Uncle John's Funeral

Front page of the Memorial Service Program

I was blessed to be able to attend the viewing and memorial service for my Uncle John Madison. I had scheduled off this past Wednesday and Saturday from work and my boss had no problem letting me go a few extra days during our busiest time of the year. I knew that if I didn't go to the services I would always wish I had.

My parents and aunt Nancy met me in Jacksonville and we drove my car to Oklahoma City. We arrived at 2:30 AM on Thursday. The viewing was for family and close friends at the funeral home at 10 AM that morning. It was so good to see my family members I haven't seen in years - most of them I had not seen since my wedding. One of them being my Uncle John.

After the viewing we went to my Aunt Corrine's house and ate lunch and visited. I was able to meet my cousin John's new wife Bettina and child Alex for the first time. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with my cousin Christine as she created the program for her father.

That evening Christine's Uncle from the Madison's side made some delicious Gumbo for dinner. We went back to the hotel to rest for the evening.

The funeral services were held at the Church of the Servant which is the Methodist Church that my Uncle attended. It was a very nice service. My cousin John gave the eulogy that was very touching. I loved the opening paragraph that explained so much of who my uncle was as a person....

My father was found with the outdoor faucet running, a squeegee in place, and a bucket full of soap suds. He wanted to surprise Mom by taking care of a bunch of projects around the house while she was away in Wisconsin. He didn’t quite have the chance to finish up washing the windows, but his death was perfectly symbolic of his life, always taking care of the people around him. His life philosophy was a simple one, which he recited to us kids too many times to count. “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” I hope that his example of selfless treatment of his fellow man can be a legacy that we can can all carry with us.

I loved the songs that were chosen for the service. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," and "Be Still My Soul." There was a lovely solo as well of "How Great Thou Art." They were songs found in the Methodist Hymnal but ones that we knew as well from the LDS Hymnal. I find that whenever something happens - whether it is a celebration or something touching or sad, I want to sing. Singing is the way I feel that I can express myself, express my love.

Me and Grandpa Jerry Wakefield outside the Church's Sanctuary

3 generations: Me, Dad, Grandpa

Aunt Nancy Wakefield, Dad, Mom, Grandma Toni Wakefield, Grandpa Jerry Wakefield, Aunt Pam Bowman, Me, Aunt Barb Denisoff

We went over to the LDS church for a lunch that the Relief Society prepared for us after the funeral services. The building is literally 15 feet from the Oklahoma City Temple.

Me in front of the Oklahoma City Temple

My dad and I left the lunch to go over to a Tire store. The hotel we stayed at was doing some repairs and there were all sorts of nails we found on the road. One of them went into our tire and flattened it. We went to see if it could be repaired. We were gone for about an hour and a half and the tire was thankfully able to be repaired and it was no charge! I was amazed.

We returned to the Madison home where we all talked more before saying goodbye for our drive back home on Saturday.

It was freezing outside, a cold front came through and I didn't even check the weather. With the wind it got down into the high 20's in the morning. Oklahoma City sure does experience extremes in weather. I didn't come prepared for cold weather and was thankful that there wouldn't be a graveyard service. My Uncle wanted to be cremated and his remains will be placed in the lake behind my Aunt's house.

It was a long trip - it truly made me appreciate Omar and all the driving he does when we go places. I was really glad we were able to attend. I have a renewed commitment to be sure that we attend our family reunions in the future. Hopefully we will all be able to have one again soon. Next year is our scheduled reunion but it looks like we might put it off a year because there have been so many unexpected get-togethers within the past year. I am so grateful to have such loving family members who try to support one another in every way possible. The road won't be easy for my cousins and Aunt Corrine, but I know that the Lord will be with them to provide peace, comfort and guidance.

Uncle John Madison

John Iden Madison
February 12, 1950 - October 21, 2012

I found out today that my Uncle John Madison passed away last night in his sleep. My Aunt Corrine was in Minnesota visiting my cousin Christine and her family. I guess she wasn't able to get a hold of him today and so had a neighbor go check on him. He has had heart trouble in the past. He was so young - the same age of my grandpa (mom's side) when he died.

This picture was taken at my wedding 4 years ago. He may never know what it meant to me for him to come - dancing with him when I couldn't dance with my dad on my special day. He treated everyone as though they were so special.

His whole life seemed to be about serving others. Every time we were together during a family event - all he did was serve others. Nothing was for his own pleasure and comfort.

One of my memories - was at a family reunion when I was probably about 8 years old. We were going to go white water rafting and I had a bowl of Captain Crunch. I ended up getting sick and throwing up. Uncle John offered to stay back with me so my parents and the rest of my family could enjoy the rafting. He made it seem like it was his plan all along to stay back and to run errands and that he needed ME in order for him to be able to do it the best. He became one of my favorite uncles in that moment. I  always liked being near him the most at our reunions because I always felt so special and that I was his favorite niece.

People so kind-hearted and thoughtful are not plentiful these days. I know he has to be one of the ones to greet me on the other side. Our family get-togethers and reunions will never be the same. I will miss you Uncle John and am so sad that you will never get to hold one of my children in this life.

Costa Rica: Arenal & San Jose

The day we were to go back to SanJose  we hired a guide who we were told is like the animal whisperer. He owns a couple hundred acres and has blazed trails through it and helps people find all the animals they want to see. We didn't realize that you pretty much have to commit the whole day to him - so it didn't work out quite like we thought. He was very quirky and odd. But we did see some animals. He would stop us in the middle of the road driving to point out animals he saw while driving by. It was crazy.

Red bananas - they are edible but have super hard seeds in them that make them difficult to eat 

A sloth

poisonous dart frog

Toucan

these were part of the raccoon family - they climb all over the trees in the forest

lizard

After our time with him we got some breakfast and parted ways. We were going to go to the Waterfall  La Fortuna but were so sore and the hike is pretty steep. We went back to the hotel and got a late check-out so that we could take a nap before driving out. We were both so exhausted.

The drive during the day was much easier and shorter. We arrived at about 4 pm to San Jose to the Doubltree Hotel. It was very fancy and huge. Our room had a back door that opened up to the pool and hot tub. We were able to pay our exit taxes at the hotel.

The next morning we woke up and wanted to go and eat one last typical breakfast. However everything was closed. We found a newly built Wendy's and ate breakfast there. When we were leaving it was after 8 AM and finally everything was opening. It was a good trip and I would love to travel there again.

Costa Rica: Volcano Arenal, Hanging Bridges, Tabacon Hot Springs

HANGING BRIDGES

We could get tickets to the Hanging Bridges for a discounted rate at our hotel  ($18/pp). We didn't get a guide, which I am awfully glad about. A guide is really not needed for the bridges.The bridges was only a 2 mile drive from our hotel. It took us about 3 hours to walk around the whole thing. It was pretty much jungle and had some nice views including a waterfall. We really didn't see any animal life except for a centipede until the very end where we saw a bunch of squirrel monkeys playing around. 

VOLCANO ARENAL

We went next to the Volcano Arenal National Park. A guided tour and entrance was $20/pp. It was totally worth it. I spoke with her a lot in Spanish and we had some really good conversations regarding immigration and politics in the Us, the Restoration, going to Spanish Speaking school in Costa Rica and more. There are multiple routes in the park. One that goes around the lake with beautiful scenery and some that are with the lava rocks. We were interested only in the lava. We learned that the lava flow has been gone for 2 years. It is an active volcano, but in volcano time it could be many years before it would erupt or have lava flow again. We were SO sore climbing up and down the rocks from the day before. 

Check out the lava dirt

Hiking up to the volcano

check out this water vapor! It looks like the volcano is smoking

super cool mushroom

TABACON HOT SPRINGS

Since we were so sore it was a good thing we got 2 days for the price of one at the hot springs. I can't imagine how lush and green it must have been in the daytime. This place was incredible. It had a river that flowed through it that the water is heated by the volcano. The temperatures range from 77-122 degrees Fahrenheit in the pools. There must have been at least 35 different pools. A lot of them had waterfalls. Included with our pass was also a buffet of typical food. Omar and I even found out that they had a slide going into the pools too. It was so fun. I only wished everyone we were with wanted to stay longer. There is also a spot that the locals go to right outside the Tabacon that is free. I think next time I would want to try that out. 

Costa Rica: Balsa River Whitewater Rafting

With the same company we went white water rafting on the Balsa River - class 2 and 3 rapids. It was Omar and Jeron's first time white water rafting. It was pretty fun with exception that our guide was not so nice. The major rapids were pretty much the first ones we hit and he kept saying "What can I do to help you paddle together and to listen?" He just kept yelling at us. We were doing everything that he was saying but it was never good enough. He would yell, "more power, more power" I don't think we had any more power to give. We still had a good time and stayed safe. No one fell out of our raft. One of the other rafts was not so lucky. Their guide took them to the side of the river that is not safe and there is a whirlpool - they were stuck and a girl fell out and was getting turned around and around like in a washing machine. She was pretty shook up. It made me a little happy that our guide was at least more experienced.

We had a break with yummy fresh pineapple and watermelon half way through the trip. Then afterward they gave us another delicious, huge buffet of typical food. We were stuffed.

Costa Rica: Arenal Rappelling

 We were picked up at 6 AM by Desafio for our waterfall rappelling and white water rafting adventure the next day. We saw for the first time Ashley and Jeron Warner as well met Jeron's sister and brother-in-law. We would spend the next few days with them.

The rappelling was awesome. I only wish that there were more waterfalls to rappel in. I loved hiking through too. The water was freezing but was so refreshing because of the humidity

When we were finished there was a local lady that bad this amazing breakfast for us.

Costa Rica: Manuel Antonio Departure

The morning we found out there was a bus that cost 50 cents one way/pp and took it down to the beach where we were looking for our traditional ornament and local nativity scene for our souvenirs. 

When we got to Jaco we went and ate at Rustico's which is a really local eatery that was so good and cheap. The line was really long for the food where you just point at what food you want and a plate cost $5. I really liked the couple we met and could see Omar and I traveling with them for longer. We invited them to come with us to Arenal, but they had been in Costa Rica for about 2 weeks and were ready to move onto Panama.

One of our stops on the way to Arenal was a little past Jaco where you can view crocodiles from a long bridge. There were a lot of them and they were huge! There was a guy selling crocodiles he carved out of the coffee bean plant. We bought 2 of them for our nephews. They are pretty cool looking and move.

I don't know what we would have done without the GPS. I think we would never have made it to Arenal. It was about a 4 hour drive and we went through small side roads in different cities. It rained a good portion of our trip and when we went through the Los Angeles Cloud Forest the sun began to go down. The Cloud Forest was really neat because you would drive straight through the clouds. I can't imagine living there because it seemed very depressing.

We ate down in La Fortuna which is a 30 minute drive from our hotel. There was a big festival going on with dancing horses, carnival, etc. We got to the hotel about 7pm. We stayed at the Lost Iguana Hotel and Spa. We stayed in a suite that had a large bathtub, hot tub on the terrace of our room. The hotel had one of those bush mazes you could go through as well as many hiking trails. We really didn't get a chance to take advantage of our hotel because we were gone doing activities so much.