Not wanting to cross any literary or sharing lines here - but this article is so "spot on" that I must share it. I must keep it!

AFTER A HUSBAND'S DEATH, DREAMS MUST BE REINVENTED. by Christine Thiele February 6, 2011
One of the hardest struggles I’ve found about widowhood is that the life you had before pretty much dies with your spouse. Well, at least mine did.  The hopes, dreams and plans that we made as a couple were buried with my husband. Every morsel of my being was changed because he is no longer here for me to love or be loved by him.

At first, his vacancy left the obvious holes; no more him, no more seeing, smelling, holding, or sharing with him.  As time passed, more holes appeared: no one to help with the kids, no one to help with the house and no one to talk to in the intimate way I could talk to him. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so completely alone. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the weight of loneliness like this.

Then comes my life, my hopes, and my dreams.  All obliterated.  In the years prior to his illness, we were coming into a solid comfort zone in life.  We were happy with our jobs, our family life, and our marriage.  We were married for a good chunk of time and had been together for nearly 14 years.  We knew each other and miraculously were still happy with the each other. We appreciated who we had become. We were looking forward to a family becoming one member larger and the joys that come with raising our two boys.

So, he dies.  I’m still here.  I am left to walk the earth without him and to carry on the plan.  Carry on the plan…carry on the plan…carry on the plan?

It took me several years to realize that I could not carry on our plan alone. I think it’s taken me several more to come to grips with the fact that I need to create new plans.  I need to dream and hope without him. I don’t like this and have only gone this direction kicking and screaming for my old dreams, my old hopes, my old life.

My future has been a very difficult thing for me to let go by the wayside.  I don’t think it’s fair that I have to do all this again.  I don’t think it’s fair that I have to do this alone. I don’t think it’s fair that I am left with my hopes and dreams shattered in pieces on the floor.

Well, I also know that life is not fair.  Life is a gift and a struggle.  Life is not to be taken for granted or spent without meaning.  All these factors propel me into my new future.  All these factors give me strength to dream new dreams and hope new hopes and reshape my life into something I can live with and hopefully thrive in day after day.

The problem is that the struggle is hard…some days, some weeks, some months are just too much for me to handle.  These times leave me wondering why? Why try again? Why move on? Why reinvent, re-imagine when so many of these days, I only end up exhausted and overwhelmed?

The only answer I can ever come up with is…drum roll please…there is no other way for me.  I yearn for joy, I yearn to be someone my boys will look up to each day, I yearn to love and be loved.

Every day that I remember this, I build strength for another day. Every overwhelming moment at a time that I remember how much faith my husband had in me to carry on without him, I feel honored.  Every time I feel that warmth of his love flow through me, that moment when I know I didn’t give up, I become revived a bit more.

I am revived and strengthened for another moment. I am revived and even given courage to take on my new dreams, my new hopes, no matter how much struggling lies before me.

So today, I will dream a bit and hope a bit.  Every day I will try a bit more.  With each passing day, I will realize that I have begun the new dreams, the new hopes, the new life that carries his love within me.

This new life may exist without him holding my hand, but it will never exist without him holding my heart.  It will be a fusion of old and new. It will be a mix of what we wanted and what I am capable of doing without him. I hope, I dream, I imagine that every day that I have courage to be and to live brings me one day closer to me, reinvented.

--Thank you Christine for sharing this. It is so much my heart and my life now. God bless you and yours. Sisters in a bond that we never wanted.

Funeral services for Dan Wayne Humphrey, Jr., 55, of Sulphur Springs, will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, May 6, 2013 at West Oaks Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. James Diamond and Richard Teer officiating.

Interment will follow at Restlawn Memorial Park with Mark Humphrey, Jon Humphrey, Heath Powers, Cole Roan, Ivan Pickering, Greg Johnson, David Baxter, and Milburn Hettick serving as pallbearers.

Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, May 5, 2013 at West Oaks Funeral Home.

Dan passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at Rock Creek Health and Rehab. He was born on May 17, 1957, in Sulphur Springs, TX, the son of Dan Wayne Humphrey, Sr. and Jan (Butler) Humphrey. His senior year he was the president of the Ag Chapter. He worked as a dairyman on Humphrey Dairy his whole life, and also worked for Red River Army Depot for 15 years. He was a member of Cedar Crest Christian Church.

Dan is survived by his father, Dan Humphrey, Sr. and wife Madeline, of Sulphur Springs, son, Cody Wayne Humphrey, of San Diego, CA, daughters, Lindsey Humphrey of Lewisville, TX, Crystal Hall and husband Lucas, of New Boston, TX, Mary Lauren Humphrey, of Sulphur Springs, sisters, Karen Cook, of Sulphur Springs, Lara Humphrey, of Dallas, TX, Juli Price and husband Clay, of Sulphur Springs, grandchildren, Brailee Hall, Cason Braley, Tye Hall, Dylan Braley, and Payton Hall, all of New Boston, TX, nieces and nephews, Heath Powers, of Sulphur Springs, and Chani Roan, of Sulphur Springs, and Cade Price, Coen Price, and Camri Price, all of Sulphur Springs. He was preceded in death by his mother, Jan Humphrey in September of 2005.

Memorials may be made to a charity of your choice.  

Arrangements are with West Oaks Funeral Home.

**Dan, i never sign into Facebook without thinking about you, missing you. Wishing i could see just one more post with your smiles, your laughter. I miss you my friend, my brother in Christ. I miss you every day! 

Marjorie Denton Mayfield was born in Bryan, Texas on February 25, 1969 and passed away on April 19, 2013 at age 44. Marjorie graduated from Hico High School and married Damon Mayfield in September, 1988 in Hico. Three years later they were blessed with a daughter, Maegen Mayfield, of Hico. In 1993, another blessing came along, a son, Myles Mayfield, of Hico. 

Marjorie was a very loving and caring wife, mother, friend and giving individual who was a great example of Christ to others.

She left behind a mother, Dixie Stewart. of Eastland; father, Johnny Denton, of Hico; sister, Anna Denton, of Hico; brother, Lynn Stewart, of Eastland; a brother, Kenny Harrison, of Fort Worth; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

She was loved very much and will be missed greatly.

The family would like to thank everyone for all the outpouring of love and support and all of the cards, food, flowers and many blessings.


**Marjorie - i still cannot believe you are gone. That if i call, you won't answer. I love you and there is not one day that goes by but what i think about you, i miss you. The tears come less now, but they still come. Oh i know you are in a better place, and you have won! but i have lost a pearl of great price on this earth. You left a hole in my heart that no one can fill. You, my friend, my sister - you are missed, you are loved, and you are treasured! I love you!!! 

Becky was one of my bosses when we lived and worked on the Tongue River Ranch out in West Texas, a few years ago. She and I had many good conversations over coffee and while i was cooking lunch for the cowboys. She was a sweetheart! 

KING COUNTY, Texas — On Thursday, March 15, 2012, Rebecca Moorhouse passed away with her family by her side at the Moorhouse Ranch located in King County, Texas, her home of 22 years, after fighting a courageous battle with cancer.

Born April 29, 1954, in Seymour, Texas, to parents Ann and Manford Elliott, she began her life in the ranching community. Ranching was the only life she knew until she began her nursing career. On several occasions, she volunteered her services on trips to Mexico giving medical attention to needy children.

In 1989, Becky returned to the ranching way of life when she married Tom Moorhouse. At this juncture in her life, Becky went everywhere Tom went. She rode a horse with poise and grace, appreciating how people in the ranching community depend on each other. She embraced the opportunities this lifestyle had to offer. Tom and Becky raised five children and instilled in them the same values they had learned in the ranching community.

In addition to being a wonderful wife, mother, and homemaker, Becky loved Mother Nature’s splendor. She turned the historic Moorhouse Ranch headquarters into an oasis of beauty honoring its heritage, while maintaining an environment where cowboys, family, and visitors felt at home.

In 2009, Tom, Becky, and their son Gage, moved to nearby Tongue River Ranch where Tom took the position as general manager.Becky is preceded in death by her father, Manford Elliott. Becky is survived by her husband, Tom Moorhouse; her mother, Ann Elliott; three brothers, Bob Elliott and wife Rhonda, Bill Elliott and wife Patricia, and Gilbert (Cotton) Elliott and wife Ginger; a sister, Cindy Layton and her husband Rayburn; three sons, Brad Walker and wife Bridget, Seth Walker and wife Jessica, and Gage Moorhouse; step-son, Jed Moorhouse and wife Michelle; and a step-daughter, Jody Lindeman and husband Douglas. Becky was loved by seven grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Becky truly never met a stranger and was kind and endearing to all that had the fortune to meet her.

Services will be at Benjamin Community Center in Benjamin, Texas on Saturday, March 17, 2012, at 2 p.m. Interment will immediately follow at Moorhouse Ranch. Arrangements were made under the direction of Smith Family Funeral Homes of Knox City, Texas.

If desired, donations may be made to North Texas Rehab, 1005 Midwestern Parkway, Wichita Falls, Texas, 76302.