chalyss's avatar

chalyss

I'm a spicy bowl of noodles!
135 Watchers327 Deviations
32.6K
Pageviews
So I graduated on Sept. 8th with my BA in International Business and should be headed for Taiwan sometime in February of '08, I surmise. This is starting to get me nervous and excited!

But in more recent news, my darling niece, Ella Rose, was born in Sept. 12th. Bonnie (sister) was in lbaor for 8 hours, start to finish, and I got to watch the baby being born! That was very cool! I took a ton of pics of her and will upload more in the future, but for now, see the gallery for the one I have up. She is soooo cute and makes the funniest faces. Sadly, Tony (husband/father) had to go back to Iraq last Thursday, but  ya know, thank God he was in here to see the birth and witness the baptism and spend time with his new family. Maybe he'll even be back before the 10 month mark they have assigned now.

I have another niece due in November, so I am surrounded by adorable little girls! Who could ask for anything more?

Dolls, babies, getting ready to move to another country and the busiest season in shipping all coming at me at once... it has been one HECK of a fast-moving year! Wow!

I'll try to be better about submitting things, but art is down in favor of BJD aesthetics, which pays me money, and I'll be brushing up on my TEFL training soon with a small, 40-hour course. (Already completed a 120-hour course, but that was 2 years ago now.) Hopefully things will level out, but I rather doubt it as I'll have TONS of things to do before I leave for Taiwan.

Love you all, take care and God bless! I'll get some more pics up soon!
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

Death by Dare!

7 min read
I am not one to wallow in an emotion for long and already my journal entry is making me uncomfie. I am not over it, but I'm not a depressing kind of girl and this is depressing stuff. Baermans strike at the world with humor! Laughter is our warcry! Or something equally poetic. ENNAhoo, the funeral is this weekend and my brother from Mass. just got in a few hours ago. And what should happen?? His pregnant wife who is due May 17th has her water break almost as soon as he steps off the plane! She, of course, did not travel cross country with him.

Well, there's something I want to share with you all; my loooong-time friend, Dawn, wrote a letter for my dad. She meant to give it to him as a goodbye letter, but that never happened. It's a lovely letter with some great stories in it and it's quite humorous. I think you will enjoy it... I know I did! Plus, it shows my dad as a person and a man, not just a title.

---------------------
(Reprinted with permission)

1  Praise the LORD.
       Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
       who finds great delight in his commands.
2 His children will be mighty in the land;
       the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
       and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
       for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
       who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
       a righteous man will be remembered forever.
Psalm 112:1-6

I called you Dare.  You weren't my father, but it brought comfort to me giving you a title.  Secretly, I would pretend that I was part Baerman clan.  I don't know how Dare was specifically chosen, however, it fit and stuck.  God knows how many times I dared you to kill me with my behavior.  And yet, you patiently shook your head and said under your breath, "Dawndra, Dawndra, Dawndra."  Sometimes I thought I caught you praying afterwards.  

I was over at your house daily, as were many of us kids, needing some Baerman nutrition.  Too many of us came from rocky homes or misguided lifestyles.  You brought a solid foundation for our feet and balanced it beautifully with a lot of love.  I enjoyed watching you with your children, seeing the daily interaction of life, through Christ, in your home.  That was never a doubt, where your strength came from, and you made it look attainable to me even.  
  
You were quick to admit your faults and even apologize for them when needed.  I will never forget a moment shared between you and your youngest daughter.  I was visiting Bonnie one day, as I often did, and she was upset with you.  She felt that you paid more attention to the other siblings than to her.  She felt hurt over some missed games from high school and was lacking in Daddy time.  We were sitting at the dining room table, Bonnelle crying, and you were listening with full attention.  I knew I should have left, but I couldn't budge.  It was as if my backside were glued to the chair.  I NEVER saw full attention on a daughter before.  The TV was off and you had your hands crossed laying gently on the table with your eyes focused on Bonnie.  You let her cry to you for about five minutes before responding.  

I had no idea what was about to happen next.  I was spellbound.  I expected you to say, "Pull it together, Bonnie, that was a couple of years ago."  But you didn't.  You said, "Bonnie, I am really sorry you feel that way.  That was not my intention at all.  I love you, and I am proud of you."  More was said, of course, but what a learning experience for me!  You showed me how to be humble, sincere, apologetic, loving, and forgiving with that one gesture.  I felt honored to have been able to view that moment of caring within a family.  It was foreign to me, but opened something in my heart.
Parenting 101 by Christ, illustrated by Dare.  

Even in reprimanding, you did it with love.  I have witnessed this all too many times.  One occasion will never be forgotten by all involved.  I'm sure it won't be forgotten by the neighbors.  I'm pretty positive they heard it too.  I was spending the night at your house with the girls.  That was a common occurrence.  Becky, Bonnie and I were up very late, being somewhat rambunctious.  Mom came down a couple of times to tell us to be more quiet.  We would schmooze her and get her giggling, as she headed off to bed.  Finally around four in the morning you came into our room.  Nostrils flaring, eyes burning through what I thought, impenetrable glasses, vocal chords clearly working correctly, you boomed, "It's four o'clock in the morning!  Some of us have to work!"  Blah, blah, blah, some other things were said, and then it happened.  You proceeded to whip your entire arm through the air as if you were preparing to throw THE perfect pitch of the World Series, and pointed to me.  
"And you, DAWNDRA!"  My cow eyes popping out, the only thing of which you could see, the rest of me slinking down into the sleeping bag, now wet from fear.  "You are GROUNDED!"  Door slams, and only crickets could be heard for a full minute.  I know this, because I counted.  Shortly after I hit sixty, Bonnie starts to giggle and says, "Dawndra, you got grounded!"  Becky, being the great friend she is, finished with a gut laugh.  "Wow, Dare was mad," she chided.  You think?  My first question, why the heck was I the only one grounded?  I still refer to that night as Death by Dare.  It's in my memoirs.
The following day I was patently devastated, being grounded was tough.  You finally arrived home from work and I approached you with a sinking heart and teary eyes.  We sat on the couch and I apologized to you and started crying.  I thought you hated me.  You put your arm around me and said that you forgave me, and that you still loved me but…I was still grounded.  I had to go home at ten o'clock that night.  The restriction only lasted a couple of months, but we joked about it forever.  Every now and then, someone would look at his or her watch and say, "Dawndra, it's close to ten, shouldn't you be getting home?"  

Time moved on and so did we.  At times, we saw very little of each other, but the love never waned and the adoration of you only grew.  Before we knew it, you were at my wedding, my children's baptisms, at which the only ones qualified to be the Godparents were you and Elly, and of course some holidays.  A year ago I received a devastating phone call from Becky explaining to me that we have limited time left with you.  It was difficult to take in, you were a giant to me.  My family and I were blessed enough to have spent some wonderful time with you since that fateful day and for that I am so thankful and grateful.  About a week before you died, I came over to help out with some cleaning.  While I was vacuuming next to your chair, you said to me, "Dawndra, you are doing such a great job, I may have to lift your curfew!"  I then said, "That's great, Dare!  Can I get that in writing?"  You chuckled and replied, "Let's not get carried away."

I was working on this letter for you, Dare, before you died.  Having a difficult time, I decided to go to scripture for some help.  That is when I came across Psalm 112:1-6.  Not only did I find it a fitting tribute to you, but a comfort to me knowing that such a great man of God is finally home with his Father.  Just as Paul wrote in 2Timothy 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.  

So have you, Dare, and in doing so, you bore an abundant amount of fruit! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a Baerman at heart and to be your friend.  I will always love and admire you, My Dare.  I'll see you in heaven…

Dawndra P.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Yesterday was a very bad day. On April 21st, my beloved father passed away. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't the way you'd want a loved one to go. It was supposed to be in his sleep, but instead it was a nightmare.  Dad was taking a nap and had just woken up as I headed downstairs to do homework. I topped off his liquids and put on his walkie talkie. I told him to call me if he needed anything. He was fine. About an hour later, I heard a terrible crash and raced upstairs. I knew it wasn't a good sound; someone has fallen or knocked down something BIG. I yelled for my dad, asked what happened. I heard my name weakly called. It took me a bit to find him as he'd faceplanted on his commode. (He couldn't walk far anymore. He had a bed and a commode close by and he used urinals right next to his bed and chair so he didn't have to go anywhere.) I couldn't find his oxygen tubing. It should have been right next to him, but it wasn't. His forhead had been cut by the commode lid and his throat had landed on the commode edge. He called my name weakly again and I couldn;t get to him right away because he'd taken some things down with him that blocked my path, like the barstool.

I had to go around the bed and he was gasping and I couldn't lift him up. I was the only one in the house and he was too heavy. I needed someone to help me so I ran outside and screamed. My idea was to get the neighbor, but the walk was too far. I ran back inside and called 911. I couldn't find his oxygen tubing! 911 dispatch was a b*tch and kept me on the phone too long. She even hung up before paramedics got there and I think I will lodge a complaint as that is illegal. Finally, a neighbor who heard my screams came over and bless her for it, but by then it was too late. By the time I'd found the tubing, it had been too late. The tubing was back by his chair, lodged over there. I think he had to get to the commode QUICK and he couldn't untangle the hose and he went without it, though that makes no sense. He got just far enough to get too dizzy to stand and fell forward. The paramedics finally arrived, but I knew he was dead. They were not able to revive him. They gave him a tracheal, so I think that had been crushed, meaning even if I had moved him, he still wouldn't have been able to breathe. My helplessness was horrible. He shouldn't have gone that way... daddy, I love you so much! I'm so sorry I couldn't have done more and I didn't know what to do.

I know you are in a better place now, I know you are with Jesus and your mom and dad and you don;t even remember here and one day, a blink later, you'll turn around and I'll be there, but it hurts. You were so awesome and wise and kind and loving! You were my greatest supporter and it was privelge and hono and pleasure to be with you those last months, helping you, even though you thought you were being a burden. You were not and I wouldn't trade those moments for the world!

My daddoo is gone. That's it, there's no more. It's very weird, I don't like it. My poor momma... he was her best friend. He was my best buddy, too, my TV and movie watching partner. He loved cartoons and MST3K and my GOD I will miss him. I love you daddy! I'm sorry I couldn't lift you, for all the times you'd carried me... I am so sorry.

My sister put up something nice on her MySpace. Feel free to look:
www.myspace.com/visitingrealit…

Sadly, my sister was coming back home this weekend. Her hubby has been deployed to Iraq and she is alone and pregnant. She was coming back home to be with us and with dad. One week more. Dad was supposed to wait for the birth in September... his baby girl's first baby. My other sister-in-laws, both of them, are also pregnant. He was supposed to see one more July 4th... but at least he got one more Easter. He'd been feeling better and stronger. He hadn't been out of the house since Feb 9th, but he'd planned to go to church today and he was so excited to go out to eat. He wanted crab legs and he'd been planning the China buffet for awhile. And Moon's again. He had such strength in his voice and he was feeling independent... that may have been the problem. He felt better than he was. Oh daddy... why didn't you call me up? The walkie talkies were on and working. Oh daddy....
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

Shameless plug!

2 min read
I made a new friend on eBay and the BJDIllusion forum. (www.freepowerboards.com/bjdill…)

She has a store called twobuneez on eBay and she's an amazing seamstress! She also gives me lots of freebies and is just a great lady! She's agreed to take the Beti costume commission, yay!!

In exchange for a free pair of doll jeans, I told her I would put her link on my journal to get her some exposure if any doll lovers out there want to take a gander at her wares. So far, I have been the one buying up all her stuff and I LOVE it! I love the quality and the cuteness and the budget pricing! I spend a LOT on doll clothes, but my babies are worth it.

So you will see her eBay store address a lot and I encourage you to go take a peek when you have time! She really is a super nice person! Go visit friendy Wendy!
search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtwob…

(Oh, and for those of you who remember my ChalyssCoH account on DA... totally wiped clean! Not a single deviation left. *LOLOL* I was waiting for that. Oh, well.)
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

New entry

2 min read
Don't really have much to say, just got tired of that angry other entry.

Many thanks to all you who have shown me support! I SO appreciate it!

I won't leave DA right now but I may take off a bunch of pics, I don't know. I have yet to receive a response from my inquery and may have to submit another later, but honestly, the Lyeth Trio wasn't very good anyway and they may have taken the small Goldie, but they left the big one up in the gallery proper. *rolls eyes* Whatever. The CoH stuff I can and will contest until I am blue in the face and that's pretty much all I'll get for that effort, too.

There are better places to be than Deviant, but darn if it doesn't have some of the most awesome community members ever and you are the only things holding me here. A good dozen or two of you always make my day, even when I'm as stressed as I am now. So thank you for that. :hug:

Okay, back to whatever it is I'm doing...
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Featured

Graduation and Ella Rose by chalyss, journal

Death by Dare! by chalyss, journal

I love you, daddy. by chalyss, journal

Shameless plug! by chalyss, journal

New entry by chalyss, journal