Family Hopes Memories of Missing Woman May Help Others 

Prince Frederick MD, Dec 10, 2009 Every year since Bernadette Stevenson Caruso’s disappearance in Maryland in 1986 her family has put up a Christmas tree up for her. Each year the tree may be a little different but it always has some of Bernadette’s Christmas ornaments on it from the last tree Bernadette put up in 1985.
“I guess in our hearts it is a way to share Christmas with Bernadette no matter where she is. At Christmas we always planned our trees and what we were going to do each year. It is a special link we have had with Bernadette for all these years” says her sisters, Darlene Huntsman and Susan Bowerman. ” For some of our family members, I think the tree is hard but for most of us it is a special Christmas tradition and tribute to our little sister. It is the hope and promise in our hearts that maybe this year the answers will come. This is what Christmas is about sharing the love of those near and dear to our hearts.” says Mrs. Huntsman.

The sisters involvement with missing and unidentified persons motivated them to help establish, The Maryland Task Force for the Missing and Unidentified, Adults and Children, along with other families of Maryland’s missing persons. For the past couple of years they have run this non profit with time freely given and funds raised by its volunteers. Some of their events on behalf of the families of the missing and unidentified have brought national attention to efforts being used to help locate them, these events became models for other states to use. The Maryland Task Force holds public awareness events and speaks before groups such as Moose Lodges, church groups and organizations. They do this is to bring awareness to the fact that every 30 seconds someone in the U.S. disappears, an average of 850,000 persons per year. Approximately 105,000 of these cases remain unsolved. Almost half of these cases represent unidentified persons. The group is willing to speak before any group that is willing to open their hearts and minds about the missing and their families. “Awareness, action and prevention are the key to reducing these numbers” says Mrs. Bowerman.

This year Mrs. Huntsman entered a campaign on the internet at Brickfish.com. Brickfish is a social media community where you can create, view, and review content in many different campaigns for the chance to win rewards and prizes. The holiday campaign, sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories is; Share Your Bright Holiday Moments where you had to share online your most memorable holiday photos, videos and stories. Mrs. Huntsman wrote about her sister and the tree they put up each year and what it means to them. Mrs. Huntsman wanted to share Bernadette’s story and raise funds that will support the Maryland Task Force for the Missing and Unidentified’s efforts . “You have to be creative in these difficult economic times. Small non profits like ourselves are having a tough time” says Mrs. Huntsman. If her entry wins the prizes will be used to attention a national conferences which will provides attendees with investigative and forensic tools as well as new updates on cutting-edge technology. One of the objectives of the conference is to foster collaboration across geographic jurisdictions and the importance of communication among local, state and federal law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners. The group hopes to attend the conference and bring new hope to families of the missing. The group also hopes to raise money for computers and supplies to demonstrate The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) information system at their presentations. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is a clearinghouse for missing persons and unidentified decedent records. NamUs is a free online system that can be searched by medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement officials and the general public to solve these cases.

People can go on to the Brickfish.com website and click on the link with Bernadette’s picture to vote for the entry and leave a review. Voting each day improves the entry ranking and scores. This campaign ends December 22, 2009. The entry about Bernadette’s tree has climbed to 6th place out of 595 entries. For more information contact: Susan or Sam Bowerman at 304-261-3132.

Vote at:
Brickfish Website

http://safetyathome.com/contest/?pbb_qsi=27551785&=ecc_all_PPIMEMAIL

Task Force Website:

http://www.themarylandtaskforceforthemissingandunidentified.org/

Bernadette Stevenson Caruso

http://bernadettestevensoncaruso.wordpress.com/

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

http://www.namus.gov/

Yes, I couldn’t resist sending in little Jack In his Santa hat! Isn’t he too cute for words! This is a very special Christmas indeed for all in our families with two new babies to enjoy!

Share Your Bright Holiday Moments Sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

On September 27, 1986, Bernadette disappeared without a trace. She simply got off work and disappeared. Bernadette and her car just vanished. The lives of those she touched has never been the same. Her family and friends knew right away that Bernadette had met with foul play, she would never have left her family and little daughter. No leads, no information, no Bernadette. We still search for answers.

I remember Bernadette at Christmas time in a special way, Bernadette’s birthday was usually celebrated at our family’s Forth of July gathering. My daughter Sara Bernadette was born on New Years Eve in 1987, just in time to watch the fireworks with me as I had with her name sake, Aunt Bernadette on each birthday. What was more amazing was that Sara had come a month early.

This year as we have for the last twenty three years we will put up a Christmas tree for Bernadette and stand before it and say the promises that we have made in our hearts ” Bernadette, We miss you , we will never give up. We will bring you home.” Our family will gather as we decorate Bernadette’s tree having a glass of wine and sharing the memories of having had the gift of Bernadette in our lives. Our children, some who never got the chance to meet their aunt will again hear stories about her and continue to love their Aunt Bernadette simply because we have kept her alive in our hearts.

  Bernadette Stevenson Caruso

We’ve gone from 215 place to 64th in one day!

Share Your Bright Holiday MomentsSponsored by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

Do you realize how much we could do with the Maryland Task Force for the Missing and Unidentified with this money?

We could: Attend the Cue center conference next year!

Buy computer equipment and supplies with the Best Buy Gift Card!

Buy Billboard space to promote awareness about Maryland’s Missing
awareness.

Help establish a fund for families with missing that can not afford
fliers.

Help pay for Task Force Website & publications.

Help pay for search efforts.

Please help by voting as often as you can for this entry!

Visit the website and see what the  Maryland Task Force for the Missing and Unidentified is all about!

Little Jack!

Wow, In one day I made it form 74th place to 18th place! Thanks for your support, remember you can vote once a day!

http://www.brickfish.com/campaigns

What’s Your Overnight Guest Rating? Sponsored by Aero Products International

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A True Friend

If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you.
And share with you it’s beauty
On the days you’re feeling blue.
If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own.
A place to find serenity
A place to be alone.
If I could take your troubles
I would toss them into the sea,
But all these things I’m finding
Are impossible for me.
I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend that is always there. 

…Khahlil Gibran

A few weeks ago we lost our little micro mini pig, Miss Piggy, she lived here at the farm with our other pot bellied pig Wilbur. We were saddened by the lost and realized that we would have to find a new special friend for Wilbur soon. Then things got a little busy with everyone being sick and my mother in law passing away. Wilbur kept getting out of his pen, something he never did when Miss Piggy was alive. Well, while out Wilbur checked out all the other animals in the barn and decided to visit Moonpie, our stud llama who is in a stall by himself. The two have become best buds in just a couple of days! Yesterday I moved a dog house into Moonpie’s stall for Wilbur. Everytime I went down to check on the goat to see if she was in labor I checked on Wilbur and Moonpie. Wilbur was sound asleep in his pig house and Moonpie was laying right next to him. This proves two things: First, animals do mourn the loss of their friends. Second, friends can come in all shapes and sizes!

Here are pictures of Wilbur and Moonpie!

Another funny picture from the farm!

I don't think I should be driving this close to my due date!!!!!

Merry Christmas Noah and Family!

This is about a 5yr old named, Noah, He is in the last stages of a 2 1/2 yr battle with Nueroblastoma Cancer. His family is celebrating Christmas next week with him and Noahs request is to get lots of Christmas cards Please send cards to: Noah Biorkman 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon MI 48178 Lets see how many cards we can get this little guy!

We will be thinking of you Noah! 

Well, today was suppose to be a cleaning day but I jumped when hubby asked me to go to the nursery with him to pick up some plants. We also made a stop at the farmers market and got five more  baby chicks to add to our chick nursery, LOL.    We are having a chicken coop delivered Monday and I’m sure that is going to make it a little bit easier to look after the brood.

On our way home,  Jim asked if I wanted to stop at a local winery and vineyard just a couple of miles from our farm. Let’s see, wine tasting or cleaning? Umm,  there was no thinking about it.  We stopped at Perigeaux Vineyards and Winery in St. Leonard. It was a beautiful rural setting and the co- owner, Mr. Fleming was a wonderful host as we samples a few of his wines. We left with 2 bottles.  My selection a bottle of  Perigeaux Merlot 2007, a yummy ( I am enjoying it as a type ) medium bodied wine with hints of oak and blackberry. Hubby chose a bottle of Mackall Merlot 2007, a little fuller bodied than mine with hints of raspberry.  So we may not get too much done around the farm this evening. Here is a picture from their website and a link. Check them out and come down and visit,  enjoy the fall leaves and winery! Just another excuse for our wine loving friends to come visit!

http://www.perigeaux.com

Autumn Rose

On Monday everyone came down to see the new baby goat and have a family dinner. Tracy & Jack visited with us. Sara and Matt, Tracy and Dad all enjoyed the Chinese food I fixed and the delicious cake from Jeneva’s Cakes in Prince Frederick. I was happy to find this bakery when we moved to Calvert County. I walked into the shop and walked out with this beautiful cake for our dinner! Thank you to the very nice lady who iced and decorated it in record time, I was impressed.

The gang loved the cake, and believe me when I say this crowd is cake consiours after all the Sugarbakers and The Cakery cakes we have grown to love! Stop by and check them out!

Cakes By Jeneva
151 Central Square Drive, Prince Frederick, Maryland  20678

We are getting ready for winter here at the farm. We have our black goat, Ebony still due on November 6th. Our Great Pyrameese, Tobi is due on Nov 15th. I am hoping she has a small litter.
There is alway lots to do at the farm with feeding and taking care of the farm and animals. There is no resting here, LOL

The pond is almost finished and ready for fish!

Jim’s Pond

On my way to work yesterday I stopped by to see Jack and Tracy and snapped a picture or two!

I will close with two more pictures of our little pumpkin taken by his parents!

Jack is here visiting with his Mommy and her friend from Texas, Karah! Everyone is having a wonderful time except little Jack who is having some stomach issues. Lucky for Jack he has some many loving arms to hold him.  I got to enjoy Jack through the night yesterday and for someone not feeling well he was a really good baby! The girls and I are having a tea this afternoon so I’ll post picture later.  Here the little guy on his one month birthday! Happy Birthday Buddy!

As the afternoon progressed Karah and Tracy went to Solomons Island and then shopping. It was tea for five when they got home. Tracy , Karah, Sara, Jack and I. Can you see Jack enjoying the tea ?  LOL. It was a lovely afternoon spent with three young woman that would make any mother proud!

Today  Tracy and Jack came for a visit, this was the first visit Jack had made to Nana and Granpap’s home! It was also the first time for little Jack to see his room here and visit with JD ( Jack’s Donkey) a miniature donkey born two weeks before Jack! I’m not sure which Little Jack is growing faster, LOL. We had a wonderful visit and Tracy was thoughtful and even brought us lunch! I soooooooooo loved our visit! Here some pictures from our visit!

Sara is busy with school and friends. She is sooo enjoying being 21! She and Raven are best buds and great company for each other. Raven is her new schnauzer ( she got him from her friends Amy and Craig, he is one of Annie’s puppies. He is really well behaved and trained.  They are quite a pair!

Matthew is still trying to find his way here in Calvert County. He rebuilt another car and just got tags  for it, so clear the roads! He is going to be helping out  as we get ready for our Oktoberfest here at the farm.

Hubby is putting in a pond that seems to get larger every day( I think he thinks I don’t notice that) I think if he had a sandbox when he was younger he wouldn’t like to play in the dirt as much as he does, HAHAH.

Well that’s all for now, time to feed the animals!

Since moving here to Calvert County, Jim and I are known to attend the auctions at the Chesapeake Auction & Marketplace.  Just ask our kids! We refer to it as our date night. The Marketplace and Auction house can be found just off Calvert Beach Road in St. Leonard, Maryland. It’s just a couple of minutes from our house. We’ve gotten some wonderful items from the auctions at terrific bargin prices, just check out some of the pictures of our bargins here.

We’ve gotten some really neat pieces from the auctions, Sara and Matthew are starting to catch on and have been known to even hang out with Mom and Dad there. (Sara and Matt are looking for apartment furniture!) It’s a fun place and the people who work there are really nice. We’ve also meet a lot of new people that way! It’s fun to have the Victorian style house to decorate. The people there must think we are crazy for some of the stuff we bid on, as our taste can be eclectic at times! The shops in the Market Place have a wonderful variety of antiques and collectables. The book shop is fun, brings me back to my days working in the library.  We shop for stuff that we like and makes us happy.  (I would tell everyone about our beautiful tanning bed that we got at the auction for $100.00 but you would all be over here tanning all the time! LOL.)  We are having fun and if your trying to find us on a Friday night that’s where we will be. Kay and Larry’s daughter, Nicole runs a Gourmet Snack Bar there and is an excellent cook. ( The only place I’ve had  Tuna Pasta Salad made like Nana’s.) We look forward to our dinners there. Hats off to Nicole for taking so much pride in her cooking!

Here is a sample menu from last week!

Menu
Homemade Beef Stew
Cheese Burger w/Fries
Fish & Chips
Chicken Tender w/Fries
Shrimp Basket
Hot Dogs
Nacho Pie
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Carrot Cake
White cake w/chocolate Icing

Come join us for some good old fashion fun!

 I kept watching the show wanting to know how the artists, Christo and Jeanne-Claude could justify the project, for no other reason then because they wanted to, as they stated in the show. The project cost 20 million dollars and they paid for the project themselves!  It had nothing to do with Sept 11. No other prupose but art for the public. I watched the mixed emotions of the New Yorkers who watched the project unfold in Central Park, many thought it was an intrusion into the beautiful natural beauty of the park. Many anticipated the unveiling of the project, Truly, it was a mixed bag of reactions.

Here are a few facts about the exhibit from Christo and Jeanne- Claude’s website.

About The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005

• The Gates were unfurled in Central Park, New York City on February 12, 2005, and remained through February 27, 2005.
• Christo and Jeanne-Claude developed the concept for The Gates in 1979.
  On January 22, 2003, the City granted permission to the artists to realize their vision.
• 7,500 gates, 16 feet high (4.87 m) with a width varying from 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (1.68 m to 5.48 m) lined 23 miles (36.8 km) of footpaths in the park.
• Free-hanging, saffron-colored fabric panels were suspended from the top of each gate and hang down to 7 feet (2.13 m) above the ground.
• The Gates were stationed approximately 12 feet (3.65 m) apart, except when low branches extend above the walkways.
• The Gates  created a visual golden river appearing and disappearing through the bare branches of the trees, highlighting the shapes of the footpaths.
• The luminous moving fabric  underlined the organic and serpentine design of the walkways, while the rectangular poles were a reminder of the grid pattern of the City blocks around the park.
• The project  provided employment for hundreds of New York City residents, hired to assemble, install, maintain and remove the installation.
• After The Gates were removed, most of the materials was recycled.
• As always, Central Park was open to the public, free of charge, during The Gates.
• The Gates is financed entirely by the artists, who do not accept sponsorships. The publicbeared no expense of any kind.
• For more information about The Gates please visit www.christojeanneclaude.net

As I watched the show and the Gates began to unfurl, the response from those there was amazing, it was very moving to the New Yorkers and the visitors there. The comments made by some of those who viewed the exhibit  was that it was beautiful, uplifting and gave you a sense of freedom. As I watched the show I felt a feeling of wonder. In the words of Christo and Jean -Claude from the New York Gov  website:

 ”The temporary quality of the projects is an aesthetic decision. Our works are temporary in order to endow the works of art with a feeling of urgency to be seen, and the love and tenderness brought by the fact that they will not last. Those feelings are usually reserved for other temporary things such as childhood and our own life. These are valued because we know that they will not last. We want to offer this feeling of love and tenderness to our works, as an added value (dimension) and as an additional aesthetic quality.”

There was a feeling within me, a feeling of sadness that I had missed the Gates but happy that Tracy and John had experienced it firsthand. That they had been part of something larger than themselves, a piece of history that gave people hope and inspiration. Thsy had shared in a bigger dream.

The Gates were a vision of the artists, a vision that gave many enormous pleasure and happiness. It was a dream in the making, project that was a long time in the making. A project that gave New Yorker’s and the rest of the country inspiration. We all may not have the funds to undertake projects of that magnitude but we all have dreams in the making. Dreams that no one can ever take away from us, no matter what twists and turns are lives take. That dreams like the Gates are dreams that should be shared, because they inspire and encourage our spirits ands souls. We all need to keep our dream and visions alive even if we are the only ones who pursue them.  Dreams have a rippling effect. That all dreams are worth  pursuing no matter their size or impact. We all have dreams, dreams to do bigger and better things with our lives. Career dreams, family dreams and yes even dreams of llama farms… on that note I’m headed to the barn.

 Oh, and by the way the Gates actually brought in 254 million dollars to the city of New York, smart man that Mayor Bloomburg. That’s giving me some ideas…

  Hope Everyone Else Had A Great Weekend Too!