November's end

What a wonderful month November has been! So much for which to give thanks. Two sets of company - much family celebration. Two birthdays - Suzi's and Derek's. My trip to Minnesota and my time with family there.

This week's schedule returns to 'normal'. Sometime this week I hope to decorate the house for Christmas (Lori, Mike, Richard and I helped Mom and Dad get their tree decorated on Saturday).

We are anticipating a lot of company prior to Christmas so I think I will do some baking ahead for that.

I need to memorize a song that our ladies' group will be singing on Sunday. Okay, it is a Silent Night medley and not that hard, but I need to memorize the low alto part. And not get confused and steal notes from the middle part.

One Bible study finishes tomorrow with a luncheon after. The other finishes next week with a luncheon and an ornament exchange. I have placed three criteria on the ornament I want to exchange:
1)Handmade
2)Use materials I already have
3) Be Christ centered

I'll let you know what I come up with!

mmmm...

last year's beautiful wreath from Lora

Sitting here in front of the computer with a steaming cup of tea and a piece of cranberry bread slathered with cream cheese. Mmm. Yeah, I'll start that diet tomorrow.

Yesterday, while the fam was out touring the countryside, I dealt with the turkey carcass. Into the canning kettle it went, with 12 cups of water. I cooked it for about an hour and a half and then strained the broth and picked the carcass clean (not my favorite job). In the meantime I assembled the ingredients for polevka (soup) a densely flavored soup that my wonderful friend Joyce made for us when we were in Czech Republic on a short term mission trip in '95.

Puree onion, celery, carrots and parsley, in blender in water. Reserve water. I used one onion, two stalks of celery and three carrots which was more than enough. This becomes the 'soup mix'.

Use 2 T. 'soup mix'.
2 T. chicken soup base (I used my turkey broth instead)
6 C. water (part reserved water)

Boil 10 minutes.

In small pan melt 3 T. butter , add 3 T. flour and one egg. Whisk this mixture briskly into soup. This makes little dumpling flakes.

I also added turkey meat, one chopped potato and some chewy sweet corn from the freezer.

A hearty and surprisingly rich soup. My nephew ate 3 bowls full. Twas good if I say so myself.

After we get our errand running done this morning, I think we will be decorating Mom and Dad's house for Christmas. Should be fun!

some of my peeps

Lots of food and laughs. Lots of leftovers to enjoy today, tomorrow and the next day.

Some scenes from yesterday:

Kimmee Sue enjoying leftovers thanks to nephew Richard

Derek tripping on tryptophan

sibs - note remote control tightly clutched in Roger's hand

lil sis

lil bro - note remote control tightly clutched in hand

Em and Derek (now awake)

sweet smile

sis-i-l Cheryl

Mommy

Richard and Ethan watching football

the whole batch of us

While the visitors sightsee today, I'm making a big pot of turkey soup. Kimmee Sue is hanging out here today while I contemplate pulling out Christmas decorations.

One activity not on the list? Shopping. Today I celebrate this.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUZI!!!!

giving thanks with a grateful heart

One turkey,
plenty of stuffing,
gravy,
mashed potatoes,
sweet potatoes,
cranberry sauce,
cranberry bread,
cloverleaf rolls,
green beans,
waldorf salad,
2 pumpkin pies,
1 pecan,
a pan of fudge.

I think we are ready.

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praise to his Name, he forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
and pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation:
thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

---

Words: Nederlandtsche Gedenckclanck, 1626;
trans. Theodore Baker (1851-1934), 1894.

Music: Kremser (Nederlandtsche Gedenckclank, 1626)

Happy Thanksgiving all!

seeking perfection

In various conversations, overheard comments and facebook statuses, I've heard hints of a similar theme lately. The theme is a longing for a simpler time, a less commercial time, a time when all of our loved ones could be together in the same place at the same time. If you will, a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving. Everybody laughing, loving and a perfectly cooked turkey:

Freedom from Want

Sadly, our realities often don't match up to our dreams and the upcoming holidays fall woefully short of the visions we see presented in commercials, Hallmark cards and magazine layouts.

Loved ones are missing from the gathering, whether they are celebrating elsewhere or are no longer with us. Families are broken. Aunt Myrtle is too bossy, Uncle Horatio is too loud and opinionated and Samantha and Fred's kids are spoiled brats. Our families are not perfect. Not like everyone else's.

After hearing a pastor quote from The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis, I borrowed it from Tim and Suzi (who have a fabulous library which Joshua desperately wanted to re-arrange). It is a small book containing five addresses given by Lewis.

I am still savoring and meditating on the first which contains thoughts like this:

If a transtemporal, transfinite good is our real destiny,
then any other good on which our desire fixes must be in some degree fallacious,
must bear at best only a symbolic relationship to what will truly satisfy.

In other words, in my opinion, when we long for the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas with perfect family relationships where no one hurts someone's feelings or is crude or ugly, what we are really longing for is heaven. And only heaven will satisfy our longings. Our best family holidays are only pictures of what is to come. We see 'through a glass darkly' (I Cor. 13:12).

Later in the address he talks about our relationships with other people.

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal....it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit.

Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ...is truly hidden.

We are made in God's image (Gen. 1:27). Those who sit around our table tomorrow bear His image, though I must admit it is easier to see it in some than in others. Your family, your Thanksgiving, may not be perfect but recognize that perfection will not be achieved this side of heaven.

Take time to be grateful, to enjoy. And should your family member's quirks drive you batty; follow artist Mary Engelbreit's advice:

by Mary Engelbreit

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

come,ye thankful people, come

love this shade of red on our blueberry bush leaves

Yesterday was a day full of shopping. Four different stores and the fruit market to prepare for our big meal on Thursday. So grateful for the abundance we have. The cupboards are full, so is the fridge and the next few day's activities (in addition to Bible study today and a Dr. appointment today and another tomorrow) will center around the kitchen. Pies to be made, potatoes peeled, salads prepared and maybe fudge. Three pies and fudge. Should be enough for 14 people, don't you think?

So thankful. And looking forward with anticipation to the gathering of our family. We will miss the kids, but we have so many wonderful memories.

I heard this excellent program on Revive our hearts the other day:

Nancy: I remember some time ago calling a dear elderly friend of mine on his 89th birthday. He said something on that phone call that really struck a chord with me. He said, “When I’m gone, if I’m remembered for anything, I want it to be that I was a grateful man.”

Now, this man is a grateful man, but he has a lot of things in his life that could have caused some people not be grateful.

This man lost his mother when he was three years old. He lost his dad when he was still a young man, and years ago his oldest child was killed in a tragic car accident.

So now here he is in the sunset years of his life, with his health failing, and much less physical strength than he had at one time, living in a nursing home, but he’s determined that he wants to be a grateful man.

He’s a man who’s quick to verbalize the goodness and the blessings of God as he looks back over his life. You don’t hear this man complaining. You hear him expressing gratitude. I thought as I listened to my friend, Dad Johnson, “That’s the kind of person I want to be. I want to be known as a grateful person.”

You can read the rest of the transcript here.

Choose gratitude. Always.

~~~~
And isn't this a cute idea? Too bad I didn't see it until after I was done shopping. And I'm not going back to the store, I'm not going back to the store...

that was fast

Just in case you are tired of cute grandboy stories (though I can't imagine why ), like the fact that Joshua counts by pointing at objects and saying, 'two, two, two' or that he reaches out to hold your hand when it is time to pray before a meal or that he turns the white noise machine in his room on before bed and naps and off after bed and naps all by himself....


36 years ago today on an unusually warm fall Chicagoland afternoon, Pat and I were married. At the time I would have thought that 36 years was a very, very long time. But I can now report that it goes by in the blink of an eye. Newlyweds to grandparents in nothing flat.

Once again I find myself filled with gratitude. As a young 19 year old bride I had no idea what the years would bring, but I knew that Pat and I would walk through them hand in hand with each other with our eyes fixed on the LORD.

What blessings He has brought our way! Trials too, yes, but God is always there and I know that Pat is steadfast and unwavering in his love. How many men would move halfway across the country to be near his in-laws should they need help as the years advance (though so far, I think Mom and Dad have been more helpful to us than we to them...)?

So, thanks honey for everything. Happy Anniversary with love. How 'bout 36 more?

part of our legacy :)

a few more grandboy pics

It was fun to see a few Northwoods friends while we were in the Twin Cities. Josh and A. had already met when they were 7 and 5 months old. This meeting contained a little more interaction between the two. (A. is the grand-daughter of my friend B. whose daughter C. is the mother of A. - now I know my ABC's.).

It started off with a fist bump or more of a finger point (not captured by photo) which is the way cool toddlers greet each other:




They went down the slide together (note how Josh protectively placed his hand over hers - gonna have to watch that boy):
They played on the swings together:

They also sat on trucks and threw balls over the fence so A.'s momma could retrieve them.

Bye, bye A.! Til we meet again!



Josh also mastered the art of stalking the German Shepherd. See how he sneaks up on the long-suffering Raven:

Gotcha!:

Awwww....:


In addition to his playground/playdate and dog whisperer skills, Joshua also showed himself to be something of an electronics man. He figured out the code to switch Suzi's computer pictures all to negative and reprogrammed the TV remote control. Twice. Since I am not normally the one that handles the remote control in the house it took me quite a while to get things back to normal. Both times.

That boy is a genius, I tell you.

Sure miss him.

in which Joshua gets his parents back and says good-bye to Grandma

They couldn't wait to see him. Even though we returned at about midnight, Jon and Kristi rushed straight into Josh's room at Suzi's house and picked him up and held him and loved on him.

It was so cute.

The following morning, he couldn't get enough of them. He was rather unwilling for either of them to leave the room, so using my best distracting trick, I entertained him so Mommy and Daddy could get a little more rest.

May I just say how thankful I am for children who are wonderful parents? Unlike many, who seemingly can't wait to 'get away from the kids', these two love their little boy and couldn't wait to get back to him.

All too soon, they had to pack up and leave. Jon had responsibilities at church that evening. Josh gave me a very sweet hug and kiss and waved good-by to me from the car. The tears well up and the lump in my throat returns every time I think of that scene. So precious.

The flight home was blessedly uneventful. We even took off and arrived early - and that after a day of airline glitches. So thankful.

I slept like a log in my own bed. No need to keep an ear open for a wakeful toddler. I've been to see Mom and Dad this morning and KimmeeSue greeted me like I was a rock star.

This past week was great...wonderful. But as always....it is so good to be home.

Now - on to Thanksgiving!

warning: mushy post ahead

As I emptied the dishwasher in the kitchen upstairs, I could hear the voice of my middle son, singing my grandson to sleep.

Tears welled up in my eyes. How could the time have gone by so fast? Wasn't it just yesterday I was singing this now 6'2" son to sleep?

And last night. Uncle Daniel came up to hang out with us for a bit. He spent some of that time letting Joshua use his best imitation of World Wide Wrestling Federation moves on him. The two of them rolled around on the floor. Giggling abounded. It reminded me of the 'puppy pile' of boys often rolling around the floor of our home. Could that really have been 20 years ago?

This week has crawled by slowly for Jon and Kristi -especially Kristi- as they missed their boy. But for me, this week has reminded me of how fast the years hurtle by.

Savor. Savor, I remind myself.

I do. Grateful for every second I get to spend with these precious ones. Sons, daughter-in-law, grandson, niece and nephews, sister and brother-in-law.

Although I will miss them all, I am also grateful to be returning home to loved ones. Pat, Mom, Dad.

I really didn't do anything to deserve such a wonderful family. During this month of Thanksgiving my heart overflows with thankfulness.

To God,
Who for whatever reason saw fit to bless me beyond my wildest dreams.

My eternal thanks.

busy

seriously

worn out battery

one character

two characters

No, not me. Jon and Kristi's car had a worn out battery. So thankful it wasn't something more expensive or problematic.

Our wonderful hosts, Tim and Suzi, even dropped the car off at the repair shop. Great hospitality! Coupled with a fridge that is stocked and a full pantry and an adorable grandson....they might never get rid of me.

Josh and I had a rather quiet day here at the house (quiet being a very relative term). It was a beautiful day in the Twin Cities so we took a nice long walk and got to see lots of doggies and squirrels.

Some Josh trivia:
Josh's favorite word: 'More'.
Josh's favorite activity: Going up and down the stairs (crawls up, slides down).
Josh's second favorite activity: Getting to the fridge before Grandma can catch him and pushing the water dispensing lever.
Josh' second favorite word: 'No' - typically spoken as he dips his hand into the dog's water dish.

Josh is his father's son in that when you want him to hand you something he shouldn't have he will look at you in wide-eyed innocence and place his empty hand in yours, keeping what he knows you want him to give you. Tease.

He is his mother's son evidenced by the fact that he will pick up garbage and throw it away. He has unpacked and re-packed both his diaper bag and his suitcase. Neat and organized like mama.

His verbal vocabulary is limited, but his understanding is not. I can ask him to bring me - pants, shoes, shirt, book, etc. and he will bring me exactly what I ask for. He is curious and often asks, 'whaizzit?' He loves Tim and Suzi's dog because unlike his dog at home, Raven has a long bushy tail. When Josh stands behind Raven and is brushed by the tail he erupts in peals of laughter.

In short, he is a genius and a delight to be with!

reflections of a grandma

Who am I kidding? There is precious little time to reflect. We've been running and chasing and visiting and picking up and putting away and pointing our finger at the dog when he barks and telling him no...
But in the quieter moments, I look at this sweet little face and see signs of his daddy and mommy and both his uncles. I breathe a quick prayer of thanks to have this reminders of years past and a prayer of petition that I will also see the imprint of God on Josh's life in the years to come.

feeding time...I mean lunch

I had a great visit with my friend Joyce yesterday - thank you so much for coming all the way over here Joyce! The years melt away when we are together. Once we were young marrieds, then young mothers together, now we enter a new phase of mother-in-lawing. We are both blessed with such dear daughters-in-law. So thankful for your friendship, Joyce!

little music man - he sings too!
Looks like a little Simon and Garfunkel is on the playlist.

his profile is so like his daddy's

Josh is perpetually in motion. Not a cuddler, unless he is tired. He is on the move and with 376 trips up and down Suzi's steps every day, this grandma needed to sit down for a few minutes. So I googled baby games online.

Yes, I did. You would have too. So we found this.

So cute. It held his interest for about five minutes which gave Grandma a few minutes to rest and hold this precious guy on my lap. Then back to stair-climbing. But before we finished with the computer, he had somehow managed to change all of Suzi's images to negatives. Desktop, facebook, blogs, websites, everything. I spent several minutes trying to fix this to no avail. Then Suzi tried for several minutes and finally discovered the solution which involved holding down three separate keys and pressing the number 8. Or something like that.

Sunday morning after trying to start Jon and Kristi's car and failing and nearly burning up Suzi and Tim's jumper cables, they graciously lent me their car. Josh and I met Daniel for church (40 minutes away). We listened to the first half of the service. Then 'we' felt a need to run in the foyer and investigate the children's ministries. So we did.

Lunch with Daniel, then we met up with my Northwoods friend Mary and her family. They were on campus for a volleyball banquet. Our time was all too brief and I can't believe I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE.

No big plans for tomorrow, except trying to make sure that Jon and Kristi's car, which is now fully charged - thank you, Tim! - is in good operating condition for their trip to Iowa later this week.

waking up is hard to do

All the pictures are from my cell phone- please forgive the blurry quality.

perpetual motion

Being silly with great-aunt Suzi

What in the world are you talking about? I do not want to go 'night-night'.

So BIG!

No time for stories - somebody just woke up. Rest assured - we are havin' us some fun! And my good friend Joyce is going to come see us today!

gathered together

After a happily uneventful flight, I had a fun day hanging out with my sister Suzi. Lunch on campus, meeting her colleagues, and attending an HR seminar on elder care (I think she is trying to tell me something).

Once home we set about baby-proofing the house. Nice quick dinner out - a small restaurant providing music by a Native American flute artist who just signed a recording contract with a business 30 miles from my TN home (it's a small world after all).

Then Jon, Kristi and JOSHUA arrived. So great to see them. He is such a doll - a happy little boy and a bundle of energy. Grandma knows how she will be spending Josh's nap time this week (snore...).

Today's agenda: take Jon and Kristi to the airport, then Joshy and I will head to Crown where we get to hear Daniel play bass on his worship team during chapel. Sitting in chapel in the gym on bleachers with an 18 month old should be ...interesting. Lunch with Daniel, then back to Suzi's.

It has been fun already. Look forward to cute grandson stories as the week goes on.

Uneventful flight . Actually landed in Minneapolis . Yay! Now sitting in Suzi's office at Bethel U.

in a family way

It was so good to spend time with family. So good. Why don't we do this more often? My brother Roger, sister-in-law Cheryl and nephews Derek and Ethan and niece Emilee came down for the day:

Derek and Ethan were very gracious in taking a day off of school 'for the good of the family'.

Dad and his sisters. Though not smiling here, trust me, laughter did abound.

My cousins George and Darlene (gotcha Darlene!).

Mom and Emilee 'on stage', singing Jesus Loves the Little Children

More family time tomorrow as I hop on a plane and head for Minneapolis (please, Mr. Pilot and Co-Pilot- stop at Minneapolis).

No blog tomorrow but, drum roll please:

Joshua, seen on drums above, wanted me to let you know that he is going to be a big brother.
YAY!

mountain top experience

I love being with family. They 'get' me. And I 'get' them. The shared experiences, jokes, tales, and memories. The sense of humor we have in common (some may argue that it is humor though....). Even the medical and dental and hearing loss problems we have in common bind us together. In love and snickering and guffawing. And perhaps a wee little bit of sarcasm. We can't help it.

view from the top of Clingman's Dome

Loie preparing to climb the Appalachian Trail (snicker)

Mom and AR having a talk in the parking lot

We did a little shopping, a little eating and drove up to the top of Clingman's Dome to survey the beauty beyond. The lead car contained the grownups - average age: 79.25. The 'children's car followed - average age: 57.25 years.

Today the aunts and cousins head over here and Roger, Cheryl, Derek, Ethan and Emilee will join the fun as well.

Expect more snickering, guffawing, hugs and laughter. And maybe some singing. Countin' on you Emilee!

~~~~~
Joshua's fever was short-lived. Thank you for praying and asking!

I'm so glad Al Gore invented the internet

photo by Patrick - the butterfly whisperer

So, I had some chicken breasts in the fridge and I wanted to do something different. Since I canned beaucoup de peach jam last summer and the two of us don't go through nearly as much jam as the five of us used to back in the day...I decided to see if I could find a recipe with chicken and peach jam.

Ignoring the 20+ cookbooks in the cupboard, I went straight for the computer and typed peach jam and chicken into the search engine. Got a winner.

Grilled Chicken with Spicy Peach Glaze:

* 2 cups peach preserves or jam
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 8 Frenched" chicken breasts
* 4 ripe peaches, cut in half and pitted

Directions

Combine Spicy Peach Glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve 1/2 cup.

Preheat grill. Brush the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place skin-side down and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until golden brown. Turn over and continue cooking for 5 to 6 minutes. Brush both sides with the peach glaze and continue cooking an additional 4 to 5 minutes.

Place peach halves, cut side down on the grill and grill for 2 minutes. Turn over and brush with the reserved 1/2 cup of peach glaze, grill for 3 to 4 more minutes until peaches are soft.

Love, love, love this dish. I served this over a bed of spaghetti. Make sure you make enough (and invite me over). Suzi, we are so having this at your house next week. Make sure you have plenty of insulin on hand. I'll cook.

I didn't have any peppers, didn't grill the peach halves and I think apricot jam would yield an equally yummy meal. Oh, and I didn't measure anything so YMMV.

Thank you so much Mr. Gore.
*****
Mom, Dad, KimmeeSue the wonderdog and I are headed to Pigeon Forge today to hang out with my aunts and cousins. Can't wait!

*I have no idea why there are asterisks in front of all the ingredients.

company

First of all, please pray for Joshua. He developed a fever yesterday. His beautiful mama is taking great care of him of course, but I am anxious to help.

FIVE MORE DAYS TIL
I FLY TO MINNESOTA
AND SEE HIM!

I'm not excited or anything. Get well soon, Joshy! Granny's on her way!

He sure looks good here and is probably thinking, "I can't wait for Grandma to come!"

Meanwhile....aunts and cousins are arriving in Pigeon Forge tomorrow. We will go there on Monday and they will come here on Tuesday. Roger and the gang will trek down from Nashville on Tuesday also. There will be 14 of us in all, so today after a trip to the beauty shop, I plan to start bakin'.

Speaking of a trip to the beauty shop. I don't think I have ever introduced you to the gal who 'does' our hair. Her name is Harriet. We call her our 'hairapist'.

Harriet and Mom - trips to Harriet are always a blast.

And because it is fall, I thought I should include a fallish picture.
Now off to do two of my favorite things: prepare for company and prepare to be company!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wings of Freedom

The free paper that gets thrown onto our driveway each Saturday evening had an article that piqued Pat's interest.

"Vintage aircraft that once flew bombing and escort missions during World War II will soon be landing in Athens for a three day stay."

Pat's dad flew in a B-17 during WWII. He was a bombardier.

We made the trip to the neighboring county to see the three planes that were on display:

the B-17 - (one of nine still flying)
four prop engines that burn at least 100 gallons of fuel an hour
you can sign up for a 30 minute ride for $425 (tax deductible)

the B-17 from the other side
Gunners sat up front, in the tail section and underneath the plane in clear bubbles.
Must have taken nerves of steel.

the stats

This would have been where my father-in-law sat -
in the nose of the plane below the cockpit.

exterior view

I didn't realize bombs came with inscriptions.

this is a B-24 - the sole remaining example of its type flying in the worlda P-51 - also the only (flying) one left
Pat's Uncle Mike maintained this type of plane. He was a propeller specialist and one of only 311 Flying Tigers. You can get some 'stick time' in this plane for $2,200 for a half hour and $3,200 for an hour. Any takers?

It was very interesting, and emotional, to see these planes. To imagine my father-in-law- the age of my sons - flying sorties, dropping bombs.
It is hard to reconcile that image with the gentle man he was. Kind-hearted, soft-spoken. In his later years he fought for gun control.

He was at Pearl Harbor on that day that will live in infamy. The only reason he survived was because he was on his way to attend church that morning. Many of his friends perished. He re-enlisted to fight the enemy. As a bombardier he went on a number of sorties. His eyesight diminished and he was removed from this position. On the next run his plane was shot down. All were lost.

He also fought at Midway, Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands.

As most WWII vets, he did not speak much of the horror of war. We have his diaries. He was a photo-journalist for a newspaper in Wheaton, IL, so we have a lot of pictures.

And a lot of gratitude. To God for sparing his life and for all the young men and women who go into harm's way to fight for our country.

More information about the Collings Foundation, the educational foundation that made this (very well attended) event possible can be found here.