Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I happened up this old book one day while browsing thru a thrift shop.  The corners looked as though they had been nibbled upon by a hungry little mouse while it was stored away in some long forgotten attic barn.  The old and musty smell drew me in as I picked up and glanced thru the pages.  It was filled with beautiful old  drawings of Fall and Autumn, along with poems reflecting the memories of seasons past.  I set this book on tea table through out this Fall and have enjoyed reading it’s poems.  Today I am sharing one of them with you.

 

Thanksgiving Day

Lydia Marie Child 1844

 

Over the river, and through the wood,

To Grandfather's house we go;

the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh

through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood,

to Grandfather's house away!

We would not stop for doll or top,

for 'tis Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood—

oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes and bites the nose

as over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood—

and straight through the barnyard gate,

We seem to go extremely slow,

it is so hard to wait!

Over the river, and through the wood—

When Grandmother sees us come,

She will say, "O, dear, the children are here,

bring a pie for everyone."

Over the river, and through the wood—

now Grandmother's cap I spy!

Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?

Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Over the river, and through the wood,

trot fast, my dapple-gray!

Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound!

For 'tis Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch

Many years ago when I was just a child and my mother taught Sunday School she wrote this story to share with her class.  A few years ago I found it tucked between the pages of an old book.  It was handwritten out with her own colored pictures that she drew to go with the story.  I wanted to share it with you as a trip down memory lane.

The Pumpkin Patch by Connie Gundlach

One sunny day in October on a farm out in the country there was a very special pumpkin patch. This pumpkin patch was a place where all of the town folks came to pick out there pumpkins for the holidays. In this pumpkin patch, there was a very special pumpkin and his name was George. It was the day before Halloween and George was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. God gives pumpkins just enough fresh air and sunshine to get nice and orange before Halloween. Suddenly he realized what day it was. Now, George wasn’t a pie pumpkin he had been growing and growing with a purpose. He was going to be just the right shape for a Halloween jack-o-lantern. Pies are all right for some pumpkins but not for George and he was becoming worried it looked like no one was going to buy him to be their Halloween pumpkin. People came and went all morning. People were hurrying and scurrying and kicking up dust all through the pumpkin patch trying to pick just the right pumpkin. George tried so hard to be just the right pumpkin. He tried to be the orangeiest, the biggest, and the roundest but still the people didn’t choose him. He was beginning to feel very sad and lonely. All George wanted to do was cry. It was starting to get dark and no one had chosen him to be their jack-o-lantern yet. But, just as George thought all the people were leaving one family hurried in to the pumpkin patch. There was a little boy and girl walking up and down the rows looking over all the pumpkins.

George tried to be just as orange as he could. He was being so still he could hear them talking. What were they saying? “Do you know what my Sunday school teacher said last week Johnny?” “No Susie, what did she say?” “That we must never feel lonely or sad. Jesus loves us and is always our friend if we ask him to be.” “How do we ask him to be our friend?” said Johnny. “Oh, that’s the easy part.” Susie said. “Just close your eyes and say Jesus sometimes I am not the best I can be and do wrong things but would you please forgive me and be my friend for always?” The children walked right on by past George, but he even though they didn’t choose him he felt better. Maybe, even if no one bought him for Halloween he didn’t have to be lonely. Maybe, Susie’s Sunday school teacher was right and Jesus would be his friend even if he weren’t the orangiest or the biggest or the roundest pumpkin in the patch. Maybe, Jesus would like him just as he was because he was George. And, while George was just thinking about how good it would be to have Jesus for a friend he didn’t even notice the little girl walking towards him, that is not until he heard “Look Johnny I think this one would make a perfect jack-o-lantern!” “You’re right Susie that’s the best Halloween pumpkin of them all.” George was thrilled! The little girl was putting her hands around him and picking him up. What made George really happy was that he knew that not only was he chosen to be someone’s special Halloween pumpkin, now he had a special friend too.

Photo Friday–Happy Halloween

When Stuart was four he wanted to be a washing machine for Halloween.  This is what Steve came up with.  We submitted this photo to the local news channel and it made the cut.  This is definitely one of our all time favorite Halloween costumes.

Looking Back On A Full Summer

 

Summer is officially over as the kids have started back to school now.   Although we did not get to do anything on my bucket list it was still a wonderful and busy summer.  There is so much to share with our cruise to Alaska and our time on Vancouver Island.  Trips to the lake and the waterslides.  We hit the Flea Markets and went to car shows and the county faire.  We discovered new foods and old favorites.  Watched movie premieres, and said goodbyes as we sent off some of our kin to join the army and year long mission trips abroad.

  

               Army Strong! Mikayla joins the force to study nursing                     Elijah joins CTI Ministries and becomes one of the new faces of 14:22

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Over the next few weeks I will unfold our pictures and tell you about our different adventures.  Our favorites and not so favorites,  all of the highs and lows of our Summer.   I did miss the lazy days of Summer there weren’t enough of those, but on the bright side the kids did learn to routinely do some chores so I must celebrate the small things.   

So, for now I hope your Summer was just as wonderful and that even though it is over you can look back over all the memories you made and say it was worth it.

Photo Friday–Catching Water Drops

Without a pool my kids have learned to enjoy the hose and the sprinkler from a very early age.  I love this picture of my son catching water drops with his tongue. 

American Graffiti Parade in Modesto California

Modesto California doesn’t have a lot of bragging rights mostly crime stories, Gallo Wine, and George Lucas.  Lucas put Modesto on the map when he made American Graffiti based on his own experiences of growing up in this sleepy little Central Valley California town. 

Actually one of the proposed titles for the American Graffiti movie was “Another Slow Night In Modesto.”  As a teenager growing up in Modesto myself I totally relate to the proposed title.  We still cruised up and down McHenry Ave. because there was nothing else to do.  They finally banned cruising in Modesto sometime in the nineties due to violence.  However as a city we still celebrate Graffiti on an annual basis the first weekend of June when the schools are out.  It is the opening weekend for Summer Vacation.  Graffiti night these days is anything but slow.  The weekend starts off with a Classic Car Parade in downtown Modesto and this past year reportedly 20,000 people showed up.  Of course George Lucas himself was in town to be the Grand Marshall of our little parade. 

We spent the day staking out the best spot to see the parade and take some great pictures.  Although it was hotter than blue blazes we managed to stay cool and have a great night.

                                             

Our friends joined us for the evening and I got a real kick out of watching Gary take pictures with his IPhone.  I finally handed him my DSLR and most of the photos above are from him.  I hope he got himself a new camera for Father’s Day.

Photo Essay - The Impact of a Parent Attending a Child’s School Performance

This is my daughter, see the cute little blonde with the fancy headband?

This was her last school performance of the year and she was very insistent that I attend.  She reminded me several times.  I always go to her performances but I have to admit that I often wondered how important was it really.  When I got home and looked through the pictures I had taken they really spoke to me and answered my question about how important it really is.  In the picture above she has just entered the gymnasium and I can see her quickly scanning the audience for me.  She seems very focused on finding me. 

She is still looking for me and hasn’t spotted me yet, even though I am waving madly between taking pictures.  I know the look on her face is disappointment that I’m not there to see her. 

She still hasn’t found me and the smile on her face is a “put on your best face and be brave smile”

Awe, finally recognition.  She now sees me and has a beautiful smile for my camera.

And, she sings! From the bottom of heart, just for me.  I’m so glad I’m her mother and I’m so glad I made the effort to see her performance.

The Bottom Of The Laundry Pile

Have I mentioned that I love my new washer and dryer?
Last January my dryer went out. Mind you, this was the second dryer to our original set. We were still trying to recover from Christmas spending and decided to just buy a refurbished used one. We also had a sneaking suspicion that our 15 year old washer was on it's last leg and wanted to wait to buy a new set together. Well, that day came a couple of weeks ago right in the middle of a load.  It stopped working and I was left with a washer full of soapy dirty water filled with clothes. I got out the plastic Rubbermaid garbage can, began wringing the clothes out and tossing them into the can so I could run over to my mom's to finish. I’m thankful to have a mom so close. Before Steve and I went out to buy a new set we decided on a budget of what we were willing to spend. Once we got to Home Depot I soon realized that in the washer and dryer department our budget wasn’t going to go far. There were only three models that were in our price range and they were the cheapest models available. It was kind of disappointing for me as I realized all those fancy front loaders with bells and whistles weren't in my budget. I still looked around and admired the higher end models and the cool colors they are available in. I envisioned them in my home and dreamt of what it would be like to use them. Then I checked out the price tag and almost choked!  We could go on a vacation for that money! Our family of four took a 7 day Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera for nearly half that much! Our upcoming 14 day Disney Cruise through the Panama Canal cost less than that! Steve and I even went to London for 6 days and paid less than that! Holy Shmoley! So, I cheerfully walked back towards the ones in our budget and chose the Maytag Centennial model.  My husband was very relieved and I am certain this decision will go a long ways in making sure my marriage last as long as the washer and dryer. After a couple of weeks of using it I am very impressed. They have so many different settings I can choose from to get my laundry done. The washer has a load sensing, water saving feature on it as well so I am using less water with each load. And the dryer! It can dry a load of laundry in 30 minutes! (Compared to the 90 minutes our previous dryer took this is amazing). Sometimes it's finished before my washer if I have it set for deep clean. I couldn't be happier,  now I can actually almost see the bottom of the laundry pile and, it's a good thing because we'll be going on vacation soon.

Photo Friday–The Bumble Bee

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.”  Mary Kay Ash

Snapdragons, Geraniums, and Journeys

I spent some time digging in the dirt this weekend and planted some wave petunias and snapdragons under my light post in the front yard. It is now a splash of color to view as I wash dishes and look out my kitchen window. I also freshened up my front porch and pruned back my miracle geranium. I call it a miracle because when Leah was about three years old her Sunday School teacher brought in cuts from her geranium plant and passed them on to her students. It went with the lesson on how God causes all things to grow. Leah was very excited to come home and plant her flower.
I on the other hand am not a green thumb and the idea of having to remember to water this new plant did not appeal to me at all. So, I purposefully forgot about planting it. I thought if I ignore it long enough then it will wither and brown and I can easily tell Leah we have to throw it away. I let it sit on her desk for a week and finally she brought it to me saying "We have to plant my flower." I groaned inside. I thought about coming up with an excuse but none came. Then I said to myself why not it will probably die anyway so let's just go through the motions. We stepped onto the front porch and I picked the first open spot in the planter. We dug our hole which was not very deep and gave it some water. Then I went back inside thinking it will most likely die but at least I've done my parental duty. For the first few days Leah was good about reminding me to water it and I obliged thinking this won’t last long. Surprisingly the thing never got brown and died. It actually started looking better, the leaves were no longer wilted and it looked much greener. It intrigued me and I found myself checking it out regularly and giving it water a couple of times a week thinking surely this won't last. It was many weeks later when Leah and I walked past her plant one evening and noticed the first red blooms. We were amazed and cheered at the new flower. I stood in awe that something I had so badly neglected and wished to die was blooming. Five years later Leah's geranium still blooms and I honestly don't give it much attention or water. But, whenever I see it's red buds they remind me of strength, perseverance, endurance, and commitment. I've been thinking a lot about journeys lately. We all have journeys in our lives some are short term, some are longer, and then there is the ultimate journey that last throughout our life where we grow and experience things that shape and form us. Leah's geranium has had its own journey, times when it was well watered and times when it was not. It has survived through the changes in the seasons and the environment. Sometimes our journeys move us from place to place, but other times God firmly plant us and lets us grow and bloom within the changes of our environment. Whatever our journey looks like He asks us to be committed and faithful, to persevere and bloom.