Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, but I had my family over last Saturday. The children all have Thursday plans and I just wanted to sit down to dinner with them, rock the babies, and have some face time and hugs.

I'll head down to Dad and Carmen's tomorrow afternoon. I think their count is up to 40 for dinner. I took the ham over from our dinner, and a couple of baked pie crusts to help out the cause over there. Carmen made ham and beans as a dinner for the wanderers tonight as they wander in, with sliced ham for sandwiches. I didn't figure she'd want the leftover turkey, because tomorrow they'll be making their own leftover turkey.

They seem to be managing. Still getting thinner, but still smiling. I don't know if it's denial or not, but I'm still hopeful for a full recovery for both of them.

On another grateful note, tonight my niece Tiff had her little baby girl. She was over 8 pounds, I can't remember exactly, and looks a lot like her daddy. Oni, welcome to the world. Mom and baby are resting comfortably, or were a bit ago...that changes fast when you're dealing with a hungry little baby. Congratulations Tiff and Bernard. All my love and best wishes.

Giving Thanks

Well, my children all have plans for Thanksgiving, so I planned this great early Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, tomorrow. Alli is going to make the turkey and I will bake a ham. I had great plans to get much of the work done earlier in the week but work and Enrichment meeting and yada yada yada...and it just didn't get done. So I was up bright and early this morning cleaning like a mad woman. All the Christmas projects I've been working on are stuck here and there. Got the table cleaned off and expanded, made two batches of bread, washed sheets for five beds, made up one bed four to go. So the question is how many pies can I make in four hours before the troops start descending and I must stop to rock grandchildren? I have ten pie pans I'd hoped to fill. We'll see. Don't have the floors done either. That may be put off until another day.

But none of that matters because in a few hours my house will be full of children, grandchildren, parents and miscellaneous visitors. I'm so excited. I had a count once...6 kids, 7 grandkid-type (under 8 years old) people (including 5 month old twins--how fun is that?). Then there's Mom and Andy, and tomorrow for dinner another 4, or 6, or 8 people will show up, I'm not sure. Doesn't really matter because there will be lots of food.

Isn't this what Thanksgiving is all about? Gathering together to visit and give thanks. Some days this is the best paradise ever.

Oh my gosh

Yesterday I turned 57 years old. I'm doing the happy dance about making it to here and wondering who is that old lady in my mirror?

Manic Monday

I had training today. I practiced setting up meetings on a state wide educational meeting reservation system. My meeting was the Micky Mouse meeting which met once a month with someone from another college. Unfortunately,the lady got the email confirmation for six Micky Mouse meetings before I could delete it from the system. Oops. Nope, not going to be any Micky Mouse meetings, sorry.

Carmen is in town getting chemo right now. They changed her chemo last week because the other stuff wasn't working. Now she is nauseated and fatigued. Is it a rule that the chemo isn't working if it doesn't make you sick? What's that crap about? Dad seems to be holding his own since they took him off one of his chemo medicines that was making him horribly sick. He still gets other chemo, just not the one that makes him sick. He is taking some supplements and is considering other alternatives if what he's doing isn't working. He is positive he's going to "beat this thing." He'll get a scan next week and we'll see what's happening inside him.

The holidays are creeping up. I have given up on cross-stitch. I have one and a half ornaments done. At this rate each of my grandchildren will have a Christmas ornament next June or so. On to Plan B. I just love B Plans, don't you? Another chance to experiment and try something new. And the good news is that several kids are coming the week end before Thanksgiving for holiday dinner. I'm excited to see them and the grandkids. I figure somewhere between 20 and 40 people for dinner. Should be interesting.

My little fire place is keeping the house cozy and warm. It makes me so happy to light a fire and know that my house will warm up in no time. I've been gathering wood like crazy.

I'm up to my eyeballs in apples. Made apple butter, dried apples, applesauce, sliced-spiced apples, apple crisp, apple cobbler, given away apples...and still more apples to make more wonderful stuff. I think I'll make apple pies for Thanksgiving. Good idea, eh? Maybe the kids will take some apples home. That would be good. First thing in the morning, I'll start another batch of apple butter.

Well, I'm off.

Silly Me

Sometimes I so amuse myself. Yesterday the snow was washed away by rain before noon. I was bookin' and cookin' -- made bread, made apple butter, worked on Christmas presents.... Today, another "day off" I am still working on Christmas presents and will start another batch of apple butter when I get back from cutting wood.

Life in the country. Busy. Gotta run.

GUESS WHAT?

IT'S SNOWING!!! I don't work today and just got up and it is snowing like crazy out there. There is just a covering of snow on the ground but wow, it's really snowing. And guess what? I got my snow tires on yesterday! I thought Les Schwab was busy yesterday, it's going to be crazy mad today.

I am sitting here in my warm little farm house getting ready to light the stove, I need to bring in some wood, and settle down for the day. I got a bunch of stuff done yesterday so I don't have to go to town until church on Sunday. This is a good day to make some soup and bread and wrap up in my blanket and sit in my chair by the fire. Man oh man, my life is perfect at this moment.

Have a warm day!

Lessons

I was asked the question yesterday..."what is it that you need to learn from your current situation?" And I began to think, "what indeed?" I acknowledge that I have a proud spirit. Well, had a proud spirit. My situation has been pretty humble for some time now, but if I was very honest, I guess I would have to say that my pride still rears its dragon's head once in a while and blows the hot flames of sorrow into my moment.

And yet, the Lord just keeps blessing me. Even when I doubt. Even when I cry because I don't want to ask for help, but there is no other way and I must. My desire is to be self-sufficient once again. My reality isn't in harmony with my desire yet. And yet, so many are so generous. My life is full of gifts.

My lesson? Was I just going to fast to notice my life slipping away and this is God's way of helping me slow down and contemplate my blessings? Was it that I wasn't present even when I was with the people I love, always thinking about what I needed to do next or what was on my list to do next week or just too darn tired. Is this busyness a form of pride I wonder? A sort of 'look at me and see how much I'm accomplishing and how much I have and how hard I work blah blah blah.'

Over half my life is gone and I have been given the opportunity to be here right now living this day, this moment with full awareness and without wondering about tomorrow or what's on my list or where I need to run off to. I watched the sun rise this morning. I have done my job today. Tonight I will go home to my little paradise and light a fire in the fire place and sit in my chair and stitch Christmas presents. That's as far as my planning goes.

If I am honest, I must confess that this is one of the gentler lessons I've encountered in my life. I have faith that the Lord will guide me and lead me where I need to be if I just ask and then listen real hard and make a committment to follow His counsel.

Undoubtably there is more to this lesson, and I haven't figured it all out yet. I have goals and have a picture of what I think my life could look like. But I know that there is a time and a season for everything and this is my season to be blessed with the generousity of others.

Humility. Acceptance. Love. All part of the lesson.