Thanksgiving Weekend

It's been a great long weekend. So nice to not have to get up early for several mornings in a row.

Caleb drove the 8 hour trip on Tuesday and got home about 1 a.m. It was good to see him and hug him. He made the trip okay. I'm glad he can drive that by himself.

Wednesday we went to lunch at the Coffee Co. and then Megan went to give blood. Later in the afternoon Zach came over and the "kids" watched The Office on DVD while I baked and cooked. I was making chicken noodle soup (Caleb had told me he wanted some of my homemade soup), Monterrey Jack bread, butterhorn rolls, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce -- things for dinner that night and for Thanksgiving the next day. Wednesday night we had small group and had the yummy pumpkin pie that I made from my mom's recipe. After the small group left we watched the end of Pride and Prejudice and more of The Office with the kids. When we came upstairs to say good-bye to Zach, we saw that it had been snowing!! Zach helped clear the sidewalk for us by rolling in the snow! What a goof! It was a fun night and fun beginning to the weekend.

Thursday we headed down to New Ulm for Thanksgiving dinner with the Stuk family. Zach came along with us. The food at the Stuk's was very yummy. I may have to roast a turkey just to have the leftovers here. I love turkey. Barb's stuffing was very similar to my mom's. After the meal we watched a football game. Well, I basically sat in the same room and enjoyed the company. I don't really watch football. But it was a fun, relaxing time to hang out. Then most of the people played "Aggravation". Barb and I took advantage of the time to talk. We all had pie to top off the meal.

After giving Zach's car a jump, and he headed to Iowa to spend the weekend with his family, we drove home. Pete, Caleb and Megan and I went to see a terrific movie called August Rush. It's a great movie about music, love and hope. We all enjoyed it very much.

After the movie we spent some time as a family talking about what we are thankful for. Caleb said he is thankful for God getting him through this tough year and for his family. Pete said he was thankful for me and that my heart is okay. I am thankful for the support the church family has given me through these health issues. And I am thankful for new friends we have in the Stuks and Zach. Megan said she is thankful for God providing friends for her this year.

Friday was a slow, relaxing day. Three fourths of us slept until 10:30 or after. :) Boy that felt good. Megan worked at 3 and Caleb hung out with his friend, Jeremy most of the day. Pete and I went to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Cute movie.

Saturday - another wonderful morning of sleeping in. Caleb actually set his alarm for 11 a.m. I thought that was pretty funny. Saturday we spent most of the day getting the Christmas decorations out, putting up the outside lights, and setting up the Christmas tree. Not quite done with that yet, but hopefully today or tomorrow. Pete and Caleb and Jeremy watched KU loose to Mizzou. :( I watched White Christmas. After Megan got home from work, she and Caleb finished decorating the tree and we spent some time talking about the Hawaii trip and then some sweet family prayer time. It's been so long since we have done that. I can really see spiritual maturity in the kids.

Today was a wonderful morning in church. I always like that. The morning was complete with one little girl showing us pictures of a bald eagle her parents rescued, another one talking her fun 21 month old language, and another giving me a hug. That last one usually acts like she doesn't want to talk to me, but today she came and gave me a hug and talked to me a bit. What a highlight!

We had lunch at the newish BBQ place in town. Caleb headed back to Lawrence about 2 p.m. (it was soooo good to have him home!) We'll see if he can match the 8 phone calls he made on the way here on Tuesday! :)

Why I Love My Husband

*he treats me like a queen
*he will drive an hour and a half to take me to the doctor, take notes and translate with rational answers when my head is swimming with too many thoughts

*he will shop with me for the afternoon
*he loves me and the kids unconditionally - what more could I want?
*he leaves sweet messages on my blog
*he shares ice cream with me
*he is a man who loves Jesus
*we have years of memories together
*co-parenting
*joy together in watching our children grow into adults (daughter) (son)
*he gives me random kisses and hugs when he is home
*he washes the dishes for me when I have a killer headache
*he is my bestest friend ever!
*he's really cute :)
*he is a man of character, integrity, and commitment
*God gave him to me to love
*he is an EXCELLENT pianist
*he has a fun sense of humor
*he gets my sense of humor
*he is a great provider for our family
*he works hard at his job
*he loves to make me happy (& he does!)
*I love to make him happy
*he is MY man!

Church

Oh how I love church. I love meeting with God's people. I love loving on my brothers and sisters and letting them love on me. And oh how I love to sing God's praises. This morning I had the privilege of singing on the worship team. And one of the cool things about that is as I was singing, my sweet husband was playing the piano. I love to hear him using his gift to praise God.

We are blessed to be able to sit under the teaching of such a "real" preacher. He's not afraid to show his shortcomings, his tenderness, and his love for God and His word.

And then a fun way to top off a great morning is to have lunch after worship with friends. And today we got to meet some new friends. Just a great ending to a wonderful morning.

God's Blessings/Power

I've been working on a list of things that God has been gracious to show me over that last few months. I wasn't sure whether to title this God's Blessings or God's Power. I see both, thus the title. So here's my list:

1. flowers from my husband
2. friends who go to the doctor with me only to sit in the waiting room for 2+ hours, and are happy about it
3. a friend who comes for lunch and stays the afternoon
4. a friend who takes time out of her busy life, to sit down, eat lunch and listen and pray and love on me
5. my daughter's laughter
6. my son's joy in life after heart break
7. meteors :) *in season of course* (what amazing power behind that!)
8. a shooting star (again - what power!)
9. a text from a friend at the perfect moment
10. practical joking friends
11. a church who would do ANYTHING for me
12. a husband's unconditional, never-ending love (kinda like God's love for me!)
13. toddlers and preschoolers who say the funniest things that just make my day

14. friends who help out my daughter when she is struggling

15. relatives who show unexpected compassion and affection

16. God's power shown through answered prayer

17. funny blogs to read - written by both strangers and friends

18. fabulous Christian music to rock-out to and to and praise my Jesus to -- even if I'm old

19. my children choosing to follow Jesus

20. the ability to sew and create quilts


I think that I will probably end up adding to this list. My God amazes me all the time.

No Excuse for This One...

So I guess my theory on not being able to function well enough to do laundry early in the morning isn't always true.

I put a load of laundry in today at 10:30am (when the brain is supposed to be awake....) and about an hour later I realized I hadn't put any soap in. So what was my excuse this time???

None.

Oh silly me.

The Firsts of the Lasts

Today the husband and I experienced the first of the lasts.

Today was the last performance of the musical. Megan is a senior in high school. And our youngest. This year's production was Beauty and the Beast. Megan had the part of The Wardrobe. As usual, She Was Terrific. It was a fantastic costume. I just giggled every time she came on stage. We have been able to go to the musical for seven years in a row with someone either on the stage or in the pit orchestra. Caleb started out playing his guitar in the pit for Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2002. Since then we have seen, South Pacific, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Grease, and Kiss Me Kate.

I realized today as I watched Megan take her last bows, that this was it for seeing my child on that stage and I got a bit teary eyed. But I will not dwell on the sadness. I am learning how to not be sad because something is over, but to be thankful that it happened at all. I am so thankful for the opportunity that both Caleb and Megan have had to be in the musicals. They have made some great friends, learned how to work in a group and just have had great experiences and great fun.

So I realized that this is just the first of the lasts for this year. All the high school activities are winding down. Strange to think that the band and choir concerts are coming to an end. We've been attending those for 11 years. We definitely have life changes coming up quickly. I plan on embracing them with joy and to finding out what is next in God's plans for us as a family.