The legacy of my dad

On July 16, 1932, in the small town of Brazil, Indiana, Jim Pierce and his twin sister Jane were the fifteenth and sixteenth children born to Earl and Bessie Pierce.  It was towards the end of the Great Depression and times were not kind to Brazil in those days, nor to the Pierce family.  My dad grew up not having much materially.  But he learned early that some things are more important then possessions, such as character, wits and determination.

Daddy was a Fighter

Daddy grew up without his own father being around. Earl Pierce had to leave home to find work outside of Brazil.  So my dad was raised by his hard working mother with the help of his older sisters.  He has told stories about being the youngest of the clan.  If he was going to get something to eat, he had to fight for the food that was on the table. "One scrawny chicken didn't go far when you had that many mouths to feed.  If I was going to get a piece, I had to fight my brothers for it!".  He learned to fight for whatever he got.  And when he was 16, he took that skill to the ring and became a Golden Glove boxer, winning the Brazil title. The scrappy 118 pound youngster fought his way to Chicago, creating a name for himself and his home town.  Even when up against a fighter much more experienced and bigger then he was, he didn't give up.  When knocked down, he sprang right back up before they even began counting, swinging both fists.  That was my dad.  Never giving up. Never one to be down for the count.

His fighting didn't end when his boxing career did.  At the age of 18 he signed up for the Army and was sent to fight in the Korean War.  He arrived on December 25, 1950.  While there, he fought on the front lines, having the position of being the loader of a machine gun.  He didn't like to talk about his time there, but he often told us the story about his buddy, who was shooting the same gun daddy was loading.  He was shot and killed right next to my dad. But again, daddy didn't stop.  Another man stepped up to continue shooting, and my dad continued loading.  He later carried the dead body of his comrade to the platoon, risking his own life while doing it.

Daddy was a committed man

While in Korea, in a foxhole under heavy fire, my dad cried out to a God he had never been taught about as a child.  He told God that if He got him safely home, he would find a way to live for Him. After returning from Korea in December of 1951, daddy was stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia for ranger school.  While there, one day in May, he and his buddy were to go out on a double date in Idle Hour Park, in Phenix City, Alabama.  Daddy's date didn't show up, so he and his buddy went looking for another date for him.  They spied the beauty, Bobell Boutwell, who was swimming at the park pool.  They asked if she would join them on their date.  Being a good little Baptist, and it being Sunday afternoon, she said she would be going to church that night, but my dad was welcome to join her.  And join her, he did.  He may have gone to church for the girl, but after a few months of Sundays, the gospel touched his heart, and he remembered that promise that had been made back in Korea.  God miraculously saved him.  It was the beginning of his long walk with his Lord as well as his long life with his bride.  He married that bathing beauty after only dating for 26 days.  A marriage that lasted over 63 years.  He kept his commitment to God, and kept his commitment to my mom for those 63 years.  He gave us kids a wonderful example of steadfastness in his life and marriage.

Daddy was a provider

Daddy was not an educated man.  He didn't make it past the 7th grade. But what he lacked in education, he made up for in common sense and determination.  Daddy was a hard worker.  He was a factory worker for over 30 years as well as a painting contractor.  For years working both these jobs at the same time to provide for his family.

Although uneducated himself, he valued education, and made sure my brother, sister and myself went to college.  It was by his hard working hands that the three of us all graduated from Bible College. He made sure he gave us the tools we needed to go on and serve the Lord.   My brother was a missionary in Taiwan for 8 years and has been a pastor here in the states for 23 years.  My sister married a pastoral major and he has served faithfully as pastor in the same church for over 33 years.  My husband too serves as an Elder in our local church.  

Daddy was faithful

My dad was a faithful husband, father, friend, neighbor and church member.  He and my mom both diligently served in the same church for 50 years.  I think he painted every wall of Calvary Baptist Church in Brazil, Indiana several times.  He actually helped lay the foundation of the building back in 1965, taking his own vacation time to help build it as well as every spare day and hour he had after work until the building was complete.

He not only served with his hands, but with his heart as well.  He served on the deacon board for 48 of the 50 years they were there.  He taught Sunday School, sang in the choir and sang solos for the worship service.  Growing up in our home, we knew if a missionary or evangelist was coming to our church, we would have them in our home. My parents wanted us kids to see these servants of the Lord as examples to emulate in our lives.

Daddy was willing to stand alone

There were several times I remember my dad choosing to stand up for what he believed was right.  He was willing to stand alone.  To paddle his canoe against the current.  Not because he liked the fight, although I have already said he was a fighter, but because he was a man of conviction.  He always taught us to not just "follow the crowd" but to do what was right.  This example made a lasting impression on my life and gave me courage to take a stand when the need arose.  

Daddy was a missionary

Even though daddy lived in a little town in Indiana most of his life, he was still a missionary.  He never was shy about sharing the gospel.  He evangelized co-workers, neighbors and family members. God used him to lead men to Christ on his lunch break at the factory where he worked.  I remember helping my mom pack his lunch in his old metal lunch box.  There was a Bible that got packed along with the sandwich.  It smelled of the oil from the factory and had taken on the shape of the dome lid of the lunch box. Many men were led to the Lord by daddy sharing verses out of that old, oily, tattered Bible.

Daddy was a giver

My dad would give the shirt off his back to someone if they were in need of it.  Back when the church was still under construction, they needed more money to complete their building.  My parents didn't have extra money to give, but daddy took out a personal loan and gave the money to the church so the church could finish.  My mom said their appliances didn't break down, nor did their house need any maintenance while they paid that loan off.  God always provided their needs.  My sister-in-law tells a story of him coming by their house when they were trying to get on the mission field.  They were a young family and didn't have a dime to spare.  Daddy brought them a dozen eggs.  When Deb opened the egg carton, along with the eggs was a folded $100 bill.  Daddy was always doing things like that to help others.

He not only gave monetarily, but he gave of himself.  He didn't just shovel snow from his own sidewalk and driveway, he would shovel the neighbor's drive too.  He wouldn't just mow his own lawn, but would also mow the neighbor's lawn as well, without ever being asked.  I can't tell you how many times he helped us kids by painting our homes, inside and out.  He was happiest when he was giving of himself.

My dad taught us all of these character traits, but there was one trait he could not teach us. It was how to let go.  Daddy would clasp on tight to all he held dear.  His home town of Brazil, Indiana, his home church, Calvary Baptist and the sweet people there who loved him and served next to him.  It was so difficult for him to move away from these dear folks when he and mother moved to Wisconsin to live close to my sister last year so she could help care for them.

He held tight to us kids.  Taking my sister off to college nearly killed him.  I sat in the back seat of the car and listened to him weep over her, knowing she would be eight hours away and he couldn't be there right away if she needed him.  It was hard for him to watch my brother and his family get on the plane that would take them to the other side of the world to be missionaries in Taiwan, knowing it would be four years before he would see them again.  He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest.  It was hard walking his daughters down the isle.  When Scott called to ask for my hand in marriage, my dad said no initially.  He wasn't ready for his "baby" to be given away.

Like daddy struggled to let go of us, we now struggle to let go of him.  How do we let go of that loving man who led us in the ways of the Lord, taught us to be strong, faithful, committed, giving and to not give up?  How do we let go of that hand that held ours so tightly?  The only way I know to let go, is to embrace all that daddy was, continue in the things he taught us, be thankful for his legacy he handed down and try to continue it, by God's grace.   

Thank you daddy for being the man you were and for setting such a beautiful example to follow.  May I always walk after you and continue in your steps.

Blake and Angie's gender reveal party

It started with a phone call.  My son called to give me the exciting news that he and his wife were expecting.  It would be her second child, but my son's first.  We were all very excited.  I had been told by many friends and family that having grandchildren is even better then having children.  I have anticipated this blessing for a long time.   One of the first things he said was, "I'm sure you are going to want to give us one of those a gender reveal parties."  My son knows me all too well.  

Blake and Angie live in Gainesville, about an hour and a half from Jacksonville, where he is a student at UF.  As it turned out, Blake would be doing an internship over the summer at my husband's business here in Jax, so he and his wife were staying with us for the summer.  So they were here when they would find out what the baby's gender was.  Perfect!!

They chose to find out at the ultrasound what the gender was, but they would keep it a secret from the family until the party.  I don't know how they did it, but they were a vault!

The cake was a made from scratch white cake filled with M & M's 

We kept the food simple.  We made cute little onesie shortbread cookies iced with white icing and added pink and blue question marks. We also dipped pretzels in colored white chocolate and added white sprinkles.

The guests were greeted at the door with a chalkboard.

And were encouraged to "wear their guess" by placing a pink or blue clothes pin on their clothes.

We also had a game of guessing what the baby's name would be.  I bought a used flat paneled closet door and painted it with chalkboard paint.  Then added the rag garland I made using fabric scraps.

Another chalkboard adorned the hutch accompanied by an apothecary jar filled with vintage baby rattles and a framed ultrasound picture of baby Moore.

When it was time for the reveal, Blake and Angie had Gabe read the results.  He was more then willing to help.

It's a ....

Aunt Bee got it right!

Proud big brother!

Happy parents!

After the reveal, Blake and Angie gave everyone an envelope and told them to open them.  

They shared with us the baby's name.  Introducing Hazel Elizabeth!

Our Anniversary Trip to New York City

It started on Valentine's Day.  My hubby sweetly gave me tickets to see Les Miserables... IN NEW YORK CITY!  The tickets were for the week of our wedding anniversary, which is in June.  So we set out planning our trip.  My husband, who is a restaurateur and a bit of a foodie immediately started looking up restaurants to visit while on the trip.  Forget the sights, bring on the FOOD!!!  

The day after arriving in New York, we set out to find two of the places he had on his list.  For breakfast his choice was a biscuit shop, which is no surprise considering his restaurants are biscuit shops.  Empire Biscuit Shop on Avenue A in East Village was a quick subway ride from our hotel. 

Scott ordered the sausage gravy biscuit.  It was definitely different then our gravy biscuit, but it was yummy all the same.  They also let us try a biscuit with their own delicious brown butter lemon curd.  YUMMO!!!  Sorry, I was so busy licking my fingers, I didn't get a picture.  But you can believe me when I say it was delicious!

After we were fueled up on biscuits, we set out to walk around and see New York.  We headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge (primarily because Scott's second restaurant choice was in Brooklyn!)  

On the way, we went through China Town.  We spotted our dinner spot for the next day while there!!!

China Town is very interesting.  A lot of markets with unusual produce, sea food and spices sold on the sidewalk.

After about a 2 hour walk (no exaggeration!) we made it to the Brooklyn Bridge, which by the way, is over a mile across.  When it was built in 1870, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world!

 One tradition people have when walking across the bridge is to leave something so others who come behind you will know you've been there.  You will see hundreds of locks, tied ribbons, shoe laces, and just about anything that can be attached easily to the cables of the bridge.

 From the bridge, you see an amazing view of the city, including the recently finished trade center building.

Also a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

After crossing the bridge, we set out to explore New York's borough of Brooklyn.

One of the great things we came across (partly because we had been walking for three hours and were feeling it!) was this park, set right in the center of Brooklyn's downtown.  A great place for people to take their lunch break or a rest from the work day.

After our little break, we set off to find where we would have our next meal.  Scott read about this amazing pizza made by a 70 year old gentleman who had been making his home made recipe for over 40 years. Of all the places Scott had scouted out, this one was by far the restaurant he was looking the most forward to.  One of the things he had read about the place was, "this pizza will change your life!"  It was in the far end of Brooklyn, so after walking a bit further, we decided to take a cab since it was still over three miles away.

You can imagine our disappointment!  After walking over 3 hours and taking a 30 minute cab ride, the place was closed!  A sign on the door said it was due to a family emergency. 

So we walked around the neighborhood, seeking another place to dine.  Nothing could meet our expectations, so we headed back to the bridge and had a bite there while enjoying the beautiful views of the bridges before taking a ferry back to Manhattan.

Manhattan Bridge.  The lower part of the bridge perfectly frames the Rockefeller Building in the distance.

 View of the Empire State Building from the ferry.

What an amazing first day, huh?  We were pooped, disappointed about the pizza place, but we covered a lot of ground, saw a lot of the city, and still had 5 whole days left of our trip!

Day two was equally enjoyable.  We set out to find a restaurant called Buvette.  It's a highly rated French restaurant in the West Village.

Scott ordered scrambled eggs and prosciutto on top of home made brioche toast.  

I got their house made honey almond butter on brioche toast, topped with fresh raspberries.  Let me just say, I will be dreaming of that honey almond butter for the rest of my life!  SO good!

 After our delicious breakfast, we set out to see the West Village, the close by Greenwich Village and SoHo.

In Greenwich Village was the Washington Park with the arch and fountain.

How cool is it to have the chess tables all set and ready for players in the park.  Almost makes me want to take up playing chess!

We also enjoyed the SoHo area.  Beautiful architecture.  All cast iron.

All this walking around makes one a little hungry!  We couldn't resist stopping at this bakery.  The cookies were as good as they look.  You can't tell it from the picture, but they are at least 6 inches across.  Plenty big enough to share!

After exploring these areas, we headed back to Brooklyn via taxi to try Scott's pizza place, Di Fiona's, one more time.  His trip would not have been complete without this "life changing" pizza.  Thankfully, they were open.  It's not a fancy place.  Folding tables set up in the back of the store for seating.  The elderly gentleman was busy making pizzas as the orders came in.  We were told prior to coming it could take an hour or more to get your pizza, which was accurate.  We waited 2 hours after ordering!

Did it change our lives after eating it?  Well, I guess it did because no other pizza will ever compare!  The sauce was so fresh.  The crust was amazing.  For us, it was worth it.  More then likely our only opportunity to have pizza made by this man.  

We headed back to Manhattan, this time taking the Q train.  This subway took us within 2 blocks from our hotel.

Day three was a bit more low key.  We decided to stay close to the hotel, which was located just a couple blocks from Central Park on Park and 61st Street.

We walked to the west side of the park, and had our breakfast in a small deli.

We both got breakfast sandwiches, which fueled us for our day of exploring the park and surrounding areas.

Roosevelt Park

Statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the Museum of Natural History.  Roosevelt served as Governor of the state of New York from 1899 to 1901.  Prior to this, he was the police commissioner of the city of NY.

 Strawberry Fields memorial on the west side of Central Park.  In memory of John Lennon.

On the northwest corner of the park is Columbus Circle.

Scott, taking advantage of my photography obsession to check in with the business.  He was very mindful not to be on the phone any other time.  I was very proud of him for that!

After our time around Central Park, we got on the subway and headed back to China Town for dinner.  We found the little place we had spotted a couple days before.  It was worth our trip back to China Town.  Scott ordered a Sichuan noodle bowl.

After dinner, we walked around China Town.  I was very tempted to have a foot massage there!  But time would not allow it.  We took the subway back to our hotel to get ready for our evening.  For my birthday prior to heading to NY, Scott gave me tickets to see the musical, Finding Neverland.  It was fantastic!

It really is hard to describe the brilliance of Times Square when you come out of the theater at night.  All the screens light up the square and it looks almost as if it were day.  It is late, and yet there are crowds of people all around.  When they say it's the city that never sleeps, it is true!

 We were able to experience the night life again on Friday night, when we went to see Les Miserables.  It was amazing.  My hubby got fantastic seats.  4th row, center!  

Friday, it rained all day, so we spent the day shopping.  We did find a neat place for dinner.  The Brindle Room.  They are known for their burger, but we ordered something we couldn't get in Jacksonville, their potato chip frittata.

  

They also make their own cake donuts.  They brought out the Hazelnut Almond doughnut while it was still warm.  YUM!

Riding the subway is a great (and inexpensive) way to get around the city.  But it can be confusing.  There are a LOT of different subways that run throughout the boroughs of NY.  Scott downloaded a handy App before the trip that helped a lot.  It is called Hop Stop.  You punch in where you are and where you want to go, and it will tell you which subway to take to get there.  VERY helpful!!

This is a little coffee shop we found right around the corner from our hotel.  Birch Coffee Shop on 62nd.

On Sunday, after attending church at Redeemer Presbyterian on the West Side, we headed back to Brooklyn.  This time on the southeast side.  Scott indulged my fascination of brownstones.

We were hoping, while in Brooklyn, to visit Di Fiona's again, but after calling, we found out they weren't open so we found an adorable bistro, Boccdino's, that made delicious brick oven pizza.  Maybe not life changing, but still worthwhile.

After dinner we took the subway back to Manhattan on Wall Street to see the  9/11 memorial and museum.  So moving.  Definitely worth seeing.  I can't think of a better way to end our time in New York.

The new Trade Center stands tall over the memorial.

As we went back to our hotel, I couldn't help but reflect on our day, our week in New York and our lives.  We have so much to be thankful for.  The wonderful opportunities to indulge in simple pleasures like pizza, and appreciate a beautiful city like New York in all it's grandeur and splendor.  But also just spending time together.  Time not afforded to everyone.  What a sobering reminder after visiting the memorial.  By God's grace may I spend the time He gives me on this earth, thanking Him for these blessings, but also serving this gracious, giving God who has blessed me with so much when I deserve absolutely nothing.

Picture taken from our hotel room, the night before we left NYC.