celebrating the measure of a father

Witt and Claire honored us with a get together at their house to kythe their affection for a wonderful father. It was as if little notes were sent out to place an order for such a lovely evening. 

Claire hosts a good many events at her house, and many are carried on outside, under the maple tree.

  After we ate a delicious supper prepared by Witt and Claire, we sat around the table and talked, until twilight fell with a gradual hush, and we were serenaded by thousands of lightening bugs. A light show twinkling on the green lawn.

 All to soon it was dark, time to help carry things back into the house and head for home.

the most photographed birthday cake

It was as much fun to photograph as it was to create.

 Charlotte was having a very important birthday.
 It was her decade birthday, so nothing less than a very special cake would do.

So we baked a yellow cake, mixed the icing until we were able to get the perfectly desired shade of green, and she decorated it.

Then we invited some of her friends over and had an afternoon of confectionery delight. Everyone was given their own pound cake and then bowls of buttercream frosting in colors of blue, orange, yellow, purple and pink were placed in front of them.

And dishes of candy to allow individual artistry of the sweetest kind.

hospitality, knitting, and market bags

Not having had a knitting project in my hands for some time and, therefore, not being able to be a part of Ginny's Yarnalong, it was with great delight that I perchance ran across this pattern for a cotton market bag recently, and with summer time lull (who am I kidding?) wrapping me in its grips, I promptly ran upstairs to my stash and gathered several balls of cotton yarn and began knitting one right then and there! Especially welcomed along with the sweet arrival of local farmers markets now dotting grassy lawns, street corners and paved parking lots throughout the town.

this is the bottom of the bag, decreasing having begun

The subject of Christian hospitality and its practice in our society has stirred a deep desire within me to  to learn more about what this imperative and necessary mandate truly means. What were the writers in the New Testament teaching when they told the early Christians to practice hospitality? Somehow I believe my ideas fall short of its original meaning in Scripture. As a part of the body of Jesus Christ, His Church, I am challenged to rethink and search out the historical roots of this fundamental custom. 

                      "Recovering hospitality as a vital aspect

                               of Christian life will be more complex 

                               than simply resurrecting an old-fashioned practice".

A close-up of the artwork on the front cover, a mosaic entitled, Abraham and the Angels,

wonderfully appropriate.

a story of a marriage

"...we have learned to live with each other, accepting each other's edges and corners."

Madeleine L'Engle

Two-Part Invention

For thirty-five years my husband and I have lived with each other.

The edges and corners have not become less sharp necessarily, just accepted with warm appeal all around.

If you have never read this book, Two-Part Invention by Madeleine L'Engle, you should take the time and do so, perhaps this summer. This book is one of the best books on marriage that I have ever read. It is beautifully written; an open, heartfelt, and sincere book about the beginnings of a marriage that spanned forty years, "unto death do us part". While I might not agree with the entirety of the author's Biblical doctrines, I wholeheartedly believe in the principles that governed her life in how she viewed a committed marriage relationship, and the manner in which she lived her life and defined family.  Two-Part Invention is the fourth book in a series she entitled the Crosswicks Journal, all of which are autobiographical and written with her heart and soul completely entwined.

In celebration of thirty-five years together, my husband and I took an overnighter to one of our favorite getaways. We had six windows in our hotel room, two of which were in the bathroom! We dressed up and dined in the fancy dining room that evening while a music trio played the "soft love songs of the past".

Somehow I have always known my edges and corners were sharper than his from the very beginning...but he would never admit it or say that was true. My husband, my love, he is a wonderful man.

a simple gift

On Thursday mornings for the past month, an orchestra practices in my sun room.

This orchestra consists of three young violinist,

and a cellist.

Young muscians hold sublime favor with me. The learning of a new instrument and performing for an audience is not aways an easy task, but to see their expressions and watch their determination is priceless.

Tomorrow evening is the recital. 

Here is a tiddly bit of a preview.

of turning seventeen, and making memories

The only surprise birthday party I ever had was when I turned seventeen. To this day I do not know how my mother kept this unexpected event such a secret, but she did. While Rose has asked me about surprise parties, somehow I find myself getting all sweaty and nervous just thinking about throwing a surprise party. More my style to plan and discuss, "What about this...and what other places do you want to see?"

We stayed on the 14th floor downtown. We visited museums and ate good food such as fried pickles and ravioli swimming in a roasted red pepper cream sauce.

We each had our favorite part.

Then we came home to no birthday cake (after all the birthday cake baker was away),  but what we did have was friends and family....and seventeen candles on ice cream sundaes!

Happy 17th Birthday my sweet Rose.

You surprise me for the good on most days...

a role worth honoring

To quote a Frenchman on this Mother's Day,

"Thus the Americans do not think that man and woman have either the duty or the right to perform the same office, but they show an equal regard for both their respective parts; and though their lot is different, they consider both of them as beings of equal value."

Alexis de Tocqeville, a nineteenth century French historian,  wrote a book entitled, Democracy in America. I was saddened to read some of his excerpts regarding the America of his time period in light of how much culture has changed America concerning the roles of men and women with these roles remaining intact. In fact, it almost seems like a speeding train on a timeline, without having to look very far back.

If you are interested in reading an excellent article on motherhood and how its role has been degraded by those who do not know or consider truth, you may check this link. This article may grip your heart at times, but thankfully there is much there that also sheds hope, a glimmering, for the future. It is important how we convey this to the next generation, being created women by God and understanding how tremendous those God- given roles are in shaping a society, only for its good I might add. Tocqeville realized what America had in the 1800s as a treasure. It just seems we might have been treasure- hunting in the pig styes of humanistic thought.

I believe in the power of prayer, and the huge responsibility that godly families and the church hold in establishing a culture that understands and values the roles ordained by God.  Therefore, on this day set apart to honor the role of motherhood, because it does not need to be seen as a "Hallmark" declared day,  may we hunger for His truth and heed the words of Titus 2, "But speak those things which become sound doctrine...teachers of good things."

Happy Mothers Day!

Enjoy the honor given to mothers.

lavender furniture polish

Always enjoying the possibility of aromatherapy while tending to housewifery duties leads me to the hunt for natural and simple ingredients to make up small quantities of household cleaners. This Lavender Furniture Polish works well on fine wood furniture such as cherry, mahogany, or oak, and it leaves the most tantalizing hint of lavender in the recently polished room.

here and there...

You may have heard the little ditty...."Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care...". I have found myself so weary this past week, that was the remark that came out of my mouth as I traveled the freeways and interstates with my husband. Here and there...to and fro. To airports, to hospitals, back and forth.

And it is not my intention to dwell on the fact that the sunshine is on vacation...

Yet, there is so much good, and joy, and answered prayer swallowing me like a blanket. I want to abide in Him, fully, with trust and faith being stirred continuously.

Weariness has a tendency to grab my soul from time to time and joy flitters out the window...tweet, tweet. Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith... I am reading the book of Hebrews...rich words of power and strength.

Alan is in Thailand, settling in, I want to think so anyway. He likes it so far. And I am having to do things I said I have no interest in doing in order to communicate with him on a regular basis. We are figuring out how it will all work for everyone concerned, daily. Time changes and schedules make it interesting.

We received a phone call Thursday night around 10:45, the time I was just laying aside my sewing to go and take a shower...my mother-in-law had fallen, and it looked like she may have broken her hip. My husband and I packed a small overnighter and headed out to make the two hour drive to the hospital. I am thankful to report she has come through surgery remarkably well and is being transferred to a rehab center today.

Tomorrow brings another adventure. My beautiful daughter is turning 17 on Wednesday, so just the two of us are making a junket to Richmond for a couple days. She is a" museumy" type of gal and there are some museums she wants to visit in this city.

I told George I loved him today; I realized he has established residence in my heart now. I still miss my Penny sleeping beside me at night, George prefers sleeping on a bedside chair instead, but he is here to stay. Therefore, I scattered a few here and there photos of him, being George, and all.

sweet sprigs of lilacs

It was  one year ago yesterday.

She would have loved the fact that it is the time of blooming lilacs. She would have found equal delight in that I gather sprigs to bring inside and place in a teapot to remind me of her.

of cakes and planes

Traditionally, the saying "Let them eat cake" has had significance of some sort or another with historical figures and fancy breads. But for us this saying was found on a table awash in a variety of cakes at a reception held at the church for Alan. Alan left for Thailand today where he will be living in the suburbs of Bangkok teaching English to high schoolers, intending to stay there until next year.

 I baked six cakes, and two friends graciously baked the other three.

I never knew Alan would be my adventurous one, but it should not have surprised me considering how God has used Alan in such miraculous ways his entire life. This huge step is just an on-going follow-up to a life hid in Christ. We are going to miss him tremendously though. 

  My husband and I stood afar and kept our eyes fixed on him until he headed down the steps topped by the words, TO THE GATES. He is presently at the Kennedy International Airport on a six hour layover before boarding a jet that will take him from this country to another one far, far away. 

 Alan is fulfilling plans ordained for him by His Heavenly Father, 

therefore, a steadfast peace grips our souls.