Our family has many reasons to celebrate lately.
Our fifth grandchild, Mila Hope, was born on March 19. A sweet, healthy baby girl.
I celebrated my 71st birthday on March 20th.
Gary and I are celebrating our 46th wedding anniversary today, March 25.
Our two grandsons celebrated their birthdays this month.
And, we celebrate Easter early this year…March 31.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow….
My love language is quality time. So as I looked around at our two sons, their wives, and our four adorable grandchildren, gathered together “up north” at a house on Leech Lake, my heart was full. It was a blessing for me and Gary to have all ten of us together in the same place for a few days!
It was fun seeing the four cousins together (ages 8, 7, 6, and 3). They immediately connected and had a blast playing with each other: running around, creating secret forts, playing games, digging in the dirt and, of course, time on the boat; swimming and fishing.
We enjoyed fires, one in an indoor fireplace the first night, and others outside in a fire-pit.
We were able to take several pontoon boat rides; this was one of my favorite things to do. I love being on the water. The kids fished off the pontoon boat and Gary, the biggest kid, caught the biggest fish.
We anchored the boat in a spot for swimming. And I jumped into the lake! I’m not sure when the last time I jumped out of a boat and into water. Jumping into the lake was a pretty common activity for me during my growing up years…but not so much now.
But I did it so I could go swimming with the grandkids. They were a great incentive, and it was fun!
Gathering around a big table each night, and eating dinner, was very special. What a wonderful thing to do, to set apart time and all sit down and eat good food together.
I will cherish the memories we created up north. I am so grateful for this undivided time we had together.
We woke up to rain the day we were going to visit the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, but decided to go anyways. By the time we arrived, the rain had stopped and the sun popped out.
We meandered through the trails and enjoyed the fresh and many shades of spring greens. We walked through the bright Iris’ field…they were in bloom.
There were many varieties and colors of iris’. Oh-so-lovely. A stately flower.
The azaleas were in bloom, too.
We walked through a corridor of bushes– it was like walking through a crayon box, so many colors on both sides.
When we decided to go to the arb we expected to see beautiful spaces, and we did. We also expected to eat lunch in the cafeteria and have a look around in the wonderful gift shop. And we did. What we didn’t expect to see was a special art installation: The Rainflower Project.
Early on our walk, I saw a lot of green, yellow and white off in the distance. I was curious to find out what it was…it didn’t look natural. What a found were 675 ceramic flowers placed in a garden space, depicting the average number of suicides that happen each year in Minnesota.
A sign read, “The handmade ceramic flowers capture and preserve the sun’s rays in timeless beauty. They stand defying nature’s elements and displaying the strength and resilience of the human spirit. Their forms fill with tears from the sky, and their individual character reflects the unique beauty in the people who live in our hearts forever.”
And there they all were; 675 ceramic flowers, placed in this memorial garden, “to remind us of our loved ones and the vital importance of positive mental health.”
You were invited to honor a loved one you’ve lost to suicide or who struggle with mental health, by writing their name on a green tag and connecting it to a flower stem in the display.
I filled out two tags and added them to the more than 675 names already tagged. My brother-in-law Richard (1986), and my dear friend Jane (2005) died too young, by suicide.
This was a meaningful surprise to find at the arboretum. I’m grateful for the folks who thought up this creative display. It felt good to start our time in this way, in this place of beauty, and be reminded of two very special people who are no longer in our lives.
It was good to pause and reflect, and then to move on and continue to enjoy God’s creation.
Gary and I visited my soon to be 93-year-old aunt today. She moved from her beautiful home on 150 acres in Deerwood, Minnesota into an assisted living apartment in Plymouth. She is doing well, and likes her new space.
We had a nice long visit over coffee and some goodies. We updated family information and talked family history, and looked at photos she had hanging around her new apartment, and her many decorations.
Janet, one of Joyce’s daughters, lives near-by and stops in frequently, and happily enjoys shopping for her mother…from groceries to decorations for her new place.
There was one moment when I had an instant flashback to another aunt’s home…my Auntie Ag’s house.
Auntie Ag died in 2004. She was a very attentive aunt to her three nieces… me, and Janet and Cindy (Joyce’s two daughters). It didn’t surprise me to find out while Janet was shopping for Joyce, she bought unique hand soaps, with a cherub carved into the soap. My Auntie Ag always had similar soaps in her bathroom. It was so classic “Aggie”. It made me smile, and I mentioned it to Joyce, of course. Joyce said, “I have extra. Please, take a bar home with you.” And so I did…including the beautiful box it’s packaged in.
The funny thing is I don’t recall the bar of soap in Auntie Ag’s bathroom was “for use.” I believe she used it for decoration only. And Joyce said the same thing. And so, Joyce too, put one of these unique hand soaps in each bathroom…for display only.
Now, while shopping thrift stores, I will look for a pretty dish to place my “Italian, lavender-scented, beautifully carved cherub in a perfectly round, hand soap” to put on display…somewhere in my house.
For memory’s sake.
The question always is will March come in like a lamb or a lion? Of course, the questions refers to the weather…
For me, either way, March comes in with mixed emotions. There are several significant anniversaries for me in the month of March:
March 7, my father died in 1974 March 9, my mother died in 2009 March 16, our first grandson was born 2016 March 19, our second grandson was born in 2020 March 20, I was born in 1953 March 25, Gary and I were married in 1978
My mother died on this date in 2009. I created an album with items from her funeral and her last days.
Then, during the next 10+ years, I kept stuffing bits and pieces into the album as a safe place to put something significant related to her. It needed to be re-organized, so I took the album off the shelf to work on it during a recent snowstorm. I enjoyed going through the journal entries, the funeral program, and looking at the pictures. The hymns sung at her funeral were printed out, and included On Eagle’s Wings, an uplifting song (no pun intended!).
Chorus: And He will raise you up on eagles' wings Bear you on the breath of dawn Make you to shine like the sun And hold you in the palm of His hand
We recently took a day trip to the National Eagle Center, in Wabasha.
Columbia and Angel are resident eagles there, because of injuries. Both are female, and both in their “20’s”. Such majesty, beauty, power.
We tallied 14 eagle sightings en route to Wabahsa, on that pleasant March day. They are a magnificent sight. But I digress…
Back to momentous March dates…
My father passed away on March 7, 1974. He was only 55 years old. I have accumulated pictures and written history information from our recent trip to Norway with intentions to compile them in an album. I plan to do so during the upcoming predicted snowstorm this week. Another 2-3 inches…downgraded from 7-8 inches.
Then, on to warmer spring days, and happier celebrations of births and marriage.
Ah, the circle of life…
The writing assignment: Write about a time you had to put an animal to sleep…
Over the years I’ve lived with four cats.
One, I had as a child. He was a stray cat that our family took in. We called him Chief, until she had babies, then we renamed her Chief-asina, after the popular cat movie at the time (in the early 1960’s) Thomasina. I think she eventually ran away. I thought I saw her sitting in a neighbor’s window down the block once. But for some reason we didn’t pursue her.
The other three cats were a part of our lives when our two boys were young. The first cat was a black and white shorthair male. We named him Mittens. He was a cute black and white kitten with white paws. We bought him at an animal shelter. On the way home we asked the boys what we should name him. Mittens was chosen. After we got Mittens settled in his new home we sat down for dinner. When we were done eating our youngest said, “May I please be excused? I want to go pet Gloves!”
Although, Mittens was a well-groomed cat, he would not use the litter box. We tried all kinds of tricks and suggestions, short of bringing him to a cat psychiatrist (one of the suggestions). The animal shelter did not want him back either, so we had no choice but to put him to sleep. That was a hard decision, and one not made lightly. I do not remember how we told our boys.
Our second cat was a calico cat…a lovely mixture of gray and white and tan. We named him Cocoa. He did use the litter box, but he didn’t like to be inside. We wanted an indoor cat. Every time the door opened Cocoa flew through the air to get outside. This was a constant problem.
One day I was going to run some errands. As I backed the car out of the garage, I ran over something I thought was a toy. Little did I know Cocoa was out there, under the car, and I had run over him. It was traumatic. Gary was out of the country on business, but fortunately our neighbor came over and helped us dig a hole and bury our naughty, but loved, kitty in the back garden.
Our third, and last, cat was an orange, female tabby cat. I had heard orange female cats were usually gentle and calm, so back to the animal shelter we went. We found one there and brought her home. We named her Caramel Corn. She was a beautiful cat…the color of caramel corn. She was a good cat: she used the litter box, she liked being in the house…she didn’t even try to get out of the house when the doors were open.
She loved to sit among people. I would pull up a stool at the kitchen table where Caramel Corn would perch contently and listen in on our conversations around the table, no matter who was visiting. In the mornings she would jump on my lap to snuggle while I had my morning coffee and devotions, and we’d rock in the rocking chair. She was a wonderful kitty-cat that we had for twelve years. I missed her when she died.
In the meantime, we found out our son was allergic to cats so we could not invest in another cat. But that’s OK. We had a delightful one for a long time, and it would be hard to find another one like our beloved Caramel Corn.
“It’s official” are the words used in a text sent to us yesterday, from our son. His wife, Andrea (our other daughter-in-love), is from Mozambique. They moved to the United States in 2018 with their two children.
After completing all that was required of her, yesterday she took the final step…the oath…in a government building in North Carolina, to become a citizen of the United States.
“It’s official!”
Congratulations Andrea!
She now has dual citizenship with Mozambique, can get a US passport, and has all the privileges of being a citizen of the United States. Their two lovely children also have dual citizenship, by birth.
We are proud of her.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
…through all generations …
Grateful!
I have a children’s book titled “Thanksgiving in the Woods.”
It is a true story about one family’s Thanksgiving tradition. Each year they make a special effort to go into the woods to eat their thanksgiving meal, with extended family and friends. The story tells they bring traditional Thanksgiving food, set up tables and chairs, load a truck full of hay for hay rides, bring guitars to make music around a bon fire, and other outdoor activities. I always thought it sounded like a lot of fun.
So, when our grandchildren were invited to attend a “Thanksgiving in the Woods” I, of course, latched on to the idea and signed us up.
We didn’t know what to expect. I knew it would not be like the book, but I wanted to experience what this event had to offer. We knew the weather in North Carolina has been unseasonably cold, so we planned to dress warmly. We knew that by 6:00 pm it is dark outside, but that added to the excitement. We knew we were to bring a dessert, and we knew the park (which was on an island) since we had hiked there before with the kids.
We didn’t know if there would be any program, a campfire, or what kind of meal to expect.
We drove across the causeway to the island, parked in the lot, and walked a little ways up the unlit, paved path to the picnic shelter.
A large bon fire greeted us. The buffet table was set up in picnic shelter and we set down our contribution to the meal. The kids immediately started to run around as we stood by the campfire and had polite conversation with some folks.
The meal was the real deal…a full array of Thanksgiving foods…stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach casserole, gravy, turkey, ham, cranberries and miscellaneous desserts including pumpkin pie, and a decorated theme cake.
Everyone went through the food line, including those serving the meal. Not until after everyone had finished eating did they open the dessert line. That was a nice touch.
A lot of work went into planning this event, and although the event was not at all like the book, we enjoyed being outside in the woods… we did not get cold…we ate tasty food (including smoked turkey!)…and we were thankful.
It was an enjoyable evening… at this “Thanksgiving in the Woods.”
All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day, is celebrated in honor of all the saints of the church. I’m grateful our church celebrates this day, always on the Sunday before the official November 1st date.
In our church, names of loved ones that have passed away are collected from members prior to the Sunday service. You add names of those people who have gone before you, those that have made a difference in your life, especially spiritually. The list scrolls through the ceremony in the church service, and the congregation can read the names to get a visual of the many people we consider important to us…Ruby, Herb, Agnes, Bob, Warren, Jean, Ed, Henry…
During a time set apart in the service, people from the congregation get up and walk to the front of the church. On the altar there is a table with many votive candles. You can light a candle(s) for your loved one(s).
Sunday’s sermon focused on the several long-time members our church who passed away in the last four months. It was somber, yet celebratory, as we were reminded of these wonderful folks who were a part of our congregation, whom we loved, and whom we will miss.
We sang the old, traditional hymn, For All The Saints, written by William Walsham How, in 1864.
A few select verses (from 8 stanzas):
1 For all the saints who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia! Alleluia! 2 Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might; thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight; thou, in the darkness dread, their one true light. Alleluia! Alleluia! 4 Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Alleluia! Alleluia! 8 From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia! Alleluia!
Today is All Saint’s Day…take time to remember.