Barb Haller

landed!

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

We just talked with Katie ... her mission team has landed in Detroit! The flight from Brazil was uncrowded, allowing the kids space to spread out and sleep.

We'll see her this afternoon and bring her home for the weekend. When she isn't sleeping, it'll be wonderful to hear of her three weeks of ministry.

So thankful!

happy birthday, Dan-the-man!

2012-01-26T06:30:00.055-05:00

Twenty-seven years ago our son Dan joined us on a snowy January night in Defiance, Ohio. We'd only lived there a month and knew almost no one. A kind next-door neighbor kept David all day on January 26. Once home, I settled in for a couple of frigid months, caring for two babies while Bill got his business started. Intense!

As he grew, we nicknamed him Dan-the-Man. What little boy isn't eager to become a man? He had spunk: life was never dull with Dan around!

not-quite-the-man 1986

It's a funny parallel: Dan's starting in the very same business now, with a wife and two babies counting on him. He's Dan-the-Man alright. And a fine husband, dad, son and brother, too.

Wishing you a very happy birthday, Dan, with love!

Dan with his girls

the four winds

2012-01-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

Glacier National Park, Montana, 1998

About the time this photo was taken, 13 years ago, I began wondering what life would be like when the kids were grown. "Oh," I'd joke, "they'll probably live in four different corners of the country!" And while that isn't quite the case, it sometimes nearly feels like it. I held an unrealistic expectation that Bill and I would fly here and there and visit the kids on a whim. Completely naive, I didn't take into account that sometimes, with four kids (now six, with the daughters-in-love) and two parents, the math just won't work.

Take February, for example. Our third grandchild is due during the first week of the month, so we're for sure sticking close to home for that. David, our oldest, just bought his first house in Florida, and we'd love to go help him with settling in. But that's on a time crunch, since his job takes him away for spring training, beginning the third week in February. And don'tcha know, no sooner would we board a plane for Florida ... Jill would go into labor!

Then during the last weekend in February, Katie has her senior photography show in Indiana, which we wouldn't miss for the world. Also that weekend, Dan's in a wedding here, so we'll want to be around to visit with him a bit.

If you've been reading this month, you know our Katie's in Paraguay, mission-ing to her heart's content. People have asked me: "Don't you want your kids closer to you?" Why yes, I do. Quick lunches after church and more frequent time with granddaughters would be wonderful.

But raising children is like trying to tame the wind, you know? It blows where it will, coming and going. We chose to have four children and we encourage their independence and opportunities. They "blow where they may" and that means we don't see them as often as we'd like.
But when at last the reunions happen, how incredibly sweet!

souvenirs

2012-01-23T20:23:00.000-05:00

Moved. That's what I am. In reading the posts from other Lighthouse mission teams, I am moved to witness transformed hearts. What joy to see college kids serving others joyfully, tirelessly. The Ethiopia team, working alongside Project Mercy, heads home today. One of its members wrote this:

“I have started thinking about how I will be or want to be different when I get home. The thing that hit me last night was that my needs are smaller here, and I hope they stay smaller when I get home. Simple things like food I am seeing from a different perspective. At the DC [dining commons on campus], we are offered so much. We waste much of it, but the thing that hit me is how much we eat beyond what we need. There is nothing wrong with enjoying what you eat and eating your fill, but our concept of “full” is skewed. Thinking through needs, especially with food, brings up the idea of “enough” in my mind. In America, at home, at school, we have enough. Even when we look at the food we are blessed to have on our shelves and say, “There is nothing to eat,” because it doesn’t happen to be what we want, we still have enough.”

As I read posts from the various teams, I am humbled. These 20 and 21-year-olds are God's hands and feet, and especially His heart. They have been affirmed of God's absolute goodness and provision. As they find their place in the world, they are examining their motivations and passions as young believers. It's pretty darned exciting if you ask me.

I'm getting excited to see our Katie this Friday, and what she's brought home from Paraguay. Not in her suitcase, but in her heart.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

on the home stretch in Chupapou, Paraguay

2012-01-21T15:16:00.001-05:00

While Katie's mission team had a one-night break in a neighboring town this week (hotel cost: a whopping $10 per night!), we received a short e-mail from Katie, but also the team leader has updated us as she can. From two days ago:

Team leader Taylor Ehrhard called a little while ago and said that the team is doing well! The team has been busy in the Aché community of Chupapou building bathrooms and getting to know the people there. She also mentioned that a family who is visiting the community is recording some of the Aché’s music, so a few of the more “musically-gifted” team members are helping out with the music project. What an unexpected and unique service opportunity that will have a lasting impact on the culture there!

I'm curious to know whether or not Katie joined the music project. She does have musical gifts, but doesn't always let others know it. God wants us to "open" our gifts, I always told my kids!

It's very hot in Paraguay ... it will take some adjustment for the team to come home to temps that are 80-plus degrees colder! They might even miss the bugs and sleeping on the floor.

But more challenging, I imagine, will be that they must leave new friends among the Aché they have grown to love. I'm praying these final days will be full with the richness of serving God in Paraguay.

(Check out updates from all the Taylor University Lighthouse teams here.)

where have all the birthdays gone?

2012-01-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

I used to be a madwoman this time of year. Bill and I gave no thought to the timing of our children and piled up three kids right after our January birthdays. So, right on the heels of Christmas and New Year's, we celebrated a birthday about every ten days for seven weeks. Utterly insane.

Since my birthday is first in the line-up, we'd finish that, then Bill and Dan in January, and Mark and Katie in February. No, we never did a "group birthday." What kid wants that? Each received the celebration due him or her, though I finally put my foot down about friend parties: only on alternate years.

I could never plan/shop/prepare for the parties all at once. My mind doesn't work that way. So, just as the last crumbs of one cake were finished, it was time to bake another. And another. And another.

I do remember a fun sledding party for Dan one year at the end of January. His friends all brought their sleds and we headed to the state park, toting hot chocolate and hot dogs to roast over a fire. Super-fun.

Dan (far right) celebrating his 9th birthday in 1994

For all my whining during those years, now I kinda miss all the birthday chaos. All I do is buy a card, write a check, bake some cookies, and drop them in the mail. Sigh. The grass is always greener, isn't it?

Of course, Ari was born on New Year's Day and the upcoming baby is due on Mark's birthday. We Hallers just love winter birthdays!

hearts

2012-01-19T11:47:00.001-05:00

As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.

Proverbs 27:13

My good friend and sister blogger, Karen Dawkins, commented that she's praying for Katie's amazing heart. (As she serves in Paraguay.) I appreciate Karen's kind comment and it started me thinking.

As my children came along, I prayed a prayer for them that went something like this:

"God, good grades and trophies and athletic ability are all good, but it's not the main desire for my children. Give them the courage to always speak the truth and to be humble. I ask you to grow faithful and servant's hearts in them. Make them people after your heart, Lord. Let them hurt for the lowly and give to the needy. Give them the passion to be a friend to those with none. Give them words to encourage and build up others."

God has a lot to say about the heart. He zeroes in on it over and over throughout scripture, due to the fact that without a change of heart, we cannot have a relationship with Him. I tend to love the world and all it offers, but John tells me that all this will pass away. Instead, I'm called to love and obey only God. (1 John 2:15-17) A change of heart is in order!

A quiet, introspective young woman like Katie would not choose to spend three weeks in extreme heat with no hot showers or other conveniences, and work with people whose language she doesn't speak unless her heart was set on a higher purpose. How thankful I am that I prayed for my children's hearts. And that God is honoring my prayers.

... set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:1

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Psalm 139:23

yay: from Paraguay!

2012-01-17T22:57:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know I preached on the virtues of letting go of kids earlier. How I wouldn't have contact with Katie in Paraguay this month. But what do you know, she got internet access for a few hours last night and we received an e-mail. Loved it!

Mission work is suiting Katie well. She reports that the team is bonding with the children and building relationships with the Ache adults. The host missionary, Victor, is helpful and talented and speaks several languages. It's hot in Paraguay, but there's plenty of shade. Not too many bug bites. She was getting her first hot shower last night!

Finally, "happy birthday, Dad. I love you all and hope you're having a great January!"

Well. I know my girl is having the best January of her life.

the dance

2012-01-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

My third - wow, third - granddaughter is due in about three weeks! I'm getting very excited to meet her, and see Jill and my son become parents, too.

Since Ari and Ashlyn live in North Carolina, it'll be a new experience to live close to a grandchild. Grandmas (and grandpas) have to learn their roles, a sort of dance of how much to be involved. I want to be a help, but not an intrusion. It'll be fun to offer support, but not overbearingly so. When David, our first, was born, Bill's mom flew down for a few days. What a perfect help she was, mostly cooking and cleaning while I cared for David. I'll take a cue from her.

Mark and Jill will need space to get to know their baby, and how to be parents. How to diaper. How to hold, rock, sway and comfort her. How to get by on less sleep. And in no time, they'll be in love with their little girl. They'll do just fine, I'm sure of it.

Two years ago: January 2010. One of my first - and favorite - photos with Ari.

Happy birthday to my king!

2012-01-15T07:59:00.000-05:00

My love,

Happy birthday! You've always shared the day with Martin Luther King, but you are MY king! You'll be laughing at that ... I know I don't always show it. But I respect your solid leadership in our family...

- smart, yet humble
- determined, yet flexible
- tough, but tender and compassionate
- faithful to God
- committed, honorable and loving

Have a happy birthday on this cold January day. I love you and am so thankful for you, Bill!

p.s. Yeah, I know our hair is messed up in this photo, but I like it anyway. Taken by Katie at the old lighthouse!

wonderful words from Paraguay

2012-01-14T12:36:00.001-05:00

Surprising, wonderful words from the southern hemisphere! The team in Paraguay was pleasantly surprised to get some internet access. This email arrived this morning, written by one of Katie's teammates. It helps me picture how they are and what they're doing! Here we go ...

Today is day five in Chupapou. This week has been busy with construction work on the the bathrooms, VBS with the kids, and night services with the community. We have all been connecting with the kids and attempting to learn some Aché so that we can talk to them. Most of us run around speaking a combination of English, Spanish, Aché, and giggles, which the kids seem to understand pretty well. On the downside, we have met a lot of large insects and frogs…

Before we arrived in our village, we spent a few days in Naranjal, at the house of Victor, our host missionary. There we made plans for our time in the village, got to know the family and the Argentinian translators who are working with us, and spent a day at Iguazu Falls (which was way bigger than Niagara!). It was a good time to bond as a team and get accustomed to the culture so we could better serve in in our village.

We also had an opportunity to visit two other Aché villages, Puerta Bara and Ypetimi, to prepare us for our time in Chupapou. We went to a church service in Ypetimi and had the privilege of worshiping with the people and taking communion with them. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that their prayer for us was one of the most moving things things I have ever experienced. We could not understand the words, but their passion for the Lord and joy that we were going to serve their brothers and sisters in Christ in Chupapou was evident to all of us. It was really a beautiful moment, and we were so thankful to have experienced it.

We have about ten days left in our village, and are excited to continue to serve and build relationships with the people as we encourage them in their walk with Jesus. Please pray for continued patience with the language barrier, health and safety for our team, and hearts focused solely on serving the Lord and following where He leads us.

120 degrees!

2012-01-13T09:53:00.001-05:00

Only a little news from Paraguay has trickled in this week, where my daughter Katie's on a mission trip. The team made it safely to Chupapou on Tuesday, where they will minister for two weeks. It was about a 7-hour drive and probably not the best of roads. Their accomodations are "better than expected," which Katie thought would be mats on the floor of a building, so not sure about that.

Yesterday we received word that the temperature had reached 120 degrees. And also something about lice ... Wow. It takes intentional prayer to focus on the team's ministry rather than the challenging living conditions. I pray that their VBS with the children is well-received and goes smoothly. That they'll have the strength to carry out the physical tasks before them. That the team is connecting with the Aché and communicating the love of God effectively. And that everyone stays healthy and hydrated!

If you'd like to keep up with the team's updates, as well as the other Lighthouse teams, go to this site.

... how can they hear without someone preaching to them? John 10:14

Also ... happy birthday today to a special friend, Pat Power. Love you, Pat!

lost

2012-01-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

I usually only get lost in a book in the summertime. You know, a book that might take a chapter or two before you're hooked. You read in bed and finally fall asleep. The next day, you read instead of cleaning bathrooms and dinner's late, too. By the middle of the book, you read hungrily until your eyes hurt. You look at the clock and it's 1:15 a.m.

Such was the case for me with Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. The story follows a fictional character, 10-year-old Sarah, a Jewish girl caught in the roundup of thousands of Jews in 1942 Paris. Parallel to her story is a modern-day journalist who uncovers Sarah's tragic journey.

I started reading over the weekend. By Sunday night the story had me, and I roared through it on Monday and Tuesday. Now I have just a few more pages.

Getting lost in a good book. It's altogether maddening and wonderful and sad when it ends, like a good friend moving away.

What book has captured you?

the grinder

2012-01-11T07:32:00.000-05:00

From the time I could peer over the edge of the kitchen counter, I'd watch Mom grind with this grinder, tomato juice dripping onto newspapers spread on the floor. This little beauty has been in my kitchen for over 30 years. And it was in my mother's kitchen for almost 30 years, too.

I only saw Mom use it for grinding two things: green tomatoes and ham. She ground green tomatoes and onions in the summertime for tomato relish, which my dad and older brother absolutely loved on black-eyed peas.

Then, after Christmas or Easter, the leftover ham was ground up for ham salad. And honestly, that's the sole reason I hang onto the grinder. We like a little ham salad now and then.

I don't know if the grinder was handed down from my grandmother or perhaps was a wedding gift to Mom in 1950. While it's a bit clunky to pull out and clamp onto the counter, there's something comforting and loving about using it as my mother did many years ago, my hand grasping the wooden handle, smooth from decades of use.

I might not have a huge Kitchen Aid mixer or other trendy gadgets, but somehow my kitchen seems complete.

look among the nations

2012-01-10T07:00:00.007-05:00

Here's the Paraguay Lighthouse team 2012!
Katie's in the second row, second from the right.

Take a moment, look at each of these young, excited faces. They are giving three weeks of their lives in a hot South American land, taking the good news of Christ to the Aché, a people who only recently gained access to God's word in their native language.

The team will serve for three weeks, but the fruit of their ministry might not be known for a long time. I pray for them. For strength, conviction, and hearts and hands intent on serving.

Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. Habakkuk 1:5

news from Paraguay!

2012-01-09T15:36:00.002-05:00

I'll admit I've been a little anxious to receive some news from Katie's Lighthouse mission team in Paraguay. All I knew is that they'd safely arrived on Thursday. An email came in this afternoon with good updates!

The photos here are of Iguazu Falls, which the team visited on Saturday. They are taller than Niagara Falls and more than double the width. And they're in Argentina!

Here's the latest:

[Team leader] Taylor Ehrhard called a little while ago with a team update. The past few days have been good. The team visited an Aché community called Puerto Barra Friday and Iguazu Falls on Saturday. Yesterday they went to church in the morning at the Ypetimí Aché community and had a meaningful time. The Aché there prayed for the team with hugs and emotion; they are excited that the team wants to help their fellow Aché in Chupapou. Last night the team went to church in Naranjal, the small Paraguayan town where they have been staying; it is also the LETRA Paraguay Bible translation headquarters. It is very hot (upper 90s).

This morning their host Victor Gomez gave them an overview of the translation project and orientation on Chupapou, to which they are headed tomorrow. It will be approx. a 6-7 hour drive. The road conditions should be good as there has been a lack of rain and the dirt roads should be passable. Today they are preparing in more detail for VBS and other teaching and ministry they will lead.

Praises include that the team is healthy and doing well, they have a great attitude and maturity according to the leaders, and they have appreciated the time to get organized/acclimated prior to starting the ministry.

Prayer requests include tomorrow’s travel, continued good health, and their initial entry into Chupapou to go well so that they can build good relationships with the people.

I'm so excited for Katie and her team. Thanks to so many for your prayers and support! It sounds like tomorrow will be a rigorous day. I continue to pray for effective ministry, God's provision of every need, and the health and safety of the entire team.

is it spring yet?

2012-01-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

Good grief we are having crazy weather. I haven't commented much on the weather lately. (You're welcome.) Maybe because I'm too busy. And maybe because it hasn't turned horrible. Yet.

Yesterday and today the sun shone! Love, LOVE the sun to shine, which doesn't happen enough here in the midwest. Not only that, temps were in the low 50's. Positively balmy. Car-washing weather. Dog-walking weather. Just step out in the driveway and point your face to the sun weather!

But. It's only January 7. That's just two weeks into winter with lots more to go. And the Farmer's Almanac (online Farmer's Almanac, wowee!) predicts some hefty precipitation and average temps in these parts. I figure that right about the time Jill delivers our newest granddaughter, the snow will begin. And our son Mark, the baby's daddy, will head out to plow since that's part of his winter work. Oh gracious, we shall see.

Meantime, my boots are in the closet this early January day. De-lightful.

Christmas? cards

2012-01-06T21:45:00.000-05:00

I find writing Christmas cards a complete pleasure. Always have. It's such a blessing to write a note to each person on our list, letting them know we're thinking of them.

This year's "Christmas" card is more of a new year's card. Since our family had not been all together for a year, I had to wait on the photo until Christmas. Techinically, December 26. That set me to wondering, should our card be just from Bill and me? The kids are grown, and except for Katie in college, on their own. In light of yesterday's post, am I holding on too tightly?

Well, we're still family. And I love the annual photo of us on our Christmas card. So as long as I can possibly orchestrate one, there'll be a family photo for our card.

Busy weekend ahead ... writing cards!

don't phone home!

2012-01-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

I spent my college summers working at camps and directed a camp for one summer. One of the most challenging aspects of camp was ... parents! I would overhear a mother saying to her sad-faced daughter, "now if you get too homesick, just call me." Arrgghhh! Pretty much the worst thing for a homesick child is to talk with mom. As camp staff, we were trained in helping children push through their homesickness. I have experienced homesickness and it's awful. But most of the time, a child will get busy with camp fun and overcome her homesickness.

Some parents don't get past this tendency to want constant contact with their kids. They leave for college, and mom is calling, emailing or texting daily. Believe me, I wanted to know how my kids were doing at college in the worst way. (Especially the first one.) But experience has taught me that once a child leaves home, he needs time and space away from us to become the independent young adult we desire. Like it or not, I'm not going to be privvy to every move my son or daughter makes. And, I believe stepping back is a vote of confidence in showing my child that s/he will manage just fine.

I haven't perfected this, but I've decided that parenthood is a process of learning to let go of our children. It begins when they are small, with tiny but intentional steps. The parent who gets "stuck" and won't move forward in releasing her children might face difficulty down the road.

My daughter Katie spent her first freshman semester in Ireland and we talked with her maybe 4 times. It was a little tough for me, but she was doing spectacularly well, loving every minute of her adventure. Today she flew to Paraguay for a month-long mission trip and I probably won't talk with her at all.

We talk about wanting our kids to grow up, but I think parents have some growing up to do, too.

Katie in Ireland - 2008

birthday season!

2012-01-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

We're entering birthday season!

For most of my life, I've dreamed of changing my birthday from January 3 to July 3. Swimming parties! No school! My family does a good job celebrating, but face it: it's an effort. Following Christmas and New Year's, most of us are ready for a break from celebrating. We're partied out, spent out and worn out.

As a kid, if I wasn't headed back to school on my birthday, I was helping take down Christmas decorations. And there was the year I was a freshman in college and we were moving on my birthday. My mom forgot my birthday! Wow, cool.

Yesterday, my children called me, my hubby bought a cake, and we went out to dinner with Mark and Jill. It was nice. It's just that we're all heaving a sigh of relief after the holidays. And by the way, it's not just my birthday. My husband, granddaughter and one son are also January babies. And two more children plus our soon-to-arrive granddaughter are in February. That's a lot of cake.

Our granddaughter Ari is a New Year's baby, so she and I can comiserate. I'll try to be upbeat about our first-of-the-year birthdays; I'm sure Ari will have a better attitude than me!

When's your birthday? Do you like when it is? (Pardon the lousy grammar.) Why or why not?

off to Paraguay!

2012-01-02T08:29:00.000-05:00

New year, new adventures for our family. Our daughter Katie heads back to her campus in Indiana, Taylor University today, but only for one day before she boards a flight - several flights - for Paraguay! She's part of a Lighthouse team through Taylor, who will spend their January term on international mission trips. Two of Katie's brothers also went on Lighthouse trips: to Thailand and Poland.

Katie's super-excited about this experience, where she will serve the Ache people, who until 40 years ago were a primitive jungle people. You can read updates on the team and their mission, as well as the other Lighthouse teams here.

Thanks to those of you who have donated funds and supplies to Katie's mission. Most of all, we pray for the team's safety, provision, and effective ministry. We're proud of you, Katie. Have a wonderful three weeks!

Katie with her niece, Ashlyn.

2012 and Ari's two!

2012-01-01T07:00:00.012-05:00

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Ari ...

they go hand in hand forever. My first granddaughter, Ari, turns two years old today.

It's really tough to get a good photo of a two-year-old since she is in perpetual motion, but here are a few Katie got over Christmas. They capture Ari's playful silliness and energy. Her personality's emerging more and more and I love it. Happy birthday, my impish Ari. We have lots of fun years ahead!

(photos by Katie Haller)

2011 in review, part 2

2011-12-31T17:48:00.001-05:00

July

(it cannot be just one photograph!)

A full and relaxing month at our cabin.

Sunsets. Wind and water. Ice cream.

Fun photography.

Time together

Visits from friends

Being fine with just being

August

33 years on August 10

September

Photo shoot for baby girl Haller!
She's beautiful, don't you agree? You'd better agree.

My sister and I visited our dad in Nashville - sweet time.

October

I adore October.
The air, the colors, the warm turning to cool, the bike
rides with my hubby!

November

Late-October visit to Charlotte

Love my pizza pie kitchen!
I'll always remember the morning Bill asked me what I was doing that day and I said,
"paint the kitchen!"

My son David's guest post on the brothers' N.C. mountain adventure was popular.

I love that the brothers went adventuring.

December

My family: love 'em like crazy!

Christmas 2011

I made it: this is the 200th post of the year! Thanks to those who read and encouraged me as I plodded along.
I'll be doing some magazine writing in 2012,
but will continue to blog.
A safe and healthy new year to all!

2011 in review, part 1

2011-12-30T21:12:00.001-05:00

With permission, I'm borrowing this idea from Donna Boucher, a blogger and photographer I admire ... especially since she's closer to my age than many photographers I know, and a grandma, too! Check her out at http://www.booshay.blogspot.com/

Today, some favorites from the first half of 2011.

January

Ari turned one on New Year's Day ... and I celebrated being a grandmother for one year!

February

Snow ...

and ice. Lots of it.

March

Favorite little girl, favorite book.

April

Uncovering long-forgotten images.

My daughter, age 11.

May

A mother's day treat: two days with our oldest, David.

He makes Cleveland a beautiful place!

I love being a mom. I think it's made me a better person.

June

Ashlyn Claire. June 24, 2011.

We're blessed again.

pastor, martyr, prophet, spy

2011-12-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

I was crazy over books as a young girl. In elementary school, my favorite shelves of the school library held the biographies. I devoured books about Clara Barton, Helen Keller, and others. Why this came about, I don't know. But I've always preferred nonfiction over fiction.

I received two books for Christmas and I'm excited about reading them in the coming year. One is Eric Metaxas' biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I know little more about Bonhoeffer other than he took his faith seriously and was part of a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. He was executed just two weeks before the liberation in 1945. I'm quite sure his biography will be fascinating.

My son had some trouble finding a copy of the book, so it's obviously in high demand. Are you planning any reading for 2012?

love

2011-12-27T23:31:00.001-05:00

Story time with Ari and Ashlyn.

I sense how it's going to get harder to say good-bye

to my granddaughters after a visit.

I fall in love with their little developing personalities ...

all the things they say and do.
Ashlyn is happy, happy and grins and wiggles like crazy.

Ari's beginning to string together sentences, like

"Katie go?" (Where did Katie go?)

"Baba house." (Baba's house)

"Ari muff." (I want a muffin.)
Papa go. Ari go. Yes! (I'm going with Papa!)

Totally precious.

Christmas at our house

2011-12-27T00:05:00.000-05:00

We still have family here ... it's been wonderful, chaotic, noisy, delicious, hilarious. A whole year has passed since we were all together, and granddaughter Ashlyn joined us in June. I just want to bottle up these days to last a few months; to treasure the rich love and laughter of siblings, children and grandchildren.

I know a few friends are wondering about our Christmas card. It's not in the mail yet since we only took the photo today. I had a grand idea to go to a park or hiking trail, but orchestration isn't simple with a two-year-old and 6-month-old. How I remember those days. So here's a sneak peek, snapped on our front porch. (Thank you to our neighbor, Sammy Arnett, for assisting!)

soon enough you'll save the day

2011-12-24T07:00:00.003-05:00

This post first appeared two years ago. The song "Joseph's Lullaby" always brings me to tears, so I'm sharing it again.

As we await await the arrival of our first grandchild, I remember the profound changes in my heart as I had our children. [2011 update ... third grandchild due in a few weeks!]

With it being Christmas week, I think of Joseph. He, too, welcomed his baby into the world. While Joseph's son was destined to be the Savior of the world, for all people, for all time, Joseph was a man, a humble carpenter. I can't imagine his divided emotions over the arrival of this little boy. The group MercyMe expresses Joseph's situation beautifully. Take a listen. I hope it brings your heart closer to the heart of Christmas.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PytP9XPhP1g&feature=related

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head
Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace.

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child.

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

- MercyMe

Merry, beautiful Christmas, everyone. And if there are burdens on your heart,

look to the One who can lift them.

Dad's birthday

2011-12-23T08:00:00.006-05:00

As I wrote earlier this week, I met my three siblings in Nashville last weekend and we celebrated our dad's birthday and Christmas. Dad turns 87 today. He continues to be a caring father, reassuring us that everything will turn out fine.

Dad can't quit thinking about a new truck. Bless my brother's heart,

we went by a Toyota lot - again - so Dad could look around.

Mark has taken Dad to look at trucks countless times.

Dad, I'd love to give you a truck for your birthday.

Happy birthday, with love.

close to Christmas!

2011-12-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

Today I was a busy, busy elf. Wrapping's done. Baking's begun. Just some odds and ends tomorrow.

A white Christmas it shall be in Denver. But the forecast here in Ohio calls for sunny skies and mid-40's. It's really fine with me. I don't demand snow for Christmas.

While we won't have a white Christmas, we'll surely have one that's noisy, full of laughter, lots-of-good-food-and-dishes-filled, and warm with the love of all of us being together again. I think we'll also eat a mountain of popcorn, as we Hallers do.

How do you like our tree?

an elf's life

2011-12-21T20:52:00.001-05:00

Oooooo, I'm a busy elf. But blogging goes on because December 31 is looming and so is my 200-post goal!

A friend gave me a recipe for peppermint bark, which I love, so I'm going to try making it. With only three ingredients, what can go wrong?

All my chidren and granddaughters arrive this weekend ... we're going to have a hum-dinger happy Haller-days! I have the menus pretty well set, the groceries somewhat set, and the to-do list dwindling (but not fast enough). I'm even typing up a schedule for us, not that I'm all that organized, but things seem to flow better when 10 people aren't asking "what's next?"

And we're also going to have a baby shower! Hoooo-wheeee!

With as busy as I am, I haven't even done Christmas cards! Our family hasn't been together for a photo in a year, so it'll be a January card, friends.

I think we women must be the closest thing there is to Santa's elves. Last-minute frantic flurry of Christmas preparation, choosing just the right gifts and stocking-stuffers and getting them wrapped.

I'm super excited to welcome Christmas and all our family! And especially, to celebrate the birth of our Savior, the sweetest gift of all.

weekend with dad

2011-12-20T21:28:00.000-05:00

Our dad celebrating his 87th birthday with, left to right: Pat, Anne, me and Mark.

My dad has lived in assisted living for two years. Although my siblings and I have made a number of visits to see him in Nashville, Tennessee, it had been 12 years since all 5 of us were together: crazy, huh?

Dad's birthday is this week, so we decided to celebrate him all together. I think we wore Dad out! We laughed a lot, ate fattening southern food, went to Dad's huge church, and even took him to the mall. (Dad insisted he "needs a suit.")

This photo will serve to remind my siblings and me of the weekend we finally all gathered to visit our dad.

Make time for your loved ones!

a little celebration

2011-12-19T07:00:00.003-05:00

Though I wrote this post on Friday, today I'm headed home from Nashville after a weekend visiting my dad. This time, thanks to my younger brother Mark's suggestion, all four of us siblings are visiting Dad together. This hasn't happened in 12 years!

Dad's birthday is December 23, so this weekend was to celebrate both his birthday and Christmas. I hope Dad enjoys our time together. I have a feeling we'll be very glad the four of us made the trip to Nashville.

Ari and Ann

2011-12-17T06:00:00.008-05:00

Love, LOVE this recent post by my daughter-in-love Jenny. It's so tenderly written, about Ari's (my first granddaughter) friendship with her new Raggedy Ann. Ari's Great-Grammy Claire made Ann by hand, and it looks like Ari has taken to her already.

I once made a Raggedy Ann and still have the pattern. Wonder if I could still manage one?

Ari will turn two on New Year's Day. I can't quite believe it.

Christmas dog

2011-12-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

My good friend Karen Dawkins encouraged me to make it to 200 posts by making some great suggestions. Thanks for giving me the push, Karen!

Not sure there will be a theme, but here we go for today: our dog Ellie. She posed nicely for me on the back porch. Her Christmas scarf belonged to our next-door-dog, Callie, who passed away this year. Ellie misses her. Well, I think she does.

My sweet Katie arrives home from college soon! Well done, Katie: one more semester to go! I am proud of you.

12 more posts to go.

the process

2011-12-14T12:20:00.001-05:00

Don't know if you noticed, but I've challenged myself to reach 200 blog posts this year. If my math is correct, I'll need 13 more posts after today. That'll be 59 more than in 2010. I'm not sure why I got it in my head to reach this goal: I'm not being paid and no one's checking up on me.

All I can say is that when I've gone a day or two without writing, I get antsy, like something's missing. Writing drives and pesters me, hangs around in my head constantly. I believe it's God's purpose for me, and over and over He points and prods me toward it. But what's the purpose - the destination ... or the journey?

Oswald Chambers put eloquent words to this journey of purpose.

We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God's purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. What is my vision of God's purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him now. If I can stay calm and faithful, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. What He desires for me is that I see "Him walking on the sea" [see Mark 6:45-52] with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see "Him walking on the sea." It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
~ My Utmost for His Highest, from July 28, by Oswald Chambers

Whether or not I reach 200 posts by December 31 is irrelevant. Ultimately, my real purpose is to see God and depend on Him for today.

Sisterhood of American Grandmas Shopping: SAGS!

2011-12-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

OK, we love playing Balderdash ... so my SAGS acronym makes me laugh!

Just take your gray haired, middle-aged self to the baby section of any department store and you'll find them: a wonderful sisterhood! They are grandmothers like me, hunting for bargains, searching for cute - never gaudy - clothes for their grandchildren. The other day I struck up conversation with a couple of women in Penney's. Keep Old Navy and GAP kids, but Jacques Pen-ay still delivers! They had a-m-a-z-i-n-g deals on baby and toddler basics and it was like bees to honey for us grandmas.

We searched together for sizes and colors. We shared memories of how we used to double our own child's age to determine a proper size. One woman took a photo with her phone of an outfit: I've done the same! We laughed over being over-heated in our winter coats.

I wanted to invite these women for a cup of coffee: would that have been weird? Sometimes I feel kind of lonesome, shopping alone. But if I just look around, I'm part of SAGS and it's pretty darned fun!

Secret Santa

2011-12-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

"Secret Santa" conjures up some great memories.

First, way back when, Sears used to hold a special shopping "day" (actually two whole hours) FOR CHILDREN ONLY. My dad would take me down to Sears on a Saturday morning and the store personnel would escort dozens of children in to do their shopping ... while the parents stood outside drinking coffee. I thought I was some big stuff, shopping all by my 6-year-old self! Does anyone else remember this?

Then, when my first two boys were small, I was part of a Welcome Wagon group. We women made crafts to donate so that our children could "shop" for family. Santa made an appearance, naturally, as seen here with my son Dan, then 11 months old. He was none too happy with Santa! Think about it: a tiny child being plopped on the lap of a large man in a red suit and big white beard. Darn scary.

When my kids were in elementary school, their school put on a Secret Santa event every December. Moms and dads set up tables down the hallways, loaded with inexpensive merchandise on consignment from local stores. The children could do their shopping and wrapping on their own while parents ate hot dogs and popcorn in the gym. The kids absolutely loved it, and their school is still doing the event.

Got any secret Santa memories?

a plan and a bag

2011-12-08T22:32:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty good at setting goals, but not so good at reaching them. Actually horrible much of the time.

But as I looked over our calendar, I made a goal fueled not only by our schedule, but also by the experience of past Decembers ... frantic, lots-of-last-minute-shopping Decembers. No fun at all.

This year had to be different. For the first time in many years, my three sibs and I will be together with our dad in Nashville the weekend before Christmas. Then, the wonderful Haller-days begin when ALL my chickies and grand-chickies come back to roost for Christmas!

And so, I doggedly set out to finish most of my shopping by this weekend. And it looks like I will meet my goal. Folks, this is unprecedented! So much so, that I keep thinking Christmas is days away, rather than two and a half weeks from now.

My Christmas readiness took two simple steps.

1. A plan. I made a list of the gifts I intended to buy, grouped by recipients. I typed this up and PRINTED IT OFF, miracle of miracles. From that I could plan my targeted stores, or, best of all, late nights in jammies at the computer. Oh, thank you Lord, for giving someone the brain to create Amazon!

2. A bag. Then I saved ads and coupons, slipping them, along with my list, in a large plastic zip-loc bag. (Thank you Lord, too, for zip-loc bags.) I never left home without that bag. Let the sales clerks chuckle. Believe me, my Christmas shopping bag is invaluable for this slightly (?) disorganized shopper. I included a calculator, pen and extra paper for notes. A portable desk!

Go ahead and laugh, you never-procrastinators! And especially you grandmas who hit the January sales in preparation for Christmas! I've nearly accomplished the impossible and look forward to really and truly taking time to appreciate the greatest gift of all: God's love given to us.

Bless you in your preparations!

Pearl Harbor

2011-12-07T09:22:00.001-05:00

More than 2,000 Americans perished seventy years ago today when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I remember it being a Sunday from the stories my mother told me. She was 16 years old, and the news came over the radio as Americans returned home from church and ate lunch. Television news was a decade or more in the future.

Growing up, I was curious about my mother's younger years. I cherish those conversations because Mom's been gone for many years. That December Sunday was horrific for the entire country and of course the world. Because of the events in Europe, most Americans knew that the bombing of Pearl Harbor signaled the beginning of full U.S. involvement in World War II.

Pear Harbor changed the lives of most of Mom's classmates, then juniors in high school. With few exceptions, the boys would become young soldiers upon graduation. They would be flung east and west: to the south Pacific or stationed in Europe, and many would die.

Viewing this time through the lens of the controversial Vietnam era, I couldn't comprehend how thousands of teenaged boys would risk their lives in war.

"It was a different time, with so much at stake. Nearly everyone understood that our country's survival hung in the balance. Young men - and women - saw it as their duty to serve their country," Mom said. "They just went."

simplify, simplify

2011-12-05T21:23:00.001-05:00

I made a stop at Hobby Lobby today. Have you ever been? The name would imply that it's a place to buy hobby stuff. Art and craft stuff. But when I asked a clerk about some flower pots, she answered, "they're in the back of the store, in the craft section."

Humpf. I assumed Hobby Lobby is ALL "craft section." So I zigged and I zagged and wandered (I've a terrible tendency to wander) in search of my item. And this is when I discovered what Hobby Lobby is mostly about: bric-a-brac (my step-mother's term) or dust-catchers (my mother's term). Mom had very little use for decorative items that needed dusting.

Oh my land. Aisle upon aisle of fake flowers and greenery. Wreaths and all their embellishments. Vases big and small, fat and tall. Thousands of candles and holders to hold them. Mirrored bowls and frames. Wedding doo-dads by the thousands. Sample centerpieces too tacky to stomach. Plastic grapes and apples and pears. And finally, in the back of the store, crafts. Hobby stuff, if you will.

Positively dizzying. One woman passed me in an aisle and said, "my first time here and I love it!" You're kidding, right?

No blog post appeared on Saturday because I spent half the day in the basement with my daughter-in-love Jill. She is organizer extraordinaire and offered to help me get a handle on the basement monster. Oh what joy, what tidiness, what peace! One week ago I wrote this post. On Saturday, we pared down a lot. Jill is learning it's ok to tell me what she thinks and offers lots of good suggestions. Just before she married my son Mark, she helped him clean out his room. It took all of two hours ... the girl is a genie!

All this to say, the bric-a-brac at Hobby Lobby doesn't tempt me in the least. I'm happy there's a source for people who love that stuff. As for me ...

Less is more.

~ Robert Browning

and

Simplify, simplify.

~ Henry David Thoreau

deference

2011-12-02T18:01:00.002-05:00

Deference: a yielding in opinion, judgment. Courteous respect. - Webster's

In the middle of a mad shopping dash yesterday, I stopped at Wendy's for my new favorite burger, the "W". A woman approached the door just ahead of me, opened it, and allowed me to enter first. And I couldn't help myself.

"Thank you! Gray hair has its privileges!" I chirped.

She smiled. "Oh, nothing of the sort!"

I am noticing that people do tend to defer to people who are older. Not that I am older, mind you, but the little gray nest on my head might lead someone to that conclusion.

My husband had a similar experience at the grocery store. A mother with a young child approached the door and as Bill tried to open it for her, she opened it for him. "Oh, no, you first, sir!"

Being called "ma'am." Young clerks nodding and giving me that "oh, you cute Grandma" look. Being asked if I need help carrying my groceries out.

While my spirit feels as it did when I was twelve, my body looks pretty much, well, older. I'm a little shocked at photos like this: my hair is white! But I'm really ok with it. You can hold the door and carry out my groceries any time.

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.

Proverbs 16:31

boys to men

2011-11-30T16:37:00.002-05:00

My three boys were born within five years of each other. They evolved into a noisy, rambunctious, eating machine. They bickered, teased their sister, thundered through the house, and bickered some more. The years spent under our roof helped them forge a brotherly bond. Two weeks ago, they took to the mountains. Today's post, by Dave Haller, recounts their adventure.

whoops - a little blurry ... cold hands?

(l to r: Mark, David, Dan)

This was the plan: the weekend before Thanksgiving, I’d fly from Tampa to Charlotte. Mark and Jill drive from Delaware to Charlotte. We’d meet up at Dan and Jenny’s house Thursday night. The next day, we would leave for Pisgah National Forest, a three-hour drive into the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. We’d camp out two nights, with a 15-mile hike on Saturday to the top of Cold Mountain.

It was Dan’s idea, and we had to do it. The three of us are tightly knit, but separated by hundreds of miles and have three very different lives pulling us in a thousand different directions—even in our twenties. We hadn’t done anything together, just the three of us, in at least ten years, if ever. If not now, when?

So we packed as lightly as possible Thursday night. We waited for Dan to finish his half-day of work Friday, and we hit the road—two Eagle scouts and a dropout Webelo (me).

With dusk upon us Friday, we entered the gate to Pisgah. Not ten minutes in, we realized the car was running on empty. With 15 miles of steep uphill driving we had no choice but to soldier on to set up camp before dark.

We made it to the top—barely—with a nearly dry gas tank. We passed rivers and waterfalls, and later cliffs adorned with icicles. It was getting really cold. Mark pulled into a parking lot alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway, turned off the engine, and we stepped into a whipping wind. A small group of hikers with long beards emerged from a trail, heading to their car to go home. “Have you done this before?” they asked, casting funny looks as we rushed to unload our tent and backpacks.

Far below the parking lot, perhaps a half-mile away, was a stream 20 feet wide in a valley. We hauled the gear we needed for the night, left what we could in the car, and hustled down to the campsite as the daylight waned. We agreed camping near the stream would give us a scenic backdrop, despite the bear tracks we passed on the trail. Mark was on fire duty and started collecting wood while Dan and I set up the tent.

We didn’t see a soul for two hours after setting up camp. The stars were brilliant.
After foil dinners around the fire, we concealed all traces of food and went to bed early to rest up for the long hike the next day. My borrowed heavy-duty sleeping bag was made for temperatures as low as 30F. It wasn’t enough.

I wore several layers of clothes to bed, including flannel-lined jeans and a thick winter hat. We estimated the overnight temperature to be 20-25F, with fierce winds of 30-40 mph. I seemed to wake up every 10 minutes, as did Mark. Dan slept like a baby. It wasn’t so much the cold that kept me up—it was the flap-flap-flapping of the tent in the wind, my meager pillow (Mark’s extra sweatshirt), and a sleeping bag that fit like a straightjacket.

Saturday morning the car lurched two more miles uphill to the trailhead for Black Balsam Knob. It was 8:30. We left the heavy camping gear in the car and set out carrying daypacks with food and water. The terrain was very rugged and the wind continued to punish us amid a thick haze. Mark tested out a ski mask for a while. After a couple hours the haze lifted, it started to warm up and we were able to shed some layers. We were having a blast. We also realized before long that the terrain was too rugged to do the full 15-mile hike to the top of Cold Mountain and back, so we adjusted our goals to turn around sooner.

Other hikers were few and far between. By late morning, we reached a clearing in Shining Rock Wilderness and Dan pulled out the topographical map again. The trails thus far were not marked well, so we had to check our progress fairly often. We got our bearings and continued on the Art Loeb Trail in the direction of Cold Mountain.

Or so we thought.

The hike was beautiful and I was savoring the crisp mountain air, with plenty of brotherly banter along the way. But by around 12:30, I had a gut feeling that we were no longer on the Art Loeb Trail. Instead of climbing toward Cold Mountain, we were somewhere else—we had been descending, mostly, for two hours, without seeing another soul. There were peaks on either side of us, and we could hear a river getting closer.

We had to make a decision by 1:30—that was the latest we could turn around and still make it back to the car in daylight, and we’d forgotten a flashlight on the hike. But turning back would mean more uphill climbing.

Adrenaline began to flow through us. The Eagle scouts huddled over the topo map. All I could contribute was my iPhone compass. After 15 minutes of tracing their fingers over the peaks, rivers and trails on the map, they felt they had an idea of where we were.

In the heat of the moment, our personalities surfaced. I wanted to make sure we made an educated decision by 1:30, and I was leaning slightly towards playing it safe and turning around. Dan didn’t want to retrace his steps and wanted some new scenery, and analyzed every hill and dale—even the direction the river flowed. Mark wanted to risk it, forging ahead on the trail he thought he knew, so we could cross a couple rivers and take a shortcut to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

By this time we’d also decided we were too exhausted to camp out a second night. We would drive home once we reached the car. But if we didn’t want to spend Saturday night huddled in a lean-to, we had our work cut out for us.

At 1:15, we agreed to cross the river and forge ahead for another 15 minutes to see if we could verify our location by 1:30. If not, we would turn around. We weren’t certain that the trail crossed the river—Mark figured as much because there was a snapped metal cable indicating an old crossing. We hopped over rocks—some more gingerly than others—and I slipped and came two inches from falling in.

But on the other side, at first, it didn’t look like a trail. We had all but decided to turn around when I spotted a trail about 10 or 15 feet above us, running parallel to the river. We took it, rounded a bend, and saw the sign we needed to locate ourselves on the map: two rivers coming together. We paused for lunch and crossed the second river. No lean-to for us, thanks!

Within another hour, we had reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. We knew we’d reach the road four miles away from where we parked, so our plan was to hitchhike back if we could get a ride. We had walked a mile uphill on the Parkway, thumbs extended, when a young couple in a hatchback slowed down. The man, driving, made a large hand gesture as he slowed as if to say, “But there are three of them!” and sped off around a bend. A minute later, they had turned around and we rejoiced as they rounded the bend again.

They were friendly, from Asheville, modern-day hippie types with a Grateful Dead bumper sticker. We explained our wrong turn and our 10-mile hike. “But this,” I said with pride, “is our first time hitchhiking.”

“Well, you didn’t look too scary,” he replied.

By the way, our car miraculously made it out of the forest, going downhill in neutral the entire way in a scene reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine.

No, things did not go as planned. We returned home after only one night in the wilderness, but Jenny and Jill, to their credit, did not taunt Dan and Mark for it. Jenny fixed us all burgers that night. And I thanked God for being alive, and for blessing me with two intrepid little brothers who push me to be more unpredictable.

gratitude challenge, day 30 - Thank you, God, for a gift I could never have imagined: three sons!

They are a source of pride, humor, inspiration, and fierce love.

And thank you for reminding me this month of your never-ending blessings.

(Huge thanks, David, for writing this post! And Dan & Jenny for sending the photos.)

love is

2011-11-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

Men approach shopping differently than us women. If you are married, you get my drift. Men are hunters. They run in the store - or mall if you're lucky - find their prey, bag it, and go home.

Women are gatherers. They wander from store to store, considering carefully, comparing their options and enjoying the journey. And all the better if there's another woman along.

Oh, I'm sure there are exceptions to my generalization. I think maybe my dad is a gatherer of sorts. But usually, I find men have little patience with puttering in stores.

Take today for example. I had a specific list of gift items to find on our trip to Kohl's. We went our separate ways. After leaving the kitchen doo-dad area, (during which I took a phone call) I headed for the baby section. But on the way, I saw a display of women's slippers. My slippers are nearly worn out, so I thought, "oh! I'll grab some slippers for Bill to give me for Christmas!" Of course I had to try them on, and right then my phone rang. Bill was finished, waiting up front.

Geez, I'd hardly gotten started! So different, we are.

But all turned out well. I ended up spending less time and less money. Bill would have sat there the rest of the day, patiently waiting for me. That's how he is. That's how love is.

gratitude challenge, day 28 - God created men and women to be different,

to complete each other. I'm grateful for that!

day 29 - I'm so grateful for a patient, loving, easy-going husband! You're the best, honey!

treasures in heaven ... or the basement

2011-11-28T17:56:00.000-05:00

"Mom, I count 14 chairs down here."

Somehow, I'd hoped my son David could wave a magic wand and turn our basement into a clear, tidy space. All I ask is the ping pong table be set up and ready for Christmas family fun!

There comes a time - is it universal among empty-nesters? - that the seams of a house nearly burst from years of a family's accumulation. We've lived in this house for 22 years. Raised four kids. And even though I instituted a policy of "you move, your stuff moves too," there is a LOT of stuff, especially in the basement, which, by the way, I've grown to despise with each passing year. It's a catch-all for our junk-all.

What happens is this. We buy a new kitchen table and chairs. The old set goes to the basement JUST IN CASE one of the kids can use it. We move Bill's mom to assisted living. Her photo albums and "cool vintage stuff" (according to our daughter) go to our basement. The desks no longer used end up in the basement. The famous PINEAPPLE COUCH we bought in 1985 must stay, "for watching TV." And the 30 years of photos have made their home there, too.

Sometime between potty training and college graduations, it became an out-of-control, borderline-hoarding mess! "You need to have a yard sale," David advises.

"We have them - every year," I answer.

The older I get, the more I want to be rid of so much stuff, to simplify. There are some things I want to keep. But old yearbooks? Kids' books, toys, camping equipment, and Easter baskets? A pile of National Geographics, LP records from the 70's and four extra sewing machines? I certainly don't need it all; perhaps someone else does.

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21.

I wonder, the tighter we hold to the things in our lives, do we have less room in our hands and hearts for the things that matter to God?

We probably need to move.

gratitude challenge day 27 - I'm thankful for a place to call home, really I am!

balmy Friday

2011-11-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

No doubt about it, winter is fast approaching here in Ohio. But autumn hangs on just a little longer, and this weekend is proof. Sunny and 60 degrees yesterday - the day felt positively balmy.

Go shopping the day after Thanksgiving? Are you kidding me? Off to Gallant Woods we went: oldest son David, Ellie and me.

Gallant is a county preservation park just a few miles away, and it's a beautiful combination of woods and meadows. A native Ohio prairie is being created and we walked a trail right through it. One section is glorious golden grass, probably seven feet tall. It sways in the breeze, making a lovely swishing sound.

Of course Ellie's up for any adventure, especially those where she finds lots of exciting scents. She saw her first horses at Gallant a couple of years ago - that was super-exciting!

Best of all was spending time with David. He makes me laugh, makes me think, and makes me better. I am very proud of him.

gratitude challenge day 25 - I'm grateful for late-autumn days.

day 26 - I am humbled and so grateful that God gave me a son like David, whose wit, wisdom and intelligence shine through.

Mary's secret

2011-11-24T13:45:00.002-05:00

Mary wasn't a huge presence in my life, but she most definitely made an impact. To a lanky girl of ten like me, Mary was a solid, robust woman with mahogany skin and a kind face. She cooked for my father's family for many years in Arkansas, then accepted occasional jobs from them when they moved to Memphis.

I once wandered into the kitchen to be with Mary. She looked into my face and asked, "You smart? You look so smart." I loved Mary from that moment on.

My mother spent time in Mary's kitchen, too. She learned to make cornbread dressing by watching Mary carefully on Thanksgiving. Southern cornbread, some stale white bread, cooked onions and celery, all saturated with chicken broth until it resembled a floating bog. Bake for an hour in a hot oven. Heaven!

But Mary had a secret which my mother discovered by observing the dressing-making from start to finish.

"Mr. Matlock doesn't like no egg in the dressing," she whispered to Mom. "But I always puts one in."

I think this delighted Mom, being privvy to Mary's little secret to making excellent dressing.

So today I remember Mary, a fabulous cook who also took time to build up an awkward girl. I'm making your dressing today, Mary. Including the egg.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude challenge day 24 - I'm grateful for family and God's provision and also people like Mary.

feast - or famine 2

2011-11-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

The wisdom teeth are out. Katie came through with flying colors, though she's not waving any flags. She's been in the recliner all day, having jello, water and noodles brought to her. Painful stuff, those wisdom teeth.

Bill and David ran to the store. David and I made cornbread for dressing, sweet potato casserole and two pies for tomorrow. It has seemed like a long day. I'm an attentive nurse when my kids need me, but it's tiring.

Goodnight everyone. Up in time for the Macy's parade!

gratitude challenge day 23 - Sleep. Wonderful sleep. Thanks for that one, God.

feast - or famine?

2011-11-22T22:52:00.001-05:00

Typically, I'd be gearing up in the kitchen by now: baking cornbread for the dressing (that I would almost die for) and chopping apples for pie. Today I whipped up jello and noodles. This is no typical Thanksgiving: daughter Katie gets her wisdom teeth removed tomorrow.

When my wisdom teeth came out at age 18, I spent a night in the hospital. For real! It's funny how medical procedures have become a lesser deal than years ago. My mother served me Gerber baby food which caused me to gag. Come on, chicken and rice dinner out of a jar? Pitiful. Beyond that, I don't really know what I ate.

I tell the story of our two older sons who got their wisdom teeth out on the SAME DAY. What, were we crazy? But it went fine, so I figure we can handle one patient.

I do have a turkey breast to roast and sweet potatoes to whip into a yummy casserole. But I know this will be a Thanksgiving Katie would like to forget. Bless her heart.

gratitude challenge day 22 - I'm thankful for modern medicine and skilled doctors and nurses!

goodbye green

2011-11-21T06:15:00.001-05:00

Ok, so on Wednesday morning Bill casually asks, "now, what are you doing today?"

"Um, I thought I'd paint the kitchen."

"Again?"

If I locked the man in another room and asked him the color of the kitchen, he could not tell me. Seriously! We never have any discussions on whether to paint, and certainly not what color. I'm a lucky girl! Well, except for the fact that he'd rather have a root canal than pick up a paint brush ...

So off I go to Delaware Paint to haggle with the poor guys who must cringe when they see me coming: the lady with the poor eye for color. But she sure buys a lot of paint! After a good 30 minutes of discussion, they send me home with color swatches and tell me to come back tomorrow when I've decided.

In the end I did away with all the green, used the same Wheat Sheaf as in the breakfast room, and chose Pizza Pie for the rest.

See for yourself. From this:

To this:

We think it looks smashing, all warm, cozy and delicious! I guess that's all that counts.

gratitude challenge day 21 - I'm thankful for the small town I live in, where I nearly always see someone I know when I'm out on errands. Thankful for my paint store guys, too, where I get great service. Community is a great thing!

homecoming

2011-11-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

I guess you could say I'm slogging through blogging this weekend. It's been an incredibly busy few days, so the blog's been on the back burner. But I will catch up on the gratitude challenge!

In about an hour, three of my kids will arrive home from North Carolina. Mark, Jill and David (who we haven't seen in six months!) spent the weekend with Dan and Jenny, Ari and Ashlyn. (Hoping to have a guest post about that.) Mark and Jill live here, but David doesn't get home often and he's spending the week with us: yippeee!

Years ago when four children thundered through this house, there were things I couldn't imagine:

- quickly straightening up the whole house in one afternoon,
- cleaning all the bathrooms in one afternoon,
- not having any thundering children around,
- and being super excited when any of them come home.

I've decided that if a mother does her job well, she'll find herself very happy to see her independent children when they walk through the door. How I miss them, but wouldn't have it any other way.

Gratitude challenge day 19 - I don't take lightly the blessing of children who are hard-working and independent. And how thankful I am that they find time to spend with us!

I mentioned that I just had to paint my kitchen .... again.

Here's a before photo ...

tomorrow the end result!

gratitude challenge day 20 - So very thankful to have

this painting project done!

day 18

2011-11-18T23:44:00.000-05:00

gratitude challenge day 18 -

In case you haven't noticed, I've been posting every day this month,

answering the gratitude challenge.

Tonight, I am just thankful I can walk after two days of painting

and climbing a ladder. Ow ... somehow the body doesn't work like it used to.

Our kitchen has undergone an enormous transformation. Pics soon! G'night all!

paint, paint, paint

2011-11-17T23:13:00.000-05:00

Somewhere inside me resides a teeny tiny artist. Of sorts. I think.

I like to doodle and sketch birds.

I like to shoot photos. This goes back to my college photography days.

I used to make decoupage purses, paint tiny scenes smooth stones, and sew.

So this slightly-artistic bent must manifest itself.

It seems to be color. Paint color.

I'm so bothered at the wrong color on walls, which I'm so good at selecting:

the WRONG color!

And so it went with the kitchen. First, a bright green on the soffit and backsplash.

Kind of cool.
Then I went crazy and covered the rest in a lighter shade of green.

Wrong, all wrong.

I put up with it for about two years.

Until today.

But you'll have to wait for some photos. Tired and off to bed!

gratitude challenge day 17 - I love color and cannot imagine a world without it.

I'm thankful that God included colors on his to-do list!

my daughters-in-love

2011-11-16T23:29:00.000-05:00

gratitude challenge day 16 -

I love the conversations I have with my daughters-in-love.

They possess different personalities,

but share similar values.

I am thankful, oh so thankful

that they regard their children not as an inconvenience

but as a gift.

Jenny, mother of two little girls, is patient and consistent

in the hard work of training a toddler.

Jill is preparing and asking other mothers all those questions about new motherhood.

Though the days were long and the tasks never-ending,
how I loved being at home with my babies!
And I'm thankful my daughters-in-love are choosing that, too.

three granddaughters

2011-11-15T20:53:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in quite awhile about my newest little granddaughter, coming our way in February.

The other day someone asked me how many grandchildren I have.

"Three," I answered. Then felt silly. Well, almost.

She's not here, but she's definitely there, kicking and waving and growing.

I wrote to her here in September and this might seem funny, it's really dawning on me

that we'll have a grandchild right here in town!

Drop in visits with Baba and Papa sound so very sweet.

And now with Ari and Ashlyn getting bigger, it's about time to dig around in those

boxes marked "toys for the grandchildren," packed up many years ago.

But that's for another post.

gratitude challenge day 15 - What grandmother isn't grateful for her grandchildren?

I know I am.

Incredibly blessed to have a second one join us this year and a third one very soon!

different drummer

2011-11-14T23:46:00.003-05:00

There are those who will call you a recluse -

but it is better to listen to your own different drummer

than to go through life with a ringing in your ears.

- William Safire

It's almost 11:30 p.m. and I'm yawning as I type.

I very nearly skipped today's post. Distressing!

My goal is every day in November.

I just opened emails from two friends who said, "I love reading your blog!"
(Thank you, Kelsie and Kathleen.)

We writers can be a pitiful lot. It isn't a matter of liking to write, or dabbling at writing.

Rather it is, for me at least, that we must write. Even when the hour is late and the eyes droop.

If there is a thought to express, it is akin to a caged animal and absolutely must get out.

Writing is also like an old rusty pump. Once primed, the words flow with less and less resistance.

It would be a lot easier not to write, but writers must write.

When doubt creeps in and I begin to wonder what - and why - in the world I'm doing,

spending time pecking out little blog posts for a handful of people to read,

God prompts a friend to say, "thank you! I like your stuff."

And it spurs a weary writer on for another day.

gratitude challenge day 14 - Readers of my writing and words of encouragement:

for these I am thankful!

Lifeline

2011-11-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

We spent part of this afternoon checking out the new offices of Lifeline Christian Mission in Westerville, Ohio. What a dynamic organization made up of people with a heart for ministering Christ's love to those in need.

For many years we have sponsored children in Haiti and two of our sons have joined Lifeline missions teams in Haiti and Honduras. Lifeline has also expanded their reach to El Salvador, Cuba, Canada and a Navajo reservation in Arizona.

gratitude challenge day 13 - I'm so thankful for Lifeline and to partner with them

in meeting some of the needs of a hurting world.

a November Saturday

2011-11-12T15:39:00.001-05:00

It's a Saturday with random things going on. After a chilly

couple of days, early autumn fights back and gives us a

mild afternoon. We raked the front yard even though the wind did its best to challenge us.

Almost forgot to share this photo from our bike ride

along the Olentangy River ten days ago. A magnificent 3-trunk sycamore! It's said that Indians could find water by spotting sycamore trees from a distance. They thrive beside rivers. Their shimmering white-ness reminds me of birch.

Bill and I enjoyed a Kiwanis pancake breakfast this morning, complete with music by different school groups. Oh, I love our small town!

Our son Mark came over to help move the Old Girl to her new spot. Neighbor Sammy came over to help, too. We didn't realize what we had til they were gone: strong sons!

I've some Bible study homework to do and a pot of soup to make. Have a lovely weekend.

Gratitude challenge day 12 - I'm thankful for the most ordinary of days, for leaves to rake and a pancake breakfast.

my favorite veteran

2011-11-11T14:45:00.001-05:00

This is embarrassing, but I only recently learned exactly what my dad did while serving in the Army during World War II. I asked him a few weeks ago over the phone.

Since Dad graduated from high school in 1943, the war was winding down. Due to a minor heart issue, he was kept stateside, assigned to a base in Kansas and trained as a draftsman. He has a natural artistic ability anyway, so it seemed a good fit for him.

So I don't have any dramatic war stories from my dad, but he is an example of a man who willingly served his country when asked. As a teenager during the Vietnam War, I remember asking my mom about the attitudes of young men during World War II. She said, "They considered it their duty and honor to serve and it was an embarrassment if they didn't or couldn't." That was the mindset in that war.

And I can't not mention 11.11.11. We had these dates when I was growing up, but I don't remember! I know of a little girl born on 8.8.88. But once the 21st century arrived, I seemed to notice more. Once 12.12.12 passes, things will settle down, huh? 11.11.11. Pretty crazy.

Hey, I just realized. My birthday in 2013 will be 1.3.13!

gratitude challenge day 11 - How thankful I am for the veterans of this country. It's easy to forget that the freedom to worship, choose a job and place to live, where to be educated, and to be a part of a democracy are foreign to some people on this planet. Most of our veterans deliberately chose to protect and defend my freedoms. Thank you, God, for their decisions to serve.

the old girl

2011-11-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

This big girl joined our family in 1986.

We found her in a barn full of antiques in northwest Ohio.

For 25 years she's had a place in our dining room, alongside a 6-leaf oak table that seems to match her. She's collected an assortment of my Christmas dishes, my mother-in-love's

100-year-old Haviland china, candlesticks, baby spoons, and ceramic souvenirs.

She is crafted of heavy, solid oak, and I imagine a woodworker or even a farmer

lovingly building her for his wife over a century ago.

She's seen my children grow up, and countless others, too, no doubt.

But because she holds so many treasures, she's become a bit of annoyance to me.

So today is the day. I emptied, dusted and cleaned her.

She'll be moving to the breakfast room,

filled with my favorite dishes and platters

and allowed to oversee the busier areas of our house.

Someday she might be passed on, but for now we'll keep the old girl.

Gratitude challenge day 10 - I'm thankful not for the "things" in my house,

but the memories they stir up:

of feeding babies and children's laughter and Thanksgiving dinners.

the wind

2011-11-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.

- Mark Twain

Gratitude challenge day 9 - I am thankful for the wind that's whistling outside our house tonight.

It urges me to be extra-thankful for a warm, safe house. Though it carpets the yard with a new covering of leaves, I still love the wind!

I (heart) Ohio!

2011-11-08T20:17:00.002-05:00

Quick, what does this sticker say?

Wow, an incredibly silly discussion ensued on facebook today over .... are you ready? The sticker offered to voters at Ohio polling locations. You read that right: a STICKER, like kids get at the doctor's or Wal-mart!

What does the sticker say? Don't over-think it.

"I Ohio Voting"?

"I Voting"?

Well, I first saw it before voting and immediately thought, "Oh, cool. They used the shape of Ohio as a HEART to say: I LOVE VOTING."

"Ohio, the Heart of it All" was a slogan on Ohio's license plates for a time. Ohio is in America's HEART-land. It's a prevalent theme, so why the stir over this sticker? I don't know. I think the sticker is clever.

I've always hoped that I'll be one of those people who grows mellow, less cantankerous with age. That I can keep quiet about things more than before, and be an agent for peace and grace in my old age. I think this is an easy chance to practice. Over a sticker.

Gratitude challenge day 8 - I'm thankful to live in the U.S.A. where voting is a right and duty.

I (heart) my country!

And I (heart) Ohio!

hope in a hole

2011-11-07T18:06:00.000-05:00

What happens this time of year is that I plan my days completely around the weather.

I assume the worst about November: a dark, dreary month.

I hold no illusions: the cold and wet will move in soon.

But so far we've had seven pretty spectacular days.

And so, turning my back on my holidays-looming-to-do-list,

I go buy flower bulbs and get out in the yard. Half-price bulbs at that!

This afternoon I raked leaves and pulled the dead - sniff - hostas and planted

daffodils and iris to my heart's content.

With each bulb dropped in a hole in the flower beds,

I imagine a glorious show in April.

Hope's around the corner!

gratitude challenge day 7 - I'm thankful for stellar November days.

I take back my comments about nasty November-ness!

Thank you God, for these warm, delicious days.

day 6

2011-11-06T06:00:00.007-05:00

Gratitude challenge day 6 - I'm so thankful that God gave me my daughter, Katie. I didn't think we'd ever have one, and she is one of the most loving young women I know. Her quiet nature belies a quick sense of humor that is delightful. Katie is as good-hearted as they come. If you like photography, you might enjoy her blog: www.apeacefulchaos.com/blog/

right: Katie and my good friend, Beth, at our cabin.

What fun we had!

the hands-on house

2011-11-05T09:06:00.003-04:00

My dear little girls,

it seems a little odd to say that

because I always had little boys and just one little girl.

Now the tables turn.

Girls, girls, girls!

You live in a wonderfully hands-on house.

Your mom and dad encourage you to be doing, not just watching.

There's coloring and cooking.

Oh, lots of cooking!

And carving (well, not yet) and creating.

At your house, it's ok to get a little messy

because real learning and growing is sometimes that way.

You have a mom and dad who are crazy about you
and who are hands-on with their love.
Someday you will know how blessed you are.

Loving to see you grow

and loving YOU,

your Baba

Gratitude challenge day 5 -
How thankful I am to see my children being hands-on in raising their children well.

camp!

2011-11-04T09:10:00.000-04:00

My good friend Patti emailed this photo yesterday and the memories came flooding back. It was summer 1979 at Girl Scout Camp Welaka in Jupiter, Florida. Patti (front and center) was camp director and I (right of Patti) served as her assistant. I think I have that right! We were both 24 and my mother had just died in May. I doubt I was totally focused on camp that summer.

It was my second summer at the camp ... I remember the sandy trails to the units, palmetto trees, mosquito nets draped over our cots, the extreme heat and midnight beach trips to watch the nesting sea turtles. And the squealing, giggling, energetic girls. I loved camp and spent six summers working at Girl Scout camps. 1979 would be my last.

Those were summers of discovering my strengths and weaknesses, forging friendships, and learning a lot about children and myself. Without a doubt, working at camp helped prepare me for motherhood.

Gratitude challenge day 4 - How grateful I am for friends like Patti, who befriended me so many years ago, taught me much, and took time to send this photo!

shots on the New

2011-11-03T09:39:00.000-04:00

For several years now we noticed it: an imposing stone fortress of sorts on a bluff overlooking the New River in southern Virginia, just off I-77.

"We should stop and see it," we'd agree as we sailed up and down the interstate. Commanding a view in both directions of the meandering, majestic New River, surely the shot tower played a part in the Civil War.

So coming home from Charlotte this week, we scooted off to see the tower. And were we surprised. A Mr. Thomas Jackson built the shot tower in the early 1800's. Seventy-five feet tall with a 75-foot shaft below, the 150-foot drop was used for producing lead shot for musket rifles. Molten lead was poured from a kettle at the top, which formed lead balls as they fell and landed in a kettle of water below. The shots were retrieved via a horizontal tunnel from the river's edge. Fascinating!
This meant solid lead and firewood had to be carried up the tower by hand and by the sweat of some determined men.

In googling more info on all this, I read that the New River is the second-oldest river in the world. You might want to go see it sometime.

Gratitude challenge day 3 - I'm thankful for the wonder of history and the men and women who built this amazing country.

                                                                                         Bill loves the mountains ... this is
                                                                                               a perfect photo of him!

30-day gratitude challenge

2011-11-02T22:36:00.000-04:00

My daughtr-in-love Jenny is challenging everyone to a gratitude challenge for the month of November. Check it out here.

I need to express gratitude a whole lot more. Everything good comes from God and the least I can do is thank Him. So ... seeing as how I'm starting on November 2, I'll catch up.

1. I'm incredibly thankful for Jenny and the girls' safety in a 3-car accident yesterday. No injuries at all. Wow.

2. I'm thankful for a husband who prompts me to get out on a bike ride on a beautiful autumn afternoon. And of course thankful for the weather to do so!
How about you? Care to join us this month for the gratitude challenge?

a Melmo Halloween

2011-10-31T06:00:00.018-04:00

I've never been a big fan of Halloween. My mother influenced me greatly in this, declaring for several years running that my dad planned to be on business trips every Halloween and left her to deal with costumes and trick-or-treaters and all of it.

But it's different now that I'm a grandmother. Ari, Jenny and I made an Elmo jack-o-lantern ... the brain-child of Jenny. Not too sure 22-month-old Ari really got the idea, but she sure enjoyed messing with the red paint.

This girl adores Elmo ... "Mel-mo" that is.

Thanks for sharing Melmo-making, Ari.

Baba can't think of a better way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Nope, never did care much for Halloween ... especially those masks.

senior show

2011-10-28T06:00:00.051-04:00

Ever since sometime, oh, around her sophomore year, my daughter Katie's mentioned the SENIOR SHOW that is required of all photography/art majors at her college. Really, I don't think I had a clear idea of what this means. Then last year I began hearing things like "parents come help set up" and "make food to serve."

Did I mention Katie's a senior this year? I remember my college photography days. Had anyone even thought of a senior show in the 70's, it probably would have involved little more than a few photographs mounted on mat board. But based on my information gathering, I'm thinking Katie's SENIOR SHOW is going to be a bigger deal. And wouldn't it be - logically - in the spring of senior year? Katie called and said, "Guess what! My SENIOR SHOW is the end of February!"

Now lots of thoughts are whizzing through my head ... it will be mid-winter in Indiana ... Katie will be on a mission trip to Paraguay all of January ... mid-winter in Indiana. Oh, boy.

But hey. We'll do it. We'll be there and happily do our parent-ly part for Katie's SENIOR SHOW. Even if there's a blizzard. We'll call it the grand finale for the ten years we've had kids in college. Bring on that SENIOR SHOW!

lunch out

2011-10-26T19:28:00.000-04:00

Today I met my Moms in Touch friends for lunch at 1808 American Bistro, a swanky-for-Delaware downtown restaurant. Oh, man. Three of us ordered the same dish: Crispy Almond Chicken Salad. Gorgeous greens, tomatoes, bacon (whoops), maple-vinaigrette dressing and a huge, flattened, panko-almond-crumb-crusted chicken breast. Outstanding!

l to r: Nan, Elizabeth, Lori and me.

When we gathered in August for coffee (pictured here) Nan, Elizabeth, Lori and I agreed to try a monthly lunch on the last Wednesday of each month. (Sampling different restaurants ... yum.) You might remember this post, when we laid our plan. It has worked for two months now and it's so great. We're reacquainting with each other. With 15 children between us, we don't always cover all the kids, but touch on a few each time we meet. Husbands, too. (Just four of those!) And we share our hopes, dreams and a few sorrows. Lots of laughter, too.

Lori shared quite the story today of moving her daughter to New York City. I think we're all glad to live in small-town Ohio.

God knit us together all these years. It's a sweet, special and rich friendship. Thank you, Nan, Elizabeth and Lori!

from Mr. Kilmer

2011-10-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

I think that I shall never see

A poem as lovely as a tree.

Joyce Kilmer, Trees, 1913.

(Alfred Joyce Kilmer, 1886-1918, killed at the Second Battle of the Marne, France, 1918.)

shop 'n drop

2011-10-24T06:00:00.007-04:00

Now don't take this as moaning and groaning or whining and complaining. I went shopping yesterday with four college girls, one of them my daughter. And another mom, Barbie ... all Taylor U friends. Not that I really wanted to shop, but I did want to be with the girls and Barbie. So off we went for an afternoon shop-session. Observations:

1. Half of Columbus chose to be inside a mall on a gorgeous October afternoon. Why?

2. Someone switched our Old Navy with the one in Charlotte while I wasn't looking. No kidding, now it looks just like the one in Charlotte, and made me miss Ari a lot.

3. Charming Charlie's is a store like no other. It is packed full of - sorry C.C. fans - tacky costume jewelry. The merchandise is arranged by colors on little display islands: the blue island, the red island, the purple island, the brown island, and you weave around these islands in hopes of finding the perfect accessory for your outfit back home. There are ~~gaudy~~ colorful clutches and oversized necklaces. Winter hats and summer purses. I tried on a ring that resembled a tiny Slinky with beads and wondered how you'd bend your finger.

As soon as Katie and I stepped in the store, we locked eyes and communicated silently that we couldn't wait to get out. Katie and I tend to be bored/overwhelmed/bewildered by stores where there is a lot to see. Especially when the merchandise is large, sparkly and well, just ugly. We are simple, unadorned girls.

4. Last stop: Forever 21. This store is over the top. First, I don't want to be forever 21. And I question women my age who do. But most of the patrons were in the 16 - 25 range and they are totally into this store. One item I was interested in was scarves, so I asked a sales boy to show me some. "Over there," he pointed left. "And back here," he pointed right. "And maybe up there," he pointed up the escalator. Oh, good grief. There is absolutely no order to Forever 21. T-shirts and dresses and jeans and scarves all willy-nilly around the store. It's madness. So I plopped down with Barbie on a skinny window ledge. They could at least have a bench or two.

5. Sales girls always ask, "are you finding everything?" I'm never sure how to answer. If I say "no," they interrogate me. If I say "yes," it's a total lie.

5. The best stop was Chick-fil-a. Barbie and I split a sandwich. I love Chick-fil-a ... a whole lot more than shopping.

My next shopping excursion will be to the classy Talbot's, where the merchandise is organized, the sales ladies carry your choices to the dressing room for you, and the scarves are all together.

happy birthday, Jenny!

2011-10-21T07:31:00.001-04:00

Today's her birthday and so I honor my daughter-in-love Jenny. It's such fun to see her become a mom and while caring for two babies is a huge job, Jenny also has many interests. Most importantly, she's a woman after God's heart. Here's a little birthday acrostic ...

J - Joyful. Jenny loves to laugh and her joy is evident in her family. A mother's joy is reflected in her children.

E - Energetic. Gardening, card games, organizing us indecisive Hallers , our trips to IKEA, cleaning house, exercising. If you need to see someone determined to get it done, watch Jenny!

N - Nurturing. Maybe motherhood doesn't come naturally to every new mom ... but Jenny wears it well, loving and caring for her husband Dan and their girls.

N - Natural girl. Just take at look at her blog. http://www.groundedgirl.com/ Jenny's learned so much about nutrition and is passionate about passing it on to to others. She's a great cook: I almost feel like I'm at a restaurant when we visit!

Y - Yearning and striving to be an excellent wife and mother ... but also allowing herself some slack in this very busy season of her life. She lets the little things go.

H. - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY, with love!

some things stay the same

2011-10-19T20:16:00.001-04:00

There's a story on yahoo today that has me freaking out. OK, I'm not really the freak-out type. But it's all about the technology that will be obsolete by the year 2020. Eight years! If I read it right, smart phones will be the ONLY phone out there. I won't be able to choose a 'dumb phone' even if I want. And I won't need to buy a GPS unless I'm planning on climbing Everest or serving in the military because it'll be built into my new car or smart phone. I won't buy CDs or DVDs because music and movies will all be digital.

This is crazy. In 1990, my son Dan came home from pre-school and held out his hands about 12 inches apart. "Mommy! They have CDs THIS BIG at pre-school !" The kid had never seen a record, even though we had a crate of them in the basement.

The speed of technological advances makes me dizzy. Think of the span of human history and how much has changed in the flash of time called the 20th century. Television, radio, telephones, advanced communication. Electricity! My own father grew up on a farm with few conveniences. Food was refrigerated in an "ice box." My mother chased the ice truck down the street and of course air conditioning was unheard of. When you think of it, the first 200 years of our country moved at a snail's pace in terms of technology. And now, in less than half my children's lifetimes, everything's smaller, faster, more efficient.

Almost. My son Mark, father of our 3rd grandchild, told me, "Mom, everything's changed since you had us." Meaning, the stuff that new parents collect before baby arrives. He thinks I haven't a clue. The 'stuff' has changed a bit, some for the better and some not.

But one thing that really hasn't changed is the babies themselves. How I love that. When I first held Ari, it felt familiar and good. The skills I developed as a mother kicked in naturally when time came to hold, swaddle, rock, bathe, and sing to my granddaughters. How beautiful that for the things that really matter in life, God gives us the ability to hone, then keep our skills for many years. I might fall behind in using a computer or learning to use a smart phone. But I really don't care. It's all a chasing after the wind. What matters is that I can love and care for my grandchildren, to be the 'Baba' God intends.

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,

everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;

nothing was gained under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:11

(everything) wheat germ muffins

2011-10-17T21:10:00.002-04:00

A blast from the past: my mom's wheat germ muffin recipe! I'm pretty sure she proudly sent me this to me as a newlywed in 1978. It always tickled her to find new recipes, and she tiptoed into what we called "health food cooking" back in the 70's. I don't think she took to my lentil burger recipe - oh Dad would have gagged - but we learned to make the famous granola together, and then there was this.

When it arrived in the mail, I laughed. Why on earth would I need to make 6 dozen muffins? Or why would I store the batter in the fridge "for up to a month"? But I was 23. What did I know? Four kids and 33 years later, it makes perfect sense. I whipped these up over the weekend and baked the whole bowl of batter, adding all sorts of goodies and voila! My freezer is stocked with muffins for visitors, kids, holidays. (With all the sugar, I suppose it can hardly be called 'healthy' ...)

I was sure mom had put apricots in these muffins, but it isn't included in the recipe. So I threw in raisins, craisins, pecans, and chopped apple. Fantastic! If you're up for a big batch of muffins, here you go. (Though it only made about 4 dozen for me.)

Combine in a large mixing bowl:
4 and 1/2 cups flour (I mixed white and whole wheat)
2 - 1/4 cups wheat germ
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt (or omit)
5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
In a smaller bowl combine:
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
1 cup oil
Blend into dry ingredients. If it seems too thick, add some water. Then add c/raisins, nuts, apple as you please.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 for 15-20 min.
Batter can be stored in fridge for up to 4 weeks.

I'm discovering something curious about recipes and cooking. When I copy recipes, I leave out probably half the directions. I don't need to be told to "grease or paper line" the muffin cups. It's pretty much second nature to me. But then I'm not 23 any longer.

Maybe what's best about this recipe is the card itself. Mom was a typist: letters, recipes, whatever. When she ran out of room at the bottom of the card, she pulled it from the typewriter and wrote "HINT: 2 cups of this batter makes about 12 muffins" by hand. It's sweet to have that after all these years, tucked in my recipe box. (Or jammed on top; that's another post.)

Transfer recipes to computer? Not for me; I'll keep Mom's hand-written cards.

the $5.57 date

2011-10-15T07:00:00.010-04:00

Bill and I have this idea to take turns surprising each other with little dates. So yesterday morning, spontaneous me said, "ok, get ready for our lunch date, and don't dress up!"

So off we go, Ellie too. First stop: Wendy's drive-through. They have a pretty good chicken sandwich for $1.69. Two of those and a large chili, please. Total: $5.57.

Next stop: Mingo Park, a city park where we spent hours and hours and HOURS with our little soccer and baseball players back in the day. Mingo is undergoing a huge renovation. New fields, more parking, improved bike trail. So we took our lunch and our pooch and checked out the Mingo re-do ... and reminisced a bit.

I spotted the water fountain where Grandma Haller got creamed by a careless hoodlum running from his friends. The benches where we sat when Mark pitched the winning game for his championship Mustang team. The diamond where David worked as an umpire, learning to stand his ground with over-zealous coaches. The soccer fields where Dan and Katie first played what we called "magnet ball."

Trips to the concession stand. Bored siblings begging to run to the playground. "Hey, batta, batta, batta!" from the outfield. The crack of a baseball against a bat.

Though the sounds of game nights echo in my mind, now it's not my children racing across Mingo, just the wind whipping over an empty park.

horrible holes in hiding

2011-10-14T21:26:00.000-04:00

Remember the horrible holes? Yeah, yeah, back in May. Every time I'd go down the stairs - which is many times a day, those holes were gaping at me, screaming to be covered.

Today I hit upon a remedy that - get this - didn't cost me a dime! And while it might not be a candidate for Southern Living, it'll do for now. As my mom used to say, "good enough!" Though something's not quite right. I think it has something to do with the rule of thirds. But it beats the holes!

freezer burn

2011-10-13T21:59:00.000-04:00

How to burn up a perfectly good afternoon: defrost the freezer! After that glorious mid-week bike ride two days ago, I needed some humbling. On THE LIST (my to-do list that never, ever is completed) was "defrost freezer." I kept shifting the task from one to-do list to the next.

Yesterday, a wet and dreary day, I decided to tackle the freezer. Here's how it went down:
1. Freezer's in the basement. Challenge.
2. I unload the frozen items into our biggest cooler, turn off the freezer and point a fan at the freezer.
3. Attach the too-short drainage hose to the dehumidifier hose to drain into a basement drain. One hose won't fit inside the other; go get turkey baster from the kitchen.
4. Finally successful by rigging turkey baster, two pots, old towels, and the fan. Also tried my hair dryer to speed up the process, but kept blowing the circuit.
5. Each time I run to empty one pot, the turkey baster slips from the smaller pot and water drains onto the carpeted floor.
6. Two hours and 20 minutes later, job is done. And dinner is a little late.

It's a good accomplishment, having the freezer defrosted. But not as fun as a bike ride.

seizing the day!

2011-10-11T23:21:00.000-04:00

What a day, what a stupendous day here in central Ohio! The laundry and assorted projects had to wait while we seized a beautiful autumn day for some biking.

We loaded the bikes and headed off to Johnstown around noon. "Six miles to Alexandria," Bill said. OK, twelve miles I can handle. But don't you know, the beauty and sunshine and woods lured us along and we couldn't stop at Alexandria. It was on to Granville, another five miles.

We found it a little tricky to keep to the trail, as much of it was a carpet of leaves. But we finished with no mis-haps!

A really neat feature of this trail is how it meanders through farmlands as well as woods. Real, working farms with white barns, red barns, shimmering silos, grazing cows, and pigs. We smelled the pigs. The trail crossed a number of driveways into the farms and I just felt like I was sailing through a fairy tale!

I am thankful that we are in a season of life when we can choose a day to bike based on the weather. As we biked, I thought of all the years that we didn't have the freedom to just go and do. It was a glorious 25 years with our kids, but also very them-focused. I miss those days at times, full lively kids, even with all their rowdiness and bickering.

But there's a peace and sweetness in being able to seize the day.

birthday girls in the 'hood

2011-10-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

I admit to being a little envious of my neighbor gal-pals, Lynn and Dove. They share a birthday today, and what a spectacular day it was. We chatted over lunch on my back porch, surrounded by a perfect autumn day. October 10: just a lovely time for a birthday!

Don't you know, I had my camera out to snap a photo and FORGOT. As much as I see them, I don't even have a photo of the two together! Well, today I wish Dove and Lynn a happy birthday. Dove is our outdoor adventurer girl and Lynn is our June Cleaver. They both out-garden me. I think it's pretty unusual to be surrounded by neighbors who still chat in the front yard, borrow eggs and sour cream and even ovens, put up with each other's barking dogs, talk over the back fence (yes, literally we do) and just all around enjoy being together.

I hope you have some neighbor friends like I have here. Happy birthday, Lynn and Dove!

blog salad

2011-10-09T20:01:00.001-04:00

I've started no fewer than four posts this week, none of which found their way to completion. I guess you could say it's been a tossed salad kind of week. Here's what's been on my mind:

1. New phone on the horizon? The keys on my cell phone are wiggly, so I might be shopping. Not desiring a smart phone. Just need to make calls, text, and view photos of the granddaughters. That's it!

2. Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer on Wednesday. He was born 52 days after me! If that doesn't wake me up to my lack of achievement in life, I don't know what will. Sometimes I struggle with the thought that my life could end tomorrow and I would kick myself for not writing a book or chasing a few dreams. I'd slap my forehead for not formulating a real plan for my life and neglecting really important things and people.

3. My husband's mother spent three days in the hospital this week. All day Friday, I was amazed by the nurses who do their jobs cheerfully in the face of sick people and demanding family members. I salute nurses! The hospital stay could probably have been avoided had my mother-in-love followed the simple practice of drinking water and eating fruits and vegetables. Case closed on that one.

5. A sizzling hot, then wet summer made biking kind of challenging. Now the weather's nice but we're busier. So we're trying to get some pedaling in before cold weather hits. It's a race!

Alright, I hope the coming week is smoother in the blogging department. If you're a loyal reader, I apologize. Sometimes life just happens when you're making other plans.

happy birthday, Lisa!

2011-10-04T15:56:00.000-04:00

Whether biking or boating,
meeting for lunch or ice cream,

camping in a tent on cold nights,
driving Girl Scouts hither and yon,
and laughing more than our husbands can bear,

Lisa and I are fast friends.

I admire her heart for serving others that is big, big, big.
And I am thankful she's my friend.

Happy birthday, Lisa!

Mary-Kate and Ashley go to college

2011-10-03T20:08:00.000-04:00

These whopper wind turbines went up over the summer on Taylor University's campus. They are joining - and will power - the new Euler Science Complex, scheduled to open in 2012.

As we prepared to leave Taylor yesterday after parents weekend, I asked Bill to drive over toward the science center so I could photograph the turbines. I think they're spectacularly majestic and beautiful, like huge versions of those little spinners you hold and blow as a kid. Taylor, in the heart of flat Indiana farmland, gets plenty of wind, so the turbines are usually rotating, round and round.

Taylor students nicknamed the turbines Mary-Kate and Ashley, due to their proximity to Olson, a women's dorm. Isn't that hilarious! And one student reports how she woke up on a sunny morning soon after arriving on campus to a flashing light in her room. The sun was reflecting off Mary-Kate ... or Ashley. Well, I guess the scientist-types don't think of everything!

Oh, yes. We had a fun weekend with Katie. We ate college food, (always kicked up a notch up for parents), watched tennis, worshiped in chapel. Amazing music! After ten years of kids at Taylor, this begins our last. It'll be a bittersweet year of "lasts" and I'm not too sure what I think of that. We'll miss Taylor, a phenomenal school and community. But life moves on, our family's growing by leaps and grandbabies, and we'll embrace what's ahead.

Of course, it's our last year of tuition payments, and that's not one bit sad!

right: Katie (middle) with two of her three adorable apartment-mates: Brie and Hannah.

happy birthday, little big man

2011-10-02T03:00:00.001-04:00

It's funny how children - even within the same family - can be so different. Some are timid and quiet, others come out swinging. Some dabble in many interests, others have razor-sharp focus on their life plan. That's why having four kids is such a ball: four different personalities, temperaments, and approaches to life.

Our first child came into our world 28 years ago this evening. David seemed like a little man almost from the start. He didn't cry much. Very big-brotherly with Dan, just 16 months younger. He kind of scared us by reading at age three. He once told a nurse to be careful of the hot water, because - pointing to a faucet - "that spells H-O-T!"

David's intense obssession with baseball is legendary in

our family. How can a kid know early on that baseball

would play such a big part in his life? David did, and it's a part of what made him seem wise beyond his years.

But he's more than baseball. David loves family, kids, good coffee & food, exploring new places, a good book, a good joke, and gently teasing all of us. What a sense of humor! He finds humor in almost any situation. I love that.

Most of all, David has a heart for others and for God. It endears him to me, and to most everyone he touches.

Happy birthday, my former little man. Now my big man, my son. I love and miss you, David.

Go Rays !!

tenacity

2011-09-29T13:49:00.002-04:00

Well past midnight last night, the Tampa Bay Rays did what no team in baseball history has ever done. Coming into September with a 9-game deficit in their division, they roared back and in a final regular-season game to determine the American league wild card, beat the New York Yankees and secured for themselves a berth in the postseason.

If you're not a baseball fan, and if that paragraph just went mushy in your head, that's ok. This post isn't completely about baseball.

Seemingly, the Rays didn't have much in their favor back in April. They'd lost a pack of top players over the winter. They lost their first six games of the season. And finally, coming into September, there was almost no way statistically to make their way into the postseason.

What they did have was manager Joe Maddon, who believes in his guys. He told them they could win and treated them like men, not boys. Over the course of the season, time and again, the Rays would come from behind and win games. In fact, miraculously, they were behind 7-0 in last night's game going into the bottom of the 8th inning. And won in the 12th. Man. I wonder what's on the minds of the fans seen leaving in the 6th inning?

So. Those Rays are tenacious. They don't give up even when all signs point to the futility of a good effort.

Today, I wonder. Am I tenacious in the important things of life? Do I show love to my husband and kids, even when I'm tired and feel under-appreciated? Love is shown not only by words, but actions.

Do I look for ways to honor others above myself? Am I willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of another? In the words of one Rays player, "we are grinders [hard workers] who go in and play every game as hard as we can." Am I a grinder for God and His kingdom?

It's kind of funny, and maybe a stretch, to draw a parallel between baseball and my life. But God can teach me in any way he chooses. He's God! And I think, just maybe, He might have been enjoying that game last night in St. Petersburg.

On to Texas!

Images by J. Meric/Getty

fearfully and wonderfully made

2011-09-28T09:45:00.000-04:00

Dear littlest granddaughter,

I don't yet know your name; your mom and dad are keeping it a secret until your birth. I love surprises! Last Friday I went to the ultra-sound appt at Grady Hospital. (Your dad called it "Gravy" Hospital when he was a small boy.)

There on the screen flickered the most beautiful image: YOU!

A lovely, perfect head. Strong arms waving, your right thumb finding your mouth. You even stretched one foot all the way up to your head!

And then, the technician said, "oh, yes - it's a girl!"

I just loved watching you, so full of life, and thankful I was invited to see you.

It made me even more excited, and I wondered how I can wait 20 more weeks to swaddle you up, hold you and nuzzle your downy head.

You take all the time you need to grow strong and healthy, sweet girl ... we will wait. And then, on that winter day that God has ordained, we will joyfully welcome you into the world and into our lives.

Love you already, forever,

your Baba

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

Centennial dad

2011-09-27T08:21:00.001-04:00

No, my dad isn't 100. But over the weekend I visited him in Nashville, along with my sister and nephew and we took him to Centennial Park. Saturday was spectacular: highs in the 70s and sunny. We asked Dad if he might be up for an outing. He never turns down an outing with us, even if it nearly exhausts him!

Thanks to a most friendly and helpful nurse, Allo, we had a picnic basket loaded with sandwiches, fruit, and chips. Off we went to Centennial Park, so named when it was built in the late 1800's to celebrate Nashville's centennial. The park's centerpiece is the Parthenon, an impressive replica of the one in Athens.

My brilliant sister had thought to bring a folding chair, so after our picnic, Dad was content to sit and observe the people, squirrels, ducks on the lake, and watch us shoot photos. Although Dad's in a wonderful place, his typical days are much the same. The change of scenery and fresh air seemed to perk him up.

We sat under a tree that Dad called an Indian Cigar tree. Knowing Dad, he could have made up this name, but it made for interesting conversation!

My sister's son, Dakotah, wanted to visit his granddaddy. What a caring and helpful grandson! I don't know many 16-year-olds like that. Thank you, Dakotah.

What a blessing to spend the weekend with our dad.

autumn's in!

2011-09-22T23:05:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a little break. Not because I need a break from writing, no! How I'd love to sit and write and write some more. But I'm spending the weekend with some dear ones .... and that's good too. I will see you next week, figuratively speaking. In the meantime, isn't it wonderful to be anticipating autumn? I'm excited! And something is terribly weird with blogger, so the words are all over the place!

quite a ride

2011-09-20T16:40:00.000-04:00

Summer 1942. Elizabeth Muriel Thayer, 25, set off on a biking adventure with some girlfriends. If you can imagine, they toured New York City and New England. Elizabeth says she doesn't remember a lot about it, but we found this marvelous photo which I used to make her birthday card, and entitled it "Quite a Ride" for Elizabeth is turning 95 today. Imagine all she's witnessed in her lifetime. Autos hadn't been around long when she was born. Radio, television, space travel, convenience foods, and the computer age all came about. Through it all, Elizabeth became a wife, mother, schoolteacher, widow, grandmother and great-grandmother. She is our link to a simpler time and embodies the love and grace of a life well-lived. We all love you, Elizabeth/Mom/Grandma/"GG" and wish you the happiest birthday in all your 95 years!

birthday lunch for our queen

2011-09-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

Today we'll celebrate my mother-in-love's 95th birthday

with a family lunch out in Plain City, Ohio.

Elizabeth's sister will be there,

as well as her sons, many cousins, nieces & nephews, grandchildren

and great-grandchildren.

Some live too far away, but will join us in spirit.

And speaking of spirit,

this photo captures Elizabeth's spirit perfectly.

Her thoughtfulness of others and cheerful demeanor

has endeared her to so many, including my three sons.

What a blessing she is to us!

(I'm thankful to my daughter, Katie, who captured this image three years ago.)

there and back

2011-09-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

Still alive! We slipped up to the cabin in northern Michigan for a few days ... where there is no internet in any practical sense of the word.

The weather, which plays a huge part in our time there, was SPECTACULAR. Highs in the 70's and lots of sun. Then on Monday evening the wind kicked up. And blow it did all night long. No wimpy winds up around the Great Lakes. Powerful, make-me-feel-small winds. I think I might love wind as much as I love water. It makes me feel alive!

Anyway, though I had my camera, I took very few photos. Bill and I made two bike rides to the harbor/lighthouses (10 miles round trip) and busied ourselves with the usual chores and required autumn cleaning-up. It's still summery-looking in northern Michigan, but if you look closely, you'll see small tinges of autumn.

We also made time to read and chat with our neighbor guys, who by the way, love to fish on Grand Lake until - I don't think I exaggerate - ice begins to form on the lake. (And after that, they ice fish in the dead of winter.) Jody and Alan brought us a bag of beautiful, ready-to-cook walleye. Awesome eating!

At this time of year, Grand Lake seems to be a best-kept secret. Most of the wave-runners and skiers have been replaced by slow kayakers like me, ducks, and even a great blue heron we spotted one morning as we poured our coffee.

It's also good to be home, near family, friends, neighbors. In these I am content.

thankfulness

2011-09-08T12:17:00.000-04:00

Wow, I am a grump sometimes. Why do I let the negatives in life take root in my heart and produce a complaining spirit? I really have nothing to complain about, yet complain I do. About my house. (Imagine, today I said, "this house smells like dog." Well, DUH, a DOG lives here, so it's my job to do something about the smell!) About some repairs we need to get done, but haven't. And worst of all, to focus on the shortcomings of others, including my husband, rather than offering praise and encouragement.

In first Thessalonians, Paul instructs the brothers to

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It's a simple yet powerful command and is not contingent on good feelings, a fat bank account, a clean house, or flawless relationships. Paul praised God from a dark prison cell.

I think I'll write these verses on a bookmark to use in the book I'm reading. I would do well to be continually reminded to continually give thanks, in all circumstances!

big birthday coming up!

2011-09-07T16:03:00.000-04:00

four generations

This lovely lady (the elder) has a birthday this month, on September 20. Bill's mom, my dear mother-in-love, will turn 95! Elizabeth is still living somewhat independently and spends her days reading, working jigsaw puzzles and watching the Cleveland Indians & Browns, Ohio State, and - this week - professional tennis. She's quite a lady with a young spirit!

If you know Elizabeth and would like to send her a card, email me at hallerbarb@yahoo.com and I'll send you her address. She doesn't want a fuss made over her, but who doesn't like getting mail?

six feet of books

2011-09-06T18:20:00.000-04:00

As of 6/28/95 you have all these books checked out on your card. All books from the day you were here have been checked in.

25 is your book limit. 42 of the 49 items you have are books.

Please return at least 17 of the books. THANK YOU.

Return them to the circ desk as soon as possible so that they may be checked in immediately and your record cleared.

I swear on my library card, this is the red-penned, word-for-word hand-written note on a computer print-out from 16 years ago. I found it so funny at the time that I tucked it away for the day I'd find it and laugh again.
That day has arrived.

The amazing feature of our library is that fines are optional!
Yep, if you bring in a book (or 42) past the due date, you can choose
whether or not to donate a fine. Just drop your coins or bills
in the big jar at the front desk.

I wonder how many other library patrons take advntage of the policy and, like me, become extremely irresponsible with their books. Had the fines been mounting, you bet I would've ordered the kids to search
under beds for all 42 books.

And no dinner til you find them!

just did it

2011-09-02T17:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Happy article! Yes, I got it done, just awaiting some in-house editing. It was a quite a task. If you enjoy good writing, thank a writer!

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!

hey, Mom

2011-09-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

Hey, Mom. Today you would have been 86 years old. It's hard to imagine you that old, because when you left us, you were younger than I am now.

I still miss you. How I would love to call you (or email!) and share something about the kids. You would be so proud of David, Dan, Mark and Katie, and Jenny and Jill, too. You would have built tender relationships with them. You were such a warm and relational person.

You always looked forward to grandchildren and now I know why, with two of my own. You somehow knew the precious love they would bring to a grandmother's heart. You'd be a great-grandmother now! Not sure you even thought ahead that far. But I am sure of one thing.

Through the short 24 years we had, you taught me to laugh at myself, not others. To listen to my children. To love my husband. To care for neighbors and love the unlovable. To try new things. That life is short and a few dirty dishes or dusty shelves mean a lot less than time spent with my children. And in the end, if our time on earth is shorter than we hoped, to have no regrets in how we lived.

Thank you for all you taught me. I love you, Mom. Happy birthday.

I won't try; I'll just do it

2011-08-31T16:20:00.001-04:00

Well, did I ever share that I had an article published in Heart of Ohio magazine's summer 2011 issue? It's a long story of how this all came about, but a huge blessing is that I am getting to know the magazine's editor, Diana Coon. Over lunch a few months ago, we discovered that we share several common interests: kayaking, grandmothering, writing, faith. She's forthright and a good thinker.

Anyway, Diana likes my writing and has asked for another article for the winter issue. So this week I am throwing around different ideas and looking back over my blog posts to see what catches my eye.

An interesting side note is that twice this week I've run across the idea that the words: "I'll try" and "maybe" shouldn't exist. (And one source was an article by Diana Coon herself.) Rather, whatever the task, we should just "do it" and not leave the door open to probable failure or procrastination by saying "I'll try."

And so, I will write that article for Heart of Ohio. All 1,000 words. I will just do it!

P.S. If you link to the magazine, above, you'll find my article, 'Journey with Dad,' on page 52 of the summer issue.

Burger King - or designer - oatmeal?

2011-08-29T22:03:00.000-04:00

Here's a little news item. Places like Burger King and McDonalds are offering oatmeal for breakfast. Oatmeal at the drive-through? It makes me laugh. Even Starbucks is jumping on the bandwagon and prices range from $1.99 to $4.99 for a bowl of oatmeal. I'm not taking time to do the math, but for five bucks I'm sure I could make enough oatmeal at home for 40 people!

When I was on staff at Girl Scout camp about a hundred years ago, my campers groaned on oatmeal morning. These kids had obviously never been taught how to dress up a bowl of oatmeal, so I'd swing into action. I'd run to the kitchen and ask the cook for brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and raisins. That's just the beginning. These days I add in nuts, chopped apple and craisins. Good breakfast!

It's beyond me why anyone would serve plain oatmeal to a kid. Fancy it up! Pile on the good stuff and most kids will eat it. Super economical and healthy, too.

Mmmm, think I'll have oatmeal in the morning! For just a few pennies.

bullies

2011-08-27T20:10:00.000-04:00

I actually think about bullies a fair amount.

That seems weird.

But I've had a little experience and have my theories.

Bullies won't bully if there's no sail for their wind.

No one to look scared, act scared or do what they're told.

No one to turn over their lunch money,

or stay away from the bully's locker.

Or - and now I talk about adult bullies -

no one who acquiesces to a bully's expectations, demands,

and emotional blackmail. Have you known someone like that?

I was not a bully but I defended those who got bullied,

like my younger brother. It made my blood boil to see him bullied.

One day I got on the school bus behind a bully-type,

and I saw him smack my brother on the head.

I automatically shoved him as hard as I could, sending him flying

to the back of the bus. (I think the bus driver might have smiled a little.)

The bully never bothered us again.

Sometimes you just have to stand up to a bully

and let him/her know you won't be bullied.

That's my take on bullies.

What's yours?