Thankful Thursday

Everyone who has a married daughter should have a son-in-law like ours.  Wally and I are very thankful for Ben.  This past Sunday was Ben’s 27th Birthday.  He is definitely All-Pro with us!

I remember the first time we met Ben.  We had been hearing from Andrea about an interest developing her senior year of college.  Wally was working down in Louisiana after Katrina.  He got this great idea for me to fly into Atlanta, he would drive and meet me there, then we would head up to NC and surprise her for her Birthday.  So that was just what we did.  We walked in on her while she was working as an RA monitoring the student center.  Kenny and some friends of Andrea helped us get a cake together and some pizza.  In we walked to surprise Andrea.  Interesting that Ben…who was not an RA…was there doing a little monitoring of his own!  He was invited to join us and I remember us getting a game of Rook going which he also joined in on.   

This picture was from that night.  Don’t they both look a bit smitten and giggly here??

Later Ben told us that he had been praying about dating Andrea. He had a couple of specific requests.  One…which he thought was a pretty big impossibility…was that he wanted to meet Andrea’s parents.  Did you know that sometimes answered prayers come with pizza?

We have been very blessed to have Ben become Andrea’s husband.  He is a good provider, hard worker, and great Dad to two of the greatest grand kids on earth!  He has a heart for the Lord and is willing to serve Him…even all the way in Brooklyn, NY!  And I guess you already know he is a man of prayer!

Ben, we are thankful for you!

Birthday Boys

I dusted off my cricut machine to make a card for Nolan’s first birthday and for Kenny’s Birthday and gift card.  I love the Create a Critter cartridge whenever I think about making a card for kids…lots of cute critters to use.  Since Nolan has recently been “roaring” at us on Skype, I went with the lion!

Kenny has always enjoyed fishing.  He has recently renewed his interest in fly fishing.  So the Camp Out cartridge was used for his card.

Tim, Wally's’ brother also had a Birthday in July  I went back to punches and stamps for his card.  I used a Mojo Monday sketch.

This card was sent to Malaysia for my brother Nate’s Birthday.  He just may see it here before he sees it in his mailbox!

Thankful Thursday

I read this a couple of days ago and it has been rattling around in my mind and heart…

  “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5

I thought of all the times I have said, “Oh, I hope_____.”  Then I thought of all that people hope for and of all that people place their hope in.  Myself included many times.  But that kind of “hope” will not last.  In fact it can not last because it is dependent upon the temporal.  Whether people, things, opportunity, riches, or philosophy, all will come to an end at some point in time. 

But hope that does not disappoint is different because it is rooted in God’s love. God’s love is eternal, it never ends, and there is no one beyond His love!  It is poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit.  It will never let me down and it can never be taken away.

I also love the picture of His love poured out into my heart. It is not a dribble here and there. Or only for special occasions.  It is poured out until I am full and nothing takes it away!

Today in a store as a man was gathering his belongings to leave he turned to say, “ I sure hope we won’t have any more craziness”, referring to the shootings that took place in Aurora overnight.  And the thought hit me anew…that is a pretty weak hope.  In fact, its pretty much a given that it is just a matter of time before there is more craziness.  So much better to have a hope that will see you through the craziness!

By the way, I do know it is Friday and not Thursday…still I am more than thankful for this hope that does not disappoint!  I do hope you all have that same hope!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

My day is nearly over and since Nathan is about eight hours ahead of me, he is long past Tuesday.  But I wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday!  He  may be the baby in my family, but today he turned 50 years old!

Isn’t he a cutie?

He was kind of a wild Indian growing up…

And he drove his Mom crazy sometimes!

He’d never admit it, but he is a lot like his Dad

And just a nice ending to our family!

As an adult we have not seen a lot of Nathan.  He is one of those smart computer geeks… I think…in the telecommunications field.  And he has been living in Malaysia.  In 2006 he came home and  introduced his family to us.  His wife Akemi and daughter Ayaka. 

This past Christmas, they all came home again and we had a good time together. 

I know these guys look like a new singing group, but really they are showing off their new shirts Nathan brought.  Kind of funny to think of them as a singing group, when I don’t think any of them carry a tune.  But they are a  good looking group!

Fifty years Nathan Jay!  I have always enjoyed you as a brother.  Your smile and laughter are contagious.  I have known you to be very generous and concerned for others.  You have visited a lot of the world and experienced many cultures.  You have a wonderful family and you are a great Dad to your daughter.  Not bad for fifty years of life!  God has blessed you indeed!  I hope you have (had) a special Birthday.  We miss you here in Colorado!

Life’s Just Ducky!

I have taken so many pictures of ducks and baby ducks this year.  They are pretty cute and we have many duck families living on our pond.  But being a baby duck is hard.  If you survive getting hatched, that is just the beginning.

Here is a nest in someone’s flower planter.  A couple of the eggs did not develop and hatch.  Probably some sibling took all the heat!

Those that did hatch…and just moments after…now have to make a three foot drop to the ground.  And those guys are just little!

Then the duck families get to the pond.  Safety now?  Nope, now they are prey to our resident hawk.  We actually lost 26 out of 30 in a matter of weeks this spring to the hawk family. Or they get run over crossing the road…we lost four in one day.  But probably the biggest hazard of all is just following Mom.  She walks across many places without thinking of the tiny critters following behind…like the grates of storm drains and window wells.  One day Wally rescued the same ducky family twice from two different storm drains.  Momma seemed to be trying to leave our pond system and head toward Cherry Creek.  Three of the eight babies disappeared down the drains.  Wally was able to get Mom and her five remaining duckettes into a box.

Awfully cute aren’t they?  We took them over to Cherry Creek and released them under a bridge.

Happy Ducks!

I would have thought that by the time July rolled around, hatchings would have have been over.  Then a new family appeared.  They seemed to be keeping pretty close to a certain area on the pond and Mom was kind of protective.   And so were many of the residents.  I think the feeling was that everyone wanted to see some survive!

There they go,”pit pat, paddle pat! pit, pat, waddle pat!” for the Beatrix Potter fans!

Then one night we received a report that some baby ducks had fallen through the grate on the street.  So, Rescue Rangers  Wally and Sherry responded!  We arrived to find Momma Duck pretty upset and keeping a vigil up top.  It was kind of pathetic, Mom calling to the babies who were loudly crying back!

Wally removed the grate and the babies quickly disappeared into the drain.  Momma flew to a nearby rooftop.  We could hear the babies from the drain calling desperately for Mom.  We moved back and waited a few minutes and sure enough, Mom came back calling to them.  The three emerged back out of the drain and thankfully this time they moved to the opposite side.  I slipped a cardboard over the hole so they could not run back into it, while Wally climbed down in the man hole and scooped the three little babies into a bucket! 

Success!

We released them on the pond and they quickly rejoined Mom!

Several of the neighbors came out to see the rescued family.  We even had a phone call later that night from someone who wondered what had happened to the ducks!  Well, hopefully they can grow up to be big ducks.  You know life just isn’t always quacked up to what it should be!  (A bit of duck humor there!)

Gift Card Holders

Recently I wanted to say thank you to a couple of people and thought a Starbucks card was a great way to do so.  I used this tutorial to make the gift card holders.  It is so easy and you can decorate it anyway you like.  I have used it numerous times.

And Kenny received one with a Birthday check inside:

It makes gift giving easy and still unique! 

Gardening With the Best

This year we planted our garden over at my Mom and Dad’s house.  When we moved here we thought we would get to our house in Aurora a couple times a week, but that has been harder to do than we planned.  And Englewood is closer. Then there is the fact that my Dad is a die hard farmer and he still likes to putter around in the dirt a bit!  I’ll probably have my best garden ever under his watchful eye!

One evening we went over and Wally tilled the ground. 

The next morning Dad and I hoed and planted.

Dad put the sprinkler on and the “germinating” began! Then, that night, a big storm ended the germinating!   A few days later I returned with new plants and saw that the hail had left us just a few stems where plants had been!  I also think the wind blew away my seed because the lettuce, carrots and spinach hardly had anything come up.  On Father’s Day when we all gathered at Dad’s, it was a nice surprise to see that the beans had grown several inches tall already!  I could not believe it!  Maybe beans love 100* plus heat!

 
We had intended to put in corn in the patch of dirt behind Dad’s garage but we had problems with our tiller and the parts were on back order…we just got them in this week.  So this could be the first year Dad does not have his tall corn growing for all the neighbors to envy!  I know Dad is moving slower these days and he gets tired out. It was hot the day we planted and he probably took a good nap when I left. But I loved listening to Dad as we worked. He talked of his farming days, a couple childhood memories, and of course every conversation turns to something about the Lord! 

Besides the tiller and hoe, these are my Dad’s tools for gardening. 

 

The string used to be on two pieces of rebar…when Dad got a new grill, the old handles replaced the rebar. Its quite easy to roll out the string and mark the row with those nice handles!

 

 

And I could not believe Dad still had these two orange shovels…I remember those from when I was growing up!

 

 

 

Yesterday morning I went over and put in a second planting of lettuce and spinach. I forgot the camera but things are looking pretty good. The beans are so full I can hardly wait to pick and eat them!  And Dad actually left a few weeds for me to pull!  

Happy Birthday Kenneth Michael!

Today is Kenny’s Birthday.  Twenty-seven years of love, joy, cuteness, and antics!  I was looking through his baby pictures last night and I realized that though many years have passed, many things about Kenny have not changed.

He still grooms himself well…

He enjoys eating a good meal  

 

and tries to obey the rules.

He takes driving seriously

and takes good care of his car…

He still sings, or rather leads, the choir.

He still enjoys riding his motorcycle…

and hunting and fishing

             

Many things have changed.  Kenny, you have grown into a wonderful man  who loves the Lord with all his heart.  It has been a delight to see how the Lord has taken the things you love and enjoy and placed you into a ministry to use them for His glory.  God has given you a wonderful wife to be your help meet and I know He is using you both in your youth and music work.

  We love you and wish for you the happiest of Birthdays for this year! 

…that you walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

Colossians 1:9,10