Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

We were planning to have C & C's children for the weekend, but their trip had to be postponed to later in the month. Andy and I knew the kids were so excited about coming here, so we decided to have them over for a day of fun. So we checked the weather forecast and decided Friday was going to be a very nice day. Andy worked on Tuesday so he could take Friday off. I took Tuesday off and worked extra hard so I could take Friday off, too.

On Thursday we left home around 4:00 after work and drove over to C & C's. We enjoyed a delicious dinner made by Christy, then packed up Grace, Aiden, Naomi and Asher into their van and came back to our house. When we got here, we settled down for the night in "their" room upstairs. I have a book of stories by "Uncle Remus" that I started reading aloud to them. They were giggling over the antics of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox, and Andy fell asleep on the floor. It brought back memories of reading to our own daughters when they were young. I'm not sure it was such a good tonic for producing sleepiness to their eyes, but it always worked wonders for Andy!

After feasting on blueberry pancakes for breakfast the next morning, we got ready to go to the shore. Dawn and Kira came over and we drove down together. She actually had to drive separately because the van couldn't fit 3 adults and 5 children. Both the van and Dawn's car had cassette decks in them, so we raided our basement for story tapes to listen to on the ride to Ocean City. This also brought back memories: listening to story tapes on long car rides.

It was a beautiful day: bright sun, cool but not cold. The kids played on the beach all morning. Andy and I mostly stayed behind a sand dune that gave some shelter from the wind, but the kids didn't seem to mind and were running and playing as if it was summer.

King & queen of the mountain!

The sea was rough, but the sky was a gorgeous blue - a perfect day to be there just enjoying being alive.

I think Kira must have been the funniest. She would flop down on the sand, right on her face and move her hands around like she was swimming!All that play made us hungry, so we left the beach at 11:45 to head for the boardwalk and Mack & Manco. Their pizza is the best. We ordered one pie, but it was quickly devoured, so we ordered another one. Wow! We finished that one, too.After lunch, Dawn decided to leave with Kira so she (Kira, that is!) could get a nap. The rest of us stayed and walked the boardwalk. It's amazing to observe how the kids can occupy themselves with something as simple as walking the boardwalk. Some of the boards in the boardwalk had recently been replaced so they looked newer than the older boards. The kids made a game of trying to jump from each new board, some of them being close together and others very far apart.

We also went into a couple of stores that were open. We found a shell shop and each of the kids picked a shell they liked for Grammy to buy them. We were looking for a hermit crab to replace theirs that had escaped, but it's not the season for them right now. And a trip to the shore would not be complete without stopping at Shrivers. We bought some fudge for "Christy" who graciously shared with us that evening after dinner.

The plan was to meet Christy half way between their house and ours to exchange vehicles and occupants. But as we were driving up from the shore, we got a call from her. She was wondering if we had left our car key. I remembered taking it off my key ring and laying it on their table before we left on Thursday night. But she couldn't find it. Then I remembered something else. That morning, Andy had been walking around the house with a key, saying he didn't know what it was for. He thought maybe it was for a church van and he had brought it home. Well, you guessed it...it was our car key. He doesn't remember picking it up and coming home with it, but somehow that must be what happened. Poor guy, he must have too much on his mind right now.

So that meant we had to drive all the way back to C & C's house, but it also meant we got another delicious dinner made by her. I felt bad that she had to cook for us again, and at the same time, glad I had bought her that fudge!

There's just something so special about spending the day with children. We had a wonderful time and I hope they did, too.

Oh Happy Day

Some days turn out a lot differently than what you expect when you start out. Yesterday was one of those days. I slept longer than usual because I couldn't get to sleep the night before. But when I finally got up, Andy asked me what I was going to do while he was out all day. I wasn't really very sure, although I did make up a list for myself. It didn't seem very exciting - just kind of ho-hum.

I got my shower, walked 2 miles, started a batch of dinner rolls and a load of laundry. Then I got a phone call. That call changed the rest of my day. Suddenly the sun was shining (it already had been but now I noticed!) and I was excited and energized. Christy called to say Christian was on his way to NJ to do some tree work for friends of ours when the vehicle he was in broke down. Now they needed to make new plans on how he was to get here, so they decided to come together as a family and have Christian drop them all off at our house to spend the day with me! Yeah! Christy and 4 lovely children - what could be better. While they were on their way, Dawn called to ask what I was doing. Bless her heart, she was concerned for my loneliness while Andy was gone all day. I told her to come on over and join her sister and Kira's cousins.

So the day turned out a lot differently than what I expected when I woke up in the morning. But in my mind - it was a hundred times better. Lots of together time with Christy, Dawn, Grace, Aiden, Naomi, Asher & Kira. I got to braid Grace's hair, read Madeline's Rescue to Naomi and Aiden, play with the kids at the swing set, enjoy good conversation with Christy & Dawn and eat dinner together (Andy & Christian joined us for dinner).

Hmmm...how did we not get Aiden in any of our pictures? I'm pretty sure he was here, too.

It's that time of the year

I've been busy...too busy to blog. Time doesn't stand still and if I don't take a few minutes to dash off something, I will forget all that I did that made me so busy.

It seems like now that our house projects are all "done," we should have lots of leisure time to relax and do nothing on our days off. But I don't think it's possible for us to just do nothing. So we've been helping Dawn with her house projects. Last Tuesday, we made over her garden in the front of her house. And yesterday we went to visit Amy and family because Andy still hadn't seen Katy, even though she is already 3 weeks old.

Andy is well into Nativity preparation, spending all last Saturday at the church supervising work day. The remaining Saturdays before Thanksgiving will also be consumed with Nativity work at the church. We jokingly refer to myself as a Nativity widow around this time every year.

Here are some pictures of work that was done on Saturday.
With Andy busy on Saturday, I went over in the afternoon to Dawn's to do some more gardening. On Tuesday we had only taken out the old railroad ties that edged the garden that was there and cut in a new border, enlarging it a little. On Saturday, Dawn and I went to a couple local nurseries and bought some bushes and pansies. We also had time to plant them. She finished up herself with the mulching the next day or so. For pictures of Dawn's garden, check out her blog.

It's such a blessing to be able to go spend time with our girls and their families. Yesterday was a lot of fun. We went to Amy's mid-afternoon - about the time Chase and Joanna were waking up from their naps. They were so glad to see us, especially Andy since they hadn't seen him when I was up a week ago. He wrestles with and tickles them and gets them to giggling and laughing. They actually got pretty wound up! We got Katy up from her nap, Amy put her in the Ergo and we walked to the town park. It was such a beautiful fall day - perfect for playing in the park. We got back in time to set the table and meet Ricky home from work. We ate supper together and visited a little before heading back to Jersey.
It was back to work today, then running a couple of errands before going home, making dinner and baking a double batch of banana oatmeal bread.

The next couple of weeks will give plenty of material for blogging if I just get enough minutes to write about it.

A much needed break

Music ministers to my soul. A choir director I once had liked to say: "He who sings, prays twice."

I've been feeling like life is racing by, so many responsibilities, appointments, meetings, events, things that have to be done. Oh, I make sure I have down time every evening after supper to just relax and recover from the day, but the rest of my days are filled with activity. September and October especially lend themselves to a busy hectic schedule. It might be a combination of things (it usually is) with the resumption of church ministries after a summer break, getting ready for the big Nativity push, fall yard work, etc.

So when I heard the following song, it ministered to my soul:

Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Taking all the colors before they fade to gray
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this

It happens in a blink It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink

When it's all said and done No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this
It happens in a blink it happens in a flash
it happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life It happens in a blink

Slow down, slow down Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late
It happens in a blink it happens in a flash
it happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink

I was very grateful for the opportunity to take a break from the routine of my life by visiting our newest granddaughter this past week. Leading up to the visit was intense, not only because I tried to work ahead to make less stress for those who were left in the office, but it was a busy weekend before I left. On Friday, Oct. 15th, we were involved in a wedding. Andy performed the ceremony on Friday afternoon, then we also attended the reception. Andy did such a nice job with the ceremony and the food at the reception was outstanding. On Saturday morning, I had a ladies' Coffee Connection at the church. I made a fruit salad as my contribution. I had also promised to make an egg and bacon casserole, but because of the wedding the night before wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish that. So I asked Dawn if she would assemble the dish for me and stick it in the oven on Saturday morning. I bought the ingredients and she agreed to help me out. She and Kira joined us at the Coffee Connection for a little while and it was fun to have them there.

On Saturday evening, I had to attend the worship team rehearsal because the person who was scheduled to do slides was unable to. I found this out somewhat last minute, so I decided to do them myself rather than call a list of people. That meant I also was busy all Sunday morning in all three services. Sunday afternoon I tried to get a little more of my work done for the week because I planned to be gone for the next five days.

So Sunday afternoon saw me on my way for a week long break from my routine. A whole five days to hold a new baby, visit with Amy and her family, read lots of books to Chase & Joanna, and take a leisurely walk before supper. It had to be a leisurely walk because Amy was still recovering from childbirth. And did you ever try to walk quickly with a two year old! I'm so amused by the curiosity of a child. They stop to examine the tiniest thing and are fascinated by the most ordinary (to us) object.

It was such a blessing to be a part of Amy's family - to see her in action functioning as a mommy. What a sweet family she has. We are very grateful, too, for Katy's health. She is a beautiful baby with a delightful disposition.

Big brother & sister checking out their new sister.

The new momma

So now it's back to life as usual, but hopefully, refreshed and invigorated for the weeks ahead. Someone once told me that the devil never takes a vacation. It was said to produce a feeling of guilt because I had just said I was going away. However, we are not to imitate the devil, but Jesus, who often took time away to spend time with his Father. Times away are necessary to refresh the soul and renew our spirits.

Sometimes, the only way to win the race is to slow down for refueling.

Number 9 - Katy Emma

Can you believe it? We now have 9 grandchildren. Amy had her 3rd baby on Sunday morning. Her labor and delivery were unbelievably quick, but the baby ingested some fluid into her lungs and had to be taken to the hospital. It was somewhat scary, but she seems to be doing very well, progressing nicely. The doctors have her on a week's worth of antibiotics to ward off any possible infection. You can read more details on Amy's face book, and I'm sure she'll be writing all about it when she gets home.

I hope Amy doesn't mind that I stole her pictures. Look at the hair on that baby! All her babies are born with lots of hair.
Katy was born on 10/10/10 and weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches. Amy was 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 1/2 inches at her birth. So Katy weighed an ounce less than her mommy at birth and was an inch shorter. Can you picture it? Amy was such a skinny little baby, she was all legs and arms, and those looked like sticks!

Unfortunately, because Katy has been in the hospital since birth, I have still not seen her. Ricky took the whole week off and is taking care of the house and kids. I'm planning to spend time doing the Grammy/Mom thing next week when Ricky goes back to work. I can't wait to hold that precious little girl and play with Chase & Joanna.

I'm very happy about the name Amy & Ricky chose. (I might add that it was my idea!) My grandmother's name was Katie Emma. So Amy's baby has her great-great-grandmother's name.

In other news, the funeral service for our friend Rich on Saturday was a wonderful tribute to a godly man. He influenced quite a few young men who spoke very highly of him and how he encouraged them to get their lives straightened out. It's amazing how much can be accomplished in a few short years. He was only 53 but there must have been over 500 people at the funeral service. I think the testimonies would have continued if the pastor had allowed it to keep going. He left a wife, a married son and a teenaged daughter and son. Rich had worked closely with Andy on projects at church and he also built the foundation of the in-law addition on our house. His wife is a good friend of mine. We will really miss him.

It's going to be a busy weekend, but those details will come later.

Life is hard sometimes, but God is always good.

Every time I go through something difficult, I'm reminded of this song, which
reflects the theme of a lot of the psalms.

You turn the key
Then close the door behind you
Drop your bags on the floor
You reach for the light
But there's darkness deep inside
And you can't take it anymore

'Cause sometimes living takes the life out of you
And sometimes living is all you can do

Life is hard, the world is cold
We're barely young and then we're old
But every falling tear is always understood
Yes, life is hard, but God is good

You start to cry
'Cause you've been strong for so long
And that's not how you feel
You try to pray
But there's nothing left to say
So you just quietly kneel

In the silence of all that you face
God will give you His mercy and grace

Jesus never said
It was an easy road to travel
He only said that you would never be alone
So when your last thread of hope
Begins to come unraveled
Don't give up, He walks beside you
On this journey home and He knows

Life is hard, the world is cold
We're barely young and then we're old
But every falling tear is always understood
Yes, life is hard, but God is good

Song lyrics by Pam Thum

Last Thursday a very dear friend of ours had a massive heart attack and passed away
on Monday.  We were shocked and deeply grieved.  It's an irony, really, that death
shocks us when it comes, because it happens to everyone.  But the Bible is clear
that death is our enemy.  All week was consumed with preparing for the funeral tomorrow.
We couldn't stop thinking about how young he was (younger than us), how we hurt for his
wife and children left behind, and even for ourselves.  He was a good friend and we'll miss
him terribly.  Many Scriptures came to mind this week to comfort:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for You are with me.  Psalm 23.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34.
The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.  Psalm 145.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  Psalm 145.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy.  Because he
turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.  The cords of death
entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble
and sorrow.  Then I called on the name of the Lord; "O Lord, save me!"  The Lord
is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. Psalm 116
Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?  The sting of death
is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:35-36.

The Bible is just full of promises that encourage and give hope, even in our darkest moments.
I've also noticed a trend.  It seems that every time someone dies, another person is
experiencing great joy:  like the birth of a baby, finding out they're pregnant,
or some other wonderful news.  So there are moments of sorrow, but also moments of
joy.  Life has its ups and downs, but God is constant - Jesus Christ the same:
yesterday, today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8.