I find family resemblances interesting. Whether it is an uncanny interest in the same hobbies or a nearly identical facial expression. Sometimes family members look very much alike and sometimes one would never know there was a relation at all.Friday, July 10, 2009
Family Friday
With all the meme's floating around I thought I'd throw out this possibility.
I find family resemblances interesting. Whether it is an uncanny interest in the same hobbies or a nearly identical facial expression. Sometimes family members look very much alike and sometimes one would never know there was a relation at all.
Both Nathan and my cousin's son, Harim, have an interest in playing the guitar. They are less than a year apart in age and look somewhat similar; tall, blond, similar builds and facial features. Funny thing is they are seldom together, meeting up mostly at family gatherings, usually a July 4th picnic in Penn Yan.
I find family resemblances interesting. Whether it is an uncanny interest in the same hobbies or a nearly identical facial expression. Sometimes family members look very much alike and sometimes one would never know there was a relation at all.Thursday, July 09, 2009
Feeling Slightly Lost
At this point in my life I am really beginning to wonder which direction to go and what to do. I'm really not sure and to top it off James and I are thinking about selling the house. It is so much to keep up with and selling would help get us out of the debt we have accumulated. It would also make us more fluid and able to do some things that the responsibilities of home ownership keep us from. I guess this adds a little bit to my indecision about what to do. Also being without my van is making me restless.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Wherefore Art Thou Summer?
I decided, for fun, to see what was happening on this date in years past and found that last July 8 I met Gudl for the very first time. We shared some dessert at her house and then headed down to the beach at Canandaigua lake for some fun in the water. It was a lovely summer day! On July 8, 2007 I was snapping pictures of Monarch caterpillars and fighting off Japanese beetles. I haven't seen either one yet this year. Finally, on the 7th of July 2006 I was making Hollyhock dolls and enjoying the sunshiney weather. There won't be many hollyhock belles this summer as we just pulled out some rather weedy looking hollyhock plants from in front of James' barn. They just weren't looking pretty this time around.
Josiah fired up the wood splitter yesterday afternoon and while he split wood, I stacked it in a pile. It was good weather for working outside. Warm enough to be out but not so hot that one wanted to collapse. We've also been pulling weeds, trimming bushes, and trying to keep up with our ever-growing lawn. The sun is shining today but I was in for most of it, tending to Lucas. He'll be back again tomorrow and then we're to Friday already. On Friday night I get my van back! I can't wait.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Humility
"For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor [are] your ways My ways," says the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8
Monday, July 06, 2009
Paige
Please continue to keep our friend, Paige, in your prayers as she continues to fight her battle with leukemia. We have seen prayers answered in positive ways, a perfect bone marrow donor match and her being able to attend graduation, but the fight is far from over. The struggle is exhausting for all. Please pray for strength, for healing, and for encouragement. And, thank you.
A Few Key Thoughts
Ahh... the key thoughts...
After church yesterday I took Ben, Hannah, and a friend to Oswego for a week at Bible camp. It is a little over an hour's drive east of here. After finally getting them registered in the dining hall and going into the camp store to take care of business there, we headed back to the van to drop their things off at the cabins. That is when I discovered my car keys were not in my jeans pockets. I returned to the store to see if I had left them on the counter. Nope. We checked the van; not in my purse, not under the seat, not between the seats... I went back to the dining hall. They were not on the floor, not on the tables, not behind the curtain with the nurse. They were not in the Ladies' room. No one had seen them and they were nowhere to be seen. Back to the van... Ask the kids to check their pockets again... check the ground... ask more people... go back to the camp store... check the van again... dump my purse... check my pockets... I was really beginning to feel altogether foolish. Each person I asked, asked me the same the same questions, "Where have you been?" "Did you leave them (here or there)?" I hadn't been anywhere since I'd last had them and had retraced my steps so many times that I couldn't even remember where I had been anymore. I must have walked back and forth for almost an hour, talked to James on the phone, had a dozen people looking, and still no keys. James had prayed with me on the phone and I didn't feel any sense of panic, but still my keys were not appearing and we had no extra set at home, just a single key on a rather big key chain which was now gone. "What did they look like?" (Another question...) Large black key with the remote lock control, a green Coleman lantern key chain and some small stars. They had vanished. Some friends from from our old church offered to take me home and I decided I should take them up on the offer. The camp leaders promised to call when the keys showed up,... if they showed up.
By the time I reached home we had missed the evening church service. James and I decided to go for a walk in the orchard. We walked a long way and had a nice time together. Back home a little after 9 pm the phone rang. It was Sherri (from camp) on the other end. My keys had been located. As I had begun to suspect while wandering the grounds between my van and the dining hall, they were no longer at camp in Oswego but in the bottom of a woman's purse in Syracuse. She has a similar key chain but had no idea how she ended up with the keys. Not only that but she has no plans to return to camp this week and is leaving for the mission field today. (All this is too funny!)
God is good and He knows all things. My keys will go back to camp with the camp director, Sherri's husband, Clay, (who happens to live in Syracuse and is home packing to move) and sometime this week I will get my van back. In the meantime, although I have no children in my home and Jim is gone back to Minnesota, I will be unable to go anywhere without help from a friend or family member. That's okay. I have plenty to do here at home and trust that God has a plan in this whole experience. I know that He is working in my life, teaching me, stretching me, and growing me. A few years ago I would have been beside myself at losing the keys and angry that I am trapped here at home, but He is teaching me to trust that He has a plan and purpose higher than my own. I went to sleep knowing my keys will be returned and not having to worry about what to do. I have to smile a little bit though because God wasn't finished stretching me when I went to bed last night. I woke up to a terrible thunder storm with pouring rain. Almost all storms travel east and the windows in my van were rolled all the way down... I'm hoping someone really threw a cover over it like they said they would. Oh well, nothing I can do about it from here...
Friday, July 03, 2009
Oh, My Stars!
At his brother's request, Jim decided to hang around until after the family fourth of July gathering.
I finished reading my Mary/Martha book about a week ago. It was thoroughly enjoyed, challenged me in many ways, and encouraged me in others. I've started a new book now, Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias. It has been a challenge to my intellect as he likes big words and I am just a humble mommy. I am used to using little words that little people understand. In spite of the challenge, I am also enjoying this book and learning. The best part is being challenged in the area of change in my own heart and attitudes and finding those scripture verses I just read in my personal devotions pop up unexpectedly in the book.
My vegetable garden is finally growing and actually looking pretty good. I'm still optimistic about having a harvest. :) I am slowly working on taming my flower beds and shrubs. By the time I finish the leaves should be falling off the trees.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Broken Chains
My chains are gone, I’ve been set free,My God, my Savior has ransomed me.
And like a flood His mercy reigns,
Unending love, Amazing Grace.
Slavery, that is what becoming a Christian is to some people, but to those of us who know Christ, it means freedom. No longer a slave to sin, I am free to live for Him.
Smiles
Bethany's blog made me smile this morning. Actually, several blogs made me smile in recent days. Thanks for the smiles.
:)
:)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Oh, Deer!
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psalm 42:1
Each week I look forward to Tuesday morning ladies' prayer and Bible study. Not only is it a time of fellowship but I have come to enjoy bringing my praise and prayer requests before the Lord in a group setting. At one time I was afraid to pray in front of others, but through time it has become more natural. It is not a competition but something we do together. What a blessing to see God answer our prayers!
In our study time we are slowly working our way through the book of 1 Corinthians, this week in chapter 11. I find it amazing how the Lord speaks to my heart and reaffirms what I have been reading on my own or may have heard in another message in recent days.
This week we talked a little bit about a woman's role of submission. The woman does not take a lesser spot of importance, in Christ we are equals, but as Christ submitted Himself to the will of the Father, so we as women, are called to be in submission to our husbands. Not an easy task, but God has shown me in recent years how vitally important this is in my life. I am ashamed to admit how often my husband was right and I was wrong. I am learning to let go. It is still hard and sometimes I find myself struggling, but it is getting easier.
PS. James and I went for a short walk in the orchard this evening after supper. I took my camera along just in case I should happen to spot a deer. What do you know? I saw one!
So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psalm 42:1
In our study time we are slowly working our way through the book of 1 Corinthians, this week in chapter 11. I find it amazing how the Lord speaks to my heart and reaffirms what I have been reading on my own or may have heard in another message in recent days.
This week we talked a little bit about a woman's role of submission. The woman does not take a lesser spot of importance, in Christ we are equals, but as Christ submitted Himself to the will of the Father, so we as women, are called to be in submission to our husbands. Not an easy task, but God has shown me in recent years how vitally important this is in my life. I am ashamed to admit how often my husband was right and I was wrong. I am learning to let go. It is still hard and sometimes I find myself struggling, but it is getting easier.
PS. James and I went for a short walk in the orchard this evening after supper. I took my camera along just in case I should happen to spot a deer. What do you know? I saw one!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Mr. McGregor's Garden
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday Evening
Friday, June 26, 2009
Facing the Unexpected
Precious in the sight of the LORD [Is] the death of His saints.
Psalm 116:15
Psalm 116:15
Please pray for our friend, Samantha, and her little daughter as they say goodbye to a husband and daddy. Please pray for us that we know how to give comfort and offer hope in this time of sadness.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Dreaming of the Beach
So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"
Matthew 8:27
A day at the beach sounds absolutely wonderful right now. A good book to read, a pair of sunglasses and a beach umbrella, a tall cool drink...and of course, the waves lapping gently at the shore. Shall I go down to the lake or take a trip to the ocean? Oh, if only I had my choice I think I might do a bit of traveling and visit some friends and family. A little time with my friend, Ann, in Florida along with a hop over to Barb's place on the east coast; a trip up to Nova Scotia to visit Grandmanita and dip my toes into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean; and of course, a trip out to the West Coast to visit all of my friends there and to sit on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Ahh, yes, a very good plan indeed...
Matthew 8:27
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
San Francisco
Kim is in California from New Mexico and is helping Dad and Pon for an extended period of time. James and Lori decided to take Kim and the girls, Kim's daughter, Abby, and Dad's granddaughter, Imani, for a ride to Stinson Beach. It looks beautiful in the pictures.
Monday, June 22, 2009
A Little Bit of Rain
Who Is This Jesus?
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
John 5:39-40
John 5:39-40
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
John 6:44-45
John 6:44-45
I have been told that Jesus is not God. I've been told I should not pray to Him. But I believe that He is God. I believe that God loved me so much that He clothed His Word in human flesh and came down to earth to die in my place and offer me salvation. How can I keep from praising Him? How could I not fall on my knees and worship Him? How can I stop myself from praying that my friends and family will come to know forgiveness and salvation?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Father's Day
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1a
...and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3b
What an awesome privilege to be a child of God! I am thankful for my earthly father, I am blessed by the father of my children, but I am in awe of my Heavenly Father! As he draws me into a closer walk with Him, as He changes my heart and mind and tunes my thoughts to His, I am blessed. So, this Father's Day, as my husband is away spending time with his earthly father, I give thanks to my Savior for loving me, for forgiving me, for making me His child, and for walking beside me day by day. I know He loves me and what could be better than that?!
1 John 1:3b
What an awesome privilege to be a child of God! I am thankful for my earthly father, I am blessed by the father of my children, but I am in awe of my Heavenly Father! As he draws me into a closer walk with Him, as He changes my heart and mind and tunes my thoughts to His, I am blessed. So, this Father's Day, as my husband is away spending time with his earthly father, I give thanks to my Savior for loving me, for forgiving me, for making me His child, and for walking beside me day by day. I know He loves me and what could be better than that?!Saturday, June 20, 2009
In the Quiet
It has been a dark and gloomy day. I even went back to bed for an hour after returning home but the ringing of the phone woke me at 8 o'clock. I went for a haircut at ten. The house has been quiet and still, nobody home but me all day. The kids are out at a youth event. I lit a fire in the wood stove to take the dampness out of the air and lit two candles that I bought at Hobby Lobby on my way home from my haircut this morning. I should be cleaning the house, but instead I am enjoying the silence.
James called from California around 2:30 to let me know he had arrived safe and was with his sister. I pray they have a good weekend together, enjoy each others company, and are a blessing to their dad who is struggling to gain back his health and mobility after surgery and a heart attack. Prayers are appreciated. James is scheduled to fly back home on Monday.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Happy Birthday, Nate!
Nineteen years ago, on June 19, 1990, my friend and I delivered our babies on the same day. I had a healthy 8 pound boy. She had a tiny baby girl with Trisomy 18. Naomi Ann lived two days. I wish I had asked to see her while we were still in the same hospital. She died two days later. On my son's first birthday I wrote this poem for my friend.
FOR NATHAN
There's a little girl in heaven
Who is just about your size,
She plays peek-a-boo with Jesus
And watches angles fly.
And when she needs to have a hug,
She climbs on Jesus' knee,
He wraps His arms around her
And loves her perfectly.
Sometimes he tells her stories
About her mom and dad,
And how much her family loves her,
I know that makes her glad.
Jesus cares for children,
So if she ever cries,
He takes her up into His arms
And gently dries her eyes.
I watch you growing bigger,
And as you learn to stand,
She learns to walk in heaven
By holding Jesus' hand.
Nathan, Happy Birthday. I'm sorry we didn't get to celebrate yet this year. Give us a few days and we'll be enjoying that strawberry shortcake again. Marcia, I still love you. Karen, thank you for the timely reminder and for visiting my blog.
FOR NATHAN
There's a little girl in heaven
Who is just about your size,
She plays peek-a-boo with Jesus
And watches angles fly.
And when she needs to have a hug,
She climbs on Jesus' knee,
He wraps His arms around her
And loves her perfectly.
Sometimes he tells her stories
About her mom and dad,
And how much her family loves her,
I know that makes her glad.
Jesus cares for children,
So if she ever cries,
He takes her up into His arms
And gently dries her eyes.
I watch you growing bigger,
And as you learn to stand,
She learns to walk in heaven
By holding Jesus' hand.
Nathan, Happy Birthday. I'm sorry we didn't get to celebrate yet this year. Give us a few days and we'll be enjoying that strawberry shortcake again. Marcia, I still love you. Karen, thank you for the timely reminder and for visiting my blog.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Allergies...
For several years I received allergy injections which did wonders for my symptoms. Now I do my best to treat them myself and tough it out. This is my bad time of year. I sneeze incessantly and go through dozens of Kleenex each day. I feel like a regular "snot machine". I am drinking my way through my second pot of green tea today in hopes of liquefying that which fills my sinus cavities.
The cottonwood trees are in full "bloom", dropping their precious fuzz which then floats effortlessly through the air landing on roadsides, collecting in store entrances, and making it's way through my open car windows. With it's disappearance will come a lessening of my symptoms and welcome relief. Kleenex and Scotties will see a dramatic reduction in sales and I will breathe much easier at night.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
In the Hands of the Potter
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 64:8
Isaiah 64:8
I had to smile a little as I looked at them and recalled the words of the potter who visited our church on Sunday evening. Sometimes it seems that God has set us aside and forgotten us, but even in those times of waiting He has a purpose greater than we know. He is not finished with us but waiting for the right time to complete the next step in the process. I hope I can remember this when I feel set aside and forgotten. I pray I have the patience to wait for Him to finish what He has begun.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Blogger Fun (part 3)
Check out the photos I was able to upload this afternoon.
My dear husband, James, decided to accompany us on Friday's excursion with Tracy and Denis. Before heading to Rochester we stopped by the church to ask Pastor Stan where to find a good coffee house. He happens to be a coffee connoisseur like Denis, so we knew he would steer us in the right direction. Not only did he give some good locations but he offered to make both Denis and Tracy a cup of coffee right there at church. (We have a fancy cafe'.) Denis chose cappuccino and Tracy a sugar-free almond Latte. We had taken them to the right place and met up with the right man! Thank you, Pastor Stan.
Thursday evening Tracy had looked up some information on Rochester and so we set off to see what could be found. We drove up East Avenue where the rich and famous once lived and stopped by the George Eastman House. The outside gardens were quite pretty. We opted not to pay the $10 fee to get inside the mansion, instead we headed toward downtown and stopped at Brown's Race and the High Falls. Lots of history and some interesting sites. We had accidentally stumbled upon the "official" Rochester Welcome Center. Too bad I hadn't known about it earlier in the week...
Before heading home we made our way down to Charlotte, Ontario Beach Park, and the Port of Rochester. A few years ago we could have seen the Fast Ferry but it no longer makes it's home on Lake Ontario. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Harbor Hots and then walked back across the street for a frozen custard from Abbott's. Mmmm, mmmm, good!
Rachel had a BBQ planned for Friday evening and Tracy and I had a salad and a jello to finish, so after a quick grocery store stop, we went home to assemble our picnic contributions. It was a relaxed evening of good food and plenty of company. Priscilla was there with her girls, Beth and Adam came, as well as Jim and Josiah, and also my mom and Dad.
What a fun time. I am blessed to have Tracy and Denis as friends, blessed to have had them stay at my house, and blessed that we had this time to spend together. I hope they were able to find that coffee shop in Rochester on their way out of town and that they have a safe trip home to Oregon this next week. I'm looking forward to meeting again someday!
My dear husband, James, decided to accompany us on Friday's excursion with Tracy and Denis. Before heading to Rochester we stopped by the church to ask Pastor Stan where to find a good coffee house. He happens to be a coffee connoisseur like Denis, so we knew he would steer us in the right direction. Not only did he give some good locations but he offered to make both Denis and Tracy a cup of coffee right there at church. (We have a fancy cafe'.) Denis chose cappuccino and Tracy a sugar-free almond Latte. We had taken them to the right place and met up with the right man! Thank you, Pastor Stan.
Missing: Internet
Uh oh, my internet connection has gone AWOL. We must take the computer in for treatment. Please stay tuned... or check back again later.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Blogger Fun (part 2)
After a quick stop at Wendy's for a bite to eat, we drove up to the Irondequoit Bay outlet to toss some stale cereal to the waterfowl. Not a particularly exciting trip...
Later on Tracy and I did some laundry and took Denis to the Heluva Good Cheese Store in Sodus (I had never been there so this was new for me) and when we got home James cooked up some white hots for supper.
Blogger Fun (part 1)
After lunch we waited for Alicia to get off the school bus and she joined us for the remainder of our Sonnenberg Gardens tour.
Labels:
friends,
meetings,
out and about,
out to lunch,
sisters
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
A Long Distance Tea
So anyway, I returned home from doing laundry to find a package waiting my arrival. It was sitting patiently on the top step by my back door. It came all the way from Florida. I smiled as I picked it up and headed in the house.
The sender had wrapped the box in several layers of clear packing tape. I looked for something to cut through it and found a screwdriver handy. Inside, wrapped in newspaper, were two beautiful tea cups and two saucers from my dear friend, Ann.
Years ago, when she lived nearby, we shared many cups of tea both at her home and mine. Our children played while we talked and laughed. Though she is now far away, a cup of tea still brings her face to my mind. I hear her voice, her laugh, and I miss her.
I love you, Ann! Thank you for the lovely tea cups. Does anyone care to join us for a spot of tea? Would you like a cookie with yours? What kind? I think I'll take molasses.
Somebody Turned the Heat Up!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Where Has Summer Gone?
My poor little garden is looking sad and cold. Our temperatures have not quite been conducive to warm weather vegetables. The leaves are falling off my pepper plants and my tomatoes are not a healthy looking green, rather a reddish brown/green. Even my marigolds are shivering. We decided something must be done and, since my garden is planted in small boxes, the remedy is not too difficult. I just hope it isn't too late.
We went to Loews and bought four ten foot lengths of half inch PVC to form a frame over the boxes and covered this with "clear" plastic. It is held down by sticks and rocks. The hope is that this will create a nice little greenhouse type of atmosphere where my poor little plants can recover from their bout with the not so ideal temperatures of the past few weeks. I'm even thinking it may be prudent to buy a few new pepper plants just in case it is too late for those I already planted. In July, when the Japanese beetles show up, I intend to cover my dear little garden with mosquito netting. (I already encircled it with fencing to keep my dear cats from using it for a litter box. The question is can I thwart all the saboteurs that keep attacking my hard work?)
We went to Loews and bought four ten foot lengths of half inch PVC to form a frame over the boxes and covered this with "clear" plastic. It is held down by sticks and rocks. The hope is that this will create a nice little greenhouse type of atmosphere where my poor little plants can recover from their bout with the not so ideal temperatures of the past few weeks. I'm even thinking it may be prudent to buy a few new pepper plants just in case it is too late for those I already planted. In July, when the Japanese beetles show up, I intend to cover my dear little garden with mosquito netting. (I already encircled it with fencing to keep my dear cats from using it for a litter box. The question is can I thwart all the saboteurs that keep attacking my hard work?)
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Sisters
I'm certain that my dear daughter prayed sincerely for a little sister and in late March of 1993 I was once again pregnant. While we had been prepared for another baby boy when Nathan arrived in 1990, this time the ultrasound had not revealed the sex of the baby. Bethany was absolutely sure, in spite of our warnings, that a sister was on the way. When the baby was born and her Grandma told her that she had another brother, my sweet daughter disappeared into a dark corner of Grandma's house for a good cry. At the hospital I placed the squirming baby in her arms and asked her if she wanted to send him back. She said no and decided Benjamin was beautiful even if he was a boy.
With each child added, our home became not only noisier, but less space was available to put them. James and I had already moved out of the master bedroom of our home and into a smaller room to make space for our crew of boys. Bethany shared her tiny bedroom with Benjamin. Our house was full but God had heard the prayers of a small girl. Expecting once again, the ultrasound this time revealed the baby would be a girl. We warned Bethany that sometimes they were wrong.
By the time Hannah arrived in July of 1995, our first little girl was closing in on 10 years old. She was ecstatic to have a baby sister and Hannah, eager to catch up with Bethany, did her best to outgrow every pair of clothes she owned within three months time. Ten years is a lot when children are five and 15 but as my daughters grow I have watched the gap close. I am blessed to see the love and affection they have for each other and thankful for the answered prayer of a little girl surrounded by brothers.
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