The Funeral

Today we had to go through with the funeral. We started the day out at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery for the interment (beautiful service but freezing). Dad's instructions upon his death were to, and I quote, "burn me up cheap and put me at the Gap." He was laid to rest with a full, military-honoring ceremony including a flag ceremony, words from the pastor, three volleys gun salute, and taps. It was a very special ceremony--worthy of my Dad. His remains are buried there in a columbaria. In the evening we filled the church with friends, family, and coworkers, for a touching service including some great picture montages, heart-felt words from family and friends, and the message of Christ's life saving Gospel. We tried to keep it short and concise so he wouldn't get bored watching from heaven. After the service we had a huge dinner at the church for everyone to visit and share memories of the wonderful mad who is my father.

The site of the interment.

Pastor Phil read the obituary and gave a lovely message.

Playing Taps after the three gun salute and the flag ceremony.

Thank you to all these men and women who have served our country.

The kids at lunch between services.



Intentional Fun

Laurel and Sharon changed their return tickets to stay through the funeral (at least), and Lars came out with Luke.  Our family stayed at Mom's most of the time too so we could all be together in these first crappy days after Dad's death.  Having to entertain a house full of kids was a good thing for us.  It helped us get out and have some intentional fun.  Mom's grief counselor suggested at least one fun activity a day to help us remember the joys in life.  These kids are a joy! They kept us super busy too which was great.  These are Tuesday and Wednesday's activities.

 

At Paulus Farms in their Christmas tent.

Abby loved this rocking horse! Just her size.

Leah and the worlds' sweetest little donkey!

The kids playing at Monkey Joes.

Farewell Daddy

In Memory of Richard H. Stallings, III

My dad died today. We were all there and got to say goodbye one last time.  It didn't help though, the sorrow is a physical pain the likes of which I have never before experienced. I love him so much. He was truly a wonderful, God-loving, father, grandpop, husband, man. The world's loss, but I know that he is in heaven today and I will see him again one day soon.

Richard Holliday Stallings, III, of Mechanicsburg, passed away at the age of 64 on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at Holy Spirit Hospital. Born June 5, 1948 in Camden, NJ, he was a son of the late Richard H. Stallings, Jr. and Marie Nanette (Mathews) Stallings.

Rich was in the U.S. Army Artillery as a commissioned officer, discharged honorably having just been approved for promotion to the rank of Major. He served in Germany during the Vietnam War, was a battery commander at Ft. Sill, OK where his first two daughters were born, served with NATO in Greece for a year, then served as an ROTC instructor at the University of Akron where he earned his MBA and his third daughter was born.

Following his years of military service, he became a manager with Roadway Trucking Company where he worked for 18 years. For the past eight years he has been a Plan Representative for Great-West Retirement Services explaining retirement benefits to state workers in the greater Harrisburg area.

Rich was a self-taught gourmet chef; studying under Julia Child, Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin, and other great chefs through books, magazines, and cooking shows. He loved to prepare creative meals for family and friends. His daughters called Dad with all their cooking questions.

Rich was a faithful servant at West Shore Evangelical Free Church in Mechanicsburg, helping to lead a fellowship group on Sunday morning, a small-group Bible study on Sunday evening, and a men's small group that met in homes a couple times a month. He was a student of Scripture.

His greatest delight in life was his family. Surviving is his loving wife of 40 years, Susan Faye (Mitchell) Stallings and his daughters, Laurel Susan Eriksen and husband Lars of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Sharon Marie Vigoroso and husband Mark of Marietta, GA, and Kathryn Gail Marquiss and husband Jason of Mt. Holly Springs; his brother, Robert Stallings and wife Janis of Collingswood, NJ and his step-mother, Julia Stallings of Cocoa Beach, FL. He adored and loved spending time with his seven grandchildren, Luke and Leah Eriksen, Carmella, Leo, and Siena Vigoroso, and Daniel and Abigail Marquiss.

Interment with military honors will take place at 10:00 AM Friday, December 21, 2012 at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 PM Friday, December 21, 2012 at West Shore Evangelical Free Church, 1345 Williams Grove Road, Mechanicsburg.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made for global relief by sending donations to West Shore Evangelical Free Church (WSEFC), 1345 Williams Grove Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.

Christmas South Middleton Style

Kat's dad had a heart event Thursday and is in the cardiac ICU in an induced coma and in a cooled state to encourage healing.  His heart stopped at the breakfast table and although he had CPR within a couple minutes, he hasn't regained consciousness.  We hope he'll wake up today or tomorrow and then the doctors can determine what damage might have been done
. 
In the mean time, I had signed up the kids for the township Christmas party and thought that would be a good excuse to get out and try to have some fun. The party was at the fire station so most of the time was spent climbing in and out of the trucks and trying on the fireman's gear.  Even Abby got in on it this time. We even managed to get the kids a bit closer to Santa Claus for a photo op!

 

Now that Abby is getting so big, she and Daniel are playing together more and more. 

Here are some cute pictures from this week. 

Christmas Tree Farm

We decided to go with a small artificial tree this year but I needed something to do with the kids today so we went to the Christmas Tree farm.  Abby played with the goats and Daniel rode in the barrel train driven by Santa (whom he refused to look at and tried to his distance from).  I thought about going for a walk through the trees but figured that would be pointless and tiresome with hungry, fussy kids.

 

Notice D is about as far away from Santa as he can get!

Bass Pro Christmas

We had our first snow fall of the year this week so we have been feeling a lot like Christmas.

I have started decorating the house (tree is up -- fake this year) and we took our first Christmas outing to Bass Pro Shops to make a craft, see the fish, and see what activities they had for the

Chirstmas season. 

Daniel "driving" a really cool four-wheeler.

Abby on the deer, moose, and bear carousel.

This was about as we expected.  Daniel has never liked Santa and Abby doesn't let anyone but Mommy hold her so we didn't think it would go over too well.  We thought we'd give it a try anyhow and it is a great memory!

Black Friday

 

Avoiding stores and crazy Black Friday shoppers, we took a stroll around the Children's Lake.  We had saved bread pieces for a month so that we would have a lot to feed the ducks and they appreciated it!  Daniel "rode" his bike a bit but is too afraid of falling (which he has never done) so Jason has to pull him along, to help keep up the pace, and hold onto the bike if there are any turns or bumps.  He was very upset that we didn't bring his helmet and mentioned its absence several times.  Abby made friends with a giant Bernese Mountain Dog, and made sure we knew that we were feeding "ducks".  (She points to them over and over again and says "duck" which is one of her few words.)

 

While Abby and I were playing with the dog, Daniel collected sticks to throw in the pond and then climbed trees. I love getting them out of the house and letting Daniel be a boy. He handles himself much better after a good bout of fresh air and exercise.