Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Introducing Oliver!
We are in love with our newborn grandson, Oliver! He was born on November 26, 2016. and just spent his first night at home. He is a precious gift and we are thankful for him.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
November, Thanksgiving!
November is a month of giving thanks - for Thanksgiving Day, of course, and for the many occasions our family also celebrates during the month. Ben and Kristen plus Jeremy and Michala have wedding anniversaries. Michala, Skye, and I have birthdays! We just celebrated Skye's fourteenth birthday. So many images of her come to mind. I am grateful that she has always lived near me and that I have been able to go to church with her, hear her ring handbells, enjoy cooking and gardening, and art with her. She is lovely, inside and out. Happy Birthday, Skye!
Saturday, November 12, 2016
First 5K
I have loved watching my granddaughters grow. Lauren, Skye, Maddie, Jordann, and Nora have been the dearest blessings as they grow and change and meet each "first" thing- crawling, walking, running, skipping. First smile, first goodbye wave, first words, first books. Jordann made us proud this week as she completed her first 5K run, with her Daddy by her side. She got ready for her race by training after school with Girls on the Run, a program that teaches life skills which celebrate the joy of movement. www.girlsontherun.org
I applaud Jordann for working toward her goal of this 5K, for her persistence in pushing through even though she had a toe blister, and for all that she learned. I am a proud Granmary. And I am a proud Mom because my son did more than encourage her - he ran with her. With is a powerful thing.
I applaud Jordann for working toward her goal of this 5K, for her persistence in pushing through even though she had a toe blister, and for all that she learned. I am a proud Granmary. And I am a proud Mom because my son did more than encourage her - he ran with her. With is a powerful thing.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Starting Christmas
Everyone has their own idea about when it is the right time to start Christmas. I don't mean shopping early (I am an all year long Christmas shopper, and make every effort to avoid going into stores after the middle of November!) or seeing decorations hung on city streets as early as Halloween. I understand that many resist being encouraged to begin thinking Christmas thoughts before Thanksgiving. But I believe Christmas is more than decorations or gift exchanges, and seasonal foods. We need Christmas, the deep peace of knowing that God is with us, all the time, and it does not seem strange to me that this bubbles up at times with a desire for little things that show that need. For years, I have treated myself to beginning listening to my beloved Christmas music on my birthday, which is coming up soon. So I was really not surprised a couple of months ago when our 2 year old granddaughter Nora, began asking for a Mismas Tree. Perhaps she had seen the decorations when they went into the garage closet when we moved this summer. Perhaps she saw a picture of a tree. But suddenly she was insistent. She begged for a Mismas Tree with a star. Her mom obligingly got this little tree out of the closet, we plugged in the lights, and then Nora wanted a star. I cut one from cardboard for her and offered to cover it with foil. She passed on the foil and I lifted her as high as I could for her to put her star where she wanted it.
So there is the start of our Christmas, before September's song or Halloween. Note the pumpkins nearby! We will do the rest of our decorating soon, since baby Oliver is due to make his appearance around Thanksgiving! "For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
So there is the start of our Christmas, before September's song or Halloween. Note the pumpkins nearby! We will do the rest of our decorating soon, since baby Oliver is due to make his appearance around Thanksgiving! "For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Friday, October 28, 2016
Nora's Family Tree
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Today my sweet Mother, Opal Terrell Teal would be 103 years old. She died 10 years ago, a month short of her 93rd birthday. I miss her still, and while thinking of her I think of so many things about her that I miss, things that remind me of her.
she played the first piano notes I ever heard,
loved all the old Baptist hymns plus
Rustic Dance and I Love You a Bushel and a Peck
took me to piano lessons and made sure I practiced
when I played my piano today, it was a tribute to her
she found the prettiest cloth to make my dresses
smoothing fabric on her bed, laying the tissue patterns, cutting with care
sitting for hours at her Singer
in front of the window where Hawthorne bloomed
pinning and fitting before hand-stitching hems
and teaching me that, too
she brought me yellow roses when I was a young mother of 3 sons
Tyler roses, tight yellow buds in a bunch
in her last years there were petals of yellow sticky notes
to remind me she loved me
I miss her laughter,
the magazine and newspaper clippings she used to send in letters
she had the most beautiful handwriting
I miss the way she loved coffee
the way she smelled of face powder and Tide
I miss sitting by her,
her wrinkled hands clapping with joy or clasped in prayer
clinging by faith until it was by sight
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Fall Garden
One of the consolations or our summer heat is the arrival of our second growing season, our fall garden. We again grow a salad bowl of lettuces - Romaine, Red and
Green Leaf and Butter lettuce thrive, and cold weather veggies like cabbage, collards, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, and chard begin to thrive.
We plant old favorite herbs in the new beds as well - basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, sage, and Mexican mint marigold, the Texas offering which tastes like Tarragon, which does not grow well here. Our garden is one more thing which makes us feel at home in our new surroundings.
Green Leaf and Butter lettuce thrive, and cold weather veggies like cabbage, collards, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, and chard begin to thrive.
We plant old favorite herbs in the new beds as well - basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, sage, and Mexican mint marigold, the Texas offering which tastes like Tarragon, which does not grow well here. Our garden is one more thing which makes us feel at home in our new surroundings.
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