Currently Five Days (HBO Miniseries) By David Oyelowo see related

Hey, y'all.

Tonight's house church night here, which is always good. Today I have to FINALLY pick that rhubarb (in the interest of time, I guess I'll just freeze it), go to the bank, order pizzas and get the house ready for this evening, pick up Bruce's birthday cake (it's on Thursday, but I'm serving it tonight for desssert at HC) and do a little housework. Kind of a nice, low-key day, doncha think?

Better get crackin'! Have a great day.

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Here it comes! Back for the third year in a row, it's that ever-popular feature

Julie Baby's Fab Food Preserving Tally 2009

Frozen:
Blueberries 15 quarts
Raspberries 4 quarts
Rhubarb 2 quarts

Impressive? Nope. But every journey of a thousand miles starts with one small step.

Hey, I just finally got Xanga Premium. Does anyone know how to download my archives? Thanks for any help you can offer, and more later.

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Mere moments from now, the other computer will make some sort of beeping or ringing noise and I will log on and see my beautiful daughter for the first time in over a month. She and Nathan finally received their new computer today and we are scheduled to take a Skype-driven tour of their home at 5:30 or so our time.  Doesn't that sound like fun?

Things are at last returning to what passes for normal around here. Having a family wedding complete with visitors from overseas, followed in quick succession by the death of a close family member gives one plenty to think about and lots to do. In the midst of all that transition, we also had to close out our homeschool year.

In spite of all the delays, expected and unexpected, and the emotional upheaval of the past six weeks, we were able to finish school pretty much on time, praise God. So this afternoon I went to the school district office and dropped off Blake's eleventh-grade portfolio and handed in my objectives for next year along with the notarized affidavit swearing we are not perverts. (If you have been reading this blog for the past few years you may remember that it is wise not to get me started on that one.)  This marked my nineteenth and next-to-last trip to hand in a homeschool portfolio.

Although things have quieted down somewhat here we are not without drama. For example, I have been giving myself little manicures lately and it turns out the Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps fingernail hardener I bought in England last spring may work too well. My nails are looking really long and they make my hands look pretty, but it is becoming a challenge to accomplish the simplest of tasks, like scrubbing out my favorite steel skillet. It's sixty years old, stainless steel, and belonged to my maternal grandmother, and I am telling you people it looks brand new. Seriously. It pays to buy quality. Anyway, even with rubber gloves and a brand new Brillo pad, I can't get real close in the corners because my nails are in the way, so I am reluctant to even attempt to clean the kitchen.

Folding towels feels really weird with long nails, too, so I haven't been doing much laundry.

I have also taken to wearing pull-on slacks because it is just to dangerous to risk zipping a pair of jeans. Unfortunately, pull-on slacks have elastic waistbands, so you can pack on forty pounds before you notice your clothes fitting differently.

I bought fabric the other day to make some new curtains for the dining room, but you know what? I'm really worried that carrying the machine down from the spare room and setting it up on the dining room table might put my manicure at risk, and besides, guiding the fabric under the presser foot? Yikes.

Adjusting my car seat to a comfortable driving position (my legs are longer than Bruce's, plus I have a built-in seat cushion he does not) requires me to pull a lever on the lower front edge of the seat, and I am telling you it really puts a strain on my nails to pull that thing. I have found only two workable solutions to this problem: I either drive with my face pressed against the windshield, or I only go places with Bruce.

Funnily enough, the length of my fingernails does not impede my ability to surf the internet, although it does make a creepy tapping sound when I type.

Time to talk to my Baby Girl!

Bruce's mother, the pocket-sized MomMom, best mother-in-law in the entire universe and grandmother extraordinaire, passed away on Tuesday evening.

Ruth had had a stroke two years ago, but on Saturday the 30th of May, just one week after she joyously attended Baby Girl's wedding, she suffered seizures which took a great toll on her health. The staff at the emergency room and our family agreed that the local hospice center was the best option for Ruth, as she had suffered brain damage and was almost completely unresponsive.

She lingered in a coma for ten days, during which time we all had the opportunity to say goodbye, to take our time sitting with her and just being with her at the end of her life. Chelsea and Nathan arrived home from their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic the day after Ruth entered Hospice, and we drove the straight from the airport to Hospice so Chelsea could say goodbye to her beloved grandmother for the last time. It was a profoundly difficult time for my Baby Girl, and I am so thankful her loving Nathan was with her to hold her and give her strength, because the next morning they had to leave to return to England.

When Bruce and I returned from taking the newlyweds to the airport, we once again went directly to Hospice, where we found both our sons and our daughter-in-law visiting with MomMom and loving on her. So we all hung out for awhile spending one of the most memorable evenings of our lives saying goodbye to and sharing our hearts with this beautiful little dynamo who enriched our lives so much.

I spent the night there at hospice with her a couple of times, as did my sister-in-law. On Saturday night, my friend Andrea and I spent the evening praying for my sweet mother-in-law and our families and friends there in Ruth's bedroom at Hospice.

This past Tuesday evening -- it seems longer ago than that -- Bruce had to drop by to see our friends Todd and Gina, who live about thirty minutes away. I asked him to drop me off at hospice so I could hang out with his mom for awhile. I was with her for only an hour when she took her last breath.

I could never begin to convey what she meant to all of us. Her obituary is in today's newspaper. My sister-in-law wrote the first part, and I wanted to add a note of my own. I sat with a pen and pad in the funeral director's office yesterday afternoon, writing and writing about the dear woman who gave birth to my husband. I knew I could write for hours and still come up short so I scribbled out most of what I'd written and added only this:

Ruth lived a life of loving service to others. Her home and heart were always open, and everyone who ever met her loved her .

What a treasure she was to our family, our friends, everyone.

Thank You, Lord for Ruth. Thank You for her loving heart. Thank You for the many years of support and encouragement she lavished on us, her family. I thank You so much, Father, that she was able to be with us at the wedding and see Chelsea and Nathan begin their new life together. I can never thank You enough for placing her in my life. May I be to to Ashley and Nathan as good a mother-in-law as Ruth has always been to me. Comfort those who mourn her passing, Lord. For a little tiny lady, she left a great big void. We will miss her terribly. Thank You so much for sweet Ruth.

Currently Happy Together By The Turtles see related

Chelsea and Nathan's Wedding Day - May 23, 2009

It was a beautiful day all around! You've may have seen some of the pics on Facebook already. Chelsea looked gorgeous in her simple ivory chiffon gown and lovely updo. Her groom looked dashing and teddibly British in his suit with waistcoat and cravat. The words we heard most often to describe her and the wedding were beautiful, radiant, elegant and sophisticated. Our guests  said she was beaming, and they were right! My girl has a mega-watt smile and it was on display all day long.

Just before the service started, Chelsea and her daddy stood in the church foyer, just out of sight of the congregation.  As the music started and the attendants began to walk down the aisle, my sweet Baby Girl was so excited she was jumping up and down. She LOVES her Nathan.

She pulled herself together to walk gracefully down the aisle with her beloved Daddy. I know I am her mother, but I have never seen a lovelier bride. And she was beaming at her groom.

The pastor asked who gave her to be married to Nathan and Bruce said, "Her mother and I do." (I like it when just the Daddy walks the bride down the aisle, but then he gives credit to her mama, too.) The pastor gave a short message. Nathan's grandmother Maureen, wearing a hat of course as she is a proper Englishwoman, read Scripture. After the pastor spoke a bit more, Bruce read Scripture then walked over and placed his hands on Chelsea and Nathan and prayed a blessing over them. Then the pastor placed his hands on them, too, completing the circle, and prayed another prayer for them. (As the minister placed his hand on Chelsea's head, I know every woman in the church was thinking, Don't flatten her hair!)

When it came time to pronounce them husband and wife, they pastor didn't do this himself. We had printed in the program a reading for the whole congregation to give and everyone pronounced them husband and wife. It was different, but I kind of liked it.

Their vows were traditional English vows.

After the happy couple walked (danced, frolicked) up the aisle to the Turtles' Happy Together -- we had it cued to the first "I can't see me living nobody but you for all my liiife!" -- the ushers walked Nate's mom and me up the aisle, then the bride and groom returned to the front of the church where they greeted and released their guests. We had seen this done at another wedding  (Dan and Pam's) and liked it so much. No receiving line, and everyone else got to sit down while they were waiting to be let out.

While this was happening in the sanctuary, I was manning the guest book and saying goodbye to everyone. Due to space limitations, we couldn't invite all the wedding guests to the reception, so it was especially important to me that one of us got to greet and say goodbye to each guest. Everyone signed the guest book (including their address to help with thank you notes). As one of our gifts to Chelsea and Nathan, Bruce and I had given them a leather Bible imprinted with both their names, so I asked our guests to also sign the front, blank pages in that. The guest book may get lost or packed away, but everytime they open that Bible they will see a tangible reminder some of the folks that love them.

The reception was so much fun. The library looked lovely. My boss, Sonya, had done so much that I know I truly can never thank her enough. Everything was perfect! Our friends really came through for us in HUGE ways and I absolutely can not repay. THAT is humbling. Our friends Sue and Lorry hosted three strangers for five days, threw us a huge rehearsal dinner, cooked a big wedding day breakfast for all the men, and hosted us for another barbecue last night. We are going over there in a few minutes to meet with Nate's family one last time before they head home. How do you thank someone who has served you so much??? I can't even imagine. I told Sue again last night how I feel about it and she said that's why the Lord was so clear when He told her to do it. She loves this kind of thing but it would've totally stressed me out. Plus we don't have enough bathrooms and bedrooms and all. I pray that the Lord really pours out heaps of blessing on Sue and Lorry and Sonya and everyone who was so good to us.

We had beautiful live cello and violin music at the wedding thanks to our neighbor, Matt, and  our dear friend, Alaina. We had a great emcee and live music in the reception thanks to our friend Mark. Flowers graced our tables because of Nancy and Mel. Chelsea's friend Cassie made dozens and dozens of beautiful cookies, including her lemon ones that won a blue ribbon in the state farm show. And on and on. God's grace and favor and generosity were lavished upon Chelsea and Nathan through so many wonderful friends. I am so blessed.

Now the newlyweds are enjoying a fantastic honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. We'll pick them up at the airport Sunday evening and they'll come home with us for one night. Then Monday morning we'll deliver them to another airport and they'll fly back to England where they'll set up housekeeping as husband and wife.

We'll miss them, of course, but we are thrilled that they are so very happy together. God is good and He is faithful. Thank You, Jesus.

The house is quiet so I thought I'd blog a bit. I have nothing to say, but hey! that's never stopped me before.

At ten o'clock this morning I drove over to the farmhouse behind my favorite Amish store and picked up Miriam and her daughters Linda Ann, Sadie Mae, and Anna Mary. They were coming over for a couple of hours to do some cleaning for me in preparation for Chelsea's wedding. Sadie Mae is too little to clean, even for an Amish girl, so I set her up with colored chalk and now the big, kid-friendly chalkboard in our dining room (hung low, its bottom resting just above the baseboard) sports a beautiful picture of a house (appropriately labeled "house") and barn. While the wee artist was at work, her mama and big sisters were busily sweeping and wiping and rinsing pretty much everything in my kitchen and dining room. They did a great job.

It's amazing how a bit of cleaning -- even someone else's cleaning -- can encourage a woman when she's in over her head.

My emotions are all over the place these days. I am by turns excited, distressed, worried, exhilarated, annoyed, depressed and hopeful. I imagine this is pretty normal for the mother of the bride.

It's time to check on dinner. After that I think I'm gonna curl up with a good book.