Veteran's Day

 

Many, if not most, of the young men graduating from

high school in 1943 entered military service.

It was the war in which most everyone felt a part: World War II.

My father didn't enlist in 1943 due to, I believe, a health issue.

 

He attended the University of Arkansas and found himself in a minority group

of young men on campus: most were serving overseas.

Dad did, however, serve in the U.S. Army a few years later

and was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.

His artistic ability was put to use and he served as a draftsman.

 

So I don't have any dramatic war stories of my father

serving in the war. But I've come to appreciate

his willingness to serve, his heart for and love of country.

 

This Veteran's Day I thank all men and women who

have done as my father did. Whether drafted or not,

whether serving in WW II, the unpopular Vietnam War or a non-combat role,

those who served reveal to me a selfless love of country.

God bless them all.

 

 

where's Popsy/Katie/your dog/the basement?

Some people my age resist it but I'm crazy about today's technology. Grandchildren 400 miles away can chat with us while they eat dinner. Today we visited with Lily while she stood at the kitchen counter munching turkey, cheese and grapes for lunch. Not even two, she's already savvy enough to lean toward the phone so that her face fills the screen and give us a big, virtual kiss. Incredible! Ethan was napping on the couch so we got to see him, too.

Two nights ago we shared dinner time with Ari (almost 4) and Ashlyn, two-and-a-half. As soon as I appeared on the screen, Ari asked, "where's Popsy and Katie?" Ashlyn piped up, "where's your doggie?" And Ari insisted on seeing the basement, so I marched downstairs, holding the ipad so she could have a basement tour.

Thank you to our daughters-in-love who take time out of their days to keep their babies connected with us! It will only get more fun as the children get older and can carry longer conversations.

My grandparents could never have imagined this. (And in fact, Bill's mom has face-timed with her great-grandchildren. She's completely amazed.)

eviction = date night

Tonight our sweet, non-confrontational 23-year-old daughter politely asked if we might leave the house for a few hours. How could we say no? She planned to host her Bible study group ... most of whom are young married couples (I think that's kinda funny) and they had a special project in mind. More on that later.

We are hopeless homebodies. We fix dinner, we might watch some TV and dabble on our computers. That is the usual extent of our evenings. So when we realized THIS IS THE DAY and we had to figure out something to do, PAST DARK, it took until 1 o'clock to nail it down. We checked movie listings and made a plan.

Off we went at 3:30 for a 4:30 showing of a new movie that must be seen to be believed; I cannot adequately describe 12 Years a Slave. True stories always get me and this one happened in the mid-19th century, to a man named Solomon. Go see it and be prepared to cry and horrified that this happened in our country.

After the movie we hit Sam's Club for their well-priced cheese and pecans and honey. Then on to Trader Joe's for olive oil and more. I'm so sorry if you don't have a Trader Joe's anywhere near you! We're kind of like the farmers who come to town once a month for supplies in that our town of Delaware isn't so handy to the aforementioned.

Finally we had a late (so late I felt European) bite to eat at Chick-fil-A. Oh their sandwiches are yummy.

All this landed us home past 9 p.m., so very late for us country bumpkins. But it was a nice date, all because our daughter evicted us. Thanks, Katie! (Her group made a bunch of food for someone who's gluten-free. Wasn't that thoughtful?)

farewell, October!?

October is one of my favorite months but it seemed to slip right by me this year

with barely a nod. So cliché, but where does the time go?

Dan and Jenny, do you recognize the background? That's right, the beautiful spot where you were married! (And Mark and Jill's reception.) Two weeks ago our good friends Steve and Grace stopped for a couple nights. After a hike at Gallant Woods, Grace and I stopped here at Lehner's for pumpkins. Gorgeous autumn day!

Grace with Ellie at Gallant Woods

 

We also had that fun, soggy weekend with Mark, Jill, Lily and Ethan in D.C. earlier in October. And I started a part-time job in October ... I guess that has a way of making the time fly. I'm a mother's helper to a wonderful homeschooling family with six children! They needed an extra pair of hands: it's fun and my 4 hours there, three days a week, go quickly. I'm loving it.



 

What else in October?

My oldest, David, turned 30.

And my daughter-in-love Jenny also had a birthday.

The baseball season slides into the post season

and the World Series happens.

(Poo you Red Sox.)

Daylight savings time ends. This causes me to battle feelings of

sadness. I do NOT like darkness at 5 p.m.!

 

And raking, oh the raking. We have lots of trees in our yard

and usually rake two or three times. It gets kinda old and reminds me

of autumn in Connecticut. The raking here is nothing like the raking there.

My 3 siblings and I would "draw" lines through the leaves in our front yard,

evenly dividing the work. It was an incredible task.

 

Sadly, Bill and I biked very little this fall.

Dad's death, baby Ethan's birth, trips, job, the weather.

Biking is on hold til spring, I guess.

 

October biking, two years ago.

 

And so it's November.

I'm beginning to think about Thanksgiving

and Christmas (being with ALL our family!) 

and some indoor projects over the winter.

And books, so many books! Winter, a good time to read.

I hope you had a lovely October!

 

 

happy national oatmeal day!

I understand today is National Oatmeal Day, so eat up! Don't like it, you say? Neither did my little campers at Girl Scout camp years ago. I made it my mission to teach them how to dress up oatmeal and enjoy it. Here you go:

Put 1/2 cup oats in microwave-safe bowl. (I like old-fashioned but quick work too)
Toss in craisins and/or raisins
Add 1 cup water and microwave for 2 minutes.

Add any or all:
butter
brown sugar
cinnamon
nuts of any sort: pecans, cashews, almonds
a scoop of crunchy peanut butter or almond butter
bananas would be ok; I don't prefer
chopped apple
milk
(my granddaughters eat plain yogurt on theirs. I can't do it.)

Mix until cool enough to eat. Add more milk if too thick. Who wants it thick as wallpaper paste??

Friends, this is a CHEAP, quick and nutritious breakfast. Eat up and let me know how you liked your oatmeal!

a wet weekend to meet Ethan

I promised a post on our latest travels, but the past week filled right up. So here goes.

We drove east two weeks ago, pulling in at our son Mark and wife Jill's place late Wednesday afternoon. A light rain fell, just the beginning of a very wet weekend.

Since Mark and Jill live very close to the National Mall, we would have made a trip to see a monument, museum or the like .... however the government shut-down nixed that completely. Crazy timing. We went to a mall on Saturday, but a not-quite-two-year-old will have only so much shopping, ya know. (Playground under construction!)

 

So we read lots of books.

 

 

And colored. Lily's a whiz with flash cards, too!

 

 

This was our first time to see Ethan, born September 8.

So special! He's a super sweet, calm little guy.

Ethan also likes to hang his head back and stare up or out.

I'm sad I didn't get better photos of him.

Rain/darkness/naps worked against me. )-:

 

 

 

 

The rain kept us in much of the weekend, but

on Saturday we did get to a little pumpkin market

which Lily enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

Found it!

 

 

After church, lunch and a brief nap for Lily on Sunday,

we walked down to a small playground with Lily.

She just loves it and I love to see her play.

Mark snapped this!

 

 

And Lily snapped this!

Way to go, Lily - a budding photographer?

 

 

Swinging with "Dada."

 

 

A favorite ... what an angel.

 

 

Headed home!

 

 

Sometimes I still can't believe we have five grandchildren under age 4!

Thank you, Lord, for these sweet blessings and for my kids

who are amazing parents!

 

In the years to come, Ethan's birthday week will be a reminder of losing my dad, who died just 5 days after Ethan's birth. God gave me an incredible mix of hard loss of Dad and sweet gain of precious Ethan.

"He gives and takes away."

 

 

Happy birthday, Jenny!

Many years ago I began praying for the people my children would marry. It was a new idea for me, but some special friends prayed for their children and I thought, why not?

And isn't God amazing? He brought two wonderful young women to our family to marry two of our sons. The first was Jenny, who met my son Dan at college. They married right after they graduated in 2007.

In a few short years Jenny has gone from the girl Dan brought home from college to his devoted wife, mother of 3 sweet little ones, beginning homeschooler, fantastic cook and gardener. She's our "let's play a game!" cheerleader. She's also relaxing into this tough season of motherhood, trying to enjoy them, guide them, love them.

You're a blessing to me, Jenny. You teach me things and listen to me and make me laugh. You challenge my thinking and inspire me. I love you and (because your birthday today has been a bit of a challenge) wish you a happy birthday week!