Lily was due to have her baby last Friday. Now, she has been late every time (this will be four), but was hoping, of course, that This Time Would Be Different.
Her mama is in town "for the duration ," so Everything is Ready.
Maybe today? Even so, Lord, [let him/her] Come Quickly.
p.s. In other baby news, my friend Michelle had her baby two weeks early. He was (wait for it),
13 pounds. 14 ounces.
Will you join me and PRAY for her recovery? Thanks.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Good Friday
He died for me.
Wow.
You know, we can never, ever really *get* what this means. We get glimpses--we know "where we were" when He found us. Desperate situation, that. No hope for *anything.* Now we "have it all"--all that He came here to do, all that He provides, on earth and heaven, too. It is wonderful, glorious!
I've heard Good Friday meditations on what it must have meant for Jesus to be completely alone on the cross. How His Father had to turn away, He who could have no part of sin. Jesus, who had never, from eternity, been separated from His Father. Complete, beautiful fellowship broken. Something I will never experience--His promise is that He "will never leave me or forsake me." In all the deepest, darkest moments of my life, He is there to comfort. The fact that He had to go through His deepest, darkest moment (deeper, darker than any I will ever face) completely alone makes me feel Shame.
Then there is the view from the other side. How hard it must have been for the Father to sacrifice His Son. Just as difficult for Him to be separated from Jesus, to have him go through it all alone. A double whammy.
Methinks we take this thing waaay too lightly. Day to day, I confess sin and count on "He is faithful and just to forgive, and to cleanse from all unrighteousness." Day to day, I don't think about how much it Cost Him.
We always talk about the Resurrection--the Victory over sin and death. It seems that only one day out of the year do we talk about the Battle. I think that the Battle turned at Gethsemane--when Jesus came to the place where He could say, "not My will, but Thine be done."
How far I have to go, even in the paltry things my Father asks of me.
How grateful I am, that He never gives up on me. The work on the cross was worth far too much for Him to give up. His will for me is to "be conformed to the image of His Son."
Much work to do here.
Wow.
You know, we can never, ever really *get* what this means. We get glimpses--we know "where we were" when He found us. Desperate situation, that. No hope for *anything.* Now we "have it all"--all that He came here to do, all that He provides, on earth and heaven, too. It is wonderful, glorious!
I've heard Good Friday meditations on what it must have meant for Jesus to be completely alone on the cross. How His Father had to turn away, He who could have no part of sin. Jesus, who had never, from eternity, been separated from His Father. Complete, beautiful fellowship broken. Something I will never experience--His promise is that He "will never leave me or forsake me." In all the deepest, darkest moments of my life, He is there to comfort. The fact that He had to go through His deepest, darkest moment (deeper, darker than any I will ever face) completely alone makes me feel Shame.
Then there is the view from the other side. How hard it must have been for the Father to sacrifice His Son. Just as difficult for Him to be separated from Jesus, to have him go through it all alone. A double whammy.
Methinks we take this thing waaay too lightly. Day to day, I confess sin and count on "He is faithful and just to forgive, and to cleanse from all unrighteousness." Day to day, I don't think about how much it Cost Him.
We always talk about the Resurrection--the Victory over sin and death. It seems that only one day out of the year do we talk about the Battle. I think that the Battle turned at Gethsemane--when Jesus came to the place where He could say, "not My will, but Thine be done."
How far I have to go, even in the paltry things my Father asks of me.
How grateful I am, that He never gives up on me. The work on the cross was worth far too much for Him to give up. His will for me is to "be conformed to the image of His Son."
Much work to do here.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Rosetta Stone Contest!
Jen is running a fantastic contest and here are all the details:
From Jen:Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
From Jen:Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Palm Sunday Tornadoes (1965)
I am reading a book called The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin. It is a book about the 1888 blizzard across the Great Plains, the worst to ever hit that region. But it reminded me (yesterday!) about the Palm Sunday tornadoes in 1965.
Wikipedia tells us about three outbreaks of tornadoes that happened on Palm Sunday. I think that's funny, as Palm Sunday is a different day each year. The 1965 batch trailed across five midwestern states, with 49 confirmed tornadoes, 17 of them of F4 severity. 137 people died in Indiana (my state).
I was nine years old. I wasn't really worried, as our city is located where three rivers meet. An old Indian proverb says that a tornado won't touch down where three rivers meet. (of course, about eight years ago, a tornado did go down the street where I grew up. So much for old proverbs....)
Our house did not have a basement. Mother told us that if there ever was a tornado, we were to get in the Guest Closet. Yeah, right. It was probably four feet wide and six feet deep. Of course, it was under the staircase, so it sloped down to nothing in the back. It also had thirteen glass gallon jars of water on the floor. This was if Ever The Electricity Went Off. The water pump wouldn't work, and if we flushed the toilet or anything, it would Lose Its Prime. Mother changed out the water a couple of times a year, so it would be Drinkable, as well as Flushable.
So, anyway, if a Tornado Ever Came, we would have to Move All The Jars before the seven of us could squeeze into the closet. Fortunately, we never had to.
On that warm day in 1965, though, Mother wasn't going to take any chances. She wanted all of us together, in case we died. We were all squished onto two twin beds in a downstairs bedroom while the thunderstorms went on. Later, after the sun came back out, I remember her making lots of phone calls to tell people we were okay.
I'm sure that our Dopplers and Radar and computers make storm prediction easier, and, certainly warnings come earlier these days. We don't think about it much, here. We have a basement (with a tv, for as long as the power would stay on.) Biggest issue here, when a Warning comes, is, Does anybody know where the cat is?
I've never personally known the aftermath of a tornado. Or a killing blizzard, like I'm reading about. Or a house fire, for that matter. I've led a very protected life. Something for me to be *consciously* grateful for today.
Wikipedia tells us about three outbreaks of tornadoes that happened on Palm Sunday. I think that's funny, as Palm Sunday is a different day each year. The 1965 batch trailed across five midwestern states, with 49 confirmed tornadoes, 17 of them of F4 severity. 137 people died in Indiana (my state).
I was nine years old. I wasn't really worried, as our city is located where three rivers meet. An old Indian proverb says that a tornado won't touch down where three rivers meet. (of course, about eight years ago, a tornado did go down the street where I grew up. So much for old proverbs....)
Our house did not have a basement. Mother told us that if there ever was a tornado, we were to get in the Guest Closet. Yeah, right. It was probably four feet wide and six feet deep. Of course, it was under the staircase, so it sloped down to nothing in the back. It also had thirteen glass gallon jars of water on the floor. This was if Ever The Electricity Went Off. The water pump wouldn't work, and if we flushed the toilet or anything, it would Lose Its Prime. Mother changed out the water a couple of times a year, so it would be Drinkable, as well as Flushable.
So, anyway, if a Tornado Ever Came, we would have to Move All The Jars before the seven of us could squeeze into the closet. Fortunately, we never had to.
On that warm day in 1965, though, Mother wasn't going to take any chances. She wanted all of us together, in case we died. We were all squished onto two twin beds in a downstairs bedroom while the thunderstorms went on. Later, after the sun came back out, I remember her making lots of phone calls to tell people we were okay.
I'm sure that our Dopplers and Radar and computers make storm prediction easier, and, certainly warnings come earlier these days. We don't think about it much, here. We have a basement (with a tv, for as long as the power would stay on.) Biggest issue here, when a Warning comes, is, Does anybody know where the cat is?
I've never personally known the aftermath of a tornado. Or a killing blizzard, like I'm reading about. Or a house fire, for that matter. I've led a very protected life. Something for me to be *consciously* grateful for today.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Snow Fun, Quilt Fun
We went outside this morning because it was snowing. HUGE, fluffy flakes. (tho' by the time I took this photo, they had become smaller, Ordinary flakes.) Alvin's first thought was to Check The Weather Channel. Instead, by looking south, we thought that, from the look of the sky, it might be snowing for Quite Awhile Yet. But wait...
...looking to the northeast, (at the very same moment!) this is what we saw:
So, no Weather Channel needed today!
Here is a close-up. I really love the movement in the quilt, both from the pointy triangles, and the curvy fan pattern (click to enlarge):
"Fer sure" I'll be using the Baptist Fan quilting pattern again.
...looking to the northeast, (at the very same moment!) this is what we saw:
So, no Weather Channel needed today!*****************************
I began quilting this quilt I've had waiting. The pattern is called Texas Twister. I decided to quilt it in the Baptist fan pattern:
Here is a close-up. I really love the movement in the quilt, both from the pointy triangles, and the curvy fan pattern (click to enlarge):
"Fer sure" I'll be using the Baptist Fan quilting pattern again.Monday, March 03, 2008
Baby Brother Gets A Name...
...and what a name (twenty letters, before you add in the last name!) Rocky's family has a two-middle-name custom, and Baby's second middle name is the maiden name of Rocky's grandma, on whose birthday Baby was born. Our baby grandson's name is very beautiful, but for blogging purposes, we're going to go with a little family joke and call him Oxford. Here he is, introducing himself to Pop-Pop:
My beautiful Forget-me-not, age 26 (I was 26 when I had her!) with her little guy:
I kept waiting for him to show off his dimples (one on his chin, and a pair on his cheeks!), but he would not cooperate:
Well, Oxford *did* cooperate as far as his birthdate was concerned, and I, for two more hours, have grandchildren ages 0,1,2,3, and 4 years old. Tomorrow is Junior Asparagus's birthday, and the Grandma focus turns to him. How quickly time passes, and it doesn't slow down for grandbabies, either!
My beautiful Forget-me-not, age 26 (I was 26 when I had her!) with her little guy:
I kept waiting for him to show off his dimples (one on his chin, and a pair on his cheeks!), but he would not cooperate:
Well, Oxford *did* cooperate as far as his birthdate was concerned, and I, for two more hours, have grandchildren ages 0,1,2,3, and 4 years old. Tomorrow is Junior Asparagus's birthday, and the Grandma focus turns to him. How quickly time passes, and it doesn't slow down for grandbabies, either!Blueberry's Baby Brother
Forget-me-not had a bee-you-tiful baby boy this evening . He was born at 10:36 pm, and weighed 8 lbs. 7 0z.:
Lots of dark hair is a wonderful surprise (Forget-me-not is blond, and Rocky Balboa has dark red hair). Here he looks a lot like his Big Brother:
Proud Daddy:
Forget-me-not went "au naturel," and she did a Super-Duper Job. She got the job done so, so beautifully. I didn't get a photo of her tonight, but will share one tomorrow, I'm sure. Our camera will be doing Overtime Duty!
Lots of dark hair is a wonderful surprise (Forget-me-not is blond, and Rocky Balboa has dark red hair). Here he looks a lot like his Big Brother:
Proud Daddy:
Forget-me-not went "au naturel," and she did a Super-Duper Job. She got the job done so, so beautifully. I didn't get a photo of her tonight, but will share one tomorrow, I'm sure. Our camera will be doing Overtime Duty!Saturday, March 01, 2008
Ballet Sewing Kit
Blackeyed Susan needed a sewing kit to keep in her ballet bag. It holds things that are needed to sew elastics and ribbons on pointe shoes.
Although she could have used any kind of makeup-type bag, when your mother loves fabric as I do, she Has Ta Represent. So I pulled out my treasured Nancy Drew fabric I bought a couple of years ago, and cut out a very simple zippered bag:
Inside, I used a pretty pink, and, for the pockets, green fabric that has the Flowers-of-the-month on it:
We loaded it with her sewing notions, and there is room inside to store ribbons and elastics, as well.
Although she could have used any kind of makeup-type bag, when your mother loves fabric as I do, she Has Ta Represent. So I pulled out my treasured Nancy Drew fabric I bought a couple of years ago, and cut out a very simple zippered bag:
Inside, I used a pretty pink, and, for the pockets, green fabric that has the Flowers-of-the-month on it:
We loaded it with her sewing notions, and there is room inside to store ribbons and elastics, as well.I really loved this little diversion, in the midst of baby quilts and receiving blankets I have been doing. Forget-me-not is due in six days; Lily in twenty.
This Grandma is getting anxious!
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