Contently at Home

Today is a big garage sale day and I've decided to stay at home and rest.  I think it was a good decision.  I have a reflexology appt at 11:30 and that is enough excitement for the day.  I'm resting n the truth that God knows my need.  Better than I know myself.  When I let my mind dwell on what I think I need and how it should be filled, I feel a pain in the pit of my stomach.  Trying to do it myself again.  God help me to keep his truth forever before my mind and emotions.  I needed today to get back in touch with the heart and truth of God.

Last evening, Isaiah began to pack up the things in his bedroom.  I think I saw eight to ten boxes go out of there.  When I walked in his room this morning to observe the emptiness, I was stunned.  It doesn't look like much is gone.  I'm not sure where the kid hid all his STUFF, but that room is sure to be easier to clean once it is all gone.  One step at a time.  It looks like his mom has the same issues, stuff, stuff, stuff.  Moving does not look like much fun to me.....

Bitter and Sweet

It looks like it will be a beautiful day....lots of bright sunshine and warming temperatures.  Yesterday the sun shone but the wind still bit.  Hopefully, that won't be the case today.  I am oh so ready for warmth...

It is certainly quiet here today.  Ken left early to golf......his passion these days.  Isaiah is back in school after the weekend and Scarlen is moving things from her storage unit to her new place of living.  It feels rather weird as she packs up her boxes and her room becomes more empty.  While we all feel ready for this change in our lives, it still causes some apprehension.  She says they will not move "OUT" until after Isaiah finishes school and once he returns from his class trip to Washington DC.  That gives us a couple of weeks yet.  Saturday night I offered him some dinner while he was lying in bed after being up all night having had a friend over.  Yes, he would take the food if I would bring it to him.  I fussed a bit, just for principle's sake and then brought him his food reminding him he wouldn't be here for us to spoil him anymore.  "Bummer" was his reply.  Being empty nesters for the first time in 46 years will be a bit bitter and a bit sweet.  God help us adjust.

Joni's Shower

A pleasant Sunday.  Good time of worship this morning.....lunch with our friend's Jim and Linda.....a nap sitting in the chair while watching (smile) the Cub's game.  I did come to attention during the bottom of the ninth when they rallied.  One run too few to tie it up so Houston won.  It did give some excitement at the end.

Yesterday was the baby shower for Joni and Jason, the quad and her husband.  The pregnancy has been nip and tuck this last couple of months.  She is now a bit over six months so we hope she hangs on another month or so.  She was in Prentice Hospital in Chicago last week and they told her she would have to stay for the remainder of her pregnancy.  Joni 's condition changes on a dime so a change inf medicine made her more stable and they sent her home.  That gave her an opportunity to attend her own shower.  Linda and Jim are Joni's parents.  They were so exhausted today and asked if we would go "out" to eat and visit.  As usual we had a good time topping off our excursion with a jamocha shake from the new Arby's nearby.  We were disciplined enough for both couples to share a shake with their spouse.  Those could get addictive.

Friday

It's been a couple busy days........This is the first time I opened the computer in two days.  Sometimes I look at it and go, "naw......"  I don't want to become a slave to it this time around.

I talked to my friend, Bernice, late afternoon and she told about an oatmeal bake she made today that sounds wonderful.  Later she invited us to spend the evening.  I asked if there was any oatmeal bake left and she said, "plenty".  When I called back to tell her we would be there, she said to tell Ken there is pecan pie and ice cream to top it all off.  We hit a bingo.  

I get a stomach ache every day when I think about what to feed us for dinner.  I cooked for forty five years and now, with my salt limit, it is no fun anymore.  Of course low sodium meals are not all that available in restaurants either so it gets tricky.  So an oatmeal bake sounds wonderful and I don't even have to make it.

Scarlen and Isaiah are going to join Lynette in renting a very nice house in town.  We went through it today and I fell in love.  I wish I had that house.  All one floor and very spacious.  Today, I bought some things Scarlen had requested I look for at a garage sale to fill some needs.  It's amazing how God provides the desires of our hearts.  I got a bed frame and nice full sized box spring and mattress for the young prince in our lives.  He is getting so lanky there isn't room for him in his twin bed anymore.  The price?  Fifteen dollars.  I also got a lovely reclining chair and ottoman for her.  Ken painted the bathroom about a month ago and I thought I'd get to a shower curtain and rug sooner or later.  That time was today......all the right colors......all for five bucks.  Thank you Lord.

Garage Sale Heaven

What a day!  Nice weather for ducks.  And for garage salers.  Well, not really.  I met a friend about eight this morning.  She is an avid garage saler and has it down to a science.  When she asked if I had the list for today, I told her I didn't.  She told me to look in the Action Plus...a little nothing paper.  I looked guilty and said, "Ken is right, if the ink is dry, I throw it away."  She looked horrified.  So it was decided we meet somewhere.  I had fun with her ducking the pouring down rain and checkin' out the treasures.  I spent six dollars and for that got a tiffany tea pot lamp...adorable.....a lovely rubber backed throw rug........a brand new...in the box...Pampered Chef pizza stone and a vinyl garbage container that fits my bathroom better than the old one that I promptly dumped in the garbage.

The morning sales all scanned, I stopped for coffee with a friend and then came home for a short time and tidied up the place.  Then out again for the afternoon sales.....this time....I picked up Lauri.  We found a never taken out of the box Oster blender for five bucks, which was an item on Scarlen's list.  Lauri made out like a champ and came home to tell her kids she had found garage sale heaven.

Now I'm home and exhausted.  I don't know how people do this three days in a row.  There is another list for tomorrow and it's supposed to be a nicer day.  Actually, it is 4:45 this afternoon and the sun just peeked out.  Oops, there it goes again.  So much for that.  The rain seems to have stopped but the wind is just whipping.  

Asparagus Season Once Again

Another bright and sunny day. Eureka! I love it. Now if we could blow in a few degrees more in the temperature column, it would be perfect. Of course nothing is perfect long, is it? Soon we will be wishing to turn down the outside thermostat.

It's asparagus season here in De Motte. Mary, my stepmom and my sister in law tell me they find enough in the ditch banks to keep them enjoying the wonderful vegetable. I haven't found any growing wild. I think I will have to break down and buy some. Early this spring when Meijers or other big markets had asparagus, the stalks were often thin and spinly. I don't like thin asparagus. Give me the thick ones....then it feels like I've got something to sink my teeth into.

As we drove by a small particle of land in town a few nights ago, I pointed out to Isaiah that when our eldest child started kindergarten at De Motte Christian, the kids and I picked asparagus on what was then an asparagus patch. We rented it from a church acquaintance. This was to be the answer to the tuition that our budget didn't have extra for. My kids were then five, three and under a year. Lauri was the baby and she slept in the car as I dragged wooden boxes row after row to put in our precious harvest. Obviously I had the big help of a five and three year old and at each stalk we bent over to crack it off at the root. Some mornings were freezing cold, others were hot and humid. Oh my goodness, when I think of getting out so early in the morning with three little bitty kids, it makes me exhausted. I wish I had the energy I had then but I wouldn't want to do it again. The asparagus picking was a project that went on a few years and we picked other patches as well. I loved picking asparagus as a kid, but then I rode on a picker and my seat was just above the ground so snapping was easy. There were also other kids on the picker to chat and have fun with. I started helping my dad and mother pick asapargus when I was five. I drove the tractor while they sat on the picker. My dad would yell at me when I let the wheels go into the row. His famous line was, "Keep the pot over the middle of the row!". The pot was a tractor part that was to be my guide. A little kid's mind wanders sometimes.

Looking Back

Mother's Day 2009.........

Saturday, Kendra and Craig and Emerson arrived just before noon.  Ken was gone to a golf outing with our son John in Stephensville Michigan so we decided to go to KFC for the free two piece meal.  We found when we got there that KFC couldn't keep up with the demand and stopped supplying the free meals.  We surrendered our coupons and were told we would get some back in the mail.  It didn't change our minds, we still had the same meal, the only difference was that we had to pay for it.  

We spent the afternoon together at Lauri's house and enjoyed each other's company.  Yesterday, Lauri hostessed, (Thank you, Lauri).  We had strip steak and burgers.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal immensely.  I'm not a steak lover so I enjoyed my burger.  Particpants in the day were Lauri and Elton and their four kids, Dad and Mary, Craig and Kendra and Emerson, Scarlen and Isaiah, and John and Kim and four of their five children.  It was a blessed day.  The best part was watching the cousins enjoy each other and watching our little fifteen month old express her darling personality.  Grandma had fun introducing her to bubbles.  Too bad it was so cold and windy.

Mother's Day always humbles me.  I know without a shadow of a doubt that I messed up plenty.  I do remember asking God over and over to bless that which I had right and negate the negative of anything I had wrong.  I also remember so enjoying the stage when my older children were in junior high and the early years of high school.  I hear now that they did some things I didn't know about which would have grieved me.  But God was gracious and didn't let me know that until they were beyond their unsettled young adult stages.  They kind of like to tell on each other and I think it is funny that at forty, give or take a few, there are some that still don't want us to know certain things.  One of my kids asked if I had had parties when I was young and my parents were gone and I honestly answered that I hadn't.  Another daughter said, "Mom was a goody two shoes".  The truth of the matter is that my friends and I were all cut from the same cloth.  We knew there were perimeters our God and our parents had set.  We tried to stay within those perimeters.  It wasn't being a goody two shoes, just obedient.  There was a greater sense of obedience in those days. I never had a curfew....didn't need one. One may say that was fear and there is some truth to that.  I always felt I just could not disappoint my parents.  No alchohol....didn't taste beer until I was 33 and in Korea.  No cop calls.  No tickets (though I could have had a hundred with my heavy foot) I pushed the envelope at times but made it through those years without a disaster.  I certainly was not perfect.....God forgive the sins of my youth.

Cleaning and Planning

Is this not the most cloudy spring on your human record?  Perhaps it is because I'm so sensitive to dark and gloomy weather.  The sun comes out to tease me for about ten minutes and then it is gone again behind this sea of cloudy down.   Ugh.  Each week I think it will get better the next week and then I look at the extended weather forecast.  Rain.....clouds...... and a peek of sun for as many days as I care to think about.  It used to be I went to work each day and the weather didn't affect me much.  Once I got in the school, I forgot all about the weather.  Perhaps I have too much time on my hands.

I spent the day redding things up as the Amish say.  I dusted and found little pockets of yucky dirt that I took the time to clean up.  It's funny how one can miss things that are clearly in need of cleaning.  I took the bedroom phone into the light and was shocked at the DIRT between the buttons.  I attacked that thing with a vengence and now have the cleanest phone around and probably one that is germfree too.  Clorox wipes did the trick.  I clean the phone in the kitchen regularly but kind of looked over the one in the bedroom.  I suppose I should check the one in the family room, too.  I've read that germs also breed on a computer keyboard.  I try to keep that in check as well.  Ken thinks I'm nuts but it feels good to know those places are clean.

Scarlen was home most of the day so she did the laundry.........Ken vacuumed, so together we are Friday clean again.

Kendra, Craig and Emerson are coming to De Motte tomorrow.  John called and he and Kim and five kids will drive down Sunday after his morning duties at their church.  Grandpa and Grandma, Scarlen and Isaiah, and Ken and I will all be at Lauri's for lunch.  Lauri has planned a menu designed for the guys to do the grillingand the oven to bake the potatoes.  There will be six mothers there so we choose not to work all day on our day of honor.

Happy Mother's Day weekend to each of you who are blessed to be mothers.  Is there a better joy in the world?

First Things First

Daughter Lauri called early this morning.  "How about seeking out a few garage sales?"  Sounds good to me but I haven't spent my time with the Lord yet today.  She said she hadn't either and that we would both do that when we got back and hold each other accountable as well. . We had a good time looking for signs and finally finding the ones whose signs were a bit confusing.  I didn't find anything exciting but it was fun to look at the treasures people are parting with.  Lauri found a very nice black framed full length mirror for her girls.  Other than that, we kept our money in our pocket.  When we returned home, it was time to give God some time.  I found it rather awkward trying to get into something I usually do in the early hours of the day.  I think I learned a lesson.  Make sure I get it in early on Thursday mornings.  First things first as Scripture tells us.  

It is just a beautiful day today.  I remember well the days I worked at school and could only look out the windows.  So, my heart goes out to all you who are working indoors and couldn't get out to enjoy the day. Perhaps there will be a few nice hours after you are get off.

 

Coupons

I've made the rounds this morning. My friend, Bernice, called to tell me about the KFC coupons Oprah talked about yesterday. Two piece grilled chicken meal with two sides and a biscuit free. The only catch is that one cannot choose the pieces....they give you what they have ready. Bernice said one had to print the coupons off a particular website and she didn't know how to access it. So I said I'd stop by. We got the job done and I printed some for me too. In addition I printed two for my dad and wife. They are super tight about eating out but I think if it is free, they will meander up town for a meal soon. Mary needs a break....she cooks every day and does such a good job. She is a great cook and the hostess with the mostess.

So after I left Bernice, I stopped to deliver the free coupons to my father. He was outside, sinking a fence post. For all you non farmers, that is really hard work. The man is 89 years old. Amazes me. He took the coupons with a smile and seemed pleased. Mary was out for lunch with a group of ladies from their church so he was by himself. I almost felt guilty driving off and leaving him but it was my problem not his. He was just fine. Just an eldest daughter concerned for her father.

Now I'm waiting for my husband to come home. The man finds a reason to be gone all the time. Is there an unspoken message in that? I spoke too soon.....he just walked in the door. It's always good to have him around.

Our friend Joni was taken to Chicago to the hospital yesterday. Because of her spinal injury, she has blood pressure regulation problems and that is intensified during pregnancy. The meds they put her on last week were not working so she had a bad night and day. Doctors said to bring her in. They are monitoring her and will probably try another med. We are thankful the baby is still in where he/she needs to be to develop fully. God be merciful.

Be Careful What You Desire

The sun is playing peek a boo with us this morning.  It comes out, then clouds over, then comes out.........you get the picture.  I wish the sun had a tail I could grab hold of and not let it go.  I thrive on sunshine.

We have a perennial in our gardens that is just plain nasty.  It has a runner root system and just invades everywhere.  It is called red loose leaf something or other.  It has pretty red leafs and plant stems, blooms pretty little yellow flowers most of the latter part of the summer.......BUT.......we are ready to rid our lives of this irritant.  Last night, Ken took Round up and began to attack them.  The only problem is that some of our good flowers will probably be affected as well.  At this point we feel we have to sacrifice something to get rid of these things.  My apologies to anyone I gave starts to over the years.  If you have them in any form, attack them now.

When one gets perennial garden fever, there is an  "I want it all" in one's mind.  Every new plant is exciting and then one gets into hybrids and different colors......it goes on and on.  The first year a perenial garden is planted, they sleep, the next year they creep and the third year they leap.  By the fourth year, one wonders what one has done?????  Yikes....what do I do with this mess.  My gardens are older than that fourth year and I have pulled out liberally.  I even consider having someone come with a power tool equal to the task and get rid of the whole mess, plant grass and let my husband enjoy his Simplicity toy by cutting it.  While I talk destruction, there are some pretty areas that I wouldn't get rid of at the moment.  The caution today is.........be careful what you plant and where you plant it.  I know there is a spiritual lesson in all this but I think I'll let you form one in your mind.  Think about the desire for material things and what that leads toooooooooooooooooo.

.Front Flips and Birthdays

As Isaiah ate his breakfast this morning, he asked if I had seen him land some front flips on the tramp yesterday.  I told him I saw him do it several times.  "But I lost it and couldn't do it anymore."  Why? "I guess because I needed you to watch me."  

After I watched several successes I left the sunroom and went to other areas of the house.  I wasn't aware he knew I was watching.  How often in life, we can accomplish something because someone we love is cheering us on in some way.  That person doesn't even have to know they are doing the cheering.  At age thirteen, one is never sure if one is welcomed into their realm or if they want their own private space and the boy I live with likes his own space a lot.  Years ago, I could plant a kiss on that face and know that love gesture was appreciated.  Not so much now.  I sneak one in now and then but it always produces a grimace.  Life changes as our kids and grandkids grow up.  It isn't as easy to show physical love....but I learned this morning that love to Isaiah is watching him do front flips on the trampoline.  Love never fails.

We have two other grandboys that have reached a new level today.  Our Aidan Jay in Phoenix turns 12 today.  Ethan Luke who lives down the road a piece turns 8.  We celebrate their lives and the blessings of health and well being God has provided them.  We also celebrate their intact families.  God is good.  Happy Birthday, boys.  We love you and are proud to call you grandsons.

Ken is out chasing a little white ball with an iron club this morning.  He is like a kid eager to open the gifts under the tree when he can leave early and head for the golf course with his senior cronies.  It is a beautiful day, so far, and the temps are mild so it is good weather for his passion.  Scarlen just left for work and I have a prisoner's Bible study lesson to look over to make sure they are "getting the truth".  It is always heart rending to read their prayer requests.  I then have an appointment at a reflexologist at noon.  

Hope your day is productive.  Let's remember to praise our God throughout this day.

Coffee, Tea and Banana Bread

Sitting in my favorite room of the house....the sunroom........west window open and warm wafting breezes cross my chair.  Another wafting item would be the smell of banana bread I baked this afternoon It's been done for a couple hours but the aroma still pervades the whole house.  We took a loaf to our good friends, Jim and Linda, as we invited ourselves for coffee and tea.  Good friends and fresh BB...doesn't get much better than that.

Jim and Linda's daughter Joni was in school with our youngest girls.  They virtually grew up together.  In 2001, Joni had a car accident that left her a quadraplegic.  Joni and her fiance married about a year or two after the accident.  It's been a long road for the whole family.  Joni seems to take most everything in stride.  Many people help with Joni's needs.  On the other hand, we try to help with encouraging her parents.  Jim has had a heart attack, stints, and a small stroke in the last seven or eight months.  The stress of job and family care is taking its toll.

The latest stress is that Joni is pregnant and expecting a baby in July.  All eight of her doctors expect it will be much sooner.  We ask for prayer that Joni and their baby will come through this unscathed and healthy.  While this baby is so desired, there are so many risks.  Again, we try to be a listening ear and remind our dear friends of the faithfulness of God, while, we too, hold our breath and implore God for his mercy.

A good sense of humor is something both Jim and Linda have.  I think that carries them a long way.  Each time we are together they chuckle and laugh even about serious things that would send others over the edge.  I admire and love them deeply.

Sun.........finally

Praise to the Creator for a beautiful CLEAR sunny morning.  It was so needed.  I actually think I will need the new sunglass clips I ordered for my glasses.  I had a pair of yellow tinted sunglasses one time that were just the bomb.  I loved them.  They made the whole world cheery and bright with no glare.  I even used them at night when we were driving as they took the glare off the headlights coming my way.  So, recently I got new glasses and decided I wanted yellow tint clips.  They were specially ordered to fit perfectly and since I got them a couple of weeks ago, I have used them perhaps three times.  Today will give me a new opportunity.  I find them equally as satisfying as the pair I owned earlier.

My husband just returned home from his usual morning trip "to town".  Gotta see what's new at the coffee shop, ya know.  I smile when I think about the biblical mention of the men of the city sitting together at the city gate.  The gate was their gathering place.  The coffee shop is the contemporary gathering place.  And what ever one hears at the coffee shop is gospel truth.....at least until they hear differently.  Cracks me up.  And they say women talk a lot.  So, now,  he is eating his breakfast of cereal.  The restaurant gets the sale of coffee only.  Smile.

Now it is time to get on with our day.  Hope yours is day of joy.

For Such a Time as This

During the last presidential campaign I was hooked on a blog that I couldn't wait to access each day.  It was written by Megan McCain, daughter of presidential candidate, John McCain.  She wrote her experiences as a daughter of a presidential hopeful, romping the US in campaign efforts.  It gave me a personal insight into what the campaign was like for a young family member.  I loved reading her stuff.  The day after the election, the blog entries stopped.  I was eager to hear more.  How does one live through a national defeat?  Tell us Megan...but it must have been too painful because to my knowledge, she never wrote again on that particular blog.  I checked it for days and even weeks longing for some new testimony.  Eventually, I didn't check it any more.  BUT, I still could enjoy hearing what she has to say, especially the way things are shaking out nationally at the present time.

The entires on this blog stopped March 12 as a few of you followers realize.  I didn't touch the computer for a couple of months. It held no interest to me.  What I experienced the last several months has been life pausing.  Everything in my life paused.  While I'm not at all eager to talk about it especially through this medium, I have been on a physical, emotional and spiritual journey.  Fruit basket upset would be a good explaination. For now, know that the Lord isn't finished with me yet and my life is still in the rebuild mode.  If one could use a long tunnel as a continuum, I am beginning to crawl out the end.  Praise God with me.

Now to other things.........

I along with many other people would like the clouds to disappear and the sun to shine upon us once again.  April has been the cloudious month in my memory.

There has been some sun in our yard this week.  Two weeks ago we hung a neat finch feeder on a branch in our back yard tree.  We didn't see much action until this week and now it is alive with beautiful yellow birds.  Against the brilliant green of the grass, they stand out as they swoop to find an open area on the feeder.  Then there are those who stand in wait as they sit in the branches above.  When they see an opportunity they fly down and begin to munch away.  They have brought much joy.  As we speak Ken is out looking for another feeder like the one we have.  He would like to double his delight.

Today is May 1st.  While the weather doesn't seem any different, May has to bring better weather, don't you think?  I remember the Phoenix sun EVERY day in March.  I should have bottled it for such a time as this.