Another Thanksgiving

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and celebrating Thanksgiving. For the last few years we have had it at my home. As much as I LOVE entertaining, it is good to take a year off. This year my sister in town is hosting the celebration. YIPPEE!! I'm so glad not to have to deal with the stress this year. All I have to bring is my chocolate truffle cheesecake and scalloped corn casserole. My oldest sister will be traveling here from Wisconsin with her family as well. The only people missing will be my brothers. Hubby has to work this year but will be able to pop in on his lunch break and enjoy the festivities for a short time.
What a blessing of good health and precious family and friends. God is good and his love endures forever.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Have Fun!

Ever been shopping with a teenage girl? Its NOT fun but that's what Bob is doing right now. Apparently the work pants Jenna has worn for her job ever since she was hired there 6 months ago are now suddenly not the right kind so she and Dad are out there looking for some now. He wanted me to go but I feel I've put in my time and thought he should get a chance to experience it.
Talk about different tastes! I miss those days when she had no opinion of the type of clothes she wore. Now if I find something that I think is very strange looking or something I don't like, I should buy it. Also, depending on the brand she could wear a size 1 or a size 7. Frustrating and makes for a very long trip. I think Bob got the easy job though today since there is only a certain type of pant that will do so that limits the choices. Either way I'm sure he will return home with a new appreciation of me and the shopping dates I have with Jenna.

My Untitled Post

I don't really know why I'm blogging right now. Its fairly early on a Saturday morning and my husband has given me a mental health day by going with the 2 youngest kids to his mom's overnight. The older two??? I won't see them until tomorrow sometime what with our conflicting schedules.
Do you ever feel like you are losing your mind? Is this something that happens to everyone or just peri-menopausal women? All moms or just me? I feel like I am in a whirlwind and I can hardly keep up.
I don't mean to complain. I feel like I have it all but this is getting ridiculous. I've diagnosed myself with ADD but maybe I should get a professional opinion. Whenever I attempt to do something, I cannot keep focused. Trying to read a book is like attempting to do so in a noisy football stadium. I get up very early to enjoy the peace the morning brings but in my head you'd think I was running a marathon. My thoughts flit from this to that and I feel so unsettled/anxious.
I only work 20 hours each week but I feel so inadequate at times when I compare myselves to women who work fulltime yet still manage to run their home so well.

I am over committed; involved in too many "good" things. A dear friend of mine with 4 boys of her own once challenged me to choose only the "excellent" things. I see the end to a few of my "good" things coming in the near future and I will take advantage of that to slow down but in the meantime, I'd like to share a verse that encouraged me in a church a few weeks ago.
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardship, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It's Been A While

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in 2 months!! You'd think nothing was going on. Not so.
I think the real reason is that I have discovered facebook and I can take a second or two to write a blurb without having much time or thought. With blogging you have to plan and think things out. Not much time for that lately but I feel something coming on......

Another Tragic Loss

This morning, around 7:45 am, a young man entered the weight room at Aplington Parkersburg High School, just about 20 miles from where I live, and shot the coach multiple times, at point blank range. He died later at a local hospital. This man was Coach Ed Thomas. I had never met Coach Thomas, just seen him on the news a few times, but my heart aches at his loss. The tributes that are pouring out describe him as an amazing man, a long time coach at this tiny high school, which produced, under his tutelage, numerous NFL players. One parent said he not only taught the kids how to play football but how to be men. It was every young man's wish to play football under his leadership, not so much for the love of the sport but for the love of him. He was definitely a community leader and a strong man of faith.
What makes this loss even for tragic for this tiny town of about 2000 people is that just over 1 year ago, an EF 5 tornado tore through Parkersburg, killing 5 people and completely obliterating a good section of the community. Then, just 1 week later, the floods hit, destroying another 300 homes. Even though Coach Thomas' home was destroyed by the tornado, he could be found the next morning at the high school, which had also been destroyed, leading the team in clean up efforts.
It has been fun to watch him on the news as they were ready just 3 months after these disasters to play their first home game. They had an undefeated season last fall, losing in the playoffs.
Like I said, I had never met Ed Thomas so I'm not really sure why this is hitting me so hard. Maybe its because it shows again how you just don't know what will happen minute to minute. I'm sure he had left his home thousands of times and headed to the weight room to meet his team. Today just had a different ending.

Exhale

Its done and I feel like I can breath again. We had a lovely turn out this afternoon with weather beyond what I could have hoped for. We had delicious Chinese food, yummy goodies, a 16 gallon keg of root beer and dear friends and family surrounding us. It was perfect. How blessed we are to have people in our lives who will take an afternoon/day to drive to our home to honor our son. I am humbled. I feel like I can get back to real life and can finally resume a sense of normality.
As I watched my son interact with our guests, I was so proud of him. He is a nice young man whose goal is to serve God with his very life and to translate the Bible into languages where there currently is none. I love him! I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to parent him and I feel like he turned out so well in spite of us. I can take no credit but thank God that I am a part of his life.
Now, off to bed with a lighter heart and enough Chinese food in the freezer to last until winter.
Good night!!

One more day

It will all be over tomorrow. I tell you what, if you've not had a child graduate yet, this whole thing is ALOT of work. I'm wondering why no one has told me that.
I would say all of my free time in the past 2 months has been filled with getting ready for this open house. Maybe I should have been doing a lot of this during the past 18 years, organizing pictures etc. I was NOT able to find a series of his school photos I had been looking for for the past few weeks. I have been praying all week that I would stumble across them. Late last night I asked my daughter if she thought these other things I was looking for were in her closet. She pulled out a box and lo and behold those photos were in there! God cares even about the little, insignificant things.
The addition is not coming along as planned but I have to make due with how it is.
Tonight is the ballet recital and tomorrow morning, the parade. I'm excited to visit with family and friends tomorrow but Saturday night I will sleep well I'm sure.