Ma

Ma & Papa back in the day.

On Sunday afternoon our beloved Ma went to be with the Lord. Ma was Joey's grandma and really just plain wonderful. Born a city girl and raised in NJ. She married a farm boy and everything changed. She raised 5 boys, 21 grandchildren and 20 great grand children. She loved ice cream and laughter, but most importantly she loved Jesus.

I remember after Joey and I first got married, we were over having dinner with Ma & Papa. She sat me down and showed me her "Joy of Cooking" cookbook. She told me how she had grown up with a nanny, never setting foot in the kitchen. When she got married she didn't even know how to boil water. Literally. She said that cookbook taught her everything she knew about cooking. She was pretty cute telling me that if I had that cookbook (which I did) I'd be ok. We laughed about it and then enjoyed a wonderful meal - Thanks to the "Joy of Cooking" ;-)

Around thanksgiving of 2008 Ma was diagnosed with cancer. She had a few sick months, but continued to enjoy life much longer than the doctors expected. Then a few weeks ago Ma took a turn for the worse. We knew that Ma was getting ready to go home, and she knew it too. She had such a peace about dying - it really challenged me. I remember her saying "I'm not really sure why the Lord is keeping me around, but I've just got to trust that he knows what he's doing. I just kneel at the foot of the cross and wait for his leading". What a challenging attitude! Oh, that I would be able to trust the Lord like Ma did. She was a shining example of what it means to love the Lord and believe in his promises.

I will miss her - but I rejoice knowing that she is in heaven, with her Savior and she is at peace. We'll always love you Ma, can't wait to see you again!

Things...

We are on the verge of a new week. Last week was hard and long. Probably because we were all exhausted from traveling to LA and back in 4 days. I think my boys decided if I was going to force them to sit in a car for 15 hours straight, they were going to use this week to help me understand just how hard and horrible that is from a 3 and 2 year old perspective...needless to say I cried upon the name of the Lord multiple times and thankfully he heard my cry and rescued me :-)

Really, it wasn't that bad, and I found that if I stopped running around the house like a crazy woman and actually focused on being a mom things were better. Not quiet & calm- really, they are crazy toddlers after all - but better. The thing is sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the tasks at hand I forget. Forget to stop and see what really matters and to spend time where it matters.

Once a long while ago, my cousin Amy, posted on her blog photos of things that she loved. She had, had a very long week and needed to be reminded of the joy. So, while I didn't get great photos taken, I did try and spend some time remembering why I LOVE being a mom and why I LOVE my life.













And truly, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

An Amazing Wedding

As I mentioned in my last post we were about to head down to the wedding of two dear friends, Tom & Caitlyn. We headed out last Wednesday at roughly 4 in the afternoon, drove 9 hours. Slept a bit and then tackled another 9 hours. The drive down was actually pretty good. The boys survived swimmingly and the only major problem was hitting LA traffic. Talk about depressing and discouraging. We're cruising along thinking "great, just another 20 min and we're there" and BAM, traffic. 20 min turns into 2 hours...so glad I don't live there!

Anyway. We spent Thursday afternoon chillin' at the hotel. Friday we went and got the final touches for Joey's groomsman attire, attended a great rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and then Saturday, the big day, we spent with dear friends in the morning and then headed to the wedding at 4:30. What a wedding. So much fun, and so full of detail and life!

You see Tom & Caitlyn met in Morocco. So they naturally had a Moroccan themed wedding. Adding a bit of middle eastern flare, the pulled off something wonderful. The room was decorated in vibrant fabrics all different colors, candles filled the room, and Moroccan type tents provided places to gather and chat. They were married under a gazebo covered with fabric and full of hanging lanterns. It was stunning.

As the first song played signaling the seating of the mothers we were all led on an intercultural journey. One that had elements of Morocco, England and America. Traditions from each culture filled the evening, along with laughter, amazing Lebanese cuisine and silly songs. It was a blessing to be a part of their special day.

After the wedding we traveled a few hours north to escape that horrid LA traffic and then Sunday we drove the 15 hours home. Surprisingly, or perhaps miraculously it was a great trip home. The boys did wonderful and even had fun! Praise the Lord for children who LOVE to travel and an encouraging weekend surrounded by those we love! Congratulations Tom & Caitlyn, we love you!

Photo by Nathan Watkins

Life

I thought when we had a better internet connection I would be better about posting to my blog. It seems I go in phases though and here its been a month since I last posted...

*School has been fun lately, the boys have really gotten into it. I love watching them learn and think about things. They are like little sponges soaking it all up. It is great. This week we've been working on the letter "E" and learning about Elephants and Elk. For each animal we watched a quick you-tube video, then talked about different things each animal had (ie. a trunk instead of a nose on an elephant) Then we did a little craft project. For Elk we made "Elk Bread" aka pizza dough rolled and formed into an Elk looking animal...ok, honestly not very Elk like, but they LOVED it.

Here is Benson with his Elk, before it bakes. I think that is his "Elk Face".

The little Elks cooking away.

All done and ready to eat.

*The Puppies are getting huge and just about ready to find a new home. I have spent quite a lot of time learning about puppies and what sort of care they need. I've also realized while I don't really like animals all that much, I do have a soft spot in my heart for them. These little puppies have kept me awake sometime worrying if they'll be warm enough, have enough to eat, etc. Maybe I just like the excuse to worry :-)
"Class Photo" All 10 puppies sitting waiting for their photo to be taken, only a few in the front row got a little rowdy :-)

*Crazy Times. We've been burdened lately with lots of hard things going on in our lives. It is easy in the midst of pain and sadness to think that we're all alone in this and nobody cares. But I am daily reminded of God's hand in my life. He has not abandoned me but carries me through each trial and test. Sometimes I get so focused on the problem at hand I forget to look up. If I do look up He is always there faithfully waiting to show me that he's "got my back" and all I need to do is trust him...and when I do, peace that passes all understanding covers my heart and my mind and I can move forward in life. Of course it is a daily decision to look up and trust him and believe me I am not always good at it. Something I'm sure I'll be learning for a long time!

*Road Trip. On Wednesday we are headed south to a friends wedding. We are really excited for the wedding, and the road trip should be interesting. I am sure it will be FULL of adventures that I can hardly wait to tell you about. Josiah and Benson are SO obsessed with cars and trucks we'll see how far we make it before Joey and I are both pulling our hair out listening to them! I'll be sure to fill you in on all the gory details once we get back!