, 1932 in Huntington Beach, California to Daniel and Kathleen Archibald. The family moved to Eugene, Oregon in his childhood. He graduated from Eugene High School in 1950. Tom joined the Air Force immediately after high school and proudly served his country during the Korean War. He met the love of his life, Bernice Collingwood, in 1952. After a brief courtship and many months of love letters, they were married on March 8, 1953. Tom and Bernice (Bea) had 5 children together. In 1974, Tom and his family moved to Bend, Oregon, where he assisted in the launch of the Bend Bi-Mart and worked as a member of the store management team. In 1988, Tom, along with his wife and daughter, purchased The Pickle Barrel Deli in downtown Bend. In 2003, Tom and Bea, along with family members, graciously opened their home to seniors and the disabled by opening The Garden Villa Adult Foster Care Home.

Tom was known for his sense of humor and immense love for the great outdoors. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, golfer, gardener, camper and backroad adventurer.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, a son, Timothy, who died in infancy, and a brother, Dan Archibald. Tom will be dearly missed by those he leaves behind, including his wife, Bernice (Bea); three daughters, Cathy Jo Gillice of Clark Fork, Idaho, Chris Kimmel of Bend, Oregon, and Cheri Montgomery of Bend, Oregon; and a son, Tom Archibald of Andover, Minnesota. Tom also leaves behind a sister, Betty Ervin of Auburn, California; and two brothers, Ron Archibald of Yountville, California, and Dick Freer of California. He is also survived by nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and a large extended family of in-laws, nieces, nephews and close friends. His entire family and multitude of friends and caregivers will forever treasure the memories and laughter they shared with such a warm, generous and outgoing man.

A celebration of life will be held later this year at Sheep Bridge Campground on Wickiup Reservoir to commemorate his love for the outdoors. Memorial contributions may be made to Partners in Care, 2075 NE Wyatt Ct., Bend, Oregon 97701, 541-382-5882, http://www.partnersbend.org/

A little note from little Tom

I find myself thinking about my family this Christmas and hope that despite recent news about my Dad's Cancer diagnoses, that my Mom, Dad and Sisters can manage to find Peace, Calm, Humor and Love for each other this Christmas and always...but most especially in the year ahead. I love you and am always thinking of you.....Tommy

Merry Christmas from The Archibalds

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family, both near and far. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. We love you all and pray for God's presence with you this Christmas season, and all throughout the year. May you feel His comfort and peace and joy, and know how much He loves you. When we are stumbling through life's daily struggles or coping with immense pain and tragedy, He is there to comfort you and wrap His arms around you ... and when you are enjoying happiness and success, He is celebrating with you!

We were finally able to get our family Christmas portrait done this year. It was a struggle to try to do this using only the timer on the camera - no assistants to get Lily's attention or help take the picture. Thanks to Tom's photography and Photoshop skills, we have a family photo to treasure for generations to come! We will hopefully be getting these out to you in Christmas Cards this week, but they will likely arrive after Christmas. It's an improvement, though - last year we didn't get cards out at all!

I just couldn't resist posting a picture of our little beauty queen in her curlers as we were getting ready to take the picture. She looked so grown up ... time is going by too fast! This is a sign of years to come, I am sure - clothes, makeup, curlers, shoes. She already loves shoes...uh oh!



And the final product ... Christmas 2009 with Tom, Joy and Lillianna Mae...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

And remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, but YOU are the reason He came!

Christmas Angel

We took Lily to the studio at Hennepin Tech (Tom's school) for some Christmas picture fun. It was MOSTLY fun ... mixed in with some frustration, tears and tantrums (and that was just Tom - ha,ha!). All in all we had fun and learned even more about the difficult task of taking pictures of 2-year-old. Basically, Mom had to make a complete fool of herself jumping around and making silly noises to get Lily to look at the camera and smile. I'm just glad we had the studio to ourselves so no one witnessed the crazy lady jumping around and screeching.

We still have more Christmas photos to tackle, including the family photo - which we're hoping to take tonight around the Christmas tree. We'll see how THAT goes. It could be interesting considering we have to put the camera on a timer and we don't have a crazy lady to jump around behind the camera this time. I have a feeling we will be taking A LOT of shots before we get a good one (IF we get a good one). It's all fun, though, and creates great memories.

We pray you are all having a wonderful Christmas season. We love you and wish everyone could be together - but we're all together in our hearts. God Bless You!

Here's our little Christmas angel...

And of course, what Lily photo shoot would be complete without the tantrum shot. Poor Lily, we will torture her with her tantrum pictures someday. At this point, we were getting the feeling our photo session was coming to a close...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Busy Bumble Bee

We took Lily to the Mall of America on Halloween. She was a busy little bumble bee running through the Mall and the Nickelodeon Universe amusement park. At first she wasn't too thrilled about her costume, but eventually she got used to it - the merry-go-round always works to put a smile on her face!

Oops, lost a shoe!

Worker Bee

Lily loved the dog statue at Old Navy. She wanted to stay and pet the doggie all day - this doggie wouldn't run away from her! Unfortunately, she also fell in love with a teddy bear in Old Navy and had a little bit of a tantrum when she had to leave it at the store - Mommy and Daddy are so mean and wouldn't buy it for her.

Okay, let's get this ride in motion!

Hooray, the merry-go-round at last!! This is ALWAYS my favorite part of being at the Mall. Even when I'm tired, cranky, wearing a silly costume and didn't get the bear I wanted, I will still smile when I get to ride the horsies.