love, purpose, gratitude

We have no choice but to wait for the Lord. But, we have options to stay prepared. We can feed our faith through prayer and study. We can feed others through our heartfelt works of charity and example. Or, we can put our faith on the shelf and just wait for the right day to dust it off. If we choose the later, however, beware! We may find there is no faith left.

I went to church today with my son-in-law and two grandsons.  Perhaps on my insistance they went with me.  It had been a few weeks since they had attended especially since their lives have been turned upside down.  With Gina in the hospital, work, school and playing super dad......I know Greg probably thought there were other things he could be doing.  By the end of Mass, I do believe that God touched his heart and he reflected on the goodness of the Lord.  Thank you Jesus.  

There have been times such as these that I, too, feel like I'm in the desert and the sandstorms of life are just taking over.  Putting my faith on the shelf and waiting is not a good thing to do and I must remember this.  Being here with Greg and kids, even though I don't consider it a work of charity but extreme love, I have felt purpose and gratitude.  My prayer is that I continue to have the stamina and good health to do this for all of my children. 

God is good and I must remember that He is always with us.....until the end of time.   

Waiting & finding the joy!

“...sitting and waiting is one of the most miserable occupations known to man - not that it usually is known to men; women do it much more often.” ― Diana Gabaldon

Sitting and waiting with Gina....praying all will be well and knowing that God is in control.

“Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts.” ― Elisabeth Elliot

Conversations with God have become on going.....never ceasing.....Rejoice always, pray continually,   give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  and so I will find the joy in the emptiness of the glass and the other side of what lies ahead......in all things find the joy!

Make room in the freezer!

I've made a list of groceries for Greg to buy to supplement what he already has....not as many as he thought! But in cooking to prepare for my departure the kids had to empty a gallon container of ice cream.....challenge? Not for this group. The Woodpile did their best to accomodate. Grandma Wood will be here to take over for a while and then I'll come back for a while longer. Maybe I can bring Gramps with me!

Yea Nani!!!

Yea me.....I took the boys to two different schools today without the GPS!! I did it and I made it back. On the way back I realized I didn't have my phone either......so if I were to have gotten lost, I don't know who I would've called. I guess I would have had to use the GPS! Oh well. On another note, Jonathan was the recipient of the National Leadership Award given to him by the Military Order of the Purple Heart from America's Combat Wounded.

When asked what he had to do to receive this award.....he said "show up to class"....but actually his instructor read some nice comments about him.

A proud moment for all of us as Greg, Daniel, Becca and I witnessed this. We sent pictures to Gina as soon as we could.

The presenter was an army purple heart recipient.....served in Korea and VietNam. He was wounded when he was a "snot nosed 18 year old". Today he celebrates his 80th birthday!!! God has some mighty wonderful plans for this man! God is good. God is good too in that Gina is doing well and Cuatro continues to grow and thrive in his warm environment(mommy)....due date is May 14th. Although there will be a full moon tomorrow and all bets are on.

"Torn between two lovers" has nothing on torn between three daughters.....and the agonizing feeling one gets when one wants to be there for all. Wishing I could somehow make it happen....help/be with/console/advice/hold each one of them as they struggle to make it all happen........with their health, their children, their homes, their lives. Wishing or praying that they all lived closer will probably never happen.....one can only pray and wish! Juggling to see all of them and not hurt one or the other's feelings (& I don't know if this happens but...)can sometimes become overwhelming. Missing out on grandchildren's growth and not being able to celebrate their accomplishments is just plain SAD! So I try to make the best judgement and sometimes that works and sometimes it hurts. Torn....is all I can say!

An Adventure

The problem with being 63 and 62 is that you don't feel 63 or 62 you feel 43 and 42....at least until after you've done something that then your body says......."hey, remember you're 62/63!".....We went on a great adventure yesterday, seeking the driftwood we saw on the beach after church. We came back loaded with tools, a shade, water, a couple of beers and chairs! The thought of doing something this crazy was good for us, we were on the same page, we laughed and we asked ourselves.....What the hell are we doing this for?????? It was crazy!! BUT, we did it. We cut through 30" circumference driftwood...beautiful with short roots exposed.....only about a third of it exposed when we approached it. We had no idea what we were in for. We dug around it until we found where we felt we could cut.

Working together we cut, dug, cut, dug, cleared all around it until we thought we could break it lose by jumping on it. Then when it finally broke.....we thought now how do we load it up....it was a heavy piece of wood. I said "God surely will send some angels to help!"......sure enough up drives a young man, with wife and a baby in the back. He asked if he could help....I said, "See....an angel!" He gets down and his t-shirt reads "Hell Raiser"....ok I'll take him ...he was young and strong! The driftwood went into the truck and we loaded everything else up and left....Now the real test is getting it down and placed where we wanted. WE did it!!! Love the art work in our small garden area of the condo "Little Joy"

happy birthday Mama!!

Today was my mother's 79th birthday.....we celebrate with her because in an hour she won't remember that it's her birthday, she won't remember who is sitting next to her, she won't remember that she ate at a nice outdoor restaurant and that she enjoyed the view of the river and the soft, gentle breezes. We celebrate because she has lived a wonderful life even though most of the time she only remembers the not so wonderful. We celebrate with mom because we don't get to see her often, yet when we do we celebrate!! Happy Birthday Mama!