Where Does the Oil Come From?

In only a matter of two days this past week, three of my friends died.  At my mother's funeral, I learned from her pastor that that's how one should state what had occurred.  She died.  My friends died.  People die. They don't "go to the other side." They die. It's one of the ugly truths of this fallen world that we, the survivors, are left here to grieve until it's finally our turn. Sounds like I'm hoping for that day, doesn't it? Well, I'm actually dying for that day. One of these days, my body will die, and when that happens, I'm just going to keep on living anyway. That's the sum of it! As I heard Dr. Oswald Hoffmann firmly state from the pulpit one Thanksgiving Eve, "I'm not kidding!!"

So, what of these three, Gary, Gary and Adam, and what's oil got to do with any of this? Their bodies died, and they live on, and the reason they live on is because they had all the oil they needed for their lamps. Our readings at church today were packed with how we prepare. Gary, Gary and Adam, believing Christians, lived the sinner and saint lives that Christians live -- Sinners because none of us are equipped to live lives as saints apart from Christ; and Saints because my baptized, believing friends lived in Christ and, as they lived, they prepared to meet Christ face-to-face on the day when it was their turn.

Jesus told a story about what the kingdom of Heaven will be like.  He taught by way of a parable about ten virgins who were attendants of a bride, and they were waiting one evening for the bridegroom to arrive for the wedding celebration to begin. They had oil for their lamps in order to go meet the bridegroom when he arrived. All ten virgins had oil in their lamps. Five of them, though, were wise and also carried flasks of oil; five were foolish and did not. The bridegroom was delayed, and the attendants fell asleep. Then at midnight, they heard "Here is the bridegroom!" They all got up to light their lamps. Jesus tells us, "And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out,' but the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward, the foolish virgins came also, saying "Lord, lord, open to us," but he answered, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'" Jesus follows this lesson with the admonishment, "Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Read Matthew, Chapter 25). Pastor told us this morning before Bible study that, during a particularly rough stretch last Tuesday, Adam had asked him, "Is today the last day?" Tuesday wasn't Adam's last day, but the flame of his lamp was still glowing yesterday morning when God's Holy Angels cradled him and took him to meet our Savior.

I've heard the parable numerous times, and I understand that it is a lesson about being prepared for our final day on earth and the promise of being with Christ for eternity. Today, though, there was this bit of the story to which I had never really given the attention it deserved. That is, "...go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves." The five foolish virgins left. They went away to buy their oil. He is telling us that the foolish invested their faith in a sinister, earthly dealer, who is always on the prowl hoping to convince a weak one into believing the lie that we have to buy what is actually freely given in order for us to enter into the wedding feast. That's why Jesus ends his lesson by telling us to be watchful and not fall into that trap.

Yes, I know how the naysayers would respond. I've already heard it too many times. "If there is a God who wants all people to be saved, then why would this good God allow the door to be shut in anyone's face?"  The answer is: HE DOESN'T ALLOW IT!!  In fact, He tells us in His word, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him."  (Read 1 Thessalonians 5)  I remember a line from a sermon several years ago, when my pastor stated, "You're either in Jesus' camp or your not."  You can't have one foot on one side of the fence (just in case) and the other on the other side (not really believing His Gospel's promise).  It.just.doesn't.work.that.way.

And one more thing, don't invite Jesus into your heart.  That's an ugly place.  It's an ugly place in every single one of us.  Our hearts are ugly, stinking pieces of trash, and they get uglier and stinkier with every sin we commit. Why would we invite anyone there; especially God?!  The only way we can have a clean heart is to ask that He GIVE it to us as King David did (Psalm 51).  Here's the best part: In His infinite mercy, God answers that prayer. We keep praying it, and God keeps answering it. It is only by His grace we are saved, through the gift of faith. It is God who invites us; not the other way around. He takes the action; not us. He does this by way of Holy Baptism where He sends the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and bring us into body of Christ, our Lord and Savior. We don't have to buy anything. God provides the oil you need (His Grace, His gift of Faith, His Word, all in His Son, our savior Jesus Christ).  Believe it, and just like Gary, Gary and Adam, you'll be ready.

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ~  Philippians 1

Live Love Cards Challenge for June - Large Sentiments

It's been a couple of months since I've entered a card challenge. Lately I have been learning and practicing Bible journaling and, though I did manage to create a couple of birthday cards recently, I haven't been as focused on that branch of art and creativity. I love it all. Too bad working for a living has to take up so much of my creativity time. Today was a hot, sunny day here in the Midwest. I went out to do a little weeding in my flower beds and decided about fifteen minutes into it that I was ready to get back inside to the air-conditioning. Might as well be cool and creative, right? So here's my entry for the June challenge at Live Love Cards. I used the Hero Arts Happy Stamp and Cut set for the sentiment and Derwent Inktense colored pencils, for the background and die cut. I used white embossing powder on the smaller portion of the sentiment and Glossy Accents to make "happy" shine. A rainbow of sequins added balance and sparkle. Thanks for checking in!

Dad, Me, SPI and a Card Challenge

Earlier this month, I accompanied my father on what I now call his annual "pilgrimage" to south Texas.  When my mother was in better health, the two of them would escape the cold winters in Missouri and go to their home in Texas.  It started out as a January to April stay so that they could spend Christmas in the mid-west with the family. Eventually, they (or maybe just Dad) decided that four months wasn't nearly long enough, and they began leaving their Missouri home in October instead. I enjoyed seeing my folks enjoy their retirement like they did.  They made so many new friends, and even had a chance to visit more with some of the people my Dad had known since his younger days in southern Illinois.  They had a lot of fun and made a lot of wonderful memories.  Mom is no longer able to travel and Dad no longer drives, but that doesn't quell his desire to travel.  He began asking me last October "Where are we going to go on vacation this winter."  I'm the single one among my siblings, so he has appointed me as the offspring who should accompany him on these get-aways.  Is it my first choice for the essay "How I spent my winter vacation"?  Well ... I'm almost ashamed to say "Not really."  However, when it gets right down to it, whether he foots the bill or not, I can't help but think of the sacrifices he and Mom made for my siblings and me as we were growing up, always demonstrating their love for us, so the least I can do is spend some of my time off to look after him and help him get as much enjoyment as he can out of whatever years he has left. I sure wish Mom could still go, though.  Anyway, after he asked where we were going this year, I thought perhaps he had decided to do something different and go somewhere other than south Texas for a change.  Since I knew he still wanted to go where the weather would be warm, I mentioned we could go to a beach somewhere.  After several conversations about many other things and several weeks of not giving him an actual point on the map, his question then became "When are we going to south Texas?"  Now I don't mind south Texas, but if you've ever seen the Rio Grande River, you would know that the only common denominator it has with a beach is that water is present -- in some places.  So I suggested a compromise of sorts. Since his friends live only a little over an hour from South Padre Island, I asked if he would consider renting a place out there. We could still visit friends and be relatively close to good health care facilities (should that need arise), and I could still enjoy morning walks on the beach. He agreed. Our condo was right on the Gulf and the view was true refreshment. I sat on our little patio each morning in my jammies having my coffee and listening to the waves. After getting my caffeine fix, I would throw on some comfy "real" clothes and walk the shoreline ... and walk ... and walk ... and walk while Dad snoozed.  When he was ready to go, we would go.  We had a lot of fun, and he was happy. I was happy too.  That's what it's all about.  So all of this leads me to that picture up there. It's a photo of another card I made for another card challenge. I've nearly waited until the last minute (tomorrow is the deadline), but I can still get this one in under the wire. Darlene's March challenge at Live Love Cards is to use colored cardstock.  Like her, I don't tend to use it very often. I get more enjoyment creating backgrounds, coloring stamped images and trying different products and techniques when I make my cards.  However, I found a great deal around Valentine's day on some 12x12 card stock that I chose not to pass up.  This challenge gave me the opportunity to use some of my bargain paper and do a different kind of creating.  I decided to go with a "sunshine on the water" theme and memorialize the trip Dad and I took to South Padre. I used a Paper Smooches die to cut the waves in three shades of blue, and I used graduated sizes of Spellbinders circle dies for the yellow, orange and red of the sun. After layering the circles together, I traced the wave line with a pencil onto the sun and then trimmed it to snuggle up against the wavy horizon line. I went with a pale yellow for the rest of the sky to contrast with the blue waves.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts wood block stamp I had in my stash.  It seemed fitting.  I layered the finished image on black and then added it to a white card base.  This was a fun way to combine a good card challenge with some good memories.

Distress Crayons

It's been a chilly and dreary afternoon (and early evening), so I've been playing inside.  Kind of reminds me of "The Cat in the Hat," except that I didn't get any visits from talking cats with cakes on rakes.  Nevertheless, I made my own fun after finishing a busy, tiring but good work week this afternoon.  I've recently become interested in art journaling and have been really impressed with some of the creativity I've seen from others on the www.  I had a whopping 50% off coupon from Michael's this week, so I decided to splurge on a pack of Distress Crayons, a new product that I had been reading about and for which I have viewed a few tutorials.  While I realize that I just used this same Bible verse for a greeting card last month and, therefore, may be perceived by some to be in a rut, I really had a lot of fun creating this journal page with the new crayons.

Because You Never Know

I was planning to drive down to Farmington after church today to see my parents.  Today is their 62nd Anniversary [No. That's not right, because 2016-1953 is 63!] and I wanted to be with them.  Nature changed all that.  It was snowing when I left church, and the roads were starting to get pretty slippery by the time I made it back to town.  Better to have one less car on the road when travel is not essential.  I'll call Dad in a little while instead, and I'll celebrate with them the next time I'm down there.  That means I have about four hours of driving time and a few more hours of visiting time to expend in some other way today. Therefore, after a quick lunch and a quicker snooze (which happened by accident while I was watching a YouTube tutorial on how to blend colors with Sharpies), I decided I should do something more useful.  I cleaned the junk drawer.  I confess that I have some junk in more than one drawer in my house, but I'm talking about the junk drawer; the kind that everyone has.  It's the one at the end of the kitchen counter which is closest to the wall where the land line phone used to hang.  Yes, Youngsters, there was a day when people had telephones that plugged into the wall and the only thing you could do with them was make and receive phone calls -- but I digress.  Now, go ahead and tell me that you don't have a junk drawer.  I won't believe you, because that would just be wrong.  It's the American way!  Anyway, I can't tell you the last time this particular drawer was cleaned out and organized, but I know it was since I threw the things pictured here into it.  I obviously did that because you never know when you might need two cup hooks and two of those little blue screwy things that go to ... ???  [shrugging my shoulders]  ... something that I might still own and which might lose not just one, but two of its little blue screwy things.  Then again, if these are yours and you've been wondering what happened to them, please let me know. I'll waive the storage fee.  I also found two tire gauges, because I might need to check the air pressure in my tires ... in my kitchen ... and, in the event that I lose one tire gauge, VOILA!  I'll have an extra!  Among a great many other treasures, I also found 34 cents. It's always nice to be paid for a job well done.

Stephen's Card

I finished a birthday card for my younger brother the other day.  I chose the Bible verse shown on the front, because, in addition to being an appropriate verse for a birthday, it reflects who he is -- a faithful servant of God.  Sinner and Saint all wrapped up into one "Loved by God Package," just like me.  The 17th will be a "milestone birthday" for him.  You know ... the kind that ends in a "0".

At the risk of sounding terribly maudlin -- not entirely appropriate following a "happy birthday" post -- I will say that as I watch my parents' declining health, I often think about my own mortality. My folks were both younger than I am now when they set out on an adventure and moved to a foreign country. They enjoyed their travels and returned safely to their home in the states just before my father retired. He was younger then than I am now. They continued to enjoy making memories, many of which were when they were younger than I am now.  Even with those thoughts in mind, I don't feel old. With all of its highs and lows, I'm still enjoying my life. I just know that time is unforgivingly short, and, if God wills it, one of these days I will be turning that same page my parents did and find myself in a whole new chapter. Not their chapter, my chapter -- but the chapter, if you know what I mean.  As the Beatles aptly put it, "Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friends."  Better yet, Ephesians 4 is an excellent read on that subject.  Check it out.

Treat Boxes for Sweet Friends

A very quick post before I head off to bed.  I just finished making a few of these little treat boxes for some friends at work.  I used Craft Smith card stock from the Pinks & Corals pad (purchased in a Hot Buy at Michael's), DP by Pebbles (Be Mine 6x6 pad), a small Spellbinders flower die from the Daisy Flower Topper set, and my little 5/8" heart punch by Recollections (also a Michael's purchase).  I've filled the finished boxes with Herschey's Hugs and Kisses.  My inspiration came from a video by Paper Smycho on YouTube.  You can watch it here.  I think they turned out really cute.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Great Impressions Stamp E875 - Hedgehog and Daisies

Here's another little card I created today with a Great Impressions Stamp.  I thought this little hedgehog in a wagon full of daisies was adorable.  This is the second card in as many days that I've used the stamp, but today I masked the top of the flower on the stem and replaced it with a heart die to make a shaker Valentine card for my sister.  The heart sequins in the shaker window are from Doodlebug Design, Inc.  The design paper is from Pebbles.  I colored the image with Copics, and I used a red Sakura Stardust Gellyroll pen on the hubcaps, the stitching around the heart and down the sides of the card.  I added a touch of clear Wink of Stella to the wagon handle for a little extra glitz.  See you next time!

All Things Red and Hearts

February is almost here, and I've been wanting to make a shaker card for Valentines day while I have the opportunity.  Usually I wait until it's almost too late to start holiday or birthday cards, but turns out I'm a little bit early for this one.  Wonders never cease.  I'm not sure you'll be able to tell much about this card from the photo.  I do my best, but taking pictures isn't my strong suit.  Thanks to Picmonkey, I can cover up a lot of mistakes.

I've recently seen several videos where some of my favorite card-makers have used the We R Memory Keepers Fuse tool.  I've been wanting to do an heirloom recipe book from my grandmother's and mother's recipe collections, so I had purchased some of the Project Life items to make that process a little more streamlined.  I also decided to invest in the fuse tool for the recipe project and learned that it will be useful to use for other projects as well, as evidenced by this card.  Though I didn't have all of the supplies used in the inspiration video by Jennifer McGuire here, I did already have the Hero Arts "Love Stamp and Cut" set, so I was able to stretch the glittered love die cut across the shaker window like Jennifer did.  I really liked the idea of being able to see all the way through the card.  I wish I had angled the love die cut a little bit more to match the angle of the edge of the heart. I did use the edge of the heart as a guide to angle the sentiment under the window, though.  I added some Epoxy Hearts by Pebbles on the front of the card.  I used Heart Sequins (not very easy to see here) by Doodlebug Design Inc. as well as some red and iridescent round sequins I already had in my stash.  I'll tweak some things on my next shaker card, but all in all I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out.

Snowy Mistletoe

For this card, I used kraft cardstock sponged with Color Box Frost White Pigment Ink.  The Mistletoe stamp is from the Penny Black Festive Florals set.  I used a Derwent Inktense Water Color Pencil in Leaf Green (with very little water) to color the mistletoe leaves.  The berries were done with a white Uniball Signo gel pen.  The sentiment, from the Hero Arts CL797 clear set, was stamped with the Color Box pigment ink.  I used the same pigment ink again to sponged more "snow" over the top of the mistletoe branches after coloring them, and then once again mixed with water to spatter "snow flakes" over everything with a small paint brush.  I fussy cut one branch and popped it up with foam dimensionals. My inspiration came from Me and Minime Crafting here.  This is for the November Snowflakes challenge at Live Love Cards.  Until next time!

Trick or Treat

This weekend the weather was chilly and breezy, the perfect kind of days which motivated many of my neighbors to set out their Autumn and Halloween decorations on their front porches and lawns.  Me?  I was cold.  I stayed inside creating another card (or two).  This one is for the October challenge over at Live Love Cards.  The challenge is "White Space." I started by adding some score lines to my card base, but I just realized they're not showing up very well in this photo.  I used a Jack-O-Lantern stamp by Hero Arts.  That stamp's package included the orange and black rhinestones.  Actually, I robbed Peter (Frankenstein) to pay Paul (Mr. Jack-O-Lantern here) since Hero Art's Frankenstein stamp also included the same type of rhinestones and I needed a few more.  The "Trick or Treat" sentiment stamp is by Craftsmart.  I've had all of these stamps for a few years, so I don't know about their availability anymore.  A glittered ribbon, a little Copic Coloring and some green Stickles for the edge of the circle were all that was needed to finish of the card front.  I layered it over a piece of black card stock and then adhered it onto a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" blank white card.  Happy Halloween, Friends!

Porch Flag

There's something about a country farm house with a flag proudly waving in the breeze that epitomizes the term "Americana."  While surfing the web for all things card-making some time ago, I happened upon a terrific website called Serendipity Stamps.  It was, indeed, a moment of serendipity.  Don't you just love that word?  Well, long story short, I browsed in their shop for quite awhile, but it didn't take me long to decide that their "Porch Flag" stamp would be among others when I placed my first order.  I love the way Old Glory is front and center, but the details of the rest of the stamp add the perfect finishing touch.  The artist gave us the freedom to decide what kind of tree and flowers are planted out front, so I went with a waxy Magnolia leaf on the tree and a sprawling, blue-violet hydrangea bush.  Today I'm submitting this Copic-colored card as part of the "Anything Goes" challenge this month which you can read about on their blog.  Wish me luck!  See you next time!

Merry and Bright

I really enjoy watching card making tutorials on line.  It never ceases to amaze me how much imagination these creative people have.  I confess that I don't have nearly as much, and I end up being somewhat of a copy-cat most of the time. Today I'm submitting this "Merry and Bright" entry for Darlene's "Holiday" challenge over at Live Love Cards.  It may seem early for Christmas, but we card makers know that August isn't really early at all if we want to get the mail out on time.

Speaking of mail: For this card, as much as I wanted to add a couple of layers of dimension (it seems to beg for it), I knew that it would not likely be a hand-delivery, so I kept it flat for the postman,

I started with the Tiny Star Background by Hero Arts.  I actually saw Darlene use this background stamp on her blog a while back, and I thought it was so cute. Have you ever noticed how inspiration can make your wallet thinner?  I wish that would happen with my waistline instead.  But I digress.

I stamped the Tiny Stars with Versamark ink and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. I sponged Tim Holtz Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink over the embossed stars to make the night sky.  The "Merry and Bright" sentiment is a Hampton Art clear stamp, and the trees are from the Stampin' Up Festival of Trees set, The sentiment and trees were also heat embossed in white.  I used Stormy Sky Distress Ink for the trees so there would be a bit of a color difference between them and the sky. I wanted everything to be mono-chromatic for this particular card. The ornaments on the tree are covered with Turquoise Stickles.  I love silver, blue and white for Christmas! The snowy hills were made with a Paper Smooches "Stitches" die.  That die did not cut through the paper (?), so I'll have to check it again on the next round, Anyway, I trimmed the hills just above the stitch line and then used my Versamark pen and Reflections "Opaque Bling" embossing powder to add a sparkling edge.  The white frame around the sentiment is also heat embossed with that same powder. Finally, when positioning the trees, I decided to put the tip of the middle one just underneath a star and color that one whimsical little star with a gold Uniball Signo pen. I put a "blanket" of yellow Stickles over the top of it for some final pizazz.  See you next time!

Coffee Pot Card - Three Masks

For the Live Love Cards July challenge, I used an antique coffee pot stamp I purchased at a rubber stamp convention/show this weekend.  My family always enjoys visiting over a cup of coffee, and since my brother and I haven't been able to do that for a while due to the distance involved, I made a "coffee" card to send to him.

I used three masks. The first was to mask the coffee pot so that I could sponge Weathered Wood Ranger Distress Ink "behind it" to make the wall while I had also masked off the bottom portion. Then, while the coffee pot was still masked, I masked off the finished wall to sponge Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to make the table.  Before sponging the inks, I scored the top portion vertically (around the coffee pot) to make the wall look like bead board, and I scored the bottom portion horizontally to make the table look like planks of wood.  I finished it off with some Tim Holtz Linen Ribbon for a masculine embellishment.

Live Love Cards - Rainbow Challenge

Maybe things are starting to slow down a bit and I'll have some time to start blogging more often.  Seems like everything has been in a whirlwind since the week before Easter.  I was glad to get home last night after my granddaughter's birthday party and "chillax" for a while before bed.  Of course checking emails, Facebook, blogs, etc. is part of the chillaxin' routine, and I happened across an intriguing email from one of my favorite card makers, Darlene Devries. Long story short, I signed up as a member on her new blog, Live Love Cards, and decided to enter the April challenge, Rainbows.  I'm getting my entry in just under the wire!

Perfect Pearls Resist Technique

Valentines and Hearts

Friday began as a work day for me, but, as is often the case, I traveled that afternoon to visit my parents.  This wasn't just any Friday, though.  This one was special.  Dad and Mom were celebrating 61 years of marriage.  I met Cathy and Mark at their house first so I could deliver the menagerie (three dogs), and we left shortly thereafter to get together with the folks.  When we arrived at their place, Cathy and I were each given a copy of the Farmington Press, their local newspaper.  The top story was a feature article about Mom & Dad's Valentine annivesary.  Sweet!  They had been interviewed by the editor of the paper earlier in the week, and she had written a very nice article which included lots of memories of their years together.  Dad is able to get out to go shopping, so he had purchased a lovely Annivesary card for Mom and had given her a beautiful necklace and earrings.  She had just had her hair done, and, in the words of Fernando, "[She] looked mahvelous, Dahling. Abscholutely mahvelous."  We all went to one of their favorite restaurants and, as usual, had more than enough to eat.  I asked Mom is she is 61 times happier than she was on their first annivesary, and she nodded.  "I'm happy," she said.  It was a fun evening.

My three dogs and I spent the night at the kennel ... er ... Mark and Cath's house where the dogs outnumbered the humans.  Saturday morning after coffee and breakfast rolls, Cathy and I had some shopping to do.  Then she had a birthday party to attend, and I headed back to do some more visiting with Dad and Mom.  I called Dad when I was on the way.  He answered and sounded awful.  I asked if he had been sleeping, and he told me he had been ill for several hours and hadn't slept very much.  When I arrived at his room  carrying a four pack of Gatorade, a jar of peaches in light syrup and (at his request) a bottle of milk, he was sitting in his recliner.  He looked as bad as he sounded, if not worse.  He said that he thought he had food poisoning.  I doubted it.  We had all eaten the same thing at the same place, and the timing wasn't right for this to be food poisoning.  Naturally, I didn't want to stick around and catch whatever evil bug was possessing him, so I told him to try to get some rest and headed over to the other side of the facility to hang out with Mom.  She was doing fine.  A couple of hours later, Dad called me and told me he was going to get one of the nurses on his wing to help him.  Shortly afterward, he called me again and said they thought he should go to the ER.  The hospital is only a few block away, so I took him over there.  While we were waiting, I kept an eye on him while he sat with his eyes closed.  I started questioning him about body aches, etc. and noticed how he was holding his left arm.  I asked if he was having left arm pain.  "Yes."  "Are you having chest pain too?"  "Yes."  That did it.  I went back to the window and gave the young lady attendant the news.  Within a minute or two, a nurse was wheeling him back to one of the exam rooms.  After a thorough assessment and listening to the beeping monitors for about an hour, the decision was made to transfer him by ambulance to the hospital in St. Louis where his cardiologist is on staff.  In the midst of all of this, I had had an opportunity to send a text to Cathy before my phone died.  She had arrived at the hospital, and when the ambulance left with Dad as its cargo, she and I went back to let Mom know what was going on.  She wanted to go to St. Louis with us.  So we got her packed up and got on the road.  After spending several hours at the hospital in St. Louis and answering the routine battery of questions while getting Dad settled in to a room, we arrived back at the ranch at 2 o'clock this morning --  just in time for Cathy to get sick -- same symptoms minus the whacko heart problem.  Poor Cath.

Dad didn't have a heart attack, and he did not have to be put in the critical care unit.  The stomach virus had caused dehydration, and the dehydration had caused his heart to get out of whack (again) -- something with which we have become familiar over the last several years.

Tonight's good news is that his heart rate has gone back down, and the symptoms of the virus have subsided.  Cathy reports that she is feeling somewhat better this evening too, but she's not back to 100% yet.  This is some nasty stuff.

As for me?  I'm keeping a good thought, but in the back of my mind, I'm wondering if/when the other shoe will drop.  So far so good.  Same for Mom.  We keep asking each other "How are you feeling?"  I think I've washed my hands ten frillion times since yesterday afternoon.  Well, let's all hope and pray that Dad's lovely valentine in that picture up there dodges this bullet and that we'll celebrate #62 with them next year -- minus the extra activity, of course.

Catching Up

Obviously, I don't get overly stressed about blogging regularly.  I hadn't realized it has been nearly eight months since my last post.  Well, life takes on a life of its own. Sounds sort of Berra-esque, doesn't it?

I haven't felt up to par today, so I'm staying home.  It's just as well since we had freezing rain last night and it's still dreary and, I suppose, slick too. Anyway, I've been laying low and "Pinteresting" from the couch.  In doing so, I happened to run across a pin that I had posted to my "Card Making Inspiration" board quite a while back. I had seen this Penny Black “Joyful Noise” stamp on someone else's board from this site sometime before Christmas.  I loved it and ordered the stamp on line.

I admired her end result so much that I wanted to recreate it.  She had used Distress re-inkers, though, and I don’t own any of those.  However, I do have plenty of Copic markers, so I played around with them, testing the colors to match hers as closely as possible.  Here's a photo of my version. Sorry it's a little blurry (oops!).  Mom had admired the stamp even before I colored it in, so this card accompanied her Christmas gift.

 

For any of you card-crafters and/or scrapbookers who are interested, this is the “recipe” of the Copics I used:

Scarf and Socks:  C1 (Cool Gray), B0000 (Pale Celestine), B95 (Light Grayish Cobalt)

Hat and Knickers:  YG91 (Putty), W3 (Warm Gray No. 3), W5 (Warm Gray No. 5)
Hair:  E57 (Light Walnut)
Face and Hands:  E00 (Skin White), E53 (Raw Silk)
Coat and Dog:  E31 (Brick Beige), E33 (Sand), E35 (Chamois), Dog only E00 (Skin White)
Gloves and Shirt:  YG95 (Pale Olive) and YG97 (Spanish Olive)
Boots:  T1 (Toner Gray), C3 (Cool Gray No. 3), W5 (Warm Gray No. 5)
Drum Body, Patch on Hat, Dog’s Scarf:  RV34 (Dark Pink), R35 (Coral), and R56 (Currant)
Drum Rim:  Y21 (Buttercup Yellow), YR12 (Loquat), YR21 (Cream)
Drum Sticks:  E27 (Africano)
Drum Skin and Dog’s Fur Above Scarf:  C0 (Cool Gray No. 0)
Drum Strap:  B39 (Prussian Blue) Highlighted with  0 (Colorless Blender)
Ground: C3 (Cool Gray No. 3), C5 (CoolGray No. 5), BG93 (Green Gray)

L'Chaim!

Happy birthday, Mom!  Today is  her 82nd birthday (well, it's a bit after midnight now so actually yesterday, the 9th, was her 82nd birthday.) We started the day with coffee, as usual.  She had two very nutritious oatmeal cookies for breakfast, and then we went to church.  The text for the sermon was the story of the Widow of Nain.  As many of you know, Mom has had quite the bumpy ride lately, so it was quite a treat for me to spend the day with her, and spoil her as much as I could.  Cathy, Mark and I made lunch for everyone after church, and we had a fresh baked cherry pie for dessert.  More coffee too, of course.  It's a staple in our homes.

 

I have to admit that even before I got on the road to go to Dad and Mom's this weekend I was feeling melancholy about this particular visit.  What a blessing it is to enjoy having elderly parents!  It can be trying, frustrating, irritating, overwhelming, exhausting (you name it), but we don't take one moment for granted.  At the core, it's about love, and it's not just about the love we have for our parents or for each other.  It's the about the genesis of love.  This veil of tears is the constant reminder that, because of sin, our bodies will waste away and one day be void of life.  That fact was so easily dismissed when we were children and ignorant of our own mortality, and then, it seems, even more so as selfish adolescents and young adults.  And yet through it all, we know how things are going to be for those of us baptized in Christ!  One of our Communion hymns today was the Easter hymn, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives."  Though Mom continues on an uncertain and somewhat bumpy ride right now, she joyfully sang:

 

He lives to silence all my fears;

He lives to wipe away my tears;

He lives to calm my troubled heart;

He lives all blessings to impart.

 

He lives and grants me daily breath;

He lives, and I shall conquer death;

He lives my mansion to prepare;

He lives to bring me safely there. 

 

It's an Easter hymn, and yes, Easter is over for the church year.  But Easter is what it is all about for all of us. It is the same compassion that Jesus showed the Widow of Nain.  It's about God who gives life vs. sin which causes death.  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  In Christ we live.

 

L'Chaim!

 

Home and Away Games

It's Sunday and I'm home!  I arrived at about 5 o'clock this afternoon.  I was thinking about this earlier in the day, and I counted the number of days that I've been home since Christmas Eve.  It's a good thing that 1 is a counting number, because that's it.  One whole day.  While it's true that I've had some evenings at home, the only whole day that I've been able to stay at home since Christmas Eve was New Year's Day. Come to think of it, I wasn't home for a whole day on Christmas Eve either, but at least I came close.  Anyhoo, it's good to be home where I can "Take a Load Off, Annie" ... or Fanny ... or whoever you are.

I've seen quite a bit of southeastern Missouri lately since Mom got hurt.  Things are going well for her, though, and there are plenty of blessings to go along with that bit of good news.  Yesterday, it was just my Pa and I who went to pick her up at the hospital in Cape Girardeau and bring her back to their little hometown hospital.  On the way to get her, I told Dad that I had heard the Floyd Cramer CD go around about five times since Friday, and I was ready to hear something else (no offense, Floyd).  He told me to open the console compartment and find something else to play.  Dad is a huge country music fan, and I'm a moderate country music fan.  I picked out a Hank Williams CD.  I knew he would appreciate it, and I wondered whether he might even sing along.  Worries about Mom have made him nervous and ... well ... kind of grouchy.  Okay, not just kind of grouchy.  I'll tell it like it is:  He's been balls to the walls grouchy, and it's really been hard to take.  I believe I have about 40% of my tongue left, having bitten about 60% of it off in the last several days.  But here's what I keep telling myself:  I can be slightly grouchy from time to time too.  Maybe even a little more than slightly.  I know! Who woulda thunk it, right?!  Here's the other thing I keep telling myself:  I'm not always going to have the time I want with my Pa, so I'd better take the good with the bad and be thankful for all of it.  By the way, since I've been home, I've spoken with him twice on the phone.  It's 7:35 p.m.  Once I called him to let him know I made it home safely; and the other time was him calling me to tell me he had found his hearing aid (it had been missing since Thursday evening).  He was so happy!


Back to Hank:  I put the CD into the slot, and it didn't take long for Dad to start crooning.  Good!  Maybe this will keep his mind off Mom's ailments while we are each other's captive audience for the next hour.  When I knew the words, I sang a little bit too.  I also got to hear a story I hadn't heard before.  Several years ago, Dad and Mom attended one of the "Old Goats Reunions."  This is a reunion of people who worked in AVSCOM or TSARCOM or one of those "coms" for the Department of the Army -- I'm not sure which since he worked for both.  So there was a guy there who had been hired to entertain them.  He was a guitar player, and he called Dad up on the stage with him, handed him a microphone and a sheet of lyrics and asked him to sing. The song was "Your Cheatin' Heart".  Turns out, Dad did a good enough job that people stopped to listen and even applauded when he was done. So how 'bout that?!

Here's the song from the CD that Dad seemed to like the best.  I must admit, even at 82, he does a pretty good job.  Move over Hank!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skE6j6oGLRY

Saying Goodbye to 2012 and Welcoming 2013

My goodness, it's been so long since I've posted that I'd almost forgotten what to do!  The Autumn months and the beginning of Winter tends to find me out more than in. In other words, there is not a lot of home time, and from the looks of The House at 304, it's evident that I have neglected it to some degree. Oh, I still managed to give it a little spit and polish here and there, but not nearly what it deserves for all the blessings I derive from living here.

That said, I've enjoyed the activities that have taken me away. Besides the routine work schedule at the office, once the school year begins, most of the other activities involve getting together with good friends to ring and sing. Bell choir and "regular" choir practices at St. Paul have filled many an evening as we prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday and the MAS of CHRISTmas. What a beautiful, joyous and especially lovely time of year this is when we are again reminded of the greatest love; The Word, begotten of the Father, made flesh. He who is the ultimate love. The Lamb sacrificed for each of our undeserving selves. The One who takes away the lovelessness of man -- all of it -- every loveless thought, every loveless word, every loveless deed. This is the love of heavenly peace; the assurance of  another promise yet to come. This is the peace which the old man, Simeon, knew when he held the Christ child in his very arms and rejoiced, "Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel!" One of these days, I'm going to take a turn sitting next to Simeon at the banquet table just to hear him tell about that day. That's one of my faves.

Well, in all that busy-ness of Advent and Christmas, the year 2012 ended with a bit of tribulation for us. Mom fell on December 8th and has been hospitalized since the 19th for what turned out to be two fractured vertebrae. I can't imagine the pain she was feeling before they figured out what had happened and she started receiving some much-needed medication. She is scheduled to have surgery in a few days. What a way to kick off the new year, huh? We are all hopeful of a complete and pain-free recovery, and the surgeon is confident that that will happen. If all goes well, both of my parents will be able to spend some time with the four of us "kids" (and three spouses) on Alabama's shore where we can all thaw out for a little while. If that comes to pass, I'll try to be a good girl and share some pictures upon our return.

It's not easy to look back on an entire year and recite all of the happenings, but, as with every year, 2012 had its share of ups and downs. Why waste time on the "downs" when it's more fun to recall the "ups"?

The first that comes to mind is my son's family's move from the big city out to the country.  It's one of the best decisions they have made. The kids have adjusted to their new little school, and they've made a lot of friends. Each of them are finding their niches. My oldest granddaughter, for instance, is a cheerleader now. I'm so proud of each of them. They're all great kids. My son and daughter-in-law are pretty cool too!

One of the biggest events for our extended family was celebrating the marriage of my niece in July. The icing on the wedding cake was that she didn't move to the wrong end of the state and away from us.  Just a couple of weeks before the wedding, we received the exciting news that my nephew and his wife welcomed the birth of their baby girl. She's a doll. Another doll is my other great-niece, born last December, who I got to meet for the first time at the bridal shower. Babies are da bomb!

Another one of the "ups" (albeit not as exciting as the birth of a baby or a wedding) was being allowed flexible schedules at work. Each member of our staff was given several choices. My first choice was to work four 9-hour days and one 4-hour day per week. As it turns out, serendipity was on my side. I got my first choice, but instead of rotating the 4-hour day each week as expected, my boss asked that it be a "standing" day each Friday to accommodate reception desk back-up duties. Score! I'm loving my Friday afternoons off.

In addition to a February vacation with my sister and folks to south Texas, my parents and I got together with some of our extended family out in Colorado. The accommodations were compliments of my Dad's first cousin. That was October, and the golden leaves of the Aspen trees dotting the Colorado Rocky Mountains were simply gorgeous. We had a great time.

Two of my cousins, Brad and Darla, visited from Idaho in October, and though I didn't get to spend a lot of time with them, we did have a nice dinner together before they returned home. Their father was a favorite of mine. He really knew how to "spin a yarn." My cousin, Darla, looks just like my sainted grandmother did when she was young.

Resolutions for the new year? Always. I hope, as I do most years, that I'll be better about keeping them. In the meantime, I'll be hanging out here at 304 trying to remember to take the "downs" in stride and be thankful for each "up" moment. Whatever 2013 brings, I hope each of you have a happy year!

Here are a few "out with the old" pics from 2012 in no particular order:

 

Dad and Mom's Dog Had Puppies in February.  The big guy is my grandson, Conner.  The little guy is Gus.  He's not so little these days.

 

 

 

Sometime in August or September, the six of us visited a winery near Perryville, Missouri.

 

 

 

Another pic from February.  This was taken near my friend's home in Edinburg, Texas.

 

 

 

This is my sweet little great-niece who was born in December, 2011.

 

 

 

This is another one of my sweet little great-nieces.  She was born in July, 2012.

 

 

 

I took this picture of my cousin at Williams Creek Reservoir near Pagosa Springs, Colorado in October.

 

 

Driving through western Kansas on our way to Colorado in October.

The most difficult part about photographing Kansas is getting the horizon line level.

But just remember: God loves Kansas too.

 

 

 

 

Random photo of one of my handsome brothers and our Dad.

I don't remember what they were working on, but it looks very important, doesn't it?

 

 

 

 

"The Shepherds' Farewell" pre-service practice by

the double-quartet.  Trust me, their voices blended beautifully, and

Carlo, the organist, is amazing.

 

 

 

Left to Right:  Darla, Me and Brad.  So good to see them!

 

 

 

 

This was taken during the recessional at Pastor Ball's installation

at St. Paul on December 16th.

 

 

 

Mom got a 4-hour pass to come home from the hospital on Christmas day.

She was tired by the end of it, but she said it was Merry nonetheless.

 

 

 

Here's another pic of Mom in her room at the hospital (12-28-12).

She had just had her hair done.  All of her caretakers have been wonderful.

 

 

 

My grandaughter, "Jazzie", at the top of the pyramid.

 

 

 

The Happy Bride and Groom