Thankful Thursday

Yesterday was my sister Robin’s birthday.  I sent her a text full of Birthday wishes and she sent me one back calling me a brat for mentioning her age!  That is what a Birthday is about, isn’t it?  Well, sisters can be like that…especially older sisters!  All kidding aside, I am very thankful to have my sister Robin in my life!!  She has been a big sister in all the usual ways…helping with advice and experiences,sharing recipes, hobbies, laughter, parenting stuff and now, best of all grandkids!!  But she is also my friend, long before there were BFF’s or Ya-Ya’s!

Robin is also my sister in Christ which takes our relationship to an even deeper plane.  We pray for each other and encourage one another with God’s promises.  We see His Hand at work in all the circumstances of our lives, good and bad.  We can rejoice, and have hope and peace…especially in the difficult times!  We see from the eternal point of view, not just the “here and now” and it brings purpose. 

All of that is important because we never know what a year will hold in our lives.  As we celebrated Robin’s Birthday last year, she never knew what this year would hold for her…cancer.  If you have been living your life depending on the Lord, cancer is just another opportunity in which to do that.  Oh, I am sure Robin has had her days of doubt and fear.  Trusting the Lord doesn’t mean you won’t.  It means that when you do, His promises become more real to you.  His peace follows and you can smile.  Not because your circumstances have changed, but because your heart has.  And a smile is pretty much what you will always get from Robin! 

I took the picture below of Robin on her first day of chemo.  I am happy to say that when she went in last week to have her second to the last treatment, they sent her home without it.  She does not have to have any more chemo!  So she is chemo free!!!  We now wait to see if she is cancer free, which won’t be for a couple of months.

In the photo above, Robin still has her hair.  It was one thing she was dreading, losing her hair.  But she has always liked hats too and she looks so cute in them!

One nice thing about Robin having chemo, is that she was off work all summer.  So we had a lot of sister time, especially when Jo hit town in August!  We had a couple of scrap sessions, making cards for JoEllen’s stash.  We had breakfast together and, lunch together, probably even dinner once!  We also went to tea, shopped at Ikea and had Swedish meatballs, talked and quoted Psalm 1 together! (Mom, Robin and I were working on memorizing it!)  It was a nice summer for the “sisterhood!”

So, I am thankful for Robin.  I am blessed to have her in my life.  Even if her report comes back in a couple of months and is negative, nothing I have said here would change.  My gratefulness stems from an unchanging God, Who graciously gave me a wonderful Big Sister!

Gypsy and Georgia Pass

Gypsy was 13 years old in May. The photo below was taken when she was just a pup and getting a little defensive of the dog food which Frank, Kenny’s iguana also enjoyed.  Gypsy was a third dog…no, not my plan, but these things do happen…but she was always the “alpha” dog!  Always!

In August Wally took me to Georgia Pass to have a nice look at the wildflowers. Georgia Pass must be one of Wally’s favorite spots in Colorado.  It is pretty and we almost always see some wildlife.  At the top is the Continental Divide and the Colorado trail runs across it.  We camped there many times when the kids were still at home and we had our ATV’s.  When we have out of town friends in, a ride to Georgia Pass wows them!  It’s the spot Wally took Ben and Andrea when Ben first visited Colorado and he and Andrea were just getting to know each other.  It’s a place where Wally has dreamed of hunting his big trophy elk. 

We took Gypsy along with us on this outing and I’m glad now that we did.  As I put this post together it is not really “Georgia on my mind” so much as it is Gypsy.  On Labor Day weekend, while Wally was out of town, I had to take Gypsy to the vet and put her down. 

This is how Gypsy always liked to ride…she wanted to be up front where she could see.  Years ago when we camped with our ATV’s Wally made a little basket for her to ride in.  But it was on the back and she always wanted to be in the front…on your lap with her paws on the handle bars.  She was riding along on Wally’s console like this until we hit the four wheel drive parts of the road.  We got her to sit but her focus was still "up front.”

Georgia Pass has beautiful views of Colorado’s mountains wherever you look.  Keystone Ski area is visible to the south (Wally tells me these things, I just turn and look!) and Breckenridge to the west.  Here is Breckenridge.

I took this picture for my kids. This road is now blocked off, but we used to ride all the way up and across the top of the divide. 

Wally brought me to see the wildflowers and we were not disappointed.  It’s funny to be posting these photos now because we have snow in the forecast for tomorrow! I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet.

This is kind of a funny photo.  We are walking along in the middle of the great Rocky Mountains, enjoying the beauty, when, can you believe it?  Wally’s cell phone rang!  When he looked at the ID, we had to answer.  It was Mr. Rausch, an elderly friend from our church a few years ago.  He now lives in Pennsylvania and he had heard about our twins.  You gotta take a call like that where ever you are, right?

Gypsy was mostly Wesley’s dog.  When he left home for school and summers as a camp counselor, she sort of came to me.  She had a funny little personality.  When you talked to her she would look at you and turn her head as though she really was trying to understand.  She was a barky little thing, part of that alpha deal I guess.  Wally was the one who gave her the ear rubs and played with her.  But she followed on my heels all day long. It’s been a month now but when ever I come home I still expect to see her waiting on the landing of our steps to greet me.  Funny how those furry little critters crawl into our hearts!