Mother's 80th Birthday

Yesterday was my Mother's 80th birthday. So after dinner, I drove the 2 hours to spend the night and morning after with her. My brothers and sisters and I got together and chipped in to buy her a new loveseat. Doesn't she look like a queen sitting in it? Who would guess she was 80?!My mother likes to go for a walk every morning so I went with her today. We walked 1 mile, then 1 mile back. It was a beautiful crisply cool morning - invigorating. On the way we walked past the farm where I grew up and had to take a picture of the milk house. It was unique. I don't know that I've ever seen a stone milk house, but we had one.
When I was a kid, the barn was white and the barn yard was not paved. There was also not another house that we could see from our house. Now there are houses all up and down the road - being built up just like everywhere else.

After our walk and breakfast, we played speed scrabble all morning. I have to be honest and tell you that she beat me soundly (because if I don't 'fess up, she will tell everyone). I was doing better with each game, but I lost so badly in the first couple rounds, that I was unable to catch up by the time we had to leave. (Maybe if we had played all afternoon, too, I could have won - but we'll never know now.)

For lunch the two of us drove to Panera Bread near Reading and met my sister, Toot. We had a good time eating and visiting, then got one of the servers to take our picture. I know it will be hard to believe that Toot is my sister. Does she look like me or what! In fact, there have been times when our own children have been confused. Toot told me that when her kids were a lot younger, one of them was looking at the Christmas picture I sent them, and this one son asked Toot why she was in the picture with the Wallin girls!
After lunch, Mother and Toot went back to Mother's house and on to a cousin reunion. I drove home. Traffic was mildly congested on the Schuylkill Expressway, but I finally got home.

Andy was working on the front porch again today. He had a load of crushed stone, sand and gravel delivered yesterday, so he spent the day filling in between the blocks. He'll need to get a little bit more before laying the slab. It's coming along nicely.

To water or not to water

So we haven't had rain for a couple of days and the impatiens are looking droopy. There's a chance of rain, but a number of times this summer, there's been a chance and we didn't get anything. It seems like storms like to break up when they get to the Delaware River and don't get any further east.

Andy checked accuweather and they said there was a 50% chance we would get showers. So I decide to water.

About an hour after I finish, I hear a loud noise that sounds like thunder. It IS thunder and then the rain starts. It pours and pours. We end up getting 1.7 inches of rain.

Yummy Pizza

I made this delicious pizza last night. The pizza crust is whole wheat from Trader Joe's, and I used my own special sauce. The last few times I made pizza, I made it with sliced garlic and tomatoes, as well as finely chopped broccoli. I got the idea from Meggan to add feta cheese. That added a nice tang to the taste of the pizza.Then to top it all off, I added the 4 cheese combo (Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina & Mild Provolone Cheeses), also from Trader Joe's.

It was so good, Andy and I ate the whole pizza ourselves. Who needs to go out for pizza?! Yummy... and don't worry, I took a lactaid tablet before my first bite, so my tummy was happy this time.

Also last night, Andy and I attended Impact Classes in preparation for the Harvest 08 Crusade. Our church was hosting the classes for churches in the area. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people came - the church was packed. Andy said he counted 375. I was sure there were at least 500, but I didn't count. It just felt full. The Harvest Crusade will be held at the Wachovia Center on October 3-5. We have been announcing the event for a month or more already and urging people to be praying and planning to bring unsaved friends and neighbors to the Crusade.

Please pray with us that many people in the greater Philadelphia area will be impacted by this Crusade.

Musings & Porch Progress

I am finally feeling better. Still a little weak and tired from not eating much the last several days, but the crampiness and pains are gone. Yeah! What was it? I think it was just my lactose intolerance acting up again. I thought I didn't have it any more and was eating dairy like I was "cured." But I guess it's still with me.



Pastor Mark's message was very good again on Sunday. In fact, I've been thinking and dwelling on it ever since. It was on Ephesians 5:1 & 2: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

It was a timely message right to me, because I had been hurt by something someone had said to me. So why do we love the undeserving person: because he/she has never done to me what I've done to God. Pastor Mark told a story about a pastor who worked at a rescue mission. He particularly ministered to one man who continually reverted back to his old ways. One evening he came to the mission so drunk he couldn't even go into the building for the free dinner. The pastor picked him up, placed him on his shoulders and carried him up the stairs to put him to bed. When he got to the top of the stairs, the man lurched back from the pastor and proceeded to throw up all over him. The pastor said he never felt such love for this poor man and was struck that this is what we do to God all the time and He loves so immensely.

There was a time when I considered myself the self-righteous older brother in the story of the prodigal son. I knew that self-righteousness was condemned by the Lord too, but at least I never ran away and squandered everything that He had given me. Until it hit me...I am the prodigal son. The seed of every sin is in my own heart. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9) I have been forgiven so much, how can I not freely love others in return? The mark of the Christian is LOVE. I continually need reminding of this glorious truth.

I really like this picture by Rembrandt because it pictures the older brother standing aloof off to the side, condemning in his heart. But the love and forgiveness is so evident by the Father for his poor erring son. And that is the picture of God's love for me. I'm not off to the side, but safe in the Father's arms.
Andy worked on the front porch again today. He finished the block work around 2:30. He also took out the basement windows and closed them up with some of the extra blocks he had. What is the next step? The concrete slab. Stay tuned...

Help! I Need Advice!

Does anyone out there have any ideas
what I should do with this garden?

The last several summers I've planted impatiens along the front edge. However, they never do very well there. The rabbits eat the flowers off, so I buy stuff to spray to keep them away. I think they also get too much sun and just wither up.

So I'm looking for some ideas on a low growing perennial
that loves the sun. Any suggestions?

I do have plenty of impatiens that are doing well in other spots.
I also have a problem with some sedum that I put in last year.
It was doing well until a couple of weeks ago. Now it looks terrible.
What have I done wrong?

On a happier note...Amy stopped in at the church today while I was working. She was on her way to visit a friend who was visiting family for the weekend. So I got to see and hold the kids for a little while. Aren't they adorable?!

I need to get into the habit of grabbing my camera when I go out the door. It would have been nice to have pictures of several things we did this week, but I didn't have my camera. So you'll just have to believe me when I tell you what I did.

On Wednesday evening after work, I went to the church for a Ladies' Night Out. We had an Ice Cream Social where those who planned the event served the others. We were dressed in pink visors and white chef's aprons to dip the ice cream. It was really a fun evening.

Thursday, I didn't have to cook dinner because we were invited to a wedding rehearsal dinner. We are very good friends with Jim & Marcia and they asked Andy to marry their daughter. The wedding was planned for Friday night, so the rehearsal was Thursday night. After the wedding rehearsal, we went to the dinner. Unfortunately, I was still not feeling well, so I didn't eat anything. No, not one thing. Also unfortunately, the dinner was outside, and the mosquitoes found me. They always do. So they ate plenty - lots of my blood. So now not only do I have unhappy intestines, I also have itchy mosquito bites. Life is hard!

On Friday, after work, we went to Melinda & Phil's wedding. It was held on the 2nd floor balcony of the Indian Springs Country Club. It was an idyllic setting right on a golf course. It was a little windy, but the sun was shining and it wasn't hot. Melinda was a beautiful bride. (And I wish I had a picture to prove it.)

This morning Andy had another bike ride planned with 4-5 other guys. He left at 5:00 am and I slept in. When he got back, he started working on the front porch again. He got a lot done today. Two walls are completely done and he thinks he can finish the block work on Tuesday.

One completed wall

2nd completed wall, which was done after picture was taken

I just finished reading a tome: The Great Terror.

It's a history of the Stalinist period in Russia. He was a horrible dictator who killed an estimated 20 million of his own people in the 20's, 30's and early 40's. I'd like to quote a paragraph from the book that gives an idea of what was going on in Russia at that time:

"...The Party Central Committee be informed that there is in the NKVD (secret police) an as yet not liquidated center which is craftily manufacturing cases, which forces innocent persons to confess; there is no opportunity to prove one's non-participation in crimes to which the confessions of various persons testify. The investigative methods are such that they force people to lie and to slander entirely innocent persons in addition to those who already stand accused. He asks the court that he be allowed to inform the Party Central Committee of all this in writing. He assures the court that he personally never had any evil designs in regard to the policy of our Party because he had always agreed with the Party policy pertaining to all spheres of economic and cultural activity."

So people "confessed" to crimes that were entirely made up, just so the government, or more accurately, Stalin, could get rid of people he thought were a threat to him. It must have been an awful time to live.

I didn't read it straight through because it got quite tedious in spots. Plus trying to make sense of all those Russian names was impossible. I read several books in between, but I can now say I've finished it, and I learned a lot about Russia at the period of her history.

Thankful for a Dentist Appointment???

This morning when I woke up, I remembered I had a dentist appointment today. My first thought was UGHGHGH. Then several things popped into my mind. 1) the other day I heard someone talking about the aura of negativity that hangs around one of her friends. Aura of negativity? I hope no one describes me like that. 2) 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Giving thanks in all circumstances? Even in going to the dentist? So I took off on that and was actually able to come up with a list of what I am thankful for:

1. that I have teeth!
2. that my Mother sacrificially took all her 5 children to the dentist faithfully when we were growing up. I'm sure it was a time and financial hardship, but she did it because she lost all her own teeth at a young age and wanted better things for her children.
3. that when we lived in Richland, there was a young woman in our church who gave us free dental care. She pulled out all my wisdom teeth at no charge, and worked on Andy's teeth, and our children's, all free of charge. She put a new cap on Andy's front tooth and did such good work that it has lasted all these years (it would be about 25 years). Did anyone even know he has a cap on his front tooth?
4. I'm also thankful that I rarely have a cavity and didn't again today!

Enough of teeth...

I had a big bunch of bananas that were very, very ripe, so the logical thing to do is make banana bread. I have a great recipe for banana oatmeal bread - lots of fiber. It makes great snacks and having snacks around keeps the hubby happy.Andy is working on the front porch again. He started at 6:00 this morning in the cool of the morning. When I got up to look at the temperature, it was 65 degrees. He worked at laying the blocks for the foundation all morning. I think it was around 12:30 when he finally came in for lunch. The temperature at that time was 90 degrees. He said he thought he would wait till evening when it was cooler to work on it some more. About 1/2 hour later, I noticed he was outside again. The temperature had dropped to 88 degrees. So he had waited till it was cooler!!!

I love to watch him work. He's so precise and exacting in his work. Notice the level and the string he uses as a guide for the next block. He gains such pleasure and satisfaction in doing these projects and I'm the beneficiary.

Amy had told me about a recipe she had made: Raspberry-glazed Rosemary Chicken. It sounded good, I bought the ingredients and asked Mom & Dad if they wanted to join us for dinner. They did. It was delicious and I heartily recommend it. Here's what it looks like: