Somewhere out there under all that white is my backyard. When all this stuff melts its going to be like a tsunami rushing down the bank. The drift on the deck measures in at 21 " Christmas afternoon Dan scooped the deck and made a path for Molly so she could get out in the yard to do her stuff. The drift by the stairs of the deck measures and 28" The ruler he used is 48" long. The weatherheads say we have had more snow this month than we have for the last 50 years, the most snow we've had on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day since 1948. Enough with the records already!! I gotta buy a snow blower. Somewhere between the two stop signs at the top of the hill is 129th. There is a bright side, Spring is only 81 days away.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The young man opening his last gift is my my 19 year old nephew Andrew. He is trying really hard not to show his disappointment. All he wanted for Christmas was an IPod Nano. And at this point he figures that is not going to happen because the last gift is from grandma who gives socks every year. I mean what else would Grandma give?? Well the socks were in the other room and, yes, we all went in together and there is a black metallic IPod Nano in the gift bag. The explosion of happiness that followed was heartwarming. The little blond sweetie in the foreground is my 7 month old great nephew Oliver, Andrew's little boy. Oliver was in sensory overload all day. Bows, shiny paper and toys oh my. He couldn't grab stuff fast enough. But what he seemed to enjoy the most, other than pulling Molly's ears, was some white cotton ribbon and a piece of cardboard. Even with all the blowing snow our family was fortunate to be able to get together. My brother has a 4x4 Ford and he went and got Dan and Aubree. A good time was had by all, we laughed ourselves silly, ate too much, watched Indiana Jones Raiders Of the Lost Ark. We got into a discussion of the cup, as Indy says, "This looks like the cup of a carpenter." Aubree didn't really know what he was talking about. When we explained that the carpenter Indy was referring to was Jesus her face lit up and she said the movie made sense now. Then she said something I found very interesting. She said, "Jesus is everywhere." I smiled and told her yep He is always with us, that He is here right now and laughing just as hard as we are at Oliver's antics. At some point during this wonderful day I realized that Jesus is the glow we feel when we are surrounded by those we love whether we are celebrating Christmas or an impromptu dinner on a Tuesday night. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
My vacation is going to be over much too soon. A week never seems to go this fast at work. I feel like the person in the kayak. Work is creeping closer and closer. . .
If you study this picture for a while you begin to feel the, wet your pants, terror, the terror of not being invincible, the terror of not being in control the the situation. The scene from Jaws plays in your mind where they cut open the shark in the warehouse and you come rolling out, well various parts, instead of a license plate. I've only been in the ocean twice in my life and both times as I am in water over my head a little voice in my head started screaming, "Get out of the water! If God had meant for us to be in the ocean He wouldn't have made sharks!" I have come to understand that we have those warnings (no, not just about sharks) on land, sea or in the air, for a reason and I don't ask why, I just remove myself from whatever the situation is. I would rather be the brunt of a joke and/ or have to endure endless teasing than be the lead story on the 10pm news.
God is going to do everything he can to lead me from the danger I am faced with, whether physical or mental, but it is up to me to listen or not. Sometimes when we are surrounded by the hurricane that is everyday life we forget how easy it can be to calm the storm and find the strength we need. He is always there, always wanting to help and protect us and all we have to do is call on Him. God loves us, He wants to be part of your life and you in His.
If you were in trouble or needed help wouldn't you call on your best friend? Works the same with God. What? You don't think you know the right prayer? All Prayer really is, is talking to God.
"God, I can't do this on my own, I need your help."
Go ahead, try it sometime, no thees or thous required.
What a day! Me, Mom, "Gary -Brother, Laurie - sis-in-law, Dan - nephew , Aubrey - Dan's girlfriend, Andrew - Nephew, Andy - next door neighbor & 3 dogs - Molly, Pockets and Sally. The usual fare for thanksgiving, turkey, ham, ham gravy, dressing, sweet potatoes, cranberries, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, fresh rolls. Makes me full all over again. Oh, I almost forgot, my sister-in-law must have gotten a good deal on her pies, she had chocolate, pecan, apple. If that wasn't enough there was cheesecake and a pan of brownies. Yikes! As I sat there enjoying the bantering, teasing and the warm comforting sounds of family, I was once again reminded of how blessed me and mine are. We all have a roof over our heads, and none of us have ever known a day of hunger. I am surrounded and held tight by the unconditional love of God, family and friends. We need to quit whining about what I don't have, get on our knees and thank God for the blessings he has bestowed. I have so much to be thankful for, how about you?
Are we losing the ability to carry on an intelligent conversation face to face? You know that thing called talking? You remember. . . the words from our brains and are formed and uttered with sound from our mouths. It seems today we are bypassing our mouths for a little tiny keyboard. We have become obsessed and bound to a piece of technology . Don't think so? What on earth would we do if suddenly, without warning the Twitter network stopped? I believe a large number of folks would find themselves isolated and unable to communicate vocally. Their thumbs would cramp from withdrawal. I think these folks would exhibit a lot of the behaviors as someone who is trying to quit smoking. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for technology, but we need to step back and take a look at the importance we've attached on tweeting, because we have become so obsessed that our lives revolve around it.
I just celebrated my 56th birthday. Yikes! My best friends, Back row l-r Jenn, Donna, me, Lizzie, front row l-r Sherri, Cheryl, Bern and Deb(not pictured) helped me celebrate in a flurry of Chinese food, way to funny age cards, a powdered donut cake, with yellow frosting that Cheryl made ( I'm not partial to cake, but love powdered donuts), laughter, and most of all an IPOD Nano. Now if I can figure out how to use it :) I just recently got a digital camera and thought I was uptown. But now. . .OMG I feel like I'm now part of the 21st century. These people know me better than my family, and choose to be my friends anyway. Amid the kids, husbands, moms, jobs and everything else we all deal with, they are always there ready to listen, and help me deal with whatever I might be going through and always help me to see what is really important . I would be lost without them and I want them to know that I thank God for them everyday. . .I love you guys barb
Last night Neil Diamond had a special on tv. Hot August Nights NYC. It has been 40 years since his first Hot August Nights that was in Los Angles. Wow 40 years. . .and Neil, God love him, looked looked like it.
Yes, I know this isn't Neil Diamond, but watching the show made me think about one of my all time favorite entertainers, Mr. Manilow. I have always loved Barry Manilow and I am not ashamed to admit it. But, alas it seems the time fairy has whacked Barry pretty good too.
It makes me wonder if we will ever again have any great ballad singers when these guys are gone . You know, singers who don't need to have parental advisory on their CD jackets. Singers you can actually understand. Singers who don't have to rely on four letter words. Singers who actually sing.
Maybe its because I see myself getting older, finding it harder and harder to view anything the kids do today as anything other than an irritant. I find that I am starting to understand my Grandfather's logic. . .he believed that velcro would be the downfall of our country. Kids won't have to struggle to learn to tie their shoes so they will think that everything in life should be easy, no sweat. . .hummm
