Blog catch up!

This poor blog has taken the back seat in the wild schedule of our lives recently! Following Jack's birthday, we took a really nice vacation to northern Indiana to see my family. While we were there, we celebrated Jason's birthday and the Fourth. Jay and I also took a vacation from the vacation, left the kids with my parents and went to Chicago for a night! We took in the Art Institute, and while being in awe over the many famous paintings from centuries past, we are still banging our heads against the wall trying to figure out some of the modern art(?) Not that I mean to begin a discussion on art here, but if you have explain in two or three paragraphs the meaning of your piece, is it really art? I guess he and I just appreciate pretty art, not shock art.

On our way home, we got the kind of call that you never forget. A friend of the family, our doctor's wife, had been struck by lightning as she was taking out her trash, and her life was in definite question. The rest of our trip was agonizingly long as we dealt with fussy kids and long highways, but we realized that our troubles were nothing compared to what the Yoder family was facing. Several days later, her struggle was over. Needless to say, her death was a huge shock to all of Atmore and beyond. It was completely unexpected. She was in good health. She loved God, served her family and the community, and lived an exemplary life. It's really made me think about my life and what I want it to be about. Yes, I have peace with God; there is no question in my mind about where I will go when I die. But really, what am I here for? Does God really have my whole heart? And what does God want me to be doing with my time and money? Heavy stuff. At the same time, it's good to wrestle with the questions.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....here are some pictures from Jack's birthday party! We celebrate life when we have the chance, there is no doubt, and this little man is certainly bursting with life. You only turn one once!

I had hung streamers and the birthday banner the night before. Owen and Helen's energy levels cranked up three notches when they saw them in the morning. Jack could have cared less, but he may have smiled a bit. I decorated the cupcakes during their naptime, and got everything else finished up then too. I had just finished laying out the plastic spoons, when Owen woke up with a fever. In spite of feeling bad, he and Helen were still in awe of the cupcakes, and were picking out which ones were theirs.Apparently we are experts at getting sick just in time for parties; poor Owen had to miss his own last year! We put out the warning to the cousins. Owen burst into tears at the thought of missing the party, until he understood he could still have a cupcake. He quickly regained his former cheerfulness. What the promise of sugar won't do....! Uncle Brent and Aunt Jan came anyway, and we kept Owen with the adults. (I don't think he minded a bit.)

Jack cried because Mean Mommy wouldn't let him touch the burning candle.
He got over it once I shoved some cake in his mouth. Then instinct took over.
He got a pair of pajamas, some fun toys, and one seriously evil toy from his Aunt Jan.
By the way, you can gauge the evilness of a toy by how many big kids flock around it. From mom and dad he got a barely used Dora "ridey thing" that I found at a yard sale for $2. Hey, for a kid who plays with boxes, what does the price of the toy matter?!
Aunt Jan herself got the best gift of the evening--
a finished quilt by her mother! The best thing about that is we're next!

200th post

In my recent blog silence, so much happened in our lives it's hard to know what to write about, or even if I should. The most notable thing that happened was the passing of Jason's grandfather. He lived just a few stone's throws from us, and we would often take stroller walks to MawMaw and PawPaw's house. He was always glad to see his great grandchildren, even though gradually he couldn't hold them anymore, then couldn't put his arm around them, and finally was too weak to even hold out his hand for a five. He seemed to perk up when his grands and great-grands were around, and in fact Jason and Owen were two of the last people he recognized, or was able to mention that he recognized. I will never forget the phone call early Saturday morning. We had seen him the night before, but still we wished for one more goodbye.

In a pathetic twist of plot, The Virus hit. I should say walloped. The morning of the visitation, cousin Juli had stopped by to visit, and as we were talking, Owen threw up all over me and the carpet in the basement. Juli, about to graduate from nursing school, took it all in stride like a hero! Of course we were hosting out-of-state guests, my parents included, and I felt terrible about exposing them. There was little we could do but keep to ourselves, disinfect surfaces, change shirts and wash hands frequently. Helen got it about 12-14 hours later. I heard a little whimper during the middle of the night, checked on her, and discovered her lying in her crib, covered in cold puke. Around the same time my kids were getting sick, it was hitting other extended family members in various manners and intensities. My father in law, though he had a meditation to deliver, even considered staying home from his own dad's funeral, he felt so awful! Jason got hit during the funeral, and had to force himself to fulfill his pallbearer duties at the gravesite. Following the funeral, others began to get sick, and like us, most local family members were hosting out-of-state family. So the gift went on. Lots of us holed up in our homes for quite a while, but some poor, poor people had to endure cross-country travel while they were ill. There are all sorts of pathetically hilarious events associated with this particular GI bug that I don't have the freedom to mention, and no fewer than 34 family members got the bug. (The number may still be rising, who knows?) Fortunately, Jack did not get sick, and the worst it got for me was some slight nausea and a few skipped meals. Recounting the tale makes me feel a touch ill, sort of like getting itchy when you hear of someone getting lice. And I just rubbed my ear in a scratching sort of way. I wonder how you are feeling just reading this?!
The Nests.

Just at the end of Grandpa's burial service, it began to rain. When we arrived home, what we saw in the sky was absolutely amazing. Not one full rainbow, but four! If you look very closely, you can see that the one on the bottom is a triple. My parents and I were outside. My jaw was on the ground. Poor Jason was too sick to get out of the bed. It was such a timely gift from God, a sign of peace over Grandpa's life and his family, arching over the land he once farmed.



Grandpa was a big part of our lives, and we miss him. We had a near front-row seat to the final stages of life, and it was saddening but strengthening to watch those before us face death with courage and dignity. We love you, Grandpa, and we'll miss seeing you on your golf cart. Owen thinks maybe you are running in heaven, and he wants to run with you too.