Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Compass Rose


The other day I sorted through some older e-mails and I found this picture, it was taken a few weeks before Chris got sick.  A group a ladies travel around the country and they volunteer to paint the compass rose at different airports.  On this day they painted the compass rose at the Richard Downing Airport in Coshocton, OH.  The ladies asked for volunteers who might want to help with painting.  At the far right are Chris and Caleb.  Just next to Chris is Dave, the one who sent the picture to me and he is now the one who mentors Caleb on Thursdays at MMS.  I have to admit that I had to fight back tears when I saw this again.  I marvel at the fact that even though the Lord allowed Caleb's father to be taken from his life, he HAS provided someone else to step in and provide some encouragement as he grows into manhood.  Again, I thank you Dave, for allowing the Lord to use you in Chris' son's life.   

Monday, December 22, 2008

Children's Christmas Musical

This past fall two ladies at our church started working with the children for our traditional children's musical, which is performed the Sunday evening before Christmas.  Kristine and Sandi worked most Sunday evenings for over and hour to get the children familiar with the music and ready for the performance.  Thank you ladies for all your hard work and dedication and making it all come together.  What a blessing to hear children singing about the Lord Jesus.


The story line of the play involved a spelling bee.  The contestants were given a name of Jesus to spell, if the got it correct they advanced to the next round.  Here are Lydia and Chase.  Chase was the judge and told the children if they had spelled the word right--and if they didn't what part they would get in the Christmas pageant.  Lydia was the pronouncer and she gave the children their words to spell...I think I can give a totally unbiased opinion and say that she did a fantastic job!!  : )
Here is JoAnna as Bella McDoubt trying to think of the correct spelling for the word "lamb".  After asking for a song she perked up and confidently spelled L-A-M-E.  Her bubble was quickly burst and she was given the part of a shepherd girl.

This is Elizabeth as Beatrice B. Beesley...she buzzed around the stage showing off her beautiful yellow and black stripes.  She stayed in the bee one round and misspelled her 2nd word and was given the part of an angel.

Here Lydia and Kennedy are arguing about which of the final two contestants spelled the name "Emmanuel" correctly.  One of them used an 'I' and the other an 'E'.  It was concluded that it can be spelled either way.
Here are the co-winners Michael and Ruth-Anne playing the roles of Jesus and Mary.  

At the end of the play JoAnna, Brian and Olivia watch on as the others take their bows.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Uncle Tim

This blog is sad to write.  This past weekend Chris' brother Tim joined him in heaven.  He was a police officer and he truly loved his work.  He had a servant's heart and helping others was what he was all about.  Two years ago Tim flew to Denver and drove his parents to Ohio (in 1 1/2 days) so that they could be with me when we removed Chris' life support.  He walked into the room and said to me, "You're still coming to Texas for Christmas."  We did go to Texas for Christmas that year.  Please pray for this family as they start down the difficult road of grief--may the Lord carry and protect them.    

I want to share a few pictures of our trip to Texas two years ago.
Here they are playing Zingo, which was JoAnna's Christmas present from Uncle Tim and Aunt Stephanie.

This is Uncle Tim teaching Caleb and Lydia about riding a lawn tractor.  He let Caleb ride by himself, but Lydia went with Uncle Tim.

This is Uncle Tim taking JoAnna for a ride and letting her steer...that was so fun for her.  

JoAnna wanted to take some pictures.  She took a whole bunch of pictures and she got this one of her uncle, not to mention a bunch of her fingers, the ground, the side of the house, the sky...you get the idea.

Here, JoAnna is helping Uncle Tim open one of his Christmas presents.  He didn't seem to mind the extra help.

I don't remember what was going on here, but everyone seems to be having fun.

This is the beautiful locket Tim and Steph gave me for Christmas that year.  What a blessing.  I, in turn, this past week found a beautiful locket and put hers and Tim's pictures in it.  I could hardly wait to give her my gift.  I think she now fully realizes how precious their gift was to me 2 years ago.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving

We went to Michigan to see my family for Thanksgiving.  My parent's paper is about 2  inches thick on Thanksgiving morning.  My children found the add that they wanted to check out.  They are looking for a good deal on a Wii...they are saving their money to split the cost of a system.

 My brother and his family came over on Thanksgiving Day and after dinner we played Railroad Pedro (Pee-dro).  Has anyone else heard of Pedro?  It was an old farm game that my grandpa played with his buddies. His children became a 2nd generation of Pedro players.  My brother and I are third generation and my children are now 4th generation Pedro players.  JoAnna can't wait to be old enough to play with us.  

On Friday my mom received a call from her brother.  There was a place open in the nursing home for my grandpa (the Pedro player).  He is 95  and has been in an assisted living situation, which costs $2,500 a month.  It is about time for Medicare to kick in and they will only pay for a $5,000 a month full nursing home.  That's our government!!!  Here I am with Grandpa in August of 2006.  He has been showing signs of dementia, even forgetting his own daughter.  The funny thing is that he has not forgotten Chris.  He always points to Chris' picture and says, "I know he died, but how did it happen?!"

We drove home on Saturday and had everything unpacked and put away by bedtime.  On Sunday we had our first roast from our full freezer...wonderful!!  Then Lydia bathed the dogs...here are Tessa (still wet), Lydia and Maia (dry and fluffy).  

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Skull Session

Today was a big day here is Ohio...the Ohio State vs Michigan game.  My friend Kristine and her daughter, Elizabeth are big Buckeye fans.  Well, as I reported in a previous blog my daughters and I are Wolverine fans.  Now, I must tell you that I don't follow sports or really even care...I just like to be an antagonist.  I am also proud of the state in which I was born...the only state that has a built in map on most every human body in the world.  So, buckeye fans, like it or not, you have a "little bit of Michigan" in you!!  : )  
Anyhow,  today Kristine and I took the girls to the Ohio State band skull session.  2 hours before each home game the band rehearses one last time before marching onto the field.  They invite the opposing team's band to join them and today we thought that the Michigan band would be there, so we went.  We drove an hour and a half to Columbus, fought traffic, walked through the crisp air, rushed half way around St. John arena, found seats and no sooner sat down when we heard them announce that the Michigan band only comes every 4 years.  We were all disappointed b/c we wanted it to be a fun day of rivalry.  JoAnna proudly carried her Michigan wolverine with her.  She would push it's hand and it would yell, "Go, Michigan!" and then play Hail to the Victors.  She held it up for the ladies in the line for the restroom and squeezed it's paw...it's a good thing she's cute.  
We left after the skull session and took the long way over to Easton and grabbed some lunch.  It was a great day to "just be out."  Everywhere we went people joked about the Ohio State fans hanging out with the Michigan fans.  
Seriously, I really do love Michigan.  I grew up in Muskegon, which is right on Lake Michigan.  I grew up swimming in that lake, camping on it's shores, watching the beautiful sunsets and enjoying the snow that it caused every winter.  I would love to move back home, but I believe the Lord still has a purpose for me here.  I will trust and obey my Lord...even in enemy territory.    

Monday, November 17, 2008

grandparents

My parents came in on Thursday morning.  The children have been enjoying having fun with them.  We went to Walnut Creek Cheese and found some yummy Amish treats...cheese, homemade jams, beef jerky and of course we had to get some homemade ice cream.  One evening my mom, Lydia and I went to a Pampered Chef party and Caleb went to a lock in at our church.  My dad stayed home with JoAnna and they played games.  She got him to play the Littlest Pet Shop Game with her, but in the picture they are playing Crazy 8's.  He said that JoAnna also gave him a lesson in biology.  She explained the whole process of how food goes from our mouths, through our bodies and eventually to the toilet.  Maybe she's listening better in school than I give her credit for.  

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Where's the Beef?

It's in our freezer!!  A man at our church donated a beef cow to the MMS families that attend our church.  We split the cost of processing the meat and now I have loads of beef.  What a blessing.  My mom is coming this week and I hope she'll help me learn how to cook soup bones to make soup.  I've heard they make the best soup broth.  My children's (it used to be Chris' also) favorite thing about winter is that it is time to make homemade soup and homemade bread.  I'm not sure what is better the soup and bread or my chai tea...hmmm...that's a toughy.


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Ready for winter

Today was supposed to be school day, but only a little school was accomplished.  I went to the doctor and stopped at the fire station to cast my vote on the way home.  Go McCain and Palin!
This evening the Adelsberger family from MMS came over and helped to get my house ready for the winter.
  I was so glad to have them here.  I think about all of the things that Chris used to do and many times it stops there.  I never really get to doing them.  Caleb figured out how to change the furnace filter so that was already done when they arrived.  Josh raked up and pulled pine needles (from the neighbor's tree) from my gutters. He also power washed my house...which has never been done since we moved here.  Their son Noah and my Caleb mowed the yard.  Hannah and JoAnna picked up pine needles from the mulch.  Kristi and I worked with making sure all the dead flowers were removed and planters were stored in the shed.  It feels so good to have all of that done.  Thank you so much Adelsberger family for helping us get all of those things done.  Sometimes
 it is not that I can't do it, but my mind has so many things to think about.  It ends up being the tyranny of the urgent and outdoor things don't seem "urgent".   The evening ended with my homemade pizza.  Yummy!!   

Thank you Adelsberger Family!!

Monday, November 3, 2008

MMS Monday

Today I continued to work with Mary on learning what she does in the office.  She had to finish up end of the month reports so I had a chance to get the boxes of envelopes ready to go home to the ladies.  They will adhere address labels to them.  In the near future those envelopes will hold the MMS GroundCrew and go out around the world telling news of what's going on at MMS Aviation. After I finished I went in to Mary's office and she had just finished up.  She then went through the reports to show me why she does what she does, where to get the information, where to put the information and the list goes on.  Mary is truly an asset to MMS and I respect her more than ever for all the hard work and long hours she puts in.  I told her that I wish we could open a "cover" on her brain and pour her knowledge into my brain.  In this picture she is showing me how to pay bills.
Later in the afternoon an announcement came over the intercom system informing us that the MAF Chad 206 was about to go up on it's return to service flight.  We were privileged to be a part of the circle of prayer for the airplane as it returns to service in South Africa.  Dale was the team leader who headed up the project, which lasted over a year.  I must say that today Dale's face showed great joy...as well it should have.
Here we are circled up and getting ready to pray.

Just after take off.    

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Time Flies

New Blinds

We sure tend to get busy.  Life as a single mom speeds up and just keeps right on going.  A week or so back Lydia and I went shopping.  The gentlemen at the home improvement store destroyed several sets of blinds before he finally handed them to me and said that they would be close enough.  My mind is a number trap so when he failed to subtract 1 and 3/4 inches from 36 correctly I told him what it was.  I then I told him half of that (so that he could take equal amounts off of each side) but he wouldn't listen to me.  In the end he cut them wrong and we had to find someone who could actually do it.  When we left Lydia asked me why he wouldn't listen to me, I just told her that he was probably too proud to admit that I was actually right. We then talked about how we all have that problem.  We are too proud to go to God and tell Him we messed up and then we try to "fix" it and make it worse.  When will we ever learn??  Lately I have been blown away by the Lord's complete total love for me and I have asked Him how He could still love me when I "blow it".  He gave me a picture of how much I love my own children.  Yes, they "blow it". Yes, they disappoint me.  BUT, I still love them and I always will.
Here we are hanging our new blinds.  It feels good to be able to have a sense of privacy at night. 

Trick or Treating

 With the children being home schooled most of their friends are from church and thus we have a hard time meeting the friend requirement to finish the books.  One option is to pass out invitations in your neighborhood.  We make up invitations and pass them out with our candy on Halloween night.  This past Halloween night we actually saw John McCain and Sarah Palin. Lydia said that we should have given them extra candy!!  Then she looked at me with her devilish look and said, "If someone comes as Obama we'll tell him he gets no candy!!" 

Lydia, JoAnna and their capable assistant Maia waiting to pass out invitations and candy.  

Sparky Day

JoAnna's Sparky Club decorated cookies today and then the went to a Nursing Home and passed them out.  JoAnna is wearing her daddy's apron...it has daddy's hand prints on it.


Getting Ready for Winter

Back at home Caleb was taking down the swing and putting away the summer things.  I'm not sure if he was having more fun looking through Chris' tool box or actually doing the work.  I cleaned out the garage and straightened things up a bit.  Lydia was at a friends with Maia so Tessa was tethered to Chris' tool box to keep me company in the garage.  It is a beautiful day here and a jacket was not needed...one of the last beautiful days of fall.  I just might have to turn the furnace on soon.  Part of the reason I haven't turned it on yet is that Chris would try to get as close to November as he could.  He would be proud of me for making it to November!!  The other part is that I can't remember how to change the filter...I guess I had better ask someone soon or the kids will turn into ice cubes.  I sure wish I had paid more attention when Chris tried to teach me these things.     

You know you're a home school family when (#4)...


...your 7 year old daughter helps you make bread and she can count it as home economics.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Has it really been two years?

It's so hard to believe that Chris has been with Jesus for 2 years already.  My friend, Karen, told me two years ago that a few years down the road I would look back and marvel at where the Lord had taken me.  In my grief I had a hard time believing it, but here I am 2 years later and I DO believe it.  God has been gracious, good, kind, faithful, loving, caring, comforting...a Father to the fatherless and a judge to the widow.  This past summer I bought a beautiful, bright orange flowered azalea bush. Today after work some of the ladies and their children joined their husbands and we buried some of Chris' ashes with the azalea.  I know that those ashes are not who Chris is, but putting them in the ground was a sort of closure.   We all then shared dinner together.  It was nice to not be alone today.  I love my MMS family and I feel so blessed to be here and still serving among them.  
Dave and Caleb dug the hole for the azalea bush.  Caleb developed pink eye and was unable to join us today, so it was nice that Caleb was able to be a part of the day.

Shawn and Dwight planting the bush in it's place.  One thing that Dwight said before the planting was that the Lord delights in the home going of one of His children.  The Lord was delighted in taking Chris home.  It's hard for those of us left behind...but the Lord's words bring comfort and hope.  One day, provided the Lord doesn't return first, the Lord will delight in each of our home goings, also.  Hmm...it blows me away that the Lord would even think of me, let alone delight in me.  I don't deserve His love.

JoAnna is putting some of her daddy's ashes around the bush.  

Dwight and Bob putting water and dirt over the roots.  Now, like Dwight told me, next year Chris will tell us that spring is coming.  Lydia picked the bright orange flower.  She didn't want the pink--she thought the guys would enjoy the orange more.

After dinner the children were outside running around.  We hadn't heard from them in a while and Donna stepped out to see what they were up to.  She came back and told me to get my camera.  When I went outside this is what I saw.  Sarah, JoAnna, Rachel and Katie were crawling under the fence, getting rocks and putting them around the azalea.  They had also picked some "flowers" to put around the bush.  I love the hearts of children.  

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Nature Hike

Today the girls and I went for a walk so that JoAnna could fulfill one of her Green Jewel requirements for her AWANA book.  She had to find 6 things God created and then she had to find 5 rocks to glue on a poster to show her leader.  Once we arrived at Warsaw Park the girls had to play a game of Pooh Sticks.  Pooh Sticks all started years ago when Caleb loved Whinnie the Pooh books.  Pooh and his friends would drop sticks from one side of the bridge and race to the other side to see whose stick would come out first on the other side.  When we moved here to Warsaw we started playing the game ourselves.  The children would pick up sticks before we got to the park.  We--that included Chris and I--would drop our sticks in and go to the other side to see who the winner was.  We still play the game today.  
JoAnna and Lydia getting ready to drop their sticks for Pooh sticks.

JoAnna and Lydia watching for the sticks to emerge on the other side.

JoAnna finding rocks for her poster.

JoAnna stuffing all her rocks in her pocket...I hope she gets them all out before laundry day.

Monday, October 13, 2008

You know you're a home school family when (#3)...



















...one of your son's "classes" is mowing the lawn 101.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Baptism

On this beautiful Sunday morning our church service started with two young ladies who wished to be baptized.  One was a young lady who just graduated from high school.  The other young lady lives in my house.  Two years ago JoAnna expressed a desire to know more about what Jesus did for her on the cross.  Just a few days before Chris' surgery she asked Jesus to be her Savior.  Well, a few weeks back she told pastor that she wanted to be baptized.  We talked with her and made sure that she understood what baptism means.  At the beginning of the service today both young ladies professed their faith and followed our Lord in baptism.  In a world of disrespectful young people it is a blessing to see two young ladies who desire to follow Jesus.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Today

I feel so blessed.  I have had several phone calls today to see how I am doing...and to let me know that I am being prayed for.  I can really tell.  I told one friend that I feel like I should be sad, but I feel like I am being upheld by the Lord's strength.  I feel so very blessed.  
One of my young friends, Kirsty, is challenged with Cerebral Palsy.  When Kirsty and her mom came into AWANA last night they gave me a card that Kirsty had made for me.  She told me that it took her 30 minutes to write the message, but she did it.  She wanted me to know that her family is praying for us. 
I love Kirsty.  She lights up her world and her understanding of the Lord is amazing.  I have shared with Kirsty's mom several dreams that I have had about her.  In one dream there were of a bunch of us MMS people running in a field and Kirsty was right in the middle of us.  We were all laughing and enjoying the tall grass and beautiful flowers, but Kirsty's laugh was heard above them all.  It was so sweet.  I love to imagine what heaven will be like.  Heaven has always been real to me, but Chris' death has sweetened my understanding of heaven.  
The other day the children and I were watching an Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  The father of the family is in the military and he is serving in Iraq.  They brought him home for the show and surprised his wife and children.  They ran to meet each other and, of course, they were crying.  By that time my cheeks were pretty wet with tears.  I said to the children, "This is only an earthly reunion and they have only been separated for 10 months.  Can you imagine what it will be like to get to heaven and meet daddy?  When we see him again face to face?"  

"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory."  AMEN!!! 

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

October 9, 1993

I have not been good at adding things to my blog lately.  I don't feel like this time of year should be that overwhelming, but I guess it is in the back of my mind.  
I went to the Apple store with a friend the other day.  She is a die hard Mac user and she highly recommended them.  A few years back Chris had researched them and was ready to make the change.  Then we were gifted a wonderful PC (not a Mac).  It has been a great computer but lately is has been having problems...just running programs.  It would work fine and then it would just shut down and I would loose what I was doing.  I have now joined the world of Mac users.  I love it so far.  It's wonderful, straight forward and soooo easy to use.  
One thing I haven't figured out how to do yet is scan into iphotos (which is a wonderful program!!) so Caleb helped me to figure out how to scan this picture.  This picture was taken 15 years ago on October 9th...the day Chris and I were married.  It was a simple ceremony--my parents got off easy.  Chris and I washed each other's feet and vowed before family and friends that we were committed to serving one another.  It wasn't always easy, but we had fun growing together.  The day he went to heaven I lost my best earthly friend and soul mate.  In this picture Chris was being a rascal...'nuf said.

   

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Fair

I hope I get this posted before my computer acts up again. The screen all of a sudden will become distorted making it extremely difficult to see what's going on. We hooked up a second monitor to see if that was our problem and it wasn't. So it must be the computer...oh joy. Where's my computer technie when I need him the most?? Being with Jesus is far better than playing with computers any day.

On Tuesday we enjoyed a wonderful day at the fair. The girls rode the rides...though Lydia didn't ride many, but JoAnna did.
Lydia and JoAnna enjoying a ride on Pharoah's Fury. 

My children have always enjoyed the big pink slide...they would go down over and over, but now JoAnna was the only one who wanted to go down...my babies are growing up.

One of our favorite rides is the bumper cars. JoAnna was finally able to go on them alone this year. Now I know that my baby is growing up. How is it possible?

One thing that JoAnna has wanted more than anything in the whole world is a horse. I let her enjoy a pony ride this year. She grinned from ear to ear the whole ride. It was worth the $3!!

When my girls saw this Ohio State booth they had to show their opinions of it. I was born and raised in MI and have 'brainwashed' my children to cheer for MI...notice JoAnna's shirt. We get teased alot for wearing our MI shirts, but what would life be like if we all liked the same things? The other day after AWANA we went to our car and notice a great big Ohio State magnet on the door. We know exactly who it was from and we are quietly plotting our next move.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Reserve Grand Champion


This past weekend was long, but very fulfilling. The girls and I left early Saturday morning for Youngstown. We attended a missions event and I shared a story with the children in the morning. During lunch I was able to reconnect with several people from churches who are a part of keeping me at MMS. What a blessing to reconnect with friends who I haven't seen in almost 2 years. I was able to sit in on the adult missions session in the afternoon. Jim, one of the speakers, spoke on his work as a Bible translator. Bible translation work, as some of you know, has always been a deep desire of mine. The girls and I then hit the road and traveled back to Coshocton for an MMS going away party.
The fair is a big deal here in Coshocton. So many young people participate in the fair that the schools close down for a couple days. Sunday afternoon found us at the Jr. Fair arena at the fair grounds. Lydia's fair project was Maia, our Bichon. She had her You and Your Dog interview at noon. She was interviewed by a judge, who tested her knowledge of the things in the 4-H book. We found something for lunch and returned shortly before 2:00...at which time the actual dog show started. Lydia did a good job remembering what she was taught. Maia, however, kept jumping on Lydia wanting to be picked up. When all was said and done Lydia and Maia placed as the Reserve Grand Champion. My mother asked me what that means and I explained that it's a fancy name for second place. Pretty good, for their first year. She wants to show Maia again next year...now that she knows what is expected of her. When we arrived home Tessa went bonkers to see Maia again. Maia 'passed out' on the floor...she slept from the time we walked in the door until morning (with the exception of outside business). All said and done I would say that the weekend was rewarding.