Friday, November 4, 2011

Final goodbye


We are back in Georgia to pack up the house for the BIG move. No, it hasn't sold yet, but our six months in the villa are almost up, and we had to rent something more permanent. Outside is luxuriously beautiful, and even though the leaves are well past their prime, they show quite beautifully.


Inside, not so much! Four strangers, two days, 276 boxes, and one huge mess! And guess what?? Someone wants to see the house tomorrow! No, I can't make this stuff up! The house has sat, show house ready, for SIX months, and had very little action, now they call! Really, really??


Outside it is beautiful!


Inside, ummmmmmmm, really??


Outside, cute as can be,
but they aren't for sale...well, not today (smile).

Inside, Ohhhh myyyyy!


Outside! yeah!


Inside, blah!

Okay Lord, time to do a miracle!
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

We call it Candy night

The girls were paper dolls this year, the easiest costumes ever! They were so easy I almost felt guilty for not giving more blood swear and tears into the project. Not only were they super easy, they were a big hit, especially with the older folks. I was a little afraid that people wouldn't know what they were, but it was obvious that paper dolls brought back fond memories for lots of people. Several strangers asked where we got the costumes, "ummmmmm, they're just cardboard??!" The girls were so excited, and they must have thanked me forty times!


This guy really cracked me up, I just had to take his picture. He looked to be a very masculine man, and he was very stern with the children he was with, and so serious. Definitely not the type you would expect to find in a flamingo suit.....so funny. How do you wear a blow up bright pink flamingo suit, and not smile.


This family went all out. The mom is cut out of the pic, but she was the tin man, and the baby was the lion. It was fun to see so many adults dressed up this year, and very few creepy ones here in our "new home town".

 

This man looked to be eight feet tall. He was also very serious, but at least that went with his costume.

Over all we had a terrific Candy night and the girls went to bed exhausted, in spite of being hopped up on twizzlers and Reese peanut butter cups.
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Funny


Kartwright was home last weekend for fall break.
The girls were ecstatic to have him back!


I think his personal space was invaded repeatedly.

Funny how personal space seems to grow as you grow older.


Funny how just five weeks can change things.


Funny how some things never change.




Funny how funny Kartwright is.

Life is funny.
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Saturday, October 15, 2011

legacy or not?

My Mom recently lost her last sibling, my Aunt Nanny (Nancy). She was a good aunt, even if she did get a tad bit demanding in her old age.  When I was a little girl she used to bring a bag of candy to our house once a week for us to share, and she and my mom would sit at the kitchen table and talk. Every Spring she would overpay my sisters and I to "clean" her already immaculate house! I remember wiping down wood paneling with lemon scented Murphy's oil soap, and dusting hard back condensed version readers digest books. Every cupboard in the kitchen was emptied and washed, her sewing basket was organised, the chrome faucets were polished, and even the leaves of the plastic plants in her front door planter were shined to perfection. In my adolescent mind I thought it all very silly, and pointless, to clean an already clean house, come to think of it, I still think it pointless.




 

Nanny would drive me home after a short day of "cleaning" in her tiny red Volkswagen beetle. I thought her life was so cool. She was a career woman, and she dressed nicely everyday to be important and looked up to. She talked often of her job at Storey's Piano Factory, and the people that she was over. She didn't have any children, just one step son who was by then, grown and gone. I never saw Nanny working hard over piles of dirty laundry, or cooking over a hot stove for her family. She spent her days off, golfing at the country club, and learning to play the piano. In contrast to my own mother, her life seemed so easy and carefree, and I dreamed of one day being like her.

Aunt Nanny was a talker, never at a loss for words, never short on opinions, but I never remember having a conversation with her about anything of eternal value. She went to church every Sunday, and I know she was a believer in Jesus, but she didn't talk about her faith, at least not with me. I knew she was very proud of me, and she often told me I was pretty, and that my hair was shiny. She gave me lots of compliments about my physical appearance through out the years, and as an adult she always said my children were precious. That's what I remember about my Aunt Nanny, She was a nice lady, and I don't mean any disrespect, but it has just caused me to ponder.





A few Sundays ago we sang a familiar hymn in church, one that I had grown up singing, one that at the moment I can not remember the name of. It's sound carried me back to my childhood in Spring Lake Michigan and the dimly lit baptist church I attended as a small brown eyed girl, and I could almost hear my parents singing right next to me. When I came out of my little day dream about the past, I realised my 7 year old ElizaJane was belting out the tune sure and strong beside me, and her 12 year old sister Haven next to her. What a legacy my parents left I thought, and my mind drifted back to how the Lord has used my parents to create such a strong legacy for Him.





My parents made a decision to follow the Lord, and walk in his ways when they were in their 20s I believe, when they had two small children. It is my understanding that they had both heard the gospel before that, and stories have revealed that my fathers grandmother was a strong believer, but I think they really made a commitment, and began to serve Him in their local church, at that time. They went on to have 4 children in all, me being the baby. Boy I sure am glad that little surprise happened! All four children have married, so there are now also 4 children-in-laws, and then came 11 grandchildren. Five of those grands have now married bringing that total to 16, and now there are 8 great grand children and counting. That would be thirty two people from this one couple. That my friends is a wonderful legacy, and puts a new spin on the whole be fruitful and multiply. So, because in part, this young couple made the conscious decision that they were going to serve someone bigger then themselves, there is a family that will spend eternity together, not to mention the myriad of blessings we have encountered here on earth because of our faith.




Legacy has been large and in charge in my thought life lately. perhaps because of a sweet little somebody named Ryder that recently joined our family, and who has the middle name Clifford, after my dad by the way, and Michael after both of his grandfathers. 

What have I been left....what will I leave...Will my children and grandchildren, some day remember that I cared about their spiritual condition, and have I communicated those things that are important, and not just those things that are temporal? Will I be remembered the way I hope to be remembered, and for those things  that I really believe to be important? I want to be remembered as a nice lady, and a kind lady, and even a lady that told them they were pretty, but oh I pray to be remembered for so much more than that.

What about you, what will your legacy be?







Thursday, August 25, 2011

Just two more


They brought Ryder home in the same little feltman suit and sweet booties that we brought Dakota home from the hospitol in. It brought back such sweet memories of so long ago that seem like just yesterday.


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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

New Birth

I know that blogs where people show one million pictures of their offspring are BORING, but if you will indulge me as I show you two million pictures of my offspring and my offspring's offspring, I would be much obliged. I am truly sorry, I just can't help myself!

May I introduce the newest member of our Fam,
 Mr. RYDER CLIFFORD MICHAEL
All seven pounds and five ounces of him arrived this morning in just twenty inches of sweetness!


I was fortunate enough to be allowed to bepresent for the birth, and let me tell you ladies, our bodies can do amazing things with our creators help, miraculous unbelievable things, and we should hold such everyday miracles in very high regard. What a beautiful thing, new birth, a most glorious gift, this honor we females have.


The new Daddy
 With new birth comes new love, and there is always just enough room for more. Sometimes as humans, we wonder, how will one more fit in to this crazy mixed up flurry we call life, but at the very moment of new birth, more room is also born, and then one wonders, where has this sweet soul been all my life, and how did I ever live without it??


Then you realise uncles are also born, and relationships are started, and deep commitments of "I will always be there for you" are made without ever a word being spoken. And little tiny seven pound bodies move man souls to feel, and ponder, and make bold promises in their hearts.

Aunts are also born, with each new niece and nephew that arrives, I imagine the feeling is brand new again, and the commitment to watch over and protect is refreshed. Memories are etched in growing brains, memories that will remain forever.


And growing babies, learn to love smaller babies, and their eyes take every mi nut detail to heart, as they watch and smell, and breath in, and dream of one day experiencing the new birth grow inside of them also, and haveing the joy of their own burrito like wrapped love spreader to hold for as long as they want, without anyone waiting for a turn makes them giddy.

And, Grandparents are born, and the unmistakable understanding that a part of us will remain, as generations fade, is growing inside our aging hearts as we say farewell to older members, and greet fresh smelling newborns. In the face of prayer, for safe and healthy new birth, we rejoice in the promise that every good gift is from above, and that all new births are good gifts.



Sisters too become. She is unaware that this new birth means years of companionship, and a sharing of every rite of passage. She will spend countless hours with this male soul in her life time, and their secrets will be especially sweet. She loved him instantly and we all watched as the miracle of that love took place right before our eyes, today. That new love will spill over her cup as she grows in understanding of the gift she has received.

A family has grown, in numbers and in love, and new birth is so very sweet. Oh so very sweet indeed.


 
Thank you for indulging me, isn't he just precious?
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Saturday, August 20, 2011

waiting

The girls and I are back in Georgia this week, on a very important mission. We are watching this little girl, She calls me Grandmomma and she is just about to turn two. She is also just about to become a big sister!


So, we are watching, and waiting! We are waiting for a sweet little boy to decide to come, and be born to this sweet little family. He isn't even due until monday, and we are already growing impatient to meet him.

One more to call me Grandmomma.

One more to love.

I couldn't be more excited!



So, we are Waiting.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

sisters by the water


She was born into a family with three brothers. One is gone now, but for her first five years she had only brothers, They loved her, cherished her even, and like her name she was a safe healing place for our family. I humbly asked the Lord, in the midst of my gratefulness for my three sweet boy children, and my one baby girl, for a sister for her, and he answered my prayer.

 

When we shared the news with little Haven that her Momma was going to have a baby for her to Love, With all the confidence she could muster in that chubby four year old body she replied, "She's gonna be a sista, and we're gonna name her Sally!" She was half right.
And although they are very very different, they are also very alike. And, although they sometimes push each others buttons, they are also the best of friends. They giggle and rough, and whisper sweet secrets, they play and explore, and bicker, and giggle. They build blanket forts and read together with a flashlight, and then spend the night on the carpet amongst plush bunnies and bears, and dream of American Girls, then eat Little Debbie Swiss rolls for breakfast, because they can, and play Go Fish, and did I mention they giggle?

I hope they will always be the best of friends.
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Thursday, August 11, 2011

BUDDY THE BIRD


Just a few doors down from us is a nature center. They often have animals they have rescued. Their normal residents are turtles, and snakes, fish, and recently they cared for a baby opossum until he was ready for release. We love to stop in occasionally to see the critters, and just a few weeks ago we met Buddy.


Isn't he beautiful??? I just love his colors. When he first arrived he was in a large bird cage, alone in the back room. They let us go back and see him, but he seemed so lonely. I guess that was part of acclimating him to his new surroundings.



Now, he is in the main room, sitting on a perch out in the open. Every time the door opens, and rings, he says "HELLO", just as clear as a bell, and welcomes everyone to the center. We haven't heard anything else from him, but we will keep trying.

I would kinda like a bird like buddy for my very own, how'bout you?


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