Sixteen years later……..
My baby girl and I will go out shopping for sweet little dancing shoes. We will skip up a sunny sidewalk in town to the seamstress shop and pick up her beautiful dress; a long, mint green gown, newly hemmed for her small stature. She will talk of lipstick, jewelry, nail polish, and love.
…….she will be going to Prom.
More than anything, my mind is opened up and my soul is refreshed by the written word. This list of books is for any of my friends here who like to read and would benefit from a good dose of grace.
Call the Midwife, series by Jennifer Worth
At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in postwar Lond’s East End slims. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, Call the Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone. ~From the back of the book
Those who perform a service well must do so without judgement. The women in this book who serve their community as nurses and midwives do so in a way that will leave you breathless because they value and learn from those they serve. These are stories of true need, heartache, and love. Squeaky-clean Christians would do well to read these messy-beautiful humble stories that will make you laugh and cry.
“Now and then in life, love catches you unawares, illuminating the dark corners of your mind, and filling them with radiance. Once in a while you are faced with a beauty and a joy that takes your soul, all unprepared, by assault.” Jennifer Worth
(also a great TV series on PBS!)
Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, it also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.
“I found out everybody’s different – the same kind of different as me. We’re all just regular folks walkin down the road God done set in front of us. The truth about it is, whether we is rich or poor or something in between, this earth ain’t no final restin place. So in a way, we is all homeless – just workin our way toward home” Denver Moore
Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman
What would happen if we let grace pour out boundless acceptance into our worn-out hearts and undo us? If we dared to talk about the ways we hid, our longing to be known, and the fear in the knowing? Emily Freeman invites you to release your tight hold on that familiar, try-hard life and lean your weight heavy into the love of Jesus. ~from back cover
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, by David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen
No one should leave church feeling manipulated, controlled, shamed, or condemned. But places of shelter and encouragement can become abusive if spiritual leaders begin to use their authority to meet their needs for importance, power, or spiritual gratification. Here you’ll discover how to identify an abusive church and also how to break free from its destructive legalism. Insightful, practical, and solidly grounded in Scripture, this book has what you need to recover a grace-filled relationship with God and His church.
Families Where Grace is in Place, by Jeff Van Vonderen
Here is a message about how God’s grace can transform relationship within a marriage and family. The first step is learning the simple difference between God’s job and ours. God’s part is to fix and change. Our responsibility is to depend on the Holy Spirit, serve our families, and help to equip them to be all they can be. ~back cover
Freedom From Performing, by Becky Harling
My aunt read this book and knew my heart needed the message, too. I will always treasure her copy of the book that she gave to me, full of her underlines and notes.
For years, author Becky Harling lived for the rave reviews of others, until God directed her from performance-driving theatrics to a leading role as a grace-motivated follower of Jesus. She only needed to be herself, and so do you. ~back cover
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
The late Lewis, Oxford professor, scholar, author, and Christian apologist, presents the listener with a case for orthodox Christianity. This is definitely not the shouting, stomping, sweating, spitting televangelist fare so often parodied; Lewis employs logical arguments that are eloquently expressed. ~quote from Michael T. Fein on amazon.com
I love Lewis’ honesty as he writes in a logical way regarding Christianity. The words he writes about “religious” people and their pride make me want to shout “Amen!” There is good reason that this book is considered a classic. I learned much from Mere Christianity at just the right time in my spiritual journey.
What’s so Amazing about Grace? by Philip Yancy
Recommended to me by my friend Christie, years ago. This is one of the first books I read that showed me the practical ways grace is lived out.
In What’s So Amazing About Grace? award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level. If grace is God’s love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy?
“Having spent time around “sinners” and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the “saints” put on airs, judged him, and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end it was the “saints”, not the “sinners”, who arrested Jesus.” Philip Yancey
101 Cups of Water, by C.D. Baker
My friend Kathy discovered this book a few years ago and bought me a copy. It was a much needed dose of real grace for both of us.
For every time you’ve tried too hard, fell too far, or struggled too much, the refreshing cups in this book–or reminders of God’s infinite grace and mercy–will renew you like cool, clear water after a long, dry walk on a dusty, pitted, uphill road.
“I’ve been a believing Christian since childhood,” author C. David Baker explains, “but it’s my personal failures that have led me to the deep well of Grace.”
David poured his dashed hopes, broken dreams, haunting doubts, and paralyzing fear down that well and found all that’s collected here, all he, like you, needs for living with peace, joy, and purpose: cool cups of relief, comfort, revival, and sustenance.
Because Water Is Life ~from amazon.com book description
He Loves Me, by Wayne Jacobsen
My friend Hannah read this one first and sent it to me. She knew I would benefit from Jacobsen’s words, too.
“So many Christians believe God’s love is fickle: when they sin, He turns away in disgust and anger. They vacillate between “He loves me” and “He loves me not” because of their behavior. That reasoning, writes Wayne Jacobsen, is as flawed as pulling petals from a daisy. Rather God’s love is sturdy, enduring, and undisturbed by people’s failings because God loves humankind not for what they do–but who they are. They are God’s beloved creation.”
Tattoos on the Heart, The Power of Boundless Compassion, by Greg Boyle
The latest book in my journey of discovery regarding God’s grace and love, this book was so gripping that I immediately sent a copy to a kindred spirit friend. It blew us both away. Why? Because this man LIVES out grace. The book he wrote is rich-full of his thoughts and stories as he works with and learns from the gangs in his neighborhood.
For twenty years, Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.
Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JCPenney fresh out of prison, we learn how to feel worthy of God’s love. From ten-year-old Lula we learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Pedro we understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the darkness. In each chapter we benefit from Boyle’s gentle, hard-earned wisdom.
These essays about universal kinship and redemption are moving examples of the power of unconditional love and the importance of fighting despair. Gorgeous and uplifting, Tattoos on the Heart reminds us that no life is less valuable than another.
***
As I write about these books, I am struck by how they all came into my life at just the time I was ready to read them. That’s God for you! I hope that they are a blessing to you, as well.
Happy Grace-Full Reading!
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. Zeph. 3:17
Rich and Ethan worked together on Sunday morning. But first, they gazed into the waters of the pond, longing to see their beloved fish. They saw three under the dock, two by the pipe, and one near the shore.
I spent the entire day on Saturday worried about Sarah because she was running a fever and complaining of a headache. After her surgery on the 3rd and her procedure on the 10th, everything in me wanted to rush her to the hospital for fear she had an infection, but logic and my husband held me back. Thankfully, on Sunday she woke up fine but pale so we stayed home from church to give her a day of rest. (Rich didn’t want to go without me because he’s going to be away half of this week on a business trip.)
The chicken coop needed its spring clean-out. Rich let Ethan drive the tractor for the first time and the two of them scraped all of the old bedding and hen droppings out of the coop and drove them in the bucket to the vegetable garden.
I watched from the porch as Rich coached Ethan VERY thoroughly in turning the tractor back around. I wondered why so much laughing was happening, and why Rich was so interested in Ethan turning around “just so” when Ethan has been driving for over a year now……
And why on earth Ethan found it all so very funny……and then…..I saw what was happening…….
Rich was instructing Ethan to back over my shoes which I had kicked off while cleaning up my flower beds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good boy, E, for not doing it!
After they got all the old bedding into the garden, Rich rototilled it all into the dirt. I asked him three times NOT to disturb my beloved rhubarb, and he asked me to come over and show him exactly where it was. And what did I see through the window when I was in the house making lunch? Something that very much looked like running over AND digging through the very spot I had showed him NOT to disturb. “Did you dig up my rhubarb?” I asked as soon as I got the chance. “I might have,” he said sorrowfully. I. could.not.believe.it. “Why did you ask me to show you where it was when you were just going to run it over anyway?” I cried. He said, “You are acting like I did it on purpose! I didn’t! I just forgot it was there!”
I cannot tell you how many times over the years that this man has forgotten “something was there” in the garden or lawn and ran it over, mowed it down, or dug it up. And then he wonders why I get upset. After all, it was only an innocent accident!
(You would think he would be more understanding when I ACCIDENTALLY put his clothes in his son’s dresser! )
David went to his favorite “junk” store downtown and bought an army jacket for 15 dollars. He said there was a name on it that the lady picked off with a seam ripper first, because the man didn’t want his name out in public. David had me wash and dry his jacket, although he did enjoy smelling like the store for a day. (aromatherapy)
David was instructed to prune back branches and briars from the edge of the property and guess what he did? Because he is his father’s son, he also cut down one of my favorite white birch trees! And then when I reprimanded him he got offended and hurt that I was upset and bringing it up repeatedly. He thought I had a mean expression on my face and was treating him unlovingly! Am I really expected to hold these men in my arms and soothe them by saying “there, there” when they accidentally destroy all my plants? He spent a bit of time with his friend Michael cleaning up the tree and all the many branches. There is a pile out by the driveway to be burned.
I didn’t get pictures of Grace’s first driving lesson. She drove my car (with her Dad in the passenger seat and Ethan in the back) from the top driveway to the lower driveway. Sarah and I leaned over the porch railing clutching our hearts and watching, running from railing to railing to keep an eye on her. When Grace got out, Sarah yelled “Good job, Grace! You only made two mistakes!” She was very proud of her sister. Ethan got out of the back with a look on his face that said, “Did you see that mom it was scary.” Grace had a bounce in her step and thought she did well. “Although I don’t think Dad realized at first that when he yelled at me to do something it would make me do it faster.” (like brake?)
Grace read her book all over the place. On couch, on porch, on patio, on swing. She was reading a Janette Oke book, remember those?
I began planting spring bulbs. I saw worms! I accidentally cut one in two, as a matter of fact.
Rich took me to admire the freshly cleaned chicken coop.
Caleb was coaching his friend Logan across the stream. Logan was yelling nervously, “Caleb! I’m on a wobbly rock!” Once he was safely to the other side, I heard Coach Caleb inform him that it had taken entirely too long.
I sat on the back of the truck and watched the birds come to the feeder which I hung in the bushes by the driveway. They were chirping and peeping and fluttering all over the place. It was quite dizzying. As soon as one took a seed, it flew to a branch to eat it while another bird quickly took it’s place at the feeder to do the same, and over and over they took turns.
There was a male cardinal moving about in the leaves underneath. I did so want a photo– but they all looked like this:
FINALLY, after much patience on my part, the cardinal went into an open space:
I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The neatest thing happened while I was watching. All of a sudden, another cardinal way off in the distance called, and this one IMMEDIATELY without hesitation flew away to see what it wanted. I wish my kids were like that. 😉
We can’t keep kids or cats away from our beautiful Christmas tree! And it makes me smile.
Hello my friends. Rich and I are together today. We went downtown for breakfast and then to the mall to finish up our shopping. We are home now. He has his feet up on the coffee table and my feet are on his lap along with his laptop. And, I have my laptop, too. Parker is next to me licking his leg loudly and Gentleman Gray is curled up on a blanket at the end of the couch. It’s dark and pouring rain outside. Poor Caleb will not get snow for Christmas this year, I’m afraid.
Have I mentioned that Rich is the head coach for our school’s wrestling team? The first tournament was on Saturday and I got right up at the crack of dawn with him and rode with the team on the bus to the location, which was an hour away. Seth and Sarah came, too. Grace came along because she’s the team manager. It’s a family affair.
Here is a picture of Ethan after he won a match. The assistant coach is talking things over with him, his name is Jim. Little brother Seth is hanging around wanting to say “good job” to his big brother. ‘Cause that’s what you do.
Ethan is pretty intense so it’s nice when he cracks a slight smile.
handshake
Later on, Ethan got bloody and lost a match. There’s his Dad in the background, and Coach Jim is about to take his arm and lead him to the trainer to get cleaned up. Oh and there’s Seth again.
Here is a picture of Ethan right after he won another match. All in all, he did very well. He wants to do nothing but win, his heart is in the right place, but this time he lost 2 and won 2. Ethan is a senior this year and we have high hopes that he will continue to do well in wrestling, and then he will move on to baseball. Before we know it he will graduate, and I hate to say this but it looks like he’s heading for the service after graduation. I’m trying not to think about it but stay tuned because by God’s grace that blog post will eventually be written.
THESE TWO ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grace and her suitor. I took their picture from clear across the gym because I can’t help myself.
*****
I hope your Christmas plans are all coming together. I have decorated the house. I have bought and wrapped the gifts. I have planned a Christmas Eve brunch. I have made cookies….but they have all been eaten so I plan on making more if I can gather up enough interest…I feel as though I don’t really need to eat anymore cookies. I’ve been reading books instead of baking. One of my favorite authors is Janice Holt Giles, who wrote books in the 1960’s. “Pre internet” fiction is my favorite, it seems less spoiled and more sincere. I read her book, Hannah Fowler years and years ago–many times, and finally got around to reading several more of her books which I picked up at library booksales. I finished Tara’s Healing yesterday and then started Savanna. I would be interested in knowing if there are anymore Giles fans out there!
David’s bus will arrive in half an hour so I have just enough time to read a few more chapters before the late afternoon rush of children/homework/wrestling practice/dinner begins.
You are loved. ~Shanda
If you’re alone, I’ll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I’ll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I’ll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I’ll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I’ll just be me. ~Author Unknown
As promised, today I would like to show you the photos that I took at the Madrigal performance on Saturday. The group sang at this old house-turned-museum, which was decorated to the hilt for Christmas. The community had it open for the public to come in and enjoy, free of charge, with a donation box for those who could give a little. There was also a small craft table for children to enjoy, a gift shop with reasonably priced Christmas items for sale, and refreshments.
small table tree, covered in decorations
paper dolls under the tree, artificial fruit bowl, ginger bread man, fruit garland.
This was a cobweb Christmas game. The children would each have their own color yarn to follow and as they went along the string they would come across small gifts to keep.
the main Christmas tree, with examples of gifts all over the floor underneath.
The clothesline was hung in the house at Christmas so that the children could each hang their own pillowcase on it, which would have their name on it and be filled with gifts.
The dining room…I loved the wallpaper in this room.
Garland and bows hung all around the tops of the walls.
I have two fireplace mantles at my house so I love to see examples for how they can be beautified for the holidays.
Now this is something that I could handle….simply placing pinecones along the windows.
The day after we visited the museum Sarah and I went in the woods to find some.
Another lovely mantel. So beautiful. Sarah thought the oranges at the tops of the stockings looked funny.
This was a Christmas idea for Grandmother, called a wonder ball. The family would unwind a ball of yard and then wind it back up again with little gifts inside of it for her to discover as she used it up in her knitting.
This pie plate was full of little gifts which were then covered over in bran. Each person at the table on Christmas day would use the spoon to lift a surprise gift…
This is a variation of the bran pie. This one is covered in paper with strings to pull a gift out through a slit in the paper.
“Festival decorations are not designed for close inspection but for general effect, and simple materials may be used with the most satisfactory results.” Vicks Floral Guild 1879
Sarah and I had time to explore the house and then it was time to listen to the Madrigals sing their lovely old fashioned Christmas hymns and carols.
Grace signing “Silent Night”
The audience had to stand through all the songs and I did feel sorry for the elderly folks. The man standing by the mantel propped himself up by his fingertips on the mantel…..but he loved hearing the children sing and at each invitation from the director to “please join us in singing this song” his beautiful old baritone voice could be heard singing.
Grace and I have been listening to a beautiful Christmas album by Elizabeth Mitchell while we work on a Nativity puzzle. This is the song Grace wants to listen to over and over…….(the whole album is on youtube for you to enjoy)
I’m so homesick for Jesus and Heaven. Isn’t it wonderful that this world is not our home….we’re just a passing through. In the meantime, we can fix our eyes on Him and know He never leaves us alone. He loves us so much. At this time of year it’s comforting to snuggle up close to Him and thank Him for all He has done.
She dresses up in this pretty gown for her school singing group.
The Madrigals travel our local towns, singing at Christmas time in centers, malls, clubs, and so on. Today they sang at a beautifully decorated old house, decorated in the Victorian style for Christmastime. Before we left, we crossed the road into the woods for a few portraits.
In my next blog post I will share photos of the house and the performance.
(very inspiring!)
My daughters are reading these books: Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery, and Lucy Steps Through the Wardrobe. Good, wholesome, soul-full, beautiful books. There’s nothing like pre-internet literature, in my opinion.
As I mentioned yesterday, dear daughter Grace turned 16.
She’s a confident, takes -her- responsibilities -seriously, friend -to -all type of young woman.
She gets ideas and she follows through.
Last week she came home and told me she taught an elective (one time) class with another teacher and she enjoyed it. The kids who signed up for the class enjoyed it, too.
She might be a teacher one day, and if she is….she’ll be a great one.
She’s working on ASL fluency. She has so many ideas about that, too.
I have this photo of her when she was seven.
Larissa delivered the cakes yesterday and helped get the room ready for a simple family dinner and cake night.
Grace requested shrimp scampi for dinner. Costco sells it frozen, and it’s very easy to prepare. While the noodles are boiling, all you need to do is dump the scampi in another skillet and heat.
We also had fresh fruit (grapes, raspberries, blackberries), a dish of diced tomatoes as a topper to the pasta for those who wished, and broccoli. There was apple cider to drink.
While I was busy getting the last things on the table, I found Caleb giving his sister a hug.
We had an early dinner because Seth and Caleb had football practice. So we ate and then let Grace open her bag of gifts.
There was an uproar about finding the football gear but I finally got out the door with the boys…only to discover once we got to the field that Seth had forgotten his helmet and Caleb didn’t have practice, he had a movie night with the team at the Coach’s house.
On the way back home I listened to the radio.
Rich came home and we had some snuggle time on the couch until he went to pick up the boys.
8pm — delicious cake and ice cream to celebrate our beautiful Grace Lillian.
She was born around 3 a.m. in the morning. She was the first labor and delivery I smiled through, thanks to a first-time epidural.
Our precious baby daughter had arrived, after two boys. Oh how fun it was to dress her up in little girl clothes and to see her brothers fall in love with their tiny sister. She was 5 pounds and 13 ounces when she was born….my smallest baby.
We have had 16 blessed years with our girl and we are forever grateful for the opportunity to raise her and love her.
There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day. ~Alexander Woollcott
To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Jacob and Emily weren’t able to join us for cake because they were working.
(individual ice cream cups made serving so much easier)
waving the smoke away
The cake had raspberry filling.
(If you’re reading this an you’re a local friend please stop by for a piece of cake. There is a lot left over.)
Rich and his daughter have a date planned to go and get her set up with her first bow. It’s what she has wanted for a long time now. She will add “archery” to her list of accomplishments very soon.
Be deeply satisfied and ready for more. ~Abraham–Hicks
Last night I woke up at 12:30 a.m. to my husband getting into bed after being gone on a business trip. He wasn’t away for very long – Monday through Thursday – but it felt much longer to me, I missed him terribly and welcomed him with open arms.
This morning we slept until 8…the children didn’t have school…I regretted teaching Seth my cell phone number because he kept calling it from the living room, basically right outside our door.
“What is taking too long for you to come out?” he asked in his wee small voice.
We eventually emerged and I got to work making sausage and pancakes for Ethan and his friend Mitch, and Grace, David, Caleb, Seth, Sarah, and Rich. Jacob was already up and out of the house. Did I tell you that he has his FIRST REAL JOB? He’s working at Dick’s Clothing and Sporting Goods as a shoe person. He’s going to be great.
I made blueberry pancakes and fried some eggs. Mitch ate his first fried egg from a family chicken rather than a grocery store carton.
By the time our slow relaxing morning and breakfast was over, it was 10. I needed to get some things at Costco so I asked “who wants to go with me” and soon we were leaving….me, Grace, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah.
I bought our needed supplies plus a big pumpkin for the front porch. David needed some duct tape in order to make a sheath for his new cold steel sword so after Costco we went to Target and Grace and I got matching flannel shirts.
It’s a PERFECT fall day, there is a touch of warmth and humidity in the air, it’s windy and the leaves look so pretty swirling down.
We gathered five eggs from the coop. Soon we will have too many to use up ourselves and I will give some away to my friends.
(song that Grace played while on our road trip)
*****
The Norman Rockwell Museum is one and a half hours away from our house, the perfect distance for a little road trip with Grace.
Grace has been busy at school.
I was beginning to miss my daughter.
Getting in the car and driving away from it all was the perfect solution.
We hit a detour which turned out to be pleasant because it took us right past a wonderful apple place, all situated on someone’s private property with a big old white house with mossy steps, dark red barns and charming little out buildings. One building was a bakery and we each picked out a pastry and hot apple cider.
Another small building contained for-sale items like crafts and antiques.
There were apples, pumpkins and fall decorations. There was also an ice cream window and charming places to sit all over the place, with homemade benches by the trees.
Less than fifteen minutes from our house, we wouldn’t have made this discovery without the “inconvenience” of a detour.
After a stop at the outlets, where Grace bought a purple dress and this sweater, we headed on down to Stockbridge, MA for the museum and oh my, what a lovely day we had for it. An early fall day, the air was clear and warm and scented with the smells of late-season trees, grasses, flowers, and acorns. I drank in the breeze like fine medicine.
Studying Norman Rockwell’s paintings never fails to warm my heart. I just love the stories he told in his work, simple sweet stories that he observed from small town life. The paintings are set within his time period, but still hold the familiar messages and tug on the heart-strings.
We began our visit by watching an educational video, much to Grace’s alarm because it was rather too much like school. But I think she enjoyed it nonetheless. The video was narrated by Norman’s son, Peter, which we thought was special. It was shown in a room filled with all the covers NR painted for The Saturday Evening Post.
After the video, we slowly walked through the gallery, studying each painting and looking at some of the pieces under glass, like Rockwell’s paint sets.
Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious and appreciative. Norman Rockwell
Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed. My fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American. I am a story teller. Norman Rockwell
We walked down to his last art studio, which was moved from Rockwell’s private home through the streets of Stockbridge, to it’s place on the museum property.
We stood in a group of people, listening to a lady speak informatively and fascinating about Norman and the things in the studio. For instance, he was a workaholic. There was a green sofa in the studio that he took naps on when he finally got too tired to continue painting. There were scratch marks in the wood floor from him cutting his canvasses. He loved drinking Coca-Cola and would have served you some if you stopped by to say hello…….
We walked around the grounds together.
There was a small self-serve refreshment area with drinks and snacks for sale, so she got a lemonade.
An appropriate message for the day.
I enjoyed a small coffee.
When we paid for admission to the museum, they gave us a little clip to wear on our shirt.
…my favorite part of the day is so simple yet always a delight to my heart….this quiet girl who doesn’t talk much to me at home (perhaps because there is so much competition for my attention from 6 siblings) opens up and talks and talks in the car when we are alone. There is nothing in the world like it. Listening to the stories as we travel along, just the two of us. And by the time we headed home the words were all used up and she played us songs from youtube, played on my phone through the speakers in the car and we sang….”Stand by Me” “Under the Boardwalk” “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” “The Wind beneath my Wings” “Count on Me” “Delilah” and so on…..
We left the museum and parked on the side of main street in Stockbridge to explore the town.
Our favorite place (you’ll never guess) was a little used book store/coffee shop. Grace never wanted to leave.
She quickly found a book and sat down to read while I browsed the titles.
“N A T U R E”
We left with tea in our hands and a bag of books.
The one I am reading now is almost impossible to put down. It’s a memoir entitled The Tender Bar, written by J.R. Moehringer.
A magical day, one I will not soon forget. We headed back toward home, stopping at Costco on the way, listening to Grace’s songs.
And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life. Norman Rockwell
Hello!
As many of you know on Fridays my mother posts one picture called “this moment”. However, today we’re doing something a little different.
My name is Grace and many of you have watched me grow up over the years. I am now 15 and this is my first blog post. in the future I hope to maybe start a blog of my own. First let’s see how I do with this one.
When I woke up this morning the first thing I realized was that the house was quiet. Very quiet. I walked around to find my mother, Seth, and Sarah outside reading and I was promptly informed that today was to be a day of NO ELECTRONICS. “So if you need to text any of your friends to let them know you’re not available do it now.” (David just now sat down next to me “what are you doing?” “I’m writing a blog” “YOU??” he says)
Soon after Emily came over we all packed books and games and everything we deemed necessary and set off for a neighboring park.
As we arrived mom told all of us to sit down in front of a tree saying that she, “wants to take a selfie.” This was met by a chorus of, “it’s not called a selfie!” “It’s called a groupie,” Jacob explained.
Yes, David is wearing a hat. There is a section in the park for skateboarding and Dave brought his scooter so he could do tricks. Mom told him that he must wear a helmet for such dangerous activity. Apparently we have no helmets and so mom settled for this winter hat. He says it made him feel weird but at least he didn’t get a concussion.
Right after taking this “groupie” I left the group with Sarah as a little tag along. We walked together until I started climbing trees and then she lost interest.
I love exploring.
I walked around the old abandoned high school that is now used for drills by the fire department. There were trees and stone walls and fences to climb and a river to follow. I found a waterfall just past the road and settled down to sketch it with my charcoals.
I was content.
Luke 12:27 – Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
When I finished I noticed that over an hour had passed since the group had last seen me and I made the decision to head back in case they were concerned.
They were not.
“What do you want to do when you grow up and when were you saved?” Emily asked me when I walked up. “I’m pursuing a career in deaf education and I was four.” “Oh, I asked all the others as well. We were talking about it.” Everyone was lying on a blanket except mom and Sarah and I asked where they were.
No one knew. Oh joy.
When they did appear (I think they went to look at the shops… I still don’t know). Mom started helping Seth and Sarah with the cartwheels.
When mom was my age she had the natural ability for gymnastics although she didn’t have professional training. She could do everything but backflips which she would only do when someone was spotting her. One time her gym teacher told her that she landed lighter than anyone he had ever seen. Her feet never made a sound.
Emily and I felt put to shame as we watched her on the other side of the field demonstrate a perfect roundoff but we soon were distracted by other things.
Ethan was on top of the dugout.
Immediately everyone else wanted to be up there too. Mom gave consent to everyone but Sarah. Sarah didn’t mind. She didn’t want to be up on that high high thing anyway. Then began the difficulty of how to get everyone up.
Jacob, for he is rather tall, handed Seth up to Ethan and then gave Emily a leg up. He jumped up himself and from there gave a hand to David and me. Problem solved.
“Okay, Jacob,” Mom called from below, “Now one without the pose.”
David began worrying about how he was going to get DOWN now that he was UP. Mom told us to relax and stay up there. She pretended to get ready to drive away. We were not very amused. One by one they all dropped down until it was just me reading and Seth as happy as he could be.
Down below we observed mom photographing David’s new talent.
Isn’t he something?
We tricked you! You see, those two feet actually belong to Caleb who is lying on D’s back. Mom took a similar photo years ago with Jacob and Ethan.
After Seth and I got down (with much help again from big brother Jay) we began on the next feat (pun not intended but now I’m amused) of the day. I’m not sure who’s idea this was…
After asking for permission, David, Caleb, and I set off to look around the shops. We went into the thrift store and Rustology, a store dedicated to old and rusty objects. David loves this store. He bought a coke bottle from 1923 that he wanted to add to his collection.
The store I wanted to go to was on the other side of the road and we spotted Jacob and Emily sitting together on a bench. “Be safe!” Jacob called across the street to us as we crossed traffic. What a fine young chap.
I bought an antique pair of twin candle sticks and the lady gave us all a seashell. Mom picked us up at the coffee shop.
We are now sitting in the living room. Dad is home on the couch and listening to a sermon. David is looking at cars and J and E are playing a video game. Mom is in her room. She has told me that she needs to read what I wrote before I can publish it.
So long, friends! Thanks for reading.
Good to be Home 