One of the things I am most grateful for is one piece of marriage advice Glenn and I were given about 15 years ago, just before we got married. We were told to get a journal and write down 3 things we were thankful for everyday, neat little things that we'd experienced or ways we'd seen God work in our lives. It is the one piece of marriage advice we've kept most days of our married lives together and as the kids grew we included them as well.
Our current book is nearing its last few pages and as I looked back at the beginning a couple of days ago I noticed that we'd started that book on 5/8/13. The kids excitedly asked me to read what we'd written. I read that day then they wanted me to share what we'd written on 5/10, the day our dog walked into our lives. It was fun to take a bit if a walk down memory lane.
Over the next couple of days I'm planning to share a few things that I read in the first few pages of our book when we saw God work in amazing ways. He has been so abundantly generous and faithful to us. I'm glad we have a box full of books where some of it is recorded.
STOP
Linking up with LisaJo's Five Minute Friday.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
April PTO Adventures ABCs
 |
| Our "after we made it back out of the Grand Canyon" picture |
A- Abigail, Albuquerque, Arizona, apples, Angel Bright Trail, artifacts, adobe, Alsup, air pads, atlas, Albertsons, archeology
B- Bluewater Lake State Park, beds, Big Agnes, breakfasts: campside, street side, Easter and hotel, bacon, Basha's grocery store, Brunton stove, birds, buzzing insects, buttes, basket maker, baskets, botany lessons, Blue Mesa, badges, beautiful vistas, books, bill boards, bite valves, blue pots, BNSF train engines, bananas, bison, baby prairie dogs, Best Thai, brown sugar
C- Caleb, cattle, camping, icampgrounds, camelbacks, California license plates, Continental Divide, chicken, cattle guard, cows in the campground, cacti, cotton tail rabbit, coyote, Colorado River, condor, cattle shoots, Celeste & Luis watched Rahab for us, crop duster, Caprock Canyon State Park,
D- dogs, danger, deer, desert, donuts, dead wild hog
E- elk, early mornings, Easter, elk chasing rabbit, exit
F- forests, fossils, Fossil Walk Ranger talk, food, foreign languages heard, fauns, flowers in the desert, free petrified wood pieces, fly (of our tent) free nights, flexibility, fleeces, fried potatoes
G- Glenn, Grand Canyon, Golden Pride, Grand Caravan rental van, glass bottle Mountain Dews, geodes
H- Hannah, horses, hills, Homolavi Ruins State Park, Hopi art, Hopi Point, horse poop in our campsite, hot chocolate, Holbrook, hiking, hot, heat, He calmed the storm, hail AFTER we were off the trail, hand squeezed orange juice
I- ice cream, ice block, interstate, Indian roadside stands
J- Junior Ranger, juniper trees, Junior Ranger patches, jackrabbits, jelly, Jeff Myers CDs
K- kivas, Kendra's suggestion, knife- Caleb's new one, Keens
L- Lydia, Lydia fell in the Grand Canyon not into the Grand Canyon (PTL!!), Little Colorado River, license plate game, layers, library, lizards
M- mom, Mohave Point, Maas adventures, McDonald's parking lot- $4.20 for overnight parking and we got a free large fries, Mountain Dew, mesas, mule deer babies, mountains, mules
N- Navajo, necklaces, New Mexico, Nebula, nalgene, neon lights, National Parks and Monuments, nooks, National Geographic Store
O- Ortega's trading post, open range, Orange Line, orange juice, oranges, open late campgrounds, oatmeal
P- Petrified Forest National Park, petrified wood, Painted Desert, Painted Dessert Inn, Petroglyph National Monument, petroglyphs, Pizza Hut, pueblos, Park Pass, Paid Time Off, PBJs, pottery pieces, picnic area, patches, Park Rangers, parking spot, Ponderosa Pines, Peace Suplus, pairie dogs, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, plants
Q- quesidillas, Quitaque
R- railroad, Route 66, rim trail, red dust, ruins, rocks, ravens, Rainbow Forest Museum, rescue team on the trail down, rest areas, rain jackets, road runners, Rosa's Cafe, reading
S- shuttle buses, sage brush, schedule, showers, sunglasses, sunscreen, sunrises, sheep, Super 8, Smokey the Bear, sleeping bags, stars, spur of the moment, self pay stations, silversmith, scenic overlooks, strawberries, state parks, Sunset Crater National Monument, sausages, sunsets, singing
T- tourist traps, tortillas, tunnels (we made it to the 2nd one!), trees, Texas, tent sites, tooks, thrift stores, tumble weeds
U- umbrellas
V- van rental, visitor centers, vulture, vaulted toilets
W- water packs, water, washes, wind turbines, windmills, water fountains, wind, wool socks, Walnut Canyon National Monument
X- xantera
Y- yucca
Z- zipped together
Friday, April 04, 2014
Five Minute Friday: Writer (Silver and Gold)
So this week I'm using the FMF word for the week not to write about being a writer but to just be a writer and write (for a bit longer than 5 minutes since I worked on it on and off as we adventured with family today)...
The pull to Lowville is strong today. (Lowville is the town Glenn did his rural rotation in for 9 months at the end of medical school.) This morning a friend wrote me that they've tapped some of their maples and have about 12 gallons of sap they're planning on boiling down tonight which will only be about 1 quart of syrup when it's all said and done after all that work but a sweet reward for 8 hours stirring around a fire. She told me her family was talking about my family at breakfast and how we would enjoy keeping them company around the fire and "doing science" with them. Hannah said, "If we leave now we could make it there by Sunday." *sigh*
Then I saw another friend's reminder to come to their all day game day at their place tomorrow. "Bring your favorite games and be prepared to lose" We went to the first couple of game days they hosted last year. It's just too far away. *sigh*
On Wednesday I wore my Cheesecake Festival t-shirt and whenever I do I always get comments about how those who see it wish they could go to a cheesecake festival. It's fun. But far.
This week I was chatting with one of Glenn's colleagues. We were talking about how difficult it is to make community, especially when you've had great community in the past. She told me that one thing God laid on her heart was that verse from Proverbs, "Better a neighbor close by than a brother far away." Oh, but I miss my brothers far away and they still hang out with each other without me and I've been here longer than I was there and I still don't have that kind of community and almost every Sunday one of my kids leans into me at church and tells me how they miss their friends in Lowville. *sigh*
I live in Fort Worth not Lowville. Glenn's colleague told me God's challenge for her is to: "Live where you are."
OK, so we'll keep trying at this neighbor close by thing. I know one key to community in Lowville was those great community potlucks we had at at the park in Croghan. Already on the calendar in the next couple of weeks we have a picnic planned with our Sunday School class, a medical missions meeting at our place and a cookout out with the other resident families in our program at the home of someone from the Tarrant County Medical Alliance. We'll keep working on these neighbor close by relationships we have here, they aren't the same as the brother far away relationships but they're good and worth investing in. It reminds me of that old song I learned in Girl Scouts "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
The pull to Lowville is strong today. (Lowville is the town Glenn did his rural rotation in for 9 months at the end of medical school.) This morning a friend wrote me that they've tapped some of their maples and have about 12 gallons of sap they're planning on boiling down tonight which will only be about 1 quart of syrup when it's all said and done after all that work but a sweet reward for 8 hours stirring around a fire. She told me her family was talking about my family at breakfast and how we would enjoy keeping them company around the fire and "doing science" with them. Hannah said, "If we leave now we could make it there by Sunday." *sigh*
Then I saw another friend's reminder to come to their all day game day at their place tomorrow. "Bring your favorite games and be prepared to lose" We went to the first couple of game days they hosted last year. It's just too far away. *sigh*
On Wednesday I wore my Cheesecake Festival t-shirt and whenever I do I always get comments about how those who see it wish they could go to a cheesecake festival. It's fun. But far.
This week I was chatting with one of Glenn's colleagues. We were talking about how difficult it is to make community, especially when you've had great community in the past. She told me that one thing God laid on her heart was that verse from Proverbs, "Better a neighbor close by than a brother far away." Oh, but I miss my brothers far away and they still hang out with each other without me and I've been here longer than I was there and I still don't have that kind of community and almost every Sunday one of my kids leans into me at church and tells me how they miss their friends in Lowville. *sigh*
I live in Fort Worth not Lowville. Glenn's colleague told me God's challenge for her is to: "Live where you are."
OK, so we'll keep trying at this neighbor close by thing. I know one key to community in Lowville was those great community potlucks we had at at the park in Croghan. Already on the calendar in the next couple of weeks we have a picnic planned with our Sunday School class, a medical missions meeting at our place and a cookout out with the other resident families in our program at the home of someone from the Tarrant County Medical Alliance. We'll keep working on these neighbor close by relationships we have here, they aren't the same as the brother far away relationships but they're good and worth investing in. It reminds me of that old song I learned in Girl Scouts "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
Friday, March 07, 2014
Five Minute Friday: Willing
START
Willing... What am I willing to do?
What does willing mean?
Is it me using my force to accomplish something with my strong will?
Is it my response when someone asks me to do something? "Are you willing to do XYZ?" "Yes, I am willing." "No, I am not willing."
More often than not in my mind the word "willing" goes along with the word "Lord". "We will be coming to visit you, Lord willing." "We will be here for residency for 3-4 years, Lord willing." "We will be serving overseas someday, Lord willing."
I remember a sermon when we were in the middle of the craziness of trying to find a place to live at the beginning of med school and how grateful I was 24 hours later that we had heard it. We were challenged to not say "I am going to do this or that." But rather to say, "Lord willing we are going to do this or that." and remember that our good God was in control even when circumstances that we didn't plan and we don't understand come our way.
Like the rich man who'd built his barns confident that he had plenty for many years to come so he'd take it easy, eat, drink, and be merry, we don't know what tomorrow holds.
I am so thankful that I know Who holds tomorrow. What He wills is so much better than what I will. He's already there and I can trust Him.
STOP
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15
Willing... What am I willing to do?
What does willing mean?
Is it me using my force to accomplish something with my strong will?
Is it my response when someone asks me to do something? "Are you willing to do XYZ?" "Yes, I am willing." "No, I am not willing."
More often than not in my mind the word "willing" goes along with the word "Lord". "We will be coming to visit you, Lord willing." "We will be here for residency for 3-4 years, Lord willing." "We will be serving overseas someday, Lord willing."
I remember a sermon when we were in the middle of the craziness of trying to find a place to live at the beginning of med school and how grateful I was 24 hours later that we had heard it. We were challenged to not say "I am going to do this or that." But rather to say, "Lord willing we are going to do this or that." and remember that our good God was in control even when circumstances that we didn't plan and we don't understand come our way.
Like the rich man who'd built his barns confident that he had plenty for many years to come so he'd take it easy, eat, drink, and be merry, we don't know what tomorrow holds.
I am so thankful that I know Who holds tomorrow. What He wills is so much better than what I will. He's already there and I can trust Him.
STOP
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15
Linking up with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Another Good-bye... So Long Grandma's House
This morning I got an email from my cousin telling me that the home of our Grandma Hansen burned a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully no one was hurt. Grandma didn't live there anymore. She has been in heaven 7 years this month. The house belonged to another family that I don't know. That house was host to a lot of memories for me over the years though. We spent much of our growing up years in that house.
It's so true. Oh, the adventures we had. So many memories came running back at me when I saw the picture from the news report of the fire.
In the smoke filled pictures you can't see much of the house but you can see the enclosed front porch where Great Grandpa Dean's desk was. He was Grandma's dad and he lived there too, most of those years. He used to give me Chiclets that he had hidden away in his desk and tell me about going to McDonalds or "the chicken place." He made us nervous out there on the roads driving and he used to tell me that he thought that he should start riding a bike "but this leg..." One of my favorite pictures of Grandpa Dean is one when I took his hat and wore it and sat next to him on the little stool between the couch and his chair. I remember many an afternoon spent in the living room often spending time staring at his chest to make sure that he was still breathing.
Our toys were stored in that front porch too - the Chatty Cathy doll, the Barbie McDonalds, the little organ. Grandma told me that she was glad that my mom had me take piano lessons. She had always wanted piano lessons but she never had a piano to play and that's why she bought the little organ.
Her driveway was host to lots of fun playing airplanes, dancing like a dinosaur and more when I was a kid. Grandma found little bikes or trikes or toys for us to play with in the driveway, years later she found some for my kids as well. I'm so grateful I have memories of my kids playing in that driveway as well when they were very little.
I can remember a few times when Russell and I slept over at Grandma's house. We didn't go upstairs often but I always thought it was fun to go upstairs and see the room where my mom slept when she was a little girl. I remember one time when we spent the night at Grandma's she let us each have a flashlight to take to bed with us in case we needed it in the night when she put us to bed in mom's old room. That night we had a flashlight war and had so much fun that we told grandma all about it in the morning. From that time on I always "got" to sleep with Grandma on her bed while Russ slept in mom's old room. Bummer.
Grandma's back yard was so much fun. I always felt like she had 3 yards in the back: the front part along the garage up to the flower beds and stone path, the middle part with the big apple tree and the garden. Oh, Grandma's gardens were amazing. She planted beautiful flowers everywhere and her vegetable gardens (which were divided into three sections) always produced an abundance. She loved working outside and had a dark tan on her wrinkled skin from so many hours in the sunshine. Food from her gardens not only fed her but my family, neighbors, and many others would get bags of yummy produce whether they wanted it or not. Picking apples and pears from her trees kept us busy many a fall day. I remember picking flowers from Grandma's flower gardens for daisy chain bouquets.
There was a little house in the backyard that I would have loved to have seen in it's prime, when my mom and Uncle Rusty were kids. I think that there used to be bunkbeds and all kind of stuff in it back then but all I can remember it being used for was to store gardening tools and supplies and cool whip containers.
I just realized something. I don't remember the last time I counted dial tones when calling someone on the phone. I would always count dial tones when calling grandma. It would take her a while to get to the phone and I figured if she didn't answer by ring 10 or 15 that she was probably outside or something and that I should call back later. She did eventually have an answering machine but I still counted anyway because it was set not to go to the machine very quickly.
I remember sitting with Glenn on Grandma's couch and poking him on accident with my toe when I was first introducing him to her. Grandma's house was the first place I remember walking to when we got our double jogging stroller when Hannah was newborn. Oh, there are so many more memories but they will have to wait for another day.
I'm glad that I could take a bit of a trip down memory lane today. A good cry once in a while is good for me.
I'm so glad for the time I spent at that house growing up and that memories don't burn like houses do.
I'm also glad that Grandma's house didn't catch on fire sometime while she lived there. There were definitely fire hazards with the piles of stuff and the pet hair. I'm glad God protected her and kept her safe from fire.
So long old house. Thanks, God, for the memories and especially for the dear people who fill them. Please bring comfort to them as another door to the past closes. Please also comfort and provide for the family who lost their home in that fire.
Grandma was our daycare/ preschool/ teacher/ best friend all wrapped up in one. While Mom was teaching and Dad was at the Wood Shoppe we were at Grandma's until we were old enough to go to school. After that we were often at Grandma's before and/or after school often except when we were at LaFayette and the year I walked to Crystal's or the shop after school in 6th grade. Much of that time, especially in the early years our cousin Heather was there too. Last night she posted to my facebook:
A Grandparent's
house is where
cousins become
best friends.
In the smoke filled pictures you can't see much of the house but you can see the enclosed front porch where Great Grandpa Dean's desk was. He was Grandma's dad and he lived there too, most of those years. He used to give me Chiclets that he had hidden away in his desk and tell me about going to McDonalds or "the chicken place." He made us nervous out there on the roads driving and he used to tell me that he thought that he should start riding a bike "but this leg..." One of my favorite pictures of Grandpa Dean is one when I took his hat and wore it and sat next to him on the little stool between the couch and his chair. I remember many an afternoon spent in the living room often spending time staring at his chest to make sure that he was still breathing.
Our toys were stored in that front porch too - the Chatty Cathy doll, the Barbie McDonalds, the little organ. Grandma told me that she was glad that my mom had me take piano lessons. She had always wanted piano lessons but she never had a piano to play and that's why she bought the little organ.
Her driveway was host to lots of fun playing airplanes, dancing like a dinosaur and more when I was a kid. Grandma found little bikes or trikes or toys for us to play with in the driveway, years later she found some for my kids as well. I'm so grateful I have memories of my kids playing in that driveway as well when they were very little.
I can remember a few times when Russell and I slept over at Grandma's house. We didn't go upstairs often but I always thought it was fun to go upstairs and see the room where my mom slept when she was a little girl. I remember one time when we spent the night at Grandma's she let us each have a flashlight to take to bed with us in case we needed it in the night when she put us to bed in mom's old room. That night we had a flashlight war and had so much fun that we told grandma all about it in the morning. From that time on I always "got" to sleep with Grandma on her bed while Russ slept in mom's old room. Bummer.
Grandma's back yard was so much fun. I always felt like she had 3 yards in the back: the front part along the garage up to the flower beds and stone path, the middle part with the big apple tree and the garden. Oh, Grandma's gardens were amazing. She planted beautiful flowers everywhere and her vegetable gardens (which were divided into three sections) always produced an abundance. She loved working outside and had a dark tan on her wrinkled skin from so many hours in the sunshine. Food from her gardens not only fed her but my family, neighbors, and many others would get bags of yummy produce whether they wanted it or not. Picking apples and pears from her trees kept us busy many a fall day. I remember picking flowers from Grandma's flower gardens for daisy chain bouquets.
There was a little house in the backyard that I would have loved to have seen in it's prime, when my mom and Uncle Rusty were kids. I think that there used to be bunkbeds and all kind of stuff in it back then but all I can remember it being used for was to store gardening tools and supplies and cool whip containers.
I just realized something. I don't remember the last time I counted dial tones when calling someone on the phone. I would always count dial tones when calling grandma. It would take her a while to get to the phone and I figured if she didn't answer by ring 10 or 15 that she was probably outside or something and that I should call back later. She did eventually have an answering machine but I still counted anyway because it was set not to go to the machine very quickly.
I remember sitting with Glenn on Grandma's couch and poking him on accident with my toe when I was first introducing him to her. Grandma's house was the first place I remember walking to when we got our double jogging stroller when Hannah was newborn. Oh, there are so many more memories but they will have to wait for another day.
I'm glad that I could take a bit of a trip down memory lane today. A good cry once in a while is good for me.
I'm so glad for the time I spent at that house growing up and that memories don't burn like houses do.
I'm also glad that Grandma's house didn't catch on fire sometime while she lived there. There were definitely fire hazards with the piles of stuff and the pet hair. I'm glad God protected her and kept her safe from fire.
So long old house. Thanks, God, for the memories and especially for the dear people who fill them. Please bring comfort to them as another door to the past closes. Please also comfort and provide for the family who lost their home in that fire.
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Five Minute Friday: Write
I do not write enough. It is not because there is nothing to write about. It is not because I do not need to write. I do. There is so much to write about. I have so many things running around in my mind, so many things that have happened that I want to remember, want to share, or really need to process and I process best through writing.
There are also so many great things that God has done. So many things that He has provided. So many neat opportunities we have had. So many trials that we have lived through. So many blessings that we have had. So many things that God is teaching me that I would love to share.
I just haven't taken the time to write. I could list tons of excuses but I won't. It is something that I haven't prioritized but I need to work it into my time budget because it is important to me and I need to make time for what is important to me. Today I added "Spend 15 minutes writing" to my "dailies" on HabitRPG. (It's growing on me. My family is currently battling a dragon and if I don't do my part by doing all my "dailies" the dragon "kills" me and it hurts our party.) You may not see much of a difference here on my blog but I am going to start writing because I need to.
STOP
There are also so many great things that God has done. So many things that He has provided. So many neat opportunities we have had. So many trials that we have lived through. So many blessings that we have had. So many things that God is teaching me that I would love to share.
I just haven't taken the time to write. I could list tons of excuses but I won't. It is something that I haven't prioritized but I need to work it into my time budget because it is important to me and I need to make time for what is important to me. Today I added "Spend 15 minutes writing" to my "dailies" on HabitRPG. (It's growing on me. My family is currently battling a dragon and if I don't do my part by doing all my "dailies" the dragon "kills" me and it hurts our party.) You may not see much of a difference here on my blog but I am going to start writing because I need to.
STOP
Linking up with Lisa Jo for Five Minute Friday. Join me?
It's February 7th again...
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 MSG)
This verse was the verse of the day on Youversion today. I think God put it there just for me. It's an appropriate reminder for me for February 7th, I think.
I am often in a low spot emotionally this time of the year. I don't know if its the lack of sunshine and time outside or the fact that this time of the year has many dates that are on the calendar of my past that I wish weren't.
My mom passed into eternity 11 years ago today after living her last 20 months in various healthcare facilities. 11 years. It hardly seems possible!
I have learned many things over the past 11 years and I'm not sure how I would have done it without God.
* Just like it says He is the God of all comfort. So many times He has orchestrated circumstances or sent people my way to comfort me, to walk beside me. God's Word, especially the Psalms and Habakkuk, and various songs have been a huge comfort to me as well as He brought them into my life at just the right time. He is so good. He is so faithful. He loves me and knows best.
* Just like it says God has brought others into my life and allowed me to walk with them and be a comfort to them just as He has provided comfort to me. I have an idea of what it feels like to lose a parent. I've lost two. Because I have been allowed the opportunity to suffer I can empathize with others who are going through suffering. For that I am very grateful. If I had never felt pain I would never be able to walk through pain with others.
I can't believe it has been 11 years. Sometimes I see bits of her in myself, in my kids. I wish they could have known her. I miss her. I am grateful though for all that God has taught me and how He has used me because, in His sovereignty, He knew it would be best to take her home when He did. Most of all I am grateful for the God of all comfort that walks with me and has comforted me and strengthened me though every day.
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