Grandkids!

Oh, the blessing of being exhausted by grandkids!

Last weekend I traveled with some grandparent friends to visit our kids -- and grandkids. We had a great time together -- talking lots about -- OUR GRANDKIDS.

We arrived in time to help decorate cookies. Two little guys wearing Mom's aprons, icing and sprinkles stuck to cheeks and fingers, made a revived spirit after a long day on the road.

Joy and I had opportunity to watch "big kid" movies like "The Great
Debaters" and "The Illusionist". Good comfy time. Not movies one can

usually fall asleep to -- but Jer had a really long week.

Aunt Lora had planned on babysitting during Sunday's amazing City of Trees Marathon in Boise. (Joy and Jer both ran a spectacular 13 miles!) My visit gave Lora an extra half hour sleep Sunday morning. But no way could either of us have handled the boys at the race on our own! She and I had a great time together, taking two toddlers potty, meeting friends at the race, readying for naptime.

With the boys, we watched movies, played trains, went to McD's for ice cream, and sang in the car. All the great things a gramma loves to witness -- and be a part of. When it was time to leave, Ian invited me to daycare, then teared up when I told him I had to go home and take care of Papa. Within 5 minutes he was telling me to "go take care of Papa." Papa was sorely missed on this visit.

Jenny's Emily turned 3 yesterday! Recently Jenny got off the phone , turned, and saw Emily with hands on hips and a big grin. "Emily, did you hear what I was talking about?" "YES I DID!" It was birthday plans. As Jenny says, Emily is a "mess". All curls and grins! Paul (9 months) has officially pushed down his sister to get what he wanted.

There's nothing like the love of family and friends. It comes from hanging on in the good times and the bad, watching each person become whom he or she was created to be. And also from waiting -- WAITING -- till the next visit.

I'm working on PATIENCE. I remember an old quote from college days: "Patience is doing something else in the meantime." I always want to be doing something, so I'm incorporating more "things" into my regiment, like resting, or listening, or praying, instead of always running, or checking, or helping.

Life has had its bumps, but I'm lelarning to just live with them. Go around them. Look around rather than down. Pick the flowers instead of kicking the mud. Ha! The world will go on, and I want to go on too!!!

Find just a little flower today!

A New Day

OK, so anyone can say, "it's a new day!" So what? What does that mean?

For me it means I have another chance to clean up my house, to get my bills paid, to finish a project(s) I've not yet completed.

It also means I can work on my attitude (always a work in progress). I can look for new ways to support a discouraged co-worker or friend. I can pray for wisdom for someone who is struggling. I can reach out to people I care about who are "drifting" without purpose to their lives.

Those are things I CAN do. Many things I cannot -- yet they still afford me hope.

Somebody bigger than me can fix things -- or help me be happy in a broken situation.

Somebody bigger than me can calm my fears -- and help me rest well through the night.

Somebody bigger than me can speak to someone who wouldn't be ready to listen to even a good friend.

Somebody bigger than me can make me feel valued when my husband teases -- but didn't know I wasn't in a teasing mood.

Today is a new day! I want to see what it holds.

Pray for the teachers

I loved school as a kid... and consequently assumed I'd be a teacher.

When the time came, I was so drained by the downside of life that I didn't have the energy to hang on for a teaching certificate. So I taught one year right out of college in a private school, then stayed home with my kids. I know it was where I was supposed to be. And fortunately, I enjoyed homemaking -- but I've often said, 'NO ONE loves doing anything 24-7.'

Now, with all the girls grown, gone, and married, it was a perfect fit to get back into a classroom. I decided I didn't have the stamina for 2 years in a teacher training program, a year of student teaching, then another year (or more!) waiting for a job opening -- only to teach another 2-4 years. Out of this was born the idea to sub. This has been a great answer for me -- 2-3 days per week -- to know them, encourage them, love them, hopefully motivate them.

Today I read my daughter-teacher's blog about her heavy load in a class with kids that need more than she can give. The world needs more than all of us put together can give! But for a teacher, looking at the kids assigned to her/ him, that's not solace enough. It breaks the heart of a parent to say, "I've done everything I can think of!" and the parent looks for one more chance to direct, or even rescue our kids. Her burden is more than I can imagine.

Whe I sub, I can look at kids and be sad or broken hearted, go home and remember them for months, even years, but I don't have the responsibility of that assigned teacher. I hope ALL of you teachers will bear a burden for your kids, but I hope you will equally lay down your burden at the end of the day, with the One who made the kids, who sees their needs, their longings, their sadness and despair -- who is the only one in the universe who can carry you or them through the tough (and tougher!) times of life.

Today I had a reading time with four kindergartners. One could write no letters but X. Another was determined to be sad because she missed her mom. A third was going to take care of the sad little girl. And the fourth was called (nicknamed) "Guapo" or "Handsome".

"Guapo", named Luigi at birth by his parents, is really a heart-tugger, a handsome little guy. Last December I met him in pre-school, speaking very little English, ready to snuggle up and "read" a book. Guapo will grow up and know how to turn on the charm, because he's doing it already.

One of the greatest blessings in life is the joy of children. But one of the saddest things is children without joy. We are their only hope! Their joy comes from their successes, at school, at home, or with their friends. We can teach them how to play together, how to recognize letters, how to keep trying! We teach them how to find joy in the tough times.

Tomorrow I go back. Today was an exhausting day. The kinders were the easy part. The rough part was the 5th graders who acted like kinders. But I'm needed. We're all needed. To encourage struggling kids, moms and dads who have lost jobs or don't speak English, teachers who are exhausted with what seems an impossible road ahead.

Let's each shore up someone! Send an email, a prayer, a thank-you, a smile -- or just a few minutes of listening. We need each other.

All for my man...

Lots of girls in my generation grew up watching mothers and grandmothers canning together. Some still do. I never lived nearby family after I left for college, and never got into the process when I was at home. We had garden during my middle school years, then not till I was in college.



When my kids were first born, we had access to free peaches. LOTS of peaches -- my favorite fruit. I'd loved peaches since highchair days, and it killed me to see any rotting on the ground. Now, 28 yrs later, I still struggle a little, but not much.



When Jenny and Joy were toddlers, I would peel and pit after they went to bed at night, then rise before them (imagine that!) and do the canning with the waterbath canner. I hated the work! but loved the peaches. The year before Lora was born, I think we canned 98 qts. I must have wanted martyrdom. Still we always ate them.



I remember once when Jenny was about 4, a Saturday night after the Mothers' Day Banquet, when Jenny and Joy together told their version of THE THREE BEARS (so cute!) , Jenny went downstairs to our pantry and managed to carry a jar up the stairs to the kitchen -- only for it to break on the kitchen floor. Sweet syrup all over the floor at 10 pm! plus broken glass......... We all lived through it.













These days I've long let go of canning. Some years I freeze a few pints of peaches -- yellow, not white flesh. Fresh white flesh are honey to eat, but not so good frozen. But I do enjoy making the jam ... just for my man.



My main man, Larry, can, and chooses PB&J for his EVERYday lunch -- unless I pick up a sandwich to share, or we visit Red Robin, or are out of town. Larry loves routine, and life is easier, thus more fun for him, if he knows what to expect and can control it. He starts on tomorrow's breakfast and lunch within 15 minutes of arriving home each night. To me that monotony is depressing; to him inspiring -- he has time to surf the web, make a trip to Lowes, or call me! He doesn't have to worry about lunch!



My mother brought us strawberry freezer jam all the years we were in Georgia. Scrumptious! But no longer available when we moved west. Also, she could only bring a few pints, not enough to keep Larry in stock all winter. He learned to love my jam, and now prefers it.



I picked by myself this year. Usually he takes me to the orchard and makes me taste several different varieties to make sure I like the taste before we start to pick. I DON'T CARE! I love them all. But I've learned to avoid, the bird-pecked, split pit, too small ones. He also usually picks twice what I want, but I don't want to argue. I love them all, but it becomes a burden to get them out of the garage frig before apples are ready for picking. So this year I picked one half box of the luscious white flesh, and a heaping box of yellow flesh.



About 8 days ago I remembered peaches were still sitting in the frig, and jam needed to be completed before subbing began. So I worked HARD for 5 days -- only Saturday off -- and made lots of jam, to last all winter for his PB&Js.



Last year Lora and Andrew took a few pints. Joy's bunch wants only raspberries. It's too heavy to carry or ship to Jenny's bunch. That's OK.



It's funny how work is fun when you're doing it for love. You really have to love a guy who WANTS what YOU make, day after day... after day... after day... after day.......



You know what he does for me? That breakfast he readies 15 minutes after he gets home at night? Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins (for low cholesterol!) He's adding cinnamon and walnuts now, and perfecting the creaminess! Each morning he checks to see if I'm awake when he makes his. "... Do you want your oatmeal now?" WOW! Every morning a hot bowlfun with a cup of oj.



So glad he doesn't miss the canned peaches--I don't. I do miss never having canned with my mom and sisters. Maybe I would have learned to like it -- or learned some short cuts. I just boil the jam long and keep steaming water on my jars and lids so I don't have to do the whole water bath deal. Lora helped me a couple of years. I miss having the girls closer!



Soon it will be applesauce and apple butter time. I need to get these cuts and burns healed up before then .... My new knives are indeed sharp!

... favorite things ...

Life has changed so much since the girls are grown and gone. I can't believe it's been 8 years since the first two left home. Lora was home summers till she married -- then the empty nest really hit me.

But there are some very special things I like about this new life. Larry is so good to cook for, I can fix almost anything. I like to cook. Baking, on the other hand, is becoming a lost art in this household. If we tried to consume a whole recipe -- well, you wouldn't recognize us. Instead, we have a piece, maybe two, then carry the rest to the guys (4 single guys in their 20's) next door. But usually, I just don't bake.

For supper this week I've made pasta a couple nights, then made a cream sauce and added parmesan cheese. Some nights are salmon, some chicken (Larry will even eat thighs now!) with rice or pasta, and then some steamed or stir fried veggies. Last night we had chunked zuchinni, tomato, mushroom and onion. I added a dab of sugar and butter to the mixture to give it the stewed flavor. Lucious! Larry has always praised my cooking, so serving him is fun.

After dealing with first graders all day I'm just pooped. On those nights we have "Larry's soup". He makes a mean doctored Progresso chicken vegetable soup. He adds onion, zuchini, mushroom, and more seasoning, and you'd never know it came from a can.

Another new favorite is a chicken chili. Sometimes I just add canned (black, kidney, or garbanzo) beans and seasoning to a canned chicken tortilla soup, plus tabasco and pepper flakes. Other times I soak different kinds of beans ahead of time (don't forget to add the soda -- else you'll remember even longer! :) To the chunked chicken and beans, I add tomato sauce, tabasco, hot pepper flakes, black pepper, frozen (or canned) corn -- till it tastes spicy and flavorful. Warm cornbread with butter and a glass of cold milk tops it off. Leftovers are good as first time around.

You may have special toppings, like sour cream, shredded cheddar, or crumbled crackers. You may have other special scratch dishes. Share your "special" dishes, with your household, your friends -- with me!

This week I've spent a lot of time studying our finances. I CAN'T BELIEVE how much we are spending eating out. Surely food has gone up in price, but it's always cheaper to eat at home. The secret (as Sandra Lee says:) is keeping it simple. Of course, "simple" is has many definitions!

But thank goodness for the privilege of having lots of good healthy food so accessible. This is a part of our blessing in being Americans. It's always fun to share. A plate of cookies, a bowl of soup, an appetizer. Hey, the guys next door even took our left-over donuts. (Larry went out for favorites when Joy, Ian and Luke were here last month.)

And Larry's cooking! He is a week-day oatmeal buff, adding raisins, cinnamon, br sugar, and recently -- walnuts! After having it melt-in-your-mouth creamy at a coastal diner, we're working on the simplest way to copy. Currently he's stirring it on the stove top -- and serving me every morning. I'm blessed!

Think of your favorite dish, serve it often with colorful sides to compliment it. Make it a special night with feet up and a movie or favorite series. Eye-appeal and color are often indicators of healthy food.

Enjoy!

... thankful...

We're home ... from a long anticipated visit with Larry's brothers and parents traveling from the East ... and a long anticipated 3-day-respit. Both were good.

It was so good, as always, watching Ian and Luke enjoy life. Hearing Ian's deep musings, (" ... so what is 'ur fab'wit, Gwamma?" "Favorite? Favorite what, Ian?" "Fab'wit cumput'r." "Oh! What is my favorite computer game?") We were sitting out on Uncle Tim's patio while most of the rest of the family were eating inside. Ian loves using Dad's laptop, playing the games Gramma Lynn bought for his birthday. It's just funny hearing a three-year-old voice a question like that -- and that he would even ask someone else's opinion rather than just voicing his own. Hmmmm. Must have earned that somewhere....

I enjoyed the time visiting with the family, being with the brothers and sisters-in-law. We're so blessed -- just to get along so well, AND to enjoy one another. Larry's dad and mom are gracious, proud AND grateful for the family, and tickled to see the great-grandkids play.

Luke was fascinated with Mom's choice of a tablecloth for the birthday party. He spent 10 minutes going round and round thetable naming the trains, especially citing each repeat of Thomas. And Ian was mesmerized with Mom's creations in the frig. What a love gift! Amazing how gifts to please someone else so often end up blessing you!

The party was fun, watching family help put together toys or play with the boys. Someday maybe there will be more little cousins to play with. We're really thankful, after 30 years of birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgivings with just our immediate family.

But now, back home, alone, a little tired, I'm so so so thankful.

I'm thankful for my children and their families.

I'm thankful for parents that hung together in good and bad, and always tried to love each other more.

I'm thankful for a man I can trust, who does his best each day at his

job, who treasures his family.

I'm thankful for a home and freedom. For income. For the trust. For the safety. While watching opening ceremonies of the Olympics, I heard of a country where average income is $150/ year. Such pressure on these athletes to win!

I'm thankful to have been a mom, to have taught, encouraged and loved children. These children have found great spouses. Together they are each teaching, loving and encouraging others. Life is hard, but God is good.

Now, the next chapter! One daughter recently reminded me how God meets our needs like He cares for the flowers of the fields. God will give me wisdom to know what to do and how to "be" in this new chapter. It's mysterious ... but I'm thankful for the freedom to march ahead without fear!

Keep looking up!

...wow! so much has happened since my last entry. Larry has been so busy with work; Joy and the kids were here; and we've had to say good by to Missy....

I'm so tired of emotional things. When we're tired, we tend to hang our heads, literally, emotionally, spiritually. A friend, seeking for herself, reminded me of the answer, on Sunday... that we can't let ourselves quit believing that God is still working.

Today I got up and decided that no matter what, I'm going to be thankful. I'm overwhelmed on one hand -- but on the other hand, there is a whole lot of "wonderful!" going on around me. And if I have to remind myself of the wonderful things four times a day -- well, that will be what fills my mind!

I'm thankful for the beautiful hills -- and thankful they aren't rolling down on us! Geology tells us they were volcanoes thousands of years ago. I'm thankful for a terrific man who calls me 3-4 times a day -- after 30 years of marriage! And that I don't like taking a trip out of town without him -- even if it's to see grandkids! I'm thankful that God listens to little ole me, bumbling, stumbling, oh-so-human. I'm thankful for cell phones and kids that call me, for grandkids that say, "you're my fwiend!", and that I don't have cancer!

I may get over one bump and not see the mound I must climb around the next bend -- but I don't want to see it yet. For today I'll just enjoy the sunshine, the flowers growing in the sidewalk cracks -- and the time and eyes that will let me sew. How I love to sew!

For tonight this is enough. I'm going to make tomorrow a good day too!