Grandparenting Up Close

Is there anything better than holding a sweet child in your arms while reading a book about baby animals?  I think not.

Mike took this photo one recent evening when Cordelia spent a few hours with us.  When she comes over, she is a delight the entire visit.  She doesn't throw fits for us or cry when her parents leave.  She's delighted with almost any little thing we do and she frequently, without prompting, tells us she loves us and gives us powerful little girl hugs. 

This tiny charmer is super smart as well!  Riding in the car yesterday she wanted to discuss each turn, usually correctly stating whether we were going left or right.  She knew the way to the mall!  We were going there for our usual "mall lunch", a weekly ritual.  This lunch was special, though.  We were meeting Mike's sister, Karen, who was in town for some appointments.  Cordelia was planning ahead.  She told me she was going to give Karen a BIG hug.

Time with Cordelia is one of my greatest joys.  It makes me feel rather guilty, though.  During most of the years our children were young we lived a great distance from either of their grandmothers.  I have to say I don't think I really got it.  Now I know what exquisite delight it is to be able to see this little person many times each week and I am so sorry that Grandma Carol and Grandma Grace did not get that with our children. 

I think there was a lot of good in the way things were in the past, when many generations of family lived in the same area.  Don't get me wrong.  I love that my children have so many opportunities and can follow their dreams.  I would never want to deprive them of that.  My own mother never ever made me feel guilty for following mine. 

I also know that with our 3 children, it is unlikely that I will be able to always live close to all my future grandchildren.  I guess that is why I am savoring every moment I can right now.  I have come to appreciate "moments" so much more than I ever did before.  I'm just very, very grateful for this chance at up-close grandparenting.  I see it for the precious gift that it is.   

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Busy...But in a Good Way

Whew!  I have been soooooo busy!  I have been pushing myself to get a lot of things done recently and I just finished 3 days of the 12 1/2 hr shifts at Hospice.  It's all good but I think the dream last night was a bit meaningful.  I dreamed some kind of avalanche fell from the sky, burying me.  I had to work and work to get to the top of the snow to find a place to breathe.  Hmmm...

One of the things that has kept me busy (but happily so) is that I've taken a LOT of orders for crocheting ponchos and hats.  I'm still not caught up but I'm working on it.  Also, Maria and I are preparing for a BIG craft fair this week-end.  Here's a sneak peek of some of those items (also found at our shop)....

This is just a sampling!  I wasn't kidding when I said it has been busy around here! 


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It's Art If I Say It's Art

One day, several years ago, I decided that I should teach Maria how to do a macrame wall hanging.  We found some cool yarn and as I started to show her the macrame techniques, I decided the yarn was so lovely as it was, I didn't want to mess it up with knots.  I put it on a big ring and hung it over our stairway.  Admittedly, that is weird, but I still love looking at it so I guess maybe it isn't so strange after all.  What do you think?

I don't think I ever did show Maria how to macrame.

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Ff

How's everyone doing with the ABC's of Bible Memorization? 

I love the verse we have for this week!

Ephesians 4:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.


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Sign Language

When I was in 8th grade I learned, along with some of my friends, how to do the alphabet in sign language.  We thought we were pretty clever.  We didn't need to pass  notes in class as we could talk with our fingers!  Well, most of what we signed were lively conversations such as "Hi" and maybe "How are you?"  As it turned out, having to sign each letter of a word was very tedious and not that much fun.

Later, I really became enthralled with signing.  I actually thought that when I graduated high school I would go on to become an interpreter for the deaf.  I'd picked out a college and thought maybe I'd even become a teacher for deaf children.

I discovered that was not my path.  However, I still love watching people use sign language.  At the Beth Moore/Travis Cottrell event I was seated where I could watch the interpreter a lot.  It was beautiful, especially the singing.  At one point they had her on stage to do a song.  I took some photos.  They don't show the true beauty but maybe you can get the idea.

I have forgotton what the song was but the last photo depicts Jesus on the cross.  It was so beautiful to watch.  I wish you could have been there.

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A Thank-You to the Veterans

It's Veteran's Day!

It's pretty easy to just slip on past this day if you've no direct involvement with a veteran, isn't it?  I know there have been years when I took very little note of it.  Shame on me!

I think of myself as a peaceful person.  I think war is a symptom of our broken world.  I hate it.  I hate that we even need our military. 

However, I am very grateful to our military, past and present.  I know there is evil in this world.  I know many citizens of this Earth do not enjoy the freedoms that I so easily take for granted and I know that I owe a lot of that to our strong military. 

(A.G. McLaughlin - my Grandpa Red)

So to all those who are currently protecting us and those who have protected us in the past, I say a simple but heartfelt thank-you.

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My Mom's Sewing Machine

I have something I want to show you!

It's my Mom's sewing machine and cabinet.  She decided her sewing days are behind her and she has given it to me.  It had to hang out in the basement during all the carpeting hoopla, but it is at home in the Rose Room now and I am so happy!  I set it up so that when I sew I can face the room instead of the wall.  I love seeing all the stacks of fabric as well as the colorful yarn.  I think it is inspiring.

This is the front side of the cabinet.  Mom used it for many years so it has some character.

One year she had some puppy troubles of her own and the cabinet developed more character yet...

Here's the fancy part!  The sewing machine is nestled down inside the cabinet when not in use.

There is a cool lever that makes it smoothly glide up to position when I am ready to sew.

I'm excited to have this in my home.  It feels like having a bit of my Mom here.  She used this machine to sew such beautiful things!  She made men's suits, lingerie (not for men), beautiful quilts and clothes for our whole family.  She used this machine to sew for many others over the years as well.  She sewed a LOT!  I remember coming home from school and finding her sewing most days.  I'd plop myself on the bed (she didn't have a Rose Room so she sewed in the bedroom) and blabber on about my school day.  I can't imagine that I had much that was terrribly interesting to say but she listened as though I were fascinating.

My Mom made my wedding dress on this machine.  I had a clear vision in my head of the dress I wanted but we couldn't find a pattern to match.  Mom had me just sketch the dress.  In case you don't remember, I only carry the artistic gene, I do NOT draw well.  Nevertheless, she managed to get the idea.  She measured me one morning before I went out the door and when I returned that evening, my wedding dress was on the hanger! 

I am not the seamstress my Mom is, but I do love to sew.  I'm so grateful that she taught me to sew and crochet as they are two of the hobbies that bring me the greatest joy.  It is just so wonderful to take pieces of fabric and turn them into something pretty to wear or a quilt to keep you cozy for years.  It was also wonderful to have a Mom who took the time to show me what she was doing and to encourage me to create things for myself.  Thanks, Mom, for the sewing machine and for the memories!


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Buzz Light Year or Pastor Mike?

I am working a 12 1/2 hr shift today so this is short.  I think it will make you smile, though.

A little preschool boy from our church is struggling with a tough decision.   He's having trouble planning who he wants to be for Halloween next year, Buzz Lightyear or Pastor Mike. 

A pair of twins, who also go to our church, saw Mike at a function elsewhere last year.  They were amazed and delighted.  They said to their Mom, "Look, God's here!"

Are you smiling?

Have a delightful day!


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Writing a Faith Paper

Do any of you have trouble talking about your relationship with God to other people?   I do.  Why is that?  Are we afraid others will think we are weird?   Maybe we just don't know what to say?  It is socially acceptable to show excitement about a baseball team, TV show or great book.  Why is it so hard to show excitement about God?  Why is it difficult to acknowledge our source of strength? 

At our church there is a tradition for our confirmation students, 10th graders, to write a Faith Paper.  It is a story of their faith journey.  They work hard on these papers, which they later read to the congregation, and they really pour their hearts into them.  I think it takes a lot of courage and probably builds character for these kids to stand up in front of everyone and tell their life story as it relates to their belief in God. 

When listening to these kids read their Faith Papers, I am often blown away by some of the trials they have been through.  It is amazing, really.  I worship with these kids, talk with them, and sometimes never know the drama they've had to deal with already in their young lives.  The rough times they've been through, though, are often moments they later realize positively impacted their belief system.

Mike with Bailey the day Bailey read his Faith Paper

(photo courtesy of Nicole Z.)

I sometimes think about what I would write in a Faith Paper.  How about you?  What would you write if you were to publicly discuss your faith journey?  What events in your life led you to where you now are in your faith? 

I believe this would be a good exercise for all of us.  I've decided that I am going to write a Faith Paper.  OK, maybe it will be a Faith Blog Post, but you get the idea.  I was wondering if any of you would like to do the same.  I know that many of my readers are believers and each of you have a story.  If someone were to ask you about your own faith story, what would you tell them?

Soon, I will post my own Faith Paper.  It won't be filled with drama.  It may even be boring, I don't know.  I'm going to put some thought into it.  What I'd really love is to read your Faith Papers as well.  If you have your own blog and decide to do this, let me know and I will direct my readers to your blog.  If you are not a blogger, you are welcome to e-mail your Faith Paper to me and I will post it here.  If you choose to let me post it, tell me if it is OK to use your name or if you'd prefer it to be anonymous.  My e-mail address is onlythemanager@yahoo.com.  I really, really hope someone else will be willing to join me on this idea.


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Sunrise

Sunrise from our back deck...

I don't often stop to think about what a gift a new day is... a new week...

It is not something to be wasted.

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Ee

Ephesians 4:12 …Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.



For the complete list of ABC's of Bible Memorization just click here.  Remember, anyone who lets me know they've memorized the complete list will receive a handmade gift from me.

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Singing With Thousands

Wow!  I am having a lovely week-end already!

I went to the orientation and training time Friday evening so that I would know what my volunteer duties were to be at the Living Proof Beth Moore event.  Friends of our's, Mary and Jim, are friends of Beth Moore and Travis Cottrell.  When I arrived Mary told me that there were seats with our names on them, literally.  She'd reserved seats for both Mike and me.  They were absolutely the best seats in the house!  We were  in the second row, front and center.  The first row was for the Worship Team but most of them stayed backstage so no one was in front of us.

Before the event my assigned duties were to assist folks with special needs.  My nurse background came in handy as I am a highly skilled professional when it comes to pushing wheelchairs.  OK, so it didn't require any high skills at all but I enjoyed myself.

5 minutes before the event began the volunteers were released to take a seat.  Travis Cottrell and the Worship Team led us in singing and it was really uplifting to me.  I'd been looking forward to thousands of people singing together and I was not disappointed.

At one point, a lady in the row in front of us and a little ways down turned our way and started clapping big and leaning kind of toward us, you know, how someone would do to get you to join in.  I just kind of looked at her and it took me a minute to realize it was Beth Moore. 

I wanted to explain to her that I am a Lutheran and as such, I really couldn't clap big like that.  Lutherans are really quite dainty at that whole clapping thing.  And yes, I realize this is a terrible photo.  I think I must have been moving with the music.  check this one out...

One of the highlights was when Beth Moore was walking down in the crowd a bit, kind of having a little fun.  She went to my friend, Mary, and had her give the call to worship.  Mary didn't know this was going to happen but Beth had her give a "loud whistle", the kind that require you to put your fingers in your mouth.  Luckily, Mary's mouth was not dry and she was able to perform. 

Anyway, it was a fun evening. 

And afterward, our friend, Jim, took me to meet Travis Cottrell.

Cool.

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Beth Moore, Travis Cottrell and Marriage Encounter

What are your plans for the week-end?   Anything fun?

We have a busy one ahead for us.  Tonight and tomorrow we are going to be at a Beth Moore event.  If you don't know who that is, check here and here.  It will be fun.  I enjoy her speaking style.  She can be earnest and funny at the same time.  I've not heard her live but I've attended many of her video Bible study sessions.  Tonight I am a helper and will be assisting people to their seats or something like that.  My responsibilities end when the program begins so I won't miss any of it. 

Travelling with Beth is Travis Cottrell.  Do you know him?  If you listen to KLOVE you've heard his music.  Our worship team sings some of his songs as well.  Travis stopped in at our church yesterday and Mike got to meet him.  I'd tried earlier in the afternoon to just "happen" to drop by but my timing was off so I didn't get to meet him.  I'm really looking forward to the music part of the evening.  Thousands of people singing worship songs together is quite an experience I expect!

Also this week-end Mike and I will be attending a closing service at a Marriage Encounter Week-end.  Have any of you been to a Marriage Encounter Week-end?  Mike and I think highly of Marriage Encounter.  It is a great organization that makes these week-ends available for couples as a way to strengthen their marriage. 

I was kind of nervous the first time I heard about a Marriage Encounter Week-end.  Working on marriage issues in a crowd seemed like an intimidating thing.  As it turned out, privacy is greatly respected.  The basic format was simple.  You all stay at a hotel for the week-end, leaving the world behind.  It is advised to leave the tv off, leave watches behind and just focus on your marriage.  Our week-end was in 1988 in Denver, CO.  The St. Louis Cardinals were in the World Series that week-end!  It is possible that our tv came on a bit, but what happens in Denver stays in Denver ok?

During the week-end they had sessions where speakers introduced topics and told their stories.  Couples attending are never put on the spot to tell their own stories, though.  Instead, we were all given questions to answer by writing in our own notebooks.  One member of the couple would do this up in the room while the other sat in the conference room or another quiet spot.  After a certain amount of time the couple is reunited in their own room to discuss answers.  That basic format was repeated all week-end, covering various topics.  We were given lots of good information to help develop great communication skills. 

After attending a Marriage Encounter Week-end couples are encouraged to join a small group of local couples.  We had so much fun with our couple friends!   I think the first time we were in a group of 4 or 5 couples and we met monthly to do small exercises similiar to the ones done at the week-end.  We had so much fun, though, and made some great friendships as a couple.  I fondly remember a lot of laughter.

We are not attendees for this week-end but we've been given the names of a couple that are attending.  Mike and I will be praying for them this week-end.  Every great marriage has an influence on others around them.  We will be praying for this couple to develop a great marriage, to learn skills to help them stay close to each other and to always, always keep God in the center of their marriage.  We have a candle that we will be burning this week-end, helping us remember to pray. 

On Sunday afternoon we will meet this couple and give them the candle.  Cool, huh?

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Linked

Do you ever feel like you have an especially strong link with someone?  I am talking about things like frequently saying the same thing at the same time, wearing the same color more days than not or even buying matching clothes when shopping separately.

Maybe you feel you have an even stronger, more unexplainable link.  You've all heard about identical twins sharing things like that, haven't you?  I once had a friendship with an identical twin.  He told me about a lot of times like that.  One example I remember was when he got a sharp pain in his leg or foot, I don't remember which.  He said he had to call his brother, who was then overseas.  Sure enough, his brother had broken his leg (or foot)!

I remember a similiar experience I had in the early 1980's.  We were living in the Seattle area while Mike was going to college.  We had very little money and I rarely made a long distance phone call.  That was, of course, before cell phones.  Long distance calls were a costly luxury!  One day, while at work, I kept having this pesky feeling that I needed to call my youngest sister.  That feeling grew to a near panic level and I finally got out a credit card and figured out how to charge a phone call.  I had never done that before but I couldn't even wait until I got home.  When I called, my Mom told me that my little sister had just had emergency surgery to remove her apendix!  That was weird.

One time I was browsing on Etsy and found a necklace I really loved.  There are literally thousands of necklaces on Etsy but it turns out that Maria had chosen that same necklace and had purchased it.  I recognized it when she came to visit (that was before they moved here).  As it turned out, she purchased one for me as well.

This last week-end something kind of funny happened.  Remember that we went to our friend's farm for a hayride?  At one point during the afternoon Maria was roaming around taking photos while I was off having fun with Cordelia.  I was unaware of all the things Maria found to photograph.  Later, after Maria and Cordelia went home, I wandered around the farm taking photos of things that caught my eye.  We did not discuss all these photos but check out some of her's here.  I laughed when I saw the third one.  I'd found those same pipes on the edge of the property and also photographed them!  At the time I remember thinking pipes were a strange thing to photograph but I just thought they looked cool.  Here's the view I captured...

I am sure you all have similiar stories.  I'd like to hear them! 

Update:   Right after I finished this post and published it I clicked over to Maria's blog to see if she'd posted yet today.  I laughed!  It is a funny post with several quaint things that are funny but the part that caught me off guard was that in her post she'd made a reference and a link back to my blog.  Funny that she did that the same day that I made a reference and a link back to her blog!  Hmmmm....  Things to ponder.

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Happy Birthday Carol!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and I want to wish her a lovely day.  She is a generous and caring woman with an elegence all her own.  And because I know she most likes it when my blog has pictures of Cordelia, that will be a gift from me to her today. 

(Photo by Nicole Z.)

 OK, so it was like a present to myself as well.  We grandmas know what we like!

Happy Birthday Grandma Carol!

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A Last Look at October

I have more October photos I just need to share.  I so wish October could have lasted longer!

Here's wishing a Happy November to you all!

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Week-end of Fun!

What a beautiful week-end we enjoyed! 

First of all, our carpet installation was completed on Friday!  Yay!  Considering that it took about 4 months, I'm pretty excited.  It looks great, feels great and best of all it is not pluckable.  The fibers remain attached to the carpet!  Yay!  They do not pull out like tiny weeds in soft dirt.  That is something I now know is important in a carpet!  It took 3 tries but we finally have our new carpet.

Then of course we enjoy the St. Louis Cardinals winning  the World Series.  I guess I've probably mentioned that enough for now. 

We were quite the social butterflies, attending 5 or 6 separate gatherings over Saturday and Sunday, in addition to church.  I took my camera to the last event.  A couple from our church invited us all to their farm for a hayride and weiner roast.  There was a pumpkin pinata, horses, apple-bobbing and lots of other fun things.  I was especially delighted because Maria and Cordelia joined.  Cordy had a lot of fun and we enjoyed watching her.  I am pretty sure Maria will be posting some great photos so please check out Little Things are Big.  I have a just a few I must share.

Cordelia and Maria were looking at the cows when Cordy spotted me and came running.  The whole time she was running she kept saying, "Look out for the poop!  Look out for the poop!"

It was sweet of her to warn me.

My man and our little descendent just enjoying a hayride on a lovely October Sunday.

Our daughter, beautiful inside and out...

This little face absolutely melts my heart.

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Dd

Are you still following along and memorizing the Bible ABC's?  We are on D this week.  It is a good one for uncertain times.

John 14:1, 2 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you…?

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