I'm feeling my age, ladies.....

On the tenth, the morning we left for our cruise, I tripped and had a terrible fall.  I proceeded on to the airport and caught my plane.  As the day progressed, my misery intensified and consequently, I spent most of my week in my stateroom---first on ice and then on heat.  Needless to say it was a very long week, and I longed for home. 

I have been home now for eleven days and last night was the first night I was able to sleep on my side, so I'm so thankful for that!  (I don't sleep well on my back)

Anyway, these last eighteen days have been a time of reflection for me as I have sat and endured the very slow process of healing.  I have made some decisions that will make me sad, but I have come to believe that they are best for me.

I am leaving this blog, but will be keep my card blog open.  Believe me, when I say, that the friendships I have gathered through you, dear fellow bloggers, have been precious to my soul.  I plan to continue to follow all of your blogs.  I may not always comment, but rest assured, I am reading your posts and am being blessed by them!

I hope that you will feel free to email me or call anytime.  Please do. 

I didn't finish writing my spiritual journey in depth,  as I had planned, but much of the end of the story is here.  If you skip down about half way, you will learn the "rest of the story"!

This has been a great "ride" and I've gleaned so much through blogging, but it is time to spend more time in the things I have often neglected in the past few years.

So I say good-bye from blog land, but hope to continue the friendships which I have with so many of you.

I'm off to see the world!!!!

I interrupt the saga of telling my spiritual journey to let you know that I'm on my way to the Mexican Rivera for a week on a cruise with three ports of call.  I've been there at least five times, but always enjoy the ship, visiting the towns, and just relaxing.


This is a small group this time--my daughter Tammy, by brother and his wife, and me.  We'll have a great time.  We're all game players, so I know we will be having fun with that.  I always have books to read along, and Tammy and I are both in different Bible Studies, so we will have to carve out daily time to work on that so we don't fall behind.  I enjoy sitting by one of the huge windows in any of the lounges and just drinking in the greatness of the ocean when we are on the high seas.  Those times alone are wonderful for reflecting, praying and praising!!




Thanks to all of you who have been praying specifically for my back to hold up.  It has and it is!!  I'm praising the Lord for that!!  I'm really looking forward to the sunshine, not cooking any meals, and having all of my temporal needs met--even having my room cleaned daily and my bed made for me!!  Awwwww--I tell you, its the life!!!  : )


Two years ago for Thanksgiving we did this same cruise, only with our kids and the grandchildren and we had a great time.  I will leave you with a few scenes from same area, 2007!

I'll miss visiting your sites!  Until later.......

My Spiritual Journey, part 3--a taste of Heaven!

“We write to taste life twice, 

in the moment and in retrospection” 
~Anais Nin

FAll 1950

Westmont bound

healing begins

I left for Westmont in Santa Barbara that September, glad to escape the terrible grief and sadness which permeated our home after our little David's early Home going.

Arriving on campus was a little like a foretaste of Heaven.  True healing began as I found myself in the arms of a wonderful Christian atmosphere, which bathed me in love, prayer, God's righteousness, and so many blessings.

The friendships I formed at Westmont were deep and still strong today.

One of the things we did at Westmont was sing.  We sang in dinner lines, we gathered in the lounge after dinner and sang, we had 'sings', we went to the beach and ended up singing.  I learned that year that music is a 'balm' to the soul.

Our freshman class song was "Living for Jesus".

As I sang that song again and again throughout that year, the Spirit softened my heart, and I learned to rejoice, again, in who I was in Christ.  I have no words to explain the heights and depths of my emotions that year as I fell in love with Jesus Christ with so much more depth than I had ever experienced!

How could I sing the chorus from my heart

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

without life changing happenings in my heart and life?
 

...and then, there was the first verse which I soon could honestly sing and mean every breath of what I was singing!

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

It was a year of 

beautiful experiences,

beautiful friendships,

beautiful memories,

amazing healing,

and

life changes which have been with me through out my life!

*******
a postscript--today's Daily Bread had this quote at the bottom
"A heart in tune with God can't help but sing His praise."

My Spiritual Journey--through the summer of 1950

You might want to read part 1 of my spiritual journey if you missed it. 

********

Beaverton Union High School graduation

Deadly Accident

Rebellion

Bitterness

Anger

Agony

Grief

My childhood Bible

Its tattered and torn, but it served me well during those 'tween years before college.  The King James Version was the only version I had seen as a young person.  I found it laborious to read, hard to understand, at times, and often struggled with consistency in being in the Word.  During my teen years I look back and see that I was a fairly "pompous" Christian, priding myself on what I did not do, rather than Whom I served!!  I realize now, with hindsight, that I knew very little about a 'gut-level' relationship with the Lord, nor did I have a grasp of what it meant to grieve the Holy Spirit.

I was outwardly pious, but inwardly I was something of a rebel.  I had two vices--one was dragging Broadway in downtown Portland on Saturday nights, and the other was an addiction to roller skating!!

I had a good friend (Christian family) who had no limits put on her and she had the use of a car.  So....I often spent the night with her  where there were no curfews...and we were on the wild side--nothing terrible, but I would have embarrassed my mother if she had seen me yelling out of the car windows on Broadway!!

I graduated from high school in 1950 and  I had my acceptance letter from Westmont College in Santa Barbara.  I was elated over going away to college and excited about planning all I would need to take with me, shopping for clothes, and all the things that go with going out of state for school.  Little did I know what lay ahead that summer....

During the summer of 1950, my adored uncle (my mom's youngest brother), in a terrible accident, backed over and killed his own little four year son.  This had happened at a southern Oregon beach town, so it was the next day that a friend drove them to our home where they stayed for many weeks.  It was the darkest time I had ever experienced.  I remember standing in my bedroom and shaking my fist at God and yelling. "Why? Why? Why?" and feeling such anger at God.  I scared myself!

Until that day, I had never seen my Father cry.  Family gathered at our home waiting for my Uncle and family to arrive.  I saw my big, strong, farmer Uncle (Mom's oldest brother), who came with his family, walk in and stretch out on my parents' bed and sob like a baby.  Later in the day we all received the grieving family into our home, our hearts,  and into our arms.  

Family--what an all encompassing word!  

We huddled close, we wept, we planned a funeral, we viewed the remains of a beautiful little golden-haired child.....and we wept some more.

It was terrible to see my handsome young uncle, who stood 6 feet, 6 inches, reduced to a sobbing confused, childlike man, who had just turned 40!  Even as I write this, almost sixty years later, my heart wrenches in remembrance!  We actually spoon fed him, for in his grief, he could not eat without help.  (My Uncle lived another forty years, had two more sons, but the twinkle in his eye, died with his little David!)

A root of bitterness welled up in me that summer against God, and I was overwhelmed, watching my aunt and uncle trying to mend their shattered lives, as they dealt with grief in a way that I had had yet to experience.

This was my first "valley" experience.  There were to be many more, but none have been quite so raw as this one was.

coming--the college years and healing

My Spiritual Journey, part 1

1932

A Swiss Miss is born

1941

The High Calling

Good News

Born Again

Finding a Well of Peace

Certainty in an Uncertain World

I was the first child of my parents, Bud and Grace. Dad was a grocery store manager and mother was the head of an obstetrics hospital here in Portland. My mother was a Christian, but my father was not. They had married without her parents' full blessing.

When I was four years old, an evangelist, Charles E. Fuller came to our town, Baker, Oregon, for one night. It was below zero, but Mother persuaded Dad to go. He was truly gloriously changed that night as he found the Lord....and his life was never to be the same again. He was so excited he forgot his overcoat, despite the cold temperature.

Shortly after that, we returned to Portland and were part of a body of believers called Grace and Truth Assembly (Plymouth Brethren). After the mornings of worship and preaching, I used to come home truly disturbed over all of the talk about "eternity". In fact, it was the most disturbing word in my childhood vocabulary! "Forever" just blew my mind and I found it frightening to think about.

************

As the winds of war began to whirl around us, the inner peace was driven further away. After letting these thoughts fester in my inner being for several years, one night, long after I had gone to bed, I couldn't sleep, as the prospect of eternity was so overwhelming to me. It was at that time I knew that I was not a Christian and out of fear of the consequences, I got out of bed, went down to the living room and crawled onto my Dad's lap and spilled out all of my fear and unhappiness. My Daddy led me to the Lord Jesus that night and I asked Him to come into my life. I confessed to God, that night, that I was a sinner and needed the Savior....and I was forgiven. My heart was cleansed and set free. Oh JOY! for that little nine year old girl, who had struggled so long about being "left behind". I HAD BECOME PART OF THE FAMILY OF GOD!!

He has held me with an everlasting love from that night on, even though I have been rebellious, have been cold in my heart toward Him, have drifted and have grieved His precious Spirit within, many times. However I have never doubted His love for me. (I have certainly doubted my love for Him over the years, but I have always been secure in Him, although I had a period in my life when I believed that God had turned his back upon me.)

stay tuned--there's more

What's Happening??

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I've just been flat down for the past twelve days with this dastardly back of mine. Today I am feeling improvement and must get back to blogging!

Some time ago, Joanne, at Blessed, challenged us to tell our Spiritual story. I've thought about it a lot--have vacillated back and forth--and have decided to do mine..... in segments.

I had written it out about ten years ago when I was asked to speak to a group of people. I had made a visual to go with the presentation, but rather than use that, I will preface each post with the words I had highlighted in my visual.



So............the next post will be Part I of my spiritual journey. In places it is brutally honest, and I hope I can share these valleys of my life which I've kept pretty close to my heart over the years.

ANGST (my favorite word right now)

anxiety

fear

apprehension

worry

foreboding

trepidation

malaise

disquiet

disquietude

unease

uneasiness

Have you ever known any of these feeling?????

I spent part of my summer under a dark cloud which I didn't talk about much, but every day life seemed darker and darker. One morning as I faced my day, the weight upon my heart was a black burden bearing my spirit some place I didn't want to go.

I was pretty sure it was situational....so I examined the whole thing, delved into circumstances, and came up with two pretty big situations that were burdening me down.

#1 The Speaker of the House had made an announcement about mid-summer, that any one who did not agree with the proposed health plan was unamerican! I took that statement to heart and let it ruminate within...and it did ruminate!!

I had and still have many questions about the proposed health care plan. I have read large segments of it and it left me frankly, distressed. My biggest concern was the speed which it was being railroaded down our throats, without the leaders having read it all, We need health care reform in this country, but my questions were what is the rush, other than to get it through, regardless of errors and what it truly meant to us as Americans.

But the main thought for me was that I have always felt like a good American. I have tried to live right, to pay what I owe the government, have been law-abiding, and very patriotic! Now, I'm told I am not a good American if I question the health care plan. I began to feel oppressed, loss of freedom of my thoughts and in the ability to express them without censure, and I began to grieve for my America. My fickle mind took me down many trails, and I, for a time, forgot Whose I am, I think!

#2 About this same time, some spokesman from the White House, gave out an email address and asked us to report any negative emails we received about the health plan, and from whom it came.

That almost sent me over the edge!!

Is this America.....

or pre-war Germany where school children were encouraged to report their parents if they weren't totally for the regime,

or was this Russia where people were encouraged to report any Christian gatherings to the hierarchy.

I could not believe that such a site had been set up for tattling on one another in MY America! (The site has recently been shut down)


From these two situations, I allowed my mind to take me to the darkest places in thinking where this sort of thing could lead.

However, as I pondered all of this that had been ruminating for several weeks, I realized that I had not turned to the Source of healing and peace, and in getting into the Scriptures I found solace and comfort in the following scriptures.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

and last, but not least.....

Psalms 37
look it up...and be blessed

Gradually, the blackness lifted and I began to appreciate that if and when I have to face terrible trials in my own country, I have to believe that the Spirit of God will give me what I need to face whatever it is. In the meantime, I only have to live moment to moment....and not borrow tomorrow's troubles.

A friend reminded me of this truth...

Time is an instant on the line of eternity.
We are not in control!

This is an account of a real spiritual battle I faced this summer. It was not written with any intent to offend anyone whose beliefs are different from mine. This is an account of my reality....and my peace at last.

I wish the Speaker of the House could have known those
who were born and raised in this farm house
where patriotism was taught, right along with the Word of God.
They were the "salt of the earth".
They were my heritage!

God Bless America!!

Dad

Although its been thirty one years since I've celebrated Father's Day with my Dad,

he lives on in my heart and mind as if it were yesterday.

He was a man who did not know a stranger and befriended many people over the years. Dad was a soul winner and never failed to share the Lord's goodness to those he met. The consummate host, I can safely say that hundreds enjoyed meals around my parents' table! He loved his Lord, his wife, his kids, and his grand kids.

He was simply Bud Thompson,
born December 20, 1902!

number six of fourteen sibs

left home at age fourteen--didn't see his last sister until she was six

by seventeen he was a sheep herder for my grandfather
packing for a summer in the hills with the sheep

catching fish in those mountain streams in eastern Washington

by age nineteen he was in the army
boys will be boys, no matter the generation they are from

still working on the ranch in 1927--check out those boots!

In 1931, by now a manager at Safeway, he married the sheep rancher's daughter, my mother,
who was the love of his life until the day he died.

By 1932, I was born and he immediately wrote to his Mother about this first baby of his...

"Dear Mama and Folks, Well everything is over and we have a dandy girl looks just like Grace only has big blue eyes instead of brown. Grace is feeling fine and happy as can be. She sure is glad its over. I have a dandy family now. I told Grace as we were going in, that I'd just as soon have a girl. Her name is Joan Claire--pretty name, I think don't you? She weighs 9 lb & 6 1/2 oz--just a small baby. Gee, I sure feel funny. Papa Bud?? I could only look thru the window at her. Grace will come home in about 10 days. I sure will be glad. Gee, I love that girl, both of them.............. Gee, Mama, we sure have a nice baby. I sure wish you were here. Grace is getting a lot of attention from everyone as she has so many friends She sure is a dandy....
Well, Bye Bye from Joan & Grace & Papa Bud

At the time I was born, my Dad was not a believer, even though he had the way of salvation explained to him over and over, he just didn't "get it". In a book that my mother wrote of her life, was one special letter she wrote to her grandchildren. It recorded a day in my Dad's life she never forgot and she wanted the grandchildren to know the story.

She wrote:
"This is one thing I should tell. It was the one event that made the greatest change in our lives. Bernie was 18 months old about. It was Armistice night, November 11, 1935. Mr. Charles E. Fuller came to Baker, Oregon for one night. Grandpa went with me, because I wanted him to go. That night Mr. Fuller talked about the Ark, and God shut the door--Grandpa said he knew that he was not inside the Ark. He accepted the Lord that night, asked forgiveness of his sins and Joan and Bernie had a new father, a new man in Christ. What a difference it made in his life...and ours. He had only one desire for each of you, that you would be saved. I do pray for each one of you every day. I do want you to please the Lord, and live for the Lord, if you belong to Him--Always remember what a real man of God your grandfather was. I always wish he could have been with us longer, because of his influence on our lives, but he was here long enough to leave his mark if we think about it. My blessings on you, and remember, "Only one life, twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last. Your grandmother"

mid life was here before we knew it

the unruly curls of his youth settled into a nice wave

The years passed so quickly. Two more babies would be born to this family, Dad opened his own grocery store in Beaverton, Oregon and eventually became a broker for a large gourmet company, from which he retired.

a vital, busy man until the end

and finally the last picture of him, taken that summer at Manzanita Beach

His love for children never ended. I am privileged to have called him 'Dad,' thankful my children called him 'grandpa', and grateful always, that one night, when I was nine years old, I sat on his lap and he gently and firmly led me to the Lord.

I had a good father, not polished as some are, but a diamond in the rough, a vessel through which the love of Christ shone for many years, and a man, who one morning, after Bible reading with my Mother, without warning, simply left us, at age 75, to enter into the arms of the One he adored, his beautiful Saviour!

I rejoice in the father I was given, not perfect, but he loved us..and the older I get, the more I rejoice and am thankful for all that this father I called mine, provided in my life.

I miss my Dad, even after all of these years. I know I shall see him again--what a precious thought!

And with this very long post, I bid you farewell until fall--please don't take me off your lists--just let me drop to the bottom. Lord willing, I shall return with renewed time and energy in September.

A little "lovey" joined our family today!!

This was a day of blessing, answered prayers, lots of emotions, joy, thanksgiving, and rejoicing as we welcomed this wee little fellow into our hearts and families!

This is Cole Christopher, nestling on his Daddy's chest. He was born at noon today and weighed 7 pounds and 15 ounces! He is 20 inches long and an absolutely beautiful little baby boy!!

Cole and his Daddy.

I have a cute picture of the Mommie, but she looks so weary in it, that I decided not to include it. I will say that she looked beautiful, with wonderful color in her face, and was a sweet picture of new motherhood!

For the ladies who like the details, they got to the hospital, at midnight, (pre-arranged). She was given something to soften things up. She stayed at a 1 throughout the night without contractions. At 6 am her water broke, contractions began at 7 am and by noon baby was here. So I would say that a six hour process was wonderful for her with a first baby.
She never had to have the "pit" drip which was such a blessing!

So....it was a reminder, once again, of the miracle that is called birth.

We rejoice tonight for the goodness of God's hand on this marvelous little boy

and his safe delivery.

His Mommie and Daddy have no idea, yet, what a love affair they are embarking upon!
They are blessed....and so are we!

Getting ready for summer

For Mother's Day, daughter Tammy gave me a certificate worth five hours of her help! What a gift for me! She did all of the planting for me, which is such a blessing.

A couple of weeks ago and I got my hanging pots at the nursery. They are unusually pretty this year, I think. The first one is from my son and his family for Mother's Day and I loved the pink of the Impatiences and was able to match the colors in the remaining baskets.

The sitting pots are all planted and dispersed around the yard and patio. This one is a sample. I will have to retake this picture in one month and we'll all enjoy how nature will have grown it!
This hanging wall planter is one of my favorites. Here it is close-up!
I have been in the process of organizing, tossing, etc. in my craft room.
It is slowly, but surely, getting done. I do run across things I forgot I had, so I have had to stop and make things along the way.

Below is a box I made, filled with cards, for a friend's birthday.

I had some ladies in for a birthday luncheon for my friend on Sunday, so had the box by her place at the table.
Having this luncheon was a huge boost for me psychologically, as I don't entertain much anymore because of my unpredictable back. I was thrilled to have it go off with very little discomfort and feel ready to try it again.

Always when I use my Mom's china, I feel close to her. I used one of Mom's recipes she often used for the many luncheons she used to have. My friends all knew my Mom well and it seemed right to use her things for this special group of friends!

Update

My doctor's nurse just called me and said that my CT scan showed no nodules present!! Isn't that amazing? I feel like I have had a wonderful answer to prayer. Thank you to all of you who prayed for me. Truly I am rejoicing. I had decided that I probably had the same lung disease that my Mom had, Pulmonary Fibrosis...not for now, at least.

Now on to new posts in the days to come!! ...and continued organizing!! which is coming right along. The trouble is I run into something I forgot about and stop and make a card, or a decorative box, or something which sidetracks me!

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!!

X Rays and other things

You know I am really scraping the bottom of the barrel with today's subject. I often think if I was still teaching and in the middle of raising my kids, I would have so much to write about..but those days are past..and so here I am....living a fairly quiet life without too much happening. (and loving it, I should add.)

For the past two months I have had a dry, involuntary cough, which has been sooooo annoying! After seeing the doctor on Monday, he sent me for a chest x-ray, and put me on a five day antibiotic. I thought I had had a miracle cure, until this morning when I woke up coughing again with a vengeance!

I received a call from the doctor's nurse this morning telling me that the chest X-ray revealed several nodules on my left lung and I need to have a CT scan, so I will have it tomorrow.

You need to know that I am a worrier plus!! In my mind this morning, I have had myself undergoing a lung biopsy, making decisions if I will allow surgery or not, wondering how I will tolerate Chemo, if "this" is what will take me. All borrowing tomorrow's troubles, of course.

My mother used to say, "Sufficient unto the day, is the trouble thereof."

So....I've explored all the options, have laid it to rest, and am waiting for the antibiotic to kick in and cure me of any spots in my lungs! (that is my hope)

These little blips in the road are wonderful faith builders for reminding ourselves of Whose we are and in Him our days are ordered.

So now, with all of this off my chest, I'm off to continue organizing my office/card room. I LOVE to organize!!

Thanks for listening!

Errands and Observations

Yesterday, as I set off to complete my list of things to do, I made my first stop at Radio Shack. I went in for a battery for my phone, my car key 'thingie', and my garage door opener, and a cheap new phone for my bedside. This turned into a twenty minute stop as my clerk wanted to sell me the store!! I nicely turned down the more expensive phone with all the bells and whistle I didn't need, turned down the insurance policies, rejected his suggestion that I get a new phone to replace the phone for which I was getting a replacement battery. We even had a discussion over my cell phone and what he could do for me with one of theirs. I finally thanked him and escaped to get to my second stop.

My favorite scrapping store was next on my list. The owner is always so helpful and always answers my questions and knows exactly where to direct me for some of my favorite papers. As I visited with her and took her ready help, I couldn't help but remember that this dear woman eighteen months ago, held her eleven year old son in her arms as he died, as they were rushing him to the hospital with flu symptoms. I marvel at her grace and sereneness after all of this...and I admire her courage to carry on and her faith in the Lord which surely must be the reason she is able to even breathe!

She shared with me that she has a little grandson whom she adores. I rejoice with her for this child in her life. She showed me an adorable little scrapbook she had made for him. I liked it so much that I bought all of the trappings to make one!

After quick stops at the post office, the library, and Craft Warehouse, I was finally able to reach my final destination of the day---lunch out with my current book!!

And that is when I observed something which I hope isn't a new trend. At a booth across the room from me was a darling young couple. I glanced their way a couple of times when I saw what was occupying them. He had a laptop propped open on the table in front of him and she was totally wrapped up in a conversation on her cell phone! throughout their whole lunch!

Such is the electronic age! I guess I am way more comfortable with my nose in a book....but I don't think I've done that yet....if I have a companion with me!!

..and so my day went--interesting and productive!

Off the subject.....the Roadies are blooming and the sun is shining!

A Triumphant Week comes to a close....for now!

Some things I learned over the past few days...

In the phrase, "the old young people" the operative word is OLD!

Being raised in a marvelous, Godly, extended family was a blessing beyond measure!

I did not know my heart could be so full of love for all of my family.

I did not know the depth of thanksgiving with which my heart overflows .

I did not know the Peruvian flag could make such a beautiful center piece
when interspersed with gorgeous red geraniums!


Perhaps, most of all, I am learning that saying good bye to these precious friends, cousins, saints, and examples of Godly living, will be very, very hard,
as they plan to finish out their lives in their beloved Peru!
(I am hoping we can talk them into one more trip home....)

Saturday, May 2, 2009, Eastgate Bible Chapel, Portland, Oregon

I learned that time goes by so fast.
How did my dear cousin Jane and I get from this picture

to this one???

"Life at best is very brief, like the falling of the leaf....."

I know I have lots more to learn.

I have learned that life is a school with many
lessons and many blessings
along the way!

Here are a few pictures from the Open House on Saturday.

The honorary doctorate degree and the cap and neck piece
which hangs down the front of the gown.

Newlyweds, in 1949!

Interesting articles, pictures, and mementos on a bulletin board.

It was a wonderful afternoon, with a lovely program of remembrance. There was a video made, which I know I will enjoy watching.

...and I, who never allow my picture to be taken, had it taken twice!!

The Week Marches On...

The graduation is over, the honorary doctorate has been bestowed, and Bert and Colleen remain unruffled by all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding such an honor. Its been a busy week, with tomorrow bringing the Open House celebration. It will be a little bit like Heaven, I'm thinking, greeting so many we haven't seen for some time.

I am sharing what was read about the Elliots before the doctorate was bestowed. It is long, and my main reason for posting it in its entirety, was so family and friends could see it. (I know I could have emailed it, but somehow, having it on my blog is a good way to remember it.)

*********************************

Western Seminary’s Board of Trustees has the privilege of granting honorary degrees to individuals whose Christian service has been especially meritorious, and whose life and ministry epitomize what Western desires for its graduates. The recipient of this year’s honorary doctoral degree is Herbert Elliot.

In 1949, Bert and his wife Colleen arrived in Peru as newlyweds. There they implemented a church planting strategy that used their medical/dental training and evangelistic abilities to bring the gospel to many remote communities along major jungle rivers such as the Amazon.

In 1956, following the death in Ecuador of Bert’s younger brother Jim, the Elliots expanded their ministry to the mountains of Peru. This required additional adjustments to both a new culture and a new approach to ministry. For the next 30 years, they developed a network of churches in both the Peruvian jungle and mountains.

Bert and Colleen made yet another major ministry shift in 1988 when they moved to the coastal city of Trujillo. Due largely to their ministry (in partnership with Western graduates Jorge and Donna Osorio), the church known as Centro Biblico Trujillo has become a major church planting and missionary sending center. In addition, the Elliots founded the Jim Elliot Christian School, which currently offers a K-12 education to about 250 students.

No human can fully recognize the amount of heavenly good that has been achieved through the Elliots’ sixty years of faithful ministry. Yes, we can count the 115 churches that were planted; but we can only guess how many comprise the multitude of lives that were transformed directly and indirectly through Bert and Colleen’s ministry.

What makes this impact all the more incredible is recognizing the many challenges the Elliots faced in Peru, from contracting diseases associated with jungle life and medical work to opposition from cocaine dealers and Marxist terrorists.

When Randy Alcorn concluded his chapter in a recent volume entitled, Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints, he used Bert and Colleen Elliot as his final example of long lives well-lived. After recounting a conversation he had with Bert that contrasted the ministry of the two Elliot brothers, Randy pens these words: “While Jim’s relatively short life was like a meteor that blazed dramatically across the sky, Bert’s life is more like a faint star that rises night after night and faithfully crosses the same path in the sky, largely unnoticed on earth.”

Bert, we have noticed that star; and in honoring you, we recognize that we are at the same time honoring Colleen, and ultimately the Lord whom you both have so faithfully served.

So, in recognition of his distinguished ministry in significantly advancing the cause of Christ (especially in the realm on global mission), Western Seminary is delighted to confer the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree upon Herbert Elliot.

The Old Young Peoples' Group!

With the arrival of Bert and Colleen Elliot on Wednesday, comes the revival of the old
young peoples' group! There will be get-togethers, visits, re-newing of friendships in
the weeks ahead, as we gather together to honor and refresh our enjoyment of these
two special people!



It will begin this morning with Western Seminary having a graduation in which Bert will be
honored with an honorary doctorate degree to commemorate his sixty years of
missionary work in Peru.


There will be a handful of brave 'old youth group' people who will attend this
graduation ceremony.



Since they are only to be here for three weeks, there will be lots of activities packed in.
On Sunday we'll have visitors from around town at our Fellowship, who will be there
just to get a chance to visit with Bert and Colleen.



On Monday I am taking them out to lunch so we can have a good visit and I can just
soak up the love of God they radiate! We will talk of many things, remember many
good memories together, and before the lunchtime is over, Cousin Bert will say, "So,
how is your walk with the Lord, Joanie?' ...and I will have to confess to just "coasting"
too much of the time.



On Thursday we will have breakfast with them with my brother and his wife joining
us. Again, it will be a time of warm fellowship and just loving each other.


Then on the second of May, we begin with an extended family breakfast together. (We
are a pretty big crowd when we are all together) Bert's sister, Jane, will be here from
Wheaton. Jane and I are exactly the same age and have been close friends since we
were toddlers, so I'm so excited to see her and spend some time!!

Joan,Jane-11 months old at back of Elliot home

Here we are at age four in front yard of Elliot home at 7272.

My brother, Bernie joins us.

Elizabeth Elliot and husband Lars, will not be able to come. They were in Peru in
February with Bert and Colleen so will not make the trip now. We had thought Jim
Elliot's daughter, Valarie, was coming, but the last word is that she will not be
coming. I was disappointed about that, as I haven't seen her in years.



In the afternoon there is to be an Open House at a local Bible Chapel, built to hold
several hundred people. This will be a time of celebration of Bert and Colleen's
sixtieth wedding anniversary and their sixtieth year on the field in Peru.



That's when the 'old young people' will flock together and have a rip-roaring time
revisiting the past with long-forgotten memories revived, laughed over, and
remembered with pleasure.
































We did have fun!! Hayrides and backyard cookouts! Simple, but such good times. That's me in the white 'pedal pushers' and plaid shirt in the barn!




I love these get togethers when we see friends and relatives we don't get to see too often.


So........for the next few days there will be lots of excitement in my life. I like that!

Resurrection Day Greetings

Somebody Special

I would like you to meet Bert and Colleen Elliot, Missionaries, who have served in Peru since 1949. They will soon be home for a few weeks, with many special events planned for them. Since I will be writing of these wonderful family occasions, I thought you should be introduced to two of the dearest people in my life.

Where do I begin? Bert, I have known all my life, and Colleen almost as long. Even as young people, they were exemplary in their walk with the Lord.

As a very young couple, they were willing to follow God’s will in going to minister in Peru. Now in their 60th year of service, only eternity will reveal all that God has been pleased to do through these two dear servants of God.

They began their work in in a hot humid river town called Lagunas. There they shared a tiny cottage with another missionary couple. Their shared house had rammed earth walls and a dirt floor, without benefit of electricity, running water, bathroom - or privacy. They lived for several months, as newlyweds, in this situation. (Its hard to imagine isn’t it?)

They have lived in the high mountains, as well as on the jungle rivers where they spent time on their boat, the Maranatha. For several months of the year, they ministered to many little riverside towns and villages.

In their early years, part of their ministry consisted of Bert pulling teeth and Colleen delivering babies. As they begin to see fruit in their labours, little groups of believers began to form in Yurimaguas, where they lived for many years, and in the river villages. They grew into churches as they studied the Word and recognized leadership.

Since 1988 they have lived in the seaside town of Trujillo.

Elizabeth Elliot’s husband, Lars, wrote after a visit, “They are available for any who call or that ring the doorbell, whether expected or unexpected. Along with open doors there are the Bible Studies, their involvement in the Christian School which is part of the church that was started years ago. Plus there is an exceptional drug program leading addicts into a new life based on Scripture. Not all make it, but many respond to the Gospel.”

Lars goes on to write, “All this after 59 years on the field with no thought of rocking chair or hanging out a shingle saying, ‘busy, please call again.’ What a life of service!”

Bert said to Lars on their last day visiting that if he had been given paper and pencil and told to draw out the perfect wish and plan for his life, it would not have been half as good as what the Lord opened for them. He quoted from Psalm 16, “the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

In looking back over their lives in Peru, Bert says, “It is like looking back from a moving boat. You see the beautiful patterns in the wake. We found God’s will and now look back with wonder and adoration to see what God has done.”

As I gathered data for this collection of thoughts, my own observations over the many years we’ve been friends, as well as cousins, are rich in warm, wonderful memories. They are such happy people, always smiling, and radiating Christlike love in all of their comings and goings. Several years ago, they both had bouts with cancer, a knee replacement, and they continue to live with the general problems of aging bodies.

Home on furlough, a long time ago, we were all at a family picnic and I asked Bert to look at my six year old Susie’s tooth which was growing in strangely. He asked our Uncle Ted for some pliers and calmly pulled her offending tooth before Sue knew what had happened.

From the time my Jonathan was about three, every time “Uncle” Bert came home, he would be just enthralled. When he was about three or four, whenever anyone came to our house, he would sit them all down, pass out “Bibles” to everyone, then announce he was going to preach to them like “Uncle Bert” does, and he would proceed to “preach” just telling Bible story after Bible story, until he ran out of stories. He would close his Bible, say “amen” and that was the end. I had a few neighbors that used to stop in just to hear him “preach”. Just a funny little kid story, but what an example Bert was to Jonathan....the beautiful part of that story is that Jon’s son, Elliot, is just as enthralled with “Uncle” Bert as his Dad was!

...and today, Jonathan, the grown man, preaches.

I cannot close this without mentioning their music. They sing together in beautiful harmony. Their melodious voices can lift the spirits like none I’ve ever heard! People were drawn to them in the town squares of the many little villages, they visited, by their singing, with Colleen playing the accordion. Bert then had the opportunity to preach.

Over the sixty years we’ve seen them every few years when they came home for furlough, we have spent many happy hours together in my home. I never let them leave without blessing us with a duet to complete the evening.

I want to close this with the meaningful words from a hymn I have heard them sing in duet many times.........

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
***
And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Stay tuned for more!

A Glorious Sunday

Today 'Mr. Golden Sun' is shining! It is a marvelous day. Seventy degrees and blessing us all! We have so many dark gray days in Oregon, that it feels like rebirth when the sun comes out!!

I feel like a different person when the sun shines. I've been just rejoicing since I woke up with renewed energy, and a happy heart.

This is indeed ' the day that the Lord has made'....and I am rejoicing in it! I hope it is followed by many more identical days!!

Just thought I would share our good news with all of you!!

Oregon's Columbia River Gorge

Some pictures from last week's trip up the gorge to enjoy the beautiful sights along our lovely Columbia River.

Here's Sophie, the Yorkie, looking around from some type of harness her 'mom' wears.

Grandson Elliot who declined my offer of a haircut very vehemently!!

Molly, looking a little windblown in front of Multnomah Falls.

High up on the old Columbia River Highway, sits the Vista House, from which the next few pictures were taken.

The far background in these pictures is the state of Washington
which borders the Columbia River on the north side!

Hope you enjoyed a few pictures from our beautiful Oregon!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Here's a night shot taken recently during our big snow event, no idea who took it, but to get that much clarity and depth of field they were good!! The Hawthorne Bridge is one of the several which crosses the Willamette river through the heart of the city. The river is very still in this shot, which is unusual, but for the small hours of the morning when river traffic is nil and the wind is quiet.

Enjoy!!

"Daddy's here."

Several years ago my grandchildren were baptized by their Dad one Sunday after the morning service at their church. As grandson, Elliot, stepped down into the water to join his waiting Dad, he was visibly shaking and his nervousness was very apparent. As soon as he was in the water, his Dad gathered him close to himself and through his mike we could hear him say to his son, "Its okay, buddy, Daddy's here." And with that Elliot's body relaxed into his Dad's.

As I heard this, of course, I was moved. I almost immediately thought of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We tremble and shake over the courses of events which fill our lives, and yet when we will relax in Him, can't you almost hear Him say, "Its okay, child of Mine, 'Daddy" is here."

How often I forget the beauty and simpleness of it all. My Father, God, has everything about me wrapped in His love and in His presence. What a wonderful comfort!!

Farewell, Mr. President

Although I voted for you.... twice..... I did not always agree with your decisions....... however, whether I agreed with you or not, I will say that you have always been a “class act”. You and Laura have displayed amazing dignity under the vitriolic hatred that has been spewed at you over the last eight years.

It can be said, without fear of serious argument, that no previous president has been treated as brutally, viciously, and as unfairly as you were.

You have endured a deliberate and planned assault on everything you stood for, everything you were involved in, and everything you tried to accomplish. Your enemies were willing to risk the country’s safety, its economic health, and the very balance of the democratic system of government in order to get at you. They have been out to bring you down at all costs, or at the very least, to destroy your personal and presidential reputation.

As the New York Times began jeopardizing national security by publishing secret security documents it had obtained, the fact that you were able to curtail any further attacks while the media, as a whole. was working to undermine your efforts, is a little less than miraculous.

In all of these attacks, you have exhibited nothing but serenity. You will be viewed by history as a man who picked up the worst hand of cards dealt to any president since Roosevelt...and you played it out better than anyone had a right to expect.

Other presidents may encounter the same level of mindless hatred and suffer comparable abuse--but we can be sure that no one will ever meet it with more equanimity than you did!!

Your breeding was never more apparent, than when you were under attack.

Your graciousness to the Obamas in helping them with their transition, has been admirable. I have appreciated your positive words, for the Obamas. I believe you show a genuine warmth for President Obama. I suspect you admire his sense of family, his relaxed and easygoing nature, and his character.

With this, I wish you well. .

I believe history will treat you much more kindly than your contemporaries have.

Farewell, George and Laura--God speed!!

Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4 : 17-18

********************************

I wrote this because, for the past eight years, the hatred I have heard expressed toward George Bush was more than anything I have ever experienced, having lived through many presidents. We have all had problems with presidents and their decisions, but this raw hatred, expressed by many of my liberal friends and acquaintances, wore me down. Along with this hatred was the implied stupidity with which the Republicans were viewed. If you didn't agree with "them" you were stupid and uninformed...and several of my friends seemed to be consumed with their hatred. It has not been a comfortable eight years for those of us who aren't liberal in our thinking. I have a right to my beliefs, as do they, without hatred and derision being so blatant!

As I watched the inauguration, hearing the jeering and cat calls towards George and Laura Bush made me sick...so if you have read this far, you know what brought this post on!!

. This will be my only post with political overtones, I promise. I am committed to praying for President Obama and supporting him in all that I can. The last eight years have taught me something--respect for the Office, regardless of what I may or may not agree.

The last scrapbook from the cedar chest!

...."and so 1956 begins"

is found on the front page of this scrapbook which contains a history of a very tragic event, yet a very triumphant and very meaningful part of our Christian history.


I began this scrapbook the day our daily newspaper had a headline about a Portland man, Jim Elliot, missing with four of his companions in Ecuador, as they were trying to meet with a stone age tribe of Auca Indians with whom they desired to share the love of God, through Jesus Christ.

Articles soon began appearing in periodicals and magazines--also the program from Jim Elliot's memorial service is on the left page.

LIFE magazine did a very large spread about the situation. I have chosen a few pages below to photograph. (double clicking gives you a better view)

'Letters to the editor' of Life on the left side and an article from Christian Walk on the right.

Moody Monthly covered the story with many pictures and personal stories
of the families involved.

Aviation Fellowship had a whole magazine dedicated as Nate Saint was one of their pilots. (I see the picture from the front had been cut out--probably for some report one of the kids did on something from that era)

Readers Digest had a condensed version of "Through Gates of Splendor"

And last, an article from The Sunday School Times--I don't even know if
that is around anymore.

This scrapbook went to school with many of the fifth graders in my home, as that is the year they studied South America....so the scrapbook is tattered and torn, but has been read and read by many, many people!

If you are interested in reading further how my own life was changed because of this event in our history you might want to read this post.

My After Christmas Visitor

My Molly girlie came for three days just before New Year's. We always have such a good time together. She is a true girlie girl and loves to visit....so we talk....and we make cards.....and she texts her friends in between! (Now that texting is another whole subject!!!)

Molly's Daddy wanted her to make him some thank you notes to keep on his desk at church, so he can send off notes to people he wants to thank. So she made some really nice ones for him. (Double click on the cards to see the details)

She made the decorative sack in which to put the cards. Her Dad was very pleased with them!

We got the time for a hair cut, which was a bit of a disappointment to her, as the hair dresser didn't cut her hair exactly like the picture she took with her. I thought she was adorable, but what Gram thinks is adorable, is not always Molly's idea of adorable!!!

Its hard to believe that she is going to be 14 next month!!

Next time it will be Elliot's turn. He was at a Christmas Camp at the beach for five days. With our snowed in time, there were very few free days to have them come this year. We do week-ends, though when they don't have sports, so I will nab him soon. As they get older, they aren't as available to visit Gram because of all of their activities and such.

Christmas Eve, 2008, is history!

As you know from the previous post, we were in the middle of a huge snowstorm on Christmas Eve. It was finally decided that we would meet, as usual, at my sister and brother-in-law's home for our buffet supper and gifts. (my nephew and family picked me up with chains on their pick-up)

We got there and were greeted by our hosts......


Shortly after we ate, the children began opening their gifts and a police car pulled up front....and soon another one joined it. It was my nephew and his wife, both on duty, but with a dinner hour to spend with the family. .....and so, with their arrival, we were complete!

(Can you imagine having to dress like that for work??? They wear bullet-proof vests under their shirts--it all looks pretty heavy and combersome to me!)

They had some WONDERFUL news to give us! They opened a gift and pulled out an OSU baby outfit! They are expecting a little boy baby June 16!!!!!!! This news created quite an uproar in the living room!! The shock and surprise…..

for they were adament about not having kids…..

Well, God has other plans for them!!!!! We are SO excited, to say the least! I am so thrilled that my nephew, who is a tender-hearted, gentle giant of a man, will have his own little baby.

He thinks he is too old, but age doesn't seem to matter any more. He is 45 and she will be 38 when baby comes. They will do just fine. They will have to adjust their life style, but it will all be worth it.....and they will come to realize that in time.

And so our night ended on that most happy note and we made our way home through the snow. My son, Jonathan and family came out here for the night. After stockings and breakfast, a little visiting, and just a happy, laughter-filled morning, I made a little lunch and sent them on their way, as it was snowing hard again. They live an hour's drive south of us, so needed to get on the road for home. Just one problem, they couldn't get their van out of the snow.

So after some digging, some pushing, and patience, they were on the move for a very good drive home without incident!

It was a happy time for all of us. As I age, I so love the time spent with family and realize what a blessing they all are to me. I am so grateful for our rich heritage given us by our parents and grandparents.

Some pictures from the storm of '08!

This will be a collection from the Portland area with which to remember this storm! (The worst in our area since 69) Hopefully, I'll get some of my area. I live on the East side of town and we often get it worse here because we are closer to the Gorge.

This is my high energy friend's driveway. She shoveled this space so her son-in-law would be able to pull in when he comes to put on her chains so she can get out! Pretty good for a 72 year old lady!!

My friend's home on the West Side. She hadn't done her driveway yet!!

This shows the iced up trees.

And from my cousins' home on my side of town near Troutdale,
where the Interstate 84 has been closed for three days for a stretch of about 75 miles.
The car is nearly buried, but the U. S. Flag is flying proudly in the snow!
Notice the lamp pole buried in the snow!
Looking out from her kitchen nook window. It IS beautiful, but my oh my,
how a collection of snowflakes can stop an area dead in its tracks!!

My brother in law's pickup!
Brother in law, Bill beginning to shovel out the walkway.
He is making progress...
Look at the depth of the snow where he has cut into the walkway!
Poor old fellow. that was a lot of work!!


To be added, some pictures from my front yard tomorrow, unless it is all gone by then! (I wish)

Well, Surprise!! It didn't melt!

From my garage to the right front yard
To the left is my six foot fence with drifts
house across the street
hope this tree stays where it belongs
to the back yard--my poor geraniums--all buried in that drift except for one pot
I think my hedge may have bitten the dust.
No baths for the birdies today!
According to the weather reports, five more inches tonight!!
I'm waiting for a pizza to be delivered!! Hope he makes it!!

OH! The weather outside is frightful!!!!

My cousin's home above her family's farm in Troutdale.

One week ago today, we awakened to snow and ice and thus began our week! There was some type of snow, wind, cold weather all week long. Yesterday, (Saturday) we started getting snow in earnest. Along with the snow, came the East wind from the Columbia River Gorge....which caused drifts!

In looking out my bedroom window this morning, I see that I have a drift right up to the window sill, covering all five of my Azaleas completely! The trees are covered in ice for I forgot to mention that an icy rain fell all night long. We are still under 32 degrees, so it looks like it will stay for a while.

I am so thankful that:
my Christmas shopping is done
I am warm
my electricity is still working
my freezer is full of oven ready foods
my phone is working
many friends and family call to check up on me
I don't mind being snowed in
I have lots of things to do
this, too, shall pass

As we age, we become very protective of our bones that have remained in one piece, and for that reason, I have not left my house except for one hour during a calm, melty-looking day. I managed to finish getting all of my stocking stuffers, so I am so thankful for that. Other than that I have remained inside--not even going to the mail box. I have some braver friends who stop by and when they do they bring in my mail for me.

With this update from Oregon, I must close. I think my garage door is frozen shut....so even if I wanted to go some place, I couldn't get the car out!!

We are all hoping we can get to our family gathering for Christmas Eve dinner and opening of presents.

A friend of mine just wrote her reflections about being stranded up in her vacation home on Orcas island. She has a flair for writing, so it is an interesting read if you have the time.

I trust all of you are almost ready for this precious Holiday in which we take the time to honor and celebrate the birth of our risen Lord Jesus!

Odds and Ends

My tooth surgery is behind me and I was thrilled with the lack of pain!! Its been a great recovery--some bruising down my chin, but truly unremarkable for which I am soooo thankful!

Unfortunately, I've been down for eight days with my back....and so since I have nothing exciting to post about, I'm going to share some pictures of the Christmas spirit at my house---where I no longer do a big tree, but have groupings of pretties collected together. Nothing exciting like I have seen in some of your beautiful pictures...but its all I need for this chapter of life.

The entry way, looking down the hall.

From the entry looking toward the kitchen.

The pie tin in the family room with all of the little goodies, trains, etc.

The hearth holds joys from childhood with a large red tin of
Christmas books from over the years.

On the mantel is a catchall of hand crafted wood items.

The candy cane tree is a project from many years ago. This is the family room and all decorations are available for kids to play with, look at and explore.

Since son, Jonathan, was married eighteen years ago, we have the tradition of them sleeping overnight at my house and getting up together for stockings in the morning, followed by a Christmas breakfast. I try to make it festive and always have the table looking pretty. The following two pictures are from the breakfast tables from several years ago. and I have no idea why this suddenly began to underline!)This was the year of decorating with tulle--notice the light fixture even!

This must have been when the children were small, as
I am using the everyday dishes!

This is my current dining room--not yet set,

but it will be beautiful for Christmas morning!

This is one of my favorite rooms, for I love how the sunlight dapples into the room!

The Angel Caper

I never come to the Christmas season without remembering the year we made angels which was many years ago.

As my teaching partner and I sat down to plan out our Christmas project for our two classrooms of third graders, one of us had seen this beautiful angel and we decided to tackle it!! It seemed doable, and fairly inexpensive since it was mostly made of things around the house.

We began collecting for our magnificent project!!

old sheets, doilies, odds and ends of trims, old panty hose

We supplied the cardboard needed, as well as the styrofoam heads and the spray paint. We also bought a large spool of white crinkle type paper ribbon.

Finally the day arrived to begin the project. Friday afternoons had been set aside for working on this project. Our mother helpers came to help. (We couldn't have done it without them!)

We began with our forms, which were made from cardboard half circles rolled into a round pyramid looking thing. That was the easy part. (as I look at the pictures, I forgot to add that the arms were taped to the cardboard form before the actual work began.)

Next.......each kid got a nice square of donated sheet...and then the fun began!!

We dipped the sheet pieces in buckets of Elmer's glue and water and squeezed it out, and began draping it over the cardboard form.

The mess was beyond description--oh! I forgot to say that we did it in the cafeteria and we had Joyce, our cook, breathing down our necks not to leave a mess!

Suddenly it was time for buses, so each kid took their wet, draped angel and we found places all over our rooms to sit them to dry. After the kids were on their buses, my teaching partner and I went back to the cafeteria and scrubbed tables, benches and floors, until it was spotless. We were quite afraid of our cook, whose bark was really worse than her bite, but we had a healthy respect for her.

Besides we were well brought up girls whose Mothers had taught us to clean up our messes!

We worked on these angels for several Fridays....

And one day it was time to spray paint them gold! We did that after the kids went home as that was more than third graders could have or would have, handled well!

The next Friday, we added the bows and a little Christmas bling, and they were complete....and truly works of art. No two were the same.

We looked at each other the day they took them home, all wrapped and ready to present to their families and said, "NEVER AGAIN!!!"


Then we began to run into future parents in the hallways, and they always stopped us and told us they could hardly wait until their child was in third grade as they loved the angels we had made!! Then we had to break it to them gently, that it was a one time project!!

Several years later I had a Holiday Craft Sale in my home and one of the things that I made was fourteen of those angels!! That was absolutely the last time I ever did angels! My two that I had made with the students hung around for many Christmas' until I gave them to my daughter, Tammy, when she got her first apartment about five year ago. I was happy to part with them and she loves them!!

Here they are as part of the mantle collection at my old house many years ago.

In counting backwards, I figure that we made these about twenty eight years ago! (No wonder I forgot they had arms!!)

The $3500 Dollar Tooth!!

In August, I had the first of four appointments for a root canal. The crown finally went on the middle of October and everything seemed fine, until about 4 weeks ago when that tooth became very tender. I kept thinking it would go away. It didn't.

Long story, short version, Monday, after a referral to a specialist, I am having dental surgery which entails an incision below the roots and a cleaning out of the bone to try to get to the root of the problem. He says it will not improve on its own. (sigh)

I am NOT looking forward to this procedure. Last Monday as I walked out of the specialist's office, I was terribly upset....and scared. When I got in the car, I was trying very hard to think of something about this situation for which I could be thankful. I begrudgingly decided I was thankful that I had the money to pay for the surgery! (Certainly, not my idea of how I want to spend my money!)

So now....the tooth work will have totaled $3500 after Monday! I certainly hope there are no more teeth waiting to explode! If there are, I'll never get to cruise again!!

Because I cannot take narcotic pain pills, the dentist explained that it will be uncomfortable for 4-5 days. I'll use ice packs. My hair dresser today told me to take an ounce of Vodka every four hours and I wouldn't feel any pain!! She has the answer to everything!!

I am trusting that the outcome will be successful and there will be no infection with which to deal.

Thankfully, the house is decorated and the Christmas music is playing nonstop. I think I will take my ice pack and just sit and soak up the pretties in the living room and lose myself in the Christmas music!! (and try not to think about the wrapping and shopping that still needs to be done!)

The White House Ornaments

The White House historical association sells a White House Ornament every year that is dated.

In 1990, my Mother began our collection by giving them to each family yearly. When she was called Home in 2000, my dear sister continued the tradition until we each now have a nice grouping of them. I put mine on a small tree for the holidays. I have sixteen of them--two are missing.


Here are two of them that I took close up for you to see. They come beautifully boxed, with a pamphlet telling the history of the President who is commemorated. They have had historical presidents so far.


My Mother loved beautiful things...and she especially loved anything with gold on it. She was always excited to see what the new one looked like. We have enjoyed this tradition for the last eighteen years.

For a sneak preview of the 2008 ornament, you can go to the website, highlighted in the first sentence of this post.

Four Fabulous Days...

Well, Thanksgiving is over for this year. It is always a wonderful day to reflect, to remember past Thanksgivings, and the joys of family. We were only seven this year, as it was the 'in-laws' turn for most of the kids.

Grandson Elliot, came Thursday evening after his day with his other grandma. He stayed with me until Saturday morning, as he wanted to get home for the 'Civil War' party his parents were hosting to watch the Oregon/Oregon State football game. So, the stay was short, but we got in a couple of episodes of 'The Waltons', got him a hair trim, visited and laughed together, and in general had a great time! (Elliot brings energy, no matter where he is!)

I flew around here, cleaning up for my next guest, Nicolas, who drove himself to my house. This was his first drive clear to my end of the city, so he was quite pleased and I was thrilled to have him. We played games...and then we played games....

Our pastor and his wife called Sunday evening and wanted to know if we would be up to playing some games! Of course we were, so they arrived with their son who is Nick's age. They even brought a pizza, some yummy fruit and we ate together first.

We played ROOK. I hadn't played it for ages, but it was a game we were raised on in my home! It was known as "Christian Bridge" in my young days, as we weren't allowed to play with regular cards. (go figure!)


If any of you ever played ROOK let me know. Our company last night played it pretty different than I had ever played it. My Dad insisted on keeping it just like the rules. Last night we played ONE high, and the ROOK card as the highest. I won't even bother to explain how we partnered up! It was a raucous evening. We sure had fun!

The game in the picture is at least 48 years old, as I found the names of my first two foster girls on a paper in the box and they came to me in 1960, which was also my first year of teaching. Ahhhh, the memories of the hours we enjoyed playing games!

visitors

Yesterday at church, we had a young couple and their five children passing through Portland on their way to Medford to celebrate Thanksgiving with an Auntie of theirs. This young couple are relatives, but we don't see them very often as they are busy running a large Bible Camp in Montana, year round.

So........as I sat two rows behind them, I had a good view of them and their children. And I thought of their rich heritage in the faith. I thought of their Christian work and the lovely children they are raising for the glory or God. I thought of the old, old hymn,

Faith of our fathers.

and I teared up with gratitude and thanksgiving for this young couple who are striving to live their lives as they have had it modeled for them, first by their parents, and by Godly grandparents and extended family. How blessed they are.

For, you see, this young man is the nephew of Jim Elliot and his sweet wife is the niece of Elisabeth Elliot. What a heritage!

Faith of our Fathers living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!



Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

Refrain

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

Grandparents

If anyone has read my blog much, you will know that I adore my grandchildren and love being a grammy! Someone sent me the following and I had to lift it from
my email and deposit it here because I think it is so precious. I hope
you will bear with me...and if your are a grandparent, you will
know why I enjoyed it so much!

Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting. ~Author Unknown

What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change,
and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure. ~Gene Perret

Grandmothers are just 'antique' little girls. ~Author Unknown

Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.
~Welsh Proverb


A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead
of the television. ~Author Unknown

Never have children, only grandchildren. ~Gore Vidal

Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just
a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric. ~Pam Brown


Grandchildren don't stay young forever, which is good because
Grandfathers have only so many horsey rides in them. ~Gene Perret

When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.
~Ogden Nash

Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just
you all day and now the day was complete. ~ Marcy DeMaree


Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. ~Author unknown

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our
hearts forever. ~Author Unknown

If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have had them first. ~Lois Wyse


My grandkids believe I'm the oldest thing in the world. And after
two or three hours with them, I believe it, too. ~Gene Perret

If becoming a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should
advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is
no fun for old people like it! ~Hannah Whithall Smith


It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the
world calls her grandmother. ~Author Unknown

Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing
old. ~Mary H. Waldrip

You do not really understand something unless you can explain
it to your grandmother. ~Proverb



An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again.
Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly. ~Gene Perret

The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby's grandparents. You
feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long
periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida. ~Dave Barry

I wish I had the energy that my grandchildren have - if only for
self-defense. ~Gene Perret

Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas
are short on criticism and long on love. ~Author Unknown


Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of
little children. ~Alex Haley


Grandmother - a wonderful mother with lots of
practice. ~Author Unknown

A grandparent is old on the outside but young on
the inside. ~Author Unknown

One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new
grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather. ~Joy Hargrove

It's amazing how grandparents seem so young once you
become one. ~Author Unknown

If your baby is 'beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses,
sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the
time,' you're the grandma. ~Teresa Bloomingdale


Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have
around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their
grandchildren. ~Author Unknown

What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I'd like to say
that grandparents are God's gifts to children. And if they can
but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they
can mature at a fast rate. ~Bill Cosby

Grandchildren don't make a man feel old; it's the knowledge
that he's married to a grandmother. ~G. Norman Collie

Thursday and Thankful!!

I woke up on Saturday with this cry on my heart.

"Make haste O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me O Lord!" Psalm 70:1

Today, I am almost pain free and I am so thankful! I am moving, made a card in the night when I couldn't sleep, and feel like dancing!! Since Saturday, I pretty much didn't move anything I didn't have to, in order to avoid the spasms and pain.

Today, I am rejoicing--life looks good again. I'm looking forward to productivity. I am thanking God for this new day.

In October, I rejoiced all through the month. I had 31 pain free days. It was marvelous!! I got so many things done.

I had company for dinner--twice!

I did some cooking for the freezer.

I was active around the house.

I went out--shopped, had lunch with friends, and had a great time.

I didn't have to miss church.

I was joyful with the blessed relief.

I didn't wear my tens (electric stimulater) machine for ten of those 31 days!!

That's a record!

And so I am thankful for every day I had in October....and looking forward to some wonderful, great days in November, now that the first six are history!

Today I am rejoicing in answered prayer.

Oh taste and see that the LORD is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

I AM BLESSED!

Its Saturday Again

.....and I am sitting in the middle of a mess. My office and my kitchen are in terrible disarray!

We are having potluck at church tomorrow and the bulletin said, "Those in the second half of the alphabet bring either a salad or a dessert which serves between 10 and 12 people. So.....I tackled a large strawberry jello recipe which was a favorite of my Mom's. It leaves lots of dirty dishes before it is done because of the way that it is put together. I'm not a neat cook--I toss everything for the garbage in one side of the sink, until I am finished. Because this jello is done in two parts, I can't really clean up until the first part sets.


Every time I had a spare minute this week, I worked on my Christmas cards. I didn't clean up my mess between cards, so the pile thickened. When I start to create, I have to get out all of the designer papers I "might" use! I then spread it out over my work table and my desk counter--what a mess!


And last, but certainly not least, I had to do my Bible study at the kitchen table because there wasn't room in the office!

I didn't follow the rule with which I raised the kids.

"Everything in it's place and a place for everything".

Well, I have a place for everything, but it hasn't found it's way home yet!! Today. before the sun goes down, my goal is that there will be order in my two busiest room!

Check back to see the cleaned up mess. (hopefully)

Its Sundown!

The kitchen is cleaned! The jello is ready to take. You can see how full it is. I have a little clean up to do inside the refrigerator! Its a layered recipe with cream cheese and sour cream in the middle. I put the dab that was left over on top. Aren't dishwashers wonderful?? All the bowls and utensils are inside and waiting for the wash cycle!

The office is now organized and ready to finish the cards next week. At least my piles on the work table have meaning! I have seven new sets of stamps to get cut out and mounted, hence the pile on the end of the table. That is a good project when watching T.V.

The desk top is back to busy normal. I have discovered that I like doing my Bible Study at the kitchen table, so I'm going to continue with that! Leaves my desk cleared for other things.

I even cleaned and straightened out my "bling" drawers. For anyone who scrapbooks or makes cards, you know how quickly the 'bling' drawers get messed up. I moved almost all of my flowers to a drawer by themselves.

This is the top 'bling' drawer and the one beneath it has more of the same.
Saturday is close to being history. I feel that I had a productive day and that always makes me feel happy. I love getting things accomplished and it is so wonderful to be feeling good and being able to do what I like.

I am thankful!!

Happy Birthday Nicolas!!!

Today, you are eighteen. How quickly the years have passed, some great ones, and some so very hard. You have overcome huge obstacles and today marks a special milestone in your very triumphant and successful life. You are on the brink of manhood, ready to began achieving your dreams. You are a miracle, and it has been my privilege to watch this miracle unfold.

Is it really sixteen years that have flown by since I first saw you at the age of two in the ICU at Doernbecher Hospital? It doesn't seem possible. It is like yesterday, walking into your room, looking at one of the sickest little kids, yet one of the cutest, I had ever seen. You were one week after your accident, three weeks after your Mom's death, and you were in critical condition. You were wrapped in iron from your "halo" which kept your broken neck steady, had a feeding tube and pump, and were on a respirator to help your lungs heal.

HOWEVER, out of that maze of tubes and iron, were a pair of the brownest, inquiring eyes I have ever seen!! You looked at me, sized up the bag of tricks I had with me, and watched with avid interest as I began to unload my bag. At that moment, you moved into my heart and there you have firmly stayed, my sweet grandson of my heart!

When you finally left ICU, you were transferred to Emmanuel Hospital for pediatric rehab. Do you remember any of those days? I've told you lots of stories about those weeks. You were finished with your tubing and despite "mine halo" as you called it, you were a happy, smiling little boy with an amazing vocabulary, I was to discover, after you could talk again!!

Do you remember all of the trips we took that first summer to rehab? We rode that Tri-Met lift bus for hours....and hours. You usually had your afternoon nap on the bus as we came back to your home.

Despite the hard work of Rehab, we had lots of fun times together. You loved the playroom at Shriners, were a little apprehensive about getting your legs casted for your first braces, but loved playing with the child life specialist who always told you ahead of time with toys and play, what was going to happen. There were many wonderful people in your life who helped with your rehabilitation. I know you remember many of them.

As I allowed myself to travel down this road we have traveled together for the last sixteen years, I am reminded of so many fun things we did together. It wasn't all rehab and doctor appointments, although it felt like it at times.

You came to my house often and I remember the summer you were four and I had you for a week. We read through all of the four boxes of the 'Bob Books' and a reader was born!! Oh my, was a reader born!!! You have continued to read far above grade level all through your school years.

Do you remember outings to the Children's Museum? You thought the water room belonged to you and got very upset if anyone else even played in there.

A wonderful ride on the Lake Oswego Trolley--

Then there were all of our trips to visit Santa at the downtown Meier and Frank. We always went on Max with a large group of friends and family for many years.

I can't forget your choir experience.

Today we celebrate your birthday. It cannot go by without mentioning the wonderful achievement you have accomplished. Earlier this year I wrote about you getting your new car. After many hours of practice and getting your car retrofitted just for your needs, you have your DRIVER'S LICENSE! That is so exciting and I see a 'new you'. You have a lilt in your voice and I can feel the wind beneath your wings, as you enjoy this wonderful new independence you have earned. I am soooo proud of you, Nicolas!

And here you are getting ready for take off!

The chair had to be loaded...
Its in...
You are in the car and almost ready.... to go!

.....and you are off down the hill to the big world beyond.

....and so, my sweet Nicolas, the years have passed in a blink of an eye. You have grown into a very self-sufficient young man, totally independent, despite the adversity you have endured. You are an OVER-COMER, A WINNER, AN OUTSTANDING YOUNG MAN, and you stand on the brink of the rest of your life. The future is before you. I shall look for great things from you, my sweet boy!

Happy, Happy Birthday! May your life be lived to the glory of God, and may you be used mightily for Him. God bless you, Nick! I love you so much.

My Oregon

I live in the western part of Oregon where it is lush and green year round. I can go one hundred miles west and be at the seashore....or I can go about sixty miles east and be on the edge of desert country! If I keep going I will be in central Oregon which is desert with beautiful formations. Below are some pictures from our beautiful central Oregon taken from from an ultra light.

Enjoy!! (consider this almost Wordless Wednesday--only it is Friday)

Balloons over Bend, Oregon.

North Twin Lake near Lapine, Oregon

Smith Rock near Redmond, Oregon

Mt. Bachelor near Bend, Oregon

Mt. Bachelor near Bend, Oregon summer

Mt. Jefferson near Sisters and Madras, Oregon

Lava Butte near Bend, Oregon

Alkali Lake near Christmas Valley, Oregon

Alvord Desert near Steen Mtn...Oregon

Painted Hills, near Mitchell, Oregon

Paulina and East Lakes near Lapine, Oregon

Fort Rock

Wild Horses near Alvord Desert, Oregon


Doesn't this just make you want to break out singing,
"How Great Thou Art"

The Last of the Cedar Chest, with one exception

Well, we come to the bottom of the chest and there is one more scrapbook and some year books. Nothing too exciting, but they hold wonderful memories of college days so long ago--yet many memories still vivid in my mind's eye.

My college years are all recorded in the pages of this red album. They were wonderful years, so full of music, rich fellowship, beach parties, trips to the Blue Onion for a hamburger, gathering around the piano in the lounge singing, standing in meal line knitting argyle socks while we were waiting, and hosts of other great memories.

The picture above has my train ticket for my first train ride without parents along. (and I do not know why these words are underlined!)

A photographer came each year to take a picture of the whole student body out on the side lawn. His camera started at the left and slowly rotated to the right to get in the whole group. This picture was rolled up in a tube for the last 58 years!

We were a small student body, with only 50 in our freshman class.

You can tell from the size of our yearbooks that our school was small. Dear Westmont College was not very old in 1950. Today the campus has grown as well as the student body size. I had an interesting college career. My freshman year was at Westmont, my sophomore year was spent at home at Multnomah College, my junior year was back at Westmont with my freshman brother along. After my junior year I thought I was tired of school, so I took a job in a hospital for a semester. That was the best thing I ever did--After six months of bedpans, changing beds, bathing people, I knew I needed a degree!! So I went to Lewis and Clark College and graduated from there in December of 1954 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in education.

And on the bottom of the cedar chest was the tattered old picture below-

me about 15 months. (love the old tan shoes!)

So the old cedar chest is gone and all of this stuff has been stored in a large plastic box. There is one more scrap book that came out of the chest which I am going to save for another blog as I am going to share some of the things it holds between the covers. It is my after college book.

"Life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf......."

My Posts

Starting this blog in January, was done on a whim. I didn't consider what I would write about. I did not feel led to write devotionals--there are so many excellent sites in blog land for that. And so.........for lack of anything else to write about, I just began to share about my family and all I hold dear, and my life, past and present with all of you.
It was never my intention to portray myself other than who I am. I find that as I share some of my life's stories, in reading some of the lovely comments that are left, I fear that people are giving me far more credit than I deserve. Whatever good has come from my life, has been because of the Lord and His graciousness to me and my family. Despite my many mistakes in parenting, in grand parenting, in being a daughter, sister, aunt, niece and friend, God has loved me through the mistakes and shown His mercy and compassion to me and my family. We are who we are because of Him and His leading and guidance.

Please, as I post in future posts, keep in mind that any good that has come from my life or my life's experiences, is truly only because of God's faithfulness to me. I want Him to have the glory in all the areas of my life.

In closing, I am so thankful for all that I have experienced in my life because of the love of God to me. I was blessed with loving parents, certainly not perfect, but wonderful in my eyes. My extended family are all so good to me. Over the years they have loved all of my kids and added so much depth to their lives. My two professions brought many of life's richest experiences to me and I deeply loved each occupation. My children were gifts from God in a time when single women were not allowed to adopt. My foster children came and went, providing many of life's hardest trials, but the kids with whom I am still in contact bring much contentment to my heart......and the crowning glory of my old age, is the privilege of being a Grammy. Oh! how I have loved that role!

And so, I share with you about all of these things, not to make me look good, but to share a journey that has had many twists and turns in it, yet a happy, fulfilling life. God has been good. As I take some of my walks down memory lane, as I sorted through the cedar chest, as I remember about the children when they were young, I am just reminded over and over again, of the faithfulness of our God to me and mine.

This was a bit of a long ramble, so I shall close until next time.

Blessings

meet two of my "girls"

These are two of my "girls". Linda, on the left is the 1st foster child I ever had and Tammy, on the right is the 27th....... and the last foster child I had! This was an historic picture, for this is the first time these two ever met!! (It was taken last night, as Linda had stopped by to pick up something which she had forgotten from the week-end and Tammy was just finishing up some work for me.)


Let me explain. Linda came in 1960, as a senior in high school, and by 1965 or 66, she had received an LPN degree, married and moved to California with her children and we only saw one another occasionally over many years, but were in contact by phone and letter. For the last 20 years or so, she has come to Portland more frequently as she has a son and his family living here. When she came for visits, the two of us would always meet for lunch someplace, but
while Tammy was still in the home, I guess Linda was never at the house.

Then in the last twenty years Linda usually spends a week-end with me when she visits, but. of course, Tammy works and has her own place---so, anyway, each had always known of the other, but last night was the first time they had met face to face. (They were both at Mother's funeral, but didn't meet)

Linda went on to get very specialized training in brain wave testing, and enjoyed a wonderful career in that field. She is enjoying her first year of retirement and is loving every minute of it.
Only ten years younger than me, we were reminiscing this past week-end over our years together. She said as a teenager, the ten years seemed a huge difference, but now we are older, it makes us contemporaries.

Tammy came to me at age nine and she was a handful!! But we hung in there, and today she is my helper girlie! She has the gift of helps and is a willing hand whenever I need some thing done. It works for both of us, for she knows my fussiness, so she is my perfect "hired" help, and she, in turn, is able to earn a little extra money each month.

Tammy is gifted with children, works with the high school youth at her church, and for her "real" work .....where else?.......in a day care center! She does quite a bit of baby sitting on the side and seems always in demand from someone needing her help. (She trained at North West Nanny Institute out of high school)

So there you have it--the first and the last. I have had a fulfilling life and these two "girls" have been a huge part of that busy, busy life with all of its ups and downs.

Happy Birthday, Elliot!

My dearest Grandson,

Today you are fifteen! How can that be?
It was only "yesterday" that I held you in my arms for the first time
and whispered in your ear,
"You and I are going to be great friends!"
...and we are.

The joy you have brought into my life cannot be measured.

So many memories....

...your first birthday

......Christmas festivities every year with all the family

........a calendar full of fun each December

......wonderful plays and activities all over Portland during the Christmas season.

......going every year on the Max train to downtown Portland to go to Santa's Toyland on the tenth floor of Meier and Frank....

...wonderful OMSI activities during the holidays

...spending every Christmas Eve over night at my house to wake up
to stockings and brunch.

....Easter egg hunts in my back yard

...playing restaurant on the back deck

....loving playing dress up

...the little two year old who would call for me very early in the morning, "Grandma, I hear the birdies, its time to get up". Then when Gram tried for a few more snoozes, here would come the plaintive little voice, "Grandma, do you love me?" and that brought me right up and out of my warm bed to come get you.

....the wonderful times we had at the Children's Museum---you up in the firemen's loft and refusing to come down to me....oh my! Lots of memories.

....all of our trips to OMSI and the marvelous learning that went on each time we visited, which was usually every time you came to came to see me.

...trips to the beach and you making a fort in the sand, long walks, chasing the waves, running from them-- such memories!

....driving Uncle Bill's boat on the Columbia River--do you remember????

....me driving down to pick you and Molly up each Wednesday after school, going to the Stayton Library to work on homework, check out books, read to you, going for Subway Sandwiches for supper, then taking you home to put you two to bed while your folks were at their fellowship group. I loved those years!

...play dates with the cousins, with the Shoman boys, with Jimmy Glisan,
swimming at Nick's...so many fun times when you visited.

....the fun you had at Imagination Station over and over again

...getting your first pair of roller blades--thump, bump, fall, get up......

....bowling fun so many times

Our wonderful Disney Cruise...and you insisting on going to the top deck for breakfast by yourself--so you could "meet" people....and coming back with the announcement that you had breakfast with a nice family from Canada, or someone from New York...you were quite the "schmoozer", getting to know lots of people on that trip--and we cannot forget how you loved the crab cakes and even got the recipe (for 500) from the head cook!!


I could fill this blog with the hundreds of memories we have made together--many you have forgotten, I'm sure...but always alive and vivid in my mind.

...appointing yourself our waiter for dinner--one of my ear rings and all

....getting all duded up and having a "cuppa" with me

...attending the Missions Conference with Aunt Colleen and Uncle Bert Elliot....and meeting the Auca Indian who speared Jim Elliot, for whom you were named...

....practicing golf at the pro shop

...always army stuff all over the floor for your battles..

....building Legos---some new sets, but many having been your Dad's

I love you, sweet child. You have always held a special place in my heart. Your avid curiosity about things around you, your love of Civil War history, your early interests in vacuums, and trains--your quirky little obsessions have all made you the unique special person you are.

...always the engineer of the trains, both real and imaginary

...riding on Samtrack at OMSI--
Do you remember you cried when Samtrack closed down?

....going to Hood River to ride Thomas the Train Engine and meet all of his crew

wonderful memories, wonderful experiences, wonderful child!

May the Lord bless you and keep you as you begin this next year of your precious life.

This is a year of new beginnings,
starting high school,
taking charge of your ADHD and leaving off all meds
getting your driving permit possibly,
harder classes in school,
and hopefully,
a time of strengthening your walk with the Lord.

Happy Birthday, My Special Grandson.
I love, love, love you!

Gram

Jonathan, Part 3

1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:1,2

As I continue with Jon's story, the verse above so speaks to me. To understand why I am writing Jonathan's story, you should probably read Jonathan, Part 1 and Jonathan, part 2. It just gives a little more continuity to the story, and the reason I chose to share it.

The high school years were upon us in the blink of an eye, it seems. They were such busy, fun-filled years and passed all too quickly!! He continued with his music, was in sports, was very social, and it was a wonderful time for me also. I remember the sadness in his senior year when they played their last basketball game. I felt like my social life was over. I went to every game, made friends with many of the parents, participated in the after game fun at a local pizza parlor...and now it was over. We did have fun during those years!

He begins his freshman year at Portland Christian High School where he would remain all four years. It was a wonderful choice for him. He met and made friends immediately and his violin opened all kinds of doors.

By sophomore years he was developing an interest in the ladies and had a couple of school dates. He was in his second year of basketball, seriously taking his violin lessons now from the concert master of the Portland Symphony, and was a busy, busy young man, with a mother who was equally busy driving him to all of his commitments!!

Junior year came and so did the driving permit!! Of all my kids, he was the only one I taught to drive. It was just too nerve wracking, so others taught the girls! He decided to play football, much to my dismay. Contact sports were supposed to be out for him because of his Rheumatoid Arthritis, but he did it and aside from being knocked out one game, he survived....and so did I!! His junior year was to be the last time he ever had a flare-up of his arthritis, for which I was so thankful....and he came through the eight years of the disease, with no crippling to any of his joints!! A wonderful answer to prayer!

The summer before his senior year, Jon traveled to Europe with the Continentals Orchestra which was a Christian ministry orchestra. That was a wonderful experience for him. By senior year, he was driving on his own, used my car just about any time I wasn't using it, and enjoyed a full, action packed year. He was studying conducting under Norman Lehman, who was the assistant symphony conductor of the Portland Symphony. In looking back, the year was just packed!

Basket ball shot at the state play offs. Jon was an average player, but his coach told the team that he kept him on all four years because he was such an "encourager". What a nice compliment!

The mighty football player. I held my breath all of that fall!

.....and the crowning event of his whole high school experience, Fiddler on the Roof!! What a great performance that was. Jonathan was the Fiddler, and he also played Moto the Tailor.
During his senior year, he was part of a young man's singing ensemble which was a talented bunch of ten boys. Their music was marvelous.

The summer after graduation he again traveled with the Continentals across the USA and to Europe. They had an afternoon concert in East Berlin and I think that was the experience of his young life--crossing "check point Charlie", leaving their passports there, being searched, etc. He said they kissed the tarmac when they flew into New York later that week.

And so high school ended with plans to attend Mount Hood Community College in the fall with a "free ride" with his violin.

More treasures from the cedar chest

My first post about the cedar chest featured lots of baby clothing worn by my brother and me. Tonight as I was getting some of the stuff ready for this trip down memory lane, I realized that I was a scrapbooker before the activity was so popular!!

Bear with me as I take you down the lane of over fifty years ago and share with you some of my books.

My first album was started when I was about eight years old. It was a photo album only. As I was looking at it, I was thinking I must have thought I had really "arrived" with the white ink!

This is my high school album....and that was a scrapbook!! I never threw away one ticket stub, one napkin, or anything that could go in that book. I had pictures mixed in with the keepables, so I think it classifies as a true scrapbook. Can you imagine what fun it would have been to have had stickers, colored pens, and all the bling we have for today's scrapbooking??

This page holds a rock from the cove in Seaside, Oregon where I knew a lot of kids from visiting there with my best friend at their cottage. The rock was to commemorate a good beach party!
Roller skating was another favorite past time when we visited Seaside. The Rink was right on the turnaround, where five stories of condos stand today. At sixteen, we thought that roller rink would always be there. We had no idea how popular beach front property was to become! (if you click on the picture, you can see the rink, right there on the beach front)

Here's a page of pictures. I wonder what we would have done with a digital camera?? Oh! Wow!

And no high school scrapbook would be complete without a picture of the football team!
So...........Let me introduce you to the football team of

Beaverton Union High School in 1946!

This group would change with each year, but they never failed to capture the hearts and dreams of all of the girls for all four years of high school!

The year books were well-loved, well-signed, and well-read. For those of you who are familiar with the Beaverton area, there were only 300 students in the high school in that year of 1946. We had all of the students from Aloha, Bethany, Bonny Slope, Sylvan and Cedar Mill as we were the only high school between Portland and Hillsboro.

I will close with a penmanship certificate which we all worked for during the grade school years. I think this was my last one. Its interesting that I started cursive writing as a first grader and never learn to print. When I started teaching I had to learn to print properly.

Until the next, and last installment of the cedar chest, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history and the ragged old scrap books

Manzanita Beckonded

On Tuesday night, after a day full of root canal fixings, a permanent, and out to dinner with good friends, I decided it was time to get out of town.....so my daughter Tammy and I left for the coast Wednesday morning. Manzanita has been my favorite beach town since I was a little girl. Fortunately I had the generous offer of the use of a home there, so it was a good and quick decision.

A trip to the beach is always a treat. As we get onto highway 101 we are treated to some spectacular views of the ocean between Cannon Beach and Manzanita. There is no place like the northern Oregon coast line. It is rugged and majestic, beautiful and inspiring, and has wonderful walking sand!

Manzanita is a sleepy little beach town much of the time, but it comes alive during the summer and holidays. It has one main street with a post office, a grocery store, several very interesting little shops, and a few eating places. It houses many, many cozy cottages, and up on the mountainside, many luxurious homes with panoramic views.

The grocery store, which has been there in some shape or form, since I was a child.

The main street coming into town off highway 101.

The view from the end of Main Street, with a path to the waves and sand.

My favorite activity is to walk along the beach and sing, "How Great Thou Art" at the top of my lungs, because with the ocean's roar, no one can hear me except the Lord!

My sister and her husband were at their cottage as well as one of their sons and his family.

Bill and Carol

The door is always open and the welcome mat is out.

My nephew's four kids livened up the week-end, with "boogie boarding", wet suits and all, on Saturday.

Fortunately the home where we were staying was only three blocks from the cottage, so we were included in lots of the "happenings", and the kids dropped in to visit.

We came home Sunday afternoon, as I didn't want to drive on Labor Day.

The closer we got to Portland, because I wasn't feeling good, all I could think about was getting to my home and my "comfort" chair. I felt an intense longing to be there. I cannot describe it, but my mind played with that feeling for a little while, and I went further with the thought.... how wonderful it would be to have that same longing for Heaven...and then I realized that the better we know the Saviour, the greater the intensity of our longing will be-- to be with Him.

....and so we begin a new month, September 2008.

An exercise in praise and thanksgiving.

On Sunday we had a missionary speaker, who teaches at Black Forest Academy in Germany. He prefaced his message on Psalm 103, with the following requests.

He asked us to write down eight things God has done this past week.

Upon completing that, he asked us to write down two things we
were grateful for that God had done in our lives.

And finally, he asked us to write down four things we have learned about God.

With this exercise, we have a foundation for praise and worship, which led right into the Psalm which is a call to worship and praise.

I hope to do this exercise on a daily basis, as it was a true blessing to me.

I will share what I wrote for the four things I learn about God in my life.

He provides.
He loves me!
He is constant.
His love never fails.

And with that I wish you all a wonderful week!

Bold and Free Thursday 3

Its time to choose three things to showcase. I want to share my ceramic lamb which is an antique that my Mom had. He claims a corner on the living room carpet and is a great conversation piece. His length is about 30".


This plate was painted on porcelain in 1928 by a great uncle. Mother displayed it in the china hutch, as I do today. The handles are gold, but seem not to show up properly.


This is a hobnail cake plate from the early 1900's. It was often used at Mom's dinner parties at dessert time. Always beautiful! I remember a cake on it once that was decorated all around the edge at the bottom with fresh summer flowers.

Hope you enjoyed this little bit from my history!

Remembering Dad

Thirty years ago today, our Dad at age 75, suddenly, without any warning, dropped dead and was instantly in the presence of his Lord, Whom he loved so deeply and served so well!

After thirty years, its like he is a dream we all shared. The vitality of his life has lessened in our lives, yet in our mind's eye his memory remains precious!

Our Dad didn't know a stranger! He witnessed to everyone he ever met, started a kid's club at church when he was sixty eight, and had over one hundred kids every Wednesday night. He loved those kids, sent them to camp, wrote to them, called them, fed them and when he died, almost everyone of those kids were at his funeral.

He wrote missionaries regularly, corresponded with out of state grandchildren and wrote our kids when he was on a trip and sent letters to his kid's club kids--even when they had left the kid's club as they left their teens. He was a one finger typist, on an old portable Royal, and his letters were something to behold! He didn't have spell check and as long as the recipient could figure it out, that was all Dad cared about. He didn't have the patience or the time to stop and erase. (I still have some of his letters and they are treasures!)

The eighth child of fourteen, Dad had a hard life. He left home in his early teens, worked as a farm hand, herded sheep, had a stint in post WW I army, and some time in there began working for Safeway. He became a manager, then branched out and owned his own grocery store. Always a salesman, he eventually retired from a brokerage which handled gourmet foods.

He and Mom were married in 1931 and remained deeply in love all of their married life. They were a true example of what marriage is all about. Dad never had a problem helping in the kitchen, doing the dishes, presiding at his dinner table, often crowded with guests, and being part of the team, we knew as Mom and Dad.

Dad, age 28

Dad was highly opinionated, as I am, so he and I clashed mightily during my teen years. As the years passed, he mellowed, and I matured a little. After I had children and I had the privilege of experiencing my Dad as a grandfather, I learned to appreciate him with all of my heart.

When we lost our Dad we lost a mighty force in our family. Our children lost their wonderful grandpa who never missed one of their sporting events, and loved each of them unconditionally. He spent more time with the Portland grandchildren, but always visited the California grandkids once or twice a year, plus the California family came up often...so he knew all of his grandchildren well.

Over the years that have passed, I have often longed for one more good visit with Dad--just to glean a little of his common sense wisdom. I have wished he could know my grandchildren. He would have gotten along so well with Elliot and enjoyed him. He would have loved playing games with Molly, as that was one of his favorite pastimes with the grandkids.

Dad and Mom had enjoyed the reading of I Corinthians 15 together that morning at the breakfast table. Some of the verses became very precious to us in the days that followed.

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up on victory. O death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?'' But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, know that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
verses 54, 55, 57, 58

And so, on this date, 30 years ago, as a shocked and grieved family, we said our good byes to our strong leader, faithful husband and father, and our Godly influence, we could say with the apostle Paul, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..."

We were blessed!

I salute my Dad, whose name was simply Bud, today, in memory of all he was to me and all that his memory means to me.

haicuts and girlie girls.....

My Molly girl has been visiting this week. She was anxious to have a new hair style, so today we went for a hair cut and style. Oh wow! Does she love it!! According to Molly, it is exactly the look she wants. So, I will share my sweet girl's new haircut and "do."

I guess its a good 13 year old look!

We certainly haven't done anything exciting. She went to the dentist with me yesterday. We went out for a late lunch and came home to work on cards and books. She made a sweet fold book and then put in her pictures from the summer. The title was 'The Summer of '08.'

Today we both sat in the office and made cards. She is creative and it is fun to see what she comes up with in her card making.

I record John and Kate plus eight, so we have watched an episode of that together each evening. We've decided there is a lot of noise with that many little kids!!

She goes home tomorrow night...and then to camp on Sunday afternoon...so a busy summer is coming to an end. This summer is the least I have ever had the grandies. They are growing up and have their own social lives in their community and church. Elliot will come next week, Lord willing, for a few days.

School days will soon be here!

Root Canals, August Thoughts, and Blogging

Did you know that the going price for a root canal is $850? And the price of the cap is $1200? And there is something called a "build up" that is $250 more? I received all of this enlightening information this morning at my "emergency" dental appointment!! After I got over the shock, I decided I was thankful that I could pay for it--(that's two cruises down the drain) and will hopefully find some relief from this situation which has been going on for several weeks and being ignored....so Thursday is the day for the root canal and then I don't know when the cap goes on. I even get a 5% discount for paying cash!! Now, isn't that special??



On to thoughts of August...before I retired I always got a tight stomach thinking that summer was almost over, that I had to get to my classroom and get it prepared for the first day of school, and a recurring nightmare I endured each August--I arrived at the first day of school and there was nothing on my bulletins boards, no name tags on desks, nothing on the board, and I was in my bathrobe!! Thankfully all of that angst no longer is part of August. I enjoy August now, because it is all mine--not one day is shared with the school district--I can go when I want, come back when I choose, I am retired!!

(When Mt. Hood loses its snow, its time for school to begin!)

And lastly, I haven't been a very good blogger reader this summer. I read the blogs and think I will come back and leave a comment, but I have fallen down on that....and I am sorry. I am hoping that fall will bring renewed committment to posting and reading blogs. I do love visiting your posts!!

I've had some wonderful studies this summer in some of the Psalms which I hope to share soon, when I can collect my thoughts!

Have a lovely August, which is almost half way over!!

Bold and Free Thursday 3

We are to share three things. Ruthie shared three of her special pictures a few weeks ago and I thought it was a lovely idea, so with her permission, I am sharing three of my special pictures.

This picture is one that belonged to my grandmother. It was a wedding gift to her from a dear friend. I am thinking that was about 1900. Hasn't it weathered the decades well? It is all embroidery. Enlarging it will allow you to see all of the intricate stitching!

This picture is called "The Helping Hand". I bought it over forty years ago at a Home Interiors Party. I loved it and the children all loved it as they grew up. About ten years ago I took it out of the garish frame from Home Interiors and had it professionally framed. It is above the piano in the living room.

Last, is one of the treasures from the ceder chest I found about three years ago and had it framed for my blue, yellow and white kitchen. I painted it when I was taking oil painting lessons in eighth grade. It was stuck between some old pages of a Seventeen magazine. I had it framed and now enjoy it so much on the wall in my kitchen eating space!

I couldn't resist.....

Here are the two kids that wore those outfits in the previous post!

Now we are a couple of old antiques!!

Treasures in the Cedar Chest

In 1950, my brother, a junior in high school, made me this cedar chest in wood shop. It has had many things in it over the years--Story Book dolls, my precision roller skates (yes, I was a roller skater in the late 40's much to my Father's displeasure), my collection of Nancy Drew books and on and on and on. Many different things have come and gone.

To really appreciate the hand work on these articles, double click and you will be able to see the details so much better.

About a month ago, I decided that my brother's daughter should have it since it was made by her Dad. So..............we unloaded it to get it ready for a ride to California. It took me for a walk down memory lane. So many memories. I am going to share a few with you. I didn't iron anything because I wanted the "look" from so many years captured in that chest.

On the very top was Jonathan's blanket sleeper. If you look closely, you will see that the side with the animals on it is picked bare! Jon sucked his left thumb, while using his right hand to roll up fuzzy balls to make sucking more pleasurable. If you double click on it you will see how thread bare it is. He also had a small teddy bear that had nothing left on it. He called it his bare bear!

Next out was a heavy flannel jacket my mother had made for me before I was born. It has crocheting around all the edges, and dainty little flowers embroidered down the front.

A handmade appliqu'ed crib coverlet was the next keep sake. It is still in excellent condition
and is a real treasure. I don't know the history, but suspect it was something Mom made for my layette. She was a marvelous seamstress and did a lot of handwork.

These were brother and sister tops to an outfit she made when we were about two and four. My brother had white wool flannel shorts and I, a little white matching skirt. We had straps over the shoulders which were threaded through crocheted threads in the shoulder seams. As you see, our names were embroidered on the front. Truly, ironed and starched, they were smashing little outfits. They were only one of many mother made for us to wear together
during our preschool years.

Well, that's enough for one night. Can you smell the cedar??

Stay tuned--there will be more!

Another beautiful garden--Jo's

My friend Jo, lives in a wooded area, where all has been left natural and there are no lawns. Jo has worked at her grounds for years, each year being better than the year before! Last year she had some rockary work put in for beds.....and this year she is reaping the fruit of her labors!

The captions under the pictures are hers. Enjoy!!

My new rock wall flower beds this first summer after it was built.

Close up of some of the flowers I planted in my "digable dirt"!!

It is such a blessing to have some dirt I can dig in!

The other side is my new vegetable garden. I have eaten three
tiny cherry tomatoes already and yesterday I made six loaves of zucchini bread
from these two zucchini plants!!

Sadly my "Red Bud" tree is half dead. It was sooo beautiful

last summer! Not sure what can be done about the tree yet.

My first flower arrangement I made from flowers in my new garden

Summer of 2008

Jo and I have been close friends for over thirty years. She has always had a green thumb. When I first knew her she raised roses--beautiful, show quality, long stemmed roses, then she moved to the shade, so had to change her interests!

Pinky's Garden

On Monday I was at my friend, Pinky's, for a surprise luncheon. I didn't have a clue, so it was a true surprise! I happened to have my camera in my purse, so I had to take a few pictures of her luscious flowers and foliage. Her place is abounding in flowers of every kind. They hang just about anyplace she has a place to hang them. So..........here is an example of Oregon's abundance!

front courtyard

courtyard entrance and front porch

corner of the deck

looking on the lawn and garden from the other end of the deck

Thanks for stopping by!

My days have been fashioned by God!

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:16


Today I am seventy six!!

Yikes, that means I am pushing eighty! How in the world did I get here?? You know, I'm not quite sure! But here I am, enjoying this phase of life as much as any other phase of my life. Everything is a little harder than it used to be, my step has slowed, my energy comes and goes, but I am so blessed with a busy, full life. There are days that there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things that I want to do. I am happy!!

A friend sent me the following. I took the liberty of doing a little editing, but basically it is pretty true!

"I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and everything sagging!. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my marvelous, loving family for less white hair or a flatter stomach. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend, sort of. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying all the stamping supplies I don't really need.....but looked so enticing on the websites that sell them! I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? Well, I know that isn't such a good idea, but I have been known to make cards all night!

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things..(like what in the world I went out to the garage for) Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when we face heartbreaking disappointments! Broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn white, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong. So, to be honest, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. most of the time. I am not going to live forever here on earth, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. I shall live each day at a time, with thanksgiving in my heart.

And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

a portland granny--1932--

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

~ William and Gloria Gaither ~

July birthday celebrations coming up!!

We're celebrating the July birthdays on Sunday at my sister's home. My "boys" are getting older. They are the three "P's", two Policemen and a Preacher!

Jonathan, my son is 43

Matthew, my nephew is 44

Christopher, my nephew is 45

What does that make me? I'll tell you next week.
I'm also celebrating with them tomorrow!

But seriously, aren't they all good looking fellows?
They will forever be "boys" to me. In fact, I have been known to call the
nephews, "Chrissy or Mattie", which are leftover names
from childhood!
Certainly not befitting two tough policemen!!

Happy Birthday, sweet boys--each so special--each so loved!

A Busy Week

I'm going to break it down for you.

Monday
Met Molly and her Mom at Wilsonville, which is half-way between our houses.
Molly came home with me. We stopped at Target and because Molly had earned some money from me for Bible memory work and grades.
She picked out a pink digital camera...and began taking pictures!
Bought some pink loafers at Target.
Had lunch at Macaroni Grill--I had never been there and it was quite good.
Came home and made some cards together.
Here is her birthday card she designed and made for her Daddy. I'm including her message because it is so sweet!

Tuesday
We went to a pottery place near me and she painted a darling mug for her Dad, that said "I l0ve you, Dad" That took over two hours.
A stop at the beauty parlor was next. Molly got her hair cut and it looks adorable. I had mine done and then we were out of there.
Came home worked on cards,
Went to Old Navy and bought her a couple pair of shorts.
Ate dinner at Old Chicago.

Wednesday
Her Mom and I exchanged kids and Elliot came home with me.


We stopped at Kohl's on the best sale day of the year, I think!
Bought him three pair of summer pants, and about 6 tee shirts. The sales were too good to pass up, plus I got my senior 15% discount.

Thursday
Laid low, went to the library, had an early dinner out, and came home to TV time for him, and playing on the Play Station.

Friday
He was invited to go canoeing with my pastor and his son, Jim. (our cousins) That was a fun day for Elliot.

Ready to roll.

Afterward we went to my friend Laurie's, and he played with her three cute boys. They have a paradise for boys both inside their home and outside.

We watch two episodes of the Waltons each night Elliot is here .

On Friday I measure him and he is 5' 4.25" and he was quite excited about his growth. I suggested we take a picture of cousin Jim and himself. (the 5' 4.25" didn't seem quite so tall)

Saturday
Again invited with our church youth group to an island in the Columbia where they had a motor boat and a lovely large sailboat for the kids. He had a wonderful day and was more than "sun-kissed" when I picked him up.

They got home later than intended, so we stopped at a near by restaurant and he "snorfed" a steak dinner down. He cheeks and nose were nice and red!


Sunday
Got up early and I drove him to his own church. I stayed for the service as
one of my favorite preachers was preaching!
Jon is taking the month of July and is doing the book of Philippians.
It was a good sermon from one of my most favorite books.
My heart thrilled as I listened to my dear boy give out
the Word, clearly and concisely.

I was blessed beyond measure that day on July 10, 1965 when that baby boy was born!


Thanks you, my dear Jonathan, for listening
to the call of God upon your heart.
May God continue to lead, bless, and guide you
as you labor at Countryside Christian,
but even more so
in raising up these two precious children
He has entrusted to you and Leah
to bring to Christian maturity.

I love the red, white and blue!

The Fourth of July has wonderful associated memories from many, many years of celebrating it! I celebrate the whole month with red, white, and blue trimmings!!

We have always had an annual fourth of July picnic at the family farm. We all came to celebrate--close relatives, shirt tail relatives, and friends who needed a family with whom to celebrate. The farm is the childhood home of my mother and her family. As an adult, her brother Ted, owned and operated it until his death two years ago, at age 96.

"Young" Ted, Uncle Ted, Barb, and Jim (his children)

Ina, a family friend chatting with Uncle Ted

Everyone should have a farm to visit. Being there, especially on the Fourth, was such a piece of Americana. It is something that money cannot buy.

There is the farm house, sitting on the grassy lawn. (The same lawn my parents were married on seventy seven years ago!) On the side is a warm inviting covered patio. The desserts are always on a round table on the patio.

Tables and chairs and benches are interspersed on the side lawn under the trees. The pot luck dishes are on two long tables under one of the trees. Out back is the pasture land, the corral, the barn and other out buildings. All are decorated for this wonderful celebration of family and country!

There is a splendid horsy swing which holds two children at a time. It remains busy most of the afternoon.

The old John Deere gets hitched up and its time for the kids to get a hay ride.

They are filled with glee and love every minute of the day. If they are especially fortunate, “young” Ted might let them pretend to drive the tractor!!

Today we no longer have our annual fourth of July picnic. With our dear Patriarch gone, it lost its luster when we had one last picnic after his passing. However, the farm is alive and well. The lands and barn are leased to two “country gentlemen” who raise cows. The house is leased to a couple who are loving living in a home with so much rich history.

My memories go back many years in my mind’s eye--I can picture my Dad, along with other uncles and cousins, leaning on the corral fence--all now with the Lord.

I stand in the bedroom which was my mother’s--I imagine her curled up with one of her beloved books, reading, her favorite pastime as a girl.

Then I can see my dear Mom, who LOVED this picnic more than anything else all year, sitting there with her precious brother Ted, and his wife, our Aunt Lou. Now they, also, have joined the hosts of heaven....and so life goes on and suddenly..... I am the oldest one in the family of cousins and siblings!!

What a heritage we have had!!

Wonderful parents!

Wonderful family!

Wonderful Lord!!

We have been blessed!

We are blessed!!

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

Jonathan, part 2, Grades K-8

How does one describe how quickly the years went by--how dear the years were--how blessed we were? They were fun busy years, yet hard years, but we always saw the faithfulness of our God to us. (See Jonathan, part 1)

When Jonathan began first grade, one of the young men from church approached me one morning and these were almost his exact words. “Would you be offended if I came along side of your little boy and did some activities with him, since he doesn’t have a dad?” I immediately was overwhelmed with gratefulness because this was just what Jon needed...and so began a friendship between Jonathan and David.

first grade

No matter how he started out the day, he finished up looking like an "unmade bed."

David S. was about 25, a student at Multnomah Bible School, and a Godly man. Soon he and another young man, also a student, came one night a week for dinner and they had such sweet fellowship with all of my children. Dave became Jon’s soccer coach, took him hiking, biking, and was his encourager. I can never thank David enough for befriending my little boy all through his grade school years. He was a gift from God!!

Jonathan learned to read in first grade. I was excited that the process came together okay having taught some kids that just didn’t get reading. We had our share of baseball games and an avid interest in ice hockey which he wasn’t allowed to do because of his arthritis. He had a hard time understanding it wasn’t going to happen.

second grade

third grade

By fourth grade, they had band and orchestra tryouts. I never said a word, but I was thinking that the trumpet is a majestic instrument!! He came home and announced he was going to play the violin!! .......and play it he did!!!!

We started with “twinkle-twinkle” and progressed from there. Since he was playing the Suzuki method, he listened to his music 30 minutes a day before practicing. Unless you have lived with a beginning student violinist, you have absolutely no idea what kind of sounds can come out of the violin! Eventually he learned how to do vibrato....and suddenly the music began to sing!!

By the end of fourth grade, his orchestra teacher from school called me and said that the child had music in his soul!! He wanted me to get him private instruction and gave me the name of the top notch teacher in our area....and violin lessons began.

By sixth grade, he was the outstanding (grades 1-8) violinist in our school district. He played a very complicated Tchalkovsky composition before a packed audience at our district high school music festival. He received a standing ovation. When everyone sat down, Grandpa stood up and announced , “That’s my grandson!!” Oh my! the memories.

After fourth grade our spare time lives were filled with music lessons, playing in an orchestra from another school district one night a week, soccer, and trying to get them all to the table for family dinner each evening. Those years were a real juggling act!

sixth grade

The summer before junior high school, Jonathan provided the special music at his dear friend, David’s, wedding. David and his bride went to Eugene to study architecture and Jonathan grieved. Although we saw them from time to time, as Jon said, “It will never be the same.”

Junior High began and it was a nightmare! The discipline was terrible and the student body ran wild. I knew in my heart he was in his last year of public school.

By seventh grade he was playing with the Portland Junior Symphony, still playing with the other school district orchestra, taking lessons, by then, from the second chair violinist with the Portland Symphony, and spending much longer time practicing.

The summer Jonathan was thirteen he lost his adored grandpa to sudden death. We all reeled from the shock. For Jon, it meant the loss of his friend, his protector, his buddy, his encourager, and his cheer leader at all of his games, as well as his musical performances. In high school he was to write the following:

The Saddest Day of My Life
On August 15, 1979, my wonderful grandpa died. Suddenly and without warning he was dead!

I was at summer camp enjoy myself to the hilt. I was having so much fun. We were riding the mini-bikes on that afternoon when one of the counselors came to me and told me that my mom was here to see me. (That was against the rules to have parents visit.)

I knew something was wrong. She looked so serious. My aunt was also with her. Each of the moms took a boy and proceeded to tell us that Grandpa was gone. The tears that flooded my face, my heart, and my soul were sad, angry and bitter. How could God take my grandfather--my friend, my father figure, my dear, dear, confidant?

In the place of all the turmoil within, gradually a deep sadness crept in to take the place of the angry and bitter feelings. The sadness didn’t leave for a long time...and
sometimes it is still there.

Two weeks after Grandpa’s death, Jonathan began eighth grade at an ACE school. It was during this year of school, that he suffered the most severe episode of his rheumatoid arthritis, thus far. He was put on six weeks of bed rest with narcotics for pain, and then for another six weeks he could attend school half-days. I couldn’t afford financially to take time off to care for him. One of my mother-helpers at school, whom I knew well, came and offered to take care of him. She was one of those answers to prayer that fit into the category “before you call, I will answer!” You see I hadn’t prayed earnestly yet about a solution, because I had to stew and worry a little longer!! But the Lord took it right out of my hands and provided an answer in the form of this dear friend who was a Christian and also an RN! Wasn't that wonderful??

I must say something of the boy, Jonathan. He was, (and is), an easy going, laid back kind of a kid, who took his music much more seriously than his school work! In many ways, he was a "magical" child. Jon didn’t know a stranger, always friendly and outgoing, he enjoyed his share of friends. He has always been a hugger and a very affectionate child. He had stage presence from the early days of performing. As he matured, his music began to include song-writing, playing piano, keyboard, and base guitar, as well as developing a beautiful singing voice. His music has always brought much pleasure and joy to his Mom’s heart.

eighth grade

When he announced to us in his cute lisp, when he was two, as he whirled around the living room to some music, “I danthing bear", little did we know......

My heart fills with thanksgiving that I was blessed by God with an occupation which provided financially for us. The money always seemed to be there for increased lessons, new violins as he grew, and all of the other expenses. As I look back I see how God provided with something extra at just the right time. (We lived on a teacher's salary.)

Our God has been faithful. I want to give Him all the glory for whatever is good that came out of our little family structure. Certainly Jonathan's wonderful gift of music is a direct gift from God!!

Until next time.......

Celebrating Elliot's finish of grammer school

Thursday, my sweet Elliot was an eighth graders. Today he is part of the class of 2012! How can that be? Just "yesterday" he was my sweet little visitor who came often, got into mischief, gave Gram a hard time, and was always generous with his hugs and kisses.

Today, he is a high-schooler. He is standing on the edge of manhood--giggling, mischievous little boy one minute, serious, no nonsense young man the next. There will be no going back--his future is before him. I must and will pray in earnest that God will guide and help him to walk in His will and for His glory.

Thursday night's festivities were interesting to observe. There were close to one hundred and eighty eighth graders, all dressed up in their fancy best. They came in all shapes and sizes, some boys, who looked like men, and some who were still just little boys, and everything in-between. Some were the "cool" kids, some were the misfits, but most were everyday boys on the verge of manhood, just trying to fit in.

The girls were really dressed up!! There were dresses of all shapes and sizes--some lovely, some not so lovely, and some that made me think, "where is her mother?" It was quite a parade of dressed up young ladies! Almost all of them had on heels, which they had difficulty in managing. It was a gala occasion! I am so thankful I was able to attend.

Afterward we gathered at Elliot's home and shared some good memories, some delicious apple crisp and ice-cream and some warm family time.

This is Elliot's eighth grade school picture.

You can tell he likes "hoodies" and long hair at this stage of his life.

If you would like to see the card I made him, click here.

Eight years ago today....

our Mother left us peacefully to enter into the presence of the Lord.

During these past eight years, I’ve learned many things more deeply about my dear Mom....and also myself.

She

had courage as she faced old age.

was always beautifully dressed no matter what the day was bringing to her.

was so gracefully hooked to her oxygen tank

never complained

displayed courage in all areas of her life

walked with the Lord more deeply than we realized as evidenced
in the many places we found her writings from her heart.

loved her family, which was so clearly seen, as we sorted through every card we had ever given her--all saved.

***

I’ve learned that I often have a heavy heart because I was impatient at times.

I’ve learned that I wish I could go back and do it again.

I’ve learned that I didn’t really know how sick she was until she struggled
for each breath her last week.

I’ve learned that I loved her so much
....and didn’t show it enough.

I’ve learned that I wish I could have her back
for just five minutes!

I’ve learned that I will love her for always.

***

Things I now know...

She is in the presence of the One Whom she adored.

We miss her prayer covering for the family.

I miss seeing her open Bible and study materials on her dining room table.

I miss playing games with her.

I miss her enjoyment of all of her great-grandchildren.

I miss her sweet countenance and her lovely smile.

I know, by faith, her reunion with our dear Dad, our grandparents, and the hosts of loved ones who went before her was more than my finite mind can imagine.

I know that “eye has not seen nor ear heard.....”

I know we shall meet again.

I am so thankful for her Godly influence
for sixty eight years in my life!
I have been blessed!!

Thank you, Lord.

Taken exactly one week before she was gone from us.
She is holding her namesake, little Gracie, the last great-grandchild.

Thank You to our Veterans

May we stand with diligence and with humility on the broad shoulders of those whose brave deeds and sacrifice we memorialize today. Let all of us commit this day, whether in public ceremony or in quiet reflection over a single grave, to remember them in fitting tribute."

From Prayer for Peace,
Memorial Day
by the President
of the
United States of America -
George W. Bush

My two favorite veterans!

My Dad------------- My Brother

1902-1978---------------- 1934-

Jonathan, part 1

Oh what a glorious day it was when I held my very own three day old baby for the first time! Born of another, yet entrenched in my heart for all time and eternity--my precious, precious son. He made me a Mommie, and fulfilled a deep desire of my heart.

Jonathan--"YAHWEH has given”--
a gift from God

When I learned that single people could adopt in Oregon, I looked into it. I believe each step was ordained by God, as I began to make inquiries. I had an appointment for inquiry and was told a baby was to be born in three months. This baby had a placement arranged, but the prospective adoptive father had dropped dead from a heart attack, and understandably the wife backed out of the contract. The birth mother was most anxious to have a secured placement for her baby and had given the doctor forty eight hours to find another placement or she would go elsewhere. This baby was offered to me. I was floored, as I expected to wait several months or years before a baby became available. I asked her for six hours before I gave her an answer.

I fled to my parent’s home. Only Mom was home and I told her about the offer. We dropped to our knees at the living room couch and prayed about this momentous decision. After we concluded, we stood up and looked at one another and said in unison, that we felt it was a gift from the Lord and I should go forward with it. So, I did....and never looked back.
The early years were so fun and so much work! Jonathan was a sweet baby, who smiled, laughed, and didn’t know a stranger. He loved everyone and was well-loved in return.


Early on he developed a love for music--as a toddler he was in constant rhythm whenever music was playing. A busy, inquisitive child, he knew all of the neighbors by name and if he was let out, he visited them all regularly. They all gave him goodies and I threatened to put a bib on him that said, “please don’t feed this child!”

In my journal during these preschool years, I wrote in 1966, “Jonathan is now seventeen months old and oh! so busy! He is on the go every waking minute! What a thrill it has been to watch him grow and develop. He is a continual joy to my heart.” and in another entry in 1967, “My children continue to be a source of never ending joy to me. As I look into their sweet faces, I never cease to marvel at the goodness of the Lord in giving them to me. I’m sure Jonathan is the busiest two year old living! He talks continually, leads us all a merry chase and is the pet of the house. as I tuck him in nightly, my heart is thrilled anew that the Lord gave me this wee boy as my very own to nurture and love.”


During his second summer, I was on the staff at the Cannon Beach Conference Center. He knew every staff person by name that summer, and on his second birthday, he sang Jesus Love Me to a crowd of two hundred in the dining room and never missed a word or a beat! That was the biggest birthday party of his life!

By the time he was three, he was “preaching” to us. He would sit everyone down, pass out Bibles or hymnbooks to all, and grab a plant stand for his pulpit and began his monolog. The neighbors used to drop by just to see and hear him “play church”.

third birthay

Little did we know what his fourth year was to bring.
This robust child had many difficult months ahead.

When Jon was four he had Scarlet Fever. Altho it was treated, he was left with lethargy, a daily fever, a very abnormal sed. rate, and an enlarged spleen. After several months of testing, I received a call at school fr