Ella the Bella

Last weekend Sarah and I drove to Virginia to attend the wedding of my nephew and Sarah's cousin Tim. Ella was the flower girl. Being three, we weren't sure if she would perform, but perform she did. On Monday when her caregiver asked her whose wedding she was in, she said, "Mine!" She and the ring bearer were two cuties, for sure.

Since we were together there and wouldn't be together on Christmas Day, we had our Christmas during our visit. On Sunday morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. The server let Ella use this little glass to sample pineapple juice, and she did think she was something with that glass.

The clerk at the desk was gracious to take our picture all together. David had to stand to the side, or he would have surely hidden the tree. Afterwards, we went back up where we opened our gifts. Of course, all eyes were on the Bella. We love every minute that we have with her.

All too soon we had to say good-by and be on our way. We had a bit of snow on our car...a strange sight for Floridians. David and Sabrina drove home to two feet of snow in their yard.

Meet Stephen and Charles

Where do the days go? Last week when I posted Nathaniel, I thought I would do a post each day until I had introduced you to all of my All God's Children figurines in my nativity. So much for good intentions. The days have been filled with Sweet Adelines rehearsals, handbell choir rehearsals, and our regular choir rehearsal. Last Saturday our Sweet Adelines chorus presented what has become its annual Christmas program. We entertained with songs ranging from "Let It Snow" (yes, we're in Florida, but most concert attenders are probably snowbirds.) to "What Can I Give Him?" I'm sure most of the snowbirds who were in the audience are glad they are not here and not in the north where the weather is frightful.

Our church choir will be doing our Christmas music at both services on Sunday morning and then Sunday night, Sarah and I are going to hear Sandy Patty in concert in Sarasota. We're really looking forward to that. I commented to her that there is so much going on during the Christmas season that there is not time to see and do all the things one would like.

Let me introduce you to Stephen and Charles. I love Miss Martha's description of the boys. You can almost see a Christmas pageant director interacting with the children, getting them to do their part with all their hearts.

About Stephen she writes: "Stephen showed up for his part as shepherd in the Sunday School Christmas play just a little grumpy because his Mom had taken him away from a great game of basketball. But his sour mood quickly changed to a big grin when Preacher Thomas handed him a real baby lamb. As Stephen picked up the lamb, it started licking his face. Oooooh, he's hungry thought Stephen as he remembered the peanut butter and jelly sandwich squished in his back pocket."

And about Charles: "At dress rehearsal for the Christmas play, Mrs. Sue gave Charles a small gift box he was to carry for the baby Jesus. As he opened the lid to see what treasure was enclosed his heart sank because the box was empty. He quickly ran to his classroom where he tore up small pieces of paper and wrote the same word on each piece. He filled the box with "LOVE."

One of the songs that we sang at our Sweet Adelines Christmas show was the simple song, "What Can I Give Him?" which is actually a poem by Christina Rossetti.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.

If I were a wise man, I would do my part,

But what can I give Him, give Him my heart.

Meet Nathaniel

Many years ago I collected "All God's Children's" figurines. I bought several figurines which I dearly love, and then a nativity series was produced. During the month before Christmas, I'm going to introduce you to the different characters that I've collected. Nathaniel is the first of the characters I'd like for you to meet. As you can see, he is the little drummer boy. His drum is a pan. This is what Miss Martha, his creator has to say about him.

"Clink, clank and clunk... the metallic sounds bounce off the walls in Nathaniel's home. The clatter brings his mother from the sewing room asking, "Nathaniel, what are you doing with all those pans?" As he taps on each of the overturned pans, he says, "I'm the drummer boy for Jesus." With a smile of success he finally looks up and adds, "This is the one!" A hush falls over the kitchen as his gentle taps echo a peaceful rum-pa-pa-pum which beckons the heart to return, once again, to a time very long ago in Bethlehem. "

The Man in the Yellow Hat

For a few weeks now, I've seen this gentleman riding his bike down one of the busy streets here. I was sitting in Bob E*ans one morning when I saw him pass by. I was so excited. Now who would be excited by such a sight except for a former first grade teacher who found children delighted with the antics of Curious George and the man in the yellow hat.

Today I needed to go get an ink cartridge for my printer, and when I got out of my car, there parked in front of the office store was this yellow bicycle. My heart skipped a beat as I entered, looking for the yellow hat. There he was in the ink aisle talking to one of the sales people. I told him I had seen him on his bike several mornings, and I wanted so much to take his picture.

He was leaving, so I went to my car and got my camera, and he posed for me. We talked about Curious George, or I should say, I told him about Curious George. He did not know about him at all.

He has a yellow hat, yellow framed glasses, and this yellow bike. He told me that he also has a yellow pickup truck, and that his name is Flash. Oh, the things you see...

Celebration Ringers

Today our handbell choir made its debut at church. Twelve of us responded to the call to be part of this group earlier in the fall. We've practiced and practiced, and we didn't do too badly. None of us had more than three bells to play. Most had two. The important thing in a bell choir is to be able to count and read those two notes of music. Now mind you, the songs that we played were out of the "easy" music books. The congregation seemed appreciative. I'm sure they even recognized the songs...I hope.

When we started we decided on the name "Celebration Ringers." Someone suggested "The Ding-a-lings," but we didn't think that quite appropriate for such a group. Anyway, now we're working on a couple of songs for Christmas Eve.

If we practice hard enough, we might even get to be as good as these Raleigh Ringers. No, I don't think so.

First Sunday of Advent

The Gift

The last two weeks have brought sadness to the cystic fibrosis community. I have read of three people with CF who have died during this time, and just this morning read of another young woman who has chosen to have no more treatments. What gifts these people of given to their families.

When the tragic bus accident happened in Georgia and members of the Bluffton University baseball team lost their lives, I remember reading the reaction of one of the dads of one of the players. He was asked if he was angry losing his son who had died in the accident. His response? I had a wonderful gift for twenty years. How can I be angry?

The following post by Steve Goodier really summarizes it all.

A story about an old Bendix washing machine helped one man get
through the valley of loss. *

His parents acquired the washer when John Claypool was a small boy.
It happened during World War II. His family owned no washing machine
and, since gasoline was rationed, they could ill afford trips to the
laundry several miles away. Keeping clothes clean became a problem
for young John's household.

A family friend was drafted into the service, and his wife prepared
to go with him. John's family offered to store their furniture while
they were away. To the family's surprise, the friends suggested they
use their Bendix while they were gone. "It would be better for it to
be running," they said, "than sitting up rusting." So this is how
they acquired the washer.

Young John helped with the washing, and across the years he
developed an affection for the old, green Bendix. But eventually the
war ended. Their friends returned. In the meantime he had forgotten
how the machine came to be in their basement in the first place.
When the friends came to take it away, John grew terribly upset --
and let his feelings be known.

His wise mother sat him down and said, "Wait a minute, Son. You must
remember, that machine never belonged to us in the first place. That
we ever got to use it at all was a gift. So, instead of being mad at
it being taken away, let's use this occasion to be grateful that we
had it at all."

The lesson proved invaluable. Years later, John watched his
eight-year-old daughter die a slow and painful death of leukemia.
Though he struggled for months with her death, John could not
really begin healing from the loss until he remembered the old
Bendix.

"I am here to testify," he said, "that this is the only way down the
mountain of loss...when I remember that Laura Lou was a gift, pure
and simple, something I neither earned nor deserved nor had a right
to. And when I remember that the appropriate response to a gift,
even when it is taken away, is gratitude, then I am better able to
try and thank God that I was ever given her in the first place."

His daughter was given to him to love and nurture. She never
belonged to him, but he had the awesome privilege of sharing her
life for a while. When he realized that simple fact, everything
changed. He could now begin healing from the tragedy of her loss by
focusing instead on the wonder of her life. He started to see Laura
Lou as a marvelous gift that he was fortunate enough to enjoy for a
time. He felt grateful. He found strength and healing. He finally
knew he could get through the valley of loss.

We all experience loss -- loss of people, loss of jobs, loss of
relationships, loss of independence, loss of esteem, loss of things.
What if you view that which is lost as a gift you were given for a
time? Perhaps that simple choice of trying to reframe your loss will
change sad memories into thankful ones. And perhaps it will get you
unstuck and back on the road to healing and wholeness.

-- Steve Goodier

* Story from TRACKS OF A FELLOW STRUGGLER, by John Claypool
(Insight Press Inc., 1995).

Carmi's Theme-Travel #2

When I saw Carmi's theme yesterday, I hurriedly posted a photo from my days in Haiti that showed my traveling on a motorbike. I looked back through my files from Haiti and found these photos that also fit the theme. The truck seen above is very typical of public transportation in Haiti. There's no assigned seating. If you don't fit inside, you can go on top with the chickens and other livestock being transported.

Traveling by horseback, mule back, or more often on a donkey is very common. On market days, the "marchandes" (sales ladies) can be seen going to market on the back of the donkey which is also laden with baskets filled with goods to sell. I shared in one blogpost how, one day, when Jackie and I had gone to the airport (cow pasture) on my motorbike to greet some people flying in to visit, that on the way back, we sideswiped a donkey on the way back to town. My side mirror caught on one of the handles of the basket that was on the donkey. We were riding on a dirt road that had become heavily rutted from the rains. We were in a rut and couldn't just move over. I obviously thought that we had room to get by. Fortunately, we were none the worse for the wear.

Traveling by foot (a pied) is not necessarily the easiest or the most efficient, but it gets the job done. I never ceased to be amazed at the stamina of these ladies who made their way along, carrying their goods on their heads and walking over the rocky terrain in their bare feet.

Carmi's theme-travel

When I lived in Haiti in the early 70's, I traveled a lot on this H*nda 90 motorbike. As you can see, I have my suitcase tied on the back, so I was no doubt on my way from Cayes to Cavaillon to spend the weekend with one of the pastor's families there. This motorbike was more than a means of transportation. It gave me the freedom to get away and explore the countryside, whether it was to go to the beach or to travel to a community in the hills nearby.

To have a car was cost prohibitive; besides, the road were such that one needed a four-wheel vehicle, or something very rugged. To visit other "travel" posts, visit Carmi's site.

Breathe Easy, Lauren

When Ella was born three years ago, our family was so thrilled to have this new life join us, and what a joy she has been and continues to be. The joy was overshadowed by grieving in the days to come when we found out that she had cystic fibrosis. When you are hit in the face with something like this, you begin to look for information and hope.

I don't remember how I met Lauren. I know it was a God thing. Lauren was born 29 years ago with CF. She grew up, graduated from college as an environmental scientist, married her dear husband, Brad. I must have found her through cysticfibrosis.com, a website that is an educational site, as well as a support group for the CF family. We e-mailed back and forth after Ella was born and became friends via the internet. She wrote in one of her e-mails that she felt like we were family.

In the past three years of knowing her, she had been in and out of the hospital, battling this horrible disease. Recently she had been listed for a double lung transplant, but she had become too ill and she died this week.

Lauren loved life. She was such an encouragement to the CF world. I have read of so many who felt the same way about her that I did. Many have written that she was one of the first people who wrote and encouraged them as they began their journey with CF. She was a prolific author, writing many articles related to CF.

Her journey with CF has ended. Today she is with her Savior, breathing new air. The words of the song "Finally Home" keep going through my mind today. "Just think of stepping on shore and finding it heaven, of touching a hand, and finding it God's, of breathing new air, and finding it celestial, of waking up in Glory and finding it home.


To meet Lauren, visit here.

Around the Neighborhood

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~Carol Bishop Hipps

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22

A Touch of Fall

My son asked if he could use my car to go to that very popular, well-known furniture store that everyone loves that I've never been to.
Of course, I said that he could, and then he asked if I would like to go along. If it had been to see the sights of the D.C. area, I would have jumped at the chance, but since it was a shopping trip, I politely declined. Besides, where would they put the furniture?

Last night when David got the suitcase out, Ella kept trying to unzip all the zippers. Her daddy asked her where she was going, and she answered that she was going to take a trip around the world. So this morning when she came upstairs to tell me good-by, I told her to have a good time on her trip around the world.

I decided to take a drive around this morning, but when I went out, it began to rain, so I came back to the house and started watching a football game. After a while, I looked out the window and the sun was out, so I took advantage of the time to take a few photos. It's sort of hard to take pictures while you're driving, so I ended up driving through a local cemetery not far from David's house. There was no traffic there. And I had to get back in time for the Pe*n State football game.

The colors are not brilliant, but very pleasant. I felt that if I didn't get them today, the rains might come and wash them all away. One more week, and I'll be headed back to fall in Florida, where the temperatures have dropped some (I hope) and the humidity won't be so bad. Our fall decorations adorn our houses, but it just isn't quite the same as feeling the crisp air and excitement that comes in the states to the north.

The Object of My Affection

When I came downstairs this morning, Ella was jumping all over the living room. "Grammy, this is my jumper, so I can jump." And jump she did. This three -year-old is a bundle of energy. I told her mother the other day that when I was teaching first grade, the children bounded out of the room with the same energy with which they entered in the morning. If we could only bottle it!

"Hi, Grammy."

After lunch I was sitting on the love seat, and I snapped several shots of her coming toward me, backing up, and starting the game all over again. Of all the shots I got, even though this one is a little out of focus, it's a great photo of her.

When her mother asked her what she wanted to be for Hallowe'en, she responded, "An elephant!" Mom had expected her to say a princess or something like that, but no, an elephant. So I said to her, "So, you're going to be Ella the elephant."

"No," she said, "I'm Ella the Bella." Indeed, she is.

Mary Jane's Fuchsias

Hanging on Mary Jane's porch were these beautiful hanging pots of fuchsias. I had never particularly noticed this flower before. A friend of mine in California, along with her husband, raise these beautiful flowers and belong to a fuchsia society. Now I can see why. Click on the photo to see the detail.

My week

This past week I drove up to visit a very dear friend who lives in the Finger Lakes area of New York, near the town of Naples. Naples is located south of Lake Canandaigua. My friend, Mary Jane and her husband Jim were missionaries in Haiti for twenty years, and that is where I first met them forty years ago. Two of her sons were in my class in Haiti when I was a teacher there. When they found themselves back in the United States, they moved to New York where Jim was the pastor of a church. They served there for twenty years and then retired and moved to Naples. This photo of them was taken at the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of their church's beginning. Jim is now with the Lord, and Mary Jane contines to live there and stays busy in her church now.

The first day I was there we took a drive around the countryside, stopping at several places. Our first stop was at a Mennonite store. There were an abundance of gifts, all types of apparel and just about anything you could ever need. What fun!

From there we headed to a farm store where there was every kind of squash, seasonal fruit, and vegetable that you could hope to find. And beautiful mums were everywhere.

After another stop, we arrived at this winery. When we arrived, some folks were over picking some grapes and tasting them. They told us that they had been told that we could pick and eat as much as we wanted. These concord grapes were oh, so sweet. Vineyards can be seen everywhere. For some reason I had thought that with the weather getting cold, the grapes would be done, but such is not the case. Festivals were being held , and as you can see, there seemed to be an abundance of grapes.

It was a wonderful three days that I spent with Mary Jane. I'll post a few more photos tomorrow or Monday. Be sure to click on the photos to see details...especially the collages.

A hint of fall

I began looking for color as soon as I arrived at David's on Wednesday. The maple tree near the street in his front yard has a hint of color. Many other trees in the area have changed or are beginning to change, so I'm looking forward to that. Tomorrow I'm driving to New York to the Finger Lakes area to visit a very dear friend. I'm sure that the drive up will reveal much more.

Ella has the right idea. People will be very busy from now on, keeping their yards cleared of leaves as they fall. We were out playing the other day, and she was more interested in sweeping the driveway and raking than playing, although we did a fair amount of playing too.

While she was up in the tree and I was standing there to help her down, I noticed these lonely leaves, a picture of things to come.

And here is my favorite subject--Hector and Ella. While we were out, Hector came down to visit. He is a dream of a cat, just the perfect one for two little girls who love to pet him. However, he did decide to get away from Ella and went through the hole in the neighbor's fence. Ella called and called him, and he came just close enough for him to see her. They visited for a while before we came in the house for lunch.

A delightful story

I must admit that blogging is not my thing lately, but there is a delightful, funny story (I think) about Ella on another blog. Please go here to read it and leave a comment.

Eight Gifts That Don't Cost a Cent

My, didn't it rain. That's what everyone is saying here today. Everyone who is on my newsfeed on F*cebook from here made a comment about the rain today. My daughter had an early appointment and called me around 9, telling me to be careful if I went out. Many of our streets flood when there is a heavy rain, and flood they did. She had to try several streets before she got back to her house.

The following is from Steve Goodier.

This simple checklist can help measure how you are nurturing your
relationships. The author of these thoughts is unknown, but deeply
appreciated.

The Gift of Listening
But you must really listen. Don't interrupt, don't daydream, don't
plan your response. Just listen.

The Gift of Affection
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and
handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for
family and friends.

The Gift of Laughter
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say,
"I love to laugh with you."

The Gift of Solitude
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone.
Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

The Gift of a Favor
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

The Gift of a Written Note
It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet. A
brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime.

The Gift of a Compliment
A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super
job," or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

The Gift of a Cheerful Disposition
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone.

These are eight important ways we can contribute toward whole and
healthy relationships. They cost nothing, yet they may well be the
most valuable gifts we can ever offer another.

-- Steve Goodier

Happenings

This blog has been collecting dust and cobwebs for the last few days. Every time I think about posting, I lie down until the feeling passes over...not really. Some of you who follow on FaceBo*k know that my daughter was laid off from her job a month ago. Long before that, we had talked about her selling her house and moving back in with me in order to save us both some money.

If you're aware at all, you know that real estate has not especially been a hot commodity in Florida, particularly after all of the overdeveloping of property and the unreal prices that people had put on their houses. Sarah got her house in 2002 before everything escalated, and now she is selling it, hoping to break even. Just the other day, a realtor called her to say that a couple had put an offer on it, so we're praying that there will not be any holdups to this sale. You can pray with us.

She has sold all of her furniture except for her bed and her living room furniture, which is going to fit nicely in a back room of my house...(not her bed) Right now she's busy painting her bedroom and then she's going to do mine before I have some new flooring put down.

So, my house which has been without a cat for about four years now is going to be inhabited once again with two furry friends, Samson (pictured above) and Monroe whom you see with Sarah.

We brought Sarah home to this house 32 years ago as our firstborn. Our house was new; we were fairly young embarking on parenting for the first time. Now mom is getting older...how can that be!

The main thing left now is for Sarah to find work again! You can pray about that too...please, and thank you.

Does this say "summer?"

Carmi's theme this week is "summer." On Ella's birthday her mom took her to the community pool after her nap. On a warm summer day, Ella did indeed join the cool water of the pool. This was only one of the neat activities that took place on her big day. For more "summer"-themed photos, be sure to visit Carmi's site.