Inspired!

It's the last day of 2013. I would like to post a deeply thoughtful blog about all the great things I have learned and enjoyed the past year, with the desire that it would inspire us all to go out and make our world a better place in 2014. I would like to. But that is one of those things I will never get around to doing. Instead, I have to share what inspires me today.

Interior Decorating. Yes. If you know me very well, you are no doubt aware that this is one of the many talents that I have not been blessed with. When something lands on my walls, it generally stays there for about 20 years. Recently, maybe five years ago or so, I had my niece Jody help me update some things, and it looked decent for a month or two til I started messing with it. As the years passed and furniture was rearranged or things came along, I adjusted a few things here and there, and even I am noticing that my walls are looking really lame.

I received some nice gifts recently and had no clue where to hang them or how to put together a grouping. Then, last night, a missing piece fell into place and I had it!

Let me back up. An amazing thing happened this past year. Nick and Christina will be having a baby in May, our first grandchild. I was honored and privileged to be invited to the ultrasound a few weeks ago which showed that this little guy is a BOY! I've been a bit busy with Christmas and all the changes in routine that brings. Yesterday was the first time I was in  store with a bit of time to shop….so I headed to the baby department at Fred Meyer. Have I ever told you how much I love that store? Oh, yes, I believe I have mentioned some fun times there in the past. Anyway, I was seeking out something for a boy that mentioned an awesome grandma. There were adorable things for aunts, grandpas, moms and dads, but not one grandma outfit could I find. I was about to give up in despair and go somewhere else, when suddenly I saw it.

Have you seen these cute little mustaches around?  I hadn't either, until Christina mentioned that she is using them as part of her nursery decor. Suddenly I see them everywhere! I sent her a picture to see if she already had this one, and she didn't. So I made my first clothing purchase for my new grandson. Do you see that it even has purple suspenders? I just love it.

As I gazed fondly at this sweet little garment and imagined the baby boy who will inhabit it (he always looks like Baby Nick when I imagine him), inspiration began to strike me. After I slept on it and pondered a bit more, the pieces fell into place further. I put this together this morning.

Nick and Christina are the top picture, my own poetic masterpiece is in the middle, and then little Nicholas (as he was known then) enjoying the swing in our back yard. Add this to the darling little garment and the two gifts from Nick and Christina and I have a newly designed dining room wall!

I'm well aware that my final grouping would not win any awards in home interior design, but it brings me great joy to look at it! (I tried to work with the holes that were already in the wall so that limited my creativity somewhat!)

Uh oh,  I see that the tag is showing on the baby onesy. Pretty tacky huh. Well I'm too lazy to retake the picture. I have now fixed it on the wall at least.

Okay, I'm exhausted after all that creative labor this morning. I need to rest now. No, actually I need to go out and run! The sun just came out! Time to take off my jammies and put on my running clothes!  Maybe I'll have to get me one of those little running strollers so I can take the grandbaby on adventures!

 I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year and many blessings and gifts in 2014!

Birthday Gifts

Counting my birthday gifts….

1.  Phone conversations with my sister Jean and three of her younguns…and they all sang happy birthday on speaker phone. When I told Serena I was 55, she asked, "Is that old?" They can't wait to come on Saturday, go to Bethlehem, have pizza, play at the park. I can't wait either!

2. School went from two hour delay to a day off due to icy roads and freezing rain forecast. It's the first time school was cancelled on my birthday! (Or maybe I'm just so old I can't remember if school was ever cancelled on my birthday!) And it was Consecutive Snow Day #5! I'm really sure we've never had that many!

3. My gift to myself: completing this year's goal of running 700 miles. Today's run made this year's total 700.3.  It was probably the last time I'll get these snowy landscape views because the temps are finally above freezing. Hopefully the last time I'll see one of these ugly critters too. Yep, I got to do a little wildlife photography today. Two nutria were along the road, but one slithered into the ditch when I approached. I crossed the road and took a few shots as this one brazenly stayed in sight.

On the way back, the brave one had crossed the road and lay in wait for me.  I crossed the road and it started toward me but I kept on moving. Eeuw.

5. I requested French Onion Soup made by my oldest son. It turned out absolutely delicious, and he also made some fabulous walnut encrusted chicken. Yum! We enjoyed a wonderful family dinner, missing Christina who was unable to come. 

Here they are, holding some of the gifts they brought. (I'm holding my first Grandma mug!) It was a fun and noisy night. (Least you are mislead by the iPhone in Molly's hand, let me clarify: No, that wasn't a gift to me!)

6. Family. Boys. Girls. A husband who puts studded tires on my car. Love. Warmth. Laughter.  Friends. Only a few of the many gifts the overflow in my life. So blessed.

Snow Days…and Days…and Days….

Snow Day. It's a delight to get one of these, to stay in your warm house in your warm fleece jammies, drink lots of coffee, hot tea, and or hot chocolate, listen to Christmas music, play on the computer, get stuff done. Friday was a snow day. It's so beautiful to wake up to a white world and then to watch the flakes continue to come down all day. Snow Days are one of the greatest fringe benefits of working for a school.

Will and Zeek went for their usual walk. A snow day is just like any other to them.

There they go.

I believe Zeek enjoys the snow.

Saturday was still very cold but no new snow. I put my hiking boots on and went for a 3-mile run in the afternoon. There were a few slippery spots but for the most part it was just packed snow.

 Those little dots below are sheep that ran away from me as I approached, with much noisier baa-ing than usual.

 I think it was about 23 degrees. I thought I'd be cold but it was amazing how extremely warm I was after about the first five minutes of running and especially after coming back in the house!

Record breaking low temperatures, down to the single digits, meant the snow stuck around. After church (sparsely attended I might add!), I went by the school and took a few pics.

Got the word yesterday afternoon that school would be closed today as well due to ongoing treacherous roads. Gotta love knowing that you get to sleep in the next day!

Today was the first day I didn't even venture out for a walk. I made some good inroads on my to-do list. I even did some school work that I brought home. I think Will is loving having me at home all the time. I serve him my delicious homemade cabbage vegetable soup for lunch every day so far and he doesn't even have to ask for it. I have discovered that he is really good at repairing broken Christmas ornaments and decorations. I left the vacuum in the living room and mentioned that I'd love it if he used it there. I'm always right here to give him advice and he doesn't even have to ask for it. He sure seems to spend a lot of time outside shoveling snow.

And this afternoon came word that school is closed AGAIN tomorrow.

So I get to sleep in again and lounge around reading the paper and checking Facebook.  Hopefully I'll get in another snow run and get my Christmas cards addressed. Is this what it would be like to be retired? No, I would have to discipline myself to get in a routine. Maybe just allow one day a week to be a lazy morning!

I know we'll have to make up these days later, but I'm not going to worry about that now. Instead I'll enjoy another evening in my warm house, hot cup of tea in hand, and watch a movie with my husband, not worrying about getting up early in the morning. Routine is good, but a break in the routine is really fun too!

Baby Thanks

Christmas is coming and the beauty of the holiday season is all around me. But before I can fully give myself over to it, I need to wrap up Thanksgiving and count a few more blessings that I enjoyed over the long weekend.

After we eat Thanksgiving dinner, we always go around the table and share what we're thankful for.  I provided a cute little paper (from Pinterest!) in each person's place card for them to write what they're especially thankful for in this past year. Lots of major things happened this year,  like new jobs, a new home, a new puppy, and a college graduation. Craig and Stephanie were in Alabama visiting her family, but Anisa produced a beautiful Thanksgiving card from them, on which they had written what they are thankful for, which made this mama very happy! A year ago at Thanksgiving, Anisa mentioned to Stephanie that there was an opening at the Postal Plaza where she works. This year, Anisa was thankful that she gets to work with Stephanie because she is such a sweetheart! And then there was Will, who is thankful for "the entertainment that is LeAnn". (That was right after I had lost control of the salad tongs and flung salad across the table at Rachel, Duane's special friend.)  Oops. Lucky she's such a good sport.

Nick and girlfriend Christina are very thankful for each other and…for the baby that's on the way! What a precious gift we are all anticipating in May 2014! I am overjoyed that she invited me to come along to the ultrasound just before Christmas when they learn if it's a boy or girl! I'm gonna be a grandma!

Have I mentioned how much I love having some girls in the family? Christina livens things up around here,  and we know that she is going to be an amazing loving mom.

We've shared Thanksgiving with my brother Doug and his family for many years, and our kids keep bringing more special people along to make it even more fun. I put together a slide show with pictures of our two families over many years that I wanted to play on the TV during the day.  (Of course there was technical difficulty when it came time to play it but my genius husband eventually got it working.) But I noticed we'd never taken a group photo of everyone, though there are many shots of those gathered around the table with my chair empty!

After dinner, I didn't actually say that everyone had to take a walk around our loop if they wanted dessert, but no one objected to a little stroll on this beautiful sunny day. Will took the camera and tripod and masterfully took some group pictures of the whole group at the park,  including a nice one and a silly one. I hope you can figure out which is which.

We didn't notice at the time, but strangely enough, Will didn't set the timer and sprint back to us on the silly one.

Anisa thought it would be fun for all of us girls to throw leaves in the air. I challenge you to line up with a bunch of girls, count 1,2,3 and throw a bunch of leaves in the air without whooping it up and laughing! Oh yes, we know how to have a good time!

"Black Friday" was another great day. I awakened at 8:30 a.m. feeling completely refreshed and relaxed after Will and I stayed up late watching a movie or two. After a bite of breakfast I drove off to meet my friend Candace at a beautiful garden, where we sat and soaked up the sun. Oh wait, that was in August. This time we met at Starbucks, which was very crowded, but two comfy chairs opened up just in time for us. They were even right next to each other. Good coffee, great friend. Wonderful. And just looking at this picture, I can feel the warmth of the sun, smell the lavender, and smile at the memory of some good laughs with my friend.

Then I joined the throngs at Fred Meyer to get my half-price socks and got side tracked browsing through scarves and jewelry that were 60% off. My sister Hope and I hooked up and decided to meet at Panda Express after hitting Kohls. She got there before me and let me know that the line was extremely long so I skipped it. After our lunch, we moseyed over to Red Robin where my sis-in-law Carol and niece Dawn were having lunch. I had coffee again.  I love time with all these women.

(I'm pretty pleased that I figured out how to spell mosey. I tried lots of different ways before that red underline disappeared.)

Another fun outing with more special women on Saturday morning. My friends since high school, Mim and Becky, joined me at my place for coffee, then we headed down to "Christmas in the Barn" on Roberts Road in Shedd. A beautiful place to get in the holiday spirit for sure. And these girls make me laugh. Becky thinks she looks like a marshmallow in this picture. Yes, she is very sweet. And we got to see my lovely niece Janelle, who took this picture and who works at the Barn. Ok, we also saw her wonderful brother Micah who was delivering a Dutch Bros coffee to her. Is that sweet or what? I didn't want to mention Micah because I really messed up the introduction. Sometimes I suspect that I am getting old. Or something.

 Last but not least, on Sunday my niece Faith and her husband were here from California so we had a family dinner in Brownsville. Which means I got to see the adorable Serena and Jamison. Few things in life are better than a child running excitedly to greet you with a big hug! Serena loves to play with this basket of "breakables" at Grandma's house.

 Jamison is delighted when he gets to touch the breakables too. 

This is the little guy who went out the door unnoticed when people were leaving, got in the driver's seat in his family's minivan and laid on the horn. After being removed from the car, he reported with a big grin that he was going to leave without mommy and daddy!

Children definitely make the world a happier and more exciting place! This was a wonderful Thanksgiving, but next year Thanksgiving will be even sweeter cause I'll be a GRANDMA!!

Counting my Blessings

Have I neglected this blog or what? Today is Thanksgiving. Yesterday as I was cleaning and preparing food, I tried to keep my focus on thanking God for my many blessings. The events of the past year have caused me to be so much more aware of thankfulness and gratitude.

What events? My sister Hope's life changing, neck-breaking fall last January was the beginning. She has come through this journey of a traumatic accident, followed by months of slow but steady recovery, learning to live her life that now includes daily pain and limited stamina and energy. But her spirit is so strong! From the beginning, she was determined to maintain her attitude of choosing joy and thankfulness, counting the daily gifts from God. God is using her to inspire and encourage so many people. It's amazing.

This accident made me look at my priorities, and moved my relationship with her to a much higher level than it had been. I treasure my weekly visits with her and her wonderful family. Recently she gave me the "One Thousand Gifts" devotional book, which contains titles like Surprising Grace, Choosing Grace, Anti-anxiety Grace, Urgent Grace, This-moment Grace, Lovely Grace, and so on. It includes a journal to count 1000 ways God loves me - the daily gifts that I am thankful for.  “Are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep gaze fixed on God?” Ouch. I could go on and on, quoting all the sentences I have underlined. But I must reign myself in. I want to share a few more things that I am thankful for on this Thanksgiving 2013.

As I was thanking God for my blessings yesterday, I realized that the ones that mean the most to me are people. My family:  my husband, my boys and their beautiful girls, my brothers, sisters, in-laws, mom, nieces, nephews, great-nieces & nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins.  My friends:  I am blessed with so many, from close friends to casual acquaintances, I love you all!  Co-workers: what a wonderful group of people who are also friends.

In no particular order of priority, on Thanksgiving 2013, I am thankful for: sunrises and sunsets, Crater Lake, the Oregon Coast, the Cascade Mountains, running a 15k in Maui, palm trees in Maui, running a half-marathon on a beautiful August day, shopping trips and dinners with friends, shopping trips with sisters, Sunday dinners with my family, a hot shower to start each day, hot coffee, hot tea,  a warm home, a covered patio, anticipation of a sunny Caribbean cruise in January, exhilarating Zumba workouts, exhausting Crossfit workouts, running on country roads, running on river trails, and the anticipation of sharing delicious food with 13 family and friends today!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." (G.K. Chesterton)

A Day to Play

We took advantage of a No School day today to go play! After a leisurely breakfast (well, for me anyway, I lounged around drinking coffee while Will and Zeek went on their usual morning walk), we headed over to Peavy Arboretum to do a little hiking in McDonald Forest. (After I spent five minutes looking for the car keys which I had left inserted in the trunk lock 10 minutes earlier.) (I always like to provide opportunities to remind Will that I'm not perfect.) Although perhaps that reminder was unnecessary since I was driving today, because from all the gasping and clutching onto things on his side of the car, one might suspect he doesn't think my driving is perfect. Good grief.

Here's a few pics from our day. I love the way the ferns grow on mossy dead trees.

 There is something about walking through a forest that is satisfying deep in my soul. And that is about as poetic as I can get.

 Check out the scary crocodile.

 Anybody good at identifying mushrooms? There were many, and lots of different varieties. We done't know any of them. But this old retired guy I know might look them up one day when he's not too busy fishing or woodworking or raking leaves or vacuuming or doing Suduko or freaking out about the news.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Specimen #3 

Specimen #4

Specimen #5

Specimen #6 

More of Specimen #5 I believe.

Specimen #7

Specimen #6 probably

Specimen #8

After hiking about five miles, we were more than ready for a late lunch. Will said he wanted to go to TGI Fridays. I was surprised, I didn't know Corvallis had one, but Will said he knew right where it was. I was not surprised when he pulled into Ruby Tuesdays. He said, "Well, it's a day of the week, isn't it?" It cracked me up!

After a little shopping and some Starbucks coffee and a few more laughs, we headed home. How thankful I am to have the opportunity and the health to get out and enjoy a great day with my husband! I am so conscious of people I love who don't have that privilege right now: my friend Mindy and her husband Ryan, who is undergoing chemo, and of my Aunt Margie's family gathered with her son Tom and his wife Kathleen, as Kathleen is now on hospice due to cancer. My cousin Angie shared this on Facebook today, "As I watch my brother so tenderly and lovingly care for Kathleen, and then smooches on her cheek, tears come to my eyes. As I listen to Kathleen crack a joke and find humor amidst pain, a smile breaks through. What a blessing to witness such unconditional love "in sickness and in health". "

 Our love and prayers are with them day and night. 

"The eternal God is your refuge,

and his everlasting arms are under you." (Deut. 33:27)

Belknap Springs

Belknap Springs still displayed showy flowerbeds last weekend during our late September camping trip.  We tried something new this trip, inviting my little brother Doug and his lovely wife Anisa, to share our 5th wheel with us. (We kept the bedroom and gave them the living room hide-a-bed.) We are such amazing hosts, we even left Zeek at home so they wouldn't have to room with him! My brother Galen and his wife Carol parked their RV next to ours in a spot very near the upper swimming pool, fed by hot springs.  We enjoyed some wonderfully relaxing soaks in that deliciously hot pool, day and night.

We posed for pictures in all kinds of lovely spots, I'm not sure why none of us are preening on that particular bench.

Their jazz band sculpture became a little more weatherworn in the past 10 years since I last saw it.

The gang is checking out the boiling hot water that comes out of the hillside and obeying the sign that says "Do not touch." Hi, Doug.

A feisty snake darted out in front of me on a trail. I believe I reacted in a surprisingly mature fashion.

We explored the Secret Garden. Hi, Doug and Galen.

Doug and Anisa enjoyed some romantic interactions.

They're so inspirational. I can't remember the last time my own dear husband beseechingly got down on his knees.

Hi, Doug.

Aren't they cute.

Galen and Carol pose with the bears.

Awww.

I love this, on the riverside patio.

Gorgeous place to soak in the beauty of the McKenzie River.

We had many deep meaningful conversations over the weekend, and I'm happy to share that we made some real headway in getting my little brother Doug to confront and deal with some of his childhood traumas. Just how many years were you in kindergarten? How old were you when Galen announced his engagement to the lovely Carol? (After a few arguments and much math, I believe 7 was the correct age.) Doug and Dave (who would have been 8 or 9, we didn't do the math on that one), bitterly resented the arrival of Carol into the life of their beloved big brother. At the family dinner where Galen and Carol passed out engagement photo announcements, Doug pointed to a label on Galen's trousers and declared, "F is for foolish." Doug and Carol had further friction on down the road, when as an 8-year-old recently bereft of his mother, Doug would go stay with Carol after school while the older siblings were still in school. One day Carol offered him a sandwich, made with the cotto salami containing black peppercorns. Doug refused to eat it, and Carol said he couldn't have pie until he ate the sandwich. Little Doug cried. Doug got pie. And we have laughed about it a million times over the years.

Doug wondered why Sister Beulah spanked him, a timid first grader (or was it kindergarten again) at Elliot Prairie Christian School, just for playing Train with all the other boys, with their fingers in the back pockets of the boy in front of them. Could they help it if someone's pockets got ripped? And why did he next have to suffer a crabby elderly teacher at Tennessee School in 2nd grade, one who was known to rap you on the head with a ruler if you displeased her? Poor little Doug. Fortunately, he had the love of his family to carry him through, and we love him to this day.

It is so much fun to enjoy the present day and reminisce about the past with my oldest and my 2nd to youngest brother and our patient, long-suffering wonderful life partners. And to the rest of my 9 siblings, we missed you! When is the next family reunion?

Fun at Freddy's

Fred Meyer has suddenly become my very favorite store, and I can hardly wait till the next time I go there. Why, you wonder? Well, on Wednesday, my enjoyable encounter with an elderly gentleman who told me I was skinny enough to eat cookies was enough to make me think fondly of the place.  Then Thursday, my brother Galen invited me to dinner and requested that I bring ice cream to go along with the Razzle Dazzle Berry Pie from Kris’s Kitchen in Lebanon. (Wow! Best pie ever! Worth every point!) 

So after work, I went straight to the ice cream aisle at dear old Freddy’s.  (I didn’t even check the cookie aisle to see if my new friend happened to be there getting more cookies for his grandkids.) Two young men about the age of my sons were in front of the Dreyer’s, and I stopped next to them to wait my turn just as one of them said, “The trouble is, I don’t even know what kind of ice cream LeAnn likes.”

I gasped with delight. “Well,” said I. “You’re in luck. I’m LeAnn, and I like Dreyers Light, preferably something chocolate.” They laughed and thanked me, and I assured them I was looking forward to the surprise party that someone is obviously planning for me, and really, I’d be happy with any kind of ice cream that they bought me.  They quickly excused themselves and got out of the way so that I could get the Dreyer’s Light Vanilla that I needed. Such nice young men.

As I paid for the ice cream, I told the clerk how much I love coming to Fred Meyer these days and enthusiastically shared my recent experiences with her. The gentleman in line behind me was unashamedly eavesdropping and at the conclusion of my tale, he said, “And I bet you aren’t a day over 29, are you?”

“Why thank  you, I don’t believe I am,” said I. “That settles it, I am definitely coming back here tomorrow.”

As I left, I plotted that I should probably make an appearance in the potato chip aisle the next day in hopes of another serendipitous encounter with as yet unknown friends. However, when I told my husband of my latest Fred Meyer adventure, he cautioned me about making a habit of flirting with men at Freddy’s.  Ha, flirting with 80 something and 20 something men. Oh yes. I ignored his nonsense as usual. But then today in response to my story, a co-worker made a laughing remark about me turning into a flirt at Fred Meyer. Oh no. Is it true? I hereby vow to put a stop to daily visits to Fred Meyer before I allow my obsession with desserts to turn me into a pathetic flirtatious fool who hangs out in dessert aisles hoping some guy will either give me permission to eat cookies or offer to buy me ice cream. I must flee from temptation. Stop and think before I open my mouth and say stupid things to strangers.

Just another time my life could easily turn into an illustration of a quote of which I have to occasionally remind myself:

“If you can’t be a good example, you just might be a horrible warning.”

Tea with Hope

Last Saturday was the long awaited "Tea with Hope". My sister Jean donated this to the benefit auction held for Hope back in March, and six lucky women contributed a goodly sum of money to purchase tickets for this event. Jean included Hope, four of her daughters, and her mom to round it up to an even dozen. It was a lovely August afternoon to sit in the shade by the creek in a gazebo and enjoy an elegant tea party in Harrisburg farm country at the home of Jean's parents-in-law.

 A purple ribbon connecting tin buckets of flowers lined the way to the gazebo. We servers walked properly down this way instead of cutting across the yard with our various courses.

 This is Trudi's seat. I detect a bird house theme.

 Hope's daughter Adrienne and darling son Kenden came from the far reaches of Ontario, Canada for this even.

 It was a delight to see cousin Becky Boone, who made the trip from Salem.

 Hope and her girls, from left to right: Jenna (from Virginia), Hope, Adrienne with Kenden, Janelle, and Camille. (Daughter Brianna was unable to make the trip from Pennsylvania as she is nearing the due date for her second child.)

Jean and her sister-in-laws and mother-in-law, (the Baker girls who are famous for the spectacular teas they put on), worked smoothly together with efficient coordination and skill preparing the lovely delicacies, many of which require last minute popping in the oven or assembling.

I demanded a group photo of this fabulous group of ladies, including my SIL Carol who helped serve. Now I could tell you that I chose the artsy looking photo below, which blurs the faces of these lovely ladies, to honor the fact that they are all very humble, modest women who are not seeking any glory for the amazing work they all did on this event. Or I could tell you the truth, which is that I have no idea why in the world this picture and several immediately following turned out weird like this.

 Here is the first course, Grapefruit Mint Sorbet. 
 You can read the menu on the right (if you put on your reading glasses or click on the photo to make it larger or maybe both) to see the corresponding items on the plate below (starting with Cucumber-Avocado Tea Sandwich).

The Blackberry Lemonade was incredibly delicious, as was everything else. Up in the house, we found opportunities to sit down and sample these elegantly wonderful treats.

 The spun sugar birds nest atop the cupcake was quite a work of art.

Most of the ladies took several of their dessert dessert items home with them to enjoy later.

Here's another fabulous artsy photo, this one of the attendees. Trudi Gregory (who organized the auction), cousin Becky, Bonnie Smucker (a long-time friend), friends who are sister-in-laws Vicki Ropp, Vonda Ropp and LaDonna Stutzman. I listened in as everyone shared how they heard about Hope's accident. Vonda's recounting was especially touching, as she herself suffered a broken neck two years ago from a motorcycle accident and knows what is involved with the recovery process. When she and her husband visited Hope in the hospital and prayed with her, Hope asked them to pray for her son Micah who was on her heart, not knowing that on that very afternoon he was involved in an accident which potentially could have resulted in serious injuries, but he was miraculously spared and has recovered.  I wasn't able to stand around and eavesdrop all day, because of course I took my serving duties very seriously, and I also got to take care of sweet Baby Kenden for a bit. There was much laughter and everyone appeared to enjoy themelves greatly.

 Such a lovely setting.

 I forgot my camera but used my cell phone until I realized the battery was very low, because I hadn't saved and closed my Runkeeper activity from my morning run. So I requested that my darling niece Janelle to take various pictures and send them to me. I'm still waiting, even though I sent her a very nice text last week. "Dearest favorite beautiful sweet niece, could you please email me some tea pics?.. I want one of the lovely scone platter for sure!"  The reply came swiftly, "Uh...Bruce???" I reread my text.  Sure enough, it actually said, "Dearest favorite beautiful sweet Bruce.." We got that cleared up then I received a long list of her upcoming activities for the weekend which meant she had no time to sit in front of a computer. I'm going to call her nothing but Bruce until I get them. In fact, I may just change her name to "Sweet Bruce". I'm always getting in trouble because I call her the wrong name anyway. The names Janelle and Camille are similar enough that my tongue gets mixed up sometimes and Sweet Bruce always gives me a really dirty look. Anyway, I'm sure she'll send them soon and then I'll post them.

But I digress.

So how is Hope doing now? If you see her, you might think, as many do, that she looks like she's back to "normal".  But she still can't comb her own hair, lacks stamina and tires easily, often has pain in her neck, and still has constant tingling in her hands, among other things. She posted this on Facebook a few days ago:

"Another first for me today. I made the bed by myself, including the sheets AND pillowcases. It took awhile, and it wasn't easy, my fingers and hands don't work like they used to, but yes, a great accomplishment for which I am very thankful! 
I just keep thinking about disabilities and limitations. We as humans are so programmed to think we need to be "normal", to have all body parts functioning as they are supposed to, and when they don't, we make every effort and sometimes spend lots of money, so we can function normally again, so we can be physically "whole". I was thinking about the phrase of a song the other day, "Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole.." thinking about only the physical, because of pain and what I'm dealing with. Just this morning it hit me, Wow, I am slow sometimes! Do I spend as much time and energy .. and prayer .. becoming spiritually whole?!?! And what's the rest of that song, anyway?
"Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole,
I want Thee forever to live in my soul,
Break down every idol, cast out every foe,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
"...Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Rev. 1:5b"

She continues to challenge and inspire me. Let's keep praying for physical healing for her as well as spiritual wholeness for all of us!