Mary, Did You Know?

Perhaps it is my Catholic upbringing, but every year at this time I am drawn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As a woman I think about how very amazing she must have been, to have been chosen by God, at the age of fourteen, to bear His son.

As a mother, I am drawn to this picture. We always hear of the amazing works of our Dear Lord, Jesus Christ; however, I often wonder what he was like as a child. Did he play games with other children? Did he ever disobey his parents? This picture reminds me that he, like my children, wore clothes that needed to be laundered and hung out to dry. And Mary, despite being chosen to be the mother of Christ, was still called to fulfill the mundane tasks of motherhood.

My absolute favorite Christmas song is "Mary, Did You Know?" by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd. The lyrics remind me of the amazing journey and sacrifice asked of Mary. What a faithful servant she was.

Yet Another Generation of Friends

My absolute favorite part of Christmas is the continued tradition of lifelong friends stopping by to visit over the holidays.

It typically begins with the arrival of Jason from New York days before the actual holidays. I selfishly steal him all to myself so that we can sit on the couch and chat over wine. My children are put to bed (or shipped off to Nolan's Christmas program with Grandma and Grandpa), and my husband knows his presence is an intrusion. We chat until I am almost asleep on the couch and Jason, after many attempts, finally leaves in the wee hours of the night. No matter how long he is here, it is never long enough, hence we make additional plans (but they are never quite the same as those times spent just the two of us).

In years past, I have always worked very hard to coordinate all of my high school friends' schedules and plan a get together with as many people attending as possible. However, this year, I didn't feel the desire to plan such an event, nor the guilt for not doing so. This year the visits have been dispersed over many days, providing more intimate conversations and for me, many days worth of laughter, memories, and love.

Last night, a very impromptu gathering came about with the Dubs family. I sat there in my living room, giddy at the fact that after 35 years of friendship, our families would still love to gather, drinking, eating popcorn, and watching yet another generation of children become lifelong friends.

Tonight, our dear friends the Robinsons are coming to dinner for the 2nd year in a row to exchange gifts and share good food, creating new memories, and definitely sharing lots of laughter and love.

Tomorrow morning, Diane and Ava will come (hopefully in their pjs) for coffee and scones, and Sunday Jarod will cook curry for Jason, Doug, and I.

I am sure there are many people who do not understand how I could choose to live 4 blocks from my parents, teaching in the school I attended; however, if I didn't I would never have the opportunity to have each of my dear friends come to my home, sit on my couch, share wine in my kitchen, and bless my abode with yet another year of blessings and friendship!

They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

This is a picture of my Grandpa Ayers. I think he looks like a movie star!

Tis the Season

It has been almost a year and a half now that my friend, Lori, and I have been "business partners." It really is interesting to think of ourselves in that manner, because while she may be more so than I, we really aren't business people. We are primarily in the business of wearing aprons and drinking wine while we create things our grandmothers would have created.

All that said, I think we are really, truly in the business of serving the Lord. We just do it in the the form of stitching, canning, and crafting. Last year at this time, we were blessed with an abundance of sales of our goods and we really wanted to do something special with the money we'd earned. Our good intentions quickly turned into an impasse about where to donate our money, and we just dropped the topic. In hindsight, we now know that it was the work of the Lord that led to that impasse, as we were both led to read a book called The Christmas Jars and found our money being rolled up in the middle of a change jar to be shared with a family truly in need.

Over the course of the past year, we have been blessed with many opportunities to provide in ways that we've felt God has called us to. We've been able to donate to victims of the earthquake in Haiti, provide weekend nutrition for a family for a year, donate to a local scholarship, help pay medical bills, and provide Christmas for a family in need. We've also learned that waiting for the Lord is imperative. There have been times when one or the other of us has had a "donation idea;" however, God has always provided the other with the discernment needed to make the right decision.

I feel very blessed to not only have a friend who loves to be "old' as much as I do, but who truly has a desire to serve the Lord. A friend who is willing to roll up her shirt-sleeves and make things happen, even if her fingers bleed in the process. So as we frantically try to fill all of the orders that this holiday brings, our waning spirits are renewed with the thought of smiling faces on Christmas and the understanding that God has plans for us far greater than we can ever imagine!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love that song! I especially love the version sung by the Carpenters. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. I love everything about it. I love the warm spicy scent of cinnamon, baked pastries, and crisp air.

From the time I was a little girl until I was in college, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Thoendels. I believe the tradition got started because my dad and Vic were always both on call. The tradition transcended a divorce/remarriage, and continued until the older kids started to get married and there simply wasn't room for everyone anymore.

The day was always so much fun. We played so hard all day. We always ate dinner without the couple of kids who were off playing in the neighborhood and couldn't be found. We filled the living room with smoke from our singed hair. We spent the evening making haunted houses in the basement, fully taking advantage of the fact that our parents were too engrossed in conversation to have a clue what we were concocting.

I remember the first year that we didn't go to the Thoendels for Thanksgiving. I remember feeling so rejected! With ten kids, plus significant others, it had just gotten to be too much, so the parents decided it was time to do our own Thanksgivings. It was horrible. They had ten kids (plus), we had two.

Over the years, we have bounced through the Thanksgiving gamut. We hosted my in-laws, had my grandpa and his sister several times, took a full-fledged meal up to the nursing home for my grandpas more than once, and the past few years we've gone to my grandma's. It finally feels like we have a tradition. Something that we can count on and look forward to.

This year I convinced my grandma to let me bring the pies. This is a big deal for two reasons. The first is that it isn't Thanksgiving if I don't make pies. If she doesn't let me bring pies, I will still make them and eat them by myself! The second reason is that she makes her pies in July and freezes them till Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nobody likes Freezer Pie. I think she was relieved to be able to save her pecan pie till Christmas, and I think I am just going to encourage her to let me bring the Christmas pies and save her's till Easter!

I am very thankful that my family has rekindled relationships, and that we can gather with joyful hearts. I am thankful that at the age of nearly 35 we can still gather at my grandma's house, and will for many years to come. I'm thankful that my family loves to sit around the table and visit, telling the same stories over and over. This year we will have much to discuss with my cousin's impending graduation from high school.

God has given us much to be thankful for!

Breast Cancer

As many of you may know, my grandmother died 16 years ago to breast cancer. Ever since her death, I have been deathly afraid of sharing her fate. I've had a few friends who have also had breast cancer, and have thoroughly admired their tenacity to take on this disease with a fervency.

Today I found out that my dear friend, Cathy Howard, is going to be having an elective double mastectomy as a preventive measure. While she doesn't have cancer, her genetic makeup lends itself to the fact that it is just a matter of time. I admire her proactive approach, and feel confident that I would do the same given her situation.

My heart prays for these four sisters who are undergoing four mastectomies. I know that the Lord will protect them and keep them in His loving care. And still my heart aches and yearns for my grandma who didn't have the luxury of what we now know about cancer.

Each Day in Stride

Today it was my turn to bring treats to our cadre seminar. When I signed up in June I knew without a doubt that I would bring my all time favorite treat, kolaches. What more could a group ask for on a Sunday morning? However, it was very interesting the conversation that these delectable treats would spark.

One of the guys from my class lives not too far from Wilbur, the supposed Czech capital of Nebraska. (Apparently they've never been to the Bohemian Alps!) He was commenting on the fact that life in Wilbur (10 miles away from his home) is just completely different from where his family lives. "There's something about that culture," he said. "They work hard, but they don't get too worked up about much of anything. They just seem to take each day in stride."

That got me thinking about the people that inhabit my community. When I look at the members of my community, I think that Casey's statement is a fair assessment. These people know about working hard, one day at a time, and making the best of what they've got. I think of the little old Czech lady who lives next door to my friend. She can barely walk, but she is out there in her floral-print polyester pants in the 100 degree heat picking produce in her garden. One day she asked Lori if she is Czech. When Lori told her that she wasn't, Mary told her she just assumed she was a good Czech girl because she wore an apron all of the time!

To us, when we donn our aprons, we are ready for some serious work. Which is why an apron is so important when baking kolaches....it is serious work! I am beginning to think that maybe kolaches are a Czech pastry because it takes that laid-back, hard-working personality to persevere through the art of perfecting them!

In the Middle

As a child, my Aunt Jean was my absolute favorite person in the world. She spoiled us, she did all of those fun things our mom wouldn't let us do.....eat ice cream at Swenson's for breakfast, 10pm movies, play the music real loud, take us shopping for fun stuff....all that stuff aunts are supposed to do.

When I was a sophomore in high school, my aunt got pregnant with my cousin Molly. I was furious. She didn't need kids....she had us! and how were we going to do all of those fun things that we did with a baby in the way. Not surprisingly, Molly came along and stole everyone's hearts, along with mine. I spent many a weekend driving up to Blair to hang out with Molly and Jean.

As we got older, I always kind of felt stuck in the middle between Jean and Molly. Jean was 14 years older than me, Molly was 16 years younger. I have never really felt like a cousin or an aunt. When I lived with them while student teaching I never knew whether I should be fun or stern.

Time seemed to slip away from us....new husbands and babies took precedence over fostering relationships. But I will forever believe that it was the wisdom and vibrant personality of Molly that brought us all back to where we belong. As I look back over the past 8 years or so, I long for the times lost....but gatherings at Grandma's for Sunday dinner remind me that it is never to late to move forward.

It is absolutely unfathomable to me that Molly might be a senior, let alone looking for a school in Chicago. To me she is still this little girl who wears the brightest, most mismatched outfit in her closet, who loves the Sound of Music, and has soft strawberry blonde curls. And as for Jean....she is still, and always be, my favorite!

Not-So-Sick Day

This morning, Laurel told me that she didn't feel well (after we'd arrived at school). Of course, I put her off, told her to eat some breakfast, and she'd be fine. Not so much! By 9am, she'd lost her breakfast and by 9:30am we were on our way home.

Fortunately for Laurel it was very short-lived. She never really acted sick the rest of the day. It was fortunate for me, too. I tackled the last of my assignments for the 26th, read the 6 chapters for my book review on Sunday, made a cake to be frozen and frosted on Wednesday evening, made cupcakes to be frosted on Thursday evening, dusted and vaccuumed my upstairs, and even put away laundry. Oh, and the nap....don't forget the nap!

Where did it go?

The other night I was looking for something to do (in my free time), and decided I would check out my blog. It had been a long time since I'd been there, so I thought it might be interesting to see what was still there. I about died when I saw that I had not posted in over a year! SERIOUSLY!!!! The picture before my eyes was last year's school photo. It broke my heart to see that I had not taken the time to post about my life for an entire year.

Little did I know that someone had been praying that I would return to this little corner of cyberspace I'd etched out for myself! She knew that I needed this blog to sort out this crazy hectic life I call my own!

So maybe I can attempt to recap what happened in one year and then quit feeling guilty about not posting:

• Lydia enjoyed kindergarten and kept us entertained as always. She have to have her arm set by the orthopedist after breaking it right in the middle of her ulna. That slowed her down for about 30 seconds and she had it off in time for swimming. She spent her summer being best friends with Otto, the old Australian Shepherd at the farm where Laurel's sheep were. She also loved playing with the kittens and splashing around in the puddles in her galoshes.
• Laurel continued taking piano lessons throughout the course of the school year. Practicing still isn't so much fun, but I think deep down she enjoys it. She spent the winter and spring working with her sheep in preparation for her first year at the county fair. She spent most days in June and July walking them, showing them, and also playing with the kittens. By the time the fair rolled around, she was very sick of it; however, winning Junior Champion Showman lit a fire under her feet! She's really like to show sheep and goats next year. Jarod says, "We'll see!"
• Jarod spent the school year as he always does, doing Speech and One Act. The One Act didn't fare so well, but they won another State Speech Title, so that was the highlight of his year! He thoroughly enjoyed getting back into his sheep element this summer. He was a state sheep showman, so he is very excited to be able to have this to share with the girls.
• As for me.....this year probably brought more changes for me than anyone else. Not only did Lori and I continue our sewing for Hippy Chicks, but I also made a huge leap of faith in listening to God's call to head to grad school. I joined a cadre "group" of 19 amazing people in June for a 2 year adventure that has already proven to be life changing. The program is through Doane and focuses on Educational Leadership. In the end I will have my certificate to be a principal; however, I truly have no clue what God has in store for me. He put it on my heart to join this program, so all I can do is my best so that I may serve Him in whatever capacity He desires in the future. It is quite overwhelming at times....trying to balance home, school, grad school, night class, Hippy Chicks....but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13.

That's about it in a nutshell. So now I can move on from here.....