breathing easy (don't take this for granted)

We were notified on facebook yesterday that friends of ours had 'gotten the call'. Mike has cystic fibrosis. He is 40 years old. You could hear him wheezing and coughing at church before you could see him coming. Makes me ashamed of complaining about the little cough I had this past week.

A few months ago they made the trek to Mayo Clinic to see if he qualified for a lung transplant.

He did.

Yesterday they received news that donor lungs were available. Wonderful and horrible news all at once.

Time was of the essence. A private carrier picked him up (along with his wife who is in the singing group I'm in) and whisked him off to Mayo. He was in surgery by late Friday afternoon and the surgery was successfully completed in the wee hours of the morning.

Please pray for Mike and Lee.

And remember the family whose loss made Mike and Lee's gain possible.
~~~~~~~~

our little cuties

Still contemplating what I might give away to celebrate my upcoming 2,000th post. Something handmade, I think. I'll try to decide by Monday. Leave a comment if you want to be included in the drawing!

out the door

No time for a proper blog post this morning, so I will leave you with a link for a very cute table decoration idea for Thanksgiving.

I think I was especially drawn to this because I, too, have blue and white dishes. Which don't always lend themselves to a traditional Thanksgiving palette.

While I was getting ready to post, I noticed that I am up to 1, 993 blog posts. I think that means that a give away is in order. Anyone who leaves a comment between now and post # 2000 will be put into a drawing for a yet-to-be-determined prize.

And thanks to my fellow music-makers yesterday for not thinking I am a dork. Even tho' I suspect I really am.

sunny day

One of my piano students brought me some sheet music from Sesame Street.

I spent an inordinate amount of time playing 'Rubber Duckie' and the theme from Sesame Street yesterday.

Does that make me a dork? I'm thinking, 'yes'.

rainy day (in)activities

Today's weather has nothing to do with the above picture. On Friday the weather was perfect. This morning's sky is a thick, low, gray blanket.

Last night - from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. we received 3.3" of rain. More is expected.

As I recover from a nasty head cold, throbbing headache and laryngitis, it seems like today will be a good day to knit on the brightly colored scarf on my needles, stitch on a little bit of embroidery in the hoop and review my Bible study.

And take a nap. Must nap. Sniff, sniff, cough, cough, wheeeeze.

Have a good Wednesday everyone! Thinking of all my friends and family in the upper Midwest who endured some pretty severe weather yesterday.

Y'all okay?

re-use Tues

Our friend, Tonia, over at itty bitty impact has instituted a reuse tues at her blog. So, in the spirit of things, I'll join in.

My mother-in-law was a very thoughtful, sentimental person. She would spend a lot of time choosing the perfect card for her friends and family. So it was no surprise as we cleaned out her house after her passing that we would find - lots of cards.

Her sentimental son and daughter-in-law couldn't bear to throw them out either. Many of the cards were stained and had quite a bit of extra writing on them. But with my trusty scissors, a bottle of glue and some cardstock, they could easily be transformed and re-used.

I love the graphics on this card from the 40's.
(someone needs to be told how to sit like a lady though...)

this hillbilly card is so me

a batch of repurposed cards - and lots more to come!

Do you have any ideas for reuse tues?

this weekend, I...

• had a wonderful time with the folks, my lil sis, nephews, niece and brother
• Lori, Richard, Mom and I went to the punkin patch
• Richard is getting really tall!
• we had an early birthday celebration for lil sis (shhh, there is a significant bday in her future)
• made a delicious meal (even if I do say so myself) of roasted chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and waldorf salad with chocolate birthday cake for dessert
• played Set with the nephews (fun!)
• was entertained by the niece (fun!)
• made a delicious soup out of the chicken carcass (proclaimed best ever(!) by my hubby)
• enjoyed perfect weather
• counted my many blessings
• taught adult Sunday school with Pat
• didn't sing in choir because my voice is about two octaves lower than usual
  
• listened to a loud thunderstorm during the night last night - so far 1.1" of much needed rain
  

You? How was your weekend? Check out the fun at Becky's.

for Kristi

abundance

As I read our Sunday school lesson yesterday, I was reminded of John 10:10. And then again this morning as I reviewed a Bible study lesson:

"I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

During our trip up north, I recognized over and over again just some of His abundance. Not only in the beauty of the northwoods and the delight of being with our children and grandchildren, but with wonderful girlfriends.

They inspire me. I know some of the pain and heartache and joy that they have experienced. And yet their beautiful faces and lives reflect Christ.
Ann and Mary managed to pull off Lora's birthday surprise. It was great fun (Lora's kind of a crybaby though...teehee - I suppose most people would cry if I popped in to surprise them - and not necessarily tears of joy.)!

Ann is the hostsess with the mostest. While she was at work Tuesday morning, I invited these good homeschooling friends over to chat. When Ann returned home, she asked them to stay for lunch. They did!

I'm so grateful that Pam and Barb took time out of their busy schedules to stop by and see me. We even got to go for a walk! Thanks girls - our walk and talk did me a world of good!

And Katie, how did I not get a picture of you? Thanks for coming over to see me!

These friends (and more!) are friends forever. I am so grateful for God's abundance!

~~~~And speaking of blessings, my lil sis and nephew arrive today. I'll be out playing the next few days and will resume blogging on Monday. Have a mahvelous weekend, everyone!

pondering

photo by Jon - with my camera :)

"There are two ways to get enough: one is to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less."
G. K. Chesterton

"To have what we want is riches, but to be able to do without is power."
George MacDonald

Christmas in October?

Please don't hate me because my Christmas shopping is all done.

Here are some tips on how to celebrate your Christmas gift exchanges and family time early - leaving plenty of time during the traditional Christmas rush to savor the Savior:



1. Take a skinny, fake tree to the Northwoods (never mind that the Northwoods is full of trees, hence the name Northwoods).





2. Christmas wrapping paper may be hard to come buy in October, but if you are creative (and are a recent college grad with no money), newspaper used for starting a fire in the fireplace will suffice and clothespins make a fine substitute for tape.
3. In lieu of real presents, I organized the boys' childhood photos in boxes (we found hundreds of these pictures after my mother-in-law passed away - she always made copies of the best photos and sent them to her siblings. As her siblings passed away, the photos came back to her. Not necessarily in a chronological fashion). It took me hours and hours and hours to sort through all these photos, but it was hours and hours of pure joy. And I hope it brings the same to them. Initial reaction indicates success.

4. The kids drew names and exchanged gifts with each other. All were hits.

5. Our gift to the kids was the experience of being away for a long weekend at a beautiful resort. We also had some stocking stuffer type gifts for the girls and some toys, books and clothes for the grands.

6. Their gift to us? We told them we didn't want a thing. But what they gave us was the best. Their time. Seeing our boys praise the LORD as they led in worship on Saturday night at church. Being together. And two of the best gifts ever - which we continually enjoy:

'I love my new purse! Thank you Auntie Laura!'

Josh is tuned in to Veggie Tales' Wizard of Ha's (which he highly recommends)
on his daddy's i-whatchamacallit.

Early Christmas again next year? Yes, please!

it was a very good idea

I'm not sure how it all came about. Perhaps it was Pat's mentioning that he didn't want to travel again at Christmas (we had several flight cancellations on our travels last year - makes for quite an adventure!).

We eventually decided to have an early Christmas with the kids. What better place to have it than our beloved Northwoods. We stayed at Zaugg's Resort. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! It is beautiful and our time there was wonderful.

I got to hold this little sweetie lots and lots and lots. She is holding a blanket my grandmother made for her daddy. Love her!

peekaboo!

And snuggle with this guy. He is especially snuggly when he first wakes up. He is a great little guy with a fun sense of humor.

mmmmm

There were many highlights on this trip. In addition to time with the grands:

• having all the kids and grands under one roof - I have the most wonderful daughters-in-law and Daniel's girlfriend (also very wonderful) was able to join us
  
• listening to our three sons lead worship on Saturday night(Daniel played acoustic and led; Jon-electric and Nate - bass). WHAT A BLESSING!!!!!
  
• spending time with friends who were able to come to the worship service
• Pat's birthday surprise to me - a professional photographer taking family portraits
• surprising Lora for her birthday
• spending time with good friends - I could not get to everyone I wanted to see, but had quality time with those I did - thanks for carving time out of your schedules girls!

I have had a quiet smile on my face ever since we returned home. Reflecting on our great time with our wonderful family and repeatedly marveling at and thanking God for His goodness!



and...a note to lady farmer. I've tried repeatedly to comment on your blog but blogger keeps telling me that the connection has been disconnected. One thing I wanted to say is how different the Rockies look than the Smokies. No surprise though, that our GOD could create such vastly different mountain ranges when He creates such vastly different people! And flowers! And insects! ETC~

back at home....

...trying to catch up on laundry, email, bills, other mail and dust bunnies. I have many stories to tell and even more pictures to share (mostly the grands... :) - surprised?).

We traveled over 2,100 miles (by car - and praise GOD our elderly car gave us no problems whatsoever) in 8 days. 4 + days in the car, 4 glorious days with our family and just a few short hours with friends. I'm so sorry I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to - just not enough hours!

I'll leave you with this picture - which I love on so many levels. Sadie was hardly ever left on her own, but for a brief moment not one of the 8 adults in the house was holding her. She started to fuss a bit and Josh rushed over - 'See crying!' he exclaimed. He comforted her and she grabbed onto him. She is on the blanket I made for her which is on top of the blanket I made for Josh.

How wonderful to be with these precious little ones for a nice long (though not long enough) weekend.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

I love it when a plan comes together....

Twas a plan with many fits and starts, but it finally came together yesterday. I was able to surprise my friend and kindred spirit Lora for her 50th. Albeit a few days late.

We are currently in the Northwoods for a very brief stay, but one that involves lots of wonderful memories. Memories of good friends, great beauty and family. FAMILY. We were with all our kids and grands all weekend. Details in a few days.

jump for joy

At Christmas time, when the boys were little, we would play a variety of Christmas (LP) albums on a record player. Among the favorites were Sandy Patti's Come Let Us Worship the King and Evie Tournquist's Come on Ring Those Bells.

We would sing these and dance around the room. With reckless abandon. We don't do that much anymore. :)

With our little preschool choir, we are singing Come on Ring Those Bells. And guess what? They like to dance around the room as they sing it. With reckless abandon.

Go ahead do it. Put on some music and dance around the room with reckless abandon.

It will feel great!

'I was glad when they said unto me' part 2

It always happened. I would be all dressed for church. My son (s) would be all dressed for church. We hardly ever made it through breakfast without an incident. Spillage. Spit-up-age. Diaper issues. ☺ Food, spit-up or other things would now decorate my clothes. We would need to change our clothes and then would be late for church. I can’t stand to be late for anything. Especially not church.

Something had to change.

God showed His favor to me at this time. I listened to the local Christian radio station at the time. Their main demographic was 45+ females. I was in my mid-late twenties. But I loved the music and the programs.

One such program was Chapel of the Air. The host was David Mains a pastor from Chicago (interestingly enough – I had sung at that church when I was in high school and had a friend who attended there). His wife Karen was a frequent guest. One day she was talking about a book she had written. ‘Making Sunday Special’. I knew I had to have it.

Once it was in my hot little hands, I devoured it. And instantly applied the principles. It changed our Sunday mornings. Maybe Pat and the boys didn’t notice, but I did.

Here are some of the things I did as a result of reading this book:

1. I started praying more. For peace, calm and organization. For forgivenss for not being better prepared.
2. As the Israelites prepared for their Sabbath the day before the actual Sabbath, I started preparing earlier for Sunday.
3. Diaper bags were packed on Saturday afternoon.
4. Laundry was as caught up as possible. Outfits –down to the underwear, socks and shoes were laid out and back-ups were noted if necessary.
5. Bibles and Sunday school papers were located and any ‘homework’ was completed (memory verses were worked on throughout the week).
6. I tried, with limited success, to keep Saturday night as calm as possible. Earlier bedtimes, quieter stories, television off. I tried to make our home a peaceful home, yet also wanted to have the boys eagerly anticipate going to church.
7. If I was involved in teaching Sunday school it was always my goal to have my lesson ready early.
8. If I was in choir or on worship team, I enjoyed meditating on the words of the songs throughout the week.

I didn’t do any of this perfectly, but am so grateful to be able to report to you that all three of our boys love the church and regularly attend. Hopefully they don’t have any memories of chaotic, tense, rushed mornings.

And now I pray that they teach the next generation to love the church. To be glad when someone says to them ‘let us go unto the house of the LORD’.

'I was glad when they said unto me' part 1

I have always been excited to go to church. My folks did a great job of instilling a love for the church in the four of us kids.

Preparations began on Saturday evening. After supper, bath time would begin.

And then the fixing of hair. Three little stair-step girls lined up in front of the television (Lawrence Welk). Tangles would be combed out (ouch!), bristly curlers rolled into hair fixed into place with a pink pick that would necessarily have to graze the scalp to hold the roller in place. Only later would these be replaced by the nice soft foam (again with the pink!) rollers.

Sunday morning we would wake up to the sounds of Tennessee Ernie Ford LP albums on the stereo. Dad would be singing, pancakes would be made. Mom would cheerfully remind us of Psalm 122:1 – ‘I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the LORD.’ No whining, complaining or pouting allowed! We girls would be dressed up – often in matching dresses. And at Easter, bonnets, patent leather shoes and white socks edged in lace.

Such great memories. I loved Sunday school – the stories on the flannelgraph of Jesus who did the most wonderful things – walked on water….healed people…..loved children and defied death.

I have always loved going to church – even when I was a teenager! Mom and Dad taught Sunday school and there were times when I helped.

Fast forward several years. I was a young wife. And still loved the church and wanted to everything – teach Sunday School, sing in the choir. You name it, I was more than happy to do it. Serve on the Christian Ed committee? The search committee? The nominating committee? Sure!

Then the babies started to come along. And I discovered something. I did not run as smooth a household as my mother had. Something was missing. I needed help.

Continued tomorrow….

Happy Birthday, LORA!

So here it is. Your big day. And I'm not there to celebrate it with you. Sniff. You were there for my 50th and I'm not there for yours. I'm so sorry. Somehow, I will make it up to you.

To my sister from another mother - who loves Jesus, her family, books, the Northwoods, potatoes and chocolate. Just like me.

And has a birthday today. Just like me.

Now, if only I were still 50. Just like you.

Have a wunnerful, wunnerful day. Love you!

tickling the ivories

These horses escaped from their pasture, ( six weeks or so ago) which is adjacent to our subdivision. They were grazing right across the street from our house. Lovely lawn ornaments, don't you think?

Last spring, when I was directing the elementary age children's choir, one of the mother's asked if I gave piano lessons. I didn't. But I said I would.

Because of a busy summer, we didn't get around to starting until last month. T. is progressing nicely and a delight to teach.

I ran into another mom at church. 'I hear you teach piano lessons,' says she. Her daughter will start mid-month.

And then...at the grocery store...another. She will start at the end of October.

One more hopes to start after volleyball season is over.

I was shopping at our cute little Christian bookstore here in our itty bitty town. As I was scanning the shelves, I noticed that the proprietor carries - piano books! I thanked her and discussed the fact that I am just starting to give lessons. Another gal was in the store ( I know her since we both volunteer at Branches), overheard the piano lesson conversation, and said she knew of two friends who were looking for a piano teacher.

And...and...at the beauty shop - the gal who cuts our hair knew of some more people and will be giving them my number.

I am so excited and once more grateful (but not surprised) to see how God provides.

convicting words, these

from an email I received from Revive our Hearts ministry:

“Lord, I give up my own purposes and plans . . .”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Those words were written in the early 1900s by a young missionary named Betty Stam, who was soon forced to prove that she meant them.

“I give up my own purposes and plans, all my desires and hopes and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my life.”

Nancy: Nine years after writing this prayer, Betty was martyred, along with her husband, at the hands of Chinese communists.

“Work out Thy whole will in my life—at any cost.”

Nancy: You might not be called to serve exactly like Betty Stam, but we're called to give up our own plans and embrace God's will. God may be asking you to be faithful to a husband who's difficult to love, or to homeschool children, or to mentor another young woman. Whatever it is, would you accept God's plans—as Betty Stam did?

“I give myself utterly to Thee to be Thine forever.”

With Seeking Him, I'm Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

this weekend, I

one man's trash is ....no, it is still trash....:)

• attended the 411 yard sale
• resisted everything but some cute sleepers for Sadie
• thought the 6" Griswold cast iron pan I coveted was too expensive
• found out when I got home and checked Ebay - it wasn't
• amazed at the junk some people have
• thought about all the junk we still have - though we are doing much better in this department
  
• prayed with a dozen people at the food pantry
• continually amazed and inspired by some of these folks who have nothing and yet count their blessings and pray for others
• wrapped Christmas presents (I know - don't hate me)
• listened to Pat watch the University of Tennessee game
• went to a church about 40 minutes away - we visit there once every 3-4 months
• tuned into the radio on the way home to listen to the church we normally attend
• tuned into the internet once home to listen to Jon and Kristi's church service
  
• taught pre-schoolers songs for the Christmas program
• gained another piano student
  

Santas with concave heads anyone?

Want to share in the weekend fun? Check out the links at Becky's.

weekend links

Fall, apparently, is a very good time to have a birthday. Happy Birthday to some of my childhood 'friends'.

I want to be like this very inspiring young man when I grow up.

Aren't these ornaments beautiful? It is not too early to start stitching!

Tired of working at a cluttered desk in a cluttered office? Would you like a work space like this?

And if you are not ready to start working on Christmas ornaments yet, how about these?
~~~~~
Pat and I had a particularly nice day yesterday. After packing 60 bags of groceries for the food pantry, we went for a little drive. We passed a restaurant some friends had recommended. Since it was neither lunch nor supper time, we stopped in for dessert.

The kind of dessert that they bring out on trays for your viewing pleasure.

Decadent desserts.

He had New York cheesecake with strawberries. I had triple chocolate cake. Surprised?

It was decadent and delicious and we smiled all the way home.

We passed yard sale after yard sale after yard sale and realized it was the 411 yard sale weekend. With no cash on hand and more importantly - no camera - we decided to visit the garage sales today.

Hopefully I'll have some deals and pictures to show you on Monday! Have a great weekend!

give me a break

As mentioned yesterday, we had a string of things break down in a short period of time. It was almost comical.

But I learned a few things.

• It is satisfying to knead bread dough by hand -dare I say more satisfying than dumping a bunch of ingredients in the bread pan and pushing a few buttons. The bread maker has been a good servant for almost 20 years (!) but it will not be replaced. Do not buy me a new bread maker.
  
• After being without a working fridge for 10 days...and having the repairman here three times, I have decided that our next fridge will be an icebox. (I realize I may get a little resistance on this ~smile~). Our frozen stuff was tucked away in Mom and Dad's freezer (thank you!!!) and we had two coolers in the kitchen. This was very workable - hardly inconvenient at all (good thing I like to camp, huh?). There will be no fancy schmancy counter-depth fridges in my future. I think an old oak ice box would fit very nicely in the space allotted for the big side by side unreliable (and 'spensive!) monstrosity that sits there now. With a basket or bowl of produce attractively displayed on top. Nice, don't you think? Appeals to my inner Ma Ingalls.
• The car. We have a 2 grocery stores and a produce stand within about three miles of us. One way. We could conceivably walk to get our groceries. Problem is there's no shoulder on these back roads and some c-r-a-z-y drivers (in TN you do not need to have Driver's Ed. to get a license. You can jump in the ditch when cars come careening around the curves, but that is where the dead possums are.) Church would be a little more problematic - 5 miles one way. Good thing I don't wear heels! :)

While we will do without a bread maker, we probably won't get rid of the fridge or the car. Okay, we certainly won't get rid of the fridge or the car. But it is nice to know that when modern conveniences fail, there is still the old-fashioned way of doing things.

I take great comfort in the fact, however, that tho' things break down (regularly!), Jesus never fails.
~~~~~~~
What things have broken down for you recently? And what have you decided you could live without?