Glancing Back

This is a "repost" from a couple of years ago.  We still enjoy these stories!
 
I love these books because I love to see my children enjoy older people.  They are blessed with three great-grandparents who are still living.  The kids know them and love them.  It's a gift that I don't think a lot of kids have.

 If you get a chance to pick up one of these titles, you should.  If you have grandkids or even if you don't have little ones around right now, I still think you'd appreciate them.  All of the Mr. Putter and Tabby books make me laugh.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is such a dear story about a little boy trying to help an elderly lady find her memories.

And Miss Rumphius is a sweet tribute made to an aunt who tried to make the world a prettier place.

Song and Dance Man made me laugh and cry.  Here's a quote from the end:

"...we tell him we wish we could have see him dance in the good old days, the song and dance days.  He smiles, and whispers that he wouldn't trade a million good old days for the days he spends with us.  But as he turns off the attic light, Grandpa glances back up the stairs, and we wonder how much he really misses that time on the vaudeville stage, when he was a song and dance man."

I'm not sure what makes me love the end of the book but I think it's this.  As I think of my own grandparents and learn more about their lives, what I see are lives well lived.  Full of hard work.  Integrity.  Love of family.  A commitment to care for the people around them.  And I find myself wishing that I could "glance back" on their lives and know them when they were young, know what made them tick.  Know how they were as kids.  

But even more I wonder how they "glance back" on their own lives.  What they miss.  What they don't. 

So much living wrapped up in these special people that has made them who they are.  And who I love.


Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays 

Better to Walk

I carry around this small, pink Moleskine notebook in my purse.  It's for jotting down phrases or ideas that catch me in Sunday school, church, etc...
I pulled it out in one of the sessions last week and Jessie said, "You're taking notes in that little thing?"  I laughed.  Maybe she knew how much I needed to listen and write!
I did take notes in it and have been trying to put them all together in my mind over the past few days.  I'd really like to be able to articulate some of what I learned beyond catch phrases that won't mean much to someone else.  I know those are some of the things God had for me, but not only for me.  I am truly hoping that as he works these truths into my heart, He will help me speak them into someone else's.
Why?  Because I know I am not the only one who:
is anxious
compares myself to others
is afraid of how I appear to others
looks down on others
is devastated by my failures.

I'm not the only one who struggles to believe that "there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?"  Romans 8:1
I am not the only one who forgets, or doesn't want to remember, that my identity in Christ is secure, done, finished.  As we heard many times last week, the verdict is in on the one who believes: 
Forgiven. 
No double jeopardy.
No matter what sins, struggles, failures, disappointments come.
The cross was complete.
And there is freedom.

We studied these verses one afternoon.  I love them because they remind me that often, my "torment" (anxiety, worry, frustration, anger, etc...) is of my very own doing, a result of kindling my own fires instead of being willing to walk in the darkness and rely on my God.   Is it not better to walk, even when I can not see?

"Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.  Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches!  Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled!  This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment."   Isaiah 50: 10,11

Back Home

There's something about leaving Orlando- 75 degrees, blue skies, palm trees, green grass- and landing in Richmond the same day on a snow-covered runway.  A little bit of a shock to the system!
We've been at a church planting conference all week.  It was good stuff and I think the timing was perfect.  I'd love to share all we learned but that's just about impossible.  So much to process and think about.  I will say this:
*I LOVED the surprise of seeing my friend Jessie and her husband in the middle of the 300 people at this conference.
*Talking with her by the pool in the afternoon was a highlight.
*Breakfast, lunch, and dinner out with Brian- that's a good deal!
*I love women and women's training sessions.
*Getting to worship with all those 300 people from 30 denominations was a gift.
*Having someone clean your bathroom and make your bed every morning is awesome.
*Having "free" coffee available all day is equally awesome.
*I really like flying.
*Do so many people really need to be staring at their phones ALL the time?
*I think everyone should be able to take a break in the winter and go somewhere warm.
*I am so thankful to my parents for keeping the kids all week.
*There's no place like home.  But you wouldn't have to work too hard to convince me to go back to Florida for another visit.

Snow Birds

These little guys found their way to our bird feeder yesterday when the snow started.  After some looking, we decided they are juncos, otherwise known as snow-birds.  (My friend Amanda confirmed this last night.)  Makes sense.  There seemed to be five or six of them at a time, all fiesty, all wanting their turn at the feeder.  Yes- those are Christmas lights still hanging on the deck.

I think Lucy and I enjoyed watching the birds the most.  They squabbled and flitted about.  

Pretty entertaining.

First Snow 2013

The first snow of 2013 did not disappoint.  Big, beautiful flakes fell this afternoon.  So pretty.  It's a good thing.  There was plenty of wailing while it rained all morning and we waited for the snow to start.

We had seven inches on the deck when I measured a while ago.

It took a while for the snow to get going.  Kayla and I played Catan Jr- which is a lot of fun by the way.  At one point while it was still just raining, Sammy looked so pitiful and said, "This stinks mom.  It's not going to snow is it?"  Maybe half an hour later I heard screams from downstairs:  "Snow!  Mom!  It's snowing!" 

He was a happy little guy.

She just wanted to eat the snow.

She loves that crazy face mask.  

Once the ground was just covered, they were out with their sleds.

Ready to snow boogie

Taking a break from throwing snowballs

Some Snow?

Hoping for a lot of snow tomorrow!  The totals keep going up.  Right now, 6-12".  Yes, please!

We did our grocery shopping like everyone else today.  Even got a couple of sleds.  

Let it snow!

From Grandma's Picture Box

I visited just after Christmas.
I don't know why I always want to stop at the cemetery on our way home from Grandma's but I do.  Though I know Papa is not there, I take a little comfort from being at that place where we all gathered.
This time, as most every other, my eyes also stop on the stones of others.  Those that walked this very ground saying their own good-byes at one time or another, often together, and have since been laid to rest themselves.  Brothers and sisters, by blood or law.
A lifetime of living.
We had just put away one of Grandma's boxes of pictures.  I think there are four.  Under her bed and in her closet.  Full of old black and white pictures that tell stories of their own. Telegrams, deeds, even a poem by my great-grandma.  It's one of my favorite things to do when we are there, to set a box on the dining room table with Grandma, Mom, and anyone else who wants to look, and talk, and listen.  There are sweet stories and hard ones, too.

 
My great-great grandparents.  I am amazed that there is such a picture so many years later, that I am part of them.  This living looks hard.

I love this one because I knew many of them when they were much older.  Some were the brothers and sisters who sat on the carport in the summer to shuck corn or string beans.  The ones we like to visit when we went on walks.

My Grandma Lucy is on the right in the back row.  Her parents are seated.  A few of the children are missing in this photo.  Grandma is the last one living.

"...this was our history and these were our people.  Their names and stories and pictures had a worth to us that was timely and bodily and never to be put in a book."

"And now, as often before, I am reminded how grateful I am to have been there, in that time, with these I have remembered.  I was there with them; they remain with me."

from Andy Catlett Early Travels by Wendell Berry

Some Favorite Books from 2012

I enjoy looking at other people's book lists- what they are going to read, what they read last year.  It's fun to see titles I've read, too, and even more fun to find ones I haven't read but now plan to.

It's hard to remember all the books we've been into this year but here are a (very) few favorites from 2012.

Jack:  The Mark of Athena Danny Dunn books, Hardy Boys,  The Bronze Bow

Kayla:  Understood Betsy, Meet Caroline,  Nancy Drew, The Littles,  Betsy-Tacy books

Sammy:  Billy and Blaze books, Earl the Squirrel, My Father's Dragon, The Story of Ping, Charlotte's Web

Lucy:  Earl the Squirrel, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Richard Scarry Books, The Little Fir Tree

For me:

Window Poems by Wendell Berry

A Place in Time by Wendell Berry (which was added to my WB collection this Christmas!)

Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield (an excellent non-fiction read)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Hobbit by Tolkien

The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger (another great non-fiction read)

 

I'll have to ask Brian for some of his- I know he's read some good ones.

 

It bugs me that I can't remember more but there's a taste.

Friday After Christmas

We came home the day after the ice and wind hit.  Here's what we found.  Thankfully the playset wasn't damaged.  Brian spent a good part of Friday cutting up the tree and ended up with poison ivy.

While Brian was working on the tree the kids and I went to visit Grandma Lucy.  We spent a lot of time looking through her boxes of old, old pictures.  I LOVE those boxes.  Hopefully some of those photos will show up on the blog soon.

One more picture before we hit the road.  That was a sweet day with Grandma, Mom, and Dad.

The Waters Christmas

We also had Christmas with the Waters!  Brian's sister and her family came to VA from Ohio.

Lucy and Joel waiting for presents.

Mary and Jack

Post-opening.  I think they had fun!

Getting into the popcorn tin.  Joel knows a good thing when he sees it.

Reading a new book with Granny.

Caroline, Sammy, and Kayla were watching the bird feeder and enjoying more popcorn.

It was a fun weekend and a little sad when the Ohio cousins left for home.  We'll all look forward to the next time!

January 1

Happy 2013 to you!

We have spent this first day of a new year putting away Christmas decorations.  As much as I dislike  the process, I am always glad to have it all out of the way.  I'm kinda ready to move on!

I never make New Year's resolutions. I'd forget them by tomorrow anyway.  One thing I hope to do is keep a running record of all the books we read this year- either aloud or on our own.  We'll see how far we get with that.

I got a lovely bird feeder for Christmas that hangs off the back deck now.  Lucy was watching it this morning and said, "Hey Mom- those birds are playing ring around the rosey by the bird feeder."  Cute.

Also this morning, from another room, I heard Kayla helping Sammy learn Psalm 121 verse by verse.  He hung in there for a while, then was done. That was a nice thing to hear in the new year.