seasons

The seasons are changing.  There is a crispness in the morning air when I walk now.  Once in a while, I come across visible evidence of fall.

 And then more evidence.

A very close friend, who had moved away was in town recently.  We wanted to spend time with each other, but I knew that I couldn't be selfish, so I invited several other close friends.  All but three were able to make it.

 Speaking of seasons.  We have been through the seasons of life together.  Some of us knew each other before we were parents, as young marrieds.  Some of us knew each other before we knew Christ.

 Some of us made a plan.  We loved these gals and we gathered together as young moms.  We, for the most part, didn't work outside the home.  We also didn't have any disposable income. So we started a babysitting co-op and exchanged children instead of money.  ~smile~

 We had a point system to keep things fair.  As we watched each other's kids, we became closer, our kids became closer and the next part of our plan was put into play.

 Those of us who knew and loved Jesus, invited those who didn't know Him (yet!) to come to church.  We held Bible studies in various homes.   And  one by one these precious gals came to Christ.
 So, we began a season of growing together spiritually.  What a privilege.  I cannot begin to tell you how blessed I am to have these women in my life.

 As the years went on, our children grew closer.  Many of them still stay in touch..  Two of them got married.  :)  Some of them went to college together.

 And now, as I work in children's ministries at our church, I have the great honor of teaching some of these ladies' grandchildren.

We have grown up together.  In the LORD, in our marriages, in difficulties, in good times, in plenty and in want.  I am so blessed to have these women as friends.

We don't get together often enough. The year's melt when we are together.  Laughter and tears abound.  We are so blessed to share Jesus as our Savior. And lots of memories.

Now as we are in the season of grandmotherhood together, there are new stories, new difficulties, new blessings.

But we are still together, thanking God for His hand on our lives.

in good company

It meant so much to us that Nancy and Lanny and their daughters and nieces would carve 2 hours out of their 13+ hour drive to sit and chat with us. We offered to meet them out at the interstate (only 15 miles from us), but they wanted to see us in our natural habitat. :) I fixed a simple brunch of grapes, fresh pineapple, apple bread, blueberry muffins and scrambled eggs garnished with shredded pepper jack cheese. A quick tour of the house and a delightful two hours of chatter followed. They are members of the church where Daniel serves and their home was Daniel's home away from home during his growing up years. They brought glowing reports of Daniel's ministry and this mama's heart welled up with gratitude to GOD. Our time was over before we knew it and I'm sure they would have lingered but had hours to go until they could sleep. They brought special Northwoods gifts - dried cranberries, maple syrup and award winning fudge from the local candy store in our hometown. Sweet gifts, but sweetest of all was time spent with wonderful friends.

scattered thoughts

Sometimes I fail to blog because I can't think of anything to say.

Sometimes I fail to blog because there is just too much to say and I don't know how to organize my thoughts.

Today, the latter is the case. So much to tell.

But, in the interest of not wanting to lose the few readers I have, I'll try to be brief.

Below is a picture of our ladies' trio with our former pastor and his wife. There are many stories I could tell you about each one of them. Kim and Joyce have been such good friends throughout the decades. They are a blessing!

Byron was our first pastor when we moved to the Northwoods in 1978. He and Bibbie had been missionaries to what was then called Zaire for many years. They brought their love for people and their fascinating stories from Africa with them. Byron's daughter told us that one of the church hierarchy said of him, "Byron, you are not much good in the pulpit, but you sure know how to love your people."

We always felt their love. For God and for us. To this day.

Bibbie was Nathan's first Sunday school teacher. She made the Scriptures come alive for him. One day, I had Jon and Nathan outside with me while I was hanging up laundry. Jon was just a few months old and I had placed him in a laundry basket with dry clean blankets. Nathan was playing with toys at my feet. The sheets I had hung on the line kept blowing in his face and when he had had enough, he stood, raised his hands and shouted, "Peace, be still!"

Bibbie had taught him that Jesus could calm storms. Nathan took the lesson to heart.

wonderful, wonderful people

While I was in the Northwoods I was also able to meet with with the 'Bible study babes'. :)

How I miss sitting on Katie's brown couch in her cozy house, opening the Word together.

It was so wonderful that Jan was able to meet us at the airport. The two hours that we spent lunching and chatting together flew by:

And completely unrelated to any of the above, I forgot to show this little wallet I made for my niece for Christmas. Mary Englebreit Moda fabric, lined with some musical fabric. I tucked some spending money inside. She loved it!

friends

I had pre-arranged for Joyce to pick me up from the airport. Joyce and I make up two-thirds of the trio. She no longer lives in our former community, but the airport was on the way from her current home to the Northwoods.

It would be good to have that extra time with Joyce. We only get to see each other once every one or two years (not enough!). Another mutual friend of ours lives in the community where the airport is. I shouted out to her d-i-l on Facebook to let Jan know that I would be landing in Mosinee. But since I thought Jan was coming to the retreat, I didn't think any more about it.

Joyce was late getting to the airport, but my plane was later. Joyce rushed in to the baggage claim area looking around for me. She saw a familiar back of the head, but thought it too gray for me (but not by much!). Turns out it was Jan! Joyce and Jan had a lovely 20 minutes together (so I am told) while that waited for me.

Jan was not able to come to the retreat after all, but the three of us went to (a two hour) lunch together and got caught up on kids, grands, work and ministry opportunities. What a blessing!

The moral of this story, for me, is to do whatever you can to get together with old friends. Drop everything. You will be blessed. I still feel bad that I did not get to see everyone I wanted to see when up north, but that was due to lack of time, rather than lack of 'want to'.

It was great to reminisce with Jan and Joyce, as well as to catch up on the present. We could see God's faithful Hand upon each of our lives.

Now we look forward to the future together; excited to see what He has in store for us.

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!

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!

bffs

Many of us moved to the Northwoods in the late '70's - early '80's. Our motivations for doing so were varied, but many of us expressed a need to get 'back to the land' or 'out of the rat race'. We fled cities and suburbs and headed for the woods, thinking them a peaceful, safe place to raise our families, even though we sacrificed higher paying jobs to do so.


We were young, we were poor (relatively speaking) and we were far away from our families. So, in a sense, we became family to each other.

Of the 50+ people that attended our open house last week, many were in that group. We shared Christmases and Thanksgivings and birthdays. We went camping together and babysat each other's children. We had Bible studies together, planned VBS and Nesbit. Shared memories that bonded us together so that we were as close as family.

It was really a unique situation. Something that we can never recreate or recapture.


These gals and I were in a Bible study together for several years. Tears, laughter and growth. The joy of the LORD is our strength. How I love and miss these girls!

These two were with me at many critical junctures in my life. Ann, on the left, is the hostess with the mostest, and not only gladly let us stay at her home for several days but hosted a party for over 50 people. And did so exceptionally well.

Nancy (one of Daniel's second moms) and Ann were both with me shortly after I miscarried my baby in 1987. Ann met my emotional needs as grief stricken friend. Nancy, a nurse, took care of my physical needs, as well as my emotional needs. They each were there for me; using the gifts God had given them to minister to my breaking heart.

You can't buy friends like that.

As we chatted with dozens of people last week, we realized - again- how very blessed we are. To have so many wonderful, caring, compassionate people in our lives is a treasure indeed.

You don't have to flee to the woods to find friends like this...but I am so thankful to have known each and every one of these folks. They mean so much to me.

And now that we are in Tennessee and close to Mom and Dad, we are grateful to be living close to loved ones. But we are always on the lookout for new friends. Those special people that you build relationships with one adventure (or misadventure) at a time.

We have found some. And again - are so grateful.

~~~~~
Had to post a little bit of Northwoods ingenuity here. When your microwave wears out - give it new life as a mailbox! Waterproof with plenty of room for the day's mail!

the details

We're home.

What a wonderful trip.

Here are some of the particulars:

• 2, 730.1 miles
• 49.5 hours in the car
• 6 different beds in 12 nights
• saw 3 sons, two daughters-in-love, 1 grandson, 1 sister, 1 brother-in-law, 2 nephews, 1 cousin, and aunt and an uncle and well over 60 friends
• lots of good eats
• lots of laughs and hugs
• good fishing
• drove through one flood, one hailstorm, and two days of high winds
• our car did not fail us (some weather stripping came loose and we had to repair the sway bars, but we made it!)
• God showed His faithfulness, His loving kindness and His blessings to us over and over again.

Many thanks to Mom and Dad for keeping track of things here on the home front. They brought in the mail, mowed and bought us some groceries so we wouldn't have to run to the store as soon as we got home. Thanks!!!

Now for bills and other paper work and cleaning and laundry and yard work. I cut our lettuce all the way down before we left. In the ensuing 12 days, it not only grew...it bolted! Everything grew and looks lush and overgrown. Amazing!

More stories and pictures (couldn't get the picture loading feature of blogger to work this morning) of our trip next week.

this retirement stuff is pretty nice...

53 friends dropped by to see us last night. It was so wonderful. We hugged, chatted, smiled, laughed, cried (I cried when my friend Kim's husband Greg walked in - I miss her so much!) and reminisced.

Our emotional tanks are very full and we feel so loved.

Thanks so much to Ann and Randy for all the work they did to prepare for last night. Thanks to my favorite brother in the LORD for bringing all the table and chairs. Thanks to Ethel for bringing her amazingly yummy cheesecake (I'm assuming here....didn't get any) and lemon cake.

Thanks to all who brought goodies and admired the pictures of our very handsome/adorable grandson (this was an obligatory part of the evening).

We are so blessed and have the best friends in the world.

Thanks to all who came and thanks be to GOD for His many blessings!

behind me before me

peach blossom on the neighbor's peach tree

Today's agenda is much more pleasant than yesterday's. A friend of mine is visiting family in Nashville and we are meeting betwixt hither and yon for lunch. So looking forward to seeing her.
~~~~~
Yesterday's procedure went fine. Only one little polyp which is going in for one little biopsy. I won't have to have another colonoscopy* for 5 years (though I am a master of procrastination when it comes to things like this...could easily stretch to 7 or 8 years...).
~~~~~
I saw this quote this morning on a friend's facebook status:

"I am more and more assured that is does not matter so much WHAT we go through as HOW we go through it." Amy Carmichael
~~~~~

*haha - blogger offered an alternate spelling for colonoscopy - kaleidoscope! Don't think so!

looks like

another beautiful day. My aunt returns today, so it will be good to see her again and hear about her adventures over the past week.

When I got up this morning, I checked facebook, only to find out my niece had an emergency appendectomy in the middle of the night. Praying for you, Christina! Speedy recovery!

Our Jon had his appendix removed 6 days after he had returned home for a summer long mission trip to Czech Republic. While there is never a good time to have your appendix removed, we were so thankful he didn't have to have surgery over there!
~~~~~~~
Praying for a friend who is facing a very tough day today. And another one who buried her father yesterday while her mother hangs on by a thread. May the God of all comfort, comfort you.

Olympics

Generally, I let the Olympics go by without paying too much attention. Televised sporting events are a good opportunity for me to get some needlework done. I will watch the Super Bowl or Packer games to be sociable (and will cheer and holler at the television at the appropriate times), but never think to turn on a game or event if I am home alone.

But this year, this year, we actually knew an Olympic athlete. We have known her since her family moved to the Northwoods. Our families homeschooled together, worshipped together and fellowshipped together. Jon was baptized in ‘their’ lake. Jon and Jinelle’s brother double-dated for prom. Jinelle’s mom and I worked at the food pantry together.

Knowing an actual Olympian gave the games a whole new meaning. We watched every one of the USA women’s hockey games. We watched the opening ceremony, seeing her first when the USA entered the arena and later during a shot when the IOC president was speaking. We know her!

We screamed and hollered and jumped up off Mom and Dad’s couch (we don’t have satellite tv and for some reason these very important games were not televised on network tv).

We even got our neighbors caught up in USA women’s hockey fever. I sent them the link for Jinelle’s blog . And during Sunday school on Sunday the husband leaned over and whispered – ‘We watched your little girl play hockey.’ I smiled. Jinelle is six feet tall.

They handily won their first three games. The gold medal game was against Canada. Big rivalry. BIG rivalry.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an exciting game, but in the end the USA women lost.

Lost the game, but won the silver medal.

And our admiration.

(Especially since they didn’t celebrate their medal by smoking cigars and drinking champagne like a certain team from the north which shall remain nameless. )

visiting

It has been a long road for J. She had heart surgery late last summer. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong, but something did.

She has been in the hospital for months, in a nursing home, back in the hospital and now in a different nursing home.

She is a very sweet lady, a friend of Mom and Dad's from church. Mom and Dad and I are heading up to K'ville in a bit to spend some time with her.

And if I know J., she will cheer us as much as we cheer her.

gate crashers

that's North Carolina over there

Yesterday was the last day of our Bible study 'One in a Million' by Priscilla Shirer. Customarily we go out to lunch after the last session. Unfortunately our favorite little coffee/quiche spot closed its doors recently. So one of the gals invited us to her home.

She did not give us directions to her house, she simply said , "Let's meet up at Rose's Well Drilling and we will go from there." She lives in our town's one and only gated community. The plan was we would all follow her through the gate. I choose to ride with 2 gals who had lived here all their lives along with another who had lived here for 40 years. They were all confident they knew the way.

Not.

When we got to Rose's Well Drilling (not Bob's as one of the gals insisted), no one was there. We did not have any cell phone numbers of anyone in the other cars, which was not a big deal as there was no reception anyway.

After several wrong turns, we finally arrived at the gate.

"Who goes there?" said the gatekeeper.

Okay, he didn't really say that, but he wanted to know where we were going and why. "We are part of a Bible study group and we are going to ____for a luncheon. " explained our spokeswoman.

"Well, you look harmless enough," he replied and let us through. Yes, he really did say that. With a smile.

We drove up and up and up the mountain. M.'s house was the second from the top. It was gorgeous.

We had a good laugh about our tardiness and thoroughly enjoyed our time. I got a real taste of southern hospitality. The best cornbread I've ever had. Great laughs, very nice ladies.

A view from M's. deck all the way to North Carolina. And some great memories.

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.

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!

month of contrasts

this morning's sky

October days range from warm to cold. Days of great beauty and color to gray and drizzly.

Emotionally this month has been all over the place too. I have sent out 5 sympathy cards this month alone. Five families suffering the loss of a loved one.

Yet as I have worked out my grief over the last few days on this blog, I have been touched by friends reaching out with words of comfort. Thank you. Especially to kjh and Kathee, college friends whose emails came at just the right time.

Lest you think it is all sadness around here, let me assure you, it is not. There are five family birthdays this month. Reasons to celebrate.

I spent some time on Sue's husband's facebook page. Looking through the family photos and seeing so many pictures recording laughter and great times. Precious few pictures of Sue, she was the one snapping the shots, but the ones of her are so....her. Her family 'mugging' around her, Sue sitting calmly in their midst with a smile on her beautiful face. She will be so missed.

Her memorial service is tomorrow. Which, it occurred to me, is the 23 rd anniversary of my friend Diane's death. My. Two lovely ladies gone too soon. I am so blessed to have known both of them. (Amazing too, that I could 'google' Diane's name and find her though she was gone long before google had begun.)

Nate called with some wonderful news yesterday:


No, it is not their baby. This is the sweet little baby girl of their best friends. Her daddy is one of the snowboarders that we hosted every year when we lived up north. Her pictures on facebook are simply adorable. Congratulations to T. and C! And Nate and Michelle, I like this look! :)

Awaiting news of another birth today. C.'s c-section is scheduled for this morning.

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven....
Ecclesiastes 3:1

in loving memory

early morning mist on Nesbit Lake

Kind-hearted, sweet, encouraging, loving, uncomplaining.

You will hear these words and more to describe my friend Sue. Devoted wife, loving mother, creative, hard-working, wonderful friend.

Sue stepped into heaven yesterday after a long battle with cancer and the accompanying ravages the disease wracked upon her petite frame.

Praise God, she is in pain no more. Please pray for her family: her husband Dave (one of the funniest people I know), her daughters Stephanie (in college), Sarah ( high school) and David (middle school). They have been through a lot as they have watched Sue suffer. Now it will take time, tears, the love of their friends and God's grace to begin to piece together their new reality. There will be laughter and joy too. That family knows how to laugh.

Sue did not complain. Whining was an unknown language. I know she had dark days, but if you asked her how she was doing, she would say, "Good! How are you?" She always turned the conversation away from herself.

Sue was a home schooler extraordinaire. So creative. You should have seen the Magic School bus she made. And she was our 'go-to' person at Nesbit during Cranium games. She could draw with her eyes closed like nobody's business.

Sue helped me plan Nesbit in 2007. She was feeling good that year. And she would have taken all the work on herself if I would have asked her to. That is just the kind of person she was.

The Source of her strength was Jesus Christ. She is in His Presence now.

I can only imagine.

Well done, good and faithful servant!

why do birds suddenly appear?

Instead of meeting Randy and Ann in Townsend, I went all the way to Pigeon Forge. The revised plan was that I would meet Ann and her three friends from high school at the Burger King and we would venture out from there.

We made contact via cell phone, I told them I was waiting out front, they said they were just pulling into the parking lot.

I did not see them. They did not see me.

Turns out Pigeon Forge has more than one Burger King. Who knew?

When we finally got ourselves at the same Burger King, I climbed into Ann's van and we went to the cabin they were staying in. We walked, we ate, we sat on the porch overlooking a 'holler' and just enjoyed visiting.

Then we girls decided to brave the twin cities (read: tourist traps) of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

First stop was this pottery shop.
Beautiful pottery. I could have looked and looked and lightened our bank account by quite a bit, but I called on all the self-discipline I could muster and refrained. While the other gals bought, Ann and I sat out on the deck on a bench under a shade tree.

My reward for my self-control? As Ann and I chatted, I felt something first on my head and then on my shoulder. Some little bird perched in the tree above decided to let me know what it thought of me. Eeewwww.

Back into the pottery shop I went, seeking a bathroom so I could clean up. The shopkeeper thanked me for not making a fuss and when I expressed that it certainly wasn't her fault and no one could blame her, she said 'you'd be surprised'.

Along the way down the mountain there were several groups of shops. This, before we even got to Gatlinburg proper. We randomly stopped at one grouping and found some very nice shops. Including this beauty. I may have bought a little bit of fabric here, throwing self-control out the window since it had been so negatively reinforced earlier.

I hope to get back to this little shop. My aunts and cousins will be here in a few weeks and I think I can at least talk one of them into stopping and checking out all the luscious fabric.

All too soon, our time was over and Ann and the gals dropped me off at my car. A good time was had by all.

Now, I may disparage Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg as tourist traps and they are. Especially if you stay on the main drag. You know, you've seen one garishly decorated mini-golf course, you've seen them all. But if you get off the main drag there are all kinds of delightful shops. You could go shopping every day for months, I would guess, and never enter the same place twice.

However, and let this be our little secret, I really enjoy shopping in these towns. And I don't like shopping!

C'mon down and see us. I'll take you shopping. But please understand if I don't sit on any benches under trees.

friends are friends forever

Today's agenda:

Stop in for the first half of Bible study.
Head to Townsend with Pat to meet Ann and Randy for lunch.

Could there be a better agenda for a day?