Something's Going Around. . .and I caught it!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Love it on most anything.

2. Have you ever smoked? No

3. Do you own a gun? No

4. What flavor Kool Aid is your favorite? I do not drink Kool Aid, but I guess it used to be cherry or strawberry

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Sometimes, yes.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? The only way I like hot dogs is roasted over an open fire. I usually only indulge once or twice a year.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas. When Leah was little, we would watch White Christmas on Christmas Eve. We would bring our sleeping bags out in the living room, watch the movie and then go to sleep by the Christmas Tree. It is a sweet memory.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee or tea.

9. Can you do push-ups? maybe one, or two.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Any ring or necklace my husband gave me.

11. Favorite hobby? Reading, or walking or hiking on trails.

12. Do you have A.D.D? No – probably just the opposite!

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Yes. I am very grateful for glasses, but really do not like them – especially in the summer when it is hot. I used to wear contacts, but can’t anymore. So sad.

14. Middle name? Elaine.

15. Name thoughts at this moment? Thinking about my answers to this.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Tea, water, Pomegranate juice (very good!)

17. Current worry? I try very hard not to worry, but realistically, probably health issues.

18. Current hate right now? Indifferent people.

19. Favorite place to be? Anywhere with Gail, and Leah and Ben.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? At my sister-in-laws house – we didn’t get to bed until 3:00 a.m. The next day was a blur because I am too old to stay up that late anymore!! It took me a couple of days to recover from just staying up half the night. It was fun though!

21. Where would you like to go? I would like to go back to Zimbabwe some day. And, I would like to go with my brother so that I can tell him memories and he could help me figure out what I am remembering and then take me to those places.

22. Name three people who will complete this? Leah and I have no idea who else.

23. Do you own slippers? Yes, purple ones. Although I think I might like Donna’s pig slippers. That sounds great and fun!!

24. What color shirt are you wearing? Lime green – just like my sister. Do great minds think alike?

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don’t think I would satin sheets. Too slippery.

26. Can you whistle? Yes. But, I cannot wolf whistle and it isn’t for lack of trying. I am quite sad about that because I really want to be able to wolf whistle!!

27. Favorite Color? Green.

28. What songs do you sing in the shower? I usually don’t sing. I might hum, but it is all kinds of different songs. Not just one.

29. Would you be a pirate? No way. I agree with Donna, I like baths too much!

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Leah (after her Dad – isn’t that sweet?)

31. Favorite boy's name? I have no idea.

32. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Listening to Gail and his nephews talk at dinner yesterday. It was great. I haven’t heard Gail laugh like that in a very long time.

34. What vehicle do you drive? A Honda Accord3

5. Worst injury you've ever had? Nothing really. I’ve been very fortunate.

36. Do you love where you live? It is okay, but I often think it would be fun living somewhere else.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two

Mountains, Cabins and Bucking Pintos…

I see where Daryl started blogging again and thought that maybe it was time to get back in the blogging game. Good to be back.

We spent this past weekend in Brown County in southern Indiana. This is a favorite vacation spot for Hoosiers. It is a mountainous area with many things to do and see. This was the 4th year we have spent in Brown County with some friends of ours. We stay in a quaint little cabin in the woods that is totally secluded from the rest of the world. While at the cabin, I had so much fun sitting by the window watching the cutest little chipmunk foraging for nuts under the leaves of trees. I had a pair of binoculars and was able to see his/her fat little cheeks bulging with nuts, or whatever else, she was gathering - amazing! I was mesmerized by her tireless work gathering food for the winter. The birds were breathtaking too. A woodpecker was right outside our door and was just beautiful to watch as well.

Brown County has quaint little shops to visit, wonderful hiking, fun restaurants with lots of ambience, fun hiking, lots of wildlife to see, and did I mention hiking? Okay, you get the picture.

I think the thing I really enjoyed was the total quiet. There is no traffic and the cabin is far enough up the mountain that you cannot hear any sirens or other noises on the roads below. The trees provide a thick blanket over the sky and it is so dark, when outside at night, that you cannot see your hand in front of your face. That kind of darkness is almost oppressing because I am not used to it.

My friend, Marlene, and I decided to go horseback riding on Sunday. I have not ridden for about 7 years. As most of you know, I love horses. My favorite horse is a pinto, or paint. We got in the riders line and the two of us were grouped with a family of 8. They had us line up to get “our” horses. The family was first and then it was me, then Marlene. I noticed that there was one pinto in the group and she was far enough up the line that I would not be able to get her. I counted how many people and then counted the horses trying to figure out which horse I would get. But, the man who was matching up the people with a horse, told his helper to go and get this horse and then go and get that horse and, low and behold, I got the pinto! I was so excited. Now this may seem trivial to you, but you have to understand how much I like pintos, and how much I really thought I had no chance of getting the only pinto in the group because of the line up. When the instructor pointed to me and then pointed to the pinto for me to ride, I was so excited!

We took off on our ride and shortly after we started, my horse started bucking. I have never been on a bucking horse and instinctively stood up in the stirrups to keep my balance. I’m not sure I would have stayed on the horse otherwise. I felt quite panicky until Marlene told me that my horse was kicking her horse. I calmed down when I reasoned it wasn’t me she was trying to buck off, she was just annoyed at being followed too closely. We soon decided that my horse did not like to be followed so closely so Marlene, wisely, kept her horse back from my horse for the duration of the ride. We noticed that, at the beginning or our ride, every time we stopped, my horse would look around to see where her horse was. I think my horse was quite the bossy thing. Maybe I was matched up with her for more reasons than one!! :)

Have you ever felt God’s pleasure? While riding this beautiful pinto, I felt His pleasure. I felt totally bathed in His gift to me. There was no reason for me to be paired up with this horse. None, except I believe it was a gift to me from God himself. You may think I am simplistic in my thinking, but I don’t think so. While riding her, I was overcome with emotion and pure joy. You see, I love pintos and she was the only one that day and she was mine for a brief moment in time.

-D-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Daryl

I was thinking about you today and was mulling over my memories of yester year.

These are some of my memories of you-

I remember, while in Africa, while we were riding in the back of the car going wherever, you wanted me to sing harmony while you sang melody. That would have been nice, but there was only one problem, it never really worked because I would eventually follow you in whatever you were singing. You would get so frustrated with me. I remember trying really hard not to follow you into the melody but somehow ended up there anyway. My favorite song, at the time, was Up From the Grave He Arose. We sang that with such gusto!

You used to tickle me a lot and I would usually end up asking Mother to make you stop. Now, however, the tables have turned and you are much more ticklish that I and I usually take advantage of that. Remember, what goes around usually comes around. I do not think I terrorize you too much now. Hmmmm - maybe.

I remember when you came home from college; I thought you were really cool – especially when my girl friends were at our house. Somehow having a brother in college made me cool too. Go figure.

I won’t bore with too many memories but they are fun to visit. I am proud of you and I am honored to call you my brother. Happy Birthday!!

A Special Visit

We had to privilege of having Dad and Verna Mae here for a visit over Palm Sunday weekend. They came for the Great Lakes Conference that was being held here in Nappanee. It was a wonderful visit. My health, for the most part, held up and did not cause any problems while they were here. I was very grateful for that. It may seem like a small thing, but when one deals with something that can disrupt even the best-laid plans, it was a blessing to me.

I enjoyed Dad’s reminiscing his Africa days. I never tire of these stories of his and Mother’s experiences in their early years together. I am glad that Daddy took the time to write his memoirs as they are an invaluable gift to his family. I have not read it from cover to cover. I’ve only read snippets here and there, but I will read it from cover to cover some day, of that I am certain. And, I am blessed to have it and will treasure it always!

I am adding some pictures from their visit.

For the record, I really like the beard!! I love you, Daddy and Verna Mae.

Coveted Cookies…

After many years of not having his mom’s famous sugar cookies, Gail decided, yesterday, that he was going to bake these cookies. Gail has never made these cookies. His mom does not have a written recipe; it is in her head. We asked her, a long time ago, to give us this recipe. She said that she didn’t have one but would try to give us approximate measurements of the ingredients because she goes by the feel of the dough to know how much flour to use. I took this “approximate recipe”, also a long time ago, and tried making these cookies - they turned out hard as bricks. Not good.

Yesterday Gail decided that he was hungry for these cookies, hungry enough to make them himself. He gathered all the ingredients, and then called his mom for play-by-play instructions. He thought that he could tell when the dough was ready since he had a lot of experience when he was young eating the dough. I laughed at this, but I do believe he did know when the dough was just right.

Here are some pictures of this adventure:

Success!

Now, he is officially the sugar cookie baker in our family.

Just thought I’d share some lighthearted fun in these days of serious news around the world.

A Wonderful Christmas!

Wow – another Christmas here and gone. The older I get, the faster they come and the faster they go. We stayed home this year – partly because of my health, mainly because from here on out we don’t know what Christmas will look like for our family. When Ben and Leah get settled into a new home this summer, their lives will change with the ministry aspect of Christmas. We’ll see what happens then. Time will teach us, I’m sure.

During this Holiday Season I’ve learned that I have to pace myself a lot better than I have in the past. I hope this will not always be the case, but for now it is. We decided not get so wrapped up in all the hoopla of the Holidays. For the most part, I think we succeeded! And I am grateful. I only had several days that I was down and out, but that is a lot better than it could have been!

Ben and Leah were here for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. When Leah was growing up, we would sleep by the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve. We would watch White Christmas and eat cookies and milk. Even though married, she asked if we could do that again this year. It was fun for all of us.

On Christmas morning, Gail surprised me with a beautiful quilt. I had seen this quilt last year and wanted it, but because of all our rising medical bills felt that we shouldn’t spend the money for it. Gail, however, had a different opinion. He ordered it and bought it for me as a surprise. It took them 8 months to do the quilting as it is all done by hand. It really is a work of art. Every time I look at it I am reminded of a man’s love for his wife and all that it stands for in my mind. Thank you Gail!!

This is where I am totally blown away that Gail had done this for me. The look on my face tells the whole story.

This design is called The Pyramids. Depending on how the light shines on this, the design changes. It actually look 3-D. He asked them to embroider, into one of the corners, my initials, Gail’s initials and our wedding date. 2007 was our 30th anniversary and he wanted this quilt to be for that as well as for Christmas.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and we look forward to 2008 with much anticipation and joy.

Love you all!

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

I am a little behind on the whole Thanksgiving thing, but I didn’t want this time of year to pass without some thoughts. Thanksgiving is not just a day, it is learning to live in a state of thankfulness. An awareness of things to be grateful for in our lives, an attitude.

We had a wonderful time with Ben and Leah. Leah helped prepare our Thanksgiving meal and we had fun in the kitchen together. She is a very good cook and enjoys creating new dishes. I do believe that hospitality is one of her strengths and that will serve her well as she works beside Ben in whatever church they serve in together!

This has been a tough year for me in many ways. I’ve gone through many and varied emotions – from health to relationship changes. No one said life would be easy, but I think I could use a break for awhile.

Even though this has been a discouraging year, as far as health, it has also been one of tremendous Spiritual growth. I guess one doesn’t flex their spiritual muscles until there is need to do so. I am learning, a slow learner I’m afraid, but learning anyway.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and will continue to count your blessings because there are so many!

I am going to attempt to input some pictures of the weekend. I am still learning how to do this...........

This is what I like to see......they did a great job with those potatoes!

Awwwwww

Leah & Lydia (Nic's wife)

A tradition since Leah was little

Molly supervising!

My "kids" - aren't they sweet?

We could all use a kiss now and then

Gail's usual football watching form....until he stands up and starts conversing with the refs.....the dogs usually hide at that point.

Love to all..................til next time!!