You can come home now. The bathroom is done! Dad did a great job. You'll even have your own towel rack. I'm sure Russia can't compete with that!
Love,
Mom
P.S. The pictures don't do it justice~
Friday, February 26, 2010
It's Done!
Dear Elizabeth,
You can come home now. The bathroom is done! Dad did a great job. You'll even have your own towel rack. I'm sure Russia can't compete with that!
Love,
Mom
P.S. The pictures don't do it justice~
You can come home now. The bathroom is done! Dad did a great job. You'll even have your own towel rack. I'm sure Russia can't compete with that!
Love,
Mom
P.S. The pictures don't do it justice~
Monday, February 22, 2010
"Hi Grandma"
The Olympic theme is playing in the background as I sit down to tell you my sad tale. That has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm about to say, but I thought it might set the scene. Maybe not.
I don't mind telling you that I'm in my mid...late...50's. Oh heck, I just turned 57 a couple of weeks ago. As such, I have the usual "character lines" on my face (okay, wrinkles!) and my hair began sporting "silver highlights" back when I was in my thirties. But all in all, I'm in decent shape and not doing too badly, although from this description you're not likely to believe me.
Anyway, Saturday evening, I went to the store to look for some shower curtain hooks. I don't really like paying a lot for items that I barely notice once they're in place, so I thought I'd head over to Ross to see if they just might have what I needed at dirt-cheap prices.
I made my way to the bed/bath section and noticed a small selection of hooks on the very bottom shelf. So, I knelt down and began looking through the various styles. I was vaguely aware of a shopping cart next to me with a small child in it and a women standing next to it. But I was intent on my shopping and didn't pay too much attention to their conversation.
At one point, I heard the little boy say "Hi, Grandma" and figured that it must be his grandma standing next to the cart. Then I heard the the woman say to him, "That's not your grandma." Again the little tyke said, "Hi, Grandma." Once again, the woman said, "That's not YOUR grandma." But it was when she said, "I'm sorry," that I realized this was the little guy's mother and she was embarassed because he was talking to... ME!
Don't get me wrong, I'm plenty old enough to be a grandma. And hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, my son and daughter-in-law will bestow that role upon me. But to have a little two-year old pick me out of a crowd...after only seeing the top of my head...and call me "grandma" was nearly too much!
I immediately texted two of my sisters and told them "I'm old!" Both did their best to "text-console" me. My sister, Lisa, texted , "Two-year olds are not noted for their judgement. I wouldn't let it bother you." When I refused to be comforted by that comment, she texted back, "Again, he was two. From his perspective, a four-year old looks old." Easy for her to say. She's 13 years younger than me!
I don't know. I'm sure I'll get over this. Someday. I just never knew that a smiling little two-year old could be so vicious. And somewhere out there, his grandma thinks he's adorable. Okay, he kinda was.
I don't mind telling you that I'm in my mid...late...50's. Oh heck, I just turned 57 a couple of weeks ago. As such, I have the usual "character lines" on my face (okay, wrinkles!) and my hair began sporting "silver highlights" back when I was in my thirties. But all in all, I'm in decent shape and not doing too badly, although from this description you're not likely to believe me.
Anyway, Saturday evening, I went to the store to look for some shower curtain hooks. I don't really like paying a lot for items that I barely notice once they're in place, so I thought I'd head over to Ross to see if they just might have what I needed at dirt-cheap prices.
I made my way to the bed/bath section and noticed a small selection of hooks on the very bottom shelf. So, I knelt down and began looking through the various styles. I was vaguely aware of a shopping cart next to me with a small child in it and a women standing next to it. But I was intent on my shopping and didn't pay too much attention to their conversation.
At one point, I heard the little boy say "Hi, Grandma" and figured that it must be his grandma standing next to the cart. Then I heard the the woman say to him, "That's not your grandma." Again the little tyke said, "Hi, Grandma." Once again, the woman said, "That's not YOUR grandma." But it was when she said, "I'm sorry," that I realized this was the little guy's mother and she was embarassed because he was talking to... ME!
Don't get me wrong, I'm plenty old enough to be a grandma. And hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, my son and daughter-in-law will bestow that role upon me. But to have a little two-year old pick me out of a crowd...after only seeing the top of my head...and call me "grandma" was nearly too much!
I immediately texted two of my sisters and told them "I'm old!" Both did their best to "text-console" me. My sister, Lisa, texted , "Two-year olds are not noted for their judgement. I wouldn't let it bother you." When I refused to be comforted by that comment, she texted back, "Again, he was two. From his perspective, a four-year old looks old." Easy for her to say. She's 13 years younger than me!
I don't know. I'm sure I'll get over this. Someday. I just never knew that a smiling little two-year old could be so vicious. And somewhere out there, his grandma thinks he's adorable. Okay, he kinda was.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sunshine in Seattle
What a day! This morning, my husband, and I hopped a bus and headed to Seattle for the day. This little adventure has been on our calendar for nearly a month. And boy did we luck out! I had to keep reminding myself that it is February and not May. It was beautiful! Clear blue skies, bright sunshine, balmy temps and trees and flowers already in bloom.
It's been a LONG time since the two of us have wandered around Seattle. Both of us have lived in the city at various times and actually met and were married at Bethany Community Church in the Green Lake area of the Emerald City.
So today was a treat to play tourist in some favorite downtown attractions. If you've been to Seattle, you've probably been to the famous Pike Place Market. At the vary least, you've seen Tom Hanks strolling towards it in "Sleepless in Seattle." Well, today I think that most of the city must have been there. We saw all types from the strange to the wonderful!
It's been a LONG time since the two of us have wandered around Seattle. Both of us have lived in the city at various times and actually met and were married at Bethany Community Church in the Green Lake area of the Emerald City.
So today was a treat to play tourist in some favorite downtown attractions. If you've been to Seattle, you've probably been to the famous Pike Place Market. At the vary least, you've seen Tom Hanks strolling towards it in "Sleepless in Seattle." Well, today I think that most of the city must have been there. We saw all types from the strange to the wonderful!
(Can you pick out Tom in the crowd?)
As we say in Washington, "The mountains were out." This just means that, from the Olympics to Mt. Rainier, there were mountains in view in every direction. As the day went on, the temperatures warmed a bit and suddenly there were people wearing shorts (yeah, even though I noticed that a couple of girls walking ahead of us in their shorts had goosebumps all over their legs). A little bit of sun makes us Pacific Northwesterners go a bit crazy!
(Sun-worshipers Seattle-Style)
We wandered, shopped, ate lunch and then stopped for some coffee at a sidewalk coffee shop. I mean, we're in Seattle...we've got to have our coffee! So we did a little people watching while we soaked up the sun and sipped on our coffee.
(To-Starbucks-or- Not-to-Starbucks? Not, today!)
When we decided to head home, we ended up missing our bus by a few minutes which turned out to be a blessing. It gave us another half an hour to sit in the sun under trees in full bloom and watch some kids having a blast climbing the metal sculptures outside of one of the office buildings. This was better than therapy!
(The city in bloom...in February!)
What a day! It doesn't matter that the weather forecast calls for rain by Tuesday! We got our little bit of heaven today!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Safe
If your heart is bruised and broken, if your trust has been shattered and betrayed, if your strength is simply gone, this is a reminder that you are NOT alone. You are safe in His arms.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Reminder of Our Influence...
"The life I touch for good or ill will touch
another life, and that in turn, another,
until who knows where the trembling stops
or in what far place my touch will be felt."
~Frederick Buechner
another life, and that in turn, another,
until who knows where the trembling stops
or in what far place my touch will be felt."
~Frederick Buechner
Friday, February 12, 2010
Random Stuff
I'm getting sick. For the past four days I've been battling a sore throat. And when I woke up this morning my throat felt hot and thick. I should have just stayed home from work, but I had a few things that I needed to take care of in case this turns out to be more than just a cold. So, even though I didn't feel like it, I got ready and headed off to work.
It was still dark on my drive to the office. I had the radio on as I usually do and was flipping through the various stations. One of the DJs was introducing a YouTube video from the Bonnie Hunt show. They were about to play the audio portion. This absolutely made my morning! Watch this and you'll see what I mean.
How cute is that? I just wanted to grab little Savannah and give her a hug and a high five! Right on, you're my hero for the day! So far, so good!
I was still smiling from listening to Savannah when I noticed the license plate on the car ahead of me. It didn't really register at first. Then suddenly it dawned on me what it said. "Godis4U" Amen! What a great reminder on a Friday morning when I'm feeling pretty punk. God IS for ME! That's really all I needed to know.
I ended up leaving work early. That's very unusual for me, but I was feeling the energy drain out of me the longer I was there.
Now I have a three-day weekend ahead of me. I'm hoping that I won't end up spending the entire time in bed. But if I do, there will be plenty to watch on TV since tonight is the opening of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. We are across-the-border-neighbors to the Olympics. And every summer for the past five years, my sisters and I have spent a few days up at Whistler. It will be fun to see if I can recognize any of our favorite locations in Whistler village.
So I'm in my jammies...just like Savannah...and I'm just going to take it easy and hope for the best. And I've gotta say, "So far, so good!"
It was still dark on my drive to the office. I had the radio on as I usually do and was flipping through the various stations. One of the DJs was introducing a YouTube video from the Bonnie Hunt show. They were about to play the audio portion. This absolutely made my morning! Watch this and you'll see what I mean.
How cute is that? I just wanted to grab little Savannah and give her a hug and a high five! Right on, you're my hero for the day! So far, so good!
I was still smiling from listening to Savannah when I noticed the license plate on the car ahead of me. It didn't really register at first. Then suddenly it dawned on me what it said. "Godis4U" Amen! What a great reminder on a Friday morning when I'm feeling pretty punk. God IS for ME! That's really all I needed to know.
I ended up leaving work early. That's very unusual for me, but I was feeling the energy drain out of me the longer I was there.
Now I have a three-day weekend ahead of me. I'm hoping that I won't end up spending the entire time in bed. But if I do, there will be plenty to watch on TV since tonight is the opening of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. We are across-the-border-neighbors to the Olympics. And every summer for the past five years, my sisters and I have spent a few days up at Whistler. It will be fun to see if I can recognize any of our favorite locations in Whistler village.
So I'm in my jammies...just like Savannah...and I'm just going to take it easy and hope for the best. And I've gotta say, "So far, so good!"
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
An Antidote!
Just a quick update. I believe that an antidote to the FarmVille addiction has been found! Do you remember my friend, Sue, who I introduced you to in a previous post? She's the FarmVille addict. Well I think she's on her way to recovery. And the cure was so simple!
Here it comes...Sue became a grandma last week! She now has a sweet little granddaughter who seems to have replaced FarmVille on her top priority list! And why wouldn't she, she's adorable. Since little Torrun Lucy entered the world last Wednesday, harvesting crops and buying barns seems to be a poor substitute to loving on baby!
So, if you find yourself wanting to kick the FarmVille habit, see if you can't find a baby to love. And if you come up short with that, how about a puppy?
Here it comes...Sue became a grandma last week! She now has a sweet little granddaughter who seems to have replaced FarmVille on her top priority list! And why wouldn't she, she's adorable. Since little Torrun Lucy entered the world last Wednesday, harvesting crops and buying barns seems to be a poor substitute to loving on baby!
So, if you find yourself wanting to kick the FarmVille habit, see if you can't find a baby to love. And if you come up short with that, how about a puppy?
Friday, February 5, 2010
Holding Loosely
Have you ever been to the ocean and stood where the incoming waves swirl around your feet, washing away the sand beneath them? A strong enough wave can actually wash away enough sand to completely knock you off balance.
This happened to me when I was a child; the swirling waters stripped the sand away from under me and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back, swallowing the salty water rushing over my face. I have never completely made peace with water and waves. To me, they just can't be trusted because they change so quickly.
That's kind of the way life is at times. Just when you think you have a firm foothold, the waves of change flood over you, knocking you off your feet. And at times, it feels like you're drowning under those salty, rushing waves. It's unsettling. It's painful. It's the way life is.
I'm finding that there are two things I need to do in such times. First, hold tightly to God because He will never change. Second, hold loosely to the things of this life because they will never stop changing. These days, I find myself holding all the more tightly with one hand even while working to loosen the grip of the other.
This happened to me when I was a child; the swirling waters stripped the sand away from under me and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back, swallowing the salty water rushing over my face. I have never completely made peace with water and waves. To me, they just can't be trusted because they change so quickly.
That's kind of the way life is at times. Just when you think you have a firm foothold, the waves of change flood over you, knocking you off your feet. And at times, it feels like you're drowning under those salty, rushing waves. It's unsettling. It's painful. It's the way life is.
I'm finding that there are two things I need to do in such times. First, hold tightly to God because He will never change. Second, hold loosely to the things of this life because they will never stop changing. These days, I find myself holding all the more tightly with one hand even while working to loosen the grip of the other.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Happy Birthday!
It's birthday time! Can you smell the cake baking? It's angel food...just like every year.
Tomorrow is my husband, Bud's, birthday and I want to wish him a wonderful birthday! I won't tell you how old he is...but I will say that for a whole five days, he is TWO years older than me! I love that!
So to my wonderful husband, I pray that you will be touched by God's love in a special way on your birthday. And also that you will know how much I love you!
Happy birthday, Sweetheart!
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