CHECK OUT THESE USER FRIENDLY LINKS! (Top 4 links stay on page. I change others below them, tho.)
- Mom's Memorial Page
- A tribute to my mom. In the end, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. I share a very personal look at how we, her family, gathered around her for her final 2 days.
- Rosie's Favorite Photos
- These will be changed periodically. Meet my family and friends and sometimes even places I've traveled to!
- The Universal Currency Converter [tm]
- Ever wonder what the American $ is now worth in other countries?
- MSN
- Download free their Instant Messenger service to enjoy talking with ALL your e-mail friends online regardless of what server they're using! It's simple and fun!
- Sanibel Island Beach Retreat House for Rent
- Need a place to stay while on Sanibel Island? Our friends, Carl & Sue, own this house and would love to rent it out to you!
- Sanibel Island Vacation Condo Rentals
- Along with a house, Carl & Sue also have a condo with a beautiful beach location for rent. Check it out!
- PUTT-PUTT Miniature Golf
- If you like real-life miniature golf, you'll love this site! You can play just as you do for real. It's fun, challenging and addicting!
- Games, fun and chat
- Lots of games to choose from to keep you entertained and you can even challenge your friends to beat your score.
- B&D Gourmet Coffee
- This is my favorite place to order my flavored coffees online.
- Friendship Poems
- Nice site to find a nice variety of poems
- Fly Lady
- Your personal online coach to help you gain control of your house.
- World Time Server
- Find out what time it is anywhere in the world
Hi! I'm Rosie (Bruning) Tholl. Grab your favorite beverage (mine is flavored coffees, iced cappacino or cold water) and let's get to know each other! Be sure to click on the links to the lower left that take you to P. 2 & 3 and view my memorial page to my mom who had Alzheimer's before passing away. On P.3 are some of my favorite photos of family and friends, from favorite vacation spots, from special occasions and more.
I was born nearly deaf. When I was blessed with a hearing aid at the age of 15 (my parents had to sacrifice a lot in order for me to have my first hearing aid), I heard birds singing for the first time ever, and one of the memories that stands out for me was feeling how good it was to laugh. I just never remember laughing as a child. I remember thinking how much I loved to laugh, finally, and how much fun it was and how GOOD it felt and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life laughing and helping to make others laugh, too. (I will always be thankful to my family and to some special friends, during my teenaged years, who accepted me as I was and never shut me out.) I promised God that if I could continue hearing, even with the hearing aid (surgery has never been an option), I would always find laughter in my life and pass it on to others. Life is so very precious and I ENJOY each day I'm given!
I've been married for 36 yrs. to Bernie and am mom to Rob-Monica-Annie, all grown. Our children have blessed us with 8 beautiful grandchildren and another due Oct. 12, 2005.
Rob is a Chicago Police Officer fulfilling a boyhood dream, although there were times in his teen and early adult life that we wondered which side of the bars he'd end up on! 
He's a single parent raising his sons.
Our oldest daughter, Monica, is a single mom with 2 sons. She moved to Davison, Michigan to start a new chapter of her life with her children. She met Mark where she works and they've become a family and are looking forward to the birth of "their" child, and the boys are anxious about having a baby brother or sister to spoil.
Our youngest, Annie, married a man from Michigan (Trevor) on Aug. 5, 2000. Believe it or not, they met right here, on the Internet! They're the parents of 2 beautiful daughters.
We're "happily retired" and after selling our home, we moved to Lapeer, Michigan, located in the "thumb" of Michigan, on the eastern side of the state. It meant leaving our son and his family behind in Chicago. We decided, however, that it would be more to our advantage to make the move north to be closer to our daughters and have them near to help us, should that day come, than to remain in Chicago, since our son is a single dad and has his hands full with work and family. We scaled down from living in a large home for most of our married life to going to a 2 BR apartment! But we have adapted very well and enjoy the simpler way of life! Quite honestly, we enjoy not having the worries and responsibilities of repairs, maintainance, mowing and shoveling, and all that goes with being a homeowner. Let someone else worry about it I say! :-) We have found that we enjoy volunteering in our church parish and getting involved in some of the parish organizations.
Because of osteoarthritis, I had 2 hip replacements and a knee replacement in 2001. I'd spent 6 years prior to that seeing my world growing smaller and smaller because of severe limitations with my mobility. I'd forgotten how good life can be and am re-discovering my new-found independence! It's a true joy to be able to play with my grandchildren, to drive once again and become an active member of society.
My favorite hobbies are my family,pen paling, travel as time and money allow, crocheting, crafting, Trivia games and computering. 
I've been very active in the pen pal world 
for 31 years. I've traveled extensively to meet some of my pen pals world-wide. I'm founder and past coordinator (24 years) of the ILLINOIS PEN PAL PICNIC REUNION, which was held annually on a state level. I'm also co-founder and co-coordinator of PEN PALS UNITED, which is a world-wide convention held every 2 years throughout the world. This began in 1992, and I've helped coordinate the two that have been held in the USA (1992 & 1996) as well as served in an advisory capacity to the most recent one held here in the USA, in 2002. I am now planning the convention for PPU '08 along with good friend Mary Kugel. Together we introduced PPU to the pen pal world and now we'll retire it after 2008. Be sure to visit the PPU link from here as well. I guess it's obvious that I LOVE people and getting to know them!
I'm originally from a small, rural community in IL. I'm second oldest of 7 children, being the oldest daughter. Our family has seen alot of serious illnesses that have taken loved ones over the years. This includes cancer, heart disease, and alzheimers. But having my faith, family and friends has seen me through this and much more, and I have alot to be thankful for and know that "there but for the Grace of God go I" in ANY situation, so I am always humbly grateful for what I have.
I hope you'll bookmark this page and visit it every once in a awhile to see new links on this page and new pictures on P.3. I'd LOVE it if you signed my guestbook, which can be done from any of my pages. Thanks!
